I would greatly value the opinions of the forum members with regard to the formation of an INTERNATIONAL SPORTS REPLICA RACING ASSOCIATION (ISRRA).
Several factors, which I outline below, have motivated this thought.
First of all, speaking personally when I was 12 years in 1952 old, in my last year at junior school there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to Europe to become a racing driver. In my last year at high school I added another option and that was that if I couldn’t get into racing I would bring back a new business idea, the perception at the time being in South Africa that all clever things came from overseas. Until today that perception exists!
When I joined the Stirling Moss Paint-a-Car System in London in 1964 I actually stayed with Stirling for three months in his mews house off Park Lane before I found suitable accommodation. During that time I did a translation into English of a German article on him for which he ‘paid’ me with a crash helmet, two sets of blue Dunlop overalls and a navy blue waterproof overall all three resplendent with BRDC badges. Despite the fact that I offered to do the translation for free he insisted upon ‘payment’. I then started doing a Jim Russell Racing Drivers course at Snetterton, wearing his helmet and overalls and would return in the evening to discuss my day with SM. He said that if I was serious about getting into the sport he would advise and help me. How close can one get to realising a dream? Did it get me into racing? No! The paradox is that it was Stirling who turned schoolboy option two into reality, for in 1968 I returned to South Africa at the end of 1968 to establish the Mike Hailwood Autospray System in Johannesburg.
I would like to take this opportunity to say that I’m eternally grateful to Stirling for his advice, help and guidance at that time and how much I admire his sheer guts, determination, professionalism, perfectionism and integrity. I also met my wife indirectly through him. Some years ago Readers Digest ran a series, ‘My most unforgettable character’. In my word there’s no doubt that Stirling Crauford Moss would have qualified for that chapter!
From the time I returned to South Africa in 1968 until now I’ve been involved with various business ventures, car design and building, other design projects including two patented items, journalism and book writing, etc. All of this meant no time or money for motor racing. During all these years, which have flown by at an alarming rate, I drove an Opel in precisely one production car race at Killarney. Fabulous career! As I moved into my 40s and 50s the thought of driving racing cars evaporated.
However, since becoming involved in 1999 through CAV with the building of a 1960s icon, the GT40, I suddenly got a wake up call. I dawned upon me that here I’m involved with one of the very cars I would have loved to have driven if fate had decreed that I would stay in Europe to race cars.
I also began to realise that David Piper and classic friends are in their 50s, 60s and 70s and are as quick as ever. In fact when David raced his P2,3 and 4 (now MK1V J6, Jim Glickenhaus’s car) at Killarney in the late 1960s a good lap time was 1min 18secs. Those were his exact times last month in the Ford F3L but back in the 1960s he didn’t have a plastic right foot! The red ex-John Surtees Lola T70 Spyder went round in 1min 15 secs which was faster than before.
At the 2000 Goodwood Revival Meeting I was absolutely gobsmacked at how fast the bald and silver-haired brigade drove ERAs, BRMs, Connaughts, Coopers, Lotus, etc. These extremely valuable cars could be seen in full-blooded Fangio/Moss type four wheel drifts like there’s no tomorrow.
I also had a surreal experience at the same event. I was sitting in the grandstand at the end of the Lavant straight with Ed Rossler, Stirling’s former race team manager in the 1960s. And who appeared on warm up lap in a Rob Walker Cooper, non other than old SM whose career ‘ended’ at the same circuit some 38 years earlier. Both Ed and I knew the trauma he suffered when his career lay in tatters and the sheer effort he expended in getting mentally and physically fit again. I turned to Ed and said, ‘Ed please tell me that this is for real and that I’m not about to wake up from a dream!’. Sadly there was a nasty start line accident involving Nigel Corner’s Ferrari and in the melée the Cooper was damaged. Had our old boss driven in the race no doubt he would have been as quick as in the 1960s! That same Sunday, September 17, was Stirling’s birthday when he turned 71.
Right now as I’m typing this one of the biggest if not biggest cycle races in the world, with 35 000 entrants, is taking place on my door step. Once again it’s amazing what a high percentage of entrants is over 60, including one at 81, considering how physically challenging the race is.
Right, I’ve think I’ve convinced you all that we’re getting younger as we’re getting older and that there’s still a lot going for the older boys.
The reason for explaining my personal situation above is to find out if there are people out there who share my experience of having wanted to race but were prevented from doing so because of wives saying no, business commitments, school fees, university fees, etc. I believe there are! After having abandoned any hope of racing some years ago, would I have a go now – you bet I would!
I also believe that there are very few out there who can afford original FIA registered classics, but who could certainly stretch to a replica.
