B&S Fabrications

Template:GBR B&S Fabrications

Full Name	B&S Fabrications (1976-1981) Penthouse Rover Grand Prix (1982)
Base	Luton, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom
Founder(s)	Template:GBR Bob Sparshott Template:GBR John Woodington
Team Principal(s)	Template:GBR Bob Sparshott Template:GBR John Woodington
Technical Director
Noted Former Drivers
Template:FRA Patrick Depailler	Scored Spartec's first World Championship podium.
Template:GBR Robert Kagan	Former race winner joined the Rover team.
Template:GBR Derek Warwick	Scored his debut and first points for B&S.
Template:GBR Stephen South	Scored the team's first-ever F1 podium.
Template:GBR Rupert Keegan	Not to be confused with Robert Kagan
Template:BEL Thierry Boutsen	Future Benetton driver made his debut with B&S.

B&S Fabrications was an engineering company that specialised in constructing Formula One parts, and which also ran a privateer Formula One team between 1976 and 1978 before building their own Spartec chassis in 1979. B&S recorded one podium finish in Formula One, when Patrick Depailler finished in third place at the 1981 Spanish Grand Prix. This gained the confidence of British Leyland, who provided funding for the team to enter Formula One as Rover Grand Prix from 1982 onwards. B&S were also regular entrants to non-Championship events until 1980, with a notable result of 2nd place at the 1980 Race of Champions.

Formula One

1976

Whilst B&S Fabrications continued their business as a supplier of motorsports parts, business partner John Woodington was given the responsibility of taking the helm of the team's entry into Formula One. For their debut season in 1976, the team purchased two-year-old March 741 chassis and Ford Cosworth engines, with the cars to be driven by a selection of pay drivers. No fewer than five different drivers would compete for the team, escaping from pre-qualifying a total of four times between them and to the race proper twice. The team's best result was provided by former Olympian Divina Galica, who finished in 12th place in the 1976 British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch, the team's home race. Three more failures to make the grid would follow but Galica's 12th place helped the team to finish 17th in the Entrants' Championship. Despite this, money was tight by the end of the season.

1977

The B&S March-Renzo; the engine would not fit under its cover.

Faced with financial difficulty, things looked bleak for the team heading into 1977. The now three-year-old Marches were kept, but a further blow was struck when both of the Cosworth engines failed irreparably during a pre-season testing session. The cash-strapped team was forced to purchase the experimental (but very cheap) Renzo V8 engines which proved to be both uncompetitive and unreliable. In a questionable display, Woodington opted to sell the team's race seats to drivers looking for experience. No fewer than twelve drivers would represent the team over the course of the season, but few stayed around for longer than they had to in a team that was barely faster than the Dywas and Wheatcrofts at the bottom of the pre-qualifying timesheets. The team continued to bleed money with little to show for it, and were forced to curtail their European season after the German Grand Prix without ever escaping prequalifying. Only Divina Galica and Conny Andersson represented the team more than once in 1977, but one small olive branch came at the British Grand Prix, where the Tony Brise Memorial Trophy offered B&S some valuable track time in which she managed to score a 17th-place finish.

1978

The 1978 season was another painful one for B&S; unable to procure new machinery, the team planned only to attend the Championship rounds at Brands Hatch and Hockenheim respectively, in addition to the Race of Champions also at Brands Hatch. To do this, they retained the services of Galica and Andersson. However, as the season came to a close, Dywa Grand Prix Series driver Luciano Sighinolfi approached the team to ask if he could offer the funding for them to attend the Italian Grand Prix at Monza so as to familiarise himself with Monza in a suitably fast car. The team did so and despite bringing their tally of DNPQs for the season to three, Sighinolfi lauded it as a useful experience and saying that he was "proud to now be a Formula One driver". By season's end, there were rumours that team might move out of Formula One after another season in which the only times they made the starting grid were non-Championship events, although Conny Andersson's 16th-place at the Tony Brise Memorial Trophy was a one-place improvement on the previous year.

