"We were!" (memory like a sewer pipe!) So the first job in motor racing was fence painting not corner sweeping.Originally Posted by GD66
That certainly was a magnificent looking Lola.
"We were!" (memory like a sewer pipe!) So the first job in motor racing was fence painting not corner sweeping.
That certainly was a magnificent looking Lola.
He was known as a party specialist, rather than a racer but unfortunately lost all respect when he tried to not take no for an answer from the host's wife at a party in Sydney. Later committed suicide in a Roll-Royce in Monaco rather than dying of cancer. In all, a tortured soul, but who made an impact of sorts when he turned out.
And that was me looking for the early Elfin pic, so very happy Mr Feisst noticed it in the garage...
Wow, great work there Colin! So when they ran a couple of stages like a rallycross, was there any body contact between the cars?
Ha ha ha, great story!
Brilliant, thanks for your input here David.
OK, time for more photos. Kicking off here with a pair of Rod Collingwoods race cars, including his 1972 championship winning Mini Cooper (now owned by Roaring Season member AMCO72), plus his FVA Escort, which is the ex-Fahey car pictured elsewhere on this thread. Then we have a couple of Rod Coppins' cars, in his Mustang, which is the ex-Pete Geoghegan car which won the single race ATCC at Bathurst in 1966, plus Rods Camaro. Also appearing here is Rodger Anderson and his BMW 2002. What ever happened to this car?
Here is another shot of the Anderson BMW, plus Ron Grable's wedge-nose McLaren M10A. Where is the radiator on this car? Is that it down beneath the rear wing? Finally, a couple of Roy Harrington cars, in his mighty Imp, and Escort Twin-Cam. Where are these cars today?
The Pukekohe Sports Sedan race from the early '80s shows Roaring Season member Tony Rutherford in his RX2 ahead of John Osborne in the ex-Halliday/Lupp Capri, and (I think), Lawrence Bruce in the old Dawson Camaro. The Mini 7 is that of Sel Melville. The Stanton Corvette in what I consider its most handsome guise. The saloon cars races at Pukekohe show a 4.2 litre race, then an outright race.
Launch of a Tasman Series race at Sandown, a couple of shots of the handsome Team VDS McLaren M10A of Teddy Pilette, and the Escort (BDA???) is Tony Street.
Getting towards the end here folks. Another rally car, a Toyota Celica, perhaps a works car? Can you help here Colin? The Zap Starlet is of course the Trevor Crowe car which conquered sports sedan racing in the early '80s. The fantastic looking Yamaha is that of Trevor Discombe.
And this is the last of the photos from the huge Mike Feisst collection (unless Mike happens to find a few more under his mattress).
The Plymouth coupe and Model T appear to be at the same car show as the hot rods etc from an earlier thread. This post also shows the Warwick Brown Lola T300. And finishing off the thread, and indeed, the collection, is the car I used for the title image, the gorgeous gold metalflake Lola T190 of Ulf Norinder.
Thanks again to Mike for sharing these, and to everyone who has helped provide captions and their own personal stories.
David, presumably it was the same Ehrlrich RP3 for Atlantic / Pacific here as well as in European F3 as converting the car back and forth from F3 to Atlantic specs would have been a quick and easy task. In the photo, the gearbox looks like a Hewland FT200 with cast single pole wing mount while it would have had a Mk 9 for F3 with solid discs and single pot calipers in the rear.
It looks like Ehrlich ran a Toyota Novamotor engine in F3 so the engine frames were probably different but apart from the wider wheels for Atlantic and larger rear wing, together with Atlantic spec BDA, that would be about it.
Steve, have you considered a thread for Formula Atlantic/ Pacific?
Yep, I think this is a great idea Howard. I've just sent you a pm, I'd also like you to create a thread on your own racing career, and your efforts to make it on the international stage. The stories of young Kiwis and Aussies on shoestring budgets trying to make careers as international race drivers is a subject that has always fascinated me. What do you reckon?
That's very nice of you to say Steve, but I think I will pass. It would, however be nice to see more threads on "real" race cars: cars without mudguards or doors!
Ah some great memories, thanks Mike and Steve. In the Harrington Escort shot is that Dave Silcock's Mk2 Jaguar left of shot? Lovely bellowing straight six and he did well for a six in a biggish car.
Was Roger Anderson the first to seriously race any BMW in NZ? I would guess he was and it was a welcome addition to the usual collection of British and Japanese 2 litre cars.
Regards the Celicas rally car in "works" colours I very much doubt it was more than an NZ dealer car for a local driver, someone will pick it - GD? It looks earlier than the Waldegaard and Pond Celicas that raced here and 21 on the road.
The Celica was from the 1982 Motogard, driven by New Caledonian Patrick Gratian
http://www.juwra.com/new_zealand_1982_entries.html
I saw the rally end for the Patrick Gratian Celica. Early on leg two I was spectating at the end of the first or second stage of the day at the frosty Te Rangiita, abit north of Turangi. The quattros and other big stars had been through and right at the flying finish the Celica either lunched the diff or dropped the propshaft.
The Forte Escort #14 is the same year (82) but it's Tony Teesdale.
The pic of Discombe's TZ reminds me. An earlier gallery had pix of Graeme Lawrence's March 76 or 77B. They are taken at one of the Hamilton GP bike races which ran 73-77 or 78. Some demo laps in the March were pretty impressive and Graeme was quite a bit quicker than the bikes.
The Anderson BMW went to the Millen brothers (Steve and Rod, with Steve driving) after Rodger. Not sure what happened to it after that. It was a sweet car, that one.
The Trevor Discombe bike is a Yamaha TZ750, one of the first of the big, powerful, Japanese two-strokes. Discombe is very fast and I say 'is' because he still races a TZ350. He'd have to be 60 and still competing on a grand prix motorcycle .... the man is all class.
The Anderson BMW 2002 Alpina is under restoration in Northland and the owner hopes, I understand, to have the car running or at worst on display at the 2012 Hampton Downs Festival which celebrates BMW.
He rode the TZ350 at a bike meeting last year at Hampton Downs and looked pretty handy still. A great rider in his day he plied his trade at international events in SE Asia. The Shell sponsored bike was a 1974 TZ750D and he raced it over quite a few seasons and it was his last serious race bike as I recall. I remember Dr Freeth looping his McIntosh Suzuki 4-stroke off the front row of the grid at Baypark and taking out a none-too-impressed Trevor who was having one of his less frequent rides.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote