I heard today from Andre that Bob Olthoff has sadly passed away. Bob will be best remembered for his days at Willment, notably racing the Willment Cobra Coupe. There were other very successful campaigns, and I'm sure Andre has many more anecdotes to share.
One story I have turned up about Bob while researching the Lola MK6 GT typifies his determination.
After the distributor drive sheared off the Lola at the 1963 Nurburgring 1000km, Bob was desperate to get back to the crew in the pits to let Eric Broadley know that the GT was not completely wrecked - and that it was not his fault - Eric already had a downer on Bob because he had jammed the car in 2nd gear in practice just after the pits, and he had to nurse the car for a total of nearly 14 miles before the pits came round again.
Trying to climb the fence for the shortest way back through the infield, Bob came across the long arm of the German Polizei. Having been pulled off the fence by the policeman for the fifth time, Bob, sitting astride the fence, finally had enough, smacked the policeman in the face with his gloved fist and made a dash for it. While Bob was swallowed up by a mass of spectators, the policeman, now flat on his back with his cap a few yards away, was last seen reaching for his gun...
Thankfully, Bob survived that encounter to win many more races and provide many more tales.
May he rest in peace.
Rob
One story I have turned up about Bob while researching the Lola MK6 GT typifies his determination.
After the distributor drive sheared off the Lola at the 1963 Nurburgring 1000km, Bob was desperate to get back to the crew in the pits to let Eric Broadley know that the GT was not completely wrecked - and that it was not his fault - Eric already had a downer on Bob because he had jammed the car in 2nd gear in practice just after the pits, and he had to nurse the car for a total of nearly 14 miles before the pits came round again.
Trying to climb the fence for the shortest way back through the infield, Bob came across the long arm of the German Polizei. Having been pulled off the fence by the policeman for the fifth time, Bob, sitting astride the fence, finally had enough, smacked the policeman in the face with his gloved fist and made a dash for it. While Bob was swallowed up by a mass of spectators, the policeman, now flat on his back with his cap a few yards away, was last seen reaching for his gun...
Thankfully, Bob survived that encounter to win many more races and provide many more tales.
May he rest in peace.
Rob