Pacific PR01
Encyclopedia
The Pacific PR01 is a Formula One car
, designed by Paul Brown for the 1993 season
. However, due to financial problems, it did not race until 1994
.
, hence the name. The PR01 was driven by Paul Belmondo
and Bertrand Gachot
for the whole season, with the test drivers being Oliver Gavin
and Giovanni Lavaggi
. Pacific lacked a single main sponsor for the 1994 season and the car ran with many different names on the sidepods, including Ursus Vodka
.
Despite having power supplied by Mercedes
-connected Ilmor
the Pacific Grand Prix
team suffered from that perennial problem of new Grand Prix teams - money. The PR01 was an attractive car, however it was designed for the 1993 season
. It was seriously off the pace and more often failed to qualify. The car only ever made it to the grid seven times and never finished a race.
car, with 'best guess' aerodynamics as the car had undergone none of the vital wind tunnel testing required to refine the car's aerodynamics. The car had only a few dozen miles of track testing either. No major upgrades were made and because of this it suffered from fundamental problems. Modifications were meant to be done after the tragedy at Imola
, but they never happened. Pacific did, however modify the car on the plank of the suspensions, which consisted of a push-rod, but they proved to be insufficient.
V10 3.5 L engine from Ilmor
was found out to be a shocking two years old and was therefore underpowered by 1994 standards. The engine was never given an upgrade.
The PR01 was used in every race of the season. At the 1st round of the season in Brazil
, Belmondo failed to qualify, but Gachot managed to qualify. Unfortunately, he crashed out of the race. They both failed to qualify for the next round in Aida
, but Gachot qualified for Imola
only to retire with an oil-pressure problem. Belmondo and Gachot qualified for the next two rounds of the world championship. This would be the only two rounds of the season Belmondo would qualify for. Gachot qualified for the 6th round in Canada
, only to be hit by an oil-pressure problem again. This would be the final time any of the two cars qualified in the season as Gachot and Belmondo did not qualify for the remaining ten rounds of the season. The team even considered withdrawing from the championship
in order to work on their PR02 chassis, however if this happened, they would have had to pay a substantial fine.
Formula One car
A modern Formula One car is a single-seat, open cockpit, open wheel racing car with substantial front and rear wings, and an engine positioned behind the driver. The regulations governing the cars are unique to the championship...
, designed by Paul Brown for the 1993 season
1993 Formula One season
The 1993 Formula One season was the 44th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1993 FIA Formula One World Championship, which commenced on March 14, 1993 and ended on November 7 after sixteen races...
. However, due to financial problems, it did not race until 1994
1994 Formula One season
The 1994 Formula One season was the 45th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1994 FIA Formula One World Championship which commenced on March 27, 1994, and ended on November 13 after sixteen races. The season is remembered as one of the most tragic and controversial seasons in...
.
Name and Livery
The car name PR01 is named after Pacific Racing with 01 being their first year in Formula OneFormula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
, hence the name. The PR01 was driven by Paul Belmondo
Paul Belmondo
Paul Alexandre Belmondo is a French racing driver who raced in Formula One for the March and Pacific Racing teams. He is the son of actor Jean-Paul Belmondo and grandson of sculptor Paul Belmondo...
and Bertrand Gachot
Bertrand Gachot
Bertrand Gachot is a French-Belgian former racing driver.-Career:Gachot is the son of a French European Commission official. He began karting at the age of 15. In 1983 he attended Winfield School, a well-known racing-driving school in France. After this, he focused on his racing career, competing...
for the whole season, with the test drivers being Oliver Gavin
Oliver Gavin
Oliver Benjamin Gavin , is a GM factory racing driver from the United Kingdom. He was raised in the village of Felmersham, Bedfordshire. He attended the local Primary school, Pinchmill. At age nine he attended Lincroft Middle School and then took his GCSEs and A-levels at Sharnbrook Upper School...
and Giovanni Lavaggi
Giovanni Lavaggi
Giovanni Lavaggi is a racing driver from Italy.A nobleman by background, Lavaggi raised the money to buy ten Formula One Grand Prix drives, for Pacific and Minardi, debuting on July 30, 1995. In 1995 he was the only driver not to finish any of the F1 races that they started...
