41 replies to this topic

[SamoanAttorney]

Sad news as all-round good egg, Hugh Chamberlain, has passed away.

 

As ever, there is a fine tribute from the BRDC.

 

http://www.brdc.co.u...ain-1941---2024

[2F-001]

That's very sad to hear. I saw him briefly at a social gathering last year - though I couldn't say I really 'knew' him, and hadn't known he was ill.

 

Something of an 'under-sung stalwart' of the sport, I think.

[Odseybod]

Oh, that's a shame - such good company.

 

We're fast running out of characters who have been there, done it and can tell an entertaining tale about it. 

 

God speed, sir.

[RTH]

Hugh Chamberlain passing is indeed very sad news . A lovely bloke full of stories and humour. He was local to me here and we saw him several times a year for the last 20 . Also as a guest speaker and regular attendee at the film shows . Oh dear. Many others will no doubt document his 26 appearances at Le Mans as a private entrant with a wide range of cars also achieving the C2 championship with a Spice and hundreds of other races over 50 years+. He started out as a beat policeman in North London . For many years ran a precision machine shop in Buntingford . Raced himself in U2 Clubman's cars at one point every car on the grid had a Chamberlain all steel 1700 cc crossflow engine . Had a large industrial unit with at one time 16 staff preparing racing cars just beyond the end of the runway at Stansted airport. Ran the works MG Lola team at Le Mans as well as factory cars for Lotus with Esprits and TVRs , Jaguar, plus vast numbers of other projects . I will miss him greatly .

[marksixman]

How very sad.

 

To  most enthusiasts of my generation the words 'private entrant' and 'Le Mans' meant Hugh Chamberlain ( and of course de Cad !). But his contribution to grass roots motorsport was perhaps even greater. 

 

Hands up everyone who has benefitted from his work, advice, help, and enthusiasm over many years.

 

Not many will have so many waving them goodbye.

 

Rev In Peace Hugh.

[JacnGille]

Sad news

[mariner]

Sad news. Hug was a guest speaker several times at our Hertfordshire 750MC Centre. He was on the surface the perfect barroom raconteur, full of funny stories not just about racing but about his times as police constable at the Camden Town stationetc. 

 

But when when he talked about Le Mans etc you realised the huge depth of his Endurance Racing know how, a walking encyclorpedia of how to do long distance racing. Two ones I remember.  

 

When running a team of the big Dodge Vipers he would impress on his drivers to NEVER immediately re-start the engine if they went of into the gravel traps. First open the bonnet and check for stones scooped into the bottom shelf under the cogged drive belts because if they didn't the moment the engine was re-started the belts would jam and break .

 

He also explained that you must replace the short cable that links the helmet  microphone to the car radio by a much longer one of about 20 ft uncoiled. That allows the pit mechanics to talk to the  driver as he/she gets out and looks under the engine cover etc. 

 

 

Not many people go from local constable to car parts shop manager to engine builder to Endurance team principal so a life very well lived . 

Edited by mariner, 01 March 2024 - 14:16.

[2F-001]

He also explained that you must replace the short cable that links the helmet  microphone to the car radio by a much longer one of about 20 ft uncoiled. That allows the pit mechanics to talk to the  driver as he/she gets out and looks under the engine cover etc. 

 

Now that shows real experience, insight or forethought (or all three...)!

Edited by 2F-001, 01 March 2024 - 16:50.

[Doug Nye]

I never had the evident pleasure of meeting Hugh Chamberlain - but what a career he had within motor sport.  RIP - indeed...

 

DCN

[marksixman]

Nice to see this from the ACO.

 

https://www.24h-lema...amberlain-58378

[SamoanAttorney]

Pity they omitted the MG campaign..... 

Nice to see this from the ACO.

 

https://www.24h-lema...amberlain-58378

[marksixman]

Pity they omitted the MG campaign..... 

Indeed !

[SamoanAttorney]

I never had the evident pleasure of meeting Hugh Chamberlain - but what a career he had within motor sport.  RIP - indeed...

 

DCN

Doug, you and Hugh would have hit it off big time, two men of real achievement......I was fortunate enough to know him well from the races and to have had a drink or three together at Le Mans....it was always a highlight of the 24 Hours.

