“1978, the final act”, this is how the last season in the top series can be summed up for the team founded by the 1964 World Champion, John Surtees. The constructor’s adventure, which began in 1970, came to an end with the Surtees TS20, the last single-seater built by the British team.
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| SURTEES TS20, Vittorio Brambilla Jarama, Spanish GP 1978 |
The TS20 took to the track in 1978 with Italian driver Vittorio Brambilla, retained from the previous season, and British driver Rupert Keegan, who arrived from Hesketh. As in previous years, the team's policy was to maximize revenue through the sale of advertising space on its cars. Thus, in 1978, the two TS20s raced under different names depending on their main sponsor: Beta Team Surtees for Brambilla and Durex Team Surtees for Keegan.
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| SURTEES TS20, Rupert Keegan Hockenheimring, German GP 1978 |
The car was designed by John Surtees himself, together with engineer Ken Sears, and was powered by the classic Ford Cosworth DFV V8 2997 cc engine, paired with a six-speed Hewland FGA 400 gearbox. The aluminum monocoque chassis had a wheelbase of 2642 mm, but its high weight of 601 kg significantly compromised its performance. Due to chronic financial constraints, the TS20 was essentially an updated version of the TS19, with only minor modifications to the nose: the traditional "snowplow" design was abandoned in favor of a rectangular air intake in the center.
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| SURTEES TS20, Vittorio Brambilla Montecarlo, Monaco GP 1978 |
Towards the end of the season, the team faced serious financial difficulties and the declining health of John Surtees. As a result, the two regular drivers were replaced by paying drivers, including Frenchman René Arnoux and Italians Beppe Gabbiani and Carlo Franchi, known as "Gimax," in an attempt to secure financial resources. Despite the fact that a preliminary wind tunnel model of the TS21 ground-effect car had already been conceived for 1979, Surtees decided to shut down his team at the end of the season.
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| SURTEES TS20, Rupert Keegan Jarama, Spanish GP 1978 |
In the 1978 Formula 1 World Championship, the TS20 scored just one point, thanks to Brambilla’s sixth-place finish in the Austrian Grand Prix. After withdrawing from Formula 1, the car continued to compete with private teams in the 1979 and 1980 seasons of the British Formula 1 Championship, known as "Formula Aurora."
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