25 replies to this topic

[GMACKIE]

Not sure if this is covered elsewhere on TNF? Someone asked me recently why Ian was called 'Pete', and I recalled something that was told to me years ago.

The story went - Ian Geoghegan arrived at the Southern Sporting Car Club meeting one night, at Carlton [NSW], driving a black car [Jag?]. He was also dressed in black clothes, and someone exclaimed "You look like Black Pete!" Black Pete was a Walt Disney comic book character. 'Black Pete' was shortened over time to 'Pete'. The chap who told me this story was at that meeting, and is quite reliable.

[Tim Murray]

This was discussed in this earlier Pete Geoghegan thread, following on from this post from Barry Lake:

I asked his widow, Nanette, when he got the nickname "Pete". She said his father, Tom, had called him Pinto Pete from when he was a couple of years old. Pinto Pete means something to me, so I asked was it a cartoon, comic, children's book? Two or three people there answered, "It was a horse", but no-one could elaborate on that. When the Geoghegan's race cars were all black, it was a natural thing that they began calling him "Black Pete". I said it had been suggested that Bill Tuckey coined that nickname. They said no, it had nothing to do with Tuckey, they were calling him that before Tuckey came on the scene.

[Hank the Deuce]

Didn't Tom Geoghegan run trotters prior to running the race cars? The stories go that he used to say to John Sheppard ref the idea of wearing out cars in testing and practice: "they're not trotters, son, you don't need to train 'em"... of course Sheppo uber-developed that concept to the point that the HDT Toranas in his car did the barest minimum of practice and then sat in front of the pit bay looking immaculate... he always said it drove the opposition nuts to have Brock do a handful of laps, whack the thing on pole and then put it away.

The anecdotes I had heard about Ian's nickname went along the lines that the trotting connection was where Pinto Pete came from original. Bill Tuckey always took credit for the "Black Pete" thing, but it would seem to have been in existence well before Bill's usage...

[Ray Bell]

When did Bill arrive on the scene, anyway?

The Geoghegans were racing black cars before Lakeside happened, and I would think that Bill more or less came to notice at that time. I'm more inclined to think it's a mix of the two stories... the 'Pinto Pete' family name melding into 'Black Pete' and becoming more familiar with the Car Club connection.

[GMACKIE]

The Southern Sporting Car Club 'Black Pete' reference was cica 1961-2. Before Bill, I think.

Does anyone remember the Disney 'Black Pete' character?....... There WAS some resemblance!

[Ray Bell]

Yeah, Black Pete isn't hard to remember... you'd find him in Mickey Mouse comics stirring up trouble...

Bill Tuckey was, however, writing for Sports Car World by 1962 IIRC.

[Hank the Deuce]

The Southern Sporting Car Club 'Black Pete' reference was cica 1961-2. Before Bill, I think.

Does anyone remember the Disney 'Black Pete' character?....... There WAS some resemblance!

That was always the image referenced by Bill...

[GMACKIE]

Maybe it was Bill who made the comment at the S.S.C.C. meeting that night!

[Wirra]

Probably the most photographed car in Oz

From the S Fryer collection

[The Chasm]

I had the good fortune to navigate for "Pete" in a road rally for a week in the 1990's, and can confirm Nanette's story that Pete was a nickname he said he recieved from Tom Geoghegan. I can't recall exactly the origin, but it did have some connection to horses or a favourite horse of Tom's.

That was a week I shall never forget. At one time during the rally, I discovered that Pete's speech impediment disappeared when he drove at 10/10ths. It was a magic 45 mins when we both conversed in clear unbroken speech - when I spoke of the stage to Pete later that day about his speech during the stage, he was totally unaware of the change that had transpired. The man had a remarkable and still spectatular driving talent in the 1990's.

[Ray Bell]

Indeed...

I was in the Laurie O'Neil motorhome at Phillip Island when Pete raced the 935 there. It was getting on towards nightfall after practice and my son was whinging that we might miss out on seeing the penguins... I was telling him they weren't due out yet.

Pete, without a hint of a stammer, bent down to him and said, "They'll still be there for you, true!"

[Wirra]

... I discovered that Pete's speech impediment disappeared when he drove at 10/10ths...

