Tag Archives: Day

Bertie – Volkswagen Type 1 Oettinger GT TSV

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In March 1958 today’s featured Volkswagen Typ 1 1200 deluxe, now known as Bertie the Beetle, was registered and put on the demonstrator fleet of a dealer in Worcestershire before being bought by a customer and run for a year.

Volkswagen Typ 1 Oettinger GT TSV, Bob Beales, Dave Vardy, Rally Day, Castle Combe,

The unknown customer then traded in his ex demonstrator 1200 deluxe with a Volkswagen agent in Leominster, Herefordshire who was just starting to make a name for himself in rallying by the name of Bill Bengry.

Volkswagen Typ 1 Oettinger GT TSV, Bob Beales, Dave Vardy, Rally Day, Castle Combe,

Bill, British Rally Champion in 1960 and 1961 appears to have driven Bertie among his other Beetles in National Rallies with a variety of engines including one from a Porsche 356, other modifications include MAICO front brake disks to cope with the more powerful engine.

Volkswagen Typ 1 Oettinger GT TSV, Bob Beales, Dave Vardy, Rally Day, Castle Combe,

Current owner Bob Bales bought Bertie in 1966 and has competed in rallies, auto cross, autotests and production car trials up to 1980.

Volkswagen Typ 1 Oettinger GT TSV, Bob Beales, Dave Vardy, Rally Day, Castle Combe,

Bob has also fitted Bertie with a variety of VW Typ 1, Typ 3 and Porsche motors.

Volkswagen Typ 1 Oettinger GT TSV, Bob Beales, Dave Vardy, Rally Day, Castle Combe,

Currently Bertie has a 1285 cc / 78.4 cui motor which has Oettinger GT TSV modifications, as used by Pauli Toivonen to win the GT 1300 class in the 90 hour 1964 Spa Sofia Liege rally, that brings the power up to 75hp.

Volkswagen Typ 1 Oettinger GT TSV, Bob Beales, Dave Vardy, Rally Day, Castle Combe,

In Oettinger GT TSV form, now immortalised by none other than Scalextric, Bob competes in historic rally events with VrD Motorsports Dave Vardy who is seen sitting beside Bob in Bertie at Castle Combe’s Rally Day in these photographs.

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

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Rising Rate Improvements – Lola T400 #HU5

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After the successes of the Lola T332 model which was driven to to two Formula 5000 Championshp victories in the United States by Brian Redman, in the UK by Bob Evans, in Australia with Max Stewart in a year old T330 and loosing only the Tasman Series to Peter Gethin’s Chevron B24 and the New Zealand Series to David Oxton in the Begg FM5 in 1974, Lola looked to be the manufacturer to go with in 1975.

The Lola T400 was designed with superior aerodynamics and rising rate suspension to the previous years T332 for the 1975 Formula F5000 season.

01 Lola T400_8734sc

That at least was the theory although when customers like Richard Oaten Racing, van der Straten (VDS) and McKechnie Racing Organisation took delivery of theirs they found the rising rate suspension, designed to get stiffer the more the suspension traveled, was not so easy to set up, because they did not realise that the spring rates originally chosen were not stiff enough, infact the opposite they thought the spring rates were too hard and made the handling worse by attempting to rectify the problem with softer springs that reduced the contact patch of particularly the rear tyres with the road even further.

Despite being invoiced for today’s featured T400 chassis #HU5 on February 17th 1975 Richard Oaten Racing’s driver Ian Ashley started the first two races of the 1975, British based, European Formula 5000 championship driving the two year old Lola T330 chassis #HU17.

Lola Chevrolet T400, Lance Robinson, Silverstone Classic Press Day,

Ian won with the 2 year old car at Brands Hatch from 4th on the grid and crashed out at Oulton Park, not for the last time, on the opening lap again from fourth on the grid.

Two weeks later back Brands with the T330 not repaired sufficiently after it’s accident at Oulton Park Ian had little option but to drive today’s featured T400 #HU5 from the back of the grid to 7th in a race noted for being the first to be won by David Purley in his one off Chevron B30 powered by the 3.4 litre Ford GAA V6.

Lola Chevrolet T400, Silverstone Classic Press Day,

By Silverstone the Oaten T330 had been repaired with much new metal in the form of a new T332 tub fitted with T330 suspension and a mixture of T330, T332 and T400 body work with which Ian qualified 2nd and finished 5th in a race that became notorious when the good old Auntie British Broadcasting Corporation refused to televise it because of the presence of Richard Scotts T400 #HU8 which was sponsored by prophylactic brand Durex. Richard won the race in #HU8 after it had been fitted with the older type T332 suspension after future Williams design guru Patrick Head was consulted about the T400 handling issues.

Ian’s second and final public appearance in #HU5 was at Zolder after gearbox damage to the repaired T330/332 #HU17 forced Ian in to the T400 with which he qualified 5th behind 3 other T400’s and was classified 2nd behind the van der Straten VDS T400 chassis #HU4 driven by Peter Gethin.

Lola Chevrolet T400, Silverstone Classic Press Day,

#HU5 is then said to have been abandoned as uncompetitive before the next race at Zandvoort where Ian returned to the wheel the T330 HU17 and retired with a broken big end on lap 3 after starting from pole.

The T400’s of Peter Gethin in the VDS #HU4 his team mate Teddy Pelitte in the VDS #HU11 and Richard Scott in the McKechnie Racing Durex sponsored chassis #HU8 finished that race in the top three showing uncompetitiveness was not an issue for the new T400 model once fitted with the modifications first seen on Richards #HU8 at Silverstone.

Lola Chevrolet T400, Silverstone Classic Press Day,

Ian driving the repaired T330/T332 beat Teddy Pilette’s VDS T400 at Thruxton, but did not feature in the top three again while Teddy Pilette driving his VDS T400 went on to win four of the remaining nine races on his way to securing the 1975 European F5000 Championship.

As I understand it Ian latter crashed #HU5 in testing and at the end of the season Lola rebuilt it to the same specification as Teddy Pilette’s championship winning VDS car before it was shipped to the United States where it remained until 2008.

Lola Chevrolet T400, Silverstone Classic Press Day,

Canadian Hamish Somerville drove #HU5 in New Zealand in 2011 and the car is seen above with former Prosport LM3000 driver Lance Robinson at the wheel during a Silverstone Classic Press Day.

#HU5 is currently nearing completion after a rebuild necessitated by the accident Lance had in the car during testing on the day before 2013 Silverstone Classic meeting according to Kevin McLurg.

My thanks to Kevin McLurg of Facebook, Ray Bell, Lee Nicole, kingswood, Tim Murray, Allen Brown, Mallory Dan and MCS at The Nostalgia Forum for their help

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

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Rally Day – Castle Combe

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A couple of weekends ago I was driving around North East of Bristol when I noticed there seemed to be a lot of Sabaru Impreza’s, Mitsubishi EVO’s, Ford RS’s, the odd Mini, Peugeot 206 and Citroën Xsara headed off towards Castle Combe, not having a lot on that morning I decided to see what was going on and found myself attending the 15th Rally Day at Castle Combe.

FIAT 126 Proto Honda CBR, Waldemar Janecki , Rally Day, Castle Combe

As I arrived there was some sort of open test session going on, one of the stars of which was Waldemar Janecki from Poland in his FIAT 126 Proto Honda CBR, he uses this 600 cc / 36 cui device in the Polish WRT Extreme Cup, for which I found no official web site on the net though there is no question that it exists, with Grzegorz Kwiecień in the co drivers seat.

