Interview: Ian Walker

Ian Walker has been in and around motor racing for over 50 years. He started as a competitor but was drawn to team management and ownership, and became one of the best known British privateers, along with that other Walker—Rob—for a long period of time. Like his namesake, he ran some of the best drivers of the 1960s, having a special agreement with Team Lotus, and thus had Jim Clark, Graham Hill and others in his stable alongside his ‘own’ drivers. Walker not only carved a name for himself and his team, but played an important part in the development of many Lotus cars, including the lightweight Lotus Elan and 26R. Our Ed McDonough sat down with Walker at the recent International Historic Motorsport Show to discuss his impressive career.

Let’s start with the obvious question. Where was your starting point in your long career in motorsport…was it in racing?