60's Saloons Again!

and why not.

I posted a couple of pics yesterday of Brian Robinson in an ex-works MkI Lotus Cortina (on the Roll Call thread). Here he is the following year in a MkII ex-works car. 17th March 68 at teh Race of Champions meeting rounding Clearways followed by Fitz, Ewer, Lague, Lanfranchi, Spice, Kay, Wayne, Janzen & Pierpoint.

Robinson finished 4th, behind Muir, Elford and Gardner.

This is Frank Gardner driving the Alan Mann version.

and here is Gardner looking spookily like Anthony Hopkins.

Originally posted by DaveM
and why not.

I posted a couple of pics yesterday of Brian Robinson in an ex-works MkI Lotus Cortina (on the Roll Call thread). Here he is the following year in a MkII ex-works car. 17th March 68 at teh Race of Champions meeting rounding Clearways followed by Fitz, Ewer, Lague, Lanfranchi, Spice, Kay, Wayne, Janzen & Pierpoint.
More gems there Dave!
Most of the competitors shown in your photos can be seen on the video 'Classic Saloon Car Racing 60s style'. Rare footage of the old Snetterton is included aswell as Mallory, Brands and Oulton. The film is 40mins, in colour and follows Frank Gardner in the Alan Mann Cortina MkII and famous XOO 349F Escort throughout the '68 season - battling the big Falcons.
Most of the good Motorsport video/bookshops stock it or it is available from the production company PP Video. Tel: 01885 488800 ( Hereford).
Definitely worth a look and I think it is about 15 quid.

Gardener was famous for his oh-so laconic humour.
Described taking the truck driving test in Australia (please imagine all this in the Australian drawl, wont cha?) for those monster truck-trains they use to ferry sheep in large quantities. The verbal part of the test included the following:
"So Mr Gardner, you've just started down a really long incline and your brake warning lights come on. You try the pedal, but there's no pressure. You pump and pump but all the back up systems gone. What exactly do you do next Mr Gardner?"
Frank leaned back and thought for a moment.
"Guess I'd wake me mate up" he said.
The interviewer looked puzzled.
"And why would you do that, Mr Gardner?"
Frank came back " because my mate's never seen a ****ing enormous crash!"

Frank Gardner was a guest speaker at a club meeting a few years ago and he told some fabulous stories in the most dry dead pan manner imaginable. Absolutely top night and if ever get keen enough I'll relate them in this forum.

Is his famous hat the left over bit from when they make splash mats?

The Historic Sports and Racing Car Association of NSW made up some commemorative Frank Gardner hats to sell and raffle and i was the first winner. Very proud. :)

Some more for Gardner fans - in the Boss Mustang at Brands...

...and the famous Xoo 349F Andrew, at Crystal Palace.

as you mentioned Fank Gardner an the famous FVA Cosworth engined Alan Mann Escorts. Look at this Alan Mann Escort in the colours of Ford Cologne, only resprayed to enter the 500km race at Nurburgring in 1968, drivers were Hahne and Mitter.Unfortunalely both didn´t finish .
it would be interesting : which XOO- 3?? where entered from Ford Germany

Hey Klaus,

That is very interesting. I never knew they had one resprayed just for the 'Ring. Thanks very much.
As you say, I wonder which XOO it was? It looks great in those colours.

It was probably not just resprayed for this race; it was the start of Ford Cologne works racing; the later capris probably had the same colors (until mid-1971).

Yes, it was the start in 1968, when Jochen Neerpash had to build up a racing department for Cologne. But they had no cars at this early moment, so they ordered Twin Cams from Boreham and this FVA Escorts from Alan Mann.
- Look at the right hand steering and the extra pair of air inlets at the bottom of the front panel(here you only can recognize at the middle white stripe ). These were only at Alan Mann`s Escorts.
- And:the "continental" position of the wipers (only at the very early 1967 shells)
- Also: they both had the formula II FVA engines,only Alan put in his cars to compete in the BTCC(it was XOO 349 F and XOO 344 F so far as I remember).
Two month earlier both cars were entered with Lotus Twin Cam engines for the 6 hours TCC event at the Ring, and as this was a FIA event, they were not allowed to take the Cosworth units. So at 500km race they started , refitted with the FVAs, as prototypes (look at "P" sign at the rear).
After this (sept. 1968) they went back to Alan Mann and never reappeared on the continent, I think ,it was also the year, when Alan Mann stopped his racing-engagement. So the only survivor, XOO 349 F should wear some blue and silver colour under it´s actual skin (Alan Mann red-gold), so far as it is a true Alan Mann car and not a fake, unfortunately 90% of the so called "works Escorts" are today.

Superb Klaus, you know your stuff.
Alastair Lyall from Leicester has raced most types of car and he had a special saloon Escort back in the mid 70s - the red and yellow car that won the first race at the re-opened Donington in 1977. He claims the shell was one of the Alan Mann Escorts.

hello Andrew,(just saw a misunderstood in your comment)
it were TWO cars entered by cologne, BOTH resprayed .
here is the other one, I photographed in 1968 in the old paddock at the Ring. Look, this is the Mitter car.
Hope you enjoy these rare documents of English-German
"working-together".

