The Golden Age of British Stock Cars
Sixty-odd "Juniors" (now F2)
In
this section you can see the cars of Albert Wardle, Keith Barber, Grant Ford, Brian Wilcox,
Johnny Marquand, Ralph Bruce, Dave Chisholm, Eddie Cunnew, Bill Batten, Andy
Webb, Brian Jones, Doug Wardropper, Dick Sworder, Chick Woodroffe, Danny
Bassett, Pete Tucker, anonymous "637" and "370", Dave
Gibson, Johnny Walker, Pete Vincent, Den Rothwell, Dick Hawkins, Johnny Allen,
Alan Russell, Gordon Aucott, Dick Young, Brian Holmes, Norman Ricketts, Ken
Horne, Mick Whitney, Roy Innocent, Peter Baines, Jim Welch, John Bush, Nigel
Harradine, Johnny Sparks, Nick Edwards, and Dick Willows.
Tough little racers for not much money
April 2008: Yet again it is "Thanks-to-the-Yanks" time. USAF Alconbury Spartan team member Ed Bilak sends these seven photos of Junior and Banger action at Brafield and Walthamstow. Ed raced # 653. The digital dates you may see on the photos are NOT from 40 years ago! High jump for #98. Unknown Brafield bangers. Banger #664 at Brafield. Ed himself in 653 at Brafield. Then come three shots of Ed in his 653 Junior at Walthamstow. One ----- Two ----- Three. Corrections invited: if anyone thinks the "banger" are in fact basic Juniors, please tell me.
March 2008: USAF veteran George Fennell who was based at Alconbury 1967-1970 sent this great action shot of F2 Juniors on a sunny Sunday in 1969 at Brafield. Zooming past are Viv Harper #713 in yet another Topolino [where DID they find those Fiats?] from Wisbech, and Eddie Cunnew #734. George also sent this long-shot view of what look like F1 Seniors pounding out of turn 2 at Brafield. That unmistakable oak tree in the background must be familiar to every stock-car fan in England. MARCH 28: And here is # 661 (recognized by Rick Young as Dave Wycherley from Crowland , Lincolnshire), a bit daring in bare arms. FORTY YEARS ON: Today Dave W. is back racing a replica of that Topolino, #661, in the BriSCA Heritage series, and his son races F2's as well!
February 2008 update: USAF racers: British stock-car racing benefited hugely from the participation of US servicemen from the many air bases, especially in the Midlands and East Anglia. Many are mentioned under the SENIORS IN THE SIXTIES section. Here are some photos from Ed Bilak of the Alconbury Spartans stock-car team. Ed, who was originally from Pennsylvania, has kept some of his mementoes from 1965-1966 and has kindly sent these: Kings Lynn Poster; Brafield Pass and Membership; another pass. Here is Grant Ford, who is also shown further down this page; here is Ron Shomber; and here is a super group photo, and the names are --- A2c Ed Bilak, A2c Jim Crye, A1c Clyde Nichols, A1c Mark Thomson, TSGT.Ted Janes, A3cSSGT Grant Ford, A3c James Sawyer. This photo was in the "Photogram" Alconbury base paper from 11th March 1966. Thanks to Ed for this slice of history!
February 2008 Update: More gems from Steve Farndon, [see more below] about his father Sid Farndon's opening and promoting of the Tamworth track. First, a historic document: in 1960 the BSCDA inspected the facility and gave it this 100% provisional approval. Notice that Fred Mitchell was there to represent the drivers, and "Darkie" Wright for the Control Board. "Darkie" raced there in 1960, as did Ted Pankhirst and Pete Tucker, as well as Pat Willis #25 who was also Secretary of the BSCDA. Sid Farndon raced under #224, and here is his licence cover, and his signed licence for 1961. Here is Sid Farndon himself, in the role of promoter, handing over a trophy to a happy winner; but who is the winner? Steve F. thinks it may be "Chippie" Weston. Anyone out there like to take a guess?
Two more treats: from the 1960 STOCK CAR HANDBOOK, four years' results statistics; and a LONG EATON programme from May 21st, 1960, showing no fewer than 4 American racers from Chelveston (I know it says "RAF", but that's who owned it!).
