Archive for the ‘Fotos’ Category

Mildren Alfa Romeo F2…

Posted: April 27, 2025 in Fotos, Who,What,Where & When...?
Tags: , , , ,
7
(G Searl)

Just a little to the right fellas otherwise we’ll have to twist the chassis a smidge…

Alec Mildren Racing mechanics Bob Grange, in overalls, and Glenn Abbey partially obscured by the left front, manoeuvre their new Mildren (Rennmax) Alfa Romeo 1.6 F2 through the narrow front doors of the Avalon Cinema on Sydney’s Northern beaches.

Both Mildren and Abbey were locals so perhaps the deal to have the racer in situ during the screening of the film Grand Prix was hatched between the theatre owner and Mildren- a nice way to cross-promote his Alfa dealerships closeby and in the city.

The date is the more interesting thing in an arcane kind of way. Grand Prix was released in Australia on July 14, 1967, this car wasn’t built then. It first raced at Warwick Farm on September 5, 1968 in Kevin Bartlett’s hands, and was raced for the first time with a 1.6-litre Waggott TC-4V engine at Symmons Plains in Max Stewart’s tender loving care on March 3, 1969.

So…given the shorts on the fella looking after the right rear Goodyear I’m guessing it’s a school holidays screening in The Summer of ’69, the only thing missing is Bryan Adams twangin’ his Fender Strat (or whatever).

Kevin Bartlett slicing the new Mildren Alfa F2 through the Warwick Farm Esses, probably on the 8 September 1968 weekend of its race debut (D Harvey)
Bartlett on the WF dummy grid on September 8, 1968. Mildren Alfa Romeo F2 Four-Valve race debut (B Henderson)

This little Beastie is an oh-so-famous car in Australia. It won a swag of races in Max Stewart’s hands including the 1971 Australian Gold Star Championship and the 1972 Singapore Grand Prix.

It had more engines than you and I have had hot dinners: the Alfa Romeo DOHC twin-plug, four-valve 1600cc F2 featured in this article, Waggott TC-4V DOHC four-valve 1600/1860/2000cc, Alfa Romeo DOHC twin-plug, two-valve, Alfa Romeo 2000cc GTAm and Lotus/Ford DOHC two-valve 1600cc motors.

Treat this as the first of two articles on the Mildren Alfa/Waggott/Alfa/Ford dealing with its early life in 1968-1969 with a particular focus on the Alfa Romeo four-valve engine.  See these two Singapore GP pieces; https://primotipo.com/2016/11/24/singapore-sling-with-an-elfin-twist/ and; https://primotipo.com/2018/05/29/singapore-sling/

The article below on car and engine was published in the October 1968 issue of Australian Autosportsman and deals with the detail wonderfully well. I suspect it’s the best article on the planet on an extremely rare engine.

Kevin Bartlett commented on the performance of the engine in recent times on social media, “There was an issue with the piston ring to bore clearance which caused high oil use and lack of power, so the engine was returned to the maker. From that time the Waggott was born.”

So quickly out of love with the project had Alec Mildren become, that he advertised the car for sale in the November 1968 issue of Racing Car News.

But things moved quickly after that, Max Stewart was signed to join KB at Mildrens and Alec reached agreement with Merv Waggott to be the first to use his new Waggott TC-4V 1.6-litre Ford block engine.

Max made his race debut with Mildrens in the February 2, 1969 Australian Grand Prix at Lakeside where he was sixth in the Mildren Alfa, four laps adrift of the winner, Chris Amon’s Ferrari 246T.

After that, the Alfa Romeo/Autodelta engine was removed and in its place, the Waggott was installed, with Max taking his race debut with it in the first round of the 1969 Gold Star at Symmons Plains on March 3. Fuel metering unit problems ended his day early.

I’m not so sure the little four-valve engine left Australia either…

Max Stewart aboard the Mildren Alfa 1.6. The date of the shot is unknown but I wouldn’t mind betting that it is one of the very first shots of a car which was so kind to Max over the ensuing three or so seasons in Australia, Singapore and Japan (Central Western Daily)
Stewart in the Lakeside AGP paddock in February 1969. Mildren Alfa F2 (M Tyler)

Group 2 and F2…

Upon further research it’s apparent just what a rare car the Mildren Alfa was for the short time of its existence. As indicated above, the Alfa Romeo F2 engine was replaced by Merv Waggott’s very first 1600 TC-4V engine for the first 1969 Gold Star round at Symmons Plains.

Autodelta’s primary racing programs at the time were the Tipo 33 sports-racers which contested the World Endurance Championship and its 105 Series Coupe Alfa GTA Group 2 program, and the more modified Group 5 categories.

The 1600 four-valve engine was first fitted to Lucien Bianchi’s GTA for the 1967 Giro di Corsica, however he was eliminated at the beginning of the race. ‘Another engine was installed in Nanni Galli’s Brabham F2. At the time the price for this splendid masterpiece was 3,500,000 lire. The engine was also available with a normal GTA cylinder head for use with Weber carburettors’, Tony Adriaensens wrote in Allegerita.

Indeed, it’s probably (make that definitely) due to Group 5 priorities that the four-valve injected engine was built rather than the needs of F2.

A careful review of the European F2 Championship results (1.6 litres from 1967 to 1971 inclusive) on the F2 Index site shows only a very small number of such races in which Alfa Romeo powered cars participated. Even then, the descriptions of the engines are such that it’s not possible to make calls as to whether two-valve GTA engines or the four-valve motors were fitted. It’s also fair to say that both engines may have been fitted to chassis raced in Italian national level events.

Alfa Romeo/Autodelta 1.6-litre four-valve F2 engine being dyno tested, details unknown but welcome (unattributed)

For the record, the Alfa Romeo engined European F2 Championship entries, of ‘a works type’ as against a tiny number of privateers in older cars, in the 1.6 litre formula years are as follows: 2/10/67 GP Rome at Vallelunga Nanni Galli Brabham BT23 Alfa GTA Q16 and NC, 28/4/68 GP de Madrid Jarama Nanni Galli Brabham BT23 Alfa GTA Q20/10th, 23/6/68 Lottery GP Monza Giorgio Pianta Brabham BT23 Alfa GTA/Autodelta DNQ. Brabham BT23-8 was used on all three occasions, the car was entered by the Monza based Scuderia Ala D’Oro. I am intrigued to know if these were effectively works-entries in which case it is plausible the engines deployed were four-valvers.

To state the obvious, there was never a serious works effort to race the four-valve engine in F2, the only Alfa Romeo engine which could seriously hope to challenge the absolute dominance of the Ford Cosworth FVA.

Brabham née Rennmax née Mildren Alfa…

The reason Alec acquired the Alfa F2 engine was a business one, to promote his Alfa Romeo dealerships. Equally, the decision to go with Merv Waggott’s engines shortly thereafter, initially in 1600 cc capacity, later 1850cc and ultimately 2-litres was also a business one. That is, to put the best engines in his two cars: the Rennmax built Brabham BT23 replica which is the subject of this article, and the Len Bailey designed, Alan Mann Racing built monocoque Mildren ‘Yellow Submarine’ first raced by Gardner and then Bartlett with Alfa Tipo 33 2.5 V8’s and later 2-litre TC-4V Waggotts.

The potted, short form history of the car is as follows.

Rennmax Engineering’s Bob Britton created a Brabham BT23 jig from Brabham BT23-5 crashed by Denny Hulme during the 1968 Tasman Series. He built a number of cars on this jig as summarised by Allen Brown on oldracingcars.com here; http://www.oldracingcars.com/rennmax/bn3/

Fitted with an Autodelta Alfa Romeo 1.6-litre four-valve valve engine the car was first raced by Kevin Bartlett at Warwick Farm on September 8, 1968, it was then put to one side as the team focused on Bartlett’s successful Gold Star campaign in the Brabham BT23D Alfa.

Bartlett Mildren Alfa Romeo F2 Warwick Farm September 8, 1968 and below (R Watson)
KB with a few bodywork problems on the move (R Watson)

The chassis became Max Stewart’s regular car when he joined the Mildren Team in 1969. He first raced it, as recorded above, at the 1969 Lakeside Tasman round to sixth. Then the car was fitted with a Waggott 1600cc engine, for the opening, March 1969 Symmons Plains Gold Star round, later in the season a Waggott 1860 was used.

Fitted with a Waggott 2-litre from the 1970 Tasman through the 1970 Gold Star, 1971 Australian Tasman rounds and Gold Star, Max won the 1971 Gold Star triumphing over rumbling 5-litre F5000s.

It raced in the April 1971 Singapore GP, probably powered by a 1600 Alfa Romeo GTA engine fitted with a GTAm 2-litre cylinder head. By the time of the 1971 Gold Star season Alec Mildren Racing had ceased, the car was Stewart’s but was still entered and called the Mildren Waggott.

It was raced by Melbourne’s Tony Stewart (no relation) with support from Paul England in the 1972 Australian Tasman rounds fitted with a 2-litre Waggott.

Max raced and won the April 1972 Singapore GP powered by a Paul England 1.6 litre Lotus/Ford twin-cam. With another engine change, it contested the May 1972 JAF Japanese Grand Prix Waggott 2-litre powered.

The car returned to Australia and contested some 1972 Gold Star rounds driven by Allan Grice, Paul England 1.6 litre twin-cam powered. Max retained ownership of the car during this period.

Raced in the 1973 Malaysian GP to fourth, and the Singapore GP to seventh by Max, the car was entered as a Rennmax, 1.6 England powered.

The car was sold circa 1974 by Max to English born Australian F2/F5000 driver Ken Shirvington. He later sold it to Max Coulter, who raced it for a while then offered it for sale in the February 1981 issue of Racing Car News, raconteur and vastly talented engineer, Greg Smith of East Brighton, Victoria was the purchaser. It was a complete car, chassis tagged ‘AMR003’ fitted with a 1.6 BRM twin-cam which was consistent with the ANF2 class in which the car last raced contemporarily.

Amongst the bits Smithy acquired were engine mounts for the Ford L-Block Waggott 1600/1860 engines as well as the Waggott bespoke, alloy block 2-litre. He also had the Japanese GP long-range fuel tanks. The car was beautifully restored by Smithy and fitted with a 234bhp Waggott 1860 FVA after an eight year search for an engine.

Smith sold the car to Queenslander Max Pearson circa 2008. He further cosmetically restored it inclusive of fitment of a Waggott 2-litre engine. Pearson sold the machine to Stewart Corner in 2022.

In February 2018, via Facebook posts of the photograph at this articles outset, it became clear that Ken Shirvington sold another chassis tagged ‘AMR03’ to Joe Farmer. Farmer believes the chassis may have been built after the 1969 Easter Bathurst collision between Niel Allen, McLaren M4A Ford FVA and Stewart, Mildren Waggott 1.6 TC-4V. Smith or Kevin Bartlett are the only two men alive who could identify when the spare frame was built by careful examination of the chassis in total, and the engine bay in particular.

KB WF September 1968 (unattributed)

Afterthoughts…

Given Vin Sharp’s responses – see them at the bottom of this piece – shown below is the Brian Foley owned ex-Mildren Racing/John French Alfa Romeo GTA #752561 being further lightened, strengthened and modified for its 1973 career as a ‘Sports Sedan’ in Bowin Designs’ Brookvale, Sydney factory in late 1972-early 1973.

Apropos Vin’s comments, it may well be ‘our-engine’ being inserted into the car albeit now at a capacity of over 1900cc. More about the two Mildren GTAs here: https://primotipo.com/2014/11/27/the-master-of-opposite-lock-kevin-bartlett-alfa-romeo-gta/

(J Barnes)
(G Moulds)

Brian Foley on the grid at Calder during 1973, the so-called GTA Lightweight #752561 after its surgery at Bowin Designs including fitment of Bowin wheels.

That’s Leo Geoghegan’s Porsche 911S alongside and I think, Bill Browns Carrera RS in the same Grace Bros yellow-hue.

Yes, the GTA Lightweight does look like Foley’s GTAm #1531068 but they are different – albeit similar at a distant glance – cars. See the article linked above for the detail, and this one on the GTAm: https://primotipo.com/2024/07/13/alfa-romeo-1750-gtam/

Credits/References…

Greg Smith and his Mildren and Waggott archives, Bryan Henderson, Avalon photo taken by Geoff Searl, Australian Autosportsman, Dale Harvey, Mike Tyler, Central Western Daily, Richard Watson, Vin Sharp, John Barnes, Glenn Moulds

Tailpiece…

(R Watson)

Two 1.6 litre Four-Valvers into Creek Corner, Peter Macrow plunges down the inside of KB in Tony Osborne’s McLaren M4A Ford FVA.

Finito…

Australian Racing Random 17…

Posted: April 6, 2025 in Features, Fotos
Tags: , , , ,
6
(I Smith)

Once upon a time the in-crowd could pick a driver by his helmet design, Derek Bell in this case. That era spanned the 1960s-1980s and a bit. These days the helmets have more of a puke-the paint from on-high-factor about them. Drivers change them as often as they do their jocks, so one may be just getting a ‘design’ into ones head, then out she goes…

Derek shared this Ron Hodgson Holden Torana A9X 5-litre with Dieter Quester in the October 1, 1978 Bathurst 1000. They were out after 5 of the 163 laps from Q5 (Bell) after Derek experienced a steering failure and crashed. Peter Brock and Jim Richards won in a Holden Dealer Team A9X.

(Motorsport Images)

Paul Hawkins on his way to third place in the Zeltweg 500km, round 9 of the International Championship of Makes on August 25, 1968.

In front of him were the works-Porsche 908s of Jo Siffert and Hans Herrmann/Kurt Ahrens. Hawkins car was his own.

In Paul other 1968 results, he and David Hobbs won the Monza 1000km in a JW Automotive GT40. The same pair were fourth in the Brands Hatch 6 Hours in a Hawkins entry, Hawkins and Ickx were third in the Nurburgring 1000km in a JW car, at Spa Hawkins/Hobbs were fourth, and at Watkins Glen second in JW entries. More on Paul here: https://primotipo.com/2020/09/25/hawkeye/

(I Smith)

A very poignant photograph of Alan Hamilton in the Sandown pitlane during the 1978 Australian Grand Prix weekend; The Fangio Meeting at which the great JMF demonstrated a Mercedes Benz W196 Grand Prix car with much brio.

The utter excitement of the sight and sound of that legendary car-driver combination was to an extent ruined by the accidents that befell Garrie Cooper and Alan Hamilton, and to a lesser extent Vern Schuppan, in the Grand Prix. See here in my Hamilton tribute: https://primotipo.com/2025/03/16/alan-hamilton-rip/

(T Wright)

Robin Pare over the top at Skyline, Baskerville, in Don Elliott’s Elfin ME5 Chev.

What a fabulous racetrack it is too. This car, with a relatively short track to wheelbase ratio was reputedly a twitchy little bugger, its bit Robin circa 1973-74.

Here are the remains of the car after a reasonably Big One at Baskerville on October 12, 1975. ‘I was only 30 metres away from the crashing, cartwheeling car with my camera tucked away securely in my bag while I was having lunch,’ photographer Bruce Smart wrote. The car still exists today.

(B Smart)
(J Spinks(

Warwick Brown’s McLaren M10B Chev in the Sandown paddock in September 1973, ‘when he got back into an F5000 and did a demonstration run after his huge accident at Surfers paradise earlier in the year.’ Neil Stratton.

It was a remarkably brave thing to do, I attended the Glyn Scott Memorial Trophy Gold Star round at Surfers Paradise while on a family holiday on the Gold Coast only ? weeks before. Warwick was at that meeting hobbling around with crutches/ walking stick. No way would I have thought he’d be back in the car even for an exploratory run such a short time later. Mind over matter folks…

WB for ‘73 here: https://primotipo.com/2017/03/09/wb-for-73/

(unattributed)

Ron Tauranac in one of his Ralts – Ralt 1 perhaps – date and place folks? https://primotipo.com/2023/06/10/ron-tauranacs-series-one-ralts/

(GC Forsyth)

John French ascending Inverell Hillclimb in a Holden FJ in 1958, I penned an obituary/career summary in Auto Action a month ago.

Auto Action D005

(Chevron)

Peter Brock, Birrana 273 Ford #008 during the August 5 Oran Park round of the 1973 Australian F2 Championship.

Brocky finished second behind Leo Geoghegan’s works 273 in this second round of the Championship but only did the following round at Amaroo before pulling the pin; no funds and no Hart 416-B Twin-cam the reasons given if memory serves. See here: https://primotipo.com/2018/05/07/brocks-birrana/

(Auto Action)

As good as an XU-1 got…

Peter Brock in a Holden Dealer Team Holden Torana GTR XU-1 on the exit of Torana Corner at Sandown during the 250k Manchamps round on September 10, 1972.

Harry finally got around to slapping a decent coat of paint on his cars, fitted by then with the just homologated Globe alloys.

A DNF for Peter and Colin Bond. Fords reigned supreme in the traditional Bathurst warm-up event: John Goss from Fred Gibson and Murray Carter in Phase 3 GTHO’s. It all came good for Brocky on the mountain of course…

(Auto Action)

A list of all of the Coopers owned by Bib Stillwell would be interesting…

Here the T53 Climax and T49 Monaco are shown in the Mallala paddock during The Advertiser Trophy Gold Star meeting weekend on October 8, 1962.

Bib won the race from John Youl and David McKay in Coopers T55 and T51 respectively. More on Bib’s Coopers here: https://primotipo.com/2015/03/10/bib-stillwell-cooper-t49-monaco-warwick-farm-sydney-december-1961/

Aussie Invaders Brian Muir and Frank Gardner on the front row of the 1972 British Grand Prix BTCC support race at Brands Hatch on July 15. Ford Capri RS2600 and Chev Camaro Z28 Mk2.

Gardner won the sixth round of the BTCC, 20 lap race from the David Brodie and David Matthews Ford Escort RS1600s. Brian Muir led the first 16 laps and sliced a big chunk off the lap record before spinning to rest on his own oil after a major engine failure on lap 17.

More about Brian Muir here: https://primotipo.com/2022/09/03/brian-muir/

(G Hughes)

This Jaguar XK150 was used to test tyre compunds and tbe way they reacted to Lake Eyre salt in 1963.

Chassis T825278DN, a late 3.8S was loaned to Dunlop for tyre testing purposes for the Donald Campbell-Bluebird Proteus land speed record attempt. What became of the car folks?

More on Bluebird’s Australian campaign: https://primotipo.com/2014/07/16/50-years-ago-today-17-july-1964-donald-campbell-broke-the-world-land-speed-record-in-bluebird-at-lake-eyre-south-australia-a-speed-of-403-10-mph/

(L Hemer)

Lynton Hemer catches Frank Gardner on the hop through the Warwick Farm Esses during his victorious run in the works Lola T192 Chev in February 1971. Warwick Farm 100 Tasman Cup race.

More about the Lola T192 in this article: https://primotipo.com/2021/05/15/angus-and-cootes-lola-t300s/

(S Ellison)

Tim Schenken at right with the Team Tiga Formula 3 Ralt RT1/76 Toyota chassis 16 with Eddie Jordan aboard during during a test session at Goodwood in 1978. From the left are Steve Elly Ellison, John Love, Eddy and Tim.

Jordan won the 1978 Irish Formula Atlantic Championship aboard a Marlboro Team Ireland Chevron B29 Ford BDA. EJ seems to have only done one race in this car, at the November 11, 1978 Thruxton round where he qualified ninth and finished seventh in the race won by Derek Warwick’s RT1 Toyota.

(T Schenken)

Tiga ran this chassis for Andrea de Cesaris in the British F3 Championship that year, he brought the Marlboro money via his father. Andrea got quicker as the year went on, finishing seventh in the title chase with his best results thirds at Mallory Park in May, Brands Hatch and Donington in July, and fourth placings at Paul Ricard and Silverstone in July and Donington in August.

Tim Schenken and Howden Ganley ran De Cesaris again the following year in a Team Tiga March 793 Toyota, he was second in the championship that year…behind Chico Serra in the other Team Tiga 793. Not to worry, Andrea graduated to F2 and F1 in 1980.

Back to Eddie. When his own race-career was on the decline he formed Eddie Jordan Racing which proved to be rather a successful enterprise!

