Tyrrell Racing Organisation

## Tyrrell

**Tyrrell Racing Organisation** was a British Formula One constructor and two-time World Constructors' Champions. The team was founded, lead and named after Ken Tyrrell.

First entering F1 as an entrant in 1968 with the Matra team, the Tyrrell-Matra combination won both titles in 1969 (with Jackie Stewart) before splitting in 1970. Tyrrell won both titles in 1971, again with Stewart, and Stewart was World Champion once again in 1973.

However, after that title, Stewart retired, and with the death of François Cevert at the end of 1973, the team was never to win a title again, and began a slow decline after the creation of the famous six-wheeled P34, which raced in 1976 and 1977. The team took their final win, courtesy of Michele Alboreto, at the 1983 Detroit Grand Prix.

1984 was a disaster after the team was accused of using illegal tactics to run their cars underweight during races. Tyrrell was excluded from the 1984 championship, despite being able to refute all of the charges. Financial troubles constantly underlined their performance, often punching well above their financial might until the early 1990s, before the team was taken over in 1998 by British American Tobacco, who renamed the team British American Racing (BAR) for 1999.

BAR themselves were bought out by Honda, who raced in F1 for the first time since 1968 in 2006, winning a race in their first season. Honda left the sport after the 2008 season, and the team became Brawn GP in 2009, in which the team won both titles. At the end of the season, Mercedes bought out Brawn and hence the current Mercedes team has Tyrrell origins.

Due the way the permanent car number system worked, and Tyrrell's lack of world titles, Tyrrell held the numbers 3 and 4 from the system's inception in 1974 to the end of 1995.

## History

### Prior to Formula One World Championship

The Tyrrell team first appeared in motorsport in the Formula Three series in 1958, running cars driven by Ken Tyrrell and various other local drivers. After limited success, Ken Tyrrell decided to move from the driver's seat to the management seat, starting a Formula Junior team which he operated out of a woodshed owned by his family business.

In 1963, Tyrrell discovered the talented Jackie Stewart and signed him to the Formula Junior team. He was also responsible for giving Jacky Ickx and John Surtees their racing debuts.

Two years later, the team made their way into Formula Two after signing a deal to run Ford Cosworth powered Matra's. This allowed the team to make their first appearance in the Formula One World Championship, entering two F2-spec cars at the 1966 German Grand Prix driven by Ickz and Hubert Hahne. Their F1 debut was marred by Ickx first-lap accident, in which John Taylor suffered severe burns and later died in hospital.

The following year, the team entered a single F2 entry into the German Grand Prix. Ickx qualified third on the grid, making him the quickest of the Formula Two entries by more than 20 seconds. However, Formula Two entries were required to start the race from the back of the grid. Nevertheless, Ickx managed to run as P4 before suffering a suspension failure three laps from the end of the race.

Tyrrell's success in the lower formulae helped Ken Tyrrell to secure financial backing from Dunlop and Ford, as well as the French oil brand Elf. Using this financial support, he was able to form a joint-venture with Matra to run a Formula One team called Matra International for the 1968 Formula One Season.

## Formula One Record

### F1 Summary

Note: Formula Two is highlighted in light blue.

### Complete Formula One Results

Main article: Tyrrell Racing Organisation/Results

## Tyrrell Driver Grand Prix Count

This section is incomplete. If you'd like to help, please add the relevant information.

  Jackie Stewart | 1970-1973 | 49

## External links

* Official website