CONNAUGHT

This British constructor came close to making the breakthrough from a modest contender in local events to a Grand Prix front-runner, let down by a simple lack of resources in the second half of the 1950s. In the age of sponsorship the story might have been different.

The little company was set up by designer Rodney Clarke and engineer Mike Oliver, with backing from Kenneth McAlpine, who also raced the cars in their early years.

The first Connaught was a club racing sports car, then an F2 single-seater came in 1950. This was modestly successful, but the marque's great moment did not come until late in 1955, when Tony Brooks drove a 2.5-litre B-type to win the Syracuse Grand Prix. Connaught could not afford a full works effort and contested only a few Continental GPs, concentrating on British races and on maintaining independentS' cars. Operations ceased in 1957, when a space frame C-type was under construction and work had started on an advanced rear engined monocoque-chassis D-type.

CONNAUGHT A

A-type The first of nine F2 cars to the same basic design came in 1950, and was raced through 1951 before more were completed. All had an orthodox tubular chassis, and initially wishbone and torsion bar suspension was used all round; at the rear this soon gave way to a de Dion layout. The 1960cc (79 x 100mm) pushrod ohv four-cylinder engine was based on an alloy Lea-Francis unit and at first was rated at a modest 135bhp. When F2 became more serious, as the World Championship category in 1953-73, various improvements were made, including fuel injection, but although up to 165bhp was to be claimed that was probably an exceptional output - certainly these ConnaughtS never had the power to complement their road-holding reputation.

Connaught drivers achieved reasonable placings in secondary events in 1952 - fourth and fifth in the British GP

were good - but 1953 resultS were disappointing. Several of the cars were run in 2.5-litre races in 1954, and odd ones helped fill national race grids after that.

Drivers: Don Beauman, 'B. Bira',johnny Claes, Ken Downing, jack Fairman, Bill Holt, Leslie Marr, Kenneth. McAlpine, Stirling Moss, Andre Pilene, Dennis Poore, john Riseley­