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CRS Racing is a British
auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...
team founded by British driver Andrew Kirkaldy and Canadian-Greek driver and entrepreneur Chris Niarchos. The team was founded in 2007, but is based on the former team of Kirkaldy known as Team AKA which competed in the
British Formula Renault Championship British Formula Renault Championship referred to one of two Formula Renault championships that were held in the United Kingdom. The main series was Renault Sport UK's Formula Renault 2.0 UK championship which was held from 1989 to 2011 and was ge ...
starting in 2004. Niarchos, founder of the Cobra Group, sponsored and then partnered with Kirkaldy's team before it was reformed in 2007 in order to expand beyond Formula Renault to enter the European
FIA GT Championship The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout ...
and
British GT Championship The British GT Championship is a sports car racing series based predominantly in the United Kingdom. The series was originally created by the British Racing Drivers' Club in 1993 and, for its first two seasons, was known as the National Sports GT ...
. In 2010 CRS Racing partnered with
McLaren Automotive McLaren Automotive (formerly known as McLaren Cars) is a British luxury automotive manufacturer based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, England. The main products of the company are supercars, which are produced in-house in designated ...
to develop their sports car program, eventually rebranding as McLaren GT to build and maintain their customer cars. CRS Racing concentrated solely on McLaren GT after 2012.


History

Andrew Kirkaldy's Team AKA debuted in the British Formula Renault championship in 2004, led by driver
James Jakes James Jakes (born 4 August 1987 in Leeds, West Yorkshire) is a British racing driver. Career T-Cars Jakes started his racing career in 2002 competing in 5 rounds of the T-Car Championship. In 2003 James continued in T-cars, finishing 2nd ...
, who went on to earn tenth in the Drivers Championship before leading the team to third in the series in 2005. It was however Swedish driver Alexander Storckenfeldt who earned Team AKA their first Formula Renault victory at the
Thruxton Circuit The Thruxton Circuit is a motor-racing circuit located near the village of Thruxton in Hampshire, England, United Kingdom, about 30 miles north of Southampton. It has hosted motorsport events including the British Touring Car Championship, B ...
. Team AKA also entered Jakes in the Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup. Jakes' third place in the British championship earned him a nomination for the
McLaren Autosport BRDC Award The Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Award is an award set up in 1989 to reward and recognise young racing drivers from the UK. As its names suggest, the award is backed by Aston Martin, motorsport magazine Autosport, and the British Racing Drivers' Cl ...
. As Jakes and Storckenfeldt moved to other series, AKA hired
Jeremy Metcalfe Jeremy Metcalfe (born 9 April 1988 in Fleet, Hampshire) is a British motor racing driver who last competed in 2008 in the British GT Championship where he finished the season as Vice-Champion along with team-mate Luke Hines. Racing in the For ...
, Peter Rees, and Irishman Patrick Hogan. Hogan led the team with six wins and tied
Sebastian Hohenthal Sebastian Hohenthal (born 5 November 1984 in Mora) is a former racing driver from Sweden. Career Karting Hohenthal competed in kart racing from 1995 to 2000. During this period he won the Dalacupen Formula Micro in 1996, the Tom Trana Trophy IC ...
on points but earned second in the championship by the
tiebreaker In games and sports, a tiebreaker or tiebreak is used to determine a winner from among players or teams that are tied at the end of a contest, or a set of contests. General operation In matches In some situations, the tiebreaker may consi ...
. AKA also earned second place in the Teams Championship behind
Fortec Motorsport Fortec Motorsport Ltd. is a motor-racing team that races in the GB3 Championship. The team was bought in 1995 by current owner Richard Dutton. Past drivers for the team include Juan Pablo Montoya, Gianmaria Bruni, Danny Watts, Jamie Green, Jame ...
. In 2007 Chris Niarchos approached Kirkaldy with sponsoring of Team AKA in their fourth season of the British Formula Renault Championship. Niarchos and Kirkaldy had previously been teammates on the Scuderia Ecosse team which competed in the
FIA GT Championship The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout ...
. Team AKA then became known as AKA Cobra and hired
Adam Christodoulou Adam Robert Christodoulou (born 11 June 1989, in Lichfield) is a Greek-British racing driver, who won the 2008 British Formula Renault Championship, also won the 2009 Star Mazda Championship in the United States. His less successful cousin Ri ...
, Chris Holmes, and Australian
Nathan Caratti Nathan or Natan may refer to: People *Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name *Nathan (surname) *Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible * Nathan (son of David), biblical figure, son of King David an ...
to drive alongside the returning Metcalfe. Christodoulou finished fourth in the championship while Metcalfe earned two wins over the season. AKA Cobra once again completed the season second in the Teams Championship, trailing Fortec. Following the 2007 season, Niarchos' interest in the team expanded as the two wished to enter their own team in not only the FIA GT Championship but the
British GT Championship The British GT Championship is a sports car racing series based predominantly in the United Kingdom. The series was originally created by the British Racing Drivers' Club in 1993 and, for its first two seasons, was known as the National Sports GT ...
as well, ending their relationship with Scuderia Ecosse. The team was renamed once more and was relaunched as CR Scuderia, reflecting their choice of Italian
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
s for their entry into
grand tourer A grand tourer (GT) is a type of car that is designed for high speed and long-distance driving, due to a combination of performance and luxury attributes. The most common format is a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive two-door coupé with either ...
racing. CR Scuderia employed defending multiple drivers to cover their two new series as well as their continuing efforts in Formula Renault. Defending
Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...
champion Rob Bell co-drove with Kirkaldy in the FIA GT Championship while Niarchos led the team's other car.
Luke Hines Luke Hines (born 4 May 1982 in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire) is a British auto racing driver. He is the son of former karting champion and Zip Kart founder/owner Martin Hines. Career After a small amount of open wheel racing in Formula Ford, Hi ...
, Jeremy Metcalfe, James Sutton,
Michael Meadows Michael Ronald Meadows (born 11 September 1987 in Oxford) is a British racing driver. He is a two-time champion in Porsche Carrera Cup GB and won the 2018 Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup alongside Raffaele Marciello. Career In 2012 and 2013, he b ...
, Michael Cullen, Paddy Shovlin were the full-season entrants in the trio of Ferraris for British GT. Christodoulou returned for another season of Formula Renault and was joined by Scott Jenkins, Sten Pentus, and
Ryuji Yamamoto Ryuji Yamamoto (born 17 October 1988) is a Japanese racing driver who last competed in the Japanese Formula 3. He was runner-up for the Formula Challenge Japan in its debut year, 2006, before moving to Europe to compete in the Formula Renault ...
. The 2008 season was successful for the reformed team as they managed victories in each of their three series. Kirkaldy and Bell won both races at the Bucharest City Challenge and placed 6th in the FIA GT Championship, while all three Ferraris won races over the course of the British GT season, led by Hines and Metcalfe in second in the Drivers Championship, but also earning the team first in the Teams Championship. A second championship was earned by the team in British Formula Renault as Christodoulou won the Drivers Championship after seven victories over the season.


