Pacific Racing

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pacific Racing
Image:Pacific Racing logo.gif
Full name Pacific Grand Prix (1994)
Pacific Team Lotus (1995)
Base Thetford, United Kingdom
Founder/s Keith Wiggins
Noted staff Adrian Reynard
Frank Coppuck
Noted drivers Paul Belmondo
Bertrand Gachot
Giovanni Lavaggi
Jean-Denis Délétraz
Andrea Montermini
Formula One World Championship career
Debut 1994 Brazilian Grand Prix
Races competed 33 (40 starts from 66 entries)
Constructors'
Championships		 0
Drivers'
Championships		 0
Race victories 0 (Best: 8th, 1995 German Grand Prix)
Pole positions 0 (Best: 19th, 1995 Japanese Grand Prix)
Fastest laps 0
Final race 1995 Australian Grand Prix
Formula One Portal

Pacific Racing was a Formula One team from Great Britain. The team took part in two full seasons, 1994 and 1995, entering 33 Grands Prix.

Contents

[edit] Origins and success in lower formulae

The team was founded by former mechanic Keith Wiggins in 1984, to race in the European Formula Ford Championship, with Norwegian driver Harald Huysman and Marlboro backing. Huysman won both the European and Benelux titles. On Huysman's advice, Pacific entered Bertrand Gachot in British Formula Ford with a Reynard in 1985. The following year, Gachot, also part of the Marlboro World Championship team, won the Formula Ford 2000 crown for Pacific. Marlboro stayed with Wiggins' team in FF2000 in 1987, winning the British title with J.J. Lehto.

In 1988, Pacific entered the British F3 Championship with Lehto and a Reynard car, and won the title on their first attempt. Wiggins did not want to stay in F3 and moved up to Formula 3000, once more in association with Reynard and Marlboro. However, Lehto and Eddie Irvine's season was disappointing and the tobacco company's support moved to rival DAMS in 1990. The team returned to form in 1991, taking Christian Fittipaldi to the F3000 crown.

[edit] Formula One

Having won in every junior category it had participated in, by 1992 Wiggins was determined that Pacific Racing would make the step up to F1 for the 1993 season, in the process renaming the team as Pacific Grand Prix. Lacking an in-house engineering staff and conscious of how limited his timescale was, Wiggins contacted F3000 constructor Reynard Racing to design and build the new PR01 chassis, hoping to benefit from several years of research and development that Reynard had invested in their recently scrapped in-house F1 project. Unfortunately for Pacific, the Rory Byrne-led design team had gone to Benetton at the end of 1991 and Reynard had sold the design (still in form of paper drawings) to Ligier. The small PR01 design team, working at Reynard but nominally employed by Pacific to conform to FIA Regulations, were forced to start a new design based on what little of the Reynard F1 research remained and utilizing a number of minor components from Reynard's F3000 chassis in an attempt to constrain costs. With their roots in the same project, the resulting Benetton B193, Liger JS37 and Pacific PR01 shared the same slab-sided, raised-nose profile that later became standard in Formula One.

Bertrand Gachot leads Paul Belmondo in practice for the 1994 Pacific Grand Prix.
Bertrand Gachot leads Paul Belmondo in practice for the 1994 Pacific Grand Prix.

Unfortunately, a recession and resulting failure of investors to pay up postponed their 1993 entry and they were unable to enter F1 until 1994. The year was a disaster. Paul Belmondo and former Pacific driver Bertrand Gachot started the season as drivers, with Oliver Gavin testing. The PR01, designed for the 1993 season, had undergone none of the vital wind tunnel testing required to refine the car's aerodynamics, had seen only a few dozen miles of track testing and its Ilmor 3.5 L V10 engine was underpowered by 1994 standards. That season the team did not finish a single race and from the French Grand Prix onwards, neither car qualified. They scored a total of zero points that season.

By 1995, having merged with the dying Team Lotus, things looked up. The obsolete Ilmor engines had been replaced by Ford ED V8s and a whole host of new sponsors were brought in. Good news also came when the PR02 was guaranteed a start each race, with Larrousse and Lotus disappearing from the entry lists and only Forti coming in. Belmondo had been replaced with Andrea Montermini. Having had no luck in the first half of the season, team partner Gachot vacated his seat in mid-1995, making way for two pay-drivers, Giovanni Lavaggi and, later, Jean-Denis Deletraz. Gachot later returned after the money of the two pay-drivers dried up, with Pacific's best finishes that season being 8th in the German and Australian Grands Prix.

[edit] Withdrawal and aftermath

At the end of the 1995 season, the team withdrew from Formula One and Wiggins went back to Formula 3000, resurrecting Pacific Racing with Olivier Tichy and Marc Gené as drivers. Gené left the team after his accident at Pau, and Tichy continued alone until the team quit in mid-season. In 1997 Wiggins also attempted to enter sportscar racing and the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a heavily modified BRM chassis known as the P301 and using Nissan engines. Following a series of failures for the project into 1998, Wiggins closed the team.

