British racing green
Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Although there is still some debate as to an exact hue for BRG, currently the term is used to denote a spectrum of deep, rich greens. "British racing green" in motorsport terms meant only the colour green in general – its application to a specific range of shades has developed outside the sport.
Origins of the association
In the days of the Gordon Bennett CupGordon Bennett Cup in auto racing
As one of three Gordon Bennett Cups established by James Gordon Bennett, Jr., millionaire owner of the New York Herald, the automobile racing award was first given in 1900 in France....
, Count Eliot Zborowski
Eliot Zborowski
William Eliot Morris Zborowski, Count de Montsaulvain was a racing driver.-Biography:Born in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, he was the son of Martin Zborowski and Emma Morris. In 1880 he married a wealthy American heiress, born Margaret Laura Astor Carey , a granddaughter of William Backhouse Astor,...
, father of inter-war racing legend Louis Zborowski
Louis Zborowski
Count Louis Zborowski was a racing driver and automobile engineer.-Biography:His father, Count William Eliot Morris Zborowski was also a racing driver, and died in a racing crash, in 1903 at La Turbie Hillclimb in France near Nice...
, suggested that each national entrant be allotted a different colour. Every component of a car had to be produced in the competing country, as well as the driver being of that nationality. The races were hosted in the country of the previous year's winner. Britain had to choose a different colour to its usual national colours, red, white and blue, because those colours had already been taken by Italy, Germany and France respectively.
When Selwyn Edge
Selwyn Edge
Selwyn Francis Edge was an Australian businessman, racing driver, and record-breaker. He is principally associated with selling and racing De Dion-Bouton, Gladiator; Clemént-Panhard, Napier and AC cars.-Personal life:...
won the 1902 race for Britain in a Napier
Napier & Son
D. Napier & Son Limited was a British engine and pre-Great War automobile manufacturer and one of the most important aircraft engine manufacturers in the early to mid-20th century...
it was decided that the 1903 race would be held in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, at that time a part of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
, as motor racing at the time was illegal in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, and the opening of Brooklands
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...
still four years in the future. As a mark of respect for their Irish hosts the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Napier cars were painted shamrock green. As Napier had already used olive green during the 1902 event, and had adopted the colour as its corporate livery
Livery
A livery is a uniform, insignia or symbol adorning, in a non-military context, a person, an object or a vehicle that denotes a relationship between the wearer of the livery and an individual or corporate body. Often, elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or corporate body feature in...
, they supported this choice wholeheartedly. Initially the colour distinction only applied to the grands épreuves, but was later codified in the Code Sportif International (CSI) of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users...
(FIA).
In keeping with these Irish/Napier roots, many of the earliest greens used on British racing cars were of a lighter olive, moss or emerald green. Later, darker shades became more common.
International rise to prominence
Bentley
Bentley Motors Limited is a British manufacturer of automobiles founded on 18 January 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley known as W.O. Bentley or just "W O". Bentley had been previously known for his range of rotary aero-engines in World War I, the most famous being the Bentley BR1 as used in later...
cars were hugely successful at the Le Mans
Le Mans
Le Mans is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.Its inhabitants are called Manceaux...
24h races, all sporting a mid- to dark-green. The first recorded use of the darkest green shades was on the Bugatti
Bugatti
Automobiles E. Bugatti was a French car manufacturer founded in 1909 in Molsheim, Alsace, as a manufacturer of high-performance automobiles by Italian-born Ettore Bugatti....
of Briton William Grover-Williams
William Grover-Williams
William Charles Frederick Grover-Williams , also known as "W Williams", was a Grand Prix motor racing driver and special agent who worked for the Special Operations Executive inside France. He organized and coordinated the Chestnut network...
, driving in the very first Monaco Grand Prix
Monaco Grand Prix
The Monaco Grand Prix is a Formula One race held each year on the Circuit de Monaco. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the world, alongside the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans...
, in 1928. This colour became known as British Racing Green and was regarded as a semi-official shade, especially in the 1950s and 1960s when British teams such as Vanwall
Vanwall
Vanwall was a Formula One motor racing team that competed in the 1950s. Founded by Tony Vandervell, the Vanwall name was derived by combining the name of the team owner with that of his Thinwall bearings produced at the Vandervell Products factory at Acton, London...
, Cooper
Cooper Car Company
The Cooper Car Company was founded in 1946 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles' small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England in 1946...
, Lotus
Team Lotus
Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...
, and BRM were successful in Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
, all in different shades of dark green. However, reflecting their long racing heritage, Napier and Aston Martin
Aston Martin
Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The company name is derived from the name of one of the company's founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire...
retained the lighter shades, and Scottish teams such as Ecurie Ecosse
Ecurie Ecosse
Ecurie Ecosse was a motor racing team from Scotland. The team was founded in 1952 by Edinburgh businessman and racing driver David Murray and mechanic Wilkie Wilkinson, its most notable achievement was winning both the 1956 and 1957 24 Hours of Le Mans. The team also raced in three Formula One races...
and the Rob Walker Racing
Rob Walker Racing Team
Rob Walker Racing Team was a privateer team in Formula One during the 1950s and 1960s. Founded by Johnnie Walker heir Rob Walker in 1953, the team became F1's most successful privateer in history, being the first and last entrant to win a Formula One Grand Prix, without ever building their own...
team used a dark blue. The Australian-owned but British-based Brabham team also used a shade of BRG, and this was augmented with a gold (later yellow) stripe, gold and green being the national sporting colours of Australia.
