Tag Archives: BRM Day

British World Beater – BRM V16 Type 15 No. 1

After the on track success and commercial failure of his pre war English Racing Automobiles project and as the 1939-45 war drew to a close Raymond Mays returned to thoughts about how to build a British World Beater to compete in the highest form of motorsport.

BRM V16 P15 Mk 1, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu

The saga that ensued was an object lesson in how not to go motor racing which began 2nd March 1945 when Raymond Mays announced an appeal to form a cooperative to design, build and race a national Grand Prix car.

BRM V16 P15 Mk 1, BRM Day, Bourne

Mays used his natural charm and reputation as a successful racing driver to attract over one hundred interested parties mostly from the motor industry and associated suppliers who were to contribute to the scheme with cash and or in kind.

BRM V16 P15 Mk 1, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu

Part of the problem with this way of working is that there were two many cooks, successful heads of industry, who in the kitchen that became known as the British Motor Racing Research Trust. As a result everything concerning the production of parts, running of the project and finances was done by committee. Note disc brakes did not appear on the BRM V16’s until 1952.

BRM V16 P15 Mk 1, BRM Day, Bourne

With more PR people, than mechanics, working for companies desperate to be associated with the project in order to drum up orders on the world stage the first of the new cars was completed at Bourne in 1949 and even given a run in the dead of night through the sleepy market hamlet of Bourne, Lincolnshire where it was built. Against May’s better judgement the car was shown to an eager audience of the Press on the 15th of December 1949.

BRM V16 P15 Mk 1, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

The concept for the car including the engine is credited to Raymond Mays collaborator at ERA Peter Betherton. Betherton’s choice of 1.5 litre V16 architecture with the two banks of cylinders inclined at 135° seems to have been inspired by the pre war unraced prototype Alfa Romeo Tipo 162 designed by Wifredo Ricart which was said to produce 490 hp.

BRM V16 P15 Mk 1, BRM Day, Bourne

BRM’s V16 was in essence two V8’s with a drive taken from the crankshaft between the two halves. Fatally the car was supercharged by an aircraft type centrifugal supercharger developed by Rolls Royce. The problem with this type of supercharger is that it gives great power, for aircraft operating continuously at a high rev range BUT it is almost unmanageable in a racing car application where smooth power band is required from low revs. The BRM V16 is said to have produced 550 hp at 12,000 unforgettable ear splitting RPM, see 8m 22s into this clip turn your volume up loud !

BRM V16 P15 Mk 1, BRM Day, Bourne

The gearbox for the car was a copy from Mercedes Benz blueprints obtained as ‘war reparations’ of the type used on their pre war Grand Prix dominating cars.

BRM V16 P15 Mk 1, BRM Day, Bourne

The V16 BRM’s were supposed to make their debut at the 1950 British Grand Prix however they were still far from ready and instead one car did a couple of demonstration laps in front of future Queen Princess Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip.

BRM V16 P15 Mk 1, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

When the V16 did make it’s debut in the hands of Raymond Sommer it arrived at 9:40 am on the morning of the 1950 non championship Daily Express Trophy after an all night engine rebuild at Bourne. The car had been flown at the race organisers expense twixt factory and circuit where Sommer needed to complete 3 quick laps before 10 am in order to be given dispensation to start from the back of the grid.

BRM V16 P15 Mk 1, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu

Come the race and an expectant crowd who had been given a souvenir pamphlet on the new British wonder when the flag dropped the field sped away leaving Sommer behind as a universal joint snapped leaving the car with no drive.

Later in 1950 Reg Parnel driving the same car seen here won two minor races at Goodwood in the rain and the following season Reg used chassis No.1 on the cars Grand Prix debut at Silverstone where he finished 5th enough to score a point in the world championship. Team mate Peter Walker came home 7th in No.2 like Reg he was suffering from the intense cockpit heat with the addition of neat fuel vapor fumes coming from the motor.

