Christopher Craft (17 November 1939 – 20 February 2021) was a British racing driver who competed in many different forms of motor sport.

Biography

Craft was born in

Porthleven Porthleven () is a town, civil parish and fishing port near Helston, Cornwall, England. The most southerly port in Great Britain, it was a harbour of refuge when this part of the Cornish coastline was infamous for wrecks in the days of sail. Th ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

and began his career in 1962, with a

Ford Anglia The Ford Anglia is a small family car that was designed and manufactured by Ford UK. It is related to the Ford Prefect and the later Ford Popular. The Anglia name was applied to various models between 1939 and 1967. In total, 1,594,486 Anglias ...

and became recognised as a leading saloon car racer, particularly with the Team Broadspeed Escort which he campaigned from 1968 to 1970. Having also previously driven a Tecno in

Formula Three Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One dri ...

, he moved to sports cars from 1968, initially with a

Chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock ...

and then joined forces with Alain de Cadenet to drive his

Porsche 908 The Porsche 908 was a racing car from Porsche, introduced in 1968 to continue the Porsche 906- Porsche 910- Porsche 907 series of models designed by Helmuth Bott (chassis) and Hans Mezger (engine) under the leadership of racing chief Ferdinand P ...

and McLaren M8C. It was this association that led to his participation in two World Championship

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

Grands Prix, in 1971, driving a

Brabham BT33 The list below summarizes Brabham race cars built by Motor Racing Developments in the United Kingdom. Note that many of the earlier models are badged as Repco Brabhams. References {{reflist Brabham Brabham () is the common name for Moto ...

prepared by Cadenet's team ''Ecurie Evergreen'', but he failed to score a championship point. He did not qualify for his first World Championship race (the

1971 Canadian Grand Prix The 1971 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Mosport Park on September 19, 1971. It was race 10 of 11 in both the 1971 World Championship of Drivers and the 1971 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. During a Fo ...

Mosport Park Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park and Mosport International Raceway) is a multi- track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville, in Ontario, Canada, east of Toronto. The facility features a , 10-turn road course; a ad ...

) but would have been able to start the race following the withdrawal of two other drivers due to accidents in the raceday warm-up sessions. However, his own car suffered engine trouble, denying him the opportunity. His second Grand Prix, at Watkins Glen ended with a suspension failure and tyre problems during the race. Craft continued to compete in many other forms of motor racing, including saloon cars, notably with a Ford Capri; sports cars, including a period with the Dome team in the early 1980s; Formula 3 and

Formula 5000 Formula 5000 (or F5000) was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel racing cars tha ...

. Craft won the 1973

European Sportscar Championship The European Sportscar Championship was a name used by several sports car racing championships based in Europe. Initially created in 1970 by the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) as the European 2-Litre Sports Car Championship f ...

in a

Lola Lola may refer to: Places * Lolá, a or subdistrict of Panama * Lola Township, Cherokee County, Kansas, United States * Lola Prefecture, Guinea * Lola, Guinea, a town in Lola Prefecture * Lola Island, in the Solomon Islands People * Lola ...

T92. One of the highlights of his career was a third-place finish in the

1976 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1976 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 44th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 12 and 13 June 1976. This year the FIA introduced its new Group 5 and Group 6 regulations and the race was now open to nine distinct classes, although it was stil ...

. After his race career Chris Craft started the Light Car Company with F1 designer

Gordon Murray Ian Gordon Murray (born 18 June 1946 in Durban, Union of South Africa), is a South African-born British designer of Formula One racing cars and the McLaren F1 road car. He is the founder and CEO of Gordon Murray Automotive. Early life Born t ...

to build the Light Car Company Rocket.

Racing record

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.) † Events with 2 races staged for the different classes.

Complete Formula One results

( key)

References

External links

Profile at www.grandprix.com
1939 births 2021 deaths English racing drivers English Formula One drivers British Touring Car Championship drivers People from Porthleven Sportspeople from Cornwall 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers {{England-autoracing-bio-stub