 BRM P201 being demonstrated atMallory Park in 2009 | |||||||||
| Category | Formula One | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | British Racing Motors | ||||||||
| Designer(s) | Mike Pilbeam | ||||||||
| Predecessor | P160 /P180 | ||||||||
| Successor | P207 | ||||||||
| Technical specifications[1] | |||||||||
| Chassis | Aluminium alloymonocoque | ||||||||
| Axle track | Front: 1,540 mm (61 in) Rear 1,560 mm (61 in) | ||||||||
| Wheelbase | 2,591 mm (102.0 in) | ||||||||
| Engine | BRM 2,998 cc (182.9 cu in)V12naturally aspirated,mid-mounted | ||||||||
| Transmission | BRM 5-speedmanual | ||||||||
| Weight | 586 kg (1,291.9 lb) | ||||||||
| Tyres | Firestone(1974) Goodyear(1975–1977) | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable entrants | Stanley BRM / Team Motul BRM | ||||||||
| Notable drivers |  Jean-Pierre Beltoise Chris AmonHenri Pescarolo | ||||||||
| Debut | 1974 South African Grand Prix | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| n.b. Unless otherwise stated, all data refer to Formula One World Championship Grands Prix only. | |||||||||
TheBRM P201 is aFormula One racing car built byBritish Racing Motors and designed byMike Pilbeam, which raced in the1974 and1975 seasons and inP201B specification in1976 and1977. The P201 featured a triangular monocoque, hip-level radiators, outboard front springs and inboard brakes.[2] It used a 3.0-litreV12 engine and competed in 26 races, making 36 individual entries in total. Its best finish was second place forJean-Pierre Beltoise at the1974 South African Grand Prix, on the car's debut.
The car made its debut in the1974 South African Grand Prix, driven byJean-Pierre Beltoise, who qualified in 11th position. However, Beltoise was able to use qualifying tyres in the race due to the P201's handling, and was able to drive through the field for a second-place finish.[2][3] At theSpanish Grand Prix, Beltoise again qualified 11th but retired after two laps, with an engine problem.[4] AtBelgium, he qualified seventh and finished fifth.[5] AtMonaco, Beltoise, who had qualified 11th and led the first practice times at one point, was in collision withDenny Hulme'sMcLaren on the first lap when the New Zealander got off-line and in attempting to rejoin, triggered a multiple accident.[6] For this race, a second P201 chassis had been produced with outboard frontdisc brakes rather thaninboard but was not used.[6]
AtSweden,Henri Pescarolo drove the second chassis, with the brakes moved inboard, and he and Beltoise qualified 19th and 13th respectively. However, both retired, Pescarolo on lap one through fire and his teammate on lap three with an engine problem.[7] At the1974 Dutch Grand Prix, Beltoise tried both P201 chassis and raced the newer one. Pescarolo drove the second car in one practice session only and eventually raced aP160. The earlier P201 chassis was raced byFrançois Migault who retired on lap 60 with gear linkage problems having qualified 25th, and last, on the grid. Beltoise qualified 16th and retired on lap 19, also with a gearbox problem.[8]
At theFrench Grand Prix, the earlier chassis was adapted to suit Pescarolo and Beltoise drove the later car, which had modified cylinder heads. Beltoise qualified 17th and finished 10th. Pescarolo started 19th, 0.3secs behind his teammate, and retired after one lap due to clutch problems after a lengthy hold at the start.[9] At theBritish Grand Prix, Beltoise qualified 23rd and Pescarolo 24th, after ignition, wheel and engine problems. Both were out-qualified by Migault in a P160, in 14th place. In the race, Beltoise finished 12th, three laps behind, and Pescarolo retired on lap 65 with an engine problem.[10]
At theGerman Grand Prix, Beltoise was in P201/02 and a third P201 chassis had been built for Pescarolo. The two drivers qualified 15th and 24th respectively. The first P201 chassis was being rebuilt for Migault who used a P160 for this race. Pescarolo finished tenth, more than four minutes behind the winnerClay Regazzoni, and Beltoise retired on lap 5 when the engine stopped.[11] For theAustrian Grand Prix, BRM made only one entry as a result of internal difficulties and Beltoise had P201/02 and P201/03 available. He practised both cars, qualified 18th, raced02, and retired on lap 22 with engine failure.[12]
AtMonza, a fourth chassis was produced which was used by Pescarolo. Beltoise used P201/03 and Migault P201/02. Beltoise qualified 11th, Migault 24th, and Pescarolo 25th and last. Beltoise and Migault both retired after one lap with electrical and gearbox failure respectively. Pescarolo retired on lap 4 with engine failure.[13]
AtCanada, Pescarolo and Migault were both dropped from the team and Beltoise was joined byChris Amon after the closure ofhis own team. Amon drove P201/04, qualifying 25th and Beltoise03, qualifying 17th. Amon finished 17th, but was 10 laps behind and Beltoise 18th, 20 laps behind. Both were officially not-classified.[14] At theAmerican Grand Prix, Beltoise did not qualify after crashing P201/03 in practice but Amon qualified04 in 12th position and finished ninth, 2 laps down.[15]
At the end of the1974 season, Beltoise retired from F1 and Pescarolo left the team. BRM P201s participated in 11 of the 15 races in1975, with one entry on each occasion. British driverMike Wilds competed in the first two races, atArgentina andBrazil. He qualified 22nd at each race and retired from both, with engine failure (24 laps) and a broken flywheel (22 laps) respectively. He drove chassis No. P201/04 on each occasion.[16][17]
Wilds was replaced forSouth Africa, by British driverBob Evans. Evans qualified P201/02 in 24th place and finished 15th, 2 laps down.[18] At theSpanish Grand Prix, he qualified a new chassis, P201/05, in 23rd position and retired after seven laps with fuel system problems.[19] AtMonaco, Evans failed to qualify chassis05.[20] InBelgium, he qualified P201/02 in 20th position and finished ninth, 2 laps down.[21] For theSwedish Grand Prix, Evans resumed in P201/05, qualified 23rd and finished 13th, two laps behind.[22] At theDutch Grand Prix, he qualified P201/05 in 20th position but retired after 23 laps with transmission problems.[23] At theFrench Grand Prix, Evans qualified P201/02 in 25th place and finished 17th two laps down.[24]
The BRM team did not appear at theBritish orGerman Grands Prix stating that theV12 engine was felt to be uncompetitive.[25] However, Evans qualified P201/02 in 22nd place but retired with engine problems (3 laps) at theAustrian Grand Prix.[26] At theItalian Grand Prix, he qualified P201/05 in 20th position, but retired on lap one with electrical problems.[27]
The BRM P201, upgraded to P201B specification, made only one appearance in each of the1976 and1977 seasons.[28] At the1976 Brazilian Grand Prix, British driverIan Ashley qualified chassis P201/04 in 21st place and retired on lap three, with oil pump failure.[29] BRM did not enter any further races in 1976 and after a non-appearance at the next race, inSouth Africa, the team was reported to have closed.[30]
However, the team entered nine races in 1977, with the un-competitiveBRM P207 qualifying only once. In addition, AustralianLarry Perkins drove P201/04 at theSouth African Grand Prix, qualifying 22nd and finishing 15th, five laps behind winnerNiki Lauda and three laps behind the rest of the field.[31]
Of the five P201s built, four survive, and three have appeared in historic racing.[2]
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | MotulTeam BRM | BRM P200V12 | F | ARG | BRA | RSA | ESP | BEL | MON | SWE | NED | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | ITA | CAN | USA | 10‡ | 7th‡ | |||
| Beltoise | 2 | Ret | 5 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 10 | 12 | Ret | Ret | Ret | NC | DNQ | ||||||||||
| Pescarolo | Ret | PO | Ret | Ret | 10 | Ret | |||||||||||||||||
| Migault | Ret | Ret | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Amon | NC | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1975 | Stanley BRM | BRM P200V12 | G | ARG | BRA | RSA | ESP | MON | BEL | SWE | NED | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | ITA | USA | 0 | — | ||||
| Wilds | Ret | Ret | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Evans | 15 | Ret | DNQ | 9 | 13 | Ret | 17 | Ret | Ret | ||||||||||||||
| 1976 | Stanley BRM | BRM P200V12 | G | BRA | RSA | USW | ESP | BEL | MON | SWE | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | NED | ITA | CAN | USA | JPN | 0 | — | ||
| Ashley | Ret | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1977 | Rotary WatchesStanley BRM | BRM P200V12 | G | ARG | BRA | RSA | USW | ESP | MON | BEL | SWE | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | NED | ITA | USA | CAN | JPN | 0 | — | |
| Perkins | 15 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
‡ Points were also scored by the P160 chassis.
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Engine | Driver | Tyres | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Stanley BRM | BRM P200V12 | G | ROC | INT | SUI | |
| Evans | 6 | 10 | |||||
| 1976 | Stanley BRM | BRM P200V12 | G | ROC | INT | ||
| Ashley | DNA | ||||||
| Perkins | DNA | ||||||
Source:[2] | |||||||
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