The following year Formula One was abandoned in favor of Formula Two, in part because in their efforts to sign Juan Manuel Fangio BRM reneged on a deal to race in Turin which gave the unintended message to other race organisers that BRM was unable to challenge Ferrari. Ferrari won the two world championships run to Formula Two regulations in 1952 and 1953.

Fangio did sign for BRM and in one of the few non championship races held in 1952 and 1953 and he took a great liking to the V16 BRM’s. Driving chassis No.1 at Albi he beat the Ferrari driven by Alberto Ascari in the heat but then retired from the lead of the final when a tyre failed damaging the hub and brake disc. This was the high point of the BRM’s career as a British World Beater, although it did win 15 non championship races between 1951 and 1954 in all.

If you want to know the whole story behind BRM I can wholeheartedly recommend “BRM The Saga of British Racing Motors” by Doug Nye. Volume one of a projected two took almost sixteen years to write and while I am ploughing through a copy of volume one kindly lent to me by Tim Murray BRM fans are eagerly anticipating the appearance of BRM Volume 4 which Doug has repeatedly told his fans is in the pipe line.

Thanks for joining me on this “British World Beater” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I shall be looking at a Formula One car from France. Don’t forget to come back now !

04 07 13 Errata the correct type designation for the original V16 BRM is Type 15, not P15, thanks to Tim Murray for pointing this out to me some time ago. Not also that the car featured here has been fitted with a later type large radiator and associated body work modifications first seen in 1952.

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Championship Foundation – Tyrrell Ford #006

In 1970 Jackie Stewart and Ken Tyrrell were convinced that it was better to stick with the Ford Cosworth DFV power and seek a new chassis than move to the Matra powered car of their hitherto chassis supplier Matra. Ken Tyrrell bought a couple of new March chassis to tide the team over until Derek Gardener was ready to introduce the new Tyrrell 001 chassis late in 1970.

Tyrrell Ford 006, BRM Day, Bourne

Tyrrell 001 was followed by the similar 002, 003 and 004 chassis in 1971 with Jackie Stewart driving #003 to championship success in 1971. At the 1972 French Grand Prix Gardners all new slab sided Tyrrell #005 was introduced and Jackie Stewart finished the 1972 season with two convincing wins at the season ending Canadian and US Grand Prix, albeit too late to overhaul the advantage built up by Emerson Fittipaldi driving a Lotus Ford 72.

Tyrrell Ford 006, BRM Day, Bourne

Stewart’s team mate Francois Cevert was given today’s featured car Tyrrell chassis #006 to drive at the two 1972 season ending races he retired with gearbox problems after qualifying 8th in Canada and finished 2nd to team mate Jackie from 4th on the grid in US Grand Prix. Chassis #006 was essentially to the same design as #005.

Tyrrell Ford 006, BRM Day, Bourne

In 1973 Jackie started the season of with #005 scoring a third place finish in Argentina and 2nd place in Brazil with Cevert finishing 2nd in Argentina but only 10th in Brazil in the #006 chassis. At the third race of the 1973 season the South African Grand Prix Jackie crashed #005 on the first day of practice and immediately took over Cevert’s 006 car running with Ceverts name and #4 race number. Note the second link showing Stewart driving the #4 is incorrectly labelled as chassis #005.

Tyrrell Ford 006, BRM Day, Bourne

#005 was repaired for Cevert to drive in South African Grand Prix, he started 25th and last having failed to set a time and was unclassified at the races end 13 laps behind the leaders, Stewart meanwhile qualified 16th and came through to score the first of five wins in his third and final championship season. Three of those wins would be 1-2 finishes with team mate Francois following closely behind. Note Stewart ran chassis #006 with his #3 race number in the 1973 race and lost a piece of his rear wing end plate as seen in this linked photo.

Tyrrell Ford 006, BRM Day, Bourne

For the 1973 Spanish Grand Prix Stewart was given a new chassis #006/2 to race that, like #006 which reverted to Cevert, had been fitted with the distinctive angular deformable structure on the sides that were required by new regulations that came into force. At this race both Cevert and Stewart ran with the oblong end plates as seen on #006 in today’s blog driven by Sir Jackie at last years BRM Day.

Tyrrell Ford 006, BRM Day, Bourne

Cevert finished 2nd in the 1973 Spanish Grand Prix as he did in the following Belgian GP where he followed Stewart home in a Tyrrell one-two finish. Still driving #006 Francois finished 2nd at his home French Grand Prix.

Tyrrell Ford 006, BRM Day, Bourne

Airboxes went through many interesting stages of development in the 1972 and 1973 seasons, the Tyrrell 005/006 airbox seen here was a second development the first having resembled the airboxes seen on the earlier Tyrrell 002 and 004 cars, Derek Gardner is quoted as having been influenced by the design of the central engine intake of the Hawker Siddley Trident having gained access to Hawker Siddeleys Test and Development research on the shape of the inlet. The top piece of the trident airbox as seen here and in period has a buff appearance because it appears to have been made inside out with the rough side of the fibre glass on the outside of moulding rather than on the inside as one might normally expect.

Tyrrell Ford 006, BRM Day, Bourne

At the British Grand Prix #006/2 used by Stewart and #006 for Cevert both appeared with older tear drop shape rear wing end plates, but sans the aerodynamic appendage hitherto mounted to the back of the airbox and sans bodywork covering the Ford DFV cam covers and rear suspension. Despite qualifying 4th and 7th Stewart and Cevert could only finish the British Grand Prix 10th one down and 5th respectively.

Tyrrell Ford 006, BRM Day, Bourne

Next up came two one two finishes in the Dutch and German Grand Prix with Cevert in #006 behind Stewart in #006/2, at the Austrian Grand Prix Stewart finished second and clinched the World Championship with a 4th place finish ahead of Cevert at the 1973 Italian Grand Prix after a tremendous recovery from a puncture.

Tyrrell Ford 006, BRM Day, Bourne

#006 with Francois at the wheel was damaged in a collision with Jody Scheckter on 36th lap of the 1973 Canadian Grand Prix and parts of #006 were salvaged to build up #006/3 in time for the following US Grand Prix. Francois was killed in the new car during practice for that race and the Tyrrell team withdrew from what should have been Stewart’s swan song and last Grand Prix before retirement.

The current owner had #006 restored by Hall and Hall to 1973 Spanish to French Grand Prix spec, from 17 Grand Prix starts, along with winning the 1973 South African Grand Prix in the hands of Stewart, #006 was driven to seven 2nd place finishes by Francois Cevert in the 1972 and 1973 seasons.

Sadly first Gerry Birrell and then Roger Williamson, who were successively chosen to have replace Jackie Stewart, died during the 1973 season and eventually Jackie and Francois were replaced by Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler.

1973 was the last year in which a variety of numbering methods were used for Grand Prix cars, the Tyrrells ran with the #6 and #8 in Argentina, the #3 and #4 from Brazil through to Spain and then for no obvious reason the #5 and #6 for the remainder of the season.

My thanks to all those who contributed to the Airboxes the Good the Bad and the Ugly along with the Tyrrell 006 threads including Tim Murray who highlighted the absence of any logic to the Formula One numbering system at The Nostalgia Forum.

Thanks for joining me on this Championship Foundation edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now.

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Fifty Fifty – BRM P160E # P160-07

For 1972 BRM lost their Yardley sponsorship but managed to land an even bigger sponsor in the form of Philip Morris who were interested in stealing some of the lime light Players were basking in thanks to their “Gold Leaf” brand logo’s appearing on the championship winning Lotus cars of Graham Hill and Jochen Rindt in 1968 and 1970 respectively.

BRM P160 E, BRM Day, Bourne

In order to give Philip Morris’s Marlboro brand maximum exposure BRM determined it would enter every Grand Prix of the 1972 season with five 48 valve V12 powered cars of three different designs dating back to 1970 with a roster of eight different drivers. Some how Jean Pierre Beltoise managed to keep his head in the ensuing chaos and won the Monaco Grand Prix in a BRM P160 a design dating back to 1971 and the final non championship John Player Victory Trophy race of the season in the new for 1972 BRM P180. These two races would prove to be the last ever contemporary Formula One race victories for the team ever.

BRM P160 E, BRM Day, Bourne

For 1973 designer Tony Southgate left the chaos at BRM to start afresh with the new Shadow Team while BRM decided to downscale to a three car operation for a more or less regular trio of drivers, using an updated version of the BRM P160. Swiss driver Clay Regazzoni who was on what turned out to be a one year sabbatical from Ferrari and Frenchman Jean Pierre Beltoise BRM’s incumbent winner who was in the middle of a three year stint at British Racing Motors (BRM) were joined by a young Austrian upstart called Niki Lauda who decided that suicide was best avoided in favour of yet another bank loan for one last attempt at hitting the big time in Formula One.

BRM P160 E, BRM Day, Bourne

Clay Regazzoni made an immediate impact by winning pole for the first race of the 1973 season at the Argentinian Grand Prix but from there things went steadily down hill for the team particularly after they had locked out the first three starting positions for the 1973 Race of Champions at Brands Hatch with Beltoise and Lauda sharing the fastest lap of the race with the Lotus of Ronnie Peterson.

BRM P160 E, BRM Day, Bourne

At the very next race the non championship International Trophy held at Silverstone today’s featured chassis #P160-07 the first of four E specification chassis, appeared for the first time with Clay Regazzoni qualifying 8th and finishing a respectable 3rd. Clay drove the car on five more occasions failing to improve on 8th in qualifying and slipping no lower than 12th and finishing similarly.

BRM P160 E, BRM Day, Bourne

#P160-07 was not used for the British Grand Prix and when it reappeared at the 1973 Dutch Grand Prix Jean Pierre Beltoise was at the wheel. Beltoise qualified the car no better than ninth and no worse than 16th in 6 races netting two 5th place finishes and a season high 4th place finish at the Canadian Grand Prix from a 16th place start.

JP Beltoise drove #P160-07 on it’s last in period appearance at the 1973 US Grand Prix where the car finished 9th from a 14th place start after which the car was briefly fitted with a Westlake V12 for testing in 1974 again with Beltoise at the wheel. By now Regazzoni had signed to rejoin Ferrari and on his recommendation Ferrari signed Niki Lauda to join him and so the Austrian finally started repaying his bank loans on his way to becoming a triple World Champion.

Philip Morris moved their Marlboro sponsorship to McLaren in 1974 with whom they won the first of many championships with Emerson Fittipaldi at the wheel in the opening year of their thirty year partnership.

Tony Southgates new for 1973 Shadow DN1 design did not better his BRM P160 design the Shadow team finishing 8th at the seasons end, 3 points and one spot below BRM in the championship table.

Today’s featured car was seen at last years BRM Day in it’s home town Bourne, Linconshire with J Burt at the wheel.

Thanks for joining me on this “Fifty Fifty” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Pride In Bourne – BRM Day

A 3:30 am start on Sunday saw me head over to my friend Tim’s to the lilt of early morning Drum ‘n’ Bass on Radio One and then off to what turned out to be the hillier than expected climbs of Bourne, Lincolnshire, where BRM Day was to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Graham Hills and BRM’s 1962 World Championship victories with a stupendous parade of motor vehicles.

