Onyx Grand Prix began life as Onyx Race Engineering in late 1978 as a partnership between old colleagues Mike Earle and Greg Field. Prior to approaching Field and asking him to join him in a new venture, Earle had had extensive experience in open-wheel racing, running the successful Church Farm Racing team in F3, F2 and Formula 5000, as well as previously working with Field and driver David Purley in the LEC racing team in Formula Atlantic, F2, European Formula 5000 and occasional Formula One races. In their first foray into team ownership the duo intended to enter their own chassis in Formula 2 for the 1979 season but it turned out to be a largely unsuccessful campaign. They returned in 1980 and 1981 running semi-works Marches for Johnny Cecotto and Riccardo Paletti. After a competitive 1981 season Paletti's sponsors took him to Formula One with Osella. Not wanting to be left behind, Onyx tried their hand at F1 by entering a private March in 5 rounds for SpaniardEmilio de Villota, with de Villota failing to qualify for any of the races. Onyx planned to enter their own car once again in 1983 but this time taking a step up into the world of Formula One with a returning Paletti. Disaster struck as Paletti was killed at the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix and this seemed to curtail Onyx's progression forward.
Next step
At this time, co-founder Greg Field decided to leave the team and sold his share to racing enthusiast Jo Chamberlain, which looked like a further step backwards for the team. Some good fortune arrived as March Engineering co-founder Robin Herd had decided to outsource the running of the works March Formula 2 team and he approached Earle and Onyx to do it. Onyx had now inherited a class-leading chassis, a dominant BMW engine and the best Michelin tyres for the 1983 season, along with capable drivers in Beppe Gabbiani, Thierry Tassin and Christian Danner. The season did not turn out to be a good one as the team fell behind the works Ralts. 1984 would see the team slip further behind the Ralts and even a privately entered March. In 1985 Formula 3000 replaced F2 as the stepping-stone series to Formula One and Onyx continued to run the works March effort, finishing 3rd with Emanuele Pirro in 1985, then progressing even further as Pirro finished as runner-up in 1986, before Onyx achieved their finest moment as Stefano Modena was crowned the 1987 Formula 3000 champion. With Modena off to Formula One, Onyx set their sights on retaining the championship with Volker Weidler but 1988 turned out to be a huge disappointment, as Weidler battled with the March 88B, finishing in 15th position overall. Nevertheless, buoyed by a largely successful Formula 2 and Formula 3000 tenure, Earle was now eager to enter Formula One and set about building a solid team with which to enter the pinnacle of motorsport.
Formula One
Prior to entering Formula One, Paul Shakespeare had purchased the majority shares of the team in September 1988 and this provided Onyx with the much needed injection of cash to make the step up. Martin Dickson was hired as team manager and the team was further boosted by sponsorship from Marlboro and Moneytron, a company owned by flamboyant BelgianJean-Pierre Van Rossem. Van Rossem would soon purchase all of Shakespeare's shares, becoming the majority owner in a deal that would cause the team a considerable number of problems in the future. In the meantime, the team, now rebranded as Onyx Grand Prix, had struck a deal to use FordV8s and Goodyear tyres. Respected engineer Alan Jenkins, who had previously worked for McLaren, was commissioned to design the team's first Formula One car, resulting in the tidy-looking Onyx ORE-1.[1] Earle went for a mixture of youth and experience on the driving front and hired the respected Stefan Johansson and the young Belgian rookie Bertrand Gachot, who had actually been responsible for the arrival of Van Rossem and his Moneytron sponsorship. With a solid business plan in place, a wealth of experience in junior formulae, a sound car and engine package and a solid driver duo, Onyx Grand Prix looked set to have a rather promising future in Formula One. At the car's debut in England, Autosport's Nigel Roebuck described the Moneytron sponsorship as "the most tasteless I have ever seen".[2]
Despite all of the excitement and preparation, Onyx only just made it to their first Grand Prix. Their cars were only completed on the morning of their launch, before having to be hastily packed and sent off to Heathrow Airport the same day for transportation to Brazil, the scene of the season's first race. Having had no testing to fine-tune the cars, neither car would make it out of pre-qualifying in the first 3 rounds. Things got worse as a testing accident completely destroyed one chassis prior to the race at Imola and at the race itself, brake failure on Johansson's car resulted in another car-destroying crash. Positive signs were beginning to show as Gachot just missed out on pre-qualifying in Imola, Johansson would do the same at Monaco, before finally Johansson would make it out of pre-qualifying in Mexico, setting the 6th fastest time in Saturday free practice before qualifying 21st for the race, ahead of the illustrious Nelson Piquet and respected drivers Pierluigi Martini, René Arnoux and Eddie Cheever. The car however, and expectedly, would suffer a mechanical failure in its debut race, but progress was being made. More good news arrived at Phoenix with the return of Greg Field who replaced Dickson as Team Manager and Johansson once again making the grid, qualifying 19th before a front suspension failure ended his day. Johansson was once again on the grid in Canada, this time 18th. Gachot had yet to make his first Grand Prix start but he was getting ever closer.