1979

The Spartec G71A was the first Formula One car built by B&S.

Despite the expectations of many, B&S did not fold ahead of the 1979 season. With the news that their long-suffering March 741s were to be illegal for the coming season, some doubted that B&S would be able to source a new car, even Sparshott insisted that it had "forced us to look forward, not back." Instead, with Bob Sparshott taking on a more hands-on role in managing the team, they set about conducting their most ambitious program yet: not only did the team return to contesting all Championship events in Europe, also made the unexpected move of building their own Formula One car for the first time ever. The car, dubbed the Spartec G71A would be powered by Ford engines, not the Renzos the team had been stuck with for the past two seasons. Much of the money to do this came from the team's two new drivers, Freddy Kottulinsky and Lella Lombardi, who would be contesting nine rounds each. The remaining drives were offered to two local drivers at their respective Grands Prix: Luciano Sighinolfi at Imola and Monza, and Rupert Keegan at Silverstone and Brands Hatch. This left the long-serving Galica out of a drive, although Sparshott insisted that she was still an important member of the team as a test driver, and that they intended that she continue to drive in non-Championship Formula One events.

Investments into B&S

During the 1979 season, the Formula One paddock was left generally baffled by comments in which Sparshott intimated that his team had a plan and that another season in which the team failed to make it out of prequalifying was a part of that plan. In an interview with the Luton Herald and Post, Sparshott suggested that the team could yet "sit at the same table" as Williams and McLaren, and that their next car could "challenge for World Championship points". . Such statements were met with widespread derision coming from the owner of a team with over 20 consecutive failures to prequalify over the preceding four seasons. However, as the season drew to a close, news of investment into B&S Fabrications began to emerge: first to break was that the owners of the British Formula One Racing Team had chosen to redirect their investment towards B&S in light of the news that teams would be required to commit to a full World Championship season. . Shortly thereafter, Count Rodolphe van der Straten-Panthoz also redirected his investment from his eponymous VDS Racing team and into B&S, in return for an opportunity being given to a Belgian driver at the 1980 Belgian Grand Prix. . However, the biggest news came after the season had ended, when the Auto Racing Sporting Enquirer broke the news that Team Lotus would be making an unprecedented investment into the Spartec project, to the tune of £800,000. This investment stunned the paddock, even after it later emerged that the investment would be used to develop a prototype Hart turbo engine ahead of the 1980 season which might have been deemed too risky for the Lotus works outfit; the story was broken by Sue Jawhard, who incriminated herself in criminal matters by doing so.

1980

As a result of this flurry of investments, as well as earnings made throughout the 1979 season, B&S Fabrications were able to build the brand-new Spartec G71B for the 1980 season, powered by the prototype Hart turbo engines, with talk of them possibly paving the way for Lotus to switch to the same turbos for the following year. This made them only the second team to run a turbocharged engine in Formula One without the backing of an automobile manufacturer, the first being the chaotic Dywa-Renzo outfit in late 1979. The turbo engine offered 1.5 seconds of laptime compared to the previous year's Cosworths when fitted into the G71A. The team also upgraded their drivers, with occasional 1979 entrant Rupert Keegan promoted to a full-time drive alongside new hire Stephen South, leading to the team being described as the "home of British talent" by one biased local publication.

Despite all the enthusiasm, the early season was very difficult for Spartec: the new Hart engines failed to finish any of the first seven Championship Grands Prix, for either driver. However, an upgrade package helped to unlock previously unseen reliability from the engines: across the rest of the season, there were no fewer than nine classified finishes in Championship Grands Prix, one as high as an eighth place for Stephen South at Monza. However, the team's greatest achievement came in a non-championship event. The 1980 Race of Champions was originally due to be held at Brands Hatch before it was cancelled. In response, not only did Bob Sparshott rail against the cancellation, but in an impressive display of influence he managed to rearrange the event to the Thruxton Service, also securing a full grid of 26 drivers. When the race went ahead, South was paired with Finnish rookie Rikky Leiviska; the younger driver retired with engine trouble, but the British driver drove a clean race to come home in second place, behind only Riccardo Patrese's Arrows.

