70 replies to this topic

[TerryS]

In a recent Primotipo article on Bartlett they included the cover of the 1970 Australian Motor Racing Annual.

This showed a beautiful photo of Bartlett in the Mildren Yellow Submarine with front wheels off the ground over Warwick Farms northern crossing.

Also on the cover it noted an article on the Top New Faces from 1969. So for interest I decided to dig it out to see who they were.

There were eight noted so I have listed them in alphabetical order:

Peter Brock
Richard Carter
Paul Dwyer
Bernie Haehnle
Richard Knight
David Mingay
Allen Shrimpton
Tony Stewart

Most did go on to higher forms of racing.

The two I can't recall are Dwyer and Shrimpton. (although Autopics has photos of both)

The only one still racing as far as I am aware is Carter. He has recently been in Historics in Trevor Simpson's Brabham BT23-B Climax 2.5L.

[ellrosso]

From memory Dwyer and Shrimpton were in Series Prod Cooper S's like so many others and I don't think they made it out of them (nowhere 100% sure of that though - Ray will know a lot more about all these guys). Richard Carter and David Mingay are an interesting pair though, especially Carter who has had a very long career, still going in Historics to this day.

I think it was Peter Wherrett who was behind a drive day at Oran Park where punters could turn up and cut some laps (in their road cars? Can't recall..) under supervised conditions - probably a forerunner to Wherrett's driving school. Both Carter and Mingay were singled out as being exceptional and eventually pooled their resources to run a Datsun 2000 in Marque Sports very successfully.

I know Richard did very well flipping houses in the boom times of Paddington in Sydney, then as a partner in Vision Graphics (commercial film processing lab - the Redfern lab was my processor for many years when I had studios on  the South side).

So I'd imagine he was able to afford his racing habit over a long period.

Only Brock hit the big time out of that list of course and he really was the "goods", in Touring Cars at least, his one foray into openwheelers not really being conclusive. Knight was very promising here in his Imp Prod Cooper S and the Stillwell F Ford (won the series in the first year) and took off to the UK to try his luck but ran out of money as so often happened to expats - had a long career selling cars over there.

Haehnle did the right thing by starting off in Ken Goodwin's Rennmax Vee and won an enormous number of races. Leo Geoghegan gave him a run in the Lotus 39 Repco at Amaroo but he stacked it unfortunately. Did OK in F Fords for a bit and has been racing a Vee in Historics for a few years now. Tony Stewart was up there in F2 for a while, of course peaking with his win in the wet Gold Star race at Symmons in 1971. I think he retired to his car sales business which he has developed into quite an empire in both Melbourne and Sydney - his daughter ordered some prints for his birthday in 2017. Interesting list Mark.

[Ray Bell]

At Warwick Farm at least, both drove only Series Production Cooper Ss...

Shrimpton had his first meeting in May, 1969; he was seen no more after the May, 1970 meeting. His best placing was fourth at the December meeting.

Dwyer was around a little longer, he started in the December, 1968 meeting and concluded his runs at that same May, 1970 event, in which he gained his second fifth place.

My suspicion is that, with Warwick Farm still a couple of years from closing, if they had moved on they would surely have competed at Warwick Farm and there is no record of them having done so.

[ellrosso]

Here are the top new faces for 1967 (1968 Annual)

Edited by ellrosso, 10 December 2018 - 09:42.

[TerryS]

Thanks Lindsey for your comments on the 1969 New Faces. Your bit on Richard Carter was especially appreciated as I knew nothing of his "civilian" life.

1968 NEW FACES

There are 15 so I have listed in alphabetical order:

Damon Beck
Bob Brown
Les Carne
John Leffler
Lakis Manticas
Trevor Meehan
John Millyard
Bob Muir
Robin Pare
Terry Quartly
Rick Radford
Neil Revell
Charlie Tuckey
Peter Woodward
Bob Young

John LEFFLER I would rate as achieving the most. After his Mini sports sedan he won the 1973 Australian Formula Ford Championship, and was second in 1972. In 1974 he was third in the Australian F2 championship. In 1976 in his Lola T400 F5000 he won the Australian Drivers Championship, and was second in 1977. Showing versatility he was second with Allan Grice in the 1978 Bathurst 1000. Although sponsored by Grace Brothers Department Stores for many years he was never flush with funds and basically did it on a shoe string.

Bob MUIR I would rate second for success. He never won a championship but competed in a lot of classes. He also raced F5000's in the US. His most memorable cars were the immaculate Lola T300 F5000 and the Army Reserve XD Falcon.

