Keith Ripp

A driver who built his reputation during the 1970s when rallycross was a staple of Saturday afternoon TV in the UK. Racing Minis throughout the formative stages of his career, during which time the high profile of rallycross because of its regular TV coverage also helped Rippin build the profile of his aftermarket tuning and parts company Ripspeed. Ripp achieved his greatest successes with a Ford Fiesta bagging a hat-trick of British Rallycross Championship titles in 1981, ’82 and ’83. With a new generation of four-wheel drive cars coming into the sport, and with the effects of injuries sustained in a period when safety equipment was less well developed continuing to affect him, Ripp decided to end his driving career after the 1984 season. Appropriately he won his last ever British Championship event, the final of the 1984 series, with a two-litre Fiesta.  Keith Ripp died in July 2020.