In the 1950s, Britain struggled to find its place in Formula One racing. Fed up with BRM’s attempt, Tony Vandervell took the bit between his teeth and fielded cars of his own devising. The result was heartening success against the dominant Italians.
The scion of an inventive master of electricity applications, Tony Vandervell prospered on the sale of thin-wall bearings.
At the age of 32, Guy Anthony “Tony” Vandervell had an epiphany. A great motor sports enthusiast who had raced motorcycles since he was 15 and was a dispatch rider in the Great War, he learned in 1930 of a new kind of engine bearing that was developed in America. This was of interest to him because his successful industrialist father had bought a small bearing business in a London suburb and put Tony in charge. His dad felt that this was the best way to get his willful and opinionated son involved in the business world.
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