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Originally Posted by ian beckett
The original Frank Sytner car was started in December 1982 and completed by March '83 by Ted Grace in Pershore using works supplied shell and parts.The car was then run in the '83 BTCC by Malcolm Gartlan Racing for Sytner entered under the Grace International Racing banner. A second car was then built by Grace in August '84. Both these cars were then sold by Sytner to Graham Johnson/John Morton in New Zealand. At the start of '85 Sytner acquired the three ex-BMW GB/CC Motorsport cars one of which was originally an Eggenberger car,this one was sold to a Belgian team in June of'85 who raced it in that years Spa 24 hours(Jumet Motors).One of the remaining two cars (ex-Weaver)was sold to Mike Newman at the start of the '85.The remaining car(ex-Woodman)was sold to Charlie O'Brien in Australia and is the one in yellow in the two photos above. I got this information in a letter which Frank kindly wrote to me in January '86.
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So Sytner's 1985 race cars were presumably the ex-Eggenberger and ex-Woodman cars bought from BMW GB?
Charlie O'Brien did the 85 Donington ETCC race in a Volvo, (presumably hired from one of the Swedish teams)entered under the Erle McRae banner- I wonder if this is when the deal to buy the ex-Sytner 635 was done, presumably to take delivery at the end of Sytner's BTCC season?.
There's one thing that puzzles me, unless I've totally misunderstood the chronology of events- with the two original Ted Grace-built cars sold to NZ, (presumably late 84/early 85?), Sytner buys the 3 ex-BMW GB cars from CC Motorsport- one goes immediately to Mike Newman, and Sytner keeps the others to race himself. One of these is sold to Jumet in Belgium during June, (presumably after being appearing at the Donington ETCC round), and the second goes to Charlie O'Brien in Australia- presumably post-TT, but in time for Bathurst.
So, which was the second 'Sytner' car at the TT in September- did Sytner acquire a further car at some point late in the 85 season, or did the South Africans at the TT use someone else's 635, entered in Sytner's name? I don't remember whether he appeared in the 86 BTCC or not, but as far as I remember he did the 86 Donington ETCC round in a CiBiEmme 635, and the TT in an Auto Budde 325i, which certainly suggests he might not have acquired a further 635 for the 86 season