Tag Archives: Brise

RIP – Hill Cosworth GH2

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After serving an apprenticeship with Smiths Instruments and rising to the rank of Petty Officer in the Royal Navy Norman Graham Hill passed his driving test aged 24 in 1953.

The following year he got the motor racing bug driving a 500 Formula 3 Cooper and joined Team Lotus as a mechanic where he eventually talked his way into the cockpit, in 1956 Graham, as he is better known, made his Grand Prix debut at the wheel of a Lotus 12.

Hill Cosworth GH2, The Donington Grand Prix Collection

By 1962 Graham Hill was leading BRM to their one and only Formula One World Constructors Championship and became World Drivers Champion for the first time.

Hill Cosworth GH2, The Donington Grand Prix Collection

After winning the Indy 500 driving a Lola in 1966 Graham Hill rejoined Lotus in 1967 to partner Jim Clark and the following year he won his second world championship in the Lotus 49B.

Hill Cosworth GH2, The Donington Grand Prix Collection

A year after winning the Le Mans 24 Hours sharing a Matra MS670 with Henri Pescarolo, Graham decided to go it alone and set up his own team in 1973 running a Shadow in 1973 and Lola’s and a derivation thereof in 1974 and 1975.

Hill Cosworth GH2, The Donington Grand Prix Collection

Having retired from driving in 1975 Graham put all of his efforts into supporting a rising British star Tony Brise who scored the teams first constructors championship point at the 1975 Swedish Grand Prix at the wheel of the Lola derivative Hill GH1.

Hill Cosworth GH2, The Donington Grand Prix Collection

For 1976 Graham was to run fellow Londoner Tony in a one car team for which Andy Smallman designed the all new Hill GH2 powered by a Cosworth DFV, the development of which Graham had been an instrumental part of in 1967 while at Lotus.

Hill Cosworth GH2, The Donington Grand Prix Collection

On the 29th of November 1975 the team tested the new car, seen in these photographs at The Donington Grand Prix Collection, at Paul Ricard in Southern France and at the end of the test the core members of the team; manager Ray Brimble , mechanics Tony Alcock and Terry Richards, designer Andy Smallman and Tony Brise boarded the Graham’s Piper PA 23-250 Turbo-Aztec which he then piloted back to England.

Hill Cosworth GH2, The Donington Grand Prix Collection

At 10pm in heavy fog while attempting to land at Elstree Airfield the plane crashed with the loss of all on board.

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

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IR, FW or Apollon Fly – Williams Cosworth IR/03 / FW/03

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Ever asked a question of fact and got a different answer dependent upon whom is answering ? Ask any number of people what today’s car is and they will agree it is a 1973/4 Williams but after that it gets complicated.

The Williams IR series cars first appeared at the 1973 Spanish Grand Prix replacing the FX3B Williams design, known in 1972 as Politoys, that did not have deformable structures protecting the fuel tanks. The IR initials were a nod to one of the teams sponsors namely ISO Rivolta.

01 Williams Cosworth IR/04_0130sc

A new car, IR/03 featured today, to the same design as the 1973 cars, appeared at the 1974 Spanish Grand Prix for Arturo Mezario. Denis Jenkinson (DSJ) correctly reported after the Spanish Grand Prix that Frank Williams had renamed the cars with FW initials, but either idiosyncratically or incorrectly that the latest chassis IR/04 was hence forth to be known as FW/04.

DSJ continued referring to IR/04 until the 1975 non championship Race of Champions. However DSJ was possibly confused by the fact that the original IR/02 was damaged and the chassis tub replaced during repairs. While the new car seen at the 1974 Spanish Grand Prix was built around the 4th IR tub it was given the IR/03 chassis number and post the Spanish Grand Prix this fourth chassis seems to have been referred to by everybody apart from DSJ as FW/03.

02 Williams Cosworth IR/04_0129sc

DSJ correctly referred to this car as FW/03 at the non championship 1975 International Trophy and correctly mentions that the new car driven by Art Mezario at the following 1975 Spanish GP as FW/04 !