Klaus
This is interesting, I did not know Gerhard Mitter raced tourers. I thought he raced Hillclimb, single seaters and Porsches. I have always had a soft spot for Gerhard, as back in the 60's I wrote to Porsche and they sent me some photos, 1 of which was a photo of Gerhard in a hillclimb Porsche. The 'kangaroo' ?

Hi MickJ, good to hear from you. I thought that too re: Mitter. 10-tenth's certainly helps expand the knowledge from the good ole days! Anyone know of any contact from Racing Fxgt?- Few posts lately, excellent photos from him.

Hi Andrew
Still here,There's been so much good stuff to look at and read I've been quite lazy,I'll have to have another look through my old mags again and upload some more.I'm going to Pukekohe again Sunday they have another big meeting with F5000 and classics, so i'll take loads of photo's to upload,also in February 1st and 2nd they have the Moto Guzzi 500v8 motor bike going around the track.

Can anyone confirm if this is Terry Sanger (or just Giant Haystacks)? Certainly a Three Shredded Wheat man who would need a big engine to get him around.

Since I've revived this thread, may as well put some more on. Here at Bottom Bend, Brands Hatch in Sept 68 is (probably) Brian Robinson (or Tony Dean) leading (probably) John Rhodes (or John Handley).

Not the usual view from Brands, Brian Muir leads Frank Gardner down the hill from Druids to Bottom (now Graham Hill) Bend.

Muir leads Gardner again, but in slightly different machinery, at the Oulton Park Gold Cup meeting August 1970.

Dave- excellent again! That is Terry Sanger above and the rear view at Brands is infact leaving bottom bend onto bottom straight. This shows how the bottom straight used to be. It ran close up behind the pits before it was moved in '76 to accomodate the inner paddock. Incidentally, do you remember the races that were held on the 'paddock' circuit - must have been 67/68 I guess? Where the Escort is in the distance, the circuit would turn right, up the hill and rejoin just before Paddock. The same piece of road that now links the pit exit to the bottom straight. It was also used in the 80s as part of the rallycross circuit.

DaveM Nice pic of 'Yogi' Muir in the Wiggens Teape Camaro leading Gardner.

Originally posted by Andrew Kitson
Dave- the rear view at Brands is infact leaving bottom bend onto bottom straight.

Thanks for putting me right Andrew. I did wonder if it was bottom straight, but got caught out by how unstraight it was!

Andrew - this is just about the saddest post you'll read, but I won a Sports Racing car race on the Brands Hatch 'Mini' circuit in 67! Lotus 17 Climax - and a lap record.
The circuit was made, I'm sure you'll recall, so that the Clearways Oval could run stock cars racing on the same day.

I just love Dave's shots of Gardner's Boss Mustang, Lotus Cortinas and Escorts. We had some great racing back then.

John - they also ran stock cars at Snetterton too. The 'oval' ran anti clockwise with the startline on a straight
formed by an old runway that ran between Coram and the Esses. Once they got to the circuit proper at Coram, they turned left (where the inner marshals post is now), around Coram and up the straight to the bombhole in the wrong direction, then turning left after the bombhole ( before the old vehicle bridge) back to the start. Even had its own ready built grandstand but that has now gone as run-off was required at the bombhole.

I didn't know about Snetterton doing stock cars.

Dave M that certainly is Terry Sanger who is still regularly seen at Castle Combe in his capacilty of driver standards person in race control. He looks very similar today btw!!

here is Terry Sanger, driving his Fastback Marcos at 1000km race at Nürburgring in 1965.

He never got in that Klaus, did he? No wonder the car is at a funny angle !! A quick driver change I bet was out of the question.

Good footage of Terry having an "off" in his ex Brian Muir Camaro at Thuxton in 1973 on the Frank Gardner Racecraft video. Frank comments on the reason for the spin by assuming that Terry probably got his beard caught in the steering wheel.

Welcome to the forum Glyn! That is one video I have not got but have been meaning to for ages. Thanks for the reminder.

Welcome Glyn.

Andrew. Glad to be on board. The video is well worth the effort to purchase, if only as a reminder of just how hairy those 70's Group 2 cars really were.
You posted a photo of a Team Broadspeed Escort on another thread recently, and dated it as 1968. However, I think the photo is of the 1969 or 1970 version as the car has fully flared wheel arches which were not seen on the 1968 car. Perhaps the shot was taken at the British GP support race in 1970 as it is one of the few races I can recall when the cars were numbered from 1 to nn rather than being grouped into the 100's, or 200's etc.

Thanks Peter. Yes I do remember Spa Francorchamps, I watched the 24 hour race from 1984 to 1992 inclusive, so I only saw the new circuit in action ut have driven the rest of the track, very interesting!