User:AlexJ/Sandbox3

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AlexJ/Sandbox3
Motor racing team
Founded 1971
Country Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom
Team Principal(s) Ron Dennis
Neil Trundle
Former series Formula 2
Drivers' titles None
Teams' titles N/A
Folded 1974

Rondel Racing was a British racing team that competed in the Formula 2 series between 1971 and 1973. The team was founded by two ex-Brabham mechanics Ron Dennis and Neil Trundle. Rondel won five European Championship races before being forced to close down in 1973 due to lack of funding following the withdrawal of sponsor Motul.

Contents

[edit] Formation and 1971 season

At the end of the 1970 Formula One season, driver and team owner Jack Brabham retired from the sport and sold his shares in the Brabham team to Ron Tauranac. Jack Brabham's chief mechanic, Ron Dennis and another Brabham mechanic, Neil Trundle, decided to form their own racing team. Dennis and Trundle started the team with just £1,000, and the Brabham BT36 cars initially used by the team were bought on hire purchase from Tauranac. The name Rondel, came from the first name of Ron Dennis and a corruption of the last three letters of Trundle's name. Rondel were based in Old Windsor, Berkshire.[1]

For their first season the team attracted two-time Formula One World Champion Graham Hill, who was impressed with the professionalism and attention-to-detail shown by the team.[2] He was joined by his Brabham Formula One team-mate Tim Schenken. Hill secured Rondel their first victory in only the second round of that year's European F2 Championship at the BARC 200 event held at Thruxton Circuit in the UK. Schenken achieved three second places finishes during the season. Mid-season the team entered a third car, driven by Bob Wollek. Wollek qualified for two races, achieving a best finish of sixth position. Due to his Formula One success, Hill had an 'A' grading, and was unable to score championship points in the races. Schenken and Wollek however were, with Schenken finishing in fourth place in the championship and Wollek in 20th.

[edit] 1972 season

French oil company Motul agreed to sponsor the team from the 1972 season onward. Tim Schenken, Rondel's highest scoring driver in 1971, remained with the team but due to two points finishes in the Formula 1 World Championship the previous season he was given an 'A' grading and was therefore unable to score points. Bob Wollek also remained with the team and Carlos Reutemann joined from Automóvil Club Argentina. Initially, it was intended Reutemann would compete full time in the F2 series with Rondel, while the works Brabham Formula 1 team would draft him in when the race weekends did not clash. However from the middle of the season Brabham fielded a third car allowing Reutemann to contest all the remaining F1 races causing him to miss the F2 race at Albi, France.[3] Even so, he finished the championship in fourth position, equaling Tim Schenken's achievement for the team the previous season. Williams Formula One driver Henri Pescarolo drove occasionally for the Rondel team, in part due to Motul's title sponsorship of both Williams and Rondel, and it was Pescarolo that gave the team their first victory of the season at the eleventh round held at Pergusa. Schenken gave the team their other victory in the championship finale in Hockenheim.

[edit] 1973 season

For the 1973 season, Rondel aspired to be more than a customer car team and hired Ray Jessop to design their own car. The result was the Motul M1 which was named for the team's sponsor.[4] Up to five Motul M1's were fielded by the team in a race and as early as the round two of the championship, the car was victorious. Pescarolo won the race, with Wollek in second giving Rondel their first one-two finish. Partway through the 1973, the team moved to a new factory in Feltham, Middlesex.[1]

Rondel's final victory came at the Norisring where Tim Schenken won the race, with team-mates Tom Pryce and Henri Pescarolo in second and third position. The 1973 season saw a complicated points structure used, where races were divided into basic and complementary races with only a driver's first result from complementary races held in the same country eligible for points. This meant Tom Pryce was not awarded points for his second place finish at the Norisring, having competed in a previous complementary race in Germany at the Hockenheimring.

At end of 1973 season, Motul withdrew their sponsorship due to financial difficulties caused by the 1973 oil crisis forcing Rondel to wind up operations.[5]

[edit] Legacy

The Formula One car which had been designed for the team was sold to two other British businessmen, Tony Vlassopoulo and Ken Grob. They ran it under as a Token for the 1974 season before it was sold to Safir Engineering who ran it for some events in the 1975 season.

Ron Dennis would go onto to form three more racing teams, the last of which, Project 4, merged with McLaren putting Dennis in control of the F1 team. As of 2007, Dennis has lead McLaren to seven Formula One World Constructors Championships and nine World Drivers Championships.


[edit] Complete F2 European Championship results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position) (results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Chassis Engine Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Points EDC
1971 Brabham BT36 Cosworth FVA Series HOC THR EIF JAR CRP ROU MAN TUL ALB VA1 VA2
Graham Hill 2 1 5 DNQ 3 5 0 GRA
Tim Schenken 5 5 Ret 12 2 8 2 2 Ret 21 DNA 27 4th
Bob Wollek DNQ DNA DNS 8 6 DNQ 1 20th
Reine Wisell 21 0 NC
1972 Brabham BT38 Cosworth BDA Series MAL THR HO1 PAU CRP HO2 ROU OST IMO MAN PER SAL ALB HO3
Carlos Reutemann 3 DNS DNA 3 7 3 3 11 6 6 16 Ret 26 4th
Bob Wollek 13 DNA 3 7 10 10 9 6 2 11 DNA 13 3 Ret 21 7th
Tim Schenken DNS 5 15 1 0 GRA
Henri Pescarolo DNS 23 DNQ DNQ Ret DNA 1 DNA 7 0 GRA
Max Jean DNQ 13 0 NC
Derek Bell DNA 0 NC
Jean-Pierre Beltoise 6 Ret 0 GRA
Reine Wisell 8 DNA 0 GRA
Gerry Birrell Ret 0 NC
1973 Motul M1 Cosworth BDA Series
Cosworth FVA Series
MAL HO1 THR EIF PAU KIN NIV HO2 ROU MON MAN KAR PER SAL NOR ALB VAL
Henri Pescarolo 4 1 DNA 5 18 3 Ret 0 GRA
Jody Scheckter 12 Ret DNA DNA DNA 0 NC
Jean-Pierre Jaussaud 17 6 DNA 6 DNA 22 8 6 DNA DNA DNA 11 6 11th
Tim Schenken 21 Ret 2 3 3 20 3 4 4 1 7 0 GRA
Bob Wollek 22 2 6 5 8 24 DNS Ret 9 DNA 5 DNA 5 Ret 23 6th
Tom Pryce 11 15 Ret 5 Ret DNA DNA 2 15 2 28th

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Greaves, Jonathan. A Life In Motorsport.
  2. ^ Jackson, Jamie. "The kingmaker of Formula One", guardian.co.uk Sport, Guardian News and Media Limited, 2007-10-21. 
  3. ^ The team mate that everybody hated. 8W. Autosport-Atlas (November 1999).
  4. ^ People: Ron Dennis. GrandPrix.com. Inside F1, Inc..
  5. ^ Saward, Joe (2002-04-08). Who is... Ron Dennis?. GrandPrix.com. Inside F1, Inc..

All race results are taken from the http://www.formula2.net/