In 1976, a new team entered the world of Formula 1: the Dutch team Boro, racing under an English license with the name HB Bewaking. Based in Bovenkerk, a village in the municipality of Amstelveen in the province of North Holland, Boro was the only Dutch team to compete in Formula 1 until Spyker joined the grid in 2007.
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| BORO 001, Larry Perkins Jarama, Spanish GP 1976 |
The team's origins were quite unusual and stemmed from a legal dispute in 1975 between the British Ensign team and one of its sponsors, the Dutch company HB Bewaking, run by brothers Bob and Rody Hoogenboom, from whom the name BoRo was derived. In 1975, HB Bewaking, a security systems manufacturer and personal sponsor of Dutch driver Roelof Wunderink, entered Formula 1 through a deal brokered by Teddy Yip with Morris Nunn, the owner of Ensign, to secure a seat for Wunderink. However, after a serious crash in Formula 5000, Wunderink was forced to take a break from racing. In his absence, he was replaced first by fellow Dutchman Gijs Van Lennep and later by veteran New Zealander Chris Amon.
BORO 001, Larry Perkins
Montecarlo, Monaco GP 1976
Once Wunderink recovered, HB Bewaking demanded that their driver be reinstated at Ensign. However, Nunn, keen on securing a new sponsor and keeping the experienced Amon, refused, leading to a legal battle. The case resulted in a highly unusual verdict: the judge ruled against Morris Nunn, ordering Ensign to hand over the N175 car to the Hoogenboom brothers as compensation. Suddenly in possession of a Formula 1 car, the two Dutchmen bought additional assets from the now-defunct Embassy-Hill team, which had been stripped by Hesketh, and successfully entered the 1976 Formula 1 World Championship. Their rebranded Ensign N175, now called Boro 001, was driven by Australian Larry Perkins. The Boro 001 competed in six Grands Prix, finishing only twice, with its best result being eighth place in Belgium.
BORO 001, Brian Henton
Zandvoort, Dutch GP 1977
The car was also used in the following 1977 season, with British driver Brian Henton at the wheel. The team entered two races that year. In Zandvoort (Dutch GP), Henton qualified 23rd but was disqualified during the race for receiving assistance from the marshals. In Monza (Italian GP), he failed to progress beyond pre-qualifying. These were the last two appearances of the small Dutch team. At the end of the season, the Hoogenboom brothers sold all their assets to Teddy Yip, who would go on to found Theodore Racing in 1978.
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