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Luxton – of the McEwans hardware chain – by that time, the car’s original Van den Plas four-seater sports coachwork had been replaced by this fetching March-designed two/three-seater body built by John Charles.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
Lancia D50 on what looks suspiciously like its first test? Ten points and a bottle of Louis Roederer for the first of you to rattle off the names of the 10 dudes in the shot. Caselle Airport on February 20, 1954?
The Lancia D50s of Alberto Ascari and Gigi Villoresi await the start of the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix.
Maurice Trintignant took the win in the knarly Ferrari 555/625 from Eugenio Castellotti’s D50 with Jean Behra sharing Cesare Perdisa’s Maserati 250F, third. Villoresi was fifth while Ascari was a DNF after a swim in the harbour, while JM Fangio and Stirling Moss had failures on their Mercedes W196s. See here:https://primotipo.com/2022/01/09/alberto-ascari-and-paul-hawkins-monaco-harbour-submariners/
Eugenio Castellotti, Lancia D24 on the start ramp of the Mille Miglia in May 1954. His teammate, Alberto Ascari, won the race in another D24, Eugenio was a DNF with distributor failure. More on the race here:https://primotipo.com/2017/03/27/fearless-in-the-mille-morning-fog/
(Terreni)
‘Dorino Serafini going by in Ferrari 375 and Peter Whitehead in a Ferrari 125, 1951 San Remo Grand Prix on April 21.
Alberto Ascari won the 90-lap, 186-mile race from Serafini and Rudolph Fischer’s Ferrari 212; Whitehead was 10th. The Autodromo di Ospedaletti was a 2.073-mile street circuit.
The event was marred by the death of one spectator and injuries to four caused by Johnny Claes’s Talbot, which ran wide after brake pipe failure.
A sketch for advertising Pirelli raincoats circa 1920-25 (G Muggiani)(A Teruzzi)
The rider and bike aren’t identified in this superbly composed moment during a motorcycle race held in Como, probably the Como-Brunate, which was held from 1905, or the Circuit del Lario on dirt tracks, which was held from 1921-1939.’
Luigi Villoresi and Pirelli Stella Bianca shod Ferrari 166 on the Gran Premio Bari GP grid on July 9,1950, perhaps. That’s Clemente Biondetti’s Maserati 4CLT/48 behind.
(Central Press Photos)
‘Mike Hawthorn, Vanwall with Pirelli Stelvio tyres at the seventh BRDC International Trophy (Silverstone) on 7 May 1955. British Formula 1 driver John Michael Hawthorn won three Grands Prix and was World Champion in 1958. He was the first British driver to win the world title.’
DNF in the race won by Peter Collins’ Owen Racing Organisation Maserati 250F. Louis Rosier, below, was fifth in a 250F rout: Collins, Roy Salvadori, Bira #8 below, Andre Simon and Rosier were all mounted on the finest racing car of the 2.5-litre era…
Il pilota Alfred Neubauer, a rare photograph of the legendary team manager during his driving career.
It’s the October 1924 Italian Grand Prix weekend, both Neubauer’s and Christian Werner’s Mercedes M72/94s were withdrawn after Louis Zborowski’s death in another team car.
Alfa Romeo won in a rout, Antonio Ascari, Louis Wagner and Giuseppe Campari/Cesare Pastore finished first to third in their P2s.
(Calcagni)
Monza panorama during the 1955 Italian Motor Cycle Grand Prix – Gran Premio delle Nazioni – taken on September 4.
‘The event consisted of several competitions: Carlo Ubbiali on MV Augusta won the 125 and 250 classes, while the 350 and 500 classes were won respectively by Dicki Dale on Moto Guzzi and Unberto Masetti on MV Augusta. The sidecar category was won by the rider Wilhelm Noel and his passenger Fritz Cron on a BMW.’
(Publifoto)
‘Study for a sculpture intended for the Pirelli stand at the 1953 Turin Motor Show. Display of car tyres including the ‘Cinturato’, foam rubber armchair and chairs.’
Froilan Gonzalez, Maserati A6GCM, ahead of Eitel Cantoni’s similar car during the September 7, 1952 Italian Grand Prix. The race was won by Alberto Ascari’s Ferrari 500 over Gonzalez and Gigi Villoresi’s Ferrari 500.
La Scuderia Fiat during the September 9, 1923, Italian Grand Prix weekend. From left, the Fiat 805s of Felice Nazzaro, Pietro Bordino and Carlo Salamano.
Salamano won the 80-lap 497-mile race at Monza in 5 hours 27.38 seconds from Nazzaro and Jimmy Murphy’s Miller 122. I had a wonderful time on my own research journey about the fabulous Fiat GP cars of the era, see here:https://primotipo.com/2019/11/22/fiat-806-gp-1927/
(A Mendini)
Two illustrations for Pirelli technical publication number 4 in 1962. What it’s all about I know not!
(A Mendini)(Publifoto)
Stirling Moss during his victorious September 8, 1957 Italian Grand Prix weekend at Monza.
(Publifoto)A beautiful unattributed November 1920 sketch for the advertising of Pirelli Stella shoe heels.(Meurisse Agency)
Enrico Wild’s Itala 51S, DNF during the April 2, 1922 Targa Florio, the race was run on the medium Madonie that year. Giulio Masetti’s 1914 Mercedes GP car won from Jules Goux’s Ballot 2LS and Giulio Foresti’s Ballot 2LS, second and third.
Cover of the fourth Pirelli technical bulletin in 1954 (Ezio Bonini)(Central Press Photos)
Piero Scotti, Connaught B-Type Alta in the Silverstone paddock during the 1956 BRDC International Trophy weekend, May 5.
Stirling Moss won in Vanwall VW2 from the Connaughts of Archie Scott-Brown and Desmond Titterington, with Scotti finishing seventh in a strong showing for the marque.
A couple more shots of Alberto Ascari, above alongside Nino Farina, aboard Ferrari ‘Indy LWB’ 375s during the Valentino Grand Prix meeting in Turin, April 6, 1952.
Both cars DNF, in the race won by Gigi Villoresi, Ferrari 375 won from Piero Taruffi’s Ferrari 500 2.5 and Rudy Fischer, Ferrari 212 2.6.
And below in a Ferrari 500 during the Gran Premio dello Autodromo di Monza held on June 8 1952. Giuseppe Farina won the two-heat event on aggregate from Andre Simon and Rudy Fischer, all aboard Ferrari 500s. More on the Ferrari 500 here:https://primotipo.com/2019/06/24/1956-bathurst-100-lex-davison/
Advertising sketch for the Pirelli Superflex Cord tyre in 1929 (N Nanni)(Anonimo)
Juan Manuel Fangio and Ferrari 166 FL (2-litre, supercharged V12) in one of the South American races held in December 1949-January 1950.
Credits…
Pirelli Archive, Calcagni, Alberto Teruzzi, Terreni, Nino Nanni, Alessandro Mendini, Giorgio Muggiani
Tailpiece…
Pirelli Stelvio postcard 1956, ‘From racing experience, the tyre for your car.’
In 1928, the press of the day described the 1481cc, SOHC, two-valve, Roots-supercharged Alvis FWD chassis # 6992 as the first standard front wheel drive car to reach Australia.
‘This Alvis was shipped from the Coventry works on September 3, 1928, for delivery to Harry Taylor of Advanx Tyres, Sydney, wrote later owner, Rob Gunnell, in notes he prepared about the car for John Blanden, who included the machine in his superb, ‘Historic Racing Cars in Australia’.
‘Harry’s brother, Russell, was also involved with Bugatti cars and sponsored the Advanx Tyre and Rubber Bugatti (T37-37104) driven at Maroubra Speedway by Charlie East.’ By late November, the Sydney press reported that the Alvis was on display in the Hay Street showroom of Biden &Roberts. More about #37104 here:https://primotipo.com/2019/04/25/alexandra-sprints-and-bugatti-t37-37104/
Shortly after Taylor’s car hit the water, another was shipped to Melbourne via Regent Motors for Albert Edwards, who competed in it, including some of the early Road Races/Australian Grands Prix at Phillip Island (1929 DNF magneto rocker arm, ‘while fighting a great duel with the ultimate winner,’ Arthur Terdich, Bugatti T37A, 1930 DNF roll, 1932 DNF).
Harry Taylor’s Alvis #6992 shortly after arrival in Sydney (Blanden Collection)
The motoring writer of Melbourne’s The Herald was fairly impressed with Edward’s car; he wrote about it in the October 29, 1928, issue. ‘The first of its type to reach Australia, and also the first front wheel driven British car to be produced as a standard model, the main advantages are ultra-low build and seating, phenomenal acceleration, the elimination of skidding and the super comfort derived from independently sprung wheels.’
‘The Alvis, however, does not appear unorthodox. The surprisingly strong chassis carries the engine well back from the radiator, and reversed so that the clutch and gearbox are close to the radiator. Bolted to the gearbox is the differential with powerful brakes close to the casing, and from this open axles go to the clever universal joints dividing the front wheels. Each of these wheels is independently sprung and is supported by four short quarter elliptic springs placed in pairs and in parallel with novel spring elip-type rebound dampers.’
‘The design of the chassis gives a very long bonnet line. Controls are of standard type and placing, though the gear lever reveals the novelty of a gate placed under its ball joint. Features are:—A four-cylinder engine of 1496 c.c. capacity (14 h.p.), a Roots-type supercharger, and a four-speed gearbox. Individual steering to each front wheel, and lever springing of the rear wheels. The maximum speed is more than 100 m.p.h.’
Back to chassis # 6992, Paul Gunnell wrote, ‘Its enormous technical innovation, excellent performance and striking appearance must have made this Alvis one of the more interesting imports of 1928. These FWD cars had already placed sixth and ninth outright at Le Mans and won the 1.5-litre class.’
‘Taylor ran the car successfully in RAC road/speed events, but as far as can be ascertained, never actually raced it- there was little opportunity in New South Wales, as Maroubra Speedway had closed and there were no road circuits in use in NSW. He used it to promote Advanx where possible and took it to New Zealand in 1930 and to his homeland, Canada, in 1932.’
‘In the mid 1930s, it was sold to Paul Burton, who competed in hillclimbs, at Penrith Speedway, and finally in the 1938 Australian Grand Prix at Bathurst, where it just failed to finish in the allotted time in 15th place (the Wiki results have him as a DNF).’
‘Burton sold the car soon after the AGP, and during the war, it passed through a number of hands, including John Crouch and Jack Jeffrey. In 1947, Clive Adams acquired it from Alec Mildren and entered it in the 1948 NSW GP at Bathurst. Unfortunately, three conrods let go on the first lap of a preliminary race after being timed at 96mph down Conrod.’
(Blanden Collection-MBisset-CoPilot)
‘The car was stripped with a view to reversing the chassis and fitting a Jeep engine; had the plan been executed, the machine would have been the first Prad Special. Instead, Clive and Jack Prior put a Ford V8-60 engine in a Bugatti chassis to make the first Prad (is this correct?.’
‘Adams sold the Alvis chassis to Bill Clark, of Chatswood, Sydney, where it remained in bits until purchased by Rob Gunnell in 1965.’ Rob wrote in the mid-1980s that he hoped the car would reappear at Bathurst to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first AGP at Bathurst in 1988.
Nathan Tasca advises that ‘Rob Alcock has owned the car for many years and is dead keen to be a part of the Australian Grand Prix centenary celebrations in 2028’, or 2027 depending upon your religion.
Albert Edwards early in the 1932 Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island, and below the forlorn rolled car and tragic scene of an injured photographer having his leg stump bandaged after a trackside amputation in a wet, muddy operating theatre…
(VSCC Vic Archive)
Horrie Morgan, then owner of #FP583, described the accident in the March 2007 issue of the Alvis Club of Victoria’s Newsletter.
‘The car was eventually made ready for the 1932 A.G.P. but again misfortune struck, this time more disastrously than ever.’
Carl Junkers’ Bugatti T39, off a handicap of four minutes – the AGP was for decades a handicap event – was flagged away. ‘Junker’s start was the first phase of a terrible accident,’ The Referee reported.
‘As he pulled out from the pits, and moved towards Heaven – the corner, not the celestial region – Edwards roared up. In attempting to pass the slowly-moving machine, the Alvis went into a vicious skid, bounced off the road, crashed into a spectator, tearing his leg off – it necessitated a roadside amputation – spun over, and overthrowing driver and mechanic clear, then plunged upside down into a pool of water.’
‘It may seem strange to say of a person so terribly injured that he was lucky, but this certainly is true, insofar as it refers to the speediness with which medical attention was available. Edwards sustained a broken rib, and his mechanic, three broken ribs and a concussion.‘
Bill Thompson won the race in his Bugatti T37A.
Morgan wrote that ‘Edwards, not surprisingly, decided to give up racing, but retained the FWD for general motoring and it was re-registered in 1933 with a fixed-head coupe body.’
Advanx 1943 calendar (Powerhouse Museum)
More on the Advanx Tyre and Rubber Co Pty Ltd, established by Canadian tyre salesman/entrepreneur, Russell Taylor, and Australian Olympian, Francis ‘Frank’ Beaurepaire in 1921 here:https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/articles/6210
(Mudgee Guardian October 27,1927)
Credits…
John Blanden Collection, Rob Gunnell’s short history of chassis 6992, The Herald October 29, 1928, Powerhouse Museum, The Mudgee Guardian October, 27, 1927, The Referee March 16, 1932, Vintage Sports Car Club of Victoria Archive via Ash Tracey
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
Spencer Martin in the Scuderia Veloce Ferrari 250LM, looking for an outside run on Wally Mitchell’s RM1 Climax FPF 2.5 into the Viaduct, you can see the dark, looming Water Tower at the top of the photograph, during the 1966 Australian Tourist Trophy.
