Van Diemen
| Industry | automotive |
|---|---|
| Fate | Absorbed into Élan Motorsport Technologies |
| Founded | 1973 |
| Founder | Ross Ambrose Ralph Firman Sr. |
| Headquarters | Snetterton, Norfolk, United Kingdom |
| Parent | Élan Motorsport Technologies (as of 2002) |
| Website | www |
| Founded | 1977 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 2002 |
| Team principal(s) | Ross Ambrose Ralph Firman Sr. |
| Former series |
British Formula Ford Eurocup Formula Renault British Formula Renault |
| Noted drivers |
 Donald MacLeod (1977) Michael Roe (1978) Ayrton Senna (1981) Tommy Byrne (1981) Maurício Gugelmin (1982) Dave Coyne (1984) Eddie Irvine (1987) Niko Palhares (1989) Michael Vergers (1990) Marc Goossens (1990) Jason Plato (1991) Jan Magnussen (1992) Russell Ingall (1993) Ralph Firman Jr. (1994) Kevin McGarrity (1995) Mark Webber (1996) Marcos Ambrose (1998) David Besnard (1998) Rob Collard (1998) Dan Wheldon (1998) James Courtney (2000) Robert Dahlgren (2000) Patrick Long (2001) Mike Conway (2002) Jan Heylen (2002) |
| Drivers' Championships |
1981 BRSCC Formula Ford 1600 1981 RAC Formula Ford 1600 1981 Formula Ford Festival 1984 RAC Formula Ford 1600 1987 Formula Ford Festival 1989 Formula Ford BRDC 1989 Formula Ford Festival 1990 British Formula Ford 1991 Formula Ford Festival 1991 Eurocup Formula Renault 1992 Formula Ford Festival 1993 British Formula Ford 1993 Formula Ford Festival 1995 Formula Ford Festival 1996 Formula Ford Festival 1997 Formula Ford Festival 1999 Formula Ford Festival 1997 British Formula Ford 2000 British Formula Ford 2001 British Formula Ford 2002 British Formula Ford 2002 Formula Ford Festival |
Van Diemen International, Ltd. was a British race car manufacturer based in Snetterton, Norfolk, United Kingdom. The company had a reputation for high-volume production runs of its cars, the most well-known of which is its series of Formula Ford chassis, which have been at the forefront of that class of motorsport for over 20 years and led it to becoming the largest manufacturer of bespoke racing cars in the world.
As well as Formula Ford, Van Diemen built cars for Formula Ford 2000, Sports 2000 and Star Mazda series. The company's purpose-built manufacturing facility was located on the grounds of Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit, allowing racing teams to test the cars right off the production line.
Van Diemen was founded in 1973 by Ross Ambrose and Ralph Firman Sr., whose children Marcos Ambrose, Ralph Firman Jr. and Natasha Firman have since gone on to have successful racing careers. The company's name comes from the island of Tasmania, Australia, which was formerly known as Van Diemen's Land and is where Ambrose was born and lived before moving to the UK to co-found the company.
The first car produced was the Van Diemen FA73. In 1973 Derek Lawrence won the BRDC Formula Ford 1600 championship in a FA73. The BRSCC Formula Ford was also won by a FA73. This car was driven by Donald MacLeod. South African Kenny Gray won the Scottish Formula Ford Championship in 1974 in a Van Diemen RF74. Chico Serra won the BRSCC championship in 1977 driving a Van Diemen. Serra went on to win the Formula Ford Festival that season, beating two Royale's. The British car maker took over Group Racing Developments, a producer of Formula 3 chassis, at the end of 1975. A Van Diemen VG376 was entered in the British Formula 3 in 1976 and 1977. The car was a GRD 375 with updated aerodynamics. Jac Nellemann scored the best result for the car at Circuit Zolder scoring a fourth-place finish. The car manufacturer would return to Formula 3 in 1992. 1977 marked the start of a long time relationship with Duckhams Oil which sponsored the factory team until 2002.
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