Living 'The Dream'...?

When I were a lad (seventeen, to be precise) I secured gainful employment with Alexis Racing Cars as an apprentice everything. Brilliant! Having already sampled life on the 'other side of the fence' as a part-time gofer for the Alan Brodie F5000 team during 1973, I craved to continue in the same vein.

A pleasant surprise, however, is not what awaited me...

At Alexis in 1975, there were three main operations; the factory-run FF1600 team, customer chassis sales and after-service, and the Allan Taylor Racing Driver School. The latter operated out of Aintree and Cadwell Park, but we were actually based in Coleshill (West Midlands), in an ex-cheese making factory.

In all things mechanical, I was (and still am) a rookie. As such, I was given the simpler tasks such as stripping chassis, gearboxes and the like. Then, after a while, I was entrusted with making the fibreglass bodywork (hi Barry B!). Great stuff - I really was involved now - but in truth it was a complete horror story.

I had to prep the moulds, mix all the various potions, lay down the impregnated materials and sand them off with NO protective gear at all! Those of sufficient years will recall that the summer '75 was a pretty hot one, and inside the wooden hut in which I was based the heat was just stiffling. The toxins emmitted from the various goo I was mixing and spreading was so bad that I vomitted at least a couple of times each day. My mother made me a makeshift mask from the muslin she used for the Christmas pudding to wrap around my face, but it didn't really help a great deal.

Backtracking a wee bit, I had my first outing with the ATRDS to Cadwell Park in the March. This was great for me, as I'd not been to that venue before. The drivers booked in for tuition were all cosied-up in a pleasant rural B&B, as indeed was the boss and my colleague. Where was I? Here; somewhere behind the Paddock, inside a shitebox old team van...



...and that's my camp bed in the back. I was soooo cold, I had to wrap myself in newspaper inside my sleeping bag in order to survive.

Imagine my totally orgasmic state, therefore, when our 'new' team truck arrived the following month. Hey; this was no ordinary vehicle - this was the ex-Gold Leaf, then John Player Team Lotus genuine article which had latterly been the Texaco Star Team Lotus Formula 2 transporter! For me it was a shrine; inside this very truck the likes of G Hill, Rindt, Fittipaldi E, Peterson and co had all sat, chatted, changed and simply been based during some epic (and at times, tragic) periods. I'll never forget the innards of the back end of the truck; there were plywood pigeonholes on which were written inscriptions - in pencil - reading 72/1, 72/2, 72/3 etc. Jesus; this was the very truck that had taken the GLTL cars to Monza in 1970...

It arrived in the white/red/black Texaco Star livery, and I volounteered to come up with a new livery to suit the works team's sponsors. I cannot deny the experience of being granted a 'lift home' from the Race of Champions by the Ensign team in March '74 influenced my approach! The truck of theirs I rode in said 'Team Ensign' in big, BIG letters (and it felt great as I rode in it) so 'our' one had to be similar...





The above shots were both taken at Aintree, which the first time we took the re-liveried truck out.

Sleeping in a vehicle steeped with such an amazing past is impossible to describe. Please don't bother posting just to slag off my design - I'm well aware of it's many shortfalls thirty years down the road - instead, simply try to imagine what it was like to be 'as-one' with what was such an integral part in the history of one of the greatest-ever Grand Prix teams.

Great, great stories !!! & what I want to know is.................where is that truck now???

Originally posted by Twin Window
When I were a lad (seventeen, to be precise) I secured gainful employment with Alexis Racing Cars as an apprentice everything. Brilliant! Having already sampled life on the 'other side of the fence' as a part-time gofer for the Alan Brodie F5000 team during 1973, I craved to continue in the same vein.

You lucky, clever sod What a lovely story.
Like most, I dreamed about it but never did anything about it until I was in Western Canada, and there are not a lot of racing car constructors out here!! (Sorry TEJ : )

Thanks again Twinny for a wonderfully told tale giving a flavour of what racing was about then.

