VISCOUNT DOWNE, landowner, motor racing enthusiast and champion of rural life, has died after a long illness at the age of 67.

Lord Downe - his Christian name was John - held many positions in his public life. He was a former independent member of North Yorkshire County Council, president of the Yorkshire Rural Community Council and of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, and chairman of the former Council for Small Industries in Rural Areas in North Yorkshire, and its successor, the Rural Development Commission.

His estate enterprise at Wykeham, near Scarborough, involved forestry, tourism, minerals and commercial sporting, while his industrial activities spanned the fields of optical fibres, electronic instruments and systems, computers and micro-biology. He was also a non-executive director of the Yorkshire Bank.

Lord Downe's many other interests included being chairman of the National Railway Museum at York, president of the North York Moors Railway Trust, a past member of the North York Moors National Park Committee, and president of Scarborough YMCA. He was also a deputy lieutenant of North Yorkshire, Lord of the Manor of Danby, and headed a major farming company.

His estate also runs St Helen's-in-the-Park caravan site at Wykeham, Wykeham Lakes, and Wykeham Farms.

In London, he founded Brookdeal Electronics Ltd.

He was a godson of King George V and the holder, as the 11th Viscount, of a peerage created by King Charles II in 1681.

Lord Downe inherited the title in 1965 on the death of his father and it now passes to his son, Richard.

He was well-known as a motor racing enthusiast, with Aston Martins being his speciality. His Nimrod model came seventh overall in the 24-hour race at Le Mans in 1982 - the first British-made car to cross the finishing line.

His stable also boasted an Aston Martin prototype built in 1961 specially for the Le Mans, and an Aston Martin DBR1 - the car driven by Stirling Moss in the 1959 Le Mans which was won by the Aston Martin team, although Moss failed to finish.

An old Etonian and ex-Grenadier Guard, the estate he headed covers some 20,000 acres.

He is survived by his wife, Diane, son, and daughter.

The funeral is to be held at the parish church of All Saints and St Helen's, Wykeham, at noon tomorrow (Friday) followed by private interment in the ruins of Wykeham Abbey adjoining the family seat.

Updated: 10:08 Thursday, March 21, 2002