The TS9 represented Team Surtees's continuing effort to field a competitive privateer Formula One operation run by John Surtees, the only man to have won world championships on both two wheels and four. Surtees handled design responsibilities alongside Peter Connew, producing a conventional early-1970s single-seater. The car debuted in the 1971 South African Grand Prix, at which Surtees himself drove, retiring with a gearbox failure on its very first outing.
Through 1971, the TS9 was campaigned with two cars, with German driver Rolf Stommelen joining Surtees as the second driver. Early results showed promise: Stommelen finished sixth at Monaco and fifth in Britain, while Surtees scored fifth place at the Dutch Grand Prix. The team expanded to three cars for select rounds, with Mike Hailwood joining at the Italian Grand Prix and delivering a strong fourth place finish. Sam Posey and Derek Bell also made one-off appearances during the season, reflecting the team's reliance on changing driver lineups at various rounds.
For 1972, the car was updated to TS9B specification, with John Surtees stepping back from driving to focus on team management. He hired Tim Schenken and Andrea de Adamich as his race drivers, later supplemented at various rounds by Mike Hailwood. The season produced scattered results: Schenken finished fifth in Argentina, de Adamich took fourth in Spain, and Hailwood scored significant points with fourth in Belgium, sixth in France, fourth in Austria, and a strong second place at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. That Italian result — Hailwood crossing the line second — stood as one of the team's finest achievements with the TS9B.
Despite those highlights, retirements were frequent, and the car showed its age as the season wore on. For the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, Tim Schenken moved across to the new Surtees TS14, signaling the impending transition.
The TS9B appeared only twice in the 1973 championship as the team shifted focus to the new TS14A. Brazilian privateer Luiz Bueno drove the car at the Brazilian Grand Prix, finishing 12th, and Andrea de Adamich returned for the South African Grand Prix, finishing eighth — the final World Championship appearance of the TS9B.
Beyond the factory team, the car also found its way to independent operators. Team Gunston purchased a TS9 and entered John Love in the 1972 South African Grand Prix, where he finished 16th after suffering a puncture-induced accident. Champcar Inc. acquired a TS9B and entered Sam Posey at the 1972 United States Grand Prix; Posey finished 12th.
The TS9 and its TS9B derivative gave Team Surtees a workable competitive platform across three seasons, delivering several top-five finishes and a second place at Monza in 1972. The car also served as the launchpad for drivers such as Mike Hailwood, whose performances in the TS9B demonstrated he remained a competitive Formula One driver after his motorcycle racing career. The TS9's gradual replacement by the TS14 marked a natural evolution in the team's development program, though Surtees would never again match the results achieved with the TS9B at its best.