Race Team Mechanics.

[khyndart in CA]

Allan was working at McLaren's when the terrible news came that Jim Clark had died during a Formula Two race at Hockenheim in Germany. This was a harsh time in motor racing and too many drivers lost their lives and especially someone as great as Jim Clark.
Bruce was a big help to encouraging Allan to expand beyond the team and go out and build his own race cars. Bruce showed his true kindness by letting Allan have a lot of redundant F2 M4 and F1 M7 wheel and suspension parts and Allan quickly produced a very well built car the "Tui". The first one was the Tui AM 1 (AM for Allan McCall). Throughout this time he also helped Bruce McLaren with Can Am and with the valuable experience of being with Lotus at Indy in 1966 was now a big help with the McLaren Team at Indianapolis in 1970.
(My personal memory of that time was seeing the news of Denny Hulme suffering burns during practice in the M15 Indy car and Chris Amon did not like driving there and I had a premonition that something was going to go wrong during the race and I was relieved when the results came in and nothing had happened to the McLarens, so it was a complete shock when the news came a few days later that Bruce had died at Goodwood after returning from the USA. A moment you never forget . )


Allan with the McLaren Team at Indy 1970.



(Ken Hyndman )

[khyndart in CA]

Allan McCall and NZ driver Bert Hawthorne teamed up in 1971 to do the Formula B series in North America in the Tui AM 1.
They won 3 out of 5 races and just lost out to winning the championship.
Allan felt Bert had a tremendous future and built a new car along with Leda for the 1972 European Formula 2 series for Bert and John Watson to drive.
I know I was looking forward to getting to England and watching a F2 race as the fields had many current and future F1 drivers at the time.
The 1972 Tui-Leda was a good looking car and to me looked similar to the McLaren M 21 F2 car driven by Jody Scheckter that season.

McLaren F2 M 21. 1972


Tui-Leda F2. 1972


( Ken Hyndman )

[Grant Ellwood]

Ken, my memory is a shocker so please correct me if I'm wrong, wasn't Bert killed a year after Jim Clark's death, same track, same corner? Allan McCall started using the letters BH in the Tui model numbers thereafter in memory of Bert.
I met Bert Hawthorn at a meeting at Timaru, think it was the weekend after the Teretonga Tasman round in 1967.
Also saw Gary Sprague's chopped-top Anglia there and was so impressed by the shape that when I got back home to Levin I took a hacksaw to the roof of my Anglia. I was 17 at the time so almost 50 years later memories are a bit sketchy although I find a Pinot helps a lot!

[khyndart in CA]

Grant,
I was just about to put in material about Bert Hawthorne. He died in April 1972 and Jim Clark was 4 years earlier in April 1968.
How ironic and sad that it was at the same track and same corner and that Allan McCall was such a part of their success.
That Hockenheim circuit was fast, isolated and brutal on the back side. Jim Clark, Bert Hawthorne and Patrick Depailler all died in the same area. Apparently it took 2 laps during the 1972 practice session before Niki Lauda reported to the pits that there were 2 cars crashed and on fire and why was no one attending the scene. It seems incredible that it would be that isolated and unattended.

KH

[khyndart in CA]

April 3 1972.
Bert Hawthorne drove in this race and did well against some very well known drivers.
XXVII B.A.R.C. "200" 1972
II Jochen Rindt Memorial Trophy
European Championship for Formula 2 Drivers, Round 2
III John Player British F2 Championship, Round 3
Thruxton Circuit, Andover, Great Britain

Driver, Nationality Entrant Car - Engine/Tuner Chassis Cyl
vol Tyre Laps Time Reason Out
1 1 22 Ronnie Peterson, S STP March Engineering March 722 - Ford BDF/Cosworth 722-17 1927 GY 50 1:00'19.4"
2 2 44 Francois Cevert, F Elf Coombs Racing March 722 - Ford BDA/Brian Hart
DNS Elf II (Alpine A367) - Ford BDA 722-4 1860 GY 50 1:00'44.0"
3 3 23 Niki Lauda, A STP March Engineering March 722 - Ford BDA/R.E.S. 722-5 1927 GY 49
4 4 48 Patrick Dal Bo, F Banting & Earle Racing Team Pygmée MDB17 - Ford BDA/Pygmée MDB17-372 1790 48
5 5 11 Claudio Francisci, I Elcom Racing Team Brabham BT38 - Ford BDE/Novamotor BT38-13 1790 47

