Les Leston
Les Leston
| Les Leston | |
| Les started a new business, initially as a spin off from Aero-Spares, selling motor accessories based in High Holborn, London. Helped by the publicity from his racing, Leston's Motor Accessories soon became a thriving business selling all the go faster gear that any sporting motorist could want and soon branched out into marketing safety equipment. Fire was the biggest fear for racing drivers and Les experimented with various fire retardant chemicals before Nomex became available. His cause was helped by the support of Peter Proctor who had been badly burned in an accident. For 1952, Les often used the Leston Special, originally his JBS, modified by Ray Martin to adapt the rear suspension to swing axle and rubber bands which he ran with distinctive white wall tyres. Confusingly, he also ran a Cooper Mk VI which was sometimes entered as the Leston Special. Leston had a number of wins during 1952 including Castle Combe in May, Brands in June, Prescott in July, Silverstone in September and Prescott in the same month, Brough and Silverstone in October to finish second to Don Parker in the National Formula 3 Championship and take the Seaman Trophy. He also won the Grand Prix at Luxembourg in May beating Carter, Collins, Coombs, Parker and Moss. A green cover for Autosport to honour Les' international win at the Luxembourg Grand Prix. Derek Wyborn is in the check shirt and Ken Carter in the suit.
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| More success followed in '53 with wins at Brough, Brands Hatch (three times) Crystal Palace, the Oulton Park Inaugural Meeting, and Silverstone. Nearly all were in the Leston Special for which Les earned the Light Car Trophy and took second in the overall championship, again to Don Parker, with Reg Bicknell in his Revis in third. Cooper's had a poor season by their high standards so for 1954, Leston joined the marque as a works driver, alongside Stuart Lewis-Evans in the new Mk VIII. Coopers had always taken a conservative approach to new car development but, stung by their lack of success in '53, the new car was rather more radical, featuring a new space frame chassis and establishing their trade mark curved chassis tubes to enable a far more bullet like profile. The 1954 car was certainly a step forward but Les and Stuart would now have things their own way. "The Don" was now in his final and definitive Parker Kieft, Reg had an aerodynamic nose on the Revis, "Ivor the Driver" acquired a Mk VIII as did up and coming Jim Russell and Moss would guest in the Beart-Cooper. |
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1954 would prove to be the most competitive season of Formula 3 with five leading drivers fighting for the podium and no one driver establishing a clear advantage. Les netted eight major wins, including the Earl of March Trophy plus numerous podiums and heat wins but the title was only decided at the final race of the year on Boxing Day at Brands Hatch. A last minute addition to the calendar, Les used the brand new Cooper Mk IX, he was beaten by Ivor and Stuart in older Mk VIIIs but, crucially, stayed ahead of Don Parker to clinch the title by the slenderest possible margin. Some results for Les in 1954:
In 1955, Les raced in a variety of formulas as works driver for Connaught and his own Cooper sports car as well as occasional Formula 3 outings. He continued to race into the 60s with drivers for Aston Martin, BRM, his own Cooper in Formula 2 and Lotus Elite (DAD10, a reference to his jazz drumming days) plus works rallies for Rootes and Volvo, before retiring to live in Hong Kong in the early '70s. Les was also a Director of the British Racing and Sports Car Club, successor to the Half-Litre Car Club, and instrumental in the first racing car show held in London in 1960. Les Leston passed away in May 2012. | |
| Cartoon of Les, published by Shell in 1956 |
Driving his Lotus Elite |
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Les Leston was born Alfred Lazarus Fingleston, in December 1920, near Nottingham. His father, a coal and general merchant, moved the family to London and anglicised their surname in the 1920s. Les was an accomplished jazz musician and played drums for the Clay Pigeons alongside 
Leading Jim Russell through the Bomb Hole at Snetterton in Spring 1954.
