Archive for the ‘Sports Racers’ Category

Matra @ Random…

Posted: September 19, 2023 in F1, Sports Racers
Tags:
11
(LAT)

The Jean Guichet/Nino Vaccarella Matra MS630 at Le Mans in 1969, they finished fifth in the race won by the John Wyer Ford GT40 driven by Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver.

Matra’s progression up the Le Mans results was underway. A pair of DNFs for the two 2-litre BRM P56 V8 powered MS630s in 1967 wasn’t improved upon by the Johnny Servoz-Gavin/Henri Pescarolo MS630 V12s in 1968 (puncture, accident). Fourth and fifth places in 1969 was more impressive, the Jean-Pierre Beltoise (JPB) / Piers Courage MS650 Spider was a lap ahead of the Guichet/Vaccarella MS630 Coupe. Matra would get there soon enough of course, Henri Pescarolo and Graham Hill (below) won the classic race aboard an MS670 from teammates Francois Cevert and Howden Ganley similar car in 1972.

Graham Hill’s ’72 Le Mans victory famously bagged him the Triple Crown: an F1 title, Le Mans and Indy wins, the only bloke to achieve it of course (MotorSport)

Two of the team MS670s in the garage at Le Mans in 1972. The MS73 circa 450bhp 3-litre V12 is a stressed member of the monocoque chassis, note the light tubular frame to support the rear bodywork, the five speed transaxle is ZF.

The third member of the Le Mans team was an MS660C crewed by Jean-Pierre Jabouille and David Hobbs, DNF gearbox after 278 laps in the final hour.

David Hobbs, MS660C in 1972 (MotorSport)
(MotorSport)

Jean-Pierre Beltoise lines up for the start of the July 1968 British Grand Prix aboard his Matra Sports Matra MS11 V12. Q11 and 14th in the race won by Jo Siffert’s Lotus 49B Ford.

The best placed of the Matras was Jackie Stewart’s Ken Tyrrell/Matra International MS10 Ford DFV in sixth. See here for a piece on JPB; https://primotipo.com/2015/01/15/r-i-p-jpb/

(MotorSport)

(MotorSport)

Francois Cevert tips his Matra MS670B into a right-hander at Dijon in during the 1000km enduro in 1973.

He and JPB finished third in the race won by Henri Pescarolo and Gerard Larrousse in another MS670B. See here for a piece on Francois’ formative years; https://primotipo.com/2014/11/07/francois-cevert-formative-years/

Unlike 1972 when Ferrari and Matra shadow-boxed – Ferrari won everything but didn’t contest Le Mans and Matra won Le Mans but didn’t race anywhere else – Matra won a clean fight with Ferrari in 1973. They again won at Le Mans, the MS670B driven by Henri Pescarolo and Gerard Larrousse were the star crew of the year. Matra won five of the ten World Sportscar Championship rounds, narrowly taking the title from Ferrari, 124 points to 115.

(MotorSport)

Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, Matra MS6 Ford 1-litre F3 car during the 1967 Monaco F3 GP weekend.

JPJ won heat one and Pescarolo the other in the second Matra Sports entry, with Henri in front of Jean-Pierre in the final by six-tenths of a second, with Derek Bell’s Brabham BT21 Ford another half-second in arrears.

While Brabhams were again 1967 Top F3 Dogs in the UK and Sweden, Matras won the French (Pescarolo), Italian (Geki Russo) and the Argentinian Temporada (Beltoise) titles.

Amon Monaco 1971, Q4 and DNF diff MS120B (MotorSport)

Amon and Matra, what should have been never quite was!

Chris won the non-championship 1971 Argentine GP which was a portent of ‘front two row’ qualifying pace over the ensuing two years but 11th in the ’71 World Drivers Championship and 10th in 1972 was a poor dividend not really indicative of the pace of the car and driver.

Chris should have won at Clermont in 1972, as it was, pole and fastest lap there, and fastest lap at Nivelles was about all the driver and team took away from the season, withdrawal as a team from F1 followed. Very sadly. Feature piece about the MS120 here; https://primotipo.com/2014/07/06/venetia-day-and-the-1970-matra-ms120/

Amon, Mosport 1972 Q10 and sixth MS120D (unattributed)
(LAT)

Jacky Ickx won the first European F2 Championship in 1967 aboard Ken Tyrrell Matra MS5 and MS7 Ford FVAs.

Here he is at the Nurburgring over the August 6, German GP weekend in an MS5 which was outted with suspension failure, I wonder why!? More on the MS7 in this piece on Johnny Servos-Gavin; https://primotipo.com/2016/09/02/johnnys-talbot/

Jackie Oliver won the F2 section of the race, he was fifth overall in a works Lotus 48 FVA. Denny Hulme won the race from Jack Brabham in a Brabham Racing Organisation BT24 Repco 1-2, Alan Rees was the second placed F2 home, seventh overall in a Brabham BT23 FVA.

Ickx won the championship from Frank Gardner’s works Brabham BT23 and Beltoise’ MS5 and MS7, but the F2 Star was – as ever – graded driver, Jochen Rindt with five wins of the ten rounds aboard his Roy Winkelmann run Brabham BT23 Ford FVA.

(MotorSport)

Jackie Stewart, Matra MS80 Ford – the 1969 drivers and constructors champions – from Bruce McLaren, McLaren M7C Ford at Monaco in 1969.

Jackie retired with a broken UJ and Bruce was fifth in the race won by the Mayor of Monaco, Graham Hill, in his Lotus 49B Ford, for the fifth time. It was the crazy weekend when the CSI/FIA banned high-wings after Friday practice, see here; https://primotipo.com/2015/07/12/wings-clipped-lotus-49-monaco-grand-prix-1969/

Matra International and Stewart won the respective titles with victories at Kyalami, Montjuich Park, Zandvoort, Silverstone and Monza. See here for more on the Matra MS80; https://primotipo.com/2016/07/01/matra-ms80-ford/

(MotorSport)

Jack Brabham at Daytona in 1970, where he was 10th in the Matra MS650 he shared with Francois Cevert. It was Black-Jack’s final season, later Australian taxi-competition duly noted.

Relieved of management responsibilities – he had sold his half share in Motor Racing Developments and the Brabham Racing Organisation to Ron Tauranac at the end of 1969 – the wily campaigner attacked his final season with great vigour, knowing he had Her Indoors to look forward to on a more regular basis when the family returned to Australia.

Apart from his Brabham F1 program, he raced an F2 Brabham BT30 for John Coombs, contested the Indy 500, and had a program of World Endurance Championship rounds with Matra, see here for the detail; https://primotipo.com/2016/09/09/jack-and-francois-matra-ms660/

Brabham in the MS650 he shared with JPB, Brands Hatch 1000km 1970. 12th in the race won by the Rodriguez/Kinnunen Porsche 917K (MotorSport)
(MotorSport)

The quickie MS7 F2-derived F1 Matra MS9 Ford DFV was knocked together as an R&D machine in advance of the quintessential ’68 Ford powered MS10.

MS9 was raced at Kyalami to give Ken Tyrrell and Jackie Stewart a car in which to contest the opening 1968 F1 round in South Africa.

