MotorSport Legends Issue 15

MotorSport Legends THE MAGAZINE THAT BRINGS YOUR MOTORSPOR T MEMORIES BACK TO LIFE www.motorsportlegends.com.au

Adelaide’s turbo-charged years

ISSUE 15 Aug-Oct 2011

ISSN 1835-5544

Longhurst: living his dream

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Contents

Editorial Skaife is the ultimate professional.

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News Who did what on the historic and nostalgia motorsport scenes.

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Skaife: Driven to win!

12-22 Mark Skaife is a true champion – you don’t win six Bathurst 1000s and five touring car titles just by being lucky!

Historic Racer 25-28 Welcome to the ninth edition of our historic racing section, which includes coverage of the Winton Historics.

Webb of Intrigue 29 Mick’s not scared to tell it how it was.

Living the dream 30-35 Tony Longhurst didn’t buy into the loyalty wars – he drove many marques in his career. He just loved racing and he was pretty good at it as well, winning two Bathurst 1000s.

Thommo’s tale 36-40 Bryan Thomson is best known for his VW V8 Chev Sports Sedan, but there is much more to his story than just one racing car, including taking on the Poms on their own turf.

Adelaide’s turbo years 42-45 The ‘Voice of Formula One’ Murray Walker remembers his favourite Adelaide Grands Prix.

Jewel in F1’s crown 46-49 We look at the old chestnut of safety versus glamour – should F1 stay racing at Monaco? You bet they should!

Book reviews 50 We review the previously untold story of female racer Joan Richmond and the latest from the world of V8 Supercars.

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Contributors in this issue Glenis Lindley Our regular writer and photographer has been busy in this issue with features on Mark Skaife and Tony Longhurst. They were two very different personalities, but both were very successful drivers. As usual Glenis manages to capture their true stories.

T H E M A G A Z I N E T H AT B R I N G S Y O U R M O T O R S P O R T M E M O R I E S B A C K T O L I F E

Managing Editor Allan Edwards Pole Position Productions Address: PO Box 225 Keilor, Victoria, 3036 Phone: (03) 9331 2608 Fax: (03) 8080 6473 Email: admin@motorsportlegends.com.au Website: www.motorsportlegends.com.au Staff Journalist Briar Gunther

Adrian Musolino An Adelaide local, Adrian grew up trackside at the AGP during its years in the City of Churches, so when he caught up with the ‘Voice of Formula One’ Murray Walker we almost needed a crowbar to prize them apart and stop them talking. His interview is well worth a read.

Artist/Design House Craig Fryers Raamen Pty Ltd (03) 9873 8282

Grant Nicholas Bryan Thomson is one of the nicest blokes you could meet. He also has an interesting motor racing history which, as Grant Nicholas found out, entails much more than just the few years he raced his much-loved VW V8 Chev Sports Sedan.

To find out the full story of Thommo’s career turn to page 36.

Distributors Fairfax Media Publication Solutions

Contributors Glenis Lindley, Grant Nicholas, Brian Reed, Adrian Musolino and Mick Webb.

Photographers Autopics.com.au, John Doig, Glenis Lindley, Mark Horsburgh.

Advertising Manager Jennifer Gamble Phone: 0431 451 470 Email: advertising@ motorsportlegends.com.au

Material in Motorsport Legends is protected by copyright laws and may not be reporoduced in any format. Motorsport Legends will consider unsolicited articles and pictures; however, no responsibility will be taken for their return. While all efforts are taken to verify information in Motorsport Legends is factual, no responsibility will be taken for any material which is later found to be false or misleading. The opinions of the contributors are not always those of the publishers.

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CLASSIC

Lines Welcome to issue 15 of MotorSport Legends magazine. MotorSport Legends includes motor racing nostalgia and historic events.

W

hen we were trying to come up with the coverline for this issue we asked ourselves what comes to our minds when we think of Mark Skaife as a racing driver? It very quickly became obvious that our coverline had to be something that portrayed how focused Skaife was throughout his career.

I think it was Jackie Stewart who said “winning is not everything, it’s the only thing”. This could just as easily have been Mark’s motto. From his days in the Ford Laser series to when he owned the Holden Racing Team, Skaifey was a driven man.

Many people didn’t like him because he seemed arrogant and sometimes rude, but no one could question his professionalism and determination to win.

And it wasn’t just on the track that this

steeled resolve shone through. I remember very early in my career as a journalist asking Mark a question in a press conference that he didn’t like.

Mark had fire in his eyes as he shot me down in front of the whole media throng that day and Sandown. “Are you on drugs or something?” he snapped. Although my question probably deserved that kind of response, it took me a few press conferences before I dared to ask Mark another question. We actually gained a healthy respect for each other over the years that followed.

Many racing drivers don’t bother to return the phone calls from journalists, but I always knew that if I left a message with Mark’s answering service that he would eventually get back to me; it may not have happened on the same day, but he always

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paid me the respect of returning my calls.

I believe the sport lost something the day Mark hung up his helmet as a fulltime driver. He is a true champion. You don’t win six Bathurst 1000s and five touring car championships by being lucky!

There is no doubt in my mind that when Mark was with Gibson Motor Sport dominating touring cars and the Australian Drivers’ Championship in openwheelers that he was the best driver in the country.

It’s a pity that his escapades in Europe never amounted to anything because I am convinced that on his day Skaifey could match it with anyone in the world.

Until next time, please continue to drive safely on and off the race track.

Cheers, – Allan Edwards, Managing Editor

NEWS

TOP PRICE FOR TOP HOLDEN Australia’s most historically significant car and the oldest Holden in private ownership is expected to fetch a record price.

It is the first time in 30 years that the KJ-400 Holden has come on to the market and the sale is expected to set the highest price for an Australian-made vehicle.

The KJ-400 is a handshaped prototype of the car which would become the 48215, more commonly known as the FX Holden.

Three prototypes were built in the USA and the one for sale is prototype number four, the first of only two made Down Under; the other one reportedly no longer exists.

It is also the second oldest Holden in existence, because there is only one of the three US-made prototypes that is still around, which resides in the National Museum of Australia.

Car collector Peter Briggs bought the car in 1980 to exhibit in his York Motor Museum and it also made appearances at the Fremantle Motor Museum until it closed a few years ago.

“I’ve been asked to esti-

Above: Car Collector Peter Briggs with the KJ-400 Holden.

mate what I think it is worth, and I think it must be valued at $2 million,” Mr Briggs said.

“The previous record price for an Australian made car is $920,000 for the Monaro HR427 and the owner of the 46th Holden made said he knocked back a $900,000 offer for his car.”

Mr Briggs described his

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car as older and “immeasurably more important” than either of those cars.

“It formed the foundation of the Australian automotive industry we know today,” he said.

“Based on these prices, my Holden prototype will be the first Australian car to crack a million dollars.”

Mr Briggs expects the car,

which has been offered for private sale, to be bought by a private collector rather than a government museum.

“This car is part of our national heritage but government operated museums do not have the financial resources to establish significant transportation collections,” he said. MSL

SUBSCRIBE NOW AND BEAT THE PRICE RISE Many of you will have noticed that we have put our cover price up this issue. We tried to keep it down as long as we could, but with ever-increasing costs such as fuel levies paid to get the magazines to newsagents around the country we have had little choice but to slightly increase our cover price. We have however managed to keep our subscription prices the same, so to avoid the price rise check out our subscription deals elsewhere in this issue. In fact, if you take out a two-year subscription for just $45 you will get a free gift of a Racing Through Time DVD and an entry into our competition to win a Mick Doohan model.

SPORTING CLASSICS IN MOTOR SHOW SALE Shannons assembled a worldclass collection of American, Australian, British and European classics at its auction at the Australian International Motor Show in Melbourne on July 10.

But it was Brock’s last race car that drew the most attention from spectators and the media.

A unique piece of Australian motorsport history – the last Holden that Peter Brock raced before his death in 2006, this car was the brainchild of Brock fan Phil Munday and was created by former Holden Dealer Team engine guru Ian Tate, the famous 1953 ‘FX’ was built for the nine-time Bathurst winner to race at the 2006 Goodwood Revival in England.

The meeting’s organisers initially wanted Brock to campaign his first real racer, the Austin A30, in the St. Mary’s Trophy race for touring cars, but they were persuaded that an early model Holden would be more symbolic for an iconic Australian Touring Car champion.

The FX Peter Brock drove at Goodwood

Under Revival rules, engine capacity can be increased up to 20 percent, along with other modifications, so Tate created a 2.4-litre engine with a Vauxhall crankshaft and a Wade-style camshaft, breathing through triple 44mm SU carburettors and Facey extractors and a straight-through exhaust.

Running an 11.5:1 compression ratio, it developed an impressive 140kW through a Muncie 4-speed transmission, XU1 Torana hydraulic clutch and a 3.9:1 ratio locked differential.

While Munday’s ‘ultimate FX’ finished just off the podium at Goodwood – Brock

qualified fifth and finished fourth in the main St.Mary’s Trophy on the Saturday – his performance in the FX saw him awarded the event’s prestigious ‘Spirit of Goodwood’ trophy.

Tragically, Brock was killed in a tarmac rally accident just a week later, but his ‘Goodwood’ FX lives on.

Since then, it has appeared at a number of car shows and historic race meets, and has earned its own fame as the last circuit-racing car campaigned by Brock.

However, with the need to focus on other projects, Munday put the FX up for auction. MSL

LEYBURN GEARS UP FOR 2011 Leyburn Sprints organisers have introduced an online ticket facility for fans who want to be organised before reaching the gate of the 2011 event.

This year’s event for historic and classic cars takes place on August 27-28 and is expected to attract about 7000 spectators.

It will be the 16th annual celebration of the 1949 Australian Grand Prix, which took place on an ex-wartime airstrip near the little Darling Downs town.

After paying by credit card on the official leyburnmotorsprints.com. au website, fans can then print out their tickets from their home computer instead of waiting for the post or standing in queue when they get to the sprints.

Adult tickets cost $15 per day or $25 for both days, while children under 14 are admitted free.

