20 replies to this topic

[island]

Hi!
Peter Gethin and Teddy Pilette in their
VDS Chevron B24s must have been impressive
in the 1974 Tasman Cup. A real challenge to
the locals. VDS invested a lot of money, I
believe. Was Max Stewart in his Lola T330
the only one who could run with them?
Who saw his win at Oran Park? That race was
a close one, the magazine reports say.

[BRG]

In retrospect, the VDS team seemed to be really the top team in F5000. They appeared quite professional (by the standards of the day) and remained faithful to the formula for a long period. But I don't know much about them.

I know that the VDS stood for a Belgian count (?) named van der Straten. Did he
actually run and fund the team himself? Anyone know anything about him? It gave Teddy Pilette a steady drive for a long time.

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BRG

"all the time, maximum attack"



[This message has been edited by BRG (edited 04-07-2000).]

[Dave Ware]

Off the top of my head, Count Van Der Straten (sp?) belonged to a beer family. Not sure which one. Prior to competiting in F5000, he ran Alfas for Teddy Pilette and others in the World Championship endurance races in the late sixties.

I saw him at Mid-Ohio once, A thin guy, probably around 70 at that time, with a good-looking wife who looked like she was 40, 45. Heh heh heh...

Island, you keep bringing up all these great F5000 races...soon perhaps I will dig out my old Autoweeks, find those race reports, post the info, and mostly relive those races!!

Dave

[Ray Bell]

Fast man of that series, in my opinion, was Warwick Brown. Oran Park saw McCormack, Walker and Stewart in that battle, while Matich showed his late-career speed with pole at Sandown.
Stewart was an exciting driver to watch, but I must add that he didn't rate that well in a lot of areas. Both Jones and Matich specifically mentioned Stewart at times for his lack of proper approach to his racing, and the fact that he lived too much on his reflexes. But what reflexes!
His driving of the Elfin MR5 saw it slithering to a tune never seen in such cars, his efforts certainly achieving a high level of spectacle.
As for the Count, I had forgotten his wife! Thanks for that memory... Teddy was, of course, the son of Andre Pilette of an earlier GP generation and the Count certainly kept him going.
Team VDS gave Brown his biggest chance, too, after Teddy was gone, and Peter Gethin drove for him for a long time.
All worthwhile memories.

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Life and love are mixed with pain...

[Barry Lake]

A wife only 25-30 years younger than himself?
Can't have been as wealthy as I remembered.
Jokes aside, I met the Count back in those Tasman days and he seemed a very nice fellow, unaffected by wealth or title.
Ray points out that Teddy's father, Andre was a GP driver. Andre's father Theodore also was a GP driver in the very early days.
I believe, as far as my research goes anyway, they were the first three-generation motor racing family - in top level racing, anyway.

[Ray Bell]

Remember the RCN alliteration, Barry - the headline for the 77 AGP:
Beer Baron's Brown Bomber.

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Life and love are mixed with pain...

[This message has been edited by Ray Bell (edited 04-08-2000).]

[KzKiwi]

Can one of you Australian fellas tell me why Max Stewart was called 'The Jolly Green Giant'?
With regards to the Pilette triplets was Andres dads name Theodore or Andre? Me thinks he competed in the French GP of 1912 and acheived 3rd place.

[Ray Bell]

It's stupid, really. For a very short time, less than a year, I think, he wore a green woollen driving suit that was in vogue at that time. He was also a big man, and conveyed the impression that he was a joker.
As for the Teddy, Theodore and Andre, that was explained by Barry a few posts back.

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Life and love are mixed with pain...

[Dave Ware]

Did OZ get the same commercials we got here in the states, during that time period, for the "Green Giant" brand of canned vegetables? All of their TV ads ended with a panoramic view of a huge farm field, and standing over it was a green giant. "From the valley of the jolly...ho ho ho...green giant!"

This green giant was also on each can of veggies. Actually the ads ran prior to this time period; I remember them from my childhood. I knew he was tall; didn't know about the green suit, but figured there was a connection. Maybe, maybe not.

Dave

[Ray Bell]

Not at all, sorry.

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Life and love are mixed with pain...

[Toine]

Originally posted by KzKiwi
Can one of you Australian fellas tell me why Max Stewart was called 'The Jolly Green Giant'?
With regards to the Pilette triplets was Andres dads name Theodore or Andre? Me thinks he competed in the French GP of 1912 and acheived 3rd place.

Hi!

André's dad was Théodore:)


Happy Easter


Antoine Pilette

[jarama]

Originally posted by Dave Ware
Off the top of my head, Count Van Der Straten (sp?) belonged to a beer family.

Dave

Dave,

there is also the VDS name on luxury buses or so. The make, as coachbuilder, belongs to the Count himself.

In addition to this, by the mid seventies was launched a F2 car with the VDS badge, though never saw the track. The car was white, with a band Tyrrell P34-style in green -if my memory serves me correctly. The Count was the sponsor, and the engine was to be a BMW. The car was typed EVD. Someone remembering something more about this oddity.

[buzard]

Slightly off topic!

Warwick Brown. A great one. I only saw him once at Riverside.
He made a lasting impressions. Even discounting the time
lost from his leg injury, I don't think he would have faired
much better. He loved to race but did not take the time to
be in the right place at the right time to better his ride
situation.

A friend and I made a nice grand prix game and raced about
15 seasons. I got Warwick on my team and was able to
make him world champion in the game at least!

buzard

[fines]

Just to add that I made Jean Alesi World Champion in Grand Prix Manager, three times IIRC!

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by buzard
Slightly off topic!

Warwick Brown. A great one. I only saw him once at Riverside.
He made a lasting impressions. Even discounting the time
lost from his leg injury, I don't think he would have faired
much better. He loved to race but did not take the time to
be in the right place at the right time to better his ride
situation.

A friend and I made a nice grand prix game and raced about
15 seasons. I got Warwick on my team and was able to
make him world champion in the game at least!

From the first outing in F5000, Warwick was worth watching. That formula was made for this driver....

[Speed Demon]

The Count was Rudi van der Straaten, whose VDS team was also synonymous with CanAm in the late 70s and Indycar racing. He died in 1992 and the team amalgamated with Hall Racing. His wife Monette was last reported to be living in Malta.

[Ray Bell]

Racing Car News, which was prone to using alliteration in the headings of race reports and other stories, once had one:

BEER BARON'S BROWN BOMBER

The Count was a great guy... but he smoked!

[fines]

Yeah, and I remember he already looked like a ninety-year-old in the late seventies!

[Ray Bell]

Did I mention he smoked?

That's right, he looked pretty old... a wiry sort of guy with a thin face and a good sort for after-dinner...

[FLB]

Originally posted by Dave Ware
Off the top of my head, Count Van Der Straten (sp?) belonged to a beer family. Not sure which one.
Dave

Stella Artois, a quite good and pretty popular Belgian beer.

[Ray Bell]

That's why we had that headline... BEER BARON'S BROWN BOMBER.......