(MotorSport)

The car was purposeful in its military green primer and became an entrant in the Fugly Car Cup when fitted with an outsized front radiator, extra water tankage and cooler to cope with the ferocious African heat (below). All the hard work paid off though, Jackie drove the lash-up to third behind Jim Clark – the great Scot’s final F1 victory – and Graham Hill’s Lotus 49 Fords.

The MS9 was used only once again in a test at Albi before being set aside and ultimately restored, it resides in a private collection.

(MotorSport)

(MotorSport)

The definitive 1968 Ford V8 powered F1 Matra was the MS10, here at Spa with Jackie on his way to fourth place, and below at Rouen in the tragic French GP.

Jo Schlesser died in the new Honda RA302 that awful, wet day, while Stewart was third. Bruce McLaren won at Spa in his M7A and Jacky Ickx in France aboard his Ferrari 312, the only F1 race not won by a Ford Cosworth powered car that season.

(MotorSport)

Francois Cevert, Matra MS670B from Brian Redman, Ferrari 312PB at Le Mans in 1973.

Both cars failed to finish, the Icky/Redman car with engine failure after 332 laps, and Cevert/Beltoise after completing 157 laps before a puncture induced accident. The winning Pescarolo/Larrousse MS670B competed 356 laps, while the second placed Art Merzario-Carlos Pace driven Ferrari 312PB 350 laps. A convincing win indeed.

The tail shot below is of a 670B during the May 1973 Nurburgring 1000km weekend.

Both the Cevert/Beltoise and Pescarolo/Larrousse 670Bs retired with engine failure allowing an easy Ferrari 312PB 1-2, the Redman/Ickx pair in front of Pace/Merzario. Hewland gearbox this time, note the alternator driven off the rear of the transaxle.

(MotorSport)
(MotorSport)

Jo Schlesser during the 1966 German Grand Prix, F2 1-litre Cosworth SCA powered Matra MS5. Jo was third behind two other MS5s raced by Beltoise and Hubert Hahne (Tyrrell entry).

1966 was the year of absolute F2 dominance by the works Brabham Hondas raced by Brabham and Hulme. Sad story on Schlesser, more positively, I am in the process of assembling a feature on the man, will finish it soon; https://primotipo.com/2019/07/12/its-all-happening-3/

JPB won the 1965 French F3 Championship racing Matra’s first single-seater, the monocoque MS1 Ford, Jaussaud was second in another one. The early Matra single-seaters are covered in this piece; https://primotipo.com/2019/05/24/surtees-matra-1966-and-thereabouts/

(LAT)

JPB before winning the F3 round at Reims on July 4, 1965 – a breakthrough first victory for Matra – Matra MS1 Ford.

It was a slipstreaming ball-tearer of a 54 minute race too, JPB won by one-tenth/sec from Piers Courage’s Brabham BT10 Ford with John Fenning’s Cooper T76 Ford two-tenths further adrift!

In another year of Brabham F3 dominance, Matra grabbed a market toehold. JPB won the Trophy de Cognac at Reims in July, while Jean-Pierre Jaussaud took two more wins aboard his MS2 Ford in September, the Coupe de Paris at Montlhery and Coupe Internationale de Vitesse at Albi.

(MotorSport)

Henri Pescarolo at the Kyalami first F1 championship round in 1970, Matra MS120.

Henri finished the drivers world championship that year in 12th place, while JPB was 9th. Their best results were third placings at Spa and Monza for Beltoise, and at Monaco, Pescarolo. Matra were seventh in the manufacturers championship.

That year the Velizy concern chose not to build a Ford powered variant of their chassis raced so capably by Ken Tyrrell’s outfit in 1968-69, and Tyrrell/Stewart felt they were better sticking with a Ford DFV powered chassis, having tested the MS120 that winter. Initially Tyrrell raced customer March 701s, but by the season’s end the pace of Derek Gardner’s Tyrrell 001 Ford was apparent, and was delivered in spades in 1971.

Zandvoort 1970, Beltoise’ fifth placed MS120. Isn’t the distance between the radius rods unusually small? (MotorSport)
JPB, Brands Hatch, British GP 1970. DNF wheel after 24 laps, looong exhausts! (MotorSport)
(MotorSport)

JPB on his way to victory in the VII GP de Monaco Formula 3 GP in 1966, Matra MS5 Ford, from Chris Irwin’s Brabham BT18 Ford – five-tenths adrift – and John Cardwell’s Lotus 41 Ford.

That year Johnny Servoz-Gavin won the French title in another MS5.

(MotorSport)

Another one that got away from Chris…

He led the 1972 French Grand Prix on a mans track – Clermont Ferrand – to half distance, then copped a puncture which dropped him back to eighth, then worked his MS120D back up to third place. So close, again.

(MotorSport)
(MotorSport)

Credits…

MotorSport Images, LAT Photographic, Getty Images, MotorSport, oldracingcars.com, Wikipedia

Tailpieces…

(MotorSport)

Of course, one of the most erotic of all Matras is the black one, Tony Southgate‘s 1975 Shadow DN7 Matra.

An experiment that was over way too soon, here at Monza driven by Jean-Pierre Jarier, DNF fuel pump after 32 of the 52 laps from Q13. Clay Regazzoni’s Ferrari 312T took a very popular victory. See here for an article on the Shadow Matra; https://primotipo.com/2016/01/15/shadow-dn7-matra/

(MotorSport)
(MotorSport)

Finito…

Honda R800 and R1300…

Posted: September 12, 2023 in Obscurities, Sports Racers
Tags: , , , , ,
1
(S Shobo)

Fukumi Takatake – sometimes written Fukumi Kotake, born in Fukuoka, December 3, 1944 – at the wheel of the works Honda R800 during the 1969 Suzuka 500km, he finished second outright and first in the R1 class.

A very attractive car(s) new to me, the machine was of spaceframe construction, the design seemingly inspired by an F3 Brabham Honda owned by the Suzuka circuit, itself owned by Honda of course.

As the rear body-up photograph of the R800 shows below, its tiny air-cooled engine – mounted north-south at the front of the S600-800 roadies – was mounted conventionally in the rear of the sports-racer.

Honda R800 in the Suzuka paddock 1969 (unattributed)
791cc all alloy DOHC, two-valve, water cooled four fed by two twin-choke Keihin carbs, 70bhp @ 8000rpm. With roller bearings supporting the crank – and its dizzy rpms – Honda delved straight into its motorbike practice book for this engine
Honda R1300 during the 1969 Suzuka 1000km (unattributed)

The cutaway drawing of the R1300 below – the engine was mounted east-west in the Honda 9 – shows the engine-transmission unit is mounted transversely at the rear as was also the case on Honda’s stunning, successful 1964-65 1.5-litre V12 RA271-272 GP machines. The suspension, brake, wheels and other specifications are otherwise 1960s period typical. See here for a feature on the Honda 1.5-litre GOP cars; https://primotipo.com/2014/12/12/honda-ra271272-1-5-litre-v12-19645-gp-cars/

Honda R1300 cutaway (unattributed)
Series 99 1299cc all alloy, SOHC, two-valve, air cooled transversely mounted four cylinder engine is fed by four Keihin carbs, dry-dumped, 116bhp @ 7300rpm (Honda Australia)
(unattributed)

The R800 was built by Honda RSC the competition arm of Honda. The Racing Services Club was formed in 1965, then became the Racing Service Center and finally in 1982 morphed into Honda Racing Corporation. The car made its race debut that Suzuka 500km weekend and was Honda’s response to the Coniglio and Macransa (later Dome) Honda S-Series based kit/racing cars.