Under pressure from a number of teams, most famously the Lotus team who wished to use the Gold Leaf
John Player & Sons
John Player & Sons, known simply as Player's, was a tobacco and cigarette manufacturer based in Nottingham, England. It is today a part of the Imperial Tobacco Group.-History:...
livery on the Lotus 49
Lotus 49
The Lotus 49 was a Formula One racing car designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Philippe for the 1967 F1 season. It was designed around the Cosworth DFV engine that would power most of the Formula One grid through the 1970s and was the first successful Formula One car to feature the engine as a...
, in 1968 sponsorship regulations were relaxed in F1. In 1970 the FIA formally gave Formula One an exemption from the national colours ruling and the previously common green colour soon disappeared, being replaced by various sponsor liveries. This exemption has since been extended to all race series, unless specific regulations require the adoption of national colours.
Modern usage
Jaguar Racing
Jaguar Racing was a Formula One team that competed in the FIA Formula One World Championship from 2000 to 2004. It was formed from the purchase by Ford of Jackie Stewart's Stewart Grand Prix Formula One team in June 1999. Ford renamed the team Jaguar Racing as part of its global marketing...
in Formula One, but after this team was sold to Red Bull
Red Bull
Red Bull is an energy drink sold by the Austrian Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987 by the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the most popular energy drink in the world, with 3 billion cans sold each year. Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an already...
by Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
in 2004, the new Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing is a Formula One racing team based in Milton Keynes, England which currently holds an Austrian licence. It is, along with Scuderia Toro Rosso, one of two teams owned by beverage company Red Bull GmbH. The team have won two Constructors' Championship titles, in and , becoming the...
team used their own colours. Other traditionally British manufacturers have since followed suit. Bentley returned briefly to the Le Mans circuit in 2002 and in 2003 with the winning Bentley Speed 8
Bentley Speed 8
The Bentley Speed 8 was a Le Mans Prototype race car that was designed by Peter Elleray. EXP Speed 8 debuted in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2001, the Speed 8 car finally winning in 2003...
, painted in a very dark shade of BRG. In recent years Aston Martin has also returned to endurance racing, with their DBR9s
Aston Martin DBR9
The Aston Martin DBR9 is a racing car built by Aston Martin Racing, debuting in 2005. The name DBR9 is derived from the original 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning DBR1 car, named for then-owner David Brown, which not only won the 24 Hour race in 1959 but also the World Sportscar title.-Development:Based...
painted in, a typically Aston, light BRG.
In 2010 the Lotus name returned to Formula One, after a gap of 16 years, with the Lotus Racing team's Lotus T127
Lotus T127
The Lotus T127 is a Formula One motor racing car designed and built by the Lotus Racing team for the season. It was driven by Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen and was unveiled in London, on 12 February 2010...
car liveried in dark green with yellow. Although the team is new (not a continuation of the original Team Lotus, just the name is taken over) and is registered in Malaysia, they are based in Britain and the choice of livery was designed with the aim of "striking an emotional chord with young and old alike and evoking memories of some of motor racing most iconic moments".
With the many successes of British racing teams through the years, British Racing Green became a popular paint choice for British sports and luxury cars, and a popular choice for the original Mini Cooper, the new MINI
Mini
The Mini is a small car that was made by the British Motor Corporation and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout influenced a generation of car-makers...
Cooper and the Mazda MX-5
Mazda MX-5
The MX-5, also known as Miata in North America and Eunos Roadster in Japan, is a lightweight two-seater roadster, of front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout, built by Mazda in Hiroshima, Japan. The model was introduced in 1989 at the Chicago Auto Show...
, whose styling was heavily based on the 1960s British Lotus Elan
Lotus Elan
Lotus Elan is the name of two convertible cars and one fixed head coupé produced by Lotus Cars. The original Type 26, 26R Racing version , 36R Racing version , 36 Fixed Head Coupe, 45 Drop Head Coupe, and the "Type 50" +2 Coupe, circa 1962 to 1975, are commonly known as the '60s Elans...
. British Racing Green was not traditionally a metallic paint
Metallic paint
Metallic paint, also called polychromatic or "metal flake" paint, is used on the majority of new automobiles sold. Metallic paint can reveal the contours of bodywork more than non-metallic, or "solid" paint, Close-up, the small metal flakes included in the paint create a sparkling...
, but tends to be such on new cars, as such a limited range of "solid" colours is offered by manufacturers.
External links
See also
- List of international auto racing colors
- National colours of the United KingdomNational colours of the United KingdomThe national colours of the United Kingdom are usually identified as the combination of red, white and blue in that order. These colours are the same as in the flag of the United Kingdom...