Eagle Mk1
Encyclopedia
The Eagle Mk1, commonly referred to as the Eagle T1G, was a Formula One
racing car, designed by Len Terry for Dan Gurney
's Anglo American Racers
team. The Eagle, introduced for the start of the 1966 Formula One season
, is widely regarded as being one of the most beautiful cars ever raced at the top levels of international motorsport . Initially appearing with a 2.7L Coventry Climax
inline 4-cylinder engine, the car was designed around a 3.0L Gurney-Weslake
V12
which was introduced after its first four races. In the hands of team boss Gurney, the Eagle-Weslake won the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix
, making Dan Gurney only the second driver at the time, and one of only three to date, to win a Formula One Grand Prix in a car of their own construction. That win in Belgium still stands as the only F1 victory for a USA-built car.
, to found All American Racers. This effort was largely backed by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, in an effort to challenge Firestone's longtime dominance of American open-wheel racing. Inspired by the performance of Jack Brabham
and Bruce McLaren
's own teams, AAR decided to enter Grand Prix racing. Then as now, the main engineering hub for Formula One manufacturers was in the United Kingdom, so AAR set up a subsidiary team known as Anglo American Racers which, while registered and based in the USA, was named in deference to the cars' British Weslake engines.
To achieve AAR's dual aims of winning in both Formula One and Champ Car
formulae, AAR hired ex-Lotus
designer Len Terry to work for the American outfit. His brief was to create a chassis that could be used both for the twisting road course circuits of the F1 series, as well as the broad ovals of the North American series. Terry was ideally placed to be able to fulfill such a brief, having just completed the 1965 Indianapolis 500
-winning Lotus 38
for Colin Chapman
's team.
The design of the Mk1, and its Indy sister design the Mk2, closely followed the 38, with a rivet
ed aluminium
monocoque
central section, carrying an unstressed engine mounted behind the driver. The lines of the chassis were remarkably clean and elegant, and the car sported a distinctively beaked radiator opening at the front. Suspension components were mounted directly on to this monocoque, and consisted of a comparatively conservative lower wishbone and single top link for each wheel which also served as a rocker for the inboard-mounted spring/damper package. The Mk1 was designed around the forthcoming Aubrey Woods-designed Weslake
V12
engine while the Mk2, essentially the same chassis design, was designed to accept the quad-cam
Ford V8 that had powered the previous year's Indy 500 winner (Jim Clark, in the Terry-designed Lotus 38).
While driving for the BRM Formula One team in 1960, Gurney became acquainted with BRM engineer Aubrey Woods, who then moved to Weslake Engineering. Through Woods, Gurney became aware of a Weslake engine research project funded by Shell Oil. This two-cylinder, 500-cc test engine produced impressive horsepower, and Gurney extrapolated the test engine's output to a 3-liter, V12 Grand Prix engine, potentially putting out up to 450 horsepower, and he commissioned Weslake to build the engine.
While five Mk2 chassis, complete with four-cam Ford V8s, qualified for the 1966 Indianapolis 500
, the Weslake V12 was not available for the start of the Formula one season
. The first Mk1s took to the track with old 2.7-liter Coventry Climax
inline-4 FPF engines in their place. Once the Weslake was ready, however, the car proved to be highly competitive, if unreliable. The high-revving V12 had been constructed using surplus machine tools dating from World War I, so tolerances
and parts interchangeability were poor. Nevertheless, when running the Weslake was an immediately arresting engine, with a distinctive V12-scream, and developed 360bhp even in its earliest development phase. By the end of the 1967 season this figure was over 400bhp, easily competing with the Ferrari
and Honda V12s, and the newly-introduced Cosworth DFV
V8. One mechanical flaw that limited the engine's power output involved a design mistake in the oil scavenging system. This problem -- discovered too late in the development process to correct -- caused oil to pool in the engine's sump, slightly reducing power. Gurney described the effect as "taking the edge" off the engine after three or four laps of a race.
Three Mk1 chassis were produced with the original aluminium construction, but the fourth incorporated advanced and exotic metal alloys. This included extensive use of titanium
for many of the componentry, and a high percentage of magnesium
sheet in the monocoque panelwork. Owing to its novel construction materials this car, chassis number 104, was referred to as the Ti-Mag Car. Gurney was well aware of the risks involved in driving a car made from such flammable materials. After witnessing Jo Schlesser
's death in a magnesium-fuelled fireball during the 1968 French Grand Prix
, Gurney compared racing in 104 to "driving a Ronson cigarette lighter".
