1051 replies to this topic

[GMiranda]

Not for quite a while, sadly.

Yes, it would be great to have him and other professionals here.

[SamoanAttorney]

Yes, it would be great to have him and other professionals here.

 

 

I would suggest that any forum that has contributors with the stature of Doug Nye, Karl Ludvigsen, Don Capps, Nigel Beresford, Jon Saltinstall and Richard Jenkins to name but a few, is already punching well above its weight. Apologies to anyone who should also be on that list.

 

Simon would of course make a valuable addition to any arena.

 

I hope that those who enjoy this place appreciate how rare it is to find anything at this level on the web. The knowledge and modesty of the contributors is awesome, although sometimes we can come across as more than a little eccentric....

[Richard Jenkins]

I would suggest that any forum that has contributors with the stature of Doug Nye, Karl Ludvigsen, Don Capps, Nigel Beresford, Jon Saltinstall and Richard Jenkins to name but a few, is already punching well above its weight. Apologies to anyone who should also be on that list.

Simon would of course make a valuable addition to any arena.

I hope that those who enjoy this place appreciate how rare it is to find anything at this level on the web. The knowledge and modesty of the contributors is awesome, although sometimes we can come across as more than a little eccentric....

I can't help thinking that this part of the discussion maybe needs to go in a separate thread but I would like to say thank you, John, but I'm not in the same league as most/all that you mention and some you don't!

Guilherme, although many names don't post here any longer, the forum still has a lot of respect. And often, all it needs is the right topic, and people will contribute.

[GMiranda]

I can't help thinking that this part of the discussion maybe needs to go in a separate thread but I would like to say thank you, John, but I'm not in the same league as most/all that you mention and some you don't!

Guilherme, although many names don't post here any longer, the forum still has a lot of respect. And often, all it needs is the right topic, and people will contribute.

I have no doubts about it, this is one of the best sources on internet.

[Alan Lewis]

I can't help thinking that this part of the discussion maybe needs to go in a separate thread but I would like to say thank you, John, but I'm not in the same league as most/all that you mention and some you don't...

You are too modest, Richard.

Those of us who really are the impostors here, with next to nothing worthwhile to contribute and (to paraphrase Blackadder) no more right to be here than a weasel, are profoundly grateful that this little world exists and that it has people in it who can and do teach us things we didn't even know that we didn't know.

[Tim Murray]

The posts relating to Philippe Streiff have been movedvto his dedicated thread.

[Jim Thurman]

Catching up on Western U.S. passings from the short track world in 2022, even though there appears little interest in them aside from maybe Reinhard. And, Reinhard, in advance, as mentioned, no I do not have more information on those listed at the bottom. Such is the state of, and lack of, obituaries nowadays.

 

Bob Forster, 78, raced in the NASCAR late model sportsman circuit at Southern California's Orange Show Speedway, San Gabriel Valley Speedway/Speedway 605 and Ascot Park in the early 70s, for a time, alongside his father, a 1950s jalopy racer who had come out of retirement. He also raced many open competiton stock car races on dirt and pavement at many tracks up and down California and throughout the West. Forster continued racing for many years, at least until the late 1990s, also competing in IMCA modifieds.

 

Bill Mears, 93, might be known more as Rick and Rodger's father, but he raced dirt tracks in Kansas, and in Bakersfield, California after moving the family there. He also raced off-road with his sons.

 

Tucson's Bob Huebner, 84, was an Arizona Racing Association sprint car champ, and ran sprints around California and the Southwest.

 

Second generation racer/promoter John Soares, 80,. raced the NASCAR sportsman division at Antioch and Petaluma before going on to NASCAR's Grand National West division. where he was a regular competitor from 1969 through 1974, winning a 1971 race at San Jose. After retiring from driving, he became a promoter, like his father, running Antioch Speedway for years.

 

"Big" John Viel, 82, was a popular, well-liked racer who won the 1975 West Capital Raceway super modified title, then after that track closed, added three track titles and 43 main wins at San Jose Fairgrounds Speedway. John had been enjoying RC car racing.

Johnny Coldendich, 93, was a hardtop racer out of San Jose in the early to mid-1950s, when drivers could race 6-7 times a week. He won the 1955 San Jose Speedway track championsihp.

Unfortunately, the death/dearth of print media means many did not receive any formal obituary aside from a mention on Facebook groups dedicated to tracks of the past. Because of this, information is sketchy at best, among them...

Gary Beecroft, d. January 9 (?), raced mini stocks then moved up to the fire-breathing tube frame, fiberglass bodied super stocks at Cajon Speedway near San Diego. An outstanding 1976 season in a Corvair bodied car came to tears when he lost all points late in the season over a controversial tire ruling. Beecroft left Cajon, dabbling in sprint cars before drifting from the sport.

Jerry Cecil, 82 (?), d. June,  raced out of Salinas, California, competing in the odd sportsman division at Watsonville Speedway. There he battled Vic Irvan, Ernie's dad, the two being the big winners in the class. Cecil was 4-time track champion ('70; '74; '78 and '81) and won at least 67 main events at the track. Later, Cecil ran sprint cars with NARC (even visiting Ascot), and super modifieds at San Jose Fairgrounds Speedway, where he won one main against tough competition. When a vintage sportsman group revived the unique cars, Jerry was there, and still competitive in his late 70s to age 80!

Cajon Speedway racer "Burnie" Burnworth, d. November 3. Burnworth won one super stock main, but was a competitive racer in the 1960s. His cars were always gorgeous, befitting the involvement of he and his brother in show car hot rods.

Clyde Prickett, 90, d. November 17? raced super modifieds out of Fresno, California. He managed some main event wins during their glory days at Fresno's Kearney Bowl, which was hard to do with Al Pombo and Marshall Sargent dominating the winners circle. Prickett also made 3 starts in NASCAR's Grand National division, all at Riverside, and raced in NASCAR's Pacific Coast Late Model series, as the Western series was then known, in 1967 and 1968, finishing 7th in points in '68 and earning a win at Medford, Oregon in a Chevrolet. Even after retiring, Prickett stayed involved with racing as a sponsor, through his soft drink beverage distributorship.

