(B Henderson)
Peter Macrow, McLaren M4A Ford FVA leads Kevin Bartlett, Mildren Alfa Romeo 1.6 four-valve, Glynn Scott, Bowin P3 Ford FVA and Brian Page, Brabham BT2 Ford twin-cam, across The Causeway at Warwick Farm on 8 September 1968.
24,000 people were at the ‘farm that Sunday, Pete Geoghegan delivered to expectations by winning the one race, 34 lap, 76 miles Australian Touring Car Championship from Darrel King’s Cooper S and Alan Hamilton’s just ‘orf the boat Porsche 911S/T. Peter Wherrett’s ‘Racing Car News’ race report reveals one of the best tussles of the day was the 15 lapper for racing cars.
The Four Valve Assemblage was not quite complete, the fourth member of the growing group of 1.6 litre Euro F2 cars in Australia, Niel Allen, didn’t race his ex-Piers Courage McLaren M4A FVA. A bumma, because that would have added to the show.
KB settles himself into the Mildren Alfa, note spoilers, ‘new.uw’ is local 2UW radio station (B Henderson)
Lovely portrait of Glynn Scott, Niel Allen is telling Glynn how much more expensive the FVA is to maintain compared with the 5 litre Chev in his Elfin 400…(B Henderson)
Macrow was the ‘newbie’ to the front rank having shown great form in Tony Osborne’s Argo Chev sportscar since taking over its wheel early in the year after Ian Cook accepted Bob Jane’s offer to drive his Elfin 400 Repco and crossed town from Brunswick to East Malvern.
Osborne realised that the limits of the Cooper T53 based Argo had been reached, and acquired Kiwi, Jim Palmer’s McLaren M4A after Allen beat him to the punch to buy Courage’s quick 1968 Tasman mount. Palmer’s car was Bruce McLaren’s own machine, chassis ‘M4A-1’, the first of the breed raced by the chief throughout the 1967 European F2 Championship. Piers was ‘well represented’ on this grid, Glynn Scott’s motor was Courage’ Tasman Cup spare.
Kevin Bartlett was the ace present, but the Mildren Alfa, built on Bob Britton/Rennmax Engineering’s Brabham BT23 jig, was ‘spankers and unsorted. Mildrens dynoed the Alfa Romeo 1.6 litre, four-valve, Spica/Lucas injected engine at 197 bhp @ 8,500 rpm, whereas about 210/215 bhp was claimed for a decent FVA, so it promised to be a good race with Bartlett on pole from Macrow and Scott.
Mildren Alfa, KB. Copy Brabham BT23 spaceframe, Hewland FT200 5-speed transaxle. Alfa Romeo 1598 cc four-valve, alloy block, injected Euro F2 engine. At 280 pounds the Italian engine is lighter than a Lotus-Ford twin-cam? It sits taller in the frame? (B Henderson)
Bartlett at the end of Pit Straight turning into Paddock (B Henderson)
(B Henderson)
Peter got the jump, which was impressive in Bartlett’s backyard, from KB and Glynn and then a gap to to the 1.5 litre cars led by Brian Page, Brabham BT2 Ford, Clive Millis, Elfin Mono Ford, Maurie Quincey, Elfin 600B Ford, Ray Cary, Elfin Ford and the rest.
On lap 2 KB had a crack at Macrow going into Creek but spun on oil on the inside of the track, KB recovered and chased Peter and Glynn in the spectacular tail-out style which was his hallmark. By lap 8 he was up Glynn’s clacker and passed him but further progress was impeded by the chassis undertray coming loose, Scott took back second place.
Scott chased Macrow hard but the Victorian held on to take the biggest win of his career to that point from Scott and Bartlett, Tony Osbornes’s Argo Racing Equipe delighted with a well earned victory.
Credits…
Bryan Henderson took all the wonderful photographs. ‘Racing Car News’ October 1968
Tailpiece…
(B Henderson)
Nice portrait of 28 years old Kevin Bartlett getting his head sorted on the Warwick Farm dummy grid before the off. It was a great year for the Sydneysider, he won his first Gold Star at the wheel of Mildren’s Brabham BT23D Alfa Tipo 33 2.5 V8.
This chassis did not use the Alfa engine for long, Max Stewart raced it from 1969 fitted with Waggott TC-4V 1600 cc, 1760 cc and 2 litre motors with great success.
Finito…
primotipo... 
NEW UW would have been a radio station.
Dale.
Yes, radio station 2UW.
Not Homestead but possibly the end of Pit Straight and turning into Paddock Bend. Bryan would have been in the Paddock to get the Causeway shot and there is no access from there to Homestead.
Thanks Wirra,
Slow to get to this…many thanks, have changed the caption accordingly! Ditto 2UW, shouldaa picked that up given my decade in Sydney!
M
New UW = 2UW Sydney AM radio station
Hi All, On the front of K.Bs Mildren Alfa, the “new uw” was a promotion at the time for radio station 2UW in Sydney. I think it was for a change of image.
Hey,
the “NEW UW” sticker on K.Bs vehicle was a promotion for Sydney radio station 2UW.
they were apparently changing their image.
I would say that the “New” 2UW connection came about from John Crawford – then WF course announcer, 2UW DJ, RCN correspondent, later Editor of Modern Motor and then PR boss for JRA, Jaguar North America and finally Bentley North America. Read about his 2UW days on his blog here:
http://www.drivingandlife.com/2019/05/the-communicator-moves-up-notch.html
Paul
Thanks Paul,
Its a good site, i have knocked off stuff from there from time to time.
Mark
That Mildren Brabham sure had a variety of engines and sizes.
From the Alfa 1.6L seen here, to the Alfa 2.5L V8, to the Oldsmobile V8 that Jim Abbott fitted when he owned it.
I miss the Oldsmobile V8 power plants . They need to do a Olds 442 revival like the tried in the 80s with the Hurst Oldsmobile.