I think it's fair to say that, other than in terms of safety, things have not changed for the better.

Again, cool story. Twinny. If that was the 1972 JPTL transporter then somewhere there is a picture of an 11 year old kid (me) inside it also thinking that this just could be heaven on earth! Thanks for sharining.

This story, along with the photos of that truck would also be a natural for the "Transporter" Thread!

So you're a 1958 model TW?

Fabulous. I love to read this kind of stuff. Keep it coming. My only bone of contention here is the colour scheme, which is a bit "Eddie Stobart", but I guess you had to go with what the sponsors wanted. Couldn't you have persuaded them that black with gold pinstripes would have been better?

Morning, chaps.

Glad you enjoyed it - that was my therapy having endured a six-train, six-hour journey to collect a car for my brother followed by a 3.5 hour drive back through the remnants of 'Hurricane Alex'!!

Ian; Yes, I had to use Donington Aviation's colours. And it's fairer to say that Stobarts's trucks are a bit 'Alexis', actually, as my design precedes his by about a decade...!

Mac; I'm a '57 model actually (June)!

Richard; I wasn't aware of the Transporter thread!

Ruairidh; It was the JPTL transporter until it was replaced, IIRC, at the '73 International Trophy (?) by their then-new 'space age' model!

angst; Couldn't agree more...

David; At least you can appreciate how cold I was!

Gary; I believe that the transporter is currently undergoing restoration into GLTL livery. I conversed via emails with a chap from West Racing regarding it in the spring. He's developing a GPL-style pc simulator, and the transporter is in it too! I promised I'd send him the pics, actually.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that on one occasion I slept in one of the FF1600s!!

Originally posted by Twin Window


Oh, and I forgot to mention that on one occasion I slept in one of the FF1600s!!

Twinny [/B]

Now that must have been a comfortable night.

Having followed Richard's link to the Transporter thread, I found another link in there posted by FredrikB. This is the racing sim site I referred to earlier, with then & now shots of the Lotus/Alexis transporter (I've already mentioned to them about their dates).

You can find it here. The rest of the site is well worth a browse too, as it shows their incredible work, but it is quite a slow loader.

Also in the Transporter thread are shots of the Ecurie Ecosse truck which reminded me of something which happened when I was a very small boy. We were still living in my birth town of Alnwick in Northumberland, and we had relatives staying with us at the time. During one of these nights I was awoken from my slumber and, once my dressing gown was on, was taken by car to the town centre.

My father and my Uncle Roy had been to the chess club that evening and had walked past the Ecurie Ecosse tranporter parked up for the night on their way home and wanted me to see it!

I was held up and touched the racing car protruding from the rear. This was my very first exposure to our sport... The funny thing, though, is that neither my dad nor my uncle had the remotest interest in racing whatsoever! Some time after that I was given a fabulous Corgi model of the transporter with which to commemorate the encounter, and I still have it!

This took place sometime between my birth in 1957 and our move south in 1963. My rough guess would be 1960/61 as I doubt I'd remember much before then.

Twinny

During my racing days, it was either sleep in some seedy motel, one day trip it, or sleep in the car!

I remember one trip where we brought a tent and while putting the whole kit up my old friend ZippyD says, "Right then, give me the tent poles." I said, "Well I would but they're in my front hallway right where I left them as not to forget to bring them along!"

Needless to say, we slept in the car again!!

.....and it was bloody HOT!!

Originally posted by Twin Window
I was held up and touched the racing car protruding from the rear. This was my very first exposure to our sport... The funny thing, though, is that neither my dad nor my uncle had the remotest interest in racing whatsoever! Some time after that I was given a fabulous Corgi model of the transporter with which to commemorate the encounter, and I still have it!