Late word has San Jose's Dick Whalen passing on December 22, at age 87. Whalen raced super modifieds at San Jose Speedway over a long career and featured regularly in the top 10 in points winning some main events against the same Pombo and Sargent, among others. He also made one NASCAR start at Riverside in 1979 and made 14 starts in NASCAR's Western series between 1976 and 1980. 

Edited by Jim Thurman, 01 January 2023 - 08:17.

[Jim Thurman]

Let me also mention, Ron Esau, 67, who died January 24th. This one hit really close to home for me. Ron preceeded me at the same high school by a few years. Once, I saw Ron, and his dad, George, driving a passenger car on a Saturday evening, headed to Cajon Speedway. How did I know? Ron was wearing his firesuit! Ron began racing late model sportsman at the Southern California NASCAR sanctioned tracks, Orange Show Speedway and San Gabriel Valley Speedway (later known as Speedway 605), racing there for two years until being eligible - at age 18 - to race at the local track to his San Diego home, Cajon Speedway. Ron went on to win at least 23 mains in the featured super stock division, claiming the 1978 championship (also winning an open competition race in Salt Lake City by two laps, while on suspension at Cajon!), before moving on to run major open competition races around the West, winning the 1979 Rose Classic at Roseville, California. He only raced regularly on the NASCAR Western tour for two years, but did race in the Southwest Tour series, NASCAR's Truck series, and even made 17 starts in NASCAR's Cup series. Most starts were at Riverside, but he also made two starts at Talladega, one at Watkins Glen and one at Richmond. Ron, along with father George and brother Larry, all ran the late model sportsman or modified races at Daytona as well. Ron had been having fun racing go karts on a small dirt track in the remote eastern portion of San Diego County.

[Jim Thurman]

Some other passings amongst the U.S. stock car scene, NASCAR and ARCA:

 

Dr. Don Tarr, 92, died January 21. Tarr made 48 NASCAR Cup series starts from 1967 through 1972.

 

Wayne Wattercutter, 77, died July 17. Watercutter made 5 NASCAR Cup series starts, but raced more often in ARCA and USAC's stock division in the 1970s.

 

Ron Hutcherson, 79, died August 25. Younger brother of Dick Hutcherson, he made 10 NASCAR Cup starts, but was far better known in ARCA, where he won 3 straight championships from 1972 through 1974.

 

Mike Potter, 73, died October 31.  Potter made 60 starts in NASCAR's Cup division from 1979 through 1993.

[Jim Thurman]

In doing this, I've discovered a couple more from earlier years... (again, probably only of interest to Reinhard)

 

Clyde Prickett's brother, Chuck Prickett, who, in 1967, made 1 NASCAR Grand National start and 2 in NASCAR's Western series, died in 2018.

 

Dick Mummert, 91, died October 4, 2021. Mummert was the 1962 Cajon Speedway claimer champion, the first stock car champion in the track's history. Later, Mummert became a car owner in NASCAR's Grand National West division and NASCAR's Grand National division, fielding a car for San Diego area racer Carl Adams.

[ReWind]

Much appreciated, Jim. This tribute to Burnie Burnworth should soothe your bitterness and warm your heart.
 
BTW, I noticed that Chris Romano eight days ago published the 2022 version of „For Auld Lang Syne“ (which for me means more work to do). Strangely there seems to be no explanation about what happened to the missing 2021 edition.

[Jim Thurman]

You're welcome, Reinhard. No bitterness, just stating the unsurprsingly obvious, along with its accompanying disappointment   , but that was a nice tribute at a source I would not have been inclined to check.

 

I imagine Chris Romano simply wasn't able to do a 2021 edition for some reason. Hopefully, it was not due to any health issues for him.

 

EDIT: It's more rueful resignation than disappointment 

Edited by Jim Thurman, 02 January 2023 - 17:49.

[SamoanAttorney]

I have read reports that the talented Dutch designer and engineer, Wiet Huidekoper, has passed away. His career included sportscar projects for Lola, Porsche and Dallara, and he was a major contributor to the 1998 Le Mans winning Porsche 911 GT1/98.

[ReWind]

I imagine Chris Romano simply wasn't able to do a 2021 edition for some reason. Hopefully, it was not due to any health issues for him.

 

The 2019 edition was also missing.

And, alas, he is lacking attention to detail. Nearly always there are misspelt names. In the 2022 edition, for instance, you will find Tobey Nolan and Gary "Bear" Pritchard.

It took me some time to find out that indeed they were Buford Otto "Toby" (no E) Nolen (E instead of A) and Gary Pritchett.
 

[Jim Thurman]

The 2019 edition was also missing.

And, alas, he is lacking attention to detail. Nearly always there are misspelt names. In the 2022 edition, for instance, you will find Tobey Nolan and Gary "Bear" Pritchard.

It took me some time to find out that indeed they were Buford Otto "Toby" (no E) Nolen (E instead of A) and Gary Pritchett.
 

Oh my gosh! How horrible that out of all of that, he made a couple of typos! Off to the gallows with him! And how dare he miss 2019!

 

Speaking of lacking detail...as wonderful as your list is, it is just a list of names and dates with little info as to why they are on the list. There are many, many of those names listed, that even I have no idea who they are or what they did in motorsport. I do like it when you add the brief sentence on what they did or are known for. That is extremely helpful 

[ReWind]

Weird. Tim Truman on the counter-attack (although there was no attack at all, just matters of fact).

 

[Jim Thurman]

Weird. Tim Truman on the counter-attack (although there was no attack at all, just matters of fact).

    Yes, and I'm being matter of fact as well. As wonderful a job as you do on the list, Reinhard, it is lacking detail as well. It just seems unduly harsh to soundly criticize someone over simple typos. Constant and major errors, yes, but a simple, occasional typo, no.

[ReWind]

My opinion is a different one.
You must do your utmost to avoid typos in people's names because otherwise your respective work is useless in terms of remembering them.
Typos in names are not "simple" typos but a nuisance - at least for me.

[ReWind]

Gary Beecroft, d. January 9 (?), raced mini stocks then moved up to the fire-breathing tube frame, fiberglass bodied super stocks at Cajon Speedway near San Diego. An outstanding 1976 season in a Corvair bodied car came to tears when he lost all points late in the season over a controversial tire ruling. Beecroft left Cajon, dabbling in sprint cars before drifting from the sport.

I think he was Gary Marshall Beecroft, b. 26 August 1945 in San Diego County, California, and more recently a resident of Pahrump, Nevada. No obituary to be found by me, though.
 
About four men and one woman from Chris Romano’s article I cannot find much. They are:

Ed Duncan was a long time NEMA official and a racing historian with an almost instant recall for events up and down the east coast from his native New Jersey to NEMA history. 
Beverly Flynn was the head scorer at Stafford Speedway in the glory days of Modifieds. 
Eddie Mack was a long time New England Modified owner.
Harry Steinkopf was a veteran Dirt Modified racer at Flemington and other tracks in the mid-Atlantic.
Greg Warzycha, was a veteran competitor at Seekonk and Hudson Speedways, and a multi time winner at both tracks. 

Any help with their full names and/or life dates would be appreciated; even bits could be useful.

EDIT: Some lateral thinking brought me to Beverly Flynn (b. 1948) and to learn that Eddie Mack was in fact Edward Mackiewicz (b. 1928 in Connecticut).

Edited by ReWind, 16 January 2023 - 18:08.

[Tim Murray]

The posts relating to John Wickham have been moved to his dedicated thread.

[ReWind]

Summary 2022
 
Andorra (1 passing)
Ramón March (c.80 years old)
 
Argentina (6)
Santos Arceluz (c.18) Eduardo Cappelletti (c.66) Cacho Chico (c.83) José Migliore (92) Carlos Pairetti (86) Carlos Veronesi (62)
 
Australia (32)
Niel Allen (80) Peter Briggs (83) Bill Brown (c.81) Greg Brown (58) John Bryson (90) Brian Callaghan (79) Ray Cresp (93) Greg Cusack Jr. (92) Brian Deveson (78) John Fleming (91) Grant Furzer (??) Ken Goodwin (c.91) Pat Goulding (c.85) Reg Hunt (99) Noel Hurd (85) Kevin Kalkhoven (77) Stan Keen (c.82) Jim Laing-Peach (76) Greg McCombie (74) John Moxon (83) Brian Nightingale (72) Don O’Sullivan (86) Tony Osborne (84) Graham Parsons (82) Tony Seymour (c.59) Bill Shallard (c.70) Ron Shirley (c.85) Charlie Smith (94) Malcolm Smith (88) Max Stahl (87) John Trimbole (75) Dean Wills (89)
 
Austria (15)
Manfred Essig (??) Werner Forstinger (c.61) Willi Freudenschuß (73) Roland Hartl (c.56) Erwin Heitzer (75) Friedrich Kesler (c.72) Walter Klösch (c.76) Ronald Leitgeb (62) Dietrich Mateschitz (78) Harald Neger (81) Franz Renner (c.66) Walter Seidl (c.61) Gerhard Tusch (c.88) Thomas Vogelauer (c.49) Norbert Walchhofer (69)
 
Belgium (25)
Herwig Adriaensens (84) „Anita“ [= Anita Elford] (77) Frédéric Beck (50) Bruno Blaise (56) Frédéric Borremans (56) Philip Bouckaert (55) Michel Cornet (56) François Dombret (80) Claude Dubois (89) Noël van den Eeckhout (68) Jean-Louis Goblet (83) Joseph Hardenne (55) Jean-Paul Herreman (65) Georges Heyvaert (63) Jean-Paul Libert (66) André Malherbe (66) Joëlle Marien (75) Sylvain Milpas (77) Prosper Mollekens (81) Michel Poës (74) Donaat Ravelingeen (61) Constant Struys (71) Wesley Swinnen (33) Raoul Verhulst (72) Patrick Vermeersch (61)
 
Brazil (1)
Marcelo Cancelli (c.40)
 
Bulgaria (1)
Zdravko Popov (43)
 
Canada (13)
Richard Archambault (86) Dennis Black (69) Mathieu l’Estage (c.47) Lloyd Holt (84) Marcel Lafrance (81) Danny Maxwell (79) Barry Paton (79) Paul Pekkonen (54) Eldon Rasmussen (85) Bill Sadler (90) Bill Vance (86) Christian Vandal (58) Bill Zardo Sr. (80)
 
Croatia (2)
Goran Dijaković (64) Zoran Šafarić (70)
 
Czechia (15)
Petr Čečil (73) Oldřich Gottfried (82) Tomáš Hank (80) Miroslav Hanzlík (51) Michal Kejst (31) Jiří Klíma (73) Rudolf Kouřil (63) Pavel Kryl (??) Josef Mandaus st. (72) František Michálek (70) Jiří Rulík (38) Zdenĕk Smrčka (71) Bohuslav Sršeň (70) Zdenĕk Vrbecký st. (69) Jaroslav Žárský (72)
 
Denmark (2)
Jørgen Hansen (78) Ole Hansen (58)
 
Ecuador (2)
Edwin Acosta (??) Martín Vintimilla (20)
 
Estonia (7)
Heiti Aarsalu (82) Arved Kaju (84) Helmut Lusti (76) Vello Õunpuu (72) Arvo Rebane (82) Raivo Sareal (76) Tõnu Teesalu (83)
 
Finland (24)
Atso Aho (83) Ossi Heinonen (71) Kari Jäppinen (??) Max Johanson (83) Eino Kalpala (96) Matti Kemiläinen (80) Seppo Kopra (61) Jarmo Leino (69) Timo Liponen (74) Antti Mäkeläinen (75) Pertti Mäki (78) Veli Malin (62) Edvin Mäntylä (74) Kaj Nuortila (102) Eero Nuuttila (81) Jukka Peri (72) Risto Pölkki (65) Pekka Rantanen (60) Pekka Routti (89) Hannu Sorvari (66) Antti Syvälahti (91) Heimo Vainio (65) Pasi Vuori (??) Hannu Wallinheimo (76)
 
