Michael[1] May (born 18 August 1934 in Stuttgart, Germany[1]) is a former racing driver and engineer from Switzerland. He participated in three Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 14 May 1961. He scored no championship points.
Porsche 550 with wing as modified by May for the 1956 Nürburgring 1000km
May is generally credited with introducing the first manipulated elevated wing onto a racing car - a Porsche 550 Spyder- to produce downforce (or down thrust) for enhanced braking and cornering speeds to reduce lap times. The modified 550 was entered by May and his brother Pierre in the 1956 1000km of Nürburgring. During qualifying, the car lapped the circuit four seconds faster than the Porsche factory team 550s. However, race organizers disqualified the car following a complaint by Porsche racing director Huschke von Hanstein. The wing was removed for the remainder of the car's racing career.[2][3]
He also worked in designing high-compression engines, improving fuel economy among other things.[4] The most notable example was his reworked 'Fireball' head for the 'high-efficiency' high-compression Jaguar V-12 HE engine.[5][6]
^ Sources disagree as to the spelling of May's first name. Forix and The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who say "Michael", whereas www.grandprix.com says "Michel" and this 8W article lists both. However, this source offers evidence that it's "Michael".
Referencesedit
^Jenkins, Richard. "The World Championship drivers - Where are they now?". OldRacingCars.com. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
^Dargegen, Remi (21 July 2020). "Michael May's Porsche 550 Spyder is a winged wonder". www.classicdriver.com. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
^Miterko, Andrew (2023-03-30). "The Giant Killers". Road Scholars - Vintage Porsche Sales and Restoration. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
^David Scott (November 1976), "Fireball engine boosts mpg and cuts emissions", Popular Science, Rolle, Switzerland, p. 136
michael, racing, driver, other, people, with, similar, names, michael, disambiguation, michael, born, august, 1934, stuttgart, germany, former, racing, driver, engineer, from, switzerland, participated, three, formula, world, championship, grands, prix, debuti. For other people with similar names see Michael May disambiguation Michael 1 May born 18 August 1934 in Stuttgart Germany 1 is a former racing driver and engineer from Switzerland He participated in three Formula One World Championship Grands Prix debuting on 14 May 1961 He scored no championship points Michael MayBorn 1934 08 18 18 August 1934 age 89 Stuttgart Wurttemberg GermanyFormula One World Championship careerNationalitySwissActive years1961Teamsnon works LotusEntries3 2 starts Championships0Wins0Podiums0Career points0Pole positions0Fastest laps0First entry1961 Monaco Grand PrixLast entry1961 German Grand PrixAfter a crash during practice for the 1961 German Grand Prix May concentrated on engineering helping to develop a fuel injection system for Porsche and Ferrari Porsche 550 with wing as modified by May for the 1956 Nurburgring 1000kmMay is generally credited with introducing the first manipulated elevated wing onto a racing car a Porsche 550 Spyder to produce downforce or down thrust for enhanced braking and cornering speeds to reduce lap times The modified 550 was entered by May and his brother Pierre in the 1956 1000km of Nurburgring During qualifying the car lapped the circuit four seconds faster than the Porsche factory team 550s However race organizers disqualified the car following a complaint by Porsche racing director Huschke von Hanstein The wing was removed for the remainder of the car s racing career 2 3 He also worked in designing high compression engines improving fuel economy among other things 4 The most notable example was his reworked Fireball head for the high efficiency high compression Jaguar V 12 HE engine 5 6 Contents 1 Complete Formula One World Championship results 1 1 Non Championship 2 Notes 3 ReferencesComplete Formula One World Championship results edit key Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 WDC Points1961 Scuderia Colonia Lotus 18 Climax 1 5l straight 4 MONRet NED BEL FRA11 GBR GERDNS ITADNA USA NC 0Non Championship edit key Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211961 Scuderia Colonia Lotus 18 ClimaxStraight 4 LOM GLV PAU BRX VIE AINRet SYR NAP LON SILRet SOLRet KAN DAN MOD FLG OULDNA LEW VAL RAN NAT RSA1962 Michael May CAP BRX LOM LAV GLV PAUDNA AIN INT NAP MAL CLP RMS SOL KAN MED DAN OUL MEX RAN NATNotes edit Sources disagree as to the spelling of May s first name Forix and The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who s Who say Michael whereas www grandprix com says Michel and this 8W article lists both However this source offers evidence that it s Michael References edit Jenkins Richard The World Championship drivers Where are they now OldRacingCars com Retrieved 2007 07 29 Dargegen Remi 21 July 2020 Michael May s Porsche 550 Spyder is a winged wonder www classicdriver com Retrieved 2023 04 14 Miterko Andrew 2023 03 30 The Giant Killers Road Scholars Vintage Porsche Sales and Restoration Retrieved 2023 04 14 David Scott November 1976 Fireball engine boosts mpg and cuts emissions Popular Science Rolle Switzerland p 136 Ludvigsen Karl 2005 The V12 Engine Sparkford Yeovil Haynes Publishing pp 318 319 ISBN 1 84425 004 0 Ray T Bohacz January 2009 Fire in the Hole High Performance Pontiac archived from the original on 2012 05 05 retrieved 2011 10 30 nbsp This biographical article related to Swiss auto racing is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte nbsp This Formula One biographical article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Michael May racing driver amp oldid 1180427411, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