Around 200 cars ranging in vintage from the 1920s to currentday are expected to compete from 8am each day in the time trials on Leyburn’s one-kilometre, roundthe-houses course.

This year’s Sprints will see competitors, including several celebrity drivers, complete up to seven timed runs, ensuring non-stop entertainment for spectators.

Off-track attractions will be headed by an expanded Show ‘n’ Shine with trophies awarded in 14 categories and a new, bigger location opposite the start-finish line.

Leyburn Sprints organisers have received $20,000 – $5000 more than last year – from the Events Queensland Regional Development Program (EQRDP), to help market the event in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales.

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NEWS

TOP END TOURING CAR MASTERS Andrew Miedecke was the star of the Autobarn Touring Car Masters round at Darwin and now has his sights set on taking out the 2011 championship.

Miedecke won the ďŹ rst and third races and ďŹ nished second in the middle race, where he also posted a record-setting 1:16.8815 on lap seven of the 12 lap race.

His success at the Top End saw him rack up the highest number of points for the round and close the points gap slightly to championship leader John Bowe.

Bowe had his own success, enjoying the race two win and ďŹ nishing third in race one and three. “The Camaro is a good

There was a full grid of TCM cars at Darwin’s Hidden Valley.

Andrew Miedecke in his Camaro at Hidden Valley.

car for Darwin and with the recent brake upgrade the car was just brilliant under

brakes so that really helped,�

Miedecke said. “JB (Bowe) and Jim (Richards) are very tough competitors but they had a bit more of a handicap than I did this weekend. “We’ll take things where we can as we’re taking a long view of this season and we really want to try and have a crack at this championship.�

Bowe, who left Darwin with a 43 point championship lead, was equally happy with his results particularly his race two win. “I got a ripper start... but

Jim (Richards) outbraked and took the lead,â€? he said. “A couple of laps later I got in his slip stream and alongside him so we had a ďŹ rst turn battle while my tyres and brakes were still fresh.â€?

Jim Richards could not duplicate his clean sweep of races like in the 2010 races but he ďŹ nished second to Miedecke in race one, fourth in race two and three.

The series heads into a long winter break before appearing at the Muscle Car Masters, which takes place at Eastern Creek from September 3-4. MSL

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NEWS

MICK DOOHAN – THE NEXT IN A SERIES OF LEGENDS! As Australians we are renowned for being sports mad and have loved watching it for as long as we’ve had television. What makes it more interesting, is when we have a fellow Aussie participating in the sport, and often it can be the fact that

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one of our own is in it that gives the sport a following in our country!

As such we really didn’t take much notice of the World 500cc Motorcycle Grand Prix racing before the late eighties when Wayne Gardner was racing, and in the nineties Mick Doohan AM made it a ‘can’t miss a race’ sporting event for all of us! How many of us set the VHS video recorder for 2.30am so we could record the next race and see how Mick went?

In recognition of this Legend of Australian Motor Sport, Top Gear has produced the second in its Legends Series, the 1994 Honda NSR 500 in exacting 1:24 scale, showing the intricate detail of the bike that Mick rode to victory.

The Signature Edition presents the bike attached to a quality wood base, and includes a model of the helmet Mick wore during his racing career with the koala and the famous slogan, “Doohan OK” on the back! There is a special career booklet which has also been signed by Mick, and to celebrate the addition of this truly Australian legend to the series, Top Gear is also including a limited Top Gear Legends Edition of the book, “Mick Doohan – Thunder

from Down Under”, making it sensational value at $249.00. Also available is the Collector’s Edition in very limited numbers, displaying the model on a quality wood base with a clear protective dust cover, and is perfectly priced at $84.00.

If the first model in the Legends Series, the Repco Brabham BT19 V8 built and driven by Sir Jack Brabham is anything to go by, this new Official Licensed Product from Honda will sell quickly, as stocks of both models is strictly limited to 1000 pieces, and as always, both models are covered by the Top Gear Money Back Guarantee.

To reserve this second release in the Legends Series, visit www.topgear.com.au or phone Top Gear direct on toll free 1800 635 508. MSL

Take out a two-year subscription to Motorsport Legends magazine between now and November 31, 2011 and go in the draw to win a MICK DOOHAN model from Top Gear, just in time for a nice Christmas present for yourself or that someone special.

T BUY O N Y H W IPTION R C S B U AS FOR FOR DAD’ DAY? FATHERS

A two-year subscription costs just $45 and that includes a free gift of a Racing Through Time DVD, as well as an entry into our Mick Doohan competition. Current subscribers can also enter the competition by extending their subscription by 12 months for just $24.

Just fill out our subscription form on page 20 of this issue or subscribe online at www.motorsportlegends.com.au – it’s that simple!

Full competition details can be found at www.motorsportlegends.com.au

MARK SKAIFE

SKAIFEY THE LEGEND

Focused and driven, Mark Skaife was never racing for second place. His determination was considered arrogant and egotistical by some, but Skaifey wasn’t in the business to make friends. This is the story of a true champion...

STORY BY GLENIS LINDLEY; PHOTOGRAPHS BY GLENIS LINDLEY and AUTOPICS.COM.AU

A

legend only in terms of his amazing list of achievements and not his age, Mark Skaife needs little introduction to motor racing fans – especially those sitting on Holden’s side of the fence.

“It’s bad enough being called a veteran,” grinned Skaifey, who officially ‘retired’ from V8 Supercars at the end of 2008 amidst tears and cheers, before making his welcome competition comeback for the 2009 endurance season with Greg Murphy.

While the 2009 enduros did not bring much joy for Skaife, it fuelled his desire to continue racing.

“So when Roland (TeamVodafone owner Roland Dane) asked me to part-

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Above: Putting to bed any perceived differences Mark’s re-established partnership with Craig Lowndes proved fruitful and Phillip Island and Bathurst in 2010.

ner Lowndesy for the 2010 enduros, I jumped at the chance,” he said.

An honours graduate from the school of hindsight, and a very clever operator, in retirement Skaife has shone brilliantly as a hard-hitting but at times

controversial TV commentator, designing new race-tracks; as a spokesman for road safety and he had a huge input into the proposed Car of the Future for V8 Supercars.

Despite these present day accolades, adoring Holden fans associate his name with the Holden Racing Team (HRT) replacing the late, great Peter Brock (ironically, Skaife’s boyhood hero and mentor).

While the Gosford-born, Melbourne resident is unquestionably one of Australia’s greatest ever touring car competitors (recently voted second only to Brock in the top 50 driver list), in terms of idolization, admiration and popularity he never quite matched Brock’s extraordinary level of personal charisma. ❯

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MARK SKAIFE

Above: In his first race car, the Torana XU-1. Below left: In the one-make Ford Laser series where Mark first made his name. Below middle right: Mark’s dad Russell at Bathurst in 1982. Below bottom right: With his mate JR.

In his emerging days Skaifey came across as brash, ego-driven, super-confident to the point of arrogance at times and extremely ambitious.

In recent years his approval rating has risen tremendously along with his numerous achievements.

He’s remembered as an accomplished openwheel driver in the ’90s, although today’s fans generally regard Skaife as a tin-top talent.

With his family involved in the automotive industry and father Russell dabbling in racing, Skaife’s karting exploits began as a 14-year-old.

Family friend Barry ‘Bo’ Seton did the engine preparation on Russell’s racing cars, so it was not surprising that Skaife formed a friendship with Bo’s son Glenn.

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“Although Glenn was two years older, I followed him into motorbikes and karting before moving to four wheels,” Skaife explained.

Circuit racing began for the 17year-old at Amaroo Park in 1984 in a Torana XU1 Sports Sedan.

This naturally talented, determined young ace then progressed to numerous cars from Ford Lasers to Formula Brabham, where he claimed three consecutive Australian Drivers’ Championships (Gold Star titles) from 1991 to 1993.

“I’ve always liked going fast,” admitted Skaife, whose aim was to become a professional driver.

“I wanted to be the best and I wanted to win races.

“Openwheelers are a purer form of

racing and I drove F3000 overseas, hoping I’d crack Formula One, but it was so difficult to raise funds.”

There were some hard paths to travel, but his first big break came when he joined Fred Gibson (now one of his closest friends), with lead driver George Fury and his mate Glenn. He spent time there as a mechanic before earning his stripes driving a Nissan Gazelle, clinching the 1987 two-litre ATCC, then graduating to a Nissan Skyline and GT-R. When Glenn formed his own Ford Sierra team in Peter Jackson colours, Skaife stepped up, joining Jim Richards to win the 1991 and 1992 Tooheys 1000 Bathurst crowns.

He also recorded his first ATCC ❯

MARK SKAIFE

title in 1992 and repeated that feat in a Gibson Motorsport Commodore in 1994.

“I considered that Jim was one of the best ever touring car drivers; he taught me so much and was so competitive,” an appreciative Skaife said.

However, he disputes the ‘Gentleman Jim’ tag.

“When told to drive the car as hard as he could (by Freddie), ‘Richo’ would drive the wheels off it,” Skaife said with a chuckle.

“He could be none too gentle on cars when necessary!”

Skaife had the distinction of becoming the first and only driver to tick up titles in three major events – the ATCC, Gold Star and Bathurst – in one year (1992).

That particular year also remains a memorable part of Bathurst history.

Who could forget ‘Gentleman Jim’, that placid, greatly-respected driver, uncharacteristically telling the booing, jeering Bathurst mob (who wanted victory for Dick Johnson’s Ford Sierra instead of the ‘Jap-crap’ Nissan GT-R) “you’re a

Historic

At Bathurst in 1987 in the Nissan Gazelle

pack of arseholes!”?

Even Jim’s closest friends were shocked. But there’s more to that story.

It wasn’t the fact that he and Skaifey had driven the wheels off their Nissan in treacherous conditions, more the emotion associated with his close friend Denny Hulme, who’d suffered a fatal

heart attack earlier in the race.

Ten years later when Skaife and Richards, this time with Skaife as lead driver, repeated their Bathurst triumph, Jim had other words to say: “You’re a bunch of lovely, lovely people.”

It was a great moment for Skaife, who said “there’s been nothing more gratify-

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ing in my career, than winning this again, with my best mate”.

For those who thrive on records, along with his three Gold Stars, five touring car championships and six Bathurst titles, the wildly successful 43-year-old has had 89 race wins and 41 round wins from 218 starts, plus 41 poles.

And he’s far from finished, although there’s no desire to return to fulltime competition.

Then came some upheavals and a few bleak years for Gibson Motor Sport, Nissan and Winfield.

Rule changes paved the way for Holdens and Fords to become the major runners in the V8 Supercar Championship and tobacco sponsorship was banned after 1995.

In 1996, Gibson struggled to find backing so the team raced a resurrected old white Commodore with black wheels devoid of major sponsorship – and even the Sega agreement wasn’t honoured correctly.

Skaife was reluctant to leave his comfort zone but Holden Racing Team’s ❯

Skaife dominated Formula Brabham in the early 1990s.

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MARK SKAIFE

Above: Skaife at Bathurst in 1988 in the Nissan Skyline HR31. Left (top, middle and bottom) Skaifey in the all-conquering Nissan GT-R in various guises. He won an ATCC title and two Bathurst 1000 in the Japanese Godzilla. Below: Skaife on his way to championship victory in the Winfieldbacked Gibson Motor Sport Commodore in 1994.

John Crennan was knocking on his door.

So the inevitable happened and he move to the prestigious team after Brock’s retirement in 1997, leading to another successful phase in his impressive career and thrusting Skaife further into the public eye.

But the man found himself playing a new game entirely.

“I went from driver and team man-

ager at Gibson Motor Sport to Craig Lowndes’ teammate,” Skaife recalled.

“It was an entirely different and extremely challenging role.”

While he was used to calling the shots at Gibson, Skaife was initially only a part of the decision making at HRT. The situation could have proved difficult but as then team boss Jeff Grech said, “Mark did an incredible job”.

“I WENT FROM DRIVER AND TEAM MANAGER AT GIBSON MOTOR SPORT TO CRAIG LOWNDES’ TEAMMATE.”

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Skaife quietly climbed the ladder of success, gathering fame, fortune and power, as he eased his way into Brock’s impressive shoes and became the new high-profile Holden hero.

His five ATCC titles elevated him to the status of past record holders like the legendary Dick Johnson and Ian ‘Pete’ Geoghegan, while the fame that had once been directed towards Brock, Johnson and Allan Moffat was now levelled at this totally committed, focused new personality.

Having found his feet, the new face of Holden began to demonstrate his awesome ability to set fast qualifying times while teammate Lowndes was the master of launching off the line.

They were both fiercely competitive and each wanted to rule the roost.

The one chink in Skaife’s solid ❯

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armour was his inability to start races quickly.

So he practiced and practiced – even joking about his imperfection – and being a ‘self-confessed control freak’ didn’t rest until he overcame the problem.

Meanwhile, ‘The Kid’ (Lowndes) won the ATCC in 1998 and ’99 so Skaife set about consolidating his position, clawing back into contention from 2000.

He earned the respect of HRT management as a driver, but also for his astute business acumen.

It seemed that Skaife and the allconquering HRT, with parent company Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR), were setting the standards and could do no wrong!

The title went Skaife’s way in 2000, while dissatisfaction and niggling disagreements, even rivalry, caused ‘Golden Boy’ Lowndes to depart for ‘bluer’ pastures and he defected to Ford’s Gibson Motor Sport.

At the peak of his power, more titles came Skaife’s way, plus Bathurst victories in 2001 (with Tony Longhurst) and 2002 (with Richards).

However, the once dominant and powerful HRT started suffering setbacks.

While the complete story will probably never be revealed, changes and problems filtered through – including the split from TWR after that empire collapsed, the sorting of teams and drivers under the Holden ‘umbrella’ and the shock announcement that Skaife would become the new owner of HRT by June 1, 2003 in a 10-year deal reportedly worth $10 million.

And so began a new chapter and challenge in Skaife’s life, who professed, “the obligation of driving is my number one priority”.

“I absolutely believe that as an owner/ driver, victory is possible every time,” a determined Skaife said.

But he experienced a rocky road with increasing pressures and responsibilities adding to the turmoil and trials of this modern-day, cut-throat sporting business.

A little hiccup like the infamous and well-documented ‘road rage’ incident with Russell Ingall at Eastern Creek in 2003 didn’t help his cause.

Ever the diplomat, the usually calm and calculated driver later publically

apologised profusely, making noises along the lines of “the incident with Russell was unfortunate and I regret it” and “it was heat of the moment stuff, it doesn’t reflect well on our sport”.

But he admits he still gets upset thinking about that incident.

For a few agonizing years, the faultless race craft once demonstrated by HRT was almost non-existent, as Skaife and new teammate Todd Kelly went off the boil, struggling to overcome mistakes, mechanical failures and frustrating form slumps.

Even Kelly’s youthful enthusiasm did little to lift morale after lacklustre performances. However there were several glimpses of brilliance: good qualifying times and race and round wins which brought hope to the team.

It culminated in their reassuring, confidence-boosting Bathurst victory in 2005, which helped lift HRT from the doldrums.

“Staying competitive is an endless pursuit,” Skaife emphatically believes.

With former sparring partner Ingall clinching the V8 Supercar Championship that year, things could have proved interesting but Skaife was too conscious

of his public image to engage in another dog fight.

Then followed another bitter disappointment at Bathurst in 2006 for the pole-sitter and red-hot favourite.

“Clutch failure off the line and being slammed into by Jack Perkins while struggling to climb the mountain did little for morale,” admitted Skaifey.

“But my ultra-competitive spirit is still very much alive.”

However, in a sudden about-turn, his largely unexpected and untimely retirement came just two years later.

Then, to the delight of fans, one of the most convincing comebacks ever experienced in V8 Supercar history would unfold.

The accolades began after the 2010 L&H 500 Phillip Island endurance round, but when Lowndes and Skaife added their names to the Peter Brock Trophy at Bathurst with another inspirational drive, the applause reached deafening proportions.

“We last drove together 10 years ago, so to come back and crack Bathurst is a fairytale come true,” Skaife said sincerely, with a tinge of emotion.

The man always sporting his big ❯ MotorSportLegends

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MARK SKAIFE

Above: Skaife delivered three Bathurst victories and three titles for the Holden Racing Team but his time there ended in controversy.

smile and his more serious driving partner gelled together from the start, with any perceived past differences definitely lost in history.

Lowndes/Skaife blitzed the field of V8 Supercar hot-shots, not only once, but twice.

Lowndes also smashed Greg Murphy’s long-standing Bathurst lap record, prompting Skaife to declare, “he’s every bit as good as Peter Brock”.

When Skaife injured his ribs during his driving stint, it was Lowndes who rose to the occasion and drove an exhausting 79-lap session at the wheel, causing his own back to partially seize up.

But any pain was overshadowed by the joy of their very special triumph.

It was a touching experience to

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witness their elation, their enormous satisfaction in conquering the mountain together and the genuine realisation of a dream fulfilled.

When asked if there were any unachieved ambitions, unsurprisingly Skaifey admitted he would have liked more race victories and to have done a better job when racing overseas. But he’s not alone there – those sentiments are shared by countless other drivers!

The quote of the day belongs to his wife Toni, who, when she first started going out with him, asked “why don’t you convert more pole positions into race wins?”.

A new experience presented itself this year – a one-off Porsche Carrera

Cup drive at the Australian Grand Prix.

As amazing as it seems, this was the first time he’d ever raced a left-hand drive vehicle. Needless to say he acquitted himself well, qualifying second on the grid and claiming two fourths.

With Bathurst beckoning again, everyone is eagerly anticipating the result of the formidable Skaife/Lowndes combination in 2011. MSL

MotorSport Legends THE MAGAZINE THAT BRINGS YOUR MOTORSPOR T MEMORIES BACK TO LIFE

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HISTORIC RACER

Richard Townley (MGTC Special) leads Graham Waller (MGA) and Geoff Fry (Vulcan Sports).

There were a whopping 47 events on the two day program at Winton, so one could be forgiven for not seeing all the trackside action.

It was a year of landmarks at the 35th running of Historic Winton, and Shannon’s Classic Car Park was packed with hundreds of desirable classics from yesteryear.

It was centenary celebrations for the famous American marques of Stutz and Chevrolet, and amongst the exhibits was a stunning 1918 Stutz Bearcat originally purchased by Australia’s cattle king Sidney Kidman as a wedding gift for his daughter.

The car has been lovingly restored by Ian Smith of Ballarat.

Ninety years of two famous French racing marques were

also acknowledged.

After producing aircraft in World War I, Salmson turned to car manufacturing, first with a lightweight 4-cylinder vehicle, and won the 1921 Grand Prix de Cycle class at Le Mans.

Over the next eight years

Salmson won more than 550 races and set 10 world records before its racing program was abandoned.

Steen Pedersen from NSW raced his 1927 Salmson GP in the Group J events at Winton.

French Amilcars were out in force to also celebrate 90 years

of racing history.

Only a year after production began, Amilcar won the first 24-hour race in 1922 and achieved great success in classics such as the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio.

No fewer than 22 Amilcars were on show, both on and off the track – a magnificent gathering of the famous French voiturettes.

A number of British makes were featured, including 60 years of Triumph Renown and Triumph Mayflower and 50 years of the E-Type Jaguar, described by Enzo Ferrari as “the most beautiful car ever made”.

He should know!

Half centuries were being celebrated by Austin Healey Sprite and MG Midget, but sadly 75 years of the Fiat 500 MotorSportLegends

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HISTORIC FEATURE

went unnoticed.

There was only one baby Fiat on show – a beautiful example in pale blue livery.

The car park was also adorned with a fine assembly of vintage motorcycles with their proud owners locked in earnest conversation for the weekend.

But back to the track where the real action was taking place.

Historic Winton is unique in hosting around 400 competitors from all parts of Australia in two, three and four wheel categories.

The meeting is a combined effort between the Austin 7 Club and the Historic Motorcycle Racing Association of Victoria – a successful union that has stood the test of time.