Blimey, I had one of those Corgi models too! Trouble was, I mutilated it by giving it a re-paint in Senior Racing Team colours of orange and gold, so it could legitimately carry the SRT Corgi Cooper-Maserati (just like the standard one, but with home-made cardboard wings). Gawd knows where it is now. Presumably my non-standard livery would reduce its value in today's market for collectables, but I could always claim it was a limited edition.......

Originally posted by Twin Window
Having followed Richard's link to the Transporter thread, I found another link in there posted by FredrikB. This is the racing sim site I referred to earlier, with then & now shots of the Lotus/Alexis transporter (I've already mentioned to them about their dates).

You can find it here. The rest of the site is well worth a browse too, as it shows their incredible work, but it is quite a slow loader.

So will this be a drivable simulation of the transporter? Perhaps as part of the game one will actually have to drive the transporter to each circuit? Now that's what I call realism!

Twinny, that is a fantastic story. Thanks for relating it.

Dave

P.S. If we don't have one somewhere, we should get a thread together about our involvment in racing in our early years. Especially interesting for me would be stories of those who tried to reach the top and of course didn't make it...my own efforts were too brief to amount to much, or to be worth relating.

Twin, absolutely great story. You are making me re-live my younger days, and they are oh-so similar... on the other side of the Channel.

Presumably my non-standard livery would reduce its value in today's market for collectables, but I could always claim it was a limited edition.......

Just don't forget to serialize it: # 001 of... 1

Guys; thank you very much for all your nice comments...

I was in the loft earlier looking for my 98-99 receipts (don't ask...) and I came accross these.


This letterhead is all I was given as a reference for the Donington Aviation logo...



...and this is an early stab at the DA livery for the works cars.



Nice wheels. Not.

Oh, and I found some of my cartoons too!

Originally posted by Dave Ware
Twinny, that is a fantastic story. Thanks for relating it.

Dave

P.S. If we don't have one somewhere, we should get a thread together about our involvment in racing in our early years. Especially interesting for me would be stories of those who tried to reach the top and of course didn't make it...my own efforts were too brief to amount to much, or to be worth relating.

Here's a Ware... Rick, it says. I was assured by someone in his "fan club" that he was destined for greatness.
I Don't know what happened.
Anyone?

Photos named "Rick Ware May 84"; at Turn Six exit, Riverside




Photo owned and operated by

I Don't know what happened.

"Beaucoup d'appeles, peu d'elus..."

Someone wants to tell me why Stefan Johansson took the EARNED Marlboro money from under Nic Jonsson nose to give it to Stefan Ekblom, by thus ruining the career of Nic who was as fast as the very best then?

Nic is only emerging from years of doldrums and just won the Sears Point Speedvision Touring class beating the semi-works BMW of Auberlen with what amounts to a somewhat inferior machine with little budget.

And I know of so many who SHOULD have made it, but either money, politics or too much competition drew an unsurmountable wall on front of them.

T54

Originally posted by T54
Someone wants to tell me why Stefan Johansson took the EARNED Marlboro money from under Nic Jonsson nose to give it to Stefan Ekblom, by thus ruining the career of Nic who was as fast as the very best then?

T54

When was this supposed to have happened? (I'm not doubting you, even though it may look so...).

I'm only aware of two periods when Fredrik (whom I assume you are referring to) raced in the US - early to mid 90s (Indy Lights, some CART, and some IMSA) and 2001 when he raced for BMW in ALMS. Niclas didn't loose - sorry, lose - his Team PTG drive until 2002, by which time Fredrik was back in Europe in the ETCC, with no Marlboro signage on the BMW that I can see.

So it must have been earlier... but when?

By the way, I agree with your appraisal of Niclas, Philippe, a very fine driver. Maybe he should have used his connections at Penske - brother Mattias Jönsson (Matt Jonsson) was Gil de Ferran's crew chief....

What a marvellous story Twinny

And so familiar - dare I say? Particularly, the sleeping "arrangements"...I doubt seriously I could manage it these days. Sometimes I genuinely thought I would probably freeze to death at some point during the night

What we did for the love of motor racing in our youth...

