Geoffrey Crossley (11 May 1921, Baslow, Derbyshire – 7 January 2002, Headington, Oxfordshire) was a British racing driver from England.
He participated in two World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 13 May 1950. He scored no championship points. He also participated in numerous non-Championship Formula One races. Info from Wiki
Bio by Stephen Latham
Although his profession was a furniture manufacturer, Geoffrey Crossley had been a keen amateur race driver for a time before World War II. In 1937 he drove a Bentley in the RAC Hastings Rally while in 1939 he took second place in a BMW 328 in the Allcomers and Handicap races at a pre-war meeting at Donington Park.
Following the war he resumed his racing and in 1947 competed in the British Empire Trophy on the Isle of Man, and the Grandson Trophy, with a pre-war Alta.
In 1949 he purchased an Alta GP GP car (GP2) and went on to take International Class F (1100cc to 1500cc) standing start speed records over 50 km (125.92 mph), 50 miles (124.49 mph) and 100 km (124.17 mph) at Montlhery in that year. He also drove the Alta GP in selected races, including the Silverstone International Trophy, the Easter Handicap at Goodwood and finished seventh in the Belgian Grand Prix.
The following year saw him take part in the first ever World Championship F1 race, the 1950 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. He qualified seventeenth, several places ahead of fellow Alta racer Joe Kelly, though retired due to transmission failure on lap 43. Later in the year, he contested the Belgian Grand Prix, and after qualifying twelfth he finished ninth. He also took a sixth place finish in Jersey but at the end of 1950 he decided to retire.
However, he made a brief return to racing in 1955, after building a Lea-Francis-engined car which he called the Berkshire Special. He entered the car for the Richmond Trophy at Goodwood but after encountering teething troubles with the car he decided to withdraw from the race.
Then, due to work and family commitments, he stopped development on his Berkshire Special and permanently withdrew from racing. He continued working in the furniture business following this and passed away in 2002 after suffering a stroke.
Gallery F1
