Tag Archives: Cooper

Chevrola – Race Retro 2015

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A couple of weeks ago I found myself at the wheel of a seventeen seat minibus full with friends and acquaintances from the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club headed for Race Retro at Stoneleigh Park.

Cooper Mk V, Race Retro, Stoneleigh,

One of the racing highlights of my 2014 season was the 500cc Formula 3 race at the Autumn Classic meeting at Castle Combe the series with cars like the 1951 Cooper Mk V above, will be returning to Castle Combe on Saturday October 3rd, more dates can be found under “Circuits” on this link.

Lola T332, Race Retro, Stoneleigh,

Like 500cc Formula 3 the sound of old skool Formula 5000 cars is not to be missed the ex Chuck Jones 1974 Lola T332 belonging to Steve Farthing should be out at some of the HSCC events on this link follow the column DBT, for details on the seven Derek Bell Trophy events.

Chevron B1, Race Retro, Stoneleigh,

Chevron is celebrating it’s 50th Anniversary this year above the 1965 Chevron B1 was designed to beat the ubiquitous Lotus Seven in ‘Clubmans’ events. Current custodians of the Chevron marque Helen Bashford-Malkie & Vin Malkie announced at Race Retro that they will be working with Lola Heritage to supply parts for the rival brand which dates back to 1958.

Steady Special, Race Retro, Stoneleigh,

MotorSport Magazine unveiled the recently restored Steady Special based on a 1934 V8 powered Lancia Astura modified by Ronald “Steady” Barker for VSCC competition after the ’39/’45 war.

Datsun 240Z, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

As ever there was a selection of rally cars in the shed next to the exhibition halls, while I was admiring this 1972 Datsun 240Z a chap in a wheel chair came flying over asking if it was one of the 77 “real” Samuri 240Z’s prepared by Spike Anderson of Samuri Conversions at Silvestone. I never did find out if the the car above was “real”, but it turned out that the enthusiastic chap in the wheel chair was the “real” Win Percy who drove Samuri 240Z’s and later Samuri Celica’s to many race victories back the mid 1970’s.

Leyton House CG901, Race Retro, Stoneleigh,

Vintage Racecar Magazine always seems to pull a cool Formula One Car out of the hat for this event and this year they brought along the 1990 Leyton House CG901 chassis #003 which Ivan Capelli drove to a season best 2nd place finish in the 1990 French Grand Prix. The car was designed by Adrian Newey who the following year helped design the 1992 World Championship winning FW14 model and most recently designed the Red Bulls with which Sebastian Vettel has won four consecutive World Championships.

Thanks for joining me on this “Chevrola” 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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Bob’s New Era – Cooper Bristol #CB/4/53

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Severely short sighted Frederick Roberts “Bob” Gerard was born in 1914 into a family who business, Parr’s, a company that evolved from bicycle manufacture into the haulage.

Cooper Bristol T23, Russell, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe,

Bob’s first motoring event was the MCC Lands End Trial which he completed driving a Riley Nine an was awarded a Premier Award, Bob continued to successfully compete in trials and races at both Donington and Brooklands until the outbreak of war in 1939.

Cooper Bristol T23, Russell, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe,

After the war Bob continued competing, now with ERA R4A and later ERA R14B, in 1950 he finished the British Grand Prix in 6th with the latter and 6th at Monaco with the former.

Cooper Bristol T23, Russell, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe,

For 1953 Bob bought today’s featured Cooper chassis #CB/4/53 which was fitted with a six cylinder Bristol motor and designed to compete in 2 litre / 122 cui Formula 2 races, some of which were part of the World Drivers Championship in 1953 and 1954. Bob finished 11th in the 1953 French Grand Prix and 10th in the 1954 British Grand Prix diving this car, but experienced a good deal more success in British Formula Libre (all comers) events with it.

Cooper Bristol T23, Russell, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe,

On August 28th 1954 Bob drove this car to victory in the Hastings Trophy Formula Libre race at Castle Combe and beat a mighty V16 BRM in the process.

Cooper Bristol T23, Russell, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe,

Bob continued to race #CB/4/53 until 1956, with a slightly enlarged motor fitted he finished 11th in the 1956 British Grand Prix. His final British Grand Prix appearance was in 1957 when he drove a Cooper T43 to another 6th place finish.

CB/4/53’s second owner had a 2 litre supercharged ERA motor fitted and the car was later restored to it’s original condition as seen here at Castle Combe, with Steve Russell at the wheel, by Dick Crosthwaite.

