dallara dynamite - Historic Racing South Africa

The Historic Times
Volume 10 issue 4
April 2009
Historic Racing Car Register
DA LLA RA DYNA MITE
http://www.alfasport.net/Public/data/
carlitos/20061124172832_AISA_Scaglione_2006_Zeccoli_33.jpg
Inside this issue:
Classic Classifieds
2
Chairman’s Chatter
18
Historic Touring Cars
Phakisa
22
Marque Cars Phakisa
28
Terry’s Trivia
30
Obituary
38
Flashback Kyalami 1968
41
Back in 1973, when the
first production 1300cc
X1/9s were emerging out of
Italy, but years before they
were officially imported to
the UK, Giampolo Dallara
agreed with FIAT to develop a racing version of
the X1/9. Dallara became
the first to produce a series
of racing exxies at their
Parma factory.
Dallara have recently been in the
forefront of Formula 3 racing
around the world with their latest
chassis/ monocoque designs –
and their successful projects litter
the thirty years in between. Yet
this X1/9 commission remains a
firm favourite project with Giampolo. I can see why. Looking at
the photos of these Dallaras they
just don’t date. The lines and purposeful stance are as striking toContinued on page 3
Page 2
Volume 10 issue 4
Classic Classifieds
BMW 2002 RACE CAR FOR SALE
Photo C
ourtesy
of
w.histo
cott ww
Barry S
g.co.za
ricracin
•
AN EXCELLENT CONTENDER FOR CLASS E
•
NEW MOTOR AND DIFF
•
300 DEGREE CAM,VAN DER LINDE HEAD
•
KONI ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS
•
TWIN POT CALIPERS
•
SPARES GALORE - EXTRA SET RIMS,EXTRA BODY,GEARBOX,ENGINE,SUSPENSION
PARTS,LAMPS,SIDE SHAFTS
HUGE POTENTIAL -AS RUN 17-6 AT ZWARTKOPS
THIS IS AN EXCELLENT BUY AT 60K,CONTACT BRENDON ON 082-608-8200
Page 3
DA LLA RA DYNA MITE
day as ever. The car’s handling and cornering abilities
are legendary. They are
pretty and functional yet enhance the Bertone original’s
elegance. Actually Bertone
designed the body panels for
the Dallara too.
In the earliest versions I’ve
seen, the wing panels were
retained – although now
made of lightweight glass fibre. (In other words they didn’t make one-piece front or
rear clamshells.) Dallara
achieved around 260 kg
weight savings over standard.
Icsunonove
Design Concept
The Dallara X1/9 retained the
original passenger compartment, with front and rear
space frames extended from
the bulkheads to mount engine/box and suspension
c o m p o n e n t s .
The initial Dallaras were built
to Group 5 racing regulations.
This was a silhouette formula
allowing for maximum mechanical and weight reduction
mods. – yet keeping the car’s
production body outline.
Few production components
remained. To reduce weight,
suspension uprights were
cast from magnesium alloy,
lower suspension arms were
specially fabricated including
lightweight radius arms.
The fuel tank was re-located
in front of the front bulkhead
along with the brake and
clutch master cylinders.
Wheels Trim and Interior
Dallara had Campagnola
make special 13-inch diameter eight spoke alloy wheels.
These were split rims and
lightweight – in keeping with
the whole of the concept. The
doors dashboard floor and
sills were also replaced for
the same reason. Thinner
glass was used for the windscreen and small molded
plastic side mirrors were located on the door quarter
lights rather than on the door
skins.
Engines
Continued on page 8
Volume 10 issue 4
Page 4
Classic Classifieds
1977 Alfa Alfetta GTV. Ready to race. Two sets of tyres and rims. R35 000
Dave Wray 084 552 4078
2006 CRG, Road Rebel with PCR 100cc motor. Chassis raced twice. Ready
to race. Spare tyres. R12 500
Jarryd Wray 084 405 4427
2000 Birel with Yamaha 100cc motor. Good condition. Ready to race. R8 500
Jarryd Wray 084 405 4427
Honda CBX, 6 cylinders with Pro-link suspension. R20 000.
Dave Wray 084 552 4078
Shamrock Cobra with 350 Chevy, Auto box, Jag suspension, 4 barrel Holley,
high rise inlet manifold. R125 000
Dave Wray 084 552 4078
Cobra chassis with BMW back end and Jaguar front end, as new. R10 000
Dave Wray 084 552 4078
Tow in comfort…
1992 Mercedes 500SE (Last of the 126)
Powerful, comfortable, reliable & economical.
I have owned the car for the last 8 years and it has been well
maintained as a company car.
R35, 000 ono Nigel Stokes 082 9077752
Volume 10 issue 4
Classic Classifieds
For Sale – Ford Kent Race Engine from Touring Cars Escort #36
Winner of 20 trophies in historic racing in 2008
Top points scorer in Class E of Historic Touring Cars championship
Finished every race started (40 races in 2008)
Contact Barry Scott on 083 325 0854, or per email on [email protected]
Specifications:
Kent block – 40 thou’ bore, skimmed, 1628cc
1300cc pistons, machined for higher compression, valve pockets cut
ARP con-rod bolts
Kent Cams 254 cam
Duplex timing chain
Vernier adjustable timing pulley
Ported head – inlet valves 41.1mm, exhaust valves 37.0mm
Johan Coetzee Racing manifold for Weber DCOE
Block engineered for sump breather system
Tappet cover engineered for head breather system
Kent Cams double valve springs
Cressida radiator, bracket for Escort Mk1, and pipes to fit
Alternator
Electronic distributor
Dynamically Balanced
R15,000 for all the above
Optional:
TNT branch and exhaust – R1,500
Copper button race clutch, balanced to engine – R1,500
Excluded:
Carburettors
Oil catch tank
Page 5
Page 6
Volume 10 issue 4
Classic Classifieds
Excluded:
Carburettors
Oil catch tank
Water catch tank
Oil cooler and pipes
Oil pressure sender
Water temperature sender
Starter motor
Engine refresh offered
Engine to be stripped and all parts checked for excess wear
Replacement of main and big-end bearings (if required)
Replacement of rings (if required)
All gaskets and seals replaced
New oil filter
Above parts included, all other parts required to be negotiated R3,000
For all or any of the above call Barry on Contact Barry Scott on 083 325 0854, or per email
on [email protected]
Car trailer for sale R11,000 call Eugene 083 601 7511
Sunbeam Tiger wanted. In any condition. Phone Johann on 083 462 0419 or
Email Herman at [email protected].
