Crosslé 22F, 26F and 28F car-by-car histories
Brian Nelson in Desmond Mack's Crosslé 22F at Ingliston in August 1972. Copyright Colin Lourie 2024. Used with permission.
The Crosslé 22F was a monocoque design, intended for Formula 2 in 1972 but used primarily in Formula Ireland events. A later front-radiator evolution was built for Formula Atlantic and a further variant for Formula B.
After several years of spaceframe chassis for the firm's Formula B and Formula 2 cars, Crosslé returned to monocoque design with the 1972 Crosslé 22F, initially designed by 27-year-old Leslie Drysdale with side radiators and with its wings above the engine. The monocoque was very different to the full-length tubs used in the 8F, 10F and 15F, and was fabricated from 16, 18, and 20-gauge aircraft aluminium alloy, with assistance from the local Short Brothers and Harland Limited aircraft company. The 22F's chassis and suspension were conventional for its day, with the monocoque reaching from the front suspension to just behind the driver's seat. A tubular sub-frame at the front carried the front suspension pick-up points, and a sub-frame at the back supported the engine and gearbox. The car's suspension followed broadly the same layout as the 18F/19F, with twin wishbones and outboard spring/damper units at the front, and reversed lower wishbones, single top link, and twin radius arms at the rear. The car used 10-inch and 14-inch Chevron wheels, with inboard rear brakes. The first two 22Fs were designed for the 2-litre Chevrolet Vega engine, which was allowed in the Irish series but not in European Formula 2, but Desmond Mack's car was fitted with an all-alloy 2-litre Hart BDA engine, and Luke Duffy's used a 1.8-litre Cosworth FVC. Both used Hewland FG400 gearboxes.
The centrally-mounted wings did not work and were quickly abandoned in favour of a more orthodox system. The side radiators also proved ineffective, and the 22Fs moved to a front-radiator layout. A variant was built in front-radiator form for Formula 2 in 1973 as the 26F, but there were no buyers and the car was repurposed as a Formula Atlantic when Ireland moved to that category in 1974. A further variant for SCCA Formula B, the 28F, was also built in 1973. By 1975, the front-radiator 26F had been fitted with a full-width "sports car" nose.
If you can add to our understanding of these cars, or have photographs that we can use, please email Allen at allen@oldracingcars.com.
Ken Fildes (#5) and Brian Nelson (#3) in their Crosslé 22Fs at Kirkistown in June 1972. Copyright Julian Massey 2016. Used with permission.
Robert Wainwright with Eamonn Ledwidge's Crosslé 22F at the 2019 Silverstone Classic. Copyright Keith Lewcock 2019. Used with permission.
New to Desmond Mack Racing and fitted with a 1970cc Hart BDA engine for Brian Nelson (Hillsborough, Northern Ireland) to use in 2-litre Formula Ireland racing in 1972. Nelson won nine libre races in Ireland in 1972. Also used in libre racing at Ingliston, where Nelson won two of the four races he contested. Nelson retired from racing in February 1973 after his girlfriend died in a road accident. The Crosslé was retained by Mack for the 1973 season, when Nelson Todd (Lisburn, Northern Ireland) took over the drive, winning two races that season. For 1974, the car was converted to Formula Atlantic for the new Irish series, and was raced for Mack by Jay Pollock. Once the purpose-built Crosslé 26F was ready, Pollock moved to that car and the 22F was sold to Bill Gowdy, who drove it for the rest of 1974 and in 1975.
The car is said to have gone to the UK, but its history is unknown until 1979, when Willie Pascoe (Truro, Cornwall) drove a Crosslé 22F in the Castle Combe Formule Libre series. Pascoe had previously raced a Crosslé CS7/9 sports car in 1976, which he had reclothed in a March 74S body acquired from Roger Heavens. He used a 2-litre Triumph Dolomite engine in that car, reputedly an ex-Nigel Mansell F3 engine, and fitted that to the Crosslé 22F when he acqured it. He continued to race the 22F until the Castle Combe series folded in the late 1980s. The car then remained in a garage for some years. Simon Lewis recalls hearing that it eventually returned to Ireland to be restored.
Later owner Eamonn Ledwidge advises the car was acquired from Pascoe by Tommy Reid in Northern Ireland, still with the Triumph engine. Reid had it rebuilt at the Crosslé factory in 2001 and fitted an alloy 'BDG' engine for historic racing. In March 2014, it was acquired from Reid by Ledwidge, and recommissioned by Gerry Wainwright Motorsport. It was raced by Gerry's son Robert Wainwright in the 2019 Silverstone Classic. Still owned by Ledwidge in October 2025.
Driven by: Brian Nelson, Nelson Todd, Jay Pollock, John Pollock, Bill Gowdy and Willie Pascoe. First race: Kirkistown (R2), 25 Mar 1972. Total of 48 recorded races.
Ken Fildes in Luke Duffy's very new Crosslé 22F at Kirkistown in April 1972. Copyright Julian Massey 2016. Used with permission.
John Murphy in his Crosslé 22F at Silverstone in October 2016. Copyright Keith Lewcock 2016. Used with permission.
