Hi everyone!

[Richard Melville]

Hi everyone! My name is Richard Melville. I am a former racing driver. I drove GT cars in Europe in early sixties, Formula Supervees and Atlantic in the States and Canada, and finally in New Zealand in the mid-seventies.

This forum looks like a good place for me to chat with like-minded people. Look forward to conversing with you all.

 

[John]

Hi Richard, great to have you on board, bout time we got more Kiwis on here, were still a bit out numbered but were catching up
cheers John
expat Jaffa now living on sunshine coast QLD.

 

[Jim Cowden]

welcome Richard.

Jim

 

[Terry Oxandale]

Welcome to the site Richard.

Terry

 

[Craig Young]

Hi Richard
Welcome to the forum...

Cheers Craig Young

 

[Grady]

Welcome to the site...well Ron's site. It is everything you wanted to know....

 

[Randy V]

Welcome to GT40s Richard!

 

[Jack]

Welcome to the forum Richard, enjoy!

 

[Jimmy P]

Richard, we look forward to hearing more of your racing exploits. Lots of good blokes on this site with great info. A very hot and humid welcome from Central Florida.

 

[Richard Melville]

Hi Richard, great to have you on board, bout time we got more Kiwis on here, were still a bit out numbered but were catching up
cheers John
expat Jaffa now living on sunshine coast QLD.

Hi John, I never drove a GT 40 But Paul Hawkins an Aussie from Melbourne was with me at Walker's in England and he was to drive a GT40 at LeMans and when I asked him what happened when he got to La Source the 30mph hairpin he said that he if he missed the braking point the next stop was Paris

 

[Richard Melville]

Richard, we look forward to hearing more of your racing exploits. Lots of good blokes on this site with great info. A very hot and humid welcome from Central Florida.

One of my biggest disappointments was at the GT race before the German GP at the Nurburgring in 1962 in a Lotus Elite. It was raining and there must have been a hundred car grid. I jumped the start and was fourth through the South Curve, in front was an Aston Martin driven by Peter Lindner, the German GT Champion and Sir John Whitmore, the British GT Champion in a lightweight E Type and Ben Ponn the Dutch GT Champion in a Porsche. The North curve was coming up and I knew that the Elite, with a little 1300 cc engine could out handle all of them in the wet, and they wouldn't catch me till the straight. And the engine quit. The fuse to the fuse pumps had blown.

I have written a novel about a Formula One driver and his experiences which you might like. I never got that far only driving Supervees and Formula Atlantic but I have a fair idea at what it took. Have a look at the first chapter: http://bit.ly/1w2H5n4

 

[Richard Melville]

Hi everybody, thank you for welcoming me

 

[Russell]

Hi Richard, welcome to what is a great place to share knowledge and learn heaps.
Where about`s in auckland are you, I have a car underway from your era, a Mclaren M8 B replica....a time that holds a large interest for me. 3 rules only and unlimited scope for all sorts of ideas. Funnily enough I have just watched the video `Rallying...the killer years, group B.
Regards
Russell

 

[Richard Melville]

Hi Richard, welcome to what is a great place to share knowledge and learn heaps.
Where about`s in auckland are you, I have a car underway from your era, a Mclaren M8 B replica....a time that holds a large interest for me. 3 rules only and unlimited scope for all sorts of ideas. Funnily enough I have just watched the video `Rallying...the killer years, group B.
Regards
Russell

I am in Mission Bay. I'd love to see it. I though I would convert a Chevron B8 into a road car once. It was so horrible on the road I gave up on it.