In the beginning, the Chamberlain brothers’ legendary Chamberlain 8 was a Chamberlain Vee-Twin. Here, Alan ‘Bob’ Chamberlain is contesting a Speed Event on the short-lived Safety Beach sandy rectangular 2-mile course at Safety Beach on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula circa-1930; the venue was used for motorsport from 1928-32.
Bob is running wide on the natural amphitheatre provided by the fall of the land from Arthur’s Seat towards the Port Phillip coastal villages of Safety Beach and Dromana; a tad too much rear-brake perhaps.
Melbourne’s The Argus reported the Saturday, December 7, 1929 meeting as follows: I’m not asserting it’s that meeting in which the Chamberlain is shown, but rather is quoted so that you may feel the vibe of the place. ‘Enthusiasts in motor-car driving as a competitive sport, and admirers of the powerful yet delicate mechanism of the minall car enjoyed good entertainment in bright sunshine at the speed contests on the Safety Beach circuit at Dromana on Saturday.’
‘As there are difficulties in the way of arranging a road race on a confined circuit near Melbourne with large numbers of contestants actually racing together, events like the Grand Prix races held periodically in Great Britain and other countries for motor cars of all ratings have not been established here.’
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‘Consequently, the Dromana competition is run over a circuit of two miles 163 yards of gravel roads on a private estate commands special attention. About 3,000 spectators assembled, and apparently, were well pleased to watch each of the 38 cars in turn run in a single-handed contest against time.‘ The event was run by the RACV.
‘Only one accident occurred. Miss Joan Richmond was trying out her Riley when it overturned. The car was smashed, but the driver fortunately escaped serious injury. Miss Richmond is known as a capable and daring driver. She was the only woman competitor, and a comment was made on the fact that in scorn of the superstition attached to it, she had deliberately chosen 13 as her racing number.’
‘The contests were divided into sections for cars of various engine ratings. Trophies were donated for the best performances or formula, and for the fastest time in each section. Finally, a lap record event was held for the six cars making the fastest time for the day to attempt to lower the record of 2 minutes 6. l-sec for the distance.’
The quickest car at the meeting was Harold ‘Hal’ Cooper in brother Alan’s ex-Louis Wagner 1919 Indianapolis 4.8-litre straight-eight Ballot 5/8 LC with a 2.16 4/5-sec.
Let’s sneak in a couple more that have come my way more recently.
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Given the way this shot is cropped, your guess is as good as mine as to the venue; there was no shortage of hillclimbs in Victoria pre-War!
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Bob Chamberlain and passenger during the March 14, 1932 Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island. I’m not sure which of the four Austin 7s is giving chase Tony Johns? Bill Thompson won the race in his Bugatti T37A #37358; Chamberlain failed to finish.
The Chamberlain had a miserable AGP record: DNS 1930, DNF 1931, DNF 1932, DNS 1933.
Credits…
Tony Johns Collection, Bob King Collection, Ian Smith Collection, The Argus December 9, 1929
Doug Whiteford’s Talbot-Lago T26C #110007 and Eldred Norman’s Maserati 6CM #1542 await direction from officials before the start of Australia’s first F1 race, the 1951 Jubilee Woodside F1 race on Monday, October 8.
Whiteford won the 3 1/3 lap, 10-mile race from Stan Jones’ Maybach 1 and Norman. Ted Gray was fourth in the Alta Special s/c.
Whiteford and Jones are hard at it, leaving Riverview Corner at the end of Dugout Straight. If I ever did a book on Australian Motor Racing, this would be the cover shot!
Doug is the established ace, born March 12, 1914; he raced pre-War and had, as mentioned earlier, just won the first of his three AGPs in 1950. Jones, born in 1923, started circuit racing in 1949 and had not long before bought Charlie Dean’s Maybach 1. The two Melburnians, both from modest circumstances, were hard men who slugged it out over the following decade.
The purpose of this piece is to publicise David Beaumont’s wonderful, free book about the motorcycle and car races run on the Woodside road circuit in the Adelaide Hills from 1946 to 1952.
Of Australia’s first F1 race, David wrote as follows, ‘The car events were held under the International Sporting Code of the F.I.A. and the General Competition Rules of the A.A.A were an integral part of the program.
AS EXPLAINED IN THE RACE DAY PROGRAM
FORMULA RACING: ‘Grand Prix racing in Europe is conducted under formulae which limit the engine size of the competing cars. The present formulae are: – Formula A (or 1) for genuine Grand Prix events which limits engine size to 1500cc supercharged and 4500cc un-supercharged. Formula B (or Il) which is a subsidiary formula for less important events and limits engine size to 500cc supercharged or 2000cc un-supercharged.’
It seems to me that it was at this October 1951 Woodside meeting that history was made in Australian Motor racing.
