Ken Tyrrell

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Ken Tyrrell in Monaco in 1971

Robert Kenneth "Ken" Tyrrell (born May 3, 1924 in East Horsley , Surrey , † August 25, 2001 ibid) was a British automobile racing driver and racing team owner. With his team Tyrrell Racing Organization , which took part in the Formula 1 World Championship from 1968 to 1998 , he won three drivers 'and three constructors' titles. Ken Tyrrell was one of the most influential people in Formula 1 for two decades.

biography

Origin and family

Ken Tyrrell's father was a forester and his mother a cook. The family lived south of London in Ockham in the county of Surrey . Ken Tyrrell had a sister and two half-brothers by his father's previous marriage.

Ken Tyrrell was married to Norah, née Harvey, from 1943 until his death. The relationship between Ken and Norah Tyrrell was considered extraordinarily intense. The French racing driver Jean Alesi , whom Tyrrell brought into Formula 1 in 1989 , said in retrospect that he had never seen two people in his life who were made for a life together like Ken and Norah Tyrrell. Norah Tyrrell was an integral part of her husband's Formula 1 team until the early 1990s. In addition to general organization, her job included timing in the training runs and during the races. Norah Tyrrell died nine months after her husband in May 2002. Ken and Norah Tyrrell had two sons. Kenneth Tyrrell, born in 1944, later became a pilot at British Airways ; his brother Robert ("Bob"), who was five years younger than him, had worked in his father's Formula 1 team since the 1980s and was a shareholder.

Military service in the Royal Air Force

Ken Tyrrell left school when he was 14. In 1938 he applied for training at Guildford Technical College , but failed the entrance exam. In the next few years he worked as a mechanic in a gas station and a lighter factory. In 1941 he joined the Royal Air Force , giving his date of birth 16 months earlier . Here he initially worked as an aircraft mechanic and later worked in a design department after taking evening courses to become an engineer. From 1944 Tyrrell was also used as a crew member in intercontinental joining. By 1945 he had completed 484 flight hours.

After the war, Ken Tyrrell and his half-brother Bert founded a horticultural business that initially dealt with tree felling. From this a timber trading company developed at the beginning of the 1950s, with which Ken Tyrrell came to prosperity. The fortune earned in this way enabled Tyrrell to engage in racing in his spare time.

Ken Tyrrell in motorsport

Ken Tyrrell came into motorsport by chance. In 1949 he joined the football club of his home town Ockham, for which he played in midfield. In the summer of 1951, the club went on a trip to the Grand Prix of Great Britain , which took place in Silverstone . Here Tyrrell saw his first automobile race, which, according to his portrayal, established his love for motorsport. The emotional relationship with car racing and the enthusiasm based on it was and remained, according to observers, the driving force behind Tyrrell's decades of commitment. Tyrrell initially appeared for a few years as an amateur racer in British club races; At the end of the 1950s, he turned to motorsport management and, in addition to his own racing team, temporarily also looked after the works team of the racing car manufacturer Cooper . From 1968 Tyrrell appeared with his team in Formula 1, which from 1970 also designed its own chassis. Ken Tyrrell led the company until 1997; at the end of the following year, the team that had meanwhile changed hands was dissolved.

Racing driver

Contemporary Cooper Formula 3 racing car with Norton engine

During his visit to the British Grand Prix in 1951, Tyrrell met racing driver Alan Brown , who competed in a Formula 3 side race. In the fall, Tyrrell bought a used Cooper branded racing car from Brown. It is not clear which type it was. Some sources believe it was a Cooper T18 , a compact, open-top single-seater with a 500cc Norton engine . With him, Tyrrell began a career as an amateur racing driver in 1952, which lasted six years.

Ken Tyrrell contested about 75 Formula Junior races and five Formula 2 races from 1952 to 1958 . Most of them were smaller, mainly British events, for which the data is incomplete today. Tyrrell's participation in 22 Formula Junior races is documented; However, no documents are available about its results.

