26 replies to this topic

[GregCozier]

Roger Clark's rallying career is quite well documented but I can find very little information on his dabbles with circuit racing. In the Team Broadspeed/Bristol Street Group Escort he finished first in 1300 class in the 1968 Grosser Preis der Tourenwagen Nurburgring 6 hour race partnered with Chris Craft and he drove an AMR Escort in the 1968 British Grand Prix support BSCC race at Brands Hatch but retired after an accident. Does anyone have any pics of these races or other circuit-racing exploits?

[alansart]

He also did the Avon Tour of Britain on several occasions, which combined both Rally Stages and Circuit Races. There are some excellent photos of Roger and Gerry Marshall duelling in Escorts (cue Gregor).

[RS2000]

He did some of a season of club racing in 1967(?) in a Vita(?) prepared Mk2 Cortina Lotus. This was all about developing tarmac skills for rallying. Vic Elford had left Ford and all the rally drivers (Clark, Bengt Soderstrom and Ove Andersson) for 67 were forest specialists.

It raises the question as to whether, if Vic Elford had not fallen out with Henry Taylor and left, the Escort in 68 and later could have been developed from day one as a tarmac rally car to the same extent it was as a forest car. Only in its last "works" year were the "Alan Wilkinson tarmac specials" built (and the jury is still out on how effective they were). Aswer is probably "no"? - as Ford never devoted adequate funding to its rally programmes and, in my view, never "punched its weight" as the company it was. Quite why that view caused such a nasty, vitriolic response on here not so long ago still escapes me. I still think the perpetrator failed to read what I wrote and took it as solely a criticism of Malcolm Wilson's modern operation, when I was referring to Ford as a tight-fisted world company and the shambles its rally reliability and organisation often was in the Cortina days, compared to BMC.

Edited by RS2000, 13 December 2010 - 19:49.

[BarryJohnson]

I seem to recall him racing a Cortina at Mallory Park a number of times sponsored by John Cotton Cigarillos whatever they were.

[Alan Cox]

He also did the Avon Tour of Britain on several occasions, which combined both Rally Stages and Circuit Races. There are some excellent photos of Roger and Gerry Marshall duelling in Escorts (cue Gregor).

[alansart]

That's one of them

[Alan Cox]

At an early Coys Festival

[Allan Lupton]

No photos but I remember him in a 6-hour Relay at Thruxton where he drove one of Leo Bertorelli's Alfa Romeos, I think a GTAm. In the race it eventually blew up after losing oil pressure, which it was said Clark hadn't noticed - probably a rallyman wasn't used to watching instruments as closely as he should, particularly when cornering hard when centrifugal surge robbed the oilpump of its prime.
Didn't see him to speak to from then until 1995 when we happened on him at the Globe pub at the Weedon crossroads when we dropped by.

[RS2000]

Didn't his brother Stan race an Alfa?

[ExFlagMan]

Didn't his brother Stan race an Alfa?

Yes. I seem to recall Roger also driving the Stan Clark Alfa on occasions, though I may of course be wrong.

[alansart]

Didn't his brother Stan race an Alfa?

Edited by alansart, 14 December 2010 - 09:12.

[sterling49]

Di I recall that Roger drove a "Calypso Racing" Cortina? I could well be wide of the mark here!! Good photos of Roger at the 'Ring in Graham Robson's Touring Car Racing book.

Edited by sterling49, 14 December 2010 - 12:00.

[glyn parham]

IIRC didn't Roger roll an Alan Mann Escort at the Grand Prix support race in 1968, probably one of several drives in touring cars that year which will back up RS2000's comments about Ford needing drivers with tarmac experience in the rally team.

Glyn

[GregCozier]

IIRC didn't Roger roll an Alan Mann Escort at the Grand Prix support race in 1968, probably one of several drives in touring cars that year which will back up RS2000's comments about Ford needing drivers with tarmac experience in the rally team.

Glyn

The race report says he had an accident with Brian Robinson in a Lotus Cortina and both went off. He was driving the 'supercharged' AMR Escort that was supposed to take points from the over-2,000cc cars to improve Gardner's chances.

[Rob 123]

Didn't his brother Stan race an Alfa?

Yes in 1975 Stan Clark and Tony Dron raced a couple of Alfa Romeo 1600 GT Junior's in the British Touring Car Championship with Penthouse sponsorship

[pete53]

Di I recall that Roger drove a "Calypso Racing" Cortina? I could well be wide of the mark here!! Good photos of Roger at the 'Ring in Graham Robson's Touring Car Racing book.

