Ensign N173

Ensign N173

Ensign N173
Constructor:	Ensign Racing
Designer:	Mon Nunn
Successor:	Ensign N174
Technical specifications
Chassis:	aluminum
Wheelbase:	2565 mm
Weight:	585 kg
Tires:	Firestone
statistics
Driver:	Rikky from Opel Vern Schuppan Mike Wilds
First start:	1973 French Grand Prix
Last start:	1974 USA Grand Prix
Starts Victories Poles SR 8th - - -
World Cup points:	-
Podiums:	-
Leadership laps:	-

The Ensign N173 (alternative name: Ensign MN01 ) was the first Formula 1 racing car of the British motorsport team Ensign Racing . It was used in the years 1973 and 1974 in Formula 1 world championship races and competed eight times. Without exception, the N173 was driven by drivers who had no Formula 1 experience. He did not score any world championship points.

background

Ensign Racing was founded in 1971 by former racing driver Morris "Mo" Nunn , who worked as a mechanic for Team Lotus in the 1960s . The company began with the construction of racing cars for Formula 3 , most of which were delivered as customer vehicles. In addition, Ensign maintained a Formula 3 works team, for which, among others, the racing driver Rikky von Opel, who drives with a Liechtenstein license, competed. In 1972 von Opel won one of the three series of the British Formula 3 championship. After the success with Ensign's Formula 3 car, von Opel saw his sporting future less in Formula 2 , which represented the next higher racing class, than in Formula 1. He therefore commissioned Mo Nunn to give him his own chassis for Formula 1 to construct. Von Opel financed the development of the vehicle and covered the leasing costs for the engine. Nunn's first Formula 1 car was ready for use in the summer of 1973. This season it was reported seven times for von Opel, but achieved poor results. At the beginning of the 1974 season, von Nunn's disappointed von Opel left the Ensign team, which only started again after a break of several months when they found a new sponsor in Theodore "Teddy" Yip . This season, the N173 was used again at times, although the team already had a successor model, the Ensign N174 .

construction

The responsible designer of the Ensign N173 was Mo Nunn. From a technical point of view, observers considered Nunn's first work to be a "rather simple construction". The front wheels were suspended from double wishbones ; the springs were arranged on the outside. A 3.0 liter eight-cylinder engine from Cosworth served as drive , which transferred its power to the rear wheels via a five-speed gearbox from Hewland (type FGA400).

The monocoque was made of aluminum, while the body was made of plastic. It was made for the British supplier Specialized Moldings . The shape of the body was “extraordinary”, “daring” and “unmistakable”: the front was kept low, while the cockpit surround was drawn very high. The scoop was high and long; the front spoiler went over the entire width of the car. Overall, the design of the structure made a “rather clunky” impression. The paintwork of the car was conspicuous: in the debut season it was in a dark British Racing Green , while some contours were emphasized by yellow accent strips. To observers, the N173 therefore gave the impression of a “racing car in pinstripes”.

The weight of the N173 was given as 585 kg. It was 10 kg above the required minimum weight.

The N173 was a one-off.

nomenclature

Ensign used two alternative naming systems for its Formula 1 racing cars. The individual series were identified with a three-digit number code, of which the first digit denoted the racing formula for which the car was designed, while the second and third digits named the year in which the car was designed. Thus the N173 was a Formula 1 -car from the year 19 73 . The individual chassis of the Formula 1 cars, on the other hand, were numbered consecutively. Since the N173 was the first Ensign chassis for Formula 1, it was given the (additional) designation MN01. The successor model N174 was produced in two copies; they were given the designation MN02 and MN03. The system was retained until the N181 , the only copy of which was the MN16 chassis.

Races

Ensign N173 at the 2019 Silverstone Classic

The Ensign N173 was registered for three racing drivers in succession in 1973 and 1974. Each of them made their Formula 1 debut with the N173.

1973 Formula 1 season

The Ensign team first appeared in Formula 1 at the 1973 French Grand Prix . With the exception of the German Grand Prix , the team entered all remaining world championship races of the year, even the overseas races in North America, the small, financially weak teams because of the high travel costs usually often left out. In 1973 the N173 was driven exclusively by Rikky von Opel.

In his debut race on the Circuit Paul Ricard in the south of France , von Opel qualified for 25th and last place on the grid. He was 7.2 seconds behind the pole time of Jackie Stewart ( Tyrrell ). Opel finished 15th and last, three laps behind the winner ( Peterson in the Lotus). At the following race in Great Britain he finished 13th, six laps behind. In the Netherlands , von Opel achieved the best starting position of the year for his team with 14th place. However, he did not take part in the race. Cracks had appeared in the chassis during training; then Mo Nunn withdrew the car for safety reasons. In view of this, the team also left out the German Grand Prix that took place a week later . In Austria , Ensign and von Opel were back at the start, now with a reinforced chassis. Neither here nor in the remaining races of the year did Opel come into the ranking: he was out of action three times for technical reasons. Once the throttle cable stuck ( USA ), another time the engine ( Italy ) overheated , and in Austria there were problems with the fuel system.