13 inch Split rims 108 PCD. (7 inch wide) R5,000
Call Alan
011 314 3720
Page 7
Volume 10 issue 4
Classic Classifieds
“Scalextrix”; Six lane (older style) track (approximately 6x40=240 metres) as
well as an additional 20 metres (plus) of spare track. Board included. Make me
a reasonable offer. Graeme 082 9012442.
“Double axle car trailer”: Urgent sale of very strong, quite neat (2 years old)
trailer with new tyres. Unregistered. R14,000-00 onco. Graeme 082 9012442.
“Cortina GT”; (MkII) Complete car undergoing restoration. Bodywork already
done (“Perana” metallic silver) and now ready for reassembly. Spare modified
1600 engine. R25,000-00 onco. Graeme 082 9012442.
Jaguar 3.4 engine & gearbox with O/D; ex MK VII. Numerous Jaguar (incl XK
140 and XJ6) manuals and XJ6 spares. Brand new rear screens for 3.8S / 420.
Moss gearbox with O/D (ex MKII). Offers; ideally for everything but will sell
items. Graeme 082 9012442
Honda 400 Four for sale.
Exceptional condition, 1 very careful owner (Gavin Ritchie)
only P.O. A.
Gavin 083 653 773
Hillman Imp rolling chassis for sale (fully licensed)
R3,000
Race Imp; front engine, RWD with Alfa box and Golf 1800 engine
included. Just assemble and race. Six brand new 14 inch mags
with new rally slicks. Suitable for Silver Cup.
R20,000
Stan 083 460 9145
Page 8
Volume 10 issue 4
DA LLA RA DYNA MITE
The first Dallaras used
Fiat’s 1300cc block with an
in-house designed 16-valve
head. Mechanical fuel injection was available very
shortly afterwards. This layout gave around 192bhp at
9700rpm.
Later 1600cc variants
achieved over 200bhp with
improved torque. Reliability
proved to be a challenge
though.
The look of the engines
was very different to the 16
valve designs from Abarth
and Fiat/ Lancia at the
time.
Perhaps the most interesting comparison can be
made with Lancias Sports/
Endurance turbo engine
designs of 1979 - 82.
(awaits page link in site).
Dallara X1/9 Numbers
These are of course rare
cars. Dallara offered a customised service to purchasers, and the exact number
produced remains vague –
because several were ordered as shells or rolling
shells and also refabricated following accidents. Best figures suggest
they built between 28 and
36 ‘cars’ from 1974 to
1978. There were at least
18 sold as complete cars.
The Dallara design has
also been replicated by
several other builders. SFC
contacts estimate that
maybe another 20-30 similarly shelled racers have
been built in the eighties
and nineties.
Can I Build a Look-alike?
Yes, the wheel arch extensions are available. SFC
has patterns for the front
and rear spoilers. To look
like the Dallara though the
arches need some careful
tailoring. These arches
wont just ‘bolt on’ as the
wheel centres within the
arches were over 2.5
inches lower in the real
Dallara. So if you put them
on a standard car the
wheel centre of the arch is
2 inches too high. (the Dallara wheelbase is very
slightly longer too - gained
from moving the rear
wheels/engine back about
0.45 inch). Choose 16-inch
diameter wheels for the
rears and 15 inch for the
fronts and be prepared to
have the wings re-shaped
to match.
An X1/9 FIA roll cage can
still be ordered at ‘off the
shelf’ prices in the UK.
Head Lights? The rectangular shape can be
sourced from the later Fiat
128, or the 126 650 from
1976, or the later 127 special, and later small Fiat
vans. Basically the smaller
rectangular Fiat unit from
the 76 to 81 era will do but
buy them as a pair - as
there are two different lens
sizes.
Some Dallaras had high
intensity spots sourced
Page 9
Volume 10 issue 4
DA LLA RA DYNA MITE
from Italy for the endurance
events.
Side mirrors? Expensive
from Italy, we are working
on the tear drop look alternatives from UK.
FAQs
How much? If you’re prepared to wait and search
hard £25k to £80k. Remember they’re likely to be
tired today (rebuild budget
needed). Dallara engines
are collector’s items too!
Sort the maintenance side
out first.
Where are they now? Most
stayed in Italy France and
Germany. We know of two
in the States.
How can you tell a fake?
It’s a problem. Look for
good provenance (records
and documents), but Dallara’s records aren’t complete. We have contacts if
you’re serious.
What suspension layout did
they have? Dallaras retained MacPherson struts
with fabricated lower
wishbones both front and
rear. Later race replicas
include twin upper and
lower wishbones but the
Dallaras didn’t. They kept
to the MacPherson strut
layout.
What about the rear Wing,
Drag & Aerodynamics? Re-
member this is the preground effect era. A lot of
drag in the X1/9 comes off
the rear window area. The
Dallara rear wing was fixed
at the roof line and is intended to ‘clean up’ the air
coming off the back window and rear of the car…
and not to generate huge
down force. Dallara personnel have suggested it
was their best guess at the
time rather than as the result of lots of wind tunnel
testing.
Later owners recommend
the rear wing be extended
either side of the roof edge,
narrowed, raised just
above the roof line and
brought forward, for efficiency gains. Similarly at
the front the air dam/ spoilers work ok but are prone
to damage. Critical attention should be given to how
much air is introduced into
the radiator aperture, sealing the cowling at the radiator and the size of the bonnet exit apertures (which
will create excessive drag if
too large).
