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SETO DYNASTY CONTINUES The pedigree of a champion
ISSUE 20 Nov‘12 - Jan‘13
ISSN 1835-5544
MONTE CARLO MAGIC Aussie contingent relives ‘53 rally
Q U A R TE R LY
M A G A Z I N E
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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
Contents Editorial Paving the way for Aussies overseas.
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News Who did what on the historic and nostalgia motorsport scenes.
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Seto on his son 10-17 Glenn Seton became famous for his ability to drive a car on the edge and get everything out of it. The vision of his drive at Bathurst in the wet in 1987 is etched in the minds of anyone who saw it. The next generation could be even better... Muscle Car Masters 18-21 We relive all of the action from the eighth Muscle Car Masters at Sydney Motorsport Park. Historic Racer 23-28 Welcome to the 14th edition of our historic racing section, which includes coverage of the Festival of Speed at Winton and the Leyburn Sprints. We also remember a very special Aston Martin. Webb of Intrigue 29 Mick’s not scared to tell it how it was. Reliving an Aussie assault 30-36 We report on the preparations to re-live an Aussie assault on the 1953 Monte Carlo Rally. Back then our first Formula One driver Tony Gaze was the main man behind the steering wheel of the FX Holden, this time it will be five-time Bathurst winner Craig Lowndes. Continuing the legend 38-45 We talk with Shelby America President, John Luft, about his plans to make sure the Shelby name remains a part of motoring folklore. Drag racing’s original hero 46-50 We catch up with Eddie Thomas to reminisce about his days as Australian drag racing’s first true hero.
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CONTRIBUTORS IN THIS ISSUE Darren House Darren has been to the States to catch up with the President of Shelby America, John Luft. In his two-part interview the custodian of the Shelby legend talks about his plans to continue the dream of the late Carroll Shelby well into the future. Glenis Lindley Glenis has been extremely busy this issue. Not only has she caught up with the latest plans to relive the 1953 Monte Carlo Rally Aussie assault, but she has also profiled Glenn Seton, and in her spare time, she’s covered all the action from the eighth Muscle Car Masters at Sydney Motorsport Park. Mick Webb Mick’s column has become a much-loved part of Motorsport Legends magazine. In this edition he takes a look at the success of Group A in Australian historic racing. In fact, he believes it’s even better today than it was in its hey day back in the 1980s and ’90s.
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 Sub Editor Briar Gunther Graphic Design Diane McBride Craig Fryers CDF Design cdfdesign@optusnet.com.au Contributors Glenis Lindley, David Dowsey, Darren House, Grant Nicholas, John Lemm and Mick Webb. Photographers Autopics.com.au John Doig/Torque Photos Glenis Lindley Darren House Neil Hammond John Lemm Advertising Manager Jennifer Gamble Phone: 0431 451 470 Email: advertising@ motorsportlegends.com.au Distributors Fairfax Media Publication Solutions 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 the 20th edition of Motorsport Legends magazine. Motorsport Legends includes motor racing nostalgia and historic events.
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s this country’s first Formula One driver, Tony Gaze paved the way for many young Australians to follow in his footsteps and race overseas. Many of them became household names, such as Jack Brabham and Alan Jones; however, many less well known drivers also enjoyed successful careers overseas, including a number that we have featured in previous editions of Motorsport Legends magazine, such as Tim Schenken and John Raeburn (pictured above with yours truly). It’s tremendous that Tony Gaze will ‘flag off’ the reliving of his Aussie assault on the 1953 Monte Carlo Rally. It is also great that five-time Bathurst winner and current V8 Supercar driver Craig Lowndes has embraced history
and will join the team as they relive Gaze and Co’s Monte Carlo glory in a FX Holden next year. Our article starts on page 30. It is extremely sad that Diana Gaze won’t be present as her famous husband sends Lowndes and his mates on their way. It was with great sorrow that the team at Motorsport Legends received news of the passing of this remarkable woman. Our thoughts are with the Gaze family at this time of sadness. This issue completes five years since Motorsport Legends began as an idea between Darren House and myself. It is therefore appropriate that Darren has written this issue’s cover story. Landing an interview with Shelby America President, John Luft, was a real scoop and became even more of a ‘must
run’ article following the death of the great Carroll Shelby. As you will read on page 38, the iconic brand that Shelby created appears as if it’s in good hands. We also discover that the third generation of the racing Seton family is ready to step onto the country’s race tracks. We remember a very special Aston Martin; we profile one of Australian drag racing’s greats, Eddie Thomas; and we cover all of the action from the Festival of Speed at Winton, the Leyburn Sprints, Targa Adelaide, Targa West and the Muscle Car Masters. We hope you enjoy the read! Until next time, drive safely on the road and the race track, Cheers, – Allan Edwards, Managing Editor
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SETO DYNAST The pedigree Y CONTINUES of a champi on
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CAR SALES • RESTORATION • ACCIDENT SERVICE • SPARE PARTS Although our reputation for “Concours” quality restoration is widely known, there’s much more to us than just trophy winning cars. Our Restoration Department also handles Accident Damage and Classic Car Insurance repairs from all over Australia.
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NEWS
VALE – DIANA GAZE (DAVISON) The Australian motorsport community lost one of its staunchest matriarchs on August 5 with the passing of Diana Gaze (Davison). She lived a very full life and was never far from her beloved motorsport. Diana’s first husband was successful shoe manufacturer, raconteur and all-round businessman come amateur racing driver Lex Davison. Lex and Diana (nee Crick) married in 1946 and spent their honeymoon at the Mt Panorama circuit where Lex competed in the first post-war Bathurst meeting. Lex, a four-time Australian Grand Prix winner among other legendary motorsport feats, died doing what he loved in a motor racing accident while practicing for a round of the Tasman Series at Sandown in February 1965. Diana had seven children with Lex – Anthony (dec), twins Peter and Jon, Chris-
topher, Elizabeth, Richard and Catherine. Diana (pictured above with husband Tony and great nice Alisha Benson) is survived by her second husband, former Royal Air Force Squadron Leader and highly decorated Battle of Britain Spitfire fighter pilot Tony Gaze, who carries the unique distinction of being Australia’s first Formula One racing driver. Diana and Tony married in 1977 and the prominent couple were regular and enthusiastic attendees at major national and international motorsport activities and were rightly regarded as motorsport royalty.
Diana was a very skilled motorsport competitor in her own right, competing in hillclimbs at Rob Roy, where for some time she held the women’s record at the track. Diana competed in cars as diverse as a giant Mercedes -Benz 38/250 to an MG TC. Later, Diana competed in Targa style events. Diana was the most elegant of women with charm and compassion who could be seen around many Australian race tracks supporting first her sons Jon, Chris and Richard and more recently her grandchildren Alex, Will, Charles and James (Richard’s and
Jon’s sons respectively). As well as gracing the various tracks around Australia and internationally, Diana Gaze was an integral part of the Australian motorsport landscape for more than 60 years. She was instrumental in setting up motorsport’s Women for Wheels organisation in the late ‘60s following the death of Lex Davison. Diana was the major force behind starting Odyssey House, a drug rehabilitation centre. Diana also held the position of Patron of the Australian Motor Sport Foundation’s Lex Davison Society, a CAMS initiative supported by husband Tony which was set up to help young drivers forge careers on the international stage. The team at Motorsport Legends expresses its condolences to Diana’s immediate family, relatives and the many friends and associates of Diana Gaze. MSL
F5000 THUNDER BOOK REVIEW The single seater Formula 5000 category was once the bastion of motor racing on earth, attracting crowds across the USA, England, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. These mean machines might have lost their appeal for a various reasons – in Australia it was because famous international names no longer raced in the series – but in recent years the category has enjoyed a resurgence that
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has crowds remembering the good old times of the seventies and early eighties. Veteran motorsport journalist and F5000 expert Ray Bell and author, F5000 photographer and enthusiast Tony Loxley have collaborated to commemorate this era on paper with the release of the glossy 406-page coffee table book F5000 Thunder: The Titans of Road Racing 1970-1982. Bell and Loxley have assembled some of the biggest names from the heady days of F5000 racing
in Australia and New Zealand to tell their stories of what it was like to drive, work on and publicise these mean machines. Many of the images reproduced in the book have never before been published while Kevin Bartlett, Vern Schuppan, Warwick Brown and Jim Shepherd have all written forewords. F5000 Thunder: The Titans of Road Racing
1970-1982 retails for $89.95 and is a must-have for any Formula 5000 fan’s book collection. It is available from pitstop.net.au and fullthrottlepublishing.com. au MSL
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NEWS
WHITE HOT LAMBO WINS IN ADELAIDE STORY & PHOTOGRAPHS BYJOHN LEMM
Reigning Australian Targa Champions Jason and John White got off to a great start to this year’s championship, winning the opening round Supaloc Targa Adelaide. The Lamborghini Gallardo crew finished 25 seconds ahead of the Nissan GT-R of Tony Quinn and Naomi Tillett, who cut 20 seconds off the lead in the final leg which was the only dry day of the rally. Held on August 22-26, the Targa unfortunately coincided with Adelaide’s wettest winter in seven years. Wayville Showgrounds was used as a prologue stage on the Wednesday night and while only 5000 spectators were expected at the night stage, Octagon Events was surprised when almost 24,000 people came to watch. The Lamborghinis of Kevin Weeks/Toni Feaver and the Whites were surprisingly upstaged by Steve Glenney’s Subaru WRX STi, although Weeks’ flame-spitting Lambo was the crowd favorite. Another crowd favorites throughout the Targa Adelaide event included Richard Davison and Gary Poole’s FX Holden, which will run with Craig Lowndes in the Monte Carlo Rally next year. V8 Supercar driver Tim Slade ran a Porsche 911 in the prologue and Thursday’s stages before leaving for the V8 round at Sydney Motorsport Park. White grabbed the lead from the beginning, heading the Nissan GT-Rs of Quinn/ Tillett and Matt Sims/Dennis Sims in front of the Evo IX of Matt Selley/Hamish McKendrick and the Glenney/Bernie 8
Brentzell’s Shelby GT350 won Early Classic by nearly four minutes.
The White Lamborghini was untouchable.
Cars line up for the Norwood Parade during Friday night’s street party.
Andy Bryson’s giant-killing Hillman Imp Rallye came third in the Early Classic Handicap.
