Nathanael Spencer
Nathanael Spencer (born December 28, 1982 in Saint Helier, Jersey) is a British racing driver known for winning the 2011 F1RWRS title. He entered over 100 races in the series prior to his retirement from racing at the end of 2017 and in that time won seven races.
Biography
Early Career
Spencer entered karting at age seven and was rather successful in local karting events across Britain. In 1997, Spencer was sponsored by Eddie Stewart and was given a drive in British Formula Ford. Spencer finished second in the 1997 and 1998 seasons before moving on to Formula 3. Spencer spent two years in Formula 3, taking two victories in his debut season. In 2000, Spencer came in second in the 2000 British Formula 3 but when Davies refused his inviation, Spencer got the inviation which guaranteed him a drive in the European Formula 3 Cup at Pau which he won handily. In 2001, Spencer got a drive with the Arden team. Spencer scored fourteen points and picked up a podium but his debut season was mostly a disappointment. His second year at Arden went better and Spencer challenged for the championship until the last round of the season; he finished third, five points behind the eventual winner. Unfortunately, Spencer was unable to get a testing drive in Formula 1. Spencer spent one more year at Arden but he failed to win the championship again.
2004 was a critical year for Spencer. Arden did not renew his contract and he was left to fend on his own after Eddie Stewart declared bankruptcy. Spencer chose to move to BTCC where he competed for two years. Spencer took two podiums in two seasons but his career appeared to be stalled. In 2006, Spencer went to GP2 with BCN Competition. After another unsuccessful season, Spencer was forced to sign a contract with a small team that competed in events in Britain and the United States. That team was Prospec. Spencer spent three years at the team as their lead driver. His disappearance from the international racing scene was barely noticed.
F1RWRS Career
In 2010, Prospec entered and was granted a spot for the F1RWRS. The new series gave Spencer a golden opportunity to revive his flagging career. As Prospec's only contracted driver with single-seater experience, Spencer was given number-one status at the new team alongside David Koczo, a Hungarian driver fresh out of GP2. Prospec chose to design and develop their own engine for the series and their chassis, the PRS 261, was one of the best chassis in the field. After setting the pace in preseason testing, Prospec looked like one of the top teams for the 2010 F1RWRS season. This prediction would turn out to be correct.
2010
Nathanael Spencer's first start in a top-of-the-line category came at the 2010 F1RWRS German Grand Prix. Spencer battled for the lead but was forced to pit for new tyres late in the race. He eventually ended up in sixth. A disappointing race at the Nürburgring was followed by a stellar fourth place at the 2010 Saxon Grand Prix. Spencer took his first career pole at the next race in China but the race went awry and Spencer finished in fifth. Spencer finished in fifth again at the 2010 F1RWRS Tasman Grand Prix but his teammate outlasted Dan BH and Frank Zimmer to win the race. Prospec's strong finish put them in the lead of the championship. Koczo won again in Bahrain but Spencer finished in an anonymous eleventh. He went into the Belgian Grand Prix lying fifth in the championship.
Despite finishing in third, Spencer dropped a spot to sixth in the title race while Propsec continued to hold steady over Calinetic for the Constructors' Championship. Spencer continued his run of good form by winning his first race in the F1RWRS, the 2010 F1RWRS British Grand Prix. After winning his home race, Spencer moved up to third and remained in the title race. Gary Cameron held a ten-point lead over Spencer and a nine-point lead over Koczo. However, Cameron held on at the final race in Australia to win the title. Spencer finished fifth and was able to leapfrog Koczo for fourth in the standings. Both drivers lost out to BH and Zimmer who respevtively finished first and second. Spencer's first season at Propsec had gone over well and he was retained for 2011.