Prototype, Rob / Dave Skone, Rally Day, Castle Combe

There are not many cars I know absolutely nothing about and after talking to the owner of the ‘Prototype’ above on facebook just now I’m not sure how much the wiser I am now. According to Dave Skone, who competes in the Safari Britpart Cross Country Challenge organised by the AWDC with his son Rob, “the car is a Matserati, aprox 15-16 years old, but was built with a Porsche 911 engine in it. I think it has had about 5 owners including myself ( and Rob my son ) the car was bought about 3 years ago and then rebuilt 2 years ago when we installed a 4.2 v8 supercharged Jag engine.” Obviously a man with a sense of humour, I shall endeavor to find out what the Safari Britpart Cross Country Challenge organised by the All Wheel Drive Club, AWDC, is all about at their next meeting which will be at Walters Arena Glynneath on the 11th of October.

Screamer, Rally Day, Castle Combe

The AWDC will be busy on October the 11th because they will also be organising an AVT, SVT and MOD trials at Old Down near Thorbury, South Glocestershire which is I understand the type of event where one might expect to see the 200 hp 3 litre / 183 cui Honda V6 powered Screamer 2 driven by Lee Pritchard who also built the all wheel drive, all wheel steer vehicle, above, in action.

Subaru Impreza WRX, Richard Knott, Rally Day, Castle Combe

For those not so technically minded who want to have a go at rallying for a minimal cost you could do worse than sign up for a 3 hour rally course at Castle Combe where Richard Knott, youngest winner of the AWMMC Championship aged 19 some years ago, will show you the ropes and analyse your skills at the wheel of the 2002 Group N Spec Subaru Impreza above for the bargain price of £165.

Volkswagen 1200, Bob Beales, Rally Day, Castle Combe

Over the past few years I have come across Bob Beales 1960 Volkswagen 1200 Bertie many times at various show’s but this was the first occasion on which I had seen the car, originally campaigned in 1960 by 1960 and 1961 British Rally Champion Bill Bengry and driven since 1965 in competition by Bob, in action. This car is so well known among the Rally fraternity Scalextric have issued a slot car model of it.

Ari Vatanen, Ford Escort RS100, Rally Day, Castle Combe

Finally star of the day was Ari Pieti Uolevi Vatanen the 2 twice British Rally Champion, 1981 World Rally Champion, 1983 Safari winner, four time Paris – Dakar winner and twice member of the European Parliament representing a Swedish constituency the first time and a French the second, both while living in France, who drove the same 1975 Mk II Ford Escort RS1800 he drove to win the 1976 British Rally Championship with Peter Bryant, on a couple of demonstration laps.

Thanks for joining me on this “Rally Day” 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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Pur Sang De La Route – Renault R8 Gordini

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When Renault decided to replace it’s rear engine rear wheel drive Dauphine models in 1962 it choose ignore the front engine front wheel drive layout used on the Renault 4 first seen in 1961 and kept the Dauphine layout for the R8 and later more luxurious R10 models designed by Philippe Charbonneaux.

Renault R8 Gordini, Rally Day, Castle Combe,

During the design stage of the R8 it appears there were plans for ALFA Romeo to expand their relationship with Renault to include building a version of this car which never came to fruition, however the unusual styled bonnet / hood with its central crease, shared with the 1960 still born prototype front wheel drive ALFA Romeo tipo 103, is possibly a remnant of the initial co operative intention.

Renault R8 Gordini, Rally Day, Castle Combe,

Novel features for a car of this size at this time were all round disc brakes and the 43hp 1 litre / 61 cui Cléon-Fonte engine featured a sealed for life cooling system first seen on the Renault 4.

Renault R8 Gordini, Rally Day, Castle Combe,

While the R8 was narrower than the Dauphine it replaced the front seats were actually wider than those on it’s predecessor.

Renault R8 Gordini, Rally Day, Castle Combe,

“Le sorcier” Amédé Gordini produced a cross flow cylinder head for the larger 1108cc / 67 cui R8 engine which when fitted with twin Solex carburetors produced 89hp which was fitted to a close ration four speed gearbox for the R8 Gordini model that featured uprated rear suspension and marketed, only in blue with white racing stripes, as a “pur sang de la route / thoroughbred of the road” in 1964, with it’s 110 mph capability it was faster than the contemporary luxury Citroën DS19.

Jean Vinatier, seen at the wheel in the opening scenes of the clip above, with co driver Roger Masson drove an R8 Gordini to victory in the 1964 Tour de Course tarmac rally in Corsica this was followed by two more victories on the same event by Pierre Orsini with Jean-Baptiste Canocini in 1965 and Jean-François Piot with Jean-François Jacob in 1966 completing a hat trick of Tour de Course victories for the model.

Renault R8 Gordini, Rally Day, Castle Combe,

In 1967 the face lifted R8 Gordini featured additional Cibie Oscar driving lights and the engine capacity was increased to 1255 cc / 76 cui which with the cross flow head and twin Weber carburetors produced 99hp.

Renault R8 Gordini, Rally Day, Castle Combe,

More major international Rally successes followed on the Rallye du Maroc won by Robert La Caze
with Raymond Ponnelle in 1967 and Jean-Pierre Nicolas with Jean de Alexandris in 1968, the following year Marc and Hélène Gérenthon won the inaugural Rallye Côte d’Ivoire, while in 1970 Bob Watson with Jim McCauliffe won the five round Australian Rally Championship in their R8 Gordini.

The 1970 example seen in these photographs taken at the recent Castle Combe Rally Day was first registered in the UK in September 2002 and has been seen in the hands of Renault gear box expert David Wheeler on the La Vie En Bleu Prescott Hillclimb.

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

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All Aboard – Busman’s Holiday

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Seems summer in the UK is not summer without the traditional four days a week torrential rain, ice cream on a day so hot it has melted onto the pavement by the time one has trousered the change after paying for it and a ride on a classic bus to no place in particular.

Bristol K5G, Castle Combe,

For the last couple of years the 1941 Bristol K5G, above, has served as the Race Winners Victory Parade lap vehicle at Castle Combe, it was one of a fleet of 272 K5G’s purchased by Bristol Tramways and Carriage Company between 1938 and 1941 as part of their tram replacement programme, it was sold on to Brighton and Hove District in 1955 and they are believed to have taken the roof of the top deck.

Bristol L5G, Frenchay Car Show, Bristol,

Longer than the double decker is the Bristol L5G which like the K5G went into production in 1937, Bristol Tramways and Carriage Company bought this example in 1948 and it is seen at the Frenchay Car Show transporting passengers to the Frenchay Flower Show.

Bedford OB, Silverstone Classic,

Seen above on a parade lap at Silverstone Classic last year is a 1950 Bedford OB which I believe has recently been restored in Northumberland, like the Bristol K5 and L5 series the 28hp OB went into production in 1937 this one has I believe a 29 seat Duple Vista type body and is awaiting period correct headlights.

Mercedes Benz, Silverstone Classic,

Officially the Mercedes Benz seen above, in the Silverstone Classic campsite earlier this year, is registered as having been built in 1959, I believe the destination reads “rarely on schedule” in Norwegian, that might be because it is pining for the Fjords.

AEC Reliance MU3RV, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincs,

Built in 1958 the AEC Reliance MU3RV above is seen on the BRM Day Parade through Bourne, Lincolnshire a couple of years ago, it is one of three such vehicles fitted with Yeates Europa body work for John Boddy & Son in Bridlington, it later was operated in the Scottish Borders before going to the holiday resort town of Skegness.

Leyland Leopard L2, Goodwood Revival,

With a Cavalier body by Harrington the 1962 Leyland Leopard L2, seen above at Goodwood Revival, would originally have been built to undertake inland and continental tours.

Leyland Atlantean, Brooklands Museum,

Looking in need of a little TLC is this 1966 Leyland Atlantean, with bodywork by MCW seen at the Brooklands Museum, back in the day when I was a British Overseas Airways Corporation passenger this was one of 15 vehicles on which I may have traveled twixt London Victoria and Heathrow Airport at speeds of up to 70 mph on my way to the sunny climbs of Zambia for my school holidays.

Bristol LH, Frenchay Car Show, Bristol

Finally back at the Frenchay Car Show the Bristol LH above served with the Bristol Omnibus Company from 1972 to 1980 before finding it’s way to Llangadog, Carmarthenshire, Wales where Thomas Bros. continued to operate her until 1997.

My thanks to all those who take pleasure in maintaining and operating these vehicles.

Thanks for joining me on this “All Aboard” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Brabham. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Non Championship Contender – Surtees Cosworth TS16 #TS16-04

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1974 looked promising for the Surtees Racing Organisation despite the fact they were running on the unfavoured Firestone tyres they replaced the McLaren bound Mike Hailwood by promoting their 1973 Formula 2 driver Jochen Mass to a full time drive alongside the rapid Brazilian Carlos Pace.

Surtees TS16, Silverstone Classic, Press Day,

The team had a new car in the form of the TS16, that was lighter than the previous TS14 model on which it was based.

Surtees TS16, Simon Fish, Silverstone Classic, Press Day,

Shortly after the start of the season at the South African Grand Prix they announced Hi Fidelity manufactures Bang & Olufsen as primary sponsor alongside toy manufacturer Matchbox and the Fina fuel brand.

Surtees TS16, Silverstone Classic, Press Day,

However despite the good omens of a championship high 4th place finish for Carlos in the Brazilian GP and season high 2nd place finish for Jochen in the non championship International Trophy at Silverstone the season turned into a disaster.

Surtees TS16, Simon Fish, Silverstone Classic, Press Day,

The main reason for this was that no monies were forth coming from primary sponsor Bang & Olufsen and after the Swedish Grand Prix Carlos Pace left to eventually join Carlos Reuteman at Brabham while Jochen left after the German Grand Prix and eventually replaced the injured Mike Hailwood at McLaren.

Surtees TS16, Simon Fish, Silverstone Classic, Press Day,

A third privately entered TS16 run by AAW racing for Leo Kinnunen failed to qualify on all but one of 6 attempts and retired when it did qualify, and drivers Derek Bell, José Dolhem, Jean-Pierre Jabouille, Dieter Quester and Helmut Koinigg brought into replace Jochen and Carlos managed a best 9th, Quester in Austria, place finish between them. At the season final US Grand Prix the luckless Helmut was then killed in an accident.

Surtees TS16, Simon Fish, Silverstone Classic, Press Day,

Jochen Mass drove today’s featured chassis six times in 1974 retiring from five of the races and failing to qualify at Monaco, Derek Bell failed to qualify the car on his final championship Grand Prix appearance at the 1974 Canadian Grand Prix while José Dolhem qualified the car, on his third Grand Prix attempt, for the 1974 US Grand Prix from which he withdrew after team mate Helmut Koinigg’s fatal accident.

Surtees TS16, Silverstone Classic, Press Day,

For 1975 Surtess regrouped by running a single TS16 for John Watson with Goodyear providing the tyres after Firestone’s withdrawal and a bare minimum of sponsorship from Matchbox who ironically were by now selling 1/32nd scale plastic kits of the 1974 Bang & Olufsen TS16.

Surtees TS16, Silverstone Classic, Press Day,

The teams luck continued in the non championship races with today’s featured chassis #TS16-04 being driven to a 2nd place finish in the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch, a 4th place finish in the International Trophy at Silverstone and TS16-05 being driven to a fifth place finish in the non championship 1975 Swiss Grand Prix run at Dijon in France.

Surtees TS16, Simon Fish, Silverstone Classic, Press Day,

In the championship events however the teams best result came when John drove TS16-04 to an 8th place finish at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix which proved to be this cars final Grand Prix appearance.

John Watson left the Surtees team to replace the fatally injured Mark Donohue at Penske for the Canadian Grand Prix by which time Surtees had temporarily withdrawn from the championship in order to regroup again with a far more competitive prophylactic sponsored car for 1976.

TS16-04 is seen in these photographs being driven by Simon Fish at a Silverstone Classic Press Day several years ago, if you have the correct grade licence the car can be hired for Masters and GP Classic racing from Mirage Engineering see this link.

