Chris Lawrence

Chris Lawrence (July 27, 1933 - August 13, 2011): Christopher John Lawrence was a British racing driver, engineer, and car designer whose innovative spirit left a lasting mark on motorsport. Born in Marylebone, London, Lawrence was the son of 'Bentley Boy' and Le Mans winner Sammy Davis, inheriting his father's passion for motorsport. Lawrence founded the London-based company LawrenceTune and became famous for his work with Morgan, developing the Morgan Plus Four Super Sports racing version. His breakthrough came at the 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he won his class driving a Morgan Plus Four in a grid filled with exotic machinery, demonstrating that clever engineering could triumph over raw power.

This victory established Lawrence as one of only seven British drivers to win the prestigious Targa Florio, which he achieved in 1964 co-driving a Porsche 904 GTS with Antonio Pucci. Lawrence's engineering talents shone through his creation of the Deep Sanderson series of racing and sports cars. The name cleverly combined his mother's maiden name, Sanderson, with the jazz standard 'Deep Henderson,' his father's favorite piece of music. Lawrence often drove his own Deep Sanderson creations in competition, showcasing both his design and driving abilities.

His Formula One career consisted of two World Championship starts in 1966, driving a special Cooper-Ferrari T73 at the British and German Grands Prix. In 1966, at Le Mans, his Porsche 904 with co-driver Gerhard Mitter retired after 244 laps with clutch problems. However, he returned in 1966 to achieve his best Le Mans overall result, finishing fourth and first in class with Jo Siffert in a two-litre Porsche 906. A gifted innovator in both design and engineering, Lawrence's prolific career spanned six decades, from chassis design work at Morgan to developing a supercar and campaigning his own race team.

He passed away in 2011, remembered as a true Renaissance man of motorsport.