Alfonso de Portago practices his Ferrari 625 prior to the 1955 Pau Grand Prix, a race won by Jean Behra’s factory Maser 250F…
These superb images are from the Jesse Alexander Archive. The factory Maserati’s of #14 Behra, #16 Roberto Mieres and #18 Luigi Musso are in line astern in the Pau paddock, Saturday 10 April 1955.
(Jesse Alexander)
Jean won the race from Eugenio Castellotti in a Lancia D50 and teammate Roberto Mieres in third. de Portago was 8th and the best placed Ferrari, no factory cars were entered by the Scuderia after a poor showing at Turin a fortnight before.
Ascari had the race in hand after a great dice with Behra early but with 20 laps to go had braking problems, the Lancia mechanics did a work around which gave him brakes on the front and allowed him to finish, Jean taking a lucky win.
Eugenio’s Lancia being warmed up by the team, you can feel the staccato-blast of that lovely basso-profundo 2.5 litre V8!? (Jesse Alexander)
The nose of Lancia Team Leader Alberto Ascari’s Lancia D50. Pau 1955, he was 5th. Alberto died only 6weeks later at Monza in a tragic testing accident. (Jesse Alexander)
(Jesse Alexander)
No sign of the admiring duck this time but again its de Portago in his Ferrari, not sure who it is behind, factory Ferrari GP drives would come his way in time.
Sensational shots of a great track, and thankfully still in use.
John Surtees Ferrari 158 leads Jo Siffert and Jim Clark, Brabham BT11 BRM and Lotus 33 Climax at the start of the 1965 Syracuse GP, Sicily April 4 1965…
Clark won the race from Surtees and Lorenzo Bandini in another Ferrari 158. A solid entry contested this non-championship GP including Mike Spence Lotus 33 Climax, Masten Gregory BRM P57 and Mike Hailwood and Innes Ireland in Lotus 25 BRM’s. What a fabulous track this must have been.
Clark was well into his very successful 1965 season, he finished a successful Australasian summer in March winning the Tasman Series in a Lotus 32B Climax, took the ‘Indy 500 in the Lotus 38 Ford in May and won the world title, his second in the Lotus 33…apart from whatever F2, touring car and sports car victories he took that year!
The event was held on a road course in Syracuse, right in the corner of the southeast of Sicily. The GP was first and last held in 1951 and 1967, the events won by Ferraris’; Luigi Villoresi’s Ferrari 375 in 1951 and Mike Parkes AND Ludovico Scarfiotti’s Ferrari 312’s dead-heating in honor of their recently killed teammate Lorenzo Bandini, who died at Monaco in 1967.
Those 400bhp cars must have been awfully quick around that track in 1967…
Mike Parkes #28 and Ludovico Scarfiotti #16, Ferrari 312’s stage their dead-heat in the 16th and last Syracuse GP on 21 May 1967 in honour of their just killed teammate, Lorenzo Bandini at the ’67 Monaco GP. A wonderful gesture of respect. (Getty Images)
The victorious Bentley Speed 8 of Kristensen/Capello/Smith ahead of the second placegetting car driven by Herbert/ Blundell/David Brabham, Le Mans 2003. (unattributed)
Wonderful outcomes of automotive industry mergers and takeovers of the last 20 years or so has been the resurgence of the ‘Great British Grand Marques’; Rolls Royce, Jaguar, Aston Martin and Bentley. Ford were very good for Aston’s and Jaguar, (noting the subsequent changes in ownership of both companies) BMW for Rolls and Volkswagen Group’s Bentley investment in 1998 put the brand back where it deserved to be.
Successful merchant bankers conveyance of choice; Bentley Continental GT. (unattributed)
Apart from the product driven strategy starting with the Continental GT Coupe in 2003, an important part of relaunching and repositioning Bentley as a brand was victory at Le Mans. The company achieved this 5 times under WO Bentley’s leadership/ Woolf Barnato’s ownership between 1923 and 1930.
The 1924 Le Mans winning Bentley 3 litre. WO Bentley in the middle with drivers Frank Clement, left and John Duff. 4 cylinder fixed head, the block and head cast as one, SOHC, 4 valve, twin plugs with ‘pent roof’ combustion chambers, 2996cc, very long stroke engine. 4 speed gearbox, 4 wheel brakes from 1924. Circa 1800Kg. (unattributed)
Le Mans pit scene in 1925 featuring the #10 Herbert Kensington Moir/ Dudley Benjafield and #9 John Duff/ Frank Clement Bentley 3 Litres. Not a happy year for the marque, both cars DNF, the race won by a Lorraine Dietrich B3-6. (unattributed)
Gendarmes aboard the victorious Rubin/Barnato (right) Bentley 4.5 litre, Le Mans 1928. Chassis ‘ST3001’, was a ‘Long Standard’ type with a 101 inch wheelbase. The car was a prototype, the 3 litre engine described above enlarged to 4398cc, it used a stronger crank, rods and pistons. Power was 100-110bhp, 20 more than the 3 litre, the car good for 100mph @ 3500rpm. Suspension still by quarter elliptics front and rear. (unattributed)
Bentley boys @ Le Mans in 1928 L>R Rubin, Barnato, Birkin aboard the winning 4.5 litre, Clement and Benjafield (Popperfoto)
VW Group embarked on a 3 year program to win Le Mans with a Bentley ‘off the back’ of the Audi R8’s Le Mans success three years on the trot from 2000-2002.In 2003 there was a transition of their efforts from the all conquering R8’s, no works Audi’s were entered that year, to the Bentley Speed 8, that years contender.
The Audi race subsidiary RTN (Race Technology Norfolk) built an entirely new car, still a closed prototype or GTP class car designed by Peter Elleray who also concepted the ‘EXP Speed 8’ used in 2001 and 2002. Best placed of these cars was 3rd and 4th respectively, the all-conquering Audi R8’s in front of them in both years.
Elleray graduated from Durham University with a Bachelor of Science in Applied Maths, he then did some analysis work with Tyrrell in 1982 on their ground effect tunnels before getting a job with Arrows F1 having assisted several Formula Ford teams. He later worked as a design and race engineer running Gerhard Berger’s car in 1985. He was appointed Chief Designer of the Bentley program after Le Mans 1999.
Bentley Speed 8 cutaway drawing. (Peter Hutton)
In an interesting interview of depth with mulsannes.com Elleray outlined the secrets of Bentley’s 2003 Le Mans success ‘I start with the aero side and then try to fit a workable structure and suspension systems into that…One of the very good pieces of advice I was given a number of years ago is to design the car you want and then make it fit the regulations!’
The 2001 Bentley EXP Speed 8, Le Mans 2001. This car finished 3rd driven by Andy Wallace/Butch Leitzinger/Eric Van Der Poele, the sister car DNF. In 1st and 2nd positions were Audi R8’s. Car powered by 3.6 litre twin-turbo V8 in 2001, 4 litres in 2002 and 2003. Prototype built in 2000 did not race. (netcarshow.com)
Elleray conceded the Bentley benefited from the race winning Audi R8C‘The prototype Bentley 00 car which never raced, did benefit from R8C experience, but only in as much as showing us what not to do!…I did reintroduce a number of suspension elements on the ’03 car when nobody was looking. There was not a lot of carryover of design staff from the R8C and subsequent Bentley projects…’
Tom Kristensen in the Audi R8 he shared with Frank Biela and Emanuelle Pirro to win Audi’s first Le Mans in 2000. Audi’s 1-3rd. Carbon fibre and aluminium honeycombe chassis, 3.6 litre V8 twin-turbo engine, circa 610bhp in 2000, Ricardo 6 speed sequential ‘box, suspension; wishbones and pushrods actuating horizontally mounted shocks, front and rear. Designed by Michael Pfadenhauer (aero) and Ulrich Baretzky (engine). (unattributed)
2003 Bentley Speed 8 front detail. Inlet for radiators in conventional midships position. The air flows past the suspension and a ‘faux duct’ whose aim is to reduce lift generated by the air as it goes over the bodywork. (Autosport/ Bob Chapman)
The GTP closed rather than open-car design was chosenbecause ‘the visual presence of the GTP may have been as important as anything else…If you look back through the history of prototype racing the closed cars have always been the most charismatic, and, in as much as the racing was part of their marketing strategy them I’m sure this was a factor’.
There was little mechanical carryover from ’02 to ’03 apart from the engine and internal layout of the gearbox. Some of the torsion bar system was carried over at the front but the rear was all new. The layout of the cooling system was the same, as were the front diffuser section and the Kayaba electric power steering.
Front suspension by wishbones top and bottom, telescopic dampers, torsion bars and adjustable roll bar. Carbon fibre tub clear as is the diffuser strake leading edge. The structure housing the brake inlet duct also forms the trailing edge of the diffuser. (Autosport/Bob Chapman text Michael Fuller)
‘In contrast to that all of the key performance related parameters changed. Weight distribution, aero concept and map, suspension geometry, all changed significantly...all done due to the knowledge that only a win would be acceptable. If you know you are going to be in serious trouble if you finish second then it probably encourages you to take a few chances…’ Elleray said.