Wiggins joined Lola and helped the constructor reclaim ground in the Champ Car World Series. With a foothold in the United States, the mechanic-turned-team manager joined up with the Herdez brewery and in 2000 acquired Bettenhausen Motorsports, renaming it HVM Racing, which he still runs today. In 2006, Paul Stoddart, former owner of the Minardi Formula 1 team, bought an interest in the team and re-christened it Minardi Team USA.

[edit] Racing record

[edit] Results summary

Year Championship Car # Driver(s) Races Wins Poles Fastest laps Points DC/WDC TC/WCC
1984 Benelux Formula Ford 1600[1] Flag of Norway Harald Huysman 1st
European Formula Ford 1600[1] Flag of Norway Harald Huysman 1st
1985 British Formula Ford 1600[1] Reynard Flag of Belgium Bertrand Gachot
1986 British Formula Ford 2000[1] Reynard Flag of Belgium Bertrand Gachot 1st
1987 British Formula Ford 2000[2] Flag of Finland JJ Lehto 1st
European Formula Ford[2] Flag of Finland JJ Lehto 1st
1988 British Formula Three[2][3][4] Reynard-Toyota Flag of Finland JJ Lehto 18 8 6 11 113 1st n/a
Flag of the United Kingdom John Alcorn 21* 7th
Flag of Canada Evan Demoulas 8 0 0 0 0 NC
Macau Grand Prix[5] Reynard-Toyota 2 Flag of Finland JJ Lehto 1 0 0 0 n/a Ret n/a
1989 Formula 3000 Reynard-Mugen 24 Flag of the United Kingdom Eddie Irvine 10 0 0 0 11 9th 7th
25 Flag of Finland JJ Lehto 9 0 0 0 6 13th
Flag of the United Kingdom Allan McNish 1 0 0 0 0 NC
1990 Formula 3000 Lola-Mugen 24 Flag of Canada Stéphane Proulx 11 0 0 1 0 NC NC
25 Flag of Brazil Marco Greco 2 0 0 0 0 NC
Flag of Canada Claude Bourbonnais 2 0 0 0 0 NC
1991 Formula 3000 Reynard-Mugen 29 Flag of Italy Antonio Tamburini 10 1 0 1 22 4th 1st
30 Flag of Brazil Christian Fittipaldi 10 2 4 1 47 1st
1992 Formula 3000 Reynard-Mugen 1 Flag of France Laurent Aïello 10 0 0 0 3 13th 4th
2 Flag of Spain Jordi Gené 10 1 1 0 21 5th
1993 Formula 3000 Reynard-Cosworth 8 Flag of the United Kingdom David Coulthard 9 1 0 2 25 3rd 4th
9 Flag of Germany Michael Bartels 7 0 0 0 4 =11th
Flag of the United Kingdom Phil Andrews 2 0 0 0 0 NC
1994 Formula One Pacific-Ilmor 33 Flag of France Paul Belmondo 16 0 0 0 0 NC NC
34 Flag of Belgium Bertrand Gachot 16 0 0 0 0 NC
1995 Formula One Pacific-Ford 16 Flag of Belgium Bertrand Gachot 11 0 0 0 0 NC NC
Flag of Italy Giovanni Lavaggi 4 0 0 0 0 NC
Flag of Switzerland Jean-Denis Délétraz 2 0 0 0 0 NC
17 Flag of Italy Andrea Montermini 16 0 0 0 0 NC
1996 Formula 3000 Lola-Zytek 28 Flag of France Patrick Lemarié 16 0 0 0 2 =13th 7th
29 Flag of Brazil Cristiano da Matta 16 0 0 0 7 =8th
1997 Formula 3000 Lola-Zytek 14 Flag of Austria Oliver Tichy 8 0 0 0 14* 7th 9th
15 Flag of Spain Marc Gené 2 0 0 1 0 NC

* Including points scored for other teams.

