PETER WHITEHEAD PITTED HIS Cooper-Jaguar T38 at Le Mans in 1955 just after a catastrophic chain of events had catapulted Pierre Levegh’s Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR through the crowd at 6.26pm. The accident cost 85 lives and destroyed many more.
After completing only 38 laps, Peter and stepbrother Graham Whitehead’s Cooper-Jaguar race was over almost before it started. In the fourth hour, running 14th, losing oil and oil pressure, they were black-flagged, a big disappointment for the man who with Peter Walker had won the 1951 endurance classic aboard a works Jaguar C-type. It was also an augury of the fate of a programme begun at Peter’s initiative in late 1953.
Usually characterised as a ‘wealthy gentleman driver’, Yorkshireman Whitehead was a fast, reliable seasoned pro – of that age group whose best years were taken by the War. In its 1950s heyday Peter’s family firm W&J Whitehead, a large Bradford wool-scouring and spinning business, employed 1200 people. Whitehead applied similar business acumen to his racing, enjoying profitable fun for years before and after World War II contesting non-championship single-seater and sports car events around the world, selecting those with good start and prize money. With his experience of C-type and Jaguar’s experimental XP/11 design he thought a Jaguar-powered car which was lighter and better handling than the C and forthcoming D-types would be ideal for these sports car events. Both C and D had live rear axles, so the Cooper’s independent rear suspension should have better traction.
Well familiar with Coopers, having raced a T24 Alta in 1953/4, Whitehead approached the Surbiton
