Became involved with management with Ferrari, whilst continuing to race from time to time, before his sad death in a road accident near Turin where his car collided with a lorry. Parkes was born into the automobile business as his father was the Chairman of Alvis. Mike originally worked as a development engineer for the Rootes Group and was chief engineer for Jaguar before taking up driving full-time. Because of both his height and his commitment to development and testing for Ferrari, he did not race in many single-seater events, but did win the 1967 International Trophy at Silverstone. Retired at the end of 1972 to work on projects with FIAT and Lancia, which included the Stratos rally car. He was also a qualified pilot.

Biography last updated 26 Jul 2023