290 replies to this topic

[HOULMAN]

very rare pic gerard,interesting,i have just one pic of this car in CHAMPION.bravo HD

[Gerard Gamand]

NEED SOME HELP



For the 1964 F3 race of Cognac, the team GRAC replaced the Renault Gearbox by this one.

BUT : nobody remember WHAT box it is ? And I really don't know.

So, if a TNF member can help me...?????

What is this damned thing ??



copyright Gérard Gamand

[Gerard Gamand]

Hervé,

I've a lot of inedit pics for my book. It's incredible !

Here an color pic of the GRAC MT2 just before the La Chatre F3 1965 race

[r.atlos]

Originally posted by Gerard Gamand
NEED SOME HELP

For the 1964 F3 race of Cognac, the team GRAC replaced the Renault Gearbox by this one.

BUT : nobody remember WHAT box it is ? And I really don't know.

So, if a TNF member can help me...?????

What is this damned thing ??

Isn't that a Traction Avant gearbox turned upside down ? Knight gears "à l'intérieur dedans", so to speak and an additional sump at the bottom ??

[Gerard Gamand]

Could it be ?

I'm far to be a specialist in box !

[petlaren-m8]

hi there,just found your crac forum and would like to add 2 posts.
1.as far as i know heinz schultess was crac importer for switzerland and he used to race crac prototypes.he lives around neuenburg in switzerland and i would have his adress.
2.i bought a crac prototype with a yellow lola t212 spyderbody and fvc/ft200 mecanic from franco sbarro in the 90s
this car had aca chassisnumber but was clearly a crac.this car was used as sbarrodisplay twice at the geneva automobiolsalon

[Gerard Gamand]

Peter

I think your Sbarro car is built on a GRAC (not CRAC) Chassis MT14B.
Have you picture ?

[petlaren-m8]

http://forums.autosp.../bbtitle275.gif[/sbarro 1-4]

[petlaren-m8]

hi gerard,sorry i am not able to post pics on the forum but if you send your emailadress to "leuthardt@bluewin.ch"i will send the pics and you can put them on the forum.

[Gerard Gamand]

Peter, thanks for the pics of the GRAC Sbarro

Here, it's an good pic of the GRAC MT2-001 (#18) drived by Jean Faure at the Nogaro race 1965, august 5th. The car is a little damaged and without windscreen and part of body.
He finished at a good 6th place on the final (9th in the first heat, and 5th in the second) just behind Max Jean, who drived the Alpine A270 of Ecurie Mediterrannée (#16).

One year after, Max Jean take the place of Jean Faure at the "works" wheel of the GRAC.


Copyright Gérard Gamand

[gerard BARATHIEU]

GERARD, en aparté, la JEFA de JEAN FAURE à MONTLHERY en 1969.

[Gerard Gamand]

Thanks GEGE,

It's a JEFA Formula France, drived by Jean Faure himself in 1969.



The GRAC book still progress, and a lot of people are very interrested by this adventure. I hope it will be ready for april 2008 and it'll will have about 250 pages !



Here an fine pic, take at Nogaro 1966. It's Jean-Pierre Jaussaud trying for size the GRAC MT3-001, the works driver Max Jean is just aside and look with an anxious interest the scene !

Copyright Gérard Gamand

[Gerard Gamand]

Here is a pic of Bernard Plaisance, who was the very first "works" driver of the F3 GRAC MK1 in 1964.



Copyright Gérard Gamand

[Gerard Gamand]

The GRAC are called "MT" because Maurice Trintigant. He always suport the F3 team with time and money.

Here is a pic take at La Châtre in 1965, where Maurice try the size of the Formula 3 GRAC MT2-001.

On the left is the usual "works" driver : Jean Faure and, behind the car is the fantastic mecanic Alain Varlet who worked later with Tico Martini and after the Ligier F1 team. Great guy !!


Copyright Gérard Gamand

[Gerard Gamand]

One year later, still in La Châtre, the GRAC MT3-001 drived by Max Jean DNF because of a broken engine.