[RaceCarToons]

I am very sorry to hear Hugh has passed away and my thoughts are with Small and all those close to him. Having heard the commentary team on Eurosport talk about him leaving us at the end of yesterdays broadcast of the opening round of the 2024 WEC Season, I am very sad still about the news.

 

Living in Scotland the chances of our paths crossing hadn't happened since since attending an LMP3 race at Donington 2018 as I recall. He was on great form that day as ever, reminiscing about the days when I worked for him through 1984 & 1985 and everything in between. I have great memories of my time with Hugh and everyone at Chamberlain Engineering which he talked about re establishing when we met that day. He was a great all round bloke, passionate about motorsport, to the point, enjoyed a pint of bitter every now and then, serious and stern about the preparation of his cars and loved a good racing story with a laugh at the end.

 

As the Clubmans success with Will Hoy, Gareth Chapman and others turned to include racing in Thundersports, Sports 2000 and Touring Cars with the 3 cylinder Daihatsu. I remember the day clearly when his Tiga Hart arrived in Buntingford it was a beast in comparison to the Mallocks & Marler Haley we were used to preparing. Fantastic times and sport car or endurance racing was on the wall, as part of Hughs vision fro the team.

 

I remember visiting Silverstone for one of the 1000k endurance races and Hugh was as interested to show me the teams new artic truck as he was the two Spices he was running. Having returning home to Scotland I always tried to keep a eye on how his teams progressed, with success at Le Mans in GT Cars and with significant British manufacturers like Lotus, MG, TVR & others. All I am sure down to Hughs determination, passion, professionalism and personality.      

 

Its sad to think we won't speak again as I will always remember my days with Hugh Chamberlain. 

 

referred to or know as *The Noo" at Chamb Eng - Justin Lyle

[70JesperOH]

For a man I never knew, I will miss Hugh Chamberlain. By the mid-1980s a number of Danish drivers contested the FIA World Championship for Sports Cars in the C2 category, none for Chamberlain. But his name always came up. Although never in the same league as Gordon Spice or Ray Mallock, his team always seemed to be close to the action; 16th on the grid at Le Mans 1988, 7.5 seconds up on Gordon Spice for C2 glory still stands for me as a milestone.

 

By the mid 2000s I was writing a Le Mans preview and looking back discovered that the name of Hugh Chamberlain turned up year-by-year in all kinds of configurations.

 

Best of respect

Jesper

[mariner]

Hugh's funeral is on April 3rd near Buntingford.

 

I think it is an open invitation to the pub drinks afterwards.

 

If you would like the details please PM me.

[RTH]

This coming Wednesday  3rd April

 

Subject: Hugh Chamberlains funeral

 

For anyone who is interested, Hugh Chamberlain’s funeral will take place:

 

on Wednesday 3 April 2024 at 13.30,

 

at St. Mary the Virgin, Church End, Braughing, Ware, Hertfordshire SG11 2QA

 

It has been requested that, straight after the service, could everyone please gather

 

at The Brewery Tap, Barley Croft End, Furneux Pelham, Buntingford, Hertfordshire SG9 0LL

 

where those invited to attend the private burial will join later.

[RTH]

1.30pm today Wednesday 3rd April.

[TFBundy]

I'm watching LeMans and I'm still fairly confident that Hugh will arrive in the commentary box around 2am to tell some heavily bowdlerized tales!  Maybe to Neville Hay!

It's not Le Mans without that, is it?

[Doug Nye]

Current Eurosport commentary team seems an incredibly poor substitute for the majority of their former regulars...

 

DCN

[2F-001]

I'm listening to Radio Le Mans instead.

[Odseybod]

Thanks for the tip-off.   

[2F-001]

Well - what a farce that turned into...

[cpbell]

I'm listening to Radio Le Mans instead.

As am I.  Hindhaugh paid emotional tribute to him.

[pacificquay]

Current Eurosport commentary team seems an incredibly poor substitute for the majority of their former regulars...

 

DCN

Alex Brundle is excellent and has a maturity way beyond his years 

[SamoanAttorney]

Alex Brundle is excellent and has a maturity way beyond his years 

The apple does not fall far from the tree.....

[Doug Nye]

My opinion moderated somewhat during the following 20 hours or so.  

