Tom Wheatcroft facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tom Wheatcroft
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| Born |
Frederick Bernard Wheatcroft
8 May 1922 Castle Donington, Leicestershire, England
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| Died | 31 October 2009 (aged 87) Arnesby, Leicestershire, England
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| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Businessman, car collector |
| Spouse(s) |
Helena Morgenstern
(m. 1946)
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| Children | Kevin Wheatcroft and 6 others |
Frederick Bernard "Tom" Wheatcroft (May 8, 1922 – October 31, 2009) was a British businessman and car collector. He became very wealthy from building and construction work. Tom was famous for bringing the Donington Park motor racing track back to life. He also started the Donington Grand Prix Collection museum.
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Tom Wheatcroft's Early Life
Frederick Bernard Wheatcroft was born in Castle Donington, England, in 1922. When he was young, an uncle gave him the nickname 'Tom-Tom'. This was because he often patted his stomach. The name 'Tom' stayed with him his whole life.
Tom only went to school for about 20 months. After that, he became a trainee plasterer. But he loved motor racing more. He would ride his bicycle from his home in Leicester to Donington Park. There, he watched races before World War II. He was at the track for the big races in 1937 and 1938 Donington Grand Prix. He once said:
You had to be there to know what it was like. The W125 Mercs and the V16 Auto Union racing cars were doing 170mph by halfway down the straight. The noise and the smell and the speed – we hadn't seen anything like it before.
During World War II, Tom Wheatcroft was a tank driver. He fought in places like Madagascar, India, and the Middle East. He was also part of the Allied invasion of Italy. Near the end of the war, he was sent home. This happened after a mortar explosion nearby temporarily blinded him.
After the war, Tom went back to construction work. He started as a labourer. When a big storm damaged parts of Leicester, he organized the repairs. He used the money he earned to build two houses. From there, his construction business, Bernard Wheatcroft Ltd., grew very quickly. In 1946, he married Helena Morgenstern. Tom always lived close to Castle Donington. By the time he died, he had built a fortune. He also had seven children.
His Love for Motor Sports
Tom Wheatcroft loved motor racing since he was a child. Once his construction business was doing well, he started going to races again. In 1964, he bought an old Ferrari 125 F1 Formula One car. This car used to belong to racer Peter Whitehead. Its original Ferrari V12 engine had been changed to a Chevrolet Corvette V8. But Tom still loved driving it during test sessions.
This car started his huge collection of Grand Prix racing machines. Over the years, Tom and his unique laugh became well-known at race tracks.
Wheatcroft Racing Team
After making his money and starting his car collection, Tom decided to run his own racing team. In 1970, he bought a Brabham BT26 car. This car had won the 1969 German Grand Prix with Jacky Ickx. Tom entered Derek Bell to race it in the Tasman Series' 1970 New Zealand Grand Prix. Bell finished in second place.
After this success, Tom bought a new Brabham BT30 later that year. Derek Bell raced it in the European Formula Two Championship. Bell again finished second. The team also raced the BT26 in other events.
In 1971, Tom met Roger Williamson, another driver from Leicester. Tom started to support Roger's racing career. Roger drove for Wheatcroft Racing. In 1972, he won two British Formula Three Championships. He also raced in many European Formula Three and Formula Two races.
In 1973, Tom helped Roger get a spot in the Formula One March Engineering team. Roger's Formula One career was very short. He crashed on the first lap of his first race, the 1973 British Grand Prix. Then, he crashed again in his second race, the 1973 Dutch Grand Prix. Roger was not hurt in the crash itself. But his car flipped over, and he could not get out. Sadly, Roger died in the fire that followed. Tom later said that losing Roger was harder than losing friends in the war.
After this, Tom continued to support some drivers in other racing series. He even paid for a special Wheatcroft racing car to be built. It was designed by Mike Pilbeam. Driver Brian Henton raced this car in some Formula Two and Atlantic races. Henton's best finish was third place at the Silverstone Circuit. Tom slowly stopped his team's activities over 1976.
Bringing Donington Park Back
In 1971, Tom Wheatcroft bought a big part of the Donington Hall estate. This included the old racing track, for £100,000. The park had been used as a military storage area during World War II. The race track was in ruins. Tom spent his own money to rebuild the circuit. It took him six years to turn it into the Donington Park racetrack.
One of his first actions was to move his amazing car collection to the estate. This collection was called the Donington Grand Prix Exhibition. At the time, it was the biggest collection of racing cars in the world. Racing finally returned to Donington in 1977. This was after almost 30 years without races.
For the next 15 years, Tom worked very hard. He wanted to bring a Formula One World Championship Grand Prix race to Donington. In 1983, he was given a possible date for the 1988 Formula One season. But the racing authorities changed their minds. They decided to hold the British Grand Prix at Silverstone instead. Tom even tried to host an Irish Grand Prix at Donington. But this idea was also stopped.
Finally, in 1993, the European Grand Prix was set to be held at Donington Park. Before the race, Tom had just had his third heart attack. But he still drove his own pre-war Mercedes-Benz W154 Grand Prix car for a demonstration. He spun the car around! The 1993 European Grand Prix was held in very wet weather. But it featured an amazing drive by Ayrton Senna. However, Tom lost money on the event. So, he decided not to try for another race the next year.
In 2007, Tom agreed to lease the land for the circuit and museum. He leased it to a company called Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd. With his support, this company won a 10-year deal. They would host the British Grand Prix from July 2010. But the project ran out of money. Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd. then went out of business.
Tom Wheatcroft passed away on October 31, 2009, at his home in Arnesby. He was 87 years old and had been ill for a long time. Tom's son, Kevin Wheatcroft, has followed in his father's footsteps. Kevin has created The Wheatcroft Collection of military vehicles in Leicester.