Peter WOODWARD I would rate third as he won the 1970 Australian Sports Car Championship in his Elfin 360 Climax. It was only over 3 races, he got a first and a second. Most of time he didn't have others in comparable machinery so difficult to rate him.

Robin PARE drove some beautiful machinery for Don Elliott, but it was only in Tasmania so difficult to compare.

I must admit I do not recall Charlie Tuckey.

Of the others most did not progress beyond the class they were in for this list.

I most note that the Publishers were based in Sydney so there seems to be a bias towards NSW drivers. Of the 15 I believe 12 were from NSW.

Edited by TerryS, 10 December 2018 - 04:04.

[Ray Bell]

Damon Beck tried to climb out of Vees but I believe it was a business bust which snared him and dragged him back to the wobblies...

 

Lakis Manticas was always very quick and moved on to 3-litre tin-tops in the Amaroo series.

 

Terry Quartly attempted to stick his neck out of Vees, too, taking on the ex-Geoghegan/Boddenberg Lotus 32 but found a rock wall at Amaroo and demolished the car.

 

Peter Woodward's car was an Elfin 350, not a 360. It was 2.5-Climax powered while the 360s had Repco 2.5 V8s. I think there were class points as well which helped him to his title. But he had been good in the Lotus 47.

[ellrosso]

Pretty much agree with all that Terry although I'd put Lakis at equal 3rd with Peter Woodward. He was an absolute giant killer in the Buckle LMS before going on to the success Ray has pointed out. Woodward was very good in the Calder 6 cyl series in the early 70's at Calder in his Imp Prod LC XU-1 too. 

Robin Pare was starting to race the Elfin ME5 on the mainland, contesting the ASSC but that was all cut short (including his racing career in general, by a very nasty accident at Baskerville in 1974). From memory he only had one mainland foray in the Mustang

at Oran Park in 1971. Bit of a shame Don Elliot didn't give him more opportunities to race on the big island (as he did with Edmondson - but money could have been a factor there, who knows...), as he was a good steerer who could have done a lot better with more competition.

I must say I'm a bit mystified by the Charlie Tuckey inclusion too - from memory he raced a rear engine sports car at Mallala but can't recall any great highlights from him in the RCN race reports.

[Ray Bell]

Don Elliot's Mustang was never a really quick car...

 

Based on a road car, it didn't get the attention the likes of the Beechey, Geoghegan and Jane cars got.

[ellrosso]

That's true Ray. It was very evenly matched with Kim Aunger's SA Mustang at Baskerville in 1970 but nowhere near the Geoghegan machine for one example. Fine for Tassy racing but second level in mainland terms.

Edited by ellrosso, 10 December 2018 - 08:35.

[ellrosso]

Just to complete the set, here are the New Faces from the 1969 Aust Motor Racing Annual (re 1968 season) - few occasional TNF'rs amongst them too : Peter Finlay (Vees), Paul Hamilton (Turner Ford - Marque Sports) and Bob Tweedie (Cooper S).

Others are :  Graham Heath (F4 Tecno - 250cc bike engined machine), Ian Hill (Vic Vee driver), Alan Vincent, Roger Goldfinch, Jeff Leighton (all NSW Cooper S drivers), Bevan Gibson (Lotus 15 LeMans - tragically killed in the Bob Jane Elfin 400

at Bathurst in 1969), Malcolm Ramsey (SA - Elfin 300 1.5 T/C) and Peter Wallace (NSW sports cars - Cicada Ford). Certainly plenty of talent amongst that lot but no one really made the top rungs of the motorsport ladder in Australia - Bevan Gibson

was very quick and ambitious - possibly the stand out in this group but taken too soon to really judge fairly. Peter Finlay certainly gave it a good crack in the UK. Paul Hamilton was and still is very capable in his Elfin 600 in Historics - another long career like Richard Carter. Bob Tweedie was racing the Elfin MS7 in Historic racing until fairly recently too.

[Ray Bell]

Alan Vincent went on to become the one who gave John Leffler his openwheeler start...

 

Having learned he had a terminal illness, Alan and Lyn Vincent provided their Bowin P4a for Leffler to drive. They were a wonderful couple but both were to die at a very young age.

[TerryS]

Don Elliot's Mustang was never a really quick car...
 
Based on a road car, it didn't get the attention the likes of the Beechey, Geoghegan and Jane cars got.

The Mustang was built to be the top car in Tasmania which was the team's main objective.

The beautiful Don Elliot machinery I was thinking of was the ex Niel Allen Elfin ME5 sports and the Chev Camaro.