January 2008 Update: [My website is having trouble hyperlinking to these 4 photos; I don't know why. Keep coming back and perhaps it will work later. Meanwhile, sorry for the frustration --- there are 4 historic photos stored somewhere in cyberspace, and if I was a 9-yeat-old I could probably re-build the software in about five minutes!] The very first Junior (F2) meeting held, at Tamworth on August 21st 1960. Steve Farndon has sent these great photos. That day's programme, first list, and second list. CHIPPIE WESTON, that name brings back memories! Then a terrific shot of a cars leaving the track; look at the chap on the bottom right --- you don't see many people dressed like that today at a stock-car race. Then a dramnatic photo of starter Jim Beet dropping the chequered flag. Jim was later to be one of the very rare fatal casualties of racing. My thanks to Steve, and hopes of seeing more photos to come ----!
November 2007: In the same month, two people have donated photographs of their fathers' racing activities. First, Neil Walker, whose father Will Walker raced in Northern Ireland, in County Down's CLANDBOYE STADIUM in the late 1960's. Clandboye was managed first by "Barracuda Promotions" and then by Spedeworth. Not only Neil's father but his uncle too raced there, and one enterprising team was soldiers from Belfast's Hollywood Barracks, whose car had real horns attached to the bonnet, and a "tail" of rope hanging from the back; of course it was nicknamed "The Bull". I will simply list the images by number and leave you to enjoy them: 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12.
November 2007: Roy Andrews sent these excellent photos of his father, Harry J. Andrews, who raced at West Ham in 1964, and who reached "red top" status. Harry on parade; and then Harry in vigorous action: 1; 2; and 3.
Terry "Chick" Henson raced this Junior at Brafield when only two true up-to-specs Juniors were on the card, and the remainder were quickly classified as 'jalopies'. These two photos were taken in about 1960. Terry's nickname: HEN + SON = CHICK --- the announcers just loved to cook up nicknames back then! Forty-six years later, here is Chick's car; and another view.
Alan Conway sent me this photo nearly 2 years ago, and it got lost in my files since then. Anyway, Alan was Chissy's mechanic on F2 Junior #552, and here is DC well in the mix. Thanks, Alan.
Thanks to Rick Young for this action shot of Todd Sweeney 531 at Brafield. NO: eagle-eyed Alan Humphrey has sent the next photo of the same crash, taken from the other side, and the track is Arlington Raceway in Eastbourne, date 1967.
Further down the page you'll see a section on Grant Ford, but here is a shot of him with two very well-groomed gentlemen leaning against Grant's #664: Chick Woodroffe (left) and Jock Lloyd, no less!
John Todd, # 631, used to build 'em, race 'em, mechanic 'em too, excuse my grammar. Here's John on only his second outing (in 1979 ) at Brafield, having a turnaround. [Photo from Paul Huggart's book 'The Complete Book of Short Oval Racing', 1980.] John's first race, at Skegness, earned him a whole quid, for 6th place: the prize wouldn't make you rich, but a 6th place in a debut race was quite something. John also used to build F1 cars, and mechanic'd for Alan Scothern for some years.
Thanks to Rick Thomas, one-time "deejay" at Brafield Stadium, some tasty shots of the Juniors in full 'wrecking' mode: Willie Cowper #553 being rolled by dashing Dave Chisholm #552, back in 1963. Next, USAF visitor Grant Ford rolls his Ford Model Y while #689 [not Bill Barker as previously labelled] leads in his Topolino F2. THE INSIDE VIEW: circa 1962, the interior of a Ford E93A showing the driver wisely installed in the centre, away from the right-hand steering wheel. And a fantastic and lucky spectator snapshot of a rather nasty F2 crash in the late 60's or early 70's: Chris Love is flipping, with Eddie Cunnew underneath, and both cars cleared the track fence and landed next to the spectator fence. This flip ended with poor Chris Love underneath, with a collapsed rollbar, suffering serious back injuries. Rick tells me that today Eddie Cunnew is the Brafield starter. Thanks, Rick, for the photos.
An S.C.N cover showing a pit-full of the little 'uns ready to rumble: thanks to Diane Sutton (whose late husband Aubrey Sutton was a long-time mechanic for racer Jumbo Tustin),a colourful and busy pits scene, from 1963.