Seventy bike and 16 sidecar entrants contested the Vintage, Classic, Post Classic, All Powers and ‘Forgotten Era’ events over the two days.

Several machines from the 1930s and ‘40s were on hand, but the oldest bike competing

Top: An early 1930s Triumph. Above left: Happy passengers leaning out of an Amilcar. Above right: An ancient restoration in progress. Left: Celebrating 60 years of the Triumph marque. Bottom left: The event all saluted qoo years of the Amilcar. Below: Motorbikes play an important part of the Winton Historic meeting. Far right: Scenes of Brookland, a massive Sunbeam.

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was the 690cc 1928 Douglas TT belonging to Ken Lucas.

Capacities ranged from Karl Corpe’s monster Kawasaki Z1R of 1200cc to the diminutive Kawasaki KH100 ridden

by Denis Brown, checking in at just 100cc.

Standout performances included Clive Harrop who won the Ken Lucas Trophy Race six-lap handicap on his 1938 Ariel Red Hunter, and the sidecar team of Terry Gay and Paul Ayton (1969 Honda Tranzac).

After suffering a serious accident earlier in the year, Karl Corpe was back to his best sharing the weekend between his 1972 Honda CB750 and the Kawasaki Z1R. With such a large program to get through it was an early, crisp start both days for scrutineering at 7.45am, with practice getting underway at 9am sharp.

In a 1948 Ford Monoskate, Graham Raper won the Douglas Briese Trophy in the Saturday feature event.

Raper capped off a great weekend by also winning the Lou Molina Trophy Race.

The historic touring car fraternity lost one of its staunchest supporters with the passing of Graham Slater just two days before the meeting.

Graham was passionate about his motorsport and until recently shared a Torana XU-1 with his son.

Over the years he had been a motoring writer, competitor and enthusiastic contributor to the Historic Touring Car Association, and battled bravely against his illness to the very end.

An empty space was left on the touring car grid as a mark of respect for a man who had dedicated many years to the sport he loved. MSL

WINTON WINNERS

TROPHY WINNER VEHICLE Phil Irving Trophy ........................ Keith Simpson ....................1966 Brabham BT16 Coad Memorial Trophy................ Greg Smith ..........1953 MG Holden Monoposto Mark Dymond Trophy ................. David Reid ....................................1959 Faux Pas Col. Arthur Waite Trophy............. Paul Boatwright ....................... 1928 Austin 7 s/c Alan Jones Trophy ....................... Stephen Pike............... 1959 Austin Healey 3000 Terry Kelly Trophy ........................ Dave Dungey .............................1933 Riley 9 Spl Firth Motors Award...................... Schapel family .......................of Schapelli Racing Driver of the Meeting................... Gary Edwards ............1972 Holden Torana XU-1 Douglas Briese Trophy ................ Graham Raper ..................1948 Ford Monoskate Lou Molina Trophy....................... Graham Raper ..................1948 Ford Monoskate

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WEBB OF

Intrigue Mick Webb remembers a time when foreign Fords dominated touring car racing and the Great Race.

W

hen thinking about the Tony Longhurst/Tomas Mezera Bathurst victory featured in this issue of Motorsport Legends, I am reminded of the time we tackled The Mountain in a Ford Sierra.

The move came a year earlier – in 1987, after I engineered the Rothmans VL Commodore with Allan Moffat and John Harvey during the 1987 World Touring Car Championship races at Monza and Spa. We returned to Australia realising the Commodore was never going to win against the turbocharged Ford, and we needed to source our own Sierra. It was decided that I would return to England to do a deal with Andy Rouse, who we had got to know during the WTCC. I arranged to bring a car and a crew back to Australia, flown here from the UK by our good friends at Continental Airlines.

Though we had formed a close friendship with Rouse, I got a hell of a shock when I arrived at his workshop in Warwickshire. Anyone who has been on the tours of FPR and HRT and GRM will know how clinical the workshops are. Even in those days we tried to keep Moffat’s workshop as clinical as we could but Andy’s workshop was the complete opposite.

I remember walking into the workshop and thinking I have never seen so much garbage in my life. I had been

to the Heidelberg Motor Wreckers before and I think the Heidelberg Motor Wreckers was tidier. There were so many car parts – engines, gearboxes, you name it – spread all over this little four or five car garage. There was absolute shit everywhere, and I thought, ‘What have I done?’.

I remember getting on the phone to Moffat that night saying, “I think we have made a mistake”. The Poms weren’t the clinical people we were, and the Yanks were. You’d go to an American workshop and you could eat your dinner off the floor. The Poms weren’t like that.

We sourced the car to run just two events – the Calder Park WTCC round and Bathurst. At that time, fuel in Australia was pretty shitty and we were fairly spooked by it because you needed to use top grade fuel with those turbo engines. The big additive in those days was toluene, which increased the fuel’s octane rating. I can still remember Frank Lowndes nailing us after the race at Calder Park at scrutineering for having a higher percentage of toluene than

the regulations allowed.

The car was reasonably competitive at Bathurst. Allan, Andy and Thierry Tassin were driving and I oversaw the mechanical side of the team; Andy’s guys worked with me. They had all the engineering skills to run a Sierra but I had all the engineering skills to run a car around Bathurst. That’s how we worked.

We were fast enough to finish in the top three or four until the gearbox broke, which put us out of the race on lap 31. It would have been a successful campaign if the car had been a bit more reliable. We later learnt that the gearbox was an old unit, and there were a few other faulty things so the car just wasn’t up to the job. After that, Moffat realised Rudi Eggenberger was the number one Sierra man, so he did a deal with him for the following year, but he still couldn’t outlast Longhurst and Mezera.

People ask me how we coped changing from a rotary engine to a V8 to a turbocharged four cylinder in just a few years, but it was just part of an evolution. You step sideways sometimes in life; it’s like going from a three bedroom house to a four bedroom house. That’s what I did for a living; I was involved in motorsport and I ran and engineered race cars. Sometimes it didn’t matter what type engine the car had in it, it was still an engineering package that we tried to make as successful as we could.

– Mick Webb MotorSportLegends

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TONY LONGHURST

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MotorSportLegends

LIVING HIS DREAM Tony Longhurst won the Bathurst 1000 twice, once in a Ford and later in a Holden.

Throughout his racing career he also drove Alfas, Chevs and BMWs; he didn’t really care what marque he was driving as long as it was fast – he just loved racing!

STORY BY GLENIS LINDLEY; PHOTOGRAPHS BY GLENIS LINDLEY and AUTOPICS.COM.AU

W

hen Tony Longhurst tried to “punch teammate Paul Morris’ lights out” back in 1994 at Winton after an on-track altercation, family, friends, fans and even his few foes were absolutely amazed because it was so out of character!

Longhurst is the type of guy who is normally easy-going and laid back; a devoted family man who absolutely adores his pet dogs Soda and Jet and a parrot which happily called his shoulder home and shared his affection.

He’s far removed from a run of the mill character, and nothing about Longhurst really screams ‘racing car driver’ until he’s behind the wheel.

It’s then that his competitive streak

Top: Victory at Bathurst in 1988 with Tomas Mezera in a Ford Sierra. Above: Longhurst co-drove with Mike Burgmann in a Chev Camaro at Bathurst in 1983.

and unquestionable determination to win becomes obvious.

He began his motor racing career relatively late in life at the age of 25, so that became his preferred racing number, compared with the likes of the youngest

ever Formula One Champion Sebastian Vettel (23), and established V8 Supercar driver Shane van Gisbergen, who’s just 22.

Like most of today’s younger generation racers, they began karting or riding bikes even before they were attending kindergarten.

So for this promising new face on the block, going from having his first competitive drive of a race car to conquering Mount Panorama in the space of five years was exceptionally satisfying.

“Winning Bathurst was tremendous.

What an unbelievable feeling, Longhurst exclaimed.

Born in Sydney, he shifted to the Gold Coast with his parents John and Annette around 1977, where John purchased ❯ MotorSportLegends

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TONY LONGHURST

land at Coomera and designed and built the Dreamworld theme park, which opened in 1981.

Tony worked as the construction manager on the project for around 10 years and on other occasions was even known to dress up as clown - “It was all part of the fun,” he said.

Longhurst loves water skiing and even set an Australian speed record of 201.117 km/h on the Nerang River in 1977.

He “messed around” with mini bikes as a kid but said racing never entered his mind.

“My first job was pumping petrol in an Ampol Service Station, but I later became a brickie, which came in handy for various business ventures down the track,” he smiled.

After a casual visit to Surfers Paradise International Raceway to watch a friend

racing a Gemini, Longhurst decided that it looked like fun.

Soon he too was competing in the 1983 Queensland Gemini Series.

He also raced in Sydney’s Amaroo Park Alfa Series and stretching his legs further with his first Bathurst 1000 appearance, driving a Camaro with the late Mike Burgmann with Dreamworld sponsorship.

There was no turning back for this newly committed racer, who clinched the Alfa Series in 1984.

This was a considerable achievement as he was up against the likes of Allan Grice, Dick Johnson, Colin Bond and Alf Costanzo.

Soon a JPS BMW drive offered and his teammate was none other than Jim Richards and the late Frank Gardner was team manager; Longhurst was in extremely capable hands.

His first major victory came in 1985 with Richards in the Sandown 500.

After winning the 1986 Better Brakes Series for JPS BMW an ambitious Longhurst set up his own Ford Sierra team, resulting in a Bathurst 1000 victory with co-driver Tomas Mezera in 1988.

The annual trek to Bathurst became a family affair.

Longhurst’s wife Karen ran the business side while other family members formed part of the crew.

Children Mitch and Jessica were introduced to motor racing.

Jessica became a Castrol grid girl one year, but there’s been no real move by Mitch to follow in his father’s footsteps.

Mitch tried karting but preferred surfing and studying.

Graduating with a university degree, he’s now a town planner with the Gold Coast City Council.

HE BEGAN HIS MOTOR RACING CAREER RELATIVELY LATE IN LIFE AT THE AGE OF 25, SO THAT BECAME HIS PROFESSIONAL RACING NUMBER 32

MotorSportLegends

Left: Longhurst in a BMW at Amaroo Park in 1985.