The good results started with the aerodynamics ‘The car had a good level of downforce over a wide range of ride-heights and pitch angles which meant that it could run softer than the ’02 car…that (may) have assisted Michelin in a way we hadn’t assisted Dunlop (in prior years) but the race showed that we were able to look after the tyres and still be quick…the changed suspension geometry played a part ‘
‘The other thing was that we ended up with a very drivable balanced car, although that came about during the test program rather than off the drawing board…that had been a case of trying different roll and heave stiffness, seven post rig testing and also playing with weight distribution a bit. The aero map being stable over a wide range was also a function and then Michelin responded with the right tyres for the car and suddenly we were right there…’
3 D model of the Bentley Speed 8 carbon fibre and aluminium monocoque. Carbon roll hoop assemblies integrated with the roof structure. (Alastair Macqueen)
All of the Bentley monocoques have been in the 70 Kg regionwhich is to a large extent due to the FIA tests the chassis has to pass before it can race. The nose box tests the car passed easily but the roll hoop test, designed for open cars was more difficult.
After Eric Van Der Poele’s big accident at Paul Ricard in 2002, even though he was unhurt, Elleray decided to make the car more like an open one with a monocoque coming up in one piece to the drivers shoulders with a separate hoop of carbon on top of that.
A 360 degree hoop was inserted at the dashboard and a roof was glued on top of the two hoops to join them together. Elleray ‘figured this would be able to withstand repeated impacts better’.
Engine 4 litre, DOHC, 4 valve, twin-turbo 90 degree V8. Circa 615bhp and 590 lb ft of torque @7500 rpm. Boost pressure limited to 1.87 bar by ACO in 2003. Gearbox; Bentley case with Xtrac 6 speed sequential internals. Rear suspension upper and lower wishbones with telescopic dampers and torsion bars. Adjustable roll bar. (autosport/Bob Chapman)
The development of the 4 litre twin-turbo V8 to run with air inlet restrictions, imposed by the authorities to reduce power and speed in all 4 Le Mans categories in 2003 was also an important success factor.The 3 privately entered Audi R8’s which were Bentley’s main opposition had little development of their 3.6 litre engines to combat the regulation change; in short VW Group wanted Bentley to win in 2003.
The open Audi’s had the advantage of being easier to access during the race and had wider rear tyres and therefore better life and fuel economy whereas the Bentleys were superior in top speed but needed to change tyres and refuel more often.
The Herbert/Blundell/David Brabham 2nd place Speed 8. Le Mans 2003. (unattributed)
In terms of Le Mans itself, Audi’s winning factory drivers over the previous 3 years were farmed out; Tom Kristensen elected to lead the Bentley Team and asked that Rinaldo Capello join him, Guy Smith was the third driver in the #7 Bentley. Le Mans winning team, Joest Racing provided ‘in field’ support to Team Bentley.
Emmanuelle Pirro joined the Champion Racing Team driving its R8 and Frank Biela lead the British Audi Team also R8 mounted. Biela had the pace but made an error and overshot the pit entry, the extra lap ran the car out of fuel.
Nice shot which shows the profile of the 2003 Speed 8, the winning car and complex aero of the ‘modern’, its 12 years ago now, Sports Prototype. Carbon fibre brakes aglow. Brakes; AP Racing 14.8 inch front / 14 inch rear carbon fibre discs with 6 piston calipers. (unattributed)
The #7 Bentley lead almost every lap of the race, 377 in total and didn’t lose a lap in damage or punctures. Guy Smith was given the honor of piloting the Speed 8 across the line to mark an emotional sixth win for Bentley after the elapse of over 70 years.
Johnny Herbert, Mark Blundell and David Brabham were 2nd in the #8 Bentley, 2 laps behind the winners. They lost time with an unscheduled stop on the Saturday afternoon when the drivers headrest broke free in the cockpit and a few minutes on Sunday when the battery was changed twice.
With Le Mans won, it was ‘marketing mission accomplished’ for the VW Group, the Bentley prototype racing program was at and end. Audi have now won the race 13 times since their initial victory in 2000 with a variety of interesting cars; petrol, diesel and now hybrid powered.
Post Le Mans victory parade in Paris. The winning Speed 8 between the 2 crews aboard ‘Blower’ Bentleys. Nice juxtaposition of Le Mans technological advancement over 70 years! And rich Bentley brand heritage. (unattributed)
Etcetera…
Speed 8 at Sebring 2003. Interesting shot shows the aero treatment; wheel well air outlets on top of guard and at the side, and inlet for carbon brakes. Wheels are O.Z. forged magnesium, 12.25/13 inches wide front/rear and 18 inches in diameter. Tyres Michelin in 2003. The cars started from the back of the Sebring grid after a technical infraction caused by exhaust heat distorting the cars flat floor, as a result the rear diffuser was too high, its height measured from the floor. A plywood filler piece solved the problem. The Speed 8’s finished 3rd and 4th at Sebring, Audi R8’s in 1st and 2nd. Valuable testing gained. (Autosport/Bob Chapman)
Rear deck detail and aluminium strakes added to duct more air to the brakes after cooling concerns at Sebring. You can also see the very neat tail light at the trailing edge of the cockpit ‘bobble’. Between the 2 small ducts. (Autosport/Bob Chapman)
Herbert/Brabham/Blundell, 3rd place, Bentley Speed 8, Sebring 2003. Car behind is a Chev Corvette C5-R. (Autosport/Bob Chapman)
Bentley Team at Le Mans 2003. Plus a factory at Norfolk to build the cars. Even with the technology transfer from the ‘family’ Audi R8 program, victory in 3 years was a considerable achievement, many have spent more and not won at all…(unattributed)
Bibliography and Credits…
Automobile Year 51: Andrew Cottons Sportscar Review, mulsannescorner.com, Autosport, Bob Chapman, Michael Fuller, Alastair MacQueen, netcarshow.com, Popperfoto
Tailpiece…
Bentley Speed 8, Sebring 2003. Hopefully a return to outright Le Mans contention again soon? (Autosport/Bob Chapman)
Manfred von Brauchitsch,winner, Rudy Caracciola 2nd 1937 Monaco GP, held that year on 8 August. Loews Hairpin. These 2 were 2 laps in front of 3rd placed Christian Kautz in another Mercedes W125. (unattributed)
Mercedes Benz’ 1937 Grand Prix car was famously the most powerful racing car until the 7-8 litre Can Am aluminium Chev V8’s deployed in the early 1970’s finally exceeded its output of circa 645 bhp. It took the 1.5 litre turbo-cars of the late 1970’s for a Grand Prix car to best those numbers of 1937…
The 750 Kg formula of 1934 to 1937 created an ‘unlimited formula’ of the type only replicated by the Can Am Series of the mid-sixties to mid-seventies. The class was minimum weight based which meant the German teams of Auto Union and Mercedes Benz, bouyed by Government subsidies and rapidly advancing military technology were able to build very light and powerful cars…far more powerful than the regulators had imagined or intended!
Mercedes GP contender in 1929, prior to the ‘serious program’ of the 1930’s. Rudy Caracciola wrestling the big SSK, sports car around Monaco to 3rd place. Race won by the ‘W Williams’ Bugatti T35B. Supercharged SOHC 6.8 litre straight 6, circa 250bhp. (unattributed)
In search of, and finding an apex! Luigi Fagioli in his Mercedes Benz W25 at the Coppa Acerbo, Pescara on 15 August 1934. Nuvolari and Brivio 2nd and 3rd in Maser 8CM and Bugatti T59 respectively. (unattributed)
The mid-engined, radical Auto Union ‘P wagen’ was launched in late 1933 to critical acclaim. Mercedes approach was more conventional, the W25 a front-engined car powered by a DOHC supercharged straight-eight which initially developed circa 315bhp @ 5800rpm. Suspension was all independent by wishbones and coil springs at the front and swing axles and reversed quarter elliptic springs at the rear. Hydraulic drum brakes were used. The cars won 4 Grands’ Prix and 2 Hillclimbs in 1934.
In 1935 the W25 was further developed, Rudy Caracciola won the reinstated European Championship. Tazio Nuvolari’s famous 1935 German GP win aboard his Alfa Romeo P3 the only non-German car to win a Championship GP from 1935 to 1939.
Rudy Caracciola in his Mercedes W25B, Montjuic Park, Barcelona on 30 June 1935. Teammate Luigi Fagioli won the Penya Rhin Grand Prix with Rudi 2nd and Tazio Nuvolari 3rd in an Alfa P3. Carac won the European Drivers Title that year. (unattributed)
The capacity of the W25, initially 3.4 litres increased to over 4 litres developing over 400bhp. The M25 straight-8 became unreliable when enlarged to 4.7 litres and 490bhp. A 5.6 litre, 600bhp V12 was tested but the cars, the chassis shortened (becoming so small Caracciola couldn’t fit comfortably in it) and lightened became uncompetitive with reliability, engine and handling dramas, Auto Union winning many races.
Mercedes team at the foresters lodge ‘ Sankt Hubertus’ prior to the 1936 GP at the Nurburgring. Mercedes W25’s entered for Caracciola, von Brauchitsch,Lang, Fagioli and Louis Chiron. Best placed was the Fagioli/Caracciola car in 5th, Rosemeyer won in an Auto Union. (unattributed)
After the 1936 German Grand Prix, a catastrophic home race for the team, the best placed Mercedes-Benz in 5th position, it was clear that radical changes had to be made to the Mercedes sporting organization.
