Ken Tyrrell

British timber merchant turned team owner who discovered Jackie Stewart and won world titles with Matra and his own Tyrrell team

Ken Tyrrell

British timber merchant turned team owner who discovered Jackie Stewart and won world titles with Matra and his own Tyrrell team

Ken Tyrrell was a timber merchant, which is why the paddock called him Chopper. He raced in Formula 3 and Formula Two in the 1950s, decided his talent lay in management, and in 1959 began running Cooper's works team in Formula Junior from a woodshed belonging to the family firm.

After a test in 1964 he signed a young Jackie Stewart. In 1968 he reached Formula One as team principal of Matra International, and Stewart won the 1969 title in a Matra MS80. When Matra preferred its own V12, Tyrrell quietly commissioned Derek Gardner to build a car of his own. The Tyrrell 003 took Stewart to the 1971 championship, and the partnership won again in 1973. Tyrrell sold the team in 1997 to the founders of British American Racing. He died on the 25th of August 2001.

Teams led

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