Tom Sulman looking very pre-War in ‘his’ Maserati 4CM at Mount Panorama in October 1960.

Unclassified in the Craven A International won by Jack Brabham’s Cooper T51, with four Coopers behind him. More about Sulman in this feature here: https://primotipo.com/2018/04/19/tom-sulman/

Jim McKeown in the short-lived Porsche Cars Australia Porsche 911 Turbo mid-engined Sports Sedan at Calder in 1975. I’ll take your advice on the meeting date please?

Allan Moffat giving chase in his RS3100 Cologne Capri then Leo or Pete Geoghegan in the Grace Bros Porsche 911S.

CAMS could never work out what category to pop the 911 into, they chopped and changed a number of times. In this case Hammo pissed a lot of money up against the wall to build a car that was kosher one minute and daffied the next. See here: https://primotipo.com/2018/09/04/long-neck-fosters/

Peter Larner during the 1978 New Zealand Formula Pacific Championship, circuit folks? By then Paul England’s Dolphin Ford BDA – a Brabham BT36 built up by Don Baker using an Arch Motors chassis – was an old gal by then, but Pedro contested the whole series with bests of ninth at Baypark and 11th at Manfield and Wigram. The 1977 Australian F2 Champion (Elfin 700 Lotus-Ford twin-cam) deserved a better mount.

Up at the pointy end Keke Rosberg won the championship from Larry Perkins and Bobby Rahal aboard Chevron B39, Ralt RT1 and Chevron B39 respectively.

Leo Geoghegan, Lotus Elite from David Lewis Holden Grey, Gavin Youl, Porsche 356, David McKay, Ferrari 250 Pininfarina, #39 Ron Marshall, AC Bristol #30 Alan Ling, Holden and the rest at Longford in 1961, mixed GT and Touring Car race.

McKay raced the Tony Oxley owned car – chassis 1973 – which I believe is still in the same family.

And below a better shot of the ‘Ron Marshall, Yass, ex-Mary Seed AC Ace with Sydney made hardtop for Appendix K GT regulations’. Thanks to Stephen Dalton and Rob Bartholomaeus. There is a bit more about this Ace at the end of this piece here: https://primotipo.com/2022/10/02/australian-racing-random-11/

(speedwayandroadracehistory.com)
(M Heeler)

What an impactful cover. The Bunbury Speedway’s first season was in 1972.

Bunbury, 175 km south of Perth and has a motorsport heritage all the way back to the 1920s when beach racing was conducted on the wide, hard-packed sand of Bunbury Back Beach! See here: https://primotipo.com/2017/03/23/bunbury-flying-50-allan-tomlinson-ferrari-500-et-al/

(L Keetelaar)

Bib Stillwell and Stan Jones in the front row of a race during the Victorian Trophy meeting at Calder over the February 25, 1962 weekend. Coopers T53 and T51 Climax.

Stan (below) didn’t start the feature event which was won by Bib from Lex Davison, Aston Martin DBR4 3-litre and Bryan Thomson, Cooper T51 Climax FPF 2.2.

See here for Calder’s early days: https://primotipo.com/2022/08/27/calder-raceway/

(L Keetelaar)

Credits…

Ian Smith, Tony Wright, John Spinks, Graham C Forsyth, Chevron Publishing, Auto Action, Robert Clayton, Lynton Hemer, Steve Elly Ellison via Ed Brunette, Bruce Smart, Mark Heeler, Lynn Keetelaar Collection, speedwayandroadracehistory.com via Rob Bartholomaeus

Finito…

Alan Hamilton RIP…

Posted: March 16, 2025 in Features, Fotos
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
2

Spitfire, Alan Hamilton and a Bentley not long after Hamiltons Rolls Royce was created to take on the Rolls and Bentley franchises, ‘Laverton, Victoria on December 20, 1988’ Tony Johns advises.

Alan Douglas McKinnon Hamilton, a wonderful man, Australian Porsche importer, racer, entrepreneur and entrant died on March 3, 2025 in Melbourne. He was born on July 29, 1942.

I wrote an obituary which was published in Auto Action: https://autoaction.com.au/2025/03/04/mr-porsche-alan-hamilton-passes-racer-entrepreneur-and-entrant

What follows is a photograph based tribute. I was lucky enough to meet with and speak to Alan in the last five years about various articles, and sometimes just racing shite more generally…a Prince of a Bloke.

(R Rundle)

Early days aboard a 356 Coupe at Calder circa-1962

This tribute is a pot-pourri of the cars he raced but is far from all of them. It excludes machines he entered for others…of which they are a lot.

(R Hossack)

It could be Europe but its outer Melbourne. Hamilton’s 2-litre six powered 904-8 Bergspyder #007 at Templestowe Hillclimb during 1966.

‘Alan Hamilton leaving The Hole with the Porsche engine making its very distinctive and glorious bellowing sound. It always scared me a bit watching Alan because he was so quick out of The Hole that when he arrived at Barons, a sharp U-turn with trees on the outside, he was going so fast that if anything went wrong…I hated to think. But always fantastic to watch and hear.’

(B Jackson)

In the paddock at Surfers Paradise during the 1966 12-Hour meeting. Alan was sharing the car with Brique Reed.

And below during the March ‘66 Longford Tasman meeting while contesting the Australian Tourist Trophy. Hammo is turning into The Viaduct in front of Lionel Ayers’s MRC/Lotus 23B Ford and Spencer Martin aboard the Scuderia Veloce Ferrari 250LM.

Frank Matich won in his new Elfin 400 Traco-Oldsmobile from Hamilton and Martin.

(S Fryer)
(R Rundle)

Hamilton rounds up the John Kiran/Colin Bond/Max Winkless Volvo P1800 during the 1967 Surfers Paradise 12 Hour. Alan and Glyn Scott were third behind the Scuderia Veloce Ferrari 250LM raced by Bill Brown and Greg Cusack, and the Paul Hawkins/Jackie Epstein Lola T70 Mk3 Chev.

This 906 is his first – chassis#007 – had its lid lopped off locally to accommodate Alan’s considerable length. His second 906 was tagged 007 too… That’s it below at Warwick Farm during the RAC Trophy meeting in May 1971.

(L Hemer)
Longford, March 1967 aboard the first 906
Peters Corner Sandown in 1967 with Neil Allen’s ex-Matich Elfin 400 Olds behind (unattributed)
(oldracephotos.com/King)

Hamilton having a drive of a front-engined car for a change. The MW Motors Alfa Romeo GTA at Longford in 1968, Murray Wright was the Melbourne Alfa Romeo dealer.

(MotorSport)

Hammo taking some air during the 1968 Nurburgring 1000km. He was 28th, sharing the Porsche 911S 2-litre with Hans Dieter-Blatzheim on May 19.

Up at the front was a pair of Porsces: Jo Siffert and Vic Elford won in a 908 with local-lads Hans Herrmann and Rolf Stommelen second in a 907.

(Porsche)

Alan at Station Pier for the handover of a of carton of beer or three to the Waterside Workers Federation dogs to avoid his new Porsche 911 T/R being accidentally damaged on the downward drop onto said Pier…

MG corner at Phillip Island? (A Scott)
Warwick Farm with the car dancing on its tippy-toes, lots of shots of this car are in this pose (Porsche)

He came close to winning the 1969 Australian Touring Car Championship with this car, which is still in Australia I think, see here for a feature on that title: https://primotipo.com/2018/02/01/1969-australian-touring-car-championship/

(A Scott)

Hammo in his maiden single-seater drive in his new McLaren M10B Chev at Lakeside over the June 6 weekend in 1971. Third behind Kevin Bartlett and Max Stewart.

Chassis #400-19 was Niel Allen’s spare tub which was built up into a complete car when Allen retired from racing after the end of the 1971 Tasman Cup.

(B Jackson)

Hamilton inserts himself into the McLaren’s cockpit in the Warwick Farm pits and is shown below in the very best of company dicing with John Surtees, Surtees TS8 Chev during the ‘71 AGP.

That’s Colin Bond in Frank Matich’s McLarens M10C Repco-Holden and the Graeme Lawrence’s Brabham Ford FVC. A deflating tyre cruelled Surtees chances, Frank Matich won the race from with Hamilton third and Lawrence fourth, Bondy lost Phil-pressure and retired.

Max Stewart’s fast and reliable Mildren Waggott TC-4V won the Gold Star that year with the two ex-Allen M10Bs driven by Bartlett and Hamilton in equal second-place.

(L Hemer)
(J Lemm)

Hamilton at Collingrove on the way to a 33 seconds-dead run at Easter, taking FTD in the Australian Hillclimb Championship (AHC) in April 1971.

Alan had won here before, taking the 1966 title in the 904 Bergspyder. He returned to hillclimbing after losing his General Competition Licence as a result becoming an insulin dependent diabetic as a consequence of his 1978 massive Sandown accident. He won the 1981 AHC in a Porsche Special, then took it one final time at Gippsland Park, Morwell in a Lola T87/50 Buick, a device which started life as a Formula 3000 car.

(unattributed)

Hammo leading Allan Moffat and Bryan Thomson during the 1972 Sandown Tasman meeting.

The 911S 2.4-litre, ex-Brian Foley/Jim Palmer, Mustang Boss 302 and Holden Torana Chev glimpse in a mixed Improved Tourer and Sports Sedan race. Neil Stratton wrote that this was palmers first race in the car and that Moffat retired the Mustang after losing its brakes over Lukey – the rise at the top of the back straight – and hitting the Armco protecting the Marshalls.

The same pair at Calder later in the year below.

(P Husband)

On the hop at Oran Park in a 3-litre Carrera RSR in 1976. Famously the 1975 Paris Show 911 Turbo/930 prototype, long since left our shores and lives in Europe.

(Auto Action)

Allan Moffat created a crushing touring car team in 1977 by recruiting American engineer-team manager Carrroll Smith, engine builder Peter Molloy and Colin Bond.

After winning the ATCC Moffat recruited Jacky Ickx and Hamilton for the Enduros. Moffat’s 1-2 form finish has had taxi fans foaming at the mouth for decades with colulda-woulda-shouldas but The Boss prevailed, as he should have: Moffat/Ickx first, Bond/Hamilton second.