During this upswing things started to look ominous. Van Rossem's lavish lifestyle and extravagance came to the fore, having purchased a US$20 million Gulfstream IV business jet prior to the Phoenix Grand Prix. Johansson was also disqualified in Canada after a botched pit-stop saw him tear the air gun rig apart. Amidst all the dark clouds, a sunny day arrived at the 1989 French Grand Prix. Both cars were ideally suited to the Paul Ricard circuit and comfortably finished 1–2 in pre-qualifying. They both had an even more impressive qualifying proper, with Gachot ending up 11th on the grid and Johansson 13th. Gachot ran with Alesi, who finished 4th, before a battery problem put him down to 13th, while Johansson scored the team's first points with a fine 5th place. The two points were now set to get the team out of pre-qualifying for the remainder of the season, but it came to nothing at the next round in Britain. Johansson failed to qualify and Gachot qualified 21st before having his race blighted by handling problems. The Minardis would finish 5th and 6th however, condemning Onyx to the ruthless world of pre-qualifying, although the fact that the two Brabhams and Dallara's Alex Caffi were no longer pre-qualifiers made this task easier for them. Johansson would qualify in Germany, Hungary and Belgium, with Gachot missing out in Germany (which would be the only time during the 1989 season that an Onyx would succeed in getting through pre-qualifying without then going on to qualify). Trouble flared up once again with Van Rossem and his flamboyancy as he had been quoted in the press as saying he was attempting to attract top drivers to the team and was in the process of investing US$40 million into Porsche's F1 engine project while, in reality and behind closed doors, Van Rossem was beginning to bemoan the cost of running a Formula One team and was even rumoured to be reluctant to pay the team's bills. Van Rossem went one step further by saying on Belgian TV that he would quit F1 if the Porsche engine deal fell through. Many saw this as an admission that he was tired of the sport and sought a reason to get out. Van Rossem's spectacularly destructive and erratic antics went on: he also made some controversial comments in a Belgian newspaper during the Belgian GP weekend, drawing the ire of two of F1's most powerful men, F1 commercial rights holder and F1 management CEO Bernie Ecclestone and then-FIA president Jean-Marie Balestre. He denied apparent allegations that he had referred to Balestre as a Nazi (Balestre apparently was part of the pro-Nazi Vichy French military during World War II) and Ecclestone as a Mafia boss. Ecclestone then banned Van Rossem from attending any further Grands Prix.[3]
At the Italian Grand Prix Gachot qualified for what would be his final race for the team, while Johansson failed to make the grid. Gachot raised the ire of his erratic boss and was sacked for voicing his displeasure at the team's lack of testing and an apparent lack of faith in his driving. JJ Lehto was drafted in at the last minute as his replacement, but with little time to familiarise himself with the new car he failed to qualify for the next round in Portugal. Yet again it was Johansson that came to the fore and gave Onyx a reason to smile at the Portuguese Grand Prix. He decided not to change tyres during the race and after everybody else had made their pit-stops and following Mansell and Senna's collision, he was running an incredible 3rd before his tyres started to go off. He was rapidly caught and passed by both Williams but they soon retired and Johansson was left with a clear run home in 3rd, crossing the line with no fuel left. It was a great moment for the team but it would also turn out to be their last points finish. With Van Rossem reluctant to make funds available, development on the car was slow and Johansson would not qualify for the rest of the season, although Lehto would continue to improve, making the grid in Spain and Australia.
The team finished in a respectable 10th position overall in their debut season, scoring 6 points and being rewarded with not having to take part in pre-qualifying for the following season.
