Ralph Bellamy (racing car designer)
Ralph Bellamy is a retired motor racing car designer and engineer. Born 4 February 1938 in Eastwood, Sydney, New South Wales he worked for various teams such as Brabham, Ensign, Fittipaldi, Lola and McLaren.[1][2]
Ralph Bellamy | |
|---|---|
| Born | 4 February 1938 Eastwood, New South Wales, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Occupation | Motorsport engineer and designer |
| Known for | Formula One designer. (Brabham, Ensign, Fittipaldi, Lola, McLaren) |
Bellamy first came to Europe in the 1960s to try and achieve a successful career in motor racing. Once in Europe, Bellamy first came to be noticed for his work with Gordon Coppuck on the McLaren M14 in 1970. Bellamy then became chief designer of the 1971 McLaren M19A and following this the McLaren M21.
He then moved from McLaren to Brabham where Bernie Ecclestone was in charge and he redesigned the Brabham BT34 into the BT37. Bellamy then lost his position to Gordon Murray and moved to Lotus where he was one of the team designing the Lotus 78.[3] Next he joined Fittipaldi Automotive in 1978 without success[4] and moved again to Ensign for the 1980 season.
From 1983, Bellamy spent time in Indycar design and Formula 2 design. In 1986 he was working at Lola, designing Formula 3000 chassis and the Lola F1 design.
Bellamy retired in 1993 moving back to Australia, however he was still involved in motorsport designing V8 Supercars for Tony Longhurst Racing.[5]
References
- "x-ray-spec-mclaren-m19". Motor Sport magazine archive. 2005. p. 64. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- http://www.mso.net, MSO.net -. "Ralph Bellamy - BRDC Members - British Racing Drivers' Club".
- Kirby, Gordon. "The Way It Is/ How aerodynamics took over the sport". gordonkirby.com. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- "Official Website of McLaren-Honda Formula 1 Team".
- service, Grandprix.com - First & fastest: The original online F1 news. "Grandprix.com".