48 replies to this topic

[cheesy poofs]

Can anyone enlighten me about him ? What has happened to him since he sold his GP team to Benetton back in the mid 80`s ? Also, how did he get involved in the sport ?

Thanks.

[ensign14]

Last I heard he had retired to South Africa.

[Peter Morley]

First I heard of him was when he entered the Paris Dakar rally.

I think he ran a Range Rover (with a different engine) with my friend Luc Janssens.

That would probably have been in the 70s.

[Arjan de Roos]

Toleman Motorsport entered in the Paris Dakar rally.

And wasn't Ted Toleman into off shore as well?

But does TM still exist?

His son was shot last year in SA, rather sad. I found this piece on the net:
"The son of former Formula One boss Ted Toleman has been shot dead by a gang of carjackers in South Africa. Gary Toleman, 41, was shot in front of his fiancee Marlet Jordaan on a garage forecourt 300 yards from his home by four men who grabbed the keys of his Toyota pick-up truck. His twin brother Michael, who lives near Stowmarket in Suffolk, said last night: "Gary was executed in cold blood. He had already handed over the keys and Marlet came out of the shop to see one of the men holding a pistol in Gary's mouth. She pleaded with them not to shoot him but the gunman just pulled the trigger. Life is that cheap now in South Africa." Michael Toleman said his brother had been planning a return to Britain to live near his former wife Penny and their three teenage children."

[Arjan de Roos]

BTW TT is on the advisory board for Racing for Britain. You can contact them on:
Racing for Britain Ltd, telephone +44 1.803.52.2612

[LittleChris]

I believe Teds brother was sadly killed in a Formula Ford race at Snetterton in about 1976. Didn't he have a major involvement in powerboat racing after he sold Toleman to Benetton back in 1985 ?

[ian senior]

Going off at a slight tangent, what happenned to the Toleman team manager, Alex Hawkridge? Hate to say this, but weren't there some reports about him being involved in an unpleasant non-motor racing related activity?

[effone2k]

Originally posted by ian senior
Going off at a slight tangent, what happenned to the Toleman team manager, Alex Hawkridge? Hate to say this, but weren't there some reports about him being involved in an unpleasant non-motor racing related activity?

AH was involved in the early days of BAR's F1 effort. I don't know what he's doing now.

[Geza Sury]

Originally posted by Peter Morley
First I heard of him was when he entered the Paris Dakar rally.

I think he ran a Range Rover (with a different engine) with my friend Luc Janssens.

That would probably have been in the 70s.

Ted Toleman competed in the 1989 Paris Dakar Rally driving some sort of a Buggy IIRC. His co-driver's family name was Lee, but I don't remember his Christian name.

Edit: After "googling" a bit, I found out that this man was Barry Lee. There's some info about Toleman's Paris Dakar outings in Lee's website. They competed together for the first time in 1987 with a Range Rover. The following year the pair returned with a Metro 6R4-based 'TG88'. Their last rally together was the 1989 Paris-Dakar, where they competed in an Adrian Reynard-designed TG89.

[Toleman]

Ted now spends his time between the Philippines and Australia.
Is there anything else?

[Bjorn Kjer]

On the transporter thread there are pics of their transporter. But it would be nice to hear here how or when he started etc.

[cosworth bdg]

Originally posted by Toleman
Ted now spends his time between the Philippines and Australia.
Is there anything else?

His transport off shoot TDG in australia was the basis used for the formation of the worlds largest land transport group, TOLL holdings based in Australia.......

[bradbury west]

Originally posted by cosworth bdg
His transport off shoot TDG in australia was the basis used for the formation of the worlds largest land transport group, TOLL holdings based in Australia.......

Well, you live and learn, and I had thought that Tibbett and Brittan had bought Toleman Automotive in the early 90s, later to form Axial, 95-ish, which was later taken over again in the late 90s. At the point of the Toleman takeover I thought Ted's transport inclinations ended, and he went powerboating(?) . Tell us more

Roger Lund.

