It’s that time of the week again: time for us to look at the past teams that made an exit from the sport of Formula One, having scored no points. This week, we remember Ferguson Research.
Ferguson Research was a company founded by engineer and inventor Harry Ferguson. Ferguson was widely known for his work in the development of the modern farming tractor and as the first person in the UK to build and successfully fly his own airplane.
He also developed the Ferguson 4WD system which he offered to carmakers. Unfortunately, the concept was rejected by manufactures, so Ferguson decided to prove that the concept worked in the highest level of motorsport: Formula One.
Ferguson designed the front-engined Ferguson P99 chassis with a Climax engine in 1960. After his death later that year, the car was purchased by Rob Walker Racing and entered into the British Grand Prix in 1961. The car was driven by Jack Fairman, but he later pulled into the pits and gave the car to Stirling Moss whose Lotus had suffered a brake failure. The car was disqualified from the event on lap 56 for a push start in the pits.
The car was also entered into the International Gold Cup non-championship event later that year where it would enter the history books. Driven by Moss around a wet Oulton Park circuit, the car came home 46 seconds ahead of everyone else.
The P99 was the first 4WD car to win a Formula One event, as well as the last front-engine car to do so. During a 1997 interview, Moss said that the P99 was his favourite Formula One car that he had drove.
Points are a difficult thing to obtain in Formula One. In this weekly series, we will look back the past teams who gave it their all, but fell short.
Points are a difficult thing to obtain in Formula One. In this weekly series, we will look back the past teams who gave it their all, but fell short.