Spot-on - Roger drove the Calypso Racing Cortina Mk2 in 1967. I seem to recall seeing the car at Crystal Palace that year in a National event - not sure if it was used in Group 5 BTCC events, but I don't think so.
Pete

[GregCozier]

Spot-on - Roger drove the Calypso Racing Cortina Mk2 in 1967. I seem to recall seeing the car at Crystal Palace that year in a National event - not sure if it was used in Group 5 BTCC events, but I don't think so.
Pete

That's an interesting name, Google took me to a hydroplane racing outfit. Anyone know any details about the team? Any Caribbean links inferred by the name?

[ExFlagMan]

QUOTE (RS2000 @ Dec 14 2010, 00:58) Didn't his brother Stan race an Alfa?[/quote][/quote]
[quote name='ExFlagMan' post='4758749' date='Dec 14 2010, 08:20']Yes. I seem to recall Roger also driving the Stan Clark Alfa on occasions, though I may of course be wrong.[/quote]

I guess I was wrong - it was probably Stan Clark driving the Roger Clark Cars Alfa I remember

[Alfie]

That's an interesting name, Google took me to a hydroplane racing outfit. Anyone know any details about the team? Any Caribbean links inferred by the name?

IIRC Calypso was the brand name of a cigarillo type product, a mixture of cheroot and cigarette, that remained on the market for a couple of years before everyone who tried it agreed that smoking camel dung was preferable. I seem to have a recollection of an Orange packet - I know the car was Orange.

Mr Clark spent a great deal of time in the corners at an angle the text books would probably have frowned upon but which kept the spectators oohing and arrghing.

[GregCozier]

IIRC Calypso was the brand name of a cigarillo type product, a mixture of cheroot and cigarette, that remained on the market for a couple of years before everyone who tried it agreed that smoking camel dung was preferable. I seem to have a recollection of an Orange packet - I know the car was Orange.

Mr Clark spent a great deal of time in the corners at an angle the text books would probably have frowned upon but which kept the spectators oohing and arrghing.

Found it, thanks. Link to pic of orange packet http://www.cigarette.....ttes)_KS-20-H

[BRG]

What of the rallycross exploits or is that another thread?

[sterling49]

R.A.C. was winning with brother Stan in the 4WD Capris, back when Rally X actually had mud at Lydden !

[Allan Lupton]

R.A.C. was winning with brother Stan in the 4WD Capris, back when Rally X actually had mud at Lydden !

I remember him giving a talk somewhere and when he was asked a question about power loss in the 4WD Crapi he claimed that, although there was not supposed to be much, he did know that it took four strong men to push it on level ground!
I think that was just a quip for a cheap laugh, rather than a deeply technical fact.

[sterling49]

They were pretty crude devices though Alan ! The old Essex V-6 engine not the most powerfull either! John Taylor and Rod Chapman's B.D.A. were always so much more fleet of foot ! Roger was great at forums, loved a few beers and a pretty girl too, a proper rallyman !

[Allan Lupton]

They were pretty crude devices though Alan ! The old Essex V-6 engine not the most powerfull either! John Taylor and Rod Chapman's B.D.A. were always so much more fleet of foot ! Roger was great at forums, loved a few beers and a pretty girl too, a proper rallyman !

Sadly when I last met him (as written above) at the Globe pub at the Weedon crossroads, it seemed that the liking for a few beers was winning (it, or something, got him only 2½ years later aged only 62).
Ford did the 4WD Sierra shortly after those Crapis using Ferguson know-how to achieve a very good and reasonably efficient system, and I have always assumed the rallycross Capri was a system testbed as much as anything - it was a works job, after all.

[perry]

Di I recall that Roger drove a "Calypso Racing" Cortina? I could well be wide of the mark here!! Good photos of Roger at the 'Ring in Graham Robson's Touring Car Racing book.

I think your recall is good.I almost certainly was involved in a saloon car race at Silverstone in which Roger Clark was driving the Calypso Cortina.I was in a1650 twin cam anglia

I think there was a photo of the 2 cars locked together in one of the then motoring magazines If anyone knows of this  or any other photos of  this era of saloon car racing

I would be very pleased  Richard Bromwich

[raceannouncer2003]

Some results here:

 

http://www.racingspo...r-Clark-GB.html

 

Some "DNA" and "DNS", did some Tourist Trophy races.

 

Vince H.