Shortly after the Suzuka ’69 500km race, Honda upgraded the machine by fitment of the 1.3-litre, air-cooled, four-cylinder engine fitted to their then new Honda 7/9 Coupe, a vastly underrated car. The 1300cc SOHC, crossflow, all alloy engine had a unique engine cooling system named Duo Dyna Air Cooling. The head and block had airways akin to the water passages of liquid called engines cast with short, stubby vertical fins. An impeller mounted directly to the crank pumped air through the passages, assisted by additional fins on the outside of the block. The dry sump carried plenty of lubricant, in a sense the engine was also oil cooled.

I’m having trouble finding the race record of the R800/1300, my Japanese is limited other than when excessively lubed. Information welcome.

Fukumi Takatake commenced racing motorcycles at 17 and was a contracted Honda rider at 19, winning the All Japan 250cc title in 1966. When Honda withdrew from two-wheel competition in 1967 (for a while!) he switched to four wheels, racing single-seaters, sports and touring cars. He ceased as a racer in 1987 after competing in the All Japan Touring Car Championship.

Etcetera…

(Honda Australia)

The Honda 1300 Coupe 9 was famously the last project Soichiro Honda personally led before retiring as Honda’s ‘Supreme Advisor’ in 1973.

His originality showed through in the design too, albeit times, safety and emissions legislation required a changed more conventional approach to become relevant and appealing to the masses. The brilliant Civic followed, there was nothing particularly novel about it, just great, bullet-proof engineering and build quality. Australian conditions are tough.

(Honda Australia)

My Mk2 Cortina GT was the typical student shit-fighter, but it was all-mine! I felt like I was jilting a babe after a chance drive of a very affordable Coupe 9, by 1976 they were el-cheapos, high risk ones too. My big-mistake was talking to Dad about it, I needed a bridging loan while I flogged Corty and bought 9 Outta 10.

“I’ve spoken to the car guy (the Fleet Manager who thought HQ Kingswoods were edgy) at work!” he said to me the next night, here we go I thought. “He reckons you’re a bloody idiot, it will cost you heaps. You’re looking after the Ford, he reckons you’ll have to rev the ears off it – just like the last bloke did…” And so on…

So I never did buy it but man it was a nice thing. A weird mix of old-tech like the rear axle, then that out-there engine and sweet gearbox. But it was so cohesive as a package, a howling but torquey engine, shitty looking nose tho. Time to drive one again, an interesting Classic Car article perhaps…

Credits…

Sanei Shobo, Historic Japanese Racing Cars Facebook page, Yukio Kobayashi, honda-rsc.com, yoshimura-rd.com

Tailpieces…

(unattributed)

Soichiro Honda looking pretty happy at the wheel of an S600 or S800 Honda.

John Surtees Honda RA300 ahead of Chris Amon’s Ferrari 312 at Monza in 1967. Big John won the race in a last lap duel and last corner fumble from Jack Brabham’s BT24 Repco, two-hundredths of a second the official margin.

Maybe Honda had mercy on Jack – their F2 partner in 1965-66 – saving him the embarrassment of the more obvious corporate shot! See here for a piece on that partnership; https://primotipo.com/2021/12/17/brabham-honda/

Finito…

Mythbusters 1: The Revlon Heir…

Posted: September 5, 2023 in F1, Sports Racers
Tags: , , , ,
2
Monaco GP weekend 1964, Revson – Parnell Racing Lotus 24 BRM, DNQ. Graham Hill won, BRM P261 (MotorSport Images)

I love this letter to the editor of MotorSport from Ray Truant, of Hamilton, Canada, their Star Letter in the September 2023, current issue, highly recommended of course.

“In F1 Retro…Peter Revson is referred as ‘the heir to the Revlon cosmetics fortune.”

“This is a statement repeated during Revson’s entire racing career by the media, but was never correct. While he was a Revson, Peter’s father split his interest in the Revlon firm very early from his brothers Charles and Joseph in 1958 and had no equity in Revlon.”

1973 Brazilian GP, McLaren M19A Ford. DNF gearbox after 3 laps from Q12, Emerson Fittipaldi won in a Lotus 72D Ford on his way to the drivers title (LAT)
The 1969 Indy 500 carnival had its moments but fifth place in the Brabham BT25 Repco 760 V8 was a career turning point in the view of some – from dilettante to pro. Mario Andretti won in a Hawk 3 Ford (MotorSport)
Sebring 12 Hour 1966, Essex Wire Ford GT40, third shared with Skip Scott. Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby won in a GT40 X-1 Roadster (LAT)

“Charles and Joseph Revson ran Revlon subsequently into an empire, but Peter’s father was not involved. He ran Del Laboratories and lived to an incredible 105 before dying in 2016. Interestingly, Martin Revson left Revlon over ethical concerns of how the company was marketing to women.”

“The media loved the playboy heir story so much they ignored the reality and it persisted throughout Revson’s career, despite Revson’s attempts to correct this myth repeatedly in interviews.”

McLaren M20 Chev at Watkins Glen in July 1972, the reigning Can-Am Champ was second to Denny’s M20 that day (MotorSport/R Schlegelmilch)
Chassis sorting the McLaren M23 Ford during the June 1973 Swedish GP weekend at Anderstorp, Q7 and seventh in the race won by Denny Hulme’s sister car (MotorSport/D Phipps)

More on Peter Revlon here; https://primotipo.com/2017/04/04/cmon-teddy-denny-wont-even-notice-its-gone/ and here; https://primotipo.com/2014/07/24/macs-mclaren-peter-revson-dave-charlton-and-john-mccormacks-mclaren-m232/

(MotorSport)

Practice session meeting of the type established by Bruce McLaren. Alastair Caldwell ponders while Denny and Revvie chew the fat. Monza 1972, where they were third and fourth in their M19C Fords, Emerson Fittipaldi’s Lotus 72D Ford won.

Credits…

MotorSport and Ray Truant, MotorSport Images, LAT Photographic

(MotorSport)

Tailpiece…

Sixth place in a gloomy Race of Champions at Brands Hatch on March 17, 1974, Shadow DN3 Ford. Sadly the car in which Peter perished due to component failure – a titanium ball joint – during practice at Kyalami, South Africa, the week after Brands on March 22.

Finito…

Frank Matich, Lotus 19B Climax 2…

Posted: August 21, 2023 in Sports Racers
Tags: , , ,
1

Frank Matich leads a Triumph TR4 and Austin Healey 100 on the short stretch of road between Long Bridge as he aims his Lotus 19B Climax into the progressively more-uphill-on turn-in Newry Corner during the 1964 Australian Tourist Trophy, February 29, 1964.

Matich won the 23 lap, 103.5 mile race from Bob Jane’s Jaguar E-Type Lwt and Greg Cusack, Elfin Mallala Lotus-Ford twin-cam. We have been here before, see here; https://primotipo.com/2019/05/18/1964-australian-tourist-trophy/ and here; https://primotipo.com/2017/09/08/bay-of-plenty-road-race-and-the-frank-matich-lotus-19s/

It’s an unusual elevated shot from this spot, I’m intrigued to know where the ‘snapper took the shot?

