Tag Archives: Mays

King Of Brighton & The Hills – ERA R4D

For reasons that are not yet entirely clear to me today’s featured car ERA R4D began life with the out of sequence identifier R4B apparently a year before R3B had been built.

R4B was a works apple green race car completed for Raymond Mays use in 1935. It is said to have used all three ERA engine sizes, 1.1, 1.5 and 2 litre, according to the demands of the regulations of the event’s it competed in.

ERA R4D, Goodwood Revival,

This chassis was shared by Raymond Mays and E Von Delius in the 1935 German Grand Prix, it started 9th but retired at half distance with low oil pressure.

R4B was predominantly used by Raymond for sprints and hill climbing and in 1936, mid way through the season R4B and the other works cars were all painted black.

ERA R4D, HGPCA Test Day, Silverstone,

No definitive reason is known for the change of colour, which coincidentally or not first appeared after the death of Marcel Lehoux at Deauville while driving R3B, the only pre war ERA not to have survived.

It is known that Raymond Mays had a Riley and Bentley painted black with silver / chrome wheels and that he detested green the British National racing colour in any shade.

ERA R4D, Mac Hulbert, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone,

It has also been pointed out that Dick Seaman’s successful R1B was painted black in 1935 and maybe after a run of bad luck the decision was taken to use Seaman’s preferred colour.

In 1937 R4B was upgraded to C specification with independent front suspension using torsion bars designed at great expense to ERA by Dr Ferdinand Porsche.

ERA R4D, Goodwood Revival,

R8B and R12B were also to receive this upgrade but R12C was converted back to B Spec after an accident in 1939.

Raymond Mays drove R4C to victory in the 1937 Picardy Grand Prix and in 1937 repeated the feat in 1938 when R4C was upgraded to R4D spec with a lighter fully box framed chassis.

ERA R4D, Goodwood Revival,

Arthur Johnson drove R4D in 1939 prior to Raymond Mays buying the car from the works to continue it’s development privately.

Raymond Mays continued to drive R4D winning the two British Hillclimb Championships in 1947 and ’48 and four Brighton Speed Trials, before selling her to Ron Flockhart in 1953.

Flockhart continued where May’s had left off by setting a record at the Bo’ness hillclimb.

In 1954 Ken Wharton bought R4D and won the RAC British Hill Climb Championship, he nearly repeated the feat in 1955, using R4D and a Cooper 500 Formula 3 car, but the title was awarded to new comer Tony Marsh after he and Wharton finished the championship on level points.

Wharton added three more wins at the Brighton Speed Trials to bring R4D’s total to seven, R4D is still the single most successful vehicle to compete in the event.

Today R4D is owned by Mac Hulbert and is seen with Julian Bronson at the wheel during the VSCC Spring Start Meeting earlier this year.

My thanks to Adam Wragg at facebook, Fuzzi and Vitesse2 at The Nostalgia Forum for informing why the works ERA were painted black in 1936.

Thanks for joining me on this “King Of Brighton” 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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Conquering Europe :- ERA R3A

In 1933 Raymond Mays the leading founder of ERA (English Racing Automobiles), set out to manufacture racing cars capable of upholding British prestige in Continental European races.

ERA R3A, Mark Giles, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone.

In 1934 ERA completed three vehicles and ERA R3A seen here was the third and first ERA to be built with a 2 litre / 122 cui motor.

ERA R3A, Mark Giles, Spring Start, Silverstone.

Raymond Mays drove R3A until it was sold at the end of 1935 and counted among his successes in the car an outright standing start world 1km record and more importantly the marques first victory in Europe.

ERA R3A, Goodwood Revival.

For the 1935 Eifelrennen meeting at the Nurburgring a 1.5 litre / 91.5 cui six cylinder voiturette class motor and Raymond drove the car to victory in the Voiturette Race beating the Maserati of Hans Reusch.

ERA R3A, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone.

R3A remained a voiturette when it was sold in 1936. In 1937 Charlie Martin recorded another win in the Voiturette event supporting the German Grand Prix at Avus .

ERA R3A, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone.

In 1938 Roy Hesketh bought R3A and took it home to South Africa where it remained until at least 1957. Current owner RT Skipworth is a second time custodian of R3A having first owned it 1998 to 2003 and then again since the start of 2014.

ERA R3A, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone.

R3A was fitted with an original spec 2 litre motor in 1976 and it is in this form that Mark Gillies can be seen driving the to victory in the 80th ERA Anniversary race during the VSCC Spring Start meeting at Silverstone earlier this year.

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

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Why Don’t You ? – LECo MG Mk II

Back in the 1950’s when the A3 was the main road connecting the ports of Southampton and Portsmouth with London Fred Sturges and Peter Tompkins ran Liss Engineering Company in the village bearing the same name about 1/3rd of the way twixt Portsmouth and London in the Hampshire country side.

After Peter wrote off his 1937 MG TA the pair built a special recycling the engine and gearbox and fitting it to a
chassis frame built from tubing supplied by budding Grand Prix outfit Connaught Engineering. The body was built up from an aluminium nose discarded by the Vanwall Grand Prix Ferrari that had been secured with the help of Mike Hawthorn during a test session at Goodwood.

LECo MG Mk II, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

Today’s featured vehicle was commissioned for the 1954 season by Margret and Captain Richard Ashby who after returning from an overseas posting attended a meeting at Goodwood where they were less than impressed with the standard of driving.

ERA and BRM founder Raymond Mays overhearing the Ashby’s derogatory comments asked ” “If you feel you could do better, why don’t you have a go?”

LECo MG Mk II, Quattlebaum, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

Like the LECo Mk I The Ashby’s Mk II featured a chassis made from materials supplied by Connaught.