Event 5 – The Jubilee Woodside Formula II Race, and Event 6 – The Jubilee Woodside Formula I Race were conducted for only those cars compliant under the above FIA rules and so the first genuine Australian Formula I and Formula Il races took place here in Woodside. They were however non-championship races.’
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Greg McEwin’s HRG rounds Camp Corner in 1951. David’s caption notes the ‘Nashos’ – National Service Army Trainees – in the background wearing their Slouch Hats.
Beaumont sourced the book from the South Australian Car Club’s archive generally and a good deal of it from Bob Burnett-Read’s photo album specifically. In terms of credits, David Beaumont is the main man, with BBR, The Advertiser, with some of my choices from the State Library of South Australia. Because in almost all cases the images weren’t of good commercial quality, they’ve had a minor tickle by courtesy of WordPress.
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Bob King identifies this shortened Type 23 Bugatti Brescia as Bob Burnett-Read’s #2108 or #2135. Amongst David Beaumont’s shots, could it be taking refuge in one of the local Woodside grand homes?
Ron Uffindell’s ex-Bira MG K3 #030 at Woodside in 1948.
David’s caption notes of this master mechanic and driver, ‘that Uffindell carried out the lowering of the body and radiator by about 2 inches. Uffindell was reputedly 5′ 5″. It’s been said that he carried out the changes not only to improve aerodynamics but also to enable him to have better vision over the long bonnet. The K3 continues to remain in Uffindell’s special body form to this day.’
Beaumont quotes Uffindell, ‘In the first race one the Wylie brothers baulked me badly, which enabled the other one to precede me over the line, and thus probably losing me the trophy as I finished only half a point down. In the next race, I really tried to do things, and I did to, but not as they were planned, I began by spinning on the first corner, and some laps later the brakes became so hot that they were useless. I found myself approaching a right-angle corner at about fifty without an escape road and with no brakes. I woke up in the ambulance having a nice trip to hospital where I was washed at 8.30 p.m and again at 1.30 a.m., a terrible shock to the system.’
‘When I recovered from the concussion, (or the washings), I started straightening out the K3, which although bent in a few places, was not too bad with only one thing broken, part of the blower casing had two legs for mounting on the front cross tube and as this was bent the legs had snapped off. Fortunately, the blower itself was O.K. and was as good as ever with new fabricated supports. When finished the car was returned to the Bowes family and then sold to Lex Davison [1949] who converted the brakes to hydraulic operation and put new liners in the drums…It had its faults, but in its day, it was a real motor car.’
‘All of the attention is focused’ on Eldred Norman’s wild as wild can be Double Eight – twin Mercury Ford V8 powered special – while the car that set the lap record at the October 1949 meeting, Doug Whiteford’s Ford Ute V8 based special, Black Bess, to the left and below appears a bit ignored…D’you think the strapping bloke at left is Tony Gaze?
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Black Bess won the 1950 Australian Grand Prix on the Nuriootpa road circuit about 70 km away, while Norman led the 1951 Australian Grand Prix at Narrogin, Western Australia, about 2525 km away before mechanical problems intervened allowing the more conventional Ford V8 Special – George Reed Special – raced by Warwick Pratley to take the win; it was the last AGP victory for an Australian Special.
And below, Whiteford and Norman hard at it during one of the ‘49 Woodside races.
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Norman didn’t have a clue what to call his stunning car: he entered it as the Twin Mercury in 1948, Ford Mercury Special in ‘49, and Ford Special in 1951, its final Woodside appearance.
The shot above is of the car’s engines in 1948, Harry Neale raced it that year, in ‘Mk 1 spec’ as below. As was the case, as should be the case, the Double Eight was continually modified and tweaked throughout its long racing life, including post-Eldred in Western Australia.
(SCCSA via Flickr)
Yep, they are truck wheels and tyres. Have you ever seen a more rear-based driving position on a road-racing car!? Harry Neale had great feel for the behaviour of the car down the back, but I’m not so sure about how fast the news travelled a few metres forward!
More on Eldred Norman here:https://primotipo.com/2024/10/09/collingrove-hillclimb/ I was looking around for my feature on the Double Eight to link, then remembered it was published in The Automobile. That shot above captured international readers on the first-spread!
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Ken Wylie settles Jack Day’s Lombard AL3 Vauxhall during the 1950 meeting after the rail crossing on Riverview Road.
This isn’t the ex-Lowe AL3 now owned by the Murdoch family I drove for The Automobile late last year, but rather the other car, chassis number unknown, from memory. I’m away from Blanden at the moment, but I believe Jack Lawson fitted it with a Salmson twin-cam engine and sold it to an American punter three decades or so ago. A bit more here:https://primotipo.com/2026/03/02/lombard-al3/
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Jack O’Dea in a spot of bother. I wonder if he caught the HRG? David Harvey awaits the outcome aboard his MG TC Spl during the Jubilee Woodside Formula 2 Race, River Bend, in 1951.