France (81)
Jacob Abbou (79) Jacques Amblard (73) Max Antichan (76) Gérard Auriol (73) Yves Bastiment (80) Pierre-Maurice Barbaud (80) Gérard Bazin (88) Jean-Marc Bellosguardo (60) Joël Boisdron (73) Alain Boisnard (87) Jean-Claude Bondurand (91) Patrick Bonnafous (73) Daniel Bosio (71) Pascal Bueno (63) Jean Canivet (81) Sylvain Chantegros (63) Michel Clin (67) Michel Cosson (90) Alain Cuchet (69) Roger Damaisin (92) Jean-Pierre Damour (58) Pierre Decouzon (42) Nathanaël Degrange (40) Pierre Delefortrie (70) Bernard Deligny (77) Bertrand Delizee (58) Jean-François Destin (79) Xavier Ducastel (70) Jean-Pierre Ducroux (74) Jeff Dunac (75) Estelle Durigon (47) Jean Egal (76) Philippe Ferracin (62) Jean-Antoine Fiori (39) Mathieu Frugier (40) Arnaud Géhin (49) Georges Groine (88) Patrick Hautot (63) Mimi Hazard (91) Jacques Hubert (95) Jacques Isern (71) Just Jaeckin (82) Anthony Janiec (37) Alain Jauvat (69) Jean-Michel Jolly (71) Michel Jullien (74) Maurice Lallemand (86) Jean-Louis Langlade (69) Odette Lavallée (64) François Lethier (61) Jacques Marché (86) Tristan Marino (74) Philippe Martini (63) Christian Morel (67) Stéphane Nicolet (56) Gilbert Pauvret (75) Jean-Pierre Pernaut (71) Henri Perrier (95) Marc Perrier (77) Jean-Marc Portal (61) Raoul Poutot (78) Pascal Puy (62) Maximilien Python-Curt (24) René Rémy (80) Jean-Pierre Roux (68) Thierry Schimpff (74) Henri Sénécal (87) Branko Stoïkovitch (92) Philippe Streiff (67) Benoît Surot (43) Patrick Tambay (73) Marcel Tarnowski (79) Jean-Louis Trintignant (91) Roland Trollé (81) Alexandre Tucoulat (35) Jean-Pierre Versini (59) Jean-Bernard Vieu (73) André Vignes (79) Alain de Vito (78) Richard Walther (79) François Wenger (40)
 
Germany (54)
Hubert Böffgen (73) Hans E. Böhm (c.89) Holger Bohne (74) Maxi Bösing (c.16) Bruno Brücher (63) Hartwig Budde (70) Robert Bussius (85) Ronny Dentzer (75) Georg Distler (80) Gerd Eichenauer (65) Werner Fahnert (69) Wolf-Dieter Feuerlein (77) Sigi Filthaut (81) Toni Fischhaber (81) Kurt Geßl (93) Walter Glasbrenner (82) Bodo Grafenhorst (97) Herbert Göpfert (76) Franz Grolig (83) Helger Groppel (c.59) Manfred Hahn (74) Sven Hanke (46) Stefan Hart (60) Roland Heck (88) Sven Hielscher (c.55) Erich Hitschfel (c.84) Gerhard Hofmann (74) Ferfried von Hohenzollern (79) Peter Kaiser (87) Rolf Kienen (82) Hans-Peter Klein (82) Martin Kleiner (66) Dino Kolena (44) Bernd Krämer (70) Rainer Langa (61) Jürgen Lässig (78) Alfred Lichtenberg (85) Lothar Löffler (69) Jochen Luck (96) Sepp Mayer (82) Jürgen Neuhaus (80) Erhard Oehm (86) Bernd Petry (73) Jörg Plankenhorn (73) Yörn Pugmeister (81) Gerhard Schneider (86) Jürgen Seidl (49) Karl Senne (87) Nicolaus Springer (59) Mauritz von Strachwitz (92) Götz von Tschirnhaus (82) Harald Ulmen (78) Büb Wenzel (74) Eberhard Winkler (84)
 
Great Britain & Northern Ireland (62)
Simon Arron (61) Peter Avern (96) Sue Baker (75) Charles Barter (78) Andy Barton (79) Roger Bell (c.85) Ian Bevan (c.56) Mike Blanchet (74) Tony Brooks (90) George Brown (72) John Brown (83) Vern Brown (??) Dom Buckley Sr. (84) Alain de Cadenet (76) Gordon Cameron (84) Willy Cave (95) David Chamberlain (c.85) Brian Chatfield (c.79) Martin Colvill (81) George Cooper (88) Brian Culcheth (84) Martin Davidson aka „Harry Martin“ (c.81) Michael Davidson (79) Mark Dempster (c.55) Simon Diffey (57) Vic Elford (86) Brian Evans (81) Jim Fleming (c.73) Lorraine Gathercole (57) Jim Gavin (??) Peter Gaydon (80) Robert Griffin (??) Andy Hallbery (56) Syd Herbert (89) Paddy Hopkirk (89) Tim Jackson (68) „Maxi Jazz“ [= Maxwell Fraser] (65) Martin Jones (58) Mike Kimpton (73) Norman Lackford (c.78) Richard Lewis (??) Jim Logan (70) Bob Milloy (72) Bill Needham (85) Ron Overend (97) Dougie Paterson (71) Mike Pendleton (90) Clive Richardson (74) Bruce Ropner (89) John Rulon-Miller (82) Julian Russell (??) Alistair Smith (70) Peter Smith (82) Mike Sones (76) Gerry Southby (89) Michael Southcombe (89) Nigel Steer (c.64) Andrew Swift (64) Neville Trickett (87) Basil Wales (87) Chris Wathen (78) Ted Williams (84)
 
Greece (14)
Panagiotis Anastassopoulos (67) Zachos Chatzifotiou (99) Antonis Dimopoulos (c.33) Lakis Fotiadis (75) Anthi Hatzinikolaou (??) Ioánnis Kavadias (63) Spiros Koltsidas (55) Isidoros Liossis (??) Giórgos Loukas (75) Akilas Mavridis (75) Níkos Pappas (53) „Paris“ [= Chrístos Valassopoulos] (c.82) Ioánnis Stoilas (49) Marios Zenetos (??)
 
Hungary (4)
József Berta (??) László Kaposi (c.59) György Szabó (??) András Takács (??)
 
Ireland (8)
Barry Barrable (c.56) Richie Holfeld (68) Danny MacBride (c.50) Eoin McCarthy (22) Seamus Rogers (41) Sean Ryan (??) Sid Taylor (89) Johnny Treanor (28)
 
Italy (33)
Cesare de Agostini (80) Franco Albanese (72) Vincenzo Arena (91) Roberto Bauce (76) Michele Bortignon (c.51) Roberto Botticini (c.51) Ferdinando Buscarini (47) Tommaso Carbini (92) Marco Carrara (57) Remo Celesia (71) Giacomo Celi (66) Liberatore Cestra (79) Sandro Colombo (98) Enrico Conte (??) Mauro Forghieri (87) Dino Govoni (90) Marco Guelfi (48) Barbara Incerti (53) Francesco Longanesi Cattani (70) Francesco Maggioni (c.52) Mino Mangiarotti (??) Nicola Materazzi (83) Bebo Orlandi (c.68) Ilenia Ossato (c.36) Oreste Pedrazzani (??) Livio Pellizzari (c.72) Francesco Sammicheli (73) Gherardo Severi (89) Gianfranco Silecchia (83) Dario Sonda (31) Calisto Tanzi (83) Paolo Trinchieri (62) Luciano Vedovati (71)
 
Japan (3)
Kaoru Hoshino (75) Tadashi Kume (90) Kunimitsu Takahashi (82)
 
Jordan (1)
Hayle Aguilar (85)
 
Kenya (5)
Jim Heather-Hayes (75) Didi Kalsi (??) Asad Khan (50) Tom Muriuki (55) Vic Preston Jr. (71)
 
Latvia (1)
Aldis Junkers (81)
 
Madagascar (1)
„Boom“ [= Patrick Solofonirina] (??)
 
Malaysia (3)
Apeh Jamal (c.39) Eddie Koay (70) Eric Ooi (87)
 
Mexico (1)
José Abed (82)

Montenegro (1)
Nikola Asanović (28)
 
Netherlands (3)
Ben Huisman (85) Wito van Kuijeren (??) Frans van der Zalm (74)
 
New Zealand (6)
Gayle Cresswell (c.64) Ian Garmey (c.78) Ray Olenius (??) Stephen Penn (c.41) Barry Robinson (c.74) Leon Styles (61)
 
Norway (4)
Jan Gundersen (77) Dag Halvorsen (71) Tom Monsen (74) Jan Påverud (76)
 
Paraguay (1)
Daniel Vera (c.52)
 
Peru (5)
Lucho Basurco (53) Dionisio Huamán (??) Aquiles Peláez (76) Kike Pérez (??) Mario Peschiera (93)
 
Poland (14)
Jerzy Bajno (65) Paweł Bobiński (??) Grzegorz Chmielewski (76) Zbigniew Cieślar (51) Tomasz Dąbrowski (61) Zbigniew Dziadura (c.75) Kazimierz Jaromin (91) Henryk Pinis (c.68) Marek Poniewierka (??) Rafał Stalmach (??) Zbigniew Szewczyk (62) Janusz Wojtyna (75) Andrzej Woźniak (??) Janusz Zdrojewski (90)
 
Portugal (22)
Albino Abrantes (68) Sérgio Bettencourt (??) José Luís Brazão Machado (??) Pedro Cordeiro (c.82) „Crissáf“ [= Cristiano Sá Fernandes] (??) António Dias (??) Daniel Ferreira (59) Roberto Franco (64) Zita Garton (81) Luís Miguel (??) Octávio Moreira (74) Armindo Neves (52) Miguel Oliveira (83) Pedro Paixão (27) Carlos Portugal (84) Vítor Ramos (47) José Manuel Reis (66) José Carlos Rodrigues (55) Orlando Sousa (50) Teresa Torres (??) José Vieira (48) Rui Vieira (63)
 
Romania (3)
Mugur Filipescu (54) Alexandru Tămăşescu (46) Marius Tănase (45)
 
Russia (4)
Sergey Baldykov (58) Denis Gavrilov (34) Alexey Pivovarov (46) Stanislav Rogalevich (55)

Serbia (1)
Djordje Djenić (72)
 
Slovakia (1)
Miroslav Čiliak (64)
 
Slovenia (2)
Aleš Pušnik (80) Miha Rihtar (60)
 
South Africa (4)
Wiley Harrington (67) Bruce Johnstone (85) Shaheed Mugjenkar (c.46) Ed Rossler (87)
 
Spain (34)
José Acosta Martín (??) Santiago Ares (c.67) Pepe Ascarza (62) Joan Aymamì (71) Francisco Bañares (c.88) Javier Brugué (c.87) „Carlos“ [= Juan Carlos Totoricagüena] (c.67) Santiago Castellano (??) Urbano Correa (??) Antoni Cruells (75) „Domingo“ [= Domingo González] (c.91) „Epi“ [= Esteban Pérez] (40) „Fono“ [= Juan Fox] (??) Ricardo Frechín (c.69) Cristóbal García (39) Teodoro Guerra (??) Ciriaco Herrera (c.66) Alberto Hevia (77) Julio Jiménez (87) Emilio Jover (??) „Chito Kauwe“ (c.78) José Machín (??) José Luis Madrazo (c.70) Antonio Moreno (??) Francisco Ortega Hernández (c.72) Alberto Rodríguez (??) Daniel Rodríguez Lence (c.25) Paco Romero (74) Pep Rovelló (c.56) Eloy Santana (72) Victoriano Santana (c.63) José Seoane (c.51) „Vila“ [= Enrique Fernández] (c.65) „Xeixalvo“ [= José Rivera] (c.78)
 
Sweden (10)
Gert Blomqvist (76) Benny Carlsson (62) Bosse Edahl (76) Bengt Ekström (69) Jan Ellemann-Jakobsen (67) Göran Erixon (67) Sven Fürstenhoff (??) Gunnar Häggbom (86) Tapio Palola (69) Reine Wisell (80)
 
Switzerland (8)
Aleardo Buzzi (93) Rolf Ehrbar (67) Eric Joner (75) Willi Kleinhans (c.79) Max Kohler (70) Marcel Nusbaumer (c.76) Curt Schild (92) Edi Taveri (74)
 
Turkey (1)
Erkan Bodur (??)
 
