Perth Western Australia property tycoon William Robert Alexander (Bill) Wyllie has died aged 73.
"His work then took him overseas, where he earned a reputation as a fearless racing car driver on the South East Asian circuit . . . "
He definitely slipped under my radar, possibly because he didn't race in Western Australia, and therefore didn't find his way into Around the Houses .
Does anyone have any information?
(Edit: Mr Wyllie died on 13 March 2006.)
Bill Wyllie has died
Started by
Terry Walker
, Mar 14 2006 02:20
2 replies to this topic
Advertisement
#2
Terry Walker
-
- 3,005 posts
- Joined: July 05
Member
Posted 14 March 2006 - 02:39
From the Wyllie Group website:
Mr Wyllie was also a gifted and very successful racing driver and it was his fearlessness and numerous wins behind the wheel of his own designed and built racing car, the powerful WYLLIE SPECIAL, that eventually resulted in him being sponsored by the SINGAPORE STRAITS TIMES newspaper group to represent Singapore at the 1958 Macau Grand Prix.
Although the mechanical failure of a rear wheel hub caused him to crash while in third place midway through the race, Mr Wyllie's performance had attracted the attention and respect of two powerful and influential Hong Kong businessmen, both of whom owned successful racing teams. They offered him sponsorship as one of their team drivers.
This led to a number of spectacular successes in production car races and Grands Prix in Singapore, Macau and Johore Bharu over the next few years and, more importantly, to a lifelong friendship between Mr Wyllie and one of his sponsors, an American, Mr Robert (Bob) Harper.
Mr Wyllie was also a gifted and very successful racing driver and it was his fearlessness and numerous wins behind the wheel of his own designed and built racing car, the powerful WYLLIE SPECIAL, that eventually resulted in him being sponsored by the SINGAPORE STRAITS TIMES newspaper group to represent Singapore at the 1958 Macau Grand Prix.
Although the mechanical failure of a rear wheel hub caused him to crash while in third place midway through the race, Mr Wyllie's performance had attracted the attention and respect of two powerful and influential Hong Kong businessmen, both of whom owned successful racing teams. They offered him sponsorship as one of their team drivers.
This led to a number of spectacular successes in production car races and Grands Prix in Singapore, Macau and Johore Bharu over the next few years and, more importantly, to a lifelong friendship between Mr Wyllie and one of his sponsors, an American, Mr Robert (Bob) Harper.
#3
David McKinney
-
- 14,156 posts
- Joined: November 00
Member
Posted 14 March 2006 - 06:31
Sad news
Bill Wyllie was one of the best-known and most successful drivers in southeast Asia in the early 1960s.
He first made his name in 1957, when he drove a TR3 with some success in hillclimbs and sprints in Malaya and Singapore, and also a Cooper-JAP. These were followed by the Wyllie Special, powered by a TR engine and fitted with a Mistral fibreglass body, which was an effective sprint weapon, and which he took to first place in the Johore sportscar race in 1960.
By this time he had come to wider attention at the wheel of Walter Sulke’s Auto Union 1000RS, shocking the establishment by taking pole position in the 1959 Macau GP, and going on to finish second, beaten only by a Jaguar XKSS, in the race. He followed this with outright victory in the 1960 Johore GP, though the little sportscar was a retirement in that year’s Macau GP.
After a break due to business pressures Wyllie returned to the circuits in 1962, driving Sulke’s Tojeiro-DKW in the Malaysian GP and a Lotus 17 in the Kuala Lumpur GP, in which he finished second.
He was back in action in 1964, when he drove a Lotus 23 in the Malaysian GP and also at Macau, where he was fastest in qualifying but retired in the race. He also won his class in that year’s Singapore saloon race at the wheel of a Lotus-Cortina.
Bill Wyllie’s name last appears in my records when he made another comeback to drive a Lotus 23 in the 1967 Singapore GP, but retired
Bill Wyllie was one of the best-known and most successful drivers in southeast Asia in the early 1960s.
He first made his name in 1957, when he drove a TR3 with some success in hillclimbs and sprints in Malaya and Singapore, and also a Cooper-JAP. These were followed by the Wyllie Special, powered by a TR engine and fitted with a Mistral fibreglass body, which was an effective sprint weapon, and which he took to first place in the Johore sportscar race in 1960.
By this time he had come to wider attention at the wheel of Walter Sulke’s Auto Union 1000RS, shocking the establishment by taking pole position in the 1959 Macau GP, and going on to finish second, beaten only by a Jaguar XKSS, in the race. He followed this with outright victory in the 1960 Johore GP, though the little sportscar was a retirement in that year’s Macau GP.
After a break due to business pressures Wyllie returned to the circuits in 1962, driving Sulke’s Tojeiro-DKW in the Malaysian GP and a Lotus 17 in the Kuala Lumpur GP, in which he finished second.
He was back in action in 1964, when he drove a Lotus 23 in the Malaysian GP and also at Macau, where he was fastest in qualifying but retired in the race. He also won his class in that year’s Singapore saloon race at the wheel of a Lotus-Cortina.
Bill Wyllie’s name last appears in my records when he made another comeback to drive a Lotus 23 in the 1967 Singapore GP, but retired