 

Overall - despite the self-evident chaos, I found those hours infinitely more tense, entertaining and compelling than entire recent seasons of  Formula 1.  I suspect the late Hugh Chamberlain would have found much to approve of.

 

DCN.  

Edited by Doug Nye, 16 June 2024 - 17:35.

[LittleChris]

Hopefully he wouldn't have settled for second when the win was very possible given the Ferrari fuel situation and weather changes    

[john aston]

My opinion moderated somewhat during the following 20 hours or so.  

 

Overall - despite the self-evident chaos, I found those hours infinitely more tense, entertaining and compelling than entire recent seasons of  Formula 1.  I suspect the late Hugh Chamberlain would have found much to approve of.

 

DCN.  

 I will confess to still enjoying F1 , and occasionally being thrilled by it. But the hypercar era  is probably the best sports car racing I've ever seen. I harbour misty eyed memories of GT40s and 512s (if not 956s especially) but the current crop  of car is wonderful and the racing mesmerising . There's something else too - WEC, and Le Mans in particular seems to have a majesty and dignity which would be anathema to some of the newer, hysterical F1 fans. So WEC is a 21st C vision  of the 'Right Crowd and no Crowding'?   

[opplock]

So WEC is a 21st C vision  of the 'Right Crowd and no Crowding'?   

 

You wouldn't say that if you'd tried and failed to get tickets in the last 2 years. Gone are the days when you could arrive on Thursday and get a place in campsites.    

[nmansellfan]

I watched a short doc. of the '82 race in YT last night, centering on the BF Goodrich Porsche 924 Carrera GTR's, with Jim Busby narrating for the most part.  He said about coming into the pits at midnight, and noticing that the stands were empty, but by the end of a 5am stint, everyone was back and the stands were full again (mentioning that the crowd may have been doing things much more exciting than he was, pounding round during the night stints..).  I'm sure like always there will have been hardy spectators sitting in the stands thought the night, but the stark contrast for me in my own experiences was last year walking from the Porsche Curves to Terte Rouge at 1am, it was virtually as busy everywhere as it had been at 4pm start time.  Compared to my first visit in 2009 where after an hour at on the pit straight, everyone had dispersed - there were a reasonable amount of people still around but the circuit being the size it is, it felt like a test day in comparison.

 

My long winded point being, LM24 is really, really popoular at the moment, maybe more so than it has ever been, and the attendances at least for the crown jewel of the WEC are huge.  As opplock says, tickets are hard to get (sold out before December '23 for this years race) and I don't think it'll be any easier for '25!

[glyn parham]

I returned to Le Mans for the first time in forty years this weekend and was also amazed at the number of spectators still at Terte Rouge 10.00pm and seemingly still there at 9.00am on Sunday!
Friends tell me that the number of spectators at Spa is also huge but free entry surely helps.
Glyn

[2F-001]

Were the masses really still standing through the small hours, in awful weather, whilst enduring four hours or so behind pace cars?

 

Sunday's short endurance race did look pretty good though.

[Doug Nye]

I must apologise for having contributed to taking this thread rather off-piste since it began as a sincere and immensely well-justified tribute to Hugh Chamberlain, but I should perhaps explain in relation to Ferrari's consecutive successes 2023-24 that for decades I have been pretty much conditioned by Moss's caution to me, "You must never confuse Le Mans with a motor race...".

 

That was largely true during his frontline era - and way beyond - but the extraordinary stamina and reliability of modern cars has turned the former 24-hour grind into a consecutive series of flat-out 45-60mins sprint races...and that really does impress me.

 

DCN 

[FastReader]

It really is a new golden age for sportscar racing but what a shame that Hugh Chamberlain is no longer with us to participate. I returned to Le Mans this year for the first time since 1999 and it seemed like a different place. I've never known crowds like it. As someone said earlier on here, gone are the days when you could pitch up on the Thursday (or even Saturday) and buy a ticket on the gate. Fabulous racing too.

[john aston]

Just to clarify my 'right crowd and no crowding' comment I meant this in a virtual and not actual sense . Lots of folk at Le Mans just adds to the drama for me but so far , the revitalised WEC thankfully lacks the trivia obsessed children who make up so much of F1's fanbase and devalue it for me . There is a palpable  sense of history and human drama at Le Mans which (unlike Monza , Spa , Suzuka and Monaco ) Miami and  Saudi lack . But what a bloody outrage it is that the UK doesn't have a WEC round , unlike the jewel like tracks in those shrines of motor racing heritage in ...err...  Qatar and Bahrain.    