, with a single car entered for Dan Gurney
. The Eagle made an instant visual impact, with its gracefully crafted chassis clothed in dark blue paint, with a white-lipped radiator opening and a single white stripe running the length of the car's dorsal surface; an elegant interpretation of the USA national racing colours. Unfortunately for the team the car, despite its good looks, failed to finish. For the introduction of the new V12 engine at the 1966 Italian Grand Prix
, Gurney took the wheel of the new car, and was joined by compatriot Phil Hill
in the older Eagle-Climax. Once again it was an inauspicious start, with Hill failing to qualify, and Gurney retiring during the race. Gurney did score points during the season, at both the French
and Mexican
events, but on both occasions this was with the Climax-powered car.
For the 1967 Formula One season
the Climax-engined chassis 101 was sold to Canadian driver Al Pease
, and all AAR chassis ran as Eagle-Weslake machines. The season proved to be intensely frustrating for all concerned. Although Gurney and sometime team-mate Bruce McLaren
managed to qualify the Eagle-Weslake cars in the front two rows of the grid on no fewer than eleven occasions from the season's eleven Grands Prix, only two cars finished a race. That both of these finishes were in podium positions highlights the raw speed of the Eagle Mk1. AAR's first major race win came in the 1967 Race of Champions
at Brands Hatch
, with Gurney taking the alumnium-chassied 102 to victory in this prestigious non-Championship season opener. 104 was introduced early in ; the lightest and fastest of the Eagle Mk1 vehicles, it was with this car that Gurney scored the team's only Championship victory: the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix
.
By 1968, and despite increasing success in their native series, Anglo American Racers were starting to run short of funds. Development of the Eagle Mk1 was halted as the team ploughed what little funding it had into the design of its successor, the projected Mk6. Nevertheless, Gurney persisted with the older car for the first half of the 1968 season
, but was only rewarded with a handful of retirements and one single, ninth-placed finish. With the obviously unreliable car also, thanks to its intricate V12 engine, being one of the more expensive cars on the grid to maintain, AAR bought a McLaren M7A
. Ironically it was with the McLaren, built by his previous year's AAR team-mate, that Gurney scored the team's only points of the season. At the end of the season AAR closed the doors on their foray into Grand Prix racing, to concentrate their efforts on USAC
racing.
The last appearance of an Eagle Mk1 in a Formula One race was when Pease privately entered 101 for the 1969 Canadian Grand Prix
. Pease and the Eagle-Climax car suffered ignominy of being the only car in the history of Formula 1 to be black-flagged and disqualified in the middle of a race for simply being too slow. The basic Mk1/Mk2 chassis design continued to be used in American National Championship
races into the early 1970s. In common with most cars of the time, experimental wings and other aerodynamic aids - including the eponymous Gurney flap
- were added to Terry's lithe chassis lines over the years, reducing the cars' visual impact and obscuring car's most noteworthy single design feature, the vestigial eagle's-beak nose.
Climax-engined results. All other results are for Weslake-engined cars.
car adapted from the Mk 4 chassis, while Mk6 was the designation given to the still-born Formula One successor to the Mk1. With AAR's withdrawal from Grand Prix racing at the end of 1968, the team reverted to a year-based chassis numeration scheme, with Indy chassis from 1971 onward taking numbers (e.g. 71xx) according to their year of design.
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
racing car, designed by Len Terry for Dan Gurney
Dan Gurney
Daniel Sexton Gurney is an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner.The son of a Metropolitan Opera star, he was born in Port Jefferson, New York, but moved to California as a teenager...
's Anglo American Racers
Anglo American Racers
All American Racers was an American auto racing team and constructor based in Santa Ana, California. Founded by Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby in 1964, All American Racers initially participated in American sports car and Champ Car races as well as international Formula One events with cars named...
team. The Eagle, introduced for the start of the 1966 Formula One season
1966 Formula One season
The 1966 Formula One season was the 17th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1966 World Championship of Drivers and the 1966 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers which were contested concurrently over a nine race series that commenced on May 22 and ended on October 23...
, is widely regarded as being one of the most beautiful cars ever raced at the top levels of international motorsport . Initially appearing with a 2.7L Coventry Climax
Coventry Climax
Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H...
inline 4-cylinder engine, the car was designed around a 3.0L Gurney-Weslake
Weslake
Weslake Research and Development was founded by Harry Weslake, with premises in Rye, East Sussex, England. Weslake was a cylinder head specialist who had been instrumental in modifying the side valve standard engine used in the first SS sports car. He also worked on the larger SS engine: "The...
V12
V12 engine
A V12 engine is a V engine with 12 cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of six cylinders, usually but not always at a 60° angle to each other, with all 12 pistons driving a common crankshaft....
which was introduced after its first four races. In the hands of team boss Gurney, the Eagle-Weslake won the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix
1967 Belgian Grand Prix
The 1967 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on June 18, 1967.- Race report :Jim Clark led off the grid from pole position and maintained that position for the first 11 laps and was 20 seconds ahead of Jackie Stewart and Dan Gurney when he had to come into the...
