The mention of Alex Soler-Roig and Porsche in another thread jogged my memory and I dug out an article I had written for "Vantage", the journal of the Vintage Racing Club of British Columbia in 1979. A the time I helped out in a friends classic car shop where such as Allard J2s, AC Bristols, various Lotii and other interesting cars passed through or, sometimes stayed.
We always had an interesting group of people visiting and one day in walked a rather hippie looking fellow-beard, long hair etc but as soon as he started talking about the cars we knew we were in the company of a very informed enthusiast. When he claimed to have two Porsche 906s AND a 907 we really took notice! He pointed outside to where his 2.7 RS sat at the curbside. He offered to show me the cars so I leapt into my works replica Healey 3000 and off we went to the rather expensive neighbourhood of West Vancouver where he lived.
The man's name was Ted Rowbotham and in his garage I found:
906--126 Sold new to Dr Hans Kunis of Switzerland who won the 1966 Swiss hillclimb championship with it Ted assured me. The car was fitted with a spyder body similiar to a Chevron B19 but the engine and chassis appeared original.
906-130 Sold new to Prince Ferdinand von Bayern in Spain. Alex Soler-Roig won the 1967 Spanish National Championship with it. The car then passed to Carlos Santos in Portugal who was national champion with the car in 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1971 in Portugal, Angola and Mozambique Ted claimed! The car won races at Spa, the Nurburgring, Clermont-Ferrand and won the Temporada series in S. America winning Santos the Porsche Cup. When I examine the car it had it's original engine, chassis, transaxle and only required the removal of flairs on the rear arches to be original.
907-027 Works car driven by Siffert and Herman took pole position in the BOAC 500 at Brands Hatch but retired with wheel bearing failure. The car was very original and Ted hoped to have Milt Mintner race it.
The cars languished in West Vancouver for a while untill a domestic dispute caused the two 906s to come up for sale (I nearly got one...) and then when Ted had left the area his now ex-wife sold off the 907 with my friend and his shop acting as the broker.
Ted Rowbotham claimed he had bought the cars in Portugal in a series of manoevers that involved bribing government officials, a revolution, unmarked trucks on dark nights etc, etc. Ted missed buying a 250F for 3000 pounds apparently!
Can anyone; a/ Confirm these historic claims; b/ Update the subsequent histories of these cars; c/ Provide more info on Ted Rowbotham?
Porsche 906s & 907 in Vancouver
Started by
David Birchall
, Feb 26 2005 18:51
4 replies to this topic
#3
David Birchall
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Posted 27 February 2005 - 02:28
Gerry, no I was not aware of that site-many thanks! i don't speak Spanish but can make enough out to figure out most of the modifications to 126-smaller wheels, central seat, spyder body etc. But I cannot make out what it won--can you?
ps Do you remember these cars? They ended up in Peter Price's shop before being sold on.
ps Do you remember these cars? They ended up in Peter Price's shop before being sold on.
#4
Gerr
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Posted 27 February 2005 - 02:58
David, use this to translate the page. There is a link at the bottom to another page, you'll want to read.
http://world.altavista.com/
But the text is Portuguese, not Spanish.
I suppose that mistake is to expected from someone living in former Spanish territory.
I remember hearing about the cars in West Van, never saw them.
http://world.altavista.com/
But the text is Portuguese, not Spanish.
I suppose that mistake is to expected from someone living in former Spanish territory.
I remember hearing about the cars in West Van, never saw them.
