Page 1 of 2 Next >> On the back of a successful debut season with the TS7, Team Surtees returned in 1971 with an substantial evolution of the original design. This design was originally created by John Surtees in outlines with the help of Peter Connew and Shabab Ahmed to fill in the details. The success in 1970 also attracted enough additional funding from new sponsor Brooke Bond Oxo for the team to field two full season entries; one for John Surtees himself and the second for Rolf Stommelen.
Thanks to its unusually angular monocoque chassis, the TS9 was immediately recognisable as a Surtees. The design was nevertheless refined and lower to shave some weight off the relatively heavy 1970 car. The handling was further improved by widening the front and rear track, and lengthening the wheelbase. What was retained was the Cosworth DFV engine, again used as a fully stressed member of the chassis. Like the monocoque itself, the arrow-shaped nose was slightly lower and as in 1970 housed the radiator.
For the opening round in South Africa, just a single TS9 was ready with both Rolf Stommelen and Brian Redman racing TS7s. Surtees qualified the new car sixth on the grid but retired from the race early. It would prove to be a difficult season for the team with Surtees and Stommelen both finishing fifth and sixth once. The most successful TS9 driver of the year was, like John Surtees himself, a motorcycle by trade; Mike Hailwood. In his first of two outings with the Surtees, he finished an impressive fourth in the Italian Grand Prix just 0.14s behind the winner. Page 1 of 2 Next >>
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On the back of a successful debut season with the TS7, Team Surtees returned in 1971 with an substantial evolution of the original design. This design was originally created by John Surtees in outlines with the help of Peter Connew and Shabab Ahmed to fill in the details. The success in 1970 also attracted enough additional funding from new sponsor Brooke Bond Oxo for the team to field two full season entries; one for John Surtees himself and the second for Rolf Stommelen.