Ukraine (1)
Ivan Zizak (28)
 
United States of America (187)
Buddy Arrington (84) Raymond Austin (87)
Terry Babb (55) Ron Baciak (73) Bill Bader Sr. (79) Bill Balser (89) Steve Barker (80) Dub Barnhouse (68) Art Barry (86) Chris Bartley (56) Larry Bezner (78) Jimmy Billmeyer (48) John Blewett Sr. (90) Bob Boig (75) Earl Bonner (81) Alex Borla (75) Tom Borrell (37) Mike Boyd (64) Dusty Brandel (87) Lee Brayton (88) Bob Brissette (90) Jan Brundage (87) Joe Bubbico (73) Art Burmeister (81) Burnie Burnworth (86) Chad Bush (43) Jim Bushnell (63)
Bill Callen (75) Travers Cambra (79) Johnny Capels (86) Carl Cardey (88) Neil Castles (87) Jerry Cecil (81) Roy Chatham (77) Tony Christian (74) Johnny Colendich (93) Gordon Collett (88) Delmas Conley (79) Tim Considine (81) Duke Cook (78) Chris Cord (82) Chic Cossaboone (73) Jimmie Crowder (86)
Richard Daddario (81) Al Dantes (43) Bill Davis (82) Fred DeCarr (93) Jody Deery (97) Billy DeWitt (83) John DiBartolomeo (68) Daryl Dressler (73)
Bobby East (37) Phil Edwards (81) Scott Eldredge (65) Ron Esau (67) Rick Eshelman (61)
Lou Farina (81) Pete Fiandaca (73) Gary Wade Finley (62) Chuck Flesch (58) Beverly Flynn (74) Bob Forster (78)
Richie Gallup (67) Pat Ganahl (75) Ron Gapski (80) Coy Gibbs (49) Vince Granatelli II (79) Ed Gressel (70)
Scott Harvey Sr. (92) Sonny Ray Hatcher (79) Bob Heathcote (58) Skip Hedrich (87) Jack Hedstrom (72) Steve Heintz (79) Billy Hess (67) Larry Hillerud (74) Ronnie Hobbs (62) Phil Holmer (78) Tom Hoover (81) Bob Huebner (84) Joe Huffaker (95) Kevin Huntley (56) Ron Hutcherson (79)
Joe Inglin Sr. (86) Conrad Janis (94) Jordan Jerome (30) Bob Joehnck (97)
Les Katona (86) Marty Kaufman (82) Devo Keith (73) Diane Kinser (79) Rodalyn Knox (76) Harold Kraus (83) Donnie Kreitz (85) Dennis Krieger (72) Bill Krueger (80) Ken Kuhlman (79)
Denny Lamers (74) Dennis Lampman (67) Dave Lape (75) Raymond LaRocca (78) Dan Laycock (72) Harry Leake (85) Ed Livingston (86) Marvin Lummen (78)
Greg Maas (65) Charles Mack (69) „Eddie Mack“ [= Edward Mackiewicz] (94) Steve Mack (77) Gordon MacKenzie (96) Jerry Mallicoat (82) „Johnny Mann“ [= John Flathmann] (95) Jim Martel (83) Mark Martin [from Tennessee] (61) Eddie Massengill (57) Dave McClelland (85) Chad McDonald (41) Lucas McKinney (22) Bill Mears (93) Chuck Merrill (78) Dan Meservey Sr. (79) Joe Mihalic (95) Mitch Miller (86) John Moore (76) Jim Morrison (68)
Mike Nish (63) Toby Nolen (89) John Norcia (90) Scott Oksas (48) Doug Olsen (75) Kevin Olson (70) Danny Ongais (79)
Randy Pemberton (62) David Peña (61) Mike Potter (73) Ted Prappas (66) Clyde Prickett (90) Gary Pritchett (71)
Roger Rager (73) Joel Rasmussen (88) C.J. Rayburn (81) Glen Reebe (66) Roger Regeth (82) Scott Rettich (37) Vic Rice (70) David Robertson (66) Al Robinson (72)
Danny Schatz (74) Mike Schneider (68) John Schultz (81) Wendell Scott Jr. (75) Tom Scully Sr. (65) A.J. Seipel (74) Barry Setzer (79) LeRoy Silvius (77) Fred Simeone (86) John Skistimas (79) Tim Slavens (52) Bruton Smith (95) Wayne Smozanek (60) Bob Snyder Jr. (67) John Soares Jr. (80) Steve Springsteel (75) Jerry Steinbrick (83) Rick Stewart (80) Paul Stoehr (77) Terry Strong (64) Jim Susi (64) Rick Sutherland (65)
Don Tarr (92) Dick Taylor (87) Bill Tibbert Jr. (73) Barney Truex (70)
Bob Unkefer (68) Bob Verhasselt (92) John Viel (82) Fred Vordermeier (48)
Wayne Watercutter (77) Sullivan van Way (31) Quinton Weaver (77) Chuck Weck (66) Billy Weeks (54) Dick Whalen (87) Joe Witkum (75) Bill Wonder (98) Claude Wright (73) John Wyers (68)
 
Uzbekistan (1)
Oleg Sychakov (c.67)
 
Zambia (1)
Bernard Chipwaya (??)
 
Zimbabwe (1)
Grahame Johnson (??)

 
Victims of CoViD-19
C.J. Rayburn (81) Calisto Tanzi (83) Tim Slavens (52) Vince Granatelli II (79) Wayne Smozanek (60) Doug Olsen (75) Sid Taylor (89) Jeff Dunac (75) Reg Hunt (99) John Moxon (83) Steve Springsteel (75)
 
Killed in War of Russian Aggression
Alexey Pivovarov (46) Ivan Zizak (28)

The annual summaries from former years:
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Edited by ReWind, 17 January 2025 - 20:47.

[Jim Thurman]

Summary 2022

United States of America (157)
 Burnie Butterworth (86)
 

Burnworth.

 

See, not so simple, is iit?    Or was this a mapmaker's intentional error? 

[Tim Murray]

Joe Buzzetta

https://www.loveforp...joe-buzzetta-2/

[Tim Murray]

Tom Karen died on 31st December last year. He ran Ogle Design for nearly 40 years, and designed or styled the Raleigh Chopper, the Reliant Scimitar GTE and the Bond Bug, anong many other items.

https://amp.theguard...-karen-obituary

[john aston]

A lovely man , whose autobiography , Toymaker , is a wonderful read . Obit also on Last Word  , Radio 4 on 20 Jan and available on BBC Sounds . 

[ReWind]

Never heard of the man - but an eventful life story.
I hesitate to include him in my lists unless someone can convince me he had something to do with motor racing.

