Peter Ryan

Peter Ryan was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame as one of the initial inductees in 1993.

Peter Ryan was born on June 23, 1982 in Kilkenny, Ireland.

In the first 3-hr Daytona Continental GT and sports car race at Daytona on February 11, 1962, Ryan finished 15th overall, sharing a Ferrari 3.0-litre with Ricardo Rodriguez. The previous day he had finished fifth in the Lurani Trophy Race for Formula Junior cars, driving a Lotus 20. At Sebring on March 24, 1962, Ryan, teamed with John Fulp, finished thirteenth overall in the Florida International 12-Hour Grand Prix of Endurance, driving a Ferrari 248 SP for the North American Racing Team.

At Sebring on March 25, 1961, Ryan, teamed with Frances Bradley and Ludwig Heimrath, finished eighth overall in the Florida International 12-Hour Grand Prix of Endurance, driving a Porsche RS. In June 1961 Ryan withdrew from a race at Mosport. He "was expected to give Moss his stiffest competition, but did not compete. He withdrew at the last minute. Ryan, a member of the Sports Car Club of America, feared he would lose his amateur status in the United States if he entered the race. The S.C.C.A. ordered its members not to compete in the Canadian race because prize money was being given." In July 1961 Peter Ryan (Comstock Sadler-Chevrolet) was leading the Meadowdale Grand Prix when Roger Penske (Maserati birdcage Telar Special): "banged into him from the rear on the 18th lap." Ryan clung on to the lead, but after spinning recovered to finish second. On August 6, 1961, Ryan won the Vanderbilt Cup for Formula Junior cars at Bridgehampton, New York, driving a Lotus 20, averaging 87.95 miles an hour.

On April 25, 1959, Denise McCluggage, writing in Competition Press, reported: "Peter Ryan of the Mont Tremblant Ryans bought Bernie Vihl's beautifully kept old 550 Porsche in which to take up racing-sports car racing that is. Peter at 19, is an old hand at ski racing being a downhill expert." Ryan's successes came in sports cars racing in Canada, the US and Nassau. On October 1, 1960, Ryan co-drove with Roger Penske in a Porsche RS60 to win the six-hour Sundown Grand Prix at Harewood, in Ontario, Canada. The next week Ryan was entered in the 230-mile Formula Libre road race at Watkins Glen, New York. In qualifying he was "the surprise of the day, taking the fifth position over England's Roy Salvadori." Ahead of him were Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Joakim Bonnier and Olivier Gendebien. He was driving the Bill Sadler Formula Libre special, known as "Formula Ferocious," a rear-engined single-seater device, when his motor blew on lap 56.

Ryan first came to prominence as a skier, winning the National Ski Association's junior downhill championship at Mount Rose, Nevada, in 1957. "Immediately after Ryan's victory, Americans protested that Canadians could not win an American championship." The protest was disallowed. His Olympic prospects were such that a dispute arose as to which country he should represent. The Americans asserted that he: "was born in the United States as were his father, the late Joseph P. Ryan, and his mother." Ryan expressed a preference for the Canadian team: "But while he would like to ski for Canada, he wouldn't care to give up his American citizenship." "An outstanding skier, Ryan shifted to auto racing in 1959 after a ski crackup in which both his legs were broken."

Peter B. Ryan (June 10, 1940 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States – July 2, 1962 in Paris, France) was an American-born Canadian racecar driver from Mont-Tremblant, Quebec. He had a short Formula One career. He participated in one Grand Prix, the 1961 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, finishing ninth. He scored no championship points. However, he became the first Canadian ever to take part in a Formula One Grand Prix.