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#51 Squire Straker

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Posted 25 February 2009 - 22:38

Perhaps someone could ask Phil Read about Bob? I have spoken with him at Stoneleigh over the last couple of years and he has been just great to talk with.
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#52 Bjorn Kjer

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Posted 26 February 2009 - 09:29

Now dont get the Andersons mixed up here , please. Fergus Anderson had his first TT on DKW in 39 and raced works Guzzis from 51 to 54 .

Bob (R.H.F.)Andersons TT results :

58 S2 J8 both on Nortons
59 F1(350) 2 Norton and SR J5 Nortons
60 L(250) R L(125)5 both on MZ , J6 on Norton

#53 richie

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Posted 28 December 2011 - 16:31

Just for interest, this is the 'Motor Racing' magazine feature with Bob - from an interview conducted at the Oulton Park Spring Cup meeting... under the trees, in the grassy paddock...

TWENTY
QUESTIONS
It’s not easy out on your own, says Bob Anderson, Grand Prix independent

In pre-war days there was a happy, fortunate band of wealthy amateurs who drove in Grands Prix for the pleasure of it. They called them les independantes. Today they are very few and far between; Guy Ligier is one example, Joakim Bonnier another. But nowadays there is a variation—the private owner who, for sheer love of racing, contrives somehow to do well enough with inferior equipment in one of the most competitive and costly of all classes of motor racing. Such a one is Bob Anderson, ex-racing motorcyclist.

Essentially a ‘lone wolf’, operating his own Brabham Intercontinental with 2.7 litre four-cylinder FPF Coventry Climax engine, Bob Anderson ended a 1966 season of troubles with sixth place in the Italian GP, then went out to Africa, won the Rhodesian GP at Bulawayo, came fifth in the South African GP, and was second in heat one, first in heat two and second overall in the Cape Town GP at Killarney. Back home, the car threw fits of temperament in both the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch and the Spring Cup at Oulton Park, while at Silverstone in the International Trophy he was involved with Denny Hulme in a lap 1 mix-up, but rejoined the race two laps down and finished eighth.

Anderson came to motor racing in 1961 with a great reputation in motor cycle racing with wins in Northern Ireland, Nurburgring, Bourg-en-Bresse, Mallory, Brands, Scarborough, Castle Combe, Silverstone, etc to his credit. He raced Lotuses in his first year on four wheels, drove for I.otus the following year, and bought a Formula 1 Lola in 1963. With it he won the Rome GP at Vallelunga, was third at Imola, and fourth at Syracuse. For 1964 he got a new Brabham with carburettor Climax V8 engine, and scored his first World Championship points with third in the Austrian GP and sixth in the Dutch. With excellent placings elsewhere he was awarded The Von Trips Memorial Trophy by the GPDA as the most successful private entrant of 1964.

1965, the final year of the 1½-litre Formula, brought him little but trouble; a sixth at Syracuse, disqualification at Goodwood when fifth, fuel injection trouble at Silverstone and Clermont, retirements in the British and Dutch GPs, and loss of brakes culminating in that Nurburg crash just about sum it up.

Born in Hendon, and just 36 this month, Bob and his French wife Marie-Edmée live in a pleasant old house in the village of Haynes, Bedfordshire, have a five-year-old daughter and a two-year-old son, and live a quiet life centred around racing the Brabham. Bob Anderson Racing is indeed a husband-and-wife concern, financially precarious but rich in enthusiasm and determination.

Driving your 2.7 litre four-cyilnder Climax-engined Brabham against modern multi-cylindered Formula I cars must be frustrating sometimes. Why do you do it?

‘It’s a matter of circumstances. I had to switch from the old 1½-litre Formula to the new one for 3 litre engines. I bought the Brabham chassis on the never-never after writing off my old one against a tree in practice at Nurburg in 1965, and the only engine I could buy with the amount of money I had available was a 2.7 Climax. But it is frustrating sometimes. That big four can really whistle along, but now, when we seem to have got over our first season’s piston and gearbox troubles, the latest multi-cylinder designs are becoming reliable and getting way ahead.’