(B Atkin)

A very poignant photograph of Hammo in the Sandown pitlane during the 1978 Australian Grand Prix weekend; The Fangio Meeting at which the great JMF demonstrated a Mercedes Benz W196 Grand Prix car with much brio.

The utter excitement of the sight and sound of that legendary car-driver combination was to a large extent ruined by the accidents that befell Garrie Cooper and Alan Hamilton, and to a lesser extent Vern Schuppan, in the Grand Prix. Racing Car News summarised it thus:

Hamilton turns in to Dandenong Road not long before the crash. If the Lola T430 Chev looks a little odd, it’s because Porsche Cars Australia modified the car by removing the sportscar-type-front and replaced it with a T332 type wing which provided more bite…and looked better.

Alan lost control of the twitchy, unforgiving Lola on the fast left-hander off The Causeway then went backwards into the Dunlop Bridge breaking the car into two and breaking a leg, his pelvis and sustaining serious head injuries. While there that day I was nowhere near the accident which is in a no-spectators area on the inside of the track. The vibe of the place that day with three big-hits, and limited information flow to we punters, is something I still remember.

(B Polain)

Hammo competing in the Seaforth Tourist Trophy in 1983. Not a lot of safety for cars doing 180mph…

This 917/30 #004 was Mark Donohue’s unraced spare in 1973. Alan always had a snoop around the Zuffenhausen ‘shops on his trips to Deutschland and spotted this little baby on one of those trips. Long-since left our shores.

Hammo’s 908 Coupe following the 917/30. The 908 was, ahem, road-registered for a while in Victoria (unattributed)
(unattributed)
A cursory glance at the 917/30 spaceframe chassis and its driver-forward driving position shows the importance of not having a frontal impact at anything more than 30mph…(unattributed)
(unattributed)

The Seaforth Racing Car parade was a fantastic event put together by Bruce Polain and a bunch of his mates at the Historic Racing Car Club of Australia in Sydney.

The street circuit was about 2.5km around the heights of Seaforth, descending to Spit Bridge with views of the inner-harbour, then winding up through the gears to the top of Spit Hill to Sydney Road, then left into the Seaforth shopping centre. Twice. Two runs during the day.

December 10, 1983 with Bob Jane’s Chev Monza and Bruce Polain’s Wylie Javelin heading out of town towards Seaforth. Any tourist who has taken a dip at Manly will have made this trip…unless you went the fun way by ferry! Shot taken from the Ethel Street overpass (unattributed)
(unattributed)
(T Johns)

Tony Johns, ‘Alan Hamilton driving the Porsche Factory Museum 1962 Type 804 F1 racing car.’

‘Sandown Tribute to Champions meeting February 14, 1982. A real gentleman to have worked for at Porsche all those years ago.’

‘Another photo from the same morning. The 804 and 718 RSK ex-USA and the ex-factory 908 Coupe were part of Alan’s collection. Rob Walker, Stirling Moss’ long-time patron is seated in the Spyder and Moss is chatting with Norman Hamilton (jacket and cap), the founder of Porsche in Australia.’

(D Pearce)

Alan Hamilton, Porsche 911SC during the 1987 Sea Lake Mallee Rally, perhaps with Jim Hardman alongside.

It’s not just any SC either! This car is ‘C20’ the prototype of what ultimately became the 911-964 four-wheel-drive, and along the way the competition 953 Paris-Dakar rallycars. The 3.2-litre car started life as Helmuth Bott’s brown-SC company car before morphing into a double-front wishbone machine with front and rear diffs. When it was pensioned off guess who spotted it on one of his trips to Germany in 1986?…

The very interesting story is told here: https://www.tradeuniquecars.com.au/porsche-4×4-1981-911sc-4wd-prototype/

(J Bryant)

Hamilton on the hop at Gippsland Park Morwell on October 15, 1989 aboard his Lola T87/50 Buick 4.9 V6, another AHC victory, not the last for this chassis either.

This machine, T87/50 HU12 Cosworth V8 3-litre, was Michel Ferte’s 1987 Euro F3000 Championship car. It and another T87/50 – acquired by Bob Minogue for Formula Holden use – were purchased by Hamilton.

Paul Newby’s research (written on The Nostalgia Forum) says that the car was at one time fitted with a Ford DFL-035 3.3-litre ex-Spice Engineering Racing acquired at the 1988 Sandown WEC race attended by Hamilton, wearing his PCA hat.

(D Hardman)

Hamilton and friends – Jim Hardman constructor of the three F2/FPac cars of the same name and Porsche Cars Australia Chief Engineer/Mechanic during the Costanzo glory years is behind him – with a Cosworth V8 powered hillclimb special at Morwell, date unknown but circa 1981-82.

Spaceframe chassis with the DFV/DFL used as a stressed member, as it was intended. Nick Bennett observed that ‘I believe Alan only dove it once and scared the shit out of himself.’ Two meetings only perhaps folks: Morwell and Collingrove? More information on this car welcome.

(D Hardman)

Credits…

Ian Smith, Ron Rundle, Stephen Fryer, Bob Atkinson, Lynton Hemer, Australian Autosportsman, Alexis Scott, Lynton Hemer, Brian Jackson, Racing Car News, Brian Stratton, Auto Action, Daryl Pearce, Peter Husband, Jarrod Bryant, David Hardman, John Lemm

Tailpiece…

(I Smith)

Ian Smith was a long time friend of Alan, I love this portrait which was taken circa-1978.

Afterthought…

1985 AGP Historic Demo Adelaide (J Lemm)

The final words go to Rob Newman.

‘Years ago, when John Walker was driving the 934 Martin Sampson had purchased from Alan Hamilton I had the privilege of preparing the car for each race in Alan’s workshop out by Sandown, so I spent some time there.’

‘Late one day Alan gave John and I a personal tour of the complex and his toys, one of which was his 917. The car was on stands without bodywork, the chassis with engine, suspension and various bits fitted including the fibreglass seat. But what caught my eye was the size of the hole in the seat where the crutch belts were fed through, it was massive, a large square cut out in the seat. I must have made comment because I clearly remember Alan, pipe in hand and with a straight face replied “That’s how big your balls need to be to drive this thing.”

Finito…

Lady Wigram Trophy 1962…

Posted: February 28, 2025 in F1, Fotos
Tags: , , , ,
7
(E Stevens)

Stirling Moss on his way to winning the January 20, 1962 Lady Wigram Trophy in searing New Zealand heat.

He has the side-panels of Rob Walker’s Lotus 21 Climax FPF 2.5 removed to get a bit of air flowing through the cockpit of chassis #935.

I love this ode to the demise of the fabulous front-engined Grand Prix cars written by Digby Paape.

‘I remember coming away from this race thinking, “Well, that’s the end of exciting racing.” Gone were the front engined monopostos with loud exhausts that rang off the Port Hills, the drivers biceps fighting the wood-rimmed steering wheel, the blue chrome on the exhausts, the dirty spoked wheels, the broadsides and four-wheel-drifts. All gone with the advent of these pesky little cars that cornered on rails and sounded like Austin A40’s.’

Luvvit!

Australian great Lex Davison referred to the Coopers as ‘Anti-Climaxes’ and ‘Mechanical Mice’…not that it stopped him racing and winning in them!

More about Lotus 21 chassis 935 here: https://primotipo.com/2016/04/08/ole-935/

Moss approaching the Wigram hairpin (unattributed)
Jack Brabham on his way to victory at Ardmore in 1958, Cooper T43 FPF 2.2 (unattributed)

The mid-engined rout started early in NZ. Jack Brabham won the 1958 NZ GP at Ardmore aboard a Cooper T43 Climax on January 11, a week before Moss won the first Championship F1 race in a mid-engined car at Buenos Aires on January 19. He too raced a Cooper T43 in that Argentine Grand Prix, one of Rob Walker’s cars.

Broaden the definition to Grand Prix racing and the mid-engined feat wasn’t a big deal given Auto Union’s pre-war successes, but such is the fixation with Formula One these days that most prefer to ignore the history of a period that doesn’t interest them or of which they have no knowledge.

It wasn’t too many years before – 1956 – that Moss had first visited the country and taken New Zealand’s premier race, again at Ardmore aboard one of the great front-engined Grand Prix cars, the Maserati 250F.

#7 is Moss’ with the 3-litre Ferrari 500/625s of Peter Whitehead and #4 Tony Gaze alongside. The Bugatti is Ron Roycroft’s T35A Jaguar, #6 is another Jaguar engined car, Peter Whitehead’s Cooper T38 being raced by Reg Parnell. Peter lent Reg the car after Parnell’s Aston Martin DP155 had engine problems in practice. Moss won from Gaze and Whithead.

Moss post race with biceps bulging having wrestled with his 250F’s wood-rimmed wheel for the previous 2 hours 32 minutes!

Tailpiece…

(R Herrick)

Rob Walker’s NZ GP winning Lotus 21 Climax leaves Ardmore on the back of a modest trailer towed by a Borgward Isabella Coupe…simpler times.

Credits…

Eric Stevens, Digby Paape, Roger Herrick

Finito…

My shot : McLaren M8A Chev : Derek Kneller…

Posted: February 9, 2025 in Fotos, Sports Racers
Tags: , ,
2
(D Kneller)

‘It’s the first McLaren M8A Chev outside McLaren’s David Road factory in Colnbrook,’ Derek Kneller recalled.

‘I was a fabricator working with Don Beresford, John Thompson and George Begg on the M8As. The shot was taken on my Polaroid camera when the first body was fitted.’

The shot below of Alistair Caldwell, Bruce McLaren and Teddy Mayer testing the car at Goodwood in July 1968 dates Derek’s shot. The car is still not fitted with mirrors, but does have a small spoiler on the rear bodywork, so perhaps a day #1 or day #2 test…

(goodwood.com.)

Bruce blasting past the Super Shell Building at Goodwood, what is that material going across the back of the car from wheel arch to wheel arch?

It wasn’t a bad season, McLarens won all six Can-Am Cup rounds: Denny Hulme took three, Bruce, Mark Donohue (M6A Chev) and John Cannon (M1B Chev) one apiece. Denny won the Canadian-American Challenge Cup from Bruce and Mark.

Etcetera…

As David Road is today courtesy of Andrew Hicks.

