90 replies to this topic

[Ray Bell]

From Longford in 1965... how many World Champions in this one?

And how many Australian Champions, past and future?






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Edited by Ray Bell, 27 July 2019 - 11:57.

[Ray Bell]

I have to wonder, too... with regard to those pics at Adelaide, apart from Prost not being there, where was Alan Jones?

Surely he was present at those meetings? In fact, he would have raced tintops at some of them...

[longford68]

Ray,

I have a quick stab that the front couple are brabham, mclaren,clark,hill for a start..............

[Ray Bell]

Good start Sid... there's one more there though...

And I doubt anyone will pick all the Australian Champions in it... I really doubt it...

[longford68]

Before i leave work for the day, i think i missed Phil Hill ( i could be wrong) For Aussie champs Bib Stillwell, Bob Jane ( i think), Frank Matich. I still think theres one or two more!

[Ray Bell]

Excellent, Sid... just two to go...

And I'll bet David McKinney wouldn't get all of them either!

[eldougo]

i will have a go RAY.


. McLaren ------------------- Brabham ---------------------- G.Hill
------------- Clark---------------------------------- Gardner
. Matich -------------- Stillwell---------------------------------- P Hill
Palmer---------------------------Tresise
. McDonald ---------- Hobden ---------------- Jane
-------------- Levis -------------- Grant -------------------- Scott
. ----------- Archer
. McEwin

________________________________________________

Oz Stillwell - Jane - Matich - Scott -Gardner.

___________________________________________________

[Ray Bell]

Actually, this is the grid:

G Hill________Brabham________McLaren ^

_______Gardner________Clark________

Matich_________Stillwell__________P Hill

_______Tresise_________Palmer______

Jane__________Hobden_______McDonald

_______McEwin_________Levis________

Grant___________Archer__________Scott


So we have the World Champions:

Brabham, P Hill, G Hill, Clark (of course, McLaren was never Champion, but was runner up, wasn't he?)

And Australian Champions so far identified: (Scott never won an Australian title, sorry eldougo)

Stillwell, Jane, Matich and Gardner (who was still to wait about twelve years before he won one!)...

But there's another one still in the frame. Come on chaps, have a go at it!

[eldougo]

I thought SCOTT won an F2 title or 1.5 title
______________________________________________
I guess it only leaves Archer------ I know ------------------------------------------
How about Jack BRABHAM.

[Ray Bell]

No... none for Jack... and none for Lyn Archer... who rang me yesterday and has such vivid memories of the conversation he had that day with Rocky Tresise.

I don't think you'll get it, eldougo... and like I said, David McKinney won't either.

You know, when I drew up that grid a while ago, that may well have been the first time that race grid has ever been drawn up?

The AGP book has it very wrong... and the times don't fit with the grid positions altogether either. From memory, that's because the times in the Examiner Trophy on the Saturday came into calculations too.

[David McKinney]

OK Ray, I give up
Probably because of definition?
To me, the Australian Champion would be the Gold Star winner
Australian champions (small 'c') on the other hand would include ATCC winners etc
The only thing I could think of here was Jim McKeown winning a GT title at some stage - but he's not the same as Mel McEwin
Perhaps your definition includes "champions in Australia", eg winners of state titles or Lucas-Davison Calder championships etc?

[Ray Bell]

No, winners of official Australian Championships.

For instance, Frank Gardner's only Championship was the 1977 Australian Sports Sedan Championship.

Bob Jane was Australian Touring Car Champion on four occasions (1962, 1963, 1971, 1972), Frank Matich was Australian Champion Driver (Gold Star Champion...) in 1972, though he won the Australian Grand Prix in 1970 and 1971 as well... but on that premise you would have to include Brabham, Hill, McLaren and Clark as AGP winners... no, I don't include that.

Australian Tourist Trouphy winners I do because it was the Australian Championship for sports cars for many years. Matich won that in 1964, 1966, 1967 and 1968 and then won the Australian Sports Car Championship series that followed up in 1969 when the ATT was dropped.