6 DNF 25 Gerry Birrell, GB Sports Motors (Manchester) March 722 - Ford BDA/Brian Hart 722-1 1860 GY 38 Head gasket
7 DNF 52 Bert Hawthorne, NZ Leda Engineering Leda-Tui AM29 - Ford BDA/Brian Hart AM29-BH-1 1850 46 Fuel pick-up
8 DNF 1 Graham Hill, GB Tate of Leeds (Racing) Brabham BT36 - Ford BDA/Felday BT36-1 1973 30 Overheating
9 DNF 31 David Purley, GB Lec Refrigeration Racing March 722 - Ford BDA/R.E.S. 722-10 1927 29 Oil pipe
10 DNF 7 Richard Scott, GB Uniacke Chemicals Brabham BT38 - Ford BDE/Geoff Richardson BT38-23 1790 GY 28 Accident
11 NC 8 Peter Westbury, GB FIRST Brabham B36 - Ford BDA/Felday BT36-5 1973 28 Running
12 DNF 51 Peter Gethin, GB Chevron Racing Team Chevron B20 - Ford BDA/Alan Smith B20.F2.1 1790 F 26 Overheating
13 DNF 14 Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, F Ecurie A.S.C.A. Brabham BT38 - Ford BDA/Brian Hart BT38-18 1860 F 23 Camshaft
14 DNF 28 Jean-Pierre Jarier, F Shell - Meubles Arnold Team March 722 - Ford BDE/Novamotor 722-28 1790 18 Oil pressure
15 DNF 53 Jody Scheckter, ZA Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd McLaren M21 - Ford BDF/Cosworth M21-1 1927 GY 11 Overheating
16 DNF 9 Dave Morgan, GB Edward Reeves Racing Brabham BT38 - Ford BDA/David Wood BT38-20 1790 F 4 Head gasket


Bert Hawthorne driving Leda-Tui AM 29/1 in 1972.



( Ken Hyndman )

[Terry S]

Ken, you you recall why "Leda" was incorporated in the car's name?

[khyndart in CA]

After the devastating loss of Bert Hawthorne, Allan McCall carried on ,developing the career of John Watson who will always be grateful to Allan for all his help. They worked well together first with the Formula 2 program and later in 1974 John drove a Brabham in Formula One for Hexagon of Highgate with Allan as his mechanic / manager.

Allan McCall preparing John Watson for 1972 F2 race at Imola.


John Watson in Leda-Tui BH 2-02 (all Tui cars had a BH designation in honor of Bert Hawthorn after he died.)
followed by Niki Lauda. Imola. 1972
(photos by Jutta Fausel-Ward.)


(Ken Hyndman )

[Grant Ellwood]

Ken, you you recall why "Leda" was incorporated in the car's name?

Leda did production runs for Allan McCall, the Tui SuperVee in my shop was one of about fifty built by Leda and sold in the USA according to notes that came with the car. Some of Graham McRae's F5000 cars were built by Leda apparently and my notes say that Graham and Allan were working on their respective cars in the Leda shop at the same time. I hope the notes are accurate!

[khyndart in CA]

In 1974 Allan McCall and John Watson again teamed up for the "Hexagon of Highgate" Team from North London for the Formula One season. This is a clipping of the presentation with Allan on the right by the Brabham BT 42.



Watson at speed during a 1974 F1 race.

(Ken Hyndman )

[khyndart in CA]

In 1973 I used to go to F5000 races and John Watson was driving then also for Hexagon in one of our Trojan T 101 cars.
I will probably be banned by TRS for this story but the crowds at Brands Hatch were amused by the track announcer saying;

" John Watson is driving hard with his Trojan as he slips through on the inside entering Bottom Bend !"



(John Watson slipping through on the inside at Brands Hatch. 1973 )

If anyone knows Mr.McCall please thank him as he did a lot of good for the sport and I learned a lot about him as I did this thread. As with Graham Donaldson " A very good job well done" and I hope you can now enjoy many fine years of retirement.

And on that note I am going to check out for a while until I can raise my standards up once again !
(Ken Hyndman )

[Terry S]

In 1973 I used to go to F5000 races and John Watson was driving then also for Hexagon in one of our Trojan T 101 cars.
I will probably be banned by TRS for this story but the crowds at Brands Hatch were amused by the track announcer saying;

" John Watson is driving hard with his Trojan as he slips through on the inside entering Bottom Bend !"



(John Watson slipping through on the inside at Brands Hatch. 1973 )

If anyone knows Mr.McCall please thank him as he did a lot of good for the sport and I learned a lot about him as I did this thread. As with Graham Donaldson " A very good job well done" and I hope you can now enjoy many fine years of retirement.

And on that note I am going to check out for a while until I can raise my standards up once again !
(Ken Hyndman )

I have just seen that Allan McCallhas has died. No other details known.

[duncan fox]

I have just seen that Allan McCallhas has died. No other details known.

Alan McCall suffered complications several days after a triple bypass operation.


Another great all rounder Kiwi leaves us.

[Milan Fistonic]

I have just seen that Allan McCall has has died. No other details known.

From today's NZ Herald.

[khyndart in CA]

I was saddened to read of Allan's passing. I am glad we got to put in a bit about his achievements when we did on this thread last year.
That "Racing Club Above" is filling up too quickly but I can imagine these old mates are telling some good stories together.
Jimmy and Allan worked well together.

Two of the very best at what they did. 1967 at Silverstone, 50 years ago.

R.I.P.





(Ken Hyndman )

[Grant Ellwood]

Great fellow, outstanding engineer, quiet achiever. R.I.P Allan.

[khyndart in CA]

Sad news regarding John. That club of old NZ racing drivers and mechanics is growing way too rapidly.
RIP John.
I am glad we put some words together about John last year.( posts 58 to 66 )


( Ken Hyndman )