Lotus F1 "The tobacco years" type 72

[Lou Drozdowski]

On this day...50 years ago.

Emerson Fittipaldi would win his first F1 race at Watkins Glen.
 His fourth attempt would mark the maiden win, team constructors championship and drivers title for Jochen Rindt with Team mate Reine Wisell finishing a solid third.

A damp track spiced up the start for Emmo, dropping to eighth place in the early stages, but the 108 lap race had many of the front runners fall victim to issues. The Ferrari of Ickx who started on pole, and who was the only other driver with a chance to catch Jochen for points, dropped out of contention with a broken fuel line on lap 40. Stewart then took over, only to have an engine go sour thirty laps later. With Rodriguez now in command, the BRM ran out of fuel at the century mark, leaving Fittipaldi his shot for stardom.

Side bar....On lap seven, Graham Hill in the Walker entry 72 pitted for a fuel leak. A fitting was quickly secured, and Graham was then ordered back into the fray. His drivers suit was fuel soaked from the crotch down, and his discomfort forced another stop. Asking for another suit which the team failed to produce, Graham spotted John Surtees. Without hesitation, they both disrobed in the pit lane!

What are the chance to have two worlds champions go down to birthday suits in full view?...(today)

Yes, only in the glory years!         

[BDA]

To naked F1 champions and don’t forget The Bog. Good times!

[Lou Drozdowski]

Bad days in Germany...1975

The type 72 was starting to show it's age as the team approached the daunting "Ring" for the  fourteen lap event. A one off drive for Ulsterman John Watson, along with Ronnie Peterson, could not come to grips with the static development of the five year old chassis. Both drivers were mired in the rear of the field, some ten seconds behind the first sub seven minute pole time (6.58.3) by Lauda's Ferrari.

Things did not go any better on Sunday. Watson who started 14Th, had suspension failure on the second tour while Peterson had his clutch give out after only one lap.

There are few pictures of the Lotus of Watson...here are my favorites.






 

[BDA]

Great pictures again, Lou. Especially the flying 72.

I wonder what was going on with Chunky that he stuck with the 72 for so long. He seemed to be such an idea man normally but he seemed to temporarily run out of ideas till the 77 which wasn’t very successful but  was innovative in that it did allow the wheelbase to be changed for different tracks.

[Roger]

He reverted to the 72 when the 76 didn't work!

[Bainford]

Interesting stuff, Lou. I was not really aware of the John Watson drive.

[Lou Drozdowski]

A race of two worlds...1971 Questor Grand Prix

What better way to answer the question, who is faster?

 Lets get the best open wheel drivers and cars on the planet for one weekend at Ontario motor speedway to find out. A who's who in motor racing would pit the stars of Europe against the speedway legends of America. F1 versus Formula A (5000) machines in a timed two heat format.

The list of drivers competing together was staggering!...Notables included:

Stewart,Amon,Ickx,Hulme,Rodriguez,Hill,Donohue,Siffert,Pescarolo,Schenken,Posey, Fittipaldi,Follmer,Weisell,Andretti,Cannon,Peterson,Ganley,Bell,Gethin,Bondurant,
Revson,Adamowitz,Savage,Foyt,Lovely,Cevert,Beltoise,Surtees,DeAdamich along with the Unser brothers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZszMRLG3oSA




   

[Bainford]

Every day is an education. Thanks Lou. I had not heard of the Questor race before. Very cool, if somewhat lop-sided competition.

[BDA]

A great blast from the past, Lou! It's a bit humorous to watch the pit stops! Things have changed a lot since then!

Donahue made a good point that using stock block engines does not really change the racing but does change the cost. With the costs of F1 being such a problem, that seems like a potential solution or maybe the basis for another "low tech" racing series that could provide the kind of competition that has been missing from F1.

[Lou Drozdowski]

With the F1 troops returning to Italy this weekend at Imola, I was reminded of the strange circumstances surrounding team Lotus at the 1971 event held at Monza.

Colin Chapman was still dealing with legal issues with the Italian authorities following  Rindt's death the year prior. In an effort to not expose his situation any further the team would be entered under the name of "World Wide Racing".

There would be only one car for Emerson Fittipaldi...the Pratt & Whitney gas turbine powered 56b would be the choice, and take the type 72's place. This would be the only time in his F1 career that Emmo would race in a car without the Cosworth engine.

Coming to terms with the experimental four wheel drive chassis, and the added hot weather caused breathing issues for the thirsty power unit. A lowly 18Th starting position was over come with attrition and Fittipaldi finishing a respectful eighth, one lap behind the leaders.

Notable race notes included:
 The return of bike Champion Mike Hailwood in the Surtees
 Closest race finish to date 0.10 Peter Gethin's BRM over Peterson in a March
 Fastest recorded race lap in history at 150.754 by Henri Pescarolo's March
     (which would not be broken for thirty two years)


 
   

[BDA]

More really interesting stuff! Thanks Lou!

[Bainford]

Awesome stuff. I think I need to build a model of that 56b.

[Lou Drozdowski]

More artwork...

Lotus type 72

[Bainford]

oh yeah! I like that one, too. Chassis 72/6 has interesting livery. What's the story behind that one, Lou?

[Lou Drozdowski]

oh yeah! I like that one, too. Chassis 72/6 has interesting livery. What's the story behind that one, Lou?

A brief history...

Chassis R6 had 49 starts total, 26 in F1 with drivers Ronnie Peterson (4 wins) Reine Wisell, and Dave Walker for Team Lotus.

The remaining races were in the 1974-75 South African Championship, founded by owner/ racer John Love, who's prior dealing with Colin Chapman with the type 49 had purchased R6. Their prime sponsor was Gunston Tobacco, a division of Imperial for S.A.

Drivers included: Guy Tunmer, Paddy Driver, Ian Scheckter (5 wins) and Eddie Keizan. The Gunston team dominated the series while using R6 and later R7 to win the S.A. Title.

The chassis is still in use today in the Masters Historic series, last run by Katsu Kubota in JPS livery with Classic Team Lotus as caretakers.