A little OT but I always remember one day at school, some 50 odd years ago, an elocution teacher (do youse lot remember 'em) brought a kid with a terrible stammer out to the front of the class and stood across the room from him. She and the kid started throwing and catching an orange between them. The teacher then started a conversation with the kid who never stammered once. It was truly remarkable.

Thankfully it appears speech pathologist sort it out early these days but it wasn't always the case back then.

Edited by Wirra, 06 July 2011 - 15:37.

[seldo]

I had the good fortune to navigate for "Pete" in a road rally for a week in the 1990's, and can confirm Nanette's story that Pete was a nickname he said he recieved from Tom Geoghegan. I can't recall exactly the origin, but it did have some connection to horses or a favourite horse of Tom's.

That was a week I shall never forget. At one time during the rally, I discovered that Pete's speech impediment disappeared when he drove at 10/10ths. It was a magic 45 mins when we both conversed in clear unbroken speech - when I spoke of the stage to Pete later that day about his speech during the stage, he was totally unaware of the change that had transpired. The man had a remarkable and still spectatular driving talent in the 1990's.

At one stage in maybe the the mid '70s Pete went to speech therapist for an intensive month-long, live-in therapy course in Melbourne. When he came out he spoke perfectly....for a few months. He told me the methodology was to slow-down the speech process to almost single words at a time, and once that was mastered, they then slowly speeded it up again.
Sadly, after a few months it was as bad as ever again.
I do recall a time at Catalina Park when he broke a front sway-bar in the Mustang during a race and somehow, with his legendary car-control managed to control the ensuing huge, lurid slide down through the fast Bosch curve, and rein it in before The Tunnel.
At the end of the day a few of us were chatting to Pete when an enthusiastic youngster pushed into the conversation and began raving to Pete how it was fantastic see how he had "chucked sideways into Bosch and held that beautiful slide with the throttle wide-open and then pulled it all straight again".
After the fan had left, Pete said "Th th th that'd be f f f far far farkin' right! W w w wh wh when y y y're about to hi hi hi hiiiit the f f f far far farkin' f f fence, y y y you sure as h h h hell don't keep the f f f far far farkin throttle o o o o open.!!"
An amazing talent, sadly missed.

[Ray Bell]

Yes, he did have therapy, but I think it was later than that...

I recall he was at an office in Boronia Park or somewhere else in that Gladesville area and I visited briefly, his speech was okay.

One wonders how he was speaking when he visited the pub in Bathurst the day he was sent to get the nails.

By the way, wasn't it something more serious than a broken anti-roll bar?

[seldo]

Yes, he did have therapy, but I think it was later than that...

I recall he was at an office in Boronia Park or somewhere else in that Gladesville area and I visited briefly, his speech was okay.

One wonders how he was speaking when he visited the pub in Bathurst the day he was sent to get the nails.

By the way, wasn't it something more serious than a broken anti-roll bar?

It may have been later than that Ray, but I don't think it's significant.
I'm fairly sure it was a sway bar or maybe a sway-bar-bracket, because it was fixed for the next race, but again, in this case the detail doesn't affect the crux of the story.

[Hank the Deuce]

By the way, wasn't it something more serious than a broken anti-roll bar?

That was one of Bill T's favourite anecdotes about the Big Fella... and it was reported as a broken control arm or something... but I wasn't there, and only "know" what I know from the accounts of people who saw him in action... Pete's chapter in "Motor Racing - The Australian Way" (would it have been ghost-written by Bryan Hanrahan? Or was Pete that naturally funny as far as the written word went?), made little of the incident, other than it represented the only major scare he'd had in a car that he felt worth mentioning... and he merely said something along the lines of "something broke in the car and she went around... the old arms were tangled like spaghetti, but it all came back straight somehow")

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by Hank the Deuce
That was one of Bill T's favourite anecdotes about the Big Fella... and it was reported as a broken control arm or something.....

Peter Wherrett's RCN report states that it was a cracked disc and dislodged radius arm rubber, undoubtedly dislodged when the cracked disc pulled on the arm with great force as the brakes were applied.

I doubt that he ever braked for very long at Bosch, but this time he certainly wouldn't have. And just imagine if it had happened at the next corner, the Tunnel!

