Shadow Racing Cars was a Formula One and sports car racing team.

The sports car racing team, competing in the CanAm series, was founded in 1968 and was based in the United States. The Formula One team was founded in 1973 and was based in Northampton, the United Kingdom.

The Formula One team held an American licence from 1973 to 1975 and a British licence from 1976 to 1980, thus becoming the first Formula One team to officially change its nationality. Their only Formula One victory, at the 1977 Austrian Grand Prix, was achieved as a British team.

1969 AVS Shadow MKI Lowline

The company was founded by Don Nichols in California in 1968 as "Advanced Vehicle Systems"; the cars were called Shadows, designed by Trevor Harris and entered under the Shadow Racing Inc. banner. The first Shadows, the Mk.Is, were entered in the CanAm series with George Follmer and Vic Elford driving them. The Mk.1 featured an innovative design, using very small wheels for low drag and, although the car was quick, it was not the most reliable car in the field.

Towards the end of 1972, Nichols announced that he would enter his team into Formula One in the 1973 season with UOP sponsored cars designed by Tony Southgate, who had designed the BRM that gave Jean-Pierre Beltoise victory at the Monaco Grand Prix the previous year.

The team debuted in Formula One at the 1973 South African Grand Prix with the Shadow DN1 chassis. Two cars were available for drivers Oliver and Follmer, as well as one car for the privateer team Embassy Hill of Graham Hill who ran his team alongside the Shadow works team.

For the 1974 season, the team hired two of the most promising drivers of the time: American Peter Revson and Frenchman Jean-Pierre Jarier. During a practice run for the 1974 South African Grand Prix, Revson was killed by a suspension failure on his DN3 car. He was replaced by Tom Pryce.

dn1

1973-1974

The Shadow DN1 was to be the first car for Don Nichols' Formula One team, newly established to participate in the 1973 Formula One season. The team did have some racing expertise, having participated in the CanAm Sportscar Series and also bringing in experienced British racing personnel including engineer Tony Southgate and manager Alan Rees.

Designed by Southgate, the DN1 used an aluminum monocoque and double wishbone suspension, and was powered by a 2993 cc Ford Cosworth DFV engine. Having recently only worked with the smooth-revving BRM V12 engines, Southgate did not allow sufficient damping and reinforcement to compensate for the vibration of the flat-plane V8 DFV. This caused some severe reliability issues for the cars, particularly at the start of the season.

The Shadow works team cars were finished in an all black scheme, with sponsorship from UOP.

In 1974, the DN1 was superseded by the Shadow DN3 although new Shadow driver Jean-Pierre Jarier had to drive the DN1 for his first two races of the year, retiring from both.

dn3

1974-1975

The Shadow DN3 was a Formula One car used by the Shadow team during the 1974 Formula One season. It also appeared twice during the early stages of the 1975 Formula One season in an updated DN3B form. Designed by former BRM engineer Tony Southgate, the best finish achieved in a DN3 was Jean-Pierre Jarier's third place at the Monaco Grand Prix.

The Shadow DN3, designed by Tony Southgate, was a development of Southgate's earlier car for the Shadow team, the DN1. One of the problems of the DN1, excessive vibration, was eliminated with stiffening of the DN3 monocoque. The DN3 had a longer wheelbase and was also five kilograms heavier than the previous year's car.

The team finished in eighth place in the constructor's championship of 1974.

Until the new DN5 became available for his use, Pryce used an updated DN3B for the first two races of the following season, without scoring any points.

dn5

1975-1976

The Shadow DN5 was a Formula One car used by the Shadow team during the 1975 Formula One season. Updated to a 'B' specification, it was used through the 1976 Formula One season and for the first two races of the following season. It was qualified on pole position three times, and twice achieved a fastest lap in a race. Its best finish in a race was third (twice), both times driven by Tom Pryce.

The Shadow DN5 was designed by Tony Southgate. A development of the previous year's DN3, the DN5 was more aerodynamically refined and had its weight distribution rearranged. It was updated into a 'B' specification for the following season, prior to which Universal Oil Products, the team's major sponsor, withdrew its financial support.

The DN5 proved to be a fast car, which qualified well several times, but the car had poor reliability.

The DN5 was updated into a 'B' specification for the 1976 Formula One season. However, while the reliability of the DN5B was much improved from its parent, it was not as competitive.

dn7

1975

The Shadow DN7 was a Formula One car used by the Shadow team in two races late in the 1975 Formula One season. Driven by Jean-Pierre Jarier, it never finished a race.

The Shadow DN7 was designed by Tony Southgate and, in contrast to previous Shadow cars, the powerplant around which the car was designed was a V12. This was the Matra MS73 V12, selected with an eye towards the high speed circuits on the Formula One calendar. The chassis was similar to the DN5, and to allow for the increased consumption of the V12, the fuel tank capacity was increased.