[Tim Murray]

He did design a racing-car-inspired baby walker:

https://www.vads.ac....n/DCSC/id/6368/

[Ray Bell]

There is also the connection with the Ogle Minis...

 

These were still being produced after David Ogle's death when Karen was apparently in charge. And they raced.

[dmj]

It hasn’t been mentioned yet, last summer died Slovenian rally ace Aleš Pušnik (Ales Pusnik, 1942-2022). Started in road racing in 1967. With a BMW 700, almost immediately switched to Renault 8 Gordini and spent almost entire career driving Renaults, up to R5 Turbo.

In early 1970s completely switched to rallying, winning three Yugoslavian championships and several rallies until early 1980s retirement. I met him some ten years ago, he had very live memories and nice stories about his racing and rallying days.

 

A nice obituary in Slovenian: https://siol.net/avt...obilizma-584791

[mikeC]

Summary 2022
 
...
Great Britain & Northern Ireland (43)
Simon Arron (61) Sue Baker (75) Charles Barter (78) Andy Barton (79) Roger Bell (c.85) Mike Blanchet (74) Tony Brooks (90) George Brown (72) Dom Buckley Sr. (84) Alain de Cadenet (76) Willy Cave (95) Martin Colvill (81) George Cooper (88) Brian Culcheth (84) Simon Diffey (57) Vic Elford (86) Jim Fleming (c.73) Lorraine Gathercole (57) Jim Gavin (??) Peter Gaydon (80) Andy Hallbery (56) Syd Herbert (89) Paddy Hopkirk (89) Tim Jackson (68) „Maxi Jazz“ [= Maxwell Fraser] (65) Mike Kimpton (73) Norman Lackford (c.78) Bob Milloy (72) Ron Overend (97) Dougie Paterson (71) Mike Pendleton (90) Clive Richardson (74) Bruce Ropner (89) John Rulon-Miller (82) Alistair Smith (70) Peter Smith (82) Mike Sones (76) Gerry Southby (89) Nigel Steer (c.64) Andrew Swift (64) Neville Trickett (87) Basil Wales (87) Ted Williams (84)
 
...

 

 

 I've only just learned that John Brown passed away back in November at the age of 83. 1961 RAC Rally winner with Eric Carlsson, 1968 British Rally Champion with Colin Malkin and again in 1977 with Russell Brooks, organiser of the Targa Rusticana, Manx, Gulf London, Le Jog and founder of the HERO organisation.

[ReWind]

Many thanks, Mike!
John Brown as a name is a nightmare in terms of researching.
I found this obituary which gives me the date of his passing (10 November 2022) but no birth date, no birth place, no hometown.
It seems he was English and born in February or March 1939.
Do you have more details?

[ReWind]

I fooled myself.
I do have his birth date (30 March 1939) and his hometown (Worcester).

[Tim Murray]

Frank Sheffield, ace photographer and former regular TNFer (Frank S) died on 22nd January, according to a Facebook post by his daughter Geneva. Sincere condolences to her and all his other family and friends. Thanks to Roger Lund for alerting me.

[Alan Lewis]

NASCAR driver Trevor Boys, who holds the record for the most Cup starts by a Canadian driver*, died on Thursday.

https://en.wikipedia...iki/Trevor_Boys

(*The Wikipedia article doesn't mention this but it's in the checkeredflag website link they use as Reference #2).

[ReWind]

Only recently did I learn of the passing of Sandro Colombo in July 2022.

For little more than two years since mid-September 1971 he was Enzo Ferrari’s right hand man. As technical director he was in charge when Ferrari convincingly won the 1972 World Championship for Makes. At the dawn of a Ferrari renaissance in Grand Prix racing he returned to Fiat.

He was most famous as the man responsible for the Gilera motor cycles of the early 1950s, though.

Born in 1924 he reached the grand old age of 98 years.
Two Italian obituaries here and there.

[SamoanAttorney]

Social media reports that my old friend, David Price, has passed away.

 

Truly a legend, he will be greatly missed.

 

Rest in peace, Dave.

[JacnGille]

Sad news

[ReWind]

A former TNFer passed away on January 31^st:
Ian "Diz" Smith of BRSCC fame.

[Lee Nicolle]

Just heard on the Blendline TV coverage of Sandown that long time Sports Sedan competitor Bob Jolly has died. I have no further details.

I often raced against him both here in SA or in Victoria at bigger events including a couple of GP support races. As I also did with Des Wall.

Bob raced in most states in his two Commodores, the VB-VK and then later in the VP-VS and was quite succesfull,, did not win many big races but was near the pointy end of the field generally.

His business was Lower Plenty Mowers, hence the mower company support over the years.

[Vitesse2]

Sir Peter Graham-Moon Bt - 'Rally driver and noted womaniser'

[ReWind]

A heavy-weight of American motor sports passed away recently: Jim Haynes.

From the Tampa Bay Times (05 March 2023):

 

James Edward Haynes was born April 24, 1933 in Port Huron, Michigan, and died March 2, 2023, in Tampa, Florida. At Port Huron High, Jim not only excelled academically but was an accomplished athlete, participating in baseball, football, swimming and wrestling. He was accepted to Yale University. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Administration in 1955, Jim went to work for IBM in Poughkeepsie and New York City as a Methods Analyst. Already interested in auto racing, Jim began competing as a driver in various races, winning the 1959 SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) National Champion Formula III event. He also won the SCCA National Champion Formula Junior race in 1963. Since IBM would not allow employees to compete professionally, Jim raced under the name "Eddie James." He left IBM in 1960 to form Lakeville Precision Molding in Lakeville, Connecticut, which he sold in 1964. Car racing had become one of Jim's primary passions, so when the opportunity arose, he bought controlling interest in Lime Rock Park, a beautiful natural-terrain road racing venue in nearby Lime Rock. He successfully ran the track until its sale in 1984. A seminal event in Jim's always colorful life occurred in March 1978. He was asked to come to Florida to help revive the "Twelve Hours of Sebring" race, which had been dormant for several years. He managed to get the track up to code to qualify as a sanctioned race. At the event itself, the catering for the corporate tents was being provided by Toni Abercrombie's business, "Eat Your Heart Out." They met and, as they say, the rest is history. As Jim would proudly say, "Toni has been my fourth wife for 43 years." After Lime Rock Park, they moved to Denver, where Jim was vice president of special projects with the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). In 1988, Jim became CEO and general manager of Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, where he stayed until retirement in 2000. Jim was active in the Rotary Club for over 25 years, serving as president in Salisbury, Connecticut, and named a Paul Harris Fellow in 1985. In both Connecticut and Wisconsin, he served as president or member of the board of directors of the Chamber of Commerce. In addition to Jim's passions for Toni and vintage car racing, he also loved to fish and traveled the world to do so. Adventures included the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Pacific coast off Cabo San Lucas, the coast of Maui, the River Shannon in Ireland, sailfishing off Palm Beach, and many years in the Keys aboard his and his brother's sport fisherman, "The Moonraker." Jim was the personification of a man who lived the life he wanted to live. He lived large. He was a voracious reader, particularly of mysteries, loved good food and not-so-good wine, unless one considers Corbett Canyon box wine a "good chardonnay." He is survived by his wife, Toni Abercrombie Haynes; four children; nine grandchildren; and brother, Alex. Rest in peace, Big Jim. We love you.

