John Judd (engineer)

John Judd (born April 9, 1942 in Coventry , England ) is a British racing engine designer and, together with three-time Formula 1 world champion Jack Brabham, owner of Engine Developments Ltd.

Career

After leaving school, Judd got an apprenticeship at Coventry Engine Company , which enabled him to study at the local college. In the early 1960s he was working on the Coventry Climax engine used by Jack Brabham in Formula 1 . After the engine regulations were changed in 1965, Brabham placed an order with the Australian company Repco to develop a 3-liter racing engine . Judd was involved in the project under engine developer Phil Irving . The Brabham Repco won the drivers 'and constructors' championships in 1966 and 1967, respectively.

Brabham then switched to Cosworth engines and founded the Jack Brabham Conversions company , in which John Judd was responsible for the further development of the Cosworth engine. After the Brabham team was sold to Bernie Ecclestone , Jack Brabham Conversions was restructured and renamed Engine Developments . Cosworth engines have now been prepared for teams like Williams , Arrows , Lotus , Ensign and Fittipaldi .

In 1980 Judd was hired by Honda to develop a Formula 2 engine. When Honda entered Formula 1 in 1982, Judd began developing its own engines, initially for Formula 3000 , and later for IndyCars and Formula 1. Judd made his debut in 1988 with its own V8 engine in Williams, Ligier and March cars in the top motorsport class. The V8 was used until 1992. The V10 presented in 1991 was used by Scuderia Italia in a Dallara chassis.

In 1992 Judd was involved in Yamaha's Formula 1 project. The Japanese plant signed a contract with Tyrrell in 1993 and Judd was a partner in the development of the OX10 and OX11 Yamaha engines until 1996, which achieved two fifth places with Mika Salo as the best results .

1997 began a new partnership with Tom Walkinshaw's Arrows team and drivers Damon Hill and Pedro Diniz . But in 1998, Walkinshaw announced that he wanted to use a motor developed by Brian Hart . Judd continued to work on his V10 engine until 1999, but then focused on tuning engines for the British Touring Car Championship . Today he supplies engines to teams in the Le Mans Series . A car from Henri Pescarolo's team with a Judd engine took second place in the Le Mans 24-hour race in 2005 and 2006 and third in 2007 behind the factory Audi .

Web links

• Engine Developments Ltd. (English)
• Statistics constructed by Judd Formula 1 motors (English)