The Surtees TS16 was the Formula One car John Surtees designed for his own team in 1974 and raced through the 1974, 1975 and 1976 seasons. Its best championship result was a fourth place for Jose Carlos Pace in Brazil in 1974.
Surtees TS16 at a glance
| Maker | Surtees (Team Surtees) |
|---|---|
| Designed by | John Surtees |
| Seasons | 1974–1976 |
| Engine | Ford Cosworth DFV V8 |
| 1974 drivers | Jose Carlos Pace, Jochen Mass, Derek Bell, Jose Dolhem, Dieter Quester, Helmut Koinigg, Jean-Pierre Jabouille |
| 1975 driver | John Watson, with Dave Morgan in Britain |
| Best result | fourth, Jose Carlos Pace, 1974 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| 1974 championship | 11th, 3 points |
| Customer cars | AAW Racing (Leo Kinnunen), Shellsport/Whiting (Divina Galica) |
| Replaced by | Surtees TS19 |
Based on one source, the English Wikipedia article on the TS16.
History of the Surtees TS16
1974: two cars and a difficult debut
The TS16 began the 1974 season at the Argentine Grand Prix, where Surtees entered two cars for Brazilian Jose Carlos Pace and German Jochen Mass; both retired, Pace with suspension failure and Mass with engine failure. Pace took the car’s best result in Brazil, finishing fourth, while Mass was 17th. The season was hard on both drivers: in Spain Pace was 13th and Mass retired with a broken gearbox, and at Monaco Mass did not start while Pace was caught in a collision at Massenet involving Jean-Pierre Beltoise, Denny Hulme, Arturo Merzario, Vittorio Brambilla, Brian Redman and Tim Schenken.
1974: changing drivers
Pace left the team after Sweden, falling out with team boss and designer John Surtees, and the team pared down to a single car. Jose Dolhem, Derek Bell, Jean-Pierre Jabouille and Dieter Quester all took turns in the second entry, often failing to qualify, while Austrian Helmut Koinigg finished tenth in Canada. At the United States Grand Prix Koinigg crashed on lap ten, probably after a rear tyre deflated; the bottom rail of the Armco barrier gave way and he was killed. The team ended the season 11th with three points and little money for 1975.
1975 and 1976: the last seasons
The team pared back to a single car for Englishman John Watson in 1975. His best finish was eighth in Spain; he was tenth in Brazil, Belgium and Austria and retired several times, while Dave Morgan finished 18th at the British Grand Prix. The team skipped the Italian and United States Grands Prix to focus on 1976, and the TS16 was replaced by the Surtees TS19. Private entries came from AAW Racing, formed by Antti Aarnio-Wihuri, whose driver Leo Kinnunen mostly failed to qualify in 1974, and from Shellsport/Whiting, which bought a TS16 for Divina Galica at the 1976 British Grand Prix, where she also failed to qualify.
Design and features
- Team owner’s design: drawn by John Surtees himself for his own Formula One team.
- Three seasons: raced from 1974 into 1976 before the TS19 took over.
- Customer appeal: bought by the Finnish AAW Racing team and by Shellsport/Whiting.
- Fourth in Brazil: Jose Carlos Pace’s result at Interlagos in 1974 was its best.
Surtees TS16 versions
- Works car, 1974: two entries at the start of the season, then a single car.
- Works car, 1975: John Watson’s car for most of the season.
- AAW Racing TS16: Leo Kinnunen, 1974.
- Shellsport/Whiting TS16: Divina Galica, 1976 British Grand Prix.
The TS16 followed the Surtees TS9B and came after the earlier Surtees TS7. More cars are in the Surtees collection.
Video: Formula 1 Surtees TS14 and TS16 In Moscow City Race 2014
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- Surtees TS16, English Wikipedia: design, races, results, customer entries
