<< Prev Page 2 of 2 Subtle changes to the chassis regulations had left a large portion of the 1969 field obsolete, so the DeTomaso was just one of many new machines entered in the season opening South African Grand Prix. Sadly it was the slowest of the new cars with Courage only managing to outpace three older chassis in qualifying. He retired halfway through the race after an accident. It did not get much better in the next race at Jarama where Courage wrecked the car in practice. Subsequenlty two new chassis were built, which were considerably lighter than the original due to the extensive use of magnesium.
It was a clear improvement and Courage managed to qualify further up the grid for the Monaco Grand Prix. After mixing it up with the seasoned names, the DeTomaso lost much time in the pits with steering problems. Courage did go out again, but did not turn in enough laps to be classified. Next up was the Spa race, where Courage qualified well and again saw his race ruined by reliability problems. Tragedy struck at the Dutch Grand Prix where Courage had a fatal accident after placing the car 9th on the grid. The promising driver died in a horrendous fire fueled by the magnesium in the tub after a tire failure.
Frank Williams perservered and continued the season with the only surviving chassis. Brian Redman was attracted to replace Courage. He struggled with the DeTomaso in the practice sessions of the British and German Grands Prix and did not start in either of the two races. Tim Schenken raced the 505 in the final four races of the season. He retired three times and in the only race he finished, Schenken was not classified. After a promising start of the season, DeTomaso retired from Formula 1. Williams has persevered and today is one of the most successful team principals in the sport. << Prev Page 2 of 2