Motorsport at Crystal Palace - 25/26th May 2014

[mab01UK]

Motorsport at Crystal Palace – A Unique Reunion of Classic Cars and Drivers

There’s just a few days to go before the fifth annual running of Motorsport at the Palace, in association with the Ancaster Group.

This year’s event focuses on the near legendary 1971 Osram Saloon Car race, which saw Mike Crabtree, Martin Thomas and Gerry Marshall wage an epic battle for victory in one of the most exciting races of the era, a race so thrilling as to feature in the BBC’s 100 Great Sporting Moments.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY5zdnGvT0c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDAK4jBKmow

Both Crabtree and Thomas will be attending this year’s Motorsport at the Palace as special guests, along with the actual cars they raced in that spectacular event 43 years ago. The late Gerry Marshall will be represented by his son Gregor, while an identical replica of the Viva GT in which Marshall won the ’71 race will be put through its paces by owner Colin Robbins.

The ’71 line-up will also feature a very rare ‘Fraud’ Cortina, raced in period by Australian Doc Merfield and a WRA Anglia, campaigned in 1971 by George Whitehead. Alongside the Class of ’71, a host of classic and modern cars will be taking to the parkland course in a bid to claim Fastest Time of the Day.
http://motorsportatthepalace.co.uk/

BBC footage of the 1969 British National saloon car championship from Crystal Palace with commentary from Murry Walker.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYNRJ9z2bso

[morninggents]

Did any of the cars have rollcages in that last clip?

Fantastic footage.

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by morninggents

Did any of the cars have rollcages in that last clip?

Fantastic footage.

I believe that they would have had roll-cages in '69 for cars in the BSCC; we had to have them for Special Saloons from at least the mid 60s, although they were no-where as "hefty" as current cages are. And, from memory, our sides weren't protected as we had no side-impact bars and in fact some of us ran with lightened doors.

That '69 race was superb, as was the Special Saloon race from '71. I know I've said it before, but if you noticed, the drivers all seemed to respect the track limits - no artificial curbs there - and on the whole, they respected each other's space. However, it was just as fast and furious as the current BTCC racing is now, but with no "tapping" on the back of the car in front to get it to move out of the way.

[mab01UK]

Motorsport at Crystal Palace - 25/26th May 2014
Event starts tomorrow
Timetable:
http://motorsportatthepalace.co.uk/i...ors/time-table

[mab01UK]

The Class of ’71
This year’s event focused on the near legendary 1971 Osram Saloon Car race, which saw Mike Crabtree, Martin Thomas and Gerry Marshall wage an epic battle for victory in one of the most exciting races of the era, a race so thrilling as to feature in the BBC’s 100 Great Sporting Moments (see youtube videos above).
Both Crabtree and Thomas attended this year’s Motorsport at the Palace as special guests, along with the actual cars they raced 43 years ago. The late Gerry Marshall was represented by his son Gregor, with an identical replica of the Viva GT in which Marshall won the ’71 race.
The ’71 line-up also featured a rare ‘Fraud’ Cortina, raced in period by Australian Doc Merfield and a WRA Anglia, campaigned in 1971 by George Whitehead.





















Race Paddock got a bit muddy in the Bank Holiday rain showers today!

[morninggents]

Great pictures - brought back some happy memories.

Was the Merfield Cortina the 3 litre Climax V8 powered version? If memory serves me correctly he had a Mk 1 Cortina previously with 4.7 Ford V8.

[Mike Harte]

Lovely photos, but, obviously apart from the silencers which have no place on these cars, there seems to be (to my mind) something not quite right about the Anglia and the Cortina. Maybe it's the alloy wheels instead of the steel ones that I remember, but something is just bugging me and it's bloomin' annoying me!

All that said, they do evoke great memories, and I do recall doing battle with the WRA machine so many years ago.

[Julian Townsend]

Just to say I am pleased to see the discussions and comments regarding the WRA Anglia.
My brother and I have shared the ownership of this car for 20 plus years and the restoration has proved extremely slow due to business/family/funds etc etc etc.
I suspect the main visual differences to 1968/9 is the ride height and the wheel/tyre combination (plus no unsilenced side exit exhaust).
The car has not been set up properly as yet and the ride height needs adjusting and balancing.
To be honest, the car was really very unlikely to have made the event, except for Jason Andrews constant enthusiasm which gave us the extra boost to work well in to the night on several occasions to ensure it made the weekends grid formation.
Originally the car ran on banded steel rims - 13 x 8.5. Although we have an original set, they looked decidedly 'stressed' and very 'unhealthy'.
These have been restored for possible display use, but at a point we plan to have a new set remanufactured for when we run the car for future events such as the Palace.
However, for ease and reliability, we chose Minilites to get the car up and rolling. I believe Minilites were introduced in 1969 and interestingly when George started to build up his Escort Twin Cam to replace the Anglebox in late 69/early 70, he went straight for the Minilites.
In period George mentioned in several articles that the tyre manufacturers such as Dunlop, Goodyear and Firestone all neglected the national/club scene and tyres really held back the next stage of the Anglebox performance - even in 1968 on the lower powered 1760cc engine, it was clocked at over 130mph on the old Hanger Straight by Cars and Car Conversions.
We understand the only tyres available at the time were the front tyres for the then current F1, which I am told were 13 x 10. In one of the track test articles, it does mention the WRA's tyres are really over sized for the car and the rims, but still handled suprisingly well - I suspect the high tyre wall ratio is probably the most distinctive difference at present. Again for ease/speed we fitted a set of part worn 'spare' modern slicks which proved an absolute nightmare in the swamp/paddock - suspect Youtube will soon show the limitations of a race clutch, high first gear, peaky power, LSD, slicks and lots of mud.
We did promise to several enthusiastic people that were kind enough to come over and discuss the car with us at Crystal Palace that one day WRA will be back where she belongs on banded steels, complete with the 'balloon' tyres - funds permitting.
Congratulations to the effort demonstrated by the club - last weekends event was really very enjoyable even on the wet Monday - I hope the grid line up gets plenty of good publicity - it really was special for me to be gazing through the screen at the rearends of such special cars on the front row and just about hearing the 1971 Murray Walker commentary over the PA - a special moment, but no camera or mobile to hand.

[mab01UK]

Thanks for posting the latest updates on the WRA Anglia.

[Mike Harte]

Julian, welcome to the forum, and thanks for the update on the WRA Anglia. A couple of questions/comments arise from your posting and the one that follows from mab01uk.

You write that George ran 8.5J wheels all round, but are you absolutely sure on that? I know that I had some of the widest (is that actually English) rims on my Anglia at 12" front and 15" at the rear, but 8.5" seems awfully skinny even for those days, especially for the rears. I had treaded Firestone tyres which were made for Indy car racing - how I got them, I can't now remember - but my recollection is that, certainly during the 60s, we all ran tyres with a tread.

In the other posting, it says that you were building a downdraught engine. However, if you look at the photos here: http://www.anglia-models.co.uk/saloon-photor14.htm , you will see that it was, like most of us, a side draught, which in my case was twin double choke Weber 45s.

Morninggents (Peter, isn't it?), about 3 years ago you commented on a posting from Gerry Taylor about the cost of the high tensile flywheel bolts the Gerry purchased from George Whitehead. I am guessing here, but if they were anything like the ones that Roger Taylor's crew gave me in my first year when mine sheared, thankfully just when I had turned the engine off, then they were not your standard bolts.

These were actually allen bolts with a splined head, which to us were pretty sophisticated. Roger's lads, being really good guys, also gave us the socket with a built-in allen key. Over time, we changed all our bolts in the engine to this type, which I am sure have a proper name.

[morninggents]

Mike, like you I raced Twincam Anglias (two cars, after the first rolled into oblivion at Croft in 1967) from 1966 through to Escorts (again, two cars 1.8 BDA, then 2.0FVC) in 1973 through to the end of 1977. They certainly were the good old days, though I do enjoy today's historic saloon racing. I remember talking to Norman Abbott who was also (briefly) in that epic CP race in 1971. He was certainly not a GM fan after this and other incidents with him at Brands.

I note from the article above that the Merfield Mk 2 Cortina is indeed the 3 litre Climax V8 version.

By the way, it is Peter (Wray).

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by morninggents

Mike, like you I raced Twincam Anglias (two cars, after the first rolled into oblivion at Croft in 1967) from 1966 through to Escorts (again, two cars 1.8 BDA, then 2.0FVC) in 1973 through to the end of 1977. They certainly were the good old days, though I do enjoy today's historic saloon racing. I remember talking to Norman Abbott who was also (briefly) in that epic CP race in 1971. He was certainly not a GM fan after this and other incidents with him at Brands.

I note from the article above that the Merfield Mk 2 Cortina is indeed the 3 litre Climax V8 version.

By the way, it is Peter (Wray).

