27 replies to this topic

[GMiranda]

Hello

 

How are you?

 

As you know, while doing my research, I find many motoring-associated names apart from drivers and team managers. Concerning drivers, there are usually sources or at least some kind of databases with their results, unless they only competed at a national level. However, apart from the drivers, it's challenging to find information about the rest of the people who worked within the motoring scene... Even some team managers, such as Keith Greene, have little information on the web.

Being a researcher and an occasional writer, I am particularly interested in journalists, authors, researchers/historians and photographers. I used to trace many people through Facebook and other social media/networks, such as Twitter, LinkedIn, etc... I know some of them died or are no longer active and use no social media or/and don't want to be contacted due to many factors (ill-health, for example), but I always try to trace as much as possible. Probably you'll know some of these names; if you have any comments (for example, area of expertise, etc..), I'd be delighted to learn from you.

 

I picked a random Autosport UK from my collection - issue 118:9 (1/3/1990), and I found the following names (about those who passed away and are intentionally on the list, because I took ALL the names, my deepest condolences to their families and friends):

- Peter Foubister

- Bruce Jones

- Laura Coppin

- Marcus Pye

- Andy Hallbery

- Joe Saward

- Tony Dodgins

- Adam Cooper

- Keith Oswin

- Quentin Spurring

- Nigel Roebuck

- Mike McCarthy

- Jeff Bloxham

- Martyn Elford

- Peter Higham

- Gordon Kirby

- Simon Maurice

- Simon Taylor

- Bob Jennings

- Gerhard Krutschik

- Ed Roberts

- Morten Alstrup

- Esa Illoinen

- Thierry Lecourt

- Willem J. Staat

- Pino Allievi

- Julian Thomas

- Kunihiko Akai

- Patricia Brault

- Wayne Munro

- Rui Faria

- Colin Windell

- Antonio Watson

- Wolfgang Schattling

- Jürgen Stiftschräule

- Photos Zooom

- Peter Nygaard

- Nick Phillips

- Eoin Young

- Roberto Carozzo

- Michael C. Brown

- Neil Perkins

- Hugh Bishop

- Jean Graton

- Dieter Stappert

- Ken Breslauer

- Mike Greaseley

- Stephane Barbe

- Christian Courtel

- Jean-Luc Taillade

- Peter Garnier

 

 

I know I ask too much, but I hope to perpetuate these stories, and I am working increasingly harder to present some excellent works at the beginning of the year.

 

Many thanks, Best Regards

 

[john ruston]

Your missing Kettlewell, Feast, Maskray, Burn , Penn etc!

[ReWind]

- Jürgen Stiftschräule

That's Jürgen Stiftschraube, a name used by René de Boer; he told us so here.
 
Some names you should find in my Lives on and beside 4 Wheels thread.
 
 

- Gerhard Krutschik

That's Dr. Gerhard Kuntschik

Edited by ReWind, 17 December 2021 - 20:56.

[LittleChris]

Peter Foubister and Eoin Young have both passed away.

[GMiranda]

Peter Foubister and Eoin Young have both passed away.

Yeah, I know. Hugh Bishop too.

[GMiranda]

That's Jürgen Stiftschraube, a name used by René de Boer; he told us so here.
 
Some names you should find in my Lives on and beside 4 Wheels thread.
 
 

That's Dr. Gerhard Kuntschik

Thanks!!!! That list has no end

[Richard Jenkins]

Yeah, I know. Hugh Bishop too.

Michael C Brown and Jean Graton too.

[Parkesi]

Dieter Stappert died in 2008

[GMiranda]

Dieter Stappert died in 2008

I had no idea Dieter had also passed away.

Being an outsider, it's quite hard to know these people outside the mainstream.

[Ray Bell]

I don't see on that list...

 

David McKay

Mike Kable

Robin D'Abrera

Nigel Snowdon

Peter D'Abbs
Brier Thomas

Lance Ruting

Mike Harding

[BRG]

Keith Oswin  (dob 23-1-1956)

 

I knew Keith slightly through rallying, as he was a stalwart of Bath MC and was C of C for the Azimghur Stages at Colerne for several years.  He was a rally co-driver and sat with some famous names such as Stig Blomqvist, Per Eklund, Jimmy McRae, John Haugland, Louise Aitken-Walker, Tommi Makkinen and Phil Collins (the rally drover, not the bloke from Genesis!).  He provided rally reports to Autosport, but I don't think he was ever a full-time professional journalist.

