After suffering from cancer in recent years, racing driver Chris Amon has died in hospital aged 73. As one of the drivers involved with Ford's legendary 1966 Le Mans win his place in motorsport history is assured.
Amon was perhaps best known as one of the fastest GP drivers to race in Formula 1 without ever having won a race. It was in fact the Le Mans win that prompted Enzo Ferrari to invite Amon to drive for Ferrari in 1967, having not made significant inroads in the sport since his first race in 1963. That changed in 1967, where he took his first podiums, and continued in 1968 with pole positions and points finishes. Having spent time at other teams through the late 60s and early 70s, a win still eluded him; his F1 career finished when he refused to restart the German Grand Prix in 1976 after Niki Lauda's crash, when he was sacked from the Ensign team.
In addition to the Le Mans victory, Amon also won the Nurburgring Six-Hour in 1973, the Daytona 24 Hours and the 1000 kilometres at Monza. In his later life Amon was a consultant for Toyota New Zealand, and was awarded an MBE for services to motorsport in 1993.
Tributes have been pouring in for the New Zealander, Ron Dennis describing him as "the most likeable man I have met in my long racing career." Our condolences are with the friends and family of Chris - he will be missed throughout the motorsport world.
PHers are already paying tribute here