[fausto]

Originally posted by bradbury west


Well, you live and learn......and he went powerboating(?) . Tell us more

Roger Lund.

I think that went back powerboating could be more appropriate, Ted Toleman was involved with off-shore/powerboating race since the '70s, for what I remember he also had a (large) interest in Cougar powerboats, the company that also appeared as a sponsor of his own F.1 team

[Toleman]

He had a share in Cougar and did the Blue Riband crossing with Richard Branson in 1985. He used to powerboat with an American called Smitty.

[scarbs]

Isnt Alex Hawkridge involved in Quaiffe transmissions?

[David M. Kane]

Alex was with Reyard for awhile too.

[Bjorn Kjer]

Ted Toleman was at the Australian F1GP this year !

[simonlewisbooks]

Originally posted by Geza Sury

After "googling" a bit, I found out that this man was Barry Lee. There's some info about Toleman's Paris Dakar outings in Lee's website. They competed together for the first time in 1987 with a Range Rover. The following year the pair returned with a Metro 6R4-based 'TG88'. Their last rally together was the 1989 Paris-Dakar, where they competed in an Adrian Reynard-designed TG89.

I seem to recall a certain Willie Green was the team manager on at least one of these Dakar events and that he and Lee didn't see eye-to-eye on some aspects, leading to a major mid event "disagreement" ...

[ghinzani]

Originally posted by simonlewisbooks


I seem to recall a certain Willie Green was the team manager on at least one of these Dakar events and that he and Lee didn't see eye-to-eye on some aspects, leading to a major mid event "disagreement" ...

Willie being posh and Barry not I guess?

[man]

"The Toleman was a car for David Coleman"

Clive James at his best.

[Richard Jenkins]

Any idea where Ted is from?
I have him down as being born in South Africa (don't know where), but is sometimes referred to as English or British?

[MickyD]

I know Ted Toleman's daughter in law and Grand daughter, i.e. the daughter of the son murdered in South Africa. She tells me that Grandad Ted does not keep in touch and shows little interest in her and her family in the UK. She said she has no contact which is sad given the tragic circumstances of her father's death.

[Richard Jenkins]

Originally posted by Richie Jenkins
Any idea where Ted is from?
I have him down as being born in South Africa (don't know where), but is sometimes referred to as English or British (specificially, Essex)?

Still interested to know where he was born, but he's still very much in motorsport & in Australia now, it seems - http://www.ausmotive...management.html

[Formula Once]

He was born in South-Africa on March 14, 1938

[Richard Jenkins]

Originally posted by Formula Once
He was born in South-Africa on March 14, 1938

Yes, I know, that information is on my own website! I would like to know precisely where...

[Formula Once]

Don't know, maybe it helps when you consider his real name is Norman Edward.

[JtP1]

Originally posted by effone2k


AH was involved in the early days of BAR's F1 effort. I don't know what he's doing now.

Are you suggesting Effone, that the early days of BAR's F1 effort was an unpleasant non motor racing activity.

[hipperson]

I wonder if Mr Toleman ever lived in Finchingfield Essex ?

There used to a red Ferrari 308GTB with number plate MAGIC ( now with Paul Daniels) in the area which the carrot crunchers used to refer to as 'Tolemans motor ?'

Also near my parents in Gedding. Suffolk there was a hacienda styled house called Abilene Lodge which had a private Zoo in the garden. A white Audi 100 with Treser bodywork used to be parked in the drive registration was ET 2. A Toleman definitely lived here.

This house was the lodge to the fabulous Gedding Hall, still owned by Rolling Stone Bill Wyman

[Richard Jenkins]

Originally posted by Formula Once
Don't know, maybe it helps when you consider his real name is Norman Edward.