Another interesting car was the Ford Anglia which competed in one of the Surfers 12 hour races. One of Pare's few mainland appearances

[ellrosso]

Here are a few pics of Elliot Team cars. The Mustang shot from Longford 1966 is very early days and the car is still LHD (converted in 1967) and he would have been dicing with Goss and Cook rather than lapping them! The shot from Bask 1971 is also early days for Pare in the ex Thomson Camaro and Tony Calvert gave him a real run in the ex Allen Mustang, forcing Pare into a rare spin in the Esses (I have a very out of focus colour slide of this taken on the old man's rangefinder). Tony won that race and actually set a new Outright Touring Car record that day too (in the 62 secs, nearly a second quicker than the old record) - he was a good driver and the car was very well sorted by this stage too. I've also included a shot of the ex Elliot Mustang in Robin Bessant's ownership. 

[MarkBisset]

Thanks Lindsay,
Some great shots of all of the cars, love Goss in his Cusso, and the first shot with the 1969 ME5 alongside the 1974/5 MS7. The wedgey ME5 was really 'edgy' in the context of other sporties of 1969 such as the 917, 312P, T70 Mk3B, M8B- whether it worked or not I guess is another thing- too short wheelbase et al?
M

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by ellrosso
Just to complete the set, here are the New Faces from the 1969 Aust Motor Racing Annual (re 1968 season).....and Peter Wallace (NSW sports cars - Cicada Ford).....

This is a strange one and really points up the weakness in this short-lived annual assessment...

Peter Wallace had been racing the Barracuda, which was the old Petticoat Special (based on a 1934 Hudson Terraplane) with one of its many old bodies and a 'Y-block' Ford V8 stuffed into it.

He bought the Cicada and suddenly he was flying, it was obviously a very effective car and had done fairly well in SA too. But then he just dropped right out of sight, as so many do.

Maybe Paul Hamilton can throw some light onto what took him away, as they were both in the Team Party House group?




.

Edited by Ray Bell, 12 December 2018 - 07:54.

[Paul Hamilton]

This is a strange one and really points up the weakness in this short-lived annual assessment...

Peter Wallace had been racing the Barracuda, which was the old Petticoat Special (based on a 1934 Hudson Terraplane) with one of its many old bodies and a Ford V8 stuffed into it.

He bought the Cicada and suddenly he was flying, it was obviously a very effective car and had done fairly well in SA too. But then he just dropped right out of sight, as so many do.

Maybe Paul Hamilton can throw some light onto what took him away, as they were both in the Team Party House group?

 

Peter was never really part of the Partyhouse group although he did have a bit of contact with us.  He was the leading light of the Eastern suburbs based Scuderia Testudo with which I also had an affiliation but which was regarded by many of the Partyhouse mob as a bit 'snooty'.  He was certainly very handy at the wheel and the Cicada gave him an opportunity to demonstrate that.  I have not seen or heard of him for many years but I think it may have been an overseas work commitment which brought an end to his motor racing.

[MarkBisset]

It's interesting to see three of the Grace Bros Team FF drivers on the lists in Finlay, Leffler and Carter.
Hans T chose well, the others from memory were Andrew Miedecke, Geoff Brabham, John Davis, John Smith and Paul Bernasconi. Who have I forgotten ? Excluding the taxi drivers. All deserved support beyond FF with Leffo going all the way with GB to a Gold Star with Brabham and Miedecke going thru to ANF2 and beyond with their own resources. Peter Finlay did explain how his F2 season would have been funded by them but for the life of me I've forgotten the 'funding cocktail'. Pretty amazing whilst it lasted all the same...

[ellrosso]

Also amazing is the value of Formula Ford to Australian Motorsport over such an incredible length of unbroken time for a motorsport formula. I know Formula Vee has been going longer but I'd be surprised if FF hasn't produced more top drivers

in Australia and overseas than Vees have.

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by MarkBisset
.....Peter Finlay did explain how his F2 season would have been funded by them but for the life of me I've forgotten the 'funding cocktail'. Pretty amazing whilst it lasted all the same...

Grace Brothers funded these teams out of their menswear department...

Hans Tiepermann had been keen on putting retail money into motor racing for years, he'd worked at Hordern's before GB's and done a little there. But his strategy at Grace Bros worked very well.

Suppliers actually put up the money, with their signs on the cars. A look at a pic of a GBs team car will show the various logos, and there were behind-the-scenes deals done with those suppliers to give them promotions to assist in their sales via the retailer.

It is such a shame that they missed out (but came oh so close...) to that AGP win in 1975.

