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Ray Bell's 'Auto Action' column


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#201 275 GTB-4

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Posted 12 May 2014 - 06:13

Hey Wilga...if you think this bad, you ain't seen nothing yet! Sometimes you have to wade through the swamp to reach solid ground [​...whaddya reckon Ray?]

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#202 Lola5000

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Posted 12 May 2014 - 06:25

You are obviously missing something...

 

Can you please explain in simple words why pages 147/8 HAD to about the Stillwell car 

 

The quality of posts seems less than ideal.

hey you don't pay my way so F....................off with your smart arse comments

 

I'm trying to understand that part of the Stillwell BT11A's history ,as the current colours are wrong and several people are trying to convince the current owner to paint the car in a correct period colour either the Stillwell colours or the Mildren ones and rule out the SV colours as the car only once or perhaps twice raced under those colours due to the lease .


Edited by Lola5000, 12 May 2014 - 06:41.


#203 Ray Bell

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Posted 12 May 2014 - 08:40

The reference to those pages was obviously to do with monocular vision...

And the refusal to give CAMS licences to drivers with monocular vision wasn't a 'late rush amendment' at all. Another to suffer from it was the Tasmanian, Peter Turnbull.

#204 seldo

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Posted 12 May 2014 - 11:29

The reference to those pages was obviously to do with monocular vision...

And the refusal to give CAMS licences to drivers with monocular vision wasn't a 'late rush amendment' at all. Another to suffer from it was the Tasmanian, Peter Turnbull.

If that's the case Ray, how come he could compete with no problem one meeting, and suddenly unable the next...
I had some association with him at the time and it was a sudden imposition.

#205 Ray Bell

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Posted 12 May 2014 - 12:55

He could always compete, David...

And I think you'll find he did subsequently in Tasman Cup events. But David wanted him to drive for him in the Gold Star series and that meant he had to have an Australian licence. Therein lies the difference.

No doubt he had no idea that monocular vision would count him out, so it would appear to be a 'sudden imposition'.

#206 wilga1

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Posted 13 May 2014 - 03:34

The reference to those pages was obviously to do with monocular vision...

And the refusal to give CAMS licences to drivers with monocular vision wasn't a 'late rush amendment' at all. Another to suffer from it was the Tasmanian, Peter Turnbull.

Ray, the reference to those pages was about Spencer Martin's defection from SV, and the sale of the Brabham.

 

Palmer's eyesight deficiency was NOT included at all in McKay's book.

That part was from my own memory.



#207 seldo

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Posted 13 May 2014 - 05:06

He could always compete, David...

And I think you'll find he did subsequently in Tasman Cup events. But David wanted him to drive for him in the Gold Star series and that meant he had to have an Australian licence. Therein lies the difference.

No doubt he had no idea that monocular vision would count him out, so it would appear to be a 'sudden imposition'.

Ok - that fits. Thanks.
I was helping him as a gofor at the Farm for one of the Tasman meetings and they couldn't get the car to start. His dad had been assisting with the preparation and as time ticked away for practise or the race start, they were in a panic as the engine would not start, and I was lucky enough to notice that he'd put a little fibre washer under the pigtail of the low-tension lead in the dissie, and therefore no earth.... Happy outcome. :)

Edited by seldo, 13 May 2014 - 05:07.


#208 wilga1

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Posted 13 May 2014 - 05:32

The other side of this Beautiful Brabham BT-11 .

 

UdEC076.jpg

I recall that in the late 60's a Jim Abbott (editor of Australian Autosportsman) bought an ex Bartlett Tasman Brabham and installed an ex Matich Traco Olds for use in hilclimbs. Was that this car?

He also organised a couple of Racing Car Shows in Sydney and Melbourne. I recall going to one in the Hordern Pavilion.

 

I seem to recall he was killed at a hilclimb? What car was that in?



#209 Dick Willis

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Posted 13 May 2014 - 06:06

Abbott's Brabham was the one referred to in posts 154 and 155



#210 Andrew Fellowes

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Posted 13 May 2014 - 06:23

Abbott's Brabham was the one referred to in posts 154 and 155

http://www.oldracing.../brabham/bt23d/



#211 wilga1

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Posted 20 May 2014 - 06:11

Yes its  going overseas.....Its coming to Tasmania

 So in keeping with the theme of Ray's column, will this BT23D be brought out to play, or will it just hang in the robe?



#212 Ray Bell

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Posted 20 May 2014 - 14:54

The Brabham Olds didn't kill Jim Abbott, did it?

Surely it was the ex-Torana driver, I can't remember his first name but the surname was Murphy?

#213 Shane Bowden

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Posted 20 May 2014 - 22:02

The Brabham Olds didn't kill Jim Abbott, did it?

Surely it was the ex-Torana driver, I can't remember his first name but the surname was Murphy?

IIRC it was Chris Murphy at one tree hill, the Ararat hillclimb.



#214 timbo

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Posted 21 May 2014 - 06:53

Its amazing  how posts to a topic will stick to the thread for a while and head off in all different directions. This is not a criticism, as being a middle aged fart (I'm not old), I find it interesting, and I sometimes learn a thing or two.

However, getting back to the original topic of getting historic racing cars out of sheds, perhaps we could look at motorcyclings successful Broadford Bike Bonanza, held at Motorcycling Victoria's Broadford motorcycle complex, over the Easter weekend.

It is a weekend of classic motorcycling with no racing, no laptimes, no trophies, no over-officialdom, just encouragement for people to exercise that classic bike they have sitting in their shed.

For a write up on the event, check out the current issue of Old Bike Australasia magazine, in your newsagents right now. its a good read at any time.



