Kenneth Henry Miles was a British sports car racing engineer and driver. He is an inductee to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. Miles left school at the age of 15 to work as an apprentice at Wolseley Motors. He raced motorcycles before he served in the British Territorial Army.
About Ken Miles in brief
Kenneth Henry Miles was a British sports car racing engineer and driver. He is an inductee to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. Miles left school at the age of 15 to work as an apprentice at Wolseley Motors. He raced motorcycles before he served in the British Territorial Army in World War II. In 1953, he won 14 straight victories in SCCA racing in an MG-based special of his own design and construction. After the war, he raced Bugattis, Alfa Romeos, and Alvises with the Vintage Sports Car Club. He was a key member of the ShelbyCobra race team in the early 1960s. In 1965, he shared the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Bruce McLaren with a Ford GT Mk II. The next year he won the 12 Hours of Sebring, sharing the next year with Ford GT II. Miles was leading the drive of the 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours, but Ford executive Leo Beebe, desiring a publicity photo of three of their cars crossing the finish line, cruised up from third to finish third.
He died of a heart attack in a car crash in California in 1989. He had a reputation for courtesy on the track and was sometimes called the ‘Stirling Moss of the West Coast’ He was affectionately known by his American racing crew as ‘Teddy Teabag’ or ‘Sidebite’ Miles described himself this way: I am a mechanic. Driving is a hobby, a relaxation for me, like golfing is to others. I should like to drive a Formula One machine, not for the grand prize, but just to see what it is like. I should think it would be jolly good fun! He is buried in Sutton Coldfield, a short distance from the city of Birmingham, England.
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This page is based on the article Ken Miles published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 10, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
