56-565: Arena International Motorsport was a British motor racing team founded by Mike Earle . Earle originally ran the Onyx Formula One team from the same base in Littlehampton, before selling the team. At the end of 2012 the team's new owners, Capsicum Racing Limited, placed the company into CVA. Earle also created 3001 International and Grand Prix Design, which later morphed into Arena International Motorsport. The team made their racing debut in
112-494: A Nazi (Balestre apparently was part of the pro-Nazi Vichy French military during World War II ) and Ecclestone as a Mafia boss. Ecclestone then banned Van Rossem from attending any further Grands Prix. At the Italian Grand Prix Gachot qualified for what would be his final race for the team, while Johansson failed to make the grid. Gachot raised the ire of his erratic boss and was sacked for voicing his displeasure at
168-433: A circuit of Sebring's age. The race is known as preparation for the 24 Hours of Le Mans , as the track's technical layout and extremely bumpy surface, combined with south-central Florida's perennial hot weather, is a major test of a car's reliability. Teams planning to compete at Le Mans regard Sebring as an ideal preparation run for the prestigious French race. In recent years, six overall victories have been achieved by
224-412: A mixture of youth and experience on the driving front and hired the respected Stefan Johansson and the young Belgian rookie Bertrand Gachot , who had actually been responsible for the arrival of Van Rossem and his Moneytron sponsorship. With a solid business plan in place, a wealth of experience in junior formulae, a sound car and engine package and a solid driver duo, Onyx Grand Prix looked set to have
280-444: A private March in 5 rounds for Spaniard Emilio de Villota , with de Villota failing to qualify for any of the races. Onyx planned to enter their own car once again in 1983 but this time taking a step up into the world of Formula One with a returning Paletti. Disaster struck as Paletti was killed at the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix and this seemed to curtail Onyx's progression forward. At this time, co-founder Greg Field decided to leave
336-569: A rather promising future in Formula One. At the car's debut in England, Autosport 's Nigel Roebuck described the Moneytron sponsorship as "the most tasteless I have ever seen". Despite all of the excitement and preparation, Onyx only just made it to their first Grand Prix. Their cars were only completed on the morning of their launch, before having to be hastily packed and sent off to Heathrow Airport
392-616: A solid team with which to enter the pinnacle of motorsport. Prior to entering Formula One, Paul Shakespeare had purchased the majority shares of the team in September 1988 and this provided Onyx with the much needed injection of cash to make the step up. Martin Dickson was hired as team manager and the team was further boosted by sponsorship from Marlboro and Moneytron , a company owned by flamboyant Belgian Jean-Pierre Van Rossem . Van Rossem would soon purchase all of Shakespeare's shares, becoming
448-537: A time spent running Arena Motorsport , Earle reformed the team initially to contest the 2014 World Touring Car Championship with TC1 version of Ford Fiesta saloon. However the plans were abolished in February 2014 due to lack of support by Ford. Instead the team was to build the Ford Focus ST for the 2015 TCR International Series season . However, the car was underdeveloped and uncompetitive and only contested half
504-510: The Audi R8 , one fewer than the record seven wins of the Porsche 935 . Tom Kristensen has won the race more times than anyone else, with six victories—in 1999 – 2000 , 2005 – 2006 , 2009 and in 2012 . 2020 saw the race be rescheduled to mid-November due to delays caused by the pandemic . It was the only season where Sebring was run twice in a season. In July, as part of restarting
560-713: The British Touring Car Championship in 1999, where they ran for many years before moving to become a factory-supported Zytek sports car team in the Le Mans Series in 2007. They returned to the BTCC running the Team Aon operation, until switching to the World Touring Car Championship for the 2012 season. Arena's first season saw the team running a year-old Renault Laguna for Russell Spence , who
616-706: The LEC racing team in Formula Atlantic , F2 , European Formula 5000 and occasional Formula One races. In their first foray into team ownership the duo intended to enter their own chassis in Formula 2 for the 1979 season but it turned out to be a largely unsuccessful campaign. They returned in 1980 and 1981 running semi-works Marches for Johnny Cecotto and Riccardo Paletti . After a competitive 1981 season Paletti's sponsors took him to Formula One with Osella . Not wanting to be left behind, Onyx tried their hand at F1 by entering