Tried that as well. Nothing in GRO. :

[ghinzani]

Slightly OT but an interesting podcast with Alex Hawkridge here:
http://www.karting1.co.uk/news/?p=417

[6R4 Online News]

I would certainly like to get in touch with Ted Toleman as I am a big paris-dakar fan and a metro 6r4 fan which himself and barry lee used along with the T89 Enduro for 1989 rally

I was sent a couple of their Toleman Motorsport portfolios and a PR video when they where trying to secure backers for the Dakar rally

[Andregemini]

Going off at a slight tangent, what happenned to the Toleman team manager, Alex Hawkridge? Hate to say this, but weren't there some reports about him being involved in an unpleasant non-motor racing related activity?

Well....after trying to manage an American launch of the Reynard Company on Wall Street, the entire deal collapsed with the "Dotcom" crash. Soon afterwards Alex started working for me at Gemini Transmissions in Brackley in England.
Five months afterwards he had a massive heart attack and his health has deteriorated substantially. I sold the Company to Ricardo in 2002 and his services wer terminated by them. He is still alive and living in Brackley. To keep himself busy he is involved with some carting team.
He is also the brother in law of Barry Lee of hotrod fame.

Edited by Andregemini, 08 March 2010 - 03:10.

[eldougo]

....Early involvement in Motorsport.And Quick service.

[Andrew Kitson]

....Early involvement in Motorsport.And Quick service.

That was the Colin Hawker DFV engined Capri, looks like a testing session at Snetterton in 1974. The Toleman Delivery Service came into motor racing sponsorship in 1969, on Hawker's special saloon Escort. But the first involvement in motor sport was when their chairman Albert Toleman went rallying in the early '50s.

[Nello]

Heres a recent pic of Ted I found with Bruno Senna..........

[JockinSA]

Good evening to you all.
Having only just joined this site and found that this person was being talked about, I thought that my personal experiences with the man might be of interest.
Yes Mr. Toleman was here in South Africa in the mid 90s and in cahoots with a bloke called Terry Bengis, set up a Touring car team with help from BMW, to be run from Cape Town. The team consisted of basically 4 people with a deal to run the car from a small engineering shop who had xss space. We started with a Loan car from the previous season and a new shell which I prepared for assembly whilst Mick Jones and Eddie Pinto were reconning all the parts for it.
We all knew that the 1st race was out as our start time was so late, this being explained to us as being due to the finalisation of the money side of things by Messrs Toleman and Bengis, the later being the on the spot 'go between' between Toleman and the people on the ground. But, we were assured by the pair of them, everything was great and the next round in Cape Town was to be the launch target for the team.
Well to cut a long story short, Mick and I, with help from all sorts of goodwilled people, built and got the car to the track in the space of 60 hours from shell to taking part in the first race. Not a great start but we got there as " .... it's really important that we show the new sponsor that we can do it." said the smooth talking Toleman to us.(This being Playboy magazine, the car being painted in their colour of Black and White.)
In the mean time we had all been pulling favours from people that we knew to pay for all of this as the "...financial side is still all being set up so if you can help in anyway to get things sped up and give us the bills we will sort it all out after the Cape Town race."
After the Cape Town race there was no money and 'Fat Boy'Bengis basically disappeared and Toleman went back to his Banana Plantation in Nelspruit and told us all that there was no sponser and thaat he was not in any way responsible for all of this so tough luck.
So as far as I am concerned, this man can never have enough grief in his life because as far as I am concerned what goes around comes around in life.
Oh and the reason he was here in South Africa at the time was apparently due to NatWest Bank and HMG Tax people wanting a word in his little shell like ears over certain aspects of Cougar Marine,and other parts of his "empire". That's what we got back when we discussed the scenario with people back in the UK at the time. ..d help you all in Aus.

[eldougo]

JockinSA.

So iam guessing that he is not on your xmas list .It is a sad when people are taken in and spat out the other end ,sadly it is a all to common story in Motor racing circle around the world.

