Team story
Origins
The RJ02 was intended to be Ron Dennis and Neil Trundle’s Rondel Formula 1 car. When funding fell short, Tony Vlassopulo and Ken Grob took over the project and named it Token. Ray Jessop remained the designer and Trundle the technical chief; Dennis moved to a Formula 2 programme.
Tom Pryce retained the driving seat for the 1974 debut.
The Formula 1 journey
Pryce contested the Belgian Grand Prix, before his Monaco entry was rejected. He instead raced in the supporting Formula 3 event and won it, before moving to Shadow. David Purley failed to qualify the Token at Brands Hatch.
Ian Ashley brought it back into a race at the Nürburgring, where he was classified fourteenth, and in Austria, where he remained unclassified.
Historical timeline
Three chapters in the story of Token
Three episodes to revisit the people, cars and races that shaped this journey.
First appearance · Belgian Grand Prix
Tom Pryce · Belgian Grand Prix 1974. The recorded outcome is DNF. This is the first recorded race start, or the first entry if the team never started a race.
Sporting landmark · German Grand Prix
Ian Ashley · German Grand Prix 1974. The recorded position is P14; 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 · Austrian Grand Prix
Ian Ashley · Austrian Grand Prix 1974. The recorded outcome is NC. 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
Jessop designed a low monocoque with the main radiator at the front and a distinctive nose, paired with the Cosworth DFV. The car had little testing, however: at its Belgian debut, the full fuel load made it bottom out and damage the nose. Management and financial backers changed too, with the car hired to Bob Harper for some races.
What remains
Token’s world championship career ended in 1974, but the RJ02 continued to be used. Safir acquired the equipment and Tony Trimmer drove it in non-championship races in 1975; sprint events followed. Pryce’s path to Shadow and Dennis’s towards other teams soon diverged from this single-seater, which scored no world championship points.