primotipo…

What do you do when you have already overdosed on Longford?…

Have some more of course! There is no such thing as too much of a good thing.

Lindsay Ross has popped a swag of oldracephotos.com.au photographs on The Nostalgia Forum recently- his focus with this batch of shots was just on The Viaduct section of this challenging circuit. See here for a lap of the place to orientate yourself; https://primotipo.com/2018/07/05/longford-lap/

One of the things I love is the mix of shots, and do checkout the website, Lindsay has been ridiculously kind with his support of me since starting primotipo, without doubt there are more photographs from the ORP archive than any other. Lets support those that support us ; http://oldracephotos.com/content/home/ The cars vary from the sublime- Jackie Stewart’s BRM P261, to the more realistic end of the enthusiast spectrum- Formula Vee, and pretty much everything in between.

The opening photograph is of Graham Cullen’s CMS Vee, and he has a playmate in the undergrowth too- who is it? No he doesn’t, its just that his bodywork has become separated from the chassis on his trip through the undergrowth. The driver of car #71 zipping past the long-suffering marshalls is Garry Nielsen in a Tasman- I wonder who built these cars?

 

 

 

CMS is short for ‘Cullen Marine Services’ Graham Cullen’s primary business, he built about twelve of these ladder framed cars in the early Australian Vee years in the mid to late sixties.

By the time I had driver/engineer Peter Ward look after my Venom Mk2 FV circa 1979- he was building CMS’s of a totally different kind- very quick spaceframe cars raced by he and David Eyre-Walker and one or two others.

Like every man and his dog Wardy had an Elfin NG Vee copy he named ‘Spectre’, of which he built plenty in his Ross Street, Balwyn, Melbourne backyard workshop. I never worked out why Elfin Chief Garrie Cooper didn’t take to the cleaners all the pericks who knocked off that great design! Still, often the last thing to be found in a court of law is justice.

 

 

This panoramic shot of Frank Gardner leading the Touring Car pack down the hill into the Viaduct gives us some perspective- what a mega spot for spectators, blow the photo up and you can see the train line. I’ll take advice on the drivers too folks, but I guess its Bruno Carosi in the Jag Mk2 and Robin Pare in Don Elliott’s white Mustang. Rob Bartholomaeus and Bill Hollingsworth have Bob Holden in the ‘striped’ Cooper S, Gene Cooke in the Fiat 1500 and Rob Boote in the Holden EH. The year is 1967.

Have a look at this article on the Alec Mildren Racing Alfa GTA’s and their pilots; https://primotipo.com/2014/11/27/the-master-of-opposite-lock-kevin-bartlett-alfa-romeo-gta/

 

 

Then lets have a look at JYS in his BRM at ground level, at about the point Frank is turning in and pretty much the car at the same point from above, peering down into the cockpit.

Jackie looks as ‘snug as a bug in a rug’ inside that tight cocoon- unbelted as he is.

The shot above is of P261 ‘2614’ in 1966, he won the race from Graham Hill’s similar car and Jack Brabham’s Brabham BT19 Repco. Look closely, the engine is a crossflow 1930cc P60 V8- inlets within the Vee and exhausts outside. Check out this article on the BRM P56/P60 V8; https://primotipo.com/2016/02/05/motori-porno-stackpipe-brm-v8/

 

 

Whereas the photo above is in 1967, again the car is ‘2614’ albeit this time powered by a P60 V8 of a different configuration- see the exhausts between the Vee, and its of 2070cc in capacity.

Jackie DNF with gearbox problems- which was the weak link of the BRM’s that season, the power and torque of the larger engine was beyond the design limits of a gearbox first built for engines of 1.5 litres- the GP formula of the time.

Brabham won that day in BT23A Repco ‘740’ from Clark’s Lotus 33 Climax FWMV 2 litre V8- the Tasman Championship winning combo that year. It too was a stretched, in terms of engine, 1.5 litre F1 car. Here is a piece about the 1967 Tasman and the fortunes of Stewart, Clark and Hulme; https://primotipo.com/2014/11/24/1967-hulme-stewart-and-clark-levin-new-zealand-tasman-and-beyond/

 

 

Similar turn-in shot for Alan Hamilton who has his Porsche 906 Spyder beautifully cocked up in a delicate little slide- these cars were great, forgiving, customer machines.

Here is a bit more about them- Alan and his 906’s; https://primotipo.com/2015/08/20/alan-hamilton-his-porsche-9048-and-two-906s/

 

 

Bruno Carosi in the ex-Bob Jane Jaguar Mk2 is under the Viaduct in 1967, whilst the shot below is of Doug Whiteford’s Maserati 300S just as he enters the light- by the look of that number on his cars nose its during the 1959 Australian Grand Prix meeting in which Dicer Doug failed to finish having driveshaft failure on the first lap- Stan Jones won the event in his Maserati 250F.

That race is covered here; https://primotipo.com/2016/01/08/stan-jones-agp-longford-gold-star-series-1959/

 

 

 

David Keep has a really unusual and interesting view of Pete Geoghegan chasing Frank Gardner away from the Viaduct and towards Kings Bridge, its 1967 again.

Who won the Taxi races?, my money is on Pete despite the more nimble attributes of the GTA. See here; https://primotipo.com/2017/10/17/he-came-he-saw-he-conquered/

 

 

Things went wrong of course.

The Viaduct had a fast approach- downhill, a tricky turn-in and bugger-all in the way of run-orf areas to capture the steed which has just gotten away from you, should that particular situation occur.

Which of course it did, as in this series of happy snaps!

 

 

Phil Brooke looks fairly happy with himself so presumably he has not done too much damage to his pride and joy on that greasy race-day in 1968, we can’t see the rear of the little Angle-box mind you.

 

 

Bruno has painted his Jag between the 1967 and 1968 meetings, he is just about to alight the machine being very careful where he pops his feet. Still, too much action about the place for the snakes to show interest I guess. They do have snakes down there I think?- just Googled, they do, copperheads, tigers and white-lipped, none particularly friendly or good for you.

 

 

Lionel Ayers Rennmax built MRC Lotus 23B Ford looks as though it is suspended in a tree but its probably on solid’ish ground. It will may need a wheel alignment before tomorrow’s race all the same. Its 1968.

 

 

Daryl Wilcox looks as though he has had a moment on the way into the corner and is perched precariously half on and half off the road. Just looked again it might be on the exit? Phil Brook’e youthful face I can just make out to the left of the copper’s head- clearly both chappies have left the island on the notoriously wet last day of racing ever at Longford on Monday 4th of March1968.

 

Credits…

oldracephotos.com.au and in particular the work of David Keep who is for sure one of the Longford photographic gods, not to forget Mr Harrisson as well. Michael Hickey Collection

 

Tailpiece: Up The Escape Road…

 

To get the entry to the escape road right takes real skill under pressure- so maybe Darryl O’Toole bailed real early in his Humpy. Its not a back road to Longford mind you- he is about to run out of gravel soonish.

 

 

This November 2018 photograph by KBY191 shows that ‘The Viaduct and railway are still there, however nothing remains of the old track running down to The Viaduct since reconstruction of Illawarra Road which also bisects Tannery Straight with a round-about’.

 

Finito…