17 replies to this topic

[theracer120]

I was looking through an article on Wikipedia about the 1965 Formula One season. It listed all the drivers and cars competing or at least entered in races that year. However there was one entry on the list that caught my eye. There was a Ford powered Lotus 20, driven by South African Brian Raubenheimer which he had self entered for the South African Grand Prix. There was no Wikipedia entry for him. He was not listed on the results for that race which also listed the non-qualifiers and withdrawals. Who was this driver? Perhaps any members from South Africa could enlighten us on this.

Of course, it could be an inaccuracy. Wikipedia isn't always known for being accurate. I also saw that Jo Schlesser was listed on there for the French Grand Prix. He wasn't on the race listing either.

Edited by theracer120, 19 October 2010 - 07:46.

[theracer120]

I found that he was in the non-championship South African Grand Prix in probably the same car for 1966, which he didn't start, the first round of the 1966 South African F1 championship (Lotus 20 again, he didn't start,) the third round of the same series (didn't finish due to a blown engine,) the Natal Winter Grand Prix, round 6, he didn't finish after retiring on lap 37, the Pat Fairfield trophy race round 10 of that series which he didn't finish. His name was listed as Reubenheimer on there. But does anyone know why he may have been listed as being entered in the race? Same with Schlesser.

[robjohn]

I was looking through an article on Wikipedia about the 1965 Formula One season. It listed all the drivers and cars competing or at least entered in races that year. However there was one entry on the list that caught my eye. There was a Ford powered Lotus 20, driven by South African Brian Raubenheimer which he had self entered for the South African Grand Prix. There was no Wikipedia entry for him. He was not listed on the results for that race which also listed the non-qualifiers and withdrawals. Who was this driver? Perhaps any members from South Africa could enlighten us on this.

Of course, it could be an inaccuracy. Wikipedia isn't always known for being accurate. I also saw that Jo Schlesser was listed on there for the French Grand Prix. He wasn't on the race listing either.

Raubenheimer is not listed in my 1965 records of that race either, but he was entered for the non-championship 1966 South African GP – and did not start. He entered SA national championship races around then and generally DNS or DNF.
Robin B

[theracer120]

I'm starting to come to the conclusion that perhaps it was an error. Still doesn't explain why Schlesser is on there though.

[Tim Murray]

As I understand it, the French GP organisers tried to persuade the Willment team, who already had a Brabham-BRM entered for Frank Gardner, to bring along another car so that Jo Schlesser could drive in the GP. Willment agreed, but when the organisers found out that Schlesser's car was to be only a Cosworth-engined F2 car they threw a strop and not only rejected this car but also threw out Gardner's entry as well. Bob Anderson was then invited, at very short notice, to fill the gap, which he did.

[ReWind]

Brian Raubenheimer 1965
Jo Schlesser 1965

[RStock]

He built and raced some of the Mini Marcos.

http://www.minimarco...lami/index.html

http://www.minimarco...g.uk/mmhmm.html

http://www.minimarco...ars/index2.html

[theracer120]

As I understand it, the French GP organisers tried to persuade the Willment team, who already had a Brabham-BRM entered for Frank Gardner, to bring along another car so that Jo Schlesser could drive in the GP. Willment agreed, but when the organisers found out that Schlesser's car was to be only a Cosworth-engined F2 car they threw a strop and not only rejected this car but also threw out Gardner's entry as well. Bob Anderson was then invited, at very short notice, to fill the gap, which he did.

The problem was, is that he was entered for Scuderia Centro Sud in a BRM P57.

[GIGLEUX]

For the 1965 SA GP 14 places were allocated to the usual teams competing in the WC plus one for Frank Gardner (Willment Brabham-BRM) and another one for John Love. The five remaining grid places were to be filled by the five fastest times during practises. 16 cars were to qualify, Brian K.Raubenheimer had n°30

[David Force]

I bought Brian's Lotus 20 sometime in the early 90's and returned it to the UK. It was restored by Alan Baillie. Lorina drove it in HGPCA races and others for a season or two including Monza, Montlhery and what was then the Christies Silverstone Historic Meeting.

Brian is alive and well and spends a lot of time on his boat in and around South Africa.

Along with it I purchased the Lotus 18 with Borgward engine, a lovely machine with such an advanced specification.

[Jeff Weinbren]

David,
Would that be the ex Helmut Menzler Lotus Borgward?. If so have you raced in any recent historic events?.
Thanks,
Jeff weinbren.