Management started by looking at the structure of their racing departments, the same issues of lack of nimbleness, communication and decisiveness which have dogged bigger companies such as Ferrari and Renault in recent decades are not new.
The organization used by Mercedes in 1936 had its roots before the First World War. After the death of Hans Nibel in 1934 the central design office was managed by ex-driver Max Sailer. Under him Albert Heess and Otto Schilling were engine design chiefs with Max Wagner the chassis supremo.
Construction, assembly and testing of the cars were handled by the experimental department led by Fritz Nallinger. Jacob Krauss managed chassis construction and Otto Weber engine assembly while George Scheerer, in charge of the dynamometer section, was responsible for engine testing.
Over the years communication between the experimental department and the sporting department led by Alfred Neubauer had begun to fail. ‘Too many cooks’ springs to mind…
Bob Shepherd line drawing of the Mercedes Benz W125. (Australian Motor Sports)
A new technical department between the design office and the racing team was created in 1936.The Rennabteilung (racing department) took over the assembly and testing of the racing cars from the experimental department. In charge of the new department was gifted young engineer, Rudolf Uhlenhaut. He was born in London on 15 July 1906, (died 8 May 1989) his father German, his mother English. He joined Mercedes Benz in 1931 as a Munich University graduate, until 1936 Uhlenhaut had worked on passenger cars not on any of the racers.
Rudy Uhlenhaut testing a Mercedes W154 GP car at Monza in early 1938. Uhlenhaut was a race fast, analytical driver. He was entered as potential relief driver in the Le Mans campaign of 1955. W154 in early form, radiator treatment different on the cars as raced and obviously sans bonnet here. 1938 was a 3 litre supercharged/4.5 litre unsupercharged formula. Chassis essentially an SWB version of the W125 frame made possible by the use of the smaller/shorter 3 litre supercharged DOHC, 4 valve V12. Power 425-475bhp. Car dominant in 1938, Caracciola again European Champion. (Mercedes Benz)
On 12th of August 1936 the Rennabteilung tested one rebuilt 1935 car and two 1936 cars at the Nurburgring with Caracciola and Manfred von Brauchitsch the drivers. Tests included different tyres and shock absorbers. A 60kg lead weight was placed over the front suspension in an attempt to get more front grip. After two days the drivers decamped and Uhlenhaut drove the cars himself.
Rudy had never driven a racer before, even though he was used to testing road cars at high speed on the famous circuit. However, he soon settled in and proved to be an exceptionally gifted driver.Famously it has been rumoured that Uhlenhaut once went faster than Fangio at the ‘Ring during a test in the mid 50s. Whatever the case, Rudy was a talented tester and potentially a gifted racer had he the chance to strut his stuff, his wife and corporate commitments barriers to a racing career.
Uhlenhaut concluded as follows in relation to the W25’s he drove; toe-in changes caused by the old steering geometry were too big whilst suspension travel was too little making the springs bottom. The chassis was bending during braking. The experimental department had tried to solve the problems by using both hydraulic and friction dampers and harder and harder springs exacerbating the handling problems and violent kickback to the steering wheel. At the rear the attachment point for the De Dion axle could bend as much as 7-10cm during braking. Because the suspension was so stiff the wheels couldn’t follow the road. Again, famously, once during Uhlenhaut’s tests a wheel came off at high speed yet the car continued on three wheels as if nothing had happened.
After the 1936 Swiss GP ended in emphatic victory for Auto Union Uhlenhaut suggested further racing that year was pointless. So Mercedes retired from the season to focus their efforts on the 1937 car, the W125.
Tubular frame of chrome molybdenum, double wishbone and coil spring suspension at the front, De-Dion tube and coil springs located by radius rods at the rear. Supercharged 5662cc 645bhp straight 8. 4 speed rear mounted’ box with ZF slippery diff. (Yoshihiro Inomoto)
Uhlenhaut’s assessment of the changes required resulted in a long wheelbase car with reduced polar moment of inertia. The chassis frame was much stiffer. The front suspension was new with greater travel and much softer springs.The car had hydraulic dampers only. The gearbox was changed to a constant mesh type improving reliabilty. During the season a new suction-type supercharger that proved superior to its precursor was also fitted.
The W125 was the first of the MB GP cars to have a tubular frame; of oval section nickel chrome-molybdenum steel of 1.5mm section. 5 cross tubes braced the frame.
The independent front suspension was again by way of unequal length wishbones, 8.45 inches and 10.59 inches in size upper and lower. Coil springs were used. Both hydraulic and friction shocks were used at the front, sometimes hydraulic shocks only.
Rear suspension was De Dion tube, the 2 end halves forged and machined from a single piece of nickel chrome-molybdenum steel. Two channel section radius rods provided fore and aft location with torsion bars, 33.2 inches long and 0.67 inch wide, providing the spring medium.
This shot of 3rd placed Christian Kautz shows the rear end treatment of the Mercedes W125, Monaco 1937. (unattributed)
Lockheed hydraulic brakes were used, they were of 2 leading shoe type, had Iurid linings with alloy shoes and drums, the latter had steel liners shrunk in.
It is perhaps indicative of preoccupations of the time with engines that about half the ‘Australian Motor Sports’ article which provided the basis of the cars technical specifications, is about the M125 straight-eight engine!
The engine, in typical MB practice was made up of 2 blocks of 4 cylinders, with a bore and stroke of 94x102mm, the engine undersquare, as was the practice of the time, giving a total capacity of 5662cc. The engine developed 645bhp at 5800rpm, the supercharger ran at twice engine speed and was pressurised at 12-14lb per inch.
Manfred Von Brauchitsch in his Mercedes W125 during the 1937 Coppa Acerbo, Pescara. He was 2nd, the race won by Bernd Rosemeyer’s Auto Union Type C. (unattributed)
In terms of the cars detailed engine design and construction;
The blocks comprised steel forged cylinders with water jackets and ports welded thereto in sheet steel. The cylinders were spigotted into the alloy, barrell shaped crankcase. The crank ran in 9 main bearings of split roller type made by SKF. Big ends were also of this type.
Pistons were provided by Mahle, conrods fully machined ‘H section’ made of nickel-chrome steel and had plain bronze bush gudgeon pins. Lubrication was by way of dry sump with a battery of gear type oil pumps and a front mounted oil radiator.
Lovely profile shot of Caracciola and the W125. Swiss GP, Bremgarten in August 1937. Rudy won the race from Herman Lang and Von Brauchitsch, also W125 mounted. (Mercedes Benz)
The cylinder head featured hemispherical combustion chambers with 2 inlet and 2 exhaust valves per cylinder at an included angle of 60 degrees. The exhaust valves were mercury filled for cooling. Two gear driven overhead camshafts were used, 1 plug per cylinder was fired by magneto. The heads were not detachable.
A Roots type supercharger originally blew air, in established Mercedes fashion into the carburettor but later in 1937, the blower was reconfigured to deliver the mixture in the more usual way. A twin-choke carb was used, the fuel mix a heady brew of 86% methyl alcohol, 4.4% nitro-benzol, 8.8% acetone and 0.8% sulphuric ether…who said fuel alchemy started in the 1980’s!?
A single plate dry clutch was mounted to the engine flywheel, the 4 speed gearbox, with ZF ‘slippery diff’ and final drive unit mounted to the rear crossmember.
The cars wheelbase was 9ft 2 ins and track 4ft 10ins, the W125 weighed 16.4 cwt.
1937 Donington GP. Manfred von Brauchitsch from Rudy Caracciola, Mercedes W125. Rosemeyer won in his Auto Union from Manfred and Rudy. (unattributed)
The W125 proved a winner, Caracciola victorious at the German, Swiss, Italian and Hungarian Grands’ Prix giving him his second European Championship whilst Herman Lang won at Tripoli and von Brauchitsch at Monaco. The W125 was put to one side at the end of 1937, in an attempt to slow the cars down, there is nothing new in this!, the authorities mandated a 3 litre supercharged/4.5 litre unsupercharged formula for 1938/9. The chassis of the W125 evolved into that of the 1938 season W154, that car powered by a 3 litre supercharged V12 and similarly dominant.
A story for another time…
Start of the Swiss GP at Bremgarten in 1937. #14 and winner Caracciola W125 with #10 and #8 Hans Stuck and Bernd Rosemeyer both Auto Union Type C mounted. (unattributed)
Etcetera…
Mercedes team lineup of W125’s at Monaco 1937. #8 Caracciola 2nd, #10 Von Brauchitsch 1st, #12 Christian Kautz 3rd and #14 Goffredo Zehender 5th. Rosemeyer, the best placed Auto Union was 3 laps behind Von Brauchitsch! (unattributed)
Streamliners at Avus in 1937. #35 Caracciola Benz W125 overtakes # 31 Rosemeyer Auto Union Type C in the Nordcurve. Rudy won the first race, Von Brauchitsch the second in another W125. (Mercedes Benz)
Dick Seaman in his Mercedes W125 during the Masaryk Grand Prix, Brno September 1937. He was 4th. Caracciola won from Von Brauchitsch in another W125 and Herman Muller in a Auto Union Type C. (unattributed)
Mercedes Benz W125 drawing. (unattributed)
Rudy Uhlenhaut in 1955 at a Hockenheim test session beside the ‘Blue Wonder’ Mercedes high speed transporter with a W154 GP car on ze back. (unattributed)
A truly wild road car for any era; Uhlenhaut and his road legal Mercedes 300SLR racer. (Mercedes Benz)
Bibliography and Credits…
‘Australian Motor Sports’ March 1952 article by Bob Shepherd
forix.com article on Rudy Uhlenhaut by Leif Snellman, Mercedes Benz
This fashion shot is from a photo site, I have no caption details, the chassis and engine are of no interest to these folks of course! Clearly the babe is a Cooper fan, my ‘educated guess’ of car is a 1963 T67 BMC Formula Junior, twin SU’s are unlikely on the rival Ford engine of the day?