Webb Subaru. After climbing to second, Sims went off the road almost three kilometres into the final stage of the day and hit a dirt embankment. By this stage competitors were battling rain and hail, which turned to ice on the road which was also littered by branches from strong winds. The Weeks/Feaver entry crashed out on Friday’s opening, with Glenney/ Bernie, in third place, rolling on the following Mt. Lofty stage in thick fog. A couple of stages later Adam Plate, the well-known operator of the Pink Roadhouse in outback Oodnadatta, was killed when he lost control of his Mitsubishi Evo VII, slammed side-on into a tree and rolled into the valley below. His co-driver Patrick Chan received only minor injuries. Vehicles ran a black strip across one headlight for the rest of the rally, while that night’s street party had a somber mood. The White uncle and nephew combination at that stage led Quinn/Tillett by 40 seconds with Selley/McKendrick two minutes back.
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The weather had fortunately improved a little for Saturday, which saw the Whites pull out a couple more seconds over Quinn/Tillett, while Selley retired on the final stage with mechanical problems, elevating the Nissan GT-R of Peter Rullo/ Simon Iseppi into third. In sunny weather, Quinn did his best to hunt down White over Sunday’s stages, with Glenney’s Subaru also recording a fastest time. As a mark of respect for Adam Plate the final stage of the rally, which was same stage as the one he died on but in reverse, was cancelled. A small group of anti-rally protesters decided to picket the stage, unaware that it had already been deleted. The White family team finally won with a margin of 25 seconds over Quinn and Tillett, Rullo and Iseppi’s GT-R a further three minutes back. “We’ve got a few things to work out with some electrical gremlins... hopefully we’ll have it all sorted before Targa High Country,” Jason White said. Classic Outright went to brothers-in-law Craig Haysman and Neil Branum’s Triumph TR7 V8 from Nick Streckeisen and Mike Dale’s Porsche 944T and Roger Paterson and Paul Whatnell’s Porsche 911 RS. Bill Brentzell and Karien Heimsohn’s great-sounding Shelby GT350 won the Early Classic Handicap from early leaders Rob Black and Vivek Ponnusamy’s Porsche 911S and the giant-killing Hillman Imp Rallye of Andy Bryson and Craig Milich. Late Classic Handicap belonged to Steckeisen and Dale, from the Mazda RX7s of Barry Faux and Therezia Mihajlovic, who had led early on, and Bruce Power and Ray Baker. MSL
RICHARDS AND OLIVER UNBEATABLE IN WEST Australia’s most successful tarmac rally combination, Jim Richards and Barry Oliver, were back on the podium to claim their second Quit Targa West victory in Perth on the August 18-19 weekend. The Porsche GT2 pair finished with a minute in hand after dominating the event and their Competition Modern category over four days, 29 stages and 212 kilometres of competition on closed public roads around the West Australian capital. Including their first win in the west in 2007, Richards and his co-driver have now taken 21 victories in 20 seasons of tarmac rallying. “We haven’t had a win for awhile, so it’s good to get one here. We went as fast as we could go and if other cars won stages too I’m sure (it was because) they were trying hard to beat us,” he said. “The car was great. We didn’t even open the bonnet or changes the tyres.” Quit Targa West finished with its regular sprint beside the Swan River this afternoon, but the highlight of the final day was the new Complete Portables Malaga 12km street stage around a light industrial estate. The route was packed with thousands of spectators, many of them employees and guests of businesses that opened their premises for parties. “The atmosphere was just electric. There wasn’t a street without someone watching from behind the barriers,” event director Bob Schrader said. “It took eight or nine months to get this stage in place with the co-operation of everyone in the City of Swan from the CEO and the local ward councillor down. It was a huge undertaking and it worked extremely well.” Richards stroked his Porsche through Malaga out of the stage placings while his rivals piled on last-minute pressure. Ben Searcy and James Marquet won the first two stages, but their strong run throughout the rally ended in heartbreak when their Mitsubishi’s engine failed on the third Malaga pass, barely 10 kilometres from the event finish. Jamie and Mandy Lister, also Mitsubishi-mounted, were then able to consolidate their second place and lead home the Nissan GT-R of Franz Esterbauer and Ivan Tan by 34 seconds.
Jim Richards now has 21 victories in 20 seasons of tarmac rallying with co-driver Barry Oliver.
Tolley Challis and Greg Flood claimed their second straight win in the Competition Classic category with their 1974 Porsche 911 RS. Main rivals Paul Moltoni/Ian de Boer pushed hard, winning the last four stages of the event, but Challis already had 19 stage wins to his credit and could not be beaten. “You never do it easy. Paul drove very well this weekend,” Challis said. “The pace was pretty hectic early in the event, but the Friday stages suited us better so we pushed hard and put our head down again on Saturday to build the gap further. “I’ve been rallying for 30 years and I guess I know how fast I can go.” In contrast to Challis, the winners of the speedrestricted Challenge Modern category overcame a complete lack of rally experience. “I’d never done a tarmac rally before or owned a race car before,” driver Brett Wilkinson, who shared the win with Matthew Edgar, said. “I bought the car (Mitsubishi Lancer) two-and-ahalf weeks ago and said ‘let’s do it’. We threw on a few suspension bits and here we are. I was a state champion but hadn’t driven a race car for five years. “Malaga was where we shone. I drove a lot harder because I could see the kerbs and corners and felt less daunted than I had in the open-road stages.” Father and son team Bruce and Max Lake won the Challenge Classic category for the second year in their 1973 Datsun 240Z.
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GLENN SETON
THE SETON PEDIGREE
Glenn Seton went from being a second generation racer to a dual championship winner. STORY BY GLENIS LINDLEY PHOTOGRAPHS BY AUTOPICS.COM.AU & GLENIS LINDLEY
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hen I began writing this story on Glenn Seton, it was difficult to pinpoint my favourite memory, or what part of his career created the most lasting impression. I’ll always remember driving the last lap (part of a Nissan drive day) at Surfers Paradise International Raceway on September 24, 1987. Glenn took me for a ‘real squirt’ as it was the final run of the day before the circuit closed its gates forever. As we slid and squealed our way around the track, Glenn demonstrated his perfect car control, while I was an excited passenger having an absolute ball! My other vivid memory relates to the 1995 Bathurst. With heartfelt 10
The father-son Seton Ford Capri led its class at the 1983 Bathurst until a broken crankshaft ended their race.
sympathy, I watched as Seton’s Falcon rolled to a halt heading up the mountain after breaking a valve spring while holding a comfortable six-second lead with just nine laps remaining. Larry Perkins pounced, stealing his race victory, leaving the devastated
driver fighting back tears. It would have marked the 30th anniversary of his father Barry ‘Bo’ Seton’s Bathurst win, in car #30, at 30 years of age. Also up for grabs was the choice of his father’s winning Cortina GT500 or $30,000 in prize money. “It’s pretty disappointing. We got so close today – I can’t believe it. It’s just heart-breaking,” the distraught driver said at the time. “Words can’t explain how I feel.” No matter how much effort was applied over the years, he couldn’t crack Bathurst. Victory never happened after 26 attempts at conquering the mountain, but the man widely regarded as the best never to have won Bathurst came agonizingly close. There were
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two poles – including a sensational pole lap time in 1996 (the year after that mountain inflicted its misery, shattering his dreams); three second places and one third, but that’s as good as it got! Seton’s first visit to the mountain was in a pram the year his father won Bathurst but in 1983 he found himself having his first drive there, sharing his father’s #55 yellow Ford Capri. “The first time, I’ll never forget. “When I crossed the top of the mountain the sheer, I suppose, fear but also the exhilaration I got out of it was unbelievable,” a young Glenn said. Unfortunately they didn’t finish – a broken crankshaft ended their race when leading the 3-litre class by three laps with 13 laps remaining. “I still own the Capri. I’ll never part with it,” said Seton Snr, who races it at events such as Muscle Car Masters, Historics and Gold Coast Legends. While victory at Mount Panorama remains an elusive dream, some consolation is that Seton managed to attach two titles to his name, the 1993 Shell Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) and the inaugural 1997 championship for V8s. He was also inducted into the V8 Hall of Fame in 2011. Again he held back tears – this time as he gave his speech at the V8 Supercar Gala Awards Dinner, with wife Jayne in the audience.
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Above: Glenn got his passion for motorsport and Ford from his father, Barry ‘Bo’ Seton. Right: Seton drove for the factory Nissan team from 1986 to 1988.
“This a huge honour. I’ve been fortunate enough to achieve most of my dreams,” he stated. “To be with the likes of Peter Brock, Dick Johnson, Allan Moffat, Norm Beechey and Colin Bond (in the Hall of Fame) is a massive deal.” Being one of only a few legendary
drivers to achieve more than 200 events - joining Johnson (202), the late Peter Brock (212) and Russell Ingall, who is still racing as is Craig Lowndes, Mark Skaife (220), and John Bowe (225), elevates him to a place in history. Like the majority of his peers, Glenn entered the world of motor racing
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The Glenn Seton/Paul Jones Falcon at Amaroo in 1984.
