Tag Archives: Lincs

Christmas Window Shopping – Hall & Hall

Last week I got a phone call from Ted “Ferret Fotographics” Walker asking if I’d like to accompany him on a 300 mile round trip to Bourne, Lincs and back to visit Hall & Hall where he had some cars to inspect. I accepted on the basis that this might be an interesting window shopping trip, and as you shall see below it was close to the ultimate Christmas window shopping trip for petrol heads and race fans.

Mercedes 300SL, Hall & Hall, Bourne, Lincs

Among the cars I was kindly allowed to photograph was the Donington Collection’s 1952 Gullwing Mercedes 300 SL complete with experimental roof mounted wing that was around 15 years ahead of it’s time, this car was tried in practice, but not raced, for the 1952 Le Mans 24 Hours.

Delhaye 235 Chapron Coupé, Hall & Hall, Bourne, Lincs

Moving chronologically on this 1953 Delahaye 235 Coupé with a standardised Chapron body at a price when new of FF3,800,000 cost twice as much as the much faster contemporary Jaguar XK120.

Ferrari 250 GT SWB, Hall & Hall, Bourne, Lincs

Pierre Dumay and Jo Schlesser drove this Ferrari 250 GT SWB, chassis #2127, to a second place finish overall in the 1960 Tour de France, it’s last known in period race was in the 1964 6h Dakar race in which “Cicoira” drove it to a 3rd place finish.

Lotus 48, Hall & Hall, Bourne, Lincs

Unknown to all but a select few at Ford, Cosworth and Lotus the Lotus 48 was powered by a sign of things to come. The 48 was campaigned successfully in Formula Two and Jackie Oliver drove one to a fifth place finish in the 1967 German Grand Prix against cars with engines nearly twice the size and around a third more horsepower. The Cosworth FVA motor, which dominated Formula 2 from 1966 to 1972, has a four valve head, that was developed as part of Ford’s contract with Cosworth that would give birth to the Ford Cosworth DFV. The DFV in turn dominated the top tier of motor sport from 1969 until 1983 during which time the DFV motors powered 11 Drivers championship winners interrupted on three occasions only by Ferrari. This is one of several cars currently for sale on the Hall & Hall website linked here.

Alfa Romeo T33, Hall & Hall, Bourne, Lincs

The 1967 270 hp V8 powered Alfa Romeo T33 ‘Periscope’ was first used in competition by Belgian Teodro Zeccolini in his home country for a hill climb event at Fleron which he promptly won. By 1975 a flat 12 version of the T33 had been developed that won the Sports Car World Championships in 1975 and 1977.

Porsche 911T, Hall & Hall, Bourne, Lincs

German born Kenyan Edgar Hermann bought this Porsche 911T early in 1967 in preparation for an attempt on the 1968 East African Safari rally but when the 1968 London to Sydney Marathon was announced he returned it to the factory to be prepared for the longer event in which he finished 15th. Hermann sold the car to Australian Porsche importer Alan Hamilton who converted it to RHD and drove in Australian Rally events until 1970. In 1987 this 911 had a second wind and was driven to a Class C championship win in the Australian Porsche Cup.

Matra Ford MS80, Hall & Hall, Bourne, Lincs

From 1969 was one of Jackie Stewarts World Drivers and World Constructors Championship winning Matra MS 80s, powered by a Ford Cosworth DFV as heralded by the Cosworth FVA. Team owner Ken Tyrrell managed to do deals with Matra to use their chassis, and at Stewarts insistence Ford to use the Ford Cosworth DFV for the 1968 and 1969 seasons. These deals were remarkable because Matra were trying to develop their own V12 for Formula One at the time.

BRM P153, Hall & Hall, Bourne, Lincs

While I was window shopping two V12 powered cars from 1970 took my fancy the first was this BRM P153 chassis #3 according to the Hall & Hall website, these cars were the first of three race winning designs by Tony Southgate, Pedro Rodriguez drove a car like this to victory at the 1970 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa at an average speed of 149.9 mph. Chassis #03 was driven by George Eaton in 1970 who’s best performance was a 9th place finish in the Canadian Grand Prix, Howden Ganley drove the car in 1971, his seasons best result 4th in the non Championship Spring Trophy at Oulton Park . Sweden’s Reine Wisell and Spains Alex Soler-Roig both qualified the car for a race each in 1972 but neither finished which left Austria’s Dr Helmut Marko to drive for the last time in the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix where he finished 8th.

Matra MS650, Hall & Hall, Bourne, Lincs

According to the best sources I have the 1970 V12 Matra MS650 chassis #02 above has been used in just 6 events, unsurprisingly most of those who drove the car are French the three exceptions being Dan Gurney, who shared the it with Francois Cevert to record a 12th place finish in the 1970 Sebring 12 hours, Jack Brabham who shared the car with Cevert and retired from the 1970 Le Mans 24 hours and Algerian Bernard Fiorentino who shared the car with Maurice Grélin when it failed to finish the 1971 Tour de France. Chassis #02 was shared by Henri Pescarolo, Jean-Pierre Jabouille and Johnny Rives for the cars career best 2nd place finish, behind the sister car driven by Jean-Pierre Beltoise, Patrick Depailler and Jean Todt, on the 1970 Tour de France carrying the registration 197WS75 as seen above.

Ligier JS17, Hall & Hall, Bourne, Lincs

Finally there were two 1981 cars which grabbed my attention, first this Ligier JS17, powered by a fabulous sounding Matra V12, not sure which of the 5 JS 17’s built this is but Jacques Laffite drove the type to victory in the 1981 Austrian and Canadian Grand Prix which gave Laffite an outside chance of wining the title going into the final race of the season held in the car park at Caesers Palace. A 6th place finish meant Jacques secured his third consecutive career best 4th place in the championship.

Lotus Ford 81, Hall & Hall, Bourne, Lincs

I’ll be publishing a full blog about the Cosworth DFV powered Lotus 87 on 29th of December, the car seen here is chassis #87/R4, also currently offered for sale, was driven in 1981 by Nigel Mansell. Like many cars of this era it is probably more reliable now than it was in period .

I’ll save the best car in the building as a surprise, it was a prototype Friday car and it was a dream come true to see it in person. Don’t forget to tune in this Friday to find out what it was.

My thanks to Ted Walker for inviting me to join him on his trip to Hall & Hall and to Rick Hall for letting me take photographs of some of the vehicles in his care.

Wishing Abba Kogan, whom I believe owns some of the vehicles seen in these photographs, a swift recovery from his injuries, sustained in the Baku City Challenge, Azerbaijan recently.

Thanks for joining me on this “Christmas Window Shopping” 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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All Aboard – Busman’s Holiday

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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Right Tyre, Right Time – BRM P180 #P180/2

Despite winning the 1971 Austrian and Italian Grand Prix BRM lost their Yardley sponsor to McLaren at the end of 1971, but started 1972 with a plan for a five car assault on the 1972 World Drivers and Constructors championships using three different models the P153 from 1970, the P160 from 1971 and a new design the P180. All three models were designed by Tony Southgate and there was some interchangeability of suspension that was used to update the older models.

BRM P180, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincs

The P180 differed from the earlier models by having the radiator at the front moved to the rear in a bid to get a 33/67 balance in the weight distribution from front to rear in a bid to improve traction.

BRM P180, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincs

One of the novel features of the P180 was the steering wheel popping up through the cockpit fairing.

BRM P180, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincs

The P180 made it’s debut at the Spanish Grand Prix with Peter Gethin at the wheel, Jean Pierre Beltoise also had today’s featured chassis #P180/2 available to him but found the older P160 more to his liking. Gethin started 21st and Beltoise started 7th, both retired.

BRM P180, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincs

Howden Ganley drove #P180/2 in the ’72 Monaco Grand Prix where he qualified 20th but crashed on lap 47. Beltoise won the race from 4th on the grid in the older P160, this would prove to be BRM’s final championship Grand Prix victory. With the weight balance of the P180 being more like 30/70 the P180’s were modified.

BRM P180, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincs

While the work was carried out the P180’s appeared at two non championship meetings, Reine Wisell qulified 7th for the Gold Cup at Oulton Park but was rear ended by his compatriot Ronnie Peterson on the start line which broke Reine’s finger and caused his retirement. At Brands Hatch for the Rothman’s 50,000 both Beltoise and Ganley preferred to race the older P160’s.

BRM P180, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincs

The P180’s appeared again at the Italian Grand Prix where Beltoise qualified #P180/2 16th and finished 8th to score the models only Championship race finish. Both P180’s were taken to the Canadian and US Grand Prix’s Bill Brack joined Beltoise in Canada and Brian Redman replaced the Canadian in the States. No finishes were recorded and the cars failed to qualify in the top 15 for either race.

BRM P180, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincs

The P180’s final appearance was in the non championship John Player Challenge at Brands Hatch, where Beltoise qualified #P180/2 7th. The track was wet at the start but Beltoise elected to go to the start line on intermediate tyres where as almost everybody else was on wet tyres. At the start of the race Beltoise was left behind but as the track started to dry out he was perfectly placed to pick off those ahead of him to score the BRM team’s final race victory.

Tony Southgate, who say’s of the car what it really lacked was a budget to develop the engine, left BRM to join Shadow for 1973 and BRM decided to retire the P180 in favour of using yet another update of the P160 for 1973.

Howden Ganley is seen driving the car above at last years BRM Day.

My thanks to Ray Bell, RCH, kayemod Rob and MCS at The Nostalgia Forum for their help in finding out the cause of Reine Wisell’s broken finger.

Thanks for joining me on this “Right Tyre, Right Time” 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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Britain’s World Beater – BRM P578 #P578/1 Old Faithful

In 1961 BRM were running late with their 1.5 litre 91.5 cui engine program to meet the new Formula One engine regualtions and so came up with an interim design the P48/57 which was powered by a proprietary Coventry Climax engine like most of the British ‘Garagiste’ teams. For 1962 their new V8 was ready and though it was no more powerful than the Coventry Climax the BRM V8 did rev to 11,000 rpm as against only 7,500 for the Climax. The space frame from the 1961 car formed the basis of the ’62 challenger which was known as the P578.

D Hill, BRM P578, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincs

Richie Ginther joined incumbent Graham Hill on the BRM driving strength from ’61 World Champions Ferrari. The main challengers for the 1962 World Drivers and Constructors Championships emerged as BRM and Lotus who had introduced a revolutionary new Climax powered car the Lotus 25 which featured a sheet aluminium monocoque chassis in place of the space frame constructed from tubes as was common practice up to that time.

D Hill, BRM P578, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincs

First blood in the 1962 season fell to Graham Hill in the Netherlands where Jim Clark finished last of the runners in 9th place 10 laps down in the new Lotus 25. Bruce McLaren won the Monaco Grand Prix in his Cooper Climax, the last win for the marque for three years until 1966. Jim Clark won for the first time in 1962 at the Belgian Grand Prix where he was followed home Graham Hill. The French Grand Prix saw a fourth different winner in the form of Dan Gurney who was driving a Porsche 804.

D Hill, BRM P578, BRM Day, Bourne, Lincs

Jim Clark became the first repeat winner of the ’62 season when he won the British Grand Prix from John Surtees driving a Lola Climax Mk 4. Graham Hill then won the German Grand Prix again from Surtees in the Lola. In Italy Graham became the first three time winner in ’62 when he led team mate Ritchie Ginther across the line. At the ’62 US Grand Prix Clark led Hill home by nearly 10 seconds.

Going into the last race of the season the superior reliability of the less radical BRM meant that Jim Clarks only opportunity to win the ’62 Championship was to win the South African Grand Prix held in East London. Clark won pole with Hill alongside him and dominated the race until he developed an oil leak with 25 laps to go. Five laps later Clark retired leaving Graham to claim his fourth victory of the season and his first World Drivers Championship. BRM also won their only World Constructors Championship seventeen years after Raymond Mays had founded the team to build a “British World Beater“.

Today’s featured car BRM 578 chassis #P578/1 known as ‘Old Faithful’ was driven for much of the 1962 season by Graham Hill. The car which belongs Collier Collection in Florida is seen here at last years BRM Day being driven by Graham’s son 1996 World Drivers Champion Damon Hill.

Thanks for joining me on this “Britain’s World Beater” 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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