Current activities

Prior to the start of the 2009 season, CR Scuderia was renamed CRS Racing, but much of the team remains the same from their previous year. Kirkaldy and Bell continue in the FIA GT Championship, while Niarchos is joined full-time by Tim Mullen in the team's second Ferrari. Formula Renault entries continue for the team, but the drivers are entirely new as
Harry Tincknell Harry Tincknell (born 29 October 1991 in Exeter, Devon) is a British professional racing driver currently racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Mazda Team Joest. He won the LMP2 class on his Le Mans 24 Hour race debut i ...
, Matias Laine, Joshua Scott, and
Lewis Williamson Lewis Williamson (born 11 November 1989) is a British racing driver. Career Karting Born in Dundee, Williamson began karting at the age of eight, and spent a successful decade racing in the various classes around the United Kingdom. By the ti ...
compete for the title. Although they are the defending Team Champions in British GT, CRS Racing chose to move their other Ferraris to the
FIA GT3 European Championship The FIA GT3 European Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) and regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It was a championship derived from the international FIA ...
for this season where
Chris Goodwin Stephen Christopher Goodwin (10 March 1967) is a British auto racing driver. Currently he works as Expert High Performance Test Driver for Aston Martin. Additionally he manages the racing career of Bruno Senna and continues to race in Internat ...
, Klaas Hummell,
Phil Quaife Phil Quaife (born 27 March 1986) is a British racing driver. Career Quaife enjoyed a successful start to his racing career. After winning his first major karting title in the Junior Rotax Max winter championship before finishing as runner-u ...
, and Robert Hissom will compete. CRS are also currently busy helping with the development of the GT3 racing variant of the
McLaren MP4-12C The McLaren MP4-12C, later known simply as the McLaren 12C, is a sports car that was designed and manufactured by McLaren Automotive. It was the first ever production car wholly designed and built by McLaren, and their first production road ...
. The car made its competitive debut at a
British GT Championship The British GT Championship is a sports car racing series based predominantly in the United Kingdom. The series was originally created by the British Racing Drivers' Club in 1993 and, for its first two seasons, was known as the National Sports GT ...
round at
Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), frequently referred to as ''Spa'', is a motor-racing circuit located in Stavelot, Belgium. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in 1925, and has he ...
in July 2011, running as an invitational entrant with
Chris Goodwin Stephen Christopher Goodwin (10 March 1967) is a British auto racing driver. Currently he works as Expert High Performance Test Driver for Aston Martin. Additionally he manages the racing career of Bruno Senna and continues to race in Internat ...
and Andrew Kirkaldy achieving a pole position and a best result of fourth place from the two races to be held. Three MP4-12C cars contested the
Spa 24 Hours The 24 Hours of Spa is an Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing event for cars held annually since 1924 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium. It is currently sponsored by TotalEnergies. History The Spa 24 Hours was ...
in July, with only one reaching the event's end.


Results


GP3

D.C. = Drivers' Championship position, T.C. = Teams' Championship position.


References


External links

*
AKA Cobra
{{DEFAULTSORT:CRS Racing British auto racing teams Auto racing teams established in 2004 2004 establishments in the United Kingdom British Formula Renault teams FIA GT Championship teams GP3 Series teams International GT Open teams Blancpain Endurance Series teams British GT Championship teams European Le Mans Series teams British racecar constructors 24 Hours of Le Mans teams Auto racing teams established in 2007