John Nicholson RIP

[khyndart in CA]

Terry,
I put this together about John Nicholson last year as I certainly appreciated all that he had achieved.
I also mentioned his passing at my thread so perhaps I took some of the viewers from your thread.

May 2016
I do not know how it is today but back in the sixties and seventies many NZ mechanics would finish an apprenticeship and head off to be involved in racing in all parts of the world and most would gain valuable knowledge and then return while others would stay away and do very well. One of those would be John Nicholson who grew up in Wanganui and helped run his father's engine rebuilding business before moving to the Wellington area where he started out in racing at the same time as Graham McRae.
I remember seeing John drive his Lotus 27 around Pukekohe and finish the 1968 NZGP in ninth place and this was only his seventh race overall which included Chris Amon and Jim Clark in their prime !


(Jan. 6. 1968 .

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In 1969 John had made his way to England and due to lack of funds he did not race but instead got a job at McLaren's where he used his engine building knowledge to help George Bolthoff build the 1969 Can-Am engines and he also spent some time in the States, based in Detroit. When he came back to England, Bruce McLaren used Nicholson's driving ability to do some of the initial testing of the M8D Can- Am car.
Bruce then needed someone to build the Cosworth DFV Formula One engines and after some brief training with Cosworth, John had the very important job of being responsible for McLaren's F 1 engine program. This was to lead to John branching out and establishing the best Cosworth DFV engine business.
Nicholson McLaren Engines (NME) was founded in 1972 by John Nicholson to maintain the Cosworth DFV engines for McLaren Racing.




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July 1973. Silverstone.
After the British F 1 Grand Prix had finished their was a brief shower and then the track dried out for the last event of the day which was the Formula Atlantic Championship race. I had met up with a group of fellow Kiwis from the "Trafalgar Club" and I thought I would impress the women present with my knowledge of motor racing and even though there had been the big F1 crash started by Jody Scheckter and the big saloon car crash involving the Dave Mathews Capri that day, I told them that racing was getting safer and to come into the stands that were getting empty, for a good view of the start. Also in the field were 3 Kiwis; John Nicholson, David Oxton and Jim Murdoch. Plus cars built by Nicholson;the Lyncar-Nicholson for John and David Oxton and Alan McCall built Tui BHs for Murdoch and Tom Walkinshaw. The field also included future F1 drivers ;Tom Pryce and David Purley (who just two weeks later would bravely try to save the life of Roger Williamson ) plus John Nicholson.
Anyway we all settled in at the grandstand after the start and as the cars accelerated past us three of the first five cars touched and one cartwheeled past us and pieces were flying everywhere. It was a scary moment for all of us but fortunately no one was hurt. But the girls in our group had had enough and left me to watch the race alone!
It was an exciting race won by John Nicholson that day from Colin Vandervell, Geoff Friswell, David Purley and David Oxton was 5th.
So John Nicholson built engines won the Formula Atlantic race and Peter Revson's F1 winning McLaren M 23 also had a Nicholson built Cosworth DFV engine. This was a good day for John.
: 1973 Formula Atlantic field.jpg Views: 304 Size: 105.6 KB
A very talented Formula Atlantic field.





John Nicholson although busy with a very successful engine building business, still found time to enter Formula One in a Lyncar chassis # 006 during the 1974 and 1975 seasons. He did not have much success but you have to admit, it was a good looking car.



09-22-2017, 03:34 PM #96


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 )

Terry I put this together again in case you did not see it last year.
This is a sad enough occasion and I think we should move on and not pick on the TRS viewers.
From what I knew about John Nicholson he would not have wanted a big fuss made about him.
He was a very quiet and humble man.
RIP John and all you other fine people in the great racing clubhouse above.
Well done and thanks for all the memories.
(Ken Hyndman )

p.s. I am thrilled we finally have a Kiwi back in Formula One this weekend. The first since 1984. Geez I was spoilt at the 1973 British Grand Prix when 4 Kiwis were in the field. (Hulme, Amon, Ganley and McRae.)