Member
Posted 21 September 2020 - 16:22
I have a memory of seeing Carlos Pace racing an Elan, I think at Brands. I was a youngster so it was quite some time ago. Am I correct or have I got it all wrong? I did a quick Google but found nothing to confirm that he did.
Can the Super-Google that is TNF help please?
Advertisement
Member
Posted 21 September 2020 - 19:16
In 1970 I saw him driving a Lotus with elan, but that was an F3 59A.... No, sorry, I don't remember an Elan, just F3, F2, and F1 in this country. He drove for sports cars for Ferrari etc., but I'm not sure he ever raced them in the UK. Neither the racingsportscar site, nor the 1998 Adam Cooper/Motor Sport article make any mention of an Elan.
Do you remember a particular race, any other cars or competitors, time of year?
Edited by john winfield, 21 September 2020 - 19:17.
Member
Posted 21 September 2020 - 20:38
In 1970 I saw him driving a Lotus with elan, but that was an F3 59A.... No, sorry, I don't remember an Elan, just F3, F2, and F1 in this country. He drove for sports cars for Ferrari etc., but I'm not sure he ever raced them in the UK. Neither the racingsportscar site, nor the 1998 Adam Cooper/Motor Sport article make any mention of an Elan.
Do you remember a particular race, any other cars or competitors, time of year?
In my early teens I spent a lot of time at tracks all over the country watching mostly club racing. Not to mention the Wednesday Brands test sessions that I bunked off from school to go to..... All culminating in my expulsion from school just prior to my O levels!
So I really cannot remember many particular race meetings with much clarity, there were so many. Unless something unusual happened. I went normally to be around the cars and enjoy them rather than watching the racing. I still do today.
It seems my memory is playing tricks. Thank you for researching this, I am grateful.
Member
Posted 22 September 2020 - 08:23
My own of memory Carlos Pace is of him coming to the UK in 1970 and racing in the last season of the 1 litre F3 category. I can't recall him ever competing in an Elan, even as a one-off - I was an avid weekly reader of Motoring News, and follower of club racing, so would probably not have missed news him doing so at the time , although that's not to say that it might have escaped my memory in the ensuing years. By 1971 he had moved on to Formula 2 so if he ever did race an Elan it would surely have been in that first season 1970, by which time Elans were primarily competing in Modsports races.
Member
Posted 22 September 2020 - 09:22
Just a thought, given the 1970 Lotus connection. Did Carlos perhaps have an Elan road car? Although I don't think Jim Russell threw them in for free....
Or, maybe at a test/practice session you went to at Brands, Dipster, maybe Carlos did a few laps in someone else's Elan, there at the circuit for its own testing purposes: Dave Brodie, Jon Fletcher etc.
Member
Posted 22 September 2020 - 20:29
John Miles was roughly a contemporary of Carlos Pace in F1, and I'm sure you saw him racing an Elan, Dipster. I recall him at Brands early in '66, running last after a pitstop to remove a loose bonnet, and winning.
Member
Posted 22 September 2020 - 20:42
John Miles was roughly a contemporary of Carlos Pace in F1, and I'm sure you saw him racing an Elan, Dipster. I recall him at Brands early in '66, running last after a pitstop to remove a loose bonnet, and winning.
I did indeed see JM often (in quite a variety of cars) but I particularly remember him in the Diva. I really liked that little car!
Member
Posted 23 September 2020 - 11:01
IIRC Carlos was one of the drivers in the '72 British Grand Prix meeting celebrity race for Ford 4000 tractors, not quite the same as a Elan .... ;-)
Member
Posted 23 September 2020 - 16:59
I did indeed see JM often (in quite a variety of cars) but I particularly remember him in the Diva. I really liked that little car!
Was that "Lotus" John Miles? There was another JM who raced a Turner.
Member
Posted 23 September 2020 - 18:20
Was that "Lotus" John Miles? There was another JM who raced a Turner.
Yes, that I believe that was Lotus´ JM, Bernard Miles` son.
Member
Posted 23 September 2020 - 18:28
Yes, it definitely was the 'Lotus' John Miles, son of Bernard. I'm just re-reading Simon Taylor's 'Lunch with...' from 2014. John built up the car in 1964, with Diva boss Don Sims, then approached Jeff Uren at Willment for 1965. He had a very successful 1965 season before selling the Diva to help finance the Elan he raced in 1966.
Member
Posted 23 September 2020 - 21:49
Yes, it definitely was the 'Lotus' John Miles, son of Bernard. I'm just re-reading Simon Taylor's 'Lunch with...' from 2014. John built up the car in 1964, with Diva boss Don Sims, then approached Jeff Uren at Willment for 1965. He had a very successful 1965 season before selling the Diva to help finance the Elan he raced in 1966.
That article is a reflection of the man - I was fortunate enough to know him to an extent late in his life; my dad got to know him more significantly.
Member
Posted 23 September 2020 - 22:42
That article is a reflection of the man - I was fortunate enough to know him to an extent late in his life; my dad got to know him more significantly.
It's a tremendous article isn't it? As usual, Simon Taylor looks to have done a very good job. John comes over as dignified, but not pulling any punches. And such a varied life. 'Once motor racing was all I lived for. But in the end you suddenly realise there are other things in life.'
Member
Posted 08 October 2020 - 20:39
I've never come across any reference to Carlos in an Elan.... that's not to say it didn't happen.
© MOTORSPORT NETWORK 2024. All rights reserved. Community Forum Software by IP.Board
