1971 Surtees TS9

The Surtees TS9 raced from 1971 through 1973. The engine of choice was the Ford Cosworth unit. The TS9 was designed by John Surtees, Peter Connew, and Shahab Ahmed and was basically a TS7 with improved road handling due to a longer wheelbase and wider track. It raced in Formula One competition during the 1971 through 1972 season. The cars were driven by John Surtees, Rolf Stommelen, Sam Posey, Gijs van Lennep, Mike Hailwood, Andrea de Adamich, Joe Domingo, Len Booysen, Luis Bueno, Tim Schenken, James Hunt, and Neil Doyle in F1 Competition. There were six TS9 cars constructed. The cars had V8 engines that produced nearly 450 horsepower and matted Hewland FG400 gearboxes. Zero-to-sixty mph took just 3.15 seconds.

The inaugural race for the Surtees TS9 was at the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch, where Surtees piloted his machine to a third-place finish. Surtees accumulated points at other races and secured the Oulton Park Gold Cup.

One of the TS9 F1 cars was sent to Team Gunston in South Africa. During a race at Kyalami driven by John Love, the throttle remained open, sending the car and driver through the barriers and destroying the car.

The TS9B, of which there were two - chassis 005 and 006, was introduced in 1971 and raced during the 1972 and 1973 F1 seasons. It was the next evolution of the TS9 with a full-width nose with integrated ventilation ports. Drivers during the 1971 season included John Surtees, Brian Redman, Gijs van Lennep, and Rolf Stommelen.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2012