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#1732883764439672-693: The 1983 season, along with capable drivers in Beppe Gabbiani , Thierry Tassin and Christian Danner . The season did not turn out to be a good one as the team fell behind the works Ralts . 1984 would see the team slip further behind the Ralts and even a privately entered March. In 1985 Formula 3000 replaced F2 as the stepping-stone series to Formula One and Onyx continued to run the works March effort, finishing 3rd with Emanuele Pirro in 1985, then progressing even further as Pirro finished as runner-up in 1986, before Onyx achieved their finest moment as Stefano Modena
728-524: The European circuit in the 1950s such as Juan Manuel Fangio , Alberto Ascari , Nino Farina , Stirling Moss and Mike Hawthorn all raced at Sebring, and the 1957 Sebring 12 Hours was the only American race the 5-time world champion Fangio ever won. In its early years, the Sebring circuit combined former airport runways with narrow two-lane service roads. The 1966 event was a turning point in Sebring history, as
784-628: The Porsche engine deal fell through. Many saw this as an admission that he was tired of the sport and sought a reason to get out. Van Rossem's spectacularly destructive and erratic antics went on: he also made some controversial comments in a Belgian newspaper during the Belgian GP weekend, drawing the ire of two of F1's most powerful men, F1 commercial rights holder and F1 management CEO Bernie Ecclestone and then-FIA president Jean-Marie Balestre . He denied apparent allegations that he had referred to Balestre as
840-583: The Sebring race. It was also the most important American race for the European teams and drivers and was the center of European racing activity in the United States; it was the only time during the 1950s that the big European manufacturer teams and drivers came to the United States in force, bringing with them considerable international media attention—the United States Formula One Grand Prix was not run until 1959. Top drivers who competed on
896-659: The Warehouse Straight near the Webster Turns, killing four spectators and then crashing into a warehouse next to the track. Subsequent to these events, the facilities were upgraded and the circuit layout was changed, including eliminating the Webster Turns and creating the Green Park Chicane further down the track to move the straight further away from the airport warehouses. The circuit was made safer, and there have only been 4 fatalities since then—a remarkable record for
952-426: The bulk of Onyx's experienced staff. For 1990 the team retained JJ Lehto and opted to go with Gregor Foitek , son of part-owner Karl Foitek, in the second car. Foitek was contracted to Brabham for two races so Johansson was kept for the opening two rounds. As little money had been put into developing a car for the 1990 season, Onyx arrived at the opening two rounds with last year's ORE-1. Neither driver qualified for
1008-474: The car at the beginning of the season, but were on the pace at the end of the year. For 2010 , the cars will run under LPG -power from Calor , with Chilton and Onslow-Cole continuing as drivers. They saw a massive leap in performance. Winning 7 races & securing 4th & 5th in the drivers championship & 2nd in the teams championship. The team switched to the World Touring Car Championship for 2012, with Tom Chilton and James Nash driving. The season
1064-524: The car was slow and Johansson would not qualify for the rest of the season, although Lehto would continue to improve, making the grid in Spain and Australia . The team finished in a respectable 10th position overall in their debut season, scoring 6 points and being rewarded with not having to take part in pre-qualifying for the following season. After what should have been a solid foundation to build on in 1989 , things started coming apart heading into 1990 . At
1120-466: The car. Arena then moved on to a full-time sports car team. On 25 November 2008, Arena Motorsport announced it would be running a pair of Ford Focus STs for the 2009 season . The team's lead driver was Tom Chilton along with Alan Morrison also returning, running under the Team Aon banner ( Aon Corporation being their primary sponsor). Morrison left the team during the season and was replaced in certain rounds by Tom Onslow-Cole . The team struggled with
1176-646: The end of the 1989 season Van Rossem's lack of interest began to show. Finances quickly dried up and Van Rossem's flamboyant and uncooperative personality resulted in Earle and Chamberlain quitting the team, with Field leaving for a second time. Alan Jenkins took charge, with Peter Rheinardt taking over as Team Manager from Field. Having failed to secure a deal for either Honda or Porsche V10s for 1991 , Van Rossem acted on his threats and left, taking his Moneytron sponsorship with him. Now seeking new ownership, Swiss car collector and former racer Peter Monteverdi purchased 50% of
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#17328837644391232-539: The end. Gurney pushed his car over the finish line, beaten only by Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby . However, his actions were ultimately determined to be against the rules and he did not receive credit for his finish. In 2005, the Chevrolet Corvette C6.R and Aston Martin DBR9 made their race debut in the hotly contested GT1 class, with Aston Martin winning its class for the first time in 49 years at Sebring ahead of
