I remeber when i was a kid that there was an english driver called Rupert Keegan, (did he drove alongside Alex Dias Ribeiro?) who at the time seemed to be very good, but after a few seasons, he retired. How really good was he?
What is the guy doing these days?
Polar
How good was Rupert Keegan
Started by
POLAR
, Nov 28 2001 17:10
4 replies to this topic
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#2
BRG
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Posted 28 November 2001 - 17:32
Courtesy of Darren Galpin's site:-
Keegan, Rupert (GB)
b 26/2/1955 (London)
1974 - UK FF1600
1975 - British F3
1976 - British F3. 2nd Shell Sport Championship (62 points), BP Super Visco
champion (74 points)
1977 - 12 F1 GP (Penthouse Rizla Racing - Hesketh Cos), 0 points
1978 - 13 F1 attempts (Surtees), 0 points. DNQ=5, DNS=2 (accidents)
1979 - Drove in Aurora F1 series, wining five races & Championship
1980 - 7 F1 attempts (RAM), 0 points. DNQ=3
1982 - 5 F1 attempts (March), 0 points. DNQ=2
1985 - Indycar (Machinists Union): 3 starts on road courses
1986 - Entered for Indy 500, but made no qualifying attempt; later sued Dick
Hammond for not providing him with a fast enough car
1995 - Sportscars (Porsche): 5th Monza. Drove Lister Storm in Le Mans 24hrs
Rupert was the son of Mike Keegan who owned a small British airline (BAF) and presumably was therefore not strapped for cash. He had a fiar career in the junior formula but nothing sensational. The teams he drove for in F1 were all a bit uncompetitive - more Minardi than McLaren - but even so, he didn't really show much potential - no points over four seasons is pretty poor, I fear. But he did well in the British national F1 series (Aurora) which he won in 1979, but this was really just club racing, albeit with some nice cars!
Overall, I don't think Rupert really deserved to be in F1 - I am not being nasty, he was a tidy enough driver but after all F1 is meant to be the pinnacle and he just wasn't really THAT good.
Keegan, Rupert (GB)
b 26/2/1955 (London)
1974 - UK FF1600
1975 - British F3
1976 - British F3. 2nd Shell Sport Championship (62 points), BP Super Visco
champion (74 points)
1977 - 12 F1 GP (Penthouse Rizla Racing - Hesketh Cos), 0 points
1978 - 13 F1 attempts (Surtees), 0 points. DNQ=5, DNS=2 (accidents)
1979 - Drove in Aurora F1 series, wining five races & Championship
1980 - 7 F1 attempts (RAM), 0 points. DNQ=3
1982 - 5 F1 attempts (March), 0 points. DNQ=2
1985 - Indycar (Machinists Union): 3 starts on road courses
1986 - Entered for Indy 500, but made no qualifying attempt; later sued Dick
Hammond for not providing him with a fast enough car
1995 - Sportscars (Porsche): 5th Monza. Drove Lister Storm in Le Mans 24hrs
Rupert was the son of Mike Keegan who owned a small British airline (BAF) and presumably was therefore not strapped for cash. He had a fiar career in the junior formula but nothing sensational. The teams he drove for in F1 were all a bit uncompetitive - more Minardi than McLaren - but even so, he didn't really show much potential - no points over four seasons is pretty poor, I fear. But he did well in the British national F1 series (Aurora) which he won in 1979, but this was really just club racing, albeit with some nice cars!
Overall, I don't think Rupert really deserved to be in F1 - I am not being nasty, he was a tidy enough driver but after all F1 is meant to be the pinnacle and he just wasn't really THAT good.
#3
POLAR
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Posted 28 November 2001 - 18:09
Gresat post, thanks a lot BRG. 
Polar
Polar
#4
Richard Jenkins
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Posted 28 November 2001 - 18:14
How good? Similar to how Jenson Button may turn out, I've always felt. Hugely hyped by his dad, but when things haven't gone well, Rupert, like Jenson, didn't do enough to 'correct' them. However, he would never have won in a top car. Diniz is another good similarity. He is now, as has been mentioned in at least three threads is a racing car driving instructor in the US.
#5
Barry Boor
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Posted 28 November 2001 - 18:14
Want to be a racing driver? Rich Dad! No problem!
