View source for Eagle Mk1

{{Racing car |
  Car_name         = Eagle Mk1 (''T1G'')|
  Image            = Dan Gurney Eagle Mk1 Goodwood Festival of Speed 2018 (41657966100).jpg |
Caption=The Eagle Mk1 at the 2018 [[Goodwood Festival of Speed]]|
  Category         = [[Formula One]] |
  WC_results_only  = Y |
  Constructor      = [[All American Racers]] |
  Designer         = [[Len Terry]] |
  Team             = [[Anglo American Racers]] |
  Drivers          = {{flagicon|USA}} [[Dan Gurney]]<br>{{flagicon|USA}} [[Phil Hill]]<br>{{flagicon|NZL}} [[Bruce McLaren]]<br>{{flagicon|USA}} [[Dan Gurney]]<br>{{flagicon|USA}} [[Bob Bondurant]]<br>{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Ludovico Scarfiotti]]<br>{{flagicon|USA}} [[Richie Ginther]]<br>{{flagicon|CAN}} [[Al Pease]] |
  Chassis          = [[Aluminium]]/[[Titanium]]-[[magnesium]] [[monocoque]] |
  Front suspension = Lower [[A-arm|wishbone]] with single top links.|
  Rear suspension  = As front. |
  Wheelbase        = {{convert|96.4|in|mm|0|abbr=on}} |
  Track            = {{convert|60|in|mm|0|abbr=on}} |
  Engine name      = Gurney-[[Weslake]] Type 58 |
  Capacity         = {{convert|2997|cc|cuin|1|abbr=on}} |
  Configuration    = [[V12 engine|V12]] |
  Turbo/NA         = [[naturally aspirated]], |
  Engine position  = [[mid-engine]]d, [[longitudinal engine|longitudinally mounted]] |
  Gearbox name     = [[Hewland]] DG300 |
  Gears            = 5-speed |
  Type             = [[Manual transmission|manual]] |
  Differential     = |
  Fuel             = [[Royal Dutch Shell|Shell]] |
  Tyres            = [[Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company|Goodyear]] |
  Debut            = [[1966 Belgian Grand Prix]],<br>[[Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps]]. |
  Races            = 26 
|First_win=[[1967 Belgian Grand Prix]]
|Last_win=1967 Belgian Grand Prix|
Last_event=[[1969 Canadian Grand Prix]]|
  Wins             = 1 |
  Cons_champ       = |
  Drivers_champ    = |
  Poles            = 0 |
  Fastest_laps     = 2 |
}}
The '''Eagle Mk1''', commonly referred to as the '''Eagle T1G''', was a [[Formula One]] [[racing car]], designed by [[Len Terry]] for [[Dan Gurney]]'s [[Anglo American Racers]] team. The Eagle, introduced for the start of the [[1966 Formula One season]], is often regarded as being one of the most beautiful Grand Prix cars ever raced at the top levels of international motorsport.<ref name=F1tech>{{cite web|title= Eagle Westlake T1G |url= http://www.f1technical.net/f1db/cars/201/eagle-westlake-t1g |work= F1Technical.net |access-date= 27 March 2013 }}</ref> Initially appearing with a 2.7L [[Coventry Climax]] inline 4-cylinder engine, the car was designed around a 3.0L Gurney-[[Weslake]] [[V12 engine|V12]] which was introduced after its first four races. In the hands of team boss Gurney, the Eagle-Weslake won the [[1967 Belgian Grand Prix]], making Dan Gurney only the second driver at the time, and one of only three to date (along with [[Jack Brabham]] and [[Bruce McLaren]]), to win a Formula One Grand Prix in a car of their own construction. 

Excluding the [[Indianapolis 500]], that win in Belgium still stands as the only win for a USA-built car as well as [[List of Formula One Grand Prix winners (constructors)#By nationality|one of only two wins]] of an [[List of Formula One constructors#Team's nationality|American-licensed]] constructor in Formula One.<ref name="allamericanracers.com">{{Cite web |url=http://allamericanracers.com/gurney_grand-prix/eagle_f1-story.html |title=Eagle Eye: The Eagle Gurney-Weslake F1 Effort |access-date=2012-08-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022150820/http://www.allamericanracers.com/gurney_grand-prix/eagle_f1-story.html |archive-date=2012-10-22 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[[Team Penske|Penske]] achieved a victory at the [[1976 Austrian Grand Prix]] having raced with an American licence, but the car was built at the British base in [[Poole]]. Though American-owned, the British-based [[Shadow Racing Cars|Shadow]] achieved a victory at the [[1977 Austrian Grand Prix]] having raced with a British licence.</ref> It was also the first win for an American constructor in a [[Grand Prix motor racing|Grand Prix]] race since the [[Jimmy Murphy (racing driver)|Jimmy Murphy]]'s triumph with [[Duesenberg]] at the [[1921 French Grand Prix]].