, making Dan Gurney only the second driver at the time, and one of only three to date, to win a Formula One Grand Prix in a car of their own construction. That win in Belgium still stands as the only F1 victory for a USA-built car.
Design
A highly successful motor racing driver in many disciplines, Dan Gurney had been driving in Formula One since the late 1950s. While driving for the Brabham works team, he joined with a group of prominent motor racing figures and financial backers in the United States, including Carroll ShelbyCarroll Shelby
Carroll Hall Shelby is an American retired automotive designer and racing driver. He is most well known for making Mustangs for Ford Motor Company known as Mustang Cobras which he has done since 1965...
, to found All American Racers. This effort was largely backed by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, in an effort to challenge Firestone's longtime dominance of American open-wheel racing. Inspired by the performance of Jack Brabham
Jack Brabham
Sir John Arthur "Jack" Brabham, AO, OBE is an Australian former racing driver who was Formula One champion in , and . He was a founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor that bore his name....
and Bruce McLaren
Bruce McLaren
Bruce Leslie McLaren , born in Auckland, New Zealand, was a race-car designer, driver, engineer and inventor....
's own teams, AAR decided to enter Grand Prix racing. Then as now, the main engineering hub for Formula One manufacturers was in the United Kingdom, so AAR set up a subsidiary team known as Anglo American Racers which, while registered and based in the USA, was named in deference to the cars' British Weslake engines.
To achieve AAR's dual aims of winning in both Formula One and Champ Car
Champ Car
Champ Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...
formulae, AAR hired ex-Lotus
Team Lotus
Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...
designer Len Terry to work for the American outfit. His brief was to create a chassis that could be used both for the twisting road course circuits of the F1 series, as well as the broad ovals of the North American series. Terry was ideally placed to be able to fulfill such a brief, having just completed the 1965 Indianapolis 500
1965 Indianapolis 500
Results of the 1965 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis on Monday, May 31, 1965.-Trivia:* It was the first time that the Indianapolis 500 was nationally televised on ABC Sports, this race was shown as part of ABC's Wide World of Sports, anchored by Charlie Brockman....
-winning Lotus 38
Lotus 38
The Lotus 38 was the first mid-engined car to win the Indianapolis 500, in 1965, driven by the great Jim Clark. It was run by Lotus at Indianapolis from 1965 to 1967; a total of 8 were built, most for use by Lotus, but several were sold for use by other drivers, including A. J...
for Colin Chapman
Colin Chapman
Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman CBE was an influential British designer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of Lotus Cars....
's team.
Rivet
A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite the head is called the buck-tail. On installation the rivet is placed in a punched or pre-drilled hole, and the tail is upset, or bucked A rivet...
ed aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
monocoque
Monocoque
Monocoque is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external skin, as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin or coachwork...
central section, carrying an unstressed engine mounted behind the driver. The lines of the chassis were remarkably clean and elegant, and the car sported a distinctively beaked radiator opening at the front. Suspension components were mounted directly on to this monocoque, and consisted of a comparatively conservative lower wishbone and single top link for each wheel which also served as a rocker for the inboard-mounted spring/damper package. The Mk1 was designed around the forthcoming Aubrey Woods-designed Weslake
Weslake
Weslake Research and Development was founded by Harry Weslake, with premises in Rye, East Sussex, England. Weslake was a cylinder head specialist who had been instrumental in modifying the side valve standard engine used in the first SS sports car. He also worked on the larger SS engine: "The...
V12
V12 engine
A V12 engine is a V engine with 12 cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of six cylinders, usually but not always at a 60° angle to each other, with all 12 pistons driving a common crankshaft....
engine while the Mk2, essentially the same chassis design, was designed to accept the quad-cam
Overhead camshaft
Overhead cam valvetrain configurations place the engine camshaft within the cylinder heads, above the combustion chambers, and drive the valves or lifters in a more direct manner compared to overhead valves and pushrods...
Ford V8 that had powered the previous year's Indy 500 winner (Jim Clark, in the Terry-designed Lotus 38).
While driving for the BRM Formula One team in 1960, Gurney became acquainted with BRM engineer Aubrey Woods, who then moved to Weslake Engineering. Through Woods, Gurney became aware of a Weslake engine research project funded by Shell Oil. This two-cylinder, 500-cc test engine produced impressive horsepower, and Gurney extrapolated the test engine's output to a 3-liter, V12 Grand Prix engine, potentially putting out up to 450 horsepower, and he commissioned Weslake to build the engine.
While five Mk2 chassis, complete with four-cam Ford V8s, qualified for the 1966 Indianapolis 500
1966 Indianapolis 500
Results of the 1966 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis on Monday, May 30, 1966....