1981

Despite the many positives, the 1980 season had ended without points for Spartec. Despite this, Sparshott lauded a plan that was "not done yet" according to an interview he gave to a racing magazine. He alluded to a possible partnership within the British automotive industry, although nothing was forthcoming for 1981. However, it was expected that the way ahead would have to continue without Rupert Keegan The expectation was that he would be promoted to the main Lotus team, only for Chapman to bring in reigning World Champion Alan Jones to partner Mansell. Lotus' loss was Spartec's gain, and Keegan would race for the team for another year, again in a bright orange car. Rumours that Jonathan Palmer would take the seat proved to be unfounded.

In the season's opening race in Buenos Aires, Rupert Keegan suffered an injury in a nasty crash. Although he was deputised by Ricardo Zunino at Kylaami, his performance was visibly impaired on his return to the team. As a result, Bob Sparshott stood him down for the Spanish Grand Prix, and the team signed Patrick Depailler on loan from Ligier for one round. Following a boycott from several FOCA teams, the Spartecs had an unusual opportunity to challenge for points. Sure enough, it was Depailler who delivered the team's best ever Championship result with a third place behind Elio de Angelis and Patrick Tambay.

Depailler returned to his usual seat at the Arrows team for the Belgian Grand Prix, but Rupert Keegan did not return to the team. Instead, Keegan resigned from his race seat, citing his anger that he was stood down for Spartec's best points-scoring opportunity. Derek Warwick was named as Keegan's replacement, and was awarded a two-year contract by the team. Warwick showed immediate potential with a strong 11th place on debut, and would later go on to record a point-scoring 6th place at Circuit Paul Ricard. He dedicated his point to the memory of Depailler, who had been killed in a startline accident in the preceding Mexican Grand Prix. In the aftermath of the deaths of Depailler and later Didier Pironi, Sparshott and Stephen South both positioned themselves at the forefront of the push for greater safety in Formula One. South used his position as GPDA President to advocate for FISA to make reckless driving a punishable offence.

Becoming Rover

Beginning in 1981, rumours emerged that a strong enough season might open up the possibility of a possible "Rover" engine-badging deal with British Leyland, although this would not be enacted until 1982 season.. Throughout the season, talk that British Leyland would be investing in a Formula One continued, eventually being confirmed after Spartec's Spanish Grand Prix podium. In addition to Spartec as their "works" team, the Rover-Hart engine programme soon began announcing additional engine customers: deals first with Toleman, then March, then Osella were all announced before the 1981 season had even concluded. As a result of this, B&S Fabrications had become one of the most influential organisations in Formula One.

1982

A further statement of intent was made for the team when the signing of Robert Kagan was announced, with his infamous sponsorship meaning that the team would officially enter the new season as Penthouse Rover Grand Prix.. The team started the season with a "B-Spec" of their 1981 car, before introducing the brand-new Spartec 14 at the San Marino Grand Prix. Motor Sport Magazine's Sue Jawhard described Penthouse Rover as "Britain's most ambitious Formula One team". She described Kagan and Warwick as a "powerhouse driver pairing", and suggested that the Rover engine could be the most powerful on the grid.

BMW M1 Procar Championship

Despite the questionable attributes of their new Spartec Formula One car, B&S Fabrications were also approached by Bernie Ecclestone to prepare a field of 24 BMW M1 Procars for a new-for-1979 Formula One support series. In return for their efforts, B&S were granted an entry for a two-car team in the series. The Luton outfit approached long-standing Formula One driver Divina Galica and recovering ex-Dywa GP driver Kelby Rogerson, who was making his comeback into motorsports after a devastating spinal injury sustained at the Coppa Renzo Bizzarri ended his open-wheel career. However, after experiencing back pain during Monaco qualifying, he quit the series and was replaced by Rupert Keegan.