Credit…

Tasmanian Archives and Heritage Office

Finito…

Ferrari 350 Can Am Take 4…

Posted: August 18, 2023 in Sports Racers, Who,What,Where & When...?
Tags: , , , , , ,
5

Bill Brown in the Scuderia Veloce Ferrari 350 Can Am – aka P4 – at Bathurst during the 1968 Easter meeting. Such a marvellous evocative shot of the most seductive of cars.

In the space of a week photographs popped up on Bob Williamson’s FB site on Scuderia Veloce topics from three different photographers, Ray Sinclair, Greg Earle and Robert Spence.

In the shot below the scowling Kiwi is motoring through the Sandown paddock, perhaps miffed that his 4.2-litre 480bhp V12 was beaten by Frank Matich in the Sydneysider’s 4.4-litre Repco V8 powered Matich SR3. See here for a feature on this Ferrari; https://primotipo.com/2015/04/02/ferrari-p4canam-350-0858/

Chris Amon at very sunny Sandown earlier in the year aboard his Ferrari 246T, with a line of Formula Vees behind, with Bib Stillwell arriving at the circuit in the Ford Galaxie.

Chris just failed to pip Jim Clark in the closest of finishes in the Sandown Australian Grand Prix Tasman Cup round the following day, the official margin was one-tenth of a second. With that the Scot took both his last final GP and championship win – the Tasman Cup – aboard his works Lotus 49 Ford DFW. See here for a piece on that weekend; https://primotipo.com/2021/03/06/1968-australian-gp-sandown-2/

350 Can Am in the Sandown paddock. The #7 Brabham is Greg Cusack’s SV machine, the BT23A Repco raced by Jack Brabham the year before. Quickie on the BT23A here; https://primotipo.com/2017/01/04/scuds/

Chris and crew at Surfers Paradise in 1969. Wings have appeared during the previous 12 months and Ferrari, Scuderia Veloce and Chris Amon took a well deserved Tasman Cup win. See here for 1968; https://primotipo.com/2017/07/21/amons-tasman-dino/ and here for 1969; https://primotipo.com/2018/05/01/wings-n-dino-things/

On the blast past the old pit-counter at Sandown, paradise for a young enthusiast, with the V12 howling its fabulous song in third gear.

Amon was given the short back-and-sides by Frank Matich’s Matich SR3 Repco V8 at the three meetings they met in the sportscar Tasman Cup round supports that summer; Warwick Farm, Surfers Paradise and Sandown. I wonder why FM didn’t take the SR3 to Longford to bag the Quadrella?

Credits…

Ray Sinclair, Greg Earle, Robert Spence

Finito…

Alta 1100 Special…

Posted: July 15, 2023 in Features, Sports Racers
Tags: , , , , ,
4
(G McKaige)

Bill Dutton’s gorgeous little Alta 1100 Special in the Fishermans Bend paddock during the 29-30 January, 1950 Victorian Tourist Trophy meeting. Love the ‘works’ Alta overalls.

George McKaige attended the meeting and took some marvellous photographs. A prolific enthusiast, driver, restorer and photographer, he and his son Chester published two books of George’s work, called ‘Beyond The Lens’, the shot above is on the cover of Volume 1.

This little known car was conceived when Bill Dutton – of the famous Melbourne car trading family – bought the supercharged, DOHC Alta 1100c engine (number 25S) which had been cast aside when Bill Reynolds bought Alta 21S from probable British MI5 spook, Alan Sinclair. Sinclair raced the car in Australia in 1938, an exhaustive and exhausting account is here; https://primotipo.com/2018/11/08/the-spook-the-baron-and-the-1938-south-australian-gp-lobethal/

Reynolds replaced the troublesome Alta four with a big, fat, lazy, powerful and reliable Ford V8. The Alta engine was surplus to requirements until Dutton saw its potential and built a car around it. The evolution of Alta 21S from four-cylinder sweetie to brawny V8 marauder is covered here; https://primotipo.com/2015/11/27/the-longford-trophy-1958-the-tornados-ted-gray/

Alta 21S as built, an 1100cc sportscar delivered to Scotland’s AJ Cormack on March 19, 1934. Here at Donington Park later that year (G Smith)
The svelte Alta 21S 1100cc sports of the previous picture, by the time of the 100 miles January 3, 1938 South Australian GP at Lobethal, had become a dumpy, upright 1100cc single seater. Probable MI5 spook, Alan Sinclair up (N Howard)

Tony Johns tells me that the Dutton family business had all of the mechanical, engineering and body building skills to create the car on their Burnley Street, Richmond site. Stephen Dalton points out that Bill Dutton thanks Jack Dongers and Tom Stevenson for construction and body help respectively in the October 1949 issue of Australian Motor Sports. Do theses chaps ring a bell with any of you?

The 1950-51 Motor Manual Yearbook records that the Alta 25S four was 1096cc in capacity, was of twin-cam, two-valve type and fed by an Alta built Roots type-blower/SU carb giving 130bhp @ 5800rpm with 15lbs of boost. It was mated, via a bespoke bellhousing and metal to metal clutch, to a four-speed gearbox of unspecified make.

The Alta Spl it is a fine example of the body-builder’s art, but who was the gifted chappy? (R Edgerton Collection)

The chassis was made of chrome-moly steel tube, the main members of which were 16 gauge and two inches in diameter. The tubular front axle was specially made and suspended by transverse leaf springs front and rear with Armstrong hydraulic/Hartford friction shocks. The back axle was also specially made and used Ford bevel gears.

Brakes were hydraulic using modified Chev/Ford drums front/rear, wheels were pressed steel, 16 inch x 6 inch in size, with the whole lot clad ‘in a single-seat aluminium panelled racing body with a long tail, similar to a Grand Prix Alta.’

Ted Gray aboard Alta 21S Ford V8 (aka the Male Special / Ford V8 Special) at Penrith Speedway, west of Sydney in 1940 according to John Medley. Racer Ken Wylie is in the goggles at right, perhaps Jim McMahon left. I’ve still to get to the bottom of Pinocchio’s presence on the scuttle. Just look at all those names on Byron Gunther’s image…
Ted Gray clears Hell Corner for the run up the mountain, Bathurst October 1950, the left front is just clear of terra firma (J Blanden Collection)

Bill Dutton engaged Wangaratta’s Ted Gray to drive his new car. Ted initially showed speed on pre-War speedways and in two very impressive appearances in the Male Special midget against Peter Whitehead’s ERA R10B at Rob Roy and Aspendale in 1938. Gray’s Alta credentials became impeccable when his patron, Melbourne car dealer, Alan Male bought Alta 21S Ford with which Gray took 24 wins from 26 starts pre-War according to John Blanden.

After the conflict, Ted re-commenced racing in another famous old-Oz racer, the ex-JAS Jones Alfa Romeo 6C1750 Zagato into which, you guessed it, Ted fitted a Ford V8. Blanden records that the Alta Special’s first race as being at the Fishermans Bend October 29-30, 1949 meeting where a broken cam-follower ended proceedings early in the day. ‘In the late 1940s, early 1950s, the car was a regular competitor, however the engine problems continued. The little car was third in the F1 Scratch Race at Woodside in October 1951,’ a better performance.

