376 replies to this topic

[opplock]

“Alonso fastest in F1 Abu Dhabi young driver test”

 

The kids also included Buemi and Kubica. Perhaps young in this context means anyone not entitled to old age pension. 

[Michael Ferner]

They're all younger than me, so what's wrong?

[D-Type]

Not to mention the frequent mentions today of the 70th anniversary of F-1 blah, blah, blah. It seems that the F-2 years of 1952 and 1953 apparently do not exist.

And the years 1947 to 1949! 

[BRG]

They're all younger than me, so what's wrong?

I think that, given the probable average age of TNFers, the general view here might be that Alonso is just a precocious kid. Not even 40 yet, huh.

[Radoye]

I’m not sure this is the proper place for this, but I found it worth a smile.....from this very web site, today....

“Alonso fastest in F1 Abu Dhabi young driver test”

That kid shows promise i tell you, i see at least 2 WDC titles to his name by the time he's finished with F1.

[Vitesse2]

Sky Documentaries are premiering 'Queen of Speed' tonight, a film about Michele Mouton. This is the Grauniad's preview, written by one Jack Seale:

 

Zip through the glamorous, deeply sexist 1980s with this rich biography of rally driver Michèle Mouton. She and her co-driver Fabrizia Pons – the first women to get anywhere near the top of the sport – recall how open-shirted boors constantly doubted them as they, nevertheless, challenged thrillingly for the 1982 world championship.

My bolding. Mr Seale is presumably unaware of Pat Moss, Anne Wisdom, Rosemary Smith ...

 

To be fair, they did also publish a pretty good piece about her by Giles Richards: https://www.theguard...dominated-sport

[BRG]

You might expect a 'woke' publication like the Gruadian to present it as a feminist battle against mysogyny but I really don't remember it as such.  Not that I ever wore my shirts open. And of course, she was following in distinguished footsteps as V2 says.

 

Perhaps nearer to the coalface, Mouton encountered sexism, but I don't remember ever hearing anything adverse from rally fans at the time, rather the opposite.  She was much admired for taking the fight to the boys.  And looking at her career history, she got good opportunities.  After making her mark on the French national stage, she got a drive from FIAT France and then from Audi Sport.   Not really a story of the poor little downtrodden woman held back by wicked sexist men.

[2F-001]

... and Louise Aitken-Walker too - with both a world title and a Segrave Trophy, no less, to her name.

[Vitesse2]

... and Louise Aitken-Walker too - with both a world title and a Segrave Trophy, no less, to her name.

Well, yes. But Louise is younger than Michele, although their careers ran pretty much in parallel.

[ensign14]

Sky Documentaries are premiering 'Queen of Speed' tonight, a film about Michele Mouton. This is the Grauniad's preview, written by one Jack Seale:

My bolding. Mr Seale is presumably unaware of Pat Moss, Anne Wisdom, Rosemary Smith ...

 

That might be more Championship-itis than anything else.  I.e. anything before a World Title is meaningless.

[Rupertlt1]

To the Tank Museum at Bovington, Dorset (your ticket entitles you to as many visits as you like for a twelve month period). One benefit is cheap, mostly good, remaindered books.

I thought how can you go wrong with A Mini Adventure — THE ICONIC SMALL CAR by Martin Wainwright, Aurum Press, updated 2017, knocked down to £2.99.

It was all going so well, until Page 130, talking about the Mini Cooper:

"Cooper had to fight to get Harriman to agree to make 1000 models of the car, the minimum requirement for entrants in the new Formula Junior championship which the Mini Cooper was targeting."

Talking of the Mini Moke, Page 182:

"Abundant snow and ice allowed the launch ceremony to show off the Moke's four-wheel-drive traction at parts of Longbridge which resembled ski slopes and an ice rink." Once more on Page 183: "sturdy little four-wheel drive."

On Page 219 Wainwright goes for broke with the new MINI: "In 2007, the MINI factory in Cowley at Oxford, which makes only the car and no other marques, was the third most productive in Britain. In 2008, it leap-frogged over Honda in Derbyshire, passed the 1,500,000th MINI mark and is now second only to the huge Toyota works at Sunderland."

 

RGDS RLT

Edited by Rupertlt1, 04 January 2022 - 19:19.

[Tim Murray]

I used to know a bloke with a Moke. He never had a problem parking it in tight spaces - he’d put the nose into the space, then get out and physically lift the back end into place. He was a strong lad, but I don’t think he could have done it had the vehicle been 4WD with all the extra weight that would have entailed.

[Vitesse2]

There were actually some 4WD Mokes - although they might have presented Tim's friend with a few parking problems, as they were twin-engined - Fuzzi style!