1288-542: The event became the second round of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship . The race is considered to be one of the three legs of the informal Triple Crown of endurance racing along with the 24 Hours of Le Mans and 24 Hours of Daytona . The track opened in 1950 on an airfield and is a road racing course styled after those used in European Grand Prix motor racing . The first race
1344-451: The events in the inaugural season, recording just two classified finishes at Monza, before the assets were sold to the FRD racing team for 2016. (Results in bold indicate pole position; Results in italics indicate fastest lap) ( key ) 12 Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway , on
1400-436: The facilities and the safety of the circuit were heavily criticized. Five people were killed during the race, more than in the race's prior 15-year history combined. Bob McLean crashed while approaching the hairpin ; his car rolled several times, struck a utility pole and then exploded, landing in a ditch and killing McLean. In another incident Mario Andretti in his Ferrari 365 P2 tangled with Don Wester's Porsche 906 on
1456-490: The first two races, with Johansson destroying two chassis in the process. At the San Marino Grand Prix the team arrived with slightly updated ORE-1B chassis. Foitek replaced Johansson, who sued Onyx for breach of contract and, along with Alan Jenkins, attempted to get a court injunction to block Monteverdi's planned relocation of the team. Both cars made the grid at Imola, with Lehto coming home 12th. At Monaco Foitek
1512-645: The fore, having purchased a US$ 20 million Gulfstream IV business jet prior to the Phoenix Grand Prix. Johansson was also disqualified in Canada after a botched pit-stop saw him tear the air gun rig apart. Amidst all the dark clouds, a sunny day arrived at the 1989 French Grand Prix . Both cars were ideally suited to the Paul Ricard circuit and comfortably finished 1–2 in pre-qualifying. They both had an even more impressive qualifying proper, with Gachot ending up 11th on
1568-567: The grid and Johansson 13th. Gachot ran with Alesi , who finished 4th, before a battery problem put him down to 13th, while Johansson scored the team's first points with a fine 5th place. The two points were now set to get the team out of pre-qualifying for the remainder of the season, but it came to nothing at the next round in Britain . Johansson failed to qualify and Gachot qualified 21st before having his race blighted by handling problems. The Minardis would finish 5th and 6th however, condemning Onyx to
1624-400: The grid, Foitek retired early and Lehto finished six laps behind and was unclassified. There were also rumours circulating regarding poor car preparation, including broken suspension parts being welded back together instead of being replaced and the cannibalising of Monteverdi's sports car collection for spare parts. One incident saw Lehto repeatedly complaining of poor handling, a problem that
1680-421: The majority owner in a deal that would cause the team a considerable number of problems in the future. In the meantime, the team, now rebranded as Onyx Grand Prix , had struck a deal to use Ford V8s and Goodyear tyres. Respected engineer Alan Jenkins , who had previously worked for McLaren , was commissioned to design the team's first Formula One car, resulting in the tidy-looking Onyx ORE-1. Earle went for
1736-419: The press as saying he was attempting to attract top drivers to the team and was in the process of investing US$ 40 million into Porsche 's F1 engine project while, in reality and behind closed doors, Van Rossem was beginning to bemoan the cost of running a Formula One team and was even rumoured to be reluctant to pay the team's bills. Van Rossem went one step further by saying on Belgian TV that he would quit F1 if
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1792-500: The race and after everybody else had made their pit-stops and following Mansell and Senna 's collision, he was running an incredible 3rd before his tyres started to go off. He was rapidly caught and passed by both Williams but they soon retired and Johansson was left with a clear run home in 3rd, crossing the line with no fuel left. It was a great moment for the team but it would also turn out to be their last points finish. With Van Rossem reluctant to make funds available, development on
1848-524: The race. For 2004, Arena initially planned to run a privateer Dome prototype at Le Mans, but the plan did not come together and their entry was withdrawn. A second attempt in 2005 with a new Zytek also did not occur. Finally, in 2007, Arena was able to purchase a Zytek 07S, with plans to enter the full Le Mans Series season as the factory squad in LMP1 with Tom Chilton and Hayanari Shimoda . Arena's 2007 effort would suffer mechanical setbacks early, with
