.

He tuned the 1984 Toyota Corolla and appeared in commercials for the company.

Despite never winning a championship Formula 1 Grand Prix, Amon won eight non-championship races, the Silverstone International Trophy, the Monza 1000, the Daytona 24 Hours, the Tasman Cup, and the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans.

He ended the year driving a Brabham at the 1965 Italian Grand Prix under the “Chris Amon Racing” banner but failed to qualify.

Amon’s biggest success to date came in 1966 when he partnered with Bruce McLaren to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a 7-litre Ford GT40 Mark II. This victory led to an invitation to meet Enzo Ferrari, resulting in Amon signing with Ferrari for the 1967 season.

Amon’s first year with Ferrari began tragically, with teammate Lorenzo Bandini dying in a crash at Monaco, and Mike Parkes and Ludovico Scarfiotti also facing injuries and retirement.

There was a four-foot embankment there and barbed wire in the meadow about ten feet back from the road. His reputation for bad luck was so strong that fellow driver Mario Andretti once joked, “If he became an undertaker, people would stop dying.”

Chris Amon was the only child of wealthy sheep-owner Ngaio Amon.

Bristow's Cooper hit the bank and rolled over; he was hurled into the barbed wire, which decapitated him and killed him instantly.

With regard to Bristow's unruly driving style, a friend of his said after the accident, "We all knew this was going to happen. However, his impressive performance in the rain at Lakeside with Scuderia Veloce caught the eye of English racing driver Reg Parnell, who persuaded Amon to race for his team in England.

After leaving school, he convinced his father to buy him an Austin A40 Special, which he entered in minor local races and hill climbs. He also won the Daytona 24 Hours and Monza 1000 with Bandini.

In 1968, Amon worked with engineer Mauro Forghieri on aerodynamics and achieved several pole positions but faced mechanical issues that prevented race wins.

Bruce McLaren quickly signed Amon for his new team, but without a second McLaren F1 car, Amon primarily drove in CanAm races.

Amon rejoined Parnell for the 1965 French Grand Prix to stand in for an injured Attwood and was promoted to second driver for the 1965 German Grand Prix, though mechanical failures continued to plague his races. Amon teamed with the experienced Maurice Trintignant, faced typical bad luck, including mechanical failures and accidents.

Cars regularly sped through the Burnenville corner at 120 miles per hour. In the early 1980s, he became a well-known figure in New Zealand, test-driving vehicles on the TV show Motor Show and consulting for Toyota New Zealand. Despite this, he secured ten Championship points and numerous near-victories.

Amon began 1969 with success in the Tasman Cup but continued to face bad luck in F1.

Frustrated by Ferrari’s unreliable engine, he left the team, missing out on their successful new flat-12 engine in the 1970s.

For the 1970 F1 season, Amon joined March Engineering, achieving notable finishes but again faced mechanical failures. He finally retired from F1 in 1976 after witnessing Niki Lauda‘s horrific crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix, which was the final straw for him.

After retiring from F1, Amon returned to New Zealand to run the family farm.

Bristow wrecked his Yeoman Credit RacingCooper T51 at the Burnenville corner on lap twenty while fighting to stay in front of the Ferrari of Willy Mairesse.

Bristow and Alan Stacey died in close proximity and within a few minutes of one another.

Bristow was the son of a garage owner from London, and was unmarried. He raced in 102 Grand Prix, scoring 83 Championship points and reaching the podium eleven times.

Amon died in Rotorua Hospital on 3 August 2016, aged 73, of cancer.

See why Chris Amon is often considered the greatest F1 driver never to win a race in our full feature on the sport’s finest winless talents.

Chris Amon Formula One World Championship career

F1 Career	1963–1976
Teams	Cooper, Amon, Ferrari, March, Matra, Tecno, Tyrrell, BRM, Ensign, Wolf–Williams, Non-works: Lola, Lotus, Brabham
Entries	108 (96 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	11
Career points	83
Pole positions	5
Fastest laps	3
First entry	1963 Monaco Grand Prix
Last entry	1976 Canadian Grand Prix

Chris Amon Teammates

Complete Formula One Results

Sources: Wikipedia.com