Spirit Racing
The Spirit Racing Team was active first in Formula 2 and then in the Formula 1 team from the UK who participated 25 Formula 1 races between 1983 and 1985 to.
Spirit Racing was founded in August 1981 by Gordon Coppuck and John Wickham; both were previously employees of March Engineering.
- 4.1 driver in Formula 1
- 4.2 car
The starting position
From the beginning, there was a close organizational and economic relationship with Honda. In the literature there is broad agreement about the fact that Spirit Racing was purposefully founded with support from Honda to offer Honda and the Japanese turbo engines in Formula 1. The upstream year in Formula 2, however, was merely a transit point on the way to Grand Prix racing.
Physical signs for the early integration of Spirit and Honda was the fact that Spirit the end of 1981 those workshops involved in Slough, where previously the factory Honda team had worked for the Motorcycle World Championship. Another indication was the financial situation of the team, which was very solid for a newly established team in Formula 2. The team was not only able to compete in the first Formula 2 race with a self-developed car; In addition, it could also rely on the services of the renowned designer John Baldwin, who had been recruited directly by the Formula 1 team McLaren. Finally, it was possible to undertake two established driver for the first Formula 2- year.
As a motivation for the early support given is that Honda initially wanted to gain experience with a small, insignificant for the world championship team before the own turbo engine should be used in a successful top team.
Spirit, in the formula 2
In 1982 the Marlboro Team Spirit in the Formula 2 European Championship. The team entered with a self-developed and self-made vehicle, the Spirit 201 The car was developed by Gordon Coppuck and John Baldwin. He corresponded largely to the contemporary design features of the Formula 1 and was designed from the outset so that he could take both a Honda Formula 2 engine and a Formula 1 engine. As a drive for the Formula 2 was a V6 engine of Honda Wakou, which was also used in identical form by Ralt factory team. Spirit announced two drivers. One hand the Swede Stefan Johansson, who possessed by some applications in a shadow over Formula 1 experience, as well as the Belgian Thierry Boutsen, the vice-champion of the Formula 2 season 1981 The first tests with the cars were carried out in February 1982; They were followed by a logical development.
The Spirit 201 was competitive from the start. The driver made eight pole positions - more succeeded in 1982 no other team - and scored three victories and a series of podium finishes.
For the second race of the 1982 season ended Boutsen as second; the fourth championship race, the ADAC Eifel Race at the Nürburgring, he could win. The second victory Boutsen drove at his home race, the Grand Prix Formula 2 de Belgique in Spa -Francorchamps, one, the third at the end of the Gran Premio Mediterraneo in Enna ( Sicily). Boutsen finished the season in third place with 50 points and only seven points difference on the master Corrado Fabi. Stefan Johansson was less successful; his best result was a third place at the Gran Premio di Mugello. Johansson scored 11 championship points and was ninth.
In the 1983 season the team spirit no longer competed in the Formula 2. The team was already busy preparing to move up to Formula 1. Two vehicles of the type 201 were sold to Jo Gartner, who rebuilt in winter 1982/1983 for the use of a BMW engine with Heidegger tuning. Gartner put the Spirit in the BMW Formula 2 1983 season with his team Emco sport for themselves and for the paying driver Fritz Glatz, Pierre Chauvet called. Gartner could win with his Spirit the Grand Prix de Pau. At the Nürburgring he took fourth and fifth in Enna; More results in the points did not exist. Pierre Chauvet scored no championship points. Emco sports continued in 1984 a few times, the Spirit - a BMW, partly for Gartner, which this year ran the formula 2 primarily as a preparation for his Formula 1 use in Osella, partly for Pierre Chauvet. In addition, Emco Sports also announced a March 842 and a 283 for Minardi Pierre Chauvet and Lamberto Leoni.
Spirit in Formula 1
1983
1983 Spirit Racing announced for the Formula 1 World Championship.
The team brought Honda turbo engine in the Grand Prix racing, a four-cylinder, which had been developed during the year 1981 in Japan. The first application was preceded by in-depth tests. The first steps took the Honda engine in a rebuilt Spirit 201 ( B73 ) in November 1982 on the California race track Willow Springs with Stefan Johansson and Thierry Boutsen at the helm. In the following years countless other modifications to the engine type RA163E were made. The work also continued as Spirit already participated in the Formula 1 races; the racing activities of the team in line, according to Johansson more practice tests and served in his view, mainly to make the engine under a variety of situations usable in practice. This is also the fact that Spirit did not compete with a new car to Formula 1, but with slightly modified vehicles of the type 201 as the driver was Stefan Johansson spoke reported (start number 40); Thierry Boutsen, however, drove his first Formula 1 races for Arrows this season.
