The greatest ever racing engineers thread

[xpensive]

Mauro Forghieri will always be at the top for me, how he single-handed saved the Scuderia in 1974 was and is unprecedented.

[Sebp]

If you're not winning you're not trying.

[RA168E]

Does this pertain only to formula 1 engineers? There are several other racing engineers that i think are right up there with their brilliance.

[Jersey Tom]

Mauro Forghieri will always be at the top for me, how he single-handed saved the Scuderia in 1974 was and is unprecedented.

http://www.f1journal.com/05-008/1974-1/74_11.jpg

Former coworker of mine had some good stories about ingegnere Forgieri. I think maybe back when Goodyear was first getting into radial F1 tires. Lot of good stories from the 60's through 80's in F1 in general!

But to the question.. I dunno, man. I don't even know how you'd gauge it. Lot of really talented race engineers in a lot of series who are very happy to work outside of the limelight.

[RA168E]

This is true, but im thinking of old Smokey Yunick from the 60s and 70s nascar and trans am days..His 7/8ths chevelle that he raced was an amazing piece of engineering, his Trans Am Camaro with the roll cage filled with extra fuel so they could for longer stints..and i do believe he was the one that he invented the vent tube for refueling, he was saving several SECONDS in the pits during races by having that vent so they could get more fuel in his cars. He was known for his cheating, but he had a lot of brilliant innovations.

[Greg Locock]

The truth about the 7/8 Chevelle

http://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/2013 ... -chevelle/

Nice story, load of old cobblers.

Be that as it may, I'm not even sure what a racing engineer is .

[hpras]

He did come up with the 2 inch "fuel line" that had a couple coils in it and held an extra couple gallons. All legal to the rules of the day. Really, it's all about cheating as far away from the line as you can get away with.

The truth about the 7/8 Chevelle

http://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/2013 ... -chevelle/

Nice story, load of old cobblers.

Be that as it may, I'm not even sure what a racing engineer is .

[J.A.W.]

& there is the great engineer/driver combination in one man too, like say, Jack Brabham & Bruce McLaren.

[xpensive]

Does this pertain only to formula 1 engineers? There are several other racing engineers that i think are right up there with their brilliance.

The thread says "racing engineers", so go for it Hondaman.

[donskar]

Mauro Forghieri will always be at the top for me, how he single-handed saved the Scuderia in 1974 was and is unprecedented.

http://www.f1journal.com/05-008/1974-1/74_11.jpg

100% agreement from me. Forghieri, IMHO, had a wider range of design skills than any other you can name -- chassis, aero (for his day), engine, transmission. He could design a complete car, not just a tub or a transmission -- the whole thing. Also, a fiery, passionate, effective leader. And his book about his time at Ferrari is VERY good.

[xpensive]

...
100% agreement from me. Forghieri, IMHO, had a wider range of design skills than any other you can name -- chassis, aero (for his day), engine, transmission. He could design a complete car, not just a tub or a transmission -- the whole thing. Also, a fiery, passionate, effective leader. And his book about his time at Ferrari is VERY good.

The 1970 flat 12, which ran for a decade, and the gorgeous1975 312T stands out in my book. But also remember that he was very close to discover ground-effect with the 312PB and "312 B3 Spazzaneve" in 1972, all he had needed was a diffuser really.

[donskar]

...
100% agreement from me. Forghieri, IMHO, had a wider range of design skills than any other you can name -- chassis, aero (for his day), engine, transmission. He could design a complete car, not just a tub or a transmission -- the whole thing. Also, a fiery, passionate, effective leader. And his book about his time at Ferrari is VERY good.

The 1970 flat 12, which ran for a decade, and the gorgeous1975 312T stands out in my book. But also remember that he was very close to discover ground-effect with the 312PB and "312 B3 Spazzaneve" in 1972, all he had needed was a diffuser really.

And some of his greatest work was done pretty much alone, while in exile in the farmhouse.

[fausto cedros]

Colin chapman has been the greatest to me. But i have something for Gordon Murray,Rudolf UlenHaut and Giorgio Stirano. Just personal reasons.

[xpensive]

Still, John Barnard proved to be the most influential F1 engineer of the 80s and 90s to my mind, carbon-fiber tub, canard-wings,
a purpose-designed turbo-engine, semi-automatic gearbox, suspension flexures and what have you.

If the Ferrari 640/641 had not had such a dog of an engine, it would have made Senna's and McLaren's life rather miserable;

[-Felix-]

So are we talking about design engineers rather than race engineers? Because Colin Chapman was both, as was Mauro Forghieri, but John Barnard and Gordon Murray were just design engineers I thought..