Roll-Call?

[Roger H]

John- Yes Lydden. Ah those were the days. A whole afternoons testing for a fiver. Late entries on the morning of the event for races. Where did it all go wrong?

[les walmsley]

Hi there it would be great if someone could put some photos of historic touring cars up. As soon as i work out how to do it i will also. Hope to see some soon.

[klaus]

hello Roger,
nice to meet such racing legends here in the forum. I remember Your adverts and the Lenham very well (1968(?) in Motorsport magazine), I have seen this car live at the Ring this year, driven by David Methley, beating the Chevrons B8. About 12 years ago I was at your home, and my friends and I remember very well the areal, filled with cars (Imps) and racing items . Your store in the backyard was a collection to get enthusiastic. You will not remember me, for I only bought a Cosworth rocker cover and asked you about a 12-valve Martin head.

[Roger H]

Thanks Klaus. Things havn't changed much here, just the Imp has gone!!! Does anyone have picturs of David Methley in his Lenham at the Ring?
Happy New Year to you.

[allenbrown]

Roger

Good to see you here. I notice that your all-to-brief biography didn't mention the legendary caves at all. Probably best not to - they be far too fascinating to people here!.

Allen

[neilwaynesmith]

Neil Smith, Startline/Incident Marshal.

Fanatical Chevron Addict, can often be seen drooling around the pits with Chevron badge on cap and Chevron badges sewn to upper sleeves of overalls.

Would like to commend the good folk who raced in the 'Top Hat' championships in 2002 for the best races I have seen at Donington in many-a-while. More please for 2003.

I am 34, but occasionally wish I was about 20 years older :confused: That way I could have been marshalling events when these cars were new!

[klaus]

hello Roger,
here it is,
I think You enjoy to see your baby and hope you´ll meet it anywhere , to have a look on it.
By the way, it had a Cosworth FVA engine and was terrible fast, especially in the wet, and all the Chevrons looked rather sad in comparison, but I think Methley is a good man behind this steering-wheel, as he was in his Marcos.
Klaus

[paul-collins]

I'm 36, born about an hour away from Mosport (I'm now an hour away on the other side), and my father introduced me to racing at an early age. The first race of consequence I attended was the '71 Canadian GP when I got to see JYS and Ronnie Peterson slug it out in the rain. I only got to see JYS race twice more in F1, then he retired, having served to hook me on speed.

My favourite drivers after JYS have been James Hunt, Gilles, Jackie Oliver, George Follmer and anyone else who I saw in Can-Am, IckxandBell, Mario Andretti, anyone named Brabham, anyone who drove a blue Tyrrell, and Ron Fellows.

I'm more interested in History than in Historic Racing. I've never been to a vintage event (although I'm going to try to get out this year to Mosport's event). If the turnout is good, I'll be back.

My interest has largely mirrored what is available at Mosport, but has been expanding as I gain access to other racing via TV. Who knew the SCCA Runoffs would be so entertaining? (Well, I guess a lot of you did - but my Christmas day was a revelation!) F1, Group 7, Formula 5000, USAC (which I followed to Toronto as CART), and now ALMS / Le Mans are what captivate me now.

As I get older, my view of racing widens both in type and in time. My current favourite, ALMS, provides me with a window on the world of sportscars, which to me is still the pinnacle of racing, as it's all about the cars. And I've discovered that there's no shortage of information on the history of it, and it all seems to link back to that old city an hour south of Chartres. So I'll go and see the cars there next year.

[Roger H]

Hello Klaus, Super Picture. Yes David Methley is very quick.
Thankyou
Roger

[Andrew Kitson]

