GP Racing - UK (2020-04)

84 GP RACING APRIL 2020

the sidepods, the front suspension wishbones were neatly laid

out above and belowthe opening; pullrod-actuated dampers

here also kept the mass low.

The 1981 season unfolded rancorously as the FIA banned

sliding skirts in a doomed attempt to eliminategroun d-

effect. While the better-resourced teams immediately tried

to circumvent the ban with innovations such as Brabham’s

hydropneumatic bodywork (which enabled its cars to pass the

ride-height test when entering or leaving the pitlane), the 011’s

minimal-bodywork concept militated against Tyrrell adopting

such ideas. Even so, when itentere d service inthe hands of

Cheever at in round ten at Hockenheim, it was an immediate

step upover the old car: team-mateMichele Alboretofailed to

qualify his 010 while Cheever raced tofi fth.

There would be no more pointsfi nishes that year but, in

1982, with sponsorship from Denim, there werefunds for

development – and, crucially, the FIA revoked the ban on

sliding skirts. With the aero now working as intended, the

011 was now disadvantaged only by its naturally aspirated

powertrain. That the team was still operating hand-to-mouth

was evinced by Slim Borgudd, Cheever’s replacement, being

shown the door when his budget ran out ofter three races.

Alboretofi nished 11 of the 16 races in 1982, of which seven

were point s fi nishes – including a podium in the SanMarino

Grand Prix in which Tyrrell raced despite its alignment

to FOCA (BernieEcclestone’s Formula One Constructors’

Association), which was boycotting the event.

Eleven different drivers won races in 1982 and no one

claimed more than two victories, for this was a turbulent

season in which violent accidents killed Gilles Villeneuve

and seriously injured Didier Pioni, both of whom would have

been contenders for more wins and the championship. Atthe

fi nal round, on the unloved temporary circuit in the carpark

of Caesar’s Palace casino in Las Vegas, Alboreto contrived

to qualify his 011 in third place behind the Renaults of Alain

Prost and René Arnoux.When engine failure prompted

Arnoux to park his car on lap 20, Alboreto chaseddown and

passed Prost – whowas struggling with vibrations caused by

his tyres picking up clods of spent rubber – and pulled clear

to win by nearly half a minute. It would be the last grand prix

victory for the venerable DFV engine in its original form.

Tyrrell secured Benetton sponsorship for 1983 but there

was no competitive turbocharged powertrain available.

Cosworth had long resisted turbocharging and its belated

response to the obsolescence of the DFV was to sanction

a much-revised naturally aspirated V8 designed by Mario

Ilien, who would later co-found Ilmor. The DFY hadthe same

swept volume but with a larger bore and shorter stroke, new

Nikasil cylinder linings, a new cylinder head and an extremely

narrow valve-opposed angle of 16 degrees. But its claimed

improvement of 30bhp over the DFV was not enough.

Besides the new DFY engine, the 011 lost its sidepods

for 1983 as the FIA rushed in a last-minute rule change

mandating all carsto havefl at bottoms. This had the

unintended consequence of making F1 a power formula above

all, and consigning those still running naturally aspirated

engines to the tail ofthe fi eld – for the most part.

Tyrrell laboured through thefi rst six rounds with just one

points fi nish, but in Detroit rain washed out Friday’s running

and the gridwas decided by a one-hour session in drying

conditions on Saturday. Alboreto qualified sixth with just one

other unblown car –Mar c Surer’s Arrows-Ford – ahead of

“BY STARTING WITH A FULL TANK OF FUEL AND NOT MAKING ANY PITSTOPS,

ALBORETO WAS IN PRIME POSITION TO TAKE ADVANTAGE WHENRACE LEADER

NELSON PIQUET SUFFERED A PUNCTURE”

NOW

THAT

WAS

A

CAR

No.85

THE TYRRELL

011

84 GP RACING APRIL 2020

the sidepods, the front suspension wishbones were neatly laid

out above and belowthe opening; pullrod-actuated dampers

here also kept the mass low.

The 1981 season unfolded rancorously as the FIA banned

sliding skirts in a doomed attempt to eliminategroun d-

effect. While the better-resourced teams immediately tried

to circumvent the ban with innovations such as Brabham’s

hydropneumatic bodywork (which enabled its cars to pass the

ride-height test when entering or leaving the pitlane), the 011’s

minimal-bodywork concept militated against Tyrrell adopting

such ideas. Even so, when itentere d service inthe hands of

Cheever at in round ten at Hockenheim, it was an immediate

step upover the old car: team-mateMichele Alboretofailed to

qualify his 010 while Cheever raced tofi fth.

There would be no more pointsfi nishes that year but, in

1982, with sponsorship from Denim, there werefunds for

development – and, crucially, the FIA revoked the ban on

sliding skirts. With the aero now working as intended, the

011 was now disadvantaged only by its naturally aspirated

powertrain. That the team was still operating hand-to-mouth

was evinced by Slim Borgudd, Cheever’s replacement, being

shown the door when his budget ran out ofter three races.

Alboretofi nished 11 of the 16 races in 1982, of which seven

were point s fi nishes – including a podium in the SanMarino

Grand Prix in which Tyrrell raced despite its alignment

to FOCA (BernieEcclestone’s Formula One Constructors’

Association), which was boycotting the event.

Eleven different drivers won races in 1982 and no one

claimed more than two victories, for this was a turbulent

season in which violent accidents killed Gilles Villeneuve

and seriously injured Didier Pioni, both of whom would have

been contenders for more wins and the championship. Atthe

fi nal round, on the unloved temporary circuit in the carpark

of Caesar’s Palace casino in Las Vegas, Alboreto contrived

to qualify his 011 in third place behind the Renaults of Alain

Prost and René Arnoux.When engine failure prompted

Arnoux to park his car on lap 20, Alboreto chaseddown and

passed Prost – whowas struggling with vibrations caused by

his tyres picking up clods of spent rubber – and pulled clear

to win by nearly half a minute. It would be the last grand prix

victory for the venerable DFV engine in its original form.

Tyrrell secured Benetton sponsorship for 1983 but there

was no competitive turbocharged powertrain available.

Cosworth had long resisted turbocharging and its belated

response to the obsolescence of the DFV was to sanction

a much-revised naturally aspirated V8 designed by Mario

Ilien, who would later co-found Ilmor. The DFY hadthe same

swept volume but with a larger bore and shorter stroke, new

Nikasil cylinder linings, a new cylinder head and an extremely

narrow valve-opposed angle of 16 degrees. But its claimed

improvement of 30bhp over the DFV was not enough.

Besides the new DFY engine, the 011 lost its sidepods

for 1983 as the FIA rushed in a last-minute rule change

mandating all carsto havefl at bottoms. This had the

unintended consequence of making F1 a power formula above

all, and consigning those still running naturally aspirated

engines to the tail ofthe fi eld – for the most part.

Tyrrell laboured through thefi rst six rounds with just one

points fi nish, but in Detroit rain washed out Friday’s running

and the gridwas decided by a one-hour session in drying

conditions on Saturday. Alboreto qualified sixth with just one

other unblown car –Mar c Surer’s Arrows-Ford – ahead of

“BY STARTING WITH A FULL TANK OF FUEL AND NOT MAKING ANY PITSTOPS,

ALBORETO WAS IN PRIME POSITIONTO TAKE ADVANTAGE WHENRACE LEADER

NELSON PIQUET SUFFERED A PUNCTURE”

NOW

THAT

WAS

A

CAR

No.85

THE TYRRELL

011