
Was there ever a team that ran three cars in a race?
#1
Posted 09 July 2000 - 10:01
Is there any rule currently that limits current teams from having three cars in a race? Of course the costs would balloon, but it could be possible.
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#2
Posted 09 July 2000 - 10:20
#3
Posted 09 July 2000 - 11:44
Vanwall was typically a three-car team, the Alfa team was said to feature the "Three 'Fs" - Fangio, Farina and Fagioli, and they were all there to drive. Cooper, as mentioned in another thread recently, had Flockhart and McLaren alongside Brabham in some 59 races.
But it's important to realise there were one-car teams, too, the most obvious being the Williams equipe with Jones in 1979. Walker sometimes ran two, by mostly one, but that was a private team, then there were little constructors like Emeryson and so on. Dan Gurney's AAR effort was often a single-car show, from memory, and Bruce McLaren ran on his own in his first year or two.
There was only ever one Ferguson 4WD built... it ran in Walker colours... so many variations in those days gone by, before regimentation and money disturbed the ebb and flow that made it all more interesting.
Just how much money difference is seen when you consider that a three-car Vanwall team would have taken four or at most five engines (including those in the cars) to a race, while two or three more were back at the shop for overhaul... and that was the total supply! Likewise Cooper with their team, and Lotus in its fledgling years.. There was an amount of borrowing went on between teams, too, when they were running common equipment.
Don't see that today, do we?
#4
Posted 09 July 2000 - 12:51
#5
Posted 09 July 2000 - 14:30
This was top level motor racing, an FIA International Championship, with World Champions racing National Champions on the same circuits as there were optimistic newcomers in 1.5-litre cars making up the field.
In adjoining tents, working on their cars on the grass, borrowing bits.
Today, even the lesser competitors in the lesser National series go to some of the same circuits. They park their transporters in a line, filling the paddock area that has been enlarged over the years. Duckboards go down on the ground, tight-fitting vinyl walls are laced into place round the steel frames that attach to the pantechs.
There are people standing guard, lest someone try to enter, more often than not. The drivers are in the motorhome away from prying eyes and ears.
The cars they drive must be a specific type, dictated by some group who owns the series. No variation allowed.
I've just posted it in the 'when did you lose interest' thread, it is the regimentation that is eating away at the soul of motor racing. Not just F1, but the disease is spreading to everything else. True, some have their saving graces, but the cancer is eating out the heart.
There must still be some friendship, some cameraderie, some benevolence somewhere. But never like it used to be.
#6
Posted 09 July 2000 - 14:35
#7
Posted 09 July 2000 - 15:04
Longford was the scene of the AGP of 1965, a 4.5-mile public road circuit with two bridges and a level crossing. Magic stuff, with haybales, a town loaded with enthusiasm, a mixture of professional racing with nicely-done amateur organisation, with some mediocre govenment backing in the background to upgrade the roads etc.
"We were so lucky to have seen that," he said to me. I couldn't agree more. But then I think of what I missed... Lobethal (1938 to 1948) in the Adelaide hills, 8.65 miles, as fast as Spa...
Perhaps there was always something better. Philosophical thinking time, maybe.
What about the dawn of the era? In different parts of the world it started differently... the right crowd and no crowding at Brooklands... Mors and Renault in France... cross-continent events like the Paris-Peking.
I'm quite sure that, if we had been watching the post-war renaissance of racing, Alfa's emergence with Maserati trailing and Ferrari looking for a place in it all, we would have looked back at the Gordon Bennett events and said to ourselves: "Weren't we privileged to see that!"
Have we got off the topic yet?
That's what the Nostalgia Forum is for!
#8
Posted 09 July 2000 - 16:16
Ferrari 1961 - Spa, Hill, Trips, Ginther, Gendebien
Ferrari 1967 - Spa, Amon, Parkes, Scarfiotti
Tyrrell 1973 - USA, Stewart, Cervert, Amon
and probably many more.
I don't like the idea of more than two cars per team today, simply because things are not as they've been in the past.
Too much politics and the like, it just wouldn't work today.
#9
Posted 09 July 2000 - 19:47
The same for Officine Alfieri Maserati, Scuderia Ferrari, Alfa Romeo SA/Alfa Corse, and others during the same period and later. The G.A. Vandervell team (Vanwall) usually entered three cars in 1957 and 1958: Stirling Moss, Tony Brooks, and Stuart Lewis-Evans. In 1959, Cooper Cars Company entered Jack Brabham, Masten Gregory, and Bruce McLaren for most of its events (until Gregory was injured at Goodwood). The BRM period under Big Lou Stanley often saw three cars and up to five cars entered: at Monaco for 1972 the BRM team put Jean-Pierre Beltoise (P160), Peter Gethin (P160), Howden Ganley (P180), Helmut Marko (P153), and Reine Wissell (P160) in the pits ready (using the word loosely) to qualify.
Oh, Williams was not a singleton team in 1979: remember it was Clay Regazzoni who gave Frank Williams his first GP victory not Jones.
There is not something in the silly rules that limit the entrants to only two cars. With fewer willing to belly up to the bar -- 22 cars for the supposed Biggie in racing is a tad lacking -- why not add a third car? Then again, who cares? They would find a way to muck it up anyway...
#10
Posted 09 July 2000 - 21:26
#11
Posted 09 July 2000 - 22:54
They also did it in 84 in Portugal with Phillip Strief in a NO 33 Renault.
I seem to remember in the days of Marlboro BRM in 72 or 73 the team fielding 6 or 7 cars, one of many over ambitous plans that BRM tried to get back into the frame.
#12
Posted 09 July 2000 - 23:49
There was that other scenario, particularly with Maserati, who had so many private owners on the grid, where they would give a semi-works status to a favoured driver or team. This meant that even car swapping between factory and non-factory teams might happen in the race... they were that close to being works cars.
'Works cars,' what a wonderful term!
Lost forever in F1 today, where only 'works cars' run... are allowed to run... no private entries.
March was another one to bolt extra cars together, I'm sure, but as with BRM it's just inconvenient for me to look it up and see... but remember that article Jenks did on the imaginary German GP at the Nurburgring when the official one went off to Hockenheim... he 'reported' that March were digging deep into their spares to make up extra cars and so get extra starting money.
Regarding Vanwall, I have an idea that they also started four cars once or twice, Pescara seems to be in my mind, but it may not have been, and also at Monza.
And finally, Joe, sorry, I put Flockhart into the Cooper instead of Gregory... how could I do that?
#13
Posted 10 July 2000 - 14:56
BRM was mentioned before, rightly so. In the early seventies they seemed to run as many cars as they could get running, often with a musical-chairs sort of arrangement with the drivers.
The Canadian and U.S. Grands Prix in the early seventies (and probably the late sixties) were popular venues for additional cars, often with local drivers. I believe I remember correctly that first place purse for the U.S. GP was $50,000...(I read elsewhere at that time that one of Stewart's Tyrrells cost $65,000 to build)...so apparently the lure of big money was an influence.
One car teams? Hesketh and Wolf, to name a couple. Hunt had the team to himself for at least the first few years. Brett Lunger had a Hesketh for a year, and I think it was a second works entry, although I'm sure it was paid for by Lunger. Wolf ran a second car on occasion but I don't remember them running one consistently.
I thought it was grand, those teams that ran extra cars for local or journeyman drivers. I don't think these extra entries often amounted to much at the end of the race, but it added a lot of variety and interest, and gave a few drivers a chance at F1 that they might not otherwise have had.
Dave
#14
Posted 10 July 2000 - 15:40
I can't remember when Bernia legistated that there would be only two car teams. In both cases, the multi- and single-car teams, that is, they added a bit of color to a weekend. WOndering whether the Osella would get in the race. Wondering who this new person a well financed teams has found and wants to try out in a third car.
OT- does anyone else remember that Subaru? Wasn't it a W12 or am I mixing it up with something else?
#15
Posted 10 July 2000 - 19:04
That would have been an interesting time, with the formula change and some people gearing up for the new engines, others sticking to the old, the fuel consumption thing and all. Lots of unregimented variety there.
#16
Posted 10 July 2000 - 20:23
You're right. I think I remember that it never got off the ground. (or onto the ground?) I kept waiting for it. Thought it sounded like an interesting way to get 12 cylinders into a small footprint, which would seem to give a designer an advantage somehow. (maybe there would be a resulting frontal area penalty?)
Coloni did run a 12 cylinder that was badged as a Subaru. I wonder what it was? A quick web search only told me that it ran 8 races in 1990.
S.
#17
Posted 10 July 2000 - 22:12
I do know it never made a race, then Subaru tried to buy Coloni and after all the bad press (kind of a modern day Prost-Peugoet) pulled out.
As far as one car teams, the one that came to mind was Life, NO 39, over 25 seconds off pole time! Oh yea!!
Honda of course also ran one car for Ginther, then Surtees in the 1960's.
Zakspeed also started out with just one car in 1985.
Plenty more, just can't think of any right now.
#18
Posted 10 July 2000 - 22:15
Memory coming back to me! (not the best looking car, but better than the yellow the Coloni team usually ran).
#19
Posted 10 July 2000 - 22:46
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#20
Posted 11 July 2000 - 01:38
Toleman did the same, for instance they started out in 85 with only Fabi in the car, but then added a second car around season for that really slow guy from Italy (can't think of his name, just that he was really slow).
There were times when Tyrrell would add an occasional third works car, like in 71 with Peter Revson at the Glen, and who knows how many year old Tyrrells were sold to independent teams (I know one had sponsorship from Lucky Strike).