This photograph, taken by Peter Duckworth from the Viaduct spectator area on the railway line, shows the sheer majesty and scale of Australia’s long-lost – 1968 was the final race meeting – Longford road circuit that ducked and dived over 4.5 miles through the local environs in and around the northern Tasmania rural hamlet southwest of Launceston.
Some of the photos taken by Peter, posted on the excellent Historic Racing Car Club of Tasmania Facebook page some years back, I retro-fitted into articles I’d already done, but I was looking through that site for the first time in a while and thought they really deserved a piece all of their own to let them breathe.
As I’ve admitted many times before, I’m completely captivated by Longford despite never visiting during the day, but I’ve made up for it since! I covered Jackie Stewart’s victory in the South Pacific Trophy nearly sixty years ago on March 7, 1966 aboard a 1.9-litre BRM P261 V8 in this piece:https://primotipo.com/2016/05/19/jackies-66-longford/
(HRCCT)
The perils of this part of Tassie and the inferior aerodynamics of the Elfin 400 are revealed in this shot of Globe Products’s Noel Hurd-driven Elfin 400 Ford 289 V8 (#BB661), which took flight at or near the top of the rise shown in the photo above, beyond the start-finish straight, the following year, 1967.
The two championship feature events of the weekend were the South Pacific Trophy and the Australian Tourist Trophy won by Frank Matich in his Elfin 400 Oldsmobile V8, a car entered by Frank as the Traco Oldsmobile for the twelve months he raced it. Otherwise, it was called by most of its owners an Elfin 400, given the car was built by Garrie Cooper’s Edwardstown, Adelaide firm, and left said establishment in late 1965 with an Elfin badge on the nose and Elfin chassis plate on the dash.
(P Duckworth)
The flag drops at the start of the 1966 Australian Tourist Trophy at Longford on March 7.
The front row cars took the podium places, poleman Frank Matich won the 23-lap 103-mile race in his two or so meetings old Elfin 400 Oldsmobile V8, by 7 seconds from Alan Hamilton’s similar vintage to him Porsche Distributors’ Porsche 904 Spyder 2-litre flat-six and then Spencer Martin in the Scuderia Veloce/David McKay Ferrari 250LM 3.3-litre V12. another 28.5 seconds further back.
That’s Lionel Ayers’ white fourth-place Lotus 23B Lotus-Ford behind Hammo. Another Lotus 23, I’m not sure which of the other three that started, while Kevin Bartlett’s white Alec Mildren Alfa Romeo GTA stands load and proud (DNF head gasket).
Frank Matich’s Laurie O’Neill funded Elfin 400 Oldsmobile – the Traco Olds in FM speak – at Longford in 1966. The blokes are, perhaps, Bruce Richardson leaning over the bonnet, Bob Holden in the sunnies, FM in the cap, and Laurie O’Neil next to Matich (P Duckworth) Alan Hamilton’s ex-works Porsche 904/8 ‘Kanguruh’ chassis #906-007 in the Longford paddock; the first of his three Porsche sports racers to be blessed with that chassis number…(P Duckworth)
Other notables in the race were Dick Thurston, who was fifth in the ex-Stillwell Cooper T49 Monaco, by then Buick V8-powered; the redoubtable local crowd pleaser, Kerry Cox, who was seventh in the Paramount Jaguar. Bob Holden was ninth in the Lolita BMC, and Alan Ling was a splendid 10th in a Lotus Super 7. Paul Bolton, Frank Demuth and Steve Holland – all the way from Hong Kong – raced 23Bs, surely one of Colin Chapman’s finest ever production racing cars?
Also worthy of note is Ross Ambrose, later co-founder of Van Diemen Racing Cars with Ralph Firman and father of Marcos, local sports car perennial, who was 17th in his Elfin Streamliner Ford, Bob Wright in a Tasma 1500 18th, and Max Brunninghausen who was classified 19th in his Alfa Romeo TZ1 despite head gasket failure. A fantastic Australian sports car grid of the era in every respect.
Longford pre-start. Jackie Stewart #3 and Graham Hill aboard BRM’s exquisite 1.9-litre P261s and Jim Clark’s Lotus 39 Climax FPF, which has resided in Tasmania for quite some while. Note the different heads fitted to Bourne’s finest (P Duckworth)
As written above, Jackie Stewart won for BRM at Longford in 1966 and also popped the Tasman Cup into his CV. While the 1964 BARC British F3 Championship was his first series win, the ’66 Tasman was his first international series triumph; a respected one at the time, given the strength of the competition and therefore the degree of difficulty in winning it!