...but surely there must be people doing it still to-day, or was our time really the last of the Golden Age?

Modern day "racing" bores me so much I really wouldn't know where to begin to look for enthusiasts as we were in our day - or maybe I really am just so so out of touch (in which case I'll happily stay where I am and simply reminisce about the "Good Old Days" here in the sanctuary of the TNF ;) )

MCS

Originally posted by MCS

What we did for the love of motor racing in our youth...

You ain't kidding, Mark! For the 1973 British GP my itinerary was as follows;

3.30 am Get up, make sarnies etc.

Walk 3 miles to the bus stops in Sutton Coldfield town centre to catch the first one to Birmingham City centre.

Walk to New Street station to get the first train to Northampton.

Run from the railway station to the bus station to catch the Green Line bus to Silverstone.

Walk about a mile to the circuit.

I did this for the first two days of that meeting, and on day one I had to leave Silverstone at lunchtime in order to be home in time to babysit my brother!

...but surely there must be people doing it still to-day, or was our time really the last of the Golden Age?

I reckon it really was. No one will ever convince me otherwise, anyway....

Modern day "racing" bores me so much I really wouldn't know where to begin to look for enthusiasts as we were in our day - or maybe I really am just so so out of touch (in which case I'll happily stay where I am and simply reminisce about the "Good Old Days" here in the sanctuary of the TNF ;) )

Me too!

Originally posted by paulsenna1

And Tony Lanfranchi who was usually in the bar

...period!!

Originally posted by Twin Window
You ain't kidding, Mark! For the 1973 British GP my itinerary was as follows;

3.30 am Get up, make sarnies etc.

Walk 3 miles to the bus stops in Sutton Coldfield town centre to catch the first one to Birmingham City centre.

Walk to New Street station to get the first train to Northampton.

Run from the railway station to the bus station to catch the Green Line bus to Silverstone.

Walk about a mile to the circuit.

I did this for the first two days of that meeting, and on day one I had to leave Silverstone at lunchtime in order to be home in time to babysit my brother!

[b]I reckon it really was. No one will ever convince me otherwise, anyway....

[B]Me too!
...period!!

We may have been on the same bus Twinny! Though in '73 I might have had a lift. I remember getting the night bus from where I lived in London to Euston for the first train to Northampton. It was the United Counties green bus to Silverstone.Green Line ran to Brands Hatch until replaced by Maidstone & District.
Have also slept in some strange places,vans,Bob Arnott's transporter & Tiff Needell's boy scout tent!

Originally posted by Rob29
It was the United Counties green bus to Silverstone.Green Line ran to Brands Hatch until replaced by Maidstone & District.

Oh well; I remembered the green bit correctly!

Have also slept in some strange places,vans,Bob Arnott's transporter & Tiff Needell's boy scout tent!

Do you mean when Tiff was a scout?! Is it safe to ask why you were in there?!

Twinny

Originally posted by Twin Window
Do you mean when Tiff was a scout?! Is it safe to ask why you were in there?!

Twinny

Err,no to the first Q. Some years after he left the scouts,but he said it dated from then. Was used several times,seem to remember I usually got the job of putting it up, later progessed to a much larger tent provided by mechanic Richard,with 2 compartments room for 4 including Richard's wife.

I'd like to chime in with an American view of this discussion. I thought I was just being sentimental looking back on this great time period in motorsports but its really wishful thinking that things could return to the way they were. I read about promoters saying they need more billboards and ads to make the public aware of the race, they bring in food festivals and rock concerts to attract people. We never needed such nonsense. When we found the dates of the events we wanted to attend, we told the bosses we wouldn't be in for work those days and that was that! We froze our asses off in tents, got drenched in rainstorms and didn't care, all to watch F1, world endurance series, F5000, Can Am, Trans Am, and whatever else we could see. The state of sport in this country today makes me sick, its boards like this, vintage racing, and talking about "the good old days" thats keeping the spark alive. I still watch racing and follow series, still attend races up and down the east coast, but its surely not the same. When you are at most events its almost impossible to find someone in the crowds that actually know what they are looking at!

