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A wing car for Tyrrell

01. Feb 2023 
by Ziv Knoll
3404 views

For the 1979 Formula One season, Ken Tyrrell asked engineer Maurice Philippe to design a wing car that should be inspired by the revolutionary ground-effect Lotus 79, that had dominated the 1978 World Championship. The Tyrrell 009 was born, and indeed it bared an obvious ressemblance with the famous Lotus.

Picture above: Drivers Jean-Pierre Jarier and Didier Pironi, engineer Maurice Philippe, team boss Ken Tyrrell and the Tyrrell staff, proudly present the new 009, early 1979.

The Tyrrell 009 was powered by the Ford-Cosworth DFV V8 engine and made its competition debut in the first race of the season in Argentina. The 009s were thus driven by Jarier and Pironi, but Englishman Geoff Lees replaced Jarier in Germany and Irishman Derek Daly in Austria.

No victories for 009, but not a bad season either for Ken Tyrrell and his boys. Best results were two third place finishes for Pironi at the Belgian and US Grand Prix, while Jarier finished third in South-Africa and in Great-Britain (picture below). Team Tyrrell finishing fifth in the 1979 Constructors’ Championship.

Source: DR

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