2011
The first race of the new season went poorly for Spencer who only finished thirteenth. However, he bounced back by winning the 2011 German Grand Prix handily. Spencer made it two consecutive wins at the 2011 F1RWRS Saxon Grand Prix by passing Pippa Mann in the latter stages of the race. Spencer took the lead in the Drivers' Championship for the first time in his career. The chaotic pileup at the Luxembourg Grand Prix caught out Spencer as he finished in an unclassified seventh. At the equally chaotic 2011 Belgian Grand Prix, Spencer started on pole but dropped to sixth during the race. Spencer followed it up with two underwhelming seventh places in a row. His poor showings in at Silverstone and Snetterton let Daniel Melrose take the championship lead.
Neither championship contender did particularly well at the 2011 F1RWRS Kent Grand Prix. Melrose was disqualified for not making his mandatory pit stop and Spencer was unable to make much ground, eventually finishing in eighth. Melrose increased his lead to twelve points at the 2011 F1RWRS Dutch Grand Prix after Spencer squandered pole position and dropped through the field due to a poor pit strategy. Gary Cameron briefly reinserted himself in the championship battle after winning the race. The title chase moved back to Melrose's home turf for the 2011 F1RWRS Tasman Grand Prix at Adelaide. Spencer collided with Chris Dagnall on Lap 21 while battling for third, leaving Spencer with another non-points finish. Melrose was unable to capitalize, however, and his lead only increased by one point. Spencer's fortunes changed at the 2011 F1RWRS Australian Grand Prix at Bathurst when Melrose failed to pre-qualify. The Prospec driver took his opportunity and finished in third. Melrose's lead dropped to just five points heading into the next round at Eastern Creek.
Spencer's luck continued at Eastern Creek when Dave Simpson collided with Melrose on Lap 25, removing Melrose from contention. Spencer was elevated to second after Frank Zimmer's penalty and took a five-point lead in the championship. With the championship situation now reversed, the championship moved to Surfers' Paradise for the 2011 F1RWRS Surfers SuperPrix. In the thunderstorm that ensued, Spencer and Melrose engaged in one of the greatest duels in F1RWRS history for nearly the entire race. Unfortunately, both drivers were involved in a three-car collision while they were lapping Hagane Shizuka. Spencer was classified sixth and increased his championship lead by one point. Spencer and Koczo sealed Propsec's second Constructors' title at the 2011 F1RWRS Chinese Grand Prix with a 1-2 finish. For some strange reason, Propsec decided to leave Koczo out in front of Spencer even though Spencer was still challenging for the title. Melrose set the fastest lap and finished in third which meant that Spencer held a seven-points lead heading into the final round of the championship. Neither driver scored in the season finale at Laguna Seca, handing Spencer his first F1RWRS title. Spencer was re-signed by Prospec for 2012.
2012
The 2012 season began inauspiciously for Nathanael Spencer. David Koczo, his erstwhile teammate, rashly decided to leave Prospec for Calinetic at the beginning of the season. Inexplicably, Propsec failed to come to terms with any other drivers and they were forced to run a single-car operation until Round 7. Prospec's preseason form was underwhelming but Spencer still had high hopes entering into the first race of the season. Shockingly, Spencer failed to pre-qualify for the first race of the year, the first time that Spencer had failed to qualify in his F1RWRS career. The stunned Spencer was joined on the sidelines by his arch rival, Daniel Melrose, and the 2010 champion, Gary Cameron. Things did not get better at the next race in Oschersleben as he failed to pre-qualify for the second consecutive race. At the 2012 German Grand Prix, Spencer took an emphatic win, spoiling a win on home soil by Kay Lon. Spencer spun off on Lap 31 of the race but he quickly recovered to pass Lon one lap later.
Unfortunately, Spencer crashed back down to earth at the Nürburgring. Spencer failed to pre-qualify for the third time, leading many to doubt the resolve of the champion. In Belgium, Spencer crashed out of the race at La Source, the first official retirement of his F1RWRS career.