So, one for you Cooper experts, it would be interesting to know the Who, What, Where and When of this photo.
1963 Cooper T67 BMC Formula Junior. (Theo Page)
Autosport Article on the Cooper T65/67 and its ‘Hydrolastic Suspension’ referred to in the response by Ken Collins/Peter Jackson below…
Credits…
‘Photo Is Art’, Theo Page cutaway drawing, Stephen Dalton Collection for the Autosport article
Tom Hawkes, Allard J2, Collingrove Hillclimb, Angaston, SA, March 1952. First in the over 1500cc Sports Car class (State Library of South Australia)
Tom Hawkes caresses his powerful Allard around the twisty, challenging gravel confines of South Australia’s Collingrove Hillclimb at its inaugural, public, 15 March 1952 meeting…
Chassis #99/J/1731, fitted with Ford Pilot engine # 5338/26 was the first of six Allards imported to Australia, the car arrived in September 1950 to Rube Gardner’s order. Gardner was appointed the local concessionaire having travelled to the UK to do the deal with Allard himself early in 1950. Gardner’s premises were on the Princes Highway, Carlton, a southern Sydney suburb.
Gardner drove the car to the October 1950 Bathurst meeting, he didn’t race, but took it to Mount Panorama for display purposes. The red side-valve Ford Pilot engined car immediately impressed Stan Jones, the 1958 Gold Star and 1959 Australian Grand Prix winner and father of 1980 World Champion Alan Jones.
The J2 in the Bathurst paddock during Stan Jones’ ownership at Easter 1951. Colour red, ‘standard’ Ford Pilot side-valve spec V8. Five of the six J2s imported to Australia entered this meeting, three started! (Ray Eldershaw Collection)
Jones’ first J2 competition event was the 1950 Australian Hillclimb Championship at Rob Roy in November, he finished second in his class. In 1951 he raced the car successfully at Rob Roy, at Bathurst where he was timed at 104.8mph on ConRod Straight, and at other meetings.
Jones sold the car to Geelong, Victoria, driver Tom Hawkes in a deal which involved Jones taking over a Cooper MkV 500 Bill Patterson and Hawkes had raced in England in 1951.
Hawkes raced the car in standard form for a while and then engaged Melbourne’s Ern Seeliger to modify it by fitment of an Ardun OHV engine kit and Jaguar four-speed gearbox with C-Type ratios to replace the three speed Ford Pilot ‘box. The tail of the Allard was replaced with a narrower one, the front and rear guards removed and wire wheels adapted to Lancia hubs. The light car now developed circa 300bhp and was a formidable, noisy and spectacular weapon at the time.
Hawkes ahead of Eldred Norman’s Maserati 6CM at Adelaide’s Sellicks Beach. This meeting in 1953 was the first all car beach program post-War. Sellicks Beach is 55km from Adelaide. Tom is kicking the tail out, no shortage of power on the soft sand! Eldred Norman and his many cars are fascinating stories for another time (forum.fefcholden.club)
Over the next couple of years the J2 competed widely, mainly driven by Hawkes but occasionally by Reg Robbins who maintained it. It was also driven by John Sawyer and Adrian Gundlach. The car raced at Fishermans Bend, in Albert Park’s inaugural 1953 meeting and Rob Roy, all in Victoria. Hawkes competed at Collingrove Hillclimb, Sellicks Beach and Port Wakefield in South Australia.
He travelled to New Zealand for the 1954 NZ Grand Prix meeting at Ardmore in January. There the car blew the OHV engine in practice, a stone pierced the radiator. The side-valve engine was fitted for the race, famously won by Stan Jones in the Maybach after an amazing overnight engine rebuild. The J2’s Ford engine was brittle and ‘popped’ comprehensively at least three times, twice with rod failure, the errant component carved the cast iron block in half on both occasions. The J2 was very quick though, it recorded 137mph on Longfords Flying Mile during the 1955 Tasmanian Trophy meeting.
Hawkes advertised # 1731 for sale in October 1955 but continued to race it before being it was finally bought by Reg Robbins who had been preparing the car for Hawkes as noted above. He raced it at Phillip Island and Rob Roy in late 1956 and early 1957 respectively before sale to Geoff McHugh in Tasmania.
Melbourne’s Ian McDonald repatriated it from a Tasmanian chook shed in 1964 and restored it, a process which took two years. He first raced the car in an historic event at an open meeting at Sandown in 1966, the car later passed from Ian to Richard Ralph and then to Graham Smith who fitted a correct specifications Ardun Ford engine; he still owns it in 2020.
The Hawkes’ Allard in the Collingrove paddock March 1952. The modifications referred to in the text are not yet evident, this is early in Hawkes’ ownership of the car. Compare with the other later Collingrove shot below and the Sellicks Beach shot above where the car is running sans guards and with the wire wheels referred to in the text (State Library of SA)
Allard Short History…
In the the 1930s Sydney Allard was successful as a British Trials and Hillclimb competitor with his Allard Specials. Operating from Adlards Motors, a Ford dealership that he had acquired in 1929, Allard competed successfully in international motor racing. He was third at Le Mans in 1950 and victorious in the Monte Carlo Rally in an Allard P1 in 1952.
After racing first on motorbikes he moved to four wheels, in 1936 the first Allard Special was built.
Allard’s first cars were based on Ford products. The first ‘CLK 5’ combined a Ford Model 40 chassis and engine with a Bugatti Type 51 body. Its light weight and ground clearance made it an ideal Trials racer. By moving the cockpit as far backwards as possible, Allard concentrated weight over the rear wheels, a design principle of all future Allards. With Ford’s flat-head V8 providing plenty of power it was competitive immediately.
This later Collingrove shot in 1954 shows the Hawkes J2 in its later modified form: with Ardun head, skinny tail, sans guards front and rear and with its wire wheel (State Library of SA)
Pre-War a small number of Allard Specials were built powered by either the Ford V8 or Lincoln V12 and were race winners. During the War Adlards Motors repaired damaged military vehicles…and Sydney designed a new sportscar, which was built in 1946 and is now referred to as the J1.
Ford components formed the basis of J1. A braced and boxed frame housed a Ford 3.6-litre V8 and three-speed gearbox. Suspension was by a split axle at the front and live axle at the rear, transverse leaf springs were used front and rear. A full width body was fitted, but the guards could be removed and replaced by cycle-guards to turn the J1 Sports into a Trials car. Twelve J1s were built and competed in Britain and in Europe, its shortcoming was the flat-head V8, which was underpowered and overheated. readily.
Allard then built, in larger numbers, the K1 sports two seater, L-Type Tourer and M-Type coupe.
J2 factory drawings (The Allard Register)
In 1950 Allard launched the J2. Based on the J1 design, the new car was designed with the J1’s shortcomings in mind.
The front suspension was similar, the transverse leaf springs were replaced with coils at both front and rear, and a de-Dion axle was fitted with inboard drum brakes at the rear. The combination of rear weight bias and better rear suspension gave the car much better traction. Modified Ford side-valve V8s were Allard’s engines of choice, but the chassis was built to accommodate other engines. With Cadillac’s pushrod V8, the J2 was ‘in a league of its own’ and very successful in the US.
Butt shot showing the Hawkes J2’s modified tail, fuzzy shot but modifications clear. #1731 sans guards, wire wheels. On ‘The Wall’ (Collingrove Hillclimb)
‘Allard’s biggest road racing success was in 1950, when Sydney Allard and Tom Cole drove a Cadillac powered J2 to third place overall and a first in class at Le Mans. In 1951 a slightly modified version, dubbed J2X was introduced. It was similar to the J2, but the engine was mounted further forward to allow a larger cockpit. Chrysler Hemi and Cadillac powered J2s and J2Xs dominated racing in America. The final evolutions of the J2 were the J2X Le Mans and JR, both of which featured a fully enveloping body’, wrote Wouter Melissen in ultimatecarpage.com.
Sydney Allard practicing his J2 at Le Mans in 1950. He and Tom Cole finished third outright in the race won by the Rosier father and son Talbot-Lago T26GS and second placed Talbot-Lago Monoplace. These two cars were essentially ‘GP cars in drag’, so the Allards third was a great result five laps adrift of the winning car. Allard wore a helmet in the race! This shot was on Allard’s corporate 1950 Christmas card to contacts of the company (allardownersclub.org)
After 1908 Allards were built, production ended in 1959. Increased competition from Jaguar, Lotus, Austin Healey and others producing quality production sports and racing cars made the going tough as the sixties dawned, but the company and its clever products had punched above their weight very successfully for many years.