 

[19500513]

József 'Öcsi' Cserkúti [1947 - 2023]

 

https://magyarnemzet...n=hiraggregator

 

(death announced on today)

[Alan Lewis]

Gianfranco Palazzoli, '60s GT racer (as "Pal Joey"), member of the Merzario and Osella teams, sponsorship manager at Benetton, and much else, has passed away...

https://autosprint.c...ranco_palazzoli

[dmj]

Unfortunately, more and more news reports by minute confirm that Craig Breen has been killed today during testing for Croatia rally.

[Henk Vasmel]

Lusaka Times, 13-4-2023

 

The motorsports community is in mourning following the passing of Muna Singh Senior, a two-time Africa Motor rally champion. The 53-year-old driver died in India after a battle with illness. The news was confirmed by Zambia Motor Sports Association (ZMSA) President Sam Chingambu in a statement to ZNBC News.

Singh was a prominent figure in the African rally scene, his driving skills earned him a reputation as one of the best in the business. He won the Africa Motor rally championship twice in his career, with his first victory coming in 1994 and his second in 1996. Singh’s success on the rally circuit inspired a new generation of drivers, and his legacy will live on in the sport for many years to come.

Singh’s death has come as a shock to the Zambian rally community, where he was a respected figure. Many have taken to social media to express their condolences, with tributes pouring in from fans and fellow drivers alike. ZMSA President Sam Chingambu described Singh as a “great ambassador for Zambian motorsport” and expressed his condolences to the Singh family.

Singh’s passing has also been felt beyond the African rally community, with many in the wider motorsport world paying their respects. The FIA, the governing body of motorsport, issued a statement expressing their sadness at Singh’s death and offering their condolences to his family and friends.

Singh’s career in motorsport spanned several decades, and he was known for his speed, skill, and determination on the rally circuit. He competed in rallies across Africa, including in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia, and was a regular feature in the Africa Rally Championship. He was also a familiar face in the Indian rally scene, where he continued to compete until his retirement from the sport in 2010.

Singh’s death is a loss to the motorsport community, and he will be remembered as a true champion of the sport. His legacy will continue to inspire future generations of drivers, and his contribution to the sport will not be forgotten. The thoughts of the entire motorsport community are with Singh’s family and friends at this difficult time.

As news of Muna Singh Senior’s passing spreads, fans and fellow drivers have shared stories of his impressive career and his impact on the sport. Singh was known for his skill behind the wheel, but he was also respected for his sportsmanship and his dedication to the rally community.

Singh’s success in the rally circuit was not just due to his driving abilities, but also his commitment to preparation and teamwork. He worked tirelessly with his co-driver and support crew to ensure his car was in top condition, and he was always ready to help fellow drivers who encountered problems on the track.

Beyond his driving achievements, Singh was also a mentor to young drivers in the sport, sharing his knowledge and experience to help them improve their skills. His passion for motorsport was infectious, and he inspired many to take up the sport and follow in his footsteps.

Singh’s death is a reminder of the risks involved in motorsport, and the need for safety to be a top priority in the sport. The rally community has lost a true champion, but his legacy will continue to inspire and guide future generations of drivers.

As the motorsport world mourns the loss of Muna Singh Senior, fans and fellow drivers are honoring his memory by sharing stories and memories of his life and career. Singh’s contribution to the sport will not be forgotten, and his legacy will continue to inspire future generations of drivers.

[19500513]

Louis Sellyei (1934 - 10 July 2015)

 

https://www.legacy.c...ary?id=17920972

He could have been Lou Sell, winner of 1968 SCCA championship (?)

[dmj]

Roberto Urretavizcaya, one time Argentinian Formula Renault champion and multiple winner in Turismo Carretera races, passed away after a road accident on motorcycle.

[ReWind]

Louis Sellyei (1934 - 10 July 2015)
 
https://www.legacy.c...ary?id=17920972
He could have been Lou Sell, winner of 1968 SCCA championship (?)

I don't think so. In period Dr. Lou Sell was described not as an eye-surgeon, but as a dentist.

And he looked different. Compare
Dr. Lou Sellyei Link to image
with
Dr. Lou Sell
Link to another image

In May 1985 the Toronto Star described him as 51-year-old which leads me to
Louis Felrath Sell
who was born on 10 August 1933 in San Diego County, California, and passed away on 18 August 2018 in Arizona. Most probably that one is the right one.

Edited by ReWind, 26 April 2023 - 12:05.

[Michael Ferner]

Yes, ReWind is right: apart from the different surname, Dr. Sellyei was from New Jersey (as a quick search shows), while Dr. Sell was from the other side of the continent. I trust that he has found the right one, as in period Dr. Sell's homwtown was usually given as Fullerton/CA, which is right across California State Route 91 from Anaheim cemetery, where Louis Felrath Sell is buried.

 

[Claudio Navonne]

Roberto Urretavizcaya, one time Argentinian Formula Renault champion and multiple winner in Turismo Carretera races, passed away after a road accident on motorcycle.

Roberto was a great driver, but he was also a great person. Now retired, he was on his way to his dairy farm on his motorbike, when a month ago he had the accident that finally caused his death. A pity, Argentinean motor racing is in mourning.