through karting as a 14-year-old, while his own son Aaron has already gone down that pathway. At seven, Aaron couldn’t wait to go racing, collecting many trophies for his growing resume, including the 2007 South Australian Midget title. Like father, like son: don’t be surprised to see this third generation racer in a touring car before too long. “I grew up around cars,” explained Glenn. “Dad spent most of his life racing and building other people’s cars. “I went to all the Bathurst races and loved watching Moffat, Dick and Brocky. “From a very early age all I wanted to do was become a professional race
car driver and Aaron has that same enthusiasm.” When the chance came in 1984 to race for Fred Gibson’s Nissan Motorsports, Seton jumped at the opportunity and he found himself racing a Nissan Pulsar EXA at Bathurst that year with Fred’s wife Christine. “I thoroughly enjoyed the experience,” Seton said. “There was no pressure as the car, although a class-winner, was never going to win the race, but it opened up some doors.” Stepping up the Nissan ladder, ‘Young Glenn’ drove for the factory team from 1986-88, associating with some big names including George Fury, Skaife,
and Jim Richards. Driving a Nissan Skyline, Seton accumulated some Australian Endurance Championship wins and after victory in the Sandown 500 in 1986 with Fury, this relatively new name in racing was hailed as a future tin-top champion. 1987 was an encouraging year with Seton earning his first race win at Calder, then grabbing runner-up honours to Richards in the ATCC and he also claimed second in a Skyline Turbo at Bathurst with John Bowe. He remained at Nissan until the end of 1988 and one of his Bathurst teammates was none other than Mark Skaife. With Barry Seton doing the engine preparation on Russell Skaife’s racing cars (Mark’s father), not surprisingly a friendship developed between the two boys, who enjoyed motorbikes and karting together, even though Glenn was two years older. Ironically, almost two decades later, it would be Seton joining Skaife for the endurance rounds in Skaife’s own Holden Racing Team. Glenn was naturally talented and consistently fast, but because of his easy-going, unassuming, friendly nature and seemingly laid-back approach, he never quite attracted the same headlines as some personalities. Despite his ‘Baby Faced Assassin’ tag, there was a notable absence
“IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT RUNNING MY OWN TEAM, BUT VERY REWARDING. IT’S THE BEST DECISION I MADE DURING MY CAREER AND WOULD DO IT AGAIN IF I HAD MY TIME OVER”
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GLENN SETON
of controversy associated with his respectful racing style and ethics. In fact, there was even some minor criticism levelled towards his perceived lack of aggression. ‘Seto’ was a genuinely modest, nice guy, and true sportsman - not a believer in wild claims and chest-beating. But he certainly wasn’t lacking ambition or confidence. In 1989, with high hopes for greater success, he formed his own team, Glenn Seton Racing, with Peter Jackson sponsorship. The youngest ever team owner at the time, with help from his respected race engineer father, established a workshop at Dandenong, Victoria. Glenn too, was extremely capable in all mechanical aspects of the business, having worked alongside his father for years. “It was difficult running my own team, but very rewarding.” he said. “I had some great people working for me and had a lot of fun during those years. “It’s the best decision I ever made during my career and would do it again if I had my time over.” Although Seton/Fury won Sandown
Seton clinched the 1997 title, the last time a single owner/driver team took out a championship in V8 Supercars.
in 1990 in a Sierra RS500, he didn’t have much luck with the turbo terrors in Australia’s Great Race, with ninth his best result in 1991. “Sierras were difficult cars to drive with small, narrow tyres and lots of power, making them very challenging,” Seton explained. Seton’s Ford Falcon era began due to rule changes in the sport, which lasted
until 2004. His loyalty and love for the Blue Oval brand was undoubtedly inherited from his father, who also drove for the Ford factory team in the late sixties. “My first road car was a Capri and first race car a Ford Escort, so naturally I was proud of this association,” Glenn said. “As a kid, I followed Allan Moffat’s
Seton in 1988.
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With their small, narrow tyres and lots of power, Seto never had any luck driving the challenging Sierras at Bathurst.
career – I loved the GTHOs.” Even with high-profile, ex-F1 champion Alan Jones joining the team, they still couldn’t snare Bathurst. However all the hardship, effort and disappointment seemed worthwhile when Seton clinched his championships. 1993 was very special, as he was the driver, engineer and team owner – it
doesn’t get much better than that! With lucrative tobacco sponsorship finishing at the end of 1995, Jones convinced Peter Jackson to support him in a new team, branded Pack Leader Racing, in conjunction with the Stone brothers Jim and Ross. Meanwhile, Seto actually benefitted from the split with Jones/Peter Jackson as Ford Credit stepped in with sponsorship.
“AFTER VICTORY IN THE SANDOWN 500 WITH GEORGE FURY, THIS RELATIVELY NEW NAME IN RACING WAS HAILED AS A FUTURE TIN-TOP CHAMPION”
1997 was an outstanding season, with Seton clinching his title in sensational fashion. That was also the last time a single owner/driver team claimed the championship. “There was a lot of pressure to perform, but that year my car (Falcon EL) was the best I’ve ever driven,” he declared. This team soon evolved into the unofficial factory team – with Ford Tickford Racing expanding from six to 12 team members. Co-drivers the calibre of Steve Richards entered the scene, then later on, superstar material Craig Lowndes joined the ranks. But no Bathurst win was forthcoming. The hoodoo still hounded him, although he and Lowndes grabbed hard-fought seconds in 2003 and 2004. After running his own team for about 15 years, Seton sold his licence to Prodrive, owned by Englishman David Richards. Eventually, Ford Tickford Racing became Ford Performance Racing, but only in recent times has it begun to set the V8 Supercar scene on fire. Seton and his family re-located to the Gold Coast in 2004, where a whole new world was poised to unfold as the weight of team ownership and responsibilities lifted from his shoulders. Being established Ford men, there were smiles all round when Seton joined forces with Dick Johnson’s long-established Dick Johnson Racing team for 2005, but that wasn’t a happy time and brought little joy, so he found himself job hunting and out of a full-time seat in 2006. MotorSportLegends
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Without a full-time drive in 2006, Seton joined Stone Brothers Racing as an enduro driver and finished Bathurst in third with James Courtney.
“2005 was the hardest year I’ve ever had,” confessed Seton. However, the driver who had notched up 40 career race wins wasn’t about to abandon his passion for racing, so an endurance seat at Stone Brothers looked pretty good, where he finished a creditable third at Bathurst with James Courtney.ec_strip_mslegends.pdf 1 1/12/2010 11:07:58 AM
That would be his last podium finish, but as he said, “I’ve had a fantastic career”. Old friend Skaife somehow enticed this dedicated Ford campaigner over to the Holden camp, where he accepted various endurance drives with HRT, then with Kelly Racing, until he finally walked away from his V8 dream in 2010.
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Keen to keep his eye in, he’d previously dabbled in the Australian Mini Challenge, just for fun. Retaining his strong competitive racing interest, Seton linked up with the Touring Car Masters (TCM) scene, where he renewed the battle with friendly rivals and fellow legends like Richards, Bowe and Andrew Miedecke. His long-awaited
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debut came at Eastern Creek for the 2011 Muscle Car Masters meeting. Driving the impressive Jim Mortonowned 1974 Falcon XB Coupe, he made an immediate impact, qualifying fourth, claiming a third and a second place in the virtually untested race car. There were better results to come however when Seton clinched the Bathurst TCM round and proudly stood on the top step of the ladder. He experienced what he’d always dreamed of, hearing the cheers of the passionate crowd – but this TCM victory didn’t bring quite the same exhilaration, nor prestige, as claiming the Bathurst 1000. Then the unthinkable happened: Seton received an email from Morton saying he was selling the car. “I was disappointed after all the work that was put into building this car (by all parties), and we only did three rounds,” Seton said. Seton was also involved in the operations of Gold Coast friend Jamie McHugh, who races Super Sedans in speedway. As a shock absorber and suspension set-up expert, Seton travelled to the USA in 2010 with Jamie. “I enjoy the challenges that speedway throws up with changing track conditions and set-up,” he said. “My shock absorber work has helped win Aussie titles in Super Sedan and Dirt Modified, and I’m currently in the process of developing shocks for Sprint Cars and circuit racing.” “Plus I also love being involved with Aaron’s racing.” MSL
Above: Seton endured a lot of heartbreak at Bathurst, which at times sent him to the brink of tears. Right: Son Aaron is set to be the third generation of Seton racers in Australian motorsport. Below: Seton was disappointed when his foray into Touring Car Masters lasted only three rounds.
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MUSCLE CAR MASTERS
OLD MASTERS & M
Once again a huge crowd of spectators flocked to the annual Father’s Day Australian Muscle Car Masters festival at the newly upgraded Sydney Motorsport Park (formally Eastern Creek) for the eighth successive year of this popular event. Sydney turned on the weather in style on Sunday, while the drivers and their exotic machines created all the excitement, entertainment and nostalgia. STORY BY GLENIS LINDLEY; PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOHN DOIG/TORQUE PHOTOS AND GLENIS LINDLEY
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long with the regular categories, this year’s Muscle Car Masters had an added attraction. The Formula 5000 open-wheelers introduced a new level of interest to this feast of retro touring cars. Cars once driven by racing greats such as Frank Matich, Warwick Brown, Vern Schuppan, Kevin Bartlett, Spencer Martin, John Goss, John McCormack
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and the late Max Stewart (amongst others) were put through their paces by local and New Zealand enthusiasts. A different generation of owners and drivers now treasure their fully restored and much-loved thundering mean-machines. Included in the quality field of close on 20 entrants were top competitors like veteran NZ champion Ken Smith (Lola T43), current champion
Steve Ross (McRea GM1), Bryan Sala (Matich A50/51), Bill Hemming (Elfin MR8), Darcy Russell (Lola T330) and Roger Williams (Lola T332). Sala scored pole position in the category’s sole qualifying session over the weekend and went on to win the first race while Ross won the second race. Ross also took out the inaugural
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& MUSCLE MAGIC!
Sydney Motorsport Park F5000 Trophy 10-lap feature race with Kiwi compatriot Ken Smith in second and Sala, flying the flag for Australia, in third. Another group of Kiwi neighbours also paid a visit, bringing their NZ Central Muscle Cars, to showcase their talent during several races. There were some familiar looking Aussie touring cars like Dick Johnson’s famous #17 Tru-Blu driven by Greg Cuttance and Bruce Deihl’s look-alike Bob Morris Torana SS Hatch, along with a mix of ‘mean monsters’ from Holdens and Mustangs to Changers and Camaros. The sole Aussie competing in this category was the popular Paul Stubber from Western Australia in his aptly named Kiwi Killers Camaro. Stubber
John Bowe and Mustang Sally were unbeatable in the Touring Car Masters round at the Muscle Car Masters.
clinched pole position and won the opening race. His spectacular style kept the crowd enthralled but it was not kind to tyres! Others winners were Colin Sargison (HQ Holden), Bruce Deihl and Bruce Anderson (Ford Mustang).
