21 replies to this topic

[Paul Taylor]

Hi all,

I'm running a little Q&A with Tony Trimmer at my forum, whereby the members come up with the questions and I send the best ones off to him. If anyone here has any questions they would like to ask Tony, please submit them in this thread and I will add them to the "list"

Regards,
PT

[MoMurray]

Great.

In about 1976, Tony Trimmer raced a Lola Formula Atlantic in the Pheonix Park in Dublin, and won iirc. I am interested to know what his thoughts on that circuit and the experience were?

Mo. (Little boy in the crowd that day)

[Paul Taylor]

Thanks Mo.

I forgot to say, there's a time limit on this...And the time remaining is 6 days...

[ensign14]

How much does it gall him that he never drove in a World Championship Grand Prix?

Just how bad WERE the Makis he drove and how close did he get to swapping one for a Shadow at Japan '76?

Why "Melchester" Racing?

[Gary C]

did he get any impression on the Lotus 72 when he drove it?

[roger saretzki]

hello

tony drove the lotus 73 as well . what can tony say about this car , the lotus f3 team ?
where are these fantastic looking car´s now ?

best regards , roger

i have a picture from tony drving the 73 at monaco.....................

[BRM MICK2]

Hi
Any comments re his races for the Jordsan BRM team would be interesting.

Mick

[BRM MICK2]

whoops I mean Jordan BRM and the P207

Mick

[sterling49]

Who did Tony respect most in his time racing the blue FF (Brabham IIRC) car adorned with the classic "Frank Williams" nose decals.....what assistance did Frank offer?

Sterling

[Gav Astill]

Originally posted by BRM MICK2
Any comments re his races for the Jordan BRM team would be interesting.

Mick

I'll second this. As the last man to contemporaneously (is that a word?) race a BRM (British Open, Oulton Park, April 1983), I would like to know whether he thought the car had ever stood a chance of being competitive. Was it just down to low-budget preparation / poor development, or was the car possibly fundemenntally outdated when launched in 1977

[FRWL]

It would be interesting to shed a light on a few more moments:

1)Alongside with Emo Fittipaldi and Dave Walker Tony was entered as works driver in a Lotus 72D for 1972 British GP at Brands Hatch. So it had been planned to be his first World Drivers' Championship event. But when did it appear that he wouldn't race there? And what was the exact reason of a such disappointing withdrawal?

2)In March 1989 Tony tested a new Brabham BT58 at Silverstone. What were his feelings about the car? What is the story behind this testing? Was it possible to build more longer relationship with Motor Racing Developments (maybe even a comeback to the World Championship ) ?

3)How did he created his black & red helmet design, what was its idea?

Peter.

[sterling49]

Originally posted by Paul Taylor
Hi all,

I'm running a little Q&A with Tony Trimmer at my forum, whereby the members come up with the questions and I send the best ones off to him. If anyone here has any questions they would like to ask Tony, please submit them in this thread and I will add them to the "list"

Regards,
PT

Any feedback from Tony yet?

[Paul Taylor]

Yes, last Monday, but he said something like, "I'm busy for the next few days, but I'll get back to you."

Received another last night saying he'll answer this weekend.

[Paul Taylor]

Und hier sind das Antworten:

1. How did you become involved in motorsport?
My Father took me to a motor race meeting at Goodwood and I got hooked watching Stirling Moss. Unfortunately it was the meeting that he had his big accident. I then joined a small motor club and did some hill climbs in a 500cc Cooper Jap. I was working as a car mechanic and applied for a job as a race mechanic with the Willment racing team in SW London and was accepted.

2. You won the British F3 championship in 1970, beating such names as James Hunt and Carlos Pace. How easy a win was it for you?
It was the final year of the 1000cc engined F3 cars and I was racing for a small private team based in North London and we were against several big works teams. There was up to 70 cars entered for some meetings with two heats and a final. A very tough year but gratifying.

3. How did the drive for Maki come about?
The Maki had just ended the career of Howden Ganley and I was racing successfully in F. Atlantic so caught the eye of the Maki team.

4. What are your recollections of your time at Maki? What were they like as a team? Was there a language barrier?
They were a great little team but under funded. Broken English was spoken and they said yes to everything.

5. Tell us about the death-trap known as the Maki F102C, which you attempted to qualify for the 1976 Japanese GP. Was that the first time you had driven the car?
The new car was not finished when I arrived at Fuji and the team managers of all the F.1 teams decided that it was to dangerous to race . I managed one lap in practice and it broke down and that was that.

6. What was it like to drive at the old Nürburgring, old Oesterreichring and the old Silverstone?
I went to the old 14 mile Nurburgring to qualify for the GP having never seen it before. It was probably the craziest thing I have ever done. The Maki of course broke and so no race but what an experience and I had qualified. The old Oesterreichring again was a fantastic circuit but again the Maki broke in qualifying. The old Silverstone was amazing, flat out at Abbey and nearly at Woodcote.

7. What was the inspiration behind your helmet design?
I started racing in a plain white helmet but ended up with a black and red design. I drew many designs before deciding. It just looked balanced.

8. What was the secret of your dominance in the 1977 Shellsport and 1978 Aurora F1 series?
Good preparation which I was also involved in and my instinct regarding setup which many other teams have used. After that a smooth driving style.

9. How did the McLaren M23 compare to the Maki that you had driven several years earlier?
The M23 is probably the best race car I have driven. It remained at the top in F1 for 5 or 6 years. The Maki was too fragile.

10. Why "Melchester" Racing?
A combination of two addresses Melbourne Close and Chester Place which were connected to the team manager.

11. Despite winning many races in Shellsport & Aurora series, do you consider the 1978 BRDC International Trophy at Silverstone as the best race in your career? Did you enjoy driving in wet conditions in general, or do you think it was a case of pure luck?
Practice for the International Trophy was the first time that I had sat in the M23. The heavy rain on race day certainly helped me as so many big names fell off and I do like the rain. Abbey was flooded and only after the race I discovered the leading two had cut across the grass to avoid the flooded track !!! I think the best race of my career was winning the F3 race at Monaco.

12. If you'd had a choice, what would have been your ideal car and team-mate back in your F1 days?
I would liked to have been in a GP team with Emerson Fittipaldi in a McLaren M23.

13. You were the last ever person to contemporaneously race a BRM, at the British Open at Oulton Park in April 1983. Could you tell us your impressions of the car? Did it ever stand a chance of being competitive? Was it just down to low-budget preparation / poor development, or was the car possibly fundamentally outdated when launched in 1977?
The car was very nice to drive with good ride and grip. The downside was engine reliability. It was the smoothest engine ever with no vibration at all but unreliable due to lack of development and funds.

14. In July 1986, you drove a few laps around the Birmingham Superprix street circuit as part of a track rehearsal. Could you explain more about your laps around the circuit with your Formula 5000 Lola T330 and what was your experience like at the time?
I like some street circuits but this was not one of them. It was not well thought out with an uninteresting layout and very bumpy.

15. How did you end up driving in the British F3000 championship in 1989?
A friend of mine bought some unloved March F3000 cars and spares and I put one of them together to race a couple of times as reward.

16. You also tested a Brabham BT58 prior to the start of the 1989 Formula 1 season. How did that come about and how did the car differ to the F1 cars of the 1970s?
It was still the time that I was being used by various teams for test work. This was just a shakedown test of the two new cars and they felt excellent but I was having problems with fitting in the car regarding leg length. Certainly the grip was better than 70s cars.

17. You were the first driver to lap Castle Combe at over 120mph. Do you have any special memories of that day or of that track in general?
A great feeling to set a new record at the Combe in the Lola F5000 car which was softly sprung and so rode the bumps very well. A really good circuit.

18. Did you have any personal on- or off-track rivalries with any drivers during your career?
Plenty of good and bad but that is normal. The parties afterwards were great.

19. What were the best and the worst moments of your career?
Winning at Monaco and the career still ain’t over (just)

20. Do you follow any modern racing series? Which current drivers do you support?
I am mainly interested in Formula racing and watch GP, GP2, Champ cars etc and support any driver with smooth style and good track discipline.

21. Do you feel that the over emphasis on safety has emasculated the sport?
No but I do think the racing has been spoilt by the overemphasis in aerodynamics.

22. Finally, your business card states that you are a Motorsport Consultant. What does this job entail?
All aspects of the sport. Engineering,testing,managing,driving and fast rides etc etc.....

Many, many thanks to Tony for answering the questions!

[MCS]

Interesting, Paul. Thank you.

But nothing on the Lotus 72 or the Formula Three Lotus 73...?

[sterling49]

Interesting reading, thanks. Did he not remember the FF car, or was no mention made of it or Frank Williams?

[Paul Taylor]

MCS - The majority of the questions came from the members of my forum. I could ask absolutely every question I was submitted (and I was submitted quite a lot), but it'd be too much for him to answer.

sterling49 - I have simply copied and pasted the questions/answers as they were submitted to me in the email. They're not edited at all.

[Stephen W]

Another question for TT:

When you were driving the BT28 in F3 I have seen several pictures of the car at different meetings sans nose-cone. Is the urban myth that the nose-cones were deliberately made ultra-skimpy so they would braek-up and fall off true, or is there some other explanation?

[BRM MICK2]

Hi
Amazing a compliment for the BRM P207 !!! Makes you wonder what could have happeneded if the money had been available??

Thanks

Mick

[phinorman]

Hi PAul !

I'm sorry to do not use this possibility to exchange with Tony trimmer about Mike Beuttler but I was in holidays.

With my best regards.

Phinorman

gcahnge==

Originally posted by Paul Taylor
MCS - The majority of the questions came from the members of my forum. I could ask absolutely every question I was submitted (and I was submitted quite a lot), but it'd be too much for him to answer.

sterling49 - I have simply copied and pasted the questions/answers as they were submitted to me in the email. They're not edited at all.

[phinorman]

Hi Paul Taylor !

I'm still interested to contact Tony Trimmer to have testimony of him about his races versus Mike Beuttler.

Thanks in advance. Phinorman

Originally posted by phinorman
Hi PAul !

I'm sorry to do not use this possibility to exchange with Tony trimmer about Mike Beuttler but I was in holidays.

With my best regards.

Phinorman

gcahnge==

[Giraffe]

By giraffe138 at 2009-01-08

Gloves on for Tony Trimmer as he prepares to win heat 1 of the British Empire Trophy at Oulton Park in 1970.
Tony finished 3rd in the final behind Bev Bond and James Hunt.
For me, Tony is the ultimate "nearly" man.