Forgotten F1 Teams - Pacific Grand Prix
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- File: forgotten2.mp3
- Transcript: forgotten2.pdf
- Torrent: forgotten2.torrent
You’re listening to Sidepodcast and this is our latest mini series, Forgotten F1 Teams. It’s all very well talking about BMW, Honda and Williams, but there are teams out there who are important to the history of F1, and yet are not very well known. Sidepodcast wants to address this problem. Yesterday we talked about Simtek, today it’s the turn of Pacific Grand Prix.
Pacific had been around for a while, racing in some of the lower categories, and they’d done a pretty good job. Team boss Keith Wiggins had experience of racing and as a mechanic, and the moment he set up his team, he had acquired sponsorship from Marlboro, signed up a good Norwegian driver, and secured entry into the Formula Ford championships.
The progression was slow but steady, through F2, Formula Ford, F3, and F3000. Pacific’s final year in F3000 saw familiar name David Coulthard driving for them, fighting for the title. He didn’t manage it, however, and Wiggins set his sights on another, more exciting championship – Formula 1. The original aim was to participate in the 1993 championship, but a recession delayed the entry for a year. However, when 1994 arrived, it was full steam ahead. Engine supplier Ilmor were providing a pair of two year old engines, and Wiggins was using some of the leftovers of another failed F1 entry. Early testing signs were not good, the engine didn’t seem to be able to cope, and the chassis had structural problems, but at the opening round in Brazil, Pacific out-qualified Simtek with one of their cars. They only managed three laps of the race before a collision, but this was progress.
The unusual events of the 1994 season keeping top teams and drivers out of the limelight, meant that Pacific did manage to qualify for some of the races, but their first racing achievement – if you can call 3 laps an achievement – was ridiculously short lived. Each time they did manage to get onto the grid that year, they never finished the race.
Roll on 1995, then, and Wiggins brought in a new design team, and partnered with the remains of the Lotus team. Some new aerodynamic devices, and well-known sponsors, and Pacific Racing was well on its way. The 1995 season saw several teams dropping out, which meant that with 26 spots available for each race, Pacific were guaranteed to get on the grid. Of course, they were generally at the back of the grid, and fought with Simtek and Fortis for the last few positions. Despite sponsors and pay-drivers, money was always an issue, and Wiggins would push for components to be run until breaking point. Gearboxes were a serious issue, with ten related retirements in the one season.
It wasn’t always engineering problems that scuppered Pacific’s chances for a result. At the 1995 European GP, both McLaren drivers were struggling in the wet, and the Pacific team took their opportunity getting both of their drivers past at least one McLaren. Things were looking good, until Pacific driver Montermini came into the pits, ran over his refueller thus breaking his leg, and of course, ran out of fuel.
There were rumours that Pacific would return in 1996, but in the end, Wiggins knew there was no more money. He withdrew from F1, and returned to F3000 for the next one and a bit years. Before 1997 drew to a close, Pacific withdrew from motorsport altogether and was never heard of again. Keith Wiggins continues to be involved in other forms of motorsport, having tried his hand at both CART and now Champ Car management.
That wraps up today’s show on Pacific, I’ll have another Forgotten F1 team for you tomorrow, so stay tuned.
Theme music: Bloc Party, I Still Remember.
August 9th, 2008 at 12:56 amScott Woodwiss said:
Last I heard of Wiggins he was looking after the Minardi USA Champ Car effort. Not sure what he’s up to right now.
Good job, wonder who we’ll be educated on tomorrow
August 9th, 2008 at 1:01 amJordan Allen said:
Ugggg!, Pacific, I seem to have vanish those horrible nightmares that where memeories of the Pacific-Ilmor in 1996. Really annoyed too as I seem to remeber seeing a die-cast of Bertrand Gachot’s #34 in 1994 Pacific colours at the local hobby shop, and it bought back a relapse.
Reaching for the Johnny Walker and the medications now…..
And the scary thing is, Christine has yet to dig up the teams that need to stay dead, with a stake in their corpse yet. We would not want the “The Curse of the mummy that was the Life F1 team” after Christine now, would we?
August 9th, 2008 at 1:07 amJordan Allen said:
I wonder what evil “Christine’s House of F1 Horrors” holds for us poor innonents tomorrow….. The ghost of Porsche? Run!!!!
