British former-Formula 1 driver, Peter Gethin, has died aged 71 after battling a long-term illness.
Gethin is best known for his sole victory at the 1971 Italian Grand Prix which was the closest ever finish to a race, with the gap from first to fifth (Gethin, Ronnie Peterson, Francois Cevert, Mike Hailwood and Howden Ganley) standing at just 0.061 seconds.
He drove 14 championship races for McLaren between 1970 and 1971 before joining BRM mid-way through the season where he remained for 16 grands prix up until 1973.
His final race came with Embassy Racing – a team set-up by Graham Hill – in 1974 at the British GP.
Gethin started 30 races, won one – his only podium finish – and scored 11 points.
The Brit did win two further non-championship races at Brands Hatch in 1971 and 1973 as part of the World Championship Victory Race and the Race of Champions respectively.
He also won the 1974 Tasman Series F5000 crown and took his last competitive victory in the Road America Can-Am in 1977.
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