1980 Tyrrell 010 Thackwell

Tyrrell 010 designed by Maurice Philippe was used by team Tyrrell in 1980 and in first half of the 1981 Formula One season. The carbon fibre monococque chassis and  Ford-Cosworth DFV engine were conventional car features. In 1980 Team Tyrrell continued to run with the sponsorship from Candy, Italian appliance manufacturing group. The team drivers Jean-Pierre Jarier and Derek Daly were able to finish in points from time to time – they scored  6 points each promoting the team to the 6^th position in the Constructors’ Championship. For the last 2 rounds of the Championship in North America Tyrrell even entered the third car for young New Zealander Mike Thakcwell. He had been signed by Ken Tyrrell to be a test driver for the Tyrrell F1 team, alongside his F2 campaign. In the 1980 Dutch GP Thackwell made his first appearance as the official F1 pilot driving Arrows as a replacement for  injured Johen Mass, but did not qualify. Mike debuted few weeks later in Canada driving for Tyrrell. The race was red flagged in the first lap because of collision between  Alan Jones and Nelson Piquet. The cars were sent to pit lane, the original start was declared null and void and the race starts anew. Thackwell was forced to give his car to Jarier who damaged his own car in the collision. 19 years old New Zealander often considered that as the youngest driver to start a Formula One race at that time, but due to official  zeroing of the first start this claim is arguable.  In the next event, the US Grand Prix, Thackwell did not qualify. His next and last episodic appearance in F1 is dated to 1984 when he was entered twice for RAM and Tyrrell. In 1984 Thackwell won the last European Formula 2 championship, and in 1985 was 2^nd in the first season of the F2 successor, International Formula 3000 championship. Thackwell, the very capable driver, drove sporadically in many other series, but never got a chance to fully realize his abilities. The New Zealander definitely is one of the greatest lost talents in motor racing.

Season	Series	Event
1980	F1WC	Canadian GP
Driver	No.	Entrant
Mike Thackwell	43	Candy Team Tyrrell
Scale	Manufacturer	Collection
1:43	Spark
Cat. No.	Quality	Rarity
S1885