Bib Stillwell also won the ATT in 1961 and 1962, and the Gold Star in 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1965.

So there's still someone in the photo who won an official Australian Championship for some form of road racing. An offical CAMS-conducted Championship.

Let's see if anyone else knows who it is...

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by eldougo
.....I know ------------------------------------------
How about Jack BRABHAM.

Actually, after checking earlier (I had a nagging feeling...) and saying this wasn't so, I now have in front of me a later version of the CAMS Manual of Motor Sport.

Now let's just get things straight here... I'm counting the ATT, because it became the Australian Sports Car Championship, and it had always been the equivalent of an AGP for sports cars.

I never looked beyond 1956 with that because that was the year it was first run... according to the CAMS. I know it was run in the thirties, but none of these drivers were, so it never mattered.

The ****** in the woodpile was the Australian Hillclimb Championship... I had a feeling that Brabham had won one of those. But it wasn't in the 1984 CAMS Manual I was using. That showed the first running of the AHCC as 1954.

But the 1995 Manual shows the earlier events that were titles 'Australian Hillclimb Championship'... those run before the CAMS came into being. They date back to Peter Whitehead in 1938, they were all run at Rob Roy, and the winner in 1951 was J. A. Brabham. In his speedway midget... fitted with front wheel brakes he claimed he never knew if they worked or not.

So Jack Brabham is yet another Australian Champion in the photo, which he, McLaren, G. Hill and Clark were anyway because they won the AGP, as did Matich.

But there's still another one to go... anyone got a keen eye and good memory for detail?

[David McKinney]

Was there an official national championship for 1100 ANF2 in 1964?
And did Rocky Tresise win it?
I know he won the 1100 class of the Lucas-Davison series at Calder

[Ray Bell]

As you know, David, ANF2 was a continuation of Formula Junior.

There was an Australian Formula Jr Championship (single race) in 1962 (Matich - so there's another title for him!) and 1963 (Leo Geoghegan - who wasn't at Longford that year even as a spectator).

Then the ANF2 Championship for the 1100cc cars was held in 1964 and 1965 (both won by Greg Cusack - who also wasn't present at Longford that year, even as a spectator). So that's not it.

So now we have how many Australian Championships won by people in this photo?

Nine AGPs (Brabham 3, McLaren 2, Matich 2, G Hill 1, Clark 1)

Five Gold Stars (Stillwell 4, Matich 1)

Six Australian Tourist Trophies (Stillwell 2, Matich 4)

Four Australian Touring Car Championships (Jane)

Two Australian GT Championships (Matich 1, Jane 1)

One Australian Sports Car Championship (Matich)

One Australian Hillclimb Championship (Brabham)

One Australian Sports Sedan Championship (Gardner)

One Australian Formula Junior Championship (Matich)

One Australian 1.5-litre Championship (Stillwell)

...plus one other! That adds up to 31 Australian titles including the missing one.

And theres eight World Championships (Brabham 3, G Hill 2, Clark 2, P Hill 1)

Now, in making sure I've got this right I've found a couple more, but still for people (Stillwell, Jane, Matich) who we already had on our list. But I've got to give you a clue... it wouldn't be fair otherwise... the one in the photo not yet named won an Australian Sports Car Championship.

He also came second in the Gold Star one year, as I recall...

[longford68]

Lex Davidson

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by longford68
Lex Davison

He died the previous week...

In fact, I've been thinking about this... to get a race with more Australian Champions in it, you'd need to go back to the Warwick Farm event that year. That list would be incredible:

All of the above, plus...

One Australian Hillclimb Championship - Cusack

Two Gold Star Championships - Davison and Geoghegan

One ANF 1.5 Championship - Cusack

One Australian Formula Junior Championship - Geoghegan

Four ANF2 Championships - Cusack 2 (1100 Formula), Geoghegan 2 (1600 Formula)

But we would have to exclude the mystery ASCC as I have no photographs of the grid of the Warwick Farm race showing our mystery man.

[longford68]

John Mcdonald (Motorkhana champ or something like that)

I am guessing i am going to have to consult the books!

[Ray Bell]

Before you do, you have to identify the person we're talking about in the photo...

Not McDonald.

[longford68]

Ray,

Has it got to do with anyone in the picture at Longford but not in a racecar?

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by longford68
Has it got to do with anyone in the picture at Longford but not in a racecar?

Well, that must be fairly apparent by now...

But they are obvious in the photo. And remember that I said this:

But there's still another one to go... anyone got a keen eye and good memory for detail?

I gave a further clue, but I guess it's hard to check who might have been second in the Gold Star over the years...

[longford68]

Peter Hopwood!

[Ray Bell]

That's it, Sid... Peter Hopwood...

He's the cinematographer with the camera aimed at Graham Hill's car. He was actually filming the tacho during the start of the race!

[longford68]

Ray....A nice bloke too. He could muscle the Group N cars around too. He was involved in that nasty accident at Amaroo in the RT4 with Graham Watson.

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by longford68
Ray....A nice bloke too. He could muscle the Group N cars around too. He was involved in that nasty accident at Amaroo in the RT4 with Graham Watson.

I believe without those nasty incidents with Graham Watson he would have won the Gold Star...

One of the nicest blokes of all.

VERY FEW people make an impression on others like Peter Hopwood has. A genuine friend to many people in the film industry, sailing and motor racing, he has shown incredible determination to succeed in each field.

Just looking at his first open race, back in August, 1975, exposes his flair for finding the way. The race was the NSW Production Sports Car Championship and Peter was driving an Austin Healey 3000 – certainly no match for the Lotus Elan or three Bolwells of the fastest regular competitors, and not likely to beat the Datsun 2000 that had often proved a winner in recent times.

But on this day, with the help of one Bolwell retiring, this Healey filled fourth place. It was the first glimpse of success for the marque since Ross Bond had retired his car. Yet it lacked many of the refinements of the Bond car, and its driver had only ever competed in a couple of 6-hour relay races.

In fact, he was more used to ocean racing in yachts. A good man to have on board in a Sydney to Hobart event, with navigation skills to match his aptitude for strategy and helmsmanship.

So well known was Peter in the yachting business that he was often called upon to deliver yachts up and down the coast, which he did in company with his wife, Carol.

They made a good team, and they even built a couple of yachts, working together. It was by this means that they afforded themselves some of the better things in life, like a nice home in Killarney Heights and the odd Healey in the garage. There were even trips to the other side of the world involving yacht deliveries, adventures that teach people things.

Learning was always one of Peter’s strong points. He was observant and had a knack for knowing where to find the right information. In racing this paid off handsomely, as was initially to be seen once he acquired the Elan with which Chris Roberts had been scoring a lot of wins in Victoria.

There was immediate learning with this car, learning how to patch up fibreglass bodywork between races at Phillip Island!

Over the following year the car was the one that challenged the Bolwells when the Porsches weren’t around, gaining popularity all the time and leading to sponsorship from Speedo and an all-out attack on the Australian Championship. Though he took the lead, edging out the Porsches by virtue of consistent class wins, it was shortlived.

But there was more in the air, for Peter had plans to make his mark in the 3-litre Touring Car series run at Amaroo Park, which was virtually his home circuit. With a couple of jobs to do on the other side of the world, he and Carol took a holiday and conveniently spent some time shopping for a Mk 2 Capri V6.

This was then developed to be a serious challenger to no less a competitor than Bo Seton, who Peter actually managed to beat on occasion.

His life was a whirl of racing at the time. Still the odd yacht race, and both cars being prepared, tested and raced, all the while having to make a living as a professional cinematographer. He had gathered some good men around him to help him overcome the difficulties, but it was still a major privateer effort.

For a while it was just the Capri to race, the Elan having been virtually destroyed in a road accident while being trailered to Amaroo. Then the Capri was sold and the Elan was back in action, again chasing the Australian title and defying the power of the turbocharged Porsches Allan Hamilton put into the fight.

It was at this time that many more people came to acknowledge Peter’s ability. Bob Holden, who was helping him along the way, remembers the title round at Amaroo Park, where Peter gnawed at the rear of the Porsche driven by Allan Moffat for lap after lap before finally getting by as a truly great drive. Ironically, once ahead he was put out of the race by a broken throttle cable.

In the second heat he won outright, and then followed this up with another outright win in the first heat at Winton. Lap records fell, too, but series prospects were jaundiced by failure at Sandown.

But there was still an Australian title in store for Peter Hopwood. By 1983 the long awaited Kim had joined the family and was regularly at trackside with mum and dad. Steve Webb had stopped racing for the time being and given his 5-litre Kaditcha Sports Car to Peter to take a tilt at the Championship. It was a relationship that worked, the 1983 Sports Car Championship going to Hopwood.

The racing at this time was pretty exciting, the newer Kaditcha, featuring a DFV Cosworth and many Tyrrell F1 bits in the hands of Bap Romano, was hitting its straps and frequently diced with the blue car Peter drove. At a Lakeside meeting they had a clash which led to a confrontation in the pits afterwards, a point worthy of note.

A title in the bag, the Kaditcha was replaced with a Ralt RT4 and Peter was to move into the top echelon, contesting the Australian Grand Prix of 1983 at Calder. Running mid-field in his debut and against some world-class company, he retired late in the race.

1984 saw him third in the Gold Star with consistent placings, 1985 took him to second with a string of second places behind John Bowe in his walkover year. It also saw Peter take an outright circuit record for the first time, sharing that with Bowe at Oran Park’s long circuit.

As the third season for the Webb/Hopwood partnership began, it looked tantalisingly like they might win the Gold Star. A year-long duel for points with Graham Watson saw them begin the final race side by side on the Amaroo Park grid, Peter on pole.

It was winner take all, with just two points separating them, but from the fall of the flag it was too close for comfort. The cars touched halfway up the hill, Watson barrel-rolling along the Armco and the Hopwood car climbing the bank and literally flying upside down in the the spectator area. A woman died, others were injured and the racing took a back seat.

The title was lost at a time that Peter had shown that, despite being down on power to the cars of the Ralt Australia team, he was capable of delivering the goods.

While all of this racing of other people’s cars had been going on, Peter had run an Appendix J Chev Impala, which he developed into a race winner by himself, and he was then on to HQ Holdens. He and his family had also moved, settling into a comfortably appointed new home on a blueberry farm at Ingleside, in the shadow of the Bahai temple off Mona Vale Road.

What began worrying him now was the cost of advancing years. Not in his racing, but in the movie business, where image counts for a lot. Younger people tended to get the work, and the financial crises of the late eighties did nothing to help as advertising dollars dried up.

Peter had approached this business with the same give-it-everything-you’ve-got approach as he did his racing. There’s a photo of him leaning on the fence at the start of the 1965 AGP shooting film of the dash of the Graham Hill Brabham as it left the line. Up until thirty seconds before the start he had been filming Hill from much closer quarters.

He once told me of a horrifying experience strapped beneath a hang-glider pilot over some clifftops in Hawaii as he filmed scenes for a deodorant commercial. The trick was in the landing!

The glamorous-sounding but thoroughly practical office boat moored at The Spit went. It was typical of Peter to find an alternative that made financial sense, another example being the purchase of a Maserati 3500 with money realised from the sale of the Capri. “Its value will go up,” he said, and it added to the funds that bought the new home.

Over the years he raced at Bathurst, but usually sharing in other people’s cars. Very often they were people against whom he had competed at some time, people who knew what kind of driver he was.

