Shadow DN3
The Shadow DN3 was a Formula 1 racing car that was developed by Advanced Vehicle Systems in 1974 and was used in the 1974 Formula 1 season and in the first two races of the 1975 Formula 1 season .
Development history and technology
The Shadow D3 was largely based on the Shadow DN1 from 1973 , but Tony Southgate revised the car in key areas. The DN3 also had a slim, thin nose, side radiators and external suspensions at the front and rear. The DN3, however, had a longer wheelbase, a wider track and improved aerodynamics. For the 1975 season, a chassis was provided with new parts that were actually produced for the successor model, the DN5 . The use of this chassis was limited to the first two races of the season. V8 units from Cosworth were used as engines .
Races
Shadow owner Don Nichols hired two new drivers during the winter break. The American Peter Revson came from McLaren Racing and replaced George Follmer . Revson had won the 1973 Grand Prix of Great Britain and Canada and was considered a top driver. The second driver's seat was given to Frenchman Jean-Pierre Jarier , who made his Formula 1 debut in 1971 and worked for March Engineering in 1973 . The DN3 first raced at the start of the season in Argentina . Revson qualified for fourth on the grid, 0.5 seconds behind Ronnie Peterson in the Lotus 72 , who set the fastest lap time. Since only one chassis was finished on time, Jarier had to take a seat in DN1. The Frenchman achieved 16th place in training and was 2 seconds slower than Peter Revson. For both Shadows the race ended on the first lap. Revson collided with Clay Regazzoni and Mike Hailwood in the first corner . Jarier couldn't avoid the spinning Revson and drove the American into the rear of the car, causing both factory cars to fail.
Revson also failed prematurely in the second race of the season, the Brazilian Grand Prix . After only ten laps the car had to be parked because of an overheated engine. Jarier also had to contest this race with the DN1 and had a brake defect after 21 laps.
Like almost all teams, Shadow used the week before the South African Grand Prix for extensive test drives on the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit . A tragic decision in retrospect, as Peter Revson was killed in the process. In one quick passage the front suspension broke; the DN3 bend at the front and overturned to the side. Revson died of serious head injuries at the scene of the accident. The team leadership then withdrew the notification for the race.
In the meantime, two more chassis had been made ready to race in the Shadow workshop, so that two DN3s were entered for the subsequent Spanish Grand Prix . The vacant place from Revson was taken over by Brian Redman who finished the race in seventh place. Redman also contested the Monaco Grand Prix , where Jarier scored the first points for the DN3 with his first career podium - he finished third in the race. At the Swedish Grand Prix , Bertil Roos took over the free cockpit. The Swede got his first and only Grand Prix start with a lot of sponsorship money, but ended up with a gearbox damage after just two laps.
After the race in Anderstorp , the team leadership of Shadow decided to assign the second cockpit permanently. The choice fell on the talented Welshman Tom Pryce . By the end of the season, Pryce and Jarier formed the Shadow team. Like the DN1, the DN3 was also a racing car that was prone to failure. Although the tub was far stronger than the DN1, vibrations coming from the engine caused permanent handling problems. At the end of the season, the points yield was poor; there were only seven counters on the books. That was the disappointing eighth final place in the constructors' cup.
In 1975 Tom Pryce drove the DN3B in Argentina and Brazil , but could not achieve any world championship points.
The last report of a DN3 was at the 1976 British Grand Prix by the PR Reilly team . Driver Mike Wilds clearly missed qualifying.
literature
- David Hodges: A – Z of Formula Racing Cars. Bay View Books, Bideford 1990, ISBN 1-87097-916-8 (in German: David Hodges: Rennwagen von A – Z after 1945. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 ).