As of 2024, the Eagle Mk1 remains the last-ever [[Formula One car]] to utilize the [[carburetor]] fuel feed engine technology on the Climax inline-four engine.
==Design==
A highly successful motor racing driver in many disciplines, Dan Gurney had been driving in Formula One since the late 1950s. While driving for the [[Brabham]] works team, he joined with a group of prominent motor racing figures and financial backers in the United States, including [[Carroll Shelby]], to found ''All American Racers''. This effort was largely backed by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, in an effort to challenge Firestone's longtime dominance of American open-wheel racing. Inspired by the performance of [[Jack Brabham]] and [[Bruce McLaren]]'s own teams, AAR decided to enter Grand Prix racing. Then as now, the main engineering hub for Formula One manufacturers was in the United Kingdom, so AAR set up a subsidiary team known as ''Anglo American Racers'' which, while registered in the USA, was based in [[Rye, East Sussex]], [[United Kingdom|UK]] and named in deference to the cars' British Weslake engines. The cars were built in [[Santa Ana, California]], [[United States|USA]] by the ''All American Racers'' team.

To achieve AAR's dual aims of winning in both Formula One and [[Champ Car]] formulae, AAR hired ex-[[Team Lotus|Lotus]] designer Len Terry to work for the American outfit. His brief was to create a chassis that could be used both for the twisting road course circuits of the F1 series, as well as the broad ovals of the North American series. Terry was ideally placed to be able to fulfill such a brief, having just completed the [[1965 Indianapolis 500]]-winning [[Lotus 38]] for [[Colin Chapman]]'s team.

[[File:Eagle T1F.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The early, [[Coventry Climax]]-powered, version of the T1G used in {{F1|1966}} and early {{F1|1967}} prior to the introduction of the V12. The "beaked" radiator intake is clearly seen. The car wears the ''[[Royal blue#Imperial blue|Imperial blue]]'' paint, the [[List of international auto racing colors#Major competitors|national racing colour of the United States]].]]
The design of the Mk1, and its Indy sister design the Mk2, closely followed the 38, with a [[rivet]]ed [[aluminium]] [[monocoque]] central section, carrying an unstressed engine mounted behind the driver. The lines of the chassis were remarkably clean and elegant, and the car sported a distinctively beaked radiator opening at the front. Suspension components were mounted directly on to this monocoque, and consisted of a comparatively conservative lower [[a-arm|wishbone]] and single top link for each wheel which also served as a rocker for the inboard-mounted spring/damper package. The Mk1 was designed around the forthcoming [[Aubrey Woods (engineer)|Aubrey Woods]]-designed [[Weslake]] [[V12 engine|V12]] engine while the Mk2, essentially the same chassis design, was designed to accept the [[Overhead camshaft|quad-cam]] [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] [[V8 engine|V8]] that had powered the previous year's Indy 500 winner (Jim Clark, in the Terry-designed Lotus 38).

While driving for the [[British Racing Motors]] (BRM) Formula One team in 1960, Gurney became acquainted with BRM engineer Aubrey Woods, who then moved to Weslake Engineering. Through Woods, Gurney became aware of a  Weslake engine research project funded by Shell Oil. This two-cylinder, 500-cc test engine produced impressive horsepower, and Gurney extrapolated the test engine's output to a 3-liter, V12 Grand Prix engine, potentially putting out up to 450 horsepower, and he commissioned Weslake to build the engine.

While five Mk2 chassis, complete with four-cam Ford V8s, qualified for the [[1966 Indianapolis 500]], the Weslake V12 was not available for the start of the [[1966 Formula One season|Formula one season]]. The first Mk1s took to the track with old 2.7-liter [[Coventry Climax#FPF|Coventry Climax FPF]] inline-4 engines in their place. Once the Weslake was ready, however, the car proved to be highly competitive, if  unreliable. The high-revving V12 had been constructed using surplus machine tools dating from World War I, so [[Tolerance (engineering)|tolerances]] and parts interchangeability were poor. Nevertheless, when running the Weslake was an immediately arresting engine, with a distinctive V12-scream, and developed 360[[Horsepower#Brake horsepower|bhp]] even in its earliest development phase. By the end of the 1967 season this figure was over 400&nbsp;bhp, easily competing with the [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]] and [[Honda Racing F1|Honda]] V12s, and the newly introduced [[Cosworth DFV]] V8. One mechanical flaw that limited the engine's power output involved a design mistake in the oil scavenging system. This problem—discovered too late in the development process to correct—caused oil to pool in the engine's sump, slightly reducing power. Gurney described the effect as "taking the edge" off the engine after three or four laps of a race. That year [[Beatrice Shilling]] was brought in to help solve the oil problem.<ref>Matthew Freudenberg, [http://speedreaders.info/11055-negative-gravitya-life-beatrice-shilling/ "Negative Gravity: A Life of Beatrice Shilling"], ''Negative Gravity: A Life of Beatrice Shilling''</ref>