Another big crowd-pleasing highlight was Round 5 of the Touring Car Masters, where a bumper field of 32 supercars and their stars battled for line honours in the Australian TCM Championship. John Bowe’s Mustang Sally, a Trans Am Mustang, was absolutely brilliant and unbeatable, recording a clean sweep of pole position and three race wins while Jim Richards (Javelin) and Andrew Miedecke (Camaro SS) were never far from the front. The final of the day was a 10-lap closely contested battle between the top 22 Kiwis on one side and 22 Aussies on the other side of the grid for the Trans Tasman Touring Car Trophy. Bowe had it in the bag before a MotorSportLegends
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MUSCLE CAR MASTERS
Above: This year was the last Muscle Car Masters event Bob Janes attended after a decision to pare back his travel schedule Left: Kevin Bartlett takes care in autographing a model car for a fan. Right: Charlie O’Brien and John Harvey. Below right: Paul Stubber was the only Australian to compete in the Central Muscle Cars races driving his Kiwi Killers Camaro. Below left: Legends including John French and Graham Moore happily signed autographs.
problem forced his retirement, while Kiwi Shane Wigston (HQ Holden) wrapped it up, with Aussies Richards and Miedecke filling the top spots just ahead of Stubber, whose tyres were history. Over the weekend there were races for Group A and C with cars from that much-loved golden era of touring cars, Groups Nb (historic cars from 1959-1964) and Nc (1965-1973) along with Heritage Hot Laps and a Master Blast. Bill Pye won the special Racing For Jason Group A and C feature race which was held in memory of the late V8 20
Supercar driver Jason Richards. For those genuine cars and a growing field of replica machines too valuable or too rare to risk racing, there were non-competitive four-lap track sessions conducted throughout Sunday. One of these famous vehicles was the late Ian ‘Pete’ Geoghegan’s ATCC-winning Ford Mustang, with his son Michael at the wheel. “It’s an incredible honour and privilege to drive one of dad’s old race cars,” he said. Car collector Peter Champion drove the late Peter Brock’s famous 1987 Brock/Parsons Commodore, John
Goss’ Jaguar and Falcon XA Coupe were there, Paul Stubber drove the John Harvey Torana A9X and Graeme Bailey was behind the wheel of the Bailey/Grice Bathurst-winning ’86 Commodore. With the Australian Racing Driver’s Club (ARDC) celebrating its 60th anniversary, the special occasion was marked with a parade of cars sold in 1952. Some of the famous marques included the Holden 48-215, Austin A40, MGTD, Vauxhall Vagabond and Fiat 1100. Other anniversaries, such as the 40th anniversary of the Ford Falcon XA GT
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Clockwise from left: Allan Moffat, a replica of his XY GTHO, John Goss, the Formula 5000 category provided some of the most entertaining racing despite them not being muscle cars and Bill Pye won the Racing for Jason Group A and C feature race, held in memory of the late V8 Supercar driver Jason Richards. Right: Pye also drove an SS Camaro in the Touring Car Masters category, finishing seventh in the feature race.
and the 30th anniversary of the VH Commodore SS Brock HDT Group 111, were also celebrated. Away from the track there was the much-anticipated Saturday night Legends Dinner featuring guest speakers John Goss, Kevin Bartlett, Allan Grice and Colin Bond. Grice and Bond filled in for F1 champion Alan Jones who could not make the event due to a hip-replacement. The four entertained the crowd of about 250 with quick quips such as “it’s a case of the older we get, the better we once were,” and funny stories from the past.
Legend-spotting is a popular past-time at the event and this year was no different, with about 30 former heroes and touring car greats attending, including Formula 1 legend Sir Jack Brabham who made his first Muscle Car Masters appearance. The three-time F1 champion was honoured with the track’s main straight christened as the Brabham Straight and the 4.5km extended circuit called Brabham Circuit. The late Peter Brock was also honoured with turn five renamed to the Brock 05 corner and the ARDC has invited the public to submit names for
other corners of the track. Bob Jane, making his last appearance at the Muscle Car Masters after he decided to scale back his travel schedule, headlined the autograph sessions which also included Allan Moffat, Jim Richards, John Bowe, John Harvey, Colin Bond, Allan Grice, John Goss, Kevin Bartlett, Fred Gibson, John French, Barry Seton, Murray Carter, Peter Williamson and Bob Holden. The ability to wander through the pits, see the cars up close, speak to drivers and crew and soak up the atmosphere of a past era was an unforgettable experience. MSL MotorSportLegends
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HISTORIC
RACER
HIBBERT’S ROSE CITY GLORY Lighter six cylinders prove weapon of choice over big V8s at Winton feature race PHOTOGRAPH BY NEIL HAMMOND
The second annual Rose City Touring Car Trophy 20-lap endurance race was the feature event at the Winton Festival of Speed, which was held on the weekend of August 11-12. While it may have attracted big V8 Camaros, Mustangs and Falcon GTs, it was the lighter six cylinder cars that ultimately proved the weapons of choice. Michael Hibbert was the star of the show in his Valiant Charger, and Angelo Taranto finished second in his Torana XU1. The best of the V8s was Cameron Worner, who finished third in his XW Falcon GTHO. Stephen Coad (Holden Torana XU1) actually crossed
Hibbert’s six cylcinder Valiant Charger stole the show.
the finish line in first place, but he was relegated to seventh with a penalty for pit lane speeding during his compulsory pit stop. Leo Tobin (Ford Mustang) was another driver to be penalised for a pit infringement, slotting back to fourth after initially finishing third. Hibbert also won the two six-lap Group N sprint races to cap off a dominant weekend.
Mike Roddy claimed victory in the Precision International Cup Group A/Group C race in his Jaguar XJS. The 15-lap race was interrupted by a brief safety car period when David Towe (BMW M3) stopped at turn three, during which the majority of drivers made their compulsory pit stops. At the restart, Roddy’s main rival Luke Ellery retired with mechanical problems in his Nissan Skyline and from there
Roddy was able to pull away to take the win from Stephen Perrott (Holden Torana A9X) and Milton Seferis (Holden Commodore VH). In the two Group A/Group C sprint races, it was one win apiece for Ellery and Roddy, with Ellery’s car suffering some gearbox problems throughout the weekend. Geoff Morgan won the Group S Tourist Trophy in his Group Sc Porsche 911, with Rohan Little making it a Porsche 1-2. Tim Blanchard won all three Group M/Group O/ Historic Formula Ford and Formula Vee races in his Van Diemen RF88, the car formerly raced by his father John Blanchard, and Kim Jones took an equally dominant clean sweep in the Group Q and R Racing and Sports category.
HUTCHINSON DEFENDS HIS CROWN Queensland driver Warwick Hutchinson successfully defended his outright title at the historic Leyburn Sprints despite being forced to retire with engine failure before the end of the event’s 17th annual running on the Darling Downs over the weekend of August 18-19. Hutchinson lost the engine in his speciallybuilt Van Diemen single-seater after the fourth of seven scheduled runs against the clock on Leyburn’s 1.1 kilometre around-the-houses course. His last run of 46.727 seconds was his fastest, but he had to wait while closest rival Grant Watson took three more shots at the mark in his ProSport Eclipse sports car, ultimately falling short by just 0.419 second, before
claiming the Col Furness Memorial Trophy at the end of a memorable weekend of grassroots motorsport. Watson finished second, ahead of Garry Ford in a V8-engined Ford Escort. A field of 199 drivers, a diverse line-up of classic, historic and performance cars ranging
in vintage from 1926 to 2012, almost 100 Shannons Show ‘n’ Shine entries and perfect weather combined to attract a potentially record crowd. Leyburn’s country atmosphere saw a packed campground, front-yard spectator parties, pig races at the local RSL on Saturday night and a trophy presentation during which the prizes – varnished rocks varying in size for first, second and third – were distributed from the back of a ute parked outside the 1863-licensed Royal Hotel. Rock recipients included the fastest Historic-category driver David Cross, who recorded a 49.313 second run in his 1976 V8 Bowin-Hay single-seater, fifth-best also in the overall classification.
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DESIGNED TO BE DRIVEN! This delightful Aston Martin is amongst the oldest in existence and played an important role in Australia’s early Grand Prix heritage STORY BY DAVID DOWSEY & PHOTOGRAPHS BY PAUL KANE
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ustralians took to the motorcar with open arms as soon as it was invented. As the 20th century dawned we were not only importing this pioneering mode of transport but were designing and building them as well. Thus it comes as no surprise that Aussies, being a nation of competitors at heart, took to motorsport with relish too. Before many of the more famous Grands Prix had been established around the world, Australia held its first at Phillip Island in March 1928. And Aston Martin was there. More than 80 years later this 24
Only 11 of the short chassis 1.5-litre style Aston Martins are thought to have been built.
inaugural GP survivor thrives in the hands of noted collector, Peter Briggs, in West Australia. At the time named the 100 Miles
Road Race, the Australian Grand Prix was held at Phillip Island between 1928 and 1935 before moving on to various other venues around the country. Goulburn in New South Wales has a good case for having run the first Australian GP in January 1927, but that is another story… Today ‘The Island’ boasts one of the country’s most popular circuits, a short distance from the 6.5-mile unsealed square course chosen for the original race. Phillip Island now hosts MotoGP, a V8 Supercar round and historic racing events. It is also a popular track for testing and club racing on both two and
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Right: The Aston Martin tbat raced in the inaugural Australian Grand Prix was built as a Strasbourg-style body with a rare narrow Grand Prix radiator.
four wheels. The Phillip Island circuit was also used for the Grand Prix racing scene in the Hollywood film On the Beach starring Gregory Peck, Fred Astaire, Ava Gardner and Anthony Perkins. Entries for the first Australian Grand Prix were wide and varied, considering the next major centre, Melbourne, was 140km away – a considerable distance back in the 1920s. And once the cars made it to the south coast they still had to be shipped to the island adding to the time and expense of the exercise. Organised by The Light Car Club of Victoria the inaugural race had two separate handicap events: one for Classes B (750-1100cc) and D (1500-2000cc) and another for Classes A (up to 750cc) and C (1100-1500cc). The race attracted Bugattis (Types 37A and 40), four Austin 7s, two DFPs (French-made Doriot, Flandrin & Parant), a duo each of Morris Crowley and Alvis 12/50 and single examples of Riley Nine, Austin 12, Senechal, Metallurgique and the featured 1.5-litre side-valve Aston Martin. As reported in Inman Hunter’s book Aston Martin: A Pictorial Review 1914-1940 there were at least three 1.5-litre side-valve cars in Australia at the time of the Grand Prix. Media magnate Alf Fairfax purchased two near identical long-chassis cloverleaf models with fabric bodies (chassis 1923 and 1955) while on a visit to London. He brought them back home and used
“IT WAS OLDER BEING A 1923 MODEL AND ITS COVENTRY SIMPLEX SIDE-VALVE ENGINE DIDN’T GIVE A LOT OF SPEED” them for daily transport and competition before selling them on in 1930. The third, bearing chassis number 1927, was built as a short chassis sidevalve sports model with a Strasbourgstyle body (patterned on the Aston Martin which competed in the French Grand Prix at Strasbourg in 1922) and rare narrow Grand Prix radiator. It is believed that there were probably only 11 short chassis 1.5-litre Lionel Martin Aston Martins built and Major Harold Hall of London ordered the featured car in 1923. Shortly thereafter he presented it to a relative, John E. Goodall of Melbourne.
