John Crosslé, the Northern Irish racecar maker with a driving passion

John Locker Crosslé, who, with his wife Rosemary, founded the Crosslé Car Company in Holywood, Co Down in 1957, and who provided top class machinery for virtually all of Ireland’s motor racing greats, has died.

The firm he founded is the longest established custom racing car manufacturer in the world, which fostered love of motorsport over and above the politics of division rife in Ireland until recent years.

He was born in Scotland but reared by his aunt and uncle in rural Co Tyrone, as his parents lived in the Sudan. He came south to St Columba's College, Rathfarnham, and was motorcycle mad during his later school years. Crosslé returned to Northern Ireland to study agriculture and concentrated on the mechanical repairs on his father's farm in Co Down, spending his after hours tinkering in the outbuildings to improve his bikes and cars.

By the mid 1960s, Crosslé was providing up-and-coming Irish stars such as John Watson, Brian Cullen and Ken Fildes with Formula 2-type cars; but Crosslé’s greatest success was in the 1600cc Formula Ford class. Crosslé’s very first Formula Ford car, the 16F, was a beauty – but also quick enough to take Scottish ace Gerry Birrell to the European crown in 1969. Crosslé had been joined by a talented engineer, Leslie Drysdale, in 1965, and Colin Scott took over the task of dealing with their ever-increasing orders.

By 1975, Crosslé had a real world-beater on his hands with the 30F. Initially Eddie Jordan was the trailblazer, but a leg breaking crash at Mallory Park finished his promising season. The following year Sandyford’s David Kennedy took up the mantle and won two RAC Formula Ford Championships and was runner-up in the European series in his John Hynes-backed 30F car.

In 1977 Nigel Mansell was on the road to F1 thanks to a string of wins in his Crosslé-Ford 32F. Virtually all the Irish stars of the 1970s and 1980s, including Derek Daly (25F & 30F), Eddie Irvine (50F), Martin Donnelly (32F) and Kenny Acheson (35F) honed their skills in finely engineered Crosslé cars.

An article by Carlow journalist Brian Foley in a US magazine led to Crosslé getting an agent for North America, and hundreds of cars were subsequently sold in that market, especially to racing schools.

Many beautiful cars

Crosslé produced many beautiful cars – most notably the Sports car 9S. The firm has operated out of the same premises in Rory’s Wood, Holywood, a finely converted outbuilding adjacent to the family house, since the beginning. This charming venue always had a warm and welcoming ambience as it was an extension of the Crosslé home. In later years racing champion and businessman Arnie Black ran the firm, until Paul McMorran took it over in 2013.

Crosslé received an honourary doctorate from the University of Ulster and in 2003 he was awarded an MBE.

Crosslé was supported greatly by his wife Rosemary, and he and his daughter Caroline were present at a function in his honour at the RIAC Archive, Dawson St, Dublin, hosted by Archivist Bob Montgomery, last year.

His legacy is recounted in detail in a new book by Alan Tyndall , Hidden Glory.

He is survived by his wife Rosemary, son Henry and daughter Caroline.