Theodore Racing (徳利賽車隊香港), a Formula One constructor from Hong Kong, was established by real estate magnate Teddy Yip. The team participated in 51 Grand Prix, entering a total of 64 cars.
Notable Team Members and Drivers
Patrick Tambay: Drove for Theodore Racing in 1977, scoring four points and finishing 17th overall. Tambay also drove the Theodore TY01 in 1981 before moving to Ligier mid-season.
Keke Rosberg: Took over driving the Theodore TR1 from Eddie Cheever and won the International Trophy at Silverstone in wet conditions.
In the early 1970s, amateur racer Teddy Yip met Sid Taylor and agreed to sponsor Vern Schuppan in Formula 5000. This partnership led to Yip backing Schuppan in Formula One with Ensign in 1974. Yip’s involvement in American racing grew with support for Schuppan, and he later supported Alan Jones in the US F5000 series in 1976. That same year, Schuppan won the Rothmans International Series in Australia, driving a Lola T332-Chevrolet for Yip. In 1976, Yip founded Theodore Racing, managed by Taylor, and entered an Ensign for Patrick Tambay in Formula One. After a moderately successful half-season in 1977, with Tambay scoring four points and finishing 17th overall, Yip commissioned Ron Tauranac to build an F1 car. The Theodore TR1 proved challenging, with Eddie Cheever failing to qualify in Brazil and Argentina, but Keke Rosberg later won the International Trophy at Silverstone in the wet. However, Rosberg only qualified for one Grand Prix in South Africa, leading to the car’s abandonment mid-season. In the US, Yip supported Dan Gurney’s Eagle team.
In 1979, Yip funded Ensign, but the car, driven by Derek Daly, Patrick Gaillard, and Marc Surer, was unsuccessful, scoring no points. At the end of the year, Yip also supported a British F1 program with a Wolf WR6 for David Kennedy and helped Desiré Wilson become the first woman to win a Formula 1 race, although a national event.
In early 1980, Yip bought the Shadow team, bringing Kennedy along, but the results were poor. The team struggled, and by mid-summer, Yip decided to retire the team to rethink his involvement in racing, ending most of his other activities to focus on F1.
Yip, alongside Sid Taylor and Julian Randles, established Theodore Racing Ltd., recruiting Tony Southgate and team manager Jo Ramírez. The new car, the TY01, was driven by Patrick Tambay at the start of 1981. Mid-season, Tambay moved to Ligier, and Marc Surer took over. The car was developed further in 1982, but it became clear that small teams struggled in the turbo era. Yip merged Theodore with Ensign, using the Nigel Bennett-designed Ensign N183 as a Theodore. The team hired Johnny Cecotto and Roberto Guerrero, but at the end of the 1983 season, the team shut down. Mo Nunn moved to America, achieving great success as a race engineer and eventually establishing a successful CART team. In 1983, former Grand Prix driver Brian Henton made a guest appearance in a Theodore at the non-championship Race of Champions, finishing fourth, the highest finish for a Theodore that season.
Theodore Racing Legacy
Since F1, Theodore Racing has been an international motor racing team owned by Teddy Yip Jr., competing in the Macau Grand Prix with a Junior Team also contesting the Japanese Super FJ Series.
After its last race in 1992, the team made a triumphant return to racing at the Macau Grand Prix in 2013 under Teddy Yip Jr., who also owns the GP3 team Status Grand Prix.
Theodore Racing holds a record eight Macau Grand Prix victories: two as an independent team with Vern Schuppan and Geoff Lees, and six as a technical support team with drivers such as Alex Lynn and Felix Rosenqvist.
Theodore Racing Formula One World Championship Records
| First entry | 1977 British Grand Prix |
|---|---|
| Races entered | 63 (44 starts) |
| Engines | Ford |
| Constructors’ Championships | 0 |
| Drivers’ Championships | 0 |
| Race victories | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Final entry | 1983 European Grand Prix |
Theodore Racing As Entrant
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Tyre | No. | Drivers | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Ensign N177 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | G | 23 | Patrick Tambay | 10–17 |
| 1978 | Wolf WR3 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | G | 32 | Keke Rosberg | 11–12 |
| Wolf WR4 | 13–14 |
Theodore Racing Constructors’ Championship Results
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Tyre | No. | Drivers | Rounds | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | TR1 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | G | 32 | Eddie Cheever | 1–2 | 0 | NC |
| Keke Rosberg | 3–7 | |||||||
| 1981 | TY01 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | A M | 33 | Patrick Tambay | 1–7 | 1 | 12th |
| Marc Surer | 8–15 | |||||||
| 1982 | TY01 TY02 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | A G | 33 | Derek Daly | 1–3 | 0 | NC |
| Jan Lammers | 5–7, 9–11 | |||||||
| Geoff Lees | 8 | |||||||
| Tommy Byrne | 12–16 | |||||||
| 1983 | N183 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | G | 33 | Roberto Guerrero | 1–14 | 1 | 13th |
| 34 | Johnny Cecotto | 1–13 |
Source: Wikipedia.com
