Graham Vincent Coaker (1932 – 12 April 1971) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

engineer and businessman, who was one of the four founders of the

March Engineering March Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from the United Kingdom. Although only moderately successful in Grand Prix competition, March racing cars enjoyed much better success in other categories ...

motor racing manufacturer.

Biography

Coaker was trained as an accountant and mechanical engineer, and had been a keen amateur

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 ...

competitor during the mid- to late-1960s. During this time he became friendly with fellow racers

Max Mosley Max Rufus Mosley (13 April 1940 – 23 May 2021) was a British racing driver, lawyer, and president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), a non-profit association which represents the interests of motoring organisations and ...

and Alan Rees, and racing car designer

Robin Herd Robert John "Robin" Herd (23 March 1939 – 4 June 2019) was an English engineer, designer and businessman. Herd studied at St Peter's College, Oxford, having turned down an offer to play cricket for Worcestershire at the age of 18. He initia ...

. The four created March Engineering in mid-1969, the name of the team being derived from their initials: Max Mosley, Alan Rees, Graham Coaker, and Robin Herd. Coaker was responsible for the workshop and manufacturing side of the new company, drawing on many years of experience as general manager of one of Hawker Siddeley's automotive subsidiaries, and was the driving force behind March's move into the customer-car market. The company's first manufacturing premises were actually in Coaker's own garage and it was here that the first March racing car, the March 693P, was constructed. Coaker left March in early 1971, and received a March 712M

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009– 2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name ...

car as part of his settlement package. Unfortunately for him, Coaker died that April from

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

caused by injuries sustained when he crashed the car during practice for a

Formule Libre Formula Libre, also known as Formule Libre, is a form of automobile racing allowing a wide variety of types, ages and makes of purpose-built racing cars to compete "head to head". This can make for some interesting matchups, and provides the oppor ...

race at Silverstone Circuit.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coaker, Graham 1932 births 1971 deaths British mechanical engineers Formula One team owners British motorsport people