Tom Lynch Camaro - 10-Tenths Motorsport Forum

FORD-FIA · 22 Jan 2003, 13:59

Hello,
I'm new to this forum but this looks like the right place to put a few questions out that I have. I need information about a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro that was raced in the UK during 1967-on by we think a Mr Tom Lynch. He raced the Camaro at Silverstone, Oulton Park and also the 24 hours of Spa in July of the same year, co-driven by Dick Thompson. Also curious if anyone remembers a "Carey Coachworks" in West London that this car might have been involved with. The Carey spelling could be wrong and the time period of this connection would be about 1970 to 1978. This Camaro should have been white or silver and posibly a single blue stripe at some point. It was later raced by Rob Potter in ASCAR and won the series in 1979 but wrecked at Brands the following year. Looking to prove the Rob Potter connection to Tom Lynch. Email me direct if you'd like.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Steve Francis
info@ford-fia.com
www.ford-fia.com

DaveM · 22 Jan 2003, 23:54

Hi Steve.
Here's a pretty ropey photo I took at Club during the British GP meeting on 15th July 67. Tom Lynch leads Mike Young, Steve Neal and three Johns, Rhodes, Fitzpatrick and Handley.
I'm not sure if I have any more, I seem to think there may be one at Oulton. I'll have a look later, meantime I hope this one helps.

gfm · 23 Jan 2003, 12:43

Again David, that's a terrific shot. You know what? I was at Club for that meeting as a specatator.
The old Club was a real corner. I remember watching the 956/962s of Palmer in particular getting through there flat, well maybe using the left foot just to steady the front end.
Earlier in F3, in absolutely flooded conditions, I recall reading the word 'Dunlop' on one of my front wheels because it was stationary with lock on at the time, on the approach to Club. (Aquaplaning)
Some years later in FIA GT again with the circuit flooded, excited commentators came rushing up, asking feverously whether we'd ever seen such diabolically attrocious conditions - I said 'yes thank you, I have.'
Ramble ramble. Fabulous pic. Back to Tom.

FORD-FIA · 23 Jan 2003, 14:13

David,
Thanks for posting that great action photo. Is that the Tom Lynch Camaro or the Hugh Dibley/Peter Gethin Camaro? I don't have an entry list showing what car number Lynch used for Silverstone. Tom Lynch also attended the May 29th 1967 Oulton Park ETC event and the July 22/23 1967 Spa 24 hrs event with Dick Thompson as a co-driver. The Camaro would be shown as #7 at Spa.
Steve

DaveM · 23 Jan 2003, 20:46

Steve...
Yes, it is Tom Lynch. At least that's what I put in the album at the time. Although the race programme is long gone the number on the car is clear enough so there's no reason to doubt it.
Of all the programmes I bought during those years (my albums tell me I went to 15 meetings in 67 - not a record but I didn't have much money to throw around) only five have survived.
On 29th May I was at Croft and certainly couldn't afford Spa so can't help with those. I couldn't find any more Lynch photos.

John...
As you can see from the photo, I was in the spectator area too and agree that it was a tremendous corner to watch from, as for racing round it - 3 balls on the braveryometer I reckon - I suspect that St Michael would have been pretty well soiled if I had tried it.
We used to spend Friday evening in the pub up here in Yorkshire then at chucking out time drive down to Silverstone (drink driving hadn't been invented), arive at about 3am, 40 winks, straight in at 6 o'clock when the gates opened to bag a place at the fence, wait 4 hours for the first race (when the latecomers would be given short shrift for trying to barge to the front), watch a full days racing (F1, F3, GT, Saloons, Histerics), wander round the paddock after the last race trying to spot drivers, finish off any sandwiches and crisps which had escaped earlier, 40 more winks, pick nose, queue three hours to get out, home at midnight. Those were the days.

