A VERY SPECIAL TYRRELL OCCASION
Five former drivers, the Tyrrell family and over 50 former Tyrrell employees gathered at Brooklands Museum for a very special reunion to mark the launch of the latest book published by Evro, TYRRELL: THE STORY OF THE TYRRELL RACING ORGANISATION, by Richard Jenkins.
The legendary Sir Jackie Stewart OBE was reunited not only with the very first Tyrrell car, the 001, still owned by the Tyrrell family, but four of his mechanics from his time at Tyrrell, to mark 50 years since he won the last of his three World Championship titles.
Four other ’70s and ’80s Tyrrell drivers — Martin Brundle, Eddie Cheever, Brian Henton and Geoff Lees — joined Sir Jackie on the day and two other Tyrrell cars — 011 and 012 — were also in attendance.
After much happy reuniting, with some former employees seeing each other again for the first time in over 40 years, everyone gathered for a Q & A session with the author. Stewart, Cheever, Henton and Brundle recalled their driving days, whilst aerodynamicist Jean-Claude Migeot talked about his famous Tyrrell creation — the ‘high’ nose that was introduced on the 019 and still prevails in F1 — and his memories of working with celebrated designer Harvey Postlethwaite.
But as Stewart and Henton both explained during a Q & A with the author, the real heroes at Tyrrell were the men who built strong, reliable cars that made life safer for the drivers. Many former engineers, designers, mechanics and fabricators joined the festivities along with members of the Tyrrell family, including Ken’s sons Kenneth and Bob.
To everyone’s delight, all three Tyrrell cars had their engines fired up in a cacophony of Cosworth sound.
Our photos, courtesy of Don Wales Photography, show: author Richard Jenkins with Sir Jackie and Bob Tyrrell; Sir Jackie addressing the audience; the cars being fired up; former Tyrrell drivers Eddie Cheever and Martin Brundle; and the entire gathering of Tyrrell people on the day.