It appears the Mk II was originally powered by a Morris motor but by 1956 this had been replaced by an MG XPAG motor, the final body shape is said to have evolved with “repairs” necessary during it’s competition history.

LECo MG Mk II, Quattlebaum, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

The Ashby’s are both known to have competed with the LECo Mk II in events at Goodwood, Crystal Palace, the Brighton Speed Trials and Bo Peep Hill Climb in Firle East Sussex.

Of the cars known results Richard won at least one event at Goodwood in September 1956 while Margret scored 5th places in two races at the same venue in June 1957.

LECo MG Mk II, Quattlebaum, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

American Alex Quattlebaum is seen driving the Ashby’s LECo to victory at Castle Combe at last years Autumn Classic which was the conclusion of a European Tour that included events at Spa, Zolder, Dijon, Silverstone, Oulton Park, Donington, Goodwood and through the streets of Oporto, Portugal.

Alex also owns the third LECo, built in 1956 with a Tojero like body, which is the only other LECo known to exist.

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

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VSCC University – VSCC Prescott Speed Hillclimb

Apologies to all for the absence of any blogs over the last week, unfortunately this was unavoidable after a moment of absent mindedness. Over the weekend I popped over to Prescott with regular GALPOT contributer Tim for the VSCC Speed Hillclimb.

Ceirano S, VSCC Prescott

As ever the days education started in the car park where among several manufacturers, brands and models I’d not heard of before was this 1925 Ceirano built in Turin by SCAT (Societa Ceirano Automobili Torino) some years after founder Giovanni Ceirano, a prime mover behind the formation of FIAT in 1903, had died. Ceirano cars are best known for winning back to back victories in the Mille Miglia in 1911 and 1912.

Vauxhall Prince Henry, VSCC Prescott

The paddock was of course equally full of unusual delights above the nose of a Roland Duce’s 1913 Vauxhall Prince Henry.

Lees, Vauxhall Viper Special, VSCC Prescott

Another 1913 Vauxhall was Tony Lees Vauxhall Viper Special powered by a 200hp, 12 litre/732 cui Wolseley Viper aircraft motor of the type more usually found in late versions of the Royal Aircraft Factory SE5a and Avro 522.

Scaldwell, GN/JAP Grand Prix, VSCC Prescott

Among the fastest ladies present was Anne Scaldwell driving the GN JAP Grand Prix which was featured on this blog a couple of years ago.

Collings, Mercedes Simplex 60 HP, VSCC Prescott

Another familiar car was Ben Collings 1903 Mercedes Simplex 60hp.

Martin, Morgan Special, VSCC Prescott

Displaying maximum attack skills on the hill, what ever the conditions, was Charlie Martin in the fabric bodied Morgan Special entered by CJ Maeers.

Cobden, Riley Falcon Special, VSCC Prescott

Robert Cobden seen above driving the Riley Falcon Special did well to keep his car on the road after executing an unintentional 180° spin coming out of the Pardon hairpin.

Hulbert, ERA 4D, VSCC Prescott

Fastest time of the day was keenly contested with Mac Hulbert taking the honours and The Mays-Berthon Trophy 0.36 seconds from James Baxter, both driving ERA’s. Mac is seen in the 1938 ERA R4D which appropriately enough way not only conceived by Raymond Mays and Peter Peter Berthon but also driven to many post war hill climb victories by Mays.

Grafton, VSCC Prescott

On the way back through the car park we stumbled across the JAP powered Grafton cycle car, the vehicle was built by Tim Gunn, seen on the left, of the Gunn Cyclecar Co in 2001 using a timber frame and an assortment of vintage parts.

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

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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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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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Last of the line – ERA R14B

English Racing Automobiles was founded by driver Raymond Mays, designer Peter Berthon and financier Humphrey Cook in 1933 to manufacture racing cars capable of upholding British prestige in Continental European races.

Without the financial or engineering resources made available to Mercedes Benz and Auto Union in top flight Grand Prix races, ERA focused their efforts one step down, in the GP2 or Indy Lights of its day known as voiturette racing for vehicles with supercharged motors from 1.1 litres / 67 cui to 2 litres / 122 cui.

The ERA engines came in three sizes and were based on a 6 cylinder Riley production block with a stronger crankshaft and entirely new aluminium cylinder head.

Chassis design was by Reid Railton and the body work was by George and Jack Cray to a design by a Mr Piercy who like Railton had been responsible for the design of Malcom Campbells land speed record breaking vehicle ‘Bluebird‘.

ERA R14B seen here is the 14th and final original ‘sit up and beg’ originally a pale blue vehicle built in 1938 with a 1.5 litre /91 cui Zoller supercharged engine for Johnnie Wakefield who won the 200 mile race at Brooklands and finished third in the 1938 Bern GP.

Bob Gerard acquired the car after WW2 and scored third and second place finishes at the British Grand Prix of 1948 and 1949, he continued to race the car successfully until 1956.

Current owner Donald Day purchased ERA R14B in 1958 and has raced it with a 2 litre / 122 cui motor in place of it’s original 1.5 litre 91 cui unit. In 1990 14B appeared for the first time in British Racing Green.

This same vehicle was driven to victory in the pre 1959 Historic Grand Prix at Monaco by Julian Bronson in 2002.

All photo’s bar the penultimate one from the September VSCC meet at Loton Park, the penultimate one was taken at the August VSCC meet at Prescott.

Thanks to David Hodgkinson for back ground information on ERA 14B.

Hope you have enjoyed todays British Racing Green edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’, and will join me tomorrow for a look at a high flying special. Don’t forget to come back now !

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