(T Johns Collection)
(T Johns Collection)

In the 1950s ‘the car simply disappeared’, one theory is that it sat on a service station roof in St Kilda (an adjacent suburb to AGP venue Albert Park) as a drawcard for punters after the servo owner refused to pay an exorbitant Alta engine repair bill from a Sydney business. Then Melbourne pilot/enthusiast/engineer Graeme Lowe responded to a VSCC Newsletter ad for an engine in 1967. His £10 purchase of 1100 #25S was the catalyst of a very long, thorough reconstruction/restoration of Alta 21S which was completed and then made its public debut in Betty Lowe’s hands in 1999.

In recent times 21S was acquired by Fiona Murdoch, the shot below was taken at Gladysdale, Victoria on March 4, 2023 during a drive – one I won’t forget in a big hurry – and photo session for a feature article just published in issue 07 of quarterly Australian classic car magazine, Benzina. If you can’t find it in a newsagent, a decent example of which is as rare as rocking horse shit in Australia these days, email the publisher, Jack Quinn; jack@benzinamagazine.com

(M Bisset)

Credits…

George and Chester McKaige, Ron Edgerton Collection, ‘Historic Racing Cars in Australia’ John Blanden, 1950-51 Motor Manual Year Book, Graham Smith Collection, David Woodhouse, Norman Howard, Byron Gunther

Etcetera…

(T Johns Collection)

The other pages of the 29-30 October, 1949 Fishermans Bend (correct spelling of the place according to our Government and lack of apostrophe by the way) programme sent by Tony Johns.

I always find these documents of wonderment as I don’t have a collection of them. This was fundamentally a local meeting but there are a swag of interstaters too, its interesting to see the Top Guns, Future Top Guns and Notables in the mix. Mine are – in no particular order – Ted Gray, Reg Hunt, Otto Stone, Lex & Diana Davison, Ken Tubman and Dick Cobden (NSW interlopers), Stan Jones, Gib Barrett, Rupert Steele, Tony Gaze, Jim Leech, Charlie Dean, Eldred Norman (Adelaide Hills), Doug Whiteford, Tom Hawkes, Ron Edgerton, Jim Gullan, Lou Molina, Murray Carter, Hedley Thompson, Arnold or Arthur Terdich, Peter Manton, Bill Patterson, Derek Jolly and no doubt others who just don’t ring-the-bells for me.

(T Johns Collection)

What jumps off the pages too is the importance of Australian Specials, and MGs in particular, which provided the lifeblood and bulk of Australian motor racing grids for decades. Depending on the year MG provided both outright contenders and the ‘Formula Vee’ in unmodified form, and ‘Formula Ford’ in modified form entry-level classes of the day.

(T Johns Collection)

Finito…

Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/TT/3 and siblings…

Posted: July 10, 2023 in Sports Racers
Tags: , , , ,
1
(Yuriy Shevchuk)

Rolf Stommelen jumps aboard the Alfa Romeo T33/TT/3 he shared with Nino Vaccarella in the May 5, 1972 Targa Florio, the pair retired with valve-spring failure on lap three.

The car carries #1 in recognition of Alfa’s fantastic win the year before when local lad Nino Vaccarella won with Toine Hezemans aboard a T33/3 3-litre V8. The brilliant Schlegelmilch shot below captures Nino during his winning ’71 drive.

(R Schlegelmilch)

It was a great year for Alfa Romeo/Autodelta, they won the Brands Hatch 1000km (Andrea De Adamich/Henri Pescarolo) and Watkins Glen 6-Hour (De Adamich/Ronnie Peterson) as well, not to forget class wins at Monza, Spa and Zeltweg. The opposition 3-litre flat-8 Porsche 908-03s and flat-12 Ferrari 312P were plenty quick too, not to forget the 5-litre 12-cylinder Porsche 917s and Ferrari 512S’.

(MotorSport)

Vaccarella, sharing the T33/TT/3 shown in the painting with Rolf Stommelen during the 1972 race. Despite the Porsche 908/03 inspired T33/TT/3 spaceframe chassis – lighter, weight-forward, still V8 powered (TT is telaio tubolare or tubular chassis) – making its debut in practice at Targa twelve months before, the four Autodelta entries still couldn’t knock off a late-entry singleton Ferrari 312PB 3-litre flat-12 driven by Arturo Merzario and rally-ace Sandro Munari.

Rolf Stommelen creating huge interest in the Targa pits in 1971, he is about to do some laps in the first Tipo 33/TT/3 spaceframe car. Its 219cm wheelbase was 13cm less than a T33/3 and at 560kg it was 50kg lighter. Rolf lapped in the 37 minute mark – reporting it too stiff – compared with other cars doing 34/35s. While entered for Carlo Facetti/Teodoro Zeccoli it was not intended they race it, nor did they drive it, but Rolf and Nino did, the long test process was underway

Nanni Galli and Helmut Marko were 17-seconds behind the winning Ferrari and catching it hand-over-fist at the end of the race, Marko set a lap record of 33min 41sec in his epic chase. De Adamich and Toine Hezemans were third in another Alfa T33/3, while the Vic Elford/Gijs Van Lennep duo were out with engine failure without completing a lap. As recorded, Vaccarella/Stommelen were out with a broken valve spring after completing three laps. 38 cars finished the gruelling event with a massive 37 DNF’s, five due to accident damage.

Art Merzario in – very low as always! – the winning Ferrari 312PB (P Lyons)
(Wiki-unattributed)

The first of the privateers placed fourth, the Antonio Zadra and Enrico Pasolini Scuderia Brescia Corse 2-litre Lola T290 Ford FVC is shown above at Collesano in a classic Targa shot, they also won the 2-litre class.

MotorSport)

The winning Ferrari (above) completed the 792km journey in 6hr 27min/48seconds. The Armco-installer must have been well-lubed with grappa when he executed his contract.

This wonderful race was living on borrowed time for yonks, it became a national race from 1974 until 1977 when the race ceased, albeit the Targa Florio Rally was a round of the Italian Rally Championship for some years.

Tribute events have popped up around the world, not least Targa Tasmania, itself in the news in recent years because of fatalities as a consequence of a mix of (mainly) amateur drivers, high speeds and unyielding eucalypts.

Butt shot of De Adamich in his T33/TT/3 during the 1972 race. Feel the vibe folks, you are so lucky if you experienced this lot!
Gijs Van Lennep swaps notes with an Autodelta technician before the off in 1972 (unattributed)
The Businello/Zeccoli/De Adamich/Galli Alfa T33 2-litre Periscopica heads out for practice on the Nurburgring during the May 1967 1000km weekend. They were fourth in the race won by the Udo Schutz/Joe Buzzetta Porsche 910 (unattributed)

Alfa Tipo 33 history in brief…

Alfa Romeo returned to sportscar racing in 1967, the early period of the 2-litre Tipo 33 Periscopica is covered in this article; https://primotipo.com/2015/06/23/alfa-romeo-tipo-33-periscopica-mugello-19/ and here on the evolution of the Tipo 33 V8 as fitted to single-seaters; https://primotipo.com/2019/11/29/mclaren-alfa-de-adamich-alfa-single-seater-v8s/

With a view to class and outright wins Chiti and his team started development of a 3-litre Tipo 33 which used an aluminium monocoque chassis rather than the complex cast magnesium chassis of the earlier 2-litre (and some 2.5-litre) machines.

Fitted with 2998cc 90-degree V8s giving between 400bhp @ 9000rpm and 440 bhp @ 9800rpm over the life of the 1969-72 program, and first six, then later five-speed Alfa gearboxes, the cars were first tested in early 1969.

Vaccarella during his victorious 1971 Targa win with Toine Hezemans. Alfa T33/3 monocoque, with Bernard Cahier’s rear body-off shot (below) of one of the T33/3s during the same meeting

With ongoing development, class wins at Imola and Zeltweg were achieved in 1970, with a magnificent run of success, as covered above in 1971.

Inspired by the ultra-light 908/03, and detuned-F1-powered Ferrari 312P, a new spaceframe T33/TT/3 was built, tested and raced in 1971 before an assault on the 1972 World Championship of Makes. While Alfa Romeo finished a very good second to Porsche in the 1971 World Sportscar Championship (72/51 points), things were grim in 1972 when Ferrari beat them resoundingly, 160 points to 85, with the Alfas not taking a win.

Ferrari won 10 of the 11 qualifying rounds with their 312PB, electing not to contest Le Mans on the basis that their detuned F1 engined cars wouldn’t last the distance. A 3-litre detuned F1 engined Matra MS670 V12 driven by Henri Pescarolo and Graham Hill took an historic win for France that day instead. While on one level Ferrari’s Le Mans non-appearance was savvy – they had the WSC locked up – it was also gutless, they dipped out on the only sportscar race that really matters every year.

Vaccarella aboard the Alfa T33/TT/3 he shared with Toine Hezemans to third place behind the Ferrari 312PBs of Mario Andretti/Jacky Ickx and Ronnie Peterson/Tim Schenken, Sebring 12-Hours March 1972
Duo of Alfa T33TT/12s on the Eau Rouge swoop, Spa 1000km 1975. Jacky Ickx from Henri Pescarolo, the Pesca/Derek Bell machine won from Ickx/Art Merzario

Context for Ferrari’s amazing 312PB dominance in 1972 is that they sacrificed their 1971 5-litre 512M program by selling cars/512S update kits to privateers but elected not to race the 512M as works cars, effectively gift-wrapping the final 5-litre Era endurance title for Porsche. It’s staggering in the sense that Ferrari could only finance the build of these 25 5-litre cars due to the sale of of his business to Fiat in 1969.

The pay-off was that the single 312P prototype that raced (driven mainly by Jacky Ickx and Clay Regazzoni) throughout 1971 was turned into a panzer division of evolved, ready-to-rock 312PBs in 1972. Despite ongoing development at Maranello, Matra caught Ferrari napping in 1973, winning five of the ten rounds, Le Mans and the title that year, change is the continuum after all.

Alfa T33/SC/12 1977. Monocoque chassis, five-speed Alfa transaxle, 180-degree V12 ‘flat-12’, 2995cc, gear driven DOHC, four-valve, Lucas fuel injected circa 520bhp @ 12000rpm (B Betti)
Alfa Romeo 520bhp 3-litre flat-12 during the Dijon 500km weekend in 1977. The Jean-Pierre Jarier/Art Merzario T33/SC/12 won this race

Alfa Romeo returned with the Tipo 33 TT/12 in 1973 – spaceframe 3-litre 500bhp flat-12 – and finally took the World Championship of Makes in 1975 with that car, and the World Sportscar Championship in 1977 with the Tipo 33 SC/12 – where SC is Scatolato, a boxed or monocoque chassis 3-litre 520bhp flat-12 and Tipo 33 SC/12 Turbo – monocoque 2.164-litre 640bhp flat-12 – open sports-prototypes.

Vittorio Brambilla enroute to a Monza 500km victory in April 1977, Alfa T33/SC/12

Credits…

Yuriy Shevchuk, Rainer Schlegelmilch, Pete Lyons, Getty Images, Bruno Betti, MotorSport Images, ‘Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 : The Development & Racing History’ Peter Collins and Ed McDonough

(MotorSport)

Tailpieces…

Evocative shot of Helmut Marko on-the-hop in his furious pursuit of the leading Ferrari 312PB in the closing stages of the 1972 Targa. It really was an impressive drive of the T33/TT/3 on this most toughest of tracks.

(MotorSport)

While these days best known as Red Bull’s stock-picker, Marko had the makings of a fine GP driver in 1972. He was, with Gijs Van Lennep, the reigning Le Mans champion aboard a fearsome Porsche 917K, but his racing career ended with the loss of sight in his left eye after an incident at Clermont Ferrand.

A stone thrown up by Emerson Fittipaldi’s Lotus 72D Ford penetrated his visor while at the wheel of a BRM P160B (above) during the closing stages of the July 1972 French GP. Marko later commented that, new to the car, his seat wasn’t fully sorted so he was sitting 15cm higher than in the P153B. But he was still happy to be at the wheel of a more competitive car, he qualified it sixth too, but that 15cm made all the difference with that small, sharp, missile…

Finito…

All the Fun of the Fair 2…

Posted: July 5, 2023 in F1, Sports Racers
Tags: , ,
3

Jack Brabham, Cooper T39 Climax, and the Bib Stillwell-Bill Pitt Jaguar D-Types just before the start of The Argus Cup 8-lap, 25-mile sportscar support race before the Australian Grand Prix. December 2, 1956.

I’ve done these conjoined 1956 Australian Tourist Trophy and AGP weekends to death, but this bunch of colour photographs taken by enthusiast, the late Ian Curwen-Walker and shared generously by Russell Garth are way too good to ignore. See here; https://primotipo.com/2018/01/16/james-linehams-1956-agp-albert-park/ and here; https://primotipo.com/2016/01/29/1956-australian-tourist-trophy-albert-park/

On row two are the red Ausca Holden of Paul England at left, and Lex Davison’s HWM Jaguar alongside. The third row comprises Stan Coffey’s Ferrari 750 Monza, Ron Phillips’ Austin Healey 100S and Tom Sulman’s green Aston Martin DB3S at right.

This AGP day grid excludes some of the cars which contested the ATT the week before including the first three placegetters, Moss and Behra, Maserati 300S and Ken Wharton, Ferrari 750 Monza. By that stage the Maseratis may have been sold to locals Doug Whiteford and Reg Smith, if not they were very much for sale, so best not to put them at risk by racing them, cash was critical to Maserati.

Brabham and Stillwell

Brabham’s 1.5-litre Climax FWB engined machine won the race by nine seconds from Stillwell’s D-Type, Jack’s task was made easier when Pitt – first Aussie home in the ATT the week before – clipped a kerb in his D-Type on lap one and rolled it, he handily landed amongst the hay bales while the Jag was rendered somewhat second-hand. In a motor-dealer strong field, Bill Patterson’s T39 Bobtail was third, then Paul England in the superb Ausca from Kiwi, Ross Jensen’s AH 100S and then Ron Phillip’s similar car in sixth.