The panoramic photo was actually taken by Pete Christie, at Walthamstow Stadium. Pete raced "Juniors" as #682, was mechanic for Bill Barker #681, and later raced Spedeworth as #59. Pete identifies most of the S.E.London drivers visible below, as 550 Nobby Lambert, 610 Ken Lambert, 643 Danny Bassett, 681 Bill Barker, 230 Johnny Allan, 738 Frankie Wooster, 651 Harry Andrews, and 629 Don Roomes who was not one of the S.E. "bunch". Thanks Pete, who nowadays does a column in SHORT CIRCUIT MAGAZINE as "Pop C.", and if anyone out there has photos of Pete's 682 or 59, please get in touch, he'd be happy to hear about it.
For some time at this point, I had quoted "100 pounds" for building a Junior/F2 in the sixties. I was over the top there: I remembered being quoted 100 for BUYING a top class track-ready F2 from a good builder. However, most do-it-yourselfers spent very little. Recently I was shown a copy of Mick Whitney's 1962 expenses, in which he managed to buy himself a running Ford for 2 pounds 10 shillings! E-mail me , then I can give you a 'real' address for jpg's etc etc (avoiding spam)
The next two cars are strictly speaking too "new" for my 1955-1975 site, but they look 'the business' just like the old 'uns did, so here goes:
Ian "Mac" McCarthy's beautiful "Superstox" car, in a cutting from a magazine. Mac helped me with some info further down the page. Don't you wish stock-cars looked like this today --- classy, real, and sleek! Mac raced this at the Alwalton non-BriSCA track near Peterborough. Here's another photo of the car, in the pits. [Photos originally from Alwalton racer Brian Holmes, a never-quit guy who raced into his sixties.]
This relatively modern car looks so "sixties / seventies", and its driver looks like he's having so much fun, that I'm including it here anyway. John Rigg was an Aycliffe driver (the "race hard or go home" track), and his car enjoyed Royal Mail backing. John 29, and Oops, postal-code advice on his sump guard, for all to see. John tells me it has an Escort rear axle, in his words "---as you can see" --- , (now we'll have fifty e-mails arguing which model year it was, I bet -- !
Who said "Bah, humbug!"? Well, this car was nicknamed the Humbug, and you can just see the hacked-about Renault 4CV body on Mick Whitney's # 773 at Brafield. Mick was one of the 'usual suspects' from the Haddenham & District Stock Car Club. [Rick Young photo].[Memory of 4CV's: When I was at school I did an 'exchange' with a French boy, and it involved driving from Calais to the centre of France with his family of 3 plus me squished in a tiny 4CV with its deafening rear engine.]
The Champ! In 1966 Steve Bateman took the F2 World Championship (I still call 'em Juniors).
Thanks to Allan Wardle for these photos of his father Albert Wardle's car and career in the Scottish stock car drivers' association. Here's an early car, with Albert and friends. Here's Albert's very tidy red-top, note the exhaust deflector. Membership card. And a press clipping that also mentions Pete Dent who of course was nicknamed "Pepso" Dent. Here's a victory-lapping Albert, from a programe that predicted a 1964 championship win. Albert raced at Ibrox's White City track, up against aces like Chick Woodroffe and Jock Lloyd. For the meticulous record-keepers and historians among you, here are some White City line-ups: first, second. These shots from Allan Wardle, Albert's son. Incredibly, fans could see cars like this E-Type Jaguar, back in 1964, putting in fast laps ---at great risk from that track fence. Programmes reported that briskly-driven 10-hp Juniors could often lap faster than such powerful but heavy GT cars.