Copyright Gérard Gamand

[r.atlos]

Gérard is trying to make us believe that the abbrevation GRAC stands for "Groupe de Recherches Automobile de Course". Do not believe him, here comes the real story of its origin:



Unfortunately, I cannot recall who was the artist behind this cartoon but it comes from a short-lived French magazine called "La Monoplace" (N° 4, March 1995). Editor was Michel Delannoy whom many of you will know as the man behind "Les Editions du Palmier", editors of quite a number of excellent motor racing books and an outstanding book shop in Nîmes.

Those who misspelled it CRAC (instead of GRAC) are closer to the truth than they thought ...

[Gerard Gamand]

r.atlos,

Sorry I've to confess my fault !! I always believe that I was in the truth...

Thanks for this funny cartoon : It's a 1968 GRAC MT5 of Formula France.

[Gerard Gamand]

That's what became the GRAC (or CRAC, now I'm not sure....) MT2-001, see on post 250.

It was fitted with an 1600 Alfa Romeo, and drived by Michel Champelovier from 1967 to 1969 in regional hillclimbs.

Michel send me this very "period" picture of his GRAC 1600 at the start of 1967 Malval hillclimb (note the wonderful white shirt and the gentleman gloves...)

[Gerard Gamand]

Here is the finally list of all GRAC model number :

GRAC period :


MK1 1964 Formula 3 (1000 MAE)

MT2 1965 Formula 3 (1000 MAE)

MT3 1966 Formula 3 (1000 MAE)

MT4 1967 Formula libre (1300 Gordini)

MT5 1968 Formula France (1300 Gordini)

MT6 1969 Formula France (1300 Gordini)

MT7 1969 Formula 3 (1000 MAE)

MT8 1969 Formula 3 (1000 MAE)

MT8A 1969 Formula 3 (1000 MAE)

MT9 1969 Formula libre (BMW 2200 and Renault 1800)

MT10 1970 Formula France (1300 Gordini)

MT11 1970 Formula 3 (1000 MAE)

MT12 1971 Formula Super Vé (1600 VW)

MT14 1971 Formula Renault (1300 Gordini) or Formula libre

MT14B 1971 Sportscar (1600 Renault and 1800 Cosworth FVC)

MT15 1972 Berlinette (1600 Gordini)

MT15S 1972 Sportscar (1600 Gordini)

MT16 1972 Sportscar (1850 Cosworth Funda)

MT17 1973 Formula 2 (2000 Cosworth) named VEGLIA

MT14S 1973 Sportscar (2000 Simca JRD, same car as MT14B)


GRAC-GOTTI period :

MT20 1974 Sportscar (2000 Simca JRD)

MT30 1974 Formule Renault (1600 Gordini)

At the end of the 1974 season, GOTTI closed the doors of the GRAC.

[Hieronymus]

Thanks, Gerard.

For all on TNF that are remotely interested in GRAC, I do suggest you also look at this thread on the very nice French "forum-auto":

http://www.forum-aut...sujet378503.htm

[Gerard Gamand]

Thanks Marius !

You are everywhere...

[Gerard Gamand]

Here the wood slides of the CD-GRAC for 1965 Le Mans. It was a total disaster...

Copyright Gérard Gamand

[Gerard Gamand]

The book of the GRAC full story is near finished. It would be on sale in april 2008. I have find more 1200 pictures never published before...

I'm making the choice for the book selection, and it's not so easy...

Here one of them, show the very first run of the GRAC MK1, on an open road near Valence. At the wheel, it's Serge Aziosmanoff and standing beside Serge Granjon.

We clearly see the Citroën gearbox and the drumm brakes !

It's the begening of 1964, with great hope for the season...



Copyright Gérard Gamand

[Gerard Gamand]

What a diffrence between this two pictures !

Here is one of the "works" GRAC MT14B Cosworth 2 liters of 1971. It's not the same story...