Ken Tyrrell's first documented race was a frame race for the BRDC International Trophy on June 2, 1952 in Goodwood . He took part in the first run of a Formula 3 race and gave up prematurely. The first finish Tyrrell reached two months later at the Commander Yorke Trophy at Silverstone; here he was tenth in the second run. In the final, he failed again prematurely. Eighth place in an intermediate run at Castle Combe was the best result of the year.

In the late 1950s, he began preparing cars for other drivers. On behalf of Henry Taylor , he looked after a Cooper in Formula 2 . Relations between Cooper and Ken Tyrrell grew closer; In 1960 the Tyrrell Racing Organization was formed to lead the Cooper BMC team in Formula Junior. In 1961, the company also started in the British mini racing car series. The Tyrrell Racing Organization was based on the premises of the family timber business, which Ken Tyrrell ran parallel to his motorsport activities until 1969. For years the workshop was in a small shed. The facility was called the Woodyard .

After new rules were set in Formula 3 in 1964, Tyrrell was able to win over Jackie Stewart and Warwick Banks for his team. Stewart won the British Formula 3 title, Banks the first European Touring Car Championship in a Mini Cooper S. After a serious traffic accident, John Cooper Tyrrell took over the helm of the Cooper Formula 1 team for a few months before Cooper took it over in April Sold in 1965 to a group of investors around the former racing driver Roy Salvadori . In 1965, Tyrrell competed in Formula 2 with two Cooper BRM vehicles. His drivers were Stewart and Jacky Ickx .

Formula 1 with Matra

After Cooper had sold his company to the Chipstead Motor Group, Tyrrell made contacts with the racing team of the French company Matra . From 1965 he headed the Formula 2 team there with the drivers Stewart and Ickx. In 1968 Tyrrell got into Formula 1. The vehicle was based on a Matra chassis and was powered by a conventional Cosworth DFV engine. Jackie Stewart was able to win the races in the Netherlands and Germany . After these successes, Tyrrell enlarged the team and signed the French Johnny Servoz-Gavin as the second driver . Stewart won the US Grand Prix this year . At the end of the season he was runner-up in the world championship. In 1969 Stewart won the drivers 'championship and Matra the constructors' title. In 1970, Matra tried to force Tyrrell to use Matra motors and chassis.

Own constructions in Formula 1

Ken Tyrrell next to the P34 (1976)
Stefan Bellof in a Tyrrell 014 during training for the 1985 German GP at the Nürburgring

Ken Tyrrell used his own designs in the following years. The chassis came from March and the reliable Ford-Cosworth engines were installed. After the weaknesses of this chassis became apparent, Tyrrell hired Derek Gardner to design a chassis for the Tyrrell team. Stewart initially won another race with the March construction and continued with the new Tyrrell-DFV 001 from late summer. With this he was able to win a race that was not part of the world championship. In the race for the Canadian Grand Prix he led until material fatigue caused an axle to break. The car was redesigned in winter. Stewart won six races in 1971, while his team-mate François Cevert won the US Grand Prix. Stewart became world champion for the second time, Tyrrell won the constructors' title.

In the following two years Lotus and Tyrrell fought for supremacy in Formula 1. In 1972 Lotus was the winner, in 1973 Jackie Stewart was again world champion. After Cevert had a fatal accident in qualifying for the US Grand Prix, the team had to write off the design engineer title for 1973. The death of his friend caused Jackie Stewart not to compete in the race; Stewart had already decided months ago to retire from active racing at the end of the season.

For the 1974 season, Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler signed with Tyrrell. However, the six-wheeled P34 could not meet the expectations placed on it. Scheckter decided to switch to Wolf in 1977 . So came Ronnie Peterson for 1977 and Didier Pironi for 1978. Since 1979 the supremacy passed to the teams Renault and Ligier , the main sponsor Elf Aquitaine focused on these two and terminated the contract with Tyrrell. As a result, Ken Tyrrell found it difficult to raise the money and had to hire unknown drivers. Tyrrell was a stepping stone for Michele Alboreto , Stefan Bellof , Martin Brundle and Jean Alesi . The team was initially still strong enough to win a few races, but eventually lost touch with the top because Tyrrell long refused to use the turbo engines that were superior in the 1980s . The team lost the promising drivers and the big sponsors.