What were Dallara's Race
Results? In Group 5,
‘p r ivat eer ’
D al l a r a s
achieved many class wins
when outright victories inevitably went to the bigger
engined Porches and
BMWs. In the UK Radbourne Racing achieved
several outright wins with
their variants.
Who were Radbourne Racing? Then Wimbledon
based and a London Fiat
dealership, in 1976 they
were importing X1/9s
(ahead of Fiat UK) and offering RH drive conversions. Under Geoff Anstead a Dallara X1/9 was
acquired for racing - and
the resulting publicity. Radbourne Racing chose to
increase the 1300ccengine capacity with an
87mm bore and long stroke
crankshaft. (Made by
Gordon Spicer). Development continued every season and in 1979 a new
shell was assembled along
Dallara principles by Martin
Slater (later of Lyncar).
In 1980 this car was raced
with a one piece front clamshell, a ‘stroked’ Fiat
1500cc engine with Cosworth pistons, 16-valve
Dallara head, twin 45mm
Web er
carbs, g ivin g
184bhp and weighing in at
around 600kg. In this final
guise it won the 1981 Donington GT Championship
outright.
How good are they today?
It’s difficult to under state
the potential of these cars
– even today – in club racing terms. Perhaps the
most striking comparison I
can make about this DalContinued overleaf
Page 10
Volume 10 issue 4
DA LLA RA DYNA MITE
lara is its dimensional and
weight similarities with the
Lotus Exige. Their wheel
base, track, engine position
and weight distribution are
nearly identical. As later
variants with improved
spaceframes showed, all
the Dallara concept really
needs is improved aerodynamic aids, a modern powerful engine/ box and
brakes – big brakes!
SFC Gallery
Other Italian constructors
made notable versions of
the X1/9. Swiss based
Filipinetti was one famous
one - their first X1/9 recorded class wins during
1973. Their race engine
solutions, (based on the
original block) have been
quoted at 190bhp. Perhaps
they are better known for
their 128 Corsa and Ferrari
development but their X1/9
was effective. Team
Filipinetti were based in
Geneva, Switzerland during the early seventies, and
then managed by Mike
Parkes, (who had just retired from his illustrious racing career, and was about
to join the Lancia Stratos
development team). The
Filipinetti 128 Coupes are
probably more famous - as
they carried off a World
Championship during 1971.
The X1/9's front suspension and brakes were
based on the 128 Corsa
version. Abarth were involved in developing the
transverse racing version
of the 1300cc engine, but
Georges Filipinetti's in
house designer was none
other than Giampalo Dallara who worked on the 16valve head designs! This
world famous private race
team had been founded by
Georges Filipinetti in 1962.
Scuderia Filipinetti cars
played a major part in international sports car and single seater racing up to
Georges Filipinetti's death
in 1973.
http://www.sfconline.org.uk/
m od el s / ics un on ove/
icsunonove.asp
Page 11
Page 12
Volume 10 issue 4
Classic Classifieds
BMW 2002 RACE CAR FOR SALE
Photo C
ourtesy
of
istoricra
tt www.h
co
S
ry
Bar
.za
cing.co
AN EXCELLENT CONTENDER FOR CLASS E
•
NEW MOTOR AND DIFF
•
300 DEGREE CAM,VAN DER LINDE HEAD
•
KONI ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS
•
TWIN POT CALIPERS
•
SPARES GALORE - EXTRA SET RIMS,EXTRA BODY,GEARBOX,ENGINE,SUSPENSION
PARTS,LAMPS,SIDE SHAFTS
HUGE POTENTIAL -AS RUN 17-6 AT ZWARTKOPS
THIS IS AN EXCELLENT BUY AT 60K,CONTACT BRENDON ON 082-608-8200
Race prepared Hillman Imp for sale
No expense spared, championship challenger.
With or with trailer and tow car.
Gavin 083 653 7730
Page 13
Volume 10 issue 4
DA LLA RA DYNA MITE
V ER SIO N SO UTH AFR ICA
Photo by Michelle Perry
Bruce Pidwell on song at the recent Sports and GT race meeting in Midvaal
South Africa’s very own
Dallara is the brainchild
and blood sweat and
gears of Bruce Pidwell
and unlike the Ford or Datsun brigade copycat engineers, Bruce has conceived his dream racer
from nothing more that old
photos that still adorn the
walls of his Chartwell
workshop where he has
toiled for no less than 2
and a half years on his
project and a few books
on the Dallara from the
States.
Indeed it was notable that
this little 1500cc Fiat powered sportscar put manners on some more illustrious marques at Midvaal
this past weekend, turbo
Porsches and others had
to eat his dust and take in
the depressing view of his
ally whale-tail disappear
into the distance. One of
the attractions to the Dallara for Bruce was its renowned Porsche beating
ability that make it the
head turner it became.
Continued on page 44
Volume 10 issue 4
Page 14
HRCR Calendar for 2009
Date
Venue
31 Jan
Zwartkops*
07-Feb
Killarney*
14-Mar
Phakisa
21-Mar
Zwartkops
04-April
Midvaal
25-Apr
Lichtenburg
09-May
Zwartkops
20-Jun
Zwartkops
11-Jul
Kyalami
08-Aug
Midvaal
19-Sep
Zwartkops
21-Nov
Kyalami *
Legend:
* = Invitation Event
M = Marque Cars
G = Sport & GT
S = Single Seaters
T = Touring Cars
M
G
S
T
Scrooge’s inspirational thought for April
"The measure of a man's real character is what he would do
if he knew he would never be found out."
-- Thomas B. Macaulay
Scrooge Diner for Economy Gastronomy.
Enjoy the Indian Premiere League Cricket on our big screen.
18th April until 24th May.
Reserve your table to avoid disappointment.
Contact Terence for details.
