Motorsport legend John Sprinzel sadly passed away at the age of 90 last month following a brief illness. Born in Berlin in October 1930, he enjoyed a long and varied career that included stints as a rally driver, racing driver, event organiser, engineer, businessman, author, commentator and even a windsurfer.
Sprinzel came to prominence for his motorsport exploits in the late 1950s. He finished third overall in 1958’s inaugural British Saloon Car Championship driving his own Team Speedwell Austin A35, and in 1959 won the British Rally Championship in an Austin-Healey Sprite, navigated by future BMC and Ford competitions boss Stuart Turner. Together they also won the 1959 BTRDA Rally Championship.
Earlier, in 1957, Sprinzel and future Formula One Champion Graham Hill founded tuning firm Speedwell Performance Conversions Ltd, where…