Robb Gravett
Robb Gravett (born 10 May 1956) is a British retired racing driver and team owner. He started his motorsport career on two wheels, racing Moto Cross at the age of 12. By 15, he was already British champion, but decided to switch to four wheeled racing in his early 20s. Robb began racing cars in 1978, eventually entering the British Touring Car Championship in 1987.
He won the 1987 Willhire 24 Hour co-driving with Graham Hathaway, and went on to win the 1990 British Touring Car Championship winner with his own Trakstar team, in a Ford Sierra RS500 built by Australian team Dick Johnson Racing who it was widely acknowledged built the fastest Group A Ford Sierra's in touring car racing.
Gravett, who was born in London, co-founded Trakstar in 1989 with Mike Smith – Robb finished 2nd in his class that year, behind Andy Rouse's Sierra. In 1990 he won 9 races in the sole Trakstar entry. There were 4 different classes of cars racing for the same title in those days, each scoring points based on where they finished among their own class. Robb dominated his class and won the championship outright, the only driver to take the overall title in the Sierra RS500.
The championship changed to a single-class in 1991, and Trakstar ran factory backed Sierra Sapphires that year with sponsorship from Shell Oil, however Gravett was short on good results. Originally planned to be one of two cars run by the team, a second bodyshell was built but never completed. The Sierra Sapphire arrived late and had not turned a wheel before the first round at Silverstone. This led to a difficult development period and the team experimented with different engine and gearbox configurations in an effort to catch up. The car was down on power and difficult to set up.[1] Results started to come towards the end of the year but it was too late. Unable to find a title sponsor, the team struggled with lack of funds throughout the year and by the end of the season were forced into administration.
Gravett joined the factory Peugeot squad for 1992 and 1993, and he managed to finish 2nd at Brands Hatch in 1993. Steve Soper had made a forceful move on him on the last lap, but was given a penalty and placed in third. He didn't have a drive in 1994, and returned a year later as an independent driver. Despite occasionally humbling the manufacturer teams (included a then best 3rd overall finish at Snetterton for an independent, and winning the Total sponsored 1997 Independent BTCC Championship in a Graham Hathaway prepared Honda Accord). He drove for Brookes Motorsport in his final year of racing, finishing second in the Independents' Cup.
Gravett is now running a driver safety driving programme called "Ultimate Car Control UK Ltd" with the head office at Crowthorne in Berkshire and regional centres across the county.
He is now divorced.
As reported by Autosport Online, Gravett is now considering a return to the BTCC for the 2014 season, driving for an as yet unnamed team.
Racing record
Complete British Touring Car Championship results
(key) Races in bold indicate pole position (1 point awarded – 1996 onwards all races) Races in italics indicate fastest lap (1 point awarded – 1987–1989 in class) (* signifies that driver lead feature race for at least one lap – 1 point given in 1998 only)
- ^ – Race was stopped due to heavy rain. No points were awarded.
Complete Japanese Touring Car Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Napolex Racing Team | Ford Sierra RS500 | JTC-1 | NIS | SUG | SUZ | TSU | SEN | FUJ Ret |
NC | 0 |
References
External links
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Allan McNish |
Autosport National Racing Driver of the Year 1990 |
Succeeded by David Coulthard |
| Sporting positions | ||
| Preceded by John Cleland |
British Touring Car Champion 1990 |
Succeeded by Will Hoy |
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