Hi Peter. No, I was a pre-crossflow man, starting at 1650cc, before gradually going up to 1860cc. I did manage to get it to 1920cc for it's last race, but I had to retire during the event because it had become hopelessly unbalanced, and was in danger of vibrating itself to death. That was the last engine I built for myself, but I did help a few others throughout that year, which is when I ceased all racing activities.

As for GM, I knew him pretty well (we lived and worked within a few miles of each other) and we often crossed paths on the racing scene. He was one of those people who is like, or so I am told, Marmite; you you either metarphoricaly loved him or you didn't. I must admit I fall into the former camp, and we got on extremely well both on and off the track. We did a bit of horse trading from time to time, and he wasn't above trying to pull the wool over the eyes of those who weren't too savvy, but it was all done with a sense of humour. One of my chums was looking to buy an Anglia shell, and GM mentioned to me that he had one for sale which my chum could have for a few quid. We whizzed up to North Finchley/Barnet on the Saturday afternoon to have a look at it, and shook hands on the purchase. When the 4 of us picked the shell up to load it on to the trailer, the floor pan opened right up right across between the door pillars; it was a cut and shut job. We dropped it on to the ground where we had found it, and went to find GM, who was crying with laughter in his little office. He had been bored that afternoon, so thought that he would have a little bit of fun.

My last abiding memory of him was at the Brands Hatch Paddock bar where the two of us competed to see who could drink the other under the table. It ended as a draw, and to my eternal shame looking back, we both drove home to North London, towing our cars. Since that day, I have been virtually teetotal, having just had the odd alcoholic drink from time to time. To be honest, I now longer even like the taste or smell of anything stronger than a cup tea or coffee.

[duckspeed racing]

hi all dont post often on here but have to post in this topic

i will start by saying we normally have two cars at palace our blue and cream standard vanguard vignale 3 and an alfa 33. the vanguard is having much needed suspension and brake upgrade ready for racing so it was just the Alfa for me on monday with marshalling sunday (well litter picking)

i sprinted our Alfa romeo on Monday on a very wet track and shortened track due to the paddock being so wet the cars were parked on the return road and also the notorious tower corner had mud and oil all over it making it even more dodgy than normal if that is possible. so shortened track (between the chicane and tower was the finish)

First practice run i messed up the gears going to the hairpin and got a time of 45 seconds
second practice run i did everything as well as i could and did a 40.78 which i was made up with target of sub 40 seconds was set...
first timed run well..... off the start great hariping no gear change problem chicane i forgot what the brake pedal was left it far too late was chaning down instead of turning in and went straight on narrowly (through great reflexes i might add) the post i had put tyres round on the saturday!! and went gras cutting across the field cursing as i went even so got a time of 43 seconds with a 10 second penalty for all wheels off

second and final run due to weather i tried to be clever and go through the chicane in 3rd now for anyone who has been round there they will agree 3rd is not the gear for the chicane for the majority of cars car didn't like it but still did a 40.70 so quickest time of the day for me

an excellent event once again organised superbly by Andy Elcomb, Chris Scudder and the rest of the 7oaks team without who the event would not happen

if you have got to the bottom of this post well done and thank you sorry it was so long

Richard

[NICK ALLISON]

Good event again this year, first wet one since it returned but as part of the marshalling team came prepared although the Probans were took two days to dry.
Was not the Anglia pictured on the front cover of a book of long ago entitled "Tuning Small Fords"?I may still have my copy in the loft.

[NICK ALLISON]

Correction.The book is called "Tuning Anglias and Cortinas published in 1970 by Speedsport Motor Books written by Martin Watkins.

[mab01UK]

Originally Posted by NICK ALLISON

Correction.The book is called "Tuning Anglias and Cortinas published in 1970 by Speedsport Motor Books written by Martin Watkins.

More WRA Anglia Photos:
http://www.anglia-models.co.uk/saloon-photor14.htm

May 4th 1969 Mallory Park Redex Saloon Championship Round.

George Whitehead leads Harry Ratcliffe Vita Mini before spin

Harry Ratcliffe proceeded to demonstrate what 9 3/4 cwt of Mini with 110 bhp propelling it can do. Not that his win was unchallenged, for George Whitehead took the lead on lap 4, only to spin his indecently quick pushrod Anglia over the bank at Esso when an oil pipe fractured and liberally sprayed the rear wheels. Both men saw new class records.
http://www.mountgreen.co.uk/Vita_D_1969.htm