Credits…
David Beaumont-Sports Car Club of South Australia, State Library of South Australia, National Motor Museum_George Brooks Collection, Flickr, The Advertiser
Tailpiece…
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Doug Whiteford on his way to victory in the 1951 Jubilee F1 race, rounding Western Gate Corner.
A BRM obscurity for something different, not that Doug Nye didn’t cover it in BRM 2.
John Merrick, a Lithgow, NSW local, with his BRM Project 25-engined speedcar – ‘NSW 43’ – at Windsor Speedway, Sydney in 1965.
Merrick – Hughes – at Sydney Sports Ground in the late 1950s (K Moore)
Ken Moore, ‘My stepfather John Merrick started competing on a Douglas at Bathurst on dirt, later racing Speedway under the name ‘Johnny Hughes’ until the late 1960s. Later still, he raced in Historics, his last event was at Eastern Creek in 1995, aged 77.’
NSW 43 was an early spaceframe speedcar chassis design Merrick fabricated in his Wentworthville servo.
‘John in Catherine Street, Rozelle, the week before the accident. The BRM P25 engine had two dual-throat monoblock 50mm carbs, running on methanol,’ Ken Moore (K Moore)
In search of the Unfair Advantage, he bought the BRM P25, 2.5-litre four-cylinder, DOHC engine, #2595, that had been fitted to Arnold Glass’s BRM P48, circa 1964. Unsold, Glass had planned to fit it into a speedboat.
Glass raced two Project 25-powered ex-works BRM P48 – chassis #485 and 482 – throughout Australasia in 1962-63 before selling his cars, parts thereof, and spares after buying a Cooper. See here for a lengthy piece on these cars and Glass’s adventures with them: https://primotipo.com/2018/03/16/bourne-to-ballarat-brm-p48-part-2/
Gary DeWall recalls a conversation with Merrick, ‘If I could get all four carbies working at the same time, I’d be on a winner!’
Merrick and Bob Graham in the early stages of the terrible accident that could so easily have taken John Merrick’s life, before NSW 43 rolled, Westmead 1966 (Speedway 1967 magazine)
Merrick was involved in a bad accident at Westmead Speedway in 1966 during which the car rolled and broke in half. Tracey Moore, ‘Ken spent three months in hospital, with bleeding on the brain, a burst eardrum and other injuries. The NSW Speedcar Association provided my mother with money to live on donated by members. John took six years to regain his balance.’
As interest in historic racing and BRM generally grew, the engine was acquired by UK racer/restorer ‘Robs Lampslough in the late 1960s as a spare for his ex-Stow Type 25 rebuild, and then became the basis for a Type 25 tribute,’ wrote Doug Nye in BRM 2.
Other snippets from Facebook posts about Merrick are as follows. He was a lathe operator at Arrow Hart Engineering (later Crouse Hinds) in Moxon Road, Punchbowl, in the early 1970s.
Merrick poses with NSW 43 BRM at Windsor Speedway in 1966. Note the BRM badge on the bonnet. BRM fitted 58 DCO Webers to the Project 25 engines fitted to their Type 25 and P48 chassis. Are these carbs Amals? (K Moore)
NSW 43 was slowly rebuilt by Merrick in the early 1970s when he was living in the Punchbowl area and remains extant. Later in life, he operated Merrick Engineering and lived in Lithgow.
Credits…
Ken Moore, Lary Simons. Gary DeWall, Guy and Penny, ‘BRM: The Saga of British Racing Motors Vol 2’ by Doug Nye, Cec Lynch-State Library of New South Wales, autopics.com
Tailpieces…
(Guy & Penny)
Arnold Glass in BRM P48 #482 at Symmons Plains in November 1961. From memory, Formula Libre was a/the feature class during this ‘opening weekend’ of competition at Symmons. Who won, folks? Top Guns present, in addition to Arnold, included Stan Jones, John Youl, the landlord, of course, and Austin Miller.
The shot of Glass below was taken several months later, during the February 4, 1962 Warwick Farm 100 won by Stirling Moss’s Walker Cooper T53 2.7-Climax FPF. ‘Trinkets’ must have had problems, he didn’t set a qualifying time and was out after only eight of the event’s 45 laps due to overheating.
(C Lynch-SLNSW)
For the sake of completeness, Glass’s first BRM P48 was chassis #485, which is shown below in Graham Hill’s hands during the February 12, 1961 Victorian Trophy at Ballarat won by his teammate, Dan Gurney.
(autopics.com)
After the 1961 Australasian internationals, the P48s of Hill and Gurney returned to the UK. Arnold did his lease deal with the Owen Racing Organisation, and #485 was comprehensively rebuilt and then sent to Sydney with a host of spares: engine, gearbox, etc. Glass tested it at Warwick Farm, then took off to Adelaide for the Gold Star round at Mallala and wrote it off in practice. Insured, #482 was prepped in Bourne and sent to the colonies as the replacement.