, the Weslake V12 was not available for the start of the Formula one season
1966 Formula One season
The 1966 Formula One season was the 17th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1966 World Championship of Drivers and the 1966 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers which were contested concurrently over a nine race series that commenced on May 22 and ended on October 23...
. The first Mk1s took to the track with old 2.7-liter Coventry Climax
Coventry Climax
Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H...
inline-4 FPF engines in their place. Once the Weslake was ready, however, the car proved to be highly competitive, if unreliable. The high-revving V12 had been constructed using surplus machine tools dating from World War I, so tolerances
Tolerance (engineering)
Engineering tolerance is the permissible limit or limits of variation in# a physical dimension,# a measured value or physical property of a material, manufactured object, system, or service,# other measured values ....
and parts interchangeability were poor. Nevertheless, when running the Weslake was an immediately arresting engine, with a distinctive V12-scream, and developed 360bhp even in its earliest development phase. By the end of the 1967 season this figure was over 400bhp, easily competing with the Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....
and Honda V12s, and the newly-introduced Cosworth DFV
Cosworth DFV
The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. Named Four Valve because of the four valves per cylinder, and Double as it was a V8 development of the earlier, four-cylinder FVA , making it a Double Four Valve engine...
V8. One mechanical flaw that limited the engine's power output involved a design mistake in the oil scavenging system. This problem -- discovered too late in the development process to correct -- caused oil to pool in the engine's sump, slightly reducing power. Gurney described the effect as "taking the edge" off the engine after three or four laps of a race.
Three Mk1 chassis were produced with the original aluminium construction, but the fourth incorporated advanced and exotic metal alloys. This included extensive use of titanium
Titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....
for many of the componentry, and a high percentage of magnesium
Magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
sheet in the monocoque panelwork. Owing to its novel construction materials this car, chassis number 104, was referred to as the Ti-Mag Car. Gurney was well aware of the risks involved in driving a car made from such flammable materials. After witnessing Jo Schlesser
Jo Schlesser
Joseph Schlesser was a Formula One and sports car racing driver from France. He participated in three World Championship Grands Prix, including the 1968 French Grand Prix in which he was killed...
's death in a magnesium-fuelled fireball during the 1968 French Grand Prix
1968 French Grand Prix
The 1968 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Rouen-Les-Essarts Circuit on 7 July 1968. It was the sixth round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :* Milestones:** 1st Win - Jacky Ickx...
, Gurney compared racing in 104 to "driving a Ronson cigarette lighter".
Race history
The Eagle Mk1 made its race debut at the 1966 Belgian Grand Prix1966 Belgian Grand Prix
The 1966 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on 12 June 1966. It was the second round of the 1966 Formula One season. The race was the 26th Belgian Grand Prix which to this point had only been held at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit...
, with a single car entered for Dan Gurney
Dan Gurney
Daniel Sexton Gurney is an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner.The son of a Metropolitan Opera star, he was born in Port Jefferson, New York, but moved to California as a teenager...
. The Eagle made an instant visual impact, with its gracefully crafted chassis clothed in dark blue paint, with a white-lipped radiator opening and a single white stripe running the length of the car's dorsal surface; an elegant interpretation of the USA national racing colours. Unfortunately for the team the car, despite its good looks, failed to finish. For the introduction of the new V12 engine at the 1966 Italian Grand Prix
1966 Italian Grand Prix
The 1966 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on September 4, 1966. It was the seventh round of the 1966 World Championship. The race was the 36th Italian Grand Prix and the 32nd to be held at Monza...
, Gurney took the wheel of the new car, and was joined by compatriot Phil Hill
Phil Hill
Philip Toll Hill, Jr., was a United States automobile racer and the only American-born driver to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship. Hill was described as a "thoughtful, gentle man" and once said, "I'm in the wrong business. I don't want to beat anybody, I don't want to be the big hero...
in the older Eagle-Climax. Once again it was an inauspicious start, with Hill failing to qualify, and Gurney retiring during the race. Gurney did score points during the season, at both the French
1966 French Grand Prix
The 1966 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Reims-Gueux on July 3, 1966. It was the '60th Anniversary race' of Grand Prix racing, which had started with the GP of France in 1906. It was the third round of the 1966 World Championship...
and Mexican
1966 Mexican Grand Prix
The 1966 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 23, 1966. It was the ninth and final round of the 1966 World Championship. The race was the fifth Mexican Grand Prix...
events, but on both occasions this was with the Climax-powered car.
For the 1967 Formula One season
1967 Formula One season
The 1967 Formula One season was the 18th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1967 World Championship of Drivers and the 1967 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, contested concurrently over an eleven race series which commenced on January 2, 1967, and ended on October 22...
the Climax-engined chassis 101 was sold to Canadian driver Al Pease
Al Pease
Victor "Al" Pease is a former motor racing driver from Canada. He participated in 3 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on August 27, 1967. He holds the unfortunate distinction of being the only competitor ever to be disqualified from a World Championship race, the 1969 Canadian...
