Shadow Racing Cars was a Formula One constructor, founded and initially based in the United States although later Formula One operations were run from the British base in Northampton. The team held an American licence from 1973 to 1975 and a British licence from 1976 to 1980, thus becoming the first constructor to officially change its nationality.[1][2] Their only F1 victory, at the 1977 Austrian Grand Prix, was achieved as a British team.[3]
History[]
Background[]
Prior to Formula One World Championship[]
Shadow Racing started life as AVS (Advanced Vehicle Systems) in 1968. They decided to build cars for the CanAm series, and despite the corporate name, the cars were called "Shadows". Built in southern California, the first Shadow (the Mark I) had a seven liter V8 stuffed into a chassis not much larger than a go kart. The car made its debut in the 1970 season, where it was often blindingly fast, but the shoestring budget meant that the chassis was unsorted, and had a number of mechanical problems. They also had issues with scrutineering, when they tried to place the radiator within the rear wing, but the stewards kept ruling that was a violation.
The team was back in 1971 with the Mark II. This was more of a conventional chassis, with the radiators in normal locations, just ahead of the rear wheels. They did spend some time in a wind tunnel, resulting in a very aerodynamic chassis, and an adjustable front wing between the front wheels. But the team was not able to spend much time sorting the car, and the best that they could manage were a few top 5 finishes.
During this season, the team did find a primary sponsor in Universal Oil Products (UOP), a pioneer in catalytic converters and lead-free petroleum products. One of the selling points to the sponsor was a planned move into Formula One. This arrangement would last through the 1975 season, when the UOP management decided that the sponsorship deal was no longer providing benefits.
Formula One World Championship[]
1973[]
1974[]
1975[]
1976[]
1977[]
1978[]
1979[]
1980[]
Driver Fatalities[]
Peter Revson (1974)[]
Peter Revson was killed during a test session for the 1974 South African Grand Prix. Revson's car suffered a front suspension failure causing the car to crash into the Armco barrier of "Barbecue Bend".
Revson was then replaced by Tom Pryce.
Tom Pryce (1977)[]
Tom Pryce was killed on lap 21 of the 1977 South African Grand Prix. After the car of Renzo Zorzi caught fire in the final turn, two fire marshals were crossing the track. Pryce was driving directly behind Hans Joachim Stuck and did not see the marshals on the track. Pryce struck the second marshal, killing himself and the marshal. The 40lb fire extinguisher that the marshal was carrying struck Pryce's head, partially decapitating him.
Pryce's car traveled down the straight away. It came to a rest in Crowthorne corner, after colliding with Jacques Laffite at extremely high speeds.
Key Personnel[]
Position | Name | Nationality |
---|---|---|
Founder and owner | Don Nichols | |
Management | Jackie Oliver | |
Team Principal | Alan Rees | |
Designer | Peter Bryant | |
Designer | Tony Southgate | |
Mechanic | Jo Ramírez | |
Driver | George Follmer | |
Driver | Peter Revson | |
Driver | Jean-Pierre Jarier | |
Driver | Tom Pryce | |
Driver | Alan Jones | |
Driver | Clay Regazzoni | |
Driver | Elio de Angelis |
Formula One Record[]
Team Names[]
Years | Name |
---|---|
1973–1975 | UOP Shadow Racing |
1976 | Lucky Strike Shadow Racing |
1976 | Tabatip Shadow Racing |
1977 | Ambrosio Tabatip Shadow Racing |
1978 | Villiger Shadow Racing |
1979 | Samson Shadow Racing |
1979 | Interscope Shadow Racing |
1980 | Shadow Cars |
1980 | Theodore Shadow |
F1 Summary[]
Works[]
Privateers[]
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | Tyre | No. | Driver | Rounds |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1973 | Embassy Racing | DN1 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | G | Graham Hill | 3–15 | |
1976 | Team P.R. Reilly | DN3 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | G | 40 | Mike Wilds | 9 |
1978 | Interscope Racing | DN9 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | G | 39 | Danny Ongais | 4, 13 |
List of race wins[]
Win Number | Event | Driver |
---|---|---|
1 | 1977 Austrian Grand Prix | Alan Jones |
Statistics[]
Entries | 137 |
Starts | 104 |
Pole Positions | 3 |
Sprint Poles | 0 |
Front Row Starts | |
Race Wins | 1 |
Sprint Wins | 0 |
Podiums | 7 |
Sprint Podiums | 0 |
Fastest Laps | 2 |
Sprint Fastest Laps | 0 |
Points | 67.5 |
Laps Raced | 9134 |
Distance Raced | 43695 |
Races Led | |
Laps Led | 50 |
Distance Led | 335 |
Complete Formula One Results[]
- Main article: Shadow Racing Cars/Results