Tag Archives: Psychoontyres

Speedway To 500 F3 – JBS Norton Mk 1 #RAC/002/51/AC

In 1950 Alf Bottoms switched from being a two wheel Speedway star at Wembley to a racing driver with James Bottoms & Sons being responsible for modifying the 1947 Cowlan 500 Formula Three car, originally built by R.L. Coward and Geoff Lang, with help from Chris and Noel Shorrock into the first JBS.

JBS Norton Mk 1, Richard Utley, Silverstone,

Alf and brother shared the driving duties with Alf being the more successful scoring several out right wins as did Miss Elisabeth Store who drove the JBS to victory in the ladies race in October.

JBS Norton Mk 1, Richard Utley, Oulton Park,

For 1951 JBS not only updated it’s design to incorporate double wishbone front suspension and adonised aluminium body, but also put the design into production building somewhere between 13 and 20 cars.

JBS Norton Mk 1, Richard Utley, Castle Combe,

During the season JBS drivers included Alf, Ron “Curly” Dryden, Les Leston, Don Parker, Winco Frank Aikens, Dick Richards, Ron Frost, Jack Westcott, Ken McAlpine, Peter Collins, John Habin, Allan Moore, John Coombs and André Loens.

JBS Norton Mk 1, Richard Utley, Castle Combe,

Despite the deaths of Alf, in an accident at the Luxembourg Grand Prix, and Ron “Curly” Dryden in an accident at Castle Combe JBS scored 120 podiums during the year with Peter Collins and Don Parker finishing 3rd and 4th in the 1951 British F3 Championship behind Cooper drivers Eric Brandon and Alan Brown.

JBS Norton Mk 1, Richard Utley, Castle Combe,

Chassis #RAC/002/51/AC is seen in these photographs with Richard Utley at the wheel, Silverstone top, Oulton Park second and Castle Combe the remainder, Richard who raced a Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica, Tojeiro 1100 and Lotus XI between 1955 and 1962 also worked with John Tojeiro on the 1100 and later Bob Hicks on the MK1 Caravelle Formula Junior car.

Since returning to historic racing in 1987 Richard has also co founded C&R Engines with Charlie Banyard Smith to re-manufacture long stroke Manx engines of the type that powers his JBS.

Thanks for joining me on this “Speedway To 500 F3” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Replica Prototipo – Bertone X1/9

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After acquiring Lancia in 1969 the FIAT group found it’s self with two marques competing for honours in the Rally competition, Lancia with the Fulvia that was to be replaced by the Ferrari powered Bertone designed Lancia Stratos HF in 1973 and Fiat with the Pininfarina styled 124 Spider that would be replaced in 1975 by the Abarth 131.

Just as those competition models were being changed Abarth also built the Abarth X1/9 Prototipo for evaluation in competition.

Bertone X1/9, Silverstone, Classic,

The X1/9 was designed to exceed the latest US crash test standards so the chassis was immensely strong however it was also a little too heavy for the initial standard FIAT 128 based single overhead cam 1300 cc / 79 cui engine that produced 75hp.

Abarth elected to replace it initially with a 200hp 1,834 cc / 111 cui twin over head cam engine 16 valve lifted from the competition 124 spider and later examples with a 1,756 cc / 107 cui version of the same engine.

Bertone X1/9, Silverstone, Classic,

So far as I have been able to discern the Abarth X1/9 Prototipo’s only offically appeared on two events in 1974 the first was the Tour d’France where three cars were entered of which the #122 shared by Fulvio Bacchelli, Piero Sodano and Sergio Barbasio was the only finisher in 8th place.

A month later Fulvio partnered by Piero Scabini was teamed up with Ferrari Formula One driver Clay Regazzoni and Gino Macaluso for an attack on the Giro Automobilistico d’Italia from which both cars retired with engine failure.

Bertone X1/9, Silverstone, Classic,

In all it is believed that alongside the original 1973 Prototipo four further examples were built 3 of which were used in competition in 1974 and the fourth is believed to have been built as a Stradale road car.

The Abarth X1/9 programme gave way to the Abarth 131 programme which secured FIAT three World Rally Championship titles in 1977, ’78 and ’80.

Bertone X1/9, Silverstone, Classic,

The Replica Prototipo seen in these photographs at Silverstone Classic, was built on a 1988 FIAT X1/9 manufactured by and marketed as a Bertone X1/9, but imported as a FIAT, with a 1500 cc / 91.5 cui single overhead cam 8 valve engine.

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

Closest Thing To A Vette – Chevrolet Z/28 Camaro

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When Chevrolet revealed it’s Camaro pony car in 1967 it envisaged most would be sold with either Standard, Super Sport SS, or Rallye Sport RS options packages, but to meet the requirements for participation in the SCCA Trans Am series, mandating a maximum engine capacity of 302 cui / 5 litres, a small number of Camaro’s were offered with the Z/28 option package, an option so rare many smaller Chevrolet dealerships did not even know it existed.

Chevrolet Z/28 Camaro, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

For 1968 Chevrolet gave the Z/28 a marketing budget with the strap line “Closest thing to a Corvette, yet” emphasising that that it came “on like a Corvette for a lot less.”

