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That’s the Spirit

26. Jul 2023 
by Ziv Knoll
4686 views

Spirit Racing was founded in August 1981 by Gordon Coppuck and John Wickham, with the backing of Bridgestone and Honda, who was keen to enter Formula 1 as an engine supplier.

Picture above: Belgian Thierry Boutsen doing a great job in the Formula 2 Spirit 201-Honda designed by John Baldwin and Gordon Coppuck. Sponsoring came from Marlboro.

Stefan Johansson and Thierry Boutsen were hired and the car was an immediate success, taking pole position in eight of the 13 rounds of the championship, while Boutsen won three times and challenged for the championship, before losing out on the last round to the works March-BMW of Corrado Fabi.

Picture below: Thierry Boutsen, Spirit 201-Honda, on his way to a brilliant victory at the 1982 Nürburgring Formula 2 race. One year later, the Belgian makes his Formula One debut for the Arrows team.

Source: Ercole Colombo

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