Kjell Kvale |
| Owner |
| British Motors, San Franisco, CA |
|
United States |
About Kjell Kvale
Soon after establishing a premier Northern California import car dealership, businessman and automobile aficionado Kjell Qvale ventured into sports car racing. Close to 20 years later in 1962, Kjell Qvale entered his first driver in the Indianapolis 500 race.
Active in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and the Northern California MG Club beginning in the 1940s, Kjell Qvale and his wife and business partner Kay participated in dozens of rallies, tours, hill climbs, and other club events, helping to promote the many activities MG vehicle owners could participate in. In the late 1940s, Kjell Qvale and other racing enthusiasts put together some of the first sports car road races in Western United States since World War II. His success in organizing dozens of races in California, including at Pebble Beach, Cotati, and San Francisco, led to Kjell Qvale being named Activity Chairman of the SCCA’s San Francisco Region and Race Chairman of the popular Pebble Beach Road Races.
Sponsoring drivers racing MGBs, Sprites, Austin-Healeys, and Jaguars at dozens of SCCA events, largely on the West Coast, Kjell Qvale and his team amassed plenty of top finishes at numerous distinguished races. In 1959, Kjell Qvale created the BMC Competition Department to design, build, and race sports racers. As a pioneer in a sport still in its infancy, Kjell Qvale remained on the cusp of racing innovations, including the introduction of small formula racecars into the United States in the late 1950s.
Collaborating with his BMC Competitive Department head Joe Huffaker, Kjell Qvale and his team engineered cutting-edge designs into their racers, creating a competitive line of cars known as Genie Sports Racers. Between 1962 and 1965, Kjell Qvale managed a team of racers that competed annually in the Indianapolis 500, achieving a personal best of eighth place in 1965. Throughout his career, Kjell Qvale remained active in the sport of car racing, sponsoring drivers largely in Northern California events and at SCCA races around the country.
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