Three Mk1 chassis were produced with the original aluminium construction, but the fourth incorporated advanced and exotic metal alloys. This included extensive use of [[titanium]] for many of the componentry, and a high percentage of [[magnesium]] sheet in the monocoque panelwork. Owing to its novel construction materials this car, chassis number 104, was referred to as the ''Ti-Mag Car''. Gurney was well aware of the risks involved in driving a car made from such flammable materials. After witnessing [[Jo Schlesser]]'s death in a magnesium-fuelled fireball during the [[1968 French Grand Prix]], Gurney compared racing in 104 to "''driving a [[Ronson (company)|Ronson]] cigarette lighter''".<ref name="motorsport" />

==Race history==
The Eagle Mk1 made its race debut at the [[1966 Belgian Grand Prix]], with a single car entered for [[Dan Gurney]]. The Eagle made an instant visual impact, with its gracefully crafted chassis clothed in dark ''[[Royal blue#Imperial blue|Imperial blue]]'' paint, with a white-lipped radiator opening and a single white stripe running the length of the car's dorsal surface; an elegant interpretation of the [[List of international auto racing colors#Major competitors|national racing colour of the United States]]. Unfortunately for the team the car, despite its good looks, failed to finish. For the introduction of the new V12 engine at the [[1966 Italian Grand Prix]], Gurney took the wheel of the new car, and was joined by compatriot [[Phil Hill]] in the older Eagle-Climax. Once again it was an inauspicious start, with Hill failing to qualify, and Gurney retiring during the race. Gurney did score points during the season, at both the [[1966 French Grand Prix|French]] and [[1966 Mexican Grand Prix|Mexican]] events, but on both occasions this was with the Climax-powered car.

For the [[1967 Formula One season]] the Climax-engined chassis 101 was sold to Canadian driver [[Al Pease]], and all AAR chassis ran as Eagle-Weslake machines. The season proved to be intensely frustrating for all concerned. Although Gurney and sometime teammate [[Bruce McLaren]] managed to qualify the Eagle-Weslake cars in the front two rows of the grid on no fewer than eleven occasions from the season's eleven Grands Prix, only two cars finished a race. That both of these finishes were in podium positions highlights the raw speed of the Eagle Mk1. AAR's first major race win came in the 1967 [[Race of Champions (Brands Hatch)|Race of Champions]] at [[Brands Hatch]], with Gurney taking the aluminium-chassis 102 to victory in this prestigious non-Championship season opener. 104 was introduced at Zandvoort, the Netherlands, early in {{F1|1967}}; the lightest and fastest of the Eagle Mk1 vehicles, it was with this car that Gurney scored the team's only Championship victory: the [[1967 Belgian Grand Prix]].

By 1968, and despite increasing success in their native series, Anglo American Racers were starting to run short of funds. Development of the Eagle Mk1 was halted as the team ploughed what little funding it had into the design of its successor, the projected Mk6. Nevertheless, Gurney persisted with the older car for the first half of the [[1968 Formula One season|1968 season]], but was only rewarded with a handful of retirements and one single, ninth-placed finish. With the obviously unreliable car also, thanks to its intricate V12 engine, being one of the more expensive cars on the grid to maintain, AAR bought a [[McLaren M7A]]. Ironically it was with the McLaren, built by his previous year's AAR teammate, that Gurney scored the team's only points of the season. At the end of the season AAR closed the doors on their foray into Grand Prix racing, to concentrate their efforts on [[United States Automobile Club|USAC]] racing.

The last appearance of an Eagle Mk1 in a Formula One race was when Pease privately entered 101 for the [[1969 Canadian Grand Prix]]. Pease and the Eagle-Climax car suffered the ignominy of being the only car in the history of Formula 1 to be disqualified at a World Championship race for being too slow. The basic Mk1/Mk2 chassis design continued to be used in [[American Championship Car Racing|American National Championship]] races into the early 1970s. In common with most cars of the time, experimental wings and other aerodynamic aids - including the eponymous [[Gurney flap]] - were added to Terry's lithe chassis lines over the years, reducing the cars' visual impact and obscuring car's most noteworthy single design feature, the vestigial eagle's-beak nose.