I have just realised that although I have been posting here for a few months now, I have not actually said 'Hi!"
So to keep TimD happy I am doing just that.
I just love this historic forum - so many memories come flooding back.
You may have seen some of the racing paintings that I have posted. I am a professional Motorsports artist and have been doing this for 20 years now, although I have done the odd spell in Germany producing cut-away and exploded drawings for the car industry over there. I was trained to produce these on computer with various computer graphics programmes but it is the 'creating artwork by hand' that is my thing. A bit old school in that respect.
I am 43 and born in Cambridge. My father was a mechanic in club racing, I spent most weekends at the circuits with him, hence my lifelong interest. I was told that the first meeting I attended was as a 6 month old baby at Brands on boxing day 1959 - the first time Jim Clark raced a single seater was at this meeting. Pity I can't remember!
The first car I remember my father working on was a Lotus Elan in 1965 then a Galaxie 500 - both raced by woman racer Jacquie Bond -Smith. Later he was spannering on Special Saloon Ford Anglia's through to Formula Ford / F3 etc for Stan Matthews. The last car he worked on before returning to a normal life was the ex Doug Niven 5.7 Boss Capri of Nicholas Wattiez in 1976.
I knew Nick in 73/74 and was 'gofer' on his F5000 team. In 1977, I started college to train as a Technical Illustrator, but weekends were spent at Royale Racing - helping out Trevor Van Rooyen and Kenny Acheson. At this time I got to know so many people in FF/F3 that are involved in higher things now. Folks such as Eddie Jordan, Derek Daly, David Kennedy, David Sears, John Village, John Booth, Trevor Carlin - he was gofer at PRS!
I started to do my paintings as a hobby at first while at college, but contacts through my father and other racing folk I had known started to become clients. Several World Champions have commissioned my work since, including the late great Ayrton Senna. Ferrari and other F1 teams are also customers.
However, historic racing, especially the 60s/70s is my love and I relish the chance to paint cars such as these when I get the chance. I am fortunate enough to get accreditation as a photographer - purely as reference for my work- at most circuits in the UK and also some GPs through Bernie Ecclestone who also has one of my originals. I would have loved to have been in the position I am in now , back then in the golden age of racing. Anyway, it is a pleasure to be here and to meet other like minded racing nuts! If you would like to see my work, my website is www.andrewkitson.com

[Chris Townsend]

Guess I'm in the same boat as Andrew as I've been hanging round here for 18 months without declaring my interests.
I'm 43, a university lecturer by profession. [Art history if you're interested] First got into car racing in the mid-70s as an alternative to the bikes my dad was pushing me onto. My earliest race memory is Alan Jones beating up a ShellSport G8 field at Brands in an old Lola T330. Best motor racing moments: watching Villeneuve on a quick one in practice for the 78 British GP, the control through Clearways was not of this planet. Watching Senna virtually lap the field in a very wet FF race [this would be March 81] and then discovering he'd never raced in the rain before. I couldn't go round Paddock that quickly in the dry! I went on to Brands Hatch Racing and some back of the grid FF1600 in the early '80s.

These days I'm mostly interested in F5000 and F.Atlantic history and do a fair amount for Allen Brown's oldracingcars.com site. At some point I'd like to get a complete record of FB/Atlantic together, so if any of you have information/programmes/race results sheets please get in touch. [I seem to remember that gfm briefly raced an ex Nick May Lola T360 whose identity remains a mystery to the F1 Register] I'm also looking for a suitable early 70s GT to race in 2004 or thereabouts.

[allenbrown]

Originally posted by Chris Townsend
I ... do a fair amount for Allen Brown's oldracingcars.com site

That's not true. Chris does a massive amount for OldRacingCars.com!

Allen

[racer69]

Real name is Luke, i'm 19, and am motorsport obsessed, i watch the lot, my first memory of life is watching the 1985 James Hardie 1000 at Bathurst, where John Goss and Armin Hahne won in the TWR Jaguar XJS. and have a huge interest in the history of motorsport.

If i had to choose a favourite form it would probably be Touring Cars, probably because they have been pounded into me from when i was born as they for some reason seem to be the be-all and end-all down here to some. I have a big interest in motorsport from the 70s and 80s, particularly European Touring Cars and Sportscars, and rallying. I'm a big fan of Grand Prix racing as well, pretty much everything and i'm always after stuff from the past, hence why i have a huge video and magazine collection not only from nowadays but stuff strecting back many years.

And when i manage to get some finances together, i'll be out on the racetrack.

[gfm]

Chris Townsend - you said in your post two up from here, that you weren't sure where the Lola T360 went to after I had it. Well I sold to my mate Mike Gue and he sold it to someone (I'll remember it sooner or later) who stuffed it at Silverstone well and truely in it's first test after the purchase. Was it not written off?
I actually bought the car from Barry(?) Robinson the bloke who raced ex-Clark Lotus Cortinas, dealer from North East.
Richardson BDG lump and nice little car. We acheived fastest-lap-of- the-year at Silverstone 77 or 78. Didn't have any funds to run it so we only managed one or two Shellsport Group 8 races right at the back. We could see what was meant to happen though.