Not Jumpin’ Jack Flash but Edison Waters’s Bentley 4.5-litre s/c #SM3907 during the Bathurst Grand Prix weekend, March 25, 1940.
That fugly appendage on the rear of the lovely car’s expensive bodywork is a charcoal burner that produced gas to power a vehicle with a prodigious thirst at a time petrol was tightly rationed amongst the Australian populace.
Somehow, it seems wrong that some chaps were having a jolly good time back home in Oz, while others were having their balls shot off by the dreaded Hun. Having said that, John Medley points out that some of the racers were also servicemen. Most race meetings in Australia then, before the lights fully went out, raised money for the families of the war dead. I guess this one was no exception? Isn’t it a terrific view of officialdom on Mount Panorama’s pit straight?
(DHenryColl-MBisset-Wordpress)‘What do you think, Jeeves?’ (T Johns Collection)
The beast only lasted two laps of the 37-lap 150-mile handicap event won by scratch-man Alf Barrett’s Alfa Romeo 8C2300 Monza from John Snow’s Delahaye 135CS and Chas Whatmore’s Ford V8 Special. Britain’s finest ran one of its bearings.
It’s surprising how many Bentleys, very popular with Australia’s Squatocracy for their on-bush road performance and reliability, that came here competed.
However, #SM3907 was primarily a roadie, imported from the UK by Tom Luxton – of the McEwans hardware chain – by that time, the car’s original Van den Plas four-seater sports coachwork had been replaced by this fetching March-designed two/three-seater body built by John Charles. Later owners included racers Ron Edgerton and Lex Davison.
‘No person being allowed on this road while closed for speed contests’ does seem sound advice.
(DHenryColl-MBisset-WordPress))(Turner Studios courtesy of Henley Auctions)
The prodigious torque of the Bentley’s 4.5-litre four-cylinder 175bhp @ 3500rpm – when petrol-fed – engine hauls Waters out of Hell Corner for the long drag up Mountain Straight. It’s such a shame the car failed early in the race; it would have been very interesting to see how it performed. Doubtless, the power loss relative to a standard car was considerable.
John Medley had this to say in one of his bibles, ‘Bathurst: Cradle of Australian Motor Racing’. ‘The Edison Waters entry created a great deal of interest. Not only was it the first and only Bentley to race at Bathurst (until the modern era), but it ran on charcoal. The huge and ungainly charcoal gas producer was mounted behind the tail, the conversion having been done by National Fuel Engineers of Sydney, the fuel cost savings claimed being considerable: £1 for 150 miles as opposed to £15 or more for normal fuels.’
‘The fully equipped blower 4.5-litre Bentley (later owned by Lex Davison, Jack Jeffery and others) suffered the further indignity of having an extraordinary bundle of untidy unsilenced exhaust pipes reaching rearwards over the left mudguards “to deafen the passengers on the way to Bathurst”. The two-ton Bentley, radio playing, lasted two laps.’
Credits…
Darren Henry Collection, who bought a bulk lot of negatives on eBay containing envelopes of Bathurst images from 1938, 1939, and 1940.’ Many thanks, Darren, for posting them on Bob Williamson’s Old Motor Racing Photographs-Australia Facebook page. ‘Vintage Bentleys in Australia’ by Clare Hay, Bob Watson, Phil Schudmak and Tony Johns. Tony Johns Archive, Turner Studios, courtesy of Henley Auctions
Jean Beatson’s shot of John Barber posing in a Lancia Lambda in 1927. He was the winner of the ten-day 1520-mile RACV Great Alpine Trial held mainly in the high country of Victoria and New South Wales starting on March 10, 1926.
39 cars started the event, which took in Melbourne, Wangaratta, Mount Hotham, Omeo, Tallangatta, Tumut, Mount Kosziusko, Canberra, Eden, Lakes Entrance, and Mornington. Barber won from RJ ‘Herb’ Beith’s Chrysler, WA Terdich’s DFP, AW Bernadou’s Austin and JCB Hutton’s Alvis Sports.
Initially I thought it was a shot of the winning car, but Rob Alsop set me straight; #26 is the 1926 winner, whereas #31 above is a LWB machine. If any Lancia Fanciers can tell me which event is depicted above, I’d love to hear from you.
Albert Valentine Turner, AV to his mates, won the first Australian Alpine Trial aboard an Itala T51 Tourer in 1921, that event, more or less continually held since, pre-dates the first, Australian Grand Prix held at Goulburn in January 1927 so its an important event in this part of the world. See here for more about AV:https://primotipo.com/2022/11/08/av-turner-itala-1924-sydney-melbourne-record/
John Barber in his Lambda First Series (B Jamieson)
The Sun News Pictorial Melbourne covered the ‘26 Alpine this way in its Friday, March 26, issue.