[Doug Nye]

Aaaahhh yes - such picturesque and deeply evocative jewels indeed...

 

What I would really like to witness would be a British EWC round run at Dundrod.  Now that would be worth the ferry voyage to watch.

 

DCN 

[LittleChris]

Maybe they could combine it with the bikes so we could have a WEC round alongside the sadly missed Ulster GP ( & Valentino Rossi could take part in both )  

Edited by LittleChris, 18 June 2024 - 16:55.

[F1matt]

Just to clarify my 'right crowd and no crowding' comment I meant this in a virtual and not actual sense . Lots of folk at Le Mans just adds to the drama for me but so far , the revitalised WEC thankfully lacks the trivia obsessed children who make up so much of F1's fanbase and devalue it for me . There is a palpable  sense of history and human drama at Le Mans which (unlike Monza , Spa , Suzuka and Monaco ) Miami and  Saudi lack . But what a bloody outrage it is that the UK doesn't have a WEC round , unlike the jewel like tracks in those shrines of motor racing heritage in ...err...  Qatar and Bahrain.    

 

 

I always enjoyed the WEC at Silverstone up until a couple of years ago when the powers that be decided the paying 40,000+ spectators who were knowledgeable, polite, and not xenophobic in any way (almost the exact opposite to the fans who turned up a couple of months later in July). You could park in a sensible place, the only park and ride was within the circuit and it was free, you could go to any part of the track, sit in any grandstand, walk around the paddock, and lots of entertainment for the family. As the event was usually held in April the weather was unpredictable but it can be in July but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and the drivers were really friendly during the pit walkabout. I guess Qatar and Bahrain sell more tickets and put on a better event.....

[RTH]

Aaaahhh yes - such picturesque and deeply evocative jewels indeed...

 

What I would really like to witness would be a British EWC round run at Dundrod.  Now that would be worth the ferry voyage to watch.

 

DCN 

With Le Mans  being so popular with worldwide radio  and television coverage  300,000 spectators on site   and 100 years history . Why don't we have a 24hr sportscar race in UK   perhaps say for road derived sportscars with a  showroom price of  below £100,000. Nowadays the mandated noise levels  from the cars here is such that  there must be a venue  where it would be possible . Just the  number of UK  disciples that make the trip to  La Sarthe every year  plus TV  would make it viable ?

[SamoanAttorney]

With Le Mans  being so popular with worldwide radio  and television coverage  300,000 spectators on site   and 100 years history . Why don't we have a 24hr sportscar race in UK   perhaps say for road derived sportscars with a  showroom price of  below £100,000. Nowadays the mandated noise levels  from the cars here is such that  there must be a venue  where it would be possible . Just the  number of UK  disciples that make the trip to  La Sarthe every year  plus TV  would make it viable ?

 

What...like the Willhire 24?

[bsc]

With Le Mans  being so popular with worldwide radio  and television coverage  300,000 spectators on site   and 100 years history . Why don't we have a 24hr sportscar race in UK   perhaps say for road derived sportscars with a  showroom price of  below £100,000. Nowadays the mandated noise levels  from the cars here is such that  there must be a venue  where it would be possible . Just the  number of UK  disciples that make the trip to  La Sarthe every year  plus TV  would make it viable ?

The problem is that, irrespective of noise levels, there are only three circuits in the UK that can stage 24 hour races: Anglesey; Snetterton; and Silverstone. In the case of Anglesey, the last two 24 hour races scheduled there (for Citroen C1s and club sports/saloons have been cancelled due to a lack of interest by competitors), whilst the CSCC arranged a meeting with various day/night races was not a commercial success. Silverstone is very expensive to hire for races and the cost, as an initial start up, is probably prohibitive. This leaves Snetterton and a rerun of the Willhire 24 hours. However, I suspect that the costs of building/adapting costs to last 24 hours will put most people off; whereas I can't imagine it would attract huge numbers of spectators to make the event viable (plus most broadcasters are paid to show motor racing on TV, rather than the broadcaster pay the organisers).