[DaveM]

Originally posted by gfm
I actually bought the car from Barry(?) Robinson the bloke who raced ex-Clark Lotus Cortinas, dealer from North East.

Brian Robinson it was John. Here he is early in his career at Cadwell 1st October 67 in one of the ex-works Lotus Cortinas, front and back.

[DaveM]

The other view.

[gfm]

By my reckoning, you put those pics on at after midnight! Wow, that's dedication. I'm sure Brian would love to see those pics. Great pics too David. Actually Barry Robinson was the demolition merchant from London who did things with a Lamborghini amongst other powerful things wasn't he? Oh, and maybe a Porsche later.
Back to Brian, we had an extremely close dice on the streets of Birmingham in 911s one year. He slipped by me on the last lap to win when I slowed for that white 911 Turbo which smacked the armco - my excuse! Performance Cars in Darlington - was that where he is? Was.
Don't you wonder where cars like that Lotus Cortina have gone? What a gem.

[DAVID PATERSON]

One of the ex-Jim Clark works Lotus Cortinas, now lives in Australia. It was raced in Australia by Allan Moffatt and has now been restored to original condition and is part of David Bowden's enormous collection.

I helped push it into a pit garage at a Lakeside Historic meeting a few years ago.

[DaveM]

Dedication maybe John. More like forgetting time when I'm on this forum, and not being able to resist the temptation to scour my albums and scan a pic which may be relevant to a posting. Is there a cure I wonder? Perhaps there's a patch you can wear to wean you off it, but what the heck, I prefer to lose sleep than stop 10/10th-ing.

Thanks for the info on the Lotus Cortina David. Brian Robinson raced one of the ex-works Mk2's the following year and I'll look up a photo later. Will find somewhere else to post it though as this thread isn't the right place.

[yelwoci]

Ian Cowley 42 London, UK
Racing(?) since 1995 here in UK.
Have my own RX-7 12A 1982 which have raced in CSCC Group-1.
Also race a BMW M3 E36 in endurance racing at Nurburgring and in UK.

Hoping to do Nurburgring 24-hrs and possibly Bathurst 24hrs this year, though latter may prove difficult.

Currently rebuilding the RX-7 for a couple of outings this year.

IanC

[Stacy]

Originally posted by yelwoci
Ian Cowley 42 London, UK
Currently rebuilding the RX-7 for a couple of outings this year.

IanC

42!? Blimey, you've weathered well. Must be your pathalogical avoidance of work.

Anyway, what was up with your strut spacers ? Not worn out ?

Stacy

[xjr5006]

Hi, the names Don, I'm 45 tomorrow and was a motor bike nut in the 70's. In the early 80's I raced Mk2 Jags and in the late 80's an all conquering XJS. By the 90's I thought I had given it all up until this little babe of a Le Mans car (the clue is in the name) was dropped in my lap. Got the ticket back and was last out at Monza in October.
Curva Grandee flat out, feeling the G-forces build with one hand on the wheel & changing gear; look over to check there is still oil pressure then up to make sure we are still on the track then scream and shake the wheel to make the old girl go faster as you go past the pits on the limiter..... ......IT WAS MEGGA!

[Andrew Kitson]

Don - welcome and happy birthday for 2moro!

[paddy]

My name is Simon Ireland. I'm 43 and a Firefighter living in Nottingham. I spent many weekends through the seventies and early eighties at race meetings, particularly Mallory, Donington, Silverstone and Brands. I then lost touch a little for a few years, but have regained my enthusiasm in recent years by taking my 4 year old son. My heroes are Ronnie Peterson, Gilles Villeneuve and Jim Clark from F1 and Gerry Marshall and Barrie Williams from saloon racing in the seventies.
I would love to see massive reductions in downforce on racing cars so we can see cars race closely again.
Also heaven is a FF1600 meeting at Mallory in the mid seventies with 3 heats and a final and Daly, Warwick, Kennedy etc. etc.

[TimD]

To all who have posted on this thread - welcome!!

Just realised how many people will have found us for the first time since this thread was visible.

Please don't be strangers - do let us know who you are, and what your historic interest encompasses.