Rich

Interested in your posting re goofer for Alan Brodie.
I too was a junior goofer for Alan, or as he is now known, my son's grandpa.
I used to help John Fisher polish up the Chevron before race days, although he got pissed off when i spilt brake fluid on the paint work once.
And dont forget the ex Eifland transporter, used to be able to smuggle about a dozen people into the races, better than me hiding in the back of a transit getting cramp for several hours.
Harldy ever went to school on Saturdays like i should have done due to testing or race days.
Glory years.
The old man just the same..

Hi Chris!

Small world! I guess you got to most of the races in '73... therefore we must have met! I used to go to most of the races with Steve's dad, Sid, in his NSU Ro80 and Di's dad would sometimes travel too (I forget his name... ??? Meeke). Sid was a bit scary driving sometimes...

Jon was a top bloke - do you know what became of him? If you can send me a photo of yourself from around that time, I'll see if you're in any of my pics from that season!

And what of your dad? I remember talk of log cabins in Scotland during that season. Did that project happen?

You know what? I'd forgotten that the truck was the ex-Eifelland one! I slept in it on the Saturday night of the final round at Brands! Do you remember the lightweight jackets that were new for the mid-season round at Silverstone (the one which was rained-off)? I've still got mine!

This was that race - are you there?



...or maybe in this pic from Mallory a month or so earlier? (that's me on the far left)



Like you said; magical times...

Good lord, those Aintree pics sent a shiver down my spine. I could almost smell the bogs behind the paddock again.

Twin,

John Fisher went to work for Lord Hesketh and was James Hunts chief mechanic for a while. I will show Alan the photos when he gets back in the office, works for me as drilling consultant. Went to Scotland to build log cabins and many other things besides that. (We are now involved in directional drilling, running Southern office of Bolton based civils and tunnelling co.) I will ask Alan who is in the photos.
I remember the Servis jackets well and also going to Steve and Di's wedding!!1
Henry Wilkins let Steve use one of his many old Rolls Royces to the wedding. A real who's who of F5000 drivers there. My foot slipped into a pond in the garden of the hotel whilst chasing one of the bridesmaids. Given that up now

Twin
according to Alan,
on left hand side is Alan Rollinson in jacket with stripe,
near him John Fisher, in STP jacket probably Roger Jackson.
Steve's brother in leather jacket. Suspect my mum is near door of transporter.
Sid is in white cloth cap at bottom of pic.
Got any more as alan now in the office.
I will get him to sort out his photos and try to put some on here within the next few weeks.
Pat and David wheelere used to help out so they are probably there along with Di
Can you email me your contact details, so we could swop stories/pics?

Chris

Hi Chris

Check your PMs, as I sent you my email address when I answered your PM...

Roger - I couldn't remember his name. He gave me a quid the night I stayed in the transporter, which was mighty generous when you consider beer was around 16p a pint...! And yes, now I remember that John went to Hesketh. But after that I didn't hear of him. Actually, I pretty sure that it isn't Alan R on the left in the top pic, but he does look familiar. I can blow it up though! And I take it you're not in either of them... Bugger.

I'll wait for your email. And regards to Alan!

It's funny, isn't it? F5000s in grassy paddocks seems like yesterday - but beer at 16p a pint feels like a lifetime ago!

I agree! Weird, but true nevertheless...!

Originally posted by Gary C
Great, great stories !!! & what I want to know is.................where is that truck now???

The transporter is the one that was originally ordered by Team Lotus for the Lotus 49.
Originally delivered in green with Team Lotus block lettering on it, it was later used for the Gold Leaf cars (49s & 72s) and eventually ended up being used by the Texaco Star F2 team when it would have been white.

