Cooper T73

Last updated

Cooper T73
Cooper T71-73 Wheatcroft Straight.jpg
Category Formula One
Constructor Cooper Car Company
Designer(s) Owen Maddock
Predecessor Cooper T66
Successor Cooper T77
Technical specifications
Chassis Steel spaceframe with partial stressed panels
Suspension (front) Double wishbone, inboard coil spring and damper
Suspension (rear)Lower wishbone, upper trailing arm and transverse link, coil spring and damper
Engine Coventry Climax FWMV 1.5-litre V8, naturally aspirated, rear mid, longitudinally mounted.
Transmission Cooper 6-speed manual gearbox.
Tyres Dunlop
Competition history
Notable entrants Cooper Car Company
Notable drivers Flag of New Zealand.svg Bruce McLaren
Flag of the United States.svg Phil Hill
Flag of Austria.svg Jochen Rindt
Debut 1964 Monaco Grand Prix
RacesWins Podiums F/Laps
21020

The Cooper T73 is a 1.5-litre Formula One car, designed, developed and produced by Cooper Cars for the 1964 Formula One season.

Contents

Development

Bruce McLaren had persuaded Cooper to build a car, the T70, for the 1964 Tasman Series. It was based on the 1963 T66, and the T73 in turn was based on the T70. Consequently it still had a tubular steel chassis, but with additional stressed steel panels welded to the floor and sides. Front suspension was by double wishbones and inboard spring/dampers connected by rocker arms. At the rear there was a lower wishbone and a trailing arm connected to an upper link. The Tasman car had a small fuel tank for the shorter Tasman races, so the T73 had additional pannier tanks. As before, the Climax FWMV V8 supplied the power through a Cooper six-speed gearbox.

Racing history

The T73 was driven by Bruce McLaren and Phil Hill in 1964, debuting at the Monaco Grand Prix. McLaren's car broke a wishbone in practice and he drove the previous year's T66 in the race, while Phil Hill retired with suspension failure. Thereafter, it was another season of disappointment, with McLaren's best results being second place in Belgium and Italy. He finished seventh in the World Championship. Hill had an even worse season, scoring a solitary one point and managing to crash both his T73 and the spare T66 in Austria, resulting in his temporary sacking by John Cooper, which resulted in him sitting out the Italian Grand Prix, replaced by John Love. The season ended with Cooper fifth in the Constructors' Championship.

McLaren and new teammate Jochen Rindt raced the T73 at the 1965 South African Grand Prix, after which it was replaced by the T77, although Rindt resorted to the spare T73 at the Italian Grand Prix when he bent a valve in his main car. One of the works cars was later sold to J.A. Pearce Engineering who fitted it with a Ferrari GTO 3-litre V12 and entered it in several races in 1966 and 1967 for Chris Lawrence. It was not particularly successful although it

A derivative hybrid version, called the T71/73, was a mix between the T73 and the Formula 2 T71 chassis, powered by a 1.5 litre Ford Twin-Cam engine and built by Bob Gerard Racing and entered in the British Grand Prix in 1964 and 1965. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Formula One World Championship results

YearEntrantChassisEngineTyresDrivers12345678910WCCPoints
1964 Cooper Car Company T73 Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 D MON NED BEL FRA GBR GER AUT ITA USA MEX 5th16
Flag of the United States.svg Phil Hill 98Ret76RetRet9
Flag of New Zealand.svg Bruce McLaren 726RetRetRet2Ret7
Flag of Rhodesia (1964-1968).svg John Love DNQ
Bob Gerard Racing T71/73 Ford 109E 1.5 L4 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg John Taylor 14NC0
1965 Cooper Car Company T73 Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 D RSA MON BEL FRA GBR NED GER ITA USA MEX 5th14
Flag of New Zealand.svg Bruce McLaren 5
Flag of Austria.svg Jochen Rindt Ret8
Bob Gerard Racing T71/73 Ford 109E 1.5 L4 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alan Rollinson DNSNC0
1966 J.A. Pearce EngineeringT73 Ferrari Tipo 168 3.0 V12 D MON BEL FRA GBR NED GER ITA USA MEX NC0
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Chris Lawrence 11Ret

Formula One Non-Championship results

YearEntrantChassisEngineTyresDrivers12345678
1964 Cooper Car Company T73 Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 D DMT NWT SYR AIN INT SOL MED RAN
Flag of New Zealand.svg Bruce McLaren Ret15
Bob Gerard Racing T71/73 Ford 109E 1.5 L4 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg John Taylor 7510
1965 Bob Gerard Racing T71/73 Ford 109E 1.5 L4 D ROC SYR SMT INT MED RAN
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg John Rhodes 118Ret
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Piers Courage DNQ
1966 J.A. Pearce EngineeringT73 Ferrari Tipo 168 3.0 V12 D RSA SYR INT OUL
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Chris Lawrence 5
1967 J.A. Pearce EngineeringT73 Ferrari Tipo 168 3.0 V12 D ROC SPC INT SYR OUL ESP
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Chris Lawrence 8
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Robin Darlington WD

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References

  1. "Cooper T71/73 history".
  2. Whitelock, Mark (10 August 2006). 1 1/2-litre Grand Prix Racing: Low Power, High Tech. ISBN   9781845840167.
  3. "Cooper T73 car-by-car histories".
  4. "1964 Cooper T73 - Images, Specifications and Information".
  5. "1964 Cooper T73 Specifications".