1968 Spence moved to the Ford-backed Alan Mann Racing team. He became one of the few people ever to drive the ill-fated Ford P68 in competition, although an engine mount failure on his own entry, followed by a driveshaft failure on the team's second car during the race, prevented Spence from reaching the chequered flag. Death Following Clark's death at Hockenheim in early April 1968, Colin Chapman invited Spence back to Lotus as part of their Indianapolis 500 team, with the race in late May. Spence was due to race the revolutionary Lotus 56 gas turbine car. During practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday, 7 May, Spence, driving the #60 Lotus 56 turbocar (later qualified and driven by Joe Leonard), ran a lap of – fastest of the month and second-fastest in track history. Later in the afternoon, Colin Chapman was asked by Andy Granatelli if Spence could take out turbocar #30 for a test run after driver Greg Weld had difficulty getting the car up to speed. Spence quickly got the car to a lap of , but early in the second lap, he misjudged his entry to turn one and collided heavily with the concrete wall. The right-front wheel of the Lotus swiveled backwards into the cockpit and struck Spence on the helmet; he died in the hospital later that evening at 9:45 pm from massive head injuries. His fastest lap speed set earlier that day was unsurpassed for the next five practice days. Racing record Complete Formula One World Championship results (key) 1Shared drive with Jim Clark. 2The Parnell Lotus driven by Spence in 1966 was a written-off 25 rebuilt around a 33 monocoque. Non-Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) 1The Parnell Lotus driven by Spence in 1966 was a written-off 25 rebuilt around a 33 monocoque. 24 Hours of Le Mans results References Biography at the Autocourse Grand Prix Archive Brief biography at gpracing192.net Formula One Championship and non-Championship results from GEL Motorsport Information World Sportscar Championship results at wspr-racing.com "Mike Spence: Out of the Shadows" by Richard Jenkins published 2021 ISBN 978-0-9576450-9-7 See also List of Indianapolis fatalities 1936 births 1968 deaths English racing drivers English Formula One drivers Filmed deaths in motorsport Team Lotus Formula One drivers BRM Formula One drivers Reg Parnell Racing Formula One drivers Racing drivers who died while racing