Surtees

The Surtees Racing Organisation carved out a distinctive place in F1 history and in motorsports, competing as a constructor across Formula One, Formula 2, and Formula 5000 for nine seasons between 1970 and 1978.

Origins

The team was the brainchild of John Surtees, a man who had already conquered two wheels and four. Surtees was a four-time 500cc motorcycle world champion and the 1964 Formula One World Champion, making him (to this day) the only person to win world titles on both bikes and cars. In 1966, he established his own team to compete in the brand-new Canadian-American Challenge Cup (Can-Am) series, a no-holds-barred “unlimited” sports car championship. Entering as an owner-driver, Surtees immediately stamped his authority on the series, winning the inaugural championship at the wheel of a Lola T70.

By 1969, Surtees was branching out again, this time into the freshly created Formula 5000. Taking over a project from Len Terry and Roger Nathan, the team built its own cars for the first time – and quickly found success. Five wins on the bounce at Mondello Park, Koksijde, Zandvoort, Snetterton and Hockenheim in a 12-race season proved Surtees’ instincts were right: his organisation could take the fight to anyone.

Moving into Formula One

Encouraged, Surtees took the plunge into Formula One. Having endured a frustrating stint with BRM in 1969, he opted to return to the owner-driver model for 1970. The team’s first in-house F1 car was delayed, so Surtees had to dust off an old McLaren for the opening four rounds. When the BP-backed Surtees finally hit the track, it scored its first and only points of the season in Canada.

In 1971, the team expanded to a two-car effort with Rolf Stommelen alongside Surtees, and occasionally fielded a third entry for guest drivers. Surtees, Stommelen, and motorcycling legend Mike Hailwood each chipped in with points, though none finished higher than sixth.

Surtees himself stepped back from full-time driving at the end of the season, handing the wheel to a fresh trio in 1972: Hailwood, Australian Tim Schenken, and Italian Andrea de Adamich (whose sponsorship proved crucial to keeping the team afloat). The payoff came in Monza, where Hailwood finished second behind Emerson Fittipaldi. It was the Surtees’ team’s first Formula One podium. With all three drivers contributing points, the team placed a very respectable fifth in the 1972 Constructors’ Championship.

Peaks and Problems

Momentum faltered in 1973. Schenken was replaced by Brazilian Carlos Pace, who managed third in Austria and fourth in Germany. But Hailwood couldn’t score, and with de Adamich gone, the team fielded just two cars. Hailwood then decamped to McLaren, replaced in 1974 by Jochen Mass. The season unravelled: Pace quit mid-year, his replacements Derek Bell and Helmuth Koinigg struggled (with Koinigg tragically killed at Watkins Glen), and only a single fourth-place from Pace salvaged points.

With finances drying up, Surtees scaled back to a single regular entry in 1975, featuring John Watson, with Dave Morgan making a cameo appearance at Silverstone. Results? Non-existent. Not a single point, and the team missed three of the final four races.

Things looked brighter in 1976, when Surtees landed one of the most eyebrow-raising sponsorship deals in F1 history: Durex condoms. Backed by the bold new branding, the team signed Australian Alan Jones. He delivered fifth at Zolder and Brands Hatch, and fourth at Fuji, helping the team to seventh place in the 1976 Constructors’ Championship. A second car appeared sporadically for Brett Lunger under Chesterfield backing, while Henri Pescarolo campaigned a customer chassis in the latter half of the year.

But success was fleeting. Jones departed for Shadow in 1977, leaving Surtees once more strapped for cash. Vittorio Brambilla was the sole full-timer, and while he hustled the car into the points three times, the financial troubles only deepened. By 1978, Rupert Keegan was drafted in as a pay driver, but even running two cars couldn’t mask the cracks: results were scarce, money was tighter still, and the writing was on the wall.

The End of the Road

A new car had been built for 1979, but the funds to run it simply weren’t there. Instead, Surtees entered it briefly in the British Aurora series (formerly Formula 5000) before finally shuttering the team for good.

The Surtees Racing Organisation may not have matched John Surtees’ world-beating reputation as a driver, but it was a team that dared to fight at the sharp end of three of motorsport’s most demanding series.

Surtees Formula One World Championship Records

First entry	As a team 1970 South African Grand Prix As a constructor 1970 British Grand Prix
Races entered	As a team: 123 entries (122 starts) As a constructor: 119 entries (118 starts)
Engines	Cosworth DFV
Constructors’ Championships	0
Drivers’ Championships	0
Race victories	0
Podiums	2
Points	As a team: 541 As a constructor: 53
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	3
Final entry	1978 Canadian Grand Prix

Surtees Constructors’ Championship Results

As Entrant

Year	Chassis	Engine	Tyre	Drivers	Rounds
1970	McLaren M7C	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	F	John Surtees	1–3, 5

As Works

Year	Chassis	Engine	Tyre	No.	Drivers	Rounds	WCC Points	WCC Pos.	Report
1970	TS7	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	F		John Surtees	7–13	3	8th	Report
					Derek Bell	12
1971	TS7 TS9	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	F		John Surtees	All	8	8th	Report
					Brian Redman	1
					Rolf Stommelen	1–10
					Derek Bell	6
					Mike Hailwood	9, 11
					Sam Posey	11
					Gijs van Lennep	11
1972	TS9B TS14	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	F		Tim Schenken	All	18	5th	Report
					Andrea de Adamich	All
					Mike Hailwood	2–10, 12
					John Surtees	10, 12
1973	TS9B TS14A	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	F		Mike Hailwood	All	7	7th	Report
					Carlos Pace	All
					Luiz Bueno	2
					Andrea de Adamich	3
					Jochen Mass	9, 11, 15
1974	TS16	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	F	18	Carlos Pace	1–7	3	11th	Report
					José Dolhem	9, 15
					Derek Bell	10–14
				19	Jochen Mass	1–11
					Jean-Pierre Jabouille	12
					José Dolhem	13
					Helmuth Koinigg	14–15
				30	Dieter Quester	12
1975	TS16	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	18	John Watson	1–10, 12	0	NC	Report
				19	Dave Morgan	10
1976	TS19	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	18	Brett Lunger	2–5, 7–11, 13–15	7	10th	Report
					Conny Andersson	12
					Noritake Takahara	16
				19	Alan Jones	3–15
1977	TS19	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	18	Hans Binder	1–6, 15–17	6	11th	Report
					Larry Perkins	7–9
					Patrick Tambay	9
					Vern Schuppan	10–13
					Lamberto Leoni	14
				19	Vittorio Brambilla	All
1978	TS19 TS20	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	18	Rupert Keegan	1–13	6	11th	Report
					Brian Henton	12
					Gimax	14
					René Arnoux	15–16
				19	Vittorio Brambilla	1–14
					Beppe Gabbiani	15–16

As Privateer

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	Tyre	No.	Drivers	Rounds
1971	Stichting Autoraces Nederland	TS7	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	F		Gijs van Lennep	4
1972	Team Gunston	TS9	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G		John Love	2
	Champcarr Inc.	TS9B				Sam Posey	12
1974	AAW Racing Team	TS16	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	F	23	Leo Kinnunen	7, 9, 13
					43		10, 12
					44		5
1976	ShellSport Whiting	TS16	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	13	Divina Galica	9
	Team Norev/BS Fabrications	TS19			38	Henri Pescarolo	6, 8–15
1977	Melchester Racing	TS19	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	44	Tony Trimmer	10