In 1989 Ken Tyrrell celebrated his 65th birthday. On that day he had to drive his team truck to Monaco himself because there weren't enough staff. After several unsuccessful years, he sold his team in the fall of 1997 for 30 million dollars to British American Tobacco , which continued the racing team under its previous name the following year. From 1999 the team competed as British American Racing (BAR). Later it was taken over by Honda . After Honda's withdrawal, it was called the Brawn GP for a year . In 2010 it was taken over by Daimler AG and has been running as the Mercedes Grand Prix ever since .

In 1999, Ken Tyrrell was elected President of the British Racing Drivers' Club , despite the fact that he was diagnosed with cancer. On August 25, 2001, he succumbed to his ailment.

Personal

In the English-speaking world, Ken Tyrrell was nicknamed "The Chopper" (German: Hacker) when he was young. At an advanced age he was also called "Uncle Ken". In the German-speaking world, the media had finally given him the nickname "the oak". He referred to Tyrrell's distinctive physiognomy - a "hatchet-shaped face and teeth like gravestones" - but also to his steadfastness in disagreements with the sports authorities. Eddie Jordan called Tyrrell "stubborn" (as English bullish ) and reported Tyrrell have any time Bernie Ecclestone enjoyed special respect because his impression Tyrrell was one of the few people in F1 that Ecclestone was unable to control it.

In addition to motorsport, Tyrrell was also interested in cricket and soccer. For many years he was a supporter of the London football club Tottenham Hotspur .

The talent scout

Ken Tyrrell was considered a talent scout. Many later successful Formula 1 drivers such as François Cevert , Michele Alboreto , Stefan Bellof , Jean Alesi and Mika Salo made their debut with him . In biographies, it is common to say that Tyrrell had a good hand for young talent. Ken Tyrrell opposed this several times. He simply looks at the achievements of young racing drivers: "If they are fast, they are good."

Quotes

"Ken stood for the traditional values ​​in motorsport."

- Murray Walker

“Ken has made immense contributions to Formula 1. He brought more drivers into Formula 1 than anyone else. Motorsport owes a lot to Ken. "

- Jackie Stewart

“Apart from my family, Ken was the most important person in my life, he was like a father to me. In his day he was simply the best. "

- Jackie Stewart

literature

  • Adriano Cimarosti: The Century of Racing. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01848-9 .
  • Christopher Hilton: Ken Tyrrell. Portrait of a Motor Racing Giant. Haynes Publishing, Sparkford 2002, ISBN 1-85960-885-X .
  • Maurice Hamilton: Ken Tyrrell. The Authorized Biography. Collins Willow, 2002, ISBN 0007143761
  • David Hodges: A – Z of Grand Prix Cars 1906–2001. Crowood Press, 2001, ISBN 1-86126-339-2 .
  • David Hodges: Racing cars from A – Z after 1945. Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 .
  • Hartmut Lehbrink: Ken or the oak . Portrait Ken Tyrrell. In: Oldtimer Market. Issue 6/2003, p. 184 ff.
  • Pierre Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1st 2nd edition. St. Sulpice 2000, ISBN 2-940125-45-7 .

Web links

Commons : Ken Tyrrell  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Obituary for Ken Tyrrell on the website www.spiegel.de

