23 replies to this topic

[brickyard]

Hi,

In 1955 a team called Kangaroo Stable came to Portugal to race in our Sport Cars GP with 3 cars (Aston Martin DB3 S) to Tony Gaze, Tom Sulman and Lesh Cosh.

Does anybody know a little more about this team?
how many years they existed, who was the owner, team colours, etc. ....?

Luis Mateus
www.geocities.com/portugalracers/

[john medley]

An unfortunate story : initially at Tony Gaze's suggestion a group of Australian drivers decided to run the 1955 Sports Car events in Europe . They ended up using DB3S Aston Martins , but the many cancellations after the Le Mans tragedy curtailed their year in Europe . They ran well in several events , most notably at Hyeres . Drivers were Tom Sulman and David McKay who took their Astons back to Australia afterwards , Lesh Cosh , Tony Gaze , Dick Cobden , and Jack Brabham.

[tam999]

Here's a link to the "Kangaroo Stable" website:

http://www.v8vantage.com/Kangaroo.htm

Tam McPartland

[Ray Bell]

Well, that's certainly more enterprising than a bunch of engine bits in a drum of dieseline...

[brickyard]

A sad story indeed.

Thanks for the link, Tam

Anybody knwos the Teams' colours?

Luis Mateus
www.geocities.com/portugalracers

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by brickyard
A sad story indeed.....

Not as sad as the sight of David McKay offering to buy the remains every trip he made to Perth... year after year...

[cavvy]

Ray,
I'm a new boy here , is the Perth reference the Barfield car which was always referred to as a Kangaroo car - retired after an accident at Caversham. In the 70s I enquired & was told not for sale at any price. Do you know what happened to the car.

P.S cavvy refers to the 1957 AGP that convinced a boy of the joy of motor racing & I find you have referred to that event as the low point in AGP history - that seems to reflect poorly on my judgement!

[Ray Bell]

Oh I don't know... the last AGP that was dotted with big-engined Specials... can't be all bad.

Just the lap scoring and prizegiving.

Yes, the Ray Barfield car. I believe it was ultimately sold, however. And wasn't the fateful crash at Albany Hillclimb? I know it had one good one there.

Oh, yes, welcome to TNF, maybe you'll enjoy this pic? Totally off this topic, but highly relevant to AGPs held in WA:

[David McKinney]

The Barfield DB3S was not one of the Kangaroo Stable cars
David McKay had two, and this was the second, an ex-works job (DB3S/9)
Last I heard it was with Lukas Huni in Switzerland

[Ray Bell]

Just goes to show David... I haven't been around long enough or I'd have known that!

Glad they got the mechanicals out of that drum of diesel, anyway...

[cavvy]

Ray,
car #15 photo?
Round the houses was something I did not get to see, no real idea - pls advise.
Got any photos of Fred Coxon & his Holden open wheeler of that era.

re Caversham 1957 - you are right about the lap scoring but Iwas barracking for Lex Davison & as any 8yo knows good overcomes all.

[cm50]

I recall a book written many years ago by I think David Makay, it was one of my earliest motor racing books that once being lent was never seen again!!
Anyway it was very informative if not a history of the Kangaroo Stable as well as Davids attempt at the Australian land speed record in the Aston Martin with enclosed cockpit. I remember it as one of those books that a young student read mant times over. Good to see the topic raised hear on TFN

[Ray Bell]

None at all, sorry...

You don't have to try hard to work out who that is in the picture. I'll leave it with you for a day or two... there's another pic of that car in the 8W thread too, but a bit later in its career. Maybe you can identify it and get the chance to post the next contest pic?

[cm50]

whoops............I am of course refering to David Mckay of Scuderia Veloce fame.............dont even know if David Makay exists

[Ray Bell]

David McKay's first book... my brother has a copy of that...

Wasn't that record run out near Lake Cargelligo or somewhere? No, further towards Hay at Carrathool. From memory, David didn't participate in the record runs at Coonabarrabran because of an oil company contract clash, so he set this other lot up as a sort of counter to those, to take their records away where possible (one he set in a Porsche still stands, as done one by Mary Seed in an AC).

But if Mary Seed's record is in 2 to 3-litres, the Aston can't have been at that one... maybe he tried to organise a second attack and it didn't happen... anyway, it's all in the book.

There's got to be an error in the CAMS Manual listing there though... it says the Seed and McKay records were set in 1975!

[David McKinney]

Mary Seed's record would have been in the 2-litre class

[Ray Bell]

Now you know that and I know that, David... but look at your CAMS Manual!

Perhaps it's a simple error in the listing of the class (9... should be 8?) like it seems that the times taken by Len Lukey and Derek Jolly for the same (1km) distance at Coonabarrabran are out of whack at 155.17 and 191.31 in the same table.

Perhaps another year's manual (this one is 1996) has more appropriate figures?

[Milan Fistonic]

The first McKay book is Behind the Wheel published in 1960.

The Ampol record runs were held at Carrathool in early 1957.

Mary Seed set a class E record of 112.95 mph while McKay did 143.8 and 142.8 for a mean of 143.1 mph. He also set a class F record in Tom Jackson's Porsche Super 1500 of 103 mph.

The Coonabarabran record attempts were held later in the year (October or November).

Ted Gray set a new outright record of 157.5 mph in the Tornado-Corvette. That was also a class C record

Other speeds were:

Lex Davison (3-litre Ferrari) 155.8 mph, class D record
Len Lukey (Cooper-Bristol) 147.4 mph, class E record
Len Lukey (Customline) 123.3 mph, sports car class C record
Derek Jolly (Decca Climax Special) 116.7 mph, sports car class G record

There were no entrants in sports car classes D, E and F so the Carrathool records stood.

[cavvy]

David McKay R.I.P - was at Caversham for the 1965 6 hour David won in the magnificent 250LM.

Thanks all for the info on the Aston Martin DB3S, I will try to follow up the process of the sale.

Memo Ray Bell : is car 15 the Plymouth as a single seater driven by Clem Dwyer before it went to Syd Negus?
Do not think I saw Clem drive but met him in the 60s whilst working for John Walker who drove a Byfield MG in the 1957 AGP.

Thanks again.

[Ray Bell]

No, it's not that car... but it has a similar engine...

It was also at the '57 Grand Prix, but with a different engine.

[cavvy]

Searching for my round the houses book, but its in storage? Next I searched for some shots I took of Charlie Mitchell at the Philip Island historic meeting earlier this year in the Sid Taylor TS Special - it ran with #1 in my days. Can I stop guessing?

Now to that other thread.

[Ray Bell]

It also had the same engine...

But never got a Ford.

[cavvy]

If its Mick Geneve I'm told I used to sit in that car when my father filled up on Saturdays - we didn't go to Caversham that day - John Walkers MG was also kept at Geneves garage on Scarborough Beach Road Innaloo.

[Ray Bell]

Looks like I missed this response...

The car in question is the Barry Ranford Chrysler Special and the picture was taken at the 1951 AGP at Narrogin.