Ian Grob (born 24 August 1952) is a former English racing driver. He raced in a number of events, including European Formula 2 and Le Mans 24 Hours. He retired from international motor sport after his last race,1980 24 Hours of Daytona.^[1]

Grob was born inBarnet,Hertfordshire. His father,Ken Grob, of Token Racing fame, ran his cars, which allowed Ian his opportunity to race.

In 1973, he decided to head to Europe with hisChevron B23 to learn his trade. His best results from these outing was a fifth place at theCircuit de Croix-en-Ternois in a round of the Championnat de France des Circuits. His team, KVG Racing recruitedJohn Hine, to partner Grob in the South African Springbok Trophy Series. His partnership brought Grob his first podium finish, a third place in theKyalami 9 Hours, with it, a class win.^[2][3]

1974 saw Grob returned to Europe with his KVG Racing entered Chevron B23, partnered by Hine in the Endurance races. Despite a win in a non-championship atAvus, he either finished in the lower reaches of the top 10, or did not finish. They did secure a class win in theNürburgring 1000 km, when finishing 8th. However, the following season started very well for Grob, with a class win in the1000km of Mugello (5th overall) alongside Hine. The pairing repeated this a fortnight later in the800km of Dijon, finished on the podium as he and Hine took third overall. On the same day, 5 April, Grob also won a non-championship race atNogaro, aboard the same model,Chevron B31. After a second place in another non-championship atSilverstone, a week later, this partnership seemed to lose their way. Grob did visit the podium following his second place in theBritannica 2000, atBrands Hatch in a round of theEuropean 2-litre Sports Car Championship.^[2]

For the following season, he moved away from sportscar racing, to race single-seaters. He joined Modus Cars, to race their Modus-Hart M7 in the1976 European Formula Two Championship. Of the 12 rounds, Grob only qualified in four of each them. He best finish was two 15th places atThruxton andEstoril. His best result of the year was however, in a non-championship F2 race, when he finished 5th in the 39th Internationales ADAC-Eifelrennen on theNürburgring Nordschleife. Late on in the season, Grob switched teams, joiningFred Opert Racing, to race their F2Chevron-Hart B35, in a couple ofShellsport International Series races atBrands Hatch, finishing 7th and 14th.^[3][4][5]

Come 1977, Grob stepped down toFormula Three, hoping that would improve his results. He raced in both theBritish Formula Three Championships forAlan Docking Racing. In aChevron-Toyota B38, he manage some decent results, such as 5th atSilverstone, and a 3rd place in the non-championshipB.R.S.C.C. Trophy race atMallory Park.^[3][6]

During the European winter, he travelled toNew Zealand for the1978 Peter Stuyvesant International Formula Pacific Series. After teaming up with Sphere Drake Racing, he drove theirMarch-Ford 763/77B, managing just one top sixth finish, on the temporary circuit atWigram. For rest of the 1978 season, Grob returned to England, joiningIbec Racing Developments Hesketh Team for an assault on the24 Hours of Le Mans. Partnered byGuy Edwards, the team'sIbec P6 suffered from mechanical troubles which dropped it to 42nd position after just a few hours. Despite recovering well from this early setback, in the 19th hour itsCosworth DFV engine failed completely and the Ibec's race was over.^[2][3][7]

Both Grob and Edwards returned to Le Mans in 1979. This time, they were entered byMarch Racing, in aBMW March M1, with the BMW supported driver,Dieter Quester. Despite this strong line-up, the trio failed to qualify for the race. A few weeks later,Manfred Winkelhock had replaced Quester for theBrands Hatch 6 Hours. After a strong qualifying, the car was fourth on the grid, but failed to finish the race.^[2]

In 1980, he went Stateside to the IMSA championship and drove March'sBMW M1 in the24 Hour Pepsi Challenge, at theDaytona. Although classified in 43rd place, the car failed to finish race due to drive shaft problems. This was to be Grob's last international appearance.^[2]

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate *fastest lap)

Year	Class	No	Tyres	Car	Team	Co-Drivers	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1978	S+2.0	19	G	Ibec P6 FordCosworth DFV V8/90° 4v DOHC 2993cc	Ibec Racing Developments Hesketh Team	Guy Edwards	195	DNF (Con rod)
1979	S+2.0	16	D	BMWMarchM1 BMW M88 L6 4v 3497cc	March Racing	Dieter Quester Guy Edwards		DNQ (Reserve)

Year	Class	No	Tyres	Car	Team	Co-Drivers	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1980	GTX	11	D	BMWMarchM1 BMW M88 L6 4v 3497cc	March Engineering	Michael Korten Patrick Nève	260	DNF (driveshaft)

• 1952 births
• British Formula Three Championship drivers
• European Formula Two Championship drivers
• 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
• 24 Hours of Daytona drivers
• Living people
• Alan Docking Racing drivers

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• Articles with dead external links from April 2014
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata