30 replies to this topic

[Giraffe]

I am hearing from Les Thacker that Dave Brodie / The Brode has passed on.....

[Gary C]

I'm very sorry to hear this, I met him twice, the first time to film him for my Lotus 72 documentary. He gave us 45 minutes of memories of his great friend Ronnie Peterson, which at the end had us both in tears. I hope this evening he's now having a beer with Ronnie and Barbro.
RIP Brode.

[Tim Murray]

Very saddened to read this. I went to several of the brilliant talks he gave and some of his stories, especially about Ronnie, will stay with me for ever. The mad road race back from Mallory after the 1973 F2 race (for which Beltoise got the blame), the first test of the Lotus 76 at Hethel, and his very moving account of how Nina Peterson dragged him off to meet the King of Sweden at some grand do, and introduced him as her Dad’s best mate. The story of the fate of the leg of the billiard table in the North London Liberal Club was also wonderful.

He was a tremendous character. RIP.

[Doug Nye]

Not at all unexpected - he had sadly been very ill for some time - but this is very, very sad news indeed - and sad news at any time, but especially with Christmas so nearly here.

 

Brode certainly had cheerfully roguish ways but he was also immensely big hearted and just incredibly generous with his time, attention and support especially to help like-minded aspiring young racers seeking a leg up the racing ladder.  He worked unstintingly for the BRDC young driver programme - just one of many within the Club to which he made a most positive contribution ... and most memorably he was nearly always FUN.  

 

I had little personal contact with him over the years but whenever we met, there just wasn't enough time to absorb all the stories he could - and would - eagerly share.  He - and his like - will be sorely missed.

 

Sincere condolences to his family and many, many, close friends.

 

DCN

[d j fox]

So very sad... what a real true racer, that wonderful black Escort " Run Baby Run" ...
RIP and condolences to family and friends

[Dick Dastardly]

So sorry to hear this.

By coincidence, I recently bought his 5 Volume book set "Last Train to Cockfosters" and am part way through reading volume 4.

RIP Brode

[LittleChris]

Very sorry to hear this. RIP Brode 

[RTH]

Absolutely agree Doug on all counts . He does leave behind a 5 volume of 1500 pages of A4 autobiography entitled 'Last Train to Cockfosters' he lived near the starting underground station on the PICCADILLY LINE and Cockfosters was the last station on the line . So life was a journey and today he got off at Cockfosters . Also another large volume documenting his business life running Brodie Brittain Racing . Lovely bloke and he really will be much missed his drive and larger than life personality .This was 2022 in the BRDC suite at Silverstone luncheon for 100 people where he revealed the reconstructed Run Baby Run special saloon 2.1 litre black and gold Mk 1 Escort that won so many races 1969-73.

Here is an 8 minute film of the day in question - it has already had over 16,000 views https://youtu.be/eylzslfOstA

Not at all unexpected - he had sadly been very ill for some time - but this is very, very sad news indeed - and sad news at any time, but especially with Christmas so nearly here.

Brode certainly had cheerfully roguish ways but he was also immensely big hearted and just incredibly generous with his time, attention and support especially to help like-minded aspiring young racers seeking a leg up the racing ladder. He worked unstintingly for the BRDC young driver programme - just one of many within the Club to which he made a most positive contribution ... and most memorably he was nearly always FUN.

I had little personal contact with him over the years but whenever we met, there just wasn't enough time to absorb all the stories he could - and would - eagerly share. He - and his like - will be sorely missed.

Sincere condolences to his family and many, many, close friends.

DCN

[DouglasM]

Oh no! The Brode and 'Run Baby Run' are part of my marshalling memories. Remember them at Crystal Palace. I used to drool over that Escort.

[john aston]

Same drivers epitomise a decade - Hawthorn in the Fifties , Hill and Clark the Sixties and Dave Brodie (with Barry Sheene) epitomised the laissez faire , let it all hang out Seventies. A race was always enhanced by Brodie's presence.  

[BRG]

Dave Brodie was definitely one of the memorable features of his era with the Run, Baby, Run Escort..  But I seem to recall frequent battles at Brands Hatch with Mike Chittenden. I always cheered for the under-dog Ford Anglia....sorry Dave!   

[Dick Dastardly]

In the December Issue of Octane [Issue #258] there was an interview with the Brode....and now he has gone

Earlier in the summer, they ran an article on Rupert Keegan....2 months later he'd gone.

In the future, they might have to be more careful with their interview subjects....

[RTH]

This tribute in from the Harrow Car Club  DB had been a leading light there for 60 years  

 

David A. Brodie

 

 

We received the sad news yesterday that Dave Brodie, long-time member of Harrow Car Club and well know saloon car racer, died on 17th December, aged 81. Our thoughts go out to his wife Peggy and their family at this sad time.

