13 replies to this topic

[David Beard]

Nostalgia?

What about the International Trophy at Silverstone: it used to seem as important to me as the GP. Wonderfully early in the year, with exams just over at Oxford Poly, off we would go.

Stewart sometimes provided especially good entertainment....
I took a few shots of this moment, as I stood behind the TV camera man. When I watched later on TV the images moved through the same sequence that I had seen through my viewfinder as I desperately tried to maintain focus.



and G Hill gave us his last F1 win....



Anyone else have special memories?

[Gary C]

.............and why can't we persuade the BBC to release their footage of the 1971 Int.Trophy (inc. JYS driving full pelt into the camera position at Copse) on video / DVD????????

[jarama]

David,

very nice pictures, indeed.

Carles.

[Barry Boor]

One Sunday morning in 1970 I was roused from bed by my cousin Peter who, at the time, was working for a bloke called Shirtsleeves (or something like that). I knew Peter was not particularly interested in motor racing so I was amazed when he said that he was on his way to Silverstone to see the F1 race and would I like to go?

Mum made a quick packet of sandwiches and off we shot in his rebuilt Lotus Elan at speeds that I had never experienced before.

Of the International Trophy I remember very little, except that some New Zealander bloke won in a funny looking red car. I CERTAINLY don't remember an F5000 McLaren being on the front of the grid, but there was because Motor Sport has the photograph this month.

I don't really understand why my memory of the race is so vague; especially when I remember races from much earlier with much greater clarity.

[oldtimer]

The 1956 win by Moss in the Vanwall after Hawthorn did his jack rabbit thing in the BRM. What a picture of dejection he was when it broke. The Ferraris were made to look very second rate that day.

[Barry Boor]

Then there was 1978.......

All those wonderful high-powered sleek machines, most of which fell off very rapidly and who comes trundling through the monsoon to win? One Keijo Rosberg who, of course, was perceived at the time to be simply a journeyman driver; AND driving the F1 equivalent of a panzer tank! Followed home IIRC by no less than Emmo in the Cup-o-sugar!

Boy did it rain.

Then, when I got back to my Escort to go home I found that I had left the heated rear window on all day (not run through the ignition switch) and totally battened the flattery! Fortunately a kind soul had some jump leads and got me started but my journey home to Coulsdon was one fraught with fear of breaking down in the gloom somewhere like St. Albans or even worse, Dunstable!

I made it!

[Vitesse2]

Originally posted by Barry Boor
Mum made a quick packet of sandwiches ....

I don't really understand why my memory of the race is so vague; especially when I remember races from much earlier with much greater clarity.

Perhaps it was the sandwiches .....

[David Beard]

Originally posted by Barry Boor
One Sunday morning in 1970 I was roused from bed by my cousin Peter who, at the time, was working for a bloke called Shirtsleeves (or something like that). I knew Peter was not particularly interested in motor racing so I was amazed when he said that he was on his way to Silverstone to see the F1 race and would I like to go?

Shirtsleeves pics...71 again I think



And another...can anyone name the other two gentlemen?

[David Beard]

Originally posted by David Beard
Nostalgia?

What about the International Trophy at Silverstone: it used to seem as important to me as the GP. Wonderfully early in the year, with exams just over at Oxford Poly, off we would go.

I've been trying to get one of those old Oxford Poly mates to post here..so far to no avail, so I shall take the liberty of posting the E Mail he sent me when I did at least persuade him to lurk....

David -

Thanks for this. I was standing with you at Copse for the JYS incident (my
film had run out 4 secs earlier !). I remember a nearby partisan group of
BRM supporters giving him advice on his judgement having left said team).
Was this the meeting where you, Mike and I annexed a first aid tent at
Becketts the night before ?

I remember standing at the same place with Roger, my old school mate (and
fellow band member) for another trophy meeting with our backs to the
horizontal snow thinking that we must be mad. Don't often see F1 cars with
snow on them !

Earlier times were spent at Becketts, for both the trophy meets and the GP.
I can still picture many incidents there.

A blue/grey Borgward going end over end in all the first lap traffic.

A wheel coming off a Jaguar at the exit of Becketts and bouncing into the
crowd (and the driver leaping out and running to help).

A shower of earth and grass with a blue overalled foetal shape flying
through the middle of it as Masten Gregory abandoned ship. The car
ploughed through the bank and landed at our feet - thank goodness we were
behind the single strand of rope barrier ! (actually we were sitting on top
of a pre-war Hillman 14 - remember all those home made stand systems ?).

Donald Campbell and Bluebird (the boat) on the back of a lorry.

Mike Hawthorn's blond hair blowing on his victory lap in a red Ferrari,
ditto Peter Collins (different hair though).

Later on we had a front view of the Christobel Carlisle/ Peter Harper
incident - you can just see Dad's head in the photographs in the
Silverstone book. This was a lap after I said that Harper would crash next
time round - I must stop this - I also bet that Jack Brabham would run out
of petrol as he started his last lap in 1970 at Brands !

Thanks for the happy memories. I must take early retirement and sort out
all my old photographs one of these years.

KM

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by Vitesse2
Perhaps it was the sandwiches .....

...or the ride back home in the Elan?

David, go help your mate get those pics sorted will you?

[oldtimer]

I also remember enjoying watching Jack Brabham cleaning the clocks of the big names in a very wet 1969 meeting. I think the others would claim his Goodyears were the unfair advantage, but then, Jack was rather good at finding unfair advantages...

[petefenelon]

Originally posted by David Beard


I've been trying to get one of those old Oxford Poly mates to post here..so far to no avail, so I shall take the liberty of posting the E Mail he sent me when I did at least persuade him to lurk....

David -

Thanks for this. I was standing with you at Copse for the JYS incident (my


KM

David,

you must've been a near-contemporary at Oxford Poly of one A. Reynard, Esq.? Any sordid tales?

pete

[David Beard]

Originally posted by petefenelon


David,

you must've been a near-contemporary at Oxford Poly of one A. Reynard, Esq.? Any sordid tales?

pete

Yes, he was in the year behind me, HND Mechanical Engineering. Always lots of hair, drove a bahama yellow mini van and never short of company ;) A good friend of mine (then a fellow Pressed Steel Fisher apprentice) helped in Adrian's final year project to produce his first FF car. (or test rig, or whatever it was he called it) Not many people know ( and missed from Mike Lawrence's Reynard book) that the radiator was initially meant to be under the floor, sort of behind the seat..the idea worked about as well as Gordon Murray's surface radiators.

Not absolutely sure...but I think I took this pic at the 1st Reynard's 1st race.

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by David Beard
Not many people know ( and missed from Mike Lawrence's Reynard book) that the radiator was initially meant to be under the floor, sort of behind the seat.. the idea worked about as well as Gordon Murray's surface radiators.

Not absolutely sure...but I think I took this pic at the 1st Reynard's 1st race.

Not many people know, I guess, that the Melbourne-built Wren used in the early years of FF in Australia had a similar cooling system.

With a standard Cortina radiator standing up more or less the same as it would in the Cortina right in front of the engine, air was ducted in from beside the seat. It worked, apparently, but the cars, built by the famous pre-war speedway etc racer Bill Reynolds were never really more than adequate for the job. Peter Larner was, from memory, the most successful driver.