Thanks for joining me on this “Bob’s New Era” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psychoontyres” I hope you will join me again for Maserati Monday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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2014 Highlights – Motor Racing

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45 years after I was taken to my first motor race meeting in the middle of Africa it is hard to believe that one of my greatest joy’s is getting up in the middle of the night and heading to the next one.

M4 East Bound

This year I managed to get to at an average of one meeting month from March through to October.

Gould GR55, Colin Calder, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe,

For the last couple of seasons my motor racing year has got underway in March marshaling at the Bristol Motor Clubs Great Western Sprint, this year my duties in the pit lane were over for the top ten run off, above Colin Calder made his 15 hour trip from Scotland worthwhile by grinding out the fastest time of the day narrowly pipping his daughter heather by just over 1/10 of a second.

Lola, Goodliff, Elva, Woodhouse, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

The VSCC Spring Start meeting at Silverstone saw the start of the 80th Anniversary of ERA celebrtions, top race of the day was the Formula Junior event which saw a race long scrap twixt the red 1960 Lola Mk2 of Simon Goodliff and the 1959 Elva 100 driven by Mark Woodhouse fall in Simon’s favour.

Ocon, Verstappen, Dallara F312, Silverstone

2014 was Max Verstappen’s first season in car racing, in his third car race ever, above, he is seen overtaking Esteban Ocon on his way to second place in the 3rd European Formula Three championship of the season run at the Silverstone 6 Hours meeting. Even then he probably would have found it unlikely to believe that aged seventeen years and one hundred and sixty-six days old he is set to become the youngest driver ever to start a Formula One Grand Prix when making his 33rd race car start driving a Torro Rosso in the 2015 Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne next season.

Benhard / Webber / Hartley, Porsche 919 Hybrid, 6 Hours of Silverstone

The 6 Hours of Silverstone meeting was my second visit to Silverstone in 8 days. Timo Benhard Mark Webber and Brandon Hartley in the #20 Porsche 919 Hybrid above started the event in 6th place and survived to finish 3rd. At the end of the season Mark Webber became world news and ended up in hospital after crashing his 919 Hybrid with in half an hour of the finish of the race run in São Paulo an event which completely eclipsed the fact that #14 Porsche 919 Hybrid team mates Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb went on to score the teams first World Endurance Championship race win since returning to top level endurance racing at the start of the year.

Maserati MC12 Goodwood Cent 100, Michael Bartels, Goodwood Festival of Speed

At the end of June I popped over to Goodwood for the Festival of Speed where Sebastian Loeb driving his 2013 Pikes Peak winning Peugeot 208 was tipped to make an attempt on the Goodwood Hillclimb course record set by ‘Quick Nick’ Heidfeld driving a Formula One McLaren Mercedes in 1999. Dark horse for the Goodwood Hillclimb turned out to be Michael Bartles driving the specially liveried Maserati MC12 ‘Goodwood Cent 100’ which finished just over a second down on Loeb who missed taking the outright record thanks to the gearing being short on top speed.

Lotus Cortina, Shedden, Meaden, Silverstone Classic,

Gordon Shedden and Richard Meaden provided the tyre smoking dice of the day driving their Lotus Cortina’s on the Super Saturday morning of the Silverstone Classic meeting. Richard Meaden seen following above won with team mate Grant Tromans after Gordon’s car over heated during the mandatory pit stop in the Sir John Whitmore Trophy.

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Having already won the Mustang Celebration trophy during the afternoon of the Super Saturday Silverstone Classic meeting Leo Voyazides swapped his Ford Falcon for his Lola T70 Coupé and won the FIA Historic Masters Sports Cars race with Simon Hadfield after Martin O’Connel’s 2 litre/122 cui Chevron B19 mysteriously went off road with out injury to the driver.

Mallock Mk 9, Michael Mallock, Oulton Park,

Over the August Bank Holiday weekend I managed to get up to Oulton Park for the Gold Cup meeting, while the day was fairly wet and miserable the racing was hot from beginning to end. Michael Mallock achieved the rare feet of not only winning a race in a car, #9 Mallock Mk 9 Formula Ford, bearing his family name but also beating a field of rear engined Formula Ford cars with the only vehicle carrying it’s engine in front of the driver.

Plymouth Satellite, Cheng Lim, Brighton Speed Trials,

Having encouraged readers to help save Brighton Speed Trials at the beginning of the year I managed to make my way down to Sussex for the saved event in September. Slowest car in the event but none the less entertaining was Cheng Lim’s Plymouth Satellite.