 

Motor Sport road (or rather off-road in the snow)-tested it in their February 1963 issue (p102). The weeklies were probably there too, as it was a press launch. It's mentioned by Courtenay Edwards in his Sunday Telegraph column on January 13th, although the press day actually seems to have been January 7th:

 

 

"Britain's first twin-engined car", eh?

 

Wikipedia reckons a few 4WD prototypes were built, but there were no takers amongst the military, who were the target market. Three of them apparently ended up in service with the Brazilian army though, having been captured from 'Guyanese rebels' (source is a PDF in Portuguese, so something might have been lost in translation?)

 

https://en.wikipedia.../wiki/Mini_Moke

[wolf sun]

Since this is the place for nitpicking (nit-picking? pit-nicking?) it should be Michèle Mouton, not Michele. And don‘t tell me your keyboards can‘t do this! ;-)

[nexfast]

Wikipedia reckons a few 4WD prototypes were built, but there were no takers amongst the military, who were the target market. Three of them apparently ended up in service with the Brazilian army though, having been captured from 'Guyanese rebels' (source is a PDF in Portuguese, so something might have been lost in translation?)

https://en.wikipedia.../wiki/Mini_Moke

Absolutely correct, that's what is said in the PDF. Some Guyanese rebels tried to create an independent state somewhere in Guyana but were not successful and crossed the border to Brazil with the mini-mokes where they were detained by the Brazilian army. No information, though, how the vehicles found their way to Guyana.

[Ray Bell]

There were two fuel tank locations in the Mini Moke...

 

I think it was the first one was in one of the side 'boxes' while a rear tank was used as well.

 

So there's another option for making the rear too heavy for a 'strong lad'.

[Vitesse2]

Absolutely correct, that's what is said in the PDF. Some Guyanese rebels tried to create an independent state somewhere in Guyana but were not successful and crossed the border to Brazil with the mini-mokes where they were detained by the Brazilian army. No information, though, how the vehicles found their way to Guyana.

Obrigado

[RS2000]

No information, though, how the vehicles found their way to Guyana.

 

There were a lot in Barbados (and one currently in Antigua, which I only know because someone there - not the owner - once asked me about spares).

 

There are circuit racing links between Guyana (North Dakota circuit) and both Barbados and Antigua racing people going back to at least the early 70s, when the likes of Dave Brodie, Gordon Spice and Gabriel Koenig also appeared in Guyana.

 

Some people moved to Antigua after British Guiana became Guyana.

Most likely the Brazillian Mokes were sourced from Barbados or somewhere else "southish" in the region.

 

I never ever understood the attempts to seek military use of Mokes. It only needs one look at the actual or potential ground clearance.

[Vitesse2]

I never ever understood the attempts to seek military use of Mokes. It only needs one look at the actual or potential ground clearance.

Dinky actually produced a 'Para Moke' in military colours, complete with camouflaged parachute. Strangely, not until about 1966 apparently. Wish I still had mine, as they now command silly money. The parachute did actually work, but as it was plastic it didn't last long after a few trips from my bedroom window to the garden. Either the roses or the holly hedge probably did for it in the end.

[Ray Bell]

The Citroen Mehari was probably a better vehicle...

 

I once had a brochure which had a picture showing one going up a near-vertical incline.

[Derwent Motorsport]

Wasn't the 4WD Moke used in some of the Rally Point events between the London MC and BAMA that the BBC used as a filler on winter Saturday afternoons?

[Catalina Park]

Leyland Australia was developing a proper single engine 4wd Moke in the late 70s. A couple of prototypes still exist. 
The Australian Moke had 13" wheels for increased ground clearance.
I have a CKD assembled 10" wheel Moke.

[Myhinpaa]

Special Tuning at Abingdon built a 4WD Clubman for rallycross in '71 using Moke 4x4 gearbox & diffs.

 

https://www.theminif...uning-4x4-mini/

 

It has been stated that it used from leftovers of components from the Austin Ant prototype, which was not the case.

 

The Ant was completely different to the Moke: https://www.aronline...pes/austin-ant/

[Derwent Motorsport]

The rallycross Mini 4x4 has been restored. I've seen it at Race Retro.

[Collombin]

For any TNFers who happen to get kicked out of the pub early enough tomorrow evening, it appears that a new documentary on JYS is being aired on Sky Documentaries at 9pm (Fri 30th Dec) in the UK.

[john aston]

There was a long piece in The Times about it yesterday . I am surprised their F1 correspondent has even heard of him , judging by some of the nonsense she has written (sample -  'this would make it the first Grand Prix ever to be held on a Saturday ')  

[jonpollak]

I started a thread about it.
Jp