Peter Arundell, who died on 16 June, 2009, aged 75, was a British racing driver who represented Team Lotus in the mid 1960s.

He was considered a strong prospect for the future and a great supporting driver for Jim Clark who won two World Championships during Arundell's time on Lotus's books.

Earlier in his career he had won the British Formula Junior Championship twice, in '62 and '63.

But his promising career was ended prematurely following a serious injury in a race at Reims-Gueux.

He was born in Ilford, Essex, on 8 November, 1933, and began racing MGs at the age of 21. He did national service with the RAF before becoming a professional racing driver.

Such was his success in the Formula Junior class in the early '60s, his opponents accused him of using illegal engines. As well as his British Championships, he also won prestigious races at Monza and Monaco.

He made the step up to F1 in 1963, replacing the injured Trevor Taylor and competing for Lotus in non-championship races, while continuing his Formula Junior title defence.

The following year he made his championship début with two podium finishes in his first two races. But after only four Grand Prix he was seriously hurt after being thrown from his car in a high-speed crash during a Formula 2 race at the Reims-Gueux circuit in France.

It ruled him out of the rest of that season and the whole of the next.

He returned to F1 in 1966 but struggled all season with several retirements and only one point scored, leading him to give up F1 after just 11 races.

He went on to found the software company Mystique who made adult computer games in the 1980s.