Paul Morgan

Who was Paul Morgan?

Paul John Morgan was a British engineer who co-founded Ilmor Engineering with Mario Illien in 1983. Ilmor had major successes providing engines for motorsport and won three Queen's Awards for Export Achievement. He was killed in a plane crash at Sywell, Northamptonshire on 12 May 2001.

Morgan was an engineer at Cosworth from 1970 to 1983. In 1983 he left Cosworth to form Ilmor with fellow engineer Mario Illien. Ilmor was set up with backing from Roger Penske and achieved its first race win powering Mario Andretti's Lola at the Long Beach Grand Prix. In 1989 Morgan and Illien decided to enter Formula One.

Paul Morgan was killed instantly when his Hawker Sea Fury over-turned on landing. David Coulthard won the Austrian Grand Prix the day after Morgan's death in a Mercedes-Ilmor powered McLaren. Coulthard refused to participate in the traditional champagne celebration as a mark of respect.

Morgan's widow reduced her shareholding of Ilmor in 2002, selling 10% to DaimlerChrysler. In 2005 DaimlerChrysler acquired all the remaining shares from Mrs. Morgan, Mario Illien and Roger Penske.