Spencer Martin’s Scuderia Veloce Brabham BT11A Climax FPF #IC-4-64, soon to become Spencer Martin’s Bob Jane Racing car in which he won the 1966-67 Australian Drivers’ Championships. The ‘divorce’ was handled elegantly by all parties if you believe what you read; that Shell was the mutual sponsor was helpful in relation thereto (P Duckworth)
That year was a turning point, the season in which the Coventry Climax 2.5-litre FPF four-cylinder engine, which provided a key, probably the key, foundation piece, in establishing the 2.5 Tasman formula, was supplanted by V8s. The BRM V8s – 1.9-litre variants of BRM’s successful P56/P60 1.5-litre F1 engines – showed the future path to win the trophy, while Repco’s new Repco-Brabham 2.5-litre 620 V8 also showed promise.
Jack Brabham raced BT19 #F1-1-65 at Sandown and Longford powered by 2.5-litre variants of the RBE V8 on a development path that saw its first F1 win (3-litres) in the International Trophy at Silverstone on May 14, first championship win at Reims, in the French Grand Prix on July 3, and the World Drivers and International Cup for Manufacturers championships wrapped up at Monza on September 4.
Jack, BT19 2.5 620 V8 and Jack’s longtime local manager, Reg Thompson (thanks, Stephen Dalton!). Longford 1966, the car’s third race: the South African GP January 1 DNF and the Sandown Park Cup Feb 27 DNF, being the first two (P Duckworth)
Not a bad result against the might of Ferrari, Lotus, BRM, Cooper et al for a company that commenced in 1961 – Motor Racing Developments – and not bad for a company that had never built an engine before – Repco!
This weekend, during the 2026 Australian Grand Prix carnival, on Thursday, BT19 was inducted into the Australian Motorsport Hall of Fame. It’s the 100th member, the first, and probably the last ‘non-person’ to be accorded that honour.
BT19 at Albert Park yesterday after induction into the Australian Motorsport Hall of Fame. That’s David and Sam Brabham in the white/white and black shirts (M Bisset)
If memory serves, Repco restored the car with a team of Repco/ex-Repco Brabham Engines artisans led by the late Don Halpin in time for the 1978 ‘Fangio Meeting’; the ’78 AGP at Sandown where Jack ‘duelled’ in BT19 with JMF’s Mercedes Benz W196 in several events.
So the car is a familiar face for many of us, with the car pressed into regular service since Repco became the V8 Supercars Championship sponsor in recent years. A national treasure, it would be intriguing to know the sum for which it’s insured!
Etcetera…
(P Duckworth)
Rob Bartholomaeus tells me this Bolwell Mk5 Holden lookalike is Bruno Carosi’s Carosi B-Type special, resplendent, no doubt, in one of the Bolwell Brothers’ lovely bodies. Red Falcon Hardtop at left, and blue Valiant and Ross Ambrose’s Elfin Streamliner Ford to the rear.
Credits…
Photography by Peter Duckworth courtesy of the Historic Racing Car Club of Tasmania, oldracingcars.com, Google, Graham Howard
Tailpiece…
Didn’t Alan Hamilton get the jump in his Porsche! From Matich, Dick Thurston, Cooper Monaco Buick, Spencer Martin 250LM, a swarm of Lotus 23Bs: Frank Demuth #5, Paul Bolton #3 and Lionel Ayers #11 with Wally Mitchell’s RM1 Climax at left and Max Brunninghausen’s Alfa Romeo TZ1 at right, and the rest…
Bill Pitt, Jaguar D-Type, leads Doug Whiteford, Maserati 300S and race winner David McKay heading up Mountain Straight during the early stages of the 31-lap, 100-mile Australian Tourist Trophy at Mount Panorama, Bathurst, on October 6, 1958.
That weekend was an incredible double-header combining the Australian Grand Prix won by Lex Davison’s Ferrari 500/625, and the Australian Tourist Trophy.
It was the second running of an event first won by Stirling Moss in a Maserati 300S during the 1956 AGP carnival at Albert Park.
McKay, Whiteford, Phillips and Kiwi, Frank Cantwell’s Tojeiro Jaguar (unattributed)
By then, we had a good grid of outright current sports cars, including: Aston Martin DB3S – ex-works car for David McKay, and Warren Blomfeld’s Tom Sulman-owned customer machine, Maserati 300S – Doug Whiteford’s ex-works car, Derek Jolly’s ex-works Lotus 15 Climax FPF 1.5, Ron Phillips’ ex-Peter Whitehead Cooper T38 Jaguar, customer Jaguar D-Types for Bill Pitt and Jack Murray, plus a C-Type for young thruster Frank Matich. The quickest of the local cars was Gavan Sandford Morgan in Derek Jolly’s Decca Mk 2 Climax FWA.
