MOTORSPORT: FIREBRAND Bolton racing driver Jim Crawford died nearly six years ago aged 54, but the memory of his phenomenal car control lives on.
It was his supreme skill which brought him to the notice of Lotus Formula One owner Colin Chapman.
Initially, Crawford, who lived in Crompton Way, was given a testing role with the team, which evenutally led to grand prix outings in the famous Lotus type 72 car.
His first race was at the 1975 British Grand Prix at Silverstone and then Monza for the Italian GP. He was not successful for Lotus and was dropped before his driving career went into decline.
Crawford did not race regularly until he was 33 when he won the British F1 series with relative ease.The team he was driving for decided to cover the wheels with mudguards and take it to America and enter the car in the Can-Am Sportscar series.
Crawford was an immediate front runner. In 1983, he won races in the converted F1 car and went on to finish runner-up for a second successive year. In the same year, he made his first entry into the American Single Seater Champ Car races. As a 36-year-old, he claimed fourth place on his debut street circuit race at Long Beach, but it was Indianapolis where he made his name in the USA.
He first qualified for the big race in 1985 and notched his best result three years later with sixth place at the wheel of a British-built Lola.
Crawford's career was almost ended when he suffered a massive crash in Indianapolis which left him with serious leg injuries from which he never fully recovered. He continued racing and in 1989 he clocked an unofficial track record of 233mph. But he made his final Indy start in 1993.
Former director of the Bolton-built Chevron car firm, Paul Owen, described Crawford as the bravest driver he had ever known. Along with company founder Derek Bennett, Owen played an important part in Crawford's career. They loaned him a Chevron car to race in the Atlantic series in 1973 and he brought many wins for the team.
There was no better illustration of his talent than Chevron's last major single seater victory. In torrential rain at Oulton Park in 1980 when Crawford scored a shock victory in an Aurora British F1 championship race aboard a two-year-old Chevron B45. After retiring he went to live on the Gulf coast of America.
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