The DN7 only participated in two races, in Austria and Italy, driven by Jean-Pierre Jarier who qualified it 14th and 13th on the grid respectively. Mechanical failures meant that it was never classified as a finisher. As Matra decided to supply Ligier with its engines for 1976, Shadow did not continue with the car and Jarier reverted to the DN5 for the final race of the season in the United States.

dn8

1976-1978

The Shadow DN8 was a Formula One car used by the Shadow team during the 1976, 1977 and 1978 Formula One seasons. Driven by Alan Jones, it won the 1977 Austrian Grand Prix, Shadow's only Grand Prix victory.

The Shadow DN8 was conceptualised by Tony Southgate before he left the team to join Team Lotus. Dave Wass then completed the design work. It featured a low monocoque tub with hip radiators and an oil cooler positioned in the nose (but which would later be moved). Originally intended for the beginning of the 1976 season, a lack of funds following the withdrawal of major sponsor UOP the previous year meant the DN8 did not make its debut until late in the year, at the Dutch Grand Prix. Only one DN8 was produced for 1976, and it would not be until the third race of the following season that two DN8s were available for the drivers.

Southgate returned to the team in the summer of 1977, and this prompted development of the DN8; the chassis was slimmed down with the water and oil coolers reworked for the latter part of the season.

dn9

1978-1979

The Shadow DN9 was a Formula One car used by the Shadow team during the 1978 and 1979 Formula One seasons. It is most famous for having been copied by the new Arrows team for their FA1. Arrows, formed by a disgruntled group of Shadow's staffers, were in the end prohibited from using the design.

The DN9 was developed by Tony Southgate, returning to Shadow from Team Lotus. After racing the last three-quarters of the 1978 season, it returned for 1979. A new sponsor (Holland's Samson shag tobacco) necessitated a new paintjob and a series of wind tunnel tests and subsequent aerodynamic improvements were carried out. New side skirts were introduced, helping to lower drag while doubling downforce.

A disappointing 1978 meant using drivers of a lower caliber for 1979, with rookie drivers Elio de Angelis and Jan Lammers scoring only once. The choice of Dutchman Lammers was tied to the Shadows team's main sponsor, the Dutch Samson shag tobacco company.

dn11

1980

The Shadow DN11 was a Formula One racing car developed by Don Nichols’ Shadow team for the 1980 season. It was designed by Tony Southgate and John Baldwin.  It represented the team's first attempt at a dedicated ground-effect design during a period of severe financial instability. Built with an aluminium monocoque chassis and powered by the widely-used Ford-Cosworth DFV 3.0-liter V8 engine, the DN11 reflected the engineering approaches common among independent teams of the time.

Chronically underfunded in period, the DN11 never reached its full potential with just one Grand Prix finish achieved in South Africa, however these cars have seen contemporary success in historic racing.

Unfortunatelly all three drivers, Johannson, Lees and Kennedy, mostly failed to qualify the car, so at Shadow they quickly built a successor. But this new car was already running under the Theodore Racing flag and Shadow quietly and secretly disappeared from the scene. Only three chassis were ever built (DN11/1, DN11/2, and DN11/3).

dn12

1980

The Shadow DN12 was a Formula One car used by the Shadow team for the 1980 season, and was their last Formula One car chassis and entry.

It was driven by Geoff Lees, and David Kennedy. It was powered by the commonly used 3.0 L Cosworth DFV V8 engine. It only entered three races, making its debut at the 1980 Belgian Grand Prix. At the French Grand Prix that year, both drivers, Geoff Lees and David Kennedy failed to qualify, after which Shadow retired from Formula One permanently.

This race also saw the final appearance of Shadow Racing Cars. Geoff Lees and David Kennedy were 25th and 27th in qualifying in the Shadow DN12s meaning both drivers missed the 24-car grid.

The team had been sold only two months previously to Macau-based businessman and motor racing team owner Teddy Yip. Yip's own race team Theodore Racing would emerge as a Formula One team in 1981.

Theodore Yip or Teddy Yip, was an Indonesian-Dutch businessman and a Formula One team owner of Theodore Racing in the 1970s. He was a polyglot.

After a few races Yip took over ownership from founder Don Nichols and introduced a DN12 chassis which also proved a failure. After both cars failed to qualify for the French Grand Prix in June Yip closed down the Shadow team. Yip went on to concentrate on F1.

He then established Theodore Racing Ltd. and recruited designer Tony Southgate and team manager Jo Ramírez. A new car called the TY01 was driven by Tambay at the start of 1981.

The car was developed in 1982, but with no success forthcoming, Yip merged Theodore with Ensign and ran the Ensign N183 design as a Theodore. Johnny Cecotto and Roberto Guerrero drove the car, but at the end of that season the team shut down.