, and all AAR chassis ran as Eagle-Weslake machines. The season proved to be intensely frustrating for all concerned. Although Gurney and sometime team-mate Bruce McLaren
Bruce McLaren
Bruce Leslie McLaren , born in Auckland, New Zealand, was a race-car designer, driver, engineer and inventor....
managed to qualify the Eagle-Weslake cars in the front two rows of the grid on no fewer than eleven occasions from the season's eleven Grands Prix, only two cars finished a race. That both of these finishes were in podium positions highlights the raw speed of the Eagle Mk1. AAR's first major race win came in the 1967 Race of Champions
Race of Champions (Brands Hatch)
The Race of Champions was a non-championship Formula One motor race held at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent, United Kingdom between 1965 and 1979, and again in 1983. It often attracted high quality entries from the Formula One World Championship. The first race was won by Mike Spence...
at Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit near West Kingsdown in Kent, England. First used as a dirt track motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently holds many British and international racing events...
, with Gurney taking the alumnium-chassied 102 to victory in this prestigious non-Championship season opener. 104 was introduced early in ; the lightest and fastest of the Eagle Mk1 vehicles, it was with this car that Gurney scored the team's only Championship victory: the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix
1967 Belgian Grand Prix
The 1967 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on June 18, 1967.- Race report :Jim Clark led off the grid from pole position and maintained that position for the first 11 laps and was 20 seconds ahead of Jackie Stewart and Dan Gurney when he had to come into the...
.
By 1968, and despite increasing success in their native series, Anglo American Racers were starting to run short of funds. Development of the Eagle Mk1 was halted as the team ploughed what little funding it had into the design of its successor, the projected Mk6. Nevertheless, Gurney persisted with the older car for the first half of the 1968 season
1968 Formula One season
The 1968 Formula One season included the 19th FIA Formula One World Championship season, which commenced on January 1, 1968, and ended on November 3 after twelve races.-Season summary:...
, but was only rewarded with a handful of retirements and one single, ninth-placed finish. With the obviously unreliable car also, thanks to its intricate V12 engine, being one of the more expensive cars on the grid to maintain, AAR bought a McLaren M7A
McLaren M7A
The McLaren M7A and its M7B, M7C and M7D variants were Formula One racing cars, built by McLaren and used in the world championship between 1968 and 1971...
. Ironically it was with the McLaren, built by his previous year's AAR team-mate, that Gurney scored the team's only points of the season. At the end of the season AAR closed the doors on their foray into Grand Prix racing, to concentrate their efforts on USAC
United States Automobile Club
The United States Auto Club is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, the USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapolis 500...
racing.
The last appearance of an Eagle Mk1 in a Formula One race was when Pease privately entered 101 for the 1969 Canadian Grand Prix
1969 Canadian Grand Prix
The 1969 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Mosport Park on September 20, 1969. Jacky Ickx led home a Brabham 1-2.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Jacky Ickx - 1:17.4...
. Pease and the Eagle-Climax car suffered ignominy of being the only car in the history of Formula 1 to be black-flagged and disqualified in the middle of a race for simply being too slow. The basic Mk1/Mk2 chassis design continued to be used in American National Championship
American Championship Car Racing
Since 1916 there has been a recognized United States national automobile racing National Championship for drivers of professional-level, single-seat open wheel race cars. The championship has been under the auspices of several different sanctioning bodies since 1909. Since 1911, the Indianapolis...
races into the early 1970s. In common with most cars of the time, experimental wings and other aerodynamic aids - including the eponymous Gurney flap
Gurney flap
The Gurney Flap is a small flat tab projecting from the trailing edge of a wing. Typically it is set at a right angle to the pressure side surface of the airfoil,and projects 1% to 2% of the wing chord....
- were added to Terry's lithe chassis lines over the years, reducing the cars' visual impact and obscuring car's most noteworthy single design feature, the vestigial eagle's-beak nose.