After Formula One

Sparshott withdrew his team at the end of the 1987 Formula One season ^{[dependent upon a 1987 retcon]}, citing his inability to keep up with the arms race that Formula One had become. He continued to enter teams into the British Touring Car Championship and British Formula Three Championship for some years, as well as continuing the fabrications part of his business by building and maintaining cars for junior formula racing. Brian Hart also continued to use the premises as a base for his racing engines operation, supplying engines to McLaren in 1993 and 1994, then to Oreca in 1995.As the team stopped entering racing series and focussed on fabrications, the business was renamed to "Racing Fabrications" in the years before Sparshott retired; the business and premises were sold to McEwan Automotive in 2012.

Motorsports Results

Formula One World Championship Results

As an entrant

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	No.	Driver	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Pts	WEC
1976	B&S Fabrications	March 741	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8			ARG	RSA	Template:USA USW	ESP	Template:BEL BEL	MON	SOV	Template:FRA FRA	Template:GBR GBR	GER	Template:AUT AUT	NED	ITA	CAN	Template:USA USA	JPN		0	NC
				43	Template:GBR Brian Henton					DNQ					DNQ	DNPQ		DNPQ
					Torsten Palm								DNQ				DNPQ
					Template:GBR Divina Galica									12
				44	Conny Andersson					DNQ				17†	Ret	DNPQ		DNPQ
					Template:AUT Dieter Quester								DNQ				DNPQ
1977	B&S Fabrications	March 741	Renzo DFV 3.0 V8			ARG	RSA	Template:USA USW	ESP	Template:BEL BEL	MON	Template:FRA FRA	TUS	SOV	Template:GBR GBR	GER	NED	Template:AUT AUT	ITA	CAN	Template:USA USA	JPN	0	NC
				43	Template:GBR Guy Edwards				DNPQ
					Template:BEL Bernard de Dryver					DNPQ
					Template:GBR Andy Sutcliffe						DNPQ
					Michael Bleekemolen							DNPQ
					Lamberto Leoni								DNPQ
					Template:GBR Divina Galica										DNPQ	DNPQ
				44	Emilio Zapico				DNPQ
					Conny Andersson					DNPQ						DNPQ
					Template:SUI Loris Kessel						DNPQ
					Template:AUT Hans Binder							DNPQ
					Beppe Gabbiani								DNPQ
					Template:GBR Ian Ashley										DNPQ
1978	B&S Fabrications	March 741	Renzo DFV 3.0 V8			ARG	RSA	Template:USA USW	ESP	Template:BEL BEL	MON	Template:FRA SUI	TUS	Template:GBR GBR	Template:FRA FRA	NED	GER	Template:AUT AUT	ITA	CAN	Template:USA USA		0	NC
				43	Template:GBR Divina Galica									DNPQ			DNPQ
					Luciano Sighinolfi														DNPQ
				44	Conny Andersson									DNPQ			DNPQ		DNPQ

