ATS, a custom wheel company from West Germany, entered F1
racing in 1977. ATS entered F1 by aquiring the cars of the
now defunct Penske team. In 1978 they bought out the March
F1 team.
1978 saw the team campaign the HS1, a Robin Herd
developement of an existing Penske design. No success was
gained from this chassis.
By late 1978 ATS needed a new car, and called upon John
Gentry to design a "Wing Car". Labeled the D1, It was
introduced in practice at Zandvoort. This new car featured
new body work, revised rear suspension design with outboard
springs, and a much wider front and rear track.
Jochen Mass would write off the first D1 in a testing crash
at Silverstone. A second D1 was raced by Keke Rosberg at
the Canadian and USGP GP's, but again, no success was
gained. The car was retired at the end of the
season.
Results for 1978 -
The D1 was retired at the end of the 1978 season. All
future ATS cars would be based on conventional designs for
that particular season. ATS never gained any success in F1,
and at the end of 1984 the team withdrew from F1.
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