Originally posted by seldo
.....I'm fairly sure it was a sway bar or maybe a sway-bar-bracket, because it was fixed for the next race, but again, in this case the detail doesn't affect the crux of the story.

You're right, David, it doesn't impinge on the story at all. But it is nice to get the facts straight when we can.

Edited by Ray Bell, 07 July 2011 - 01:59.

[Hank the Deuce]

Is there anyone within the TNF room who may have witnessed the Big Bloke's form in unofficial practice at Bathurst in 1977? He was apparently on fire in Bob Jane's A9X, setting an unofficial lap roughly three seconds inside the eventual pole time, done using his vintage free-sliding form... would be great to hear about it - in fact, any of his great drives - from people who can say "I was there...."

Was it true that Allan Horsley handicapped him at an Oran Park night meet to the point that the Mustang needed to be inside the lap record on each and every lap to be in the hunt... and that his headlights spent most of their time raking the infield as he went at it?

[Ray Bell]

"I was there..." when he raced the Lola...

The car had wider wheels fitted, was resplendent in fresh yellow paint and the wheel arches were bulging. He flung it around pretty well, but he was still slower than Johnny Martin had been with the skinny wheels.

"I was there..." at Sandown...

Peter Brock was in the crowd at Peters' Corner watching him lift the nose of the Mustang and slide it towards the back straight. "He's fat, he's obese, it's obscene," he said, "but sh*t he can drive!"

"I was there..." at Oran Park...

Running away at the head of the field, dominating the race in the Super Falcon. Asked where they'd found the extra speed, Mick Lambert told me they'd been trying different rear axle ratios during the week. One change simply led them to perfect gearing. "One ratio higher wouldn't do it, one ratio lower wouldn't either, it was just right!"

The change had been only one point, I don't recall the figures, but like from 4.2:1 to 4.1:1, while 4.0:1 was no good either. In fact, the ratios might have even been closer than that, Mick commented that they had lots of very close gearsets.

[Wirra]

..."I was there..." at Oran Park...

Running away at the head of the field, dominating the race in the Super Falcon. ...

Me too.

[Hank the Deuce]

"I was there..."

gold, Ray, pure gold

[Ray Bell]

It did look good that day... never better!

And Pete kept it in shape, blitzing the field until the gearbox failed. His huge lead shrunk and he dropped back to third as he nursed it home.

This was his first meeting under Grace Bros sponsorship, by the way. 1972 Oran Park ATCC round, August 6.

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by seldo
.....because it was fixed for the next race.....

Actually, it wasn't, he didn't run again later in the day. The report makes a specific mention of this.





And to resume the "I was there..." items:

The days he put the Mustang around with the bootlid propped open, spectacular stuff, but I don't think it proved very much.

The day he won the Australian Tourist Trophy in the 23B at Lakeside. We all expected Matich to win, but he wasn't to be there... the car was destroyed a couple of meetings earlier. Then it was a shoe-in for the Mildren Maserati and Frank Gardner was brought in to drive it... but that ended its run starting the second lap of the pre-event heat with bits scattering all over the track from under the engine cover. And I'd expected Greg Cusack to fare better, but Pete had his measure in this important event.

The day he got back on Moffat and showed him not to toy with him any more. I never interpreted it that way at the time, but later I was told this was the case.

The many days he slid the Mustang past our flag point. Not at quite the acute angles that KB displayed in the TZ2 or the GTA, but far enough out to know he was going hard.

The day he put the Lotus Cortina on its lid at Catalina, saying, "It tripped and fell!" If ever a car was demonised it was that one... it brought out the red flag twice in its subsequent career, a red flag that was rarely displayed those days.

The day he stormed back into the field after the Laurie O'Neil Aston stuck to the grid until most of the field reached Creek Corner.

The day he drove a GT500 Cortina in a suit from one of Sydney's leading menswear stores. This promotion was the first of many Hans Tieperman's efforts to put retain money into the sport.

The day he first drove a Lotus 23, the car looked like it was painted on the circuit!

[Team Result]

"The day he won the Australian Tourist Trophy in the 23B at Lakeside."