[piperp2]

When I worked for Lancaster Garages in Colchester in the early 1980's, I remember Ted Tolemans Metallic Gold Lamborghini Countach in the workshop, I think it was 1981 or 1982.

[Victoria Toleman]

Good evening to you all.
Having only just joined this site and found that this person was being talked about, I thought that my personal experiences with the man might be of interest.
Yes Mr. Toleman was here in South Africa in the mid 90s and in cahoots with a bloke called Terry Bengis, set up a Touring car team with help from BMW, to be run from Cape Town. The team consisted of basically 4 people with a deal to run the car from a small engineering shop who had xss space. We started with a Loan car from the previous season and a new shell which I prepared for assembly whilst Mick Jones and Eddie Pinto were reconning all the parts for it.
We all knew that the 1st race was out as our start time was so late, this being explained to us as being due to the finalisation of the money side of things by Messrs Toleman and Bengis, the later being the on the spot 'go between' between Toleman and the people on the ground. But, we were assured by the pair of them, everything was great and the next round in Cape Town was to be the launch target for the team.
Well to cut a long story short, Mick and I, with help from all sorts of goodwilled people, built and got the car to the track in the space of 60 hours from shell to taking part in the first race. Not a great start but we got there as " .... it's really important that we show the new sponsor that we can do it." said the smooth talking Toleman to us.(This being Playboy magazine, the car being painted in their colour of Black and White.)
In the mean time we had all been pulling favours from people that we knew to pay for all of this as the "...financial side is still all being set up so if you can help in anyway to get things sped up and give us the bills we will sort it all out after the Cape Town race."
After the Cape Town race there was no money and 'Fat Boy'Bengis basically disappeared and Toleman went back to his Banana Plantation in Nelspruit and told us all that there was no sponser and thaat he was not in any way responsible for all of this so tough luck.
So as far as I am concerned, this man can never have enough grief in his life because as far as I am concerned what goes around comes around in life.
Oh and the reason he was here in South Africa at the time was apparently due to NatWest Bank and HMG Tax people wanting a word in his little shell like ears over certain aspects of Cougar Marine,and other parts of his "empire". That's what we got back when we discussed the scenario with people back in the UK at the time. ..d help you all in Aus.

Hello,

Have just seen your post. I am Robert Toleman eldest daughter, Robert was Teds brother who died in 1976, leaving a wife and 3 children under 5. Your post is no shock to me, Ted should be behind bars!- Hate is a very strong word, i do hate him for what he did to my mother. Not sure where to start. Ted ran off to SA with all the money from our family business, a business that my mother owed 37.5% of, The Toleman group was started by my great grand father. Ted left us with nothing, caused my mother so much stress. Ted was adopted, so not even a Toleman in my eyes. Please get in contact if you want.

[Pink Snail]

After reading the posts in this thread, I must say it has thrown some light on what may have led to the end of Toleman as a GP Team. I was always a fan of the team in the early `80s and looked at them as a reasonable performing team. Alas, when the dirty washing is brought out, we learn of certain things that we should maybe have hoped we`d never hear about.
I am sorry to hear that Ted did what he did to family (used loosely as it transpires!!) and that he ran away rather than face the music. That he had the gall to go to SA and carry on, in a sense, the type of life of wheeling and dealing (!) he was used to just adds salt to the poor people`s wounds he left behind.
On a Motor Racing theme, to think that Toleman GP morphed into Bennetton into Renault into Lotus for 2011, the genetic make up of Lotus tends to lend itself to the real life genetic origin of Ted `Toleman` seeing as he was adopted!!
I would love to know if the guy shows ANY remorse for the results of his doings in days gone by. If it is any consolation to Victoria and the family here in the UK there are some enthusiasts actually proud to show off the cars once raced by the likes of Bruno Giacomelli, Derek Warwick, Johnny Cecotto and Ayrton Senna when Toleman were the `British Garagistes` against the big boys of McLaren, Lotus, Ferrari and Brabham.
Again, sorry to hear of the family situation regarding Ted, Victoria and family should be glad that he did leave and didn`t drag the rest of the family down with him if he`d stayed around. Maybe the man should stand up to be counted and face the music. As I have said on threads before, I am prepared to be shot down in flames for my opinions but on a nostalgic tilt, I am a little deflated now knowing that a team I supported should be indirectly linked to a story like Victoria`s due to the actions of one individual.