For some time now I’ve been nagging David Piper and partner, Mike Knight, to motivate the inclusion of replicas into their historic section. Up till now the answer has been an emphatic no but I believe that there’s a glimmer of hope in that the RAC might consider selective inclusion from 2004. However, if this is the case I gather that it’ll be for precise copies only, ie the new full monocoque MK11 now being developed in Cape Town. This of course means that I have to continue to motivate ISRRA for now.
I believe that the best three decades of sports cars racing were the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The 1950s were great with C-Type, D-Type Jags, Ferraris, Maseratis, Mercedes 300SLRs, etc. the 1970s were also good but lost impetus when Ferrari pulled out in 1973. The screaming Matras were exciting. The 1960s were really special, highlighted of course by four successive victories at Le Mans by our favourite car. Then there were the Mirages, Ferraris P2/3/4s, Lola T70s, McLarens, Chaparrals, Alfa-Romeo Tipo 33s, Chevrons, Ginettas, Divas, Porsches 904, 906, 908, 910 and at the end the fabulous and hairy 917. Problem with the 1980s was that a Porsche victory was virtually a foregone conclusion.
To digress for a minute. Now that I’ve mentioned Moss’s Mille Miglia 300SLR we’re busy developing a 60% scale copy of the car. About two years ago Robbie Senekal who now heads up the new MK11 project and I were going to build the car in half scale and with a fibreglass body. In view of the new project and Robbie’s total commitment to it I shifted the project to my friend Malcolm Duncan in Johannesburg. Malcolm owns a high tech factory with all the right equipment and in addition is a complete Mercedes-Benz nut. He owns a 300SL roadster, some other classics, a large die cast collection as well as many books on the marque. As he has the capability of vacuum forming the body panels in aluminium this is the route he’s taking. I recently found some engineering drawings of the spoke wheels and this is going to be the most tricky part of the build, but never fear, we shall overcome. My brief to Malcolm is to be correct is all respects – the numbers 722, wood rim steering wheel, side dummy exhausts, tartan pattern seats, Union Jack flags on the rear fairings, etc. Stirling reminded me of an important feature – a three spoke steering wheel. All the Grand Prix W196s and other 300SLRs were fitted with four-spokers but for the Mille Miglia he requested a three-spoker. After the Mille Miglia Neubauer gave the wheel to Stirling as a memento and it now adorns a wall in his study. Interestingly enough the Burago 18th scale model has a four spoke wheel. Careful! The car will possibly be powered by a Briggs & Stratton engine and will be fitted with a gearbox with three forwards and a reverse as well as a diff. The project is costing a small fortune but we’re hoping there’ll be market even if small.
However, I digress so it’s back to ISRRA. There are a great many replicas about that could make ISRRA a reality in a short space of time.
There are several GT40s and there are Cobras aplenty in several countries; Neil Formeman in the UK builds a Ferrari P4; Barrie Martin builds a Porsche 904 at the Thruxton circuit; Andrew Keiller builds a 917 in Australia and has joined two 911 engines together to create a near copy of the original flat 12; a friend in Cape Town has built a precise copy of the Chevron B8; I believe the attractive B16 has also been replicated in the UK; Ivor Walklett, one of the original four brothers who founded Ginetta still builds the pretty little G4 and the mid-engined G12. There are probably some others I’ve forgotten about. In past postings I’ve dropped hints about the Lola T70 MK111B. I now admit that we are seriously looking at producing a precise copy of the original car and we have sourced all the drawings, moulds, jigs, patterns, etc.
From the 1950s era replicas were made in the UK of the Jaguar C and D types as well as the XJ13. A friend in Cape Town built a stunning Proteus XJ13 but has now sold the car to an overseas buyer. Most of these cars are out of production but could be brought back if ISRRA could come about. Then of course Lotus Seven replicas which spilled over into the 1960s are plentiful. We therefore on paper already have a representative grid of 1950s and 1960s cars.
I would propose that the rules be simple and straightforward, one or two pages and not reams. What would be of utmost importance would be that the rules for all countries must be identical. Not long after the motor car was born some countries ended up left hand drive and others right hand drive. Those useful little telephone that we all carry about are called cell phones in South Africa and the US but mobiles in the UK. Why do human beings have a propensity either to complicate issues or to get them plain wrong?
Proposed rules as follows:
Participating cars must be visually correct as they originally were. Space frames to be allowed for cars that were originally monocoque; minor widening of wheel arches to be allowed; Cobras to run with Halibrands or replicas therof; GT40s with Halibrands or BRM wheels; D-Type Jags with pin drive Dunlop wheels or bolt on replicas; C-Types, wire wheels, etc; gearboxes to be free. If the cars aren’t visually correct the series could easily degenerate into something that resembles a race series for badly built backyard kit cars.
