Michael Henderson Spence (30 December 1936 – 7 May 1968) was a British racing driver from England. He participated in 37 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 8 September 1963. He achieved one podium, and scored a total of 27 championship points. He also participated in numerous non-Championship Formula One races, as well as sports car racing. Early career Spence was born in Purley, Surrey, and began his motorsport career driving his father's Turner and an AC Ace sports car. Spence moved into open-wheel racing in Formula Junior in 1960. Spence drove the Emeryson in two non-Championship Formula One races in , the Solitude Grand Prix near Stuttgart and the Lewis-Evans Trophy at Brands Hatch. He retired early from the Solitude race with a gearbox failure, but finished second behind Tony Marsh's BRM in the Lewis-Evans Trophy. These results prompted moves to the privateer Ian Walker Racing FJ team for 1962, driving a Lotus 22, and then to the works Lotus Formula Junior squad in 1963. Despite disappointing results in his first Formula Junior season with a major team, with fourth place in the British Grand Prix FJ support race his best result, towards the end of Spence was called up to the Lotus Formula One team, taking the place of the injured Trevor Taylor at the Italian Grand Prix. Driving the Lotus 25, Spence qualified ninth and was classified 13th in the race despite the car's oil pressure fading near the end, while team-mate Jim Clark took the win and with it the Drivers' Championship. Formula One With Lotus signing Peter Arundell as Clark's team-mate for , Spence spent most of the early season driving in Formula Two events. However, shortly before the British Grand Prix, Arundell suffered a severe accident in an F2 race at Reims-Gueux, and Spence was called up to replace him in the F1 team for the rest of the season. Driving both the Lotus 25 and the Lotus 33, Spence managed points finishes in two World Championship races, sixth in Italy and fourth at the season finale in Mexico. This gave him four points, placing him equal 12th in the Drivers' Championship. Staying with Lotus for , Spence finished fourth in the season opener in South Africa, then won the prestigious Race of Champions at Brands Hatch and finished third in the International Trophy at Silverstone. But over the rest of the