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Zilch Series: Automobili Turismo e Sport

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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 Automobili Turismo e Sport.

Automobili Turismo e Sport, more commonly referred to simply as ATS, was an Italian automotive company founded by Carlo Chiti and Giotto Bizzarrini. Chiti was a former chief engineer at Ferrari, while Bizzarrini was the experimental sports car development chief. The duo, along with other high profile Ferrari employees, were fired from the company by Enzo Ferrari for suggesting that his wife leave the company.

ATS was intended to be a direct competitor to Ferrari in motorsport as well as in production. With backing from Count Giovanni Volpi, a sports car and Formula One car were produced. The car was called the Tipo 100 and was basically a copy of the Ferrari 156 designed by Chiti for the 1961 season.

The car was ready to enter Formula One in 1963. The team contracted Phil Hill and Giancarlo Baghetti, both of which were also looking for work outside of Ferrari, having previously driven for the team. The team’s debut was at the Belgian Grand Prix, but both cars retired with gearbox issues.

The Dutch Grand Prix wasn’t much better for the team, with both drivers retiring within a few laps of each other. It wasn’t until the Italian Grand Prix that the ATS team returned to the Formula One grid. It was here that the team got their first and only classifications in the results, with Hill finishing in P11 and Baghetti in P15, although both drivers were many laps behind the leader.

The United States Grand Prix saw another double retirement in the opening laps after both drivers suffered an oil pump issue. The team’s final race in Mexico was also another double retirement. The team ended the season with neither driver having scored any points.

With no money, the team went bankrupt and the founders moved on to other projects.

About Zilch Series

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.

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