People like Jim Davidson and Steve Webb became close friends, as did Kerry Horgan in Queensland and many others. Not just the drivers, but also their wives, became part of the Hopwood family circle of friends, all appreciating the friendliness and sincerity of Peter and Carol.

As the nineties arrived it was clear that Peter’s halcyon days of constant racing were over, but what very few knew was that by 1993 he faced more serious problems than lack of racing funds. Peter had cancer, and he was to have several operations.

Recalling that acrimony of his clash with Romano at Lakeside, I was surprised to see him at Lakeside helping Bap’s son when he stepped into HQ racing. Knowing Peter’s experience with these cars, and being well aware of his skill, Bap had summoned his old rival.

He took on the job of preparing Lotus Cortinas, a job he naturally did very well. He and a partner bought an Historic car, a Buchanan, and raced it together for a short time. There were still challenges to be met, things to be learned and taught, fun days to be lived.

When Eric Rudd decided that his road-going Austin Healey 3000 should be made ready for the Bathurst Healey race in October, 1998, Peter was in on the project. Here he could show all his skills learned over the previous twenty-odd years, carefully deciding what steps to take to make the car a potential winner.

Dyno testing with Webers (borrowed from the Lotus Cortinas) and SUs showed no difference in power, but his experience determined that the Webers were more driveable. Energies were spent in the suspension rather than chasing rainbows elsewhere, for it’s ultimately the wheels’ contact with the ground that wins races.

But more than anything else, this race that may well remain the hallmark of his life was all about his driving. A race of strategy against a foe with much more power, it was fortunately televised. “I watched it,” Bob Holden said later, “and I thought it was as good as that race at Amaroo against the Porsches.”

Visiting English Healey expert, Dennis Welch, looked for all the world a winner. It could be clearly seen that he had horsepower to burn compared to the local cars, but Peter had a plan.

Lurking a little way behind, he bided his time until the last lap, then lunged past over Skyline. “I knew I’d be able to get a good gap down the esses,” he said later, “and I knew he’d pass me down the straight.” But he was confident he’d still be close enough to outbrake Welch into the Chase, then just hold him out to the flag.

The ****** in the woodpile was oil laid on the road in the braking area, leaving only one safe line. But there were no second prizes here, it was to be a bold win or a glorious defeat. The doctors had told him there would be no next year to try again – in fact, they’d told him not to plan on this year!

The run down the esses went perfectly, Welch rocketed by a good 40kmh faster on the straight, Peter was alongside him again under brakes. But the oil was just too much, and he spun.

“I’m glad my last race was a good one,” he told me. Rudd and everyone else connected with the campaign was delighted with the result, for they knew what it took and how impossible the odds were.

“Peter inspired everyone around him,” Eric said later, “and when he told me he wanted to drive at the Phillip Island Healey race the following February I was glad to let him.” It was almost as if he felt he owed this further chance to Peter.

But it was not to be. The rear shock absorbers lost too much condition on the trip from Sydney, and Peter was beyond working out what the problem was. The trip took a lot out of him and he sat out the meeting as Eric ran the car in Regularity events.

During the telecast of the 1999 Healey race, the commentators mentioned that Peter wasn’t well. In fact he was in hospital, but would be home again a few days later. He had been unable to walk for some time and time was fast running out.

As I write this, it is just a few hours since Carol rang to tell me Peter had died. Quietly and privately at home with his family, his frail body overtook his still-active mind. A week ago he was chuckling at a poem someone had written about Les Wright’s monumental spin at a wet Wakefield Park, now he is gone.

But the memory of the friend and the inspiration of the man remain.

From the Austin Healey Owner's Club magazine.

[David McKinney]

Full marks Ray
I never would have guessed

[Ray Bell]

All I can say, David, is that you would have loved to have been there that day...

The ingredients were right, the day was perfect, the drivers in form... a most memorable day.

[Mike Argetsinger]

TNF is always a good read - but from time to time we are rewarded with a real gem. This latest from Ray Bell is in that category.