Credit…

Derek Kneller, Motorsport Images, Goodwood.com, Andrew Hicks

Finito…

Tourers on Tour…

Posted: February 5, 2025 in Fotos, Touring Cars
Tags:
5
(S Elliott)

That’s a Stormin’ Norm backdrop unfamiliar to me!

Beechey exits the Pukekohe hairpin in his legendary 1970 Australian Touring Car Championship winning Holden Monaro HT GTS350 during the 1971 NZGP weekend.

There is a bit more about this car here: https://primotipo.com/2018/04/01/variety-is-the-spice/

From the 1971 NZ GP programme via Stephen Dalton

The idea for the first in this occasional series of Australian Touring Cars Abroad came from my latest photo raid of two fantastic Kiwi racing FB sites: Old New Zealand Motor Racing and South Island Motorsports, suss them both out.

But of course New Zealand wasn’t/isn’t the only country ‘Oz tourer pros‘ have visited. I’ve prostituted the idea a bit by including blokes like Frank Gardner, Brian Muir and Horst Kwech whose over-there touring car racing was based over-there not here, if that makes sense as a differentiator…

(Bay of Plenty News)

Terry Allan at Baypark in May 1970

Steve Holmes wrote on The Roaring Season, ‘In 1967, young Melbourne motorsport enthusiast Terry Allan took a trip to the US and purchased a new Camaro to race in Australia. Fitted with a 396ci big block Rat motor, and quad-side draught Webers, the Camaro caused a huge stir with race fans on its debut in May 1967, as this was the first Camaro to race anywhere in Australasia.’

‘Allan raced the Camaro from 1967 to 1971, then sold it to Graeme Blanchard. From there it went to Lakis Manticas and then to Barry Wearing in 1974, after which it appears to have vanished.’

‘Information about Terry Allan’s Camaro has been difficult to find. A couple of magazines have attempted to trace its current whereabouts, or ultimate fate, but have drawn blanks. Rumours surrounded the car, and its US origins, and the possibility it may have been race prepared at the workshop of GM racing guru Bill Thomas, but these were all hearsay.’

What became of Terry Allan folks?

(Bay of Plenty News)

Allan Moffat’s Team Harper/Ford Cologne Ford Capri RS2600 on the way to winning the 53 lap November 18, 1973 Touring Car Race at Macau. Second and third were Tachi Nobuhide and Jose Ramirez aboard Toyota Celica GTs.

Moffat must have been impressed, a year later FoMoCo Oz had an RS3100 on the water for him to race in Australia. Macau was a little bit of try before you buy in a sense. See here: https://primotipo.com/2015/04/09/australias-cologne-capris/

(T Growden)

Brian Foley’s Morris Cooper S at Pukekohe during the 1969 New Zealand Grand Prix weekend. ‘Second in the the 1000-1300cc race.’

The title for Australian King of the Coopers was a tussle between Sydney based Foley, and Melbourne based Peter Manton, with honourable mentions to John Leffler, Lynn Brown and Don Holland. And yes my friends, there are more depending upon the period you have in mind.

By 1971 Brian was teasing Australian Alfisti with this ex-Auto Delta Alfa Romeo 1750 GTAm. The 2-litre machine was under-gunned against the V8 Pony Cars that had the ATCC stitched up, but it was still a crowd-pleaser and ‘2-litre Class’ winning machine.

Here he is below at Shah Alam, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1972.

The same car in its Castrol livery at Baypark in 1972 below, results folks? See here for a feature about the car: https://primotipo.com/2024/07/13/alfa-romeo-1750-gtam/

(B Scott)
(Bonhams)

Peter Brock raced overseas a bit: BMW 3.5-litre CSL, Porsche 956 and some Commodores but maybe not as much as one would have expected of one of the world’s greatest touring car drivers of his era?

In 1977 he teamed up with his ‘UK GM equivalent’, Gerry Marshall for the 24 Hours of Spa in a factory Vauxhall Firenza Magnum.

Built by Bill Blydentein’s Dealer Team Vauxhall squad, the Group 1 Spa Magnum had some trick modifications including twin Weber 48DCOEs and a cam fitted to the 2.3-litre slant-four increasing its power to circa-172bhp. A Getrag five-speed ‘box completed a light, fast package.

(Bonhams)

Marshall and Brock were second at Spa with the Beefy-Brit chasing down second with 30 minutes to go, they also took the ‘Coup du Roi’ teams and the Index of Performance.

Piece on the variety of cars Peter raced here: https://primotipo.com/2018/05/07/brocks-birrana/

Frank Gardner on the way to winning a Guards Trophy race at Brands Hatch in May 1970, Ford Mustang Boss 302.

FG won the British Saloon/Touring Car Championship in 1967-68 aboard a Ford Falcon Sprint and Lotus Cortina/Ford Escort Twin-Cam respectively. In a decade long dream run in Europe, Gardner annually had single-seater, sportscar and touring car programmes/races in all corners of the globe and did justice to all of the different disciplines.

He returned to Australia in late 1974.

(John Lawton)

Pete Geoghegan in characteristic style giving his Ford Falcon GTHO Super Falcon a lungful at Baypark in 1973.

Pete took pretty much all of his cars across the ditch, I’ll do a post of those exclusively some time soon.

(S Laverick)

Moffat’s Coke Mustang Boss 302 at rest in the Pukekohe paddock in 1972, and on the move below.

More often than not race-paddocks are shit-holes, not so Puke which always looks wonderful in photos with its undulations, leafy trees and grass.

See this epic about Moffat’s career in the US: https://primotipo.com/2020/03/06/moffats-shelby-brabham-elfin-and-trans-am/

(S Taylor)

Colin Bond in the NZ Holden Dealer Team Holden Torana GTR XU-1 during the 1973 Heatway Rally run between July 7-14 out of Christchurch.

120 cars entered the event which was won by 1983 World Rally Drivers Championship winner Hannu Mikkola and Jim Porter, and Mike Marshall and Arthur McWatt both in Ford Escort RS1600 Mk1s, then Shekhar Mehta and Wayne Jones Datsun 180B, then the Bond/George Shepheard LJ XU-1.

Bondy was a crowd favourite in whatever he drove and is one of Australia’s most versatile drivers of any era. On-the-dirt he won three Australian Rally Championships in 1971-72-74, all with George Shepheard alongside and all in GTR XU-1s. Funny, in my mind he bagged another in his Escort RS days, but not so…albeit Greg Carr won one aboard a CB prepared Escort in 1978.

(S Taylor)
(Alpina Auomobiles)

Brian ‘Yogi’ Muir in the Alpina BMW CSL 3-litre during the first round of the 1973 European Touring Car Championship at Monza in March 1973. He shared the car with Niki Lauda. See here: https://primotipo.com/2022/09/03/brian-muir/

Amazing career as a UK based international from the mid-1960s in touring cars and sportscars until his death from a heart attack on the way home from the RAC Tourist Trophy at Silverstone on September 11, 1973. He was only 52, born June 30, 1931.

Frank Gardner in his Chev Corvair V8 at Baypark circa 1976 see here: https://primotipo.com/2020/01/31/chev-corvair-v8/

Brilliantly conceived by Sydney racer Tom Nailard, the project was acquired by Frank Gardner who essentially created a two-seat Lola F5000 car with his expansive knowledge of the Huntington company’s parts catalogue.

Winner of the Australian Sports Sedan Championship from 1977-79 for Gardner/Grice/Grice before CAMS’ legislative pencil caught up with them.

(unattributed)

Peter Brock on the way to second place in the Guia Production Car race at Macau in 1971.

LC XU-1 with Globe Rallymaster wheels. Which car izzit, the Holden Dealer Team wrenches had wenches nicknames for the cars didn’t they?: Saggy Sally, Juicy Lucy! Raunchy Rita or whatever!?

(NAS)

Moffat again, this time during the 1973 Singapore Grand Prix weekend on the tough, dangerous Thomson Road circuit.

FoMoCo Oz bought this Alan Mann Racing built Ford Escort Ford FVA for AM to race as a sports sedan about 1970. It was always a struggle to keep up with the V8s. There ain’t no substitute for cubes. Sometimes.

By the time it got to Singapore it was probably fitted with a 2-litre Ford BDG engine. The spec and destiny of the car is of interest if someone can fill me in.

Moff won a heat but had a flat in the final that caused an accident, Brian Foley’s Alfa GTA Lwt won the final.

(Klemantaski Collection)

Speaking of which, here is Horst Kwech racing an Alfa Romeo GTA in a 1970 Trans-Am round at Mid Ohio, and below a Ford Capri RS3100 in an IMSA race in 1974, circuit unknown.

I’ve never got around to having a crack at something about Horst, Australia’s should seek out Paul Newby’s articles in Australian Muscle Car, failing that here is a summary of his career: http://www.motorsportmemorial.org/LWFWIW/focusLWFWIW.php?db2=LWF&db=ct&n=2919

(JD Decrevel)

Let’s finish as we started, with Norm Beechey.

The Baypark promoters were clearly very touring car friendly, they promoted a lot of NZ v Oz contests which must have been fantastic to watch and hear.

Here Melbourne’s own is doing battle in his Chev Nova with, I think, Paul Fahey’s Ford Mustang. Who won these December 1996 or 1967 hitouts? A little bit more here: https://primotipo.com/2019/09/26/norm-jim-and-pete/

(R Grimwood)

The cars got presence hasn’t it! Not the rare under bonnet shot of the 327 fed by four Weber DCOs on a neat crossover inlet manifold nicely ducted with cool air.

Did Claude Morton do Norm’s engines?

(J Copsey)
(J Copsey)

Credits…

Steve Elliott, Stephen Dalton Archive, Bay of Plenty News shots via Bryan Miller, National Archive of Singapore, Klemantaski Collection, JD Decrevel, Getty Images, Stephen Laverick, Sean Taylor, Bruce Scott, Alpina Automobiles, Klemantaski Collection, JD Decrevel, Rod Grimwood, The Motorhood, Terry Baker, Jeff Copsey

Finito…

Pete Biro…

Posted: January 24, 2025 in F1, Fotos
Tags:
1

Frank Matich during the LA Times GP, Riverside Can-Am round on October 29, 1967.

He qualified the 4.4-litre tiddly Matich SR3 Repco-Brabham V8 20th but crashed out of the event won by Bruce McLaren’s 5.7-litre McLaren M6A Chev after completing only 30 of the 62 lap, 200 mile journey.

