Jeff Allam | |
---|---|
Nationality | British |
Born | Epsom, Surrey, England | 19 December 1954
British Saloon / Touring Car Championship | |
Years active | 1977–1983, 1986–1987, 1989–1995 |
Teams | Allam Motor Services Triplex Esso Motor Team Tom Walkinshaw Racing R.A. Potter Racing Developments Trakstar Motorsport Vic Lee Motorsport Dave Cook Racing Services Ray Mallock Ltd. |
Starts | 146 |
Wins | 17 |
Poles | 9 |
Fastest laps | 23 |
Best finish | 4th in 1977, 1982, 1992 |
Jeffrey Frank Allam (born 19 December 1954 in Epsom, England), is a former British racing driver who made his name in Saloon Car racing. He now works as Head of Business for Allam Motor Services in Epsom which are a Skoda sales and service and Vauxhall servicing dealership. Hates holden.
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources .(May 2015) |
Starting in kart racing he soon progressed to saloon car racing winning regularly in Vauxhalls. He first entered the British Saloon Car Championship in 1978 driving a Ford Capri 3.0, finishing 2nd in class. In 1979 he repeated this with another 2nd place in class. In 1981 he drove a TWR Rover Vitesse, taking Rover's first overall win in the championship. Allam continued to drive for TWR Rover again in 1982, this time winning the class title. He was paired with Frank Sytner for the 1982 season, but Sytner left the team partway through the year. The following year saw Allam partnering Steve Soper and Pete Lovett in the Rover team, and the three drivers dominated the year, easily winning the manufacturers championship and Soper winning the drivers' title. [1] However, the success was short-lived, as the Rovers were found to be in breach of the regulations regarding the engine installation, and TWR was thrown out of the championship, handing victory to Andy Rouse. [2]
His success continued afterwards, winning the new Group A class at the 1984 Bathurst 1000 in Australia driving a TWR Rover partnered by regular ETCC co-driver Armin Hahne from Germany. This was followed in 1986 when he won the prestigious ETCC Tourist Trophy at Silverstone in a TWR prepared Rover along with co-driver, former Formula One World Champion Denny Hulme. He was then champion in the TVR Tuscan Challenge in 1989. [3]
Allam continued to be a regular at the Bathurst 1000 after his 1984 class win. In 1985 he was lead driver in the 2nd TWR Jaguar XJS with Aussie Ron Dickson, qualifying a fine second behind team boss Walkinshaw, but was out on lap 3 after broken headlight glass found its way into the Jaguar's V12 engine causing enough damage to stop the car. TWR itself dominated the 1985 race with the team's 3rd car (driven by Hahne and Aussie John Goss) winning with Walkinshaw and Win Percy finishing 3rd in the lead car after late race problems which saw a split oil line. [4] He missed both 1986 and 1987, before returning in 1988 with Walkinshaw to drive the new Fuel injected Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV. The race ended early for the duo when the suspension collapsed under the Boss after just 5 laps. After driving a Rover, Jaguar and a Holden in Australia's Great Race, Allam drove a Ford Sierra RS500 in 1989 for Dick Johnson Racing. He finished 8th in 1989 (team boss Dick Johnson and regular team driver John Bowe won the race), before recording his best finish in 1990, again in a Johnson Sierra, when he partnered Kiwi racer Paul Radisich to second place. Ironically, the winner of the 1990 Bathurst 1000 was the Holden Racing Team VL Commodore SS Group A SV driven by Allan Grice and Allam's long time TWR teammate Win Percy. The Winning Commodore was in fact the same car (rebuilt) that Allam was to drive with Walkinshaw in the 1988 race. [5]
In 1990 Allam returned to the British Touring Car Championship (formerly the British Saloon Car Championship) driving a BMW M3 in the 2.0l class for Vic Lee Motorsport, placing 6th in the series. In 1991 he drove for the works Vauxhall team in a Vauxhall Cavalier finishing sixth. He stayed with the Vauxhall team a further three years, partnering John Cleland, finishing in 4th place with two race wins in 1992 and a 9th-place finishing in 1993. [6] In 1994 he placed 10th overall and was replaced the following year by James Thompson. He made a one-off comeback to the BTCC in 1995 replacing the injured Thompson at Knockhill.
