Peter Boshier-Jones was born in 1937 in Newport, south Wales, the son of Cecil and Phyllis. Peter has two brothers, David and Anthony. Both competed in motor sports – David with great success, winning three successive British titles. Cecil and his brother Fred ran an Austin Dealership in Newport.
Whilst a teenager, Peter competed with his pony in showjumping events alongside the likes of David Broome and Richard Meade, both of whom were later Olympic champions.
Peter completed national service with the Royal Army Service Corps. who supply the army with horses and provisions. Whilst with the RASC he trained horses and competed at the Royal Tournament, the Royal Windsor Horse Show and several minor Grade C showjumping classes.
Peter began motor racing in the mid-fifties with a MG TF with which he gained some success, getting a third place at a novice race at the MG Car Club Silverstone meeting in August 1956. He won the 750MC’s 1172cc championship in a Lotus Eleven in 1958, winning three races at Silverstone with further wins at Snetterton and Oulton Park.
He enjoyed a busy season of sports car racing in 1960, again driving his Lotus 11. He scored several podiums including a win at Goodwood in June that year. He also made his Great Auclum debut with his Lotus Eleven, winning his class and setting FTD for sports cars.
He continued to combine sports car racing and hillclimbing in 1961 with a Lola Mk1, winning races at every venue that he entered including Goodwood, Aintree and Crystal Palace. He won his class again that year at Great Auclum with a new class record. He also took FTD overall and won the British Hillclimb Championship run off.
In 1962 Peter once more combined circuit racing with hillclimbs, this time with a Lotus 23 sports car. He enjoyed podium success on the circuits, notably at Goodwood, however this was to be his last season of circuit racing as he now focused on hillclimbing. He entered the Lotus 23 at Great Auclum in 1962 and beat his own class record on the way to winning that class, before tying for third in the championship run-off with Mac Daghorn’s Cooper-JAP Mk10.
In 1963 he switched to a Lotus 22 single-seater and was unfortunate not to win the British Hillclimb Championship, but he faced stiff competition from the likes of Peter Westbury and Tony Marsh. He finished third in the championship behind Westbury and Marsh.
In 1964 he made FTD again at Great Auclum beating Westbury in the Ferguson P99 and broke the hill record. Peter also broke hill records at Shelsley Walsh, Rest-and-Be-Thankful and Prescott that year. He finished runner-up to Westbury in the hillclimb championship – just 3 points adrift.
He finished second again in 1965 behind Marsh and broke his own hill record at Great Auclum to win the championship run-off.
1966 was a less successful year but Peter finished a credible fifth, but his supercharged 1.3 Lotus 22 was now losing out to the now dominant V8s on the hills that required more horsepower. He again finished fifth in 1967 but then stepped back from hillclimbing until 1972 to concentrate on his motor business.
He returned to hillclimbing in 1972 with a more powerful car, a 3.5 Brabham BT21C Buick. He ran the same car in 1973 and finished in eighth place despite missing many rounds of the championship. He retired from motor racing at the end of 1973 to concentrate on his business.
Peter Boshier-Jones was one of the most successful drivers at Great Auclum where he set many class records and FTDs while his British championship win rate at the hill was 50%, which showed great speed and consistency.
Away from motor racing Peter is a gifted artist and tennis player. He has played for Team GB and won the Wimbledon Championship for the over 85s category in 2022, and the over 85 doubles in 2023.
With thanks to Peter and Mark Boshier-Jones