===Formula One World Championship results===
([[:Template:F1 driver results legend 2|key]]) (results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%"
! Year
! Entrant
! Engine/s
! Tyres
! Driver
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! 11
! 12
! Points
! WCC
|-
!rowspan="4"| {{F1|1966}}
|rowspan="4"| [[Anglo American Racers]]
|rowspan="4"| [[Coventry Climax|Climax]] [[Straight-4 engine|L4]]<br>[[Weslake]] [[V12 engine|V12]]
|rowspan="4"| {{Goodyear}}
|
| [[1966 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]
| [[1966 Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]
| [[1966 French Grand Prix|FRA]]
| [[1966 British Grand Prix|GBR]]
| [[1966 Dutch Grand Prix|NED]]
| [[1966 German Grand Prix|GER]]
| [[1966 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]
| [[1966 United States Grand Prix|USA]]
| [[1966 Mexican Grand Prix|MEX]]
|
|
|
!rowspan="4" |4{{smallsup|†}}<br>0
!rowspan="4" |7th{{smallsup|†}}<br>13th
|-
| [[Dan Gurney]]
| 
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| Ret{{smallsup|†}}
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"|  5{{smallsup|†}} 
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|  Ret{{smallsup|†}} 
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|  Ret{{smallsup|†}} 
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"|  7{{smallsup|†}} 
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|  Ret 
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|  Ret 
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"|  5{{smallsup|†}} 
|
|
|
|-
| [[Phil Hill]]
| 
|
|
|
|
|
|style="background:#FFCFCF;"|  DNQ{{smallsup|†}} 
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| [[Bob Bondurant]]
| 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|style="background:#000000; color:#ffffff"|  DSQ{{smallsup|†}} 
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|  Ret 
|
|
|
|-
!rowspan="6"| {{F1|1967}}
|rowspan="5"| [[Anglo American Racers]]
|rowspan="5"| [[Coventry Climax|Climax]] [[Straight-4 engine|L4]]<br>[[Weslake]] [[V12 engine|V12]]
|rowspan="5"| {{Goodyear}}
|
| [[1967 South African Grand Prix|RSA]]
| [[1967 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]
| [[1967 Dutch Grand Prix|NED]]
| [[1967 Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]
| [[1967 French Grand Prix|FRA]]
| [[1967 British Grand Prix|GBR]]
| [[1967 German Grand Prix|GER]]
| [[1967 Canadian Grand Prix|CAN]]
| [[1967 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]
| [[1967 United States Grand Prix|USA]]
| [[1967 Mexican Grand Prix|MEX]]
|
!rowspan="6" | 0{{smallsup|†}}<br>13
!rowspan="6" | 12th{{smallsup|†}}<br>7th
|-
| [[Dan Gurney]]
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|  Ret{{smallsup|†}} 
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|  Ret 
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|  Ret 
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"|  ''1'' 
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|  Ret 
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|  Ret 
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|  ''Ret'' 
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"|  3 
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|  Ret 
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|  Ret 
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|  Ret 
|
|-
| [[Richie Ginther]]
|
|style="background:#FFCFCF;"|  DNQ 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| [[Bruce McLaren]]
|
|
|
|
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|  Ret 
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|  Ret 
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|  Ret 
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| [[Ludovico Scarfiotti]]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|  Ret 
|
|
|
|-
| [[Castrol|Castrol Oils Ltd.]]
| [[Coventry Climax|Climax]] [[Straight-4 engine|L4]]
| {{Goodyear}}
| [[Al Pease]]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"|  NC{{smallsup|†}} 
|
|
|
|
|-
!rowspan="3"| {{F1|1968}}
|rowspan="2"| [[Anglo American Racers]]
|rowspan="2"| [[Weslake]] [[V12 engine|V12]]
|rowspan="2"| {{Goodyear}}
|
| [[1968 South African Grand Prix|RSA]]
| [[1968 Spanish Grand Prix|ESP]]
| [[1968 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]
| [[1968 Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]
| [[1968 Dutch Grand Prix|NED]]
| [[1968 French Grand Prix|FRA]]
| [[1968 British Grand Prix|GBR]]
| [[1968 German Grand Prix|GER]]
| [[1968 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]
| [[1968 Canadian Grand Prix|CAN]]
| [[1968 United States Grand Prix|USA]]
| [[1968 Mexican Grand Prix|MEX]]
!rowspan="3"| 0
!rowspan="3"| NC
|-
| [[Dan Gurney]]
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|  Ret 
|
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|  Ret 
|
|
|
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|  Ret 
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"|  9 
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|  Ret 
|
|
|
|-
| [[Castrol|Castrol Oils Ltd.]]
| [[Coventry Climax|Climax]] [[Straight-4 engine|L4]]
| {{Goodyear}}
| [[Al Pease]]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|style="background:#ffffff;"|  DNS 
|
|
|-
!rowspan="2"| {{F1|1969}}
|rowspan="2"| John Maryon
|rowspan="2"| [[Coventry Climax|Climax]] [[Straight-4 engine|L4]]
|rowspan="2"| {{Firestone}}
|
| [[1969 South African Grand Prix|RSA]]
| [[1969 Spanish Grand Prix|ESP]]
| [[1969 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]
| [[1969 Dutch Grand Prix|NED]]
| [[1969 French Grand Prix|FRA]]
| [[1969 British Grand Prix|GBR]]
| [[1969 German Grand Prix|GER]]
| [[1969 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]
| [[1969 Canadian Grand Prix|CAN]]
| [[1969 United States Grand Prix|USA]]
| [[1969 Mexican Grand Prix|MEX]]
|
!rowspan="2" | 0{{smallsup|†}}
!rowspan="2" | NC{{smallsup|†}}
|-
| [[Al Pease]]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|style="background:#000000; color:#ffffff"|  DSQ{{smallsup|†}} 
|
|
|
|}
{{smallsup|†}} Climax-engined results. All other results are for Weslake-engined cars.