083 601 7511
Shop G24, Brightwater Commons,
Republic Road, Randburg. 011 886 9988
083 601 7511 [email protected]
www.scrooge.co.za
Committee contact details
Historic Racing Car Register
Chairman
John Reidy
Vice Chairman
Chris Myers
082 789 6555
082 412 6037
Chairman of Touring Cars
Alan Poulter
011 314 2006
Chairman of Sport & GT
Steve Pickering
083 267 4029
Chairman of Marque Cars
Terry Allan
082 412 037
Chairman of Single Seaters
Brian Tyler
Chairman of Historic Modified
James Bennett
Editor of the Historic Times
Terence Tracey
083 564 5173
082 409 2493
083 601 7511 [email protected]
Club Secretary
Tracy Cilliers
082 330 3446
Competition Secretary
Harry Lombard
084 385 6632
Historics is happiness.
Chairman’s Chatter
Two races down, six to go before
the Club has new Champions for
2009. I was unable to go to
Phakisa as I went for a quick
4600km trip around the country
in my Frogeye Sprite. What a
great trip and even though it’s a
British car, or maybe because it
is, no trouble at all.
By all reports the racing was
good and an even better time
was had on the Friday and Saturday nights. A reasonable turnout
of cars considering the distance
and all the other distractions.
One of the major ones was the
wedding of Dave & Roz Richardson which took place on the Saturday afternoon. Congratulations to the both of you and we
hope you spend many happy
years together.
was the lucky winner of the race
entry fee payout for the next
race.
All the sub categories have had
their AGMs and have elected
new Chairmen who will sit on the
HRCR Executive committee
along with those that you as
members elect on Wednesday
8th. The new committee will see
some new blood and let’s hope it
works out for the best.
Don’t forget the Casino Day on
the 24th May. It promises to be a
fun day. Talking of Formula 1, my
e a r li e r c o m m e nt s a b o ut
McClaren winning the Champion-
Page 18
ship seems to be doomed. Because of what happened in Australia, I am now quite pleased at
the McClaren outcome and am at
the moment looking for a new
driver/car combination that will be
worthy of my support. Any suggestions will be welcome.
Nashua Mobile continue to support us well and I hope you enjoyed the draw last month, I am
only sore that I did not win the
first prize. Please consider them
when you need to replace your
cell phone or need an Internet
Mobile connection.
Regards John Reidy
The new constitution was ratified
at the Special General Meeting
last noggin and is now in force.
It is amazing how many people
offered opinions on it and yet
there will always be something
that gets overlooked. In this one,
the voting procedures for the
various sub committees is very
vague and needs to be relooked
at as an amendment.
Last Saturday we all trouped
down to Meyerton. Fear was the
track would be in terrible shape
but I think all the competitors
were pleasantly surprised and
had an excellent day’s racing.
Full fields for all categories with
few breakdowns meant the racing was great. Thanks to Barry
and Michelle for the well organised and well attended braai afterwards. It was really good to
see all those who stayed for the
braai and prize giving. What was
particularly great for me was to
see that out of all the trophies
that were presented to the Historic lot (there were a lot) only
one person was not there to accept there trophy personally.
Well done guys. Howard Nel
John’s stunning Frogeye with four others for company at the Cape
Aghulas lighthouse on their recent jaunt around South Africa
Page 19
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Page 20
Volume 10 issue 4
Heat and The Driver’s Internal Engine
By Dave Reed
Director, Research and Development
COOL SHIRT® Driver Cooling Systems
As part of a three-part series Heat and the Driver’s
Internal Engine, this first
segment will focus on how
the hot environment in a
racecar affects the driver’s
physical wellbeing and their
abilities on the track. In
segment two, we’ll examine
how the human body copes
with this excess heat, its
overall internal ability to
combat heat stress and the
different methods by which
the body loses its heat. And
in our last segment, we’ll
look at why alternative cooling methods are necessary
to help the cool racecar
driver’s body and what
cooling methods are the
most effective in helping
eliminate the heatinduced
fatigue and heat stress that
drivers experience.
How much in-car heat a
racecar driver experiences
depends on several variables: the time of the year,
the type of racecar, the geographic location of the
track, the length of the
event and the protective
clothing worn by the driver
during the race.
Let’s assume a worst case
scenario: a closed cockpit
car, running at a notoriously hot road course like
Sebring International Raceway in August. If you’ve
ever been there, you know
that it truly cannot get any
hotter than that in a racecar.
¨ Your skin becomes hot, dry
and red
So, what do you as drivers
do? You climb into this rolling oven wearing a
helmet, fireproof balaclava,
3piece fire suit, fireproof
underwear, fireproof socks
and shoes. Temperatures in
the cockpit can rise to 140
degrees or more and you
vigorously exercise in this
environment with your
body completely encapsulated. At a minimum, this a
recipe for heat stress, realistically it is a recipe for
disaster. Our body’s core
temperature begins to rise
quickly. As it rises, you enter the beginning stages of
heat stress. As this happens,
studies have proven that
there are several key
physiological changes that
take place:
¨ Your heart rate increases
rapidly as a result of an increase of adrenalin and the
intense heat
¨ Your muscles are working
overtime, generating even
more body heat as they steer,
clutch, accelerate and brake.
This is especially true of
road course drivers.
¨ You begin to perspire and
breathe heavily
¨ Your reaction times slow
significantly
¨ You begin to feel fatigue &
weakness
¨ Your muscles can begin
cramping
¨ You experience decreased
mental capacity and confusion
¨ You experience body ache,
headache even nausea
As you look at the list above,
one thing is clear. All of
your body’s reactions to the
heat can drastically affect
your driving abilities and
how well you handle your
racecar. And, most of the
time, you may not actually
feel these things happening!
You are concentrating on
bigger things: racing. But
whether they begin 5 minutes into your event or 20
minutes in, the fact remains
that they WILL happen.
On a HOT day:
¨ Do your laps times fall
off?
¨ Have you ever overshot a
corner?
¨ Have you braked too late?
¨ Has your reaction time
fallen off?