Formula One World Championship results
(results in italics indicate fastest lap)| Year | Entrant | Engine/s | Tyres | Driver | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anglo American Racers Anglo American Racers All American Racers was an American auto racing team and constructor based in Santa Ana, California. Founded by Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby in 1964, All American Racers initially participated in American sports car and Champ Car races as well as international Formula One events with cars named... |
Climax Coventry Climax Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H... L4 Weslake Weslake Weslake Research and Development was founded by Harry Weslake, with premises in Rye, East Sussex, England. Weslake was a cylinder head specialist who had been instrumental in modifying the side valve standard engine used in the first SS sports car. He also worked on the larger SS engine: "The... V12 V12 engine A V12 engine is a V engine with 12 cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of six cylinders, usually but not always at a 60° angle to each other, with all 12 pistons driving a common crankshaft.... |
MON 1966 Monaco Grand Prix The 1966 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Circuit de Monaco on May 22, 1966. It was the opening round of the 1966 Formula One season, the first of a new era for Formula One, the 'return to power' as engine regulations were altered from 1.5 litres of maximum engine... |
BEL 1966 Belgian Grand Prix The 1966 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on 12 June 1966. It was the second round of the 1966 Formula One season. The race was the 26th Belgian Grand Prix which to this point had only been held at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit... |
FRA 1966 French Grand Prix The 1966 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Reims-Gueux on July 3, 1966. It was the '60th Anniversary race' of Grand Prix racing, which had started with the GP of France in 1906. It was the third round of the 1966 World Championship... |
GBR 1966 British Grand Prix The 1966 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Brands Hatch on July 16, 1966. It was the fourth round of the 1966 World Championship. It was the 21st British Grand Prix and the second to be held at Brands Hatch... |
NED 1966 Dutch Grand Prix The 1966 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zandvoort on July 24, 1966. It was the fifth round of the 1966 World Championship. The race was the 16th Dutch Grand Prix since it was first held in 1948... |
GER 1966 German Grand Prix The 1966 German Grand Prix was a mixed Formula One and Formula Two motor race held at the Nürburgring Nordschleife on August 7, 1966. It was the sixth round of the 1966 World Championship. It was the 28th German Grand Prix and the 22nd to be held at the Nordschleife... |
ITA 1966 Italian Grand Prix The 1966 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on September 4, 1966. It was the seventh round of the 1966 World Championship. The race was the 36th Italian Grand Prix and the 32nd to be held at Monza... |
USA 1966 United States Grand Prix The 1966 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 2, 1966 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York.__FORCETOC__-Summary:... |
MEX 1966 Mexican Grand Prix The 1966 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 23, 1966. It was the ninth and final round of the 1966 World Championship. The race was the fifth Mexican Grand Prix... |
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7th 13th |
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| Dan Gurney Dan Gurney Daniel Sexton Gurney is an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner.The son of a Metropolitan Opera star, he was born in Port Jefferson, New York, but moved to California as a teenager... |
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| Phil Hill Phil Hill Philip Toll Hill, Jr., was a United States automobile racer and the only American-born driver to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship. Hill was described as a "thoughtful, gentle man" and once said, "I'm in the wrong business. I don't want to beat anybody, I don't want to be the big hero... |
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| Bob Bondurant Bob Bondurant Robert Bondurant is an American former racecar driver who raced for Shelby American, Ferrari and Eagle teams.During his teens, Bondurant raced an Indian motorcycle on dirt ovals... |
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| Anglo American Racers Anglo American Racers All American Racers was an American auto racing team and constructor based in Santa Ana, California. Founded by Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby in 1964, All American Racers initially participated in American sports car and Champ Car races as well as international Formula One events with cars named... |
Climax Coventry Climax Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H... L4 Weslake Weslake Weslake Research and Development was founded by Harry Weslake, with premises in Rye, East Sussex, England. Weslake was a cylinder head specialist who had been instrumental in modifying the side valve standard engine used in the first SS sports car. He also worked on the larger SS engine: "The... V12 V12 engine A V12 engine is a V engine with 12 cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of six cylinders, usually but not always at a 60° angle to each other, with all 12 pistons driving a common crankshaft.... |
RSA 1967 South African Grand Prix The 1967 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Kyalami on January 2, 1967.- Race report :For the first time, the Kyalami circuit near Johannesburg was being used. There were some changes in the driver line-ups: John Surtees was driving for Honda, Mike Spence signed for BRM whilst... |
MON 1967 Monaco Grand Prix The 1967 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monaco on May 7, 1967.- Race report :The opening few laps were eventful - Jack Brabham spun in front of Bruce McLaren and Jo Siffert who collided taking avoiding action, whilst Jim Clark had to take to the escape road.Jackie Stewart swept... |
NED 1967 Dutch Grand Prix The 1967 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Zandvoort on June 4, 1967.The race saw the debut of the Ford Cosworth DFV engine, in Jim Clark and Graham Hill's Lotuses.- Classification :-Notes:*Pole position: Graham Hill - 1:24.6... |
