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Gordon Murray
Ian Gordon Murray (born 18 June 1946), is a South African-British designer of Formula One racing cars for Brabham and McLaren and the McLaren F1 high-performance road car. Founder and CEO of Gordon Murray Design and Gordon Murray Automotive he has subsequently designed and built a number of sports cars and a variety of other automotive vehicles. Early life Born to Scottish immigrant parents, Murray was born and grew up in Durban, South Africa. His father was a motorcycle racer and later prepared racing cars. Murray studied mechanical engineering at Natal Technical College, now Durban University of Technology. He built and raced his own car, the IGM Ford, in the South African National Class during 1967 and 1968. Formula One career Brabham: 1969–1986 Murray moved to England in 1969, hoping to find a job at Lotus Cars. But Murray was offered a job at Brabham after coincidentally meeting then Brabham designer Ron Tauranac. When Bernie Ecclestone took over the Brabham team, he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Durban
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from 25 October 2017. Retrieved 2021-03-05.The names and the naming of Durban Website ''natalia.org.za'' (pdf). Retrieved 2021-03-05. is the third most populous city in after and |
Brabham BT52
The Brabham BT52 was a Formula One car designed for the Brabham team by longtime Brabham designer Gordon Murray for the season. The car ran on Michelin tyres and was powered by the BMW M12/13 four-cylinder turbocharged engine, which in 1983 produced a maximum power of approximately in qualifying trim, detuned to around for the proper races. Its drivers were World Champion Nelson Piquet and Riccardo Patrese. History After the ground effect cars were banned at the end of the previous season, the FIA mandated that all F1 cars be designed with flat undersides for safety reasons. With just 6 weeks until the opening race in Brazil, this left Brabham with three fully built BT51's ready to go that were now useless, so Murray started from scratch and he designed the BT52. The previously crucial sidepods were now generating lift rather than suction and so the BT52 had short, angular sidepods to keep lift at a minimum. Murray also took a gamble and moved approximately 70% of the cars w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steve Nichols
Stephen Anderson Nichols (born 20 February 1947 in Salt Lake City, Utah) is an American engineer who is best known as a car designer for many Formula One teams from the mid-1980s until . Profile Nichols graduated from the University of Utah in 1972. He began his career as a development engineer at Hercules Aerospace in 1973. In mid-1980 he moved to motorsport and joined McLaren in Formula One. In he became head car designer in McLaren following the departure of John Barnard to Ferrari. His first car, the McLaren MP4/3 powered by the turbocharged TAG-Porsche V6 engine, carried Alain Prost to three victories in 1987, the last of which being the 1987 Portuguese Grand Prix where Prost scored his 28th win, passing Jackie Stewart's record of 27 that had stood since . McLaren's second team driver Stefan Johansson, scored five podium finishes during the season. At the end of the season, the MP4/3 had given McLaren second place behind Williams in the Constructors' Championship. Nic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Barnard
John Edward Barnard (born 4 May 1946, Wembley, London) is an English engineer and racing car designer. Barnard is credited with the introduction of two new designs into Formula One: the carbon fibre composite chassis first seen in with McLaren, and the semi-automatic gearbox which he introduced with Ferrari in . Early career Barnard gained a diploma from Watford College of Technology in the 1960s and unlike many of his contemporaries he did not follow a lengthy academic career, instead choosing to join General Electric Company. In 1968 Barnard was recruited by Lola Cars in Huntingdon as a junior designer and began working on many of the chassis manufacturer's projects, including Formula Vee racers and numerous sports cars. While at Lola, Barnard was introduced to Patrick Head, who later helped Frank Williams found the Williams Formula One team. The two engineers became good friends and Head was best man at Barnard's wedding in the early 1970s. In 1972 Barnard joined ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ron Dennis
Ronald Dennis Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 1 June 1947) is a British people, British businessman and Official British Business Ambassador for the United Kingdom. He is best known for his former role as owner, CEO, chairman and founder of McLaren Group. Dennis was removed from his McLaren management roles in 2016 but remained a director of the company and a 25% shareholder until June 2017, when his 37-year association with the company ended. Dennis started his career as a mechanic, before starting successful junior formulae teams Rondel Racing and then Project Four Racing, which took over the management of the McLaren team in 1980. Between 1981 and 2009, Dennis was the team principal of the McLaren Formula One team, and was instrumental in transforming the outfit into a regular world championship contender. Constructors' and drivers' world championships were won with Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mika Häkkinen and Lewis Hamilton. Dennis founded McLaren Automot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brabham BT54
The Brabham BT54 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Murray for the Brabham team for the Formula One season. The car was powered by the BMW M12 4cyl turbo engine (generally agreed to be the most powerful engine in Formula One at the time) and used Pirelli tyres. Design and testing Like its immediate predecessors, the BT54 had most of its weight towards the rear of the car to help improve traction. With FISA's ban on the 'winglets' on the rear wings that had been pioneered by Ferrari in , Murray chose instead to put the small wings on the outside rear edges of the cars sidepods ( Lotus designer Gérard Ducarouge had done the same with their 97T). Like most of its rivals, Brabham had used Michelin tyres in . However, when the French company pulled out of Grand Prix racing at the end of that season, team owner Bernie Ecclestone took a gamble and instead of signing with Goodyear for their proven rubber, signed with the Italian company Pirelli instead. The car p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brabham BT53
