Chris Amon Racing

Amon
Full name New Zealand Chris Amon Racing
Base New Zealand
Founder(s) Chris Amon
Noted staff John Dalton
Gordon Fowell
Noted drivers New Zealand Chris Amon
Australia Larry Perkins
Formula One World Championship career
First entry 1966 Italian Grand Prix
Races entered 5
Constructors Brabham-BRM
Amon-Ford
Drivers'
Championships
0
Race victories 0
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 0
Final entry 1974 Italian Grand Prix

Chris Amon Racing (also known simply as Amon), was a Formula One team that competed in the 1966 and 1974 seasons.

Background

Without a full-time drive in 1966, Chris Amon entered a Brabham BT11 powered by an old 2-litre BRM engine at the Italian Grand Prix under the banner of "Chris Amon Racing", but failed to qualify.

After a poor 1973 season with Tecno, but encouraged by the potential of the underdeveloped Gordon Fowell chassis, driver Chris Amon tried running his own Formula One car in 1974. Financial backing came from John Dalton, and the car, designed by Fowell, followed the Lotus 72 in some areas of construction, with sophisticated torsion-bar suspension and side radiators.[1]

The venture failed completely: retiring from the first race, Amon withdrew from the second, and the car was unable to qualify for two more before the team closed down due to financial problems.

Amon AF101

Amon AF101

The Amon F1 car.
Category Formula One
Constructor Chris Amon Racing
Designer(s) Gordon Fowell
Tom Boyce
Technical specifications[2]
Chassis Aluminium monocoque, with engine as a fully stressed member.
Engine Ford Cosworth DFV 2,993 cc (182.6 cu in) 90° V8, naturally aspirated, mid-mounted.
Transmission Hewland FG 400 5-speed manual gearbox, with Borg & Beck clutch.
Tyres Firestone
Competition history
Notable entrants Chris Amon Racing
Notable drivers New Zealand Chris Amon
Australia Larry Perkins
Debut 1974 Spanish Grand Prix
RacesWinsPolesF.Laps
4000
n.b. Unless otherwise stated, all data refer to
Formula One World Championship Grands Prix only.

The AF101 was the only Formula One car built by Amon Racing; the AF101 designation deriving from A for Amon and F for Fowell.[1] Fowell and Tom Boyce designed the car which featured a single central fuel tank, titanium torsion bars and a forward driving position. One unusual (for the time) feature of the AF101 was that the fuel tank was located between the driver's cockpit and the engine.[1] Structurally, it proved to be weak and was not ready for a Formula One appearance until the fourth race of the season, the Spanish Grand Prix. Amon was only able to qualify 23rd, due to brake-disc vibration that became worse with the tyres required for the wet race that followed. Despite cautious driving, a brake shaft finally broke and Amon was forced to retire after 22 laps.[3]

Following further work and testing, Amon returned for the Monaco Grand Prix and qualified twentieth, but due to mechanical problems, he was unable to start the race.[4] Further problems meant Amon was not able to reappear with the AF101 until the German Grand Prix when both Amon and Larry Perkins failed to qualify.[5] Amon did not reappear with the AF101 until the Italian Grand Prix, three races before the end of the season, but this time he was unable to qualify.[6] That signalled the end of both the car and Chris Amon Racing, leaving Amon to close down the team after the race when the money ran out.

Chris Amon in the AF101 at the NZ Festival of Motor Racing 2011
The AF101 at Silverstone in 2012

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Points WCC
1966 Chris Amon Racing Brabham BT11 BRM V8 D MON BEL FRA GBR NED GER ITA USA MEX 0 NC
Chris Amon DNQ
1974 Dalton-Amon International Amon AF101 Cosworth V8 F ARG BRA RSA ESP BEL MON SWE NED FRA GBR GER AUT ITA CAN USA 0 NC
Chris Amon Ret DNS DNQ DNQ
Larry Perkins DNQ

Non-Championship results

(key)

Year Entrant Engine Tyres Driver 1 2 3
1974 Chris Amon Racing Ford Cosworth DFV F PRE ROC INT
Amon DNS

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hodges, David (1990). A–Z of Formula Racing Cars. Bideford, UK: Bay View Books. p. 279. ISBN 1870979168.
  2. Davies, Jonathan. "Amon Ford". chicanef1.com. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  3. "Grand Prix results, Spanish GP 1974". grandprix.com. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  4. "Grand Prix results, Monaco GP 1974". grandprix.com. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  5. "Grand Prix results, German GP 1974". grandprix.com. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  6. "Grand Prix results, Italian GP 1974". grandprix.com. Retrieved 12 December 2015.

External links


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