[edit] Complete Formula 3000 results [6] [7]

(key)

Year Chassis Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Points TC
1989 Reynard 89D Mugen V8 A SIL VAL PAU JER PER BH BIR SPA BUG DIJ 17 7th
Eddie Irvine DNS Ret DSQ Ret 3 Ret 6 9 4 4
JJ Lehto DSQ Ret 4 6 Ret Ret Ret 5 Ret
Allan McNish 8
1990 Lola T90/50 Mugen V8 A DON SIL PAU JER MON PER HOC BH BIR BUG NOG 0 NC
Stéphane Proulx 12 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 10 Ret Ret Ret 7
Marco Greco DNQ DNQ
Claude Bourbonnais DNQ DNQ
1991 Reynard 91D Mugen V8 A VAL PAU JER MUG PER HOC BH SPA BUG NOG 69 1st
Antonio Tamburini 3 10 4 7 4 6 5 Ret 1 Ret
Christian Fittipaldi 2 2 1 3 DSQ 4 3 Ret 2 1
1992 Reynard 92D Mugen V8 A SIL PAU CAT PER HOC NÜR SPA ALB NOG MAG 24 4th
Laurent Aïello Ret Ret Ret 11 10 5 6 Ret 7 Ret
Jordi Gené 1 Ret 3 Ret 5 8 2 Ret 8 10
1993 Reynard 93D Cosworth V8 A DON SIL PAU PER HOC NÜR SPA MAG NOG 29 4th
David Coulthard 13 2 2 1 Ret 7 3 Ret Ret
Michael Bartels Ret 3 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret
Phil Andrews DSQ 13
1996 Lola T96/50 Zytek V8 A NÜR PAU PER HOC SIL SPA MAG EST MUG HOC 9 7th
Patrick Lemarié 12 5 13 10 8 Ret 8 15 Ret 8
Cristiano da Matta 9 4 5 Ret Ret 10 5 7 20 Ret
1997 Lola T96/50 Zytek V8 A SIL PAU HEL NÜR PER HOC ÖST SPA MUG JER 8 9th
Oliver Tichy 8 8 2 9 Ret 7 5 Ret
Marc Gené 13 DNQ

[edit] Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year Chassis Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Points WCC
1994 Pacific PR01 Ilmor 2175A V10 G BRA PAC SMR MON ESP CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR EUR JPN AUS 0 NC
Paul Belmondo DNQ DNQ DNQ Ret Ret DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
Bertrand Gachot Ret DNQ Ret Ret Ret Ret DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
1995 Pacific PR02 Ford ED V8 G BRA ARG SMR ESP MON CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR EUR PAC JPN AUS 0 NC
Bertrand Gachot Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 12 Ret Ret 8
Giovanni Lavaggi Ret Ret Ret Ret
Jean-Denis Deletraz Ret NC
Andrea Montermini 9 Ret Ret DNS DSQ Ret NC Ret 8 12 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Constructors: Pacific Grand Prix. GrandPrix.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-03.
  2. ^ a b c Jyrki Järvilehto career statistics. Driver Database. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  3. ^ Evan Demoulas career statistics. Driver Database. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  4. ^ Pitkänen, Seppo. F3 British Championships 1988 (GB). Driver Database. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  5. ^ 1988 Macau Grand Prix. Formel3Guide.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-08.
  6. ^ GP2 & F3000. Speedsport Magazine. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  7. ^ Formula 3000 results, 1989-1997. Racing Database. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Pacific Racing
v • d • e
Formula One constructors
Current (2008)
 
Former constructors

AFM · AGS · Alfa Romeo · Alta · Amon · Andrea Moda · Apollon · Arrows · Arzani-Volpini · Aston-Butterworth · Aston Martin · ATS (Italy) · ATS (Germany) · BAR · Behra-Porsche · Bellasi · Benetton · Boro · Brabham · BRM · BRP · Bugatti · Cisitalia · Coloni · Connaught · Connew · Cooper · Cosworth · Dallara · De Tomaso · Delahaye · Derrington-Francis · Dome · Eagle · Eifelland · Emeryson · EMW · ENB · Ensign · ERA · EuroBrun · Ferguson · FIRST · Fittipaldi · Fondmetal · Footwork · Forti · Frazer Nash · Fry · Gilby · Gordini · Greifzu · Hesketh · Hill · HWM · Jaguar · JBW · Jordan · Kauhsen · Klenk · Kojima · Kurtis Kraft · Lancia · Larrousse · LDS · LEC · Leyton House · Life · Ligier · Lola · Lotus · Lyncar · Maki · March · Martini · Maserati · Matra · McGuire · Mercedes-Benz · Merzario · Midland · Minardi · Modena · Onyx · OSCA · Osella · Pacific · Parnelli · Penske · Porsche · Prost · RAM · Rebaque · Reynard · Rial · Sauber · Scarab · Scirocco · Shadow · Shannon · Simtek · Spirit · Stebro · Stewart · Super Aguri · Surtees · Spyker · Talbot · Talbot-Lago · Tec-Mec · Tecno · Theodore · Token · Toleman · Trojan · Tyrrell · Vanwall · Veritas · Williams (FWRC) · Wolf · Zakspeed
Although World Championship races held in 1952 and 1953 were run to Formula Two regulations, constructors who only participated during this period are included herein to maintain Championship continuity. Constructors whose only participation in the World Championship was in the Indianapolis 500 races between 1950 and 1960 are not listed.