1904-606: The ruthless world of pre-qualifying, although the fact that the two Brabhams and Dallara 's Alex Caffi were no longer pre-qualifiers made this task easier for them. Johansson would qualify in Germany , Hungary and Belgium , with Gachot missing out in Germany (which would be the only time during the 1989 season that an Onyx would succeed in getting through pre-qualifying without then going on to qualify). Trouble flared up once again with Van Rossem and his flamboyancy as he had been quoted in
1960-504: The same at Monaco , before finally Johansson would make it out of pre-qualifying in Mexico , setting the 6th fastest time in Saturday free practice before qualifying 21st for the race, ahead of the illustrious Nelson Piquet and respected drivers Pierluigi Martini , René Arnoux and Eddie Cheever . The car however, and expectedly, would suffer a mechanical failure in its debut race, but progress
2016-561: The same day for transportation to Brazil , the scene of the season's first race . Having had no testing to fine-tune the cars, neither car would make it out of pre-qualifying in the first 3 rounds. Things got worse as a testing accident completely destroyed one chassis prior to the race at Imola and at the race itself , brake failure on Johansson's car resulted in another car-destroying crash. Positive signs were beginning to show as Gachot just missed out on pre-qualifying in Imola, Johansson would do
2072-525: The season, a three-hour race was held in July with spectators. IMSA allowed spectators for this race. Races up until 1969 began with the traditional Le Mans start procedure, which was abolished at the end of the 1969 season following Jacky Ickx protesting at Le Mans 1969; 1970 was the first 12 Hours of Sebring started with a rolling start. The 1966 race had Dan Gurney leading at the last lap, when his engine of his Shelby American Ford GT40 Mk II seized near
2128-619: The site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida , US. In the past, this race has been a round of the now defunct World Sportscar Championship , IMSA GT Championship and American Le Mans Series . In 2012, the race was the opening event of the FIA World Endurance Championship in a one off race before being returned back to the American Le Mans Series for 2013. Starting in 2014,
2184-461: The team and sold his share to racing enthusiast Jo Chamberlain, which looked like a further step backwards for the team. Some good fortune arrived as March Engineering co-founder Robin Herd had decided to outsource the running of the works March Formula 2 team and he approached Earle and Onyx to do it. Onyx had now inherited a class-leading chassis, a dominant BMW engine and the best Michelin tyres for
2240-549: The team did win the European Le Mans Series championship that year. In 2003, Arena chose to enter sports car racing, being chosen to represent Audi Sport UK. The team would run an Audi R8 at the 12 Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Le Mans . A driving team of Mika Salo , Jonny Kane , and Perry McCarthy were able to take sixth place at Sebring, but the team's fortune at Le Mans turned sour as Frank Biela mistakenly missed his pit stop and ran out of fuel early in
2296-588: The team had fallen came in France where both cars failed to make the grid, where at the same track last season they had both qualified high up and netted a points finish. At the British Grand Prix neither car made the grid. By the time of the German Grand Prix , Monteverdi had succeeded in changing the team's name to Monteverdi Onyx Formula One , but once again it meant nothing as although both cars scraped onto
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2352-460: The team struggling to finish races due to throttle cable linkage failures. The team was also forced to withdraw from Le Mans when a heavy accident during testing damage the car so badly that repairs could not be completed in the two weeks prior to the race. Arena was however able to finish in eighth place at the Nürburgring , earning them their first points of the season. In 2006–07 , Arena joined
2408-516: The team's lack of testing and an apparent lack of faith in his driving. JJ Lehto was drafted in at the last minute as his replacement, but with little time to familiarise himself with the new car he failed to qualify for the next round in Portugal . Yet again it was Johansson that came to the fore and gave Onyx a reason to smile at the Portuguese Grand Prix. He decided not to change tyres during
2464-483: The team, with Karl Foitek purchasing 25% and Brune Frei purchasing the remaining 25%. Onyx was already in such dire financial straits that Foitek had to pay for Goodyear tyres used by the team in 1989 before the company would provide them with tyres for the 1990 season. The team then rehired Earle and Chamberlain, but Alan Jenkins was soon fired after refusing to work with Earle. To make matters worse Earle and Chamberlain left once again, along with Team Manager Rheinhardt and
2520-463: The two Corvettes. Corvette had dominated the class the past three years with its previous generation C5R. The all-new Audi R10 TDI won the 2006 edition of the race, the car's first ever run in competition. The much-hyped Porsche RS Spyder campaigned by Penske Racing dropped to take 2nd place in its LMP2 class, behind the Intersport Lola car. The GT1 Corvette C6R team got their revenge against
