Ken and Phil Silverstone

[roger saretzki]

Ken and Phil Silverstone both started in Formula Ford and went into Fomula Three .

https://fotos.web.de/ui/external/3as...SxAVuW5CA23903

What can you tell me about there career ?
What they are doing now ?

Best Regards , Roger

[roger saretzki]

Hello again

I put a few more Motoring New´s Artikels into the folder..................

Regards , Roger

[Alan Raine]

The Silverstone brothers ran a tyre business in Hertfordshire which I believe funded their motor racing. They had a reputation for being aggressive in business as well at the track!

[Dave M]

Aggressive - well certainly.

Fast on track? - Most definately not...

[Alan Morgan]

I'll probably be speaking to Syd Fox over the next couple of days. I'll ask him if he remembers the battery incident.

[roger saretzki]

What I remember of the Silverstone brothers is that as you say they started in FF and I believe only one of them went into F3, though could be wrong there. One of them was a London cabbie for a living (taxi driver) and had one of the ubiqutous black cabs that are so common in London.

Al the best,

Mark


Mark Dunham

[Alan Raine]

Originally Posted by roger saretzki

What I remember of the Silverstone brothers is that as you say they started in FF and I believe only one of them went into F3, though could be wrong there. One of them was a London cabbie for a living (taxi driver) and had one of the ubiqutous black cabs that are so common in London.

Al the best,

Mark


Mark Dunham

Phil and Ken ran year old March's in 1976. Phil drove a Ralt in 1977.

[Unit 2 Racing]

Both Silverstone brothers raced in F3. from 1975 or 76 to 1978

One entered by "Welwyn Discount Tyres & Exhaust Centre"
The other by "Cloud Engineeing"

Ken Silverstone I think was Band for life for punching the Clerk of the Course at Brands Hatch late in 1978 I think. No result found for him after that date.

Phil Silverstone raced in F3 until the end of 1980 with an Argo JM6


The London Cabbie was Ronnie Grant, raced in F3 early 80's Ralt RT3

[Alan Morgan]

Originally Posted by Unit 2 Racing

Ken Silverstone I think was Band for life for punching the Clerk of the Course at Brands Hatch late in 1978 I think. No result found for him after that date.

...although there was a driver called Kenny Stone who looked very much like him.

[Dan Rear]

The ban was for 12 years I believe, though whether he served it is another matter... They usually had 2-3 year old F3 cars, quite a surprise when Phil turned up for the '80 season with a brand new Argo. Didn't improve his pace though!

[Terry Scannell]

Just come across this thread regarding Phil and Ken Silverstone.

Have attached some pictures (hopefully!) of Phil and his Ralt RT1 which I helped my dear, now very sadly departed, friend Colin Thorpe run
during the 1978, 79 seasons and yes it is me (in my much younger days) working on the car on the Brands grid and Phil standing by the car in the Silverstone pitlane.

Also pictured is the brand new Argo JM6 that we ran for Phil in 1980.

To confirm/correct some of the earlier posts Phil and Ken each built up their own successful tyre and exhaust business, with Phil running Welwyn Discount Tyres with several branches around Welwyn and Ken running On The Spot Tyres Services based around the Biggleswade area. Phil and Ken both used old Bedford Val twin steer coaches as transporters, Phil's original one being sign written with the Cloud Engineering name (quite suitable for the way it smoked it's way on inclines!) and we later used Ken's On the Spot version for Phil during 1980.

Phil's was one of only two privateers to run the brand new Argo JM6 in 1980, the other being David Sear's Glover Oil version, Phil's was kept in pristine condition with no sponsors logos etc.

As stated Ken was banned when he was racing in F3 in 1977 or 78 when he raced a Chevron I believe and a regular sparring partner with a certain Mr Warwick. I understand that there was a disagreement with a CoC that resulted in the ban.

However I do have the very good, first hand knowledge that a gentleman with a striking likeness to Ken did race during 81 and 82 as Frank Marvel and also as Kenny Stone in Monoposto A class in a March Chassis in which Kenny was overall Mono A champion in 1982 which Colin and I ran along other cars for Chris Fawkes and Craig Dennis at the time.

Terry

[Terry Scannell]

A few more pictures showing Phil's RT1 sporting ground effect sliding skirt side pods used in 1979 which were originally used on the Equipo Nacional Español RT1's and also partly showing the two Bedford Val transporters used.

Also shown is Phil's Argo JM6 with Richard Trott trying the car for size at a Snetterton F3 meeting.

Brilliant days!

Terry

[M Greenslade]

Terry, having started my marshalling career at Snetts around 1974 I remember them well, wasn't Phil much faster than Ken? Are they still around?

Bladders......

[Dan Rear]

Great post terry, and v interesting! Do you know where 'Kenny Stone' got his Mono March from? It was entered as a 74B in Mono around 1982 as I recall.

[Terry Scannell]

Originally Posted by M Greenslade

Terry, having started my marshalling career at Snetts around 1974 I remember them well, wasn't Phil much faster than Ken? Are they still around?

Bladders......

Hi Bladders ......great to hear from you and when are we going to see you at Snet again - would be good to catch up again?

I would suggest that Ken was the quicker of the two however they didn't race very often in F3 at the same time mainly due to Ken's ban I guess.

Also I seem to remember that towards the middle of the 1980 season while testing at Silverstone, Colin persuaded Thierry Tassin (who was the works Argo JM6 driver at the time with Roberto Guerrero) to take Phil's car out to check settings and he not only went quicker than Phil's best time but was on par with with own best and stated that it was a better car than it's own .........but Phil's hadn't had such a hard life as Thierry's had experienced!

Much to everyone's surprise I remember that Phil retired from racing not much later!