1974 Formula 1 season

For the first race of 1974, the Argentine Grand Prix , Ensign registered the new N174 for Rikky from Opel. After von Opel discovered handling problems with the new car and therefore did not take part in the race, he parted with Ensign. He then took over a cockpit at Brabham . Since the financing of the further racing program was not secured after Opels left, Ensign skipped the first races of the 1974 season.

The team did not reappear until the Belgian Grand Prix . The driver was now the Australian debutant Vern Schuppan , who was supported by the Hong Kong-based businessman Teddy Yip. Yip financed seven races Schuppans at Ensign, which then went to the start with the addition of "Theodore Racing Hong Kong". Schuppan mainly used the N174; the only exception was the Swedish Grand Prix : Here he drove the N173 because the N174 had been severely damaged in the previous race in Monaco . At the Scandinavian Raceway in Anderstorp , Schuppan qualified in the N173 for 27th place on the grid. On the starting grid, however, he was in 26th place due to a mistake. From here he also started the race, which he finished twelfth three laps behind. Schuppan's wrong starting position was only noticed after the end of the race. Schuppan was subsequently disqualified. After the German Grand Prix , Schuppan and Yip ended their relationship with Ensign.

Schuppan's successor was British debutant Mike Wilds , who competed in the four remaining races of the season in the more than a year old N173. Wilds did not qualify in Austria , Italy or Canada . He only qualified in the USA . Wilds started the race from 21st place. He covered 50 laps, nine less than the winner, and was not classified because the distance was too short.

Race results in Formula 1

driver	No.	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	Points	rank
1973 Automobile World Championship																	0	-
R. v.Opel									15th	13	DNS		DNF	DNF	NC	DNF
Automobile World Championship 1974																	0	-
R. v.Opel	22nd	DNS
V. Schuppan								DSQ
Mike Wilds													DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	NC

Legend
colour	abbreviation	meaning
gold	-	victory
silver	-	2nd place
bronze	-	3rd place
green	-	Placement in the points
blue	-	Classified outside the point ranks
violet	DNF	Race not finished (did not finish)
	NC	not classified
red	DNQ	did not qualify
	DNPQ	failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify)
black	DSQ	disqualified
White	DNS	not at the start (did not start)
	WD	withdrawn
Light Blue	PO	only participated in the training (practiced only)
	TD	Friday test driver
without	DNP	did not participate in the training (did not practice)
	INJ	injured or sick
	EX	excluded
	DNA	did not arrive
	C.	Race canceled
		no participation in the World Cup
other	P / bold	Pole position
	SR / italic	Fastest race lap
	*	not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered
	()	Streak results
	underlined	Leader in the overall standings

literature

• Adriano Cimarosti: The Century of Racing . 1st edition. Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01848-9 .
• David Hodges: A – Z of Grand Prix Cars 1906–2001. Crowood Press, 2001, ISBN 1-86126-339-2 (English)
• David Hodges: Racing cars from A – Z after 1945. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 .
• Pierre Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1st 2nd edition. St. Sulpice 2000, ISBN 2-940125-45-7 . (French)
• Doug Nye: The Big Book of Formula 1 Racing Cars . The three-liter formula from 1966. Rudolf Müller publishing company, Cologne 1986, ISBN 3-481-29851-X .

Web links

• Racing history of the Ensign N173 on the website www.oldracingcars.com

Individual evidence

Commons : Ensign N173  - collection of images, videos and audio files

1. ^ ^{A b c d e} Adriano Cimarosti: The Century of Racing. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01848-9 , pp. 253, 255.
2. ↑ In 1973, three separate series of the British Formula 3 Championship were held: The Shell Super Oil British F3 Championship , the BARC Forward Trust British F3 Championship and the BRSCC Lombard North Central British F3 Championship , won by Opel. Overview of the British Formula 3 championship 1972 on the website www.formula2.net (accessed on May 14, 2014).
3. ↑ ^{a b} Biography of Rikky von Opels on the website www.f1rejects.com (accessed on May 14, 2014).
4. ↑ ^{a b c} Pierre Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1st 2nd edition. St. Sulpice 2000, ISBN 2-940125-45-7 , p. 239.
5. ↑ ^{a b c} Doug Nye: The big book of Formula 1 racing cars . The three-liter formula from 1966. Rudolf Müller publishing company, Cologne 1986, ISBN 3-481-29851-X , p. 182.
6. ↑ David Hodges: AZ of Grand Prix Cars 1906-2001. Crowood Press, 2001, ISBN 1-86126-339-2 , p. 80.
7. ↑ ^{a b c} David Hodges: Racing cars from A – Z after 1945. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 , p. 88.
8. ^ David Hodges: Racing cars from A – Z after 1945. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 , p. 272.
9. ↑ Racing history of the Ensign N173 on the website www.oldracingcars.com (accessed on May 14, 2014).