Raymond Mays Centenary Memorial, Bourne, Lincolnshire

Bourne was the home of Raymand Mays, a well respected hill climber, who founded English Racing Automobiles, ERA, with Humphrey Cook, and Peter Berthon in Bourne in 1933 with the aim of “upholding British prestige in Continental European racing”. With the German Mercedes Benz and Auto Union teams given almost unlimited resources to operate in the top echelon of the sport ERA focused on the second tier Voiturette class of open wheel racing. After the ’39 / ’45 war Raymond May’s persuaded numerous parties in the automotive industry to join him in a new collaborative (ad)venture called British Racing Motors, BRM, which like ERA was based in Bourne. Above is a memorial to the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mays which was marked in 1999 with a similar event to last weekends BRM Day.

BRM P30 Mark II, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

Before the start of the festivities I managed to wonder around the main paddock and to be honest I did not know where to look, there were so many storied cars on display. The Donington Collections 1954 BRM P30 Mark II was the second version of the 1.5 litre / 91.5 cui super charged V16 that had spectacularly failed an expectant nation in 1950. Back in those days these cars ran on strange mixtures of fuel that often included alcohol which meant the cars not only sounded great but smelt great too !

BRM P25, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

Among the cars that did not run was the British Racing Partnership teams 1959 BRM Type 25 chassis #25/10 which Stirling Moss drove to a second place finish in the 1959 British Grand Prix while taking a two race sojourn from Rob Walkers fast if unreliable Cooper T51. At the next race, the German Grand Prix at Avus, Hans Hermann drove this car and was captured falling out of it in some of the most spectacular motor racing photographs of all time.

Rover BRM, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

The Rover BRM Le Mans car started life as a BRM P57 Formula One car which Richie Ginther crashed at Monaco in 1962, when Rover and BRM discussed the idea of building a Rover gas turbine contender for Le Mans BRM rebuilt Ginthers wrecked car into a challenger for 1963 when it was driven to a 7th place finish by Ginther and Graham Hill. The car was subsequently rebodied for the 1965 race, as seen here when it finished in 10th place driven by Hill and Jackie Stewart. The gas turbine motor is being rebuilt and one day the car should be a runner again.

BRM P180, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

For 1972 BRM attracted a new sponsor Marlboro that wanted to follow the brand awareness lead set by the successful partnership of John Player and Lotus Cars which had netted two championships and many victories with the Lotus 49 and Lotus 72 models. In an act of supreme folly BRM announced it would run an A team of three drivers with two more forming a B team. The cars used would be a mixture of older P153’s dating back to 1970, P160’s first seen in 1971 and a third new for ’72 P 180 design as seen above that proved to be difficult to handle. JP Beltoise drove a P 180 at Brands Hatch for the last time in a non championship race at Brands Hatch in October 1972 where a wise tyre choice led to the cars one and only victory in it’s last ever race.

Howden Ganley, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

New Zealander Howden Ganley seen above with his step daughter Erin drove for BRM in 1971 and 1972, after his driving career came to an end in 1974 Howden joined forces with Australian Tim Schenken to form Tiga a highly successful manufacturer of racing cars for Formula Ford/Formula Ford 2000 and Sports 2000 before going on to build a successful run of Group C2 sports cars. Today Howden is President of Ancien Pilotes a group of retired drivers. Howden is allegedly trying to get his unfinished Formula One car from the 1970’s completed.

MG ZB, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

Tim and I found a nice spot to relax at the end of Abbey Road from which to watch the proceedings, we liked it so much we stayed there for the whole parade which started in the morning with a large number of pre 1962 vehicles of all sorts which nearly came to a stand still as an assortment of private and commercial vehicles negotiated the narrow roads. Above the owner of a 1958 MG ZB Magnette carefully negotiates the narrow gap between my toes and a big bus opposite me.

Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

Guest family of honor at Bourne on Sunday naturally enough were the surviving Hills. Graham Hill’s widow Bette and son Damon, who followed his fathers career path to become 1996 World Drivers Champion are seen above on the passenger side of a 1910 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost.

ERA 1B, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

ERA 1B is the 5th ERA to be built, the first of the 2nd B series is seen above with Tim Cottam at the wheel. In 1935 the car was delivered new to Dick Seaman who impressed the ERA team so much they offered to prepare his car for him. Dick was not happy with the arrangement and eventually had the car prepared by Giulio Ramponi. Dick won races at Pescara, Italy, Berne, Switzerland and Brno, Czechoslovakia with R1B in 1935 before moving onto a Delage in 1936 and the works Mercedes Benz team in 1937.

Douglas C 47, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

During the 1939/45 war Raymond Mays hatched his plan for BRM and ERA passed into the hands of Leslie Johnson who relocated ERA to Dunstable when the company reopened for business in 1947. Less than ten miles north of Bourne RAF Folkingham was commissioned to serve as a decoy airbase in 1940, it attracted at least three German bombing raids before being upgraded to operational status in 1943. In January 1944 the 313th Troop Carrier Group arrived with it’s Douglas C47’s which were used to land troops in Normandy as part of Operation Overlord in June 1944 and again to land paratroops in Arnhem in September 1944 as part of Operation Market Garden, which made the flyover of the C47 last Sunday particularly poingnant. BRM would use the base to test it’s vehicles in the 50’s and 60’s when it was not required as a missile base in the run up to the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.

BRM P30 Mark II, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

BRM’s first car the supercharged V16 Type 15 was a little on the recalcitrant side in the early days, but it was replaced by a shorter wheel base V16 P30 Mark II model in 1954 designed to take part in shorter non championship Formula One races. Kevin Wheatcroft is seen in the car above which I believe was used by Ken Wharton to win the five lap Chichester Cup at Goodwood first time out in April 1954. The sound and fumes from the 460 hp V16 at this range were thoroughly intoxicating !

BRM P25, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

If the V16’s were a little on the complex side the 2.5 litre / 152 cui 4 cylinder Type 25’s were much simpler reflecting a change in management from BRM’s original Trust Committee’s to BRM’s new owner Sir Alfred Owen who purchased the Trust assets in 1953. John Pearson is seen here at the wheel of the 1958 chassis 258, which originally had 27/3 stamped on the chassis, for chassis Project 27 3rd of, which is the car that Jo Bonnier drove to victory in the 1959 Dutch Grand Prix ending 10 years of under achievement for the Bourne based operation. Spencer Flack who owned the car from 2001 was killed when driving it at Philip Island, Australia in 2003. His widow insisted the car which had split in two and caught fire be rebuilt by Hall & Hall the respected restoration experts who are based in Bourne.

As an aside BRM chassis type and project numbers do not follow any particular numerical sequence for example the first five Type 25’s were given chassis numbers #251 – #255 the remaining cars with slightly different chassis construction were given chassis numbers 27/1 to 27/6, P27 was the project number given to both chassis variations of the the Type 25 cars while project number P25 was given to the 2.5 litre / 152 cui 4 cylinder motors for the Type 25 BRM’s. To further confuse the matter the later cars with the 27/1 to 27/6 numbers stamped on the chassis were referred to as continuations of the earlier 251 – 255 numbering system hence chassis 27/3 is ALSO known as 258 @-)

Leyland Royal Tiger, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

For 1960 BRM got a new transporter based on a Leyland Royal Tiger Worldwide bus chassis, notice the vehicle is left hand drive in anticipation of it mostly being used to transport racing cars across Europe rather than around the United Kingdom which was, still is and probably always will remain a country that drives on the left hand side of the road.

BRM P48, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

Rick Hall was instrumental in the organisation of last Sunday’s BRM Day his son Rob is seen above driving the P48 Mk I which belongs to Bruce McCaw of Seattle. This car was originally driven by Graham Hill and Dan Gurney in 1960/61, it started life as a front engined Type 25 chassis 27/2 ALSO known as 257 and was converted to P48/2, the second rear engined BRM, for the 1960 season When Graham Hill and Dan Gurney drive it.

