Team story
Origins
Louis and Bruce Bromme belonged to the American community of oval-racing car builders. One of their Offenhauser-powered cars took Rodger Ward to his first Indianapolis 500 in 1951. Its inclusion in the World Championship came from Indianapolis awarding championship points between 1950 and 1960, not from participation in the European calendar.
The Formula 1 journey
Ward stopped after 34 laps with a broken oil line and was classified twenty-seventh. In 1952, Spider Webb completed 162 laps before an oil leak: twenty-second remained the marque's best World Championship placing. Bob Scott drove a Bromme in 1953, continuing the sequence of Indianapolis 500 appearances.
Historical timeline
Three chapters in the story of Bromme
Three episodes to revisit the people, cars and races that shaped this journey.
First appearance · Indianapolis 500
Rodger Ward · Indianapolis 500 1951. The recorded position is P27; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This is the first recorded race start, or the first entry if the team never started a race.
Sporting landmark · Indianapolis 500
Spider Webb · Indianapolis 500 1952. The recorded position is P22; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This marks the first win or podium where one exists, otherwise the highest recorded placing for this constructor.
Latest recorded appearance · Indianapolis 500
Danny Kladis · Indianapolis 500 1954. The recorded position is P30; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This is the last race start attributed to this constructor in the archive, not necessarily the end of the organisation behind it.
A distinctive way of racing
In 1954, Webb and Danny Kladis shared the driving of car number 65. The results place them thirtieth, after a combined 104 laps and another oil leak. The two names indicate a change of driver in the same car, not two separate starts.
The Bromme chassis and Offenhauser engine were separate elements of the entry.
What remains
Bromme's World Championship career ends in 1954. Ward had begun an important American career, but his later results in other chassis do not belong to this constructor. What remains is four editions of Indianapolis, within a championship that included the race without making it conform to the European Grands Prix.