BRM P126
The BRM P126 , also known as the BRM P126 , was a Formula 1 racing car that was used in the Formula 1 World Championship in 1968 and 1969 .
Development history and technology
In 1966 and 1967, BRM relied on the engine design of the H16 16-cylinder engine. BRM P142-3 liter - After this path did not lead to the desired result, an alternative unit was created in 1967 V12 engine - which in McLaren M5A by Bruce McLaren was used. The British racing car maker Len Terry designed a new monoposto around this vehicle . Terry was not employed by BRM, but worked as a freelance designer. Thus the P126 was the first BRM racing car that the team did not design itself.
Terry built a new space frame for the 12-cylinder engine. The engine was originally a sports car engine designed in 1967 for the Mirage M2 . The engine had two valves per cylinder - unlike other engines in the formula, which almost all already had four valves per cylinder - and developed 360 hp. The vehicle had an aluminum monocoque, a 5-speed high-speed transmission from Hewland and weighed 540 kg. 3 cars were built, one of which was given to Reg Parnell Racing .
Racing history
The P126 made its racing debut in 1968 at the Grand Prix of South Africa . Pedro Rodríguez was at the wheel of the company car . After finishing tenth in training, the Mexican dropped out after 20 laps due to a defective fuel supply. In Spain , the factory team decided not to use the P126 and relied on the P133, which was developed in parallel . Piers Courage failed in the Parnell P126. Again, a defective fuel pump was the reason for the failure. At the third race of the season, the Monaco Grand Prix , there was the first countable result. Richard Attwood drove the works P126 to second place in the overall standings and set the fastest lap. It remained the best final placement of a P126 in a world championship run.
Courage achieved further placements in the points ranks in France (sixth) and in the race in Germany (fourth).
In 1969 the works team only used the P133 and P138 types . At the beginning of the season Pedro Rodríguez denied a few races with the Reg Parnell P126; he could not achieve any results worth mentioning.
literature
- David Hodges: A – Z of Formula Racing Cars. Bay View Books, Bideford 1990, ISBN 1-870979-16-8 (in German: David Hodges: Rennwagen von A – Z after 1945. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 ).