J2 chassis and general layout drawings (The Allard Register)
Technical Specifications…
90 J2s were built from 1949 to 1951. Cars delivered to the US were usually sans engine allowing the customer to choose. Those with ultimate performance in mind specified the Cadillac or Chrysler ‘Hemi’ OHV engines with a wide variety of modifications available off the shelf.
Specifications of the Ford Pilot ‘Ardun’ engine as fitted to #1731 and modified by Tom Hawkes; 3923cc, bore and stroke 80.96mm x 95.25mm. Compression ratio 8:1. Magneto ignition. two Solex carburettors giving a claimed, and I suspect very optimistic, 300bhp.
The cars chassis was a ladder or box section frame having a wheelbase of 100 inches and track of 56/52 inches front/rear.
Front suspension was Allard divided or split axle with coil springs and hydraulic shocks. A de-Dion setup was deployed at the rear again with coil springs and hydraulic shocks. Drum brakes were fitted mounted outboard at the front and inboard at the rear.
Steering was Ford Pilot ‘Marles’ worm and roller. The fuel tank held 20 gallons, the car weighed circa 1700-2000lbs. (estimates of weight differ widely across the reference sources and would do so dependent upon the engine fitted)
Collingrove is a sensational climb, highly technical and difficult. It’s at Angaston in SA’s Barossa Valley, the place is a stunningly pretty spot. Angaston is 85 Km from Adelaide. In use since 1952.(Collingrove Hillclimb)The Mail article about Collingrove’s first meeting in March 1952. Hawkes won the over 1500cc modified sports car class (Collingrove Hillclimb)Distant shot of Hawkes coming off The Wall, well sideways on the slippery gravel surface. Shot included to show the topography of this fabulous climb. (Collingrove Hillclimb)
Etcetera…
Barry Oliver wrote ‘The sound in the distance became louder and in a few seconds reached a crescendo as the big V8 Allard of Tom Hawkes flashed past me on the narrow strip of bitumen just a few feet away’ Longford, 5 March. 1955.
Bibliography and Photo Credits…
John Blanden ‘Historic Racing Cars in Australia’, Wouter Melissen’s Allard article in ultimatecarpage.com, MotorMarques article by Philip Stanton, State Library of South Australia, Ray Eldershaw Collection, The Allard Register, forum.fcfeholden.club, Collingrove Hillclimb website, allardownersclub.org, Paul Geard Collection, John Hall Collection, Barry Oliver in ‘Tasmanian Motor Sport’
Tailpiece…
(P Geard)
Tom on the entry to Mountford Corner, Longford 1955. The car did 137mph on ‘The Flying Mile’ that weekend…
Keke Rosberg tips his Williams FW10 Honda into Stag Corner, so named after the hotel behind him, for the long run down Rundle Road and onto Dequetteville Terrace. Adelaide GP 1985. The Stag Hotel is still there and a much nicer place to eat and drink than then! (unattributed)
‘Rossi Kekberg is on pole!’ our host Ralph announced as we pulled up at what would become our regular annual digs for the Adelaide Grand Prix for the next 10 years…
I was the designated driver for the second half of the long drive from Melbourne, but the rest of my mates were well pissed, so it was a relief to see our host similarly inebriated when we pulled up in leafy Tusmore, Adelaide. Ralph and Jill’s backyard provided our cheap accommodation only 1 km from the Victoria Park road circuit for years. Wonderful people they were and are.
Ralph was no racing enthusiast, he always struggled with the furrin’ drivers names, but his zeal for the race typified the way the average Adelaide citizen felt about the eventdespite the interruptions to normal traffic flows and all the rest. Adelaide is a small town which embraced the race in a way Melburnians never really have. The ‘Save Albert Park’ mob are still vocal despite the GP having support from both sides of politics.
There had been mumblings about Australia having an F1 GP on and off for decades, the lack of an F1 event was not such an issue in the 1960s when we had the Tasman Series which was effectively four Grands Prix in four States in four weeks! And four races in New Zealand before the ‘circus’ arrived in Oz.
The Tasman was a 2.5-litre formula dominated in the early days by ex-F1 2.5 litre Coventry Climax four cylinder FPF engined cars. Later on bored-out 1.5-litre F1 engines were used and at the very end of the category, 2.5 litre versions of current F1 engines were built by Cosworth and BRM, in addition to the bespoke Tasman engines of Repco and Alfa Romeo. Magic it surely was!
Geoff Smedley’s shot captures all that was great about the Tasman Cup. Here at Longford, Tasmania in 1968: Clark from Hill, Amon and Gardner in yellow. Lotus 49 DFW times two, Ferrari 246T obscured and Gardner’s Brabham BT23D Alfa Romeo. This is the preliminary race, the main very wet event was won by Piers Courage in a McLaren M4A Ford FVA F2 car, a famous victory for the young Brit (G Smedley)
Later Bob Jane perhaps came close to an F1 event, his early 1980s Formula Pacific Grands Prix were intended to be replaced by an F1 event but Calder, love it as I do, is a bit of a shithole. It lacks any sort of visual appeal from a Teev viewpoint, nor does it represent a challenge to the best drivers in the world. It’s a great club, point and squirt kinda place.
Sandown looked best placed, the round a horse racing track circuit was increased to GP length to host a 1984 World Endurance Championship round but the Light Car Club emasculated a great circuit with the Mickey-Mouse stop go additions to the circuits infield to get the track to the requisite length. The financial returns, or lack of them destroyed the oldest racing club in the country as well.
AGP Calder 1984. F1 drivers in F Pacific cars, Ralt RT4/85 Ford’s. Rosberg, second on the inside, Lauda, DNF prang, on the outside. Roberto Moreno won the race in another RT4, his third AGP win (History of The AGP)
And so, pretty much outta the blue, with the support of the local business community, racer/business man Bill O’Gorman having pitched the idea to the committee set up to celebrate SA’s Sesquicentennial Year in 1986, South Australian Premier, John Bannon did a deal with Sir Bernie The Unbelievable to stage a race on the outskirts of Adelaide’s CBD.
Part of the circuit defines the cities eastern boundary, so it was a race in the city centre. Critically from an SA perspective, the Formula One Constructors Association wanted a street race, Calder and Sandown are not street circuits.
Sydney is Australia’s beautiful world city. The place doesn’t have to work hard to attract tourists who are drawn to all of its visual, cultural and sporting splendour. She is the ‘hot sister’ her sibling cities are the ‘fuglies’ in relative terms, they have to work a lot harder to get tourists into their towns.
Melbourne’s approach to combat that, is an event a month strategy, the very same Ron Walker behind the Melbourne GP was one of the founders of Melbourne Major Events, the body set up decades ago to identify global events or develop local initiatives to get folks to come here. John Bannon grabbed an event the Victorians wanted and in fact the Victorians stole it from the South Aussies some years later.
Derek Warwick Renault RE60, turning into Stag Corner, with the fruit markets in the background, Adelaide 1985. The building is still there (unattributed)
Most of us hadn’t seen contemporary F1 cars.
I hadn’t done the ‘big European trip’ at that point, the visits of Guy Edwards in a Fittipaldi to Sandown, and the Theodore Team to the ’79 Rothmans Series with an Ensign MN05 and Wolf WR4, all Ford Cosworth powered, whetted the appetite, but none were current cars when they visited and by 1985 we were in the middle of the 1.5-litre Turbo Era.
The sight and sound of those cars around the wide open expanses of Adelaide’s Victoria Park was something to relish. It was, and still is a street circuit, but the GP circuit – the V8 Supercars use a truncated version of the track – was fast and flowing with the full gamut of corners, if not gradient changes to provide a technical track for drivers to master.
Once we separated ourselves from Ralph, his enthusiasm for ‘Rossi Kekberg’ undiminished, we went to the circuit, being unfamiliar with the city and were simply blown away by Victoria Park’s scale, the circuit itself and the standard of organisation. The event won awards from the start to the end of the period in which the races were held there. Little Adelaide had something to prove both within Australia and globally, and delivered in spades.
Typical of AGPs is a chock-a-block program of events. That year the supports included F Pacific, F Ford, Group A Touring Cars (Gerhard Berger drove a BMW 635 CSI in the taxi races), Historic Cars. The ‘what the FAAAAARK’ moment was provided on that Thursday, when, unannounced, an RAAF General Dynamics F18 Hornet fighter did a treetops high, fast pass, with all of us in Victoria Park hitting the deck and realising what it would have been like to kiss your arse goodbye if one of these things was flying with aggressive intent…
Alain Prost nips a front brake, his carbon brakes gave him troubles as they did other cars similarly equipped, but a blown turbo wastegate put him out on lap 26. He won his first drivers title in 1985 (P Aynsley)
By the time the circus arrived in town Alain Prost had won his first F1 Drivers Championship with victories in Brazil, Monaco, Britain, Austria and Italy. He lost a win at Imola when his car was found to be underweight.
The McLaren MP4/2 TAGs were the class of the 1984 field, they were fast, reliable, handled well and were driven superbly by Niki Lauda, who took the title that year, and by Alain Prost who joined the team from Renault. The McLarens took their advantage into 1985 but the year was made technically interesting by Williams first carbon-fibre monocoque and the emergence of Nigel Mansell, signed by Williams that season, as a force particularly in the seasons second half.
Patrick Head’s first carbon-composite Williams, the FW10 Honda was a superbly integrated design, the car of the second half of the ’85 season. Honda had also got the power delivery of its potent twin-turbo V6 more progressive than in 1984. Keke Rosberg here (P Aynsley)
Patrick Head, Williams designer was conservative and cost-effective in his approach to such large design changes
He was also concerned about the new carbon-composite materials. Head was impressed about the way his aluminium-honeycomb monocoques had withstood big impacts: Jones at Watkins Glen (FW06) in 1978 and Reutemann at Silverstone (FW07) in 1980.
Head determined to control the carbon-composite program in-house. Williams built nine carbon-composite FW10 chassis during the season, and gems of cars they were, right out of the box. Rosberg won in Detroit and Adelaide, Mansell at Brands Hatch and Kyalami.
In the early part of the season the cars were powered by ’84 D-spec Honda engines but by the time they arrived in Adelaide E-spec engines giving a reputed 1000/1250 bhp qualifying capability and a six speed, rather than five speed Hewland gearbox to harness the power was fitted.
Williams FW10 and its Honda RA163E engine; 80 degree DOHC, four valve 1494cc twin IHI turbo V6. Upwards of 800bhp @ 12000rpm depending upon boost. Carbon fibre chassis, lower wishbone and rocker/ coil spring/dampers suspension. Hewland six speed gearbox. Brakes in this shot carbon, but cast iron brakes in Adelaide were an important factor in the Williams win. 520Kg. (unattributed)
Qualifying was held on a beautiful, hot day
30000 punters turned up to see Ayrton Senna do an absolute blinder of a lap, you could see and feel the effort being expended by the Brazilian on track and on the plentiful video screens around the circuit, to set pole 7/10 of a second from Mansell, Rosberg, Prost and Alboreto.
So; Lotus, Williams, Williams, McLaren and Ferrari were the top five. Alan Jones had returned to F1 but was well back in 19th, the Lola Hart was not the fastest combination in the field.
Alan Jones ponders his chances on the grid. Strategy was to go for it knowing the car probably would not last. It didn’t! He stalled on the grid but recovered to be seventh by lap 18, when the engines timing caused his retirement. Team Chief, ex-McLaren owner, Teddy Mayer beside the wing. Lola THL1 Hart. (P Aynsley)
We were well pleased with the first three days of entertainment, I was suitably jealous of a couple of mates who were part of the show, participants in the Formula Ford race and wishing I was part of history, as all the competitors in that year were. It was surely the most significant motor race in Australia’s racing history?!
Muzza and Keke. Murray Walker had the same cult following in this part of the world as elsewhere, deservedly so! He is getting the goss on the grid from Rosberg before the start (P Aynsley)
We plodded into town and found a nice Italian joint to have dinner, as it happened, La Trattoria, which is still in King William Street, still owned by the same family and still employs the same waiters, became a restaurant of choice for the drivers, especially the Italians.
We had not even ordered a Spag Marinara when Patrese and De Cesaris arrived with wives/friends, we were blown away to have stumbled on the place by luck; because we were first, and ate there every night, every year a table was kept for us. It was fantastic to live vicariously and get the occasional autograph without intruding too much on the drivers. Adelaide was and is a small place, this was a good example of the access the locals had, their simply were few places to stay, so it wasn’t hard to find the stars of the show.
Grid departs on its parade lap. Mansell, Senna, Rosberg by the fence, then Prost and Alboreto. Adelaide Hills in the distance, gum trees and a full-house. Circa 105,000 people on raceday/ (P Aynsley)
The Race
Poverty tickets in that first year weren’t a smart purchase, practice crowd numbers meant we had a very early start to bag our viewing positions. Outside the turn 1 chicane, a top spot on lap 1 but also throughout the race with a video screen to follow the event, was our choice after much debate. Being early was key, over 105,000 attended on raceday.
Ralph was keen for ‘Rossi’ to win the race, and so it was, Keke won, and after three pit stops!
Senna awaits the start from pole. Lotus 97T Renault. Blinder of a lap to get pole, but his race performance was a bit erratic (P Aynsley)Lap 1 turn 1 Chicane; Mansell from Senna, Rosberg, Alboreto (Ferrari) Prost, Boutsen (Arrows BMW), Surer (Brabham BMW) on his outside and Warwick (Renault). Senna gave Mansell a tap which took him out of the race into the right hander at Wakefield Road (unattributed)
Mansell won the start but Senna carved him in half at the third turn, putting Noige outta the race. Rosberg then led for 41 laps with Senna at a distance until his tyres went off.
Senna moved back towards Keke, having given his tyres a rest and regained some grip, he then made a mistake clipping a chicane on the entrance to Brabham Straight, giving Rosberg some breathing space. But crazily, Senna had another moment and boofed Rosberg’s Williams up the chuff as Keke went into the pits for a scheduled tyre change. Senna had to pit for both tyres and a new nose cone.
Niki Lauda in the cockpit of his McLaren MP4/2B TAG during practice. We saw him twice in Oz, in ’85 he was a real chance but like so many others his carbon brakes were not up to the rigours of a hot race which went for the maximum possible time allowed for a GP of 2 hours. ‘Twas said the race was about 12 laps too long. In 1984 he raced a Ralt RT4 Ford F Pacific car in the last non-F1 AGP at Calder Park. Niki retired at the end of the ’85 Adelaide race (P Aynsley)
Rosberg was in the lead but Niki Lauda, in his last GP was looking a possibility in second. At this point the heat of the day was telling for those with carbon-brakes, which were failing, those with steel brakes faring much better.
Keke’s tyres had gone off, he lean’t on them too soon so he pitted again, then a wheel nut jammed so he entered the track 45 seconds behind Senna and Lauda.
Rosberg frying the Goodyears of his Williams on the hot day, you can clearly see the graining. (Phil Aynsley)
Senna fried his tyres giving the lead to Lauda, a career ending win a possibility, but his carbon brakes failed and he was into a wall. Rosberg, with cast iron brakes was looking good, Senna with carbon not so much, then a piston failed in his Honda engine so Ayrton was out.
Rosberg from Senna during their long and interesting battle. Ayrton DNF with piston failure brought an end to it, but the Brazilian’s carbon brakes would not have lasted the distance in any event. Shot captures the essence of the track, the view from this point, in the Victoria Park section of the circuit, on Pit Straight is pretty much the same 30 years later (unattributed)
Rosberg had the race won with 21 laps to go. Last lap entertainment was provided by the Ligiers (Ligier JS25 Renault) with Jacques Laffitte and Phillipe Steiff managing to run into one another, the unfortunate Streiff misunderstanding a Laffitte waving arms gesture which meant ‘don’t pass’ rather than ‘do pass’ as Phillippe interpreted! Ivan Capelli, Tyrrell 014 Renault Stefan Johannsson Ferrari 156 and Gerhard Berger Arrows A8 BMW rounded out the top six.
The cars blast down Wakefield Road heading into town and into the East Terrace section of the track. Proximity of Adelaide CBD and treed nature of the Victoria Park section of the track clear. A Renault chasing a Tyrrell (P Aynsley)Victory ceremony L>R Laffitte, Frank Williams with his hands on the cup, Rosberg, Streiff and in the suit John Bannon, SA’s Premier who brought the event to Australia. Williams was shortly to suffer the accident which made him wheelchair bound only several months later. Mitsubishi a welcome global and local sponsor. At the time, its now long since closed, Mitsubishi manufactured cars at Tonsley Park, a southern outer Adelaide suburb (unattributed)
What a memorable race and event it was. The last for Lauda, Renault as a team for a while, Alfa Romeo as a team and it was the first of many F1 Grands Prix for Australia…and yes Ralph did master ‘Rossi’s’ correct name but it took him another year to do so…
Etcetera…
(P Aynsley)
Derek Warwick, Renault RE60 and Senna Lotus 97T Renault, a bit cocked up, coping with tyres fried by heat and the pressure he is applying to them. End of Brabham Straight perhaps
(unattributed)
Unusual Adelaide GP circuit angle and shot. Keke’s Williams FW10 has gone through the fast left/right Banana Bend kink, he is on the outside of the circuit, the Adelaide Fruit Markets to his left, by the look of it he is under brakes and plucking second gear for the right hander at Stag Corner, to head east out of town along Rundle Road. The fruit market buildings are still there, but are now retail and residential space, Vern Schuppan lives in one of the penthouses.
(P Aynsley)
Michele Alboreto Ferrari 156, DNF transmission, ahead of Riccardo Patrese, Alfa Romeo 185T, DNF exhaust.
(P Aynsley)
Red 5, Noige at the hairpin onto Pit Straight. Mansell a popular figure in Oz, Senna drove a nutty race, twould have been very interesting to see what Mansell would have done without Senna’s assault on him. Two wins in the previous two races, the ‘form combination’ coming into Adelaide. Williams FW10 Honda.