Chevrolet Z/28 Camaro, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

The 302 cui V8 with a 4″ bore and 3″ stroke had a compression ratio of 11:1 which when fed by the 4 barrel Holley carburetor with fuel distributed by a tuned aluminium manifold produced 290hp at 5,800 revolutions per minute.

Chevrolet Z/28 Camaro, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Handling was aided by either quick or fast ratio steering racks, multileaf rear springs with bias mounted shocks, 15″ x 16″ wheels with Nylon cord Wide Tread GT high performance tyres and power disc brakes to order.

Chevrolet Z/28 Camaro, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

The rear spoiler was an optional extra and the stereo rally stripes were described as having no mechanical function but a great psychological value.

Chevrolet Z/28 Camaro, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

When Car Life tested a Z/28 in 1968 they concluded it was an “easy car to drive very fast”, the ’68 Z/28 seen in these photographs at Goodwood Festival of Speed was first registered in the UK on July 1st 1991.

Thanks for joining me on this “Closest Thing To A Vette” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for FIAT Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Triple London Championship Night – Wimbledon Stadium

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Thanks to a recent fb friendship struck up by Ray Miles in Florida and Rob Hughes in Liverpool I was alerted to the Triple London Championship Night which ran at Wimbledon Stadium couple of weeks ago.

Ford Escort Mk2, Andy Steward, Classic Hot Rods, London Championship, Wimbledon,

Thanks to a soccer match in Chelsea I got snarled up in traffic and missed the first heats for the Junior Micra Stock Cars, Superstox and 2.0 Hot Rods, but made it just in time to catch the first heat for the beautifully turned out Pinto powered Classic Hot Rods which featured a great battle for the lead between the #198 Mk2 Ford Escort driven by Andy Steward and the #45 Austin A40 Countryman driven by Craig Boyd which went Andy’s way.

Superstox, London Championship, Wimbledon,

The Superstox action featured a bit more bumping and boring for which the cars are better equipped, unfortunately I arrived too late to get a programme and the only thing I can tell you is that the race was won by John Saunders, who also won the first heat and that the green #454 seen above finished 5th in heat to having finished 4th in Heat 1, if you know who the driver of the #454 is please do not hesitate to chip in below.

Nissan Micra, Samuel Dobbs, Junior Micra Stock Cars, Wimbledon

Samuel Dobbs is seen above on his way to a win in the 2nd heat of the Junior Micra Stock Cars which with all their additional safety equipment and what appeared to be standard suspension have some interesting handling characteristics.

Vauxhall Tigra, Robert Gamble, 2.0 Hot Rod, London Championship, Wimbledon

Robert Gamble seen in his #133 Vauxhall Tigra above held on to win the 2nd Heat for the 2.0 Hot Rod’s from the #71 Citroën Saxo driven by Gordan Alexander.

Barry Lee, Kenny Ireland, Wimbledon Stadium

Four time Hot Road World Champion Barry “#351 Leapy” Lee, and Scottish Saloon Stocks, Superstox & Hot Rods champion Kenny Ireland are seen on a lap of honour above they were joined as guests of honour by 1976 World Champion George Polley and 1980 World Champion Mick ‘Duffy’ Collard.

Ford Anglia, John Bowring, Classic Hot Rods, London Championship, Wimbledon,

Craig Boyd retired his Austin early in the 2nd Classic Hot Rods heat, leaving Andy Steward to an easy win once he had battled his way into the lead, the race featured a fantastic race long scrap between the Ford Anglia’s driven by #101 John Bowring, #924 Stuart Wright and #911, seen on the outside, driven by Harry Steward who crossed the finish in 6th, 7th and 8th places respectively.

Nissan Micra, Robbie Bruce, Junior Micra Stock Cars, Wimbledon

Repeating his heat one Junior Micra Stock Cars win in the final was Robbie Bruce seen above three wheeling his way around turn 2 aided by second place finisher #340 Will Blazer.

Citroén Saxo, Gordan Alexander, 2.0 Hot Rod, London Championship, Wimbledon

Gordan Alexander fought his way to the front to claim the 2.0 Hot Rod Final in his #71 Citroën Saxo the #565 driven by Dan Smith and the #39 driven by Rick Parnell who were both also pedaling Citroën Saxo’s.

Ford Escort RS2000 Mk2, Lee Wood, Wimbledon Stadium,

Lee Wood is seen above leading Mick ‘Duffy’ Collard during a demonstration run for the fans in their immaculate replica World Championship winning cars.

Ford Escort Mk2, Andy Steward, Classic Hot Rods, London Championship, Wimbledon,

Andy Steward retained his Classic Hot Rods London Championship title despite the best efforts of Craig Boyd in his repaired #45 Austin seen lifting an inside wheel above.

Jason Cooper, Superstox, London Championship, Wimbledon,

Jason Cooper is seen above taking the flag in the Superstox final at the end of an entertaining evening at Wimbledon Stadium which I hope to visit again before it is scheduled to be swallowed up by dreaded property developers.

