Editing Mike Hawthorn (section)

==Death==
[[File:1959 Jaguar 3.4 Litre (XLK 495).jpg|thumb|180px|A 1959 Jaguar 3.4 Mk.1]]
On 22 January 1959, only three months into his retirement, Hawthorn died in a car accident on the [[A3 road|A3]] Guildford [[Bypass (road)|bypass]] near Onslow Village, while driving his comprehensively modified 1958 [[Jaguar 3.4-litre]] saloon (now known as the 3.4 Mk 1) VDU 881 to London. While the circumstances of the accident are well documented, the precise cause remains unknown.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mike Hawthorn's fatal accident|url=http://www.mike-hawthorn.org.uk/finality.php|access-date=30 October 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151219120038/http://www.mike-hawthorn.org.uk/finality.php|archive-date=19 December 2015}}</ref>

The accident occurred on a notoriously dangerous section of the road, the scene of 15 serious accidents (two fatal) in the previous two years; the road was also wet at the time. Driving at speed (one witness estimated 80 [[miles per hour|m.p.h.]]), Hawthorn overtook a [[Mercedes-Benz 300SL]] 'gull-wing' sports car driven by an acquaintance, the motor racing team manager [[Rob Walker (motorsport)|Rob Walker]]. On entering a right-hand bend shortly after passing the Mercedes, Hawthorn clipped a 'Keep Left' bollard dividing the two carriageways, causing him to lose control. The Jaguar glanced an oncoming [[Bedford Vehicles|Bedford]] lorry before careering back across the eastbound carriageway sideways into a roadside tree, uprooting it. The impact caused Hawthorn fatal head injuries and propelled him onto the rear seat.
[[File:Mike Hawthorn Grave Farnham 2019.jpg|thumb|180px|Hawthorn's grave in [[West Street Cemetery]] in Farnham]]
There was inevitable speculation that Hawthorn and Walker had been racing each other, fuelled by Walker's persistent refusal at the coroner's inquest to estimate the speed of his own car at the time.<ref name="Farnham">''Farnham Herald'', 30 January 1959. How Mike Hawthorn met his death. (Report of coroner's inquest, Guildford Town Hall).[http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/history-from-police-archives/RB1/Pt3/pt3Hawthorn.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924060906/http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/history-from-police-archives/RB1/Pt3/pt3Hawthorn.html|date=24 September 2015}}</ref> In an interview with motor racing journalist [[Eoin Young]] and writer [[Eric Dymock]] in 1988, Walker admitted he had indeed been racing Hawthorn, but had been advised by a police officer investigating the accident to make no further mention of it lest he incriminate himself.<ref name=Dymock>Dymock, E. (2011). Mike Hawthorn & Rob Walker. ''Books and eBooks on Cars and Motoring'', 31 October 2011. Dove Publishing Ltd. {{cite web |url=http://www.dovepublishing.co.uk/2011/10/mike-hawthorn-and-rob-walker.html |title=Books and ebooks on cars and motoring from Dove Publishing Limited: Mike Hawthorn and Rob Walker |access-date=2013-06-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130620050208/http://www.dovepublishing.co.uk/2011/10/mike-hawthorn-and-rob-walker.html |archive-date=20 June 2013}}</ref>

Possible causes of the accident include driver error, a blackout, or mechanical failure, although examination of the wreck revealed no obvious fault. There is evidence that Hawthorn had recently suffered blackouts, perhaps because of kidney failure.<ref>[http://www.mike-hawthorn.org.uk Mike Hawthorn - 1958 World Champion Tribute]. Mike-hawthorn.org.uk. Retrieved on 2013-08-16.</ref> By 1955, Hawthorn had already lost one kidney to infection, and had begun suffering problems with the other; he was expected at the time to live only three more years.<ref name="BBC Four">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00sfptx/b00sfptq/The_Deadliest_Crash_the_Le_Mans_1955_Disaster/ Deadliest Crash:the Le Mans 1955 Disaster] [[BBC Four]] documentary, broadcast 16 May 2010</ref>

At the [[Inquests in England and Wales|coroner's inquest]] on 26 January the jury returned a verdict of accidental death.<ref>{{cite web|title=Open University – Surrey Constabulary Archives|url=http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/history-from-police-archives/RB1/Pt3/pt3Hawthorn.html|access-date=30 October 2014|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924060906/http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/history-from-police-archives/RB1/Pt3/pt3Hawthorn.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Hawthorn was buried in [[West Street Cemetery]] in Farnham.