And finally, the 76 was not reliable. Two cars were entered for Grands Prix in South Africa, Spain and Belgium and accrued not a single finish between them. Interestingly, however, it was raining in Spain and with wets instead of slicks Peterson led for twenty laps until it started to dry out and his taped up radiators caused the car to overheat. The only result it ever scored was at the Nurburgring where Peterson came fourth. It wasn’t even meant to be racing as Chapman had by then exhumed the old 72, but Ronnie crashed his in practice so the 76 was brought off the bench. But even that result was not quite what it seemed as the car raced with the entire back end from the bent 72. A Lotus 74 no less…
The car I drove was the one in which Peterson had led at Jarama. The button on the gear lever was still there, albeit in an entirely decorative role, as was its V-shaped brake pedal, allowing the driver to choose which foot to use. From memory, the bi-plane rear wing was not. I drove it at Hethel, the track where much of its development would have taken place and as the car was by then fully sorted and I was not Ronnie Peterson, none of its historical problems were apparent to me. It did understeer a bit on Avon slicks, but I quite like that in a car with a power to weight ratio not far short of 1,000bhp per tonne. I remember much more the sense of privilege from lowering myself into a proper JPS Lotus and relief in discovering that, for all its monstrous pace, it was actually a faithful and forgiving car to drive. I did quite a few laps, kept the DFV below 10,000rpm, enjoyed the light-switch flick of the Hewland gearchange and the car’s ability to reduce long straights to short acceleration and braking zones.
And then I gave it back. The Lotus 76 is an almost forgotten F1 car today, but I will remember it not only for the fun I had but also for how easily its story could have been so different. It was never going to be a 72 or a 79, but had it not been undone by its tyres, the clutch, the wing and reliability issues, it could at least have run at the front. As it did just once, with Ronnie Peterson in the rain. As sights to see, I expect there would have been few better.
Photography courtesy of LAT Images