How do you make it pay?

‘We don’t. We would with just a bit more success. As it is we make ends meet.'

How much longer do you think the private entrant can keep going in Formula I with all the costs involved in being competitive?

‘That’s a complicated question. I have to rely on support from component, oil and petrol, and tyre makers, and on starting money, and unless the scale of starting money payments is altered the private entrant has had it. I think that starting money should be more evenly distributed; the big names get too much, the lesser ones too little. Spread it out among more entries and you’d get better fields. And prize money should be spread out lower down the placings. Unless this is done in the very near future privateers will just disappear from the scene.’

Who prepares your Brabham?

‘I do. The lot. I have no full time mechanic, but two good friends—Alan Brodie and David Stanbridge—help at race meetings.'

Would you like to go professional and drive for a team?

‘WouId I! I’d give my right arm (well, metaphorically!). It would be lovely to turn up fresh for practice and the race, and concentrate on driving instead of worrying about preparations, tyres, pit gear, and air that. It’s very inhibiting having to keep your car in one piece when you’re trying to motor race. Last year at Oulton Park I threw a rod—and it cost me about £1,000 rebuilding the engine. Four new con rods from California alone cost me £200, and five gudgeon pins £48. That’s not cheap!'

Would you like to drive sports-racing cars at say. Le Mans or elsewhere?

‘Yes, I once drove a BT8 Brabham for Clive Hunt at Silverstone back in 1964. I came second. I enjoyed that drive.’

What about saloons!

‘Yes, I’d love ago in saloons too, but I can’t run more than the Fl Brabham from my own pocket.’

How do you find the motor racing fraternity in comparison with racing motorcyclists?

‘There’s not much of a relaxed atmosphere in either these days—they’ve all got too much on their minds. When I raced bikes they were a friendly crowd, but they’re all so professional and serious-minded nowadays; and it’s the same in cars.’

Is there any parallel at all in riding a Norton 500 and driving a Brabham?

‘No, b------ all. One goes, the other doesn’t. The Brabham will do 175 mph in the right places, the Norton does about 130 mph. But I must say the 250 cc four-cylinder Yamaha I rode in the Dutch TT last year was very exciting—62 bhp to the Norton’s 49—and only half the capacity!’

Has your bike experience been of much value to you in car racing?

‘Yes, an immense amount. Mostly in preparation. You get to know the whole car right through, just like the bikes.’

How do lines through corners, braking points, etc compare on two and four wheels?

‘It depends on the circuit. On a bike you don’t drift, on a car you do. The wheel centres differ, of course. When cornering a bike you lean over inside your line of travel: when cornering a car you are central between the wheels. As for braking, on a car you can brake further into the corner than on a bike—generally speaking, that is.’

Do you miss the bikes at all?

‘Yes; the pure pleasure of being on a really fast bike is very exhilarating. It’s something car drivers won’t understand.’

Which car circuit do you prefer?

‘Monaco; it’s one place where the others come down nearer my level. Remember I only have a little over 230 bhp.’

Which do you like least?

‘I could never get on with Aintree. I couldn’t adapt my driving to the road surface there. You couldn’t slide far enough, and it wore tyres out like nobody’s business.’

What was your first car race?

‘It was a Formula Junior race at Snetterton in 1961. I drove a front-engined Lola-Ford and came third.’

Which was your most memorable car race?

‘They’re all memorable; they all have their own twist; each one is different.’

Do you do any training or other activities to keep fit?

‘No, I just keep on the go. Working on the car keeps me fit. I play squash, and I like water skiing when in the right part of the world.’

What private car do you run?

‘I have a Mark 4 Ford Executive—power steering, automatic transmission
—the lot. Fabulousl You can’t enjoy yourself driving on British roads now, so why not be comfortable?'

What other interests have you besides car racing?

‘Nothing very profound. I like chatting with friends in the pub: we pull the world to bits and put it right. But I enjoy working on my car and getting it to go right. Our’s is a very small outfit—just my wife and me. But we do try to be efficient. We don’t mess about—you could say we are pretty dedicated to motor racing.’