[TerryS]

Just to complete the set, here are the New Faces from the 1969 Aust Motor Racing Annual (re 1968 season) - few occasional TNF'rs amongst them too : Peter Finlay (Vees), Paul Hamilton (Turner Ford - Marque Sports) and Bob Tweedie (Cooper S).
Others are :  Graham Heath (F4 Tecno - 250cc bike engined machine), Ian Hill (Vic Vee driver), Alan Vincent, Roger Goldfinch, Jeff Leighton (all NSW Cooper S drivers), Bevan Gibson (Lotus 15 LeMans - tragically killed in the Bob Jane Elfin 400
at Bathurst in 1969), Malcolm Ramsey (SA - Elfin 300 1.5 T/C) and Peter Wallace (NSW sports cars - Cicada Ford). Certainly plenty of talent amongst that lot but no one really made the top rungs of the motorsport ladder in Australia - Bevan Gibson
was very quick and ambitious - possibly the stand out in this group but taken too soon to really judge fairly. Peter Finlay certainly gave it a good crack in the UK. Paul Hamilton was and still is very capable in his Elfin 600 in Historics - another long career like Richard Carter. Bob Tweedie was racing the Elfin MS7 in Historic racing until fairly recently too.

Apart from Bevan Gibson there were no great talents from that lot, and none reached any heights in racing.

It was an incredible shame that Gibson had that tragic accident.

As the Annual says "1968 was not a great year for new faces.

[TerryS]

Grace Brothers funded these teams out of their menswear department...Hans Tiepermann had been keen on putting retail money into motor racing for years, he'd worked at Hordern's before GB's and done a little there. But his strategy at Grace Bros worked very well.Suppliers actually put up the money, with their signs on the cars. A look at a pic of a GBs team car will show the various logos, and there were behind-the-scenes deals done with those suppliers to give them promotions to assist in their sales via the retailer.It is such a shame that they missed out (but came oh so close...) to that AGP win in 1975.

I always thought it strange that Grace Bros sponsored drivers in national championships as they were only a Sydney and suburbs based department store.

[TerryS]

Pretty much agree with all that Terry although I'd put Lakis at equal 3rd with Peter Woodward. He was an absolute giant killer in the Buckle LMS before going on to the success Ray has pointed out. Woodward was very good in the Calder 6 cyl series in the early 70's at Calder in his Imp Prod LC XU-1 too. 
Robin Pare was starting to race the Elfin ME5 on the mainland, contesting the ASSC but that was all cut short (including his racing career in general, by a very nasty accident at Baskerville in 1974). From memory he only had one mainland foray in the Mustang
at Oran Park in 1971. Bit of a shame Don Elliot didn't give him more opportunities to race on the big island (as he did with Edmondson - but money could have been a factor there, who knows...), as he was a good steerer who could have done a lot better with more competition.
I must say I'm a bit mystified by the Charlie Tuckey inclusion too - from memory he raced a rear engine sports car at Mallala but can't recall any great highlights from him in the RCN race reports.

I have to disagree with you Lindsay on your placement of Manticas. I believe he deserved to be on the list of new faces but I don't consider he deserved special rating.

In that Buckle Mini he had some fantastic races at Oran park, of which I saw most. But he had a great advantage over other Mini sports sedans because of extremely low weight and low centre of gravity.

I believe he flattered to deceive in the Buckle. He only moved on from it because the rules were changed to ban cars with altered rooflines (such as the Buckle and the Broadspeed). His change was not voluntary.

He then first raced an Improved Production Cooper S and then a series production Cooper S but really achieved nothing over the 1969 to 1971 period.

At the beginning of 1973 he bought the ex Terry Allen/Graeme Blanchard Chev Camaro with 350 engine. He never raced it. He stripped all the mechanicals and in 1974 sold it as a roller to a Sydney dragracer. Perhaps he intended building a sports sedan with the mechanicals but nothing eventuated.

After a few more years lay-off he raced a V6 Capri, particularly at Amaroo. He never achieved anything against other Capri drivers like Barry Seton, Peter Hopwood, Laurie Hazelton, Alan Cant and John Craft.

He then seemed to retire in 1979. So a career that had so much early promise never achieved much.

