Joe Potts
Encyclopedia
Joe Potts was a Scottish
racing driver, turned racing car manufacturer, of the 1950s. He designed and constructed his 'JP' racing cars for the Formula 3 and Formule Libre racing classes. These remain the only single-seater racing cars to come from Scotland.
, Lanarkshire
, and founded the company that bears his name. Amongst other lines of business he hired out horse-drawn carriages, one of his customers being a local undertaker. Potts was later to take over this funeral director's business, and modify his carriages so that they could be used as a hearse when necessary.
Potts' grandson - also Joseph, or Joe - is the subject of this article. He expanded the business's engineering offshoot in the mid-1930s, firstly by supplying motorcycle components and then, with the Second World War, by producing specialist armament parts.
After the war, the funeral directorship and engineering works continued side-by-side.
Joe Potts continued to develop motorbikes, running a highly successful team of racers, and then started to compete in races and hill climbs in his Cooper F3 car. Believing that the Cooper could be bettered, he and his chief designer Willie Rogerson set about designing and building their own 'JP' F3 cars in 1950. The precise number built over the next five years is not certain, but they are thought to number around 34.
The company continued to undertake engineering projects until Joe's death in 1982.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
racing driver, turned racing car manufacturer, of the 1950s. He designed and constructed his 'JP' racing cars for the Formula 3 and Formule Libre racing classes. These remain the only single-seater racing cars to come from Scotland.
Background
In the late 19th century an Irish immigrant by the name of Joseph Potts settled in BellshillBellshill
Bellshill is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, 10 miles south east of Glasgow city centre and 37 miles west of Edinburgh. Other nearby towns are Motherwell , Hamilton and Coatbridge . Since 1996, it has been situated in the Greater Glasgow metropolitan area...
, Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...
, and founded the company that bears his name. Amongst other lines of business he hired out horse-drawn carriages, one of his customers being a local undertaker. Potts was later to take over this funeral director's business, and modify his carriages so that they could be used as a hearse when necessary.
Potts' grandson - also Joseph, or Joe - is the subject of this article. He expanded the business's engineering offshoot in the mid-1930s, firstly by supplying motorcycle components and then, with the Second World War, by producing specialist armament parts.
After the war, the funeral directorship and engineering works continued side-by-side.
Joe Potts continued to develop motorbikes, running a highly successful team of racers, and then started to compete in races and hill climbs in his Cooper F3 car. Believing that the Cooper could be bettered, he and his chief designer Willie Rogerson set about designing and building their own 'JP' F3 cars in 1950. The precise number built over the next five years is not certain, but they are thought to number around 34.
The company continued to undertake engineering projects until Joe's death in 1982.
'JP' drivers
The drivers who competed in Joe Potts' JP cars include:- Mirrlees Chassells
- Ron Flockhart
- David Swan
- Marshall Watson (father of Grand Prix driver John WatsonJohn Watson (racing driver)John Marshall "Wattie" Watson MBE is a British former racing driver from Northern Ireland. He competed in Formula One, winning five Grands Prix and also in the World Sportscar Championship...
)