Other photos: Longhurst and Mezera were surprise winners at Bathurst in 1988.

Early in his career Longhurst drove BMWs, Sierras and Fords for highprofile teams from JPS, Freeport Motorsport and Benson & Hedges to Castrol.

As team photographer for JPS/Benson & Hedges from around 1983, I remember many of his dedicated crew, some of whom are still very much involved with motor racing today.

To name a few there’s Stone Brothers Racing co-owner Jim Stone; Ford Performance Racing’s Technical Director Campbell Little, and Tomas Mezera, who went from working on cars to driving them to watching them as V8 Supercars Driving Standards Observer.

Several championships, a 500 kilometre street race victory in 1992 with Paul

Morris at Wellington in New Zealand, being voted the 1993 BMW International Driver of the Year plus numerous runner-up results were testimony to Longhurst’s professionalism and high standard of achievement.

As a leading contender in the Shell Australian Touring Car Championship, Longhurst drove both Fords and Holdens while campaigning BMWs in the Super Touring Championship 2-litre category which he won in 1994.

There was no shortage of prominent teammates which included Alan Jones, the late Denny Hulme, Geoff Brabham, Neville Crichton and Johnny Cecotto along with Morris (before using his head as a punching bag) and Steve Ellery on the local scene.

With extensive outside business interests and investments, his commercial property portfolio formed a major part of his life.

Longhurst ventured into other fields, designing and building the Performance Driver Centre at Norwell, which opened in 1990.

At one stage this complex incorporated an impressive car museum and motor racing workshops, while Frank Gardner was involved in the partnership.

Ironically, this Driver Training facility is now owned by Paul Morris and is the base for his massive motor racing operation.

Longhurst was a popular and wellrespected competitor, who ran with the frontrunners and was unlucky not to ❯ MotorSportLegends

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TONY LONGHURST

notch up a few more Bathurst victories.

The 2000 Bathurst race, where the Mountain dealt another cruel blow, was one that remains etched in his mind.

By then the Gold Coaster had sold his own Castrol-sponsored team and was driving a Caltex Havoline Falcon for Stone Brothers Racing.

He and young rookie co-driver David Besnard seemingly had the race in their grasp nine laps from the finish, holding a seven second lead.

This had been achieved against all odds after several unscheduled pit stops, including a fire while refuelling.

They’d worked their way through the pack from last to lead the field for close on 30 laps – and looked set for victory.

Then tragedy struck! A back-marker, Adam Macrow, who he’d partnered with at Bathurst the previous year, managed to clip Longhurst’s car which put him into the wall.

The car was forced into retirement with a badly damaged front wheel.

“That was the most devastating result of my career,” Longhurst recalled.

“We were extremely disappointed not to win, but I still had the satisfaction of overtaking the entire field and gaining the admiration of so many who thought we could have won.”

In the pits, there were tears all around.

Tony’s wife Karen shared her husband’s agony.

“He’d driven so well all day and had put his heart and soul into winning,” she said.

“It seemed like the end of the world at 34

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the time.”

The following year saw a more-determined Longhurst back contesting the endurance races with Holden Racing Team, where with Mark Skaife, he recorded his second and even more satisfying victory on Mount Panorama.

“It was a perfect day’s racing,” Longhurst summed up.

Then came a shift to Betta Electrical (Ford), joining forces with Rod Nash (Holden), buying a Level 1 licence, a stint with Larry Perkins’ Castrol team, plus various endurance races.

Approaching 2005, semi-retirement seemed like a good idea until his itchy right foot took him to Targa Tasmania with solicitor friend Michael de Vere navigating.

They towed the standard Subaru WRX, complete with radio and air-conditioning, from the Gold Coast themselves.

“I thought I’d be up against a bunch of gentleman racers,” explained Longhurst, “I wasn’t expecting them to be so competitive.

“My service crew was Karen and our tools were virtually the basic tool kit which came with the car.”

Amazingly, against seasoned professional rally drivers, they finished ninth outright, having no previous rally experience, no pace notes, and almost no knowledge of the Tasmanian road stages.

Returning to Targa in 2006 they claimed fourth, then third in 2007, against acclaimed tarmac rally specialists, while third place in Rallye Burnie

(Tasmania) again showed Longhurst’s highly-competitive spirit.

He even upgraded to a ‘super-duper’ C- Spec WRX Sti with credentialled navigator Jahmeil Taylor on board.

Coming second to Porsche rally legend and good friend Jim ‘Targa King’ Richards in the 2007 Quit Targa West in a Skelta G-Force, and fourth in the Mount Buller Sprints in a WRX STi, further increased his desire to pursue his new love of rallying.

“That Skelta was one hell of a car. I loved the challenge,” Longhurst enthusiastically declared, “but they are deadly serious racers”.

While sitting in second place and eying off the lead in the 2008 Targa Tasmania, Longhurst had a rare ‘off ’.

He rejoined with only minor damage and played catch-up, eventually finishing 10th.

“I’m certainly enjoying rallying as much as I enjoyed circuit racing in the 1990s when I was in my prime,” he said.

“But there is room for improvement. I now understand why Jim loves rallying so much.”

Despite this new direction, V8 Supercar endurance events still managed to lure him back to touring cars.

Longhurst teamed with young talent Steve Owen at Autobarn Racing in 2006 and he rejoined HRT for Sandown in 2007, replacing Mark Skaife who had suffered appendicitis.

Snaring the 2009 Bathurst 12- Hour victory in a Mitsubishi Evo X with Rod Salmon and Damien White was another

Above and above left: Longhurst joined Mark Skaife in the Bathurst-winning Holden Racing Team Commodore in 2001. Left: Longhurst with Jim Richards at Targa Tasmania. Far left (clockwise): With a young Paul Morris in happier days; with Allan Moffat and with his family.

well-deserved achievement.

Longhurst remained super fit, training with ironman and friend Guy Andrews.

He discovered bike riding and, weather permitting, surfed most days.

Longhurst is a non-smoker, virtual non-drinker, and a notorious fitness fanatic.

Family holidays to surfing locations such as Bali, fishing and boating on his Riviera and thriving on adventure such as tandem jumping from a plane with son Mitch, are part of his make-up.

But away from the motor racing adrenaline-rush, his other big kick in life is property/unit development.

It wasn’t unusual to visit his place and see him hard at work doing everything from overseeing the building project to building retaining walls or helping with landscaping (preserving the environment

is another of his pet projects).

He’s also spent considerable time helping on his father’s latest building site at Airlie Beach.

Then the unthinkable happened.

While on a surfing vacation to Bali in April 2010, the then 52-year-old suffered a heart attack.

Longhurst was rushed to Singapore by jet, where he had a stent installed during life-saving surgery.

He was upset because he’d entered Targa again, which was due to take place at the end of that month.

“All he could think about was getting better in time,” Karen said.

But his doctor stood firm and resisted all attempts to allow him to compete.

This was a big blow for a man unaccustomed to sitting around doing nothing. However by October he was allowed

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to participate in the ‘Legends’ support event as part of the V8 Supercar Armor All Gold Coast 600, where he proudly drove his famous #25 B&H Sierra.

Longhurst was back behind the wheel again for the 2011 Targa, finishing a respectable seventh with inexperienced navigator, Geoff Burgess, a mate from his water-skiing days.

With the unpredictability of motor racing, he’s become very relaxed.

“I preferred racing in the ‘good old days’ when we weren’t regimented by so many rules and regulations, which take away some of the fun,” he lamented.

“And it gobbles up all your money!”

Just for fun earlier this year, Longhurst competed in the Australian Kiteboarding National Titles in Townsville.

“There’s no stopping him!” Karen attests. MSL

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BRYAN THOMSON

THE TALE OF THOMMO Racing locally and overseas Bryan Thomson became an Aussie legend for his engineering ingenuity and his love affair with super-charged engines.

STORY BY GRANT NICHOLAS; PHOTOGRAPHS BY AUTOPICS.COM.AU

D

uring the Sixties many young drivers entered local motor racing events at the wheel of their road cars with the aid of friends and families.

Some remained in the club scene while others like Bryan Thomson ultimately thrilled race fans throughout Australia, New Zealand and England.

Thomson’s engineering innovations and trait for gaining maximum performance from his motorcycles, open wheelers, sports cars and touring cars made him a winner both on and off the track.

Thomson grew up on a dairy farm on the outskirts of Rochester in Central Victoria until he was 12 years old when the family to Shepparton.

Due to a shortage of accommoda-

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MotorSportLegends

Above: Thommo began his road racing career on two wheels with his Velocette 350 Mac.

tion his parents and their seven children lived in a large tent on the banks of the Goulburn River for nine months in 1947 until a house was purchased.

After leaving Melbourne’s Scotch College for an electrical apprenticeship, he began tinkering with motorcycles.

Over the next couple of years he purchased and refurbished or updated 21 motorcycles by the time he celebrated his 21st birthday.

“I worked on Triumphs, Ariels, BSAs, Royal Enfields and several others but my heart was set on a Vincent Rapide so I shouted myself a second-hand one of those for my 21st,” Thomson said.

In the early-to-mid-1950s, Thomson raced in mud scrambles with a 1948 Ariel Red Hunter until he made his road racing debut at Victoria Park, Ballarat, on a Velocette 350 Mac. “It was those formative years that pointed me towards the motor industry and motorsport,” he recalled.

The April after he finished his apprenticeship, Thomson and three mates

sailed to Europe with the plan of attending the Isle of Man motorcycle races in June. When they docked at Fremantle, notification came through that war had broken out at the Suez Canal and they were directed around the Cape – meaning that they missed the Isle of Man. “The day the ship arrived in London, live commentary from the Le Mans 24Hour Race in France was being broadcast throughout the ship as the Jaguar D-types were leading – we thought ‘how good is this?’.

“We ended up following the Grand Prix and Sports Car championships through Europe that summer where the British built Vanwall beat the Ferraris at Monza; Jaguar was winning the sports car races and the name Cooper Climax was on everybody’s lips.