I bought Brian's Lotus 20 sometime in the early 90's and returned it to the UK. It was restored by Alan Baillie. Lorina drove it in HGPCA races and others for a season or two including Monza, Montlhery and what was then the Christies Silverstone Historic Meeting.

Brian is alive and well and spends a lot of time on his boat in and around South Africa.

Along with it I purchased the Lotus 18 with Borgward engine, a lovely machine with such an advanced specification.

[David Force]

I imagine there was only one but I cannot remember who I bought it from.

I didn't race it, I sold it to fund the rebuild on the Lotus 20.

Hindsight dictates I got that the wrong way round !

[David McKinney]

There were also the BKLs in Germany

The ex-South African (Menzler) car was raced by Pierluigi Mapelli in Italy from 1989 - does that rings any Bells?

[Rocky2]

For the 1965 SA GP 14 places were allocated to the usual teams competing in the WC plus one for Frank Gardner (Willment Brabham-BRM) and another one for John Love. The five remaining grid places were to be filled by the five fastest times during practises. 16 cars were to qualify, Brian K.Raubenheimer had n°30

From "Sun on the Grid" by Ken Stewart and Norman Reich:

"As always race fever swept East London as throngs from all over South Africa and even further afield converged on the delightful resort. The main thoroughfare, Oxford Street, looked like a Wall Street nightmare as battled to find somewhere to sleep, eat, drink and be merry.

There certainly was quantity and quality in the wide field; Ferrari nominated John Surtees (V8) and Lorenzo Bandini (flat-12) while Lotus had the new car, first aired at Johannesburg, for Jim Clark.

Austria's Jochen Rindt and Scotland's Jackie Stewart were making team debuts - Rindt for Cooper and Stewart for B.R.M.

In all, 16 were guaranteed grid positions, including the South African champion, John Love. Another 15 were to dispute the other four places in a special practice session in which they had first to get round in under 1 minute 37 seconds to even qualify for further practising.

John Surtees, the first to arrive, was followed by nine drivers from nine different countries, underlining the cosmopolitan nature of the field. Brabham immediately predicted that East London's 100-m.p.h. lap barrier would be broken. Lotus arrived on the Tuesday, while the qualifiers were out in search of times to keep them in the hunt.

The Ferrari team was already finding plenty to kepp them busy; the flat 12 had only arrived on Tuesday morning and the mechanics worked right through the night in getting it into shape. Apparently, SEFAC Ferrari was taking no chances for apart from the six mechanics and an engineer, it brought out a special policeman, dolled out in his own uniform, to keep idle onlookers away.

It was heartening to see a crowd of 8,000 turn out to watch the qualifying practice in which there were only three non-starters. The two overseas entries who had to qualify, Paul Hawkins and David Prophet, set the pace; Hawkins' Brabham-Ford had its crisp crackle and he was the first to better 1 minute 37 seconds. He then lowered his time to 1 minute 34.5 seconds and Prophet got warmed up to a creditable 1 minute 36.4, although his Brabham-Ford was not sounding quite as healthy.

Of the South African hopefuls Neville Lederle and Dave Charlton had early setbacks. Charlton was first to throw in the towel when his gearbox gave in after only half-an-hour while Lederle's car was just not fast enough yet. Clive Puzey of Salisbury, who was going quite quickly, though not below the required mark, spun and collided with a bracking board at Potter's Pass and although neither he nor the car was out of action, he was unable to lower his time any further and that was that.

Peter de Klerk, Doug Serrurier and Ernest Pieterse were added to the list of qualifieres after an hour and Lederle finally got his Lotus weaving to notch up one exceptionally good tour in 1 minute 36 seconds that was to be the fourth fasters behind Hawkins (1 minute 34.5), De Klerk (1 minute 35.4) and Trevor Blokdyk (1 minute 35.7) who had also made the grade. Just before the flag, Brausch Niemann squeezed in with 1 minute 36.9 and Tingle managed 1 minute 36.6. Jackie Pretorius was the only other driver to miss the boat.

Wednesday was warm and windy. Jim Clark showed off the corset he was forced to wear after slipping that disc, it certainly didn't stop him from going motor racing! After a couple of laps to have a look around he got to work: the pit board came out - 1 minute 30.0, then 1 minute 28.5, then 1 minute 28.1. The Lotus came in and everyone with anything to do with it, looked decidedly happy. Then Surtees got down to 1 minute 28.1 and Clark decided there was perhaps more work to be done.

He went out again and after two laps at an average of 99.8 m.p.h. he whisked away to a lap in 1 minute 27.6 to become the first to clock the 'ton' - only just, with 100.10 m.p.h.