Cars must be fitted by engines from the original manufacturers, ie a P4 could only be fitted with any Ferrari engine and not Renault V6 as is popular in the UK; GT40s and Cobras fitted with Chev engines to be kicked into touch; likewise Keiller’s 917 would be acceptable with any Porsche engine and not necessarily two 911 engines glued together. Lola T70 debatable but preferably Chevvy V8 but then some also ran with Ford engines; Chevron B8 preferably BMW four cylinder but then some also ran with Ford BDAs.
These are only guidelines and the rules would have to be fine tuned but in essence the brief would be that the cars would have to be presented in the spirit of the originals. To avoid confusion cars would have to be passed by an ‘acceptance committee’ of ISRRA.
The mere fact that many of the above models are available in kit form means that those interested in competing in the ISRRA series could build their own cars quite cheaply. A Lotus Seven could be great starter.
Initial participating countries could be the US, Canada, Brazil, the Argentine, the UK, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Spain, Sweden, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Others could follow later.
Perhaps there could be a central ISRRA committee with sub-committees for each country, or each country could have its own committee that would liaise with others countries.
Emphasis however would have to be on fun and meeting soul mates. David Piper’s members really enjoy life when they visit here and other parts of the world. They go on sightseeing trips, enjoy barbeques and parties and meeting people. Racing is never serious as is the case with FI and other top current racing classes all driven by millions of dollars and huge sponsorships. It would give members who can afford it the opportunity to go on racing vacations. At a later stage if the series becomes popular, sponsorship could be raised. Yellow Pages sponsored the 1988 David Piper series to the tune of R600 000. To see that figure in perspective at the time a Ford Sierra 2.0GL sold for R25 000, ie 24 new Ford Sierras. Sponsorship could mean that several cars from one country could race in another.
If the series takes off there’ll be more business for the GT40 replica and other constructors.
If you like the idea please let me know, if you think I’m dreaming please also let me know! Perhaps some GT40 forum members could volunteer to drive ISRRA in their respective countries ie Marko Bjerken in Sweden, Fred in France, the Thompsons in New Zealand, only to mention a few names picked at random. Then in the US there’re too many to mention here. How about Chris Melia promoting the series in the UK.
I look forward to your comments.
Optimistic Andre40
Several factors, which I outline below, have motivated this thought.
First of all, speaking personally when I was 12 years in 1952 old, in my last year at junior school there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to Europe to become a racing driver. In my last year at high school I added another option and that was that if I couldn’t get into racing I would bring back a new business idea, the perception at the time being in South Africa that all clever things came from overseas. Until today that perception exists!
When I joined the Stirling Moss Paint-a-Car System in London in 1964 I actually stayed with Stirling for three months in his mews house off Park Lane before I found suitable accommodation. During that time I did a translation into English of a German article on him for which he ‘paid’ me with a crash helmet, two sets of blue Dunlop overalls and a navy blue waterproof overall all three resplendent with BRDC badges. Despite the fact that I offered to do the translation for free he insisted upon ‘payment’. I then started doing a Jim Russell Racing Drivers course at Snetterton, wearing his helmet and overalls and would return in the evening to discuss my day with SM. He said that if I was serious about getting into the sport he would advise and help me. How close can one get to realising a dream? Did it get me into racing? No! The paradox is that it was Stirling who turned schoolboy option two into reality, for in 1968 I returned to South Africa at the end of 1968 to establish the Mike Hailwood Autospray System in Johannesburg.
I would like to take this opportunity to say that I’m eternally grateful to Stirling for his advice, help and guidance at that time and how much I admire his sheer guts, determination, professionalism, perfectionism and integrity. I also met my wife indirectly through him. Some years ago Readers Digest ran a series, ‘My most unforgettable character’. In my word there’s no doubt that Stirling Crauford Moss would have qualified for that chapter!
From the time I returned to South Africa in 1968 until now I’ve been involved with various business ventures, car design and building, other design projects including two patented items, journalism and book writing, etc. All of this meant no time or money for motor racing. During all these years, which have flown by at an alarming rate, I drove an Opel in precisely one production car race at Killarney. Fabulous career! As I moved into my 40s and 50s the thought of driving racing cars evaporated.
However, since becoming involved in 1999 through CAV with the building of a 1960s icon, the GT40, I suddenly got a wake up call. I dawned upon me that here I’m involved with one of the very cars I would have loved to have driven if fate had decreed that I would stay in Europe to race cars.