See here for the SR3: https://primotipo.com/2023/04/02/matich-sr3/ and here for the M6A: https://primotipo.com/2017/12/26/gary-knutson-lotus-11-and-mclaren-engines/

FM is one of my obsessions, every now and then I Google ‘Frank Matich, United States’ to see what pops up. This time, Pete Biro’s shot did, then you Google the bloke you’ve heard of but know nothing about…

Biro – June 1, 1933-December 26, 2018 – was a semi-pro stage and close-up magician and photo-journalist/author who got his start when Road & Track engaged him to do a story about the Barneson Special, then David E Davis discovered him and gave him assignments for Car and Driver.

He and Davis travelled the world, along the way Biro was commissioned by Goodyear, Sports Illustrated, Time, Life and many others. Of course many of his subjects became friends, including Dan Gurney, Phil Hill, Bruce McLaren, Denny Hulme, Jackie Stewart, AJ Foyt, Richard Petty and many others. See here: https://youtu.be/uNEHyexrC_I?si=NpbKvFdyur4LArfB

(P Biro)

Jim Clark, Lotus 38 Ford, Indianapolis 1966.

The Great Scot started from the middle of the front row and may well have won the race…but he was second behind, perhaps, Graham Hill’s Lola T90 Ford.

See here for the Lola T90: https://primotipo.com/2015/06/12/graham-hills-american-red-ball-spl-lola-t90-ford-indy-winner-1966-2/ and here for the Lotus 38: https://primotipo.com/2021/11/20/dans-lotus/

(P Biro)

Jim Hall enquires of Vic Elford, ‘Hows it going out there?’ With the legendary – still as innovative as tomorrow – sucker – Chaparral 2J Chev in 1970.

Interviewed by George Levy, Vic Elford remembered that ‘My first impression was, I don’t really see it as very quick, because it just sort of goes around corners. But then of course it got down to analysing it, we found it was going around corners about 12 or 15% quicker than anything else would.’

See here: https://primotipo.com/2022/09/17/chaparral-2j-chev/

(P Biro)

‘The 2-litre Class’ during the 1966 US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen on October 6.

Peter Arundell’s Lotus 33 Climax FWMV V8, Mike Spence, Lotus 25 BRM perhaps, then maybe the fast approaching Jochen Rindt’s Cooper T81 Maserati. Who knows?

Up front, the heavyweight 3-litre Division is being won, surprisingly, by the top-weight Lotus 43 BRM H16 with Jim Clark at the wheel. See here: https://primotipo.com/2015/02/17/jim-clark-taking-a-deep-breath-lotus-43-brm/

(P Biro)

Dan Gurney, McLaren M8D Chev, Mont Tremblant, St Jovite June 28, 1970.

Who better to help McLaren recover after the loss of Bruce at Goodwood in 1970?

It was all looking good for a while, until competing oil sponsors – Gulf and Castrol – got in the way. Understandable I guess. Dan won the season opener at Mosport and then St Jovite in June, then had dramas at Watkins Glen in mid-July that saw him finish sixth from grid 2.

And then it was all over, Peter Gethin was in the box-seat and got the drive, see here: https://primotipo.com/2014/08/01/peter-gethin-mclaren-m8d-chev-can-am-1970/comment-page-1/

(P Biro)

Bruce McLaren gulps a fresh breath of air at Riverside during the 1960 US GP, he was third in his Cooper T53 Climax behind the Lotus 18s of Stirling Moss and Innes Ireland.

See here: https://primotipo.com/2024/08/14/1960-portuguese-grand-prix/

(P Biro)

Biro about to have the colour of his jocks changed by five laps alongside Jackie Oliver in a Can-Am Shadow DN4 Chev around Laguna Seca in 1973-74, see here: https://primotipo.com/2017/02/11/delicate-touch/

Credits…

Pete Biro

Finito…

linea pininfarina…

Posted: January 8, 2025 in Compound curvature, Fotos, Sports Racers
Tags: ,
0
linea p

Interesting to know where Pininfarina would have placed this mid-1960s ad, the nose belongs to their 1965 Ferrari Dino Berlinetta Speciale …

Aldo Brovarone’s May 1965 concept and its evolution is related on the Ferrari.com website here: https://www.ferrari.com/en-EN/magazine/articles/the-story-of-the-ferrari-206-dino-berlinetta-speciale

Chassis #840 was sourced from SEFAC, Ferrari’s racing department with the completed car presented at the Paris Salon in the October .

(unattributed)
(Getty Images)

Here the cutie is being largely ignored by the world’s horsepower press at the launch of Ferrari’s new 3-litre Tipo 312 Grand Prix car at Maranello in March 1966. John Bolster’s Deerstalker stands out! More about that Ferrari 312 launch here: https://primotipo.com/2017/10/26/surtees-ferrari-312-modena-1966/

More about the Pininfarina Dino design studies based on racing Ferrari Dino chassis, their V6 engines and gearboxes longitudinally mounted, compared with the transverse locale of the roadgoing 206 and 246 variants: https://primotipo.com/2014/07/27/ferrari-dino-206-competizione-pininfarinas-1967-yellow-dino-and-ferrari-dino-206-s/

Etcetera…

(unattributed)
Dino Berlinetta Speciale design sketch by Aldo Brovarone (carstyling.ru)

Credits…

Pininfarina, ferrari.com, Getty Images, carstyling.ru, The Engineer

Tailpiece…

Finito…

Bathurst 1951…

Posted: December 30, 2024 in Features, Fotos
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
11
(FS Furness)

Easter 1951…

Charlie Dean in magnificent Maybach 1, then 4.3-litres in capacity, descending The Mountain.

The original machine of 1947, hillclimbed initially sans bodywork, has now evolved into a refined racing car in its middle age; the last hurrah for Maybach 1 was victory in the 1954 New Zealand Grand Prix held on the Ardmore airfield circuit on January 9.

Charlie was third at Bathurst behind Lex Davison’s Alfa Romeo P3 and Doug Whiteford’s Talbot-Lago T26C in the 6 lap over 1500 handicap, but didn’t finish the 3-lap scratch or start the Redex 100 mile – the Bathurst 100 became the Redex 100 with a few sponsorship £’s – feature with mechanical dramas.

As you will see below, by the October Bathurst meeting Stan Jones had bought the car from Dean and entered into a deal with Repco Research, of which Charlie was general manager/chief engineer, whereby the preparation and ongoing development of the car(s) was Repco’s responsibility.

More about the Maybachs here: https://primotipo.com/2024/01/15/maybach-1-technical-specifications/ and here: https://primotipo.com/2024/03/22/maybachs-2-4-technical-specifications-by-john-goode/

These fabulous photographs were taken by FS Furness and posted on Bob Williamson’s ‘Motor Racing Photographs – Australia’ Facebook page recently by enthusiast Mal Elliot. With the help of John Medley’s Bathurst Bible ‘Bathurst:Cradle of Australian Motor Racing’ I have cobbled together a few words to go with the images. So large was Mal’s post that there are a couple more pieces to come. Many thanks Mal, information on FS Furniss would be most appreciated folks!

(FS Furness)

Tom Hawkes ex-Louis Chiron Talbot-Lago T26C #110007 had not been long in the country and was shared with, and soon sold to very experienced racer, 1950 AGP winner and fellow Victorian Doug Whiteford.

Whiteford soon had the big car going well that weekend, doing 136mph down Conrod. That combo, aided by Doug’s skilful preparation became the top-gun combination in Australia for the next few years. Hawkes was third in the Redex 100 feature, while Whiteford was third in the 3 lap scratch and fifth in the over 1500cc handicap.

The big blue, 4.5-litre six-cylinder Grand Prix car was ‘blooded’ in its first meeting in the Antipodes. That ding in the nose was caused when Whiteford gave Lex Davison’s Alfa Romeo P3 a tap-up-the-bum during the latter stages of the over 1500cc handicap won by Laurie Oxenford’s Alvis Mercury. Lex’s P3 Alfa brakes were usually problematic, a moments hesitation into Hell corner resulted in the hit. The blue and white T-L nose badge became lodged in the Italian’s perky rump, incensed after the race, Lex didn’t return it. Davo was fourth and Whiteford fifth. More about the Talbot-Lago here: https://primotipo.com/2022/05/04/doug-whiteford-talbot-lago-t26c-take-3/

(FS Furness)

Jack Murray had a great weekend aboard his Allard J2 Cadillac. Three J2s were entered by the NSW distributors, Gardiner Motor Service. The best result of the four Allards entered was Murray’s third place in the over 1500cc 6 lap handicap.

(FS Furness)

Dick Cobden had a great weekend in his MG TC Spl. He was third in the 6 lap under 1500cc handicap, and won the 12 lap 50 mile handicap for Redex 100 non-qualifiers.

The first four cars home were MGs; George Pearse’ TB Spl s/c, Curley Brydon’s TC Spl s/c, Cobden, and LG Barnard’s TC. MGs were in many years Australia’s ‘FF and F2 cars’, depending on specification, for decades of handicap racing.

(FS Furness)

H Monday in the RA Gardiner entered Allard J2 was fifth in the McLaughlin Motors Handicap. See this Allard J2 article here: https://primotipo.com/2015/08/07/allard-j2-tom-hawkes-collingrove-hillclimb-1952/

(FS Furness)

Uber-rare shot of champion cyclist’s Nino Borsari’s Cisitalia from Alf Mazengarb’s Riley, neither car was well up in the closed production car handicap where French cars were to the fore: the M Rolls Renault 750 won from Citroens raced by Bill Buckle and P Damman.

(FS Furness)

Jack Saywell’s 1-litre JAP 8/80 powered Cooper Mk4. He did well, winning the 3 Lap Scratch from Frank Kleinig’s Kleinig Hudson Spl and Whiteford’s Talbot-Lago T26C.

(FS Furness)

Lyndon Duckett aboard the Ecurie de Pur Sang Bugatti Type 51A – T35B-4847 converted by the factory to a 51A- substituting for Peter Menere. The car doesn’t appear to have figured in the results.