At the end of 1958, Thomson bought an Austin Healey 100/4 BN1 sports car from a mate and paid for in instalments when he could.

“The following April the Benalla Auto Club ran a race meeting at Barjarg, approximately halfway between Benalla and Mansfield, and we took in a club run with the newly formed Goulburn Valley Car Club to the event,” he said.

“If you had a crash helmet and paid the £1 entry fee you could race your car, so I ran the Healey on the oil surfaced circuit – I had my first race win that day.

“I was hooked and the BN1 was bored to 3L and a host of other improvements were carried out as it remained my everyday wheels as well as race car at the Templestowe and Rob Roy hill-climbs.”

In 1959 the Phillip Island Auto Racing Club sold £10 debentures to raise money to asphalt the race circuit.

“I was one of those debenture holders, so in early 1960 I had my first race meeting on bitumen, then at the ex-Fishermans Bend airport track and at Mount Panorama,” Thomson said.

“Next I purchased the stylish Monza Special sports car, powered by a supercharged Repco high-power cylinder head Holden six-cylinder engine that developed 200hp, from Lou Molina.

“It was road registered so I test drove it around the block before handing over the money and driving it to Shepparton.

“I raced the Monza in 1960 and ’61, taking in the inaugural race meeting at Calder plus at Hume Weir, Mount ❯ Panorama, Sydney’s Warwick Farm

Top: Thomson sold his Austin Healey 100/4 BN1 for the stylish Monza Special. Above: Thomson punts his Alfa Romeo out of Bathurst’s Hell Corner during the Hardie Ferodo 500. Left: Thomson was a fan of forced induction, supercharging a Climax engine after success with the Monza’s supercharged Holden motor. Bottom: Bruce Carey’s Ford Capri leads Thomson’s Torana/Chev though the Oran Park esses during a Sports Sedan event.

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BRYAN THOMSON

Thommo dives under the bonnet to tune the 48 IDA Webbers on his Ford Mustang.

Top: The Bryan Thomson/John Mann Chev Camaro at Bathurst. Middle: The Holden-powered Monza Special. Above: Thomson’s Mercedes G leads Kevin Bartlett’s De Tomaso Pantera.

plus all of the local club circuits and achieved 20 wins from 57 starts and the North-Eastern Drivers Championship.”

In 1962 Thomson’s desire for more speed saw him move into open wheelers, steering the ex-Victa Consolidated Industries Cooper Climax T51 that he purchased from Bib Stillwell.

The car was a Formula 2 chassis fitted with a 2.5L FPF Climax engine and after that season’s Tasman Series, Stillwell upgraded into the ex-Jack Brabham Cooper Lowline car. “I got the car less engine as it was installed into his Lowline so I bought a 2.2L FPF Climax engine from Austin Miller’s Cooper T51 – he had replaced the Climax engine with a Chevrolet Corvette power plant for a land speed record attempt,” Thomson remembered. “I sold the Monza for £2000 and that is what it cost me for the engine from Miller, so I said to Bib that I was prepared to buy the car but I 38

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would have to pay it off.

“So he asked what I had in mind, as the purchase price for the car was £2000.

“I said I could not afford to give him a deposit for the car but I was prepared to pay him £40 a week. He said fair enough; that was my entire wages at that time but fortunately I had a contract with BP and that allowed me to race.”

Thomson entered the Cooper at the opening race meeting at Sandown Park.

“We knew that I would struggle against the larger capacity cars, but I was unbeatable at the country circuits as we were generally taking in all of the club race meetings.

“I took the outright lap record whilst winning on the oil/dirt track at Tarrawingee and at times we did take in several of the major events.

“After not being competitive in the big league I supercharged the Climax engine. I was quite happy to supercharge

it after my previous experience with the Monza, plus I had Phil Irving’s book How To Tune For Speed opened on the supercharging pages.

“I installed a second-hand blower out of a damaged Commer Knocker truck and I reckoned we needed 300hp to be competitive in the older car.

“I engineered a stainless steel girdle to go under the crankshaft to hold the whole thing together and took it to Jack Wilson’s engine dynameter in Moorabbin to do the final tuning. I was determined not to leave there unless we saw 300hp on the dial.”

But the engine came up short at first with 270hp.

“I took the camshafts to Eddie Thomas and he put a Jaguar C-Type grind on them to shorten the valve timing,” Thomson said.

“It made 300hp and Jack told me to take it home before the engine suffered a

At Calder Park in his Volkswagon Chevrolet 308 Here at Sandown, Thommo teamed with John Pollard for the 1976 endurance races and finished 7th at Bathurst.

Top: The Peter Fowler-built VW/Chev Sports Sedan, which once ran radical quad cam heads (above).

failure and was spread all over the floor.

“I believe it was the only supercharged FPF Climax powered car in the world and at the completion of two seasons in the Cooper I managed 20 victories from 53 starts plus won the Goulburn Valley Car Club championship.”

Thomson notes that if you are winning in a late model open wheeler they are worth a “king’s ransom”.

“But once they are not winning they are worth nothing plus you can’t drive them down to the shops,” he said.

“I wasn’t able to sell the car so I spoke to Gary Cooper about the Elfin Mallala sports car that he had just released.

“He constructed a new wider chassis Mallala utilising my FPF Climax engine plus the brakes, transmission and all of the suitable components out of my Cooper T51.

“We took the brand-new un-tested car straight from his Adelaide raceshop

to Mallala Raceway for its debut and I put it on pole and was leading the South Australian Sports Car Championship until 10 laps from the chequered flag when fuel surge reared its head.

“I stopped for 20L of fuel and tore back on track to finish second overall.

“That car served me well during ’64 and ’65 - I racked up 10 wins from 26 starts. Then I moved into the tin-tops in the ex-Gavin Baillieu Morris Cooper S, scoring six wins from nine starts at Winton Motor Raceway and Hume Weir, thanks to fitting a limited-slip differential. Brian Foley had just started importing them locally – I was the first customer to get one.”

In 1966 Thomson entered the Surfers Paradise 12-Hour Race in a Jaguar EType sports car with local open wheeler racer, Glyn Scott, co-driving.

“I gave it a birthday and drove it up to Surfers Paradise where we won the over

2-litre production class and then I drove it back home with the trophy on the passenger’s seat!” he said.

“At Sandown, ’65 Australian Touring Car champion Norm Beechey talked to me about upgrading into his championship winning Ford Mustang as General Motors wanted him to run one of their cars - so he raced a Chevrolet Nova ll.

“I bought the Mustang from him for $6250 ready to race and I went straight to Winton and broke his lap record that had been set a month earlier, plus I won the touring car feature.

“I didn’t have the resources to run that car as well as it should have been run against the likes of Norm, Ian Geoghegan and Bob Jane.

“Around that time we were getting British Autosport each month and the Mustangs were winning in England.

“They were running a single fourbarrel carburettor on a Holman and MotorSportLegends

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BRYAN THOMSON

Left: Sports Sedans were huge in the ’70s, attracting the sport’s biggest names. Here Thommo’s Torana/Chev leads Peter Brock’s Torana-Repco-Holden though Calder Park’s Tin Shed Corner. Below left: Thommo today, amid the many trophies he amassed over the years.

Below: Behind the wheel of the exNorm Beechey ATCC-winning Ford Mustang, which Thommo raced in the UK with much distinction.

Moody engine producing 350hp while my Shelby engine with four 48mm IDA Weber carburettors was pumping out a consistent 400hp.”

Thomson’s wife Loel jumped at the chance to spend a year holidaying in England while he competed in motorsport there.

The three staff he employed at his truck business agreed to find work elsewhere for the year and regroup the next January.

Thomson sold his stock to pay the rent while he was in England and he put the car and a four-wheel trailer on the boat.

“We arrived in April ’67 and raced at 31 race meetings in 28 weeks utilising a 1948 Bedford coach that we converted into a motor home doubling as our tow vehicle for the racecar trailer.

“We ran in their International Series, which included the British Touring Car Championship, plus the National Series - a club racing series which allowed us to run a fibreglass bonnet, boot and doors that I had made before I left Australia.

“So I would be changing body panels to suit the series.

“Quite often we would run at Brands Hatch on Saturday and Silverstone, Mallory Park or Oulton Park on Sunday.

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“I had a spare engine plus a low and a high differential ratio, so it was common after a race meeting for me to climb under the rear of the car and change the diff ratio before we loaded up. Loel then drove overnight while I slept in readiness for the next day’s racing.

“I raced against the factory backed teams, including Aussie drivers Frank Gardner, Brian ‘Yogi’ Muir, John Raeburn, Paul Hawkins, Tim Schenken plus top F1 steerers Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jackie Oliver Jacky Ickx and Vic Elford,” he said.

“Loel used to make coffees for everyone after the races as we had one of the few motor homes. Jim Clark even got changed in our motor home.

“In the National series I finished sixth outright and was first privateer so in November we returned home and I sold the car to Kim Aunger in Adelaide after we had recorded 19 wins from 70 starts.”

Thomson concentrated on his truck business in ’68 before purchasing a National Drag Racing Championship-winning big block 396 cubic-inch SS Chevrolet Camaro from local hero Neville Thompson for the ’69 season.

“An off the shelf big block engine developed 550 horsepower and came

with aluminium cylinder heads making it only 15kg heavier than a small block engine fitted with aluminium heads and if you spent a king’s ransom you could get only 500hp – and they were unreliable,” he said.

“It was far more economical to run the big block unit than a race-winning 350ci engine, but there was not a transmission that could live behind that engine.

“We ran the Muncie M21 then upgraded to the Muncie M22, which they called ‘The Rockcrusher’.

“We would use three gearboxes at a race meeting and that was the Achilles heel of the Camaro, as they could not handle more than 600hp being bolted in front of them.”

Thomson said at one stage, he seriously considered running an automatic transmission in it.

“Despite all of the breakages we powered our way through 16 races and managed to win eight of them before I sold the car to Tasmanian team owner Don Elliot,” he recalled.

“They were great days before professionalism arrived in the sport as we raced when we could, where we could, with what we had and could somehow afford.