[Victoria Toleman]

After reading the posts in this thread, I must say it has thrown some light on what may have led to the end of Toleman as a GP Team. I was always a fan of the team in the early `80s and looked at them as a reasonable performing team. Alas, when the dirty washing is brought out, we learn of certain things that we should maybe have hoped we`d never hear about.
I am sorry to hear that Ted did what he did to family (used loosely as it transpires!!) and that he ran away rather than face the music. That he had the gall to go to SA and carry on, in a sense, the type of life of wheeling and dealing (!) he was used to just adds salt to the poor people`s wounds he left behind.
On a Motor Racing theme, to think that Toleman GP morphed into Bennetton into Renault into Lotus for 2011, the genetic make up of Lotus tends to lend itself to the real life genetic origin of Ted `Toleman` seeing as he was adopted!!
I would love to know if the guy shows ANY remorse for the results of his doings in days gone by. If it is any consolation to Victoria and the family here in the UK there are some enthusiasts actually proud to show off the cars once raced by the likes of Bruno Giacomelli, Derek Warwick, Johnny Cecotto and Ayrton Senna when Toleman were the `British Garagistes` against the big boys of McLaren, Lotus, Ferrari and Brabham.
Again, sorry to hear of the family situation regarding Ted, Victoria and family should be glad that he did leave and didn`t drag the rest of the family down with him if he`d stayed around. Maybe the man should stand up to be counted and face the music. As I have said on threads before, I am prepared to be shot down in flames for my opinions but on a nostalgic tilt, I am a little deflated now knowing that a team I supported should be indirectly linked to a story like Victoria`s due to the actions of one individual.

Thanks for your post. I am proud of what my father started, dad was the one who started the motor racing. Ted show any REMORSE - did not even get in contact when my mother pasted away 14 years ago. The man should stand up and face the music, he never will, living the high life, with my money. Well i am happy and have never ruined lives !! If only i could make the tax man listen.

[Victoria Toleman]

Heres a recent pic of Ted I found with Bruno Senna..........

This picture makes me sick, the man is not even a Toleman !!

[JockinSA]

Victoria my most heartfelt condolences to you and the rightful Toleman family. Your statements actually make me feel sad that that I felt these feeliings towards the whole clan not fully knowing the real story. Please forgive me for that.

We even contacted the British tax authorities from this end, even to the point of giving them his arrival time of a flight to the UK in 1995. It obviously did not do any good. As I have said before, what goes around comes around, as I understand Nabana Park, the banana plantation in Nelspruit burned down, never mind his family problems.

As Monty Python would have put it "Smooth talking F.....". My only regret is that their are some superb cars bearing your name left in this world that are remembered for him. His trail of brocken lives across this planet will catch up with him, I hope, and hopefully give your family some kind of peace.

God Speed

[Pink Snail]