#4847 was a car brought to Australia by the Dale brothers circa 1951, see here: https://primotipo.com/2018/08/23/words-from-werrangourt-1-by-bob-king/

(FS Furness)

October 1951…

Eldred Norman blasting his Maserati 6CM down Mount Panorama during the feature race, the Redex 50 Mile Championship held over 12 laps on October 1.

Colin Murray brought 6CM #1542 to Australia to contest the 1951 AGP held on the Round the Houses circuit laid out at Narrogin, a wheatbelt town 200km south-east of Perth. He failed to finish the race, then sold the car to Norman who also contested the GP, leading it for a while aboard his famous Double Eight, twin-Ford Mercury V8 engined special until it expired. Eldred sold that car to Perth’s Syd Anderson and ‘stepped-up’ to the Maserati. Quite why he bought a car he soundly belted with the Double Eight is intriguing.

Eldred had a baptism of fire with the Maserati. By the time he got to Bathurst he had already blown the Maserati’s 1.5-litre, six-cylinder twin-cam engine after a connecting rod came adrift at either Gawler or Glen Ewin and reconstructed it.

‘He fabricated up a new steel block and cast new detachable bronze cylinders heads. The detachable heads not only made engine maintenance easier but allowed the fitting of larger valves. The conrods are now 1500 Fiat and the pistons are from a BSA motorcycle,’ AMS October 1951 reported. See the Etcetera section below for more detail on Eldred’s engine reconstruction and ongoing developments.

How much testing the car had undergone before the tow from Adelaide to Bathurst is interesting. It was running well at that stage though, the weekend after Bathurst, on October 8, the Maserati/Norman duo were third in Australia’s first F1 race – The Jubilee Woodside Formula 1 Race – behind Whiteford and Jones.

Information about 6CM #1542 is here: https://forums.autosport.com/topic/99776-researching-the-history-of-maserati-6cm-chassis-1542/ and the 6CM more generally here: https://primotipo.com/2023/10/21/maserati-6cm-1546/

(FS Furness)

Other front-runners were Whiteford‘s Talbot-Lago T26C, Ron Edgerton’s ex-Alf Barrett Alfa Romeo 8C2300 Monza, Jones’ Maybach 1 and Davison’s Alfa P3 albeit Lex didn’t leave the startline with transmission failure.

Whiteford raced well, clear of Jones in second, then Edgerton who gave the Monza’s former owner Barrett a look at the Monza from close-quarters when Alf took Mischa Ravdell’s Cooper into fourth place before hitting a displaced sandbag and retiring.

Whiteford won in a large, quality field from Jones (above) and Edgerton.

(FS Furness)

Above, DA ‘Bill’ MacLachlan in a Bugatti T37A-37358 Ford V8 Spl – originally Bill Thomson’s 1930/32 Phillip Island AGP winning machine – from Clive Warwick Pratley in the George Reed Spl Monoskate 2 (Ford V8 Spl) and Clive Adams, Brad Holden. Pratley was fourth in the Redex feature and had won the Australian Grand Prix in George Reed’s ‘Red Car’, another Ford V8 Spl at Narrogin in March.

(FS Furness)

Reg Hunt in his Hunt Vincent 998 aka The Flying Bedstead, from Barrett in Ravdell’s Cooper Vincent 998 and DG Leonard’s MG-Vauxhall .

Medley records that Barrett took over the car after Ravdell and mechanic Harry Firth were injured in a road accident in Bathurst before racing began. Hunt ran fourth early on before brake troubles intervened.

(FS Furness)

Lex Davison, Doug Whiteford and Ron Edgerton aboard Alfa Romeo P3 #50003, Talbot-Lago T26C #110007 and Alfa Romeo 8C2300 Monza #2211134 respectively. Whiteford won the 6 lap 25 mile over 1500cc race from Davison and Frank Kleinig, Kleinig Hudson Spl.

(FS Furness)

DW McDonald Morgan Plus-Four leads the PG Harrison MG TD Spl and Holt Binnie MG TC Spl s/c.

(FS Furness)

Doug Whiteford’s monoposto Grand Prix 4.5-litre six-cylinder Talbot-Lago T26C above, and Stan Jones biposto 4.3-litre six-cylinder Maybach 1 below, through Forrest’s Elbow. This relatively rare shot of Maybach 1 from the rear shows just how capacious the cockpit was.

The Melbourne motor dealers had much in common, not least combative determination but were otherwise like chalk and cheese.

(FS Furness)

Etcetera…

The Narrogin Observer March 28, 1952

These three articles are for Maserati fetishists interested in the evolution of Eldred De Bracton Norman’s engine developments of his Maserati 6CM #1542 in the two and a bit years he owned it. He made changes to the chassis as well, hydraulic front shock absorbers being the most obvious but unfortunately these articles focus just on the engine, interesting as it is!

Note that the engine damage wasn’t sustained at Woodside ’51, he raced successfully that weekend, David Beaumont reckons the venues the engine popped are either Gawler Airfield or Glen Ewin Hillclimb. That June 11, 1951 meeting at Gawler was perhaps the car’s first appearance in Eldred’s hands. The article below says that Norman’s engine changes were made because ‘he was not happy with the car’s performance at Gawler,’ so maybe the internal haemorrhage didn’t actually occur.

The big races referred to are: Woodside, the ’51 Jubilee Formula 1 race, in Western Australia the March 1952 Great Southern Flying 50 at Narrogin, and at Bathurst, the April 1952 Australian Grand Prix. Clearly, the Maserati by then had a good level of reliability and performance.

One of the many apocryphal Eldred Norman stories was reported in the October 9, 1951 issue of the News Adelaide newspaper. ‘Norman had two purposes in mind as he hurtled around Woodside. One was to win the race, the other to get his lunch ready. Strapped to the exhaust pipe of his Maserati as it sped around the circuit were two cans of pork and beans – piping hot for lunch as soon as the race was over.’

Norman sold the car to Melbourne businessman/motor dealer Ted McKinnon in time for McKinnon to contest the November 1953 Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, DNF after 50 of 64 laps. #1542 was restored by Alf Blight between 1966’ish and 1982 when he raced it at Mallala. The car left Australia shortly thereafter and went through various European owners before Bernie Ecclestone swallowed it whole in 1997…and not been seen since, pending auction/sales duly noted.

Credits…

FS Furness via Mal Elliott, ‘Bathurst:Cradle of Australian Motor Racing’ John Medley, Australian Motor Sports, ‘A History of the Woodside Motor Racing Circuit 1947-51’ David Beaumont, Narrogin Observer, News Adelaide

Finito…

Australian Racing Random 16…

Posted: December 27, 2024 in Features, Fotos
Tags: , , , ,
6

‘Here’s an oldie my dad took when he came home from the war aged 20. He said he took this in 1946, it’s heading up Mountain Straight towards The Cutting,’ Wayne Greene said of his father, Ron Greene.

He’s a bit out, it’s actually 1948 John Medley tells us, and Alf Najar’s MG TB Spl is leading the pack on the parade lap before the start of the New South Wales Hundred, a race won by John Barraclough’s MG NE Magnette. Najar, winner of the event in 1946, was unplaced.

Bathurst pits, date unknown (VSCCA)

Chris Amon, Lotus 70 Ford in the Warwick Farm pitlane during the 1971 Warwick Farm 100 Tasman Cup round. He was second in the race won by Frank Gardner’s Lola T192 Chev.

Lotus shipped the car, Lotus 70-02, to Australia for works-driver Dave Walker to race in the 1970 Australian Grand Prix at Warwick Farm (below), he was fifth in the race won by Frank Matich’s McLaren M10B Repco-Holden.

Chris Amon and David Oxton then played swapsies during the 1971 Tasman Cup with a pair of STP sponsored cars: the Lotus 70 and a March 701 Ford DFW 2.5-litre. There is a bit about that at the end of this arcticle: https://primotipo.com/2024/08/11/new-zealand-racing-random-1/

Alec Mildren on his way to winning the 1960 Australian Grand Prix in the very clever Cooper T51 Maserati concepted by Alec and built up by Glenn Abbey in their Sydney ‘shop.

The race is covered in this lengthy epic about the car: https://primotipo.com/2020/07/07/panoramic-lowood/ The panorama below takes us there, wonderful innit?

(Govt Queensland)

(J Jamieson)

David McKay exits Hell Corner in ‘Grey Pussy’, his first Jaguar Mk 1 3.4 at Bathurst October 6, 1958.

McKay won the 1960 Australian Touring Car Championship at Gnoo Blas in his later car, there is a bit about that event at the end of this piece: https://primotipo.com/2014/08/05/gnoo-who-gnoo-blas-circuit-jaguar-xkc-type-xkc037/

CAMS and the Supercar Mafiosi would have you believe the 1960 race was the first ATCC, it wasn’t, the first was way back in 1939, at Lobethal: https://primotipo.com/2018/10/04/first-australian-touring-car-championship-lobethal-1939/

Did the earth move for you darling!?

Frank Matich and his Matich SR4 Repco 760 4.8 V8 about to blow off the high-winged Matich SR3 Repco raced by Don O’Sullivan, Bob Beasley’s Lotus 47 behind Matich and Glyn Scott’s Lotus 23B Ford at right and the rest blast off during Surfers Paradise Australian Sportscar Championship round in 1969.

Matich SR4 epic here: https://primotipo.com/2016/07/15/matich-sr4-repco-by-nigel-tait-and-mark-bisset/

(D Willis)

Catalina Park, Katoomba grid in August 1962: David McKay in the #10 Scuderia Veloce Cooper T53 Climax, then Kevin Bartlett, Lynx BMC FJ, the obscured red BRM P48 of Arnold Glass and Leo Geoghegan’s dark Lotus by the KLG sign. It’s Greg Cusack in the older SV T51 Cooper on the second row, alongside him is the Gordon Stewart, Stewart MG and Frank Walters in the George Reed Special Ford V8 ‘So Cal’.

(G Moulds)

Swiss engine-whizz, Louis Morand provided the Chev engines which powered the Racing Team VDS Chevron B24s of Teddy Pilette and here, Peter Gethin, before the off at the Sandown Tasman round in February 1974.

Peter had a great weekend, winning the race from Graham McRae, McRae GM2 Chev and John Walker, Lola T330 Repco-Holden. He had a great series too, winning it with victories here at Sandown and at Pukekohe, the NZ GP.