What future racing plans have you?

‘I’d like a competitive engine in my Brabham. I want to continue Grand Prix racing, but would like to try other classes—the car TT, Indianapolis— races like that.’


And we added this footnote -

Despite setting a practice lap in 1min 30.6secs, faster than works drivers Amon (Ferrari), Rindt (Cooper-Maserati) and Rodriguez (Cooper-Maserti), who were guaranteed places on the grid, Bob Anderson could not start in the Monaco GP as he was one of eight drivers who had to qualify for five places—Ed.

Five months later, Bob was dead…

DCN



Posted Image

5 picture montage displayed on Bob's garage wall of the once family home in Haynes, taken in 2009 when I visited his former home.


#54 Bjorn Kjer

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Posted 28 December 2011 - 19:23

thanks very much , richie.

#55 seccotine

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Posted 04 January 2012 - 17:13

So RESERVED rather than ' a bit posh' as intimated in the MS article ? Sadly this also seems to answer a previous thread about where at Silverstone Bob met his fate. I'd assumed it was on the entry to Becketts whereas someone else thought it was on the Hangar Straight. For those that haven't had access to the article, he was 'running in' his car on the Club circuit and crashed on the entry to Woodcote.


Ligier was wealthy and gifted with great social & political skills.
Considering Anderson's personality, there is obviously something heartbreaking in his situation...


#56 richie

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Posted 25 November 2015 - 23:20

I remembered I had an email from a guy called Brian Gledhill back in 2008 when we were searching for Bob's VW flatbed transporter which is still not been found yet. I never shared his story so here it goes:

 

"I started my apprenticeship with Rogers Engineers at Great Barford nr Bedford and I was Bob's apprentice and worked with him for about 3 years and had an enjoyable time and learned alot from him. He was jovial and always up to playing tricks on members of the workforce, anything for a laugh. 

 

I remember going with him 1 day to repair a David Brown tractor at a farm in Bedfordshire and Northampton borders and we had to strip out the transmission and replace the crown wheel and pinion; when it came to re-assemble the tractor, the nearside differential would not go back in, it would not line up correctly, so Bob got cross and kicked the tractor and it fell off the stands. Bob said come on and we got back in the van and drove all the way home in Haynes and we had a cuppa there and after about an hour went back to the farm, jacked the tractor up again and one stand had buckled as a result of the fall. Anyway, we re-assembled the tractor and everything worked as required with no problems. When we got back to the workshops Bob got the stand out of the van and took it into the workshop and said to the other fitters look at this and put it down on the metal top benches, but somebody had wired the plug tester up to the benches and as he put it down, they pressed the test button,Bob sank to his knees and then everybody hid, he got up and threw the stand across the workshop in the direction of the plug tester, nobody was injured, just a good laugh and that was the way he was."

 

"I met up with Bob many times after hat at race meetings and was very saddened upon his death."



#57 MarkBisset

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Posted 26 November 2015 - 10:12

I wrote an article about Bob a little while back which may be of interest

http://primotipo.com...am-bt11-climax/

Mark

#58 Bjorn Kjer

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Posted 26 November 2015 - 17:25

Thank you Mark !



#59 richie

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Posted 27 November 2015 - 06:49

Mark that was an interesting article with photos I'd never seen. Must make contact with Bruce as he's been in regular contact but not for a while.



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#60 Adrian Beese

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Posted 27 November 2015 - 20:56

Thanks Mark,

 

Bob Anderson was a hero of mine in the 60's, I always supported the underdog. I could never understand why Brabham couldn't do a deal with him on something a bit more modern. He was so talented and could have earned the marque many points. I was heartbroken when he died and always read an article when his name crops up.