BY-Pod, Chipping Sodbury School, Renishaw Castle Combe Heat 2014

Counting as one of the most awesome vehicles I have seen all season is Chipping Sodbury Schools BY-Pod electric vehicle taking part in the Renishaw Castle Combe Heat 2014 of the Greenpower Challenge. I left the meeting with my spirits for the future of motorsport in what ever form it might take thoroughly uplifted.

Cooper Mk X, Steve Jones, Cooper Mk XI, George Shackleton, BAC MSC Challenge Trophy, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe,

One of the many highlights of the third Autumn Classic meeting run at Castle Combe was the dice between the Cooper 500 Formula 3 cars of Steve Jones and George Shackleton for the BAC MSC Challenge Trophy, Steve claimed the spoils in his slightly older #74 Mark X. Next year among the many attractions of the 4th Autumn Classic at Castle Combe on October 3rd will be one of the BRM V16’s which for my money would be worth the price of entry if nothing else showed up.

Thanks for joining me on this “2014 Highlights” 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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Rodney’s Racer – Warrior Bristol

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Between 1952 and 1953 Rodney Nuckley, believed to be related to one of the directors of the Warrior Tap & Die Company in Hertfordshire, was carving out a winning reputation as a driver of Cooper Cars in the open wheel Formula 3 and Formula 2 series, particularly in Scandinavia. He crashed his Cooper Bristol Formula 2 car at the end of season Snetterton meeting in October 1953.

Rodney, who had driven under the Ecurie Richmond banner, commissioned engineer and Ecurie Richmond mechanic Bernard Roger to design a 2 litre sports car chassis using the Bristol engine and transmission from the Cooper.

The Warrior chassis featured de Dion rear suspension and Cooper 4 lug wheels, the sinuous body is said to have been the handy work of Williams and Pritchard.

Warrior Bristol, Sonoma Historics

Known race records for the Warrior show that Formula 3 driver Roger Biss drove the Warrior on it’s debut at Siverstone in May 1954 to a 4th place finish.

Rodney’s only outing in the car, appears to have been, at the British Grand Prix meeting at the same venue two months later where he recorded a 9th place finish (3rd in class), soon after winning at least once more in a Formula 3 race run at Västkustloppet in Sweden in July 1954 Rodney appears to have stopped racing.

Roger Biss then appears to have taken over ownership and the driving duties of the Warrior scoring best finishes of 2nd at Brands Hatch and Silverstone in 1955.

Warrior Bristol, Sonoma Historics

By August of 1955 the Warrior was acquired by JD Lomas and from the only known results appears to have won the 2 litre sports car race at Aintree on the cars debut and finished at the some venue on the same day in the handicap event.

The Warriors next owner, Bernie Arnold, took the car to Macau where it appeared in the 1956,’57 and ’58 Macau Grand Prix and in 1960 Bernie won the Johore Coronation Grand Prix driving the Warrior.

When the Bristol motor expired Bernie replaced it with a Jaguar motor and in that form Tim Robertson drove the car to win the sports car event at the 1970 1970 Singapore Grand Prix.

Warrior Bristol, Sonoma Historics

The Jaguar motor was replaced with an original spec Bristol motor when the Warrior was restored by Ian Boughton in Western Australia after he bought it in 1978.

The Warrior painted red remained in Australia from the 1970’s until 1999 when Dick Willis sold it to Jack Perkins in California.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing his photo’s of the Warrior Bristol which were taken at Sonoma Historics earlier this year and to Dick Willis and everyone who contributed to the Rodney Nuckey thread at The Nostalgia Forum.

Thanks for joining me on this “Rodney’s Racer” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for the story behind a unique Formula 5000 car tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

PS Soon after this blog was posted Cooper997 posted a press cutting from Motor Racing December 1953 on The Nostalgia Forum which reports the build of the Warrior and goes on to say that Rodney and Bernard projected building a Formula One Car with a “modified Lagonda (David Brown type) engine.

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Beast Of Surbiton – Cooper Monaco T61P

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In 1962 Bruce McLaren raced the rear 4 cylinder Coventry Climax engined Cooper Monaco T61 for the first time. It is not clear if the first appearance was in Canada where there was an entry but no known result or in the USA where Bruce finished 4th in the Riverside Grand Prix.

Cooper Monaco T61P, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

The following year an improved Cooper Monaco ‘T61M’ was raced by 1959 Le Mans winner Roy Salvadori driving for CT Atkins to at least five wins in 1963.