My thanks to Ray Miles and Rob Hughes for giving me the heads up also to Rob for event programme details, to keep up with news on Classic Hot Rods follow Rob Hughes dedicated fb page linked here, news on Spedeworth events at Wimbledon and their other venues can be found on this link.

Thanks for joining me on this “Triple London Championship Night” 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 !

Moving To The Suburbs – Peugeot 907

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To celebrate the moving of Peugeot’s 40 year old design center, from La Garenne in the center of Paris to Vélizy in the South Western suburbs of Paris, Peugeots styling chief Gérard Welter and designer Jean-Christophe Bolle-Reddat concieved today’s featured Peugeot 907 Coupé Concept.

Peugeot 907, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

The carbon fibre coupé body features front wing / fender vents that hark back to innumerable Ferrari’s from the 250 GT’s to the more modern Maranello.

Peugeot 907, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

The 500 hp 6 litre / 366 cui V12 engine is built from two 3 litre / 183 cui V6 engines spliced together with a single new crankshaft and 4 new overhead cams to operate the 48 valves.

Peugeot 907, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

The six speed sequential gearbox is mounted in front of the rear axle and all four wheels have double wishbone independent suspension.

Peugeot 907, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

As per late 1950’s Ferrari Testa Rossa the air intakes sit beneath a plastic bubble, and as per contemporary racing practice for front engine cars the exhausts are short with exits behind the front wheels.

Peugeot 907, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Although the 907 was never designed to go into production this car is a completely drivable prototype.

Peugeot 907, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

The 907, seen here at Goodwood Festival of Speed 10 years after it’s launch at the 2004 Paris Motor Show, is estimated to be able to reach 60 mph from rest in 4 seconds with an estimated top speed of 186 mph.

Thanks for joining me on this “Moving To The Suburbs” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be visiting Wimbledon. Don’t forget to come back now.

1914 French GP Winner – Mercedes 18/100 #15364

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For the first time regulations for the 1914 French Grand Prix mandated a maximum engine size of 4.5 litres / 274 cui which put a premium on engine efficiency not least because a minimum 1,100 kgs / 2425 lbs minimum weight limit was also mandated.

Only entries from factory supported teams were accepted and these came from Alda, Aquila Delage, Fiat, Nagant, Nazzaro, Opel, Peugeot, Pichard-Pictet, Schneider, Sunbeam, and Vauxhall with 37 entries in all.

Mercedes 18/100, Martin Viessmann, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Peugeot were the 1913 French Grand Prix winners and their 1914 Grand Prix challenger retained both an advanced overhead twin cam 16 valve engine design and brakes on all four wheels, while the slightly more crude Mercedes only had a single overhead cam engine and brakes acting only on the rear wheels.

Less than a week before the event news that Archduke Franz Ferdinand had been assassinated in Sarajevo was a strong omen that a major conflict was about to be set in motion that would see Russia, France and Britain align themselves against the forces of Germany and Austria.

Mercedes 18/100, Martin Viessmann, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Rookie driver Max Sailer, possibly through inexperience, went charging into the lead of the seven hour race in his Mercedes 18/100 and unwittingly dragged a proud and upset to be in second Georges Boillot into an unequal dual, it turned out that the vertically mounted spare tyres in the rear of the Peugeot L45 gave the car inferior handling to the Mercedes with it’s spare tyres mounted tilting slightly forward.

Nonetheless Sailer retired from the lead at one quarter of the race distance with a broken engine, leaving Boillot to lead for the next 12 laps despite having to make several pit stops for tyres compared to the one planned stop made by Christian Lautenschlager and his team mate Louis Wagner.

Mercedes 18/100, Martin Viessmann, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Despite plenty of pre event practice Christian Lautenschlager’s planned pit stop was unusually disorganised which left Louis Wagner to pursue Boillot’s Peugeot.

Wagner destroyed his second set of tyres in the pursuit of the Peugeot which had kept up a relentless pace to stay in the lead.

Mercedes 18/100, Martin Viessmann, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

By three quarter distance Wagner made an unscheduled stop for new tyres handing second place to Lautenschlager.

With two laps to go Boillot’s Peugeot engine had nothing left when Christian Lautenschlager driving today’s featured chassis #15364 silenced the French crowds by storming into the lead to be followed into second place by Louis Wagner and a third Mercedes driven by Otto Salzer.

Mercedes 18/100, Martin Viessmann, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

#15364 sent to Berlin where it was put on show immediately after the race and was sent to London for similar purposes only to arrive just in time for the start of the 1914/18 hostilities.

After the war Count Zborowski acquired #15364 and was the first of several owners to race it at Brooklands.

One owner had a Berliet body and front brakes fitted to the car which remained until it was restored to running order by Stanley Sears in the 1960’s, current owner Martin Viessmann, seen at the wheel in these photograph’s taken at Goodwood Festival of Speed, has been the custodian of #15364 since 1984.

Thanks for joining me on this “1914 French GP Winner” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

As Seen On TV – ERA R7B

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Austin and Arthur Dobson were to wealthy brothers who raced between the great wars of the twentieth century.

Arthur the younger, considered the more talented and more successful made his racing debut at the wheel of a FIAT 508S in the 1935 RAC Tourist Trophy from which he retired out of petrol.