[GMiranda]

I don't see on that list...

 

David McKay

Mike Kable

Robin D'Abrera

Nigel Snowdon

Peter D'Abbs
Brier Thomas

Lance Ruting

Mike Harding

I just picked one magazine. There are so many more.

[GMiranda]

Keith Oswin  (dob 23-1-1956)

 

I knew Keith slightly through rallying, as he was a stalwart of Bath MC and was C of C for the Azimghur Stages at Colerne for several years.  He was a rally co-driver and sat with some famous names such as Stig Blomqvist, Per Eklund, Jimmy McRae, John Haugland, Louise Aitken-Walker, Tommi Makkinen and Phil Collins (the rally drover, not the bloke from Genesis!).  He provided rally reports to Autosport, but I don't think he was ever a full-time professional journalist.

Yes, Keith Oswin, Martin Holmes, Hugh Bishop and Peter Foubister usually appear on rally-related reports.

[Dick Dastardly]

Tony Mason used to write rally related reports for MN and Autosport.....he went on to win a minor 12-car rally with Roger Clark in 1972 then had a role with BBC's Top Gear

[LittleChris]

I'd add :

Simon Arron ( used to post quite regularly on TNF)
Damien Smith ( has posted on TNF )
Ed Foster
Paul Fearnley
John Davenport

All of whom were / are involved with Motor Sport magazine

And of course Pete Lyons !

[john aston]

From the Sixties you can add LJK Setright, Doug Blain , Mike Twite and Henry Manney , all of whom worked for CAR , and are better known for road car work . But all produced insightful, opinionated and highly readable copy , in contrast to much of the grey porridge prose which was around at the time. Stirling Moss and Jackie Stewart also wrote  for CAR on motor sport , both comment pieces and race reports . I am sure ghost writers were employed but their reports added a lot at the time .  CAR subject matter was F1 , Sports Cars (not just Le Mans)  , Can Am , Indy and F2 . 

[RCH]

I don't see on that list...

 

David McKay

Mike Kable

Robin D'Abrera

Nigel Snowdon

Peter D'Abbs
Brier Thomas

Lance Ruting

Mike Harding

 

As I have mentioned before Mike Kable was my late partner, Antonia Royes-Kelly's uncle. He sadly passed away of cancer, a family curse, in 2000. Mike, as you will know, was motoring editor of "The Australian" newspaper, I'm not sure how the connection with Rupert Murdoch would have gone down with his family; his step-grandfather was "Jack" Kelly an eminent economist and sometime politician who I think may have disapproved of some of Rupert's activities. Mike was a direct descendant of Henry Kable who was the first convict to set foot in Australia, he carried New South Wales's first governor Arthur Phillip ashore through the surf. Most of what I learned about Mike was over a couple or three bottles of red so sorry ,Ray, if this is inaccurate.

 

One story of Mike, which I have already related here but may amuse anyone who didn't see it before. On one of his visits to the UK we were to have lunch with him at his hotel. When we arrived he was waiting in the car park, practically dragged Antonia out of the driving seat and saying "I need to borrow your car",  drove off. We assumed he  had an urgent errand to perform. Antonia had just been given one of the then new Mk.3, FWD Ford Escorts as a company car and Mike was anxious to compare this car with the new Australian Ford which was Mazda based. It seems neither Ford nor the hire car companies at Heathrow were able to provide one but he did get a press demonstrator from Ford later.

Edited by RCH, 19 December 2021 - 13:44.

[BRG]

Antonia had just been given one of the then new Mk.3, FWD Ford Escorts as a company car and Mike was anxious to compare this car with the new Australian Ford which was Mazda based. It seems neither Ford nor the hire car companies at Heathrow were able to provide one but he did get a press demonstrator from Ford later.

