Tyrrell would be banned from competing in Formula 1 nowadays Motor sport history will be made at CarFest South at Laverstoke Park Farm in Hampshire August 23 to 25 when Jody Scheckter drives the history-making six-wheeled Tyrrell for the first time in nearly 40 years.
It was back in 1976 that the Tyrrell team introduced the most revolutionary car ever seen in Formula One, the ground breaking Tyrrell P34. The radical car featured not two conventional, but four much smaller front wheels designed to give additional grip and downforce – a concept since outlawed by the F1 rule makers. Two cars were built for the team’s drivers Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler to race in that year’s FIA Formula One World Championship.
The P34’s golden moment came at the Swedish Grand Prix staged at the Anderstorp circuit in June where Scheckter took pole position and then made history by becoming the only driver ever to win a Grand Prix in a six-wheeled car. Although that was the only win, in total Scheckter scored no fewer than ten top six finishes in the car from just 12 starts.
Over recent years, Scheckter has been busy collecting many of the most significant cars from his distinguished racing career including the Ferrari 312T4 in which he won the 1979 Formula One World Championship title. Recently he has added the extraordinary Tyrrell P34 to his collection – a car he will drive for the very first time in nearly four decades when CarFest South returns to his Laverstoke Park Farm in late August.
\"It was a very special car, despite the fact that I was not a fan of the theory behind the design,” admits an expectant Scheckter. “The Tyrrell fascinates a lot of people – it is legendary. Although it did not perform as well as the engineers expected, I came third in the World Championships that year, so it really was part of my journey to the top of F1. The last time I drove it was in 1976, so it will certainly bring back some wonderful memories when I drive it at CarFest\".