Derek Gardner, Pioneering Tyrell P34 Designer, diesThe 8-wheeled Ferrari 312T8, BTW, was a fraud. The photo was faked by the Scuderia to mislead the competition. But the 312T6 was real. Lauda and Regazzoni liked it well enough but Carlos Reutemann found it quite unstable. He wadded it while testing at Fiorano. The rebuild was halted and the project scrapped after Lauda's Nürburging incident.
Goodyear developed an interest in the 312T6 because the dualed tyres proved unusually resistant to aquaplaning, even with slicks. But when they added tread, the tyres were brilliant.
The tread design that proved most promising used sipes that ran diagonally from the inner shoulder to the outer sidewall, each tyre of the pair's tread mirroring the other. But the dual wheels limited its market potential so Goodyear tried using the same mirror-image diagonal sipes on a single tyre with a pronounced central groove. It worked so well that the new tyre was debuted as their wet weather offering at the Monaco GP in 1983. Because of the tread's unusual appearance, it was dubbed the "gatorback."
The Gatorback revolutionized tyre design. It was the Alpha of a whole new era in wet weather rubber. Everybody who's anybody in tyre manufacture today builds a tyre that is an imitation of the gatorback. The depth of the central groove varies according to the tyre's performance bent but what remains are the iconic diagonal sipes.
A set of F1-spec Goodyear Eagle "Gatorback" wet tyres
A Goodyear Aquatred street tyre
An F1-spec Bridgestone intermediate wet tyre
Notice the family resemblance?
A certain Michael Schumacher found Goodyear's gatorbacks to be so effective in the wet, he once opted to run on just three of them.
So the Tyrrell P34 was the uncaused first cause leading to the development of the diagonally-treaded rain tyre. The butterfly effect comes to life.
Godspeed, Mr. Gardner, and thank you.
Back then I think they though they were worth a try. You just never know 
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