Virtual Lara
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      • TR1: UNFINISHED BUSINESS
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      • LARA CROFT RELIC RUN
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      • LARA CROFT AND THE GUARDIAN OF LIGHT
      • LARA CROFT AND THE TEMPLE OF OSIRIS
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      • LARA CROFTS TOMB RAIDERS
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Back to Tomb Raider History

​About Lara:
Lara's Bio - Duchess of Saint Bridget
Lara's Bio - ​Angeline Lodge-Croft

About Merchandise:
Joe Jusko's Comic Reference Model
Mars-16 Japanese Collectible Cards
​Timex Sponsorship
Showers With Lara Sticker
​Tomb Raider (2013) Longboard

Franchise Related:
Origin of the Nude Cheat
'April Fool's' Jokes
Lara Croft Pizza
​1997 Lara Look-a-like Competition
Chinese Tomb Raider 2 Comic
Die Ärzte

Eidos TV
Lucozade / Larazade
Flatland Rover
​Manchester City Sponsorship
1999 Italian Song Dedicated To Lara
Ian Jacobs Racing
West McLaren Mercedes F1 Team
Tomb Raider CCG Contest 
The Lara Festival
Lara Croft:ism
Platinum Lara Weller
Lara Croft 2000 Wax Model
Super Fan Niels Bernsden
Nell McAndrew Outfit Auction
National 'Take Lara To Work' Day
Lara's MySpace Page
The Lux Veritatis Website 

Official Tomb Raider Websites
Other Tomb Raider Related Websites
Lara Croft Website 
Lost Items in Tomb Raider History​​ 
Vertical Divider

Other : Ian Jacobs Racing

In 1999, Eidos Interactive sponsored the racing team Ian Jacobs Racing for the 1999 Privilege Insurance British GT2 Championship. Lara Croft’s image and the Core Design and Eidos logos decorated the IJR Venturi 400 GTR racing car which was planned to take part in 8 races in 1999, starting at Snetterton. Coincidentally, one of the races that the team was to take part in was at Croft Circuit in England, but in the end, they weren’t entered in the race and thus never raced at Croft Circuit.

The black model was raced at Snetterton up until Silverstone whilst the red model was raced at Donington Park. Two slot cars were made to promote the sponsorships and they are highly collectible still.

For those who are wanting to know how the team did, you can watch the races starting at Snetterton (apart from the first 2 vids, you will only see glimpses of the cars):
  • Snetterton @4:54 - DNF - Completed 14 Laps
  • Brands Hatch - DNF - Completed 4 Laps
  • Silverstone - DNF - Completed 22 Laps
  • Donington Park - Finished 10th - Debut of the Red Car
  • Donington Park - Finished 10th
  • Silverstone - Finished 12th
  • Spa - DNS
  • Silverstone - DNF

Information From the Official Lara Croft Website:

Lara Croft now sponsors the Ian Jacobs Racing team for the 1999 Privilege Insurance British GT2 Championship: a sport capable of matching the fast pace of her own lifestyle. Only content when in pole position, she shares much in common with the IJR team. Lara's dynamic image will dominate the IJR car, her unmistakable curves rivalled only by those of the circuit.

The 1999 Championship races will take place at some of the greatest Grand Prix circuits in England and Europe including Silverstone, Brands Hatch and Spa (Belgium). Once again, GT Championship racing will support the most prestigious Motor Race in the UK: the British Grand Prix, held at Silverstone in July. With a huge track audience plus millions of TV viewers, the IJR car's unique livery is guaranteed to attract considerable attention from both fans of the sport and Lara Croft.

The IJR Venturi 400 GTR
Race cars from this very successful French manufacturer have been a mainstay of European GT racing for the past 6 years. The example now owned by IJR is considered the finest GT2 Venturi yet built, having been totally stripped and re-built, for improved high speed cornering and traction, enhanced reliability and greater power. These factors, together with experienced drivers, David Smith and Ian Jacobs, make the IJR Venturi a highly competitive runner in the Championship.
​
Driver Histories
David Smith started racing back in 1973, but only became a full time racing driver once he had retired from playing Professional Cricket. His career spanned 23 years, during which he played for Surrey, Worcestershire and Sussex, scoring over 20,000 first class runs and attaining the record for the highest score in a NatWest Trophy Final at Lords. David also represented England in the West Indies.

Previously the 1998 Rover 'K' Sports 1600 Championship winner, David has recently moved up to GT Racing. With many years of experience and a championship title already under his belt, his professional sporting experience and burning ambition to race in the Le Mans 24 Hours are widely recognised as an exciting combination capable of great success.

Ian Jacobs has been involved in the higher formulas of motor racing for many years, Ian is highly respected in the racing world for his no-nonsense, professional approach, which can be seen in the superb preparation of his cars. Ian has over 50 race victories along with a GT2 lap record at Donington Park plus an unrivalled record for the most Formula 3 Pole Positions, previously held by Ayrton Senna.

Race Programme and Information
31st June Snetterton
20th June Brands Hatch Grand Prix
11th July Silverstone Grand Prix
8th August Donington Park
22nd August Silverstone
5th September Croft
26th September Spa Belgium
10th October Silverstone

Lasting 50 minutes each, GT Championship races require compulsory driver changes halfway through. Other marques entered for this season include Ferrari, McLaren, Porsche, Lotus and Jaguar. An average grid comprises around 30 cars.