Cooper Monaco T61P, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Roger “The Captain” Penske and Skip Hudson had Chevrolet V8’s fitted to their 61M’s and each won at least one race towards the end of of ’63 and early ’64 respectively, while the real T61M success story was Carrol Shelby who bought two T61M’s and fitted them with Cobra 289 V8’s and called them King Cobra’s one of which Dave McDonald drove to win the 1963 USRRC Pro Sports Car Championship.

Cooper Monaco T61P, Micheal O'Shea, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

For 1964 CT Atkins and Roy Salvadori hatched a plan to build a T61 and fit a Maserati Tipo 151 5 litre 302 cui V8. This car became the unique T61P Cooper Maserati featured today.

Cooper Monaco T61P, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Too cope with the expected 430hp the teams mechanic Harry Pearce strengthened the chassis by welding and riveting a 20 guage steel sheet to the underside of the chassis frame.

Cooper Monaco T61P, Silverstone

Just as with the original Cooper Monaco T61 the debut of the T61P is unclear some sources show the car started at Oulton Park in 1964 but the result is unknown others show Roy drove the car to a second place finish at the 16th International Trophy meeting run at Silverstone.

Cooper Monaco T61P, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

The Roy drove the T61P to victory in the 1964 Whitsun trophy at Goodwood and his only other result was a third place finish in the 1964 British Grand Prix meeting at Brands Hatch. After two further retirements CT Atkins closed his team down.

Contemporary accounts all describe the handling of the T61P as wild, possibly due to the weight of the 20 guage steel under tray and absence of any suspension geometry adjustments to compensate.

The car has since had it’s handling sorted and is seen above at this years Goodwood Festival of Speed with owner Micheal O’Shea at the wheel.

Thanks for joining me on this “Beast Of Surbiton” 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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8 Race Card – Autumn Classic Castle Combe

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A couple of weeks ago Castle Combe’s 2014 racing season came to an end with the third Autumn Classic meeting and it has without question grown and flourished in the 36 months since the first one.

Anthony Binnington Cooper T67, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

Today I’ll focus on last weekend’s racing and return to some of the other stunning attractions at a future date. First race of the day was for Formula Junior cars which was won by Jonathon Milicevic in his 1962 Cooper T59. During the grid walk about before the start I became acquainted with Anthony Binnington who qualified his ex Peter Revson 1963 Cooper T67 6th, fell to 19th on the opening lap and climbed up to 7th in the remaining 15 laps. Anthony tells me his car originally belonged to Peter Revson, first US born Can Am Champion in 1971, who set an all time lap record for the Formula Junior class at any track of 130 mph at Enna Pergusa, Italy on his way to a second place finish behind Frenchman Jo Schlesser in August 1963.

David Smithies, Bruce Montgomery, Austin Healey Challenge, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

The John Gott Memorial Trophy race for Austin Healey’s last year saw an attempt by the leading 5 cars to go into the Bobbies chicane simultaneously, this year the action was not quite so wild, but the race for the lead twixt winner David Smithies, driving the #50, who got the jump on pole man Bruce Montgomery, driving the #177, at the start was entertaining until Bruce was forced to give up his second place to David Grace who finished just over .2 of a second behind Smithies.

David Reed, Chris Jolly Historic Aston Martins, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

Simon Hadfield driving an Aston Martin DB3S drove a text book race to win the Historic Aston Martin race by nearly a minute. The second place challengers David Reed, driving the #53 Aston Martin DB2, and Chris Jolly, driving the #16 DB2 were rarely more than spitting distance apart until the final 2 laps when the invited Jaguar XK 150 of Paul de Havilland passed Chris and made it stick to the finish.

Andy Wallace, Les Ely Jaguar Enthusiasts Club, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

One of the high lights of the Autumn Classic was seeing 1988 Jaguar Le Mans winner Andy Wallace, driving the #61 Jaguar D type seen above after lapping the #31 Jaguar 3.4 litre Saloon of Les Ely, on his first visit to the circuit in 30 years. Andy recorded a dead heat in a Formula Ford (Pinto) 2000 race on his last visit to the circuit, this time he was in third place in the D-type when the safety car came out and trapped him out of position in traffic from which he could only salvage a 5th behind 4 E-type Jaguars driven by Martin Hunt, Mark Russell, Brian Stevens and Grahame Bull.

Patrick Blakeney Edwards, Fraser Nash Owlet, VSCC Pre War Sports Cars, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

I am quite sure if the only competitor in the VSCC Pre War Sports Car Race had been Patrick Blakeney Edwards the crowd would have gone home convinced they had got their money’s worth. Patrick driving the chain driven Fraser Nash Owlet as entertainingly as ever only finished 6th behind winner Frederick Wakeman who was driving a roadster bodied Fraser Nash Super Sports.

