The thing that appeals to me about Formula One in the 1950’s and 60’s is the British Garagista movement where men in sheds turned out racing cars to take on the world and win. Ken Tyrrell was one of those men and set up his team in a woodshed at the home of his families timber business.
That piece of history has been saved by Goodwood and relocated to the Goodwood Motor Circuit. The ‘Tyrrell Shed’ is a 6m x 21m wooden building, whose humble exterior hides a remarkable history. Until 1976 it was home to Tyrrell Racing – one of the most groundbreaking Formula 1 teams of all time. Even after the team moved assembly of its cars into a purpose-built factory next door, the shed continued to serve a function, as a fabrication shop and then for storage.
When Ken Tyrrell first established his team in 1958, he set up in an ex-military issue shed in the yard of his family’s timber business. Having competed in lower formulae from 1958-67, with an impressive roll-call of drivers including such future stars as John Surtees and Jacky Ickx, Tyrrell entered Formula 1 in 1968, with an up-and-coming Scottish driver by the name of Jackie Stewart. The rest, as they say, is history. Narrowly missing out on the championship in 1968, Stewart and Tyrrell dominated the 1969 season using Matra chassis. They would go on to win again in 1971 and 1973, by now using Tyrrell chassis, all of which were built in the shed.
And it wasn’t all about Sir Jackie. Francois Cevert, Jody Scheckter, Patrick Depailler and Michele Alboreto all won grands prix for the team, which also launched the careers of the likes of Didier Pironi, Martin Brundle, Stefan Bellof and Jean Alesi.
On two separate occasions, the Tyrrell Shed helped conceal the best-kept secret in Formula 1. First, in 1970, Ken, chief designer Derek Gardner and a small team of mechanics and engineers created Tyrrell 001 – the team’s first chassis of their own manufacture. Then, in 1976, they unveiled P34 – the legendary six-wheeled car. On both occasions, nobody outside the close-knit team had any idea of the cars’ existence.
Having stood in rural Surrey for more than 70 years, the shed (which had originally been intended as a temporary structure!) faced an uncertain future, before Goodwood was approached to save it from demolition. After a careful period of sensitive restoration, it was dismantled and transported from its original location in Ockham Village to the Hurricane Lawn at the Goodwood Motor Circuit, where it is set to open to Members and Fellows of the Goodwood Road Racing Club at the 81st Members’ Meeting in April.
Great care has been taken to retain as much originality as possible, right down to stickers on the walls, creating a tangible sense of ‘the ghosts of the past’. When Ken Tyrrell eventually sold his team in 1998, it became BAR, then Honda, Brawn and finally Mercedes-AMG. Stepping into the building now, it is impossible to imagine that the roots of the all-conquering Mercedes F1 team can be traced to this 126 sq/m wooden shed!
After this sneak peak at the 81st Members’ Meeting, the Tyrrell Shed will be officially opened to the general public at the Goodwood Revival on Sunday 8 September.
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