August 9th, 2008 at 2:06 pmJoe said:
ward to tomorrow’s team. That’s part of the fun ain’t it? Wondering who tomorrow’s spectacular failures will be : D
Jordan, I see what you did there with your comment on teams that have to stay dead and then mentioning the Life team. Clever, no? : P
The backmarkers nowadays have really improved compared to say, 15 years ago. Then a team could be 8 seconds slower at the back, now it’s usually a gap of around 2 seconds back. Reading f1rejects is fun : D
August 9th, 2008 at 2:07 pmJoe said:
At the start I meant to say “I’m looking foward to tomorrow’s team”. God this keyboard is nearly as bad as Andrea Moda.
August 9th, 2008 at 3:12 pmlou said:
I’m really loving this mini series
it’s briliant! 
Also I have just noticed the little sidepodcast logo thing has changed depending on the type of podcast. They look really nice
Good job 
August 9th, 2008 at 3:17 pmme said:
christine’s been wanting that done since the new year. finally found the time. yay, for mini-series i say.
August 9th, 2008 at 4:09 pmJordan Allen said:
Well, I must admit that the “Life” Team is a great team to make fun of, as it allows for tons of tons of figures of speech such as juxtaposition (Like the above) and the oxymoronic idea of the Living Dead mummy chasing Christine around for breaking into its tomb….
I must admit when growing up, the expression “Get a Life” was very popular, and sadly, I was too much a Formula 1 fan to retort “Good God man, WHY?”
That’s ture. But my chief complaint about this mini-series is that there are Formula 1 teams out there that are forgotten nowadays but did very, very well like Vanwall, Van-who you ask? Exactly, But winning the Constructors Cup once in its six year life in Formula 1 is something to be proud of. It took Williams seven years.
So instead of looking at respectable but forgotton teams Christine, pretending that she is some sort of “Tomb Raider” has gone to the “Tomb of Blown Engines” to wipe a Life W-12 for Sidepodcast racers in the hopes that it will move her up the rankings…..Start running away fast folks.
August 9th, 2008 at 6:25 pmJoe said:
Super Aguri will probably be forgotten by many in years to come, yet I don’t see the same happening with Minardi. Shame how it goes ain’t it.
Jordan, have msn? And is Jordan your real name? That’d be an awesome name for an F1 fan : P
August 9th, 2008 at 7:05 pmJordan Allen said:
August 9th, 2008 at 6:25 pmJoe said:
Sadly, Joe, you have proven my case. Super Aguri will disappear from the collective conscious. “All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain.” Meanwhile we remember and even fear the lemons that where Simtek and Pacific for there but for the grace of god, go I; trying to be noticed by a greater F1 team, driving my butt off so that a Life can go under a 5 minute lap tiem at Imola…..
That actually makes a pretty cool curse for a true F1 fan, does not it? I curse you with a 5 minute lap time at Imola in a Life car. Ouch.
Yes, Jordan is my real name, but I was named for a fictional F1 team from the movie “Grand Prix”. Thank God that I was not named after the real car as “British Racing Motors” or BRM would have stunk as a first name. Would have prefered to be named after either of the drivers, as John is an okay name and so is Graham, but “Jackie” is more commonly a girls name here in North America…..
Now I figure the ultimate name for a F1 fan would have to go to a Japanese girl who follows Japanese marriage tradition and keeps her maiden name, and her husband has the first name of Jordan. This way, we have the possbility of “Jordan Mercedes Ishibashi” THis way we have in proper order, the chassis, the engine and as “Ishibashi” translated to English is “Stone Bridge”, then you can how easy it is to get the tyre.
Jordan-Mercedes Brigdestone. That just screams F1 Fanatic.
So it there are any Ishibashi-sans out there as fans, remember to name your daughters “Mercedes”…..
August 9th, 2008 at 7:19 pmme said:
you have put way to much thought into that jordan!
August 9th, 2008 at 7:25 pmJordan Allen said:
Of course, if I allow myself the possibility that “Jordan” can be used as girls name nowadays then the prefect ultimate Formula 1 fan is born into the world a girl as:
“Jordan Mereceds” into the “Firestone”, “Michelin”; “Dunlop”; “Pirelli” or “Englebert” families as these tires bore the direct Surname of their founders.
AS a boy, I will take the easy way out and say that the kid would have to have the middle name of “Ford” and eitehr “Jordan” or possibly “Stewart” for consideration.
No, me. Now I have put way too much thought into that …..
August 9th, 2008 at 8:42 pmScott Woodwiss said:
i like the new little logos depicting what type of show each podcast is, very nice.
August 9th, 2008 at 10:53 pmSteven Roy said:
I have to say that I met someone a long time ago who had the ideal motor racing name. Marlboro ran a competition to find a new FFord driver and one of the guys who turned up for it was called Mario Ferrari. Now that is a fast name.