| Ford Zephyr | |
|---|---|
| |
| Car Details | |
| Manufacturer | Ford Motor Company GB |
| Model | Zephyr Mk II |
| BTCC Record | |
| First Race | John Davy Trophy 1958 |
| Entries | 42 |
| First Win | Mallory Park 1958 (Jeff Uren) |
| Total Wins | 10 |
| Championships | 1 (1959) |
| Associated Teams | Ford Motor Company |
The Ford Zephyr was a car produced between 1950 and 1972 by the Ford Motor Company of Great Britain.[1] The Zephyr was a common site on the British Saloon Car Championship grid after the series was lauched, being used between 1958 and 1962, before being replaced by the larger Ford Zodiac Mk III.
BTCC History[]
The first Zephyr to be used in the British Saloon Car Championship was at the series first competitive meeting at the John Davy Trophy in 1958. Driven by David Haynes, the Zephyr finished second in its class, demonstrating the potential the car had. Jeff Uren secured the Zephyr's first win (in class) two rounds later, beating dominant Austin A105 Westminster of Jack Sears. Another victory would follow two rounds later for Uren, while Haynes would finish immediately behind Uren in each race. The Zephyr of Uren aided him to second in his class and sixth overall in the championship.
The Champion's Choice[]
Uren ran a Zephyr once again and came to dominate his class in 1959, ultimately taking the championship at the end of the season. Uren was able to take victory in six of the year's seven races, with other Zephyr drivers (notably Haynes and Malcolm Kingham) often finishing on the podium alongside him. This proved to be the Zephyr's best year, as two new sets of regulations were introduced in the two following seasons, effectively removing the Zephyr's dominance in its class. Seven different Zephyrs were used throughout the year.
Decline[]
In 1960, the BSCC changed the regulations for entry into the series. Any car that had an engine capacity over 1,000cc could not score points in the championship. As a result, the number of entries dropped, with the Zephyr only reappearing in the series at four rounds (where a unique 1600+ class ran for cars with engine capacities above 1600cc). Uren was, once again, the most successful user of the Zephyr, taking another class win at round six (Haynes would also win in the class at the final round).
Between 1961 and 1962, the Zephyr would only appear on the grid at three meetings, with Uren taking two class podiums, and Haynes a further third place finish. 1962 saw the introduction of the Zephyr's big sister, the Zodiac, which replaced the again Mk II in subsequent years.
Development[]
The origin of the car's development and design may be entered here.
Honours[]
Any information regarding the car's major achievements, may be entered here.
Full BTCC Record[]
Below is a table of every entry of a Ford Zephyr, displaying the finishing position of the car in their class.
| BTCC Record of the Ford Zephyr | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Driver | Team | Class | Pos* | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
| 1958 | Jeff Uren | bgcolor="#008000" rowspan="2" style="border-radius:5px; color:white;"|C | 6th | N | 2 | 1 | 2 | R | 1 | 2 | 2 | N | ||
| David Haynes | bgcolor="Purple" style="color:white; border-radius:7px;"|NC | 2 | N | 3 | N | 2 | 3 | 3 | N | |||||
| 1959 | Jeff Uren | 1st | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | |||
| Ellis Cuff-Miller | bgcolor="Purple" style="color:white; border-radius:7px;"|NC | 3 | N | R | N | - | - | |||||||
| G.K. Famer | N | R | - | - | ||||||||||
| George Farmer | 5 | N | 4 | N | - | - | ||||||||
| David Haynes | 2 | N | 2 | N | 2 | 2 | - | - | ||||||
| Malcolm Kingham | Sammy Rees | N | 3 | N | 3 | 2 | N | - | - | |||||
| David Shale | N | 3 | N | - | - | |||||||||
| 1960 | Ellis Cuff-Miller | 1600+ | N | 2 | N | - | ||||||||
| David Haynes | N | R | N | 1 | - | |||||||||
| K.H. Hoie | N | 3 | N | 7 | N | - | ||||||||
| Jeff Uren | N | 1 | N | - | ||||||||||
| 1961 | David Haynes | bgcolor="#008000" rowspan="2" style="border-radius:5px; color:white;"|C | N | 2 | 2 | N | ||||||||
| Jeff Uren | N | 3 | N | |||||||||||
| 1962 | Jeff Uren | Ford Motor Company | N | 4 | N | - | ||||||||