[Geza Sury]

Originally posted by bira

I'm currently reading Tom Rubython's new Senna book, and he has to say something about the photo and the 1990 Australian Grand Prix:

Most of the action occured off track, where Prost refused to attend press conferences, the drivers' briefing, the celebratory photograph of past World Champions. The photograph was a one-off opportunity with so many champions present, including Juan Manuel Fangio, Denny Hulme and James Hunt, plus Senna himself. It was an opportunity missed: a few years later they were all dead. The organisers threatened draconian punishments for the Frenchman.

[Vitesse2]

Originally posted by Geza Sury
The organisers threatened draconian punishments for the Frenchman.

... with the emphasis on the "threatened", presumably. Not that Monsieur Balestre could be accused of being biased in favour of French drivers of course ....

[Ralliart]

OK, it's not a photo but Goodyear, I believe, put out an advertisement some years ago, a color illustration that was so good it looked like a photo, with all the world champs up to that point.

[mikedeering]

What about the opening of the new Nurburgring back in 1984, when Mercedes organised a race for former WDCs (and a few extras - e.g. Senna who at that stage was a humble Toleman driver and indeed Prost who at that stage was merely a WDC runner up). Many WDCs attended - but I haven't seen many photos from that event. Surely they did some publicity shots before the race with all the drivers?

[holiday]

Count: 6

http://www.alainpros.../wri/290592.htm

[Ray Bell]

Not an awful lot of World Champions, but interesting anyway...

Apart from which, John Ellacott wonders which drivers we can recognise. Sandown Park International race, February 1962:

[David McKinney]

OK, I'll have a crack
Left to right, of those visible: Daigh, McLaren, Reventlow, Youl, Salvadori, Davison, Clark, Hyslop, Moss, Flockhart, Stillwell, A N Other, Brabham, A N Other, Patterson (or Miller?), A N Other
The tall bloke behind Brabham is the right height for Pat Hoare, but doesn't really look like him..

[Ray Bell]

I meant to google up the entry list... however, I agree with you with Daigh, McLaren and Reventlow, I thought it might be Youl next in the back there. But the hidden one is a mystery, and the next guy I wouldn't have had a clue, as it's all before my time.

Davison I knew, but was Clark there? Again, I didn't look at an entry list. Hyslop, I'd have to take your word for that, but he certainly looks like he could be an Angus, Moss is a given, Flockhart I wouldn't have known but Stillwell I certainly did.

Then you have 'A N Other' before Brabham, but which one do you mean? The one hidden behind Flockhart or (you'll hate yourself...) Doug Whiteford? In the white tee shirt is Patterson, I wouldn't have a clue about the final one.

[David McKinney]

The A N Other is Whiteford and, you're right, I hate myself. So it wasn't Pat Hoare...
Like you, I couldn't easily find an entry-list to check

[Ray Bell]

I'll have to re-post my pic...

I've been looking at this again and found a few more. But I need some confirmation of a couple of the 'championships' involving Frank Gardner.

I'm keen on only counting championships under the auspices of the FIA and the various motor sport governing bodies, I want to exclude championships that are between race organisers or under the control of sponsors.

Therefore I need to know about the following:

The Tarmac Championship
The Springbok Series
The European F5000 Championship

But already I can add to the list from that 1965 AGP:

Tasman Champions (how could I have neglected them?) - McLaren, Clark
NZ Gold Star Champions - McLaren, Roly Levis

[63Corvette]

Jackie Stewart, Mike Hailwood, Emerson Fittipaldi

Edited by 63Corvette, 10 May 2015 - 01:55.

[Peter Darley]

"Jim Clark - Life at Team Lotus"  Pages 52/53 shows 5 World Champions, plus Dan Gurney and Richie Ginther.

[Ray Bell]

Any chance of an answer to my question?

The Tarmac championship, the European F5000 championship, the Springbok series, were they under the auspices of the respective sanctioning bodies?