==Name confusion==
Although commonly referred to as the ''T1G'' (and chassis 101 as the ''T1F''), Dan Gurney has stated that this was never the car's official designation.<ref name="motorsport">Zimmermann, J. 2007. ''The Eagle was grounded''. '''Motor Sport''', LXXXIII (March 2007)</ref> Instead, the car was simply the ''Eagle Mark 1''. Hence, the four chassis produced were numbered 101, 102, 103 and 104 (the ''Ti-Mag'' car). The Indianapolis sister cars were the Mk2, with subsequent Indy designs also taking model numbers 3 and 4. The Mk5 was a [[Formula 5000|Formula A]] car adapted from the Mk 4 chassis,<ref>{{cite web|title= Eagle 68/69 'Mk 5' |url= http://www.oldracingcars.com/eagle/68-69/ |work= OldRacingCars.com |access-date= 6 October 2011 }}</ref> while Mk6 was the designation given to the still-born Formula One successor to the Mk1. With AAR's withdrawal from Grand Prix racing at the end of 1968, the team switched to a year-based chassis numeration scheme, with Indy chassis from 1971 onward taking numbers (e.g. 71xx) according to their year of design.

==References==

===Footnotes===
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
*{{cite book |last= Ludvigsen |first= Karl |author-link= Karl Ludvigsen |title= Gurney's Eagles: the Exciting Story of the AAR Racing Cars  |year= 2001 |publisher= Motorbooks International |isbn= 978-0-7603-1219-3 }}
*{{cite book |last= Ludvigsen |first= Karl |author-link= Karl Ludvigsen |title= Dan Gurney: The Ultimate Racer |year= 2000 |publisher= Haynes Publishing |isbn= 978-1-85960-655-1 }}

===Online references===
*[http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/118/Eagle-Mark-1-Weslake.html Eagle Mark I Weslake history and photos at Ultimatecarpage.com]
*[http://www.chicanef1.com/indiv.pl?name=Eagle%20T1G&type=M Eagle T1G statistics and information at ChicaneF1.com]
*[http://www.ddavid.com/formula1/eagle67.htm Eagle-Weslake history at ddavid.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027071646/http://www.ddavid.com/formula1/eagle67.htm |date=2012-10-27 }}
*[http://www.allf1.info/teams/eagle.php Eagle overview at allF1.info]
*[http://www.gurney-weslake.co.uk/ Official Gurney-Weslake home page]

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*[http://www.gurney-weslake.co.uk/ Gurney Weslake homepage.]
<br>
{{F1 cars 1966}}
{{F1 cars 1967}}
{{F1 cars 1968}}
{{F1 cars 1969}}

[[Category:Eagle Formula One cars]]
[[Category:1966 Formula One season cars]]
[[Category:1967 Formula One season cars]]
[[Category:Eagle racing cars]]