 

Brode, as he was known to his friends, was a hugely successful saloon car racer, driving in club, British and European championships, who will be forever associated with a wide-arched, black Mk1 Ford Escort affectionately known as Run Baby Run.

 

He won many races in Escorts, Capris, Lotuses, a Mitsubishi Starion Turbo and a Sierra Cosworth. He drove in endurance events at the Nürburgring and Hockenheim and, aged 51, competed in the Le Mans 24-hour race. He also drove in a Caribbean race series in a Chevron B8 and an RS500, and was still competing in 2013 driving a Volkswagen Vento.

 

A racer through and through, he will be sadly missed by motor sport enthusiasts the world over.

[RTH]

https://player.vimeo...video/124613607       A   5 minute film trailer of  The Dave Brodie Story  with Frank Williams and Roy  Pierpoint   

Edited by RTH, 19 December 2024 - 11:54.

[GTMRacer]

Sad news, I had a Black and gold Escort in my Scalelectrix as a kid, which I adored, I am too young to have seen

him in it, so for me it was watching him in his private Sierra RS500 in the late Eigthies, a real charger!

[LittleChris]

Interview from a year ago 

 

 

Dave Brodie - LIVE

[AJCee]

Dave Brodie, like Gerry Marshall and other names such as Chris Craft, Gordon Spice were ones held in high regard by anyone who came to love motorsport in the mid 70s. I was too young to see their heyday in person, but they held a certain status for me. That Brode was best mates with Ronnie Peterson only makes the legend better.
One of the best.

[Doug Nye]

From the BRDC this morning:

 

As you may already know by now, Dave Brodie finally lost his battle with cancer last Tuesday at the age of 81.  And so, we have lost one of the great characters of the British motor racing scene in recent times. Many of you will no doubt have stories to tell about exploits and experiences shared with ‘the Brode’ who made an impression, usually but not always favourable, on just about everyone he met. 

 

Dave had a highly successful career as a saloon car racer from the late 1960s to almost the present day. He was certainly able to celebrate 50 years at the wheel in 2013. He became a Full Member of the BRDC in 1985, going on to become a Life Member. He served a full nine-year term as a Director of the Club during which time he led the way in introducing younger generations of racing drivers to the BRDC through the BRDC Rising Stars scheme.

 

Together with Howden Ganley he reviewed and made suggestions for the revision of the criteria for BRDC membership which have subsequently stood the test of time for nigh on 25 years.

 

He was a committee member of the Springfield Boys’ Club in London’s East End for 27 years, in due course becoming a Vice-President of the Club.

 

For many years he was a director of Williams Grand Prix Engineering Ltd, providing his great mate Frank Williams with considerable support in the company’s early days. He was also a trustee of the Gunnar Nilsson Cancer Treatment Charity. And his day job was in his electro-plating company before setting up Brodie Brittain Racing based in Brackley and specialising in turbo charging engines when this was in its infancy.

 

Known as ‘Brode’ or ‘the Brode’ to his countless friends and acquaintances in motor racing, Dave first took to the tracks at Silverstone in 1963 at the wheel of his road car – an Austin A30 - and promptly won his first race, a five-lap handicap affair at the then annual Eight Clubs club meeting.

 

The A30 gave way to a Turner-Ford which was followed by the first of his many racing Ford saloons – an 1800 cc Anglia. A superbly turned out 1300 cc Anglia came next and demonstrated the high standards of preparation which the Brode’s cars always displayed; they were a long way from being ‘all show and no go’ as Dave demonstrated with increasing success in national racing. One of the few occasions when he had to settle for second was when he was passed on the last corner at Brands Hatch by the 1000 cc Anglia of young Roger Williamson with whom Dave struck up a close friendship until Roger’s death in the 1973 Dutch Grand Prix.

 

Dave became a regular visitor to the notorious flat in Pinner Road, Harrow which was occupied by a host of aspiring Formula 3 drivers with their sights set on Formula 1 – the likes of Jonathan Williams, the unrelated Frank Williams of course, Chris Irwin, Richard Attwood, Denny Hulme and Charles Lucas to name but a few. Under their influence Brode headed towards 1-litre Formula 3 like everyone else. Unfortunately, his choice of car, a Titan Mk 3, did not serve him well, only rarely did he finish in the top 10 in a true F3 race and he decided to turn his attention back to saloon cars.

 

There was another Ford Anglia, this time fitted with a 2.1 litre Lotus Ford Twin Cam engine, with which Dave enjoyed some success but what really attracted attention to his racing exploits was the arrival of his first Ford Escort in black ‘because there weren’t many black racing cars in those days’ although, when it was finished, Dave thought that an all-black car looked boring so he devised the pin striping, in canary yellow, not gold as Brode was always at pains to point out.