#61 MarkBisset

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Posted 27 November 2015 - 23:12

I'm glad you enjoyed the article fellas, I hadn't seen this thread when I wrote the thing, all your observations and the Doug Nye interview all add to the store of information.
It is a shame he didn't get his butt into one of the '66 Repco engined cars in '67 but Jack no doubt had a queue to buy them; Ligier or whoever did.
These days the drivers have mangers to line up rides of course; Bob was a 'monty' for a sports car drive at the time, but if he didn't get a ring 'twas up to him to chase but maybe he was flat out just racing and didn't chase.
Certainly a bloke to admire for what he achieved with what he had!
Mark

#62 DogEarred

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Posted 28 November 2015 - 14:29

Yes, good to read, thanks. It has increased my knowledge of him twenty fold. Just seemed like an honest underdog to support at the time.



#63 ian senior

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Posted 28 November 2015 - 14:35

I enjoyed your article, Mark - thanks for sharing it with us on here.  And aren't those photographs wonderful?  It would do some present day Formula Ecclestone fans a power of good to see how it was in those days.  They would never believe that you could turn up with your F1 car on a VW flatbed and still get remarkable results against the top drivers of the time.

 

Last night I was reading the August 1964 copy of Motor Sport which reported on the Solitude GP.  This was a non-championship race but attracted a strong field with works entries from BRM, Ferrari, Lotus, Brabham and BRP, along with a good number of private entries too.  It was a race spoiled by a torrential downpour of rain just after the start and many drivers went off the road to retire - experienced canpaigners such as Brabham, Graham Hill, Ireland and Bandini.  Bob Anderson managed to keep things together and finished third behnd Clark and Surtees, and ahead of others such as Bonnier and Trevor Taylor.  Excellent result in the circumstances and showing again just how good Bob was.



#64 MarkBisset

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Posted 04 December 2015 - 05:28

Hi guys,

Bruce Anderson has given me a few shots I have uploaded, have another peek. Would be great to have some good FJ shots if anyone has any?
http://primotipo.com...am-bt11-climax/

Mark

#65 raceannouncer2003

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Posted 04 December 2015 - 07:21

Would be great to have some good FJ shots if anyone has any?
 

Found some:

 

https://revslib.stan...log/vr581rt6845

 

https://revslib.stan...log/sb713zd1106

 

https://revslib.stan...log/pw913fx5589

 

Vince H.


Edited by raceannouncer2003, 04 December 2015 - 07:23.


#66 bradbury west

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Posted 10 January 2021 - 19:08

Bump.  Please read this.

 

Mark Bissett and Richie

Do you , or anyone else, still have contact details for Bob’s family.?

I have come across a contact set of photos on e bay  at their home, with Bob and his wife and son plus the Brabham, at what looks like their home. The item is not identified  at all. The family may already have  processed prints in their archives, but on the off chance that they may not have them, it seems logical to link them. I would like to put them in touch.  It is the usual family photo stuff, rather than set pieces, incl. shots of their son in the Branham.

It just seems a nice item.  There are probably about 20 shots. 
They are not negatives but a high resolution scanner may be able to make good copies  from them.

Roger Lund.



#67 richie

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Posted 11 January 2021 - 20:37

Hello Roger

 

I think I've seen practically every picture of Bob since the 1960's inc Ebay with the family, been to his home in Bedfordshire, & saw old racing pics of his racing cars on the garage walls.

 

Bruce his son hasn't been in touch for a while but I can notify him and see if he replies.



#68 MarkBisset

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Posted 11 January 2021 - 22:16

Hi Roger,

 

I sent an email to you with the email address for Bruce I have.

 

Mark



#69 bradbury west

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Posted 11 January 2021 - 22:22

Richie, thanks for posting. I have forwarded a link to Bruce’s  e mail address with a bit of narrative.  Just trying to be helpful.

Mark, I sent it off last night. Thanks for the link.
Roger


Edited by bradbury west, 11 January 2021 - 22:25.


#70 AllanL

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Posted 12 January 2021 - 21:24

I remember reading a retrospective piece on Bob which suggested that in '67 there had been discussions in the press rooms of having a whip round to help him buy a Repco for his Brabham.

 

Whether that was just "Wouldn't it be nice" or a semi-serious suggestion I have no idea. It was mentioned as a measure of the regard for Bob amongst the English speaking press of the day.

 

Perhaps DCN might remember.