The single-seater shots are of course the machines contesting the AGP won convincingly by Stirling Moss’ works-Maserati 250F from team-mate, Jean Behra’s similar 2.5-litre F1 car. Peter Whitehead was third in a Formula Libre 3.4-litre Ferrari 555 Super Squalo from local 250F exponents Reg Hunt and Stan Jones.

The gathering of drivers before the off is interesting, perhaps it’s just before the drivers briefing. Mind you, they may be discussing their flight connections that evening, the army’s Southern Command Band marched and played on…and on, as landlords of part of this particular manor, they weren’t keen to leave the track after their moment of glory, ensuring the race started an hour late.

From the far-left it’s Whitehead’s #3 Ferrari, the guy in the brown sports-jacket looks like Bib Stillwell to me. He didn’t contest this race but still may have ambled up for a gander. Based on the shot below, the guy in the green/blue helmet is perhaps Whitehead, but who is the driver in the white helmet? Behra is in his car with Moss perched on his left-rear, Stirling’s car is on pole. Look at that crowd and the Repco sign.

Moss’ car is about to be fired up, a mechanic is inserting the battery operated starter-shaft, the silver car on row two at right is Ken Wharton’s Maserati 250F, DNF engine failure. What wonderful theatre it must have been.

These colour shots really do allow you to feel the vibe, the palette – high quality Kodachrome film here I think – of clothing is so much more muted than today’s. This stretch of road and trees are still there, It’s roughly parallel with the current front straight, and between it and the lake. Look at the press-men in their stereotypical brown ‘flasher’ trench coats. Isn’t the lady elegant and rare, these days Drive To Survive has ’em out in droves, happily motor-racing remains a girlfriend free zone for me.

That’s Whitehead’s Ferrari 555 with, perhaps, Lex Davison’s 3-litre Ferrari 500/625 being pushed into place behind, he shared the second row with Ken Wharton’s Maserati 250F, on the third row was Reg Hunt’s 250F, Reg Parnell in the other Ferrari 555 Super Squalo and Kevin Neal in the ex-Hunt 2.5-litre Maserati A6GCM.

Credits…

Ian Curwen-Walker and Russell Garth many thanks, ‘Glory Days : Albert Park 1953-58’ Barry Green

Tailpiece…

Moss on the hop before the rains came, he beat Jean Behra by close to two minutes, the 80 lap/250 miles journey took him 2 hours 36 15.4 min/secs.

Finito…

Ferrari 512S Three…

Posted: June 5, 2023 in Sports Racers
Tags:
5
(UPI)

Enzo Ferrari and buddies launch their new for 1970 Le Mans contender, the fabulous 5-litre V12 Ferrari 512S to the press at Modena on November 6, 1969.

Bonus points for anyone who can identify the attendees…

My propensity for multiple articles on my favourites is well established practice, but again, rather than write another I’ve added a lot of material to an existing quickie to make it more valuable as an overview to these erotic Italians, however ordinary their race results in 1970-71 under the heel of the Porsche 917-908/3 onslaught were.

Click here to read it; https://primotipo.com/2014/07/14/ferrari-512s-derek-bell-spa-1000km-1970/

Credits…

United Press International, Ferrari.com

(ferrari.com)

Finito…

Australian Racing Random 12…

Posted: June 3, 2023 in Features, Fotos, Sports Racers
Tags:
3

Hey man, hip-cat, cool and groovy is what pops to mind!

Who said the Bell Corporation was the first to invent the fully enveloping helmet? Spencer Martin in Bob Jane’s Brabham BT11A Climax at Sandown Park during his second on-the-trot Gold Star championship winning 1967 season. More about Spencer here; https://primotipo.com/2015/04/30/spencer-martin-australian-gold-star-champion-19667/

(M Gasking Collection)

Percy Hunter and Vida Jones – aka Mrs JAS Jones – aboard her Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 SS Zagato on the beach at Gerringong, New South Wales south coast in 1930. Click here for a long feature on this oh-so-famous Oz racing car; https://primotipo.com/2018/02/15/mrs-jas-jones-alfa-6c-1750-ss-zagato/

(Keith Anderson Photography)

Only in Australia…

And no, the little Angle-box isn’t blowing off Enzo’s finest, the Andy Buchanan Ferrari 250LM at Caversham during practice for the 1966 6-Hour race.

He wasn’t able to repeat the success of Spencer Martin and David McKay in the same car the year before, failing to finish. Ron Thorp won in his AC Cobra 289. The Brockwell/Mitchell Anglia failed to go the full distance too. More about the 250LM here; https://primotipo.com/2014/07/03/pete-geoghegan-ferrari-250lm-6321-bathurst-easter-68/

(P Jones)

Graham Withers ‘slingshot’ Ampol GT sponsored dragster/rail at Castlereagh in 1968.

Whether the dude with the death-wish is a crew member sussing just how much air Mr Withers is taking on launch, or perhaps been ingesting tablets of a type not dispensed by suburban pharmacists is an interesting question. Do let me know if you can put all of our minds to rest. Manufacturer of the machine folks?

(B Williamson Collection)

Ron Hodgson’s Lotus 11 GT has to be Fugly Car Cup contender.

Here in the Warwick Farm paddock circa 1962. The story of how some lovely sportscars were re-purposed is told in this article about Murray Carter here; Forever Young… | primotipo…

Ken Kavanagh aboard the awesome Moto Guzzi 500 V8 GP machine during the 1956 Senigallia Grand Prix.

This wild machine made its race debut at the Belgian GP in June 1955, read about Kavanagh’s time with Moto Guzzi in this feature; Moto Guzzi… | primotipo…

(Moto Guzzi)

(MotorSport)

Dave Walker and Tim Schenken during the 1971 Dutch Grand Prix weekend at Zandvoort.

Walker started the Lotus 56B Pratt & Whitney 4-WD from grid 22 and was looking good for a while in the very soggy conditions but like so much of the grid, missed his braking point – in a car in which he hadn’t done a huge number of laps – and ran off the track after completing only five laps. Quickie on DW here; https://primotipo.com/2022/01/05/walkin-on-water/

Tim Schenken’s Brabham BT33 Ford was a more competitive mount. In its second year – Brabham won the South African GP in one in 1970, and should have won two or three more – it was still competitive in the young Melburnian’s hands, third place at the Osterreichring was his best result of the year.

At Zandvoort he started from grid 19 but DNF with suspension failure in the race won by Regenmeister Jacky Ickx’ Ferrari 312B2. Short piece on Tim here; https://primotipo.com/2019/01/02/tim-schenken/

(MotorSport)

(Reg Hunt Collection)

Reg Hunt dreaming about future conquests on one of his parents Nortons, aged nine, in the early 1930s in the UK, and living the dream at Albert Park in 1956 aboard his Maserati 250F below.

He and his A6GCM and 250F were Australia’s fastest combinations in 1955-56, then he retired early to focus on his family and motor dealerships, amassing a fortune. See more about Reg here; https://primotipo.com/2017/12/12/hunts-gp-maser-a6gcm-2038/

(Reg Hunt Collection)
(P Miller)

Bob Jane relaxes on his Jaguar E-Type Lwt during the Australian Tourist Trophy meeting at Lakeside over the November 14, 1965 weekend.