BEL 1967 Belgian Grand Prix The 1967 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on June 18, 1967.- Race report :Jim Clark led off the grid from pole position and maintained that position for the first 11 laps and was 20 seconds ahead of Jackie Stewart and Dan Gurney when he had to come into the... |
FRA 1967 French Grand Prix The 1967 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans on July 2, 1967.- Race report :The new Bugatti circuit used the main pit straight at Le Mans, but then used an infield section comprising several second and third gear corners, which was universally unpopular... |
GBR 1967 British Grand Prix The 1967 British Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Silverstone on July 15, 1967.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standingsConstructors' Championship standings... |
GER 1967 German Grand Prix The 1967 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Nürburgring on August 6, 1967.- Classification :Note: The race was run with both Formula One and Formula Two cars running together... |
CAN 1967 Canadian Grand Prix The 1967 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Mosport Park on August 27, 1967. The race was won by Jack Brabham driving for his own Brabham team.... |
ITA 1967 Italian Grand Prix The 1967 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on September 10, 1967. It was won by British driver John Surtees driving a Honda RA300. Jim Clark led the race until a little after the half way point when he picked up a puncture and lost an entire lap. He... |
USA 1967 United States Grand Prix The 1967 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 1, 1967 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York.__FORCETOC__-Summary:... |
MEX 1967 Mexican Grand Prix The 1967 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One held at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 22, 1967.- Classification :- Notes :* Pole position: Jim Clark - 1:47.56* Fastest Lap: Jim Clark - 1:48.13... |
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| Dan Gurney Dan Gurney Daniel Sexton Gurney is an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner.The son of a Metropolitan Opera star, he was born in Port Jefferson, New York, but moved to California as a teenager... |
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| Richie Ginther Richie Ginther Paul Richard "Richie" Ginther was a racecar driver from the United States. During a varied career, the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix saw Ginther take Honda's first Grand Prix victory, a victory which would also prove to be Ginther's only win in Formula One... |
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| Bruce McLaren Bruce McLaren Bruce Leslie McLaren , born in Auckland, New Zealand, was a race-car designer, driver, engineer and inventor.... |
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| Ludovico Scarfiotti Ludovico Scarfiotti Ludovico Scarfiotti was a Formula One and sports car driver from Italy. Just prior to entering Formula One, he won the 1963 24 Hours of Le Mans for Ferrari. He later participated in 12 World Championship Formula One grands prix, and many non-championship races. He won one World Championship... |
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| Castrol Oils Ltd. Castrol Castrol is a brand of industrial and automotive lubricants which is applied to a large range of oils, greases and similar products for most lubrication applications... |
Climax Coventry Climax Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H... L4 |
Al Pease Al Pease Victor "Al" Pease is a former motor racing driver from Canada. He participated in 3 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on August 27, 1967. He holds the unfortunate distinction of being the only competitor ever to be disqualified from a World Championship race, the 1969 Canadian... |
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| Anglo American Racers Anglo American Racers All American Racers was an American auto racing team and constructor based in Santa Ana, California. Founded by Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby in 1964, All American Racers initially participated in American sports car and Champ Car races as well as international Formula One events with cars named... |
Weslake Weslake Weslake Research and Development was founded by Harry Weslake, with premises in Rye, East Sussex, England. Weslake was a cylinder head specialist who had been instrumental in modifying the side valve standard engine used in the first SS sports car. He also worked on the larger SS engine: "The... V12 V12 engine A V12 engine is a V engine with 12 cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of six cylinders, usually but not always at a 60° angle to each other, with all 12 pistons driving a common crankshaft.... |
RSA 1968 South African Grand Prix The 1968 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami Circuit on January 1, 1968. It was the first round of the 1968 Formula One season. The race, contested over 73 laps, was won by two time World Drivers' Champion and 1965 Indianapolis 500 winner Jim Clark for Lotus-Ford... |
ESP 1968 Spanish Grand Prix The 1968 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Jarama Circuit on May 12, 1968. It was the second round of the 1968 Formula One season. It was the first race after the death of former double World Champion Jim Clark, who had died in a non-championship Formula Two event in... |
MON 1968 Monaco Grand Prix The 1968 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Monte Carlo Circuit on May 26, 1968. It was the third round of the 1968 Formula One season. The race was won by Lotus driver Graham Hill, who started from pole position... |
BEL 1968 Belgian Grand Prix The 1968 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit on June 9, 1968. It was the fourth round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :* This was the first race where wings were used on an F1 car... |
NED 1968 Dutch Grand Prix The 1968 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Zandvoort Circuit on June 23, 1968. It was the fifth round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Qualifying :- Race :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings... |
FRA 1968 French Grand Prix The 1968 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Rouen-Les-Essarts Circuit on 7 July 1968. It was the sixth round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :* Milestones:** 1st Win - Jacky Ickx... |
GBR 1968 British Grand Prix The 1968 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Brands Hatch Circuit on July 20, 1968. It was the seventh round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :* Records:** 100th Grand Prix start - Jack Brabham... |