Motorsport results
Complete F1RWRS/ARWS results
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Prospec | Prospec PRS 261 | Prospec PT-2010 V8 | GER 6 |
LUX 15 |
SAX 4 |
CHN 5 |
TAS 5 |
BHR 11 |
BEL 3 |
GBR 1 |
AUS 5 |
4th | 48 | |||||||||
| 2011 | Prospec | Prospec PRS 271 | Prospec PT-2011 V8 | BAV 11 |
GER 1 |
SAX 1 |
LUX NC |
BEL 6 |
GBR 7 |
ENG 7 |
KEN 8 |
NED 13 |
TAS 15 |
AUS 3 |
NSW 2 |
SUR 6† |
CHN 2 |
USA 11 |
1st | 71 | |||
| 2012 | Prospec | Prospec PRS 281 | Prospec PT-2012 V8 | BAV DNPQ |
SAX DNPQ |
GER 1 |
LUX DNPQ |
BEL Ret |
NED Ret |
GBR 10 |
KEN 10 |
ENG 3 |
TAS 5 |
SUR Ret |
NSW 8 |
AUS Ret |
CHN 2 |
USA 9 |
500 8 |
6th | 45 | ||
| 2013 | Qantas Melrose Racing Team | MRT M4 | BMW P88 | TAS Ret |
AUS 5 |
MEX 9 |
USA 10 |
MON 7 |
FRA Ret |
GBR Ret |
GER Ret |
NED 10 |
BEL 7 |
POR Ret |
MED DNQ |
MAC 8 |
CHN DNQ |
JPN 13 |
BRA 14 |
=24th | 2 | ||
| 2014 | Virgin Melrose Racing Team | MRT M5 | BMW P89 | TAS Ret |
AUS Ret |
BRA 1 |
MEX Ret |
USA 1 |
MON Ret |
FRA Ret |
GBR Ret |
GER Ret |
BEL 8 |
ITA Ret |
MED | NED Ret |
MAC Ret |
CHN | JPN | 9th | 20 | ||
| 2015 | Boxtel Engineering | Boxtel BOX-015 | Ford HBD VI | TAS 9 |
AUS DNPQ |
MED 19† |
MON DNQ |
=26th | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Scuderia Alitalia | IBR SA-15 | Lancia 015/1 | MEX | USA | CAN | GBR | GER DNQ |
BEL | AUT | ITA | NED | CHN | JPN | BRA | |||||||||
| 2016 | Foxdale Auto Racing Team | Foxdale F1-5 | Pure-Hart PHRWRS-1 | AUS Ret |
3rd | 44 | |||||||||||||||||
| Scuderia Alitalia | IBR SA-16 | Renault RSXXI-16 | NSW Ret |
GBR Ret |
ITA INJ |
AUT 3 |
CAN 1 |
USS Ret |
USN 3 |
GER 4 |
NED Ret |
MON Ret |
BEL Ret |
MEX 2 |
ARG 2 |
CHN 2 |
JPN Ret |
||||||
| 2017 | DScity Voeckler Renault | Voeckler VGPOne | Renault RSXXI-17 | AUS Ret |
NSW 5 |
GBR 2 |
ITA 7† |
AUT Ret |
CAN Ret |
USS 3 |
9th | 14 | |||||||||||
| Boxtel Engineering | Boxtel BOX-017 | Ford XR8C | USN | GER | NED DNPQ |
BEL DNPQ |
MON DNPQ |
MOR DNPQ |
ARG Ret |
JPN DNPQ |
CHN DNPQ |
||||||||||||
| 2019 | Winfield Venturi Formula | V-500 | Yamaha OX64A | AUS |
NSW Ret |
KIN |
ITA |
MAR |
CAN |
500 |
GBR |
AUT |
GER |
SCA |
BEL |
MON |
RSA |
BRA |
ARG |
JPN |
CHN |
37th | 0 |
- † Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.
| Sporting Accolades | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Gary Cameron 2010 |
F1RWRS Champion 2011 |
Succeeded by: Pippa Mann 2012 |