Bibliography and Photo Credits…
‘Autocourse 50 Years of The World Championship’ Alan Henry, ‘History of The Australian Grand Prix’ Graham Howard, Phil Aynsley, Geoff Smedley, ‘History of The AGP’ Graham Howard
Its a very English car but not so the background, the year is 1947, driver a winner of the Australian Grand Prix…
Many thanks to contributor Stephen Dalton for correctly identifying the car and driver as Lex Davison and Bentley 4.5 litre s/c as the car, a big conveyance for that hill despite its open, fast flowing nature!
Lex entered the Bentley in the 12th Rob Roy Hillclimb in 1947. This picturesque venue, in the outer east of Melbourne in the Christmas Hills is still in use by the MG Car Club.
The stretch of main road which goes past Rob Roy’s location off Clintons Road a regular stretch for ‘early morning runs’ by car and bike enthusiasts heading into the Yarra Valley where drivers roads, wineries and fine food are plentiful.
Start of the race won by Jack Brabham’s dominant Brabham BT18 Honda, the little 1 litre car was the winner of the F2 Championship that year…
Jack won the title, ‘Trophee de France’ 1966, awarded for results in six championship rounds, from teammate Denny Hulme, similarly mounted with Alan Rees third in another BT18 powered by the Ford Cosworth SCA engine.
Brabham won the 3 July, 307 km ‘XXXII Grand Prix de Reims’ F2 in a little over an hour and a half from Alan Rees BT18 and Jean-Pierre Beltoise’ works Matra MS5 Cosworth SCA.
In a pretty good weekend for Jack, he also won the 400 km French Grand Prix on the same day in BT19 Repco, and of course in so doing became the first man to win a GP in a car with his own name and manufacture- together, Brabham and Ron Tauranac were partners in Motor Racing Developments, the manufacturers of Brabham cars.
Brabham’s BT18 Honda takes the Reims chequered flag from Toto Roche (unattributed)
Jack’s business acumen is demonstrated by his ability to form engine partnerships with Honda in F2 and Repco for his F1 and Tasman engines simultaneously, victorious in both F2 and Grands Prix racing in 1966…
Brabham and Ron Tauranac collaborated very successfully with the Japanese engineers, Honda learning much about engine installation and the need for torque as well as top end power during the first season of the partnership in 1965.
The little ‘S800’ 4 cylinder, fuel injected 1 litre engine developed around 150bhp @ 10000 rpm at the time the Ford block Cosworth SCA developed circa 138bhp and comprehensively blew off the opposition that year. 150bhp per litre for a normally aspirated engine was about as good as it got at the time, apart from Honda’s motor cycle engines anyway!
Honda acquired a Brabham F2 chassis in 1964, so Jack was well aware of Honda’s F2 plans, he first tested the car at Honda’s request late in 1964 at Suzuka and again in January 1965 at the conclusion of the Tasman Series.
He reported his impressions of the car in his ‘Motor Racing’ magazine column.
‘The Honda F2 is an all-alloy 4 cylinder DOHC, 4 valve engine with fuel injection…alongside an F2 Cosworth SCA , it is quite a big looking unit and there are some difficulties getting it into the frame…Since then modifications have been made to the unit so it can be mated to a Hewland 6 speed gearbox and sit in its proper position in the chassis’.
Honda 1 litre DOHC, 4 valve fuel injected 150bhp ‘S800’ engine. Jack’s Brabham BT16, Pau GP 1965, DNF in the race won by Clark’s Lotus 35 Cosworth SCA. Electronic ignition take off of exhaust camshaft clear, large size of engine, neat installation and Goodyear tyres suggests 1966. Hewland ratio change in progress, lots of this with the peaky little engine! (Ian Gordon)
‘It runs smoothly and sounds very impressive, makes twice as much noise as the average F2 engine..there is useful power from 6000-9500 rpm, which is a nice wide band and makes the car comparatively easy to drive…Honda agreed to send two of their mechanics to be responsible for maintaining the engines during the coming season’. (1965)
In fact 1965 was a learning year for the new partners with Jack impressing upon the Japanese engineers the need for a wider band of power and torque, gearing of the car in 1965 was particularly critical.
Jack stepped out of the Honda powered chassis in June, forsaking it for Cosworth SCA power as the engine was developed. He returned to it at Albi in September- Jack took pole, set the fastest lap and finished second to Jim Clark’s Lotus 35 Cosworth SCA by less than a second after 85 laps…the lessons were well learned by Honda for success, make that domination in 1966.
Ron Tauranac and Jack Brabham discussing setup changes to Jacks BT21 Honda, #2 Hulme’s sister car, Monthlery 9 September 1966 (Popperfoto)
Jack Brabham with the victors garland, Monthlery 1966. Brabham BT21 Honda. Thats Clark’s 2nd place #3 Lotus 44 Cosworth SCA behind, Denny Hulme was third in the other Honda engined Brabham BT18. Note the Honda badge on the nose of Jack’s car. (unattributed)
The FIA introduced a new 1.6 Litre F2 class for 1967…
Honda were focussed on F1 in 1967 and 1968 before their withdrawal from top level single seater racing, they did not build an engine for the new European F2 Championship, but returned with Ralt to 2 litre F2 in 1980- the partnership of Honda and their old friend and collaborator Ron Tauranac was rekindled after all those years.
They were successful again too, winning the European F2 Championship in 1981/3/4, the Ralt Honda’s driven by Geoff Lees, Jonathon Palmer and Mike Thackwell to the title respectively before they returned to F1 with Spirit in 1983. That formative partnership was replaced with a longer term commitment to Williams in 1984 and the rest as they say is history.
(unattributed)
Modern Ron Tauranac/ Honda Partnership…
The successful Ralt Honda Team in 1981. They were victorious with the Ralt RH6 in the Euro F2 Championship, Geoff Lees won the title, he is to the right of teammate- the black-clad Mike Thackwell is on crutches thanks to a big testing accident before the 20 April Thruxton Euro F2 round, showing true grit he returned to the fray at Mugello on May 24.
Lees won the title with three wins, Thackwell took one, the season opener at Silverstone.
Ralt RH6/81- the aluminium monocoque ground effect car of the period used the Honda RA261E, 2 litre (1996cc) DOHC, 4 valve , fuel injected normally aspirated V6 engine as a stressed member, which developed circa 310bhp @ 10500rpm.
Ron Tauranc leaning on the wing of a Ralt at Silverstone during the obviously hot! British Grand Prix on 18 July 1981.
There was no F2 duties that weekend but rather an important F3 race to attend to- customer Ralt RT3 Toyota’s filled the first four slots in the race- Thierry Tassin won from Raul Boesel and Jonathon Palmer, the latter graduated to the works Ralt-Honda F2 squad. To underline the dominance of the RT3’s, they filled thirteen of the top fifteen places.
Ralt RH6 Honda (T Jufuku)
Etcetera…
Jack not looking quite so happy with the car in its formative 1965 year with the new Honda engine. Here at Oulton Park for the F2 ‘Gold Cup’ in September. He qualified his BT16 with the peaky unit well, 6th, but clutch trouble meant a DNS in the race won by John Surtees Lola T60 Cosworth SCA. (Eddie Whitham)
Another Oulton shot, Geoff Brabham in the green jacket far left looking on, Ron Tauranac, Jack and the small team of Honda mechanics. (Eddie Whitham)
In the early stages much experimentation took place to get the power/torque mix right including exhaust lengths… 1965, paddock place and date unknown. (unattributed)
Jack preparing for the off in the Oulton paddock, 1965 Gold Cup. (Eddie Whitham)
Another unattributed paddock shot of the Brabham Honda. Roy Billington down the back. Conventional rear suspension and Hewland ‘box. Single top link, inverted lower wishbone, coil spring/damper unit, adjustable roll bar and rubber donut all in shot. (unattributed)
Denny ahead of Jack at the Pau GP on April 17 1966. The tables were turned at the events conclusion, Jack and Denny in Brabham BT 18 Honda’s, Graham Hill 3rd in another Brabham, a BT16 BRM. The Brabham Honda 1/2 was achieved at Goodwood, Pau, Zolder, Crystal Palace, Karlskoga and Keimola, Finland that year. (unattributed)
Brabham victorious in the car at Pau with Graham Hill and Denny Hulme joining in the fun (INA)
Tailpiece…
‘Where’d they go?!’ Tailenders on the Reims ’66 F2 grid. (unattributed)
Credits…
Eddie Whitham, Popperfoto , Stephen Dalton and Leigh McMullen for research assistance, ‘Motor Racing’ magazine May/June 1965, Ian Gordon, Takashi Jufuku
Pininfarina designed, 1969 Ferrari 512S Berlinetta Speciale. And admirer. (Rainer Schlegelmilch)
‘A rather permissive rear end reveals part of the five speed transmission on the Pininfarina Ferrari 512S. There is the almost customary louvered backward look but its Wellsian. The chassis was a tubular structure with riveted light alloy panels contributing to the rigidity.
The naughty nakedness around the car’s nether regions and the upswept slotted effect adjacent to the rear wheels assists with the expulsion of hot air that can be generated by such a projectile-from brakes, tyres, transmission exhaust system etc. Forward visibility from the two seats was remarkably good-useful with such performance’.
So said Automobile Year 17’s summary of the rear of the Pininfarina designed Ferrari 512S Berlinetta Speciale in 1969. Amazing how appropriate a caption it is for this shot taken 45 years later!