‘MR. J. BARBER, of Coliban Park, Elphinstone, winner of the Alpine motor trial, said yesterday that his Lancia Lambda was the first sold in Victoria, and had travelled 21,000 miles before the trial.’
‘He attended personally to the adjustment of the car before the race, and did not have it specially overhauled in any way. He has always driven it himself. Vacuum Oil Co products – Plume petrol and lubricants – were used on the trip. His electrical equipment included Bosch plugs, starter and magneto, and gave no trouble whatever.’
Nine Punctures
‘His tool kit was never opened during the trial. He had to use the jack, however. “I had nine punctures,” he said, “thanks to the extraordinary roads. Many others fared worse.”
‘Far too much, in his opinion, had been made of his hill-climbing exploit on the summit of Mt. Talbingo, when he passed the leading car at the bend with his off wheels practically over a precipice. “I had plenty of room to pass,” said Mr Barber. “There was really nothing in the incident, and when I cut the bend it looked far more dangerous to those at the finishIng point than it actually was.”
‘There are three Laucia cars at the Coliban Park merino sheep station. Barber’s sister has a Lambda saloon, while his elder brother favours a 35 Kappa. They also possess a Ford and a Fordson tractor.’
‘The secretary of the Royal Automobile Club (Mr C. J. Hodges) advises that the statement published yesterday, to the effect that the Oakland car would have won the test had it not been disqualified, was incorrect. Even if the Oakland car had not been disqualified, it would not have been the outright winner of the contest. In fairness to the car that won the context. He pointed out that it could not have been displaced from it position by any of the cars which were disqualified.’
(EAdamson-SLV)(The Argus, March 29, 1926)
‘Spark Plug’ commented on the results and made some post event observations in The Leader (Orange, NSW) on April 2, 1926. His comments are interesting, a century on, about where the automobile was at back then in the minds of Joe Public.
Salient is that, ‘Beyond question, the first matter that will excite comments from a layman is that the reliability of modern reputable makes has been vindicated.’ (35 of the 39 starters finished). There has been a most remarkable absence of major mechanical defects throughout the tests.’
‘True, there have been one or two electrical faults, which have embarrassed the driver, and in some cases, springs have broken, but as for vital defects of mechanism, these have been conspicuous by their absence. 1500 miles is in itself a sufficiently long tour to make offhand, but when the itinerary is laid out to cover the worst of gradients, and some of the roughest roads in the Commonwealth, then indeed we may describe it as an acid test.’
‘Whilst paying a tribute to all the cars that came through with flying colours, it is justifiable, in view of the prejudices which exist in some quarters, to make special allusion to the light British and Continental models.’
‘For instance, the outright winner on aggregate points was the Lancia Lambda, a comparatively light Italian product. The success of this vehicle is very interesting, by reason of the fact that it is equipped with an unusual type of front springing, consisting of individual hydraulic cylinders and coil springs fitted to each front wheel.’
‘Then too, one must not lose sight of the fast times achieved in the hill climbs, which demonstrate clearly that both American and Continental manufacturers, as well as paying attention to top gear performance, also realise that cars require from time to time, to maintain good speed in second gear, and plan their designs accordingly.’
Bill Jamieson wrote of Barber’s achievements, ‘In distant Australa, without any encouragement or even awareness from Lancia & C., the Lambda was also making its presence felt. John Barber, a Victorian grazier and motoring enthusiast, acquired one of the earliest First Series Lambdas to reach that country, and campaigned it with great success.’
‘In March, 1926, the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria held an Alpine Trial over eight days, involving hill-climbs, speed, and acceleration tests on some of the roughest and most remote roads in the country. In a large field, Barber won first in formula and fastest time in every section, finishing with a virtually clean sheet. His success was used to good effect by Shields Motor Co., the local Lancia agents, in promoting the sale of the Lambda.’
Oodnadatta, South Australia 1927 (JBeatson-SLV)
Jean Beatson, the snapper who took the first shot, was a driver and mechanic of considerable repute, here she is fettling her Lambda.
(Barber Family Archive)(Barber Family Archive)(Barber Family Archive)
Amazing stuff from the Barber Family Archive via Tim Barber, with thanks to Rob Alsop.
(Barber Family Archive)
More shots from the Barber family’s archives, I’ll give you the events and dates when I have it.
(Barber Family Archive)(Barber Family Archive)(Barber Family Archive)(Barber Family Archive)
Credits…
Jean Beatson-State Library of Victoria, Edwin Adamson-State Library of Victoria, Capolavoro: The Design, Development and Production of the Lancia Lambda’ by Bill Jamieson and Barber Family Collection via Tim Barber by courtesy of Rob Alsop, The Argus
It’s not often a ‘chemical name’ has an addictive ring to it, but this is one of them. I’m old enough to remember the advertising mantra of the day too…
Methylbenzene – yes, it seems Shell used a bit of poetic licence – (commonly called toluene) is a clear, colourless, water-insoluble liquid aromatic hydrocarbon that does lots of cool things, but in an automotive sense, was/is added to petrol to improve octane ratings and performance.