AUGUST 2007: by a huge coincidence, two people e-mailed me on the very same day, about Jock Lloyd: one is Scotty Hewitt, a racer who competed against Jock at Glasgow's White City track in the "Junior" F2 class, before heading for sunny California. Expect to see a photo here from Scotty in the near future. Scotty raced under the name "G.G.Edwards", and one race is never-to-be-forgotten. Jock Lloyd was already famous and respected, and Scotty deliberately backed down the grid to start beside Jock, who grinned across at him and called out to Scotty "SO YOU FANCY YOUR CHANCES?" Jock waited half a beat before taking off, and that enabled him (and the canny Scotty) to dodge the first turn carnage. Here is Scotty . Remembering 46 years on: "It was the best thing I could have done. I learned so much that night. I was right on his tail lap after lap, sticking with him learning his line and the way he handled that car. I saw that on occasion he would enter turn 4 a little wider than I, so, I said to hell with it, and on the last turn of the last lap, I stuck my S70 under Jock but it lifted, as I knew it would, but it laid on Jocks car all the way round, and I crossed the start finish a foot in front of the master. In all the races I have run since, and won, none have stuck with me like this one. Jock came to me after the race grinning from ear to ear, shook my hand and said "If you don’t die son, you’ll be a hell’va racer". The story in [The Evening Citizen] said The "Zebra Crossing" does four laps on 3 wheels, then wins the main".
Scotty raced under the name "Edwards" because at the time he was mechanic and pit crew for the legendary Ecurie Ecosse motorsport team run by wealthy Scottish businessman David Murray, who (true to RAC principles) strongly disapproved of stock-car racing! Their Jag D-Types won Le Mans in 1956 and 1957. Scotty tested their Le mans Healey and their Cooper Monaco cars. Scotty wasn't done with racing even after he emigrated to work at a California Jaguar dealership. Over the years he has won five regional production-car championships, and is chief driver instructor for California's section of the SCCA. Who'd have thought 46 years ago that this Glasgow youngster in a stock-car would later be rubbing shoulders with international racing stars like Innes Ireland and Stirling Moss?
November 2007: Bumper-to-bumper action against stock-car demons prepared Scotty for this: He crewed at the Le Mans 24-hour sports car classic, and tested this Cooper Monaco (Coventry Climax motor) and this Austin Healey Sprite, whose little BMC four-banger pushed it to 120mph --- but the aerodynamics gave the Sprite so much lift at high speed that the front wheels were too light to steer properly. Scotty's answer: pat the brakes while at full speed, to lurch the car's weight forward and THEN do the steering!
Ex-racer Rick Young has kindly given me a scan of a White City programme cover. White City programmes from Rick Young's collection include these photos of Bill Thompson, (the programme shows Ibrox was full of Thomson's!) Jock Lloyd (#131 same as his Senior), and a crowded Junior race. Here are some notes from the track and comments from Johnny Hoskins. Lastly, two lists (well here's the 2nd!) of drivers' names from 1962.
Thanks to Pete Schafer for this historic photo. The very first "Junior" formula race in early 1961 at Tamworth, promoted by Syd Farndon. Syd had been chatting to Fred Mitchell about the idea of a small cheap stock car formula, and Fred dug a Ford 10 out of his yard, stripped it, locked the diff, and had Roger Mortimer test it round Tamworth. (Roger M. was Fred's bro-in-law. Syd Farndon gave the thumbs up, and here is that car jokingly numbered 38 1/2 and painted pink, ready for the first Junior race. Roger went on to mechanic Mitsubishi's international rally cars. This photo came from Fred Mitchell's daughter Pauline Holden (mom to Jason "Hurricane Holden" # 38 today). Syd Farndon himself raced Seniors under # 224, and rose to red-top status and contested the World Final at Brandon. Thanks to Pete Schafer and to Syd F's son Steve Farndon for the info.
Now, yodel after me "I remember You-oooo ---" and tell me who sang it: Frank Ifield was not just a crooner, he had raced stox in Australia, and here he is with his F2/Junior.
Several photos of Arnie Hawes 777, from Arnie himself and also from programmes in the Rick Young collection. My thanks to both. Arnie was from Maulden, Beds., and for some unknown reason was nicknamed "The Mad Milkman" by Brafield's Graham Guthrie. Here's Arnie's 2nd- place record in a 'consie' at Brafield [at 25%: enlarge it]. Arnie in a pic of his car on the trailer. Arnie's first car, plus 'the kids', both of whom grew up to race in the 1980's. Arnie tells me that although the early Juniors were fun, they were mostly out of control and frequently demolished, and that the later cars were so much faster and easier to handle. Heat and final wins at Brafield got these trophies, with an ex-Dave Bunt car, 1980's. Arnie at speed in the rebodied Dave Bunt car. And 'man at work' on his 1300 crossflow Ford lump, Cosworth pistons, dry-sumped, Holbay exhaust, steel crank, roller rockers, twin Weber 45's --- 'the business!' This next photo may be from a Sunday Times supplement article.