In Formula 1 Racing Spirit debuted at the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch in April 1983, its last Formula 1 race, which did not count for the World Championship. A car was reported under the name Spirit 201/4; these related to one of the cars that had been used in the previous year in Formula 2. The car had - apart from the fitting of the new engine - hardly vary. Johansson qualified with a gap of 19 seconds last. In the race he dropped out after only four rounds ( the first participants) with engine failure.
The first world championship race, at the Spirit participated Racing, was the Grand Prix of Great Britain in mid-July 1983. The car, which took the team, now called Spirit 201C. These were still the Formula 2 construction of the previous year; the car had been revised but in the meantime some details. Johansson qualified for the 14th place (before Nigel Mansell in the Lotus and before the car of McLaren and Tyrrell ); However, in the race he dropped out after only four laps with a broken fuel pump.
On the remaining races of the year Honda Spirit took a regular basis ( with the exception only of the Grand Prix of South Africa at the end ) part. Johansson was able to qualify with impressive times again and again in the middle of it; the best starting position was position 13 at the Grand Prix of Germany. The race ran mixed; sometimes different Johansson for technical defect - usually on the engine - from; on the other hand he could retract a sensational result with the seventh overall place at the Grand Prix of the Netherlands.
Overall, the season should the Honda engineers the opportunity to get to know the specifics of the turbojet engine. Accordingly, it was from race to race larger modifications, which sometimes also had repercussions on the car. Johansson described Auto later as " one big construction site, was worked on around the clock ."
Beginning of October 1983, there were major changes. Honda announced plans to deliver to the Formula 1 team Williams with turbo engines in the 1984 season. A first harbinger of the new relationship was already at the Grand Prix of South Africa 1983: Here Williams announced for its driver Keke Rosberg and Jacques Laffite an entirely new Williams FW09, the first time instead of the Ford - Cosworth DFY naturally aspirated engine previously used a Honda RA163E engine started. Rosberg qualified in sixth, tenth Laffite. Rosberg came in fifth place and reached the first World Championship points for Honda as a supplier of turbo engines.
The alliance with Williams came as no surprise to the managers of the Spirit teams; John Wickham and Gordon Coppuck had known since the summer of 1983 it. However, there are signs that they had hoped to be able to continue to relate as a junior partner Honda Motors. This could not be realized, of course. The contract with Williams foresaw an exclusive supply of the British tradition teams. This left Spirit Racing for the future without first motor back. Honda Compatible Spirit, however, for the 1984 season continue to financially; in particular enabled Honda to access turbo engines from Hart.
1984
John Wickham decided despite the separation of Honda to continue in Formula 1. For the 1984 season a new vehicle has been reported, the type 101 The car was designed and built in late summer of 1983, but was used for any race of the 1983 season. In the winter of 1983/84 he was converted for the inclusion of a hard - engine type 415.
The driver question for 1984 was substantially below the dominance of financial aspects. Desired pilot Emerson Fittipaldi had been. The Brazilian took in February 1984 some functional tests for Spirit, but he had salary, the Spirit could not fulfill. As an alternative Wickham negotiated with the wealthy Formula 2 pilots Fulvio Ballabio, who also tested, but received no super license. Ballabio drove continue in Formula 2 and Formula 3000 and later chatted briefly a special team called Ecurie Monaco, with whom he 1986 an outdated car type DYWA reported. Spirit Racing undertook in the end the Italians Mauro Baldi, the Formula 3 champion in 1981, who at Arrows and 1983 Alfa Romeo Motorsport some Great prices was driven in 1982. Baldi also brought some sponsor money. However, his sponsors paid irregularly, so Spirit came in a threatening financial difficulties in the early summer. As a result, Baldi has been replaced from the Grand Prix of Canada by the Dutch debutant Huub Rothengatter, who remained until the end of the season at Spirit.
The race went unspectacular; the racing was evident marked by financial problems. In the American races, the situation came to a head. For the U.S. Grand Prix in Detroit refused to Brian Hart over unpaid bills to supply additional engines, so Spirit for this race on a naturally aspirated engine of the type Cosworth DFV had to fall back on. Actually succeeded in the mechanics, upgrading the car in the few days between the Canadian Grand Prix and the race at Detroit on the Cosworth engine. However, you could do no more function test. As a result, Rothengatter failed to qualify for the race, which was also the result of unfortunate circumstances. First qualifying sparked the fire extinguisher off by itself; then blocked the transmission, and finally the engine broke down, so he ran in the final laps of the training only four instead of eight cylinders. After all Rothengatter had a residue of 8.9 seconds Nelson Piquet in the Brabham and a residue of 1.1 seconds on the last qualifiers ( Piercarlo Ghinzani in Osella ). For the Grand Prix of Dallas, which took place two weeks later, the team went back to the known hard - engine.
