Hesketh
Hesketh was a
Formula One constructor from
1973 to
1978.
|
The official Hesketh badge |
The eccentric British
Lord Hesketh met up with
Anthony 'Bubbles' Horsley, and the pair entered various
Formula Three events around Europe in 1972, with the mission objective simply to have as much fun as possible. Unsurprisingly, given Horsley's lack of experience, results were thin on the ground. However, Hesketh met up with
James Hunt, who had a reputation for being very fast, but also for writing off cars, and as such was out of a drive. Already the Hesketh team were getting a reputation for their playboy style, arriving in races in
Rolls-Royce cars, drinking champagne regardless of their results, and checking the entire team into five-star hotels. However, by the middle of the season Hunt and 'Bubbles' had written off both
Formula Three cars, the latter deciding to leave the cockpit, switching to the team management.
|
The unofficial Hesketh badge |
Hesketh rented a
Formula Two March for the rest of 1972, and bought Hunt a
Surtees Formula Two car for 1973. Hunt then promptly wrote the car off at the Pau Grand Prix, and in typical style, Hesketh decided to move up to Formula One.
Hesketh rented a
Surtees TS9 for the non-championship
Race of Champions at
Brands Hatch, with Hunt finishing 3rd. This success led to the purchase of a
March 731, with Hesketh also signing junior
March designer
Harvey Postlethwaite to modify the chassis, working from Hesketh's
Easton Neston estate. The car made its first appearance at the
1973 Monaco Grand Prix, where Hunt ran 6th before the engine failed. He would score a point at the team's next entry, the
French Grand Prix, improve to 4th for the
British Grand Prix, then 3rd for the
Dutch Grand Prix. He then took a superb 2nd place in the season-closing
United States Grand Prix.
1974 saw Postlethwaite design an all-new car for the team, the Hesketh 308, which was ready for the
Silverstone International Trophy, which Hunt promptly won, making its Championship debut at the
Spanish Grand Prix. The car was good, taking three third places at the
Swedish Grand Prix, the
Austrian Grand Prix and the
United States Grand Prix. For 1975, examples for the 308 were sold to
Harry Stiller Racing and
Polar Caravans, while the 308 was modified for Hunt. The Englishman took a hugely popular win in the wet/dry
1975 Dutch Grand Prix, holding off
Niki Lauda's dominant
Ferrari, and also led at the
British Grand Prix and the
Austrian Grand Prix, taking several placings on his way to 4th overall.
However, early in 1976 Hunt was offered the lead drive at
McLaren, replacing
Emerson Fittipaldi, and left the team. Lord Hesketh was running low on money, having raced without sponsorship, and decided to call it a day. However, the Hesketh name would live on in
Formula One, admittedly in less glamorous circumstances. Firstly, Postlethwaite took his upgraded 308C design to
Wolf. Secondly, Horsley would upgrade the 308 to the 308D and continue as Hesketh Racing.
Harald Ertl signed to drive the car, with the team's image landing
Penthouse Magazine and
Rizla as sponsors, with
Guy Edwards joining in a second car from the
Belgian Grand Prix, with
Alex Ribeiro bringing in some funds later in the year. Ertl's 7th place at the
British Grand Prix was the team's best result of the year.
Frank Dernie designed the new 308E chassis for the 1977 season, with
Rupert Keegan driving alongside Ertl. Later in the season a third car was entered for
Hector Rebaque, with Horsley simply trying to bring in money to the team. Ertl would leave, to be replaced by
Ian Ashley, but by now Keegan's was the only entry that usually made it to the grid, and his 7th place at the
Austrian Grand Prix would be the team's best finish of the year.
1978 saw the team slimmed down to a single car, with backing from
Olympus Cameras. The car itself was barely upgraded, and
Divina Galica unsurprisingly failed to qualify for the first two races.
Eddie Cheever then managed to get into the
South African Grand Prix, retiring with a fractured oil line.
Derek Daly was the next to try the car, and at the wet
Race of Champions on his debut diced for the lead with
James Hunt's
McLaren before a stone cracked his visor and ended his race. However, in World Championship events he failed to qualify for the next three races, after which the team folded.
