FORMER Formula 1 owner and Gloucester rugby chairman Tom Walkinshaw, 64, who had been suffering from cancer, has died (on 12 December). During his career the Scot, born near Penicuik, ran the Benetton, Ligier and Arrows Formula 1 teams and was pivotal in Benetton's rise to a championship-winning team in the 1990s. But he was arguably best known for his spectacular achievements with Jaguar in both touring cars and sportscars.

Walkinshaw began as a single-seater racer, winning a Scottish Formula Ford title in 1969, before really making his name in touring cars, where he was highly successful as both a driver and as a team owner with his TWR operation, which would also spread to a network of garages. The highlight of his touring car career was a European title for Jaguar in 1984, and Walkinshaw's success for the manufacturer saw TWR commissioned to run Jaguar's return to top-level sportscar racing.