Geoff Lees (racing driver)
Geoffrey Lees (born 1 May 1951) is a former racing driver from England. He participated in 12 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, making his first appearance on 16 July 1978. He scored no championship points.
.jpg) Lees' Shadow DN11 at the 2018 British Grand Prix | |
| Born | 1 May 1951 Kingsbury, Warwickshire |
|---|---|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  |
| Active years | 1978–1980, 1982 |
| Teams | Tyrrell, Ensign, Shadow, RAM, Theodore, Lotus |
| Entries | 12 (5 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1978 British Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1982 French Grand Prix |
Career
Lees was born near Kingsbury, Warwickshire. His first Grand Prix chance came with a non-works Ensign at his home race in 1978, but he failed to qualify. The following year he had a one-off drive for Tyrrell, before a more regular ride with the struggling Shadow team in 1980. Later that year he also drove for the works Ensign team, and failed to qualify a RAM-entered Williams in the US. He participated in the Formula One non-championship race held on 7 February 1981 at Kyalami for Theodore where he went into the crash barriers on lap 11 due to a broken front suspension. In the hope of taking one step backward and then two steps forward, he joined Ralt-Honda for the European Formula Two championship. He won the championship, but his hopes of "re-entering Formula One with more dignity" were quashed when Honda decided to spend another year developing their F1 engine.[1] Lees, one year ahead of Honda failed to find a good seat at the highest level, and his F1 career petered out in 1982 with single drives for Theodore and Lotus.
In his Formula One career, Lees seemed stuck in uncompetitive cars, and when success proved elusive, he moved to Japan in the early 1980s. There he enjoyed a long career in the Japanese Formula Two, winning the 1983 title and collecting eight wins. He also represented various Japanese marques in sports car racing championships such as the Fuji Grand Champion Series, where he won three titles in 1986, 1988 and 1989, and the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship, where he got the C-class title in 1992. Lees became a highly paid and highly respected part of the Japanese racing scene. He has also driven at Le Mans numerous times, with his best finish being a sixth place overall in 1990.
Racing record
Complete European Formula Two Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Polifac BMW Junior Team | March 782 | BMW | THR | HOC | NÜR | PAU | MUG | VAL | ROU | DON Ret |
14th | 4 | ||||
| Raven Racing | Chevron B42 | Hart | NOG 6 |
PER DNQ |
MIS 4 |
HOC Ret | |||||||||||
| 1980 | Ralt Racing | Ralt RH6/80 | Honda | THR | HOC | NÜR | VAL | PAU | SIL | ZOL | MUG | ZAN | PER | MIS | HOC Ret |
NC | 0 |
| 1981 | Ralt Racing | Ralt RH6/81 | Honda | SIL 7 |
HOC 5 |
THR NC |
NÜR 5 |
VAL 5 |
MUG 2 |
PAU 1 |
PER Ret |
SPA 1 |
DON 1 |
MIS 2 |
MAN 2 |
1st | 51 |
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Mario Deliotti Racing | Ensign N175 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG | BRA | RSA | USW | MON | BEL | ESP | SWE | FRA | GBR DNQ |
GER | AUT | NED | ITA | USA | CAN | NC | 0 |
| 1979 | Candy Tyrrell Team | Tyrrell 009 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG | BRA | RSA | USW | ESP | BEL | MON | FRA | GBR | GER 7 |
AUT | NED | ITA | CAN | USA | NC | 0 | |
| 1980 | Shadow Cars | Shadow DN11 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG | BRA | RSA 13 |
USW DNQ |
NC | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Shadow DN12 | BEL DNQ |
MON DNQ |
FRA DNQ |
GBR | GER | AUT | |||||||||||||||
| Unipart Racing Team | Ensign N180 | NED Ret |
ITA DNQ |
CAN | |||||||||||||||||
| RAM Racing | Williams FW07B | USA DNQ |
|||||||||||||||||||
| 1982 | Theodore Racing Team | Theodore TY02 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | RSA | BRA | USW | SMR | BEL | MON | DET | CAN Ret |
NED | GBR | NC | 0 | ||||||
| John Player Team Lotus | Lotus 91 | FRA 12 |
GER | AUT | SUI | ITA | CPL |
24 Hours of Le Mans results
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Sources
- Åhman, Michael (30 December 1981). "Han vann och försvann" [He won and disappeared]. Teknikens Värld (in Swedish). Vol. 34 no. 1. Stockholm, Sweden: Specialtidningsförlaget AB. pp. 22–23.
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Richard Morgan |
Formula Ford Festival Winner 1975 |
Succeeded by Derek Daly |
| Preceded by Riccardo Patrese |
Macau GP winner 1979, 1980 |
Succeeded by Bob Earl |
| Preceded by Brian Henton |
European Formula Two Champion 1981 |
Succeeded by Corrado Fabi |
| Preceded by Satoru Nakajima |
Japanese Formula Two Champion 1983 |
Succeeded by Satoru Nakajima |