Tom Wheatcroft

Frederick Bernard "Tom" Wheatcroft (8 May 1922 – 31 October 2009) was an English businessman and car collector. He made his fortune through building and construction, and was known for resurrecting the Donington Park motor racing circuit and founding the Donington Grand Prix Collection museum.

Biography Frederick Bernard Wheatcroft was born in the market town of Castle Donington, Leicestershire, in 1922. owing to his habit of repeatedly patting his stomach,

During World War II Wheatcroft served as a tank driver. He saw action in many theatres, including Madagascar, India and the Middle East, and was a part of the Allied invasion of Italy. Toward the end of the conflict he was invalided home after he was temporarily blinded by a nearby mortar explosion. and was father to seven children.

Motor sport activities Following on from his childhood passion for motor racing, after Wheatcroft's construction business started to provide a stable source of income he returned to visiting race events as a spectator. In 1964 he bought an elderly Ferrari 125 Formula One car, formerly owned and driven by Peter Whitehead. and entered Derek Bell for the Tasman Series' 1970 New Zealand Grand Prix. Bell finished second. Following that initial success, later that year he invested in a new a Brabham BT30 to run for Bell in the European Formula Two Championship. Bell again finished second. During the season he also entered the BT26, in full three-litre form, at the Race of Champions, where Bell suffered an accident in practice, and the Belgian Grand Prix, where the car retired.

At the 1971 Monaco Formula Three race Wheatcroft became acquainted with Roger Williamson, At the same time Wheatcroft even explored the potential for holding an Irish Grand Prix at Donington, but this too was vetoed by the RAC MSA. Wheatcroft's son, Kevin Wheatcroft has followed in his father's footsteps as a collector, establishing The Wheatcroft Collection of military vehicles in Leicester.