Sunlight breaking through the trees in the New Forest
Motor sport history will be made at CarFest South at Laverstoke Park Farm in Hampshire (23-25 August) when Jody Scheckter drives the history making six-wheeled Tyrrell for the first time in nearly 40 years.
It was back in 1976 that the Tyrrell team introduced the most revolutionary car ever seen in Formula One, the ground breaking Tyrrell P34. The radical car featured not two conventional, but four much smaller front wheels designed to give additional grip and downforce – a concept since outlawed by the F1 rule makers. Two cars were built for the team’s drivers Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler to race in that year’s FIA Formula One World Championship.
The P34’s golden moment came at the Swedish Grand Prix staged at the Anderstorp circuit in June where Scheckter took pole position and then made history by becoming the only driver ever to win a Grand Prix in a six-wheeled car. Although that was the only win, in total Scheckter scored no fewer than ten top six finishes in the car from just 12 starts.
Over recent years, Scheckter has been busy collecting many of the most significant cars from his distinguished racing career including the Ferrari 312T4 in which he won the 1979 Formula One World Championship title. Recently he has added the extraordinary Tyrrell P34 to his collection – a car he will drive for the very first time in nearly four decades when CarFest South returns to his Laverstoke Park Farm in late August.
“It was a very special car, despite the fact that I was not a fan of the theory behind the design,” admits an expectant Scheckter. “The Tyrrell fascinates a lot of people – it is legendary. Although it did not perform as well as the engineers expected, I came third in the World Championships that year, so it really was part of my journey to the top of F1. The last time I drove it was in 1976, so it will certainly bring back some wonderful memories when I drive it at CarFest”.
It will be a doubly special weekend for Scheckter as he will not only take a trip down memory lane thrilling capacity crowds in his newly acquired P34 but also delight in hosting CarFest South which takes place quite literally in his own back yard as Laverstoke Park is the organic/biodynamic farm he established in Hampshire.
The three-day event – hosted by BBC Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans and raising funds for BBC Children in Need – features an amazing line-up of the world’s finest road and racing cars as well as a mouth-watering selection of fabulous festival food, great family entertainment for all ages plus live music from top bands including Texas, Keane, Ocean Colour Scene, Jools Holland and Amy Macdonald. Moreover BBC Radio 2 will be broadcasting live from Laverstoke Park on Saturday from 10:00-13:00.
With so much on offer, it’s no surprise that tickets for CarFest South have completely sold out. A limited number of Friday tickets, however, are still available for CarFest North being held at Oulton Park, Cheshire on 2-4 August.
For more information visit the official Carfest website at www.carfest.org.