New to Luke Duffy and initially fitted with an 1800cc Cosworth FVC engine for Ken Fildes (Clonskeagh, Dublin, Ireland) to use in 2-litre Formula Ireland racing in 1972. Fildes won a couple of races with the FVC engine before the car was fitted with a 2-litre Chevrolet Vega engine in August. Retained for 1973, when Fildes won two early-season races. Irish racing moved to Formula Atlantic for 1974, and the 22F was not seen that season. It was converted to Formula Atlantic specification and reappeared with Don Murray for a few races in 1975. Subsequent history unknown. The car was next seen in 2000, when James Ledamun raced it in Historic F2 and then in HSCC Derek Bell Trophy races in 2003. It next went to Belgium, where it was owned by Danny Deschutere. It may then have gone to Laurent Fort in southern France. Advertised by Cheshire Classic Cars in March 2014. By 2016, it had been acquired by John Murphy, and recommissioned for Historic Formula Atlantic. Murphy raced the car with the HSCC from 2016 to 2019.
Driven by: Ken Fildes and Don Murray. First race: Kirkistown, 22 Apr 1972. Total of 29 recorded races.
John L'Amie in his Crosslé 22F at Ingliston in August 1972. Copyright Colin Lourie 2024. Used with permission.
New to John L'Amie (Killinchy, Northern Ireland), and fitted with a 1970cc Hart BDA engine to use in 2-litre Formula Ireland racing in 1972. He also raced it in two formule libre races at Ingliston that season. The car was not seen between 1973 and 1976.
In early 1976, it was said that Frank Keane was returning to competition after three years in the ex-L'Amie 2-litre Crosslé 22F, but no results have been found for him in the car. In early 1978, Derek Shortall raced Keane's Pioneer-backed Crosslé 22F with great success, leading the Pioneer Hi-Fi Irish Hill Climb championship by early May, and had won three events by the end of May. He wrecked the Crosslé at Corkscrew Hill Climb in July, but borrowed Cyril Lynch's March 722 to win at Ballyvaughan the next day. He clinched the title with a second place in Lynch's March at the final round. Eamonn Ledwidge advises that the wrecked Crosslé was sold to Bobby Holwings who broke it up.
Driven by: John L'Amie, Brian Nelson and Derek Shortall. First race: Kirkistown (R10), 29 Jul 1972. Total of 10 recorded races.
The Crosslé 26F was intended for Formula 2, and was shown in that specification at the Racing Car Show in January 1973. After it did not sell, there was press speculation that it would be repurposed by the factory for Jay Pollock to race in Formula Atlantic in 1973. Pollock did not appear in the series in 1973, but started the 1974 season driving Desmond Mack's Crosslé 22F, but withdrew in May. He returned to give the new car a debut win at Kirkistown on 24 August 1974, where it was described as a "brand new" 28F. He also raced it at Phoenix Park two weeks later, and at Mondello Park the weekend after that.
It was raced again by Pollock from July to September 1975 as a works entry, but was called "new" when it first appeared and referred to as a "32F" in some press reports. He won the Texaco Leinster Trophy in the 26F at Mondello Park in September, despite being launched into the air by Patsy McGarrity's Chevron B29 during the race.
He appeared again with a Formula Atlantic Crosslé for four races in August and September 1976, when his car was called a Crosslé "35F". Both 32F and 35F were designations used in the future for Formula Fords. Pollock went well in the car, taking an impressive second place behind Tony Trimmer's Lola T460 in the John Player Grand Prix at Phoenix Park in September 1976. It then remained under a dust cover at the Crosslé factory in 1977, but it is likely to have been the "22F" driven once by Pollock in 1978, then the "unique 22F" driven by Dan Daly in 1979, and the "22F" raced once by Pat Fitzpatrick in 1980.
The car then went to Robert McGimpsey for hillclimbing and was raced from 1984 to 1986 with a turbocharged BDA engine. Subsequent history unknown. At some point the car was acquired by Terry Murphy, and rebuilt for historic racing. By 2011, it was owned by Paul McMorran and configured in front-radiator 22F form for Historic F2. Still with McMorran in 2025, when it was awaiting a new engine.
Driven by: Jay Pollock and Robert McGimpsey. First race: Kirkistown, 24 Aug 1974. Total of 15 recorded races.
Tom Mangan in his Crosslé 28F, probably at Road America in 1974. Copyright Ted Walker 2024. Used with permission.
New to Tom Mangan (Forest City, Iowa) and fitted with a Ford twin cam engine to be used in SCCA Formula B racing. Mangan's first known appearance in a Crosslé is late in the 1973 season, but it is possible he had a different Crosslé before the 28F was delivered. Used in Midwest Division SCCA Nationals and in the SCCA's series of Formula Atlantic races in 1974 and 1975. Retained again for SCCA Nationals in 1976 and 1977. After Mangan stopped racing the car, it was acquired by Mike Rand (Amherst, Massachusetts), who had fully restored it by 1987. Later, the car was in Ken Petrie's museum for as long as 25 years. By November 2021, it was owned by Walt Pawluczkowycz (Evergreen, CO), who advertised it during 2023.
Driven by: Tom Mangan. First race: Blackhawk Farms, 5 Aug 1973. Total of 18 recorded races.
Unresolved Crosslé 22/26Fs
In addition to the above, unknown Crosslé 22Fs were driven by Jay Pollock, Dan Daly and Pat Fitzpatrick.
Acknowledgements
Sources for this article include Crosslé News No 7 (Summer 1988), pages 8-10, Autosport 6 July 1972 p41, and Alan 'Plum' Tyndall's book 'Hidden Glory, The Story of the Crosslé Car Company' (Booklink 2014, ISBN 978 1 906886 59 2). Also my thanks to Alan Drysdale, Eamonn Ledwidge and Simon Lewis for their help on this subject, and to Julian Massey, Keith Lewcock and Ted Walker for permission to use their photographs.
If you can add to our understanding of these cars, or have photographs that we can use, please email Allen at allen@oldracingcars.com.
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