[ellrosso]

Hmmmm..... I actually still think Manticas had the stronger career of the two. Woodward's ASSC championship win is far from conclusive as he was really on the next rung down from the big bangers. If Neil Allen had finished at Wanneroo he would have romped it in. If Ayers had finished at Phillip Island and so on. Woodward was 8 seconds slower than Matich at W Farm, 7 secs of Allen. Regardless of the state of the Buckle LMS, Lakis still had to drive it and to equal Pete Geoghegan's time in the Mustang at Oran Park in any sort of Mini (50.0 flat) is pretty incredible in my book. In his Imp Prod Cooper S he was always up the front with Barnes, King, Holland etc. Quickest of the Minis in 2nd behind Pete G's Mustang in '69. Didn't actually race that much in 1970 for whatever reason (I'm assuming money), but when he did was giving Foley's Porsche 911S a hard time at Amaroo, had a torrid battle with Bob Holden's Alto Escort at another Amaroo and was alongside Manton on the grid at W Farm for the ATCC!

Without checking my '76, '77 RCN's I can't comment on that period but we have a start shot going up Bitupave Hill at Amaroo in 1977 and he's right there at the front battling Seton in the Capri's so he's not doing badly at that meeting....

[Ray Bell]

A photo from the era, and a nice one at that...

 

Mark Bisset has picked this up from the Bob Williamson Facebook page, photo by 'Ramsay':

 

 

The still-lovely Lotus 15 (ex-Hill, Jolly) with 2-litre Coventry-Climax FPF engine going for a run around the streets of quiet Mansfield with Bevan Gibson at the wheel, his father and greatest mentor in the passenger seat.

 

The Gibsons operated the cinema in Mansfield, this being Hoot's main career for the fifties through to the seventies.

[Ian G]

Hmmmm..... I actually still think Manticas had the stronger career of the two. Woodward's ASSC championship win is far from conclusive as he was really on the next rung down from the big bangers. If Neil Allen had finished at Wanneroo he would have romped it in. If Ayers had finished at Phillip Island and so on. Woodward was 8 seconds slower than Matich at W Farm, 7 secs of Allen. Regardless of the state of the Buckle LMS, Lakis still had to drive it and to equal Pete Geoghegan's time in the Mustang at Oran Park in any sort of Mini (50.0 flat) is pretty incredible in my book. In his Imp Prod Cooper S he was always up the front with Barnes, King, Holland etc. Quickest of the Minis in 2nd behind Pete G's Mustang in '69. Didn't actually race that much in 1970 for whatever reason (I'm assuming money), but when he did was giving Foley's Porsche 911S a hard time at Amaroo, had a torrid battle with Bob Holden's Alto Escort at another Amaroo and was alongside Manton on the grid at W Farm for the ATCC!

Without checking my '76, '77 RCN's I can't comment on that period but we have a start shot going up Bitupave Hill at Amaroo in 1977 and he's right there at the front battling Seton in the Capri's so he's not doing badly at that meeting....

 

FWIW i agree,there were wraps on him as a Driver in the early 1970's both from Journo's and fellow competitors,we use to hear them talking in the OP Pits.I didn't live far from his Sailors Bay Rd ,Northbridge Home,we were always checking out what was parked in the Driveway.

I didn't know him personally but spoke to him often in the OP Pits when ever the opportunity arose,i purchased a large lot of A & B BMC competition parts when the Chatswood BMC dealer closed in 1969(70?) so was always trying to find new customers.

Like the majority of Motorsport competitors i think the cost was catching up with him and he drifted into Real Estate in the late 1970's and AFAIK never competed again,Warren Wigram(Datsun 1600/2000 Sports/Mustang) also lived in Northbridge and faded away around the same time.

Edited by Ian G, 20 December 2018 - 10:40.

[Ray Bell]

On the subject of memories of Lakis...

 

I remember going to a Lakeside when he was running that Buckle Monaco thing, the only word which could possibly apply to his run down the back under the Shell bridge was 'commitment'. There was Lakis, Frenchy and Pete with the same commitment, that's pretty good company.

 

His Capri, by the way, was a part of a Sue Ransom racing effort. Possibly, again, indicating a lack of funds, Lakis' Capri became part of a deal where Sue became the driver and that made it possible for a moneyed sponsor to come in on it. ABE Copiers as I recall.

[ellrosso]

I used to spend a bit of time in Northbridge and I recall a Subaru STi WRX parked regularly outside the Manticas Real Estate agency with full harness fitted.....

[Ian G]

As regards Lakis,my Brother reminded me the Buckle LMS was built up from a Mini Lakis rolled,it had the roof lopped off and the remainder put on a Jig to try and line up the front and rear wheels,then the Fibreglass roof added. I reckon it would have been a handful to drive ,no matter how good the alignment on the Jig was. 

[Ray Bell]

Mark Bisset has come up with more pics, this one of Richard Carter in his first Formula Ford:



The Hustler FFord was a very different car, built by Tony Simmons. Here it sits on the grid at Warwick Farm on the Goodyear RR12 tyres the category used in the early seventies.