Remarks

  1. ↑ The term Gamekeeper is regularly used in English-language sources . He can mean gamekeeper, but also game warden or forester in a broader sense.
  2. ↑ Formula 3 was advertised in the early 1950s for cars with engines up to 500 cc. This is why the races are also referred to as "500 races", especially in British publications.
  3. ↑ The Cooper T18 was the Formula 3 version of a series called Mark VI, from which there was also a derivative for Formula 1 (T19). See David Hodges: Rennwagen von A – Z after 1945. Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 , p. 60.
  4. ↑ In some cases, the organizers' documents are no longer available. Some press reports only listed the first place; Racing drivers who finished in the lower ranks or who dropped out prematurely were often not mentioned for reasons of space. See Christopher Hilton: Ken Tyrrell. Portrait of a Motor Racing Giant. Haynes Publishing, Sparkford 2002, ISBN 1-85960-885-X , p. 142.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c David Tremayne: Ken Tyrrell. www.Independent.co.uk, August 27, 2001, accessed November 9, 2016 .
  2. ↑ a b c d Christopher Hilton: Ken Tyrrell. Portrait of a Motor Racing Giant. Haynes Publishing, Sparkford 2002, ISBN 1-85960-885-X , p. 14.
  3. ^ Pierre Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1st 2nd edition. St. Sulpice, 2000, ISBN 2-940125-45-7 , p. 525.
  4. ↑ Maurice Hamilton: Ken Tyrrell. The Authorized Biography. Collins Willow, 2002, ISBN 0007143761 , p. 2.
  5. ↑ http://www.tyrrell.de/Fotogalerie/NorahTyrrell.htm Photographs by Norah Tyrrell in the boxes (accessed on November 9, 2016).
  6. ↑ Motorsport. Issue July / 2002, p. 6.
  7. ↑ Maurice Hamilton: Ken Tyrrell. The Authorized Biography. Collins Willow, 2002, ISBN 0007143761 , p. 3.
  8. ↑ Maurice Hamilton: Ken Tyrrell. The Authorized Biography. Collins Willow, 2002, ISBN 0007143761 , p. 5.
  9. ↑ a b Hartmut Lehbrink: Ken or the oak . Portrait Ken Tyrrell. In: Oldtimer Markt. Issue 6/2003, p. 184 ff.
  10. ↑ a b c d e f g h Biography of Ken Tyrrell on the website www.500race.org (accessed on November 10, 2016).
  11. ↑ a b Christopher Hilton: Ken Tyrrell. Portrait of a Motor Racing Giant. Haynes Publishing, Sparkford 2002, ISBN 1-85960-885-X , p. 16.
  12. ^ A b Murray Walker, Simon Taylor: Murray Walker's Formula One Heroes. Random House, 2012, ISBN 978-0-7535-4768-7 , p. 161.
  13. ^ A b c John Nicholson, Maurice Hamilton: Inside Formula One 1996. The Grand Prix Teams . Macmillan Publishers, London 1997, p. 174.
  14. ↑ Christopher Hilton: Ken Tyrrell. Portrait of a Motor Racing Giant. Haynes Publishing, Sparkford 2002, ISBN 1-85960-885-X , p. 19.
  15. ↑ Christopher Hilton: Ken Tyrrell. Portrait of a Motor Racing Giant. Haynes Publishing, Sparkford 2002, ISBN 1-85960-885-X , p. 142.
  16. ^ A b Graham Robson: Grand Prix Ford: Ford, Cosworth and the DFV. Veloce Publishing, 2015, ISBN 978-1-84584-624-4 , p. 186.
  17. ↑ a b c d Ken Tyrrell - Driving force behind a world champion. From: www.guardian.co.uk , August 27, 2001, accessed January 6, 2013 .
  18. ↑ https://www.gptoday.net/en/news/f1/217264/jackie-stewart-43-years-retired/ Jackie Stewart: 43 years retired (accessed August 25, 2021).
  19. ↑ a b N.N .: The best of his time. In: Spiegel online. August 26, 2001. Retrieved November 9, 2016 .
  20. ↑ Eddie Jordan: An Independent Man. The Autobiography . Orion Books, London 2007, ISBN 978-0-7528-9317-4 (English).
  21. ^ Robert Newman: Motor Racing Heroes: The Stories of 100 Greats. Veloce Publishing, 2014, ISBN 978-1-84584-748-7 , p. 18.
  22. ↑ NN: The Tyrrells Quit Tyrrell. www.grandprix.com, October 23, 1998, accessed November 9, 2016 .
personal data
SURNAME Tyrrell, Ken
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Tyrrell, Robert Kenneth (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British automobile racer and team owner
BIRTH DATE May 3, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH East Horsley , Surrey
DATE OF DEATH August 25, 2001
PLACE OF DEATH East Horsley , Surrey