Jonathan Palmer

Dr. Jonathan Charles Palmer (born 7 November 1956 in Lewisham, London ) is an entrepreneur and former racing driver from England.

Early career
Educated at Brighton College, Palmer dovetailed his medical studies at Guy's Hospital with club racing in an Austin Healey Sprite and Marcos. He practised as a Doctor at Cuckfield and Brighton hospitals before opting for a driving career after Formula Ford success in 1978–80. Progressing to Formula Three, he won the 1981 British Formula Three Championship, which was followed by the 1983 European Formula Two Championship. His rapid ascent through the ranks landed him a Williams Formula One test drive in 1982 and BRDC Gold Star the following year.

Formula One
Palmer made his F1 debut at Brands Hatch on 25 September 1983, driving for the Williams team in the European Grand Prix. Signing up for the Skoal Bandit RAM March team in 1984, he scored several top ten finishes, before a move to the Zakspeed team for the following two seasons.

A switch to Ken Tyrrell’s outfit for the 1987 season brought about a dramatic change of fortune. The normally aspirated car was reliable and a string of points finishes culminated in a career best of fourth in Australia, which secured him the Jim Clark Cup, a championship for drivers of non-turbocharged machines.

He stayed with the team for the following two seasons and the Cosworth V8-powered Tyrrell enabled him to score seven more points. However at the end of 1989 Palmer signed for the McLaren team as their test driver, alongside Ayrton Senna and Gerhard Berger. His work for the organisation also included development of the McLaren F1 road car, which included a then record-breaking 231 mph run at the Nardo test track. His road car development work also includes a special edition Caterham 7 JPE, an extreme variant of the enduring sportscar.

Sportscars
In addition to his F1 career, Palmer competed in the World Sportscar Championship alongside many other Grand Prix drivers. Racing a Group C Porsche from 1983 to 1990, successes included the 1984 1000 km of Brands Hatch, and second place in the 1985 24 Hours of Le Mans. He returned to Le Mans in 1991 with the works Sauber Mercedes-Benz team.

Post F1
A season in the British Touring Car Championship for the Prodrive BMW team followed in 1991 but Palmer's commitments were by now being taken up by his business interests with the formation of PalmerSport, which specialises in corporate driving activities. In addition he had joined the BBC F1 commentary team as a pitlane reporter and following the sudden death of James Hunt following a heart attack shortly after the 1993 Canadian Grand Prix, Palmer was promoted to the commentary box alongside Murray Walker. The partnership lasted until the end of the 1996 season, when the BBC lost the rights to broadcast F1.

Business career
The same year Palmer acquired the lease to develop Bedford Autodrome. Opening in 1999, it is used for trackdays and testing in addition to the PalmerSport corporate driving activity. This coincided with further business ventures, including the launch of the Formula Palmer Audi Championship, which provided a lower cost alternative to Formula 3. Inaugural 1998 champion Justin Wilson won a fully funded season in Formula 3000 and with Palmer managing his career, a then-unique share issue in the driver was launched after he won the F1 feeder formula, helping him to secure a drive with the Minardi team. Formula Palmer Audi has also helped shape the careers of many drivers, including triple World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx.

In 2004 Palmer, along with business partners John Britten and Sir Peter Ogden acquired the Brands Hatch, Oulton Park, Snetterton and Cadwell Park circuits from Octagon, under the umbrella of MotorSport Vision (MSV). The company, of which Palmer is Chief Executive, also co-ordinated and ran the now defunct Formula Palmer Audi Championship, before acquiring the commercial rights for the British Superbike Championship in 2008 and, in the same year, successfully tendering to operate the FIA Formula Two Championship, which is also now defunct. In addition, MSV administers several club series and championships under the MSVR banner and organises trackdays as Club MSV.

Personal life
In addition to his business interests, Palmer has also helped develop the racing careers of his two sons: Jolyon Palmer is a racewinner in GP2 and aims to follow in his father’s footsteps, whilst William is currently competing in his first full car racing season with the Ginetta Junior championship.



Complete European Formula Two Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula One results
(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) † 1st place in the Jim Clark Cup, for naturally aspirated cars.

Complete British Touring Car Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1983 in class) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap – 1 point awarded 1983 all races, 1983 in class)


 * 1) – Race was stopped due to heavy rain. No points were awarded.