¨ Have you hit a competitor?
¨ Have you spun or wrecked
with no help from your opponent?
In our next segment, we’ll
examine how the human
body recognizes that you are
overheated , how it copes
with this excess heat and
what steps it takes internally
to expel that heat and cool
your core temperature. Stay
tuned and drive safe….
Until next time, consider
this…..
Are more accidents mechanical failures or human mistakes ???
Volume 10 issue 4
Page 21
Page 22
PHAKISA 14 MARCH ’09
UNBIASED, PERSONALLY OPINIATED TEXT BY HARRY LOMBARD
Not having competed at the
‘Piper day’ due to my wife’s
illness, I was really looking
forward to doing a race as the
last time that I competed was
in October last year on the
last of the championship
races. It is a circuit I am very
fond of to say the least. As
such ,there was not a lot of
preparation to be done on the
race car, except a trial jet
change. I also purchased
some other tyres for the
trailer as I found one had
quite a bad nick on the sidewall.
I had some other work to
keep me busy in this off time
on a Beetle that had been
just driven ,but not maintained. It ‘grew up’ on a farm
was the conclusion that I
came to when I started working on it as there was
mounds of soil all over the
chassis, under the fuel tank
around the gearbox, and so
forth. It was all ‘n boer maak
n plan’ type of repairs with
“Ford g clamps” a- ladraad .It had ,had an engine
rebuild with conrods and pistons in upside down, loose
flywheel, on existent shocks,
worn wheel bearings etc,etc.
I also did some work on
Mike Nel’s speedster who
had donged the sump pot
with a spin on the Piper day,
causing a serious oil leak.
The provisional entry list
was good and there were a
few newer entries from the
Marque car side as well as
some rebuilt and re-modified
cars .Justin Ladner decided
that a 1200 Datty was not
strong enough to carry his
bulk around and purchased
Ben van der Westhuizen’s V8
Capri. Barry Scott, Morne
Hobson, Pieter van Nieuwenhuizen had decided that they
needed Pinto power and Neal
Wetton eventually had his
very nice Escort going with
the BDG.
Having spoken to Thys at
the noggin, I contacted him
on Thursday night and arranged to meet him at the
one stop on the way to Meyerton. Friday had myself and
the antie up early and we
duly set off avoiding a lot of
traffic and got to the One-stop
a bit earlier then anticipated.
When Thys and them arrived,
we set off from there and just
after the toll gate met up with
Herman and van Schalkwyk
and we then drove in convoy
up to the first one-stop .The
others decided to have breakfast, we had coffee as we
weren’t hungry and left for
Phakisa, agreeing to meet
Herman and Van there as I
planned to pump the race
tyres, get fuel and so forth at
Kroonstad.
The weather was fairly cool
and it was a bit cloudy, making me wonder whether I
should have packed all my
‘rain tyres instead of just the
front ones. I decided that
should it be necessary, I
would take the tyres for the
rear off my tow car. We got to
Phakisa and found Herman
and ‘van’ still at documentation. The touring cars had
been allocated a number of
pits and we moved into a pit
area that had been provisionally occupied by Terry and a
few of his merry men.
As the scrutineers weren’t
there yet, we prepared and
went for a few exploratory
laps when it was our session.
Getting close to the end of
the session, I find Mike in the
Merc standing on the outside
of the very tight left hand corner that leads towards the
fast sweep going onto the
straight. On backing off, the
Beetle does a slight jig, but I
catch it in time. Here there is
a wide line of oil dumped by
the Escort of Morne Hobson.
After getting towed back to
the pits, we look at where the
problem could be and see
that the oil pipe coming from
the oil filter to the oil cooler
had popped off. Inspecting
the clamp, we can see that
the clamp had not been biting
that hard into the pipe. I
scratched in my toolbox and
found one of those clamps
that has a tab on that you can
tighten with pliers. We fitted
this plus the original.
Morne later filled the dry
sump tank with oil after cleaning the engine and Thys and
myself listened when he
started up the engine for any
funny noises, but there were
none. There were a few people working on cars, with the
Scott car getting the oil cooler
removed that had been
patched up earlier, Parker’s
BMW that had some loose
collets, The 2002 of Massel/
O’Sullivan and the Toyota of
Nortman was hanging in the
air like a bat on stilts.
The dark clouds that had
been gathering during the
early morning, decided it was
time for all and sundry to take
a break and the water came
Page 23
Volume 10 issue 4
PHAKISA 14 MARCH ’09
UNBIASED, PERSONALLY OPINIATED TEXT BY HARRY LOMBARD
down in buckets, filling the
drains and eventually overflowing and diverting the water straight into the pits.
When it eventually subsided,
there were some employees
of Phakisa with these big
plastic ‘brooms’ that pushed
the water out the other side
into the grids. I must admit
that the employees of
Phakisa are very diligent with
their work and all facilities including the ablution area is
always cleaned and mopped
during the day.
The scrutineers arrived and
were quite strict with issuing
their stickers when people did
not have the compliance
stickers on –this on instruction
of
the
Tech
reps .Perhaps we should in
future do the same with the
sponsor stickers as there
were numerous people without who had been issued with
the stickers. I know that they
ran out at the Piper day and
eventually got a box from
Theo with some sets in and
distributed them when-ever I
saw a person without any.
We headed into town after
a bit of a chat all around ,had
supper at one of the restaurants in town and checked
into the guest house close to
8.After a substantial breakfast
we got out to the track to
make sure the car was ready
for practice. This went off
without a hitch although when
the grid positions were published ,there was a bit of confusion as the times were
shown in the positions that
the people had been on the
circuit and not as per the cor-
rect 1st to last times.