Not sure what happened to it immediately after Alexis, but it ended up with Simon Hadfield a few years ago (his backer has (had?) a Gold Leaf Lotus 72 and the idea was to use the transporter for the 72).

It has apparently now been sold to Johannes Willenpart who is a Jochen Rindt fan and is having it restored into GLTL colours to go with his collection of Rindt cars.

Brilliant, thanks for that, Peter.

Twinny's combined memories of this thread are now up at 8W...

More memories - and not just Stuart's - to follow soon!

Twinny - great stories as always.

Amazing how similar some of my own experiences are - yes, freezing to death in the sleeping bag in the back of the 'van' - sleeping in an RP24 - again trying to sleep in the back of the commer van but with the spare engine block as a very uncomfortable pillow!!
I too was an F5000 gofer - but '74 not '73 - for Nicholas Wattiez. Lots of pot hunting F.Libre wins but hopeless in Rothmans F5000. Then there was the 'lad' job at Royale - the Van Rooyen, Dougall, Sarazin, Acheson days performing many of the tasks you also did, including designing some colour schemes for Royale cars and working alongside Rory Byrne and Pat Symonds.

Lovely shots - Great great days with not a motorhome in sight! Pity I did not take more photos myself, or more to the point, did not lose them!

Who is the guy with the beard at the back of the car holding the 'bunting' up?
Looks like Greg Field to me. He went on to work with Mike Earle on Purley's cars.

Originally posted by Andrew Kitson

Who is the guy with the beard at the back of the car holding the 'bunting' up?
Looks like Greg Field to me. He went on to work with Mike Earle on Purley's cars.

I'm not sure. And who's the driver?!

As you say, Andrew, it is amazing how similar our experiences have been! Or else it was just par for the course...

I first knew Pat when he was with the Toleman F2 team in 1980; he's a super guy and still recognises me on the odd occasion I see him while visiting my chum at Renault. And you worked with my mate KA too!

Thanks for the close-up Stuart. Not sure if it is Greg now - looks a lot like 'Hawkeye' though - talking of Toleman. Not sure..
When you next see Ken say 'Hi' and if he remembers the long-haired layabout that was his gofer!!

Here you go Twinny - here is Kenny featured on the painting I did for the cover of the Paul Lawrence book 'Nowhere to hide' - the story of Royale Racing Cars.
Many more paintings on my website ;)

Lovely work, Andrew!

The style reminds me of a similar montage created for a poster we produced in Autosport commemorating March's 10th birthday in 1980. That wasn't down to your good self, was it?!

No that was not me Stuart - perhaps Michael Turner?
But I have done many of these 'montages' over the years
including this one of some old 60s/70s favourites commissioned by Cyd Williams.
The original is 30 x 20ins.

Originally posted by Twin Window

You ain't kidding, Mark! For the 1973 British GP my itinerary was as follows;

3.30 am Get up, make sarnies etc.

Walk 3 miles to the bus stops in Sutton Coldfield town centre to catch the first one to Birmingham City centre.

Walk to New Street station to get the first train to Northampton.

Run from the railway station to the bus station to catch the Green Line bus to Silverstone.

Walk about a mile to the circuit.

I did this for the first two days of that meeting, and on day one I had to leave Silverstone at lunchtime in order to be home in time to babysit my brother!

Sorry for bringing this one back up a bit, believe it or not from time to time i have to take this exact journey, being a poor uni student, I don’t have a car, and these days a fairly unwilling dad, hence taking this exact trip! the only differences being the name of the bus, and fact i get the early train from Sutton to newsteet before going onto Northampton, incredible what we do for motorsport. A couple of years ago the journey back ended up taking me 6 odd hours, and its happened a couple of times since, yet i still do it! the things we do for motorsport eh?

Andrew.