Minardi started out as strictly a one car team, with Motori Mondeni and Ford Cosworths in the back.
The short lived Spirt team always was a one car effort, even when they had Honda power in 1983.
It seems like when Alfa Romeo came back with thier own car in late 1979 they entered with only one car, before getting two when they got Marlboro money.
Renault started out as a one car outfit, until 1979.
Osella was always going back and forth from one car to two, either way they were back markers.
#21
Posted 11 July 2000 - 09:44
Originally posted by Don Capps
There is not something in the silly rules that limit the entrants to only two cars.
There is, Don. FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations, sections Competitors Applications, point 47 on http://www.fia.com :
No more than 24 cars will be admitted to the Championship, two being entered by each competitor.
I agree with you though that very few teams would be willing to enter a third car even if the opportunity was there. Maybe only Ferrari and McLaren, but definatelly no others. Come to think, McLaren would probably love it, since we can clearly state that Olivier Panis is a bit better than Luca Badoer.
#22
Posted 11 July 2000 - 12:07
when were wind tunnels first used to develop racing cars? Was Fiat the first one to do it?
#23
Posted 11 July 2000 - 12:46
Surtees had American Sam Posey drive the USGP in '71 and '72. Were those entries third cars, or was the second car simply available at the time?
#24
Posted 11 July 2000 - 12:49
There have been two attempts to build a W-12 engine. One was the Life used (well...) in the Eurolife and the other was build by MGN and tested briefly in an AGS.
Marco.
#25
Posted 11 July 2000 - 13:38
Hate to disagree with you but I vividly remember some PR shots of the Subaru engine talking about the "B12". Also if you go to FORIX, they list it as a B12.
The W12 arrangment sounded good on paper. It could be as compact as a V10 but with the power of a 12 cylinder. But it never took of the ground, as Life were slightly better when they tried the Judd late in 1990 (don't get excited, they only picked up a second or two most of the time).
As far as wind tunnel testing, well I have no clue. Personally, the first time I saw the wind tunnel was in the mid 70's. The flop that was the 1979 McLaren was designed totally using the wind tunnel, from Atlanta, GA, USA.
#26
Posted 11 July 2000 - 15:08
I wasn't aware that the Life was a W config. Interesting.
As for wind tunnel tesing., I wonder what Fiat would have been after in the 20's? Drag reduction I would assume. Did the Germans do any wind tunnel testing on the Streamliner Silver Arrows in the 30's?
I have a picture in a textbook of a set of wings that the Wright Brothers used in their wind tunnel before they made the first flight. There must have been thirty or forty different wings with different length/cord ratios and a few elliptical planforms like ths Spitfire. I think istory gives us the impression that the Wright were just a couple of bike meachanics that just kind of slapped together an airplane. They must have been very thorough and innovative reasearchers to have produced first what a number of other researchers were also attempting.
Another digression: I'm thinking about trying out a signature quote. How about "Build a man a fire, you keep him warm for a day...set a man on fire, you keep him warm for the rest of his life." Too morbid?
#27
Posted 11 July 2000 - 18:10
#28
Posted 11 July 2000 - 23:21
Back on the single-car efforts, how about John Love, who nearly won the SA GP one year in a 49? He was not alone, nor was it the only year, for a number of SA drivers went F1 during the early part of the 1.5-lite F1 (often with Alfa Romeo production engines modified), a couple stayed with the 3-litre formula.
A few of the DFV-cars in Australia came via that part of the world... Alex Macarthur's Brabham had either the engine or the chassis from there, John McCormack's M23 was from there.
Yes, Meg, too morbid!
#29
Posted 12 July 2000 - 01:18

John Love almost won the 67 SAGP in a Cooper 79 (FL/1/65) fitted with a Climax FPF. Were it not for a misfire which used up more fuel than calculated, he would have won it handily.
As to the FIAT 805, it could have easily logged wind tunnel time since FIAT was also in the aircraft business at the time building both engines and airframes.
#30
Posted 12 July 2000 - 01:26
#31
Posted 12 July 2000 - 06:38
Jenks may in fact have been right about the 180 degree V-12! In a boxer the opposing pistons move in opposite directions. If one moves outward, so does the opposing one. They each have their own cranck. In a 180 degree V-12, the opposing pistons have a shared cranck. If one moves outward, the other moves inward.
The Subaru was designed by Motori Moderni and Carlo Chiti. It was indeed a 180 degree V-12, as were the Alfa-Romeo engines in the Brabham BT-45 and BT-46(B). Also designed by Chiti. As far as I know only Porsche has build boxer engines. The Ferrari engines in the 312 series also were 180 degree V-12.
Marco.
#32
Posted 12 July 2000 - 08:13
I really don't see a 'V' as being a straight line, which is what would represent a Flat 12. Therefore, let's go on calling them 'Flat 12s' or 'Flat 6s' and forget both the other descriptions.