Things were not going quite as smoothly in the B.R.M. camp for Hill blew up the engine of his car and while it was being worked on, he took out the team car marked with number 34 to keep his hand in. Out on the track the strong easterly wind was not letting up and several drivers were interestingly hairy as a result.

Both Siffert, in Rob Walker's number two car, and Tony Maggs, driving for Reg Parnell, had long debates with mechanics on selection of gear ratios and spent the practice sorting them out. The flat-12 Ferrari was acting up, Bandini seeming impatient with it and gesticulating each time he passed the unhappy looking pit crew.

In contrast, the Lotus cup of happiness was full to overflowing as Spence had put in a terrific lap at 1 minute 28.5 in a car which, in the words of one of his mechanics, was "going like a bomb."

Bonnier, suffering from 'flu and well-protected in woollens, seemed out of touch, and after struggling around for a few laps, he took a seat in his pit and watched team mate Siffert and Rindt in the adjoing pits, coming and going. John Love, just up the way from Jo, seemed satisfied with a time of 1 minute 33.8. Of course the drivers who had to qualify were busier than anybody; Lederle lopped a few fractions of a second off his best while Hawkins headed the list with an excellent return of 1 minute 33.1. Next in line was Dave Prophet, two seconds slower and so ended a most interesting and enlightening Wednesday.

One of the first delights of an East London Grand Prix is the early Thursday practice session. The crisp morning air and the blue backdrop of the Indian Ocean create a unique atmosphere for the coming excitement. This Thursday was no exception and the enthusiasts turned out in force to see the fun. Although the cars took some time to warm up in the cool breeze, there was still a queue beside the control tower as the flag came out sharp at six. McLaren led the pack round and set the pace with a time of 1 minute 29.4. Gurney was having constant trouble while Brabham and Rindt were both late in starting.

After a lenthy conference with his pit manager, Surtees got abroad and put in a time of 1 minute 28.1 while Bandini seemed much happier with his mount and cut his time to 1 minute 29.3. Just to make sure, Clark showed his paces in working his way round at an average speed of 100.55 m.p.h. that brought his time down to 1 minute 27.2. The final practice on Tuesday afternoon saw only Gardner, Siffert, Gurney improve on their best times.

So Clark nailed down pole position for this race for the fourth year in succession. He was joined on the front row of the grid by two other world champions, Jack Brabham and the reigning champion, John Surtees, Mike Spence handily at his elbow with a path clear to break in support of his colleague. Graham Hill, without his own car for so long, did pretty well in completing the second row. Finally, Hawkins, Prophet, De Beaufort and Tingle all managed to qualify, Tingle having to rely on his first practice time for qualification. His best at the final session was as high as 1 minute 40.7 due to various unspecified maladies. Hawkins did extremely well, his time bettering that of John Love, a nominated entry. Lederle and Blokdyk were the reserves."

Entry list (from "Sun on the Grid"

1. S.E.F.A.C. Ferrari; John Surtees; G.B.; Ferrari
2. S.E.F.A.C. Ferrari; Lorenzo Bandini; Italy; Ferrari
3. Owen Racing Organisation; Graham Hill; G.B.; B.R.M.
4. Owen Racing Organisation; Jackie Stewart; G.B.; B.R.M.
5. Team Lotus Limited; Jim Clark; G.B.; Lotus-Climax
6. Team Lotus Limited; Mike Spence; G.B.; Lotus-Climax
7. Brabham Racing Organisation; Jack Brabham; G.B.; Brabham-Climax
8. Brabham Racing Organisation; Dan Gurney; U.S.A.; Brabham-Climax
9. Cooper Car Co. Ltd.; Bruce McLaren; N.Z.; Cooper-Climax
10. Cooper Car Co. Ltd.; Jochen Rindt; Austria; Cooper-Climax
11. R.R.C. Walker Racing Team; Joachim Bonnier; Sweden; Brabham-Climax
12. R.R.C. Walker Racing Team; Jo Siffert; Switzerland; Brabham-B.R.M.
14. D.W. Racing Enterprises Limited; Bob Anderson; G.B.; Brabham-Climax
15. Reg Parnell (Racing) Limited; Tony Maggs; S.A.; Lotus-B.R.M.
16. John Willment Automobiles Ltd.; Frank Gardner; G.B.; Brabham-B.R.M.
17. J. Love; John Love; Rhodesia; Cooper-Climax
-----------------------------------------
18. John Willment Automobiles Ltd.; P. Hawkins; G.B.; Brabham-Ford
19. D. M. D. Prophet; D. M. D. Prophet; G.B.; Brabham-Ford
20. O. Nucci; P. de Klerk; S.A.; Alfa Special
21. O. Nucci; D. Serrurier; S.A.; L.D.S.-Climax
22. Lawson Organisation; E. Pieterse; S.A.; Lotus-Climax
23. Scuderia Scribante; N. Lederle; S.A.; Lotus-Climax
24. C. R. Puzey; C. R. Puzey; Rhodesia; Lotus-Climax
25. S. A. Tingle; S. A. Tingle; Rhodesia; L.D.S.-Alfa
26. Ray's Engineering; R. Reed; Rhodesia; R.E.-Alfa
27. G. E. Lanfear; B. Niemann; S.A.; Lotus-Ford
28. Hoffman Racing Team; T. Blokdyk; S.A.; Cooper-Ford
29. J. J. Pretorius; J. J. Pretorius; S.A.; Lotus-Climax
30. B. K. Raubenheimer; B. K. Raubenheimer; S.A.; Lotus-Ford
31. Lawson Organisation; D. Clapham; S.A.; Cooper-Maserati
32. Ecurie Tomahawk; D. W. Charlton; S.A.; Lotus-Ford
33. Team Valencia; A. Blignaut; S.A.; Cooper-Climax

