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John Crosslé: A quiet legend in a noisy business

Nigel Mansell driving a Crossle in the 1977 British Formula Ford 1600 Championship © Sutton Images

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Nigel Mansell, Thierry Boutsen, Martin Donnelly, Eddie Irvine and John Watson; these are just a few of the F1 drivers who have raced Crosslé cars.

Described as 'an honest car made by honest people', the Crosslé may have got hundreds of drivers going in every sense but, equally, the young racers played a significant part in winning championships and making Crosslé the world's longest surviving manufacturer of customer racing cars.

Not that you would know it. Shouting from the rooftops was never the way of John Crosslé, a shy and retiring Ulsterman from farming stock who built his own Ford-powered special in the 1950s because he could not afford to buy a Lotus, then the single-seater of choice. Crosslé was as adept at driving as he was at engineering; a useful combination that soon had racing drivers beating a path to his door - assuming they could find it.

The farmhouse and sheds housing this modest manufacturing enterprise were tucked away in woods overlooking a golf course in Holywood, County Down. In a typical Irish contradiction, the town is actually pronounced 'Hollywood' and is about as far removed from its glittering Californian namesake as anyone - Crosslé in particular - could wish for. But, in its own quiet way, the name would become as synonymous with racing success as Hethel or Huntingdon, particularly when the talented Gerry Birrell used a Crosslé 16F to win the inaugural European Formula Ford Championship in 1969.

The single-seater I remember most was the 10F driven by Tommy Reid, a gutsy local hero. Powered by a Ford Shelby 4.7 V8, Reid had the awesome machine touching 184 mph at Bishopscourt as he slashed the lap record by 1.6 seconds. This was in the days before Formula 5000: we'd never seen anything like it.

Despite Northern Ireland - and nearby Belfast in particular - being torn apart by political and religious divide in the 1970s, Crosslé survived and prospered globally. When writing his recently published history of the company, Alan 'Plum' Tyndall discovered victories and championships they knew nothing about in far-flung corners of the racing world.

The book 'Hidden Glory' was launched in Belfast's Titanic Quarter, the cover depicting Donnelly driving his 32F, complete with the 'Donnellys for Spuds Belfast' logo on the front; hardly a romantic image but one made for the day as Martin raced at Kirkistown and advertised his dad's business as a potato merchant.

Donnelly was present at the launch, along with Watson and many other 'Crosslé-ites' to celebrate the company's achievement and the life of Crosslé who, very sadly, had passed away at the age of 82 a week before.

As the stories were told in true Irish fashion, they left no doubt about the respect and affection for this talented racing man. The anecdote I liked best came from Leslie Drysdale, the engineer/designer who worked with Crosslé for many years.

"We were at Kirkistown for a typical Saturday race meeting," recalled Drysdale. "This guy with one of our cars comes rushing over, saying: 'Mr. Crosslé! Mr. Crosslé! My oil light's on! What do I do?' Well, there's not much you can do at that stage, particularly as the races are about to start. John is about to eat his sandwich - one of his favourites with Robertson's Strawberry Jam - and he says he'll be over in a minute. He slowly finishes the sandwich. Then he peels the Robertson's icon symbol (unfortunately, today's disproportionate political correctness prevents me from describing the jolly little man as he was widely known at the time) from the jam jar, takes it over and sticks it across the flashing light. 'It won't cure the problem,' says John. 'But it'll take your mind off it.'"

'Hidden Glory - The Story of the Crosslé Car Company' is available from RPM Motorsport for £60.00 - click here for more details.

Maurice Hamilton writes for ESPN F1.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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