#5
David Birchall
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- 3,291 posts
- Joined: March 03
Member
Posted 18 November 2005 - 16:52
I just got this email from the current owner of 906-130 in the UK:
Hi David,
I was idly browsing the web last night looking for any more information on my 906, typed in Porsche 906-130 and up popped Atlas F1 Bulletin Board - Porsche 906s & 907 in Vancouver. Now I had been told that it went from Portugal to a guy called Peter Price in Vancouver, so I opened the site and was very excited when I read your comments, as I know nothing about its time in Canada. I have actually been to Portugal and met Carlos Santos. He does not speak very much English, but his son Carlos Filipé Santos does. The son still races Porsches and they own a Porsche dealership in Oporto. I was taken to their home in Oporto and was able to look through the father's leather bound racing scrap books. I also met with the mechanic who worked on the 906 when Carlos was racing it. I also heard about the Portuguese Carnation Revolution and the fact that they sold the 906 and the 907, during this period, to someone in Canada called Peter Price. It seems from your comments that this wasn't quite correct. There also seems to be some confusion over the first owner. I do not think he was a Prince, but just Ferdinand of Bavaria. I am also not sure why it went straight to him and not through the Spanish Importer. So far, I can only find one mention of him racing the car. Apparently there was no Porsche Importer in Portugal so all Porsches for Portugal had to go through the Spanish Importer. From Canada the car went to Ron Armour and I attach a picture of it at Monterey, presumably when he owned it before it was bought by Sam Yagi.
I would love to have anymore details or pictures you might have about the car. It seems from your comments that it was converted back to a proper 906 before it went to Canada. Is this correct? Do you know anymore about this Ted Rowbotham? Who was Peter Price? Any snippets of information would be gratefully received, however trivial you may think they are.
Carlos Santos was Portuguese GT Champion only three times in the 906, in 1969, 1970 and 1971.
I have not been able to find any confirmation that Alex Soler Roig won the 1967 Spanish National Championship with the car. I am also unable to find that the car won races at Spa, the Nurburgring or Clermont-Ferrand, or even competed at these circuits. I can also find nothing about the fact that it won the Temporada series in S. America winning Santos the Porsche Cup.
The car is presently undergoing a complete restoration in Florida as, although it was supposed to have been restored by Ron Armour and had done nothing since then, it was in very race weary condition.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Kind regards
Bill
Hi David,
I was idly browsing the web last night looking for any more information on my 906, typed in Porsche 906-130 and up popped Atlas F1 Bulletin Board - Porsche 906s & 907 in Vancouver. Now I had been told that it went from Portugal to a guy called Peter Price in Vancouver, so I opened the site and was very excited when I read your comments, as I know nothing about its time in Canada. I have actually been to Portugal and met Carlos Santos. He does not speak very much English, but his son Carlos Filipé Santos does. The son still races Porsches and they own a Porsche dealership in Oporto. I was taken to their home in Oporto and was able to look through the father's leather bound racing scrap books. I also met with the mechanic who worked on the 906 when Carlos was racing it. I also heard about the Portuguese Carnation Revolution and the fact that they sold the 906 and the 907, during this period, to someone in Canada called Peter Price. It seems from your comments that this wasn't quite correct. There also seems to be some confusion over the first owner. I do not think he was a Prince, but just Ferdinand of Bavaria. I am also not sure why it went straight to him and not through the Spanish Importer. So far, I can only find one mention of him racing the car. Apparently there was no Porsche Importer in Portugal so all Porsches for Portugal had to go through the Spanish Importer. From Canada the car went to Ron Armour and I attach a picture of it at Monterey, presumably when he owned it before it was bought by Sam Yagi.
I would love to have anymore details or pictures you might have about the car. It seems from your comments that it was converted back to a proper 906 before it went to Canada. Is this correct? Do you know anymore about this Ted Rowbotham? Who was Peter Price? Any snippets of information would be gratefully received, however trivial you may think they are.
Carlos Santos was Portuguese GT Champion only three times in the 906, in 1969, 1970 and 1971.
I have not been able to find any confirmation that Alex Soler Roig won the 1967 Spanish National Championship with the car. I am also unable to find that the car won races at Spa, the Nurburgring or Clermont-Ferrand, or even competed at these circuits. I can also find nothing about the fact that it won the Temporada series in S. America winning Santos the Porsche Cup.
The car is presently undergoing a complete restoration in Florida as, although it was supposed to have been restored by Ron Armour and had done nothing since then, it was in very race weary condition.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Kind regards
Bill