Pitt and McKay head up Mountain Straight, while Whiteford, Phillips and Jolly negotiate Hell Corner (P Longley)
McKay won with Jolly’s 1.5-litre Lotus second – first in class – then Ron Phillips’ Cooper T38, Frank Matich in the Leaton Motors C-Type, Gavan Sandford Morgan, Decca MK2 Climax then Warren Blomfield’s Aston Martin DB3S in sixth.
(Edgerton Family Arc)
Etcetera…
(R Reid)
Early laps I suspect with Bill Pitt in the Geordie Anderson D-Type from the obscured Jolly Lotus 15 and distinctive blue flash of Ron Phillip’s Cooper Jag.
(K Devine Arc)Cooper T38 Jag, Bathurst paddock (P Kelly)
Not to forget Derek Jolly of course. He took ATT honours in the second of his Lotus 15s at Longford in March 1960, on that occasion Doug Whiteford’s Maserati 300S was second and Frank Matich third in a D-Type.
McKay in DB3S/9 and Warren Blomfeld in DB3S/103 below.
The Leaton C-Type was Frank Matich’s first Big Car and he handled it rather well in a career that stretched all the way to the end of the 1974 Tasman Cup.
He won the Australian Tourist Trophy four times: 1964, Lotus 19B Climax, 1966, Elfin 400 Oldsmobile, and 1967-68 in his Matich SR3: Oldsmobile powered in ’67, Repco-Brabham 4.4 powered in 1968. Not to forget the Australian Sports Car Championship aboard the 4.8-litre Matich SR4 Repco in 1969.
(K Devine Arc)
Educated guess territory…Jim Wright’s Buchanan TR2 from Harry Capes’ Jaguar XK120. 14th and 19th respectively. And below, Phillip’s Cooper Jag again, in front of I’m not sure who.
(K Devine Arc)
Credits…
Des Lawrence, Peter Longley, Edgerton Family Archive, Bob Ross Collection, Ron Reid, David Medley, Paul Kelly Collection, Ken Devine Archive
Stirling Moss, Aston Martin DBR/1, May 11, 1958, Targa Florio…
Luigi Musso was the class of the field that day and led from the first lap in a works-Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa 3-litre V12 co-driven by Olivier Gendebien. Moss went off the road and damaged a wheel early on, then redeemed himself with a lap record more than a minute quicker than Musso, but the solitary Aston’s gearbox cried enough under the strain during its fifth lap.
‘Yep, I’ll supersize that with fries.’ Musso in command of the leading 250 Testa Rossa, not in need of assistance from the Ferrari pit, way out west (unattributed)Porsche did well with results as per the postcard
Musso’s car lost its brake fluid, but such was the car’s lead that he pitted, the Scuderia mechanics fixed the problem and Gendebien brought the car home first in the 10 lap race on 10hr 37.58 from Jean Behra/Giorgio Scarlatti Porshe 718RSK 10:43.38 with Wolfgang von Trips/Mike Hawthorn third in another works Ferrari 250TR on 10:44.29.
Luigi Musso and Olivier Gendebien before the off, while below, Jean Behra gets ready to start in the RSK he shared with Giorgio Scarlatti, and below that, the same car at rest.
Classic Targa family shot, the cautious family man on the inside of the corner watch the Ferraro brothers – Pietro and Paolo – Ferrari 250 GT LWB (DNF) while macho-man puts himself and the babe at risk on the outside.
(unattributed)
Luigi Musso jumps out of the winning car in the shot above, the more you look the more you see! Mechanics in natty brown overalls, lots of ’em, quick-lift jack to the right, the Shell man to the left and overall vibe grab mine.
While Peter Collins does his thing in the Testa Rossa he shared with Phil Hill to fourth place, 2.5 minutes or so behind the race winners, below.
(Getty-Klemantaski)(J Alexander)
This pairing reminds me that Phil Hill made his Grand Prix debut with Scuderia Ferrari on the Nurburgring, during the 1958 German Grand Prix on August 3, the day Peter Collins died at the wheel of a Ferrari Dino 246, Phil was in a 156, the F2 variant, shot above.
Luigi Musso died chasing Mike Hawthorn during the French Grand Prix at Reims a month before on July 6, both on 246 Dinos.
Alfonso de Portago died at Cavriana during the May 12, 1957 Mille Miglia aboard a Ferrari 335S, while Eugenio Castellotti was killed at the wheel of Ferrari 801 testing at Modena that March 14.
Mike Hawthorn’s death at the wheel of his Jaguar Mk1 on the Guildford Bypass – as the reigning but retired Ferrari World Champion – bookended a horrific two years for Ferrari. Driver error in all cases folks, mistakes could be awfully expensive in them-thar days…
Etcetera…
Jean Behra blows off a bus during practice…while Peter Collins shows off the voluptuous lines of the Testa Rossa below.