As if to confirm the respected DSJ’s error no mention is made of chassis IR/04 / FW04 in a MotorSport article about cars entered by Frank Williams from 1969 upto April 1975.

03 Williams Cosworth IR/04_0128sc

Today’s featured car’s best result came in the 1974 Italian Grand Prix where Art Mezario managed to coax IR/03 / FW03 to a fourth place finish at Monza.

This result plus Art’s sixth place finish in South Africa were enough to secure Williams a second consecutive 10th place in the 1974 World Constructors Championship.

04 Williams Cosworth IR/04_0127sc

During 1975 Tony Brise, Damien Magee, Ian Scheckter, Francois Migault, Ian Ashley, the seriously obscure Jo Vonlanthen and Renzo Zorzi all drove IR/03 / FW/03 without much success, Brise recording a best 7th place finish in the 1975 Spanish GP on his Formula One debut.

In 1977 IR/03 / FW/03 now belonging to Swiss Loris Kessel turned up at the Italian GP with a raft of safety upgrades and some cool new body work by ex Ferrari designer Giacomo Caliri from his FLY-studio. Renamed the Apollon Fly Loris failed to qualify for the race, IR/03 / FW03 was restored to the 1974 spec seen here in 2010.

My thanks to Michael Ferner at The Nostalgia Forum for confirming DSJ’s idiosyncratic refferences to IR/03 / FW/03 as IR/04 / FW/04.

Thanks for joining me on this “IR, FW or Apollon Fly” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Maserati 250F. Don’t forget to come back now

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Racer and Runabout – Arnott Sports #AT112

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Daphne Arnott was born into a mechanical world in 1926, her Grandfather appears to have been captain and secretary of the Bath Road Club and ‘in control of’ MMC built Werner Motorcylces and her father was responsible for the Arnott Superchargers sold through Carburetors Ltd in North West London.

Daphne spent many childhood hours spectating at Brooklands and in her early teens she became competent mechanic. During the ’39-’45 war she was employed by the Hawker Aircraft company.

Arnott Climax Sports, Goodwood Revival

In 1948 Daphne joined the family business Carburetors Ltd and by 1951 she had created a department within it to design and manufacture 500 cc / 45.5 cui Formula 3 cars with assistance from the works manager George Thornton.

After Bob Brown of Bromley won first time out in the Arnott, Daphne built 8 copies, one of which became a streamliner in which John Brise set 500km average speed record of 108mph at Montlhery in 1953 which still stands.

Arnott Climax Sports, Goodwood Revival

For 1955 Daphne came up with the 1100 Sports model seen here, complete with wishbone independent suspension, which was entered into the Le Mans 24 hours.

It is a measure of the esteem in which she was held that her Arnott, one Lotus and one Kieft were each given a new Coventry Climax motor with which to compete in the 24 hour classic.

Arnott Climax Sports, Goodwood Revival

Jim Russell, of racing school fame and Peter Taylor were the drivers but they crashed during practice after which Daphene had an Arnott supercharger fitted and used the car as her daily driver for 20 years.

A second attempt was made at Le Mans with another Coventry Climax powered Arnott Sports in 1957, this time Jim Russell and Peter Taylor qualified but retired with ignition problems after completing 46 laps and that seems to be the end of the Arnott story as a manufacturer.

Arnott Climax Sports, Goodwood Revival

In all 25 Arnott Sports are thought to have been built with fibre glass bodies. The current owner bought today’s featured vehicle from Daphne Arnott after it had spent some time disintegrating in a barn in 1998.

Arnott Climax Sports, Goodwood Revival

In 2003 this Arnott Sports still fitted with it’s original Coventry Climax motor #FWA400/3.6264, Arnott supercharger, MG TC gearbox and ENV back axle was given a £30,000 plus overhall by Sigma Engineering in Dorset.

When I saw this remarkable testimony to the grit and courage of a little remembered British entrepreneur Daphne Arnott at Goodwood Revival last year it was being offered for sale, if you are interested I have contact details for the owner. Usual disclaimers apply.

Thanks for joining me on this “Racer and Runabout” 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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