After what should have been a solid foundation to build on in 1989, things started coming apart heading into 1990. At the end of the 1989 season Van Rossem's lack of interest began to show. Finances quickly dried up and Van Rossem's flamboyant and uncooperative personality resulted in Earle and Chamberlain quitting the team, with Field leaving for a second time. Alan Jenkins took charge, with Peter Rheinardt taking over as Team Manager from Field. Having failed to secure a deal for either Honda or Porsche V10s for 1991, Van Rossem acted on his threats and left, taking his Moneytron sponsorship with him. Now seeking new ownership, Swiss car collector and former racer Peter Monteverdi purchased 50% of the team, with Karl Foitek purchasing 25% and Brune Frei purchasing the remaining 25%. Onyx was already in such dire financial straits that Foitek had to pay for Goodyear tyres used by the team in 1989 before the company would provide them with tyres for the 1990 season. The team then rehired Earle and Chamberlain, but Alan Jenkins was soon fired after refusing to work with Earle. To make matters worse Earle and Chamberlain left once again, along with Team Manager Rheinhardt and the bulk of Onyx's experienced staff.
For 1990 the team retained JJ Lehto and opted to go with Gregor Foitek, son of part-owner Karl Foitek, in the second car. Foitek was contracted to Brabham for two races so Johansson was kept for the opening two rounds. As little money had been put into developing a car for the 1990 season, Onyx arrived at the opening two rounds with last year's ORE-1. Neither driver qualified for the first two races, with Johansson destroying two chassis in the process. At the San Marino Grand Prix the team arrived with slightly updated ORE-1B chassis.[4] Foitek replaced Johansson, who sued Onyx for breach of contract and, along with Alan Jenkins, attempted to get a court injunction to block Monteverdi's planned relocation of the team. Both cars made the grid at Imola, with Lehto coming home 12th. At Monaco Foitek was running in 6th position at a late stage in the race when he collided with Éric Bernard's Larrousse, resulting in him being classified 7th, a result that would be Onyx's best finish of the season. Both cars made the grid in Canada and Mexico, but could only manage one finish between them, with Foitek's 15th place in Mexico. In July Monteverdi had fulfilled his desire to move the team to Switzerland but that improved nothing. A clear indication of how far behind the team had fallen came in France where both cars failed to make the grid, where at the same track last season they had both qualified high up and netted a points finish. At the British Grand Prix neither car made the grid. By the time of the German Grand Prix, Monteverdi had succeeded in changing the team's name to Monteverdi Onyx Formula One, but once again it meant nothing as although both cars scraped onto the grid, Foitek retired early and Lehto finished six laps behind and was unclassified.
There were also rumours circulating regarding poor car preparation, including broken suspension parts being welded back together instead of being replaced and the cannibalising of Monteverdi's sports car collection for spare parts. One incident saw Lehto repeatedly complaining of poor handling, a problem that was finally solved when his driveshaft was discovered to have been installed the wrong way around. At around this time part-owner Karl Foitek withdrew his money and barred his son from driving a car that he now felt was dangerous. With finances already a huge problem, Foitek's withdrawal was the final straw and the team would ultimately not see out the championship, wrapping up operations at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Reformation
After a time spent running Arena Motorsport, Earle reformed the team initially to contest the 2014World Touring Car Championship with TC1 version of Ford Fiesta saloon.[5] However the plans were abolished in February 2014 due to lack of support by Ford. Instead the team was to build the Ford Focus ST for the 2015 TCR International Series season.[6] However, the car was underdeveloped and uncompetitive and only contested half the events in the inaugural season, recording just two classified finishes at Monza, before the assets were sold to the FRD racing team for 2016.
Complete International Formula 3000 results
(Results in bold indicate pole position; Results in italics indicate fastest lap)
Bertrand Jean Gachot is a Belgian-French former racing driver. Gachot enjoyed some success in the junior formulae, winning titles in Formula Ford before progressing through Formula 3 and Formula 3000, reaching Formula One in 1989. After winning the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans, Gachot was sentenced to 18 months in prison for an aggravated assault that had occurred the previous December. He was released after two months on appeal, but his enforced absence enabled Michael Schumacher to make his Grand Prix debut.
The 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Jacarepaguá, Rio de Janeiro on 26 March 1989. It was the first race of the 1989 Formula One World Championship.
The 1989 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Imola circuit on 23 April 1989. It was the second race of the 1989 Formula One season. The race was overshadowed by Gerhard Berger's massive accident at Tamburello corner. The race was stopped for one hour and restarted. The race was won by Ayrton Senna who started from pole position. The Grand Prix had a total of 39 entrants, the largest amount in Formula One history. This record was equalled in the following 14 races of the season but, as of 2022, it has not been broken.
