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5 Jan 2009, 10:58 (Ref:2365508) | #76 | ||
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/antspho...7608209176086/ ...but after the TT, what happened to this one? Shipped back to Australia or sold on in Europe? |
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5 Jan 2009, 11:44 (Ref:2365543) | #77 | ||
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Indeed, some further progress would be good. I remember convincing myself at the time that Woodman used the TT to decide if he wanted to buy the car to run in the 1987 BTCC or maybe even in the ETCC prepared by Dave Cook or something? Maybe they were even trying to tempt Vauxhall/GM to get involved in supporting such an entry for '87?
Ok it didn't happen but I bet it was a serious possibility? Last edited by chunterer; 13 Jan 2010 at 17:56. |
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6 Jan 2009, 08:56 (Ref:2366146) | #78 | ||
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Silverstone 1974
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6 Jan 2009, 09:05 (Ref:2366153) | #79 | ||
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The Grice/Galvin Holden at the 1986 Tourist Trophy:
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...07SSTT-106.jpg and the Covey/Jeffrey Commodore at the 1987 TT: http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...06SSTT-102.jpg |
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11 Jan 2009, 03:32 (Ref:2369158) | #80 | |
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There are 2 or 3 Holden Commodores here in Norway.They have been used in asphalt racing in the nineties,and i dont know where they are now.One seems to get used in Rallycross.Link..
http://www.hjort-sorensen.no/romnesl...1samleside.htm Scroll down on this link.. http://www.motorsportavisen.no/Nyhet...3%20eldre.html |
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16 Jan 2009, 10:45 (Ref:2372569) | #81 | |
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Funny you should mention rallycross. It's been mentioned before early in the thread, with at least one pic, but the Belgian 'Car Glass' team ran a Commodore in European rallycross events at the end of the 80's/early 90's.
Looking through some old pics, I noticed that it seems to have been campaigned with both the 'Walkinshaw' bodykit and as a 'regular' VL. These two pics had got separated from the sets they belong to, so I'm not 100% of the timeline, but the pics with the full TWR bodykit are presumably Jaak Franssen in the car in 1991. I won't swear to this without digging out my old race programmes for these two meetings, but I think the VL pic might be a year later in 1992- perhaps the team found the full aero kit was too fragile for rallycross? Last edited by KA; 16 Jan 2009 at 10:54. |
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16 Jan 2009, 11:24 (Ref:2372585) | #82 | ||
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http://www.fanderallycross.com/1992N...2EuropeFIA.htm
Fraansen did a fairly good job with an ungainly car. Remember him from the Screen Sport covering of the European Rallycross championship, seeing him winning the odd heat, but a B-finalist at best it seems from the point score. It has been mentioned somewhere that the Commodore was always "under tyred", being limited to 11" tyres by the early 1990s. Rallycross had an even stricter general limit of 250 mm/slightly less than 10". Jesper |
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19 Jan 2009, 02:12 (Ref:2374173) | #83 | ||
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The second picture KA posted has the Walkinshaw front spoiler ("de-beaked" ie lower lip removed) with the Brock Group A bonnet scoop and rear spoiler
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19 Jan 2009, 10:16 (Ref:2374317) | #84 | ||
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I'm not sure what this says about the standard of eligibility scrutineering in the ERC in the early 90's.... |
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19 Jan 2009, 22:26 (Ref:2374855) | #85 | ||
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Well I can't see there being any advantage using the earlier parts, perhaps they were more quickly & easily to hand than sending for something from the other side of the world. When the cars were used as daily drivers it was common to remove the lower lip of the front spoiler to avoid removing it whilst driving - I expect rallycross would give it an even shorter lifespan
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20 Jan 2009, 10:37 (Ref:2375144) | #86 | ||
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I've seen earlier pics of the car, and they're always in 'Walkinshaw' trim, so unless I've got my timescales seriously mixed up, it seems to have reverted to a 'sort-of-Brock VL' spec later in it's rallycross career. As you suggest, the only thing I can think of is that a shortage of parts, maybe when repairing the car after a fairly significant shunt meant they needed to use the 'Brock' bodywork for a time |
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25 Jan 2009, 22:55 (Ref:2379221) | #87 |
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Grice and Walkinshaw
Reading this thread reminded me of the ETC when i was a teenager, I don't remember the year but brock and grice were at Monza and the rover SD1s
I was lucky enough to be a sound recordist with Hay Fisher and we were filming the ETC for an Australian network, i remember Grice took a dislike to Walkinshaw and at Monza we were in the Pits filming the driver changeovers, Walkinshaw had been chased by grice for many laps and when he came in "I think?" to let Percy takeover he got out the car and I would say he was looking very anxious, almost frightened, he explained; it seems that whilst flat out on the back straight Grice had been ramming the Rover and pushing it along lap after lap, a little unsettling at 150+ mph, Walkinshaw couldn't underdstand it but you could tell grice was really enjoying himself. |
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14 Mar 2009, 17:47 (Ref:2415608) | #88 | |||
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Quote:
Jesper |
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26 May 2009, 13:13 (Ref:2469466) | #89 | |||
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27 May 2009, 02:57 (Ref:2469940) | #90 | ||
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I gather "raised eyebrows" would be putting it mildly!