. Pacific lacked a single main sponsor for the 1994 season and the car ran with many different names on the sidepods, including Ursus Vodka
Ursus (vodka)
Ursus Vodka is a vodka of Icelandic origin that is made in Hoorn, Netherlands.The recipe was developed by a traditional Icelandic distiller family in the early twentieth century. Since 1995 it is distilled and bottled by the Ursus Vodka Company NV in the Netherlands. Ursus is also bottled for...
.
Despite having power supplied by Mercedes
Mercedes-Benz in motorsport
Throughout its long history, Mercedes-Benz has been involved in a range of motorsport activities, including sportscar racing and rallying, and is currently active in Formula Three, DTM and Formula One.-Early history:...
-connected Ilmor
Ilmor
Ilmor, founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in November 1983, is a British independent high-performance autosport engineering company. With manufacturing based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, and maintenance offices in Plymouth, Michigan, the company supplies engines and consultancy to the...
the Pacific Grand Prix
Pacific Racing
Pacific Racing was a motor racing team from the United Kingdom...
team suffered from that perennial problem of new Grand Prix teams - money. The PR01 was an attractive car, however it was designed for the 1993 season
1993 Formula One season
The 1993 Formula One season was the 44th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1993 FIA Formula One World Championship, which commenced on March 14, 1993 and ended on November 7 after sixteen races...
. It was seriously off the pace and more often failed to qualify. The car only ever made it to the grid seven times and never finished a race.
Aerodynamics
Most of the PR01's aerodynamics and design on a whole was based on Reynard's Formula 3000Formula 3000
The Formula 3000 International Championship was a motor racing series created by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile in 1985 to become the final preparatory step for drivers hoping to enter the Formula One championship...
car, with 'best guess' aerodynamics as the car had undergone none of the vital wind tunnel testing required to refine the car's aerodynamics. The car had only a few dozen miles of track testing either. No major upgrades were made and because of this it suffered from fundamental problems. Modifications were meant to be done after the tragedy at Imola
1994 San Marino Grand Prix
The 1994 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on May 1, 1994 at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy. It was the third race of the 1994 Formula One season...
, but they never happened. Pacific did, however modify the car on the plank of the suspensions, which consisted of a push-rod, but they proved to be insufficient.
Engine
The naturally aspiratedNaturally-aspirated engine
A naturally aspirated engine is one common type of reciprocating piston internal combustion engine that depends solely on atmospheric pressure to counter the partial vacuum in the induction tract to draw in combustion air...
V10 3.5 L engine from Ilmor
Ilmor
Ilmor, founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in November 1983, is a British independent high-performance autosport engineering company. With manufacturing based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, and maintenance offices in Plymouth, Michigan, the company supplies engines and consultancy to the...
was found out to be a shocking two years old and was therefore underpowered by 1994 standards. The engine was never given an upgrade.
1994 season
The PR01 was used in every race of the season. At the 1st round of the season in Brazil
1994 Brazilian Grand Prix
The 1994 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on March 27, 1994 at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo. It was the first race of the 1994 Formula One season.- Pre-Race :...
, Belmondo failed to qualify, but Gachot managed to qualify. Unfortunately, he crashed out of the race. They both failed to qualify for the next round in Aida
1994 Pacific Grand Prix
The 1994 Pacific Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on April 17, 1994 at the TI Circuit, Aida. It was the second race of the 1994 Formula One season. Ayrton Senna started the race from his 64th pole position, but was overtaken by Schumacher before the first corner and was hit by Mika...
, but Gachot qualified for Imola
1994 San Marino Grand Prix
The 1994 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on May 1, 1994 at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy. It was the third race of the 1994 Formula One season...
only to retire with an oil-pressure problem. Belmondo and Gachot qualified for the next two rounds of the world championship. This would be the only two rounds of the season Belmondo would qualify for. Gachot qualified for the 6th round in Canada
1994 Canadian Grand Prix
The 1994 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on June 12, 1994 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal. It was the sixth round of the 1994 Formula One season.-Race:...
, only to be hit by an oil-pressure problem again. This would be the final time any of the two cars qualified in the season as Gachot and Belmondo did not qualify for the remaining ten rounds of the season. The team even considered withdrawing from the championship
1994 Formula One season
The 1994 Formula One season was the 45th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1994 FIA Formula One World Championship which commenced on March 27, 1994, and ended on November 13 after sixteen races. The season is remembered as one of the most tragic and controversial seasons in...
in order to work on their PR02 chassis, however if this happened, they would have had to pay a substantial fine.