BRM P48, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

As on the Type 25 the P48’s rear brake was a single disc attached to the back of the rear transaxle which acted on both rear wheels while saving on all up and unsprung weight of the car to the benefit of the handling. The P48’s were not particularly successful in 1960 recording many retirements and a best 3 rd place for Graham Hill. In the winter of 1960/61 two P48’s were sent to Australia for Hill and Gurney to drive and Gurney won his last race in a BRM at Ballarat, but only after his car had been crashed the night before the race by some hooligans !

BRM P57, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

New Formula One regulations were introduced for 1961 requiring 1.5 litre / 91.5 cui motors. BRM started the season with proprietary Coventry Climax four cylinders before switching to their own V8’s which proved to be real gems. Initially the V8’s were fitted with stacked exhausts, but despite making a great howling noise they had a propensity to fall of and were replaced with conventional horizontal exhausts in 1962. Above the stacked exhausts on BRM P57 #57/3 are clearly visible. This car was driven by Graham Hill and Tony Brooks for the works while multiple British Hill Climb Champion Tony Marsh privately entered it into four non championship events before returning it to Bourne.

BRM P578, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

For 1962 the BRM teams new P57’s were numbered P578’s built to accept only the BRM V8 having the digit 8 added to the P57 project number. Graham Hill drove these cars to championship race victories in the Dutch, German, Italian and South African Grand Prix and clinched his first and BRM’s only World Championship’s. Above is P578 #578/2 in early 1962 spec with stacked exhaust pipes.

BRM P578, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

P578 #578/1 also known as ‘Old Faithful’ with the late ’62 horizontal exhausts was kindly sent over from the Collier Collection in Florida for Grahams son Damon Hill who can be seen at the wheel above.

Lotus BRM 24, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

Such was the demand for 1.5 litre / 91.5 cui Formula One motors BRM had no trouble selling copies of their motor for privateers to use from 1962 onwards. Above Nigel Williams is at the wheel of the Parnell Team 1963 Lotus BRM 24, chassis #P1, fitted with Lola Mk 4A bodywork as raced by Peter Revson in the 1964 British Grand Prix from which he retired.

BRM P261, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

Graham Hill went into the last race of the 1964 season as leader of the World Championship 5 points ahead of Surtees in his Ferrari and 9 points ahead of reigning champion Jim Clark in his Lotus. During the Mexican Grand Prix the final race Hill was knocked out of contention by Surtees team mate Lorenzo Bandini, Clark led the race comfortably, a win would have handed Clark the championship on a more race wins tie breaker, until the last lap when an oil leak caused his Climax V8 to seize. Going into the last lap Surtees was lying third behind Bandini and eventual winner Dan Guerney. Fortunately Surtees team mate, Bandini, let Big John pass and claim six points for his second place finish enough to claim the championship from Hill by a single point. Above Damon Hill is seen at the wheel of a 1964 BRM P261 #P2615. The 2 stems from Mark 2 of the 1961 P61 chassis to give P261 !

BRM P261, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

In 1965 rookie Jackie Stewart was signed up to partner Graham Hill at BRM and he did not disappoint, scoring three seconds and a win at the 1965 Italian Grand Prix to finish third in the championship behind Jim Clark and Graham Hill who finished second in the championship for the second year in a row. Sir Jackie is seen above driving #P2617 one of the cars he raced in the 1965 season.

BRM P126, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

For 1966 the Formula One regulations changed mandating 3 litre / 183 cui motors, BRM initially ran 2 litre / 122 cui versions of the P261 cars before introducing a hideously complex 3 litre H16 which produced plenty of power and probably the best noise ever heard at any race track but was predictably unreliable. Unfortunately none of the BRM H16’s are running at the moment and a Lotus 43 fitted with one is also presently hors d’combat. So the BRM Parade skipped to 1968 when a parallel 3 litre V12 engine programme came on stream to power the one off BRM P126 seen above with Richard Attward at the wheel. Richard scored the cars best result a second place finish at Monaco in 1968.