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Shell sponsored Spencer Martin has the inside line at Murray’s, or is it Hell corner, from BP-sponsored Kevin Bartlett in one of the memorable Brabham BT11A Climax battles between the Bob Jane and Alec Mildren cars throughout the 1967 Easter meeting at Mount Panorama, Bathurst, during which KB was the first to break the 100mph lap average; Spencer achieved it too, only shortly/minutes later. See here:https://primotipo.com/2018/04/27/kbs-first-bathurst-100mph-lap/
(MBisset-Wordpress)
Spencer Martin’s boss, Bob Jane, had a pretty good Bathurst meeting as well. In only his second meeting with his brand-new Ford Mustang 390 GT, he bagged two race wins and one second place in the improved touring car races. The WordPress AI tool shot a load with excitement here; this looks more like it below…More here:https://primotipo.com/2020/01/03/jano/
‘Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith (centre) with his specially designed Southern Cross car, Mascot Aerodrome, Sydney on June 6, 1933,’ recorded the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘The car was the first chassis-less – unitary or monocoque construction – Kingsford Smith was in the process of raising additional capital for the project at the time of his disappearance over the Bay of Bengal in 1935 (9/2/1897-8/11/1935).’
‘The Southern Cross was produced in Sydney by Marks Motor Construction Pty Ltd, of which Kingsford Smith was a director.’
(SMH)
Smithy’s ‘Southern Cross’ was a Fokker F.VIIb trimotor monoplane powered by three 220 bhp Wright Whirlwind J-5 nine-cylinder, air-cooled radial engines.
Australian motoring journalists and the organisations they work for have always been innovative, very much at the cutting edge in terms of their deployment of objective assessment of the steeds with which they are entrusted.
The Sydney Morning Herald captioned this part of their routine road-testing as the ‘Jump Start. Testing the durability of the German Goggomobile’s body by jumping up and down on it in Sydney on June 27, 1958.’ Poor old BOB-515!
Fantastic shot of Logan Fow in the ex-Pat Hoare Ferrari 256 GTO – nee Ferrari Dino 256/60 #007 – launching from the line at the Tikorangi Speed Trials in November 1970. The Colombo Tipo 128 3-litre V12 gave about 310 bhp, so it was a quick car, the fastest registered Ferrari of all at the time according to Signor Ferrari himself.
I’ve already written about this car here: So there’s no point going over it all again, but the magic of Facebook – in this case the Old New Zealand Motor Racing and South Island Motorsports pages – means there have been many more photographs shared in the ensuing five years, and being a sharing, caring kinda guy, I thought you might like to see them. See here for a lengthy feature on Pat’s Feraris:https://primotipo.com/2020/02/07/pn-hoare-440-papanui-rd-christchurch-nz/
Pat Hoare won the Waimate 50 on February 11, 1961, from Angus Hyslop’s Cooper T45 Climax (M Beaumont)Here’s Pat Hoare with 256/60 #007 Coupe in the driveway of his 440 Papanui Road home in Christchurch circa 1963 (J Manhire)
Unable to sell the obsolete racing car internationally after two years of racing, Hoare had this ‘GTO-esque’ body made for the machine, turning it into a road car of prodigious performance and striking, if controversial looks.
The artisans involved were Ernie Ransley, Hoare’s long-time race mechanic, Hec Green, who did the body form-work and G.B McWhinnie & Co’s Reg Hodder, who built the body in sixteen-gauge aluminium over nine weeks and painted it. A very young George Lee, still doing his apprenticeship, did the upholstery.
Pat’s brief was to use the chassis and mechanicals as was, modified in relation to popping the steering wheel offset to the right. Given the wheelbase of the 256 was a fair bit shorter than that of a 250 GTO, the packaging and styling challenges were manifest, especially given that Hoare was a reasonably LWB model himself. Ferrari assisted by providing factory drawings and some components, such as a GTO windscreen.
Date and place of this car show folks? (J Manhire)256/60 007 during Logan Fow’s ownership. Tipo 128 3-litre all-aluminium, SOHC, two-valve, six-Webered engine gave circa 310 bhp. Note the straight run of the steering rod into the cockpit, and light, tubular steel bodywork supports on ‘this side’. I wonder what type of Firestones they are? (K Tisch)Logan Fow contesting a Brentwood Sprint Meeting, date unknown (K Tisch)
I don’t for a moment find the styling of the car on the same planet as the Bizarrini/Scaglietti original, but I don’t mind the result. Pat had an unsaleable old racing car at the time, who can argue with a road car solution like this that retained ALL of the key elements of a grand prix winning chassis without sodomising it!?