Goodall was a motorsport enthusiast and campaigned the vehicle in a number of events in Victoria. Then in 1927 he presented the car to GP Motors in South Melbourne requesting a new two-seat body, possibly after receiving competition damage. It was in this form that Goodall entered the Aston Martin in the inaugural Grand Prix at Phillip Island. Bearing racing number 18 and painted in British Racing Green it was driven by Ed Huon in Class C for 1500cc-andunder cars. John Blanden’s book Australian Grand Prix 1928-1939 Volume 1 described the car: “Also in the 1500cc class was Johnny Goodall’s Aston Martin, with large four wheel brakes and four-speed gearbox. It was older being a 1923 model and its Coventry Simplex side-valve engine didn’t give a lot of speed.” While preparing for the big race Huon, along with riding mechanic Rob Horne, lost a wheel in practice and rolled the car, having recorded the twelfth fastest time. Fortunately �
Left: Major Harold Hall of London ordered the car and proceeded to give it to relative and motorsport enthusiast John E. Goodall of Melbourne. MotorSportLegends
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HISTORIC RACER
After recording the twelfth fastest time, the Aston Martin lost a wheel in practice at the 1928 Grand Prix and the car rolled with driver Ed Huon and riding mechanic Rob Horne on board. The pair were unharmed and the car started the race, but it lost the second and third gears and the entry was forced to retire.
the crew and the car were unharmed and the Aston Martin was entered for the race as planned. Unfortunately during the event the plucky British sportscar lost second and third gears and the 1.5-litre was forced to retire. Captain Arthur Waite of Adelaide in a Works-supported Austin 7 won the event. Captain Waite was one of the lucky Diggers who survived the disastrous Gallipoli campaign in Turkey. He later won the Military Cross in France in 1916 and in 1918 became the son-in-law of Sir Herbert Austin (of the Austin cars fame) when he married Austin’s eldest daughter. Upon joining the company he became involved in the racing development of the Austin 7 and in 1927 returned to Melbourne to set up an Austin distributorship. On hearing of the new race at Phillip Island Waite requested a car and, though he didn’t receive the more potent racing machines that Austin was developing at the time, he drove himself (and Austin) into the record books as the first winner of the Australian Grand Prix in the time of 1.46:40 for the 105-mile course. Come the following March and once again Phillip Island hosted the Grand
Prix (the first year the French title was actually used). Once again Goodall’s Aston Martin – sporting racing number 16 - was entered in the event, only this time the owner was in the driver’s seat. The course was much tougher in 1929 with the race distance almost doubled from 16 to 31 laps (200 miles). This time, Goodall’s riding mechanic was John Margrave Lerew. Unfortunately the Aston Martin’s little 1.5-litre engine wasn’t up to the challenge and expired before completing 10 laps. As reported at the time though, the Aston Martin did add a great deal of prestige to the fledgling event.
Goodall was to be more successful the following year when once again he entered his Aston Martin in the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island and once again his riding mechanic was John Margrave Lerew. The side-valve car performed faultlessly to finish in sixth place overall (not seventh as quoted by Inman Hunter) and third in class behind the winning Bugatti Type 37A (piloted by Bill Thompson) and second placed Type 37, both of which were also competing in Class C. The Goodall family kept the sidevalve Aston Martin for more than 50 years – three generations of John �
Three generations of the Goodall family owned the car before it was sold to Lance Dixon in 1977. Peter Briggs now owns the car and it is displayed at his York Motor Museum. 26
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Goodalls enjoying ownership of the car - before it was sold to racing identity and successful motorcar dealer Lance Dixon in 1977. During WWII however the precious alloy parts from the fourcylinder engine had been melted down in the war effort. Remarkably another motor of the correct type from chassis number 1923 was located - reputedly powering a boat - by Dixon and this is now fitted to the car. The racing machine was then sold to its current owner, Peter Briggs in 1982 for display in his York Motor Museum. Now sporting altered Strasbourg-style bodywork with a Grand Prix radiator the car was completely restored by John Hunting in Perth. In 1983 the car competed in the Aston Martin Owners Club National Rally where it took part in standing quarter mile and circuit work. It also participated in the historic races at the first Adelaide Grand Prix in 1985. In 2006 Briggs was invited to enter the racing car in the 2007 Pebble Beach concours in the US. For the event, the Aston Martin was brought up to 100-point concours standard again. Even so, after more than 80 years, this precious car once again proves the rule that great cars are designed to be driven.
ASTON MARTIN BOOK Regular Motorsport Legends contributor David Dowsey’s acclaimed book Aston Martin: Power, Beauty and Soul will be re-released shortly. The revised version of the Second Edition reveals even more about the famed British automotive marque and many of the rare and special models it has produced. This version reveals many of the stories behind some of the world's most desirable motorcars. More than 60 models are featured, including concept cars, special edition models and never before seen bespoke orders – including those secretly, and controversially, commissioned by the Brunei Royal Family. The revised edition has been totally updated with even more photos, updated text and an additional chapter on Aston Martin's early history. In the seven years it took to produce Aston Martin: Power, Beauty and Soul the author was granted unprecedented access to official Aston Martin documents and images. Many of these related to the design and construction 28
of some of the world's most extraordinary custom-made vehicles, many commissioned by very special clients. Never-seenbefore details of these ultra-expensive hand-built cars are included, along with behind-the-scenes commentary from those closest to these often top-secret projects. Featured throughout are interviews with current and past company owners, executives, designers and engineers. Hundreds of eye-catching images populate the book. Each featured Aston Martin model contains a detailed rendering by automotive illustrator Mike Harbar as well as comprehensive technical specifications. This revised Second Edition of Aston Martin: Power, Beauty and Soul is the most comprehensive book to cover Aston Martin's modern history. It provides a rare insight into the people, cars and stories behind one of the world's most fascinating luxury and sports car marques.
Aston Martin: Power, Beauty and Soul (Revised Second Edition) Author: David Dowsey Publisher: Images Publishing Binding: Casebound with jacket Pages: 352 Illustrations: Colour/black and white Price: $69.99
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WEBB OF
Intrigue Mick loved the Group A days and reckons that the category is even better now that more cash is being splashed on the cars.
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roup A was a great little category back in the ‘90s but it’s even better today. While there were plenty of people having a big whinge about Group A when it was brought in to replace the Group C category – and even more so when the good old Ford fans gave my mate Jim Richards the royal raspberry at Bathurst – I reckon people now appreciate what they had back then. Group A was a category full of variety with different manufacturers, models, engine capacities and configurations. Sure people loved to slag off at the BMWs and Nissans in the ‘90s but they are crowd favourites now. You wouldn’t believe how many people were hanging around those cars in awe at the recent Muscle Car Masters. Compare that era to today’s two-make, two-model V8 Nascars… pardon me… V8 Supercars category and it’s easy to see why the Muscle Car Masters pulled a crowd, which I reckon was double that at the Eastern Creek V8 Supercar event. Another bonus of the Group A era was that the cars were driven by blokes who had personality and knew how to work a crowd – Peter Brock, Allan Moffat, Dick Johnson and Allan Grice to name a few. I reckon when they retired it was the beginning of a V8 Supercar decline, as in my opinion, V8s are now driven mostly by blokes who have the personality of wet cement.
Mick with Bill Pye’s recently acquired ex-Dick Johnson Mustang and Pye’s Touring Car Masters Camaro. Photo courtesy of CIMA Media.
I can’t think of one bloke in V8 Supercars who would even think about trying to knock out a time while resting an elbow on the window sill and talking the TV audience through a lap like Brock did, or cracking jokes at close to 300kph down Conrod Straight like Dick Johnson did. In fact I think some of today’s drivers would struggle to mention their own names without a teleprompter! Like all sports, motor racing needs participants who can inject personality and connect with the audience or simply stir the pot. I’m not the only one who thinks there’s
something missing in V8 Supercars. For years, V8 Supercars refused to embrace the Group A and Group C heritage, but their popularity is now so great that they have at last jumped on the bandwagon. Looking at the Group A cars at the Muscle Car Masters, you can see that they are much better prepared today than they were when they raced in the ‘90s. Back then, drivers and teams struggled to get the cash together to put these cars on the track and make them run reliably, but these days, a lot more money has been poured into them. In addition to looking after Bill Pye’s Touring Car Masters Chev Camaro, I’m now taking care of his recently acquired ex-Dick Johnson Mustang, and I can tell you, it’s absolutely immaculate. The car has been restored in great detail and while the mighty little Mustang wasn’t all that successful in the day, it’s a great example of the variety Group A threw up. It was one of the last truly unique ‘Australian’ touring cars and it has a great racing history. – Mick Webb
“THERE WERE PLENTY OF PEOPLE HAVING A GOOD WHINGE ABOUT GROUP A, EVEN MORE SO WHEN THE FORD FANS GAVE MY MATE JIM RICHARDS THE ROYAL RASPBERRY AT BATHURST” MotorSportLegends
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MONTE CARLO
RELIVING MONT E Sixty years after the first and only fully Australian entry took part in a Monte Carlo Rally, a replica FX Holden will be put through its paces for the 2013 event. STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY GLENIS LINDLEY
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ixty years ago, dashing drivers Tony Gaze, Lex Davison and Stan Jones put an iconic FX Holden through its paces in the Monte Carlo Rally. Come early 2013 Gaze, who is the sole-surviving team member and patron of the effort, will be along for the journey in spirit when a new crop of adventurous drivers tackle this
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prestigious rally. The late Lex Davison’s son Richard (father of V8 Supercar star Will and Carrera Cup Championship contender Alex) will be a participant, along with project leader Gary Poole and V8 Supercar crowd favourite Craig Lowndes. “I’ve never driven a Holden FX before, so it’s going to be a challenge – especially on snow,” admitted Lowndes,
with his inevitable grin. “It’s one of those fun things to do, and I think it’s important to recognise such an historic occasion. “It’s also very special for me as dad (Frank) was involved with the 1968 London to Sydney Marathon, and now I’m doing a similar thing.” Lex’s son, Richard, wasn’t even born when the original Monte Carlo
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Above: Heavily relying on maps to drive through unknown territory, the trio from Down Under finished 64th out of more than 400 competitors. Left: Sporting a golden kangaroo on the bonnet, the Aussie team prepares to leave Glasgow for the 2000 mile event.