(Wikipedia)
The FIA reacted to the 1955 Le Mans and 1957 Mille Miglia tragedies by limiting outright cars contesting the 1958 World Sportscar Championship to a capacity of no more than 3-litres.
Ferrari picked up where they left off with the 4-litre 335S, the 3-litre, circa 300bhp 250 Testa Rossa won four of the six championship rounds: Buenos Aires, Sebring, Targa and Le Mans and the championship from Porsche, the other pair of outright wins on the Nurburgring and at Goodwood went to the Aston Martin DBR1/300 who were third in the title chase.
Collins, maaagic shot! (Y Debraine)(T Matthews)
Technical Specifications in brief…
Tipo 128LM 60° SOHC two-valve Colombo V12, alloy block and head. Bore/stroke 73.0/58.8 – 2953cc, Compression ratio 9.8:1, six Weber 36DCN carbs, two distributors, circa-300 bhp @ 7200rpm.
Four speed all synchro gearbox, diff ratios:3.55, 3.77, 4.00, 4.25, 4.59, 4.86:1
Tipo 526 welded steel ladder frame chassis, 2350mm wheelbase, 1308 front track, 1300 rear track.
Independent front suspension by upper and lower wishbones, coil springs and Houdaille shocks. Rigid rear axle on customer cars, De Dion on factory cars, coil springs, Houdaille shocks
Drum brakes, Borrani wire wheels with 5.50 x 16 inch front tyres and 6.00 x 16 rears. Body by Scaglietti. Weight circa-900kg
Moss chases Collins
Credits…
Michael Wright, targapedia.com, Ted Walker, Getty Images-Bernard Cahier-Louis Klemantaski, Yves Debraine, Tony Matthews, Jesse Alexander, barchetta.cc
Alan Jones was a formidable weapon in anything; it took him four or so years to clear F3, but it was whammo after that as he stepped into more powerful cars: Formula Atlantic, F5000 and F1.
He raced F5000 on most continents, here in an F5000 in drag, a 5-litre central-seat Can-Am car, Carl Haas Lola T333CS Chev, at Riverside on October 15, 1978, where he won from fellow Aussie, Warwick Brown’s similar VDS Racing machine.
(R Deming)
Jones won five of the 1978 championships’ ten rounds, gathering 2712 points and the title from Brown, on 2548 then Al Holbert in another T333 on 1674 points.
Watkins Glen 1978 (P Goesina)
Jones is swapping notes in the Watkins Glen pits above with Jean-Pierre Jarier who raced a works Shadow DN10 Dodge, Q6/DNF gearbox. Brown won that round from Al Holbert and Rocky Moran, all three raced Lola T333CS, with Jones a DNF.
Jones at Watkins Glen (P Goesina)(P Goesina)
The rear of Jones’ T333CS Chev in the Watkins Glen paddock, essential elements at this end of the car are a 5-litre 525bhp or so Chev V8 and Hewland DG300 five-speed transaxle.
In the US, many Lola T332 Chev F5000 cars became Lola T332CS Chev Can-Am cars by buying the requisite body kit from Lola. You could buy a T332CS from the factory as well. The mildly updated Lola T333CS could be converted back the other way. The VDS Racing Lolas that Warwick Brown raced in the 1978-79 Rothmans F5000 internationals were T333 HU1 and HU2 fitted with good ‘ole T332C bodywork.
Despite missing half the season, Jones was equal seventh in the 1975 Shellsport British F5000 Championship 1975, together with Bob Evans. He won two rounds in RAM Racing cars, here at Brands Hatch on August 25, aboard a March 75A powered by the Ford Cosworth GAA 3.4-litre twin-cam, four-valve V6 fitted to Ford’s Cologne Capri RS3100 touring cars. Tony Brise and Guy Edwards were second and third aboard T332 Chevs.
Redman, Lola T332C Chev, Jones, Lola T332 Chev, Ongais, Lola T332 Chev, Oliver, Shadow DN6B Dodge and the rest #4 Pilette, Lola T430 Chev and #7 Sam Posey Talon MR-1A Chev (Getty)
Brian Redman and Alan Jones on the front row of the rolling start Mosport Park round of the 1976 US F5000 Championship on June 20, 1976.
Jones won here and at Watkins Glen later in a season where Jones mixed his Surtees F1 and F5000 programs, finding the latter much more satisfying!
Allan Brown wrote, ‘With two rounds to go, Jones (2 round wins) and Oliver (1 win Shadow DN6B Dodge) were tied for the championship lead, but when Oliver retired at Road America, and Jones had to miss the race to be at the Dutch GP, Redman (3 wins) won and leapt into a significant points lead. Third place in the last round secured the Lancastrian his third successive title, while Al Unser’s win (1 win Lola T332) propelled him into second place in the final points table.’