#33
Posted 12 July 2000 - 08:39
The advantage of the flat engine was lost with the advent of ground effects and later the rear-end venturis and the now familiar Coke-bottle shape, for which the boxers and the flat lay-out were simply too wide to create a free flow of air underneath (in the case of ground effects) or alongside (in the case of rear-end aerodynamics) the car. So Alfa quickly reverted to a V12 at the end of 1979. The wide flat-12 hampering ground effects was also a main reason for Ferrari showing such abysmal form during 1980.
I agree with Ray that F12 would make a better description of all these flat engines.
If you want to have a graphic image of the ill-fated Subaru/Motori Moderni engine (which was the last in the Ferrari/Alfa line of engine design) and many other disastrous powerplants, see Rainer Nyberg's excellent article on engine failures (that is, engines that failed to live up to expectation). You will find it here: http://www.racer.dem...8w/engfail.html Incidentally, to confuse things further, Rainer also calls the Subaru/MM a boxer...
Cheers,
Mattijs
[p][Edited by Racer.Demon on 07-12-2000]
#34
Posted 12 July 2000 - 11:21
I know that horizontally opposed engines are cofused with flat engines, and that enfines like the Commer and Napier had pistons which faced each other.
refering to engines as F or B is simply confusing the matter. A V is a physical symbol of the configuration, whereas F or B is simply a name coined by a marketing guru.
A Flat engine is Flat, an in line engine is in line, and a W engine is in the shape of a W, or could more accurately be described as an arrow, a Vee with a line in the middle.
#35
Posted 12 July 2000 - 11:44
#36
Posted 12 July 2000 - 12:03
In the meantime, I'd be happy with 600hp any day!
#37
Posted 12 July 2000 - 12:55
M.
#38
Posted 12 July 2000 - 13:40
This was at Brands Hatch for the European GP where Williams had car 1 for Rosberg, 2 for Laffite and 42 for Palmer.
Ironically this was the only race of the year where Laffite failed to qualify, so in the race there were just 2 Williams.
Don't know when the rules changed to not allow 3 cars.
#39
Posted 12 July 2000 - 20:49
Talk about a transporter full....
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#40
Posted 13 October 2009 - 21:05
I'd imagine that teams in the past may have sometimes run 3 cars in one event?
Is there any rule currently that limits current teams from having three cars in a race? Of course the costs would balloon, but it could be possible.
Well, think not that we want to visit NASCAR on this one.

Henry

#41
Posted 13 October 2009 - 21:27
The 1953 Italian GP saw 6 genuine works Ferraris: 500s for Ascari, Farina, Villoresi & Hawthorn and prototype 553 Squalos for Maglioli and Carini
#42
Posted 13 October 2009 - 22:42
First time round this was before I joined the forum. What was the highest number of cars a team entered in a GP?
The 1953 Italian GP saw 6 genuine works Ferraris: 500s for Ascari, Farina, Villoresi & Hawthorn and prototype 553 Squalos for Maglioli and Carini
Ferrari had 7 entered for the 1954 race , but one entrant , Piero Taruffi , never showed . Luis Rosier had a private 500 entered for the same race , but switched to and started in a Maserati .
Not sure if that's the highest though .
#43
Posted 14 October 2009 - 03:38
#44
Posted 14 October 2009 - 05:02
#45
Posted 16 October 2009 - 20:36
Going the other way, I think there a few times in the mid-80s where points were withheld from a team and driver(s) because the team had only entered one car for the World Championship...
ATS rings a bell there. Berger finished in the points when he raced a few times towards the end of the 1984 season I think.
#46
Posted 19 October 2009 - 14:12
#47
Posted 19 October 2009 - 14:28
The title of this thread surprised me a bit, as it was very common for teams to run three or more cars prior to the implementation of a rule limiting entries to two cars. Said rule came in, when, sometime in the 1980s? Before that, for some teams three was the norm. Of course, going back into the 1950s it was not unusual at all to see teams enter four, five, or even more cars in a race.
Tom
Edited by RA Historian, 19 October 2009 - 14:30.
#48
Posted 20 October 2009 - 00:10
#49
Posted 20 October 2009 - 09:15
posts #9, 11 and 13.No one has mentioned Big Lou and the fleet of BRM's entered in the 70's
Edited by scheivlak, 20 October 2009 - 09:16.
#50
Posted 22 October 2009 - 10:27
In 1957, they entered 6 cars for Castellotti, Collins, Musso, Hawthorn, Gonzalez and Perdisa, making up almost half of the field of 14. Quantity was no substitute for quality, and only Gonzalez(assisted/relieved by de Portago, in the fashion of the time) and Perdisa(likewise aided by Collins and von Trips) made the finish, in 5th and 6th places.