T E CARLO MAGIC contingent departed Melbourne. “I’m thrilled to be able to retrace my father’s footsteps, as I’m passionate about motorsport history,” he said. While Stan’s son and F1 World Champion Alan is not part of this modern re-enactment, he was six years old in 1953 and can vividly remember his father buying “this big duffle coat because it would be so cold”. Years later, Alan also recalled his father’s feelings. “Holden didn’t want to know about the rally entry, and didn’t offer much support.” “But when they did so well, that was
an entirely different story.” Richard somewhat cheekily replied that it “sounds like history is repeating itself”. Although Lex Davison and great mate Stan Jones were racetrack rivals, they became business partners in Monte Carlo Motors (selling used cars) and Stan Jones Motors, a Holden Dealership. Back in 1953, the 48-215 Holden FX was the only Australian entry in this world-class event, marking the first time an Australian-manufactured vehicle had competed internationally. Now this ‘labour of love’ replica will
proudly tackle the rigours of the rally as they re-trace motorsport history in the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique, which takes place from January 25 to February 1, 2013. Poole, who owns the car, began this project after chatting to Tony Gaze after he was inspired by an Early Holden Drivers reunion at Sandown in 2008. Gaze, an acclaimed World War II Spitfire pilot and motor racing enthusiast, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross three times during his almost 500 combat missions. On the motorsport side, he played a part in helping establish the famous MotorSportLegends
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MONTE CARLO The Geoghegan brothers, sharing an XR GT Falcon, finished 12th at the 1968 Bathurst.
Above: Tony Gaze inspects the replica FX. Top right: Dashing drivers Lex Davison, Tony Gaze and Stan Jones at the 1953 Monte Carlo Rally. Above right: 2013 Monte Carlo Rally drivers Richard Davison and Craig Lowndes replicate the image with original driver Tony Gaze.
Goodwood motor racing circuit and in 1952 became the first Australian to contest a world championship event when he competed in the Belgian Grand Prix. The following year, these prominent Australian motor racing identities who were little-known drivers in Europe,
competed against some of the big factory teams of that era in a virtually unknown vehicle on unfamiliar roads and in unfamiliar weather conditions. Up against respected manufacturers including Jaguar, Sunbeam-Talbot, Lancia, Bentley, Alfa Romeo and CitroĂŤn and prominent competitors
like Stirling Moss and Peter Collins was an achievement in itself. They came through the 2000 miles from Glasgow with flying colours but the brakingacceleration event and regularity tests at the finish weren’t as kind and they finished 64th. “Just getting into the top 100 out of
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From the British Racing Green paint job down to the original badges, the replica FX is identical to the original.
over 400 competitors, and recording no loss of points approaching Monte Carlo, was pretty good for three amateurs like us,” Gaze said. “Our Holden had plenty of power. “But many of the others had practiced on the route, so they knew the way. “We were map reading as well as
trying to get exact times. For the replica, many Australian and overseas companies including Repco, Shannons, Rare Spares, Robert Bosch (Australia), Davey and Gibson Freight have whole-heartedly given their support to this project. “The history of the 1953 Australian
Monte Carlo Rally entry is firmly intertwined with Repco,” explained Rob Cameron, the company’s Executive General Manager. “Our own engineer, the late Charlie Dean, played a pivotal role in the preparation of the original rally car, so we’re excited to be involved again.”
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MONTE CARLO
The FX might have been one of the oldest and the slowest cars, but it was a very popular entry at Classic Targa Adelaide earlier this year.
From a spare body shell sitting in Poole’s shed and after tremendous assistance from many sectors of the motor racing industry and clubs, plus the political and business world both in Australia and internationally, the 1951 FX was restored under the supervision and direction of Poole, a former Hill Climb Champion and passionate Historic ‘Humpy Holden’ racing enthusiast, into this classic masterpiece. When he saw the replica car, Gaze summed it up well. “Our car was polished and clean, but
“LIKE A GOOD CAKE, WE SELECTED THE BEST INGREDIENTS TO MAKE THE PROJECT SUCCESSFUL” this one is immaculate,” the 92-year-old said enthusiastically at the Victorian Tourism launch during this year’s Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. Nothing was left to chance with this project; Poole even travelled to Glasgow
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and France in 2011 to fine-tune details. “Like a good cake, we selected the best ingredients to make the project successful,” Poole said. “There were just so many people who helped along the way.”
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Victorian Historic Racing Register President and renowned engine builder, Ian Tate, looked after the engine and each and every intricate detail of this enormous undertaking also received specialist treatment. Former FJ racer and crankshaft rebuilder Ian Shugg expertly machined and crack tested engine components while Performance Ignition wiz Dick O’Keeffe offered guidance and parts and Derry Robertson’s BGT Brake Services supplied competition linings and finned drums. The car essentially resembles the original Holden FX, from the British Racing Green colour scheme to the original badges and the same racing number (177), but modern technology and features have been incorporated, including the Kenwood GPS system and instrumentation. The one fuse on the original model has been replaced by 23 fused circuits while the original Lucas lights made way for Lightforce HID performance lighting.
Tony Gaze gives the FX Holden replica the thumbs up.
Engineering guru Ron Harrop made special axles from the same material used in V8 Supercars and there is a host of other performance equipment from spark plugs to suspension, gearbox to grip (using Pirelli tyres) and racing camshaft and cylinder heads. The car had its ‘snow shakedown’ at
Lake Mountain in Victoria to test the heating equipment, while Gary and Richard competed in the Classic Targa Adelaide in August to get some practice while Craig was tied up racing in V8 Supercars. Poole and Davison finished the rally, which was mainly held in terrible
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MONTE CARLO
weather conditions, in 83rd out of 86 finishing cars. “We had the oldest, slowest and most historic car in the four day event, but it proved very popular with locals and fellow competitors,” Poole said. “There were only a few little issues to sort out during wet and wild conditions over the 28 stages, but we finished.” On the way to the the Monte Carlo Rally next year, the team plans to visit former rally great Rauno Aaltonen’s place in Finland to have some real practice driving on ice. In keeping with tradition, this team’s rally will again commence in Glasgow, Scotland and cover about 3000 kilometres to Monte Carlo, which requires an average speed of 40 kilometres an hour. There will be plenty of Holden supporters and history lovers watching with anxious eyes. We all wish you well. MSL
Tony Gaze and his wife Diana, who passed away earlier this year, with Gary Poole, Richard Davison and the FX Holden that will take part in the 2013 Monte Carlo Rally.
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SHELBY
MAINTAINING THE LEGEND After spending a decade taking care of the Shelby brand, John Luft was the perfect candidate to take over the presidency of Shelby American two years ago. STORY BY DARREN HOUSE/PHOTOGRAPHS SUPPLIED BY SHELBY
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arroll Shelby was a true legend of the automotive industry. A racer, designer and entrepreneur, Shelby was best known for making the famous Shelby Cobras and Mustang-based performance cars produced by the company he established in 1962, Shelby American. Shelby competed in Formula 1 from 1958 to 1959, participating in a total of eight World Championship races and several non-championship races. The highlight of his racing career came in 1959, when he co-drove an AstonMartin DBR1 with Englishman Roy Salvadori to victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Carroll Shelby passed away in May aged 89. Though the great man is gone and Shelby American no longer
Shelby American’s Los Angeles office, to discuss the future of the company and the legacy left by Carroll Shelby.
Above: John Luft has ensured that the restructure of Shelby American has not damaged the legendary brand.
operates a race team, Shelby continues to be a strong and revered brand around the world. In an exclusive interview, Motorsport Legends’ Darren House sat down with the man charged with growing and protecting the Shelby brand, Shelby American President John Luft, at
Tell me a bit about your background. I’ve spent 25 to 30 years with two Fortune 100 companies and probably two of the biggest brands in the world; Hilton Hotels worldwide and Disney. A lot of people would say, “What are you doing running a car company?” but fundamentally, business is business. How you account, manage and lead are very fundamental no matter what business you are running. I’m a southern Californian boy, born and raised in San Diego and I’m a car fanatic. I think I was being prepared for this job when I was 16 because my first car was a Mustang. My second car was a Mustang. (When you are) a 16-year-old street-racer in southern California, the culture is you are all about your car that’s your top priority. So I’ve always had a car passion and you combine that with having spent 25-plus years with two of the biggest brands in the world (that’s how he ended up heading Shelby American). What did you bring to Shelby? I brought (knowledge of) how to value a brand, how to protect a brand, how you nurture a brand, how you grow a brand and how you make sure you don’t damage it by forming wrong associations and taking wrong steps. When I came to Shelby in 2000, I
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came to set up and run the Shelby Licensing Company. For several years in my Hilton career, I had been in the franchising division overseeing things like branding, and franchising and licensing are so similar. Carroll, when I joined Shelby, had a handful of licensees. For example, with Mattel. Every time you see a little Cobra rolling down a Hot Wheels track, Mattel writes a cheque to Shelby Licensing for the rights to make that car and call it a Shelby Cobra. Ford Motor Company is a licensee of Shelby. Ford builds a Shelby GT500 today in Flat Rock, Michigan. It’s the only Shelby that’s not produced by Shelby but it’s built by our partners Ford, under license, so they pay the licensing company so much per vehicle that they build. I spent the first 10 years building, forming and growing the licensing company and almost two years ago, while I was the president of Shelby Licensing, the president of Shelby
Ken Miles, Carroll Shelby, Lloyd Ruby, Leo Beebe and Ray Geddes celebrate the first Ford GT overall win at the Daytona Continental 2000km race in 1965.