[Ray Bell]

A few years later, with a Birrana and the Grace Brothers sponsorship, Richard was generally this close to the front of the field:



Ahead of him is the energetic Mike Quinn, while the quiet florist, John Davis, follows. How Davis got there is well worth a TNF story.

[MarkBisset]

Such a shame Ric Carter didn't progress with GB after his DTE Championship winning season- from memory he stepped out of racing for a couple of years and then back into FF with a one-off chassis the name of which escapes me. Into Historics he has been a force for a couple of decades in March 73B, Ralt RT4 and Elfins 600 and Mono and whatever else.
Intrigued by your John Davis story Ray?
That chassis is the P4X- ex Jack Brabham Ford/ Bob Beasley car, Alan Bisset bought it after Davis' season above in beautiful nick with a you-beaut Steve Knott powerful motor. Alan eventually won a couple of DTE rounds in a Reynard- in any event I 'helped' Alan (no relation) prepare the car for a couple of years in my Uni days so have always had a soft spot for that car and all who travelled with it- wot is the Davis story?!
M

[Jacer]

Such a shame Ric Carter didn't progress with GB after his DTE Championship winning season- from memory he stepped out of racing for a couple of years and then back into FF with a one-off chassis the name of which escapes me. Into Historics he has been a force for a couple of decades in March 73B, Ralt RT4 and Elfins 600 and Mono and whatever else.
Intrigued by your John Davis story Ray?
That chassis is the P4X- ex Jack Brabham Ford/ Bob Beasley car, Alan Bisset bought it after Davis' season above in beautiful nick with a you-beaut Steve Knott powerful motor. Alan eventually won a couple of DTE rounds in a Reynard- in any event I 'helped' Alan (no relation) prepare the car for a couple of years in my Uni days so have always had a soft spot for that car and all who travelled with it- wot is the Davis story?!
M

Richard Carter raced a Matek formula ford in the eighties

[TerryS]

Intrigued by your John Davis story Ray?
M

Mark, a quick summary of the John Davis story if I may.

John ran a nursery in Campbelltown, an outer Sydney suburb, not far from Oran Park. He always wanted to try racing but family and business commitments restrained him.

At that time there were two weekday evening papers in Sydney, the Daily Mirror and The Sun. and they were fiercely competitive. They were always running competitions to boost circulation.

The Daily Mirror once ran a competition to win a fully ready to go Formula Ford car. You had to enter your details in a coupon in the paper and deposit it in a box at your newsagent.

Obviously the more coupons you submitted the better your chances of winning.

Davis bought a monstrous pile of the paper over the period it ran, and had his poor family filling out the coupons. He then deposited them.

Lo and behold he won the car. That was the start of his racing career

After Formula Ford he moved on to a Lola T260 Formula 2 car but didn't achieve a lot of success, many saying the car was a dud.

Merry Xmas, Terry

Edited by TerryS, 22 December 2018 - 09:25.

[Tim Murray]

I think Davis raced a Lola T360, not a T260 (which was a Can-Am car):

https://www.oldracin...php?RaceID=A77N

[MarkBisset]

Haha, too funny with the competition- and good luck to him, he certainly put the P4 to good use.
And I'd forgotten he had a season in that T360- gees, everybody raced that thing, it was Glenn Abbey's wasn't it? KB and Graeme Lawrence did a round or two in 1974, I clearly remember Doug Mac Arthur racing it for a season or so- then John Davis and Andrew Miedecke fitted a BDA and raced it in an early NZ F PAC Series. Nice historic car to have and in good hands with Col Hastie who has T360/460 and 560??

[Ray Bell]

His coupons from the papers came from 'returns' that didn't have to be returned...

 

John made arrangements with several newsagents to pick the necessary pages up the following day, he had a stamp made to fill in his name and other details and had a tool for cutting them all out neatly.

 

From memory the (Brabham-Ford supplied) prize was a Cortina 6-cylinder station wagon as tow car, the Brabham-Ford Bowin P4 and a trailer.

[lyntonh]

All of us naive saps, who filled in half a dozen coupons, thought we had a chance of winning. After the draw at Oran Park, we all thought, ah well that’s the way it goes. And then the story came out about him filling in an endless stream of entries. He wanted it......NO, he NEEDED it, more than the rest of us. Fair enough, although we did discuss what he might have done if they had drawn someone else and he missed out after such an effort!!!

