Haynes Publishing has recently released Christopher Hilton’s latest book, Grand Prix Battlegrounds. Sixty-six circuits are featured. From Argentina’s Buenos Aires to Watkins Glen in New York state. Grand Prix Battlegrounds is well illustrated and features photos from 1950 through to 2009.
During the 1974 Formula 1 season Ferrari came close with the 312B3, but again ended the season without winning the drivers or constructors championship. Chief Engineer, Mauro Forghieri, was comfortable with the power of the 3-liter flat12-cylinder boxer engine, but needed to improve the aerodynamics and handling of the cars. On September 27, 1974, before the season ending North American races, Ferrari introduced the 312T to the press at Fiorano.
The Maki Formula 1 project was created by a small and enthusiast team led by Kenji Mimura in partnership with Masao Ono. The original F101 car was shown in London in March of 1974. When presented the car had a bulkily, by contemporary standards, bodywork. The rest of the card was standard kit-car for the day, using the Cosworth DFV and Hewland gearbox.
Ex-BRM driver, Howden Ganley was signed up to handle the driving chores and the team eventually turned up for the July British Grand Prix. Ganley didn’t post any times during the Thursday practice sessions. His 1.23.7 tine recorded during the last session on Friday was 4 seconds slower than pole winner Lauda in the Ferrari 312B3 and to slow to qualify.
Team Lotus introduced the Type 77 to the press in September of 1975. After the failure of the Type 76, a successor to the Type 72 was over due. The 72 had been raced since 1970 and had been altered and modified in an attempt to keep up with the competition.
Mario Andretti – 1976 Canadian Grand Prix
Race cars become famous for different reasons; there’s the Lotus 25 that introduced monocoque chassis construction, Jackie Stewart drove Tyrrell 003 to eight grand prix victories, and the McLaren Mp4/4 series won fifteen of sixteen races in 1988. But no car has more first than the Lotus 49 and specifically chassis number R2.
In late 1964, the FIA issued the regulations that would govern Formula 1 starting in 1966. The new rules allowed a maximum engine capacity of 3.0 liters or 1.5 liters supercharged. Also in 1964 Leonard Lee announced that Coventry Climax would not continue as an engine provider after 1965. With Coventry Climax’s withdrawal from the sport the British teams, excluding BRM, would require a new engine supplier. Cooper entered an alliance with Maserati for use of its V12 engine. Brabham went for simplicity with Repco of Australia developing SOHC cylinder heads for the aluminum Oldsmobile F85 V8 cylinder block. Lotus signed a short-term deal with BRM to use its new H16 engine. The BRM engine would not be ready until late in the season so Lotus owner Colin Chapman convinced Leonard Lee to provide a 2.o liter upgrade to the Coventry Climax engine for Lotus to use in 1966.
Ferrari 312 s/n 0003 was Chris Amon’s primary car for the start of the 1967 Formula 1 season. S/N 0003 was the second car built using Ferrari’s new Tipo 242 3-valve per cylinder (2 intake and 1 exhaust) engine. The 60° V12 had a 77 mm bore and 53.5 mm stroke for a total capacity of 2,989.56 cc with a compression ratio of 11:1. Lucas indirect fuel injection was used and there were two spark plugs per cylinder. The spark plugs were fired by four Marelli coils working through two distributors driven off the rear of the exhaust camshafts. Ferrari rated the engine at 390 bhp at 10,000 rpm. Power was delivered to the road through the Tipo 606 longitudinal gearbox with 5 speeds + reverse. The engine and transmission were housed in the Tipo 606 chassis which used a stressed-bearing body of aluminum panels riveted to a welded tube structure. The nose and cockpit surround were of composite materials.
Hesketh 308/1 was the first car completed by The Hesketh Motor Company. It was entered in the early 1974 Formula 1 races. The car was driven by James Hunt to the team’s first victory at the 1974 Daily Express International Trophy race. Although the April event was a non-championship event, it demonstrated that the Hesketh team was cabable of winning Formula 1 races. Hesketh 308/1 was used as the team’s training car for the rest of the 1974 season. In 1975 308/1 was sold to Harry Stiller for use as a private entry for driver Alan Jones. (more…)