 

The pin-striping idea was taken up by Lotus for the Type 72D in 1973, but in gold rather than canary yellow. Dave did successfully race a very special 2-litre Lotus Elan in modified sports car races which was in the pinstripe livery. The other very memorable feature of the Escort was the slogan ‘Run Baby Run’ below the radiator grille which played no small part, coupled with the Brode’s feisty driving style and numerous successes in establishing David’s reputation and the car’s iconic status.

 

‘Run Baby Run’ was not homologated to compete in the British or European Touring Car Championships and so for 1972, with support from Ford, David built a Ford RS1600. His principal opposition came from the Broadspeed RS1600 of Dave Matthews who ended up winning the 2-litre class before moving up to the over 2-litre class for 1973 with a Capri RS2600. Brode stayed with the RS1600 and had some great tussles with the Capri for the first half of the season before disaster struck at Silverstone in the BSCC race supporting the British Grand Prix.

 

Locked in combat for the first part of the race, on the seventh lap the two Davids crashed very heavily at the fast Abbey Curve while lapping a Mini-Cooper S. The cars were destroyed but both Davids survived albeit with serious injuries. Brode spent four months in hospital and did not race again until 1976.

 

For such an extrovert character the hospitalisation and enforced interruption of his racing ambitions was the lowest point in his life thus far. In 1976 the two Davids shared a Mazda Savanna RX3 in the RAC Tourist Trophy at Silverstone, finishing 10th overall.

 

In the BSCC in 1976 on his return to the tracks Dave achieved a best result of third place behind the Ford Capris of Gordon Spice and Tom Walkinshaw at Silverstone. A switch back to Ford and a 3-litre Capri for the next three years enabled Dave to run regularly in the top 10 places but only rarely did he finish in a podium position. A Mitsubishi Colt Starion Turbo for 1983 gave him a different weapon with which to tackle the TWR Rover 3500s although these were eventually, 12 months later, disqualified from the championship. David’s first and only win with the Mitsubishi came at Silverstone in early October when he finished ahead of European Formula 2 Champion Jonathan Palmer in a BMW 635 CSi.

 

Sticking with the Starion, the next two years were much more like the Brode of old with regular podium places although he usually had to settle for second behind the Ford Sierra XR4 Ti of Andy Rouse. In 1985 Brode achieved his best season in the BSCC, finishing fourth overall and second in class to Andy. Dave’s last race win in the BSCC came at Silverstone at the end of the 1986 season.

 

From 1988 Dave followed the inevitable drift in the top class of the BTCC towards the Ford Sierra RS500 and Sapphire Cosworth with cars run by his own team Brodie Brittain Racing with mixed results.

 

As the BTCC moved towards the 2-litre Super Touring era, Brode explored other projects including an entry for the 1994 Le Mans 24 Hours with a Harrier LR9 Spyder run by the late Hugh Chamberlain and co-driven by William Hewland and Rob Wilson. The neat little car was powered by a turbocharged 2-litre Cosworth BDG engine prepared by Brodie Brittain. Suspension failure resulted in retirement from the race on Saturday evening.

 

In his later racing years David continued to develop his rocket ship of a Sierra with which he would appear from time to time, usually at Silverstone. He also raced a Volkswagen Vento VR6 for the fun of it. He remained passionate about racing and was never short of valuable advice for drivers of all levels of experience. He continued to be enthusiastically involved with the BRDC Rising Stars scheme, ever ready to dash over to Silverstone to interview newcomers and regale them with stories of his career. His ever-active mind was always coming up with projects of one sort or another, one of the most recent being the restoration of the ‘Run Baby Run’ Escort for which he arranged a party in the BRDC Clubhouse despite the effects of his illness beginning to take its toll. 

 

To say that the Brode led a very full life would be an understatement. Much of it revolved around motor racing and has been recorded by Brode himself in his remarkable book CTX 500 Last Train to Cockfosters ‘All those years ago’ of just under 1500 pages – that’s not a typo, it really is a heavyweight production which it took David several years to complete. It may be non-PC at times but it is a great read in bite-sized chunks. He had a remarkable way with words and an excellent memory for detail.

 

You did not have to always agree with David to enjoy his company and he will be very much missed. To his wife Peggy, his son Jimmy, stepson Justin and stepdaughter Sasha the BRDC extends its deepest condolences.

 

DCN 

 

[gary76]

Nice obituary Doug there are lots of bits which could a possibly be written in between. A true character and I will surely miss.