Robin Ellis, Simon Hadfield, John Ure, FiSCar 50's Inter Marque, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

The FiSCar 50’s Inter Marque challenge lived up to it’s name with the lead contested by a pair of Lotus Elites, the #6 Cooper Bristol driven by John Ure and Nick Wrigley, and the #10 Elva Courier by Simon and Amanda Hadfield, seen above with Simon going into a brief lead ahead of the eventual winning #75 Lotus Elite shared by Robin Ellis and Richard Fores. The Hadfields finished 10th and the Cooper Bristol 3rd behind the Lotus Elite driven solo by Brian Arculus.

Steve Jones, George Shackleton, Cooper, 500 Formula 3, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe,

I reported on the activities of the 500 Association on Saturday, above 500 Formula 3 winner of the BAC MSC Challenge Trophy Steve Jones thanks the track marshals with a wave with second place finisher George Shackleton riding shot gun, driving the #74 Cooper Mk X and #23 Cooper Mk XI respectively.

08 Austin Healey Challenge_2072sc

Light levels were falling as the final race of the day, for the ever entertaining Austin Healey’s, got under way.
David Grace, seen leading on the opening lap into Quarry above, made the best start and kept it to the end from pole sitter David Smithies.

I’ll be revisiting Castle Combe in the coming weeks with further blogs on this great day out.

Thanks for joining me on this “8 Race Card” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow to continue the Dodge centenary celebrations. Don’t forget to come back now !

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BAC MSC Challenge Trophy – Autumn Classic Castle Combe

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It’s not everyday that I get to write a feature about a single 15 min race, but last Sunday 500cc Formula 3 cars returned to their spiritual home to compete in a race solely for the 500cc Formula 3 cars for the first time in 59 years.

Iota Milli Union, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

Not all of the cars that turned up were competing, among the static displays with the 500 Owners Association was this Iota Milli Union, considered to be one of the oldest 500cc Formula 3 cars built to the original Iota plans advanced by Dick Caesar.

This particular car was originally built by Bristol Telephone Engineer and motorcycle racer GH Millington in 1946/7. This combination took part in the first closed event at Castle Combe run in July 1950 where Gerry Millington finished second in the first race for the newly internationally recognised formula to be run at the circuit.

Currently the car is in need of a new £600 magneto which the present owner can ill afford at the moment.

Effyh, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

The Efflyh above is thought to be one of 10 500cc F3 cars built in Sweden, I believe this particular car built in 1950 found it’s way to Senator T. Newell Wood who drove it on his 960-acre Brynfan Tyddyn estate in Pennsylvania. In 1956 this car is thought to have been fitted with a Norton engine, Cooper suspension and the straight edged bodywork seen here.

BACMSC Challenge Trophy, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

The prize for competitors in the 500cc Formula 3 race was the Bristol Aeroplane Company Motor Sports Club’s Challenge Trophy which was commissioned by the same club that is generally regarded as being the home of the 500cc Formula 3, since many of those instrumental in devising it were employees of the Bristol Aeroplane Company during the ’39-’45 war.

The original BAC MSC was reformed as the 500 Club in 1946 an organisation that later morphed into the British Racing and Sports Car Club. Bristol Aeroplane Company revived the BAC MSC as the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club in 1955.

I am afraid my attempt at lashing my video camera to the spectator fence for the start of the BAC MSC Challenge Trophy race was less than successful, but in this clip you get a feel for the sound these cars make en masse, turn up the volume to off the dial !

BACMSC Challenge, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

Regular readers may remember that at the beginning of the season I attended the VSCC Spring Start meeting at Silverstone where John Turner driving the #86 Cooper Mk 9 and Richard Bishop Miller driving the #57 Revis ended up in hospital. It was great to see both drivers going at it hammer and tongs with their repaired steeds at Castle Combe. On this occasion John finished 6th Richard 8th with Xavier Kingsland in the Staride Mk 3 I looked at last week 12th.

JP Mk 1, Alan Croft, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

16 different manufacturers were named on the entry list many vehicles were unique others, like the Scottish built JP Mk 1 driven by Alan Croft above, went into production.

Cooper Mk X , Steve Jones, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

The BACMSC Challenge Trophy race was won by Steve Jones aboard his Cooper Mk X by just over half a second from George Shackleton, seen popping his head out as they enter Old Paddock, who was driving a Cooper Mk 8.

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

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