The
famous Pete Tucker loved the then-new "Junior" formula,
which made
exciting racing possible at minimum costs to promoters and drivers. Here
Pete, the winner, is at New Cross stadium (SE London) in 1962.
Keith Barber: historian, builder, racer, journalist, publisher, graphic artist, one-time Long Eaton track promoter, and 100% stock-car devotee, snapped on his victory lap Here in the beautiful #422 Junior at Brafield, early 1960's.
In 1998 Keith began fostering a "vintage stock car" movement, encouraging the building or re-building of 1960's racers, and has completed a rebuild / creation of Aubrey Leighton's 422 and Roy Goodman's Ford Pop, as well as his own once-famous "little red rooster". Here's the cover of Keith's 1971 book, WILD BILL TO WILDCAT, a great potted history of the sport, which later blossomed into the big book THE BIG LEAGUE. Both out-of-print rarities nowadays. (Keith deserves chequered flags to this day, in my opinion.)
Here Keith Barber shares his trophy limelight with Miss Brafield (Maggie Ford). Keith beside his controversial 686 car, which I believe he converted from a "pickup" to avoid a rules ban. Keith has a big K on his overalls; notice the grandstand tocket was 2 shillings back then. This shot shows Keith in USAF flyer Grant Ford's car. [Photos from Carol Cockings]
A pits shot of Keith B's slick little car -- a Morris: 422.
A
big thank-you to Aubrey Leighton's daughter, Carol Cockings, who gave me a ton
of terrific photos, including these of USAF flyer Grant Ford, from the Alconbury
base, who raced Juniors
under # 664 in the 1960s and who married Miss Brafield, now Maggie Ford.
Grant sits in the fence. Mud splash. Grant as a proud dad with daughter Annette (Notice the Keith Barber logo on the car.). Grant tries to slip through the outside of this tangle. Grant Ford is the sandwich in this night-time crunch. Parade lap in colour. And mid-parade, facing the camera, at Brafield.
Also July 2003: a Brafield pile-up between 637 and 370, among others. (Photo courtesy Carol Cockings)
Grant Ford in a night crash --- track and other car, anyone? Thanks to keen-eyed Ian "Mac" McCarthy, who pinpoints both the date and the track: Walthamstow Stadium in 1965 ---- 1st October to be precise -- and the 541 car entangled with Grant Ford is that of blue-grader Brian Wilcox, a Cornish driver. Mac raced in BSCDA # 641, in Spedeworth #111, and Alwalton Superstocks #33, and still has the Walthamstow programmes for that year and that night!
Here's the well-liked Johnny Marquand # 689 celebrating a win at Brafield (thanks to Alan Humphrey for the correct number)(Carol Cockings photo).
One of the numerous "Beds 'n' Herts" stock-car crowd was Dave Gibson #785, shown here a bit sideways on a wet Brafield track. That unwieldy corrugated-iron grandstand took a hike during a hurricane and spread its bits all over rural Northamptonshire. It was absolutely deafening under that roof when a pack of open-exhaust F1's came out of turn 4.
Two photos that someone sent me, and I forget who. Brafield's the track. In the first photo, we see 519 Ralph Bruce helping a younger Dave Chisholm 552 , and in the second photo Johnny Walker (no whiskey) in his tiny "Wildkitten" copycat car chases 704 Pete Vincent from Bournemouth and the infamous Eddie Cunnew 734 from Keysoe bedfordshire. And another big thank-you to Dick Young for digging those names from his archive.
A 1974 photo of the great Bill Batten, with an unusual-for-F2 Beetle body (well, the roof is anyway), at Newton Abbot [DY photo]
Maybe the first of the "special" Juniors, long before the Bill Batten-style aero-featherweights. I put the stopwatch on Andy Webb when he practised with this little bomb after the races at Brafield 1963/4; he equalled George Ansell's Senior laps. This pic stirred memories for Brian Goodspeed, who told me in summer 2000 that he was at that same Brafield meet and watched this little screamer tear up the tarmac; anyone else see it? Remember that these were only 1172 cc side-valve puffers.