BRM P139, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

For 1969 John Surtees and Jackie Oliver were employed to drive for the BRM team which introduced the V12 powered P139 half way through the season. John scored the cars best result a 3rd place finish at the 1969 US Grand Prix.

BRM P153, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

For 1970 Jackie Oliver was joined by Pedro Rodriguez at the now Yardley sponsored BRM and it was Pedro who scored the teams only win of the season with the BRM P153. For 1971 Howden Ganley, who is seen at the wheel of #153/4 here, joined the team which included a roster of a total of eight drivers.

BRM P153 & P160, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

The P160 replaced the P153 part way through 1971 and Peter Gethin used one to win the close fought 1971 Italian Grand Prix. In 1972 Marlboro replaced Yardley as the teams sponsor and Jean Pierre Beltoise scored the BRM teams final championship victory at Monaco in 1972. Above the 1973 spec P160 chassis P160/7 of J Burt has an interesting moment as he passes S Burt in the older P153, luckily neither driver was on the racing line at the time.

Another little aside, in 1973 I attended the non championship Race of Champions at Brands Hatch, the first time I ever saw Formula One cars in action, the BRM P160’s of Beltoise, Niki Lauda and Vern Schuppan qualified 1st to 3rd on the grid. Amazingly Beltoise, Lauda and Ronnie Peterson driving a Lotus 72, were credited with fastest lap of the race at 1.23 secs dead. Of the three only Beltoise finished in a distant 6th place.

Tyrrell Ford 006, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

In 1973 BRM old boy Jackie Stewart won his third and final World Championship driving for the Tyrrell team, it was a real treat to see Sir Jackie driving a 1973 006 model through the streets of Bourne, not quite the Monaco Grand Prix, but without the crash barriers and safety fences of the Principalities street circuit, no less exciting.

BRM 201, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

Probably my favorite BRM of all time is the P201 designed by Mike Pilbeam, featuring the 48 valve version of the V12 launched in 1968 the car appeared with sponsorship from Motul in 1974 when the team employed Beltoise, Le Mans Winner Henri Pescarolo and former Connew refugee Francois Migault at the wheel with Chris Amon drafted in to replace Pescarolo at the last two races of the year. The P201’s best result was a second place finish on its debut in South Africa with Beltoise at the wheel. Sir Alfred Owen passed away in 1974 and former team manager and Owen’s son in law Louis Stanley took over the team renaming it Stanley BRM in 1975. With no sponsorship to speak of, an out of date car and uncompetitive motor the team spiraled into a terminal decline the P207 was introduced in 1977 but started only one race in the hands of Larry Perkins. Perkins made BRM’s last Grand Prix start in South Africa this time with a much modified and hopelessly out dated P201. He finished 15th and there after Teddy Pilette, Conny Anderson and Guy Edwards all tried their hand at qualifying the P207 with out any success. J Fenning wearing a helmet just like the won worn by Henri Pescarolo is seen at the wheel of #P201/5 here, a car that was driven in the 1975 season under the Stanley-BRM banner by Bob Evans who’s best result was a 6th place finish in the non championship Race of Champions at Brands Hatch.

BRM V12 P15 Mark I, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincolnshire

As the parade came to a conclusion the V16’s were given a second run, the sound of the very first V16 P15 driven by the National Motor Museums Doug Hill still reverberates round my head as I bring this “Pride In Bourne” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” to a close.

My thanks to everyone involved in organising and putting on this magnificent event which is without doubt the highlight of my motoring year.

On this link you will find a short film of the days activity that I have made.

Thanks for help with identifying the cars to The Nostalgia Forum in particular Tim Murray an Doug Nye. If you spot any errors please accept my apologies and chime in below with any corrections.

Thanks for joining me, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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