14 replies to this topic

[Bikr7549]

I've seen a few pictures of a Wyer-Gulf 917 driven by Pedro Rodriguez and Leo Kinnunen in the 1970 BOAC 1000 km at Brands Hatch that has a curious sticker on the two front corners behind the headlights. It always reminded me of the head of the road runner from the Looney Tunes 'Road Runner and Coyote' cartoon series. It can be seen in the pictures in both links below, is anyone familiar with what this is? I use this pic as the background on my PC so it gets a lot of eye time

 

Thanks,

Bob

 

http://www.motorspor...ezs-rain-dance/

 

https://primotipo.co...g/leo-kinnunen/

 

second pic down in both cases

[RS250]

Do you mean the BOAC logo?

[Vitesse2]

BOAC Speedbird.

 

 

https://thebeautyoft...tity-1946-1974/

[Bikr7549]

Ah, that explains it! Thank you. TNF response is amazing, an answer in 8 minutes.

Edited by Bikr7549, 14 November 2018 - 17:56.

[Tim Murray]

I’m guessing it might have been a condition of entry that the race sponsor’s speedbird logo appeared on all the cars. In the Autosport race report the logo is visible in many of the photos of other cars including the works Ferraris, the Porsche Salzburg 917s, the works Alfas, the Bonnier Lola etc etc. The text on the logo read ‘BOAC 1000’.

[Paul Parker]

Ah, that explains it! Thank you. TNF response is amazing, an answer in 8 minutes.

 

I was walking down Pavilion Road which ran parallel on the other side of Sloane Street en route to work at H.R.Owen when I heard an almighty crescendo as they started the 917.

 

So I crossed over and there it was in the Carlton Hotel entrance in Cadogan Place, sometime in early January 1970 if I recall correctly, happy days.

[cooper997]

I’m guessing it might have been a condition of entry that the race sponsor’s speedbird logo appeared on all the cars. In the Autosport race report the logo is visible in many of the photos of other cars including the works Ferraris, the Porsche Salzburg 917s, the works Alfas, the Bonnier Lola etc etc. The text on the logo read ‘BOAC 1000’.

 

Condition of entry or perhaps a bit of a tradition by 1970.

 

These stickers appeared on all cars running in the 1967 BOAC.Brands Hatch 500. No mention of B.O.A.C because that would have been deemed as advertising.

 

How it was on Surtees/Hobbs Lola

 

Stephen

[Bikr7549]

Stephen,

How did the limit on advertising work? The cars have advertising on them and the guardrail in background of the primotipo site picture has a Lucas banner on it. The BOAC logo implies what it is for, but that is not advertising? The ban on tobacco advertising as I recall allowed colors (Players, Marlboro), was that in the same boat? Or, since BOAC was government owned did that put their adverts in a different category?

 

Bob

[Vitesse2]

As Tim suggests, it may be that BOAC as the race's title sponsors could have circumvented the rules by supplying the stickers and asking/compelling entrants to carry them - which wasn't actually that difficult, assuming the organising club were prepared to turn a blind eye. And in 1967 it is just the Speedbird, with no lettering. By then it was pretty obvious that the advertising 'ban' would go sooner rather than later.

 

What isn't generally realised is that national clubs could authorise advertising on cars even before the 1968 rule change which allowed full sponsorship. This was most obvious in events like the Carrera Panamericana and the Race of Two Worlds, but you can find pictures of cars carrying advertising in mid-1950s Mille Miglias and in 1960s Italian F3 races. 'Trade' sponsor decals like Shell can be seen on some of the cars in the Tasman series too. And there were ways round it - Tony Vandervell's ThinWall Special Ferrari and Raymond Mays' Cordon Bleu and Cordon Rouge Bugattis for example. Or just naming your team after the sponsor; eg Yeoman Credit.

 

There was never a problem with trackside advertising, of course.

[cooper997]

Stephen,

How did the limit on advertising work? The cars have advertising on them and the guardrail in background of the primotipo site picture has a Lucas banner on it. The BOAC logo implies what it is for, but that is not advertising? The ban on tobacco advertising as I recall allowed colors (Players, Marlboro), was that in the same boat? Or, since BOAC was government owned did that put their adverts in a different category?

 

Bob

Bob, Vitesse2 has given a great response. But can I just add that when I wrote my post 7 comment, it was based on Gold Leaf Team Lotus being the first to run sanctioned advertising on their cars part way through the January 1968 New Zealand leg of the Tasman. The cars getting a Gold Leaf makeover between round 2 at Levin and round 3's Wigram. The 1967 Brands BOAC race took place almost 6 months before the advertising avalanche began.

 

Stephen

[Vitesse2]

Bob, Vitesse2 has given a great response. But can I just add that when I wrote my post 7 comment, it was based on Gold Leaf Team Lotus being the first to run sanctioned advertising on their cars part way through the January 1968 New Zealand leg of the Tasman. The cars getting a Gold Leaf makeover between round 2 at Levin and round 3's Wigram. The 1967 Brands BOAC race took place almost 6 months before the advertising avalanche began.

 

Stephen

*cough* Team Gunston, South African GP, January 1st 1968 *cough*

[D-Type]

They sometimes did pioneering things in the colonies.  In 1956 the Safari organisers allowed cars to carry advertising allowing the private owners who made up the bulk of the entry to defray their expenses.  When the Safari was given "International" status in 1957 it automatically became the first international rally to allow advertising.

[d j fox]

This topic revived a distant memory. Walking through the paddock during practice for the 1968 race I came upon Ben Pon’s orange Porsche 910 parked by his truck. On close examination I noticed the letters “KLM” felt-tipped on the BOAC Speedbird logo sticker !  I looked up to see Pon and his mechanic, two proud Dutchmen, grinning at me! I often wondered if they got away with it!

Slightly off topic , but from the BOAC races,  does anyone else remember the enormous wooden BOAC Jumbo jet that was erected at the top of South Bank? What year/years was that?

DJF

[2F-001]

Slightly off topic , but from the BOAC races,  does anyone else remember the enormous wooden BOAC Jumbo jet that was erected at the top of South Bank? What year/years was that?

DJF

 

Maybe there were more than one - or installed at more than one event - but I've seen images  of a wet 1,000km (so presumably '70?) when it was behind the Grovewood Suite.

[Hawkeye]

No personal links to this company (except have bought some other decals from them) : https://www.isayding...ain-6-Pair.html