So what in conclusion? There were 32 cars entered: 16 were guaranteed with grid positions, another 16 had to pre-qualify in a special practice session, amongst them 4 non-starters: Ray Reed (who died in a plane crash before the Grand Prix) in his Realpha-Alfa Romeo RE1, Brian Raubenheimer (due to lack of funds) in his Lotus-Ford 20, David Clapham in the Cooper-Maserati T51, Alex Blignaut (car not ready) in the Cooper-Climax T55. 12 drivers took part in a special practice session on Tuesday, 29th December, 1964, amongst them 3 didn't qualify for the qualifying practices: Jackie Pretorius (L.D.S.-Alfa Romeo MkI), Dave Charlton (Lotus-Ford 20) and Clive Puzey (Lotus-Climax 18/21). 25 drivers took part in qualifying practices: 16 were guaranteed with grid positions, other 9 had to fight for the remaining 4 grid places. Graham Hill also tried a B.R.M. with #34 starting number. 5 drivers didn't qualify for the race: Trevor Blokdyk (Cooper-Ford T59), Neville Lederle (Lotus-Climax 21), Doug Serrurier (L.D.S.-Climax MkII), Brausch Niemann (Lotus-Ford 22), Ernie Pieterse (Lotus-Ford 21). 2 reserve drivers: Trevor Blokdyk and Neville Lederle. 20 drivers started the race: 16 with guaranteed grid positions and 4 other fastest drivers: Paul Hawkins (Brabham-Ford BT10), Peter de Klerk (Alfa Romeo Special), David Prophet (Brabham-Ford BT10) and Sam Tingle (L.D.S.-Alfa Romeo MkI).

[sterling49]

As I understand it, the French GP organisers tried to persuade the Willment team, who already had a Brabham-BRM entered for Frank Gardner, to bring along another car so that Jo Schlesser could drive in the GP. Willment agreed, but when the organisers found out that Schlesser's car was to be only a Cosworth-engined F2 car they threw a strop and not only rejected this car but also threw out Gardner's entry as well. Bob Anderson was then invited, at very short notice, to fill the gap, which he did.

Tim are you sure? That sounds very unlike the French !

[Tim Murray]

Absolutely, Sterling - I couldn't quite believe it myself when I read it.

As I understand it the organisers rather shot themselves in the foot by doing this. They wanted to get Schlesser into the race as there had been at least one French driver in every French GP run previously and they were very keen to keep the run going (which could mean they also sounded out Scuderia Centro Sud as mentioned above). As we know, their efforts came to naught and there was no French driver in the race. The next time this happened was 2005.

[theracer120]

Well, thanks everyone for your help.

[ry6]

There was a SA Grand Prix on 1st January 1966 for '3' litre cars.
Brian Raubenheimer (correct name and spelling) entered his Lotus 20 with Ford 1600 twin cam engine. He had uprated it to '22' specs.
On the second day of practice a big wind came up and it had a severe effect on the smaller cars trying to qualify.
He was unable to qualify.
I have some practice times somewhere and will try to find them.
I say 'somewhere' because I have spent hours trying to find this document - but one day I will.