Dec. 2007 Update: Thanks to Andy Webb, 40-something years later, for the following info on this super little car. Andy backed up my comment elsewhere on this site: nobody ever saw Fiat Topolinos on the road, but Andy and Ian Durham found two side by side in a scrapyard in Bloxham! Steve Bateman found one in a yard not far between N'pton and Brafield -- who was scrapping them? The car in the photograph had been debuted the night before at Harringay, where its slick appearance drew so many people that Andy could hardly get back to it after booking in. [Which is just how I remember the admiring mob at the pit gate as Andy took it out for practice after the Brafield meet.] Andy also mentions a little bump-and-spin with Johnny Marquand's car at Harringay which led to another little 'exchange of words' after the race, which left them lifelong friends ---"great days" is how Andy remembers the spirit of those times. Nowadays they beat each other at golf, as competitive as ever.
This photo, from a fan magazine, was sent by Dick Young, and I think I have pretty much wrecked it with my computer. Brian Jones, # 551, drove up from Hockliffe, Bedfordshire to Brafield with this nice little F2 and found the fence.
Doug Wardropper, when he wasn't busy being Senior (F1) World Champion, could also be seen racing his Junior # 505, and his Spedeworth Superstox #55 at Ipswich 1968.
Dick Sworder's # 720 Junior on a dark rainy day in the Brafield pits. Want to see Dick in his booming Senior car? There's a shot of him in a monster four-car sandwich, in the Seniors section after this section. 34 years later his son Mick would be winning too.
Chick Woodroffe: promoter (West Ham, Arena Essex, several more), smiling bespectacled pipe-smoker, invariably with a feather in his hat, and racer of both Junior and Senior cars, and proud wearer of # 1. Chick hit BriSCA in 1961 after a spell in go-karts. Chick's Junior on a parade lap at Brafield [DY photo]. Next, Chick's Junior is on the trailer Chick at Coventry while the big 'un down there on the left races on shale.
Very similar photo of Chick's two cars, and leaning on them is a young lad who would himself race F1 and F2 cars: Dick Young. Chick passed away at the end of 2000, after a non-stop busy life racing and promoting, all in the face of tough health problems.
What a gem. This was shown in the opening paragraph. As beautiful as a show car, Danny Bassett 643, this early Ford raced the tarmac at Brafield. See Keith Barber's 422 in background. Remember that this red-hot racing was done with side-valve engines with maybe a couple of SU carbs bolted on. Dick Young cites a 1963 programme that shows this # is Danny Bassett from Woolwich, London. Danny was to die in a mysterious sailing accident off the Belgian coast.
The mad artist at work! This builder was years ahead of psychedelic flower power: Ford Pop 1963/4
Two friends enjoy the calm before the race, in Brafield's rural setting. Number 724 is American airman Dick Hawkins of Houston Texas, and 230 is Johnny Allen from New Cross, S.E. London. Two Juniors
Dick Hawkins trying to dodge a collision coming out of a Brafield corner [DY photo]
No dents yet?
Den Rothwell's 722 Fiat Topolino-bodied Junior. Where did
all those Topolinos come from? We almost never saw them on the street, but
there were scores on the race tracks.
Alan Russell #621 brightens the Brafield rain: Alan. Alan was from Toddington, Bedfordshire:
A few years later, some before-and-after shots [by Dick Young] that Alan Russell might like to forget: before and then after the roll. Alan's brother Ian Russell later raced number 38 in Formula Ones.
This Triumph Spitfire was a different looker, compared to the Ford Y's around it: Gordon Aucott
"Waltz me around" Juniors mixing it up at Brafield Notice the steel I-beam ("RSJ") posts and steel cable fence -- I suppose those bags-of-straw and old tyres helped a bit ---? I still remember the sound of a car snagging its rear axle on a post, at full speed: some cars ended up yards further on minus the whole rear end.
Dick Young just throws that F2 sideways on the shale, going into a turn, 1977.