It was a lot of fun.” MSL

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TURBO YEARS

WALKER’S F1 GLORY YEARS Murray Walker believes the early years of the Adelaide Grand Prix were by far the best. With turbo screamers, one-lap qualfying specials and a star-studded field its hard to disagree.

STORY BY ADRIAN MUSOLINO; PHOTOGRAPHS BY AUTOPICS.COM.AU

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alk through Adelaide’s central business district and the legacy of its Australian Grand Prix lives on. There’s hand imprints of grand prix greats hanging on the city streets, an Ayrton Senna memorial at the chicane that bears his name, and, of course, the annual Clipsal 500 V8 Supercars event, which helps fill the void left by the grand prix’s absence.

Helping to bridge the gap between the grand prix and Clipsal is the annual visit of Murray Walker, famed former Formula 1 commentator, who has returned to Adelaide for eight Clipsal events, becoming one of the city’s most loved guests.

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Above: Murray Walker reflects with fond admiration for those first four years of Adelaide’s F1 GP. Top: Nigel Mansell leads a star-studded, turbo-charged field.

“I first came to Adelaide, and Australia in fact, in 1985 for the grand prix,” Walker said during a chat at the 2011 Clipsal 500 Adelaide.

“Most of us in the Formula 1 paddock, and I mean about 95 per cent, had never been to Australia before.

“I didn’t even know where Adelaide was; I had to get the atlas out and have a look,” he remembers.

For Adelaide, which had no discernible feature to put it on the global map, joining the Formula 1 calendar at a time when the sport was growing substantially in terms of reach and global television audience helped rebrand the City of Churches.

It also resulted in a legacy of hosting and attracting big events that defies its modest size.

Walker recalled that back in 1984 it was a toss-up of whether Sydney, Melbourne

or Adelaide would get to host the Australian Formula 1 round.

“And my understanding, and what I’ve been told, was that Sydney assumed it would get it because it’s Sydney, Melbourne assumed it would get it because it was seen as the sporting capital of Australia, or maybe the world,” he said.

“Maybe they did not try as hard as South Australian Premier John Bannon.

“Adelaide must have been considered as an also ran, but Bannon flew to London to see Bernie Ecclestone, which Bernie likes.

“He likes people who take initiative and show some gumption.

“Adelaide fought very hard for something it proved it richly deserved.”

It may have only hosted 11 Formula 1 events in its short history, but the Adelaide grand prix years are remembered fondly by the likes of Walker and others who lived through the decade, and not only because of Adelaide’s embracement of the event.

The Adelaide grand prix years are remembered and idolised because its lifespan corresponded with what many consider the golden era of Formula 1, when screaming turbos ruled the sport and one of the most talented grids in the history of the sport went into battle.

“The turbo era was gigantically spectacular visually,” says Walker, his enthusiasm and exuberance still strong at 87 years of age.

“You had the titanium skid plates at the bottom of the cars, and the ride heights were set very low, so you got these great plumes of sparks coming from the back of the cars.

“It was a supreme test of a driver’s ability.

“The Brabham BMW, for instance, which won the first championship for a turbo in 1983, were developing about 1300 to 1400 horsepower on qualifying laps – and the power was like an on/off switch.

“Once you got nothing and then all of a sudden you’ve got the lot. And the tyres would last one lap if they nursed them.

“It was an enormously spectacular exciting and unpredictable time.

“Renault, who had first introduced the turbos in 1977, was called the yellow teapot because it was forever brewing and blowing up!”

Driving those temperamental yet spectacular turbos were what many consider ❯ the most talented group of drivers ever

Keke Rosberg on his way to victory in 1985 in his Williams-Honda.

Alain Prost was known as “The Professor” in the turbo years.

Senna was the new kid on the block in F1 during the turbo years, but he certainly left a lasting impression.

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TURBO YEARS

Michele Alborteto in the Ferrari F187 at Adelaide in 1987.

“… WE HAD AYRTON SENNA, NIGEL MANSELL, ALAIN PROST, NELSON PIQUET – ALL WORLD CHAMPIONS, ALL RACING AGAINST EACH OTHER, SO IT WAS A GREAT, GREAT TIME.”

Alain Prost at Adelaide in 1987 in the McLaren MP4/3. He retired on lap 53 with brake dramas.

to assemble on a grid together.

“I always regarded the 1980s as a golden era,” reflects Walker. “People used to say to me I was looking back with rose coloured glasses. But we had Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet – all world champions, all racing against each other, so it was a great, great time.

“Yes, Formula 1 continued to be good but, frankly, during Michael Schumacher’s reign, the opposition wasn’t as great and as varied.

“But 2010 and 2011 is a different kettle of fish all together. There’s a quality in depth that we haven’t had for a very long time.”

In the period between 1985 and 1988, the first to fourth Adelaide events, Prost and McLaren reigned supreme, al44

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though the arrival of Senna at the team set up one of the greatest rivalries in the sport, which denigrated into the famous professional fouls committed at the 1989 and 1990 Japanese Grands Prix.

Walker provides a fascinating perspective on the changing attitudes toward driving standards in this era, which led to the questionable tactics seen today.

“Immediately after the Second World War, there was quite a long period there where things were almost on a war footing in terms of standard of life and attitudes of death,” he says.

“During the war, when millions of people around the world were being killed, the attitude to death was very different to what it is now.

“Motor racing was an exciting way for

people to let off steam.

“The cars were mobile death traps – they had no safety features built into them, the circuits had no run-off or safety periods, and the medical facilities were derisory.

“It was not unusual for four or five people to be killed every year.

“And the attitude then so close to the end of the war was that if you don’t like the heat, get out of the kitchen.”

Walker noted that some people hold the controversial view that the sport can now be viewed as being too safe.

“But these people, myself included, are concerned that drivers get in the car with the virtual certain knowledge that whatever they do, they’ll be perfectly all right,” he continued.

“And this will lead them to drive aggressively as Senna did in Japan 1990 and as Schumacher did throughout his career.

“This has garnered an attitude amongst younger drivers who see the likes of Senna and Schumacher as their role models, to drive the same way.

“But as Sir Stirling Moss said to me, in his days there would never been any question of drivers adopting the aggressive tactics they do now because they could have been maimed or killed.”

Adelaide’s turbo years witnessed the fallout from the Senna-Prost battles in Japan, Mansell’s famous tyre blowout in 1986, and the farewell drives from the likes of Keke Rosberg and Niki Lauda.

And the juxtaposition of having grand prix cars with engines producing close to 1500 horsepower racing around the confines of a city street circuit added to the attraction.

But unlike rounds such as Monte Carlo, Adelaide did allow the turbos to stretch the legs on the run down Brabham Straight, producing a visual and aural spectacular that gave birth to a generation of rev-heads.

It was the city’s great fortune that its acquiring of the grand prix corresponded with the height of this golden era – four years with the turbos from 1985 to 1988 and the continuation of the Senna versus Prost (and subsequently Mansell) era into the nineties.

When Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett wrestled the Australian Grand Prix away, Adelaide’s decade-long run came to an end in 1995.

Formula 1 was undergoing a dramatic generational change; Senna was dead, Prost had retired and Mansell was making fleeting and increasingly less successful comebacks.

A new generation, led by Schumacher and Damon Hill, who won the last Grand Prix in Adelaide in front of a then record crowd of 210,000, were at the forefront of the sport, and with the passing of the Senna, Prost, Mansell era, the last link to the turbo era was gone.

But turbocharged engines seem set to return to Formula 1 in 2013, with the current 2.4-litre V8s to be replaced by four-cylinder 1.6-litre engines producing a maximum of 12,000 rpm.

With such a drastic limitation in revolutions (6000 rpm down on the current engines), the latest energy recovery systems and engines built to last over a number of grands prix, the next turbo era won’t have the same luster, grandeur and excess of the eighties golden era.

“I think it’s the right decision in terms of F1 being seen to be politically in tune with the rest of the world in terms of pollution etc,” says Walker on the move.

Historic

Then reigning champion Nelson Piquet on his way to third at Adelaide in 1988 in his Lotus-Honda.

“Sadly, and I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t think it’ll be the spectacle with 1.6-litre engines droning around quietly in the background in comparison to the 18,000 to 19,000 rpm cars we have today, because noise is one of the great attractions of Formula 1.

“I fear, however, from the point of view of the sport as a spectacle, that it may turn out to be a bad thing.

“But whenever I make a prophecy it turns out to be wrong, so I hope I am

on this occasion.”

Murray’s prophecies may be hit and miss, but few can argue with his contention that Adelaide’s turbocharged years were amongst the greatest in Grand Prix history – those screaming turbo monsters thundering around Adelaide’s city streets by the likes of Senna, Prost and Mansell.

No wonder it’s remembered so fondly and Murray keeps coming back to Adelaide. MSL

SANDOWN....

WINTON........

Festival of Speed

NOVEMBER 4TH-6TH

AUGUST 12TH-14TH

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MONACO

THE JEWEL IN F1’S CROWN It’s the best known and most prestigious event on the Formula One calendar, but has the modern grand prix car outgrown Monaco?

STORY BY ALLAN EDWARDS; PHOTOGRAPHS SUPPLIED BY RED BULL RACING and TEAM LOTUS RENAULT

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here is no argument that Monaco is the jewel in Formula One’s crown. The history of the place is amazing with Ayrton Senna claiming victory there six times and Graham ‘Mr Monaco’ Hill taking five of his 14 grands prix wins at the track. Michael Schumacher also won five Monaco winner’s trophies while Alain Prost stood on the top step of the podium on four occasions.

The beautiful people continue to make the trip to Monte Carlo for F1’s most prestigious event each season.

The magnificent pictures of the race around the streets of the principality are a boon to grand prix racing’s marketing image as they are beamed around the globe on television.

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But in recent times the narrow circuit, with its close guardrails, has raised some issues with driver safety.

At this year’s event, the 69th running of the classic grand prix, in the days leading up to the race, safety was the topic on everyone’s lips in the paddock.

