Other Formulae
The DFV's success was by no means limited to Formula 1, with the engine being used in sportscar racing with some modest success. The design of the crankshaft caused vibrations that caused reliability problems in endurance racing. The first such vehicle to use the DFV was Ford's own P68, built as early as 1968. However, this car, and its derived sister the P69, failed to finish a single race. Seven years after it was introduced, the engine won the Le Mans 24 Hours twice, first in the Gulf-sponsored Mirage driven by Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell in 1975, then with the surprise winners Rondeau in 1980, driven by Jean Rondeau and Jean-Pierre Jaussaud.
The DFV was also the engine for which the Formula 3000 series was created in 1985, and thus it won every race that year. The DFV and its variants continued racing in F3000 for a decade, Pedro Lamy taking the last win for a DFV in top-class motorsport, at Pau in 1993, its 65th F3000 win in 123 races.
Read more about this topic: Cosworth DFV
Famous quotes containing the word formulae:
“I don’t believe in providence and fate, as a technologist I am used to reckoning with the formulae of probability.”
—Max Frisch (1911–1991)