Theodore Racing

Theodore

Full name	Theodore Racing
Base	Hong Kong
Founder(s)	Teddy Yip
Noted staff	Tony Southgate Jo Ramírez
Noted drivers	Patrick Tambay Keke Rosberg
Formula One World Championship career
Debut	1976 United States Grand Prix West
Races competed	64
Engines	Ford
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	0
Race victories	0
Podiums	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
Final race	1983 European Grand Prix

Theodore Racing (徳利賽車隊香港) was a Formula One constructor from Hong Kong founded by real estate magnate and millionaire Teddy Yip. They participated in 51 grands prix, entering a total of 64 cars. They scored 2 championship points.

History

In the early 1970s, amateur racer Yip met Sid Taylor and agreed to sponsor Vern Schuppan in Formula 5000. This led to Yip backing Schuppan in Formula 1 with Ensign in 1974. There followed further involvement in America with Schuppan and then support of Alan Jones in the US F5000 series in 1976. In Australia, Schuppan won the Rothmans International Series for Yip driving a Lola T332-Chevrolet in 1976. That year Yip established Theodore Racing. It was run by Taylor and entered an Ensign for Patrick Tambay in F1. After a difficult year in 1977, Yip commissioned Ron Tauranac to build him an F1 car. The car, called the Theodore TR1, was difficult and Eddie Cheever failed to qualify in both Brazil and Argentina but then Keke Rosberg took over and won the International Trophy at Silverstone in the wet, although he qualified for only one GP in South Africa. The car was abandoned in the mid-season. In the US, Yip supported Dan Gurney's Eagle team.

Theodore TR1 in historic racing

In 1979, Yip helped to fund Ensign but the car was not a success. The car was driven by Derek Daly, Patrick Gaillard, and Marc Surer but there were no points scored. At the end of the year Teddy also funded a British F1 programme with a Wolf WR6 for David Kennedy and helped Desiré Wilson to become the first woman to win a Formula 1 race – albeit a national event.

Yip bought the Shadow team at the beginning of 1980, and Kennedy also moved to it, but the results were poor, the team was by then on its last legs, and in the mid-summer, Yip decided to retire the team and to rethink his involvement in racing and ended most of his other activities to concentrate on F1.

With Sid Taylor and Julian Randles he established Theodore Racing Ltd. and recruited Tony Southgate and team manager Jo Ramírez. The new car was dubbed the TY01 and was driven by Patrick Tambay at the start of 1981. In mid-season Tambay moved to Ligier and Yip gave the drive to Marc Surer. The same car was developed in 1982 and it became obvious that small teams could not easily survive in the turbo era. Yip merged Theodore with Ensign and used the Nigel Bennett-designed Ensign N183 design as a Theodore. The team hired Johnny Cecotto and Roberto Guerrero but at the end of that season the team shut down and Mo Nunn moved to America, where he enjoyed great success as a race engineer through the 1980s and into the 1990s and eventually set up a successful team of his own in CART. 1983 also saw a guest drive in a Theodore by former Grand Prix driver Brian Henton at the non-championship 1983 Race of Champions where he finished a fine 4th, the highest a Theodore finished all season.

Macau Grand Prix

Yip ran a team each year at the Macau GP until the late 1980s and in 1983 was behind the switch from Formula Atlantic rules to Formula 3. The result was a huge success and Theodore Racing has won the event many times, notably with Ayrton Senna in the first year of F3.

On 23 October 2013 it was announced that the name Theodore Racing will be revived by Teddy Yip's son, Teddy Yip Jr., for the 2013 Macau Grand Prix to mark the 30th anniversary of Senna's victory in the event. After Briton Alex Lynn won the race, Teddy Yip Jr. said, "This was a fairytale way for the Theodore name to return to the great Macau Grand Prix in its anniversary year. To be with SJM to witness Alex's victory is an emotional day, and a fitting tribute to my father's contribution to this great Macau event."^[1]