Grids of great depth that year, in addition to the above, competitors included Warwick Brown, Vern Schuppan, Teddy Pillette, Peter Gethin, Graham McRae, John Cannon, Brett Lunger, Danny Ongais, and occasionals/one-offs David Purley, Bruce Allison, Derek Bell, Maurizio Flammini and Patrick Tambay.
Jones, Sid Taylor/Teddy Yip Lola T332 Chev leads Peter Gethin, VDS Racing Chevron B37 Chev early in the 1977 Sandown International won by Max Stewart, his final race win (B Forsyth)
Jones was far and away the quickest bloke on the grid in Australia’s four-round Rothmans F5000 Championship in 1977. Still, he jumped the start in the Oran Park AGP, boofed a car in Surfers Paradise, then had overheating at Sandown and DNFd. Still, he won in Adelaide and made it awfully clear to his countrymen – having not raced in Australia since finishing second in the September 1968 Sandown 3-Hour touring car race in a Holden Monaro GTS327 shared with Clive Millis – just how blindingly quick he was!
Sandown pits (R Steffanoni)
The Jones/Millis second place Holden HK Monaro GTS327 at Shell Corner, Sandown during the September 3-Hour ‘Bathurst warm up’.
While entered by Jones, the car has Lloyd Holyoak Holden signage on it. Holyoak – still with us – was one of Stan Jones’ oldest friends/employees/confidants/supporters, so for sure Lloyd will have pulled the car off his Warrandyte dealership forecourt. One little old lady owner etc…
(M Bisset)
Melbourne enthusiast/historian David Zeunert (second from right) organised a small gathering of Stan Jones Nutters to pay our respects on the centenary of Stans birthday, March 16, 2023, at Springvale Cemetery, a stone’s throw from Sandown.
That’s Lloyd Holyoak sharing his recollections of all things Stan. Some Melburnian Aussie Rules fans may recall Holyoak, a very handy cricketer and football player in his youth, as the North Melbourne Football Club President when North won the VFL ’77 Flag.
(M Bisset)
Credits…
Kurt Oblinger, Richard Deming, Peter Goesina, Lola Heritage, Rod Steffanoni, autopics.com.au
The magic hands are those of Bugatti’s Chief Mechanic, ‘Le Grand Robert’, Frenchman Robert Aumaitre working on a T51 straight-eight, twin-cam, 2.3-litre engine…
Louis Chiron with his Bugatti Type 51 near Molsheim in 1931 (sciencephoto.com)T51, Nurburgring German GP July 19, 1931. Race won by Rudy Caracciola’s Mercedes-Benz SSKL by over a minute from the Louis Chiron and Achille Varzi Bugatti T51s (Z Glass)
Bugatti’s Miller 91-inspired twin-cam design – 1931-35 T51 2262cc 60×100, T51A 1493cc 60×66, T51C 1991cc 60×88 – featured a monobloc design with a shared crankcase. The main bearings comprised three ball bearings in the middle and two roller bearings, one at each end. Rod bearings were roller. Lubrication was by jet and splash with a special oil pipe for the front main bearing.
The twin overhead camshafts were driven by a train of gears mounted at the front of the engine and operated two valves per cylinder. A single (T51) Zenith 48K carb fed a Roots type supercharger, with a Scintilla magneto firing one plug per cylinder. The engine gave about 180bhp @ 5500rpm.
T51 Nurburgring German Grand Prix July 19, 1931. Inlet side (Z Glass)Robert Aumaitre and Pierre Veyron at the Avus, Berlin. Veyron won the Avusrennen Voiturette race, 197km, in a Type 51A on May 21, 1933, from Ernst Burggaller’s similar car (Z Glass)
Robert Aumaître ‘came to service with Bugatti in 1930 and was Jean Bugatti’s mechanic. He experienced Jean’s last moments, when he was killed on August 11, 1939, a traumatic experience that haunted hm until his own death,’ recorded the bugattipage.com.
‘After WW2, he assisted French driver Jean Monneret and was involved in record attempts with various Vespas at Montlhery. He designed a Vespa-driven catamaran that crossed the channel in 1947, and was involved in a rally for bicycles with engines from Paris to Alpe d’Huez. After his retirement as manager of a big Cognac company, he spent his last years in Molsheim,’ where he died aged 93 on January 11, 1997.
Strange is that this piece omits Aumaitre’s time with Gordini post-war, where he was again Chief Mechanic.
Credits…
Zoltan Glass/Science and Society Picture Library, bugattipage.com, National Science and Media Museum, Bradford, sciencephoto.com
primotipo... 