After using it for a few years, Pat sold it to Hamilton school teacher Logan Fow in 1967. He ran it as a roadie and occasional track day use for several years until British racer/collector Neil Corner struck a deal to buy the car sans ‘GTO’ body, but with the open-wheeler panels, which had been carefully retained and set aside. The Ferrari was converted back to its 256 V6 race specifications and still competes in Europe.
Fow took a new Ferrari 365 Berlinetta Boxer in exchange for all of the 256 bits and pieces, running the Boxer around Europe on a holiday for a while, but ran foul of NZ Government import rules when he came home and had the machine seized from him by customs when he failed to stump up the taxes demanded by the Fiscal Fiends. A sub-optimal result, to say the least.
256 GTO in Logan Fow’s Hamilton front yard (K Tisch)A shitty photograph that shows the car in the form it was shipped by Logan Fow to Neil Corner, sans coupe body and 007’s body panels, which were also shipped to the UK (CAN)(G Begg)
256-007 during the 1966 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting over the January 22 weekend, during which Jackie Stewart took some time out from his BRM duties and did some demonstration laps in the car. JYS won the big Tasman Cup race too, in his 1.9-litre BRM P261.
(G Guy)
The Body…
The home-made body stayed in New Zealand and ‘disappeared’, although it seems clear from the Facebook posts that it never really did…and in 2022, the then-owner decided to monetise it, to use a modern word.
(L Lawson)
The mortal remains of the car’s GTO Phase were sold in February 2022 via trademe.co.nz. 188 bids pushed the price to $NZ37,310.
It was described thus, complete with all of the errors: ‘Starting life as a Formula One Dino 246, V6-engined car, it was later altered to a 3-litre V12 for the Tasman Series.
‘At one time raced by Phill Hill, this Formula one car was rebodied into a G.T. road car of fine tradition. This was done with the knowledge of, and express approval of Enzo Ferrari who provided many of the G.T.O. parts. This creation was driven by Jackie Stewart at Wigram N.Z. Lighter than a 250 G.T.O. and with a fully independent rear axle, Ferrari said it was the fastest G.T. road car in the world at that time.’
‘The body only is now offered for sale on behalf of the owner who has treasured it for the last 40 years. It is N.Z. registered and comes with papers and plates. Ref, Enzo Ferrari’s secret war, by David Canton.’
(Trade Me)(Trade Me)
It will be interesting to see the mechanical specifications of the car this body clothes next!
Etcetera…
(E Stevens)
Ernie Ransley and Pat Hoare suss what they have after the 256 V12 arrived from Modena in early January 1961. 440 Papanui Road, out the back.
(E Stevens)
Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it’s off to Ardmore we go…
(J Manhire)
Hoare’s Pantech arrives at Ardmore for the 1961 New Zealand Grand Prix; a home-made two-wheel trailer and trusty pink Holden FB tow-mobile. Such a handsome racing car!
(M Feisst)(G Woods)
Let’s finish with the ‘original’…Pat Hoare during the 1961 Lady Wigram Trophy weekend. DNF in the race won by Jack Brabham’s Cooper T53 Climax.
(A Smith)
Not to forget Phil Hill’s victory aboard Ferrari Dino 256-007 V6 in the September 1960 Italian Grand Prix; the last championship win for a front-engined car. Yes, yes, the Italian national racing governing body gave Ferrari a free kick in a winless year by using the combined banked/road circuit. A significant chassis that one, all the same…
(R Jenkins)Monza pitlane: Taffy von Trips’ Ferrari Dino 156P F2 car, #20 Phil’s Dino 246/256 and #18 Richie Ginther’s 246/256 (A Smith)
Credits…
George Begg, Eric Stevens, Mike Feisst, John Manhire, Eric Stevens, Graham Guy, Matheson Beaumont, Lance Lawson, Archie Smith, R Jenkins
Allan McNish, descending Hosier Lane, pops his Audi R8 Croc, chassis #403, into first gear for the slow left-hander before blasting up the short Flinders Street straight in the 2027 Melbourne 1000 km…I wish!
Gabriel Bortoleto gaining some points in his Audi R26 was an impressive start from a ‘newcomer marque’ upon debut at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix.
So too were their marketing and promotional activities in and around the race – activations – I think is the name given to this stuff by today’s, perky little brand-meisters.
McNish opposite Flinders Street Station heading east on Flinders Street, corner of Swanton Street. To meet ‘under the clocks’ at Flinders Street is a century old Melbourne tradition before heading off to your boozer of choice (Audi) McNish , Audi R8 ahead of David Brabham’s Panoz LMP-1, about to hook into the Adelaide GP circuit’s Chicane early in The Race of 1000 Years on 31 December 2000 (Audi Sport)Borteloto, Audi R26 in front of Hamilton, Ferrari SF-26 during qualifying at Albert Park in 2026 (J Portlock-Getty)
Not least Audi Australia’s short film to reintroduce the Audi R8 LMP900 ‘Crocodile car’ that won the Race of a Thousand Years in 2000 driven by Rinaldo Capello and Allan McNish.