I was there too, Ray. IIRC, it was my second ever visit to 'the Lake'. As a youngster getting interested in all things automotive, I couldn't quite understand how a car with a 1498cc engine could run away from one with a 6900cc one - anyway, I soon after became a diehard fan of the winning driver whose name wasn't pronounced as spelt!

OK, try this one!

Fast forward fourish years and the Tourist Trophy was replaced by a round of the Sports Car Championship at Lakeside. I was still there! (well, same position by the fence on the downhill side of Eastern Loop, anyway)

Somehow "Big Pete' was shoehorned into the SV Ferrari 250LM as Bill Brown had moved up to the newly acquired P4. On the warm-up lap I could have sworn his head was hitting the roof. 'Hunched over the wheel' took on a whole new meaning there and then! But, could he actually race like that? Could he ever! trust me, that image of The Man driving the wheels off the prettiest race car in Australia through Hungry Corner for lap after lap beats Viagara hands down as an impotency cure!

The mists of time have somewhat obscured the race results, however I believe Bill Brown won and Pete came in 3rd or 4th. What I do remember is that he destroyed the lap record for his class in the process. It had previously been held by none other than Spencer Martin in the same 250LM!!!

Yep, Peter Brock got it right; sh*t he could drive......anything!

[redgts]

Me too.

What sight, Pete's falcon, Bruce Cary's V8 Capri and Bill Brown's Porsche all sponsored by GBs laying rubber almost the length of the straight at the start at Amaroo .And how many people were lucky enough to see all three battle it out, lap after lap, a sight not to be repeated.

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by Team Result
Fast forward fourish years and the Tourist Trophy was replaced by a round of the Sports Car Championship at Lakeside. I was still there! (well, same position by the fence on the downhill side of Eastern Loop, anyway).....

It wasn't a Sports Car Championship round, Ross, that was still a single race (ATT - Mallala in January)... and as it took place in May '68 it wasn't even three years after the Tourist Trophy.

One thing about this event was that it marked Matich's return to the circuit after a 3-year absence (beginning with that crash that finished off the 19B), but he was to non-start the Lakeside 400 Sports Trophy when a valve seat fell out. Then the Niel Allen car broke a bolt in the steering on the warm-up lap and left the front row of the grid vacant!

Somehow "Big Pete' was shoehorned into the SV Ferrari 250LM as Bill Brown had moved up to the newly acquired P4. On the warm-up lap I could have sworn his head was hitting the roof. 'Hunched over the wheel' took on a whole new meaning there and then! But, could he actually race like that? Could he ever! trust me, that image of The Man driving the wheels off the prettiest race car in Australia through Hungry Corner for lap after lap beats Viagara hands down as an impotency cure!

The mists of time have somewhat obscured the race results, however I believe Bill Brown won and Pete came in 3rd or 4th. What I do remember is that he destroyed the lap record for his class in the process. It had previously been held by none other than Spencer Martin in the same 250LM!

Brocky was right about a lot of stuff, you know...

He was an enthusiast before he was a driver, and I don't believe that ever left him.

The mists of time can clear now, Ross. This is how it panned out:

With the front row vacant, Brown was effectively on pole and blasted away... oh, why not directly quote Des?

Brown called the tune all the way, while Pete pedalled the 250LM in the manner which it must have been built for, hanging the tail wide at all points and lifting the inside front wheel through the elbow as he comfortably headed Scott's 23B. (Seem to remember Pete winning the Aust. Tourist Trophy in '65 in a 23B, and the same 250LM being somewhere back amongst the other 'road' Jaguars and such. If you thought about that for a while you just might arrive at the conclusion that big "Mustang Pete" could be one of the 'greats' of motor racing.)

....

Brown enjoyed a five-second lead over Geoghegan at the halfway mark [10 laps], the 250LM lapping consistently in the low 59s to head Scott by over two seconds.

The placings remained, the P4 taking the flag as Geoghegan swept down through Shell and Scott was around the Eastern Loop. The crowd went for Pete, well deserved acclamation for a great forceful display.

That was one I missed, Ross... and I guess on reflection it's a real shame that I did. The very next day of official competition at Lakeside I was there to see Niel Allen, who had done a 54.9 at this meeting in the M4A, but was to DNF with a broken suspension, while Matich had done 53.7 in practice.

Thanks for the memories!