Tecno chooses the hard way
Chris Amon pushes hard in the Tecno FA123 at the 1973 Monaco Grand Prix (picture-above) He qualifies in twelfth position, which is a great performance in a car that is not known for its speed and in a field of 26 entrants. Unfortunately, he is forced to retire on lap 22, with an overheating engine. The race is won from pole position by Scot Jackie Stewart in his Tyrrell-Ford.
For its F1 debut, Tecno chooses the hard way and set out to design both a new chassis and a new engine. Following a trend set by fellow Italians Mauro Forghieri and Carlo Chiti, a flat 12 layout was chosen and like the Ferrari and Alfa Romeo units the Tecno was of a 180 degree V12 design. In the summer of 1971 the engine was tested on the bench and developed a decent 460 bhp at 11,000 rpm.
For 1973 the highly experienced and very fast Chris Amon was hired as the works driver. A new monocoque chassis was designed by Alan McCall, which was only a small improvement. Persuaded by Amon, Martini (the main sponsor) hired Gordon Fowell to design an alternative for the McCall designed Tecno.
It took a lot of time to prepare the new monocoque PA123 for the season. At the car’s debut Amon drove it to a sixth place to score Tecno’s first and last point in F1. All he could add in the remainder of the season where three retirements. Amon left before the end of the season and Tecno withdrew from racing.