Edward, do you have many entry forms from the Park...?
Those relating to the Atlantic years could be very interesting to Mr Allen Brown and myself.
Hi,
It is with great pleasure that I can pull this old thread from out of the old oil drip tray of the forum and add new 'straight from the horses mouth' information! My father-in-law Norman, used to be part of the team and make sure that the vehicles were running to form.
I can definately confirm that the name for the A Moffat was not Alan, but he was Andy Moffat, who's father owned L&G Fire Appliances back in those days. How I know this to be true, is my father-in-law knew Andy. Andy was a close friend of Terry Bone's and who both used to live in Doddinghurst, both were part of the Ecurie Freeze Racing Team. They all used to meet in 'The Moat' pub, their local watering hole.
My father-in-law used to work for Terry Bone in Fleet Hire and Dad meet Terry when he used to race his own sprite, which was only for one season, as he met Terry Bone at Brands Hatch, and a new friendship was formed and Dad was to look after Terry's cars.
Terry Bone was Managing Director of Fleet Plant Hire (owned by Jarham Builders) at the time when my father was with him, and Terry had to make the choice as to whether or not to go driving with Merlin Forumla 3 or to stay with Jarham Builders. Unfortunately he chose to stay with the builders as back then it was a risky business in whether or not you could make it, and as he was on a good salary, he chose to remain a Managing Director.
Peter Gethin, raced his own Lotus 23 but when Andy Moffat sold his Gilby, he bought the Diva and entered the Diva at the old Nuremberg Ring, Germany and asked Peter Gethin to drive for him, so my father towed the Diva over for the race but alas the prop shaft fell off on the 14th lap plus alot of other bits and pieces! The Diva proved to have alot of other problems and a local garage did a modification - they put a different rear suspension system on it, (which was an independant rear suspension) - something they took off an old road car! (they elongated the studs on the rear brake drums as the original drums would not fit, so they filed out the holes where the wheel studs go through the drum making them slightly oval, allowing a fraction of play, so when Peter braked hard the brakes locked on and he skidded to a halt!) Several times Peter took the car out to see what the problem was with the brakes and each time he had the same issue. It was only when my father-in-law stripped down the car, he found the issue with the holes, so he arranged for the mobile workshop (fantastic it was he remembers with foundness, as they had absolutely everything there you could want and use) the workshop re-drilled new holes for the studs and this sorted the problem out.
Unfortunately Dad was nearly always working on the Lotus 23, so he can't quite remember what happened with the Diva, he thinks Andy may have sold it, but can't be sure.
The team all had great fun whilst at the Nuremberg Ring, as they also took over with them a mini cooper, and all did at least three laps each as a treat around the ring, Dad's not very successful, he remembers throwing the car into the carousel and having the back wheels down and the front ones up, as he describes it today, it felt like the wall of death!
He last heard that Peter Gethin was racing in the CamAm series in America in the late 60's.
Jackie Oliver was also a founder member of the Ecurie Freeze Racing Team, when he first started racing in the UK he used to race a Marcus, he then went on like Peter, to race in the CamAm Series in the States.
The Ecurie Freeze cars used to fit in an old leyland coach, which was modified with ramps so that one of the cars could be ramped up into the roof space with the other tucked underneath, if they took three cars, the other was on a trailer behind. No real mod cons back in those days.
Dad left the team unfortunately in 1963 as he had started a family and commitments to them were his priority over his love of motor racing.
I love to heard the tales he tells me about Silverstone, the old track, and Mallory Park let alone all the other circuits he visited.
Does anyone know if these drivers are still alive or if any of their vehicles has been kept? I would love to find out if I could as Dad is 80 this October and it would be brilliant if I could find out what happened to the team and its other members!
If I can work out how to post photos on the thread I will do, as Dad has some old blackies of the team.
.