This is a heat or support race, Bob was fourth in the ATT, while Ron Thorp – it’s his AC Cobra you can see – didn’t start. Pete Geoghegan won from Greg Cusack and Spencer Martin: Lotus 23B Ford, Lotus 23 Ford and Ferrari 250LM.

The dude in the brown shirt is longtime Bob Jane Racing chief mechanic/team manger John Sawyer, no idea who the driver is, the tiny splash of red is Bill Gates’ Lotus Elan. Jane usually raced this darlin’ of a Jag with its factory hardtop but wasn’t averse to running topless on hot days. Click here for a feature on the car; Perk and Pert… | primotipo…

Piers Courage on the hop during the Warwick Farm 100 Tasman Cup round in January 1968.

He had a fabulous Tasman aboard the little F2 McLaren M4A Ford FVA, he brought home the bacon by winning the very wet final round at Longford despite giving away plenty of power to the 2.5-litre cars. See here; https://primotipo.com/2015/10/20/longford-tasman-south-pacific-trophy-4-march-1968-and-piers-courage/

(unattributed)

Giving away a bit of horsepower at old-Sandown, a power track. Piers pitches his McLaren into Peters Corner with the Richard Attwood BRM P126 V12 , and, I think, Kevin Bartlett’s Brabham BT11A Climax behind. This fabulous race had an amazing dice between Jim Clark’s Lotus 49 Ford DFW and Chris Amon’s Ferrari 246T, resolved by a smidge in favour of the Scot. It was his last race, and series win.

(D Simpson)

This is the Queensland Touring Car Championship meeting at Surfers Paradise in August 1969, a round of the Australian Touring Car Championship. Dick Johnson’s EH Holden in front of Alan Hamilton’s Porsche 911

Norm Beechey’s Holden Monaro GTS327 won – taking the first ever ATCC win for a Holden – with Hamilton second and Jim McKeown third in a Lotus Cortina Mk2.

Dick Simpson recalled a funny moment related to his photo. “A couple of laps after that shot, as the EH was entering Lucas Corner, there was an almighty bang, a massive cloud of blue smoke and black engine oil and a number of red bits of metal pouring out of the engine right on the apex of the corner. The noise stopped and the EH silently trundled on around Repco Hill and disappeared.”

“We had a flag post right beside us and had been chatting with one of the flaggies who was most impressed that we were keen enough, or stupid enough to drive all night from Wollongong. So he said he had to go and clean up the mess and would we like a couple of souvenirs? He brought up a couple of bits of steel, one looked like a huge main-bearing cap and plonked them on top of the fencepost to cool off. About an hour later a young kid who looked a lot like the EH driver came along and demanded his bits back. So we had a quick chat with a young DJ!”

Click here for a piece on the 1969 ATCC; https://primotipo.com/2018/02/01/1969-australian-touring-car-championship/

Alan Hamilton in the giant killing Porsche 911T/R at Hume Weir in 1969 (unattributed)
(B Forsyth)

Jochen Rindt and Graham Hill in the Warwick Farm pitlane during Saturday practice for the 1969 Warwick Farm 100 Tasman Cup round.

Rindt famously drove off into the distance during the incredibly wet race day: https://primotipo.com/2018/01/19/rindt-tasman-random/ and; https://primotipo.com/2022/02/26/lotus-49b-ford-chassis-r8/

(R Steffanoni)

Alan Jones was stunningly quick in Sid Taylor/Teddy Yip Lola T332 Chevs during Australia’s 1977 Rothmans International F5000 Series.

While Warwick Brown won it in his Racing Team VDS Lola T430 Chev, Jones was the series-ace, let down by mechanical dramas and a mistake or two of his own; a jumped start at Oran Park and writing off a car in practice at Surfers Paradise.

(R Steffanoni)

Here at Sandown he grabbed the lead from the start but retired with overheating. He won the fourth, final round at Adelaide International at the start of a year in which he won his first F1 Grand Prix aboard a Shadow DN8 Ford at the Osterreichring (below).

(LAT)

(I Smith)

Amazing Ian Smith pan of Allan Moffat in his legendary Trans-Am Mustang at Oran Park during the final round of the Australian Touring Car Championship on August 8, 1972.

Steve Snuggs tells us that he was wearing an oxygen mask in protest to CAMS not allowing him to remove the car’s carpets which smouldered from the hot exhausts and gave off fumes.

Moffat lost a nail-biter of a race, and the title, to Bob Jane’s Chev Camaro ZL1. More about Moffat’s cars here; https://primotipo.com/2020/03/06/moffats-shelby-brabham-elfin-and-trans-am/

(G Fluke Collection)

Incredibly rare colour shot of Pedro Rodriguez’ works-BRM P261 2.1-litre V8 during the 1968 Longford Trophy.

He is on the rise having exited the Newry right-hander in second or third gear – that line of poplars and road is still there – before an open left-kink then onto The Flying Mile.

Pedro nicked second-place from Frank Gardner’s Brabham BT23D Alfa in the final lap but fell well short of Piers Courage McLaren M4A Ford FVA F2 car in demanding wet conditions. More about BRM in the Antipodes here; https://primotipo.com/2020/02/22/1966-australian-grand-prix-lakeside/

(I Smith)

The great Ian Smith is sharing his back-catalogue of photographs in great dollops via Facebook. I enjoyed this series of shots taken in Reservoir, suburban Melbourne during a compare and contrast Wheels road-test between the then new Holden Kingswood HQ, and the original 1948 Holden 48-215 circa 1972.

(I Smith)

The reason for the strange location is probably because Campbells Motors Holden were in High Street, Preston and they didn’t want their luvverly old-Humpy being taken too far from ‘home’. See here for a piece on the 48-215; https://primotipo.com/2018/12/06/general-motors-holden-formative/ The locale is Edwards Park Lake, Reservoir.

(I Smith)
(Mitsubishi)

The giant-killing Colin Bond/Brian Hope, fourth place overall Mitsubishi Colt 1000F at the end of the 1967 Southern Cross Rally at Port Macquarie.

It was the very start of the Japanese company’s international rallying programme, see here; https://primotipo.com/2023/05/28/mitsubishi-competition-formative-days/

(IC Walker Collection)

The Charlie Dean-Repco Research built Repco Record at Mallala during the AGP meeting in 1961. It was the Clerk of the Course’ car no less.

The Repco-Holden engined research machine is looking fairly well used at this point, but it did have to sing for its supper testing all manner of Repco group subsidiaries components! See here; https://primotipo.com/2015/06/26/repco-record-car-and-repco-hi-power-head/

Credits…

Michael Gasking Collection, Keith Anderson Photography, Bob Williamson Collection, oldracephotos.com-Dick Simpson, Moto Guzzi, Reg Hunt Collection via David Zeunert, Peter Jones, Peter Miller, Rod Steffanoni, Bill Forsyth, Ian Smith, IC Walker Collection via Russell Garth

Tailpiece…

(oldracephotos.com/DSimpson)

Dick Simpson’s artistry catches Niel Allen on the hop in Garrie Cooper’s first monocoque sportscar, the Elfin ME5 Chev on the entry to Homestead corner at Warwick Farm in 1969. It was a twitchy beast of a thing with its short-wheelbase, arguably, only Niel got the best out of it in the short time he owned it before buying a McLaren M10B Chev F5000.

Finito…

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