| Frank Gardner | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Driver Details | ||
| Nationality | {{{{{natflag}}}}} Australian 
| |
| Date of Birth | 01/10/1931[1] | |
| Date of Death | 29/08/2009[1] | |
| Début | Silverstone 1963 | |
| Championships | 3 (1967, 1968, 1973) | |
| Previous Teams | John Willment Automobiles Alan Mann Racing Motor Racing Research SCA Freight | |
| Career Statistics | ||
| Total Entries | 0 (0 Starts) | |
| Pole Positions | 0 | |
| Fastest Laps | 0 | |
| Wins | 0 (0 in Class) | |
| Total Points | 0 | |
Frank Gardner was an Australian racing driver and triple champion of the British Saloon Car Championship.[2] Gardner was the first Australian to win the championship, and the first to take three championships, winning in 1967, 1968 and 1973.
Background[]
Gardner came to Europe at the age of seventeen (although he was registered as being eighteen to obtain his competition license), entering club events in the UK.[1] He entered sports cars in 1960, ultimately taking part in the 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans.[1] HIs background in Australia had seen Gardner rebuild written off cars to race with, although his career in Europe would see him race purpose built race cars.[1]
BTCC History[]
Gardner's first race in the BSCC came in 1963, driving at Silverstone for John Willment Automobiles.[3] A fourth place finish resulted, although Gardner would not return to the championship until the following season.[3] Driving for almost a full season in 1964, Gardner obtained four podium finishes, often the closest (in his class) to the dominant Team Lotus cars.[4]
For 1965, Gardner decided to devote his full time to the championship, ultimately taking second in class (and fifth overall) in his Lotus Cortina.[5] Gardner took his first class wins that season as well, claiming victory at two of the first three races in Class C, before finishing on the podium at four of the next five.[5] His services, however, were not required by anyone in 1966, with Gardner focusing on his Sports Car career.[1]
Gardner's Alan Mann Racing prepared Ford Escort TC from 1968.
Alan Mann Racing would then employ Gardner for the following three seasons, a move which saw Gardner become the first driver to take two championships in a row.[6] Equiped with a Ford Falcon Sprint, Gardner took seven wins in a dominant display in 1967, a feat he would repeat (and beat) with a Ford Escort TC in 1968.[6] Gardner took the Escort to nine wins in 1968, using the same car the following year in 1969.[7] Three wins were not enough for Gardner, however, to retain his title, although he would take the Class D title after the changed class structure.[8]
Gardner moved to the Motor Racing Research team, who imported a Ford Mustang Boss 302 for the 1970 season.[9] Second overall resulted from the season, with Gardner taking eight wins and the Class D title for the second year in a row.[9] SCA Freight then employed Gardner's services in 1971, although a disjointed year saw Gardner only take two wins in his Chevrolet Camaro Z28.[10]
SCA continued to employ Gardner for 1972, with Gardner taking third overall after dropped scores were taken into account (he had tied for the championship with Bill McGovern and Dave Matthews).[11] Another Class D title resulted from the year, with Gardner taking seven wins in his class.[11] SCA changed their team name to SCA European Road Services (ERS) in 1973, with Gardner using the Chevrolet Camaro Z28 for his final year in the championship.[12] A third BSCC title resulted, with Gardner taking six wins and the Class D title for the fourth time in five years.[12] Gardner returned to Australia after 1973.[1]
BTCC Record[]
A table containing Frank Gardner's best results in the BTCC. The figures after the information about the car used indicate Frank Gardner's best finish at that meeting, in their class.
| Frank Gardner's BTCC Record | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | Pos | Pts | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 1963 | John Willment Automobiles | 2 | Ford Cortina | bgcolor="#214B9B" rowspan="2" style="border-radius:5px; color:white;"|B | N | 4 | N | - | - | |||||||||
| 1964 | 11th | 16 | Lotus Cortina | 3 | 3 | N | 3 | 5 | 3 | bgcolor="white" style="color:black; font-size:90%; border-radius:5px;"|DNS | N | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1965 | 5th | 34 | bgcolor="#008000" rowspan="2" style="border-radius:5px; color:white;"|C | R | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | R | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1967 | Alan Mann Racing | 1st | 70 | Ford Falcon Sprint | bgcolor="#FFA500" rowspan="2" style="border-radius:5px; color:white;"|D | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | R | 1 | 1 | - | - | - |
| 1968 | 84 | Ford Escort TC | bgcolor="#008000" rowspan="2" style="border-radius:5px; color:white;"|C | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1* | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | ||
| 1969 | 3rd | 58 | bgcolor="#FFA500" rowspan="2" style="border-radius:5px; color:white;"|D | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | R | 2 | 3 | 2 | R | 1 | - | ||
| 1970 | Motor Racing Research | 2nd | 68 | Ford Mustang Boss 302 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | N | - | |
| 1971 | SCA Freight | 30 | Chevrolet Camaro Z28 | N | 2 | N | 1 | 1 | R | 2 | N | R | ||||||
| 1972 | 3rd | 63 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | N | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | |||
| 1973 | SCA ERS | 1st | 60 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | N | 2 | - | - | - | - | ||
* Gardner started the season using a Ford Cortina Mk II Lotus until race four.[7]
References[]
Images
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Gardner_(racing_driver)
- ↑ http://www.driverdb.com/drivers/frank-gardner/
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1963%20BSCC.html
- ↑ http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1964%20BSCC.html
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1965%20BSCC.html
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1967%20BSCC.html
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1968%20BSCC.html
- ↑ http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1969%20BSCC.html
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1970%20BSCC.html
- ↑ http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1971%20BSCC.html
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1972%20BSCC.html
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1973%20BSCC.html