Token Racing was a short-lived
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
team and constructor from the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, participating in four Grands Prix of the
1974 Formula One season.
History
Token's history effectively began in 1971.
Ron Dennis was trying to find sponsorship for his
Rondel Racing team. Through Ron's then-girlfriend, who was the daughter of John Phelps, director of Phelps Antique Furniture in
Twickenham
Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...
, one of its regular customers, Tony Vlassopulos, a barrister son of a Greek shipowner, was asked to sponsor Rondel.
Vlassopulos asked his friend, Ken Grob, chairman of Alexander Howden, insurance brokers in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, if he was interested in joining in. Grob said yes, on the proviso that his young son
Ian Grob could be part of the team, which was agreed upon. From that moment forward, Tony Vlassopulos became Dennis's first sponsor.
In late 1973
Rondel Racing, by now a successful
Formula Two
Formula Two (F2) is a type of Open-wheel car, open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009 FIA Formula Two Championship season, 2009 to 2012 FIA Formula Two C ...
team founded by
Ron Dennis and Neil Trundle, decided to enter F1. Dennis asked Ray Jessop to design the car, while backing was to come from the French oil company
Motul, which had sponsored the team for the previous two years, in addition to Vlassopulos and Grob. For 1974, a Ray Jessop-designed F1 car was planned, but the
energy crisis
An energy crisis or energy shortage is any significant Bottleneck (production), bottleneck in the supply of energy resources to an economy. In literature, it often refers to one of the energy sources used at a certain time and place, in particu ...
affected Motul's support. However, the funds were, in fact, not available to support a F1 leap, even with Motul involved. Trundle continued with the already-designed car from Jessop; Vlassopulos and Grob took over the ownership, with the car becoming the Token, the "To" and the "Ken" coming from the backers' first names and the RJ02 in honour of Jessop.
The team made its F1 debut in April 1974 at the non-Championship
International Trophy race at
Silverstone, with Welshman
Tom Pryce at the wheel. Its first Championship race came the following month, at the
Belgian Grand Prix, where Pryce qualified 20th but retired at three-quarter distance following a collision with
Jody Scheckter's
Tyrrell. The team entered the next race at
Monaco
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
but was forbidden from taking part on the basis of Pryce's supposed inexperience, prompting the Welshman to move to the
Shadow
A shadow is a dark area on a surface where light from a light source is blocked by an object. In contrast, shade occupies the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross-section of a shadow is a two-dimensio ...
team. However, upset by this, Vlassopulos took out his Formula 3 racer, Buzz Buzaglo, and then put in Pryce, who then competed in the Formula 3 race for Ippokampos Racing, Vlassopulos' Formula 3 concern, and subsequently won the race.
After sitting out the next three races, Token reappeared at the
British Grand Prix
The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor racing event organised in the United Kingdom by Motorsport UK. First held by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in 1926 British Grand Prix, 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 ...
with
David Purley in place of Pryce. But after failing to qualify, Purley left and was replaced by fellow Englishman
Ian Ashley. At the
Nürburgring
The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...
for the next race in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, Ashley qualified 26th and last, and ran as high as 8th before a tyre problem dropped him to 14th at the end. Then in
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, Ashley qualified 24th, but finished unclassified after more wheel problems.
By this stage, however, the team had run out of money, and Vlassopulos and Grob closed it down. The RJ02 subsequently passed into the hands of the
Safir Engineering company.
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(
key)
References
External links
F1 Rejects article about the teamResults from Formula1.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Token (Racing Team)
Formula One constructors
Formula One entrants
British auto racing teams
British racecar constructors