Cooper T86
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| Category | Formula One | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Cooper Car Company | ||||||||
| Designer(s) | Derrick White | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Cooper T81B | ||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||
| Chassis | Elektronmonocoque | ||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Double wishbone,with inboardspring/damperunits | ||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Double wishbone, with outboardcoiloverspring/damper units | ||||||||
| Axle track | 62 in (1,575 mm) | ||||||||
| Wheelbase | 98 in (2,489 mm) | ||||||||
| Engine | 1967-1969:Maserati10/F1 2,983 cc (182.0 cu in)V12naturally aspiratedmid-mounted 1968:BRMP142 2,998 cc (182.9 cu in)V12naturally aspiratedmid-mounted 1968:Alfa RomeoT33 2,998 cc (182.9 cu in)V8naturally aspiratedmid-mounted | ||||||||
| Transmission | Hewland5-speedmanual | ||||||||
| Weight | 1,235 lb (560.2 kg) | ||||||||
| Fuel | BP | ||||||||
| Tyres | Firestone,Goodyear | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable entrants | Cooper Car Company | ||||||||
| Notable drivers |  Jochen Rindt Jacky Ickx Ludovico Scarfiotti Brian RedmanVic Elford | ||||||||
| Debut | 1967 British Grand Prix | ||||||||
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| Constructors' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
| n.b. Unless otherwise stated, all data refer to Formula One World Championship Grands Prix only. | |||||||||
TheCooper T86was aFormula Oneracing car built byCooperand first raced in1967.B and C specification cars were also built to accommodate different engines,[1]but the car could not revive Cooper's fortunes and this type represents the last Formula One chassis built and raced by the former champion team.
T86
[edit]TheCooper T81had proved rather successful when it first appeared in 1966 but by mid-1967 it had slipped behind the newer cars of the leading teams. The new T86 car was built for Cooper's lead driverJochen Rindtto use, starting with theBritish Grand Prix,a narrower, lower and lighter car fabricated fromElektron alloyswith a bump around the gear lever to give the driver more space while changing gear, a feature that became a common sight on single-seater cars well into the 1970s. The new chassis was some 112 lb lighter than the T81, but was still overweight due to its Maserati V12, an engine whose first incarnation had raced in Formula One in 2.5-litre form some ten years earlier. It was found that the car had a tendency to get light at the front at high speeds, but ahead of theItalian Grand Prixthis was fixed by the mounting of a small spoiler on the nose, another innovative feature.Jacky Ickxdrove the car at Watkins Glen, andformer Grand Prix winnerLudovico Scarfiottigave the car its last outing for the works team in thefirst raceof1968.
The car wasn't used for the remainder of 1968, and by 1969 it had been acquired byColin Crabbe,who gotVic Elfordin to drive the car for his appropriately namedAntique Automobiles racing teamin theInternational Trophy.Neil Cornerdrove the car at the non-championshipMadrid Grand Prixbut Elford came back for theMonaco Grand Prixwhere the car qualified last and finished last of those still running, 6 laps down in 7th place. It was to be the last time a Cooper was raced in a championship Grand Prix as Crabbe acquired theMcLaren M7Bfor Elford to drive in later races.
T86B
[edit]For the 1968 season a 'B' specification T86 was produced to incorporate theBRMV12 which replaced the ageing Maserati unit and made its debut at the second race of the season inSpain.Two cars were initially constructed, a third being built after Redman's crash at Spa,[2]and these were used exclusively by the Cooper works team during the1968 Formula One season.Cooper's version of the BRM V12 was a less powerful "sportscar" version of the engine, which was already one of the heaviest on the grid, but after finishing third and fourth (thanks to the unreliability of others) in bothSpainandMonacothe car gradually slipped down the grid towards the season's end. TheMexican Grand Prixwould be the last Formula One race for a works Cooper car, as the Cooper team decided it could not continue to compete in Formula One with no sponsorship money available for 1969 and auctioned off the two T86B chassis still in its possession.[3]The first T86B was acquired byMartin Brainwho drove the car with some success in British hillclimb and club races, but in aFormula Librerace atSilverstonein 1970 Brain left the track and flipped the car, and was killed.
T86C
[edit]The third T86 built in 1968 was a special 'C' specification car made for a 3.0-litre Alfa Romeo V8 engine as used in theTipo 33sportscar, with an eye to Cooper using the Alfa engine in future instead of the BRM. Lucien Bianchi was entered in the car at Brands Hatch and Monza but did not take part in either meeting, Alfa Romeo withdrawing their support when it became clear in testing that the V8 was badly underpowered, with subsequent developments failing on the test bench.[4]Alfa Romeo did eventually enter F1 with the V8 with McLaren in 1970 and March in 1971. The chassis was later converted to F5000 spec with a 5-litre Ford V8 and entered in 11 events in the1970 Guards European Formula 5000 Championshipdriven by Fred Place but was not very successful. The following year the car missed the F5000 season as it had been stolen along with a spare engine, but the chassis was later recovered.[5][6]The car has since been restored to its original form with a similar Alfa Romeo V8 to its intended powerplant, and appears regularly in historic racing.
Complete Formula One World Championship results
[edit]| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | Driver | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Cooper Car Company | T86 | Maserati10/F1 3.0V12 | F | RSA | MON | NED | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | CAN | ITA | USA | MEX | 281 | 3rd1 | ||
| Jochen Rindt | Ret | Ret | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| Jacky Ickx | Ret | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1968 | Cooper Car Company | T86 | Maserati10/F1 3.0V12 | F | RSA | ESP | MON | BEL | NED | FRA | GBR | GER | ITA | CAN | USA | MEX | 0 | - | |
| Ludovico Scarfiotti | Ret | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tom Jones | Tom Jones | DNA | |||||||||||||||||
| Cooper Car Company | T86B | BRMP101 3.0V12 | Ludovico Scarfiotti | 4 | 4 | 14 | 7th | ||||||||||||
| Brian Redman | 3 | Ret | |||||||||||||||||
| Vic Elford | 4 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 5 | Ret | 8 | ||||||||||||
| Johnny Servoz-Gavin | Ret | ||||||||||||||||||
| Robin Widdows | Ret | DNA | |||||||||||||||||
| Lucien Bianchi | 3 | 6 | Ret | Ret | NC | NC | Ret | ||||||||||||
| T86C | Alfa RomeoT33 3.0V8 | DNA | DNA | 0 | - | ||||||||||||||
| 1969 | Colin Crabbe Antique Automobiles | T86 | Maserati10/F1 3.0V12 | G | RSA | ESP | MON | NED | FRA | GBR | GER | ITA | CAN | USA | MEX | 0 | - | ||
| Vic Elford | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Falken Racing | Tony Lanfranchi | DNA |
^1Includes points scored by theCooper T81andCooper T81Bentries
References
[edit]- ^Brown, Allen."Cooper F1 racing history « OldRacingCars.com".www.oldracingcars.com.Archived fromthe originalon 5 October 2013.Retrieved30 October2016.
- ^"Cooper T86B (Belgium 1968)".www.deviantart.com.Retrieved30 October2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^"May0005".theminimag2.itgo.com.Retrieved30 October2016.
- ^"1968 Cooper T86C Alfa Romeo - Images, Specifications and Information".Ultimatecarpage.com.Archived fromthe originalon 6 October 2013.Retrieved30 October2016.
- ^"Cooper T86C F5000 Racing Car".Cooper T86C F5000 Racing Car.Archived fromthe originalon 1 May 2016.Retrieved30 October2016.
- ^"Cooper T86C Racing Car".Archived fromthe originalon 6 October 2013.Retrieved5 October2013.
External links
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