The 1989 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo on 7 May 1989. It was the third race of the 1989 Formula One World Championship. The 77-lap race was won from pole position by Ayrton Senna, driving a McLaren-Honda, with teammate Alain Prost second and Stefano Modena third in a Brabham-Judd.
The 1989 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City on 28 May 1989. The race, contested over 69 laps, was the fourth race of the 1989 Formula One season and was won from pole position by Ayrton Senna, driving a McLaren-Honda, with Riccardo Patrese second in a Williams-Renault and Michele Alboreto third in a Tyrrell-Ford.
The 1989 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Paul Ricard on 9 July 1989. It was the seventh race of the 1989 Formula One World Championship.
The 1989 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on 16 July 1989. It was the eighth race of the 1989 Formula One World Championship.
The 1989 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Hungaroring on 13 August 1989. It was the tenth race of the 1989 Formula One World Championship.
The 1989 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on 27 August 1989. It was the eleventh race of the 1989 Formula One World Championship.
The 1989 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on 10 September 1989. It was the twelfth race of the 1989 Formula One season.
The 1989 Portuguese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Autódromo do Estoril in Estoril, Portugal on 24 September 1989. It was the thirteenth race of the 1989 Formula One World Championship.
The 1989 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Jerez on 1 October 1989. It was the fourteenth race of the 1989 Formula One World Championship. The 73-lap race was won from pole position by Ayrton Senna, driving a McLaren-Honda. Gerhard Berger was second in a Ferrari, while Senna's teammate and Drivers' Championship rival Alain Prost was third.
The 1990 United States Grand Prix was the opening motor race of the 1990 Formula One World Championship held on March 11, 1990, in Phoenix, Arizona. It was the 32nd United States Grand Prix since the American Grand Prize was first held in 1908, and the 25th under Formula One regulations since the first United States Grand Prix was held at Sebring, Florida in 1959. It was the second to be held on the streets of Phoenix and ran over 72 laps of the 4 km-circuit.
The 1990 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Jerez on 30 September 1990. It was the fourteenth race of the 1990 Formula One World Championship, and the fifth and last Spanish Grand Prix to be held at Jerez.
The 1991 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Imola on 28 April 1991. It was the third race of the 1991 Formula One World Championship.
The 1991 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on 2 June 1991. It was the fifth race of the 1991 FIA Formula One World Championship.
Jyrki Juhani Järvilehto, better known as "JJ Lehto", is a Finnish racing driver. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice, in 1995 and 2005. He is also a former Formula One driver.
EuroBrun Racing was a Swiss-Italian Formula One constructor based in Senago, Milan, Italy. They participated in 46 Grands Prix between 1988 and 1990, with an Italian license, entering a total of 76 cars.
Rial is a German producer of light alloy wheels and rims, and was a Formula One constructor competing in the 1988 and 1989 seasons. Founded in the 1970s as a wheel rim producer, the company was bought by Günter Schmid, ex-owner of the ATS wheels company in 1987. Schmid followed the same strategy as he had at ATS, advertising the Rial wheel brand by entering Formula One as a constructor. Rial participated in 32 Grands Prix, entering a total of 48 cars. They scored six championship points, finishing a highest of ninth in the constructors championship in 1988. After leaving Formula One at the end of the 1989 season, the Rial Racing division was closed, and the company did not race again. Rial continues to manufacture wheels and rims from its factory in Fußgönheim.
The Dallara F191 was a Formula One car designed by Giampaolo Dallara and Nigel Cowperthwaite for use by the BMS Scuderia Italia team during the 1991 Formula One season. The car was powered by the Judd V10 engine and ran on Pirelli tyres. Its best finish was at the San Marino Grand Prix when JJ Lehto drove it to third place.
References
↑ Galpin, Darren. "Onyx ORE 1-Cosworth". The A-Z of Racing Cars. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
↑ "Mike Earle podcast". motorsportmagazine.com. 9 April 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
↑ Motor Sport (9 April 2015). "Mike Earle podcast". Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2016– via YouTube.
Although World Championship races held in 1952 and 1953 were run to Formula Two regulations, constructors who only participated during this period are included herein to maintain Championship continuity. Constructors whose only participation in the World Championship was in the Indianapolis 500 races between 1950 and 1960 are not listed.
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Stefan Johansson 
Bertrand Gachot 
JJ Lehto 
Gregor Foitek 