I also began to realise that David Piper and classic friends are in their 50s, 60s and 70s and are as quick as ever. In fact when David raced his P2,3 and 4 (now MK1V J6, Jim Glickenhaus’s car) at Killarney in the late 1960s a good lap time was 1min 18secs. Those were his exact times last month in the Ford F3L but back in the 1960s he didn’t have a plastic right foot! The red ex-John Surtees Lola T70 Spyder went round in 1min 15 secs which was faster than before.
At the 2000 Goodwood Revival Meeting I was absolutely gobsmacked at how fast the bald and silver-haired brigade drove ERAs, BRMs, Connaughts, Coopers, Lotus, etc. These extremely valuable cars could be seen in full-blooded Fangio/Moss type four wheel drifts like there’s no tomorrow.
I also had a surreal experience at the same event. I was sitting in the grandstand at the end of the Lavant straight with Ed Rossler, Stirling’s former race team manager in the 1960s. And who appeared on warm up lap in a Rob Walker Cooper, non other than old SM whose career ‘ended’ at the same circuit some 38 years earlier. Both Ed and I knew the trauma he suffered when his career lay in tatters and the sheer effort he expended in getting mentally and physically fit again. I turned to Ed and said, ‘Ed please tell me that this is for real and that I’m not about to wake up from a dream!’. Sadly there was a nasty start line accident involving Nigel Corner’s Ferrari and in the melée the Cooper was damaged. Had our old boss driven in the race no doubt he would have been as quick as in the 1960s! That same Sunday, September 17, was Stirling’s birthday when he turned 71.
Right now as I’m typing this one of the biggest if not biggest cycle races in the world, with 35 000 entrants, is taking place on my door step. Once again it’s amazing what a high percentage of entrants is over 60, including one at 81, considering how physically challenging the race is.
Right, I’ve think I’ve convinced you all that we’re getting younger as we’re getting older and that there’s still a lot going for the older boys.
The reason for explaining my personal situation above is to find out if there are people out there who share my experience of having wanted to race but were prevented from doing so because of wives saying no, business commitments, school fees, university fees, etc. I believe there are! After having abandoned any hope of racing some years ago, would I have a go now – you bet I would!
I also believe that there are very few out there who can afford original FIA registered classics, but who could certainly stretch to a replica.
For some time now I’ve been nagging David Piper and partner, Mike Knight, to motivate the inclusion of replicas into their historic section. Up till now the answer has been an emphatic no but I believe that there’s a glimmer of hope in that the RAC might consider selective inclusion from 2004. However, if this is the case I gather that it’ll be for precise copies only, ie the new full monocoque MK11 now being developed in Cape Town. This of course means that I have to continue to motivate ISRRA for now.
I believe that the best three decades of sports cars racing were the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The 1950s were great with C-Type, D-Type Jags, Ferraris, Maseratis, Mercedes 300SLRs, etc. the 1970s were also good but lost impetus when Ferrari pulled out in 1973. The screaming Matras were exciting. The 1960s were really special, highlighted of course by four successive victories at Le Mans by our favourite car. Then there were the Mirages, Ferraris P2/3/4s, Lola T70s, McLarens, Chaparrals, Alfa-Romeo Tipo 33s, Chevrons, Ginettas, Divas, Porsches 904, 906, 908, 910 and at the end the fabulous and hairy 917. Problem with the 1980s was that a Porsche victory was virtually a foregone conclusion.
To digress for a minute. Now that I’ve mentioned Moss’s Mille Miglia 300SLR we’re busy developing a 60% scale copy of the car. About two years ago Robbie Senekal who now heads up the new MK11 project and I were going to build the car in half scale and with a fibreglass body. In view of the new project and Robbie’s total commitment to it I shifted the project to my friend Malcolm Duncan in Johannesburg. Malcolm owns a high tech factory with all the right equipment and in addition is a complete Mercedes-Benz nut. He owns a 300SL roadster, some other classics, a large die cast collection as well as many books on the marque. As he has the capability of vacuum forming the body panels in aluminium this is the route he’s taking. I recently found some engineering drawings of the spoke wheels and this is going to be the most tricky part of the build, but never fear, we shall overcome. My brief to Malcolm is to be correct is all respects – the numbers 722, wood rim steering wheel, side dummy exhausts, tartan pattern seats, Union Jack flags on the rear fairings, etc. Stirling reminded me of an important feature – a three spoke steering wheel. All the Grand Prix W196s and other 300SLRs were fitted with four-spokers but for the Mille Miglia he requested a three-spoker. After the Mille Miglia Neubauer gave the wheel to Stirling as a memento and it now adorns a wall in his study. Interestingly enough the Burago 18th scale model has a four spoke wheel. Careful! The car will possibly be powered by a Briggs & Stratton engine and will be fitted with a gearbox with three forwards and a reverse as well as a diff. The project is costing a small fortune but we’re hoping there’ll be market even if small.
However, I digress so it’s back to ISRRA. There are a great many replicas about that could make ISRRA a reality in a short space of time.
There are several GT40s and there are Cobras aplenty in several countries; Neil Formeman in the UK builds a Ferrari P4; Barrie Martin builds a Porsche 904 at the Thruxton circuit; Andrew Keiller builds a 917 in Australia and has joined two 911 engines together to create a near copy of the original flat 12; a friend in Cape Town has built a precise copy of the Chevron B8; I believe the attractive B16 has also been replicated in the UK; Ivor Walklett, one of the original four brothers who founded Ginetta still builds the pretty little G4 and the mid-engined G12. There are probably some others I’ve forgotten about. In past postings I’ve dropped hints about the Lola T70 MK111B. I now admit that we are seriously looking at producing a precise copy of the original car and we have sourced all the drawings, moulds, jigs, patterns, etc.
From the 1950s era replicas were made in the UK of the Jaguar C and D types as well as the XJ13. A friend in Cape Town built a stunning Proteus XJ13 but has now sold the car to an overseas buyer. Most of these cars are out of production but could be brought back if ISRRA could come about. Then of course Lotus Seven replicas which spilled over into the 1960s are plentiful. We therefore on paper already have a representative grid of 1950s and 1960s cars.
I would propose that the rules be simple and straightforward, one or two pages and not reams. What would be of utmost importance would be that the rules for all countries must be identical. Not long after the motor car was born some countries ended up left hand drive and others right hand drive. Those useful little telephone that we all carry about are called cell phones in South Africa and the US but mobiles in the UK. Why do human beings have a propensity either to complicate issues or to get them plain wrong?
Proposed rules as follows:
Participating cars must be visually correct as they originally were. Space frames to be allowed for cars that were originally monocoque; minor widening of wheel arches to be allowed; Cobras to run with Halibrands or replicas therof; GT40s with Halibrands or BRM wheels; D-Type Jags with pin drive Dunlop wheels or bolt on replicas; C-Types, wire wheels, etc; gearboxes to be free. If the cars aren’t visually correct the series could easily degenerate into something that resembles a race series for badly built backyard kit cars.
Cars must be fitted by engines from the original manufacturers, ie a P4 could only be fitted with any Ferrari engine and not Renault V6 as is popular in the UK; GT40s and Cobras fitted with Chev engines to be kicked into touch; likewise Keiller’s 917 would be acceptable with any Porsche engine and not necessarily two 911 engines glued together. Lola T70 debatable but preferably Chevvy V8 but then some also ran with Ford engines; Chevron B8 preferably BMW four cylinder but then some also ran with Ford BDAs.
These are only guidelines and the rules would have to be fine tuned but in essence the brief would be that the cars would have to be presented in the spirit of the originals. To avoid confusion cars would have to be passed by an ‘acceptance committee’ of ISRRA.
The mere fact that many of the above models are available in kit form means that those interested in competing in the ISRRA series could build their own cars quite cheaply. A Lotus Seven could be great starter.
Initial participating countries could be the US, Canada, Brazil, the Argentine, the UK, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Spain, Sweden, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Others could follow later.
Perhaps there could be a central ISRRA committee with sub-committees for each country, or each country could have its own committee that would liaise with others countries.
Emphasis however would have to be on fun and meeting soul mates. David Piper’s members really enjoy life when they visit here and other parts of the world. They go on sightseeing trips, enjoy barbeques and parties and meeting people. Racing is never serious as is the case with FI and other top current racing classes all driven by millions of dollars and huge sponsorships. It would give members who can afford it the opportunity to go on racing vacations. At a later stage if the series becomes popular, sponsorship could be raised. Yellow Pages sponsored the 1988 David Piper series to the tune of R600 000. To see that figure in perspective at the time a Ford Sierra 2.0GL sold for R25 000, ie 24 new Ford Sierras. Sponsorship could mean that several cars from one country could race in another.
If the series takes off there’ll be more business for the GT40 replica and other constructors.
If you like the idea please let me know, if you think I’m dreaming please also let me know! Perhaps some GT40 forum members could volunteer to drive ISRRA in their respective countries ie Marko Bjerken in Sweden, Fred in France, the Thompsons in New Zealand, only to mention a few names picked at random. Then in the US there’re too many to mention here. How about Chris Melia promoting the series in the UK.
I look forward to your comments.
Optimistic Andre40
