Tony Lanfranchi

Tony Lanfranchi
Driver Details
Nationality	{{{{{natflag}}}}} British
Date of Birth	25/06/1935
Date of Death	07/10/2004
Début	Brands Hatch 1965
Championships	0 (6th 1974)
2015 Position	Unknown
First Win	Unknown
Previous Teams	Alexander Engineering Co. Alan Fraser Racing Van Der Steen National Organs GTi Engineering (Akai) GM Dealer Sport Monorep Ltd.
Career Statistics
Total Entries	0 (0 Starts)
Pole Positions	0
Fastest Laps	0
Wins	0 (0 in Class)
Total Points	0
Current Season
Team	Unknown
Car	Unknown
Number	Standings	Points
'	–	0

Tony Lanfranchi was a British Saloon Car Championship driver, who raced between 1965 and 1989.

Background

Lanfranchi began racing in hill climbs, notably taking inaugural Harewood Hillclimb of 1962. He also competed in numerous sports car races, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans and numerous club and national level championships.

BTCC History

Lanfranchi obtained a drive with Alexander Engineering Co. in 1965, driving a Morris Mini Cooper S in Class B for the year. Lanfranchi was in contention to take the class title that year, battling with the factory Cooper Car Co. cars and the Team Broadspeed machines throughout. He took his first victory at Silverstone, but three retirements through accidents ended his chance of taking the class, finishing runner-up in Class A and ninth overall (well behind class winner John Rhodes). Alexander Engineering Co. gave Lanfranchi a drive in 1966 aswell, although he only scored at two races (finishing third in both), taking eight points.

The Alan Fraser Racing Team took Lanfranchi on after he was dropped by Alexander Engineering, running a Hillman Imp for him. Thirty points were taken by Lanfranchi, who was often in direct competition with team mate Bernard Unett for podium positions. 1968 saw Lanfranchi take two victories in the Imp, taking eighteen points for the year, although he opted to leave the BSCC at the end of the season.

Second Coming

Lanfranchi returned to the championship in 1974, with Van Der Steer running one of their former ETCC BMW 3.0 CSis for him in Class C. A victory in his second race showed that he had lost none of his prowess, with a further victory at the penultimate race of the year. A consistent podium finisher, Lanfranchi took sixth overall (his best championship finish) and third place in his class. 1975 would see National Organs sponsor a car for Lanfranchi, who used a Chrysler Hemicuda for the majority of the year. The Hemicuda was never a particularly competitive car, often making up numbers in Class D (although Lanfranchi did take a podium finish).

A Third Run

Lanfranchi was seen in the BSCC once more in 1979, driving a Vauxhall Firenza Magnum 2300 to third at Donington Park. He then competed for half season in 1980, using the Firenza he had used the year before. After a victory at Mallory Park, GTi Engineering (Akai) asked Lanfranchi to drive for them, using an Audi 80 GLE. Two further victories gave Lanfranchi 29 points.

After missing the 1981 season, Lanfranchi entered a car with his own team TL Racing, running a VW Scirocco GTi for the majority of the season. Eight podiums were enough to give Lanfranchi twelfth overall and third in class, although three retirements could have seen him finish higher in both. General Motors offered Lanfranchi a drive the following year, with Lanfranchi using an Opel Monza under the GM Dealer Sport banner. Although he only scored seventeen points, Lanfranchi took his first class title, before once again leaving the championship.

On and Off Driver

Lanfranchi took a Vauxhall Nova Sport took a class championship in 1986, having taken two victories and a second in the season. Driving for Monorep Ltd., Lanfranchi continued to drive for a GM/Vauxhall factory team. He then returned in 1989, using a Vauxhall Astra GTE 16v at the end of the year, supporting Andy Rouse's title bid, taking three points paying positions and 31st in the final standings.

BTCC Record

A table containing Tony Lanfranchi's best results in the BTCC. The figures after the information about the car used indicate Tony Lanfranchi's best finish at that meeting.

Tony Lanfranchi's BTCC Record
Year	Team	Pos	Pts	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
1965	Alexander Engineering Co.	9th	22	Morris Mini Cooper S	bgcolor="#214B9B" rowspan="2" style="border-radius:5px; color:white;"|B	3	5	2	3	1	R			-	-	-	-	-
1966			8			3	R	3	R	7	N	8	N	-	-	-	-	-
1967	Alan Fraser Racing		30	Hillman Imp	bgcolor="#E52525" rowspan="2" style="border-radius:5px; color:white;"|A	3	R	2	2	3	2	R	N	R	3	-	-	-
1968			18			R	bgcolor="white" style="color:black; font-size:90%; border-radius:5px;"|DNS	6	4	N	1	N	R	N	R	1	-	-
1974	Van Der Steen	6th	51	BMW 3.0 CSi	bgcolor="#008000" rowspan="2" style="border-radius:5px; color:white;"|C	R	1	bgcolor="white" style="color:black; font-size:90%; border-radius:5px;"|DNS	R	N	2	2	2	2	4	2	1	3
1975	National Organs	bgcolor="Purple" style="color:white; border-radius:7px;"|NC		Chrysler Hemicuda	bgcolor="#FFA500" rowspan="2" style="border-radius:5px; color:white;"|D	4	4	R	6	6	3	bgcolor="white" style="color:black; font-size:90%; border-radius:5px;"|DNS	R	N		R	N
1979				Vauxhall Firenza Magnum 2300	bgcolor="#008000" rowspan="2" style="border-radius:5px; color:white;"|C	N							3	N				-
1980	GTi Engineering (Akai)		29			N			R	N		1	1*	4	1	-	-	-
1982	TL Racing	12th	36	VW Scirocco GTi	bgcolor="#214B9B" rowspan="2" style="border-radius:5px; color:white;"|B	3	3	3	3	3	R	2	R		2	3	-	-
1983	GM Dealer Sport	12th	17	Opel Monza	bgcolor="#E52525" rowspan="2" style="border-radius:5px; color:white;"|A	R	4	4	R	5	5	3	7	6	6	6	-	-
1986	Monorep Ltd.	9th	26	Vauxhall Nova Sport	bgcolor="#FFA500" rowspan="2" style="border-radius:5px; color:white;"|D	N		1	N	2	1	N			-	-	-	-
1989		31st	9	Vauxhall Astra GTE 16v	bgcolor="#008000" rowspan="2" style="border-radius:5px; color:white;"|C	N									4	N	4	4

* Lanfranchi used an Audi 80 GLE from that race onwards.