[2] In the late 1940s, Parker was running a small engineering firm in South London and inherited a 500 cc (31 cu in) racing car from an adjacent company.
[3] In theory, his home-produced car should not have been competitive but he still managed 10 wins during the season[3] and third place in the Monaco Grand Prix Formula Three support race.
[1] 1951 was the inaugural season for the British Formula Three Championship and Parker acquired a James Bottoms Special (JBS) chassis and was provided with works JAP engines.
[3] In 1952, Parker began an important long-term racing partnership with Cyril Kieft, who had left the British steel industry upon its nationalisation.
[4] The season proved a successful one for Parker with a total of 22 wins and the Autosport Formula Three championship, together with the Light Car Challenge and Veterans Trophy.
Continuing to develop the Kieft chassis to his own specification, he achieved 30 wins and a further 12 podium finishes out of 44 races and took the title for a second consecutive season.
However, although Moss had by then moved on to other categories, Cooper, with their new Mk IX design, had a strong driver line-up including Jim Russell, Ivor Bueb, Cliff Allison and Stuart Lewis-Evans.
A number of his rivals from previous series had moved to other categories but his experience enabled him to compete effectively against a new set of younger drivers.
[3] Parker received offers from Lotus and Lister to race in other categories but declined them as he lacked confidence in his own abilities.
[4] Parker's childhood was unconventional in that his education was often interrupted by calls to assist in his father's horse-trading business and he left home at the age of 12, eventually finding his way into the engineering industry.