In 2004 he was selected to drive in the BTCC Masters event at Donington Park. a race which was set up by the director of TOCA Alan J. Gow featuring former champions and legends. Driving the same SEAT Leon Cupras, he finished 8th out of a field of sixteen drivers.
In May 2011 Jeff Allam was appointed as Driving Standards Advisor to the BTCC, assisting the Clerk of the Course in investigating on-track incidents between competitors. He previously held this role in the mid-late Nineties. [7]
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1973–1990 in class) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap – 1 point awarded ?–1989 in class)
† Events with 2 races staged for the different classes.
‡ Endurance driver.
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | DC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1985 | Tom Walkinshaw Racing | Rover Vitesse | MNZ 3 | VAL 3 | DON 3 | AND 3 | BRN 9 | ZEL Ret | SAL 5 | NUR Ret | SPA Ret | SIL Ret | NOG 3 | ZOL 3 | EST 4 | JAR 4 | 8th | 140 |
1986 | Tom Walkinshaw Racing | Rover Vitesse | MNZ 2 | DON 4 | HOC Ret | MIS Ret | AND 3 | BRN 5 | ZEL 19 | NUR | SPA 6 | SIL 1 | NOG | ZOL 13 | JAR 4 | EST 3 | 13th | 130 |
1988 | Wolf Racing Team | Ford Sierra RS500 | MNZ | DON Ret | EST Ret | JAR | DIJ | VAL | NUR Ret | SPA | ZOL | NC | 0 | |||||
Tom Walkinshaw Racing | Holden VL Commodore SS Group A | SIL 15 | NOG |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | DC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1987 | Tom Walkinshaw Racing | Holden VL Commodore SS Group A | MNZ | JAR | DIJ | NUR Ret | SPA | BNO | NC | 0 | |||||
Wolf Racing Team | Ford Sierra RS500 | SIL ovr:9 cls:2† | BAT | CLD | WEL | FJI |
† Not eligible for series points
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | DC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1988 | Holden Special Vehicles | Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV | BAT Ret | WEL Ret | PUK | FJI | NC | 0 |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | DC | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | Ross Palmer Motorsport | Ford Mondeo | PHI 1 | PHI 2 | ORA 1 6 | ORA 2 9 | SYM 1 Ret | SYM 2 5 | CAL 1 3 | CAL 2 3 | MAL 1 Ret | MAL 2 Ret | LAK 1 7 | LAK 2 6 | WIN 1 6 | WIN 2 6 | EAS 1 | EAS 2 | 7th | 62 |
Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1984 | Mobil Rover Racing | Armin Hahne | Rover Vitesse | Group A | 152 | 12th | 1st |
1985 | JRA Ltd | Ron Dickson | Jaguar XJS | C | 3 | DNF | DNF |
1988 | Holden Special Vehicles | Tom Walkinshaw | Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV | C | 5 | DNF | DNF |
1989 | Shell Ultra Hi Racing | Robb Gravett | Ford Sierra RS500 | A | 158 | 8th | 8th |
1990 | Shell Ultra Hi Racing | Paul Radisich | Ford Sierra RS500 | Div.1 | 161 | 2nd | 2nd |
1994 | Allan Moffat Enterprises | Andrew Miedecke | Ford EB Falcon | A | 157 | 8th | 9th |
Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1983 | Mazdaspeed Co. Ltd. | Steve Soper James Weaver | Mazda 717C | C Jr | 267 | 18th | 2nd |
Thomas Dobbie Thomson Walkinshaw was a British racing car driver from Scotland and the founder of the racing team Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR). He was also involved in professional rugby union, as owner of Gloucester Rugby, and chairman of the team owners organisation for the Aviva Premiership.
Andrew Graham Priaulx, MBE is a British racing driver from Guernsey. In 2019 he raced for Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK in the FIA World Endurance Championship, and Cyan Racing Lynk & Co in the FIA World Touring Car Cup, having been a former BMW factory driver.
Gianfranco Brancatelli is a former racing driver from Italy.