When the correct grid was
published, on pole was Geoff
Patterson and Jannie Scirocco’s Followed by Cindy –
Gordini, O’Sullivan and
Sanne-2002’s,Neal WettonBDG Escort, G-Jnr plus Mark
Rossouw-240Z’s, Theo van
Vu uren -Nissan, Ubsd ell ,
Werner Vonk and Barry
Scott-all Pinto Engined Escorts, local guy Johan Coetzer and Francois JacobsNissans, Vasco BarboliniCan-Am Firenza, John from
the clan-Nissan, Wentzel
Nortman -Toyota, Martin
Botha-Nissan, Piet van Nieuwenhuizen snr-Escort Pinto,
Alan Poulter-Perana, Louise
Cloete-Beetle, Doc G-Alfa,
Lombard-Beetle, Mike Roberts-Merc, Clive Warren-Uno,
Willen Vonk-Escort, BennetCapri, Vos-Nissan, Durbanite
Mike Green –Alfa, Selwyn
Roberts-Merc, Ladner in the
ex Ben v/d Westhuizen v8
Capri Perana, Giuseppe Martini-Alfa, Kevin Taylor-Capri,
Deon van Schalkwyk-Alfa but
broken gearbox, Willem Pretorius and Thys Mostert-Fiats,
Rheinholdt-Escort, Parker2002, van Nieuwenhuizen
Jnr-Escort, Mae van der
Westhuizen-Escort, Herman
Pienaar-SSS, Isi da SilvaNissan and Ellison-Alfa.
Werner Vonk broke class in
qualifying by almost 2 seconds and was moved up before the 1st heat. Scott ,also
with Pinto power was in D as
well starting one position behind Vonk.
Non –starters were Ellison-
Bent valves, Parker-Misfire
and loose collets, van Schalkwyk-broken
g ear b ox,
Hobson-possible bearing
noise, Botes-who had wrong
sl otted th e Min i an d
O’Sullivan unknown gremlin
to me.
While lining up for the start ,I
find myself one slot further
back that what the grid
showed, Wayne Wetton in
the Rattax not having qualified due to a tyre disintegrating the day before and had to
wait for his dad to bring one
from the Burg’
The pace car took us
around at a fairly nice pace
about half way around the
circuit and after that was
crawling along at a 1st gear
pace. Coming into the pit
straight, people move around
to see the lights and they
come on and go off quite
quickly. As far as I
know ,there was no bumps or
scrapes here and it took the
field a while to get sorted.
Cindy, Jannie and Geoff
initially mixed it up before the
VW’s started getting a small
gap, swopping position all
around the track making for
some spectacular racing.
Neal at first had Uli to contend with and Barbolini slowly
but surely worked his way to
the front, having discovered a
slightly worn nut on the suspension after practice that
had made the Can-Am’s handling a bit bad. Behind this
the battle of the Z’s came between G Jnr and Rossouw.
They were followed by the cat
fight of Escorts of Vonk,
Continued overleaf
Page 24
Volume 10 issue 4
PHAKISA 14 MARCH ’09
UNBIASED, PERSONALLY OPINIATED TEXT BY HARRY LOMBARD
A great dice among the two Fords and the VeeBug
Ubsdell and Scott. Coetzer
had his Datty showing the following bunch his number on
the door being sideways more
often than not, the car being
controlled very well. Nortman
in his Toyota decided that he
was going to get to Jacobs and
Wayne in the Rattax was fightPhoto by Michelle Perry
Photo by Michelle Perry
Lap after lap they fight for supremacy
Photo by Michelle Perry
The cheeky Bug relentless in tarrying the pair of Ford big six machines.
Page 25
Volume 10 issue 4
PHAKISA 14 MARCH ’09
UNBIASED, PERSONALLY OPINIATED TEXT BY HARRY LOMBARD
Photo by Michelle Perry
Sophas lurking in the wings to gain from the preceding Bug and two Fords scrap;
Last seen in a meeting with the Bug at the end of the fast back straight.
ing his way forward. Van
Nieuwenhuizen in his new
widebodied Pinto ‘Scort ,at
first duked it out with Botha
and John from the Clan in
their Datty’s before they got
ahead of the Ford and he
then had Cloete in the Beetle
and Alan in the ever sideways Perana to contend with.
The trio of Doc G, Lombard
and Bennet stuck to each
other’s bumpers, the Capri
also being sideways more
often than not and now and
then falling off and coming
back. Green in the Alfa entered the melee at one stage
and passed Lombard. Warren in the Uno steadily crept
towards this lot. Willem in the
other Escort found himself a
bit lonely behind the Uno.
Vos was bugging Reinholdt
and was ensuring that he
stayed at the head of the
class F pack and not breaking out while being followed
by Selwyn in the Merc. Taylor
in the Capri and Thys and
Willem in the Fiats decided to
call the Ladner Capri
“SPRAYPAINT “ after the
race as he was spewing fuel
as far as he went, coating
their cars in this liquid commodity. Ted in his nice Anglia had to fight off one of the
van Nieuwenhuizen juniors
while Herman in the SSS was
being chased down by Mae
who in turn had the da Silva
Marque car Nissan following
her.
After 6 laps the clutch in
van Vuuren’s Datty decided
to expire and Mike in the
Merc pulled off as well. Martini retired his Alfa after 4
laps.
In this heat both
Wentzel and John Mac broke
class on more than one occasion, earning them some
new class D stickers.
The dice at the front looked
like a dead heat but the win
went to Jannie by point 04 of
a second from Geoff. Next up
after a very spirited drive was
Cindy followed by Neal,
Sanne and Barbolini. The Escort dice behind this was won
by Ubsdell followed by Scott
and Werner. Then came
Mark who had in a moment of
brain fade punted off the Z of
G junior who had been leading the class up until then and
costing Jnr about 40 seconds
in the process, Coetzer, Jacobs, Wentzel, Wayne, GJnr, the clan man, Botha and
van Nieuwenhuizen snr.