512S Berlinetta Speciale. (Rainer Schlegelmilch)
The original appeal in writing this article was the juxtaposition of ‘les derrieres incroyables!’ of car and model, but upon closer inspection the fusion of a racer, which had a ‘big hit’ at Monza in 1969 and then contributed its chassis as the basis for Pininfarina’s Ferrari ‘512S’ Speciale show car is an interesting one in itself.
This article is a story about the two Ferrari ‘512S’ based Pininfarina designed Show Cars; the ‘Berlinetta Speciale’ of 1969, actually based on the chassis of a 312P, and ‘Modulo’ of 1970, actually based on a 512S chassis which raced as a 612P. Simple really!
The chassis of the ‘512S Speciale’ was the first of the 1969 312P endurance racers completed. It was the car launched to the press at the Hotel Fini, Modena on December 14 1968. In early 1969 it was damaged testing at Vallelunga and therefore didn’t make the season opening championship round at Daytona, but was rebuilt in tine for the Sebring 12 Hour in March.
Chris Amon and Mario Andretti drove the car, the curvaceous 3 litre V12 winning its class and finishing 2nd overall to the venerable 5 litre Ford GT40 of the ‘Jacks’ Ickx and Oliver.
Chris Amon in Ferrari 312P ‘0868’ he shared with Mario Andretti at Sebring in 1970. (Dave Kutz)
Pedro on his way to 4th place in 312P ‘0868’ or ‘0870’…Brands 500 Km 1969. (unattributed)
Amon was paired with Pedro Rodriguez at Brands Hatch, the pair finished 4th in the 500Km race won by Jo Siffert and Brian Redman in a Porsche 908/2. Note that some sources say the Chris/Pedro car was ‘0870’ not ‘0868’ which they say did not arrive. Whatever.
Rodriguez in 312P ‘0868’ boxing in winner Jo Siffert’s Porsche 908 behind the Hanrioud/Martin Ford GT40.(15th) Monza 1000Km 1969. (unattributed)
A fortnight later, on 25 April the car was entered at Monza for the 1000Km home event, Pedro back behind the wheel this time paired with Peter Schetty, later a successful Ferrari Team Manager.
During the race a left rear Firestone blew, damaging the rear bodywork, Pedro nursed the car back to the pits on lap 66. The crew quickly got him going but had not properly affixed the rear bodywork which blew off the car at high speed causing a huge accident of the type which took Bruce McLaren’s life 12 months later at Goodwood, fortunately without injury to Pedro but comprehensively ‘rooting’ the car.
It was taken back to the factory and put to one side whilst the other two 312P chassis were used for the racing at hand.
Pedro Rodriguez alights the Ferrari 312P ‘0868’ he shared with Peter Schetty at Monza in 1969. This was after the first ‘light hit’ when a tyre blew. When he got back into the car, on its first ‘out lap’ the separation of rear bodywork from the car caused the accident which all but destroyed it, Pedro shaken but ok. (unattributed)
Later in 1969 the chassis and an engine block (as against a complete engine) from 612P CanAm car #0866 was given to Pininfarina as the basis for their ‘Berlinetta Speciale’ styling exercise, the chassis at that point stamped ‘002’ noting the chassis was a 312P not a 512S despite the name…
Chris Amon in Ferrari 512S ‘1012’ shared with Arturo Merzario in the very wet Brands Hatch 1000Km in 1970. They were 5th in the race famously won by Rodriguez’ stunning wet weather drive in a Porsche 917K. (unattributed)
So, why call the Berlinetta Speciale a 512S if twasn’t?
Whilst Enzo’s coffers were full of Fiat lire given the Italian corporates 1969 Ferrari investment, the Scuderia had the not insignificant problem of flogging the 25 512S’ required to be built for homologation into the FIA’s Group 5 to race in 1970.
And no amount of Ferrari homologation ‘jiggery-pokery’ with promises of cars to be built would satisfy the CSI given the hoops Porsche had to jump to achieve certification of production numbers of their 4.5 litre 917 ‘Panzer-Wagen’ which created the need for all those 512S to be built in the first place… Given the working capital involved in designing, building and carrying the holding costs of unsold cars on his Balance Sheet be in no doubt about just what a priority Le Mans was to Ferrari for all those years.
He would not readily hand victory to the Germans without a fight. So, i suspect the 512S nomenclature was a marketing exercise to do everything possible to promote the car he needed to sell rather than one he was about to drop as works entry at seasons end. (putting the 312PB of 1971 and beyond to one side, that car is still a regulation change away, in 1969 the main game was 5 litres not 3)
‘In period’ studio shot of the 512S Berlinetta Speciale. (Pininfarina)
Ferrari’s Design Evolution…
Filippo Sapino longest creative stint was 30 years as design director at Ghia but his most stunning project was the ‘Ferrari 512S Berlinetta Speciale’, completed whilst at Pininfarina for a short while in the late 1960s. Launched at the 1969 Turin Motor Show, the car caused enormous interest as it was the first Ferrari with ‘wedge styling’, a design trend of the late sixties.
Regardless, ‘Sapino had made the most of the floor-hugging physique of the chassis, adding some unorthodox surface treatments to visually transform static into supersonic. Flourishes such as the flip-up canopy completed the Speciale’s theatre’.
Automobile Year 17 said this about the car in its annual review of 1969 ‘Quite the most exciting looking closed car to emanate from the Pininfarina establishment for some time, the Ferrari 512S Berlinetta Speciale pursued the wedge line and with the 5 litre four ohc V12 engine behind the seats it should be one of the worlds fastest cars. The shape was determined after research in collaboration with the Turin Polytechnic, and was the work of 29 year old Filippo Sapino before he left to join the new Ford styling centre in Turin.’
Pininfarina’s Ferrari Modulo, displayed in 1970, based on a 512S chassis was the definitive Ferrari wedge…
The truly stunning Pininfarina Ferrari Modulo. As stunning now as when first launched at Geneva in 1970. This shot was in Automobile Year 18.
Even though the Modulo was originally designed by Paolo Martin in 1968 the Berlinetta Speciale was the first built and therefore could or should be said to be the more influential in showing the path and creating the inspiration for Ferrari angular/wedge road cars such as the 365GTC/4 (also designed by Sapino), 365 Berlinetta Boxer and 308-328 series of Dino’s
Ferrari publicity shot of Niki Lauda and Clay Regazzoni checking out the ‘wedgey’ Pininfarina designed, Dino 308 at Fiorano in 1976. They are during a lull testing the 312T2 F1 car which is clear to see. (unattributed)
In fact the choice of Sapino’s design as Pininfarinas 1969 Show Star rather than Paolo Martin’sis an interesting bit of Pininfarina politics, which worked out rather well for PF, Ferrari and i suspect both designers.
In 1968 at Pininfarina he was wrestling with the design of a dashboard of the Rolls Royce Camargue when he conceived the design of a car which became known as the Modulo, which he described as ‘The craziest dreamcar in the world, the most unique, violent, inimitable and conceptually different’.
Sketches were drawn, Martin had an ally in PF Director Franco Martinengo but Sergio Farina was not convinced even by Martin’s full scale polystyrene model of the car which he completed by August 1968. ‘Why would you draw a car like this?’ he asked Martin. “Its important that they will speak of it’ he replied. Farina’s rejoinder ‘Yes, but they will speak ill of it’.
And so, as its showcar in 1969 Pininfarina went with Sapino’s more conservative, i hesitate to use the word, the car is stunning but in relative terms the car is conservative beside the Modulo, as was everything else was when the car appeared at Geneva in 1970.
Emboldened by the success of the Berlinetta Speciale in 1969 Pininfarina was ready to endorse Martin’s Modulo which made its show debut in 1970, it truly was and is a remarkable milestone in automotive design, still fascinating audiences when it makes occasional show appearances now.
The Modulo is an interesting story for another time, it was based on a 512S chassis but the account is far from clear. The consensus seems to be that 512S chassis ‘1027’ was built up as Ferrari 612P ‘0864’, the car one of 2 (‘0866’ the other) raced by Chris Amon in the 1969 Can Am series. At the end of the cars unsuccessful campaign, the McLarens M8B Chevs dominant that year, its remains including the original chassis less chassis plate was given to Pininfarina to be used as a base of the Modulo.
Ferrari 612P CanAm car, Ferrari factory shot. The car grew wings and other aero appendages but fundamentally lacked grunt whatever its chassis shortcomings relative to the Mclaren M8B Chevs dominant that year. One 612P was built using 512S chassis ‘1027’, and then at the end of the season the car was dismantled and the chassis used as the basis for the Modulo. (Sefac Ferrari)
The photo shoot atop a mountain top at Como, Italy which inspired this article was shot by noted racing photographer Rainer Schlegelmilch, Who knows what its all about, and who cares…both car and babe shown to great effect!
Etcetera…
512S Speciale engine compartment filled with the 6 litre V12 ex 612P ‘0866’. Its a dummy engine, original block but no internals, the car is not and has never been ‘ a runner’. Looks the goods all the same. (Rainer Schlegelmilch) Berlinetta Speciale, great from any angle. (Pininfarina)
Bibliography and Credits…
barchetta.cc, ferrarichat.com, Automobile Year 17, Classic Driver
primotipo... 