John Rickard Rydell is a retired Swedish racing driver. He won the 1998 British Touring Car Championship, the 2011 Scandinavian Touring Car Championship, and has also been a frontrunner in the European/World Touring Car Championship.
Robert James Francevic is a retired racing driver who featured prominently in New Zealand and Australia during the 1970s and 1980s. His biggest wins were the inaugural Wellington 500 street race in Wellington, New Zealand in 1985 driving a Volvo 240T, and the 1986 Australian Touring Car Championship, also in a 240T. Francevic's win in the 1986 ATCC was the first and only ATCC win by a non-Australian resident.
John Cunningham Cleland is a retired British auto racing driver, best known for winning the British Touring Car Championship in 1989 and 1995.
Yvan Muller is a French auto racing driver most noted for success in touring car racing. He is a four-time World Touring Car Champion, winning the title in 2008 with SEAT, in 2010 and 2011 with Chevrolet and in 2013 with RML. He was British Touring Car Champion in 2003 with Vauxhall.
Jamie Wall is a British auto racing driver.
Fabrizio Giovanardi is an Italian racing driver. During his career he has won ten touring car titles, including European and British crowns making him the most successful touring car driver worldwide. He has spent the majority of his career racing for Alfa Romeo and Vauxhall.
David Lee Pinkney is a British businessman and auto racing driver. He competed in the British Touring Car Championship on and off between 1989 and 2011.
Steven Soper is a British racing driver.
Andrew Ernest Rouse is a British racing driver, most notably in the British Saloon Car Championship. He won the BSCC in 1975, 1983, 1984 and 1985.
Franklin Goodman Sytner is a British racing driver, a Life Member of the BRDC, and was the 1988 British Touring Car Champion, driving a BMW M3. He also won his class in 1990.
Kelvin Burt is a British auto racing driver. After attending the Jim Russell Racing Drivers' School in 1987 he turned to Formula Ford racing, battling hard against David Coulthard for the championship. He won his class in a British Touring Car Championship round at Oulton Park, before spending 1991 winning the Formula Vauxhall Lotus series, and being voted Autosport Club Driver of the Year. He moved up to British F3 in 1992, winning the title with Paul Stewart Racing in 1993 with 9 wins, a record for a British driver.
Winston Walter Frederick Percy is a British former motor racing driver from England. Percy was British Touring Car Champion three times, and at the time of his retirement was the most successful non-Antipodean driver ever to compete in Australia's premier national motorsport event, the Bathurst 1000km. Joe Saward of Autosport magazine said he was "often regarded as the World's Number One Touring Car Driver".
Allan Maxwell Grice, known to motor-racing fans as "Gricey", is an Australian former racing driver and politician, most famous for twice winning the prestigious Bathurst 1000, and as a privateer driver of a Holden in the Australian Touring Car Championship.
Armin Hahne is a German racing driver, best known for his exploits in touring car racing. The highpoint of his career was winning both the 1982 and 1983 Spa 24 Hours driving BMW's. Another highlight of his career was driving in the factory supported Tom Walkinshaw Racing run Jaguar Racing team racing the Jaguar XJS coupes. Hahne stayed with the team as they transitioned to Rover Vitesse. In 1991 he drove for one race in the British Touring Car Championship for BMW.
Kurt Gerrard Luby is a British former racing driver who now works as a motorcycle dealer in his hometown of Bolton. He first entered racing through karting in 1978, winning seven championships up to 1987. In 1987 he won the British Formula Ford 1600 series, winning the championship that year and then defending his title in 1988. He switched to the Formula Vauxhall Lotus Championship in 1989, finishing second on points. A year later he was third in the championship. After moving to saloon car racing, he was second in the 1991 National Saloon Championship Group N, driving a BMW M3. Also that year he won the Willhire 24 Hours with Will Hoy and Ray Bellm. His final championship title was in the 1998 British GT in a GT2 class Chrysler Viper GTS-R alongside Richard Dean.
Pierre Dieudonné is a Belgian auto racing driver and motoring journalist.
Peter Charles Lovett is a retired British racing driver and businessman. He is perhaps best known for his racing exploits in the TWR run Rover SD1 in the early 1980s.