Frank Coppuck

Last updated

Frank Coppuck is a British engineer and racing car designer, who helped design the Pacific PR01 and PR02 Formula One cars.

A nephew of Formula One engineer Gordon Coppuck. After graduating from Kingston Polytechnic with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical and aeronautical engineering he went to work for the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough. In 1979 he moved to British Aerospace at Weybridge, working on aircraft wing design and composites engineering.

His motor racing career did not start until 1985 when he was hired to join the FORCE Lola team at Colnbrook. When that team closed down in 1986 he moved to Tyrrell Racing, as a composites and race engineer. After a brief spell with the March Alfa Romeo Indycar program he moved to Team Lotus following the departure of chief designer Mike Coughlan. This coincided with the takeover of the team by Peter Collins and Peter Wright, and Coppuck was involved in the design of the team's aborted Lotus 103 car, and in revamping the Lotus 102 design.

At the end of 1991 he moved to the United States where he worked in CART with Dick Simon Racing. Later that year he returned to Britain and became technical director of TOM'S GB, working with John Barnard on the design of a secret Formula One car. When Toyota decided not to enter, Coppuck joined Pacific Grand Prix as chief designer for the Pacific PR02. After Pacific closed its doors at the end of the 1995 season Coppuck moved to Benetton but stayed only a year before going back to TOM'S GB. He then moved on to McLaren where he was in charge of the McLaren GT program.


Related Research Articles

Brabham is the common name for Motor Racing Developments Ltd., a British racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. Founded in 1960 by Australian driver Jack Brabham and British-Australian designer Ron Tauranac, the team won four Drivers' and two Constructors' World Championships in its 30-year Formula One history. Jack Brabham's 1966 FIA Drivers' Championship remains the only such achievement using a car bearing the driver's own name.

Samuel David Michael is an Australian motor sports engineer and designer, who held senior positions with Formula One constructors Williams and McLaren. He is currently employed by Supercar team Triple Eight Race Engineering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Barnard</span> British motorsport designer

John Edward Barnard, is an English engineer and racing car designer. Barnard is credited with the introduction of two new designs into Formula One: the carbon fibre composite chassis first seen in 1981 with McLaren, and the semi-automatic gearbox which he introduced with Ferrari in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Racing Motors</span> Formula One team

British Racing Motors (BRM) was a British Formula One motor racing team. Founded in 1945 and based in the market town of Bourne in Lincolnshire, it participated from 1951 to 1977, competing in 197 grands prix and winning seventeen. BRM won the constructors' title in 1962 when its driver Graham Hill became world champion. In 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1971, BRM came second in the constructors' competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1995 Formula One World Championship</span> 49th season of FIA Formula One motor racing

The 1995 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 49th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1995 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1995 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were contested concurrently over a seventeen-race series that commenced on 26 March and ended on 12 November. Michael Schumacher won his second consecutive Drivers' Championship, and Benetton won the Constructors' Championship, the first and only Constructors' title for the Benetton team.

Pacific Racing was a motor racing team from the United Kingdom. Following success in lower formulae, the team took part in two full seasons of Formula One, in 1994 and 1995, entering 33 Grands Prix without any success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adrian Newey</span> British Formula One engineer (born 1958)

Adrian Martin Newey, is a British Formula One engineer. He is the chief technical officer of the Red Bull Racing F1 team. Newey has worked in both Formula One and IndyCar racing as a race engineer, aerodynamicist, designer and technical director and enjoyed success in both categories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Gascoyne</span> British Formula One designer

Michael Robert Gascoyne is a British Formula One designer and engineer.

Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport categories including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar, and sports car racing. More than ten years after its last race, Team Lotus remained one of the most successful racing teams of all time, winning seven Formula One Constructors' titles, six Drivers' Championships, and the Indianapolis 500 in the United States between 1962 and 1978. Under the direction of founder and chief designer Colin Chapman, Lotus was responsible for many innovative and experimental developments in critical motorsport, in both technical and commercial arenas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McLaren M23</span> Formula One racing car

The McLaren M23 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Coppuck, with input from John Barnard, and built by the McLaren team. It was a development of the McLaren M16 Indianapolis 500 car. A Ford Cosworth DFV engine was used, which was prepared by specialist tuning company Nicholson-McLaren Engines. This helped push the DFV's horsepower output to around 490 bhp.

Michael Coughlan is a British motor racing engineer and designer. He was Chief Designer for the McLaren Formula One team from 2002 to 2007, where he was suspended for his part in the spygate scandal between McLaren and Ferrari, before his contract was subsequently terminated. He was then Chief Technical Officer for Williams F1 from June 2011 to July 2013, before abruptly stepping down "with immediate effect," according to the team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McLaren M26</span>

The McLaren M26 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Coppuck for the McLaren team, to replace the aging McLaren M23 model. The car was designed to be a lighter and lower car than its predecessor, with a smaller frontal area and narrower monocoque. Coppuck began design work in early 1976, with a view to introducing the car in the mid season.

In car design, ground effect is a series of effects which have been exploited in automotive aerodynamics to create downforce, particularly in racing cars. This has been the successor to the earlier dominant aerodynamic focus on streamlining. The international Formula One series and American racing IndyCars employ ground effects in their engineering and designs. Similarly, they are also employed in other racing series to some extent; however, across Europe, many series employ regulations to limit its effectiveness on safety grounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McLaren M2B</span> 1966 Formula One racing car by McLaren

The McLaren M2B was the McLaren team's first Formula One racing car, used during the 1966 season. It was conceived in 1965 and preceded by the M2A development car. Designed by Robin Herd, the innovative but problematic Mallite material was used in its construction. The car was powered by Ford and Serenissima engines but both lacked power and suffered from reliability issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McLaren M7A</span> Formula One racing car

The McLaren M7A and its M7B, M7C and M7D variants were Formula One racing cars, built by McLaren and used in the world championship between 1968 and 1971. After two relatively unsuccessful years of Formula One competition, the M7A was used to score McLaren's first win at the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix.

Gordon Coppuck is a British racing car designer who was chief designer for McLaren and later worked for March and co-founded Spirit.

Mark Smith is a British the former technical director of the Sauber Formula One team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Owen Maddock</span> British engineer and racing car designer

Owen Richard Maddock was a British engineer and racing car designer, who was chief designer for the Cooper Car Company between 1950 and 1963. During this time Maddock designed a string of successful racing cars, including the Formula One World Championship-winning Cooper T51 and T53 models.

Ralph Bellamy is an Australian retired motor racing car designer and engineer. He worked for various teams such as Brabham, Ensign, Fittipaldi, Lola and McLaren.

Tim Densham is a former British Formula One engineer. He was most recently the chief designer at the Renault Formula One team.