Dick Young's F2/Junior car: two shots taken in 1977 in the Brafield pits. First shot , Second shot. This car was built by Bedford's Pete Poole for Bob Boddington, then went to #649 Geoff Dunsby, before ending up in the hands of Dick and Chris Pickup. And you thought your family tree was complex??
Money? for what you see here: F2 stock car, PLUS trailer, PLUS Hillman Minx tow car ---- 60 quid in 1976 (my keyboard doesn't do English pound signs).
Brian Holmes, two photos, only thirty (30) years apart! Action at Rayleigh, 1971; and proud owner of a high-tech machine today.
The three photos below, courtesy of engine-man Mike Rust, are from 1968/69. Norman Ricketts from Haddenham, Bucks., was the driver; he went from white to red top eventually in about 1971.
Car #604 was an ultimate version of the old 1172 side-valve Ford. Mike Rust built the motor, and sent me these slides. The body is a cut-'n'-shut Fiat 500. 604 in the pits. The special exhaust was by Janspeed. The engine: A racing Weber carb on a Janspeed manifold -- nearly everyone had used SU's up to this point. 604 revved very fast thanks to a special cam: 8000rpm. It had rare and special Formula Junior (ie RAC circuit racing) con-rods of super-hard steel that drove machinists crazy. The head and flywheel were aluminum Aquaplane items, and it used a Mini-based dry-sump oil system. They canted the engine over at 15degrees to improve inflow. The motor parts were balanced, crank hardened and ports "flowed". The valves were huge Bill Cooper specials, and the whole thing was actually tuned on the dyno rolling-road at Downton's in London! Bill Cooper was a top-flight Formula Junior racer who literally wrote a book on tuning 1172 motors. Thanks to Mike Rust for the technical data.
APRIL 2008 UPDATE: In the photo below, the overturned car of Nigel Harradine 717 had been dragged all the way from beyond the Brafield pits entrance --- Nigel tells me that while upside down, the petrol was dripping down into the roof, which was having a hole ground in the metal by the tarmac ---. "Fairly lucky escape, really" says Nigel. Nigel retired in 1978, then retired again in the late 1980's, then again, then raced in 2006, then raced again in 2007, and this year 2008, the "retired" Nigel Harradine expects to be out on the track yet again, under #97. This is a happy man who does not know how to stop.
Sunny Incident for 604 at Brafield: a headache for the other car. Also visible in the original photo print are BINGO! From Dick Young we get some identities: 652 = Ken Horne, 773 = Mick Whitney (both Haddenham; Mick was an auto mechanics lecturer at Aylesbury College); 650 = Roy (not Ron) Innocent of Northants; 672 = Peter Baines (Lincs, and later the 3-Star promoter); 698, just visible in the pits shot = Jim Welch (Lincs, later the Spedeworth Superstox champ); 520 (man-in-the-window) = John Bush from Raglan, Monmouthshire; finally, 717 = Nigel Harradine from Hatfield, Herts.
Still more of the
inexplicably numerous Haddenham bunch were Tony Southam, Mick Penn (who
mechanic'd for Tony S.), and Brian Baker (a BriSCA scrutineer). Also, Bob Boddington whose F1 car was
196, and his F2 car was 596, and an honorary Haddenham club member was F1 racer
Dave Saunders #227 -- who actually lived in Wendover! According to Mike Rust, the local saying was The Bucks are from Berks and
the Berks are from Bucks. And they say cricket fans are fanatics for detail. Thanks to Dick
Young and Mike Rust for this mine of information.
A Brafield photo taken in 1966: #707 is Johnny Sparks (I'd pay to have a name like that.) and 611 is Nick Edwards, two racers who made the trek from Cornwall to race their F2's. Dick Young photo.
The similar-to-F2 "Trackstar" machine of Dick Willows, lurking in the back yard. Dick built the car with racer Pete Prince, and raced at Boston stadium, Lincs. (Photo: Paul Durham). Dick Willows began as spanner man for racer Peter Prince, and went on to completely self-build this car: Prefect front with Corsair discs, Minor rear with welded diff., and a full-house 1000cc Ford circuit racing engine from Alan Scobie --- topping out at 9000 rpm, it was a bit peaky for oval track combat! Dick later moved onto rallying.