Like the other Shelby models, only a limited number of the GT500 Super Snake are built each year to ensure exclusivity. MotorSportLegends
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SHELBY
Above: Carroll Shelby and Edsel Ford II at the 2011 SEMA Show. Left: Mustang legends Carroll Shelby and John Force drive into the opening ceremony for Mustang’s 40th anniversary celebrations at the Nashville Superspeedway in a 1968 Shelby Shelby GT500KR.
American departed. It was a difficult time as automotive was stumbling. It was a very difficult time - not just difficult for the ‘Big Three’ but also the niche manufacturers. To bring someone new in with the learning curve (that goes with it), the company may not have been able to withstand that. We needed somebody who understood the brand and understood the players, and I had been on the ground for 10 years, so the board of directors asked me if I could go to Shelby America and work with the team and see if we could weather the storm. How has the tough US economy affected Shelby specifically, given that a Shelby is the car you want,
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rather than the car you need? Well, that’s right. If you think about it, respectfully, there are probably not too many soccer mums or guys working in manufacturing driving a Shelby. It’s clearly not a ‘need to have’ car, it’s a ‘want to have’ car. The beauty of it is, that in 2012, we are celebrating 50 years of Shelby, so we have 50 years of brand building and brand equity. But then on top of that we’ve established, through auctions and collector car events like Barrett Jackson, that Shelbys have also been bought at a premium. When you look at the summaries of the major exotic car auctions here in the States, there are always three, four or even five Shelbys in the top 10 vehicles. That’s a
testament to the brand strength and the collectability, so with customers today we make sure we produce product that has appeal. We now have a basic three-car line-up that (considers) not only the type of driver, but also (driver) economics. The GT500 Super Snake is the highest price (product) in our line-up - other than our Shelby 1000; the highest priced, highest performing vehicle we offer. Then we have the GT350 which is less money than a Super Snake - it’s a different kind of car - and then you go to the Shelby GTS, which is, for lack of a better marketing term, kind of your first Shelby. It’s like when I was a kid, you never bought a car that was completely how you wanted it, so you
Carroll with the three Cobra roadsters that would win the 1963 USRRC Manufacturer’s Championship.
The privately owned Shelby GT350 Mustang driven by Roger West and Richard Macon at the 24 Hours of Daytona race in 1966.
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The Shelby 1000 is the highest priced and highest performance vehicle that Shelby offers, which are custom built by hand in very limited quantities.
built and customised the car as you could afford it. Well, the GTS is exactly that car. The 350 and the Super Snake are very content rich and as a result, higher priced. We maintained the quality of a Shelby vehicle as it relates to performance attributes and styling but we minimised the content so the price point is lower. You can buy your GTS with either the V6 or V8 platform and kind of build it as you go. The guy who orders the base-level GTS on the new V6 platform, 305hp - that’s the same amount of horsepower as the first Shelby GT350 in 1965 – you can buy the base car and do the Shelby conversion for under US$35,000. Here’s what’s interesting. We did this
“THE AMOUNT OF PRESS AND INK WE GOT FOR SELLING THAT NUMBER IN 48 HOURS WAS UNBELIEVABLE. EVERYBODY WAS WRITING ABOUT IT” because we had to broaden our offer so we could reach more people but you have to be careful not to break (the brand). If we slapped (Shelby) with something too cheap, it would hurt the brand, so it’s about how far you can stretch it without breaking it. And that gets back into branding and my world, for the past 25 years, has been clearly understanding how you do that.
So GTS was aimed at a younger buyer? GTS was about having a lower price point so we could drive a younger buyer because we were seeing the average age of a Shelby buyer was in the late 40s to early 50s. In branding, what you want to achieve is a cradle to grave (customer). Disney does that very well; a newborn baby has a Mickey Mouse doll in the crib and the grandparents
A 1966 Shelby GT350H Mustang.
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Older models like the 1969 Shelby GT500 command a high resale price and are highly collectable.
take their grandkids to Walt Disney World – that’s cradle to grave. It covers an entire life cycle. Now, with licensing, kids are playing with Shelby toys and driving them on games like Need for Speed and Gran Turismo and all those video games but when they go to school and then university, we had nothing for them until they got well into their career. So GTS was designed to bridge that gap. It wouldn’t fully bridge that gap but it at least shortens it so we could start driving a buyer in his late 30s. But the first delivery of a GTS was to a woman who was about 56 years old, and it’s her daily driver, she drives it to work everyday. The second was a guy who was 35 years old. Then fast forward the tape on GTS deliveries, a couple from Oklahoma - he was 68 and she was in her early 60s – had a Shelby on their bucket list. He said “I want to thank you guys for building the GTS because owning a Shelby was on the list of things we wanted to do before we died and until the GTS we were never going to be able to afford that”. And they got in that car and drove home to Oklahoma City from Las Vegas (1810km). What we found was that it didn’t just shorten the buyer’s age by 10 years - it became everybody’s first Shelby.
the promise we make to customers, so as a buyer you know there are only going to be 350 built this year, which keeps that collectability and value up. People always ask if, like the old Shebys, the price is going to go up 20 years from now. None of us have a crystal ball, however if history repeats itself, which it seems as though it does, then chances are you’re going to enjoy an investment value. We have people today who have bought a GT350, which has an average build cost of $85,000 - that includes the car and up-fit - and have sold it for $125,000 to people who don’t want to wait. We have a 90 to 120 day built time and sometimes it takes Ford eight to 10 weeks to build the base car so it could take five or six months to receive the finished car and some people don’t want to wait that long.
Some owners have made a nice profit by selling their virtually brand new car to customers who don’t want to wait. What other changes did you make to weather the storm? Thirdly, we sized the business correctly. Business is always about how you drive revenue and control costs. We had done production runs in the past with Ford - we built 7000 Shelby GTs that went to Ford dealers, we built 1700 Shelby GT 500KRs - but those days are long gone. The problem with those large production runs is it’s like peak and valleys – you build 1700 cars but then there is the backside of that peak and now you have a valley until you do the next big production run. It was like riding a rollercoaster. So now we’ve cut our overheads to match a steady 500 John Luft with Henry Ford III.
You also create desire by limiting production… With the Shelby GT350, we only build 350 a year – that’s it. When we have taken the 350th order, we stop. That’s 42
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SHELBY
Above: Ken Miles and John Morton in a Shelby Cobra 427 Prototype at Sebring, Florida, 1964. Left: Carroll Shelby with the 1967 Le Mans winning Ford Mark IV.
to 600 cars per year production run. Rather than having the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, we have a nice little flow – the staffing is consistent, our overhead is consistent and all of that is matched to what our 500 to 600 annual production run will be. Is it a dilemma when people want to write you a cheque for a car and you can’t supply it? That’s okay. For ten of my 12 years at Shelby I worked out of this office and Carroll’s office was right next to mine and we probably had lunch four days a week for 10 years. One thing I always heard him say was that if there were 500 people that wanted to buy this car, we only build 400, as you’ve always got to leave some people with a thirst. We could get greedy and build another 150 but against the long term investment in reputation, it’s not worth it for the short-term gain. Here’s a good example. We build around 75 to 100 Cobras each year, and a year ago we started planning for the 50th anniversary of Shelby and the Shelby Cobra in 2012. We decided to do a simple little anniversary Cobra. We announced it in 2011, saying we were only going to build 50 of them, because that will give us 12 to18 months to sell, and when the last one is sold mid-year in 2012, we can say “Shelby American announces the last of the anniversary cars has sold”. We unveiled it and we sold all 50 in 48 hours. It was like, “Oh great, now what do we do?” We didn’t necessarily want to sell them all in 48 hours but it was great news. People said to me “why don’t you 44
just build another 50” and so did the team but I said no, because you can’t go back on your promise in business – it’s the death of the company, so you do what you say. Secondly, the amount of press and ink we got for selling that number in 48 hours was unbelievable. Everybody was writing about it. And if you factor in that the margins aren’t that great – it’s really a legacy car - the amount of profit we would have made from making another 50 more would never have equalled the amount of press we got had on selling them out in 48 hours, so it wasn’t worth it. For example, say we build 100 and only sold 75; there would have been no story there. But selling out 50 in 48 hours – and people had to write a significant cheque to own a beautiful car, knee-deep in a difficult economy – that’s a story. Typically in business you have a great plan that you execute kind of okay, or you have just an okay plan that you execute well. You very seldom have both good planning and execution but this time we had a great plan, a great product and we executed it right on tee.
a living already had this developed so (our) design team got with them and made some alterations. The idea was people would want to tow their Cobra to the car show with their Shelby truck. That sounds great in theory but the people that are going to the car shows and are writing cheques for Cobras don’t want to go hunt down some two or three-year old pickup, they want to go to their Ford dealer and order a brand new F150, have it drop-shipped (to Shelby) to put that Super Snake package on it, so we struggled with it right out of the shoot. It was the quickest to market because the base package was already developed but the right answer was to develop a package based on a brand new vehicle. It doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for a Shelby truck because historically Shelby did pickups in the Dodge years and they were nice. And on the Ford side, the Harley Davidson licensed truck does well so you’d think a Shelby truck would do well. But if we ever take another bite at the apple, we’ll have a good plan. It will be based on a new truck with the appeal that it should.
Where did the Super Snake 150 pickup truck fit into your product mix because it seemed quite a departure from the norm? The truck was a prototype product before I arrived (and) is probably an example of not a perfect plan and not perfectly executed. For example, the base truck required you to go find a used vehicle. The idea at the time was the development partner that builds trucks for
Would you look at an SUV-type vehicle like the Porsche Cayenne? I’ve learned to never say never. I’ve owned a Porsche ever since I was in college. And because I’m a car guy, I own all kinds of cars. I love going to events because Corvette guys wearing their Corvette jackets will come up and we’ve got our Shelbys and they will say Corvettes are this or Corvettes are that and they are looking for a fight sometimes and I look at them and go,
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The Ford Shelby GT500, which Ford builds under licence, is the only Shelby not produced by the performance car company.
