Jenkins Industries

The Jenkins Industries logo used throughout the company's existence

Jenkins Industries was a former soft pornography business established by British entrepreneur and former F1 racing driver Marshal Jenkins and his good friend Tex Pearson. As well as its activities relating to the pornographic industry, Jenkins Industries ran its own Formula One team in the late 1970s as a way of securing Marshal Jenkins a place on the grid.

Company History

The company was formed in June 1975 by Jenkins and Pearson after the former's motorsport career began to stall due to a lack of money. A contact of Pearson's ran a failing soft porn company in London and he proposed to transfer the business to the two men for a nominal fee. Despite never being confirmed, it is believed the unknown contact was in fact suspected of serious fraud and drug trafficking by the Metropolitan Police, and was keen to offload the company to avoid further charges. Pearson and Jenkins took over the business and renamed it Jenkins Industries, with Pearson not credited in the name at his request, due partially to embarrassment at being identifiable in what he later described as "the industry for scum". Despite his misgivings, the company was soon turned around, and was quickly making both Jenkins and Pearson very rich men. The funds allowed Jenkins to continue racing, and by 1979 both men had earnt over £100,000 each from the business.

By this point, Jenkins had reached a crossroads in his racing career. A meeting with the Williams team owner Frank Williams at a strip club in late 1978 where Pearson and Jenkins were assessing potential new clients gave Marshal the chance he was waiting for. Williams offered to sell two FW06 chassis which had raced in 1978 to Jenkins Industries, in return for £200,000 which would be paid over three years in instalments. In an attempt to bring the price down, Marshal offered Williams a 10% stake in his company, which Williams accepted, cutting the price to £150,000 as a result. In an interview years later Jenkins revealed that Williams confessed to him at the time that he was a personal admirer of the material Jenkins Industries produced, hence his willingness to cut him a deal. Williams has consistently denied this claim, along with any involvement with the company itself.

Disappointed that he wasn't informed of the sale of a stake in Jenkins Industries, Pearson began a gradual process of retreat within the company, increasingly disassociating himself with its actions. This culminated in 1987 when Pearson made the decision to sell his stake to Jenkins. Giving up his 45% share for just £2500, Pearson finally removed himself from a company he was never fully comfortable with, though it had still made him substantially rich. He remained a good friend of Jenkins, having acted as his chief mechanic for the whole of his motorsport career. Jenkins himself would later reveal that Pearson's share in fact amounted to an estimated £150,000 and that his generosity was in part due to the company continuing to struggle with debts related to its previous exploits in F1.

By 1995, Jenkins Industries had begun to be overtaken in the soft porn industry, and at the age of 48, Marshal Jenkins decided to wind down the company's operations with the agreement of Frank Williams who continued to hold his 10% share despite his insistence otherwise. Jenkins sold the assets to a group of Dutch gangsters interested in getting in on the act for a total of £540,000, and prepared himself for retirement with the sale increasing his fortune to an estimated £1.6 million.

Jenkins Industries F1 Team

Jenkins
Full Name	Jenkins Industries F1 Team
Base	Aldershot, Hampshire, England
Founder(s)	Marshal Jenkins Tex Pearson
Team Principal(s)	Marshal Jenkins
Technical Director	Tex Pearson
Current Drivers	#37 - Marshal Jenkins #38 - Beppe Gabbiani
Other Noted Drivers	None others
Debut	1979 Argentinian Grand Prix
Races	3 (8 entries)
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	0
Race Wins	0
Podiums	0
Points	0
Pole Positions	0
Fastest Laps	0

The Williams FW06 chassis ran by the Jenkins team in 1979.

The company runs a Formula One team in 1979, using a Williams chassis. Jenkins drove the car himself, with Beppe Gabbani driving the other.

Complete Formula One Results

Year	Chassis	Engine	#	Driver	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	CC	Pts
1979	Williams FW06	Ford Cosworth DFV			ARG	BRA	RSA	USW	ESP	BEL	MON	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	EUR	CAN	USA	AUS	NC*	0*
			37	Marshal Jenkins	Ret	Ret	DNQ	Ret	DNQ	DNQ	16	DNQ	Ret	Ret	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	10
			38	Beppe Gabbiani	Ret	Ret	DNQ	14	13	12	DNQ	DNQ
				Rupert Keegan									14	10	DNQ	DNQ	Ret	DNQ