Thanks for joining me for this “Non Championship Contender” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be returning to Maserati Monday’s. Don’t forget to come back now !

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9 Mins Of Fame – EMKA C84/1

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Trained accountant Steve O’Rourke and EMKA productions became the management team for Pink Floyd post Syd Barrat and both Steve and drummer Nick Mason shared an interest in racing cars.

EMKA C84/1, Silverstone Classic Test Day,

Steve’s international racing career got of the ground with a Ferrari 512BB which he entered and drove from 1979 to 1980 scoring a best 7th place finish in the 1980 Silverstone 6 hours with Chris Craft and Vic Norman.

EMKA C84/1, Rudolf Ernst, Silverstone Classic Test Day,

In 1981 Steve had Michael Cane Racing convert Niki Lauda’s 1979 Project Four Motorsports BMW M1 Procar to a more liberal Group 5 spec and raced that for two season’s scoring a best 2nd place in the 1981 Silverstone 6 Hours whith Derek Bell and David Hobbs sharing the cockpit, Nick Mason also co drove Steve’s BMW M1 on it’s two outings in 1982.

EMKA C84/1, Rudolf Ernst, Silverstone Classic Test Day,

For 1983 Steve made the bold decision to follow in the footsteps of Robin Hamilton and Nimrod to build his own Aston Martin powered Le Mans challenger the EMKA C83/1.

EMKA C84/1, Silverstone Classic Test Day,

Len Bailey who was based at Gomm Metal Developments in Woking did the design work, Gomm did the metal work, the fibre glass body was constructed by Protoco, Aston Martin Tickford supplied 5,340 cc / 325.8 cui V8 engine and the whole car was prepared for competition by Micheal Cane Racing.

EMKA C84/1, Silverstone Classic Test Day,

On it’s debut at Silverstone the C83/1 was driven by Tiff Needell, Jeff Allam and Steve, they qualified 17th but retired on the last lap due to a failed wheel bearing. Nick Faure replaced Jeff at Le Mans for the 24 hour race where the car qualified 25th and finished 17th despite spending 2 hours in the pits with a suspension problem.

EMKA C84/1, Rudolf Ernst, Silverstone Classic Test Day,

Due to uncertainty over the 1984 fuel regulations the C83/1 did not race again until 1985, by which time the ground effect venturi had been replaced with a flat floor, the rear suspension had been revised and the car had been renumbered as C84/1.

EMKA C84/1, Tiff Needell, Mark Galvin, Steve O'Rourke, Brands Hatch, 1000 kms

At Silverstone the C84/1 driven by Steve, Tiff and Bob Evans was nearly four seconds a lap in qualifying than two years earlier and qualified 15th for the six hour race but it retired again this time due to an engine issue.

Nick Faure again drove the car at Le Mans in 1985, in place of Bob, and the trio were now nine seconds a lap faster in qualifying and started from 13th on the grid. By employing an out of sequence fuel strategy Tiff Needell was able to lead the 24 Hour classic for 9 mins during the opening hours before finishing a respectable 11th.

C84/1 appeared at Spa where James Weaver took over the guest seat from Nick Faure and at Brands Hatch, as seen in the last photo where Mark Galvin took over from James. The car qualified 17th and 10th respectively, retiring from both races fuel pressure and drive belt issues respectively.

Steve retired from competition until 1991 when he returned racing GT’s winning the British GT GT2 and GT1 class drivers championships with co-driver Tim Sugden in 1997 and 1998 respectively, his highest Le Mans finish was 4th also in 1998 when he shared his McLaren with Tim and Bill Auberlen.

A second EMKA was built in 1989 using the discarded ground effect floor from the C83/1 and spare parts from C84/1 including the revised type of suspension, with the original red C83/1 bodywork.

Owner Rudolf Ernst is seen at the wheel of C84/1 in the photo’s above taken at the Silverstone Classic Test Day earlier this year.

Thanks for joining me on this “9 Mins Of Fame” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at another Le Mans Challenger from Mercedes Benz. Don’t forget to come back now !

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