Alex McMillan - racing driver from 1950s

[FastDB2s]

Does anyone have any info on Alex McMillan - sports car entrant & driver, owned the Jim Clark D TYPE before Border Reivers bought it for JC - competed in F1 4 times.
Possibly owned Futura Rubber, Stalybridge, Cheshire

[John Turner]

This maybe better in the Motorsport History forum, so I'll move it there (but with a redirect)

[FastDB2s]

mentioned in XK Evocation - XKD517, The Jim Clark D type.
final race with that car was at Silverstone 1955, achieved 1st x 3 places, best lap of the day.
competed in 4 F1 non championship races in 1953, 55-56. achieved 1 x 4th place & 1 retirement, unsure of other finishes.

[FastDB2s]

also mentioned several times on the autosport forum under the heading Victoria Climax, had a Elva Mk1 with a Coventry Climax FWA engine & a Rochdale F-type body 'MBU 309' in 1956, also owned a Lancia 'KRO 548'(possibly called a Langria) & a Cooper Bristol 'LBU 349' & a Bristol Barb, appears to have had a new racing car built for him every year or so.
Mentioned on the chicane F1 website - Drove (a Lotus 9?) in a non championship F1 race (Britsh GP support race) on 14/07/56 (possibly his last F1 race)

[FastDB2s]

raced at Charterhall 06/08/55 in Cooper Bristol at the Daily Record Trophy non championship event, finished 2nd in Heat 1, retired ? in the final.
raced at Midlands MECC 27/07/53 in a BMW 328, finished 4th.
raced in the International Gold Cup F11 at Oulton Park 22/09/56 in a Cooper T39 Climax, qualified 20th, finished 16th - 4 laps down
The British GP support race on the 14/07/56 was also in the Cooper T39, qualified 13th, retired on lap 20 of 25 whlst lying 16th

[FastDB2s]

The Lamgia was a Lancia chassis & an MG engine (750 special) with a Rochdale alloy body.
He also raced a Connaught ALSR chassis witha Rochdale alloy body, the Bristol Barb was a Rochdale GRP sports car-cum-F2 race car based on a Cooper Bristol Mk11 1953-7 (courtesy of Doug Nye on another forum)

[FastDB2s]

Complete Archive - Racing Sportscars has his full (known) entry listings
http://www.racingsportscars.com/driv...Millan-GB.html

He presumably had a relation - Ernie McMillan who drove his cars or ran them from the same workshop as Ernie drove the D type XKD 517 that belonged to Alex

[FastDB2s]

Originally Posted by FastDB2s

He presumably had a relation - Ernie McMillan who drove his cars or ran them from the same workshop as Ernie drove the D type XKD 517 that belonged to Alex

Ernie McMillan
http://www.racingsportscars.com/driv...Millan-GB.html

He drove a Nufor in 1953 - what is a Nufor!

[FastDB2s]

Alex McMillan first name was ? William Alex McMillan

[McMillan]

That was my Grandad. William Alexander McMillan. Stopped racing after his foot was half blown off in a race. Will talk to family about what to do about releasing racing photos. Neither of the photos I saw are of him. I'll let you know. We are proud of his racing and business skills.
Regards. E McMillan.

[John Fielden]

Originally Posted by McMillan

That was my Grandad. William Alexander McMillan. Stopped racing after his foot was half blown off in a race. Will talk to family about what to do about releasing racing photos. Neither of the photos I saw are of him. I'll let you know. We are proud of his racing and business skills.
Regards. E McMillan.

Did he live in Chapel-en-le-Frith?

[redhatman]

Alex Mc ""was a true gentleman who co owned Futura rubber which was based in Ashton-under-Lyne. He enjoyed success with several interesting race cars, including a "Lotus 11 (NBU 777) which was fitted with a 1100cc Stangelleni engine. His home was in Oldham, but in the early sixties the family moved to Prestbury in Cheshire.

His racing career was ended when the clutch in his Lotus 11 exploded, and regrettably took two of his toes off his left foot. A close friend of Alex's was Denys Wolstenholme who prepared all of Alex Mc's cars and who with the help Alex started Sports Motors (Ashton) Alex McMillan's only son Ian now lives in New Zealand. We do have a few photographs of Alex driving the Lotus 11, Cooper Bristol, and Bristol Barb.

Redhatman.

[FastDB2s]

He also owned TKF 9, the Jaguar D Type Jim Clark drove for Border Reivers, now owned by Carlos Monteverdi.

[bauble]

Prior to departing TNF I had some correspondence about a picture of Alex published in Anthony Pritchard's 'Sports/Racing Cars', showing Alex in the Cooper-Bristol at the 1954 British Grand Meeting. Page 61.

Alex was always a spectacular driver, a hard trier as we used to say.

Good bloke.

bauble.

[D-Type]

I'm puzzled. I always understood that TKF 9, the Border Reivers D-Type, was the Murkett brothers car that Henry Taylor had raced.

[FastDB2s]

TKF 9 was, 1st of all it was Alex's mate (Gillie Tyrer, who he bought the BMW 328 off, his 1st race car) then Alex's, then the Murkett brothers.

[FastDB2s]

Just out of interest, is Alex in this photo at a garage in Towcester http://myt625.co.uk/album/16/86819228.JPG

[McMillan]

Originally Posted by FastDB2s

Just out of interest, is Alex in this photo at a garage in Towcester http://myt625.co.uk/album/16/86819228.JPG

Yes those are the solid shoulders of Alec McMillan.

[McMillan]

Originally Posted by redhatman

Alex Mc ""was a true gentleman who co owned Futura rubber which was based in Ashton-under-Lyne. He enjoyed success with several interesting race cars, including a "Lotus 11 (NBU 777) which was fitted with a 1100cc Stangelleni engine. His home was in Oldham, but in the early sixties the family moved to Prestbury in Cheshire.

His racing career was ended when the clutch in his Lotus 11 exploded, and regrettably took two of his toes off his left foot. A close friend of Alex's was Denys Wolstenholme who prepared all of Alex Mc's cars and who with the help Alex started Sports Motors (Ashton) Alex McMillan's only son Ian now lives in New Zealand. We do have a few photographs of Alex driving the Lotus 11, Cooper Bristol, and Bristol Barb.

Redhatman.

Curious is this Michael Wolstenholme?