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Peter
Bryant was born and educated in the UK. Worked
initially at Lotus Cars as engineering intern, and
then in 1960 went into professional motor racing;
Formula 1 racing as a Racing Mechanic / Engineer for
the British Bowmaker F1 racing team featuring John
Surtees and Roy Salvadori, Chris Amon and Mike
Hailwood. Following a period as chief mechanic
for the John Surtees driven factory Ferrari 250P
sports car team, Peter Bryant emigrated from the UK to
California in 1964. His first task was to re-design
Mickey Thompson's 1964 Indianapolis cars. In
1965 Peter worked on the Carroll Shelby Cobra World
Manufacturers cup winning race team and helped develop
the LeMans Factory Ford GT40 cars. He was a race
engineer / mechanic for the Peter Revson Can Am Car in
1966 and the USRRC winning Carl Haas Lola Can-Am team
in 1967 / 68.
In 1969 / 70, Peter Bryant
designed and built the Ti22 Can-Am cars Mk 1 & 2,
driven by GP driver Jackie Oliver. These were the
first ever sports car to utilize titanium in the
unique monocoque chassis construction. The 1969 Ti22
Mk 1 was the first American built car to lead a Can Am
Race in 1970. Along with the 1970 Ti22 Mk2
they scored more points in the 1970 Can Am Series than
any other American designed cars. Bryant is also a
pioneer in the use of aerodynamic ground effects to
enhance cornering.

In 1971 / 2, he designed the
UOP Shadow Can-Am cars driven by Jackie Oliver and
Carlos Pace in the Can-Am races. These 2 cars were the
leading American designed sports to run in the Series
in those years. Bryant designed cars scored more
points in the Can Am than any other American designed
cars including the legendary Chapparals. From
1966 to 1971 Chapparal scored 79 total points and in a
shorter period from 1969 to 1972 Bryant designed cars
scored 94 points total.
He is
currently an independent engineering consultant and
writes articles for Victory Lane and Racecar
Engineering and other auto racing magazines. His book,
"Can Am Challenger" has been the definitive
book about Can Am teams. 
Peter Bryant, John Morton
and Peter Brock
We're
sorry to report that Peter passed away on March 30,
2009
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