[Paul Hamilton]

Haha, too funny with the competition- and good luck to him, he certainly put the P4 to good use.
And I'd forgotten he had a season in that T360- gees, everybody raced that thing, it was Glenn Abbey's wasn't it? KB and Graeme Lawrence did a round or two in 1974, I clearly remember Doug Mac Arthur racing it for a season or so- then John Davis and Andrew Miedecke fitted a BDA and raced it in an early NZ F PAC Series. Nice historic car to have and in good hands with Col Hastie who has T360/460 and 560??

 

Col Haste has recently rationalised his Lola collection moving both the T360 and T460 on to new owners who I expect will take equally good care of them.

 

The 360 certainly did have a quite varied career!  It was originally imported by Don Baker and Glenn Abbey for Chris Farrell who drove it on its debut at Oran Park in the 1974 Van Heusen series round.  Following a dispute over price Chris then took his Hart 416B engine elsewhere and Glenn arranged for Graham Lawrence and KB to drive the car in some of the later Van Heusen races.  It was at one stage said to have been sold to Fred Gibson but nothing came of that and it ended up with Doug MacArthur for the 1975/76 ANF2 championships.  As you say, Mark, Andrew Miedecke then took the car to NZ for the 1977 Peter Styvesant series with a BDA fitted before passing it on to fellow Grace Bros team member, John Davis, who ran it with a pushrod Ford engine in the revised SOHC ANF2.

 

The Farrell/Baker/Abbey dispute was never fully resolved.  It emerged again when Col Haste acquired the 360 and Chris then reminded him (with tongue firmly in cheek!!) that he still claimed some equity in the car.  At the following Phillip Island historic meeting Col came back with the perfect rejoinder by presenting Chris with a collection of broken and battered T360 bits and pieces which he said where all that survived of Chris' share of the car!!!  I think even Chris would now accept that as having put the issue finally to bed!

[TerryS]

John Davis was 36 when he won the car so he was not young to be starting a racing career.

As noted above the Formula Ford Bowin in the competition was not new and the engine was found to be very tired. A new motor had to be found and Steve Knott prepared it

Davis had had some limited exposure in an old MG TC. He used it in hillclimbs and club events. He used it at Oran Park under observation for his CAMS licence.

One of the observers was John Leffler, who told him later "if you persevere you will probably find a niche in motor racing"

A photo of the F2 Lola:

http://www.oldraceph...5813_N_Davis_77

Edited by TerryS, 23 December 2018 - 06:35.

[MarkBisset]

Berne Haehnle:

some of you may have seen this quickie on BH a month back- interested to learn more about him than is in this shallow piece;
https://primotipo.co...rennmax-mk1-fv/

Mark

[ellrosso]

Shot of John Davis in Lola T360 Sandown 1977

[MarkBisset]

Many thanks Lindsay- always loved the look of that car- it's a pity KB didn't do the full F2 season in 1974 and then perhaps we would have seen what the car was capable of. By the time Miedecke took it to NZ it was getting a bit long in the tooth compared to the 77B, RT1, B39 et al. Col Hastie did a very nice job on the restoration, but I've not seen it for a while.

[Ray Bell]

Another from Mark Bisset...

Oran Park's 'TAA Driver to Europe' round in the second half of the year, Terry Perkins (Larry's younger brother) leading here on the third lap after passing Paul Bernasconi, with Andrew Miedecke in the Birrana having got by Peter Finlay's Palliser, Geoff Brabham next looking to follow through:



A few laps on Miedecke was attempting a pass on Bernasconi's Mawer into CC/Torana, clipped a wheel and took to the grass on the inside. But it didn't end there, as he skated across the infield and then intersected the Mawer's path as Bernasconi took a more conventional line. The Mawer went skywards and in the confusion Brabham got past Finlay. The Mawer was badly bent.

In his attempt to catch Perkins, Geoffery set a new FF record of 45.4 seconds.

[MarkBisset]

Thanks for the additional notes on the T360 Paul, I missed your post.

Ditto Ray for popping up the '73 DTE shot, and summary race report- I wonder if the Mawer was re-framed after that prang? from the Laurie/Nick Bennett Collection.

The thing that occurred to me when I looked at the shot is that they all toddled off to the UK- in fact Peter Finay is just back having finished second or third in the Euro FF Series in 1972- Palliser WDF2. Miedecke did a few UK F3 rounds in a 763 March and then raced the car as an FPac back here fitted with a BDA.

Terry's RT1 was raced in the same year as Larry (1975) - I wonder what became of him?

Having seen all of these blokes race a lot in period they were all 'the goods' weren't they?!

Not so sure about the Perkins Elfin 620 but the other 4 cars are still alive and well, the Mawer the most lust-worthy FF ever built in Oz...