As a constructor

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	No.	Driver	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Pts	WCC
1979	B&S Fabrications	Spartec G71A	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8			ARG	BRA	RSA	Template:USA USW	ESP	Template:BEL BEL	MON	EUR	SMR	Template:FRA FRA	Template:GBR GBR	GER	Template:AUT AUT	NED	ITA	CAN	Template:USA USA	0	NC
				43	Freddy Kottulinsky					DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ			DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ	C
					Luciano Sighinolfi									DNPQ						DNPQ
					Lella Lombardi								DNPQ
				44						DNPQ	DNPQ	DNPQ		DNPQ	DNPQ		DNPQ	DNPQ	C	DNPQ
					Template:GBR Rupert Keegan								DNPQ			DNPQ
1980	B&S Fabrications	Spartec G71B	Hart 415T 1.5 L4t			RSA	ARG	BRA	Template:USA USW	ESP	Template:BEL BEL	MON	MEX	SMR	Template:FRA FRA	Template:GBR GBR	GER	Template:AUT AUT	ITA	CAN	Template:USA USA	DUB	0	NC
				31	Template:GBR Rupert Keegan	C	DNQ	Ret	Ret	DNQ	Ret	DNPQ	Ret	18	Ret	10	11	14	Ret	Ret	13	Ret
				32	Template:GBR Stephen South	C	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret		DNPQ	Ret	19	17	11†	Ret	Ret	8	Ret	Ret	Ret
					Template:BEL Thierry Boutsen						Ret
1981	B&S Fabrications	Spartec G71C	Hart 415T 1.5 L4t			ARG	RSA	BRA	Template:USA USW	ESP	Template:BEL BEL	MON	SMR	MEX	Template:FRA FRA	Template:GBR GBR	GER	Template:AUT AUT	Template:SUI SUI	ITA	CAN	Template:USA CPA	5	11th
				29	Template:GBR Rupert Keegan	Ret	INJ	Ret	DNQ
					Ricardo Zunino		DNQ
					Template:FRA Patrick Depailler					3
					Template:GBR Derek Warwick						11	Ret	9	13†	6	Ret	8	Ret	14	10	14	Ret
				30	Template:GBR Stephen South	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	13	11	10	Ret	Ret	11	13	Ret	Ret	Ret	17	13
1982	Penthouse Rover Grand Prix	Spartec G71C-R	Rover-Hart 415T 1.5 L4t			RSA	BRA	Template:USA USW	SMR	Template:BEL BEL	MON	MEX	Template:USA DET	Template:FRA FRA	Template:GBR GBR	GER	Template:AUT AUT	EUR	ITA	CAN	Template:USA CPA		0*	9th*
				29	Template:GBR Robert Kagan	8	EX	Ret
					David Kennedy		10
				30	Template:GBR Derek Warwick	Ret	Ret	9
		Spartec 14		29	Template:GBR Robert Kagan				Ret	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT
				30	Template:GBR Derek Warwick				7	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT
1983	B&S Fabrications	Spartec 15	TBC	Season yet to be held
1984	B&S Fabrications	Spartec 16	TBC	Season yet to be held
1985	B&S Fabrications	Spartec 17	TBC	Season yet to be held
1986	B&S Fabrications	Spartec 18	TBC	Season yet to be held
1987	B&S Fabrications	Spartec 19	TBC	Season yet to be held

As an engine supplier

Beginning in 1980, Hart was based at B&S Fabrications headquarters in Luton while supplying engines for Spartec Formula One cars. From 1982 onwards, Hart began supplying customer engines - initially as part of the badging deal with British Leyland and later under their own name.