“Yeah, Corvettes are great cars, in fact I own one – a 1965 C2 convertible” and they go “wait a minute, you’re Shelby!” I say to them “guys, do you love cars? I love cars – I love all cars”. So sure I love Shelbys, but I love Porsches too, by the way, and I love my old 65 Corvette so with that, when Porsche put out their Cayenne I thought “how did they do that? How do you take (Porsche DNA) and put it into an SUV?” Being a 911 purist, I struggled with that but the fact
is the Cayenne is a nice SUV. It’s not the SUV you’re going to haul sand and bricks in but it’s the kind that you need something bigger than the small back seat in a 911 and you are brand loyal, which Porsche owners are, so rather than drive them to go buy some other SUV, you make one available. So with that I got over it with Porsche. We’ve played around with SUVs. We’ve prototyped a (Ford) Expedition for SEMA one year, but
it’s all about timing. If you look at it right now, SUVs aren’t that popular due to the price of fuel and things like that. Ford is winding up as a lifelong partner - we will always develop on a Ford platform, other than our vintage Cobras. There will be a day when we will prototype a Focus or Fusion and see if they will work in the Shelby line-up. The second part of the John Luft interview will feature in the next edition of Motorsport Legends. MSL
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EDDIE THOMAS
FAST EDDIE
Eddie Thomas set drag racing records and pioneered safety in the sport and he is now widely regarded for his superb engineering skills. STORY BY GRANT NICHOLAS; PHOTOGRAPHS BY AUTOPICS.COM.AU AND THE EDDIE THOMAS FAMILY COLLECTION
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ifty years ago Eddie Thomas was the fastest man in Australia to tear down the nation’s fledgling standing quarter mile drag strips, establishing numerous Commonwealth and national records in his home-built supercharged V8 powered AA/D dragsters. After successfully racing motorcycles and speedway midgets, Thomas became a trailblazer as he thrilled drag racing fans with his tyre smoking and high-speed exploits along the Eastern Seaboard. He pioneered many safety features in his self designed dragster chassis as well as introducing special fireproof race suits, rear disc brakes and the utilisation of parachutes as the terminal speeds increased significantly.
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Thomas displays the first fireproof drag race suit before undergoing his own test on it with a blow torch.
Thomas’ engineering and racing skills were widely applauded by the six visiting American dragster teams participating in the 1966 Australian Drag Fest and were extremely impressed by his innovative approach to the sport. During the Surfers Paradise International Raceway round of the 1966 US versus Aussies tour he became the first Australian to record an eight second pass, with an impressive run of 8.89 seconds. Through his Melbourne-based Eddie Thomas Speed Shop and during his extensive motorsporting career, Thomas assisted and fostered thousands of drivers in their quest to enhance the outright performance of their cars, boats and motorcycles, making him a true motorsporting legend. �
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EDDIE THOMAS
Inset: Thomas awaiting the start of a scramble on his self built motorcycle.
Left and bottom left: At the NSW Drag Championships at Castlereagh in June 1965. Middle: Ken Thomas at the wheel of an Offenhauser restored by his father Eddie.
Thomas was born in the Melbourne suburb of Prahran in 1916 and when he was not at school he would tinker at his father’s tyre retreading business in Cheltenham. “On weekends we would venture to speedway events at the Exhibition Speedway, Aspendale and Warragul plus take part in hill-climbs,” he explained. “My interest in motorsport started with motorcycles as my father had raced them before the First World War; maybe I inherited some of his passion for them.” In 1937, Thomas raced at scrambles events around the Springvale, Oakleigh, Whittlesea and Mt Martha areas on 48
a special AJS frame with lightweight wheels and parts he had put together. “It was in late 1939 or early 1940 when I made my speedway debut in a midget racecar powered by an overhead valve V8 engine at the Aspendale track,” he said. “Later I installed a Plymouth and then a Willys engine into the midget and ran it in that configuration until 1950 when I stopped racing them regularly. “Funnily enough I never raced bikes at the speedway; I always wanted to but never got the opportunity. I suppose you cannot do everything.” Australian speedway experienced a boom from World War II through to the
early sixties. After virtually racing fulltime in the sport, Thomas kept busy by grinding camshafts on a machine he built himself, machining components, making race chassis and preparing midgets in his garage at home. “I always prepared a grey Holden engine with multiple carburettors for midget stalwart Aub Cherry and made a lot of parts like quick-change differentials, steering boxes, hubs, brakes and that type of thing,” he recalled. “When time permitted I occasionally raced other people’s cars that I had prepared.” In 1958 Thomas opened what was hailed as Australia’s first ever speed shop in Caulfield where camshafts would be grinded, engines balanced, flywheels lightened and engines were tuned on the dynamometer. “We dynoed engines for Leo and Ian Geoghegan, Len Lukey, Allan Moffat, leading speedboat racer Keith Hooper and a host of other racers,” Thomas said. “Our engines and components were used in a variety of speedboats as well as speedway and road racing cars plus we made and sold a wide range of speed or go-faster gear for people wanting to hot-up their street cars. “Nearly everyone who hotted up their engines had a half or three-quarter race cam installed plus twin or triple carburettor setups – they were fun days.” Thomas said he always liked drag racing but did not get involved in it initially because there were very few, if any, drag strips in Australia. “An American driver, Chuck Day, came out here and told us how good drag racing was and how it was booming over there,” he said. Thomas credits Greg Goddard with starting drag racing in Melbourne. “He built a dragster powered by a Ford side-valve engine and raced it a few times at the old Pakenham airstrip. “He wanted the engine for a boat so he sold me the dragster chassis, which I fitted with a similar side-valve V8, and John English raced the car for me. “John finished building his ’32 Ford roadster and I repowered the dragster with a 319 cubic-inch (5.2-litre) V8 engine out of an American Dodge
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Above: Thomas opened Australia’s first speed shop in the Melbourne suburb of Caulfield in 1958. Right: Eddie in the #16 car dicing with a competitor at a dirt speedway. Below: Wheelstanding off the line at Calder Park.
Phoenix sedan and started racing it myself after fitting a front-mounted supercharger and fuel injection system that I designed myself. “I used that engine for a while then upgraded to a 361 cubic-inch Chrysler Wedge V8 and it worked really well but the chassis was getting a bit old and dated. “The old car would go from a standing start to 150 miles per hour (240 kilometres per hour) over the Riverside quarter-mile in 10.74-seconds at Fishermen’s Bend in Melbourne.” Thomas debuted a rather radical dragster in 1965 that had similar styling to the cars that were racing in the USA. Chrysler had imported and displayed a Hemi engine at the Sydney Motor Show and Thomas arranged to buy it from the company after he saw it at the show. Using the brand-new 426 cubic-inch
(7-litre) Hemi V8, Thomas and Goddard, who was working at Eddie Thomas Speed Shop at the time, built a new chassis to suit the proven NASCAR race winning engine. “Initially I ran the new car at Riverside drag strip with the twin four-barrel carburettors that were fitted to it before installing the supercharger and all of the ancillary gear to it,” Thomas said. While drag racers can simply buy all of their race components and equipment from catalogues these days, it was very different to acquire the components or equipment to make the cars go faster in Thomas’ era. He would send his drawings to a pattern maker who would cast the parts. “When the castings came from the foundry I would machine them – it was probably easier then to do it all in-house than it is now,” he said. “Sometimes we would fabricate
components for the car’s fuel injection system and the manifolds for the supercharger. “We established a new British Commonwealth standing quarter mile record at Riverside drag strip with a time of 9.76-seconds in the new car, which was quite pleasing at the time.” Thomas made a big impression on the six visiting American dragster drivers, including team captain and showman Tony Nancy, Bob Mayer, George Schrieber, Bob Keith, Ron Colson and Earl Poage when he competed against them during the 1966 Australian Drag Fest at Calder Park Raceway, Sydney’s Castlereagh International Dragway and Surfers Paradise International Raceway. “They were amazed that someone could build their own dragster plus supercharged engine and race it competitively as they simply purchased everything they required for their cars
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EDDIE THOMAS
over the counter,” Thomas recalled. “In addition, we had import restrictions and tariffs at that time. For many years I could not afford slick tyres, so I purchased some used Olympic air-ride tyres from a Rolls Royce as they had a large diameter. “I would take them to Beaurepaires and they would put a thick tread on each casing and then grind a flat and square-rolling surface on them – they performed well. “At one stage I managed to secure a pair of alloy rear wheels and some new slick tyres and they were imported into the country with the paperwork listing them as agricultural wheels and sand tyres.” It was the ‘Yanks’ who helped convince Thomas to move away from the front-mounted supercharger configuration to the top of the engine installation, but the car broke a crankshaft soon after. Having sold his speed shop to Brian Sampson and with the car reaching its expiry date, Thomas retired and sold the car to Des Burns. Thomas then joined the Repco engine development team working on Jack Brabham’s 1969 Indianapolis 500 assault. For almost 18 months his main role was dyno-testing the Formula 1 and Indy 500 V8 race engines at the Repco development centre in Maidstone. “For the ’69 Indy 500 race, Jack decided that he didn’t want the Bosch ignition system that was tried and tested on the engine; instead he wanted
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Above: Supercharged power fighting for traction at Riverside Drag Strip. Below: Another record breaking run at Sydney’s Castlereagh International Raceway.
to use a mickey-mouse electronic system,” Thomas said. “We told him it was no good and unproven, as the early electronic systems had a pea-light which shone through a hole and that triggered the ignition. “Due to vibration the lamp would break from its mount. He chose not to listen to sound advice and just after the race start the system failed and he had to pit and have the Bosch system promptly installed. “He finished the race in 24th spot where he could have been dicing for the lead as he had the car and the capability to win the race.” At the age of 94, Thomas still works at his manufacturing business Redline Engineering in Mordialloc. The company provides services to the
transport, rail, defence, medical and agricultural industries. “I spend each day working with a CAD/CAM computer designing a whole array of components and parts plus I have developed several speedway units,” he explained. “I have designed a starter system for sprintcars where a shaft at the back of the differential housing fits into a remote starter, thereby eliminating the need to push start the car to get the engine to fire. “Also I have made a cover plate for the differential assembly that has captured nuts, so the nuts do not drop into the dirt and it is easier to remove and refit the plate. “I also design specialised pneumatic fittings for one of our key clients – life is never dull around here.” MSL
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THE BEAST HAS BEEN UNLEASHED!
This highly anticipated 404 page glossy hard cover, F5000 Thunder - The Titans of Road Racing , showcases some of the biggest names in open-wheel racing . Limited to only 1500 copies worldwide and is available online for $89.95 plus delivery. Premium Boxed Set - Limited Edition ( 75 copies only) with gold foil and personally autographed by around 20 of the featured drivers, $399.00 plus delivery. Also available are T-Shirts and books covering speedway.
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