Louis in the red bug was up
Continued overleaf
Page 26
Volume 10 issue 4
PHAKISA 14 MARCH ’09
UNBIASED, PERSONALLY OPINIATED TEXT BY HARRY LOMBARD
next and pulled off after turn
one with a vibration and
found that his rim had
cracked around the stud
area ,then Alan, Doc G,
plate, van Schalkwyk trying to
assemble the gearbox of the
Alfa Bennet decided to try
and do something about his
handling and went up on the
Halfway around the circuit a
tremendous dice started between, Bennet, Poulter,
Cloete, Lombard and Doc G,
until Green got close to Doc.
What is it with Alfas?
When they see a car in a vulnerable position on the track they seem
unavoidable attracted to it.
Jimbo, Green, Lombard and
a fast approaching Warren.
Vonk snr came in ahead of
the dice between Rheinholdt
and Vos, Selwyn, followed by
Ladner, Willem, Thys, Taylor,
Young, Van Nieuwenhuizen
Jnr, Pienaar, Mae and Isi with
the last two finishers van
Vuuren and Mike.
There were some reparations being done between the
heats with van Vuuren and
his crew fitting a new clutch
tyre pressures in front. Cloete
changed the broken rim.
The second heat was again
a crawl around with Werner
pulling off before doing a lap
and when the lights eventually came and went, quite a
few people were caught out
and were off the power band.
Turn one was a mad scramble, luckily without melee.
Slowly but surely the snake
starting unfolding around the
circuit with dices everywhere.
After 1 lap part of the engine
casting where the camfollower runs in, broke in
Cloete’s car and he pulled off
down the main straight. Cindy
pulled off after 2 laps when
the gearbox in the Gordini
packed up, Herman after 2
laps and Clive in the Uno after 3lapsGeoff slowly started
pulling a slight gap on Jannie,
the latter’s car ‘s engine being a bit tired. This then became a dice between Neal,
Uli and Jannie the three
Page 27
Volume 10 issue 4
PHAKISA 14 MARCH ’09
UNBIASED, PERSONALLY OPINIATED TEXT BY HARRY LOMBARD
never being far apart. Barbolini used the power of the
Can-am and got past these
three. With Werner out of
contention, it gave Scott,
Ubsdell and G Jnr change to
take each other on with van
Vuuren moving up as well.
Coetzer and Nortman decided that Mark needed some
competition and were hounding him. Botha, Jacobs and
John Mac were trying to see
who had the fastest Datty.
The next bunch up were
Jimbo, Alan and Lombard
having the scrap of their lives,
with Jimbo having the car
turning better, but getting a
bit sideways on the exits of
the corners and after a few
laps Alan as well as the road
tyres were protesting their
abuse. Lombard was catching them around the twisties,
but was being outrun down
the straights. G in the meantime had Green dueling with
him and Rheinholdt getting
closer all the time.
Van Nieuwenhuizen snr lost
some time along the line ,but
stayed ahead of the scrap
between Vonk snr, Vos and
the two Roberts’ Mercs. Behind them came Martini and
Spray-paint who kept the dicing trio of Mostert, Young and
Van Nieuwenhuizen jnr on
their toes with Taylor a slight
distance behind. Behind them
Willem in the 131 was being
followed by Da Silva and
Mae.
When entering the pit
straight close to the end the
board showed 2 laps to go.
Jimbo in the Capri got into a
slight tank-slapper at the end
of the pit straight, with Alan
backing off slightly to avoid
contact and Lombard passed
them both, happy that at least
he could maybe outrun the
two Fords around the back
section. Going into the main
straight the bug driver sees
he has a few car lengths on
the Perana and good distance on the Capri, who was
now involved with the Alfas of
G and Green.
Before entering the sweep
at the end of the straight, I
notice Alan quite close to me
and make the assumption
that he will most probably
pass me up the pit straightWrong as I start turning I suddenly see the Perana next to
me and to avoid contact and
a huge possible tank slapper
–having been there once before I turn slightly left .Onto
the marbles I go and then
onto the grass. I decided that
I will slowly turn back towards
the circuit. Murphy being Murphy, I suddenly find myself
traveling backwards across
the track at a rapid rate of
knots. In a spin I normally try
and see what direction I am
traveling in, but at this speed,
by the time I look to my left, I
see two vehicles bearing
down on me. The first being
G, who turns to his right and
straight for the direction the
bug is going in. I realize that
this is going to be a BIG
ONE. Jimbo had apparently
just gone past and could
have been a victim.”
The Alfa smacks the Bug at
a huge velocity after braking
very late, on the back wheel
and then slams into the bar-
rier on the right. G reckons he
was doing about 7000 in 4th
before applying anchors. The
impact makes my body keel
over to the left, with such
force that I find myself looking
out from under the dash basically. I also have some double vision and my neck is
sore. When I eventually get
my breath back and climb
out, I see the Alfa lying on it’s
nose. I get accused of reckless driving and told that I
could have avoided this etc.
and I thought I was the only
one in my car. Once the race
has finished, the low bed
truck comes over and we
eventually load the car from
the truck directly onto my
trailer once, I have fetched it.
The medical car arrives and
feels the side of my neck and
tells me that should I get
some head-aches the next
day, I should go to hospital
for x-rays and check up. After
doing an incident report and
loading up my belongings, I
get summoned by the clerk of
the course and given a 3 race
observation. With some very
dark clouds approaching ,I
decided to head for home
a.s.a.p
The final result being Geoff
from Barbolini, Jannie, Neal,
Uli, Ubsdell, G jnr, Scott van
Vuuren, Mark, Wentzelbreaking class again, followed by the quartet of Nissans of Coetzer, John Mac,
Jacobs and Botha. Behind
them, Alan, Jimbo, Green,
Rheinholdt, Van Nieuwenhuizen snr, Vos, Vonk snr,
Roberts jnr, then Senior, Martini, Ladner, Van NieuwenContinued overleaf
Page 28
PHAKISA 14 MARCH ’09
UNBIASED, PERSONALLY OPINIATED TEXT BY HARRY LOMBARD
huizen jnr, Young, Mostert,
Taylor, Willem, Mae, Isi and
the last three classified finishers, Lombard, G, and
Wayne .