Personally Victoria, I don`t think, after reading some of the comments about `The Toleman Story`, that I would buy the book anyway, no disrespect to the late Chris Hilton. I would much rather read of someone`s success and fulfilment through the tough world that is F1 nowadays. The Toleman name deserves much more than the sad revelations on this thread.
If your late father had the input into the original Toleman racing programme and was proud of where it went then that was the good part of all this. When the team hit the F1 scene big time, a certain person became greedy and that was it . The fact that Ayrton came to the team and things changed was the start of it all. Come to think of it, all those years ago it would marry in to about the time that Toleman Group car transporters started to disappear from our roads here...they used to be the Stobarts of the `80s...one seen every few minutes !!
Depending on the `legalities`, maybe there should be a story written about how some of todays F1 teams come to be on the grid and the stories behind them . Like I said Toleman morphed into todays Lotus. Minardi into Torro Rosso, Tyrrell into Mercedes (Yes!!!), Brabham may be harder to trace (offers!??).
Whilst it may be of no comfort all these years later Victoria, the names of the true enthusiasts in the sport are NEVER forgotten. I move in the Historic circles with the F1 guys and love to see the cars on the grid, Tolemans are rare but the Osellas, Minardis, Tyrrells, Ligiers, Fittipaldis, Heskeths are all out there and sometimes have the original crew in tow. Indeed, Tony Southgate now scrutineers the cars he designed in the `70s & `80s. I do believe that Ayrtons TG184 is actually running in the FORCE series and is looked after by the original mechanic of the car (I may be wrong) which is a much nicer story than of some guy running away to start a banana farm with someone elses money (gulp!). I mean no harm by my comments but as a true fan of Toleman in the early `80s feel to be slightly short changed this evening.

[JockinSA]

Thank you Pink Snail from me. At least I can feel that someone somewhere has appreciation for the work that was done in the Toleman name. I just try and forget the mess that creature caused to decent people here.

Oh And by the way TED, if you see this, I would LOVE it if you come after me!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe then we might get some true answers, though there again you did run away to Australia.

[Pink Snail]

Jock, if he did run off to Australia let`s all hope that he has suffered endlessly in the recent bad weather, no ill meant feelings to those who have, however, I do believe that guys like him fall down in **** and get up smelling like roses!! To do what he has to the people who made him for a while is terrible .
The truth about the guy should be outed and the slate wiped clean in Motorsport circles on behalf of the Toleman family especially those left in the UK and those no longer with us. I guess there will be some fond memories of Victoria`s dad Bob and the crew behind the Toleman GP team . I do sometimes wonder if that`s why peole like Brian Henton don`t have much to do with it now (bad feelings and all that), but hope that in time things can be sorted for the innocent parties dragged through all this.

[Victoria Toleman]

Victoria my most heartfelt condolences to you and the rightful Toleman family. Your statements actually make me feel sad that that I felt these feeliings towards the whole clan not fully knowing the real story. Please forgive me for that.

We even contacted the British tax authorities from this end, even to the point of giving them his arrival time of a flight to the UK in 1995. It obviously did not do any good. As I have said before, what goes around comes around, as I understand Nabana Park, the banana plantation in Nelspruit burned down, never mind his family problems.

As Monty Python would have put it "Smooth talking F.....". My only regret is that their are some superb cars bearing your name left in this world that are remembered for him. His trail of brocken lives across this planet will catch up with him, I hope, and hopefully give your family some kind of peace.

God Speed

They will catch up with him, i will never give up !!!! xx
Message me a contact e mail - i will let you know. I have to watch what i say on this site, Ted will do anything to stay sate. I have kids !!

[Victoria Toleman]

Jock, if he did run off to Australia let`s all hope that he has suffered endlessly in the recent bad weather, no ill meant feelings to those who have, however, I do believe that guys like him fall down in **** and get up smelling like roses!! To do what he has to the people who made him for a while is terrible .
The truth about the guy should be outed and the slate wiped clean in Motorsport circles on behalf of the Toleman family especially those left in the UK and those no longer with us. I guess there will be some fond memories of Victoria`s dad Bob and the crew behind the Toleman GP team . I do sometimes wonder if that`s why peole like Brian Henton don`t have much to do with it now (bad feelings and all that), but hope that in time things can be sorted for the innocent parties dragged through all this.

Thanks so much for your input, i no in my heart that people have fond memories for Bob, and people do not want to get involved because of Ted. I just wish they would tell me the truth. Ted got lucky the day daddy had is accident !!!! If i have anything to do with it - his days of smelling of roses days are coming to an end. Then we can all party !!!!!!!!!! xx