Geoffrey Crossley

Geoffrey Crossley (11 May 1921 - 7 January 2002): Born in Baslow, Derbyshire, Geoffrey Crossley was a British racing driver and furniture manufacturer who combined his business career with his passion for amateur motor racing. Crossley had been a keen racing driver since just before World War II, and following the war, he maintained his interest in motorsport despite his professional commitments. In the late 1940s, Crossley competed in a few races using a pre-war Alta, including the 1947 British Empire Trophy race on the Isle of Man. In 1949, he purchased an Alta GP Grand Prix car, chassis GP2, directly from the manufacturer in Surrey.

With this car, Crossley set impressive International Class F (1,100cc to 1,500cc) standing start speed records at the Montlhéry circuit in late 1949, covering 50 km at 125.92 mph, 50 miles at 124.49 mph, and 100 km at 124.17 mph, demonstrating both the car's potential and his driving ability. The following year brought Crossley into the history books when he participated in the inaugural Formula One World Championship race, the 1950 British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit on 13 May 1950.

He qualified in seventeenth place, three positions ahead of Joe Kelly in a similar Alta despite Kelly's higher specification engine. Crossley's race ended with transmission failure on lap 43, but his participation in this historic event secured his place in motorsport history. Later that season, Crossley entered his Alta for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, where he qualified twelfth and achieved his best World Championship result with a ninth-place finish. In addition to his championship entries, Crossley participated in several non-championship races in the Alta throughout 1950.

However, at season's end, he decided to retire from motorsport due to the prohibitively high costs of maintaining a competitive Formula One program, a common challenge for privateer racers of that era. Crossley made a brief return to motorsport in 1955 when he built a Lea-Francis-engined special that he called the Berkshire Special, showing that his passion for racing and engineering remained strong. Geoffrey Crossley passed away on 7 January 2002 at the age of 80, remembered as one of the participants in Formula One's inaugural World Championship race and as a gentleman racer who competed for the pure love of the sport.