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	No.	Driver	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Pts	WCC
1982						RSA	BRA	Template:USA USW	SMR	Template:BEL BEL	MON	MEX	Template:USA DET	Template:FRA FRA	Template:GBR GBR	GER	Template:AUT AUT	EUR	ITA	CAN	Template:USA CPA
	Template:GBR March Engineering	March (TBA)	Rover-Hart 415T 1.5 L4t	9	Template:SUI Marc Surer	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT			*	*
				10	Derek Daly	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT
	Template:GBR Skoal Bandit Toleman Motorsport	Toleman (TBA)	Triumph-Hart 415T 1.5 L4t	21	Mike Thackwell	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT			*	*
				22	Template:GBR Jonathan Palmer	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT
	Osella Squadra Corse	Osella (TBA)	Rover-Hart 415T 1.5 L4t	31	Vittorio Brambilla	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT			*	*
				32	Ricardo Londoño-Bridge	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT
1993						RSA	BRA	JPN	SMR	ESP	MON	CAN	Template:FRA FRA	Template:GBR GBR	GER	HUN	Template:BEL BEL	ITA	POR	JPN	Template:AUS AUS
	Template:GBR Marlboro McLaren Hart	McLaren MP4/8	Hart 1035 3.5 V10	7	Template:AUT Gerhard Berger	4	5	6	Ret	Ret	4	1	3	2	3	Ret	1	Ret	Ret	Ret	4			81	2nd
				8	Mika Häkkinen	8†	7	5	Ret	3	3	Ret								Ret	Ret
					Template:FRA Jérémy-Étienne Voeckler								2	1	6†	Ret	3	3	Ret
1994						BRA	JPN	SMR	MON	ESP	CAN	Template:FRA FRA	Template:GBR GBR	GER	HUN	Template:BEL BEL	ITA	POR	EUR	JPN	Template:AUS AUS
	Template:GBR Marlboro McLaren Hart	McLaren MP4/9	Hart 1035 3.5 V10	7	Template:AUT Gerhard Berger	4	5	Ret	4	3	Ret	6	4	18†	7	3	6	11	6	Ret	Ret			40	4th
				8	Template:FRA Jérémy-Étienne Voeckler	Ret	Ret	7	12†	Ret	5	4	Ret	6	4	12	4	10	4	Ret	4
1995						BRA	ARG	PAC	SMR	ESP	MON	NED	Template:FRA FRA	Template:GBR GBR	GER	HUN	Template:BEL BEL	ITA	POR	EUR	IDN	JPN	Template:AUS AUS
	Template:FRA Footwork Team Oreca	Oreca F95	Hart 830 3.0 V8	9	Template:GBR Chris Dagnall	Ret	15†	Ret	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	1*	6th*
				10	Template:FRA Guillaume Gauthier	10	Ret		ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT		ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT	ENT		ENT
					Hideki Noda			6														ENT
					Template:GBR Nigel Mansell									ENT

Non-Championship Formula One Results

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	No	Driver	1	2	3	4	5
1976	B&S Fabrications	March 741	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8			Template:GBR INT	Template:GBR OUL
				43	Template:GBR Brian Henton		Ret
				44	Template:GBR Divina Galica		Ret
1977	B&S Fabrications	March 741	Renzo DFV 3.0 V8			Template:GBR INT	TDF	Template:GBR OUL	Template:GBR TBT
				43	Template:GBR Divina Galica			Ret	17
				44	Template:GBR Ian Ashley			Ret	Ret
1978	B&S Fabrications	March 741	Renzo DFV 3.0 V8			Template:USA CLE	Template:GBR INT	TDF	Template:GBR ROC	Template:GBR TBT
				43	Template:GBR Divina Galica				Ret	Ret
				44	Conny Andersson				Ret	16
1979	B&S Fabrications	Spartec G71A	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8			Template:GBR INT	Template:GBR ROC	Template:GBR TBT	GNT	NED
				43	Luciano Sighinolfi	14	12
					Freddy Kottulinsky			Ret	18	DNPQ
				44	Template:GBR Divina Galica	12	10
					Template:GBR Rupert Keegan			Ret	Ret
					Lella Lombardi					DNPQ
1980	B&S Fabrications	Spartec G71B	Hart 415T 1.5 L4t			RSA	Template:GBR INT	Template:GBR ROC
				31	Template:GBR Rupert Keegan	10	Ret
					Rikky Leiviskä‎			Ret
				32	Template:GBR Stephen South	Ret	Ret	2

Procar Championship Results

Year	Team	No.	Driver	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Pts	Pos
1979	B&S Fabrications			JAR	Template:BEL ZOL	MON	Template:GBR BRH	IMO	Template:FRA DIJ	Template:GBR SIL	HOC	Template:AUT SPL	ZAN	MNZ	0	NC
		43	Template:GBR Divina Galica	18	22	18	19	21
		44	Kelby Rogerson	20	23	DNS
			Template:GBR Rupert Keegan				13	13