Not sure of Phil and Ken's whereabout's in recent years unfortunately but will see what I can find out.

Dan, I do have some pictures of Ken's March somewhere in the loft and will try to find these and more info over the weekend and upload them. Car ran in white colour scheme again with no signage, which Colin Thorpe maintained and prepared both chassis and engine wise. I have found a few which partly shows Ken's March 742B next to Chris Fawkes March 733 which I also ran in Mono A whilst helping Colin with the other cars.

Slightly off subject but may still be of interest, we also ran Gerry Amato at the same time as Phil in various F3 cars that Gerry owned in the Vandervell F3Championship,mostly Chevron and March, including the ex Stephen South 773 still in it's original colours, as per the attached pictures.

Terry

[Dan Rear]

Great pics Terry, where were they taken, 1981-82 I guess? I remember Gerry A too, he had some quite famous older F3 cars. As well as the South March, he had 2 Chevron B47s I think, and the ex-Lammers RT1. My era was from 1975-1982 ish, so these pics/stories are fantastic!

[Alan Morgan]

The March 733 looks like the one John Brown used to race in F4 (you can still see the hole in the top of the engine cover for the downdraught carb.

Gerry Amato came up for a chat at Brands in July. He claimed that Delta's March 793 was his old one although we're pretty sure it isn't.

[Dan Rear]

Didn't Gerry have the ex-Rob W 783/793, Al? Did Pere Nogues have this before Rob?

[Alan Morgan]

I think you may be right about Gerry having Rob's 783/793. The original owner of the 783 that morphed into Rob's car was Daniel Herregods. It was yellow when he had it. The current owner of the car (in the ICL colours that Rob ran) is Jonathan Price.

[Dan Rear]

Originally Posted by Alan Morgan

The March 733 looks like the one John Brown used to race in F4 (you can still see the hole in the top of the engine cover for the downdraught carb.

Gerry Amato came up for a chat at Brands in July. He claimed that Delta's March 793 was his old one although we're pretty sure it isn't.

Was this the Briggo' 733, Al?

[Terry Scannell]

Originally Posted by Dan Rear

Great pics Terry, where were they taken, 1981-82 I guess? I remember Gerry A too, he had some quite famous older F3 cars. As well as the South March, he had 2 Chevron B47s I think, and the ex-Lammers RT1. My era was from 1975-1982 ish, so these pics/stories are fantastic!

Dan - most of the pictures were from the 79 /82 era as you state, the one with the Ralt and Argo with the Red /White Bedford Val next to them was in the paddock at Rouen at a French F3 round. Phil did compete at a few French F3 races including the Monaco GP support in 79 & 80. However I do seem to remember him being excluded in one Monaco event for reversing in the pitlane!

I seem to remember that Ken decided to take his sea going yacht down to Monaco one year and his crew got it stuck in the French canals on the way down - hence the later jokes about him mooring it at Southampton but only when the QE2 was out!

Alan - I certainly believe you are correct regarding the Chris's 733 being the one John Brown used in F4 - I may be wrong but I believe Chris sold it to John following Chris's purchase of a 773 chassis that we ran for the following two or three years

I have added a few more pictures of the Chris Fawkes 773 in Mono A spec and one of the Gerrry Amato 773 after its eventful slowing down lap at a Cadwell Vandervell round and my Lotus 69 F2 chassis that Colin kindly provided an engine for and ran for Craig Dennis in Mono A at the same time as running Kenny Stone in the March 742 chassis.

Terry

[dave vass]

I can't remember which brother it was, but one of them was excluded from a ff race at Castle Combe for not wearing his balaclava (after it became mandatory) which was found tucked down inside his car!

[Alan Morgan]

Dan/Terry. The March 733 in question was originally used by Ian Taylor to win one of the F3 championships in 1973. The next owner I'm aware of was Ian Briggs who ran it in F4. He sold the car to Mike Cresdee who then sold it to John Brown. John had the car painted in the striking John Brown Wheels colours seen in the photos. Dave Pullen prepared John's cars and they were always immaculately turned out. I think it was then sold on to Chris Fawkes in 1980 when John stopped doing F4.

I've got many good memories of racing against John in that March in '78/79. My dad and I even made a new rear wing for it, although it's not the one in the photos as far as I can see.

[Dan Rear]

The black March pictured, a 773 I guess, has a very nice 793/803 nose. Was this car the one Gerry A had before, Terry? The last pic of the Lotus spinning, is that the Lyncar next to it? Tony Broster perhaps?

Are you related to John Scannell, Terry, I remember he had an FAt Chevron B27??

[Terry Scannell]

Alan, having delved into the now quite old memory banks a little you are quite correct with the history to Chris's 733. I was perhaps getting confused as I certainly believe when he sold it was perhaps converted back to F3 spec and used in Classic F3 but I cannot remember at this stage who by, perhaps someone out there can fill in more of the later history to this car.

The rear wing and supports in the earlier pictures were the parts that came with the car when Chris purchased it although the blue and white endplates were actually cut from a wing side support "borrowed" from the Equipo Nacional Espanol team to replace a damaged original! This wing was later replaced with an Argo JM6 wing from Phil Silverstone's spares kit.

Dan, No there was no connection with Chris's 773 and Gerry A's car. Chris's had been raced in Mono A the previous year as part of a team of two 773 cars, one in Black with the wide nose and one in Red with a narrow nose running if I can remember correctly under the Bill Boddice Volvo banner.

Again I have some pictures tucked away of the pair taken at Cadwell. One of the pictures attached shows this Red 773 next to Chris's 733 on the grid at Castle Combe. Can anyone remind me of the drivers of these two 773's when teammates?

Dan, you are correct regarding the Lyncar and Tony Broster.