Copyright Gérard Gamand

[Gerard Gamand]

The same "works" GRAC MT14B, on an other view, look really splendid !

Copyright Gérard Gamand

[Gerard Gamand]

For all the TNF members who could be interrested by the book I'm finishing to write on the full story of GRAC, I inform that the book is near the end and would be avaible mid of may 2008.

More with this links :

http://www.autodiva.fr/livres.html

[zoff2005]

The cheque is in the post!
All the best
Marcus

[M Needforspeed]

Gerard,


so, for the 1965 / 66 production GRAC, you have the confirmation the "MT" was already there ? (I ask cause it doesnt appear on my sources )

Does MT was on the chassis plate type number ?


..and do you have any pic of the MT 4 1967 Formula libre, car ?

Michel

[Gerard Gamand]

Michel,

The MT was on the 65-66 cars.

MT2-001 the formula 3 of 1965
MT3-001 the formula 3 of 1966

There is a pic of the MT4 1967 Formula Libre

Copyright Gérard Gamand

[M Needforspeed]

Originally posted by Gerard Gamand
Here is the beautiful GRAC MT5 drived by Max Jean in 1968. It was the firts time that a GRAC was with the MT sufix.

Sry, it is s because of your former post, that I wanted to be sure about this "MT" affair ,too...




thks Gerard,

this pic answer to one question I had a little doubt about : the color pic I posted with the car inside the FFSA Headquaters entrance, was really the MT 4 FL car , that travelled all along the french 67 tracks season, only to present the FF project.Nevertheless, from the infos I have, in 67 ,the car entered at least one FL race at Magny Cours.

1200 pics !! wow, I am a jealous guy

Michel

[Gerard Gamand]

The first GRAC to have MT was the MT2 Formula 3 of 1965 season.

The red one is the GRAC MT5 of Formula France, and I do a mistake with the model number !

[Gerard Gamand]

The full story is write and the book is printed !

For thus who could be interrested, you can read in the french magazine "Retro Course" dated of august 15th, that the book is nominated as "the book of the month".






Gérard Gamand
www.autodiva.fr

If you are interrested by this french story, my Phone number is 0033 660 20 71 40

[Hieronymus]

Congratulations Gerard! A great effort like yours needs positive feedback.

[MCS]

Gerard

I saw your book last week in a bookshop in Pau.

What a fantastic piece of work.

Well done. What are you doing next?!

Mark

[Gerard Gamand]

Thank you !

The next would be the full story, with a lot of inedit pics, of Pygmée cars...

[fines]

Congrats, Gérard!

I only wish my French would be up to the job...

[Allen Brown]

Hi Gérard

Where do I buy? Direct from you?

Allen
allen@oldracingcars.com

[Gerard Gamand]

Hi Allen,

For the full story of each Formula 2 chassis of Pygmée, the work is still in progress...

For the GRAC book, the best way is directly in French at :

Autodiva
54, rue Chevreul
69007 Lyon
France

www.autodiva.fr

[Gerard Gamand]

Another "Book of the month" for the GRAC story in the french magazine "Echappement"

[FarezMartin]

Last week I was in France visiting my uncle Guy Martin in Valence. Amongst his photos as a legionnaire (recently decorated knight and later officer), I noticed a photo of a formula car on his wall and took a pic of it. He is now 81, but has a pretty clear memory about the time of the photo. He apparently was a pilot around 1964 and told me the picture is of him in an early GRAC (number 303). If anyone finds this intreresting I could try and ask him more details to add. He said he only drove for them for about 2 years. He knew a guy named Amastioff or something like that who ran the team. He remembered good details which I myself have forgotton so I could ask him again if anyone has interest. New here and not sure how to post the picture.

Dennis Farez-Martin

[farstep]

Hello Mr. Martin. I happen to see your message just now... I'm intrested to know the details of your uncle racing in a Grac (I own a Grac MT20). You said you took a picture, can you publish it here?