Crawford (chassis)

Crawford Composites is an American automotive and aerospace company based in Denver, North Carolina. It was founded by Max Crawford and his wife Jan Crawford; their daughter Catherine Crawford is senior project manager and aerodynamics engineer. French racecar manufacturer Onroak Automotive bought the motorsports division in October 2016, with the Crawford family continuing working in the company.

Crawford Composites founder Max Crawford started as a racing driver and mechanic in the New Zealand Open Saloon Car Association racing series in his home country in 1966. Crawford moved to the USA to join Dick Barbour Racing as a mechanic in the IMSA GT Championship. After the disbandment of Dick Barbour Racing the New Zealander joined John Fitzpatrick Racing as a crew chief. After successes in Can-Am, Group C and a third place in the 1984 24 Hours of Le Mans Crawford moved to North Carolina in 1987.

In 1991 Crawford was contracted by Mazda Motorsports to construct the chassis for the Mazda RX-792P. Lee Dykstra designed the car as Crawford Composites was contracted to manufacture the car. The car was designed to incorporate many style elements of the new Mazda RX-7. The chassis was a honeycomb aluminium monocoque. The GTP sports car was powered by a Mazda R26B Wankel engine. Two cars were built for Mazda Motorsports. The car encountered several problems in the IMSA GT Championship. During practice of the 1992 Grand Prix of Miami the #001 chassis caught fire. The fire was caused by the exhaust setting the bodywork on fire. Drivers Price Cobb and Pete Halsmer were unable to compete the car. During the 1992 12 Hours of Sebring the car caught fire again. The two cars competed a total of 22 races in the 1992 IMSA GT Championship season. The cars scored two podium finishes, a third place at Lime Rock Park and a second place at Watkins Glen International Raceway. After a number of technical DNF's the cars were retired after the season.