[Wirra]

...- I wonder if the Mawer was re-framed after that prang?...

Yes is was and establishing its status and that of the, many years later, reconstituted 'straightened-frame' car has provided a good income for several lawyers! 

Edited by Wirra, 27 December 2018 - 01:12.

[Ray Bell]

The pic is from '74, Mark, which you noted when you sent it to me...

Peter Finlay went from Vees in Australia to race the Palliser in England, then he brought it back. I think he worked at Ralt when he was there.

Peter, I would think that the replacement frame (maybe the replacement frames) would have had the raised rear top pickup point for the front suspension which had to be altered on the original after Frank Gardner looked the car over. Anyway, Barton Mawer certainly had some fun with the car in Historics, in one race at Sandown I recall that the commentator thought he'd almost been lapped because he was so far ahead.

The car was designed for Bernasconi to drive, his shoe size determined the height of the front of the chassis and body. It went through periods where different drivers wanted it really bad, Peter Lander was one and Russell Norden another. Competition was tough when it went on the market.

[MarkBisset]

Cheers Ray, '74 it is. The car was always smaller and sleeker than any of the locals or English stuff- Russ Norden won a DTE in it too. Bart Mawer ran the car when I was competing regularly in my Lola- he was mighty quick- and a nice kid! Did a few F3 races in Europe didn't he? I didn't realise FG had a hand in the suspension geometry .
I guess THE FF of the period was Bob Holden's Lola T440 but the Mawer must run it close .
Pete Finlay worked at MRD having just cruised the BT43 thread and read his post yesterday...

[Ray Bell]

Frank Gardner's part was just to make a comment in passing on that top link... no more...

Dave then lifted the ball joint out of the socket he'd made for it and sat it on top with a longer bolt.

Yes, I think Bart did do a few races in Europe. He had financial support, IIRC, from Bob Johns and preparation by Bruce Cary. Though Bob might not have been involved until later when he went F3 here.

[Paul Hamilton]

Yes is was and establishing its status and that of the, many years later, reconstituted 'straightened-frame' car has provided a good income for several lawyers! 

 

The original Mawer 004 'green car' has never been 'reframed'.   Damage to the frame in both the 1973 Oran Park incident and Warwick Rooklyn's much more significant crash at Winton in 1983 was not substantial and was successfully repaired.  However, the 1983 crash did end the car's career in contemporary motor sport and it did not re-emerge on the scene until rebuilt to provide an entree to historic racing for Barton Mawer late in the 1990s. It is certainly true to say, however, that arguments over the car's provenance have provided a good income for several lawyers in more recent years because of some significant errors in documentation by both Dave Mawer and CAMS!!

 

Although the car could easily have been repaired after the Winton crash Warwick Rooklyn was in too much of a hurry to wait and simply used his engine and gearbox in another car for the remainder of the season.  He sold the crashed remains back to Dave Mawer who kept it in store for many years until Bart was coming of age.  The complications arose when Dave and Elwyn Bickley decided to build three 004 clones in around 1986/87.  The first of those clones was built for Simon Kane and, to avoid any need for re-documentation, Dave Mawer simply passed on the original log book to Simon when the car was completed.  This was an error much regretted in more recent years when litigation arose over an attempt to attach the history of the original car to the Simon Kane clone.  That situation had been made more complex by CAMS error in issuing historic C of Ds which linked both Bart Mawer's rebuild and the later clone to the original!!  

 

Fortunately the situation has now been resolved with an acknowledgement by both Dave and CAMS concerning the documentary errors and an acceptance by all parties that there can no longer be any legitimate challenge to the provenance of the car rebuilt by Bart in the 1990's.  That car is now owned by Garry Watson and continues to run at the very sharp end of the field whenever it appears.

 

The most significant basis for resolution of the dispute was a very detailed report by the CAMS Historic Eligibility Committee.  That report was based on an examination of both the Watson car and the clone and a comprehensive review of period photos showing the original car in some detail and the components used in Bart Mawer's 1990's rebuild.  It was quite clearly demonstrated that:

• while the clone does incorporate some components discarded after the 1983 crash, the Watson car retains almost all the surviving components from the original car (including the clearly identifiable chassis frame);
• the detailed specification of the Watson car remains as it was prior to the 1983 crash;   and
• there are very significant differences between the clone and the design of the original car in respect of the chassis frame, steering and suspension components.

[ellrosso]

Shot of Terry Perkins at Calder in 1973. Possibly Peter Larner in the Wren behind...... I was actually at this meeting too and have a shot of Terry spinning in the Esses somewhere - I'll try and dig it out.