70,000 enthusiastic spectators saw McNish and Capello prevail in an event shortened to 850 km from its scheduled 1000 km, from the Franz Konrad/Charles Slater/Alan Heath Lola B2K/10 Ford and the Dodge Viper GTS-R raced by Olivier Beretta/Karl Wendlinger/Dominique Dupuy.
‘The concept for the film called for the car’s original driver, three-time Le Mans winner Allan McNish, to reprise his role behind the wheel, pulling the dust covers off the car in a warehouse at an undisclosed location, before blasting up the Great Ocean Road in Victoria on his way to Melbourne where Audi’s next great motorsport challenge was about to take place. McNish is now the Director of the Audi Revolut F1 Driver Development Program. See here:https://youtu.be/1mvWxrqLCL4?si=di_c8Gkf1AzFkTN_
The railway shots were taken at the Newport Rail Museum in Champion Road. Specifically ‘in 5 Road and the laneway between the West Block and Centre Block, with L1162 (English Electric L-Class) making a background feature!’ (Newport Rail Museum)(Newport Rail Museum)(Audi)
The R8’s race livery was a nod to Australia hosting its first ALMS (American Le Mans Series) race at the end of a season that saw Audi dominate Le Mans, taking the first of a record number of Le Mans wins.
“The ‘Crocodile R8’ is the perfect bridge between the brand’s racing history in Australia and our entry into Formula 1,” said Audi Australia’s General Manager of Marketing, Nick Reid.
The Race of a Thousand Years ended a near perfect year for Audi in which McNish won the 2000 ALMS driver’s championship and Audi the manufacturer’s.
The Croc was retired after Adelaide and has since lived between visiting gigs at Audi’s Ingolstadt Museum. In advance of its movie star role, Audi Tradition engineers shook the car down on an airstrip and blew one of the R8’s twin-turbos in the process. Without a spare on the shelf, they used the original blueprints to fabricate a turbo casting (perhaps a pattern?) and then made a new one.
While the Great Ocean Road part of the video shows the obligatory Twelve Apostles shot, as a former Wye River local, I think the footage and shots are in the Mount Defiance area, with the turnaround point in one of the photos below, at Cumberland River, close to Lorne. Not that it really matters, just my OCD kicking in (J McRory)(J McRory)(Audi)
The logistical nightmare of this undertaking in the red tape and due process capital of the world – Australia – fries my brain. In masterful understatement, James McRory wrote, ‘Putting a race car on public roads – never mind iconic stretches of blacktop like the Great Ocean Road is best described as a ‘logistical nightmare’. Wanting to drive one through a major city like Melbourne only increased the degree of difficulty by a significant margin. Add to all this a schedule that was tighter than two coats of paint.’
‘Permits and road closures, traffic marshals, police escorts, technical support for the car and transporting it all over Victoria required tremendous forward planning and execution. Just getting the car to Australia in time and through customs presented all manner of challenges, the car arrived Down Under two weeks before the Australian Grand Prix and days before filming was set to commence.’
Blowing off a couple of trams in these two shots. Still opposite Flinders Street Station, Allan is heading south, towards Princes Bridge.
(J McRory)
Heading in the same direction below, this time about to clear Princes Bridge, St Kilda Road over the Yarra River, our murky, but cleanish wonderful river. Engine note at this point would have been worth hearing! My rat run in Collingwood to my girlfriend’s 1.5 km away on St Kilda Road, is on this stretch. I shall be making R8 noises as I cross Princes Bridge from now on…
(J McRory)(J McRory)
McNish. What a fun start to his AGP carnival weekend it must have been!
Etcetera…
(Audi Sport)
McNish in #403 during the Adelaide Race of a Thousand years.
(J McRory)
And pretty relaxed in Hosier Lane in late February 2026. This graffiti/street art lane between Flinders Street and Little Collins Street works hard from pre-dawn to midnight every day.
(J McRory)
Great Ocean Road, Cumberland River turn-around point? No shortage of recording devices in use. How ancient does the technology of ‘Grand Prix’ seem?
(J McRory)(J McRory)
Night-time service depot for the Melbourne Performance Centre crew, who look after Audi customer racing in Australia. It’s at the south, dead-end section of Russell Street behind the Ian Potter Centre-National Gallery of Victoria.
(J McRory)
Beavering away on the car in the wee small hours above, and below, enjoying the dawn view east with three Balloons in sight beyond the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
(J McRory)(M Bisset)
This is more like the Balloon view Melbourne inner-east early-birds get on a good day!
6.45am on April 5 taken beside the Yarra on the Saint Heliers/Collingwood Children’s Farm site in Abbotsford.
Credits…
Audi Australia, James McRory for words and most of the photographs, Audi Sport, Newport Railway Museum, Joe Portlock-Getty Images
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