Media Coverage
All races are televised and media interest is amongst the highest for any National motor racing Series. During the 1998 Privilege GT Championship, terrestrial, satellite and cable channels reported increasing viewing figures over the previous year. As well as Eurosport and Sky Sports programmes, BBC1 also featured race coverage on 'Top Gear Motorsport', reporting audiences of 2-3 million. ITV also featured a series of 8 one-hour programmes dedicated to the Privilege Insurance Championship. For the 1999 Championship, Channel 4 has commissioned a new series of 10 half-hour programmes to cover the races.
If you are a racing enthusiast or you'd just like to watch the races for yourself, you can find a playlist here. (Videos uploaded by MontyMotorSport). Sadly, the Tomb Raider branded car isn't highlighted very much.

You can also read about the official press release here (PDF). 

Sources:
Lara Croft Website
http://web.archive.org/web/20010111064600/http://www.laracroft.co.uk/news/news_jacobs.htm

Tomb Raider Official Tumblr
https://tombraider.tumblr.com/post/146610442088/in-1999-core-design-sponsored-ian-jacobs-racing

Racing Sports Cars
https://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/1999/Spa-1999-09-26g-066.jpg

https://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/1999/Donington-1999-08-08-066.jpg
https://www.racingsportscars.com/championship/British%20GT.html

'1999 British GT Championship' Playlist by MontyMotorsport Youtube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5H-dNpXNHbQkvWil5iv5wgJSpyZKCCa3

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Virtual Lara ~ Official Tomb Raider Fansite
Circa 2020


Tomb Raider © Crystal Dynamics group of companies. TOMB RAIDER, LARA CROFT, and
CRYSTAL DYNAMICS are trademarks of the Crystal Dynamics group of companies. 
  • News
  • Main Games
    • TOMB RAIDER 1
    • TOMB RAIDER 2
    • TOMB RAIDER 3
    • TOMB RAIDER: THE LAST REVELATION
    • TOMB RAIDER CHRONICLES
    • TOMB RAIDER: THE ANGEL OF DARKNESS
    • TOMB RAIDER LEGEND
    • TOMB RAIDER ANNIVERSARY
    • TOMB RAIDER UNDERWORLD
    • TOMB RAIDER (2013)
    • RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER
    • SHADOW OF THE TOMB RAIDER
    • TOMB RAIDER 12
  • OTHER GAMES
    • EXPANSIONS >
      • TR1: UNFINISHED BUSINESS
      • TR2: GOLDEN MASK
      • TR3: THE LOST ARTEFACT
      • TOMB RAIDER THE TIMES EXCLUSIVE
    • HANDHELDS >
      • TOMB RAIDER (GBC)
      • TOMB RAIDER CURSE OF THE SWORD (GBC)
      • TOMB RAIDER THE PROPHECY
    • TOMB RAIDER MOBILE GAMES
    • iOS/ANDROID >
      • LARA CROFT RELIC RUN
      • LARA CROFT GO
      • TOMB RAIDER RELOADED
    • SPIN-OFF GAMES >
      • LARA CROFT AND THE GUARDIAN OF LIGHT
      • LARA CROFT AND THE TEMPLE OF OSIRIS
    • TABLETOP RPG GAMES >
      • TOMB RAIDER TRADING CARD GAME
      • LARA CROFTS TOMB RAIDERS
      • TOMB RAIDER SHADOWS OF TRUTH RPG
      • TOMB RAIDER THE CRYPT OF CHRONOS
    • TOMB RAIDER TV GAMES
    • TOMB RAIDER CASINO GAMES
    • REMASTERED GAMES >
      • TOMB RAIDER 1-3 REMASTERED
      • TOMB RAIDER 4-6 REMASTERED
  • MOVIES/TV
    • LARA CROFT TOMB RAIDER
    • TOMB RAIDER: THE CRADLE OF LIFE
    • TOMB RAIDER (2018)
    • TOMB RAIDER REVISIONED
    • NETFLIX TOMB RAIDER
    • PRIME TOMB RAIDER LIVE ACTION
  • BOOKS/COMICS
    • BOOKS
    • COMICS
  • LARA CROFT
    • BIOGRAPHIES
    • LIVE MODELS
    • LARA'S HOME
    • INTERVIEWS WITH LARA
  • MERCHANDISE
    • MERCHANDISE OVERVIEW
    • PRESS DOCUMENTS
    • LARA C DEVELOPMENT
    • PROTOTYPES
    • OFFICIAL STORES
    • MERCH STORE GALLERIES
  • TRLE
    • TRLE OVERVIEW
    • TRLE DOWNLOADS
    • TRLE HISTORY
    • TRLE ENGINES
    • TRLE CHALLENGES
    • TRLE GLOSSARY
  • FRANCHISE
    • SERIES OVERVIEW
    • THE TOMB RAIDER SUITE
    • TOMB RAIDER THE LIVE EXPERIENCE
    • CANCELLED MEDIA >
      • TOMB RAIDER 4 GOLD
      • TOMB RAIDER THE SECRET OF SHANGRI-LA
      • TOMB RAIDER 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
      • RAIDERS
      • CROFT ACADEMY
      • LARA CROFT REFLECTIONS
      • CANCELLED TOMB RAIDER 4 MOVIE
    • SPONSORS
    • FRANCHISE ANNIVERSARIES
  • TOMB RAIDER HISTORY
    • TIMELINE
    • TR UNIVERSE TIMELINE
    • CORE DESIGN HISTORY
    • CORE DESIGN PRESS DOCUMENTS
    • CORE DESIGN TEAM PICTURES
    • CRYSTAL DYNAMICS TEAM PICTURES
    • CAMEOS
    • CROSSOVERS
    • TIDBITS
  • FUN
    • TR AT VALENTINES
    • TR AT CHRISTMAS
    • FUN AND MINI GAMES
    • TR WEBSITES REVISITED PORTAL
    • CALENDAR
  • Links