LEC was a Formula One

Formula One

Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 team and constructor from the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. They participated in ten Grands Prix, five using their own CRP1 car in , and five with a hired March

March Engineering

March Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from the United Kingdom. Although only moderately successful in Grand Prix competition, March racing cars enjoyed much better achievement in other categories of competition including Formula Two, Formula Three,...

 731 in an earlier attempt in . Purley competed in various kinds of motorsport including a successful Formula 5000

Formula 5000

Formula 5000 was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel racing cars that no longer fit into any particular formula...

 campaign in a Chevron

Chevron Cars Ltd

Chevron Cars Ltd. is a manufacturer of racing cars, founded by Derek Bennett in 1965. Following Bennett's death in 1978, the firm has remained active in various guises. The original company's designs and name continue to be utilized by Roger Andreason to build replacement parts and continuation...

 between his two stints in Formula One.

The LEC car was designed by Mike Pilbeam for David Purley

David Purley

David Charles Purley, GM, was a British racing driver born in Bognor Regis, West Sussex. He participated in 11 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting at Monaco on 3 June 1973...

, and named after the family refrigeration business

LEC Refrigeration

-History:It was formed in 1942 by fishmongers Frank Purley and his brother Charles Reginald Purley as Longford Engineering Company Ltd. Charles had moved to Bognor in 1929. It began making munitions for the war on Longford Road in Bognor, but began making experimental refrigerators from 1945...

 that had backed Purley's previous racing efforts. The team was run by Mike Earle with a group of engineers and mechanics who later went on to become Onyx Race Engineering

Onyx (racing team)

Onyx Grand Prix was a Formula One constructor from Britain that contested the 1989 and 1990 Formula One seasons before closing its doors midway through the 1990 season.- Pre-Formula One beginnings :...

.

Purley was gradually coming to terms with the car, but at the 1977 British Grand Prix

1977 British Grand Prix

The 1977 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on 16 July 1977. It was won by James Hunt driving a McLaren M26, and marked the debut of Canadian driver Gilles Villeneuve...

 the throttle stuck open in practice and sent Purley into a wall, demolishing the car and causing Purley severe injuries.

A second car was built for Purley's return to racing in 1979, although he preferred to concentrate on the national-level Aurora F1 series

British Formula One Series

The British Formula One Series, often abbreviated to British F1, was a Formula One motor racing championship held in the United Kingdom. It was often referred to as the Aurora AFX Formula One series due to the Aurora company's sponsorship of the series for three of the four seasons.The long...

 in the UK.

Complete Formula One results

Year	Driver	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	WDC	Pts.
1973 1973 Formula One season The 1973 Formula One season included the 24th FIA Formula One World Championship season, which commenced on January 28, 1973, and ended on October 7 after fifteen races.-Season summary:...	David Purley David Purley David Charles Purley, GM, was a British racing driver born in Bognor Regis, West Sussex. He participated in 11 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting at Monaco on 3 June 1973...	March March Engineering March Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from the United Kingdom. Although only moderately successful in Grand Prix competition, March racing cars enjoyed much better achievement in other categories of competition including Formula Two, Formula Three,...  731	Cosworth Cosworth Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...  V8	ARG 1973 Argentine Grand Prix The 1973 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez on January 28, 1973.- Classification :- Notes :* Pole position: Clay Regazzoni - 1:10.54* Fastest lap: Emerson Fittipaldi - 1:11.22-Standings after the race:...	BRA 1973 Brazilian Grand Prix The 1973 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Interlagos on February 11, 1973.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standingsConstructors' Championship standings...	RSA 1973 South African Grand Prix The 1973 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Kyalami on March 3, 1973. The race was won by Jackie Stewart driving a Tyrrell...	ESP 1973 Spanish Grand Prix The 1973 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Montjuïc circuit on April 29, 1973.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standingsConstructors' Championship standings...	BEL 1973 Belgian Grand Prix The 1973 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zolder on May 20, 1973. It was won by British driver Jackie Stewart driving a Tyrrell 006....	MON 1973 Monaco Grand Prix The 1973 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monaco on June 3, 1973.- Classification :- Notes :* Pole Position: Jackie Stewart - 1:27.5* Fastest lap: Emerson Fittipaldi - 1:28.1* 150th Grand Prix start: Graham Hill... Ret	SWE 1973 Swedish Grand Prix The 1973 Swedish Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Scandinavian Raceway on June 17, 1973.Ronnie Peterson's success with Team Lotus was the catalyst for a Swedish Grand Prix and the race was held for the first time in 1973 at the grandly-named Scandinavian Raceway.Peterson did not...	FRA 1973 French Grand Prix The 1973 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Paul Ricard Circuit on July 1, 1973.- Classification :- Notes :* Pole position: Jackie Stewart - 1:48.37* Fastest lap: Denny Hulme - 1:50.99...	GBR 1973 British Grand Prix The 1973 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone Circuit on July 14, 1973.The race is known for the first lap pile-up which ultimately caused eleven cars to retire. The accident happened when Jody Scheckter spun out of fourth place and into the center of the track coming... DNS	NED 1973 Dutch Grand Prix The 1973 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Zandvoort on July 29, 1973. Zandvoort returned to the Formula 1 calendar following a year's absence for extensive safety upgrades to the race track including new asphalt, new barriers and a new race control tower... Ret	GER 1973 German Grand Prix The 1973 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Nürburgring on August 5, 1973.- Classification :- Notes :* Lap leaders: Jackie Stewart * Jackie Stewart took his 27th and last grand prix victory in this race... 15	AUT 1973 Austrian Grand Prix The 1973 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Österreichring on August 19, 1973.- Classification :- Notes :* Pole position: Emerson Fittipaldi - 1:34.98* Fastest lap: Carlos Pace - 1:37.29-Standings after the race:...	ITA 1973 Italian Grand Prix The 1973 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monza on September 9, 1973.- Classification :- Notes :* Pole position: Ronnie Peterson - 1:34.8* Fastest lap: Jackie Stewart - 1:35.3... 9	CAN 1973 Canadian Grand Prix The 1973 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Mosport Park on September 23, 1973.- Classification :- Notes :* Pole position: Ronnie Peterson - 1:13.697* Fastest lap: Emerson Fittipaldi - 1:15.496...	USA 1973 United States Grand Prix The 1973 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 7, 1973 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York.__FORCETOC__-Summary:...			-	0
1977 1977 Formula One season The 1977 Formula One season included the 28th FIA Formula One World Championship season, which commenced on January 9, 1977, and ended on October 23 after seventeen races.-Season summary:...	David Purley David Purley David Charles Purley, GM, was a British racing driver born in Bognor Regis, West Sussex. He participated in 11 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting at Monaco on 3 June 1973...	LEC CRP1	Cosworth Cosworth Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...  V8	ARG 1977 Argentine Grand Prix The 1977 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Argentina on January 9, 1977.-Report:The 1977 season started in Argentina, and it was reigning world champion James Hunt who started off his title defence with pole position in his McLaren...	BRA 1977 Brazilian Grand Prix The 1977 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Interlagos on January 23, 1977.-Report:James Hunt took pole again with Carlos Reutemann second and Mario Andretti third on the grid. Home hero Carlos Pace took the lead at the start, with Hunt dropping behind Reutemann as well but...	RSA 1977 South African Grand Prix The 1977 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami on 5 March 1977. The race is principally remembered for the fatal accident that claimed the lives of race marshal Frederick Jansen van Vuuren and driver Tom Pryce...	USW 1977 United States Grand Prix West The 1977 United States Grand Prix West was a Formula One race held on April 3, 1977 in Long Beach, California.__FORCETOC__- Summary :An already tragic Formula One season received exactly what it needed to chase away the despair when the brilliant Mario Andretti became the first American to win a...	ESP 1977 Spanish Grand Prix The 1977 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Jarama on May 8, 1977.-Report:Mario Andretti continued his recent form with pole position and Jacques Laffite's Ligier springing a surprise, beating Niki Lauda to second, however Lauda was unable to take part in the race due to a... DNQ	MON 1977 Monaco Grand Prix The 1977 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on May 22, 1977.-Report:John Watson took his first career pole for Brabham with Jody Scheckter also on the front row and Carlos Reutemann third. It was Scheckter who got the best start to beat Watson to the first corner, with...	BEL 1977 Belgian Grand Prix -Report:In qualifying Mario Andretti took a comfortable pole position with John Watson just beating the second Lotus of Gunnar Nilsson to second. The race was wet due to rain earlier in the day, and Watson took the lead at the first corner, but later in the first lap, Andretti ran into the back to... 13	SWE 1977 Swedish Grand Prix The 1977 Swedish Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Scandinavian Raceway on 19 June 1977.-Report:The Swedish race was full of anticipation after Gunnar Nilsson's win last time out, but once again in qualifying, it was his teammate Mario Andretti leading the way from John Watson, with... 14	FRA 1977 French Grand Prix The 1977 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Dijon on 3 July 1977.-Report:Once again it was Mario Andretti on pole with James Hunt second and Gunnar Nilsson third on the grid. Hunt got the best start and led into the first corner from John Watson and Jacques Laffite, with Andretti... Ret	GBR 1977 British Grand Prix The 1977 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on 16 July 1977. It was won by James Hunt driving a McLaren M26, and marked the debut of Canadian driver Gilles Villeneuve... DNPQ	GER 1977 German Grand Prix The 1977 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Hockenheimring on July 31, 1977. After Niki Lauda's near-fatal accident at the dangerous Nürburgring in 1976, the German Grand Prix was moved to and held every year except for 1 at Hockenheim until 2007, and this was the second year the race...	AUT 1977 Austrian Grand Prix The 1977 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Österreichring on August 14, 1977. It was the tenth Austrian Grand Prix since the race was first held in 1963. It was held over 54 laps of the six kilometre venue for a race distance of 320 kilometres...	NED 1977 Dutch Grand Prix The 1977 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Circuit Zandvoort on 28 August 1977.-Report:In qualifying, Mario Andretti took his fifth pole of the season with Jacques Laffite alongside on the front row, and James Hunt third...	ITA 1977 Italian Grand Prix The 1977 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monza on September 11, 1977.-Report:The fact that it was Ferrari's home race did not deter James Hunt who took pole, whereas Carlos Reutemann cheered the home fans by starting second in front of Jody Scheckter...	USA 1977 United States Grand Prix The 1977 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 2, 1977 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York...	CAN 1977 Canadian Grand Prix The 1977 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 9 October 1977 at Mosport Park.-Report:The field arrived in Canada without Niki Lauda who, having clinched the championship at the previous race, and already announced his intention to drive for Brabham the following year, abruptly quit...	JPN 1977 Japanese Grand Prix The 1977 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 23 October 1977 at Fuji.-Report:Mario Andretti and James Hunt continued their late-season battle, with the American pipping Hunt to the pole, with John Watson heading the second row...	-	0