Nelson Piquet awaits ‘tweaks’ during Hungarian Grand Prix practice in 1988, it wasn’t a good weekend, Q13 and 8th, the race won by Senna’s McLaren Honda MP4/4…
The complex plumbing of the turbo-cars never ceases to amaze. It’s interesting to compare the architecture of the successful 1984/5 Porsche TAG-Turbo ‘TTE P01’ engine; the packaging of which was specified by its customers chassis designer, McLaren’s John Barnard, and this Honda V6 which didn’t have a chassis man ‘standing on the engine designers chest’!
A rather successful series of engines all the same!
1984 Porsche-TAG ‘TTE P01’ 1.5 V6 engine in the McLaren MP4/2 chassis. John Barnard’s brief to Porsche was strongly driven by the brilliance of the Ford Cosworth DFV, the packaging of which was influenced, read prescribed by ‘chassis-man’ Colin Chapman. Distance across the cam-boxes, crank height and engine mount to chassis were ‘lifts’ from the DFV. Note ‘McLaren tail’, big de-aerating oil tank beside suspension rocker, low-slung KKK turbo, intercooler and carbon fibre tub, Barnard its pioneer as chassis material with the first MP4 McLaren in 1980 (Doug Nye)
Not a good year for Lotus, or anyone else, McLaren in the other Honda RA168E 1.5 V6 engined cars ‘disappeared into the sunset’, winning all but the Italian Grand Prix, Gerhard Berger took the Monza race for Ferrari; 7 wins for Prost and 8 for Senna, with Senna taking his first title and McLaren the constructors of course.
Credits…
Rainer Schlegelmilch, LAT, Doug Nye ‘History of The GP Car ’65-85’)
Tailpiece…
Piquet, Monaco 1988. Q11 and DNF after a lap 1 collision, race won by Prost’s McLaren (LAT)
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