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Derek Gardner (designer)

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Allenbrown (talk | contribs) at 09:34, 23 November 2021 (Changed Leamington to Leamington Spa as that's consistent with the category). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Derek Gardner
Born(1931-09-19)19 September 1931
Leamington Spa, UK
Died7 January 2011(2011-01-07) (aged 79)
Lutterworth, UK
NationalityBritish
OccupationDesigner
Years active1969–1976
Known forFormula One, (Matra, Tyrrell)
Notable workTyrrell 001, 002 and 003
Tyrrell P34

Derek Gardner (19 September 1931 – 7 January 2011)[1] was a car designer known for designing advanced transmission systems. He was born in Warwick, and joined Formula One while employed by Harry Ferguson Research, developing four-wheel drive systems for Matra in 1969. He met Ken Tyrrell in 1970 and Tyrrell chose Gardner to design his chassis. The first chassis, the Tyrrell 001, was built in his garage at home and was raced in the 1970 Canadian Grand Prix.[2]

Jackie Stewart qualified the car on pole on its debut and led until an axle failed on lap 34. The car was further developed into the Tyrrell 002 and 003 and drivers Jackie Stewart and François Cevert achieved seven wins between them in 1971. Stewart won the Drivers' World Championship and Tyrrell took the Constructors' title.

Gardner's most iconic car was the Tyrrell P34, commonly known as the "six-wheeler". The car used four specially manufactured 10-inch-diameter (254 mm) wheels and tyres at the front, with two ordinary-sized wheels at the back. Along with the Brabham BT46B "fancar" developed in 1978, the six-wheeled Tyrrell was one of the most radical entries ever to succeed in F1 competition, and has been called the most recognizable design in the history of world motorsports.

Gardner also designed boats, electric bikes and microlites during his long career as a designer.[1] He died in Lutterworth, aged 79.

References

  1. ^ a b "Derek Gardner". oldracingcars.com. 23 November 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  2. ^ Widdows, Rob (September 2008). "The Best Kept Secrets". Motor Sport magazine archive. p. 73. Retrieved 30 August 2015.


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