Yeoman Credit Racing

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Yeoman Credit Racing was a name used by two different Formula One motor racing teams in the early-1960s: the British Racing Partnership (1959-60); and Reg Parnell Racing (1960-63). The name was derived from commercial sponsorship arrangements, the first time that a Formula One racing team had changed their name in deference to sponsorship.

[edit] Brief history

The first team to benefit from this commercial relationship was the British Racing Partnership, run by Ken Gregory and Alfred Moss, who were sponsored by the Yeoman Credit Ltd. hire-purchase company from August 1959. Initially the team concentrated on the lesser formulae, but in 1960 they made the step up to Formula One. The team ran Coopers in both Formula One and Formula Two during 1960, with mixed success. Unfortunately, during this time four of the team's drivers were killed while racing their cars, and the Yeoman Credit management became concerned that the team was not generating solely positive publicity for their company.

In September 1960 the Yeoman Credit Racing identity and sponsorship funds were passed to the newly-formed Reg Parnell Racing team, as relations between BRP and Yeoman Credit had broken down, and BRP had sourced new funding from the United Dominions Trust. The Yeoman Credit team continued to field its dark-green-and-red liveried Coopers during 1961, but results did not come as expected and for 1962 the team decided to invest in their own cars. These were commissioned from Eric Broadley's Lola Cars company, and were the first Formula One design to emerge from the Lola stable. At the same time Yeoman Credit's parent company, Bowmaker Limited, decided that for the 1962 season the team's name should be changed to Bowmaker Racing. However, Broadley's Lola Mk4 cars did not prove as competitive as had been hoped, despite full works support from the Lola factory, and with no significant Formula One performances to their name Bowmaker withdrew their financial support before the start of the 1963 Formula One season. Reg Parnell Racing survived the loss of funds, and the death of owner Reg Parnell himself in 1964, and eventually merged with the British Racing Motors works team in the late 1960s.

[edit] References