Toleman, little money and lots of ideas: in the history of the TG183 and TG184 there are Byrne and Senna. By Michele Cito for ‘Gazzetta dello Sport’ on 07 February 2024.
F1 has always been a laboratory of innovations and experiments, sometimes sensational. In view of the presentations of the 2024 cars, I remember the single-seaters that left me speechless with their design, sometimes even ungainly. The ninth episode is dedicated to TG183 and TG184.
Ayrton Senna with the Toleman TG184 at the Monaco GP.
The rampant 80s, overbearing and unbridled, had changed not only F1 but also everyone's lifestyle. Those were the years when even blenders had a wing and a beautiful "TURBO" writing highlighted, perhaps mirrored, for that extra touch of arrogance. The designers had now understood the aerodynamic laws and were launching themselves towards the extreme sophistication that, in crescendo, we would then see from the 1990s until today. There began to be less and less space for raw improvisation and, with the Federation's attempt to limit the application of ground effect, a new technology perfectly aligned with the spirit of the decade had made its disruptive entry into the circus: the turbocharger. Hoarse and rough sounds accompanied by blows and flames were taking the place of the V8 and V12 melodies. Even though racing in Formula 1 was becoming more and more expensive, there was still room for small manufacturers capable of compensating for the lack of money with ideas, often bold ones and perhaps with the help of young drivers eager to show off. One of these was Ted Toleman.
The Toleman TG 183 with the front wing radiators and the two huge ailerons.
"The flying pig" - Ted Toleman founded his team in 1977, starting as a sponsor in the English Formula Ford championship, then made his debut as a Formula 2 team using March and Ralt chassises until the decision to build the car at home using Hart engines and making use of a young engineer which would be heard from again: Rory Byrne. In his first year as a manufacturer, 1980, Toleman won the European Formula 2 championship, the most important championship in the world in this category. Galvanized by this success, the British team even looked at F1 by designing its own car and using a turbo engine built specifically by Hart. This hasty chase led to the TG181, not much, it was in fact nicknamed "the flying pig" because it was terribly overweight, but it at least managed to qualify in Monza with Brian Henton to the happiness of the Fumagalli family, owners of the Candy group, which at the time was the main sponsor of Toleman. After almost 2 seasons of experience, at the end of the '82 season Toleman brought to the track the TG183, a completely different car compared to its '81 sister, much more advanced and refined.
The Toleman TG183B.
Thick wing - Byrne, this time also aided by Pat Symonds, another designer with a couple of world championships on his CV, designed a car different from most of the cars on the grid. It is striking for its particularly thick front wing inside which the radiators were placed and, above all, for the presence of two large rear wings that exuded kg and kg of '80s "ignorance". The sensation is amplified by rather ungainly proportions, by a car body that appears massive, not very sinuous, with a very advanced cockpit and with an engine compartment that seems aerodynamically incomplete, with the engine exposed, with a somewhat messy appearance. In reality, things were different. Rory Byrne was young, but he was already Rory Byrne, he evidently already had a tendency to design balanced and efficient single-seaters from an aerodynamic point of view because, even though they had enormous budget and reliability problems, the good Derek Warwick and our Bruno Giacomelli had way to achieve several good points finishes in the '83 season. What was encouraging in '83 and in the first races of '84 was further improved in a certain sense by simplifying the car and arriving at the legendary TG184, graceful and elegant. This too was quite sophisticated to be built on the cheap: it had a carbon monocoque and front and rear pull rod suspensions, the engine was the same 4-cylinder turbo built exclusively by Brian Hart positioned longitudinally in series with the 5-speed Hewland gearbox. The drivers of '84 (who raced the first 4 races of '84 with the TG183) were Jonny Cecotto and obviously, you know, Ayrton Senna, who now sounds like a legend but in 1984 was "only" a young talent at debut. The Venezuelan, on the other hand, already had 1 year of F1 under his belt with Theodore but, above all, he had raced extensively and with good results in the world championship.
Ayrton Senna at Brands Hatch in the TG184 (third place).
Almost 40 years since the birth of the legend - May 20, 2024 will be exactly 40 years since the French Grand Prix, the scene of the debut (with retirement) of the TG184. We all know how things would go next. The legendary Monaco Grand Prix arrived, in which the "bumpkin" Toleman, with shaky wings and a deformed suspension, in the hands of "Magic" incredibly managed to put pressure on Prost in the Barnard's sophisticated MP4/2. Thanks to Senna, of course and to other environmental factors, but also to an overall balanced car which, like its '83 sister, had liveries full of well-known Italian sponsors to make it feel a little closer. That second place was as good as a victory and not just because of the race's controversial early finish. Two more podiums arrived for the Brazilian, at Brands Hatch and Estoril, however amidst a sea of retirements. To demonstrate his goodness we must also record Stefan Johansson's 4th place in Monza. Ayrton Senna soon left Toleman to go to Lotus and within a year Toleman sold everything to Benetton. So, all finished? Yes, but what an incredible chapter that of English cars! Super ailerons and visible engines with rear "flamethrower", all in the hands of fast and courageous drivers, a snapshot of an era unrepeatable today. Toleman is the story of the ugly duckling who, thanks to magic, became a swan, even if only for a short while.
Ayrton Senna, Toleman.
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