#215 GMACKIE

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Posted 21 May 2014 - 07:41

Sounds a bit like GEAR [Golden Era Auto Racing], timbo. Every 2nd month at Wakefield Park we have a similar event for early cars.

 

We do have 'Timing Ladies', who decide who should have 'won', and 'trophies' in the form of a Freddo Frog [or similar]. The tropies - if you are lucky enough to 'win', car be eaten on the way home. I believe there is also a 'Judge of Fiction'. Bribery is rife!

 

Anyone caught without a 'smile' may have to face a 'Driving Standards' lecture from Mal Brewster.

 

It's all about having some fun in the old cars, making sure at all times that the cars' [and drivers'] limits are not exceeded.



#216 DanTra2858

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Posted 21 May 2014 - 08:52

Sounds a bit like GEAR [Golden Era Auto Racing], timbo. Every 2nd month at Wakefield Park we have a similar event for early cars.

We do have 'Timing Ladies', who decide who should have 'won', and 'trophies' in the form of a Freddo Frog [or similar]. The tropies - if you are lucky enough to 'win', car be eaten on the way home. I believe there is also a 'Judge of Fiction'. Bribery is rife!

Anyone caught without a 'smile' may have to face a 'Driving Standards' lecture from Mal Brewster.

It's all about having some fun in the old cars, making sure at all times that the cars' [and drivers'] limits are not exceeded.


Oh my God a lecture from Mal, that could go all night is there a time limit?

#217 RW7

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Posted 02 June 2014 - 11:24

I don't wish to prolong this discussion too far but, given what has already been said, I agree that some words from Ian's side would be appropriate.  I am not yet back in action following a recent date with the surgeon and therefore went over to Mallala with Dick Carter.  We shared a garage at the circuit and a house in Gawler with Ian for the weekend so I feel pretty well placed to offer his perspective on the incident with Jim Doig. 

 

Ian was firmly of the view that he had passed clearly in front of the ASP before moving a little to the left just before the braking marker and that Jim simply ran into his left rear wheel when they hit the brakes.  The marks on Ian's rear tyre would seem to have confirmed that.  I saw the incident from the grandstand and, having now also seen the video, it seems to me that Ian was essentially correct in believing he was in front but that he was probably not as far in front as he thought and, given the enormous difference in the braking capabilities of the two cars, contact in the braking area was probably inevitable. Unless you have driven one the braking performance of an F1 car like the Beatrice is difficult to comprehend and could never possibly be matched by the ASP.  With both cars approaching the corner so very close together at a similar speed it would have been difficult for Jim to have avoided contact when Ian braked in front of him.  As someone has already suggested the collision should probably just be written off as a 'racing incident' although it does confirm the need for great care when mixing cars of such disparate performance characteristics.

 

Its also worth mentioning that the lap times in the 1.14's for the two cars in this race which have previously been posted give a somewhat false impression that they were generally close in performance over the weekend.  Times recorded in each of the Q and R events over the course of the weekend show that Jim's fastest in each event was in the 14's but that, in all races other than that in which they collided, Ian got down to 11's and 12's.  When observing the races it was quite apparent that Ian spent the early part of each race carefully warming his tyres before putting the hammer down and moving forward later in the race.  That was precisely what he was doing at the time he caught and passed Jim.  Their times to that point of the race were very similar and, following the collision, Ian had no opportunity to record the sort of quicker times he did in other events.

 

It must be born in mind that Jim Doig and Ian Ross have very different levels of experience and motivation and their cars at this event were so vastly different that it is hardly fair to regard their contest at Mallala as a serious motor race.  I don't know Jim but he has always impressed as a very dedicated racer with a lifetime of experience in the ASP and local knowledge at Mallala greater than most others which all results in quite frequent giant killing performances.  There can be no doubt that he is far better placed to exploit the performance potential of the ASP than Ian could with any of his collection of cars which would all have a performance potential well in advance of the ASP.

 

Ian is first and formost a collector who simply enjoys driving a diverse range of motor cars.  He is certainly competitive but  he comes from a different mould to a racer like Jim Doig.  Whereas Jim is focussed on the one car he has driven for as long as I can remember, the diversity of cars in which Ian has demonstrated competent performances is quite staggering.  Those I can recall in recent years include the Beatrice Lola F1 he had at Mallala, a Ralt RT4, Elfin 600 Repco V8, the MRC Repco V8 sports car and an Elfin 300 sports car.  He maintains them all himself and comes to race meetings without any support other than that which may be offerred by any interested bystanders. He took the Beatrice to Adelaide on his own for the previous weekend's demonstration event and stayed for the Mallala meeting at the request of the organisers although not originally having expected to race the car at all.  Those of us who observe his activities are continually surprised that he is able to manage it all with so very little assistance and I doubt that any one else would contemplate the prospect of taking a 1000 bhp turbo F1 car 1200k from home for two successive weekends of competition without any assistance at all.

 

Despite their differences of approach and attitude our historic events benefit from the participation of both Jim and Ian and we should all be glad that in the pit area after the Mallala incident they appeared to part without great rancour although I suspect that they still have somewhat different perspectives on it.

 

Late on this but worthwhile (I hope).

 

I was so keen to defend Jim's position that I missed Paul's longer reply. 

 

I have nothing but massive respect for Ian Ross if he goes to meetings with these cars by himself! Way back in 1983 I had to do that with a car that was nowhere near as sophisticated as the Beatrice Lola or his Osella - and I could not do it!

 

The only good news from that is that I returned to cars that I could maintain myself.

 

More power to Ian!