Indy cars

Theodore began participating in Indy cars in 1977 as a sponsor for the Simpson Sport team in the USAC National Championship starting off the season with a pair of McLaren M16C-Offenhausers for Simpson to drive as No. 38 and for Steve Krisiloff to drive as No. 39. At the season-opening Datsun Twin 200 at Ontario Motor Speedway with Simpson finishing in 9th and Krisiloff retiring due to clutch issues. Krisiloff would then leave the team. At the Indianapolis 500 Simpson would retire from driving and Formula One driver Clay Regazzoni would first drive the No. 38. The car was then destroyed in a practice crash by Regazzoni. Regazzoni qualified the No. 39 in 29th place but retired from the race with a fuel leak after 25 laps, finishing in 30th place. After Indianapolis Rick Mears would drive the car starting at the Schafer's 500 at Pocono International Raceway. Mears would get a best finish of 5th place at the Tony Bettenhausen 200 at Wisconsin State Fairgrounds Park Speedway. Mears would finish 20th in the final point standings. Theodore would return in 1979 to sponsor All American Racers in the SCCA/CART PPG World Series for # Eagle 79-Cosworth DFX driven by Mike Mosley. Mosley would get a best finish of 3rd place at the Indianapolis 500, where he would also set the fastest lap of the race. Mosley would finish 10th in points. In 1980 Theodore returned with AAR and Mosley. They originally fielded the No. 48 Eagle 80-Cosworth DFX at the Datsun Twin 200 at Ontario Motor Speedway. In the race Mosley retired in 19th place due to a broken cylinder. Starting at the Indianapolis 500 the team replaced the Cosworth engine with a Chevrolet V8. Mosley qualified in 26th place and retired after 5 laps due to a broken gasket, finishing in 32nd place. the Theodore/AAR team appeared again at the True Value 500 at Pocono International Raceway before parting ways. In the race Mosley would qualify in 4th place and would finish in 23rd place after retiring due to a burnt piston. Mosley would finish 41st in points. In 1981 Theodore fielded their own car. They first appeared at the Indianapolis 500 (part of the USAC Gold Crown Series with the No. 33 Red Roof Inns McLaren M24-Cosworth DFX with Vern Schuppan driving. The car qualified in 18th place and finish in 3rd place. The team also raced at the Van Scoy Diamond Mines 500 at Pocono International Raceway. The car started in 5th place and retired in 17th place due to a loss of oil pressure. Schuppan went on the finish 10th in the USAC standings. The team also competed in the CART/PPG World Series, with Schuppan driving. The team first appeared at the Norton Michigan 500 at Michigan International Speedway finishing in 24th place due to a blown engine. The team then went into partnership with Thomas W. Barrett III for the AirCal 500K at Riverside International Raceway, the II Copa Mexico 150 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez and the Miller High Life 150 at Phoenix International Raceway. The team replaced the McLaren M24 with a March 81C for Riverside. Schuppan achieved a best finish of 15th place at Phoenix and finished 36th in points. At the 1982 Indianapolis 500 (counted toward the 1981–82 USAC Gold Crown Series) Theodore would field, with Bob Fletcher Racing a car for Desire Wilson, the No. 33 Eagle 81-Cosworth DFX. Wilson failed to qualify. In 1983 Theodore to supplied factory-backed chassis for Tom Sneva and Kevin Cogan, fielded by Bignotti-Carter Racing. The chassis was practised by the two at the Indianapolis 500. Both would use a March 83C in the race, which Sneva won and Cogan finished in 5th place. Later in the season Cogan used the chassis with a Cosworth DFX at the Promi Veal 200 at Road America and the Escort Radar Warning 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Cogan retired from Road America in 19th place due to an electrical problem and finished 6th at Mid Ohio and in 15th place in the final standings (most of the points were scored using a March chassis). The chassis was then used by Ed Wachs Motor Sports for Jim Crawford. Crawford achieved a 4th place finish at the season-opening Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach at the Streets of Long Beach. Crawford failed to qualify at the Indianapolis 500 and started one other race, the Meadowlands Grand Prix at the Meadowlands Sports Complex, retiring in 21st place due to broken suspension. Crawford would finish in 27th place in the final standings.

Complete Formula One results

Year	Chassis	Engine(s)	Tyres	Drivers	No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	WCC	Points
1976	March 761	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G			BRA	RSA	USW	ESP	BEL	MON	SWE	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	CAN	USA	JPN		—1	—1
				Ronnie Peterson	10			10
				Hans-Joachim Stuck	34			Ret
1977	Ensign N177	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G			ARG	BRA	RSA	USW	ESP	MON	BEL	SWE	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	USA	CAN	JPN	—1	—1
				Patrick Tambay	23										Ret	6	Ret	5	Ret	DNQ	5	Ret
1978	Theodore TR1	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G			ARG	BRA	RSA	USW	MON	BEL	ESP	SWE	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	USA	CAN		—	0
				Eddie Cheever	32	DNQ	DNQ
				Keke Rosberg				Ret	DNPQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNPQ
	Wolf WR3 WR4															10	NC	Ret	DNPQ				—1	—1
1981	Theodore TY01	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	M A			USW	BRA	ARG	SMR	BEL	MON	ESP	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	CAN	CPL			12th	1
				Patrick Tambay	33	6	10	Ret	11	DNQ	7	13
				Marc Surer									12	11	14	Ret	8	DNQ	9	Ret
1982	Theodore TY02 Theodore TY01	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	A G			RSA	BRA	USW	SMR	BEL	MON	DET	CAN	NED	GBR	FRA	GER	AUT	SUI	ITA	CPL		—	0
				Derek Daly	33	14	Ret	Ret
				Jan Lammers						DNQ	DNQ	DNQ		Ret	DNQ	DNQ
				Geoff Lees									Ret
				Tommy Byrne													DNQ	Ret	DNQ	DNQ	Ret
1983	Theodore N183	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G			BRA	USW	FRA	SMR	MON	BEL	DET	CAN	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	EUR	RSA			13th	1
				Johnny Cecotto	34	14	6	11	Ret	DNPQ	10	Ret	Ret	DNQ	11	DNQ	DNQ	12
				Roberto Guerrero	33	NC	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNPQ	Ret	NC	Ret	16	Ret	Ret	12	13	12

¹ Not entered as a Constructor.

External website

• Theodore Racing Archive

References