(C Hyams Archive)
(G Moulds)

Peter Gethin was one of the Kings of F5000 from its earliest days, winning the first British F5000 Championship in 1969, and then won it again in his F1 breakthrough year, 1970. He mixed F5000 with other single-seater and sportscar drives throughout his career; he was a very popular racer in Australasia with regular visits through until 1977.

The dominant F5000s of that era were the Lola T330/T332 and derivatives, but Chevrons B24 and B28 won their share of races steered by the likes of Gethin, Teddy Pilette – who won the 1973 Euro F5000 Championship aboard the same VDS B24 he raced that Australasian Summer of ’74 – Tony Dean, Steve Thompson, and Brian Redman until he threw in his lot with Jim Hall’s Chaparral/Lola outfit, dominant in the US of course.

Check out Allen Brown’s summaries of the Chevron B24 here:https://www.oldracingcars.com/chevron/b24/ and B28 here: https://www.oldracingcars.com/chevron/b28/

(G Moulds)
(G Woodward)

‘Des West’s second Holden 48-215 has just returned to Des’s Wingham workshop after breaking his old cars record at Lowood in 1964.’

More on the Holden 48-215 here, and on West’s car at the end of this article: https://primotipo.com/2018/12/06/general-motors-holden-formative/

(J Lemm)

Alan Hamilton about to launch his Porsche 906 Spyder #906-007 off the line at Collingrove in South Australia’s Barossa Valley in April 1967. He set a course record of 35.60 seconds that day.

Hamilton had a successful season with the car before selling it to Hong Konger, Richard Wong late in the year. See here: https://primotipo.com/2015/08/20/alan-hamilton-his-porsche-9048-and-two-906s/

The road cars of the day always provide valuable visual context for just how advanced a racing car is, don’t you think? Chrysler Valiant, Toyota Crown and Holden HD in the Collingrove paddock in 1967 (J Lemm)

The Bugatti Holden – T37-37209 – at Phillip Island circa-1958. Who is the driver folks, John Elkins or John Pyers?

#37209 gave Bill Thompson his AGP debut at Phillip Island in 1929, he only did two laps before blowing the engine. It had nine or so owners before ‘Bud’ Luke fitted a Holden Grey six-cylinder engine in time for the 1952 Bathurst Easter meeting. Bob King claims that Luke created the very first Holden engined racing special in so doing.

Owned for a long time by David Watson in Glen Iris, Melbourne it always brought a smile to my face when he was setting off on his early morning Sunday run just as I set off on mine; his was Holden powered, mine was Nike fuelled…https://primotipo.com/2018/10/07/werrangourt-archives-2-holden-engined-bugattis-by-bob-king/

(K Bayliss)

A lousy photograph before the start of an Easter 1970 Racing Car Scratch at Mount Panorama: John Harvey, Brabham BT23E Repco, Leo Geoghegan Lotus 39 Repco, and on this side, Niel Allen, McLaren M10B Chev.

But as Lynton Hemer wrote ‘an important bit of Bathurst history is about to start…Lap 3 of 3 in the Captain Cook Trophy was a 2.09.7sec’ journey. Nigel Allen set a lap record that stood for 32 years, see here: https://primotipo.com/2018/11/26/bathurst-lap-record/

(M Bradley)

Kevin Bartlett turns into Warwick Farm’s Esses in the iconic ‘Yellow Submarine’, the Alec Mildren Racing Mildren Waggott 2-litre TC-4V.

It’s the 1970 Warwick Farm 100 Tasman Cup round that KB won in splendid fashion ahead of a swag of 2.5-litre Tasman and 5-litre F5000 cars. Surely the Sub’s finest hour was on February 15, 1970? To make Alec Mildren’s day complete, Max Stewart, KB’s teammate and great mate finished second, a second back, in the Rennmax built spaceframe-Brabham BT23 copy Mildren Waggott TC-4V 2-litre.

Just can’t get enough of the Sub…originally Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 2.5-litre V8 powered, the Mildren Alfa was designed by Len Bailey and built by Alan Mann Racing for Frank Gardner’s 1969 Tasman Cup campaign. Then Bartlett took it over and won his second Gold Star with it later that year using Alfa Romeo and late in the year, Waggott TC-4V 2-litre power. See here: https://primotipo.com/2017/11/14/missed-it-by-that-much/

(Guy & Penny)

The best of the Maybachs…

The coulda-woulda-shoulda been Maybach 2, here in the Southport paddock before its untimely death the following day during the 1954 Australian Grand Prix on November 7.

A chassis weld broke pitching Stan Jones into the mother-and-father of an accident he was lucky to survive. His mount didn’t share his good fortune.

See here for the race: https://primotipo.com/2018/03/01/1954-australian-grand-prix-southport-qld/ and here for technical details of Maybach 2: https://primotipo.com/2024/03/22/maybachs-2-4-technical-specifications-by-john-goode/

(K Trotter)

John McCormack awaits the start of the Sandown 100 Tasman Cup round in February 1975, Elfin MR6 Repco-Holden. To the right is John Leffler’s new Bowin P8 Chev.

It was a great day for SuperMac, he finished second behind John Goss’ similarly powered Matich A53 Repco. That ’75 Tasman was a bounce-back campaign for the understated Tasmanian, his new Elfin MR6 had problems, mainly with the also new Repco-Leyland engine, the development of which stalled when Repco withdrew from racing mid-year.

Frustrated with continuous engine failures, McCormack set the Repco-Leyland V8 aside and went back to reliable Repco-Holden power and finished fourth in the Tasman with a pair of seconds at Teretonga and Sandown. Finishes in all but one round was a further indication of a change in fortunes.

Then he brought home the Gold Star bacon for the second time winning the ’75 title in the MR6 Repco-Holden with two wins in the five rounds at Oran Park and Calder. See here: https://primotipo.com/2021/02/11/repco-rbe-980-series-billy-cart/ He would win a third ‘Star of course, Repco-Leyland-McCormack/Irving V8 powered…

(C Adams)

Jeweller Jack Robinson and a group of friends at a race meeting with his Jaguar XK120, chassis 660178, purchased on January 26, 1951.

Terry McGrath reports that he raced the car at Mount Druitt and Bathurst – winning a race at Mount Panorama in October’51 – in 1951-52 and was thought to have been sold before he built up his XK120 special,’ which is shown below at Bathurst in October 1955.

(I Arnold)

Robinson’s best race was a win in the handicap section of the October 1953 New South Wales Grand Prix at Gnoo Blas. He raced the car right through into the early-1960s including the first Warwick Farm meeting, the Warwick Farm Trophy event on December 18, 1960. What became of it?

(P Geard)

Bruce Walton aboard Norman Hamilton’s Porsche 550 Spyder at Mountford corner, Longford in March 1958.What a shot! See here: https://primotipo.com/2018/06/28/hamiltons-porsche-550-spyder/

Jack Hunnam’s Elfin Mono Mk2D Lotus-Ford ANF 1.5 #MD6574 was completed at Elfin Sports Cars Edwardstown workshop in January 1967 and is shown above upon its debut at Winton that March.

Hunnam was Elfin’s Victorian agent. He was third in the 1963 Australian FJ Championship at Warwick Farm aboard an Elfin Ford FJ #6312 behind Leo Geoghegan’s Lotus 22 Ford and Greg Cusack’s Brabham Ford.

(unattributed)

He was seventh in the 1966 Australian One and a Half Litre Championship in a Mark 1 Mono Lotus-Ford #M6443 and ninth in the ’67 Championship with the Mk 2D. He scored four Gold Star points in 1966 with his Mono Mk1 (at Calder above) and one point in 1967 with the #36 car above.

Operator of a Glenhuntly Road, Elsternwick servo in the period he raced the Elfins, by the early 1970s Jack Hunnam Motors (JHM) was in Wren Road, Moorabbin (below).

David ‘Chocolates’ Robertsons Ford Capri Boss 302 Sports Sedan awaits its turn on the dyno…What became of Jack after those years?

(M Leslie)
Hunnam leads a gaggle of cars at Warwick Farm during the 1963 Australian FJ Championship race. His Elfin Ford FJ is being chased by the J Gates Lotus 18 (E Holly Collection)
(A Thompson)

Graham Thompson in the ex-Doug Whiteford Talbot Lago T26C #110007 1952-53 Australian Grand Prix winning car going through Dandenong Road corner at Sandown circa 1963 in an historic event. Amazing given that Barry Collerson raced the car very skilfully in-period into 1961!

Thompson acquired the car from Arnold Glass’ Capitol Motors in Sydney in September 1962, here she is below in the driveway of his Bendigo home shortly thereafter.

Bernie Ecclestone eventually bought it and I guess it’s now for sale. See here: https://primotipo.com/2022/05/04/doug-whiteford-talbot-lago-t26c-take-3/

(A Thompson)
(Guy & Penny-Brier Thomas)

Bill Anderson aboard the Prad Healey 100-6 at Lakeside during the Queensland Tourist Trophy meeting in November 1962. John Dickson advises that it’s Sid Sakzewski’s Porsche Carrera with Orlando ‘Tony’ Basile the driver while Sid was in Italy on a business trip.

The interesting but sad story of this beautiful Healey is here: https://primotipo.com/2018/07/01/prad-healey/

Bill Pitt, in the Anderson Jaguar D-Type #XKD526 charges across the top of Mount Panorama during the October 1958 Australian Tourist Trophy.

He failed to finish the race won by David McKay’s Aston Martin DB3S. The story of this car is here: https://primotipo.com/2016/03/18/lowood-courier-mail-tt-1957-jaguar-d-type-xkd526-and-bill-pitt/

(Guy & Penny)

Leo Geoghegan, Lotus 20 Ford and Gavin Youl, MRD Ford? at Lakeside in 1962. Geoghegan won the Australian FJ Championship at Warwick Farm in 1963 racing a Lotus 22 Ford.

Credits…

Ron Greene, Vintage Sports Car Club of Australia, Graham Ruckert, Glenn Moulds, Colin Hyams Archive, John Lemm, Janice Jamieson, Garry Woodward, Mal Bradley, Keith Trotter, Chantelle Adams, Terry McGrath, Paul Geard Collection, Ed Holly Collection, Ian Smith, Ian Arnold via Mark Arnold, Thompson Family Archive, Ray Bell, Monty Leslie

Finito…

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