GER 1968 German Grand Prix The 1968 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Nürburgring on August 4, 1968. It was the eighth round of the 1968 Formula One season... |
ITA 1968 Italian Grand Prix The 1968 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Monza Autodrome on September 8, 1968. It was the ninth round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings... |
CAN 1968 Canadian Grand Prix The 1968 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Mont-Tremblant Circuit on September 22, 1968. It was the tenth round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings... |
USA 1968 United States Grand Prix The 1968 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 6, 1968 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. It was the eleventh round of the 1968 Formula One season.__FORCETOC__-Summary:... |
MEX 1968 Mexican Grand Prix The 1968 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Hermanos Rodriguez Autodrome on November 3, 1968. It was the twelfth and final round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Jo Siffert - 1:45.22... |
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| Dan Gurney Dan Gurney Daniel Sexton Gurney is an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner.The son of a Metropolitan Opera star, he was born in Port Jefferson, New York, but moved to California as a teenager... |
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| Castrol Oils Ltd. Castrol Castrol is a brand of industrial and automotive lubricants which is applied to a large range of oils, greases and similar products for most lubrication applications... |
Climax Coventry Climax Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H... L4 |
Al Pease Al Pease Victor "Al" Pease is a former motor racing driver from Canada. He participated in 3 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on August 27, 1967. He holds the unfortunate distinction of being the only competitor ever to be disqualified from a World Championship race, the 1969 Canadian... |
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| John Maryon | Climax Coventry Climax Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H... L4 |
RSA 1969 South African Grand Prix The 1969 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami Circuit on March 1, 1969. It was the first round of the 1969 Formula One season.- Background :... |
ESP 1969 Spanish Grand Prix The 1969 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Montjuïc circuit on May 4, 1969. It was the second round of the 1969 Formula One season.... |
MON 1969 Monaco Grand Prix The 1969 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Circuit de Monaco on May 18, 1969. It was the third round of the 1969 Formula One season.- Qualifying :- Race :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings... |
NED 1969 Dutch Grand Prix The 1969 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Zandvoort Circuit on June 21, 1969. It was the fourth round of the 1969 Formula One season.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings... |
FRA 1969 French Grand Prix The 1969 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Charade Circuit on July 6, 1969. It was the fifth round of the 1969 Formula One season.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings... |
GBR 1969 British Grand Prix The 1969 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Silverstone Circuit on July 19, 1969. It was the sixth round of the 1969 Formula One season... |
GER 1969 German Grand Prix The 1969 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Nürburgring on 3 August 1969 with Formula Two cars competing by invitation. It was the seventh round of the 1969 World Championship for Drivers. The F2 entrants were not eligible for points in the World Championship.-Report:Gerhard Mitter... |
ITA 1969 Italian Grand Prix The 1969 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on September 7, 1969. The race was notable in that less than a fifth of second separated the winner from the fourth-placed driver, and is generally reckoned to be the closest 1-2-3-4 in Formula One history... |
CAN 1969 Canadian Grand Prix The 1969 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Mosport Park on September 20, 1969. Jacky Ickx led home a Brabham 1-2.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Jacky Ickx - 1:17.4... |
USA 1969 United States Grand Prix The 1969 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 5, 1969 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York.__FORCETOC__-Summary:... |
MEX 1969 Mexican Grand Prix The 1969 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on October 19, 1969.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Jack Brabham - 1:42.90*Fastest lap: Jacky Ickx - 1:43.05 on lap 64-Standings after the race:... |
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| Al Pease Al Pease Victor "Al" Pease is a former motor racing driver from Canada. He participated in 3 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on August 27, 1967. He holds the unfortunate distinction of being the only competitor ever to be disqualified from a World Championship race, the 1969 Canadian... |
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Climax-engined results. All other results are for Weslake-engined cars.
Name confusion
Although commonly referred to as the T1G (and chassis 101 as the T1F), Dan Gurney has stated that this was never the car's official designation. Instead, the car was simply the Eagle Mark 1. Hence, the four chassis produced were numbered 101, 102, 103 and 104 (the Ti-Mag car). The Indianapolis sister cars were the Mk2, with subsequent Indy designs also taking model numbers 3 and 4. The Mk5 was a Formula AtlanticFormula Atlantic
Formula Atlantic is a specification of open wheel racing car developed in the 1970s. It was used in professional racing through the IMSA Atlantic Championship until 2009 and is currently primarily used in amateur racing through Sports Car Club of America Formula Atlantic.-History:The history of...
car adapted from the Mk 4 chassis, while Mk6 was the designation given to the still-born Formula One successor to the Mk1. With AAR's withdrawal from Grand Prix racing at the end of 1968, the team reverted to a year-based chassis numeration scheme, with Indy chassis from 1971 onward taking numbers (e.g. 71xx) according to their year of design.
Online references
- Eagle Mark I Weslake history and photos at Ultimatecarpage.com
- Eagle T1G statistics and information at ChicaneF1.com
- Eagle-Weslake history at ddavid.com
- Eagle overview at allF1.info
- Official Gurney-Weslake home page