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27 May 2009, 11:50 (Ref:2470151) | #91 | |
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Re Gricey, why was he seemingly so thought badly of? I thought he was a decent driver, if a bit hard on the machinery - compare the in car gearchanges of the Commodore in 1990 when Percy is driving and then Grice.
I always like Gricey, came across as a decent bloke. Maybe he wasn't pc or something? |
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27 May 2009, 12:34 (Ref:2470192) | #92 | ||
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27 May 2009, 19:33 (Ref:2470452) | #93 | |
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27 May 2009, 23:51 (Ref:2470612) | #94 | ||
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Roadways VL
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27 May 2009, 23:55 (Ref:2470614) | #95 | |||
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Is there the suggestion that the Grice/Galvin VK became the Covey/Jeffrey VL? |
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28 May 2009, 08:01 (Ref:2470732) | #96 | ||
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I won't swear to it without checking dates, but the last BTCC round was generally at Silverstone and at least a couple of weeks after the TT, so the Grice/O'Brien car would have still been in VK form on TT weekend. The Covey/Jeffrey car was either leased from, or the drivers bought rides with, a Belgian team-(Serge Power I think?)- the 'Playboy'-liveried car had been used earlier in the season by Jeroen Hin, at Spa and a couple of early-season ETCC/WTCC rounds, and might have started the season as a VK- I'd have to look that up to be sure? |
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28 May 2009, 10:21 (Ref:2470808) | #97 | |
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Just re-read the thread, and this is a brief recap of where we're at with Group A Commodores in Europe in 86/87, and the main questions raised by them.
I'll come back to '88 later... 1986 Grice/Roadways- 1 car for most or all of the ETCC season, shared with Graeme Bailey, later with Michel Delcourt, Mark Galvin, David Kennedy etc. Car sold to Clive Faine/Linden Racing/Mike O'Brien for 1987 BTCC Brock/Mobil HDT- 1 car in the first few ETCC rounds for Brock/Moffatt. Return at Spa with a new car, the original being run as a second entry. GM Dealer Sport- one of the Brock/HDT pair appears as a 'GMDS' entry at Silverstone for Cleland/Woodman. Do the two HDT cars then go back to Australia, or do either stay in Europe- and if so, what happens to it/them? 1987 Mike O'Brien/Linden Racing- ex-Grice VK run in the BTCC by Alan Docking Racing. Subsequently seems to have been sold on (1988/9?), possibly to Chris Maries. Where did it go after that? Allan Moffatt- single Rothmans/ANZ-backed HDT-built VL in the first few rounds of the WTCC plus Spa. Car returned to Australia- apparently now owned by a collector, still in Rothmans colours? Brock- single VL comes over for Spa. Car returns to Australia, possibly used as the team's spare car late in the ATCC season, and as the second-string #10 car at Bathurst Serge Power- 2xVL used in a mixture of ETCC/WTCC rounds. One for Michel Delcourt/Alex Guyaux/others, appears at the Nurburgring WTCC round, Spa and the TT The second, for Jeroen Hin with Playboy sponsorship is seen at the Zolder ETCC race, Spa and for Vic Covey/Andrew Jeffrey at the TT What is the origin of these two cars,and where do they subsequently go? TWR- According to footage in an Australian TV report from March '87, as many as 4-5 cars, a mix of VKs and VLs... 1-2x VK- Never raced by TWR, but a photo of a white VK testing is published in Autosport. 1-2x VL- one raced at the Nurburgring WTCC. One of these (chassis 022?) becomes the blue/yellow Herbie Clips 'Evolution' VL which debuts in qualifying for the Birmingham BTCC race, then at the TT before going to Australia for Bathurst. If there are other TWR Commodores built, but not raced in '87, then what happens to them? Elkron- an Elkron-backed Commodore appears at the final ETCCround at Nogaro for Jarier/Barlesi. Did they just lease one of the Serge Power cars, or is this a different car altogether? |
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28 May 2009, 10:38 (Ref:2470813) | #98 | |
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1988
Mike O'Brien/Alan Docking Racing. ADR run a VL for O'Brien in the BTCC- the car is eventually updated to the TWR Evolution spec late season. It's strongly suggested in the thread that this isn't a rebuilt version the ex-Grice VK, but a different car- possibly of Brock/HDT origin? O'Brien moves on to a Terry Drury RS500 for 1989, so what happens to the Commodore? TWR. After several delays in homologation, the TWR Evo VL makes it's European debut in qualifying for the aborted Birmingham BTCC round. It then races at the TT, both times in Blue/Yellow 'Herbie Clips' colours, before going to Australia for Bathurst as the #20 HSV entry for Walkinshaw/Allam. Remains in Australia. May be TWR chassis '022' I can't see any mention of other Commodore entries in the ETCC, from the results on http://homepage.mac.com/frank_de_jong/ but we know several cars are raced and rallycrossed in Europe up to the early 90's. Can we match any of these up with the cars raced in 1987/8? |
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29 May 2009, 02:39 (Ref:2471327) | #99 | ||
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#10 from Bathurst '87 was converted to TWR injected spec and raced by motor racing journalist Chris Lambden in 1989 in Baurepaire's colours. Car is now owned by well known Australian collector David Bowden and has been completely restored to it's '87 Bathurst spec.
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29 May 2009, 02:42 (Ref:2471330) | #100 | |||
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Quote:
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Tags |
alan docking racing, btcc, etcc, group a, holden commodore, mike o brien |
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