Complete Formula One results
| Year | Team | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 1994 Formula One season The 1994 Formula One season was the 45th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1994 FIA Formula One World Championship which commenced on March 27, 1994, and ended on November 13 after sixteen races. The season is remembered as one of the most tragic and controversial seasons in... |
Pacific Racing Pacific Racing Pacific Racing was a motor racing team from the United Kingdom... |
Ilmor 2175A Ilmor Ilmor, founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in November 1983, is a British independent high-performance autosport engineering company. With manufacturing based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, and maintenance offices in Plymouth, Michigan, the company supplies engines and consultancy to the... V10 V10 engine A V10 engine is a V engine with 10 cylinders in two banks of five with a distinct exhaust note.- Mechanics :The V10 is essentially the result of mating two even-firing straight-5 engines together. The straight-5 engine shows first and second order rocking motion... |
BRA 1994 Brazilian Grand Prix The 1994 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on March 27, 1994 at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo. It was the first race of the 1994 Formula One season.- Pre-Race :... |
PAC 1994 Pacific Grand Prix The 1994 Pacific Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on April 17, 1994 at the TI Circuit, Aida. It was the second race of the 1994 Formula One season. Ayrton Senna started the race from his 64th pole position, but was overtaken by Schumacher before the first corner and was hit by Mika... |
SMR 1994 San Marino Grand Prix The 1994 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on May 1, 1994 at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy. It was the third race of the 1994 Formula One season... |
MON 1994 Monaco Grand Prix The 1994 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on May 15, 1994 at the Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo. The race, which was the fourth race of the 1994 Formula One season, was won by Michael Schumacher and was the first race following the death of Ayrton Senna in San Marino.- Background... |
ESP 1994 Spanish Grand Prix The 1994 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on May 29, 1994 at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona. It was the 36th Spanish Grand Prix to be held since the first was held at Guadarrama in 1913. It was the fourth to be held at Circuit de Catalunya... |
CAN 1994 Canadian Grand Prix The 1994 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on June 12, 1994 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal. It was the sixth round of the 1994 Formula One season.-Race:... |
FRA 1994 French Grand Prix The 1994 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on July 3, 1994 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours. It was the seventh race of the 1994 Formula One season.-Race:... |
GBR 1994 British Grand Prix The 1994 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 10 July, 1994 at the Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone. It was the eighth race of the 1994 Formula One season. It marked the halfway stage of the season... |
GER 1994 German Grand Prix The 1994 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on July 31, 1994 at the Hockenheimring, Hockenheim. It was the ninth race of the 1994 Formula One season.... |
HUN 1994 Hungarian Grand Prix The 1994 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on August 14, 1994 at the Hungaroring, Budapest. It was the tenth race of the 1994 Formula One season.... |
BEL 1994 Belgian Grand Prix The 1994 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on August 28, 1994 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa. It was the eleventh race of the 1994 Formula One season.-Background:... |
ITA 1994 Italian Grand Prix The 1994 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on September 11, 1994 at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza. It was the twelfth race of the 1994 Formula One season.... |
POR 1994 Portuguese Grand Prix The 1994 Portuguese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on September 25, 1994 at the Autódromo do Estoril, Estoril. It was the thirteenth race of the 1994 Formula One season.-Qualifying:-Race:- Notes :... |
EUR 1994 European Grand Prix The 1994 European Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 16, 1994 at the Circuito Permanente de Jerez, Jerez, Spain. It was the fourteenth race of the 1994 Formula One season.- History :... |
JPN 1994 Japanese Grand Prix The 1994 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on November 6, 1994 at the Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka. It was the fifteenth and penultimate race of the 1994 Formula One season.... |
AUS 1994 Australian Grand Prix The 1994 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on November 13, 1994 at the Adelaide Street Circuit. It was the sixteenth and final race of the 1994 Formula One season. The race is remembered for an incident involving the two title contenders Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher which... |
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| Paul Belmondo Paul Belmondo Paul Alexandre Belmondo is a French racing driver who raced in Formula One for the March and Pacific Racing teams. He is the son of actor Jean-Paul Belmondo and grandson of sculptor Paul Belmondo... |
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| Bertrand Gachot Bertrand Gachot Bertrand Gachot is a French-Belgian former racing driver.-Career:Gachot is the son of a French European Commission official. He began karting at the age of 15. In 1983 he attended Winfield School, a well-known racing-driving school in France. After this, he focused on his racing career, competing... |
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