Tag Archives: Goodwood

4th Of Four – Bentley 4 1/2 Litre #TX3246

Just as May is the month motorsport turns it’s attentions to the Indianapolis 500 and Monaco Grand Prix June is traditionally the sports interest focuses on the Le Mans 24 Hours. This month I have lined up 29 vehicles that either competed in the event, are of a type that competed in the event and or were designed to compete in the event but for one reason or another did not compete on the fastest roundabout in the world.

Humphrey Wyndham Cook is listed on the peerage.com as being born in 1893 to Wyndham Francis Cook and Frederica Evelyn Stillwell Freeland he attending Harrow on the Hill School and Christ Church, Oxford University.

Bentley 4 1/2 Litre, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Described as quiet and enthusiastic Humphrey started racing in 1914 and continued after The Great 1914/18 war racing Vauxhall’s and Bugatti’s mostly at Brooklands.

In 1928 he entered today’s featured car an unsupercharged 4 1/2 litre Bentley, chassis #TX3246 in the 1928 Tourist Trophy at Ards where he finished 7th.

Bentley 4 1/2 Litre, Goodwood Festival of Speed

The car next appears to have been entered by W.O. Bentley in to the Double Twelve at Brooklands, two 12 hour races being run in daylight on the same weekend, so as not to disturb the neighbors at night, in May 1929 where Humphrey and Frank Clement retired with a big end failure.

A month later and with the big end repaired #TX3246 powered by it’s original motor #PM3275 was entered into the Le Mans 24 Hour race by Bentley Motors Ltd for Frank Clement and Jean Chassagne to drive. Carrying the #8 They finished 4th completing a 1st to 4th place sweep for the Marque behind the Woolf Barnato and Henry Birkin driving the #1 Speed Six and the #9 and #10 4 1/2 litre cars driven by Jack Dunfee and Glen Kidston with Dr. Dudley Benjafield and André d’Erlanger in the latter.

Bentley 4 1/2 Litre, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Humphrey Cook and Leslie Callingham drove #TX3246 to a third place finish in the Brooklands 6 hour race at the end of June 1929 where a Bentley 1,2 finish interupted by an ALFA Romeo running in the 2 litre / 122cui class.

Two weeks later in the Irish GP Eireann Cup run at Phoenix Park Humphrey finished 5th before #TX3246 returned to Brooklands where Jack Barclay and Frank Clement drove her to victory lane in the Brooklands 500, the first race ever organised by the British Racing Drivers Club, BRDC, in October 1929.

Bentley 4 1/2 Litre, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Humphrey Cook went on to fund and race Raymond Mays and Peter Berthon’s English Racing Automobiles, ERA, project.

While Jack Barclay is still best known in London for his Rolls Royce and Bentley Dealerships in Mayfair.

Bentley 4 1/2 Litre, Goodwood Festival of Speed

#TX3246 powered by the 4 1/2 litre motor number #PM3275 is seen in these photographs at Goodwood Festival of Speed last year.

Thanks for joining me on this “4th Of Four” edition of “Getting A Little Psycho On Tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

AJ Watson RIP – Racing Associates Watson Roadster

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Today’s post is dedicated to the memory or AJ Watson who passed four days past his 90th birthday on May 12th. AJ designed and built 23 Watson Roadster Indy Cars after redesigning John Zinks 1955 Indy 500 winning Kurtis KK500C driven by Bob Sweikert.

Rathman Watson, Sachs Ewing, 1960 Indianapolis 500

AJ’s own designs won the Indy 500 in ’56 with Pat Flaherty driving John Zinks car followed by Rodger Ward in the ’59 Leader Card Watson and Jim Rathman in the 1960 Ken – Paul Watson seen above being chased Eddie Sachs in the Van Dean Lines Ewing.

1962 Indianapolis 500

Rodger Ward won again in the Leader Card Watson in ’62, seen in the middle of the front row above, followed by Parnelli Jones in JC Agajanian example in ’63 seen below.

Jones, Agajanian , Watson, 1963 Indy 500

Finally AJ Foyt, seen above drove the Ansted-Thompson Racing Watson to victory in ’64 which would become the last Indy 500 victory for a front engined Roadster.

Foyt, Ansted-Thompson Racing Watson, 1964, Indianapolis 500

Today’s featured car is perhaps the ultimate development of the Watson line, it was built in 1963 for Racing Associates who entered Ebb Rose. Ebb got bumped off the grid, but the following year the car was entered for Johnny Rutherford who qualified 15th and was classified 27th.

Racing Associates Watson, Goodwood Festival of Speed

For 1965 Bobby Grim was entered in the Racing Associates Watson and failed to qualify the 252 cui Offy powered machine.

Racing Associates Watson, Goodwood Festival of Speed

In 1966 Racing Associates has a 168 cui Offy fitted which gave an additional 50 hp thanks to the white pipes and turbocharger fitted to the exhaust. This time Bobby Grim just qualified 31st and was classified 31st after being involved in the start line pile up, on what would be the last appearance of a Watson in the Indy 500.

Racing Associates Watson, Goodwood Festival of Speed

This was also the beginning of a new and final chapter in the story of the famous Offy motor which in turbocharged form would power Bobby Unser to victory in 1968; Mark Donohue ’72, Gordon Johncock ’73, Johnny Rutherford in ’74 and ’76 interupted by Bobby Unser in ’75 and would continue to be used until 1983 when the two Offenhauser Volstedts failed to qualify.

My thanks to Steve Arnaudin for sharing his late Dad Ed Arnaudin’s photo’s of the Watson Roadster’s in their heyday.

I hope you will join me in wishing AJ Watson’s family and friends including GALPOT contributor B² my sincerest condolences.

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

Dan’s 29’s – Lotus 29/2 & 29/1

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A couple of years ago I wrote about the Lotus 29, #29/3, that Jim Clark drove in his first appearance in the Indy 500 in 1963. That car was wrecked at Phoenix at the end of 1964 in an accident that would claim the life of Bob Marshman.

Lotus Ford 29, Goodwood Revival

Today’s post features the other two Lotus 29’s #29/2 in white above and #29/1 in green below, which were both driven by Dan Gurney the driver who personally paid for Colin to visit the Indy 500 for the first time in 1962.

Lotus Ford 29, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Dan attempted to qualify the car painted white and seen carrying the #91 Indy 500 start number, but crashed it on Pole Day.

Lotus Ford 29, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Instead of repairing the car, chassis 29/2, the team put Dan in the original green #93 Lotus 29, chassis 29/1, which he qualified 12th. By race day the #93 29/1 was repainted white and Dan drove it to a 7th place finish.

Lotus Ford 29, Goodwood Festival of Speed

After the disappointment of loosing the ’63 Indy 500 on their debut Jim and Dan returned to take on the USAC Champ Car establishment at Milwaukee, with Jim in 29/3 and it would appear Dan drove 29/1 if one accepts that the race number #93 stayed with the chassis. Jim easily won the race from AJ Foyt whom he cleverly avoided lapping with Dan coming home third despite his car being fitted with over size carburetors.

Lotus Ford 29, Goodwood Festival of Speed

So far as I have been able to determine Bob Marshman was orginally given chassis 29/2, Gurney’s intended ’63 Indy 500 #91 race car, to drive in 1964 and it is this car which Bob qualified 2nd next to Jim Clark’s Lotus 34 at for the 1964 Indy 500.

Lotus Ford 29, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Bob appears to have crashed #29/2 at Milwaukee in ’64 and his owner Lindsey Hopkins bought #29/3 as a replacement apart from qualifying 2nd and 3rd at Indy and Trenton Bob had little luck in racing either of the Lotus 29’s never finishing in the top ten in either of them despite finishing 2nd three times in the Lindsey Hopkins Kuzma Offy that he was obliged to drive in the USAC Champ Car dirt track events.

These days the white #29/2 belongs to Skip Barber and when it is not on loan is to be found at his Barber Museum in Birmingham Alabama.

Lotus 29/1 with Jim Clark’s #92 on it belongs to the IMS Hall of Fame Museum and has often been confused with the car Jimmy drove at Indy and Milwaukee in ’63 that was crashed by Bob Marshman in ’64.

Thanks for joining me on this “Dan’s 29’s” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psychoontyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for “Maserati Monday”. Don’t forget to come back now !

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

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

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

Bugatti Type 57S, Goodwood Festival of Speed

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

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

Bugatti Type 57S, Goodwood Festival of Speed

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

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

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

Metric Vs Imperial – Chevrolet Impala Convertible

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The fourth generation Chevrolet Impala launched in 1965 ditched the GM X frame B body in favour of the GM perimeter frame B body and became the most successful US seller ever with over 1 million units sold.

Chevrolet Impala Convertible, Goodwood Revival

The fourth generation Impala’s received annual face lifts and the one seen here at Goodwood is a 1968 model that was imported to the UK from possibly Norway in 1978.

Chevrolet Impala Convertible, Goodwood Revival

Amusingly if one was to check the registration of this vehicle on the DVLA website it shows that the official motor size is 307cc, which should of course read 307 cui or 5000 cc. This 200 hp motor could be ordered with either two-speed Powerglide or three-speed Turbo Hydramatic transmission.

Chevrolet Impala Convertible, Goodwood Revival

New features on the ’68 Impala included hidden windscreen wipers, and triple “horseshoe” shaped taillights, I remember the latter making a big impression on me when I first saw them aged about 10 in 1969.

Chevrolet Impala Convertible, Goodwood Revival

The Impala was still the biggest seller in 1968 of the 710,900 Impala’s sold 24,730 were convertibles.

Thanks for joining me on this “Metric Vs Imperial” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for Ferrari Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Handing Over To Jean – Bugatti Type 57 Sports Saloon #57142

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Jean Bugatti was just 25 years old when the Bugatti Type 57 which he designed went into production in 1934.

Bugatti T57 Sports Saloon, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Powered by a 135hp 3,257 cc / 198.8 cui straight 8 double over head cam motor was modified from previous Bugatti designs featuring gear driven cam shafts in place of the chains used hitherto.

Bugatti T57 Sports Saloon, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Although the original sports saloon body was somewhat dated by 1934 the car was capable of 95 mph and 630 examples were built up until 1940.

From 1938 despite Ettores protests the Type 57 was fitted with hydraulic brakes.

Chassis #57142 was built in 1934 and first registered in the UK on July 16th 1934.

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

Maserati Looks – Dargue MG Magnette

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Tom Dargue was an amateur racing driver who’s career spanned from at least 1937 when he raced a Fraser Nash BMW at Donington Park where he came second, until 1955 when he raced today’s featured car, known then as an MG TD Special, of his own design at Silverstone in the AMOC David Brown Cup a relay handicap race in which he finished 3rd overall and 1st in the Relay.