The Formula One community lost one of its finest on August 25th, when former team owner Ken Tyrrell lost his silent battle with cancer at the age of 77.
Tyrrell got his start in racing shortly after World War II, when he competed for six seasons in an F3 Cooper-Norton. After being beaten by a young newcomer named Bruce McLaren in 1958, Tyrrell decided to hang up his helmet and focus his energies on team management rather than driving.
Tyrrell Racing started with a team of Formula Juniors and later ran the Cooper Formula One operation while John Cooper recovered from injuries sustained in a testing accident. In 1964, Tyrrell gave a young Scot by the name of Jackie Stewart a test drive and was so impressed with his speed that he signed him on the spot. Tyrrell ran Stewart in F2 for several years until 1968, when he acquired a Cosworth DFV and a Matra chassis for Stewart to race in Formula One. In 1969, Stewart drove the Matra/Ford combination to his and Tyrrell’s first Formula One World Championships. Tyrrell began building his own cars in 1970, and within a year, the new Tyrrell proved virtually unstoppable, allowing Stewart to again win the Driver’s Championship in ’71 and ’73 with Tyrrell claiming the Manufacturer’s cup in ’71.
In the following years, the Tyrrell Racing Organisation would enjoy off-and-on success with the likes of Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler, but by the late ’90s the team was finding it increasingly hard to stay competitive. Eventually, Tyrrell sold all of his racing interests to the new British American Racing team and retired from the sport. According to Stewart, “He made a great contribution to British motorsport and was a man of the highest integrity.” Ken Tyrrell will be sorely missed.
Casey Annis