The Brabham BT53 was a Formula One car designed by Gordon Murray for the Brabham team for the 1984 Formula One season and was a development of the BT52 which had carried the team's lead driver Nelson Piquet to the championship. Car The car was almost identical to the final development version of the car, the BT52B, but featured larger sidepods for improved cooling, and the turbochargers and intercoolers were repositioned for better fuel efficiency as refuelling stops were now banned, leading to the car having to carry an enlarged (220 litre) fuel tank. The turbocharged BMW M12 engine now produced around in qualifying trim, de-tuned to for the races, making it the most powerful car ever seen in F1 at the time. This power allowed Piquet to record the fastest speed trap of the 1984 season when he clocked on the 1 km long straight at the old Kyalami circuit during qualifying for Round 2 of the championship in South Africa. Like all other cars in Formula One in 1984, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brabham BT50
The Brabham BT50 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Murray and powered by a turbo BMW engine. It was raced by the Brabham team, owned by Bernie Ecclestone, during the 1982 Formula One season. Driven by Nelson Piquet and Riccardo Patrese, it made its debut at the South African Grand Prix before being withdrawn for further development of its engine while the team reverted to the previous year's car, the Brabham BT49. On the reintroduction of the BT50, Piquet finished fifth in the Belgian Grand Prix. A few races later he drove it to a win in the Canadian Grand Prix. Later in the year it achieved three more finishes in the points for the team. During the second half of the season, Brabham implemented the strategy of mid-race refueling. This allowed Piquet and Patrese to start the races relatively light and use their reduced weight to gain track position over their competitors before stopping to refuel. The poor reliability of the BT50 meant that they had only a few oppor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brabham BT48
The Brabham BT48 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Murray and raced by the Brabham team. The car, powered by a 12-cylinder Alfa Romeo engine, competed in the 1979 Formula One season. The intended plan was to run the BT47 but the FIA outlawed it because it had a Chaparral 2J-type box rear end with twin variable geometry fans on the rear to maximize ground effect, so Murray designed the BT48 instead. Racing history The BT48 made its debut at the 1979 Argentine Grand Prix with Niki Lauda driving. Teammate Nelson Piquet qualified the older Brabham BT46 in 20th place. Lauda qualified the BT46 in 23rd place but drove the BT48 in the race when he retired with fuel system failure. Piquet was involved in a huge first lap pile-up and was injured; he did not take the restart. At Brazil, Brabham had another BT48 ready for home favorite Piquet. The Austrian qualified 12th and the Brazilian 22nd. Lauda retired with a broken gearbox and the Brazilian retired at his home race ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brabham BT45
The Brabham BT45 was a Formula One car designed by South African engineer Gordon Murray for the 1976 Formula One season. In upgraded BT45B and BT45C form, it also competed in the and seasons. Technology The car was the first Brabham to use Alfa Romeo type 115-12 flat 12-cylinder engine with and of torque. It was equipped with a Hewland six-speed transmission. It used the front air intakes of the previous Brabham, but by regulation no longer has the air-brooms behind the cockpit and has side panels with larger air intakes to feed the engine and more radiant surfaces. The frame was an aluminum monocoque, while the braking system was constituted by ventilated disc brakes produced by Girling. The front suspension consisted of double wishbones with pull-rods, coil springs and stabilizer bars, while the rear used coil springs and stabilizer bars. For the season, pending the development of BT46, a C version of the BT45 was created. This model was equipped with a revised radiator. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brabham BT44
The Brabham BT44 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Murray, Brabham's chief designer. Design An update of the partially successful BT42 of 1973, the BT44 was a simple design with a standard Ford DFV/Hewland gearbox combination, but was very clean aerodynamically. Murray had an eye for clean lines, and the BT44 was particularly graceful. He was also a forward thinker, and tinkered with side skirts and airdams on the car, a precursor to ground effects aerodynamics. Sponsorship came from Martini. Racing history 1974 The 1974 season was successful for Brabham. Carlos Reutemann took three wins with the car, partnered by Carlos Pace who was able to string a series of promising results together. Brabham finished at a fighting fifth place in the Constructor's Championship after a closely fought season. 1975 The BT44 was modified for 1975, and Pace won his first and only Grand Prix at his home event in Brazil, while Reutemann won at the Nürburgring. A series of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brabham BT42
Brabham () is the common name for Motor Racing Developments Ltd., a British racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. Founded in 1960 by Australian driver Jack Brabham and British-Australian designer Ron Tauranac, the team won four Drivers' and two Constructors' World Championships in its 30-year Formula One history. Jack Brabham's 1966 FIA Drivers' Championship remains the only such achievement using a car bearing the driver's own name. In the 1960s, Brabham was the world's largest manufacturer of open-wheel racing cars for sale to customer teams; by 1970 it had built more than 500 cars. During this period, teams using Brabham cars won championships in Formula Two and Formula Three. Brabham cars also competed in the Indianapolis 500 and in Formula 5000 racing. In the 1970s and 1980s, Brabham introduced such innovations as in-race refuelling, carbon brakes, and hydropneumatic suspension. Its unique Gordon Murray-designed " fan car" won its only race before bein ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