In the remaining races to qualify succeeded again regularly. Rothengatter even managed four target arrivals ( at the Grand Prix of Germany, Italy, Europe and Portugal ), but he did not achieve more than two eighth places.
1985
In the winter of 1984/1985 was not clear whether Spirit Racing continue in Formula 1 would be able to compete. John Wickham declared that his team will possibly take part in the Formula 3000 championship. In fact, however, he succeeded in raising funds, which could be a possible Formula 1 use for 1985. This was mainly attributable to Mauro Baldi, who returned to the team and in turn brought sponsors. He relegating Jo Gartner, who also spoke with Wickham, but less funding available than had Baldi.
One of the first race, Spirit Racing announced with a car called the 101D. Here it was employed in the previous year vehicle, which had, however, undergone some changes, in particular the positioning of the radiator and suspension. A new car was not available. Although Spirit Racing stated that it would, working on a new model, the Type 102, which was ready for use in spring 1985. In fact, however, did not realize that. The drive again was the turbo engine from Hart, who is also in the cars of RAM (motorsport), Toleman and Beatrice - Lola (Formula 1) found. The 1980 designed engine, however, was now reached its limits and suffered from a lack of stability and showed a tendency to collapse - a consequence of the fact that hard to keep up with the increasing performance of factory engines step can, the boost pressure increase more and more had. With the combination of a no longer current car and an overtaxed engine, the Spirit team, which also means for a consistent development were missing, especially against the Saugmotorfahrzeuge of Tyrrell and Minardi and against the underpowered cars from Osella fought.
In training for the first race of the season, the Brazilian Grand Prix to Baldi qualified than Penultimate. He could be the new, still equipped with a Cosworth engine by Pierluigi Martini Minardi far behind, but had the last of the third qualification - Stefan Johansson in Tyrrell with naturally aspirated engines - as great a distance. In the race already burst in the seventh round of the turbocharger, so Baldi failed. At the Grand Prix of Portugal Baldi went into the race in 24th and retired after 19 laps due to a driving error from. At the Grand Prix of San Marino at Imola Mauro Baldi qualified with 9.5 seconds off the pole time of Ayrton Senna last. Even the last remaining naturally aspirated car, the Tyrrell by Martin Brundle and Stefan Bellof, had been a half or a full second faster. In the race Baldi retired after nine laps with electrical problem.
After this race, John Wickham, the team decided to withdraw from Formula 1. The specific cause was - apart from the difficult situation and the financial deficiencies - an offer from Toleman to take the tire contract by Spirit. Toleman was caught in a confrontation with the tire supplier in early 1985 and had not received any tires for the first three races of 1985, so the team had to miss the race. For a bandied amount of $ 200,000 Wickham then transferred the rights in his contract with Pirelli at Benetton, the sponsor of the team, it forwarded immediately to Toleman. Spirit no longer subsequently went in Formula 1.
John Wickham was still trying to negotiate a contract with Goodyear tires for the North American races; However, that could not be realized. Also a reboot in 1986 did not materialize; Here it remained at a corresponding press release. Spirit Racing operation then between 1985 and 1987 a repair shop for cars.
Mauro Baldi took place in 1985, no further cockpit in Formula 1 He negotiated over the summer with the Swiss Formula 3000 team Ekström Racing, which the rise planned for 1986 in Formula 1. Baldi was willing to make significant sponsor funds for the project are available; ultimately failed but the project early.
Spirit in F3000
In 1988 the company tried to make a fresh start in racing. John Wickham put a team on his feet, who raced in Formula 3000 in 1988. The team was called Spirit Tom's Racing and appointed a Reynard 88D for Bertrand Gachot. Gachot could bring in a total of 21 championship points and finished the year in fifth place. With the increasing success of the team also rumors of a re-entry came up in the Formula 1. However, they remained mere mind games; substantial planning for this did not exist.
Instead, the corporate structure changed significantly in late 1988. The Briton Steve Kempton, who in 1988 was driven single race for Spirit Motorsport, which took over after some financial maneuvers. John Wickham left his company and had to queue at the Japanese Footwork team, for which he built a team for the European Formula 3000 for the 1989 season.
Spirit Racing came in 1989 no longer in the Formula 3000 Championship at, but reported only one vehicle - the Reynard 88D used in the previous year - for Roland Ratzenberger in the British Formula 3000 Championship, a newly created regional racing series. At the end of this season the team finally closed its doors.
Driver in Formula 1
- Stefan Johansson
- Mauro Baldi
- Huub Rothengatter
Car
- Spirit 201C Engine: Honda RA163E
- Spirit 101 Engine: Hard 4 in -line (t / c)
- Spirit 101B Engine: Ford Cosworth DFV V8
- Spirit 101C, 101D Spirit Engine: Hart 415 in -line (t / c)