When Michael Schumacher crashed his Mercedes and Tonio Liuzzi drove his Hispania into a barrier in Practice One, no one really battered an eyelid. Nor did they get too concerned when Jamie Alguersuari shunted his Toro Rosso and Vitaly Petrov lost his front wing off his Renault at the exit of the tunnel in Practice Two. But when Practice Three was red flagged not once but twice – initially when Nico Rosberg lost control of his Mercedes at the end of the tunnel and

bounced across the chicane before having a massive shunt and then later when Liuzzi crashed again – tongues began to wag.

The talk turned to real concern two days later when Sergio Perez was taken to hospital after crashing his Sauber-Ferrari in Qualifying at the Nouvelle Chicane, the same corner that nearly killed Sauber driver Karl Wendlinger in 1994 and gave Jenson Button a huge scare when he shunted his BAR Honda there in 2003.

Naturally the drivers’ first concern was the condition of their hurt peer.

“Surely there is a bit of a shadow over Qualifying when you see a colleague crash and not jumping out of the car immediately,” said pole-sitter Sebastain Vettel.

“Nico (Rosberg) had a similar accident this morning, same place, and he walked away so nothing to worry about. But then you sit inside your car and I was asking to get any feedback, any updates, to know how Sergio is doing. To be honest, it is difficult to keep the focus and you don’t feel 100 per cent well when you don’t know what is going on.

“I think that the most important thing was to hear that Sergio Perez is okay. He is conscious. We are all thinking of him and wish him well and hopefully he can start the race tomorrow,” he said.

Button compared Perez’s crash to his own experience in 2003.

“I think that I was the last person to go in there in 2003 and I know how much that it hurts. It is never nice to see that sort of thing. I hope he is okay,” he said.

“He has probably had all the X-rays and everything by now. He is probably already shouting ‘I want to be in the car; let me get back in the car,” which is what I was doing.”

Australia’s Mark Webber immediately called for more safety improvements to be made to that section of the circuit.

“Sergio had a tough crash and all the medical people have got to make sure they make all the precautions to extract him in the best possible way; our thoughts are with him and he is in great hands. We know he is talking and conscious and he will bounce back from this I am sure. But we can learn from this incident.

“We’ve seen a few guys have problems out there this weekend and it’s not a very nice part of the track – very, very high speed with a compromised run-off.

“You’ve got to slot down either side.

Obviously, Nico went down one side and we’ve seen people go down the other side but if you get in the middle, you have problems, as Sergio did today.

“In terms of safety, it’s an area where we need to look at and improve for the future. JB (Button) was lucky, Karl Wendlinger back in the mid-1990s, so I think there are a few places around here we probably need to continue to keep an eye on.”

Button agreed, saying that while circuit safety has improved at Monaco, more needs to be done.

“The cars have improved dramatically in terms of safety since Karl Wendlinger’s accident… the barrier’s been moved back since my accident… but we need to find a solution because we all love racing here. It’s a very special circuit for us and there’s so much history, but there’s a couple of areas. That’s (Nouvelle Chicane) the main area really, I think. It’s an

area we need to discuss and try to come up with a solution because we all think the same thing. We all want it to be safer there, so we can really come here and really enjoy the racing,” he said.

He explained why that area of the circuit is so dangerous.

“It’s when you first hit the brakes; the rear goes very light. For some reason it seems to be more of an issue this year… but the rear goes very light and at that point you become a passenger if you get oversteer.

“You have no control of the car and it’s pitching them into the right side barrier and then the problem is that you lose braking capability, because you’ve got two wheels off the car and it’s just a sled, just sitting on the floor…

“It’s a tricky corner and it’s an area where it’s very difficult to do anything about it in terms of safety because it is what it is. It’s Monaco, a street circuit,

The exit of Monaco’s tunnel is an area drivers say needs safety improvements following a number of incidents over the past 15 years.

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“I GUESS EVERYBODY HAS THE SAME OPINION. IT IS THE RACE OF THE YEAR THAT HAS THE HIGHEST EMOTION AND THE HIGHEST PRESTIGE …” but I still think we need to look further as to what we can do with the run-off there.

“Motor racing is dangerous; it says that on the passes, and we all know that, but there’s always more we can do…

“Some people say that it should always stay a dangerous sport, we shouldn’t improve it, but I don’t think that’s correct.”

Safety issues aside, nearly all Formula One drivers agree that Monaco is one of their favourite races of the season.

Winner of the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix Jarno Trulli summed up the current day drivers’ views when asked why a Monaco victory is at the top of most drivers’ bucket lists.

“Well it is always nice when you get a victory and winning in Monaco is special as it is the most prestigious race that you want to win,” he said.

“I remember when I crossed the line for my first ever win in Formula One. It was

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a perfect weekend as I won pole position, then I dominated the whole race... I was so satisfied.

“I think Monaco is special because of the glamour and every driver wants to win here. I always enjoy the streets of Monaco and I have always done well here.”

Five-time winner Schumacher was succinct when asked the same question.

“I guess everybody has the same opinion. It is the race of the year that has the highest emotion and the highest prestige,” he said.

Button said winning Monaco is second only behind claiming a world championship.

“Obviously, for a racing driver, they want to win world championships in Formula One and that has to be your main aim. But after that, if you are looking at race victories, you would say the Monaco Grand Prix along with your home grand prix; they are both very special to you.”

So should Formula One cars continue to race at Monaco?

The issue of safety versus glamour at Monaco is hardly a new one.

Right through the past five decades of Formula One racing, the question has been raised and it will probably continue to be asked in years to come.

There is little doubt that Monaco is vital to Formula One – not just to its history, but also for its future, as the sporting world becomes more and more crowded. With X-sports growing in popularity, grand prix racing needs to continue to promote its signature events.

Who knows? Monaco’s danger could become its very allure.

The only certainty is that Red Bull Racing’s Vettel crossed the line first to claim victory and in doing so added his name to the honour roll.

You can rest assured that if true motor racing fans, drivers and officialdom alike get their way, he won’t be the last to do so. The Monaco Grand Prix is an event that will continue to add new chapters to Formula One’s history for many years to come. MSL

Top left: Sebastian Vettel added his name to the Monaco honours roll by winning the 69th version of the classic race in 2011. Left: Ticket prices might be sky high for the race around the streets of the principality, but the crowds still flock to the party town event. Other photographs: The Monaco harbour and the old buildings of the grand city supply great pictures for the worldwide television audience.

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BOOK REVIEW

JOAN RICHMOND HER PREVIOUSLY UNTOLD STORY Brian ‘Brique’ Reed reviews this new classic and says it’s a ‘must read’ for anyone who loves the history of motor racing.

W

ere it not for the efforts of David Price and the foresight of fellow Victorian John Reaburn, the story of this remarkable Australian woman may have faded into oblivion.

Fortunately her inspirational story is now available for all to enjoy.

Joan Richmond was a somewhat feisty ‘tomboy’ who challenged the establishment. A fine horse rider, she was banned from horse racing in the 1920s because of her gender.

She then turned her hand to motor racing, and was the first woman to compete in the AGP, scoring a fine fifth outright and placing second in class at the 1931 race at Phillip Island.

What happens next is an extraordinary story of grit and determination.

Setting off from Melbourne, Joan and some friends drove three Rileys to Sicily for the start of the 1932 Monte Carlo Rally – a gruelling journey itself that took the intrepid lady motorists five months to complete.

Apart from contesting major international rallies (including seven Monte Carlo events), Joan Richmond achieved great success in hill climbs and in circuit racing. Works drives followed at Brooklands, Le Mans, Donington and elsewhere. Her greatest achievement winning a 1000-mile race at Brooklands.

Her persuasive manner usually meant she got what she wanted.

Her story, resulting from many chats and the compilation of taped interviews with David Price, detail these encounters in chronological order.

She even recounts a meeting with Adolf Hitler.

Joan Richmond lived through the bombings of London and her effort was significant in her fight against Nazism.

Her racing career covered eight years in Europe with her driving a Riley, Singer, M.G., Fiat, HRG, AC and Ballot.

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Yet amongst the glamour and notoriety there was personal tragedy and pain, which is discretely covered in this book.

At a low point in her life, Joan Richmond returned to Australia in 1946, and apart from devoting much of her life to animal welfare, she spent almost the next 50 years in relative obscurity. She died virtually unknown in 1999.

Fortunately David Price completed her life story by adding a fitting epilogue.

Joan Richmond – From Melbourne to Monte Carlo and Beyond (2011) was produced by McPherson’s Printing Group for JR Publishing.

To purchase, log on to www.joanrichmond.com or contact jr2publishing@ gmail.com RRP $45.00

V8 SUPERCARS: THE WHOLE STORY V8 Supercars: The Whole Story by Gordon Lomas details all aspects of V8 racing since the V8 Supercar category was born in 1997.

It covers the key players, race circuits in Australia and overseas, political controversies, the colourful characters, loyalty debates, team ownership disputes, on track clashes of the past decade and a half and asks some important questions about the future. This beautifully presented hardback book retails for $49.95 and is available from most book shops.

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Thunder from Down Under Mick Doohan’s 1994 Honda NSR 500 Grand Prix Motorcycle 1:24 scale replica (Left) Actual size

MICK DOOHAN, Australia’s greatest and most successful 500cc Motorcycle Grand Prix champion, won the World Championship for five consecutive years in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998! His breathtaking and fearless broadside racing style captivated millions of racing fans the world over.

Now, you have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to celebrate Mick’s domination of 500cc racing with this stunning replica of the bike that took him to his first World Championship victory in 1994. The Signature Edition model is beautifully mounted on a quality timber base with a numbered metallic plaque, personally signed by Mick Doohan. Strictly limited to just 1000 units, this unique presentation includes a replica of Mick’s 1994 helmet, plus there’s an autographed ‘Career’ booklet showcasing his successes. This worldwide exclusive release is only available from Top Gear while stocks last. The Signature Edition can be yours for just $249 or payable in five interest-free monthly instalments of $49.80. Both Editions are Officially Licensed Products by HONDA. Order yours today, before these highly collectable Limited Editions sell out!

Signature Edition (above) includes the 160 page Limited Edition book.

The timber base is 160 x 160mm.

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