Tambay shines in California

French ace Patrick Tambay returned to CanAm in 1980, with the Lola team run by Carl Haas, immediately winning early in the season and then taking his second CanAm championship. He then got a call from Teddy Yip, a real estate magnate from Hong Kong, owner of Theodore Racing, and he returned to Formula One for the 1981 season.

Picture above: Patrick Tambay pushes his Theodore TY01 to its limits in the streets of Long Beach, during the 1981 US Grand Prix West. He qualifies in 17th position (amongst 29 entrants), produces a fantastic effort to finish sixth, and earns a championship point.

The Theodore TY01, designed by respected engineer Tony Southgate, was a decent car and Tambay drove well, but this point earned in Long Beach, was going to be the only one of the season for the underfunded team.

Mid-season however, Jean-Pierre Jabouille, who had not  sufficiently recovered from a crash in Canada sustained a year earlier, decided to retire, and Patrick Tambay joined the Équipe Talbot-Gitanes (in fact the Ligier team).

Picture below: Another great performance for Patrick Tambay during this 1981 Formula 1 season, with a seventh place finish at the Monaco Grand Prix. (picture by Peter Nygard)