Crossle 72F

[Fan]

I've been having a look at some old Autosport magazines and found a report on the 1991 F/Ford Festival. There was a picture of a Crossle 72F driven by Marco Vignalli (on 3 wheels!).

I can't find any info on this car - was it raced in the UK? Does anyone race them in historic F/Ford? I presume that it was the last F/Ford made by Crossle?

[MGR007]

The Crossle 72F was raced in the UK by myself and a chap called Johnathan Harmer, it was works assisted drive for a Team formed by Autron Enterprises (Jon Davis and double festival winner Don Macleod), and run by TDR Tommy Docherty Racing, we only did a couple of races and a few tests before the teams backers pulled out. Marco was one of TDR's drivers in FVJ, so I presume thats where the Crossle connection was for the Festival.

[Fan]

Thanks very much for the reply, it's interesting to hear about the car from someone who raced them in period. Do you have any idea where the cars are now?

[Jon Harmer]

Hi. Just found my way here. 18 months later, here's a reply ref the Crossle 72F.

I am the 'chap named Jonathan Harmer'. I raced the car, as run by Don Mcleod towards the end of 1990, including the Festival, and again for the Festival only in 1992, by which time it had a better looking predominantly orange bodywork, though no other chassis mods to help it. A few of us who were leading different championships (I was in FFirst) were invited to Silverstone to test it, and I was awarded the drive. It was a 'works' effort as such, Autron being the distributor for Crossle in the UK, and we used Scholar engines.

In 1990 it had a quite unusual, some might say ugly, blue and white bodywork, with a bulbous nose cone. Not a bad car, but it's time was already effectively over, since it was rocker-sprung, and the Van Diemen RF90 was the first of the pushrod cars. It did however have double-adjustable dampers (bump and rebound), and Don Mcleod was a very clever engineer, and successful driver of course, having won the Festival twice (Sark, anyone?). Testing that car with Don engineering it certainly taught me a huge amount about set up - spent days pounding rounds Brands, 2 laps at a time between set-up changes.

Fundamentally it was quite soft, and couldn't be run much stiffer because the chassis flexed instead then... I seem to remember that it would do 49 flat round the old Brands, never any quicker, and the Reynards were into mid 48s by then already. Still, the Sunday of the 1990 Festival was wet, which helped me get the car into the semi's, then in the semi making enough progress to get it in the final I got a right-front puncture. End of campaign.

Marco Vignali then raced it in '91, while I made the Festival final in a one-off outing in a minimal-budget self-run RF91, (with tyres from the Crossle, which ran 2 degrees less camber than the Van Diemen!!). Not sure how he got on - think he shunted it...

My last experience of the car was the festival in '92 with its new bodywork. It was even slower than the opposition by this time with the advances made by Van Diemen, Reynard, even Swift and Ray. Unfortunately it was a dry weekend, ending any real hope, and I think I made the back end of a semi-final.

Quite a good little car I suppose, but it was past its sell-by date really by the time I drove it. I still miss those days of 200 entries in the Festival though - such a buzz when you walked into the paddock! By the time you got to the final, the whole grid was pretty bloody good - just youtube the '88 Sospiri Final for proof of that!

[Fan]

Thanks, Jon. I have a picture of Vignali on three wheels so you're correct in that he shunted it. Does anyone know what happened to the car? Do you have a picture of it with the new bodywork?

[NoelR]

To answer your question if a 72F was the last car built by Crossle.
I believe the last car built by crossle was an 87F which was a decent car. I raced it in 1999 and won the N.Ireland pre-90 championship with it and finished 3rd at the Festival that year when there was a pre-89 race (was leading but thats another story). Think the care was originally raced by Fion Murray and was last raced last year at Kirkistown by Ian Newport and i think it is now for sale.

[Jon Harmer]

Originally Posted by Fan

Thanks, Jon. I have a picture of Vignali on three wheels so you're correct in that he shunted it. Does anyone know what happened to the car? Do you have a picture of it with the new bodywork?

Hi. Don't know what happened to the car I'm afraid. Haven't got a pic to hand, but there is a clip of me recovering from a spin (in the wet...so my memory above was obviously wrong!) at 5.28 on this clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJUlzu7qxiQ

Cheers

[JEB]

I would love to find a 72F and have asked Arnie many times to keep his eyes open should one turn up. It would be good to see one at the WHT one day !!

Jon - the WHT is now very much what the Festival was back in 1988!

[Jon Harmer]

Originally Posted by JEB

Jon - the WHT is now very much what the Festival was back in 1988!

Thanks, yes, so I gather. Going to try to get up to it next time. Mind you, it will only make me desperate to get back in a car...!

[JAL]

Hi there

My first FF1600 season was in a 72F. Bought it from a young racer in Dublin who delivered it to Holyhead for me. Have little idea of it's heritage but the friendly people at the factory in Holywood helped me get it rebuilt for my first season in 1993.

The inspiration to buy a Crossle for my racing debut was spurred by knowing Jon and Nick Costin, son's of the cars designer Frank Costin. Well, it was a serious reality check in terms of what it takes to be competitive in FF1600 and my plan to blow the whole grid away on my debut didn't quite work out!!!!!!!!!!

After numerous DNF's due to reliability and novice mistakes I decided that relying on the goodwill of friends (Nick & Jon in particular) was not the way to F1 stardom. So I sold the car around end 1994 to Richard Peacock at Anglesey Race Circuit. I think he used it as a school car for a few years before selling it on to a racer over in Ireland.

I will dig around for some photos and post them if I can. The folks at the factory will definitely have details of any current 72F owners and I'm sure would be happy to put you touch.