gfm · 24 Jan 2003, 11:35

Perfect David, perfect. 67 - 68 I was as much as a spectator as anything and did the same as you. My favourite spectator places were the third loudspeaker out of Madgwick/Goodwood (prior to 66 of course), second loudspeaker out of Club/Silverstone and right on the exit at Druids/Brands, mentioned somewhere on this board already.
Weren’t the sleeping arrangements painful? Overnight in a Mini Cooper was difficult at 6’3” wasn’t it? (Not as bad as overnight next to Loch Ness in a 105E, but ‘she’ made it pretty much sleepless in any case- but we schoolboys mustn’t mention such stuff now, must we?). They were indeed the days at least for us, but let’s not live too much in the past. Young chaps now are doing it for Le Mans and GPs aren’t they?
Let me tell you a bit more about Club inside the racecar. It was so important for a quick lap on the old GP circuit, even more so for the small formula slip-streamers.
You needed to work extremely hard to get in the right place into Stowe. There wasn’t usually enough build up of speed into Club to normal pass the guy in front into Club, and it cost too much momentum to get the perfect exit out in any case.
You had to tee things up very accurately through Club to give yourself a bit of space from the guy in front, without allowing the guy behind to get inside you and spoil things which they did regularly.
You needed to be one and a half car’s length behind on the exit of Club with an extra couple of miles-an-hour on the guy in front. 5 miles-an-hour was too much because you’d catch him just before Abbey (a flat in top left curve then) and have to back off. No good. So out of Club starting to close the gap, half a car’s length behind going through Abbey and stay hard right on the road, to get by taking the inside line under the Bridge for the fantastic old right hander Woodcote.
Two quick reminisces. One lap I came under the Bridge and something broke on the back of the Merlyn FF. I went backwards into the wall on the inside (right) and concussed myself on the roll over bar. Big mess, car in any pieces, deep gouges in the wall. We slewed to a halt and the marshals came running over to find me out cold with my feet sticking out with no shoes on. That put them in a flap. As I’m tall with feet big enough to stop me falling forward, I often removed my shoes to drive. They thought I was in real trouble wondering what the injuries must have been and where my shoes had gone!
Second rem; last lap of SuperVW race 73 or 74 international, I was third, Rosberg clear out in front and I had de St Hubert in front and we did this teeing up process through Club. However, de St Hubert was clever and had regularly had the entrance into Woodcote covered by staying right under the Bridge. So this time as we came under the bridge, I feinted towards the left getting larger in his rear-view mirror, which drew him slightly to the left. At the last minute, I dived right back across the rear of his car, which gave me an extra whoosh of momentum and got my front two wheels alongside his rears. But he was closing the door and squeezed and squeezed and finally pushed me on the grass on the inside. We both had missed our braking point but I was plainly out of control on the inside, bouncing over grass and stuff, so he just had to steer straight and give us some room. We just made it to the flag in front. It was worth an extra 1000 dmarks so it was a risk worth taking!
But getting Club right was the key.
What year was it that Stewart/Tyrell and Rindt/Lotus had that titanic battle? Was it 68? Through Club, that was spectacular.
I guess we should give this thread back to Tom Lynch. Excuse me.

gfm · 24 Jan 2003, 11:39

Great shots of Woodcote from Andrew again on his Silverstone thread. A corner for real men, and bloody dangerous. Did Rosberg get through there flat on his 160 mph qualifying lap?

Andrew Kitson · 25 Jan 2003, 10:08

gfm and Dave - great memories!! The Stewart / Rindt battle was 69 - I watched from stowe as a 10 year old. I particularly remember the F3 race and my old man pointing out a yellow and blue car.'watch him' he said, 'He'll be in F1 soon'. Turned out it was Ronnie.
Rosberg was not quite flat through Woodcote on his run in 85 as it included the chicane - and he had a slow puncture!!

gfm · 25 Jan 2003, 12:50

Rosberg had this scandinavian habit of getting on and off the throttle quite brutally, going into corners to get the whole car 'moving'.
I remember going downhill on the Ring towards Adeneur Bridge (pls excuse spelling) one morning FSVW practice and came across some violently wavng yellows. Then there was a gearbox and two rear wheels in the road, and further round the corner was the front half of the car with Rosberg still strapped into it. I said to myself 'that'll teach you to be so brutal with the throttle ... bet you won't do that in F1.' But he did didn't he?
Highlight of my life - beating Rosberg in Sweden (but he's Finnish - and he beat me at Silverstone, Zolder and the 'Ring etc!).

Andrew Kitson · 25 Jan 2003, 12:58

John, what sort of times were you doing around the old Ring in a Supervee?

gfm · 25 Jan 2003, 13:16

I think you had to get close to 8m 20s to get on pole - remember it's wasn't as user friendly in '73 - '76 as it is now. Many humps and corners have been eased. I think I struggled to get below 8 30. The last race I did was in the wet; now that really was living! I think I was sixth.
The Pits straight was where it is now but there was a simple loop back round behind the pits and back out onto the main circuit. So that was your lap.
This all sounds like another 'topic'.

racing fxgt · 25 Jan 2003, 20:39

Found this pic from 1967,but no info on track or race.

FORD-FIA · 25 Jan 2003, 22:36

Another great photo of the Tom Lynch Camaro. Interesting to see the fuel filler in the panel between the rear window and trunk lid and the license plate is nearly clear. This is the first rear view photo I've seen of the car. Could this also be 7/15/67 Silverstone? Thanks for posting the photo! Now if we can just get information of Carey Coachworks.
Steve

Andrew Kitson · 26 Jan 2003, 09:58

It looks like Silverstone as the people gathered there seem to be at the end of one of the runways and with the crowd in the distance back along a straight, I would say that almost certainly they are on hangar and this is Stowe.
Also the car is no.54 again as in the first shot. Competitors rarely had the same number on their cars in those days. They would change from race to race.
I have to try and work out locations from photos like this quite often for my paintings.

FORD-FIA · 27 Jan 2003, 21:32

After seeing the photo showing Tom Lynch's Camaro spinning at Silversone, we have determined the Camaro we have here is not the Lynch car. Our car still has it's original panel and has never had a quick fill in that area behind the back glass. Thanks once again for sending that fantastic shot! So we're back to looking for the driver of our Camaro before Rob Potter owned/raced it in the late 1970's ASCAR Series.

Welcoming AmericanLeMansFans refugees.