Brian Roger Hart was a British racing driver and engineer with a background in the aviation industry.
19 Facts About Brian Hart
1.
2.
Brian Hart is best known as the founder of Brian Hart Limited, a company that developed and built engines for motorsport use.
3.
At Oulton Park in October 1960, Brian Hart had a bad crash with the car, which led to Terry designing the Mk4 series 2, which Brian Hart drove in 1961.
4.
The rear-engined cars were now the state of the art and Brian Hart had only limited success with the car.
5.
Brian Hart enjoyed a successful career as a driver in various single-seater formulae.
6.
Brian Hart competed in Formula Junior and Formula Three, then graduated to Formula Two with the works Lotus Formula Two team run by Ron Harris.
7.
Brian Hart competed in a handful of non-championship Formula One races using Formula Two cars and in 1967, he qualified for the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring in a Protos-Cosworth.
8.
Brian Hart provided training in the design and construction of airframes and aero engines.
9.
Brian Hart then moved to the renowned engine builder Cosworth, but left in 1969 to form his own eponymous company to service Cosworth's Ford FVA engines.
10.
Brian Hart Limited was commissioned by Ford to work on new engine development, in a similar role to his former employer.
11.
Brian Hart developed the Ford BDA, which would be used in Ford's rally programs throughout the 1970s.
12.
The Brian Hart-tuned Ford FVA and BDA engines were successful in Formula Two, with Ronnie Peterson winning the European title with an FVA in 1971 and Mike Hailwood taking the same title in 1972 with a BDA.
13.
The arrival in F2 of BMW and Renault left Ford reluctant to increase its involvement, so Brian Hart chose to develop his own F2 engine - the 420R - which was first raced in a Chevron sportscar in 1976.
14.
Brian Hart continued as Toleman's engine partner until the team's purchase by Benetton and later supplied engines to RAM, Haas Lola and Tyrrell in the 1980s, as well as Jordan and Arrows in the 1990s.
15.
Brian Hart Limited returned to its previous role as a tuning and servicing specialist, working in partnership with Cosworth to develop its DFZ and DFR engines.
16.
However, when Peugeot decided to enter Formula One and offered Jordan a factory deal, the contract with Brian Hart was not renewed.
17.
The lack of funds prevented Brian Hart from developing the V10 and the older V8 was used instead.
18.
In 1997, Brian Hart turned to Minardi and began working on another V10 design, but he was never able to fully finance the project.
19.
The deal was marred by legal action taken over money that was allegedly owed and Brian Hart parted company with Arrows and Formula One before the end of the year.