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John Youl, Cooper T55 Climax jumps from grid slot four as well as Jack Brabham, Brabham BT7A Climax from pole at the start of the 1964 Lady Wigram Trophy Tasman Cup round on January 18, a superb panoramic, colour shot with the Southern Alps behind! McLaren and Hulme comprise the rest of the front row.

Bruce McLaren won the race – and the first Tasman Cup championship – in his Cooper T70 Climax, from Brabham and Hulme, Brabham BT4 Climax. More on the ’64 Tasman here:https://primotipo.com/2022/10/09/bruce-mclaren-and-the-tasman-cup/

Geoff Smedley on changes to the rear suspension of John Youl’s Cooper T55 in 1965, ‘I modified the rear of the chassis frame by making a diaphragm to allow roll-centre adjustment and trailing arms for greater stability, which made a great improvement on the car’s handling abilities at that time.’

‘In early 1965, John Youl bettered his time around Lakeside by 1.4 seconds in his last drive before sadly retiring from the sport that year.’ More on the Smedley/Yout Cooper here:https://primotipo.com/2017/11/16/geoff-smedleys-twin-plug-coventry-climax-2-5-fpf/

The ex-Earl Howe/Duncan Ord Bugatti T57T #57264/57222, in its West Australian Monoposto guise in the late 1950s.

It was just an old racing car to be made to go faster, after all! Below in original form, driven by Duncan Ord at Pingelly circa-1938. More here:https://primotipo.com/2023/05/04/bugatti-type-57t-57264/

Colin Bond, Porsche 924 GTR, reminds Calder patrons of his rallying credentials – thrice Australian Rally Champion in 1971-72 and 1974 – with an assault on Rusty French’s Porsche 935 during the Calder Park round of the 1982 Australian GT Championship on August 1.

Alan Jones won in Porsche Cars Australia’s 935 from Bond, French and Tony Edmondson’s Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT Chev fourth, Tony’s is the third car in this shot. More here:https://club.shannons.com.au/club/news/racing-garage/porsche-924-944-968-stuttgarts-front-engined-racing-foray/

Stan Jones on his way to an historic victory in the 1954 New Zealand Grand Prix at Ardmore aboard Maybach 1 on January 9. See here:https://primotipo.com/2024/01/08/stan-jones-won-the-1954-nz-gp-70-years-ago-today/

Bib Stillwell, Cooper Monaco Climax gets the jump at Warwick Farm in December 1962, from Greg Cusack’s Lola Mk1 Climax and Charlie Smith’s Lotus 11 Climax. Who else is in the mix, folks?

Larry Perkins copping an absolute drenching aboard Paul England’s Chevron B39 Ford BDA during the New Zealand Grand Prix at Pukekohe in 1980

Larry was eighth in the championship won by Dave McMillan’s Ralt RT1 Ford BDA from Steve Millen’s similar car. Perkins was 12th and DNF in the two Pukekohe rounds from Q6.

Larry’s bests were a second placing in one of the Pukekohe February 2 rounds and third in one of the Manfield rounds, but generally Paul England’s Chevron B39/B45 #39-77-02 ex-Tony Martin in South Africa.

‘Just a fabulous looking racing car — the 250LM,’ can’t argue with Allan Dick.

‘The Ferrari was here (New Zealand) for two seasons, first with Australia’s Scuderia Veloce and Spencer Martin and then with Andy Buchanan. I think this will be the second season – 1967 – with Andy Buchanan, and it looks like Teretonga.’ More about this iconic Australian racer here:https://primotipo.com/2014/07/03/pete-geoghegan-ferrari-250lm-6321-bathurst-easter-68/

Allan Moffat poses with his brand new Chev Monza at Bay Park (?), New Zealand in late December 1975, how’d he do folks?

And below, Moffat in DeKon Monza chassis #1005, on debut at the IMSA Daytona final round on November 30, 1975. He qualified third but was a DNF after with engine problems.

The car was first raced in Australia on March 7, 1976, at Amaroo Park, winning both rounds of the Australian Sports Sedan Championship. More about the diverse ramge of cars Moffat raced here:https://primotipo.com/2024/09/30/allan-moffat-random/

The Globe Products Elfin 400 Ford, chassis #BB661, out front of Elfins in June 1966, above, and in October below. More about this car here:https://primotipo.com/2021/03/27/globe-products-elfin-400/

Frank Matich’s biplane Matich A51 Repco-Holden in the Laguna Seca paddock during the May 6, 1973 US F5000 Championship weekend. It wasn’t a great meeting for the Australians present, see here:https://primotipo.com/2026/05/15/kevin-bartlett-brian-redman-laguna-seca-and-spa-1973/

Pete Geoghegan from Norm Beechey, Ford Mustang 302 and Holden Monaro GTS 350 during the July 26 Lakeside round of the 1970 Australian Touring Car Championship.

Beechey won from Bob Jane’s Mustang and Jim McKeown’s Porsche 911S, with Pete a DNF. More here:https://primotipo.com/2018/04/01/variety-is-the-spice/

Beautiful pan of Tony Gaze’s 2-litre supercharged HWM Alta enroute to second place in the February 6, 1954 Lady Wigram Trophy.

Peter Whitehead was 31 seconds up the road in the Ferrari 125 he was soon to sell to Australian Dick Cobden who was to have a frustrating period of ownership with the recalcitrant 2-litre, supercharged V12! More on Tony’s 1954 summer with the car here:https://primotipo.com/2019/12/14/tony-gaze-hwm-alta-new-zealand-1954/

Beautiful colour shot – what a shit colour!? – of Bob Muir’s Bob and Marj Brown-owned, Thermax-sponsored – the Brown’s specialist glass making business – Birrana 273 Ford BDA Formula Atlantic machine during the 1975 British Formula Atlantic season, albeit I’m not sure where and when. More here:https://primotipo.com/2023/02/13/bob-muir-r-i-p/

The car(s) (273-009 and 273-006) have grown a BDA, forward-facing roll-bar support, brake ducts, single-post rear wing support and non-Birrana wheels since leaving Adelaide for ye-olde-dart.

A gaggle of sports cars during the March 7, 1960 Australian Tourist Trophy at Longford: Tom Sulman, Aston Martin DB3S, Doug Whiteford, Maserati 300S and Alan Jack, Cooper T39 Climax. I’m not so sure about the red car and blue coupe coming off Long Bridge.

Derek Jolly won the 24-lap 108-mile race in his ex-works Lotus 11 Climax from Doug Whiteford, Maserati 300S and Frank Matich, Jaguar D-Type. See here:https://primotipo.com/2018/05/17/1960-australian-tourist-trophy/

I’ve managed to lose the photographer’s details for these two magic panoramas, I’ll take your advice on the bikes and riders below.

John Wright’s Lola T400 Chev, trying to get away from the pursuing Formula Pacifics of Andrew Miedecke, March 763/76B Ford BDA and John Smith, Ralt RT1 Ford BDA at Oran Park, perhaps during the July 29, 1979 Gold Star round.

John Bowe won in a works-Elfin MR8 Chev from Wright, John Walker, Lola T332 Chev, then Smithy.

Master mechanic Wright won the 1978 TAA Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series in an ancient, self-prepared Bowin P4A, then stepped straight into the ex-John Leffler Lola T400 and made command of this 500bhp recalcitrant missile look easy-peasy.

It’s sad that he didn’t race on into the Formula Pacific era, doubtless dollars were the problem. What became of him?

You gotta love Frank Gardner’s ability to jump between different types of cars throughout his career with equal measures of success throughout.

Above aboard the Ford Escort FVA in which he won the 1968 British Saloon Car Championship (circuit folks?), and below copping the chequered flag in a works Lola T192 Chev at the end of the Warwick Farm 100 Tasman Cup round on February 14, 1971. See here:https://primotipo.com/2025/06/15/warwick-farm-100-1971/

Later the same year he did the shakedown testing of Jackie Stewart’s works/Carl Haas Lola T260 Can-Am machine, here at Silverstone in May.

I don’t know what FG’s Lola business card said, but his roles included works-racer, chief test and development driver and one who contributed to the design of some of the cars. More here:https://primotipo.com/2022/03/21/lola-t260-chev-take-2/

Jack Brabham being pushed onto the Sandown International grid on March 12, 1962, Cooper T55 Climax 2.7 FPF

He won the 100-mile race – the first international race meeting on the new track – from John Surtees’ Cooper T53 Climax and Bruce McLaren’s Cooper T53 Climax.

If it looks a bit odd, it’s because the car is being pushed up the Main Straightaway, to channel Mike Raymond, against the usual direction of travel, to be gridded up in front of the grandstand. That’s the paddock inside ‘Shell’ corner, behind.

The 2021-22 Australian Gold Star Champion, Joey Mawson, poses for the Launceston Examiner photographer in 2023 before going out to defend his title at Symmons Plains on February 25/26.

Mawson won the three rounds held that weekend and took the fastest lap in two of them. More about these stunning cars here:https://primotipo.com/2021/07/27/tasman-cup-2021/ Any international buyers in need of a spectacular one-make single-seater series should give Barry Rodgers at Garry Rogers Motorsport a call.

Another shot of Mawson and his Ligier S5000 F3 Ford at Symmons, this time on the way to winning the first race in 2022, while the shot below is during practice at Bathurst in November 2021.

The Bathurst 6-Hour winning Daimler SP250 raced by the Brothers Geoghegan – Leo and Ian/Pete blasts across the top of Mount Panorama on September 30, 1962

Alan Howard said of his photographs, ‘If you look closely at the door handle in the pic above, you can see the rope that was needed to hold the door closed later in the race!’ See here:https://primotipo.com/2024/06/12/bathurst-6-hour-classic-1962/

Credits…

Ian Smith, Blanden Collection, Ross Cammick, Ron Lambert, Bob Moffett, AMR-Australian Motor Racing, Murray Beatson, Bob Harborow Collection, Darrin Field, Bob Homewood, Autosports Ltd via Michael Keyser, Wayne Pearson, John Smith Archive, Dick Simpson, Alan Howard, Classic Auto News-Allan Dick, Launceston The Examiner, Australian Racing Group, S5000 Group

Finito…