I bet he got an unpleasant surprise.  The Mk3 Escort was not Ford's finest hour. I know, I owned one briefly.  Dreadful torque steer, a poor ride, a lusty but horribly unrefined engine.  And they rusted badly, although that perhaps wouldn't have been apparent during his test drive!

[RCH]

I bet he got an unpleasant surprise.  The Mk3 Escort was not Ford's finest hour. I know, I owned one briefly.  Dreadful torque steer, a poor ride, a lusty but horribly unrefined engine.  And they rusted badly, although that perhaps wouldn't have been apparent during his test drive!

 

But apart from that.... Actually that Escort was not a bad car to drive. I drove a later one which my employer had as a pool car, it was dreadful. It was almost as though having produced a decent enough car at launch Ford decided to "improve" it. I had a similar experience with the first FWD Vauxhall Cavalier, the one I got didn't handle anywhere near the same as the very early one I drove. I seem to remember reading somewhere about manufacturers tweaking their products to induce more understeer in the belief that it made them safer for the average punter.

[BRG]

It was the later Mk 5 (?) Escort where, after it was well received by the motoring journos for its good handling, the bean-counters deleted the front anti-roll bar to save a fiver.  As a result, early buyers found a car with terrible understeer and complained vociferously, so much that Ford had to re-instate the deleted item.  And that more or less ignominiously killed off the Escort's reputation.

 

Fortunately, its successor, the Focus was a gem.

Edited by BRG, 19 December 2021 - 15:44.

[Jack-the-Lad]

I hope it isn’t too far afield from he thread topic, but I thought I should add a few names from American motoring journalism, which is now in a sad state compared with what it was when these legends were around.....

David E. Davis, Jr.
Warren Weith
Brock Yates
Denise McCluggage
Jerry Titus
Griff Borgeson
John Bond
Ken Purdy
Henry N. Manney, III
Jesse Alexander
Leon Mandel
Beverly Rae Kimes
Tom McCahill
Pete Coltrin

[GMiranda]

I am interested in names from everywhere in the world, both present and past.

[SamoanAttorney]

Well

 

just thinking of the editors and writers that I have worked with/for....and I have definitely left some deserving souls out.

 

Michael Cotton

Andrew Cotton

Alan Lis

Brian Laban

Andrew Marriot

Gary Watkins

Jean-Marc Teissedre

Marco Raggazoni

Cesare Mannucci

Peter Wyss

Marcus Schurig

Thibault Villemant

Norbert Ockenga

Kunihiko Akai

Carole Capitaine

Sam Collins

Mark Cole

Joost Custers

John Dagys

René de Boer

Dirk de Jager

Peter Brock

Rick Dole

Regis Lefebure

Bill Oursler

Kerry Morse

JJ O'Malley

Dave Friedman

Pete Lyons

Ulli Upietz

Tim Upietz

Claude Foubert

Malcolm Cracknell

Janos Wimpffen

Keith Bluemel 

Nigel Dobbie

Serge Vanbockryck

Jonathan Ingram

Glen Smale

Ian Wagstaff

Gilles Gaignault

Matt James

François Hurel

Wouter Melissen

Bruno Palmet

Hidenori Suzuki

Paul Truswell

Gregor Messer

Sam Smith

Gabriele Testi

David Addison

Simon Arron

Andrew Charman

Edited by SamoanAttorney, 21 December 2021 - 19:25.

[LittleChris]

Paul Frere, Harald Ertl, Pierre Dieudonne, Doug Nye ( )

Edited by LittleChris, 21 December 2021 - 17:04.

[68targa]

Photographers :-

 

Peter Burn

Joe Honda

Rainer W. Schlegelmilch 

[Jack-the-Lad]

Most still hard at it, thankfully....

Karl Ludvigsen
Gordon Kirby
Pete Lyons
Sylvia Wilkensen
Robert Daley
Dean Batchelor
AJ Baime
Ralph Stein
Jamie Kitman
Gene Shepherd
Jan P Norbye
Chris Economaki

[small block]

Chris Economaki passed in 2012

[Jack-the-Lad]

Chris Economaki passed in 2012

That’s why I mentioned “most.”