2576-591: The young A1 Grand Prix series managing both A1 Team India and A1 Team Greece but this last one didn't race all season. Arena were involved in 2007 in British Formula 3 Championship with Max Chilton without success. Onyx Grand Prix Onyx Grand Prix is a former Formula One constructor from Britain that competed in the 1989 and 1990 Formula One seasons. The team participated in 26 World Championship Grands Prix (25 starts) and scored six World Constructors' Championship points. Its best result
2632-578: Was Arena's best year in the BTCC with six wins and finishing second in the Teams' and Manufacturers' Championships. However Honda chose to reduce their support, leaving Arena running a single car for Tom Chilton in 2004 and claim two wins. Honda's support was gone altogether in 2005 but despite missing the opening and closing meetings of the year Chilton went on to take four wins in the campaign before they decided to sell off their Civic to Fast-Tec Motorsport, although Arena provided some assistance with setting up
2688-556: Was a six-hour race on New Year's Eve 1950. The winning car is currently on display at the Edge Motor Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. The next race was held 14 months later as the first 12 Hours of Sebring. The race is famous for its "once around the clock" action, starting during the day and finishing at night. From 1953 to 1972 the 12 Hour was a round of the FIA's premier sports car series which
2744-530: Was being made. More good news arrived at Phoenix with the return of Greg Field who replaced Dickson as Team Manager and Johansson once again making the grid, qualifying 19th before a front suspension failure ended his day. Johansson was once again on the grid in Canada , this time 18th. Gachot had yet to make his first Grand Prix start but he was getting ever closer. During this upswing things started to look ominous. Van Rossem's lavish lifestyle and extravagance came to
2800-723: Was contested under various names including the World Sportscar Championship and the International Championship for Makes. In the 1950s, in addition to Le Mans, Sebring was on the calendar at the same time now-legendary races such as the Mille Miglia , Targa Florio , Carrera Panamericana and the RAC Tourist Trophy were on the World Sportscar Championship calendar, such was the prestige of
2856-465: Was crowned the 1987 Formula 3000 champion. With Modena off to Formula One, Onyx set their sights on retaining the championship with Volker Weidler but 1988 turned out to be a huge disappointment, as Weidler battled with the March 88B, finishing in 15th position overall. Nevertheless, buoyed by a largely successful Formula 2 and Formula 3000 tenure, Earle was now eager to enter Formula One and set about building
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#17328837644392912-492: Was finally solved when his driveshaft was discovered to have been installed the wrong way around. At around this time part-owner Karl Foitek withdrew his money and barred his son from driving a car that he now felt was dangerous. With finances already a huge problem, Foitek's withdrawal was the final straw and the team would ultimately not see out the championship, wrapping up operations at the Hungarian Grand Prix . After
2968-416: Was later replaced by Will Hoy . The team then disappeared from the series. In 2001 Arena approached Honda about running a Civic on an independent basis. However, Honda chose to give the team full manufacturer backing for the 2002 season , with Alan Morrison and Andy Priaulx driving. There was some initial success, and in 2003 newcomer Matt Neal finished third in the standings for them, in what
3024-525: Was running in 6th position at a late stage in the race when he collided with Éric Bernard 's Larrousse , resulting in him being classified 7th, a result that would be Onyx's best finish of the season. Both cars made the grid in Canada and Mexico , but could only manage one finish between them, with Foitek's 15th place in Mexico. In July Monteverdi had fulfilled his desire to move the team to Switzerland but that improved nothing. A clear indication of how far behind
3080-541: Was third place, in the 1989 Portuguese Grand Prix , for Stefan Johansson . Onyx Grand Prix began life as Onyx Race Engineering in late 1978 as a partnership between old colleagues Mike Earle and Greg Field. Prior to approaching Field and asking him to join him in a new venture, Earle had had extensive experience in open-wheel racing, running the successful Church Farm Racing team in F3 , F2 and Formula 5000 , as well as previously working with Field and driver David Purley in
3136-534: Was unsuccessful, with the car struggling for pace during the majority of the season. This season would turn out to be the team's last, as during the final weeks of 2012, the team was formally closed. In 2001, Arena ran the Gulf branded Audi R8 in the European Le Mans Series and at Le Mans for Johansson Racing. The drivers Stefan Johansson , Patrick Lemarié and Tom Coronel were unsuccessful at Le Mans but
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