Colin Crabbe Racing
| Full name | Colin Crabbe Racing aka Colin Crabbe - Antique Automobiles aka Antique Automobiles Racing Team |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | Colin Crabbe |
| Noted drivers |  Vic Elford Ronnie Peterson |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| First entry | 1969 Monaco Grand Prix |
| Races entered | 14 |
| Constructors | Cooper McLaren March |
| Engines | Maserati V12 Cosworth DFV V8 |
| Final entry | 1970 United States Grand Prix |
Colin Crabbe Racing, also known as Colin Crabbe - Antique Automobiles and Antique Automobiles Racing Team, was a Formula One team run by Colin Crabbe, a noted dealer in historic racing cars, that entered a single car in 17 races in 1969 and 1970. Vic Elford and Ronnie Peterson drove for the team, the cars used being a Cooper T86, a McLaren M7B and a March 701.[1]
Background
Colin Crabbe is a well-known collector and dealer of historic racing cars, one of his most famous acquisitions being the pre-war Mercedes-Benz W125 now owned by Bernie Ecclestone.[2] In 1966 and 1967 he entered several sportscar races as a driver, first in an Aston Martin DB4GT at Silverstone, then in a Ford GT40 in various races in Europe and southern Africa.[3]
1969 season
At the 1969 Race of Champions "Antique Automobiles" made what appears to be the first F1 entry for Colin Crabbe's team, with Roy Pike non-starting due to a fuel pump failure in a Climax-engined Brabham BT23B.[4] A 1967 Cooper T86 Maserati was then entered at the International Trophy, Madrid Grand Prix and Monaco Grand Prix, Neil Corner driving in Spain and Vic Elford driving in the other two.[5] Elford's Monaco entry was somewhat historic, marking the last F1 race for both Cooper as contructor and Maserati as an engine supplier.
The McLaren M7B, an experimental version of the car with unique low-slung pannier fuel tanks, was then obtained along with a Cosworth DFV engine to replace the rather slow Cooper, which was sold to Swiss car collector Walter Grell.[6] Elford drove the McLaren in a further four Grand Prix that year, finishing tenth at Zandvoort and finishing the next two races in the points with fifth at Clermont Ferrand and sixth at Silverstone. The German Grand Prix was the team's last F1 race that year, as Elford crashed out and wrote off the chassis.[7][8]
1970 season
References
- ^ http://www.chicanef1.com/indiv.pl?name=Antique%20Automobiles%20%2F%20Colin%20Crabbe%20Racing&type=a
- ^ http://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/mercedes-w125-story-its-discovery-1960s
- ^ http://www.racingsportscars.com/driver/results/Colin-Crabbe-GB.html
- ^ http://www.statsf1.com/en/1969-hc/grand-prix-261.aspx
- ^ http://www.silhouet.com/motorsport/archive/f1/nc/1969/1969.html#roc
- ^ http://kidston.com/kidston-cars/52/
- ^ http://forix.com/driver.php?l=0&d=0&r=1935061000&c=51&rcp=1969&rsc=0&rst=1000
- ^ http://www.oldracingcars.com/f1/type.php?TypeID=M7A