Tag Archives: Ramponi

Standing Start World Records – ERA R2A

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In 1934 the second works ERA today’s featured chassic R2A was built up for Humphrey Cook, the teams primary source of funding, to drive.

Initially the car was fitted with an 1,100 cc motor and Humphrey drove the car to a debut win in a handicap event at Brooklands before setting standing start world records for it’s class over kilometer and mile distances.

ERA R2A, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, Laguna Seca

Humphrey continued to race R2A until his retirement from racing in September 1935 by which time the chassis had been driven in Europe with a 1500 cc / 91.5 cui motor, which has been retained in the chassis since 1936.

Nicky Embiricos bought R2A the following season an he had Giulio Ramponi fit Tecnauto independent suspension, Nicky crashed the car in it’s first race after the modifications were completed and promptly retired from racing.

R2A has retained the independent front suspension ever since but was fitted with further modified body work under the ownership of George Abecassis from 1946 to 1948 and then finally lowered while in the care of Ted Lloyd-Jones from 1956 to 1957.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for kindly arranging to share Karl Krause’s photograph of R2A taken at Laguna Seca during last years Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.

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

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Dick’s Voiturette ERA – ERA R1B

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Today’s featured car ERA R1B was the first of the second batch of ‘B’ spec ERA’s built between 1935 and 1938.

R1B was purchased by up and coming 22 year old Richard Seaman for the 1935 season. Richards successes included winning the Coppa Acerbo, Swiss Grand Prix and Czech Grand Prix races for 1.5 litre / 91.5 cui voiturettes.

ERA R1B, Silverstone Classic,

ERA offered to do the race preparation for R1B, but when Richard found this unsatisfactory he returned to ex Alfa Romeo driver and mechanic Giulio Ramponi who had prepared Richards Swiss GP Voiturette winning MG in 1934.

Richard switched to a Delage with success in 1936 before becoming a hired Mercedes Benz driver for the remainder of his all to brief career in 1937.

ERA, RB1, Tim Cottam, BRM Day, Bourne

R1B was sold to G.F. Manby-Colgrave who had Jazz musician “Buddy” Featherstonhaugh share the driving duties in 1936.

From 1937 to 1947 dance band leader and later TV personality Bill Cotton took over ownership of R1B.

ERA, RB1, Tim Cottam, BRM Day, Bourne

R1B has always been fitted with a supercharged 1.5 litre motor and has been kept to B specification and appearance since the Marsh family took over ownership from 1964 to 1998.

Michael Gans is currently the owner of R1B seen top at a recent Silverstone Classic meeting and in the hands of Tim Cottam, son of A L Cottam who owned R1B from ’59 to ’64, at the BRM Day run on the streets of Bourne in 2012.

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

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Up Prescott 2000 Times – Bugatti Type 57S Corsica Roadster #57375

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Charles Henry Stammers, Joseph and Robert Lee, and Albert Wood founded the Corsica Coachworks in Corsica St, Kings Cross London soon after the 1914/18 war. They made bespoke coachwork to clients needs without the aid of a designer meaning that each body they made was unique.

Corsica were responsible for building bodies for eight Bugatti Type 57S chassis, two coupes, two 4-seater tourers and four open 2-seaters of which all but one of the Coupe’s have survived.

Bugatti Type 57S, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Chassis #57375 was built in 1936 and delivered to Nicholas Embericos on September 1st. Mr Embericos drove the car in the 1936 Tourist Trophy at Ards and retired from the race and the sport after a collision with the Delahaye driven by Marcel Mongin.

The #57375 was sold to a Mr Ramponi and then Ronnie Symondson who kept the car for 40 years and is said to have taken the #57375 up Prescott hill climb nearly 2000 times.

Bugatti Type 57S, Goodwood Festival of Speed

When Mr Symmondson’s health began to fail he sold the car to one of Britain’s most respected restorers and racers Neil Corner.

The first of the two Type 57S Corsica Roadsters is seen here at Goodwood Festival of Speed several years ago.

Thanks for joining me on this “Up Prescott 2000 Times” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a rare Japanese car used for sprinting. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Hydraulics & Pre Selectors – Maserati 8CM #3011

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Entering his third and final season of motor racing American born Whitney Willard Straight decided to pull out all the stops and create his own Grand Prix team with Reid Railton and the Earl of Brecknock for 1934 called Whitney Straight Ltd.

The team ordered no less than three Maserati 8CM’s of which chassis #3011 was the first, featuring a narrow 1933 specification 20″ inch wide chassis and a 3 litre / 183 cui straight 8 motor designed by Alfieri Maserati who died early in 1932 just before the first 8CM was completed.

Maserati 8CM, HGPCA Test Day, Silverstone

Unusually the 8CM was fitted with hydraulic brakes, a feature that had first been seen in the early 1920’s but an idea that had not been taken up by the likes of Bugatti on their Type 35’s for example.

Former Alfa Romeo mechanic Giulio Ramponi was employed to prepare the Straight cars and he was responsible for fitting a Wilson pre selector gearbox to #3011 and the remaining team cars.

Maserati 8CM, HGPCA Test Day, Silverstone

To the best of my knowledge Whitney drove the white and blue painted #3011 exclusively in 1934 and after recording a speed of 135.49 mph over a flying mile at Brooklands he won four events 2 at Brooklands one at Donington and another in East London, South Africa.

At the end of the year Whitney retired from the sport as he had promised his wife and #3011 passed onto Harry Rose who recorded a class win on the Shelsley Walsh Hillclimb in 1935.

Maserati 8CM, HGPCA Test Day, Silverstone

Richard Seaman, who had introduced Whitney Straight to motor racing while at Cambridge, drove #3011 to a victory at Donington Park in 1936 shortly before it was acquired by White Mouse Racing for the Siamese Prince Birabongse Bhanutej Bhjanubandh Bira.

Bira had the car painted blue and kept #3011 until 1947 winning events at Brooklands in 1937 and 1939 and following the end of hostilities recorded two second place finishes in the Brighton Speed Trials in 1946 and 1947.

Maserati 8CM, HGPCA Test Day, Silverstone

Kenneth McAlpine of the construction empire bearing the same name became the next owner of #3011 and raced the now black car through 1948 wining the Weston Super Mare sprint on what appears to have been his final drive in the car.

In 1951 Leslie W. Boyce drove #3011, painted red, for a final appearance at the Brighton Speed Trials where he finished with 8th fastest time.

Maserati 8CM, HGPCA Test Day, Silverstone

#3011 remained in the UK, spending some time on display in the Doune Motor Museum.

In the 1980’s #3011 went to San Francisco where it was reunited with it’s original motor that had been swapped out by Harry Rose in 1935.

Maserati 8CM, Robert Newall, Goodwood Revival

Today #3011 is one of the 10, from the original 17, 8CM’s built known to remain.

#3011 is owned by Christopher Jaques and is seen with Robert Newall at the wheel during the 2012 Goodwood Revival where it was demonstrated with the Silver Arrow’s some of which it was designed to, unequally, compete against in 1934.

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