Gary 

[Tim Murray]

Minor nitpick:

Locked in combat for the first part of the race, on the seventh lap the two Davids crashed very heavily at the fast Abbey Curve while lapping a Mini-Cooper S.

Not quite what happened.

[opplock]

Minor nitpick:

 

 

Another minor nitpick or 2. Denny Hulme didn't race in F3 and I'm sure Mrs Hulme wouldn't have put up with sharing accommodation with the Pinner road brigade.  

[Gary C]

My mate Phil has outdone himself and has managed to upload my 2016 interview with the Brode onto The Mechanic's Gallon webpage.
Remember him this way:
https://mechanicsgal...l-2016.html?m=1

[70JesperOH]

Within a few years past, Scalextric did that Special Saloon Mk. I Escort.

 

I mostly remember him for his 1980s exploits in the British Saloon com Touring Car Championship. He championed the Mitsubishi Colt Starion Turbo - the first turbo in the championship? - from 1983 to 1987, and after the Rover departure mid-1984, he was the rare sight to challenge Andy Rouse in either a Rover Vitesse or a Ford Sierra XR4Ti.

 

During the late 1980s there were three lines of competitive Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworths in the British Touring Car Championship: Those built by Andy Rouse or by kits provided, the Australian Dick Johnson cars sourced by Trackstar or the Dave Brodie car.

 

More recently I was highly surprised to see him feature in the Ronnie Peterson documentary. Never knew they were best buddies.

 

Jesper

[Dick Dastardly]

 

More recently I was highly surprised to see him feature in the Ronnie Peterson documentary. Never knew they were best buddies.

 

Jesper

I believe he was best man at Ronnie's wedding...and Ronnie at his....

[Gary C]

Please see my post with the link to my 2016 interview with him, lots of Ronnie stories.

[Cirrus]

 

 

To say that the Brode led a very full life would be an understatement. Much of it revolved around motor racing and has been recorded by Brode himself in his remarkable book CTX 500 Last Train to Cockfosters ‘All those years ago’ of just under 1500 pages – that’s not a typo, it really is a heavyweight production which it took David several years to complete. It may be non-PC at times but it is a great read in bite-sized chunks. He had a remarkable way with words and an excellent memory for detail.

 

Brode and Howden Ganley were/are frequent visitors to my good mate Iain Rowley's workshop in Oxfordshire. At the annual car show that Iain runs he interviewed them both - it was shortly after Howden's autobiography was published. The Brode was dismissive about the length of Howden's book compared with his own. Howden's response was "Yes but at least mine's all true!"

[Doug Nye]

Why spoil a good story with facts?

 

One which was absolutely true was Frank Williams' admission to me that Dave Brodie had grilled him about just how happy Walter Wolf might be with Frank's management of Wolf-Williams Racing as their association approached the end of the 1976 season.  Frank protested "Oh no Brode, Wally's all right in that respect, he understands completely so no worries there - none whatsoever".

 

Dave vehemently disagreed and told Frank he should really watch his step.  Within days, to Frank's horror, Walter appointed Peter Warr in his place - and Francis found himself out of what had been his own team, on his ear, supposedly washed-up, with nowhere to go.  The Brode's instinctive suspicion on his old friend's behalf, from his broad-perspective viewpoint had been absolutely spot on...  Frank learned and would not make the same mistake - at least not so unsuspectingly - twice.

 

DCN

[RobLotusFord]

Very sad news about The Brode.

He gave some super talks at Club LOTUS Avon Area and he also came to a Mike Costin evening and a John Miles evening.

In fact I remember BRODE saying to me, Blimey I have to come all the way down to the Avon area to catch up with my mate John Miles.!

A truly great character who will be sadly missed.

[MCS]

Came across this earlier which I thought was a slightly more "nuanced" version of the obituary that Doug kindly posted above:

 

https://www.autospor...rodie/10686374/

 

I fondly remember Richard's Hertfordshire Filmshow when Simon Arron expertly interviewed Brode - which, sadly, seems an age ago. But it wouldn't surprise me if the pair of them were still chatting away up there now!  It was a lovely day and, with so many of these things, we simply ran out of time.

 

Lovely memories though.

 

And Ian Titchmarsh - if you see this - please write more. I despaired when I could no longer read your race reports and articles in Autosport all those decades back.

[Sterzo]

And Ian Titchmarsh - if you see this - please write more. I despaired when I could no longer read your race reports and articles in Autosport all those decades back.

While Ian Titchmarsh (or Titbog as Barry Foley called him in the Catchpole cartoon strip) provided the best ever commentaries at British circuits, especially when paired with the only person to come near, David Addison.

[Mallory Dan]

MAWP is pretty good. In fact very good!