Just after leaving the circuit,
a little bit past the squatter
camp past Odies, the rain
starts bucketing down in
droves. I decide to take it
easy and find wheelspin in
places where the water is
flowing deeply causing some
slight aquaplaning. I think
somewhere along the line I
must have donged my arm
against the gearlever quite
hard as it starts swelling and I
take the ice pack from the
cooler box to limit it. My cruising speed varying between
85 and 100kph depending on
the situation. I get passed by
trucks doing hundred and
plenty with the spray caused
by them making visibility
poor. We pull into the one
stop about 50 km’s past
Kroonstad and have a bite to
eat. Getting home with the
rain still falling I have stiff
shot for in case of snakebite
and get into bed after a nice
hot shower.
The next day I start surveying the damage after offloading the car. The rim, hub and
both side shafts, side shaft
tubes ,left rear body, rear valance, engine support bar, engine cover plate that goes
over the exhaust system,
gearbox mounts, gearlever,
seat (that luckily had a steel
frame inside) and I put some
flat bar underneath the chassis, front fender left tappet
cover, cylinder tin, fan hous-
ing, engine lid, spring blade
and ram tubes all bent. Broken are the disc, left manifold, rotor, dizzy cap, the wiring pulled out of the dizzy, tail
light, oil pipes shredded, left
fibre fender has only 1/3 left
of it and one of the adjustment screws in the left carb.
My ‘new’ slicks that I fitted
just before the last race last
year are totally flat spotted..
Upon inspection I find that the
bellhousing is very broken
and when pulling the engine,
come to the conclusion that
were it not for the engine support bar and the solid mountings on the gearbox, the engine could possibly have
been lying in the road.
I have cut off the bent left
side body bits below the back
window, although there is still
some panelbeating and
straightening of part roll bar
to be done in this area and a
new piece welded on plus
spray painting.
Fearing that the knock on
the tappet cover could have
broken something in the engine, I start stripping it and
discover that the block is
cracked as well. At a swop
meeting some time ago at a
piston ring meeting I purchased a standard block for
the princely sum of R50
which I will now use after
some cleaning and machining.
With a bit of negotiations
and so forth, the rear of the
chassis will be cut off and a
‘new second hand’ rear be
welded on as the chassis
forks where the gearbox
mounts onto are bent as well.
This was organized through
Garrin of Volkspares. Having
removed the body, I had to
strip out everything including
brake pipes, gear selector
shaft, springblades and front
suspension. The gearbox
cluster is with Ferdi, who has
a spare gearbox casing,
I have in the meantime
started collecting bits and I
can see that this won’t be a
cheap exercise or a quick
one either. Time is a very limiting factor as well as the labour and the availability of
certain spares for the engine.
The blood blisters on my
neck from the seatbelts are
gone as well as the blue mark
on my one shoulder blade
from the seat. My arm is still
a bit blue and I keep on donging it of course when working.
In future I will get myself a
neck brace and make sure
that I purchase a seat with
steel frame again. Now if I
can just figure out where the
extra weight in my car comes
from…b ack seat driver
maybe?
Harry Lombard.
Page 29
Volume 10 issue 4
For What it’s Worth Phakisa for 2009. Terry Allan
The fact that we did not go
through the town of Welkom
on route to Phakisa means
we missed absolutely nothing. I’m afraid Welkom has a
superb race facility, good B &
Bs, some excellent restaurants and that’s about it. Even
the gold has virtually dried
up. They will always have the
circles to entertain the residents on Sundays however.
The first hakpunt was finding
ourselves shunted off to the
mealie fields, referred to as
the old pits, and doing the
HTS* AGAIN – IN THE RAIN.
Admittedly odd for Welkom
but a roof with no sides and
the notorious Free State wind
sending the deluge sideways
was not fun. I’m afraid
Molema, who arranges things
down there got a strip torn
virtually off him before he got
through to me that the Clerk
of the Course did the pit allocations. Subdued I found his
wife who had been C of C
last time and having steamed
up again – let rip. I was redirected to the boss who let
me vent my spleen completely and finally explained
that “Well someone had to go
there”. Ja Oomie , but why is
it ALWAYS us?
The net result is that next
time we go down, we will get
an undertaking from the organisers that we WILL have
real pits for Marque Cars before we put in any entries.
Sound like cutting off our
nose? Well yes perhaps – but
WE WANT PROPER PITS
DAMMIT. We’ve been treated
badly at Phakisa before.
Enough now!
Practice was worthwhile
though I didn’t seem to do
enough laps (do you EVER?)
I get the feeling that the only
time you REALLY get to
know Phakisa is when the red
mist has well and truly descended. Most of us got back
to Au Jardin by following the
car in front of us and I really
thought that Johan in the
Martini Porsche was doing
the same as the tail gunner.
He wasn’t, got lost but found
us eventually. That night we
found Seite’s thanks to Peter
McIldowie. Previous Marque
Cars visitors will attest to my
total lack of direction in the
Free State. Took me an hour
with everyone following me,
to find Seite’s last time.
I think going away for the
weekend has a lot more to do
with the people you are with,
the things that you do, and
the accommodation rather
than just the racing. Apart
from the fact that some of us
nearly expired of hunger (Isi
and Giuseppe in particular)
because our meal took so
long, by and large it was
worth waiting for and mine
certainly was excellent. Our
table seemed to grow as the
night went on and I would say
we had over 30 in the end.
Thank heavens they did
separate bills for us. And
thanks to Peter and Cherrie
for getting us out of there at a
reasonable hour.
Qualifying was OK apart from
a big fright when I looked in
my mirror and found a huge
white Cobra trying to mate
with the Morgan. But as I’ve
heard told about big muscular
lads, it took no time at all and
he had come and gone.
We were delighted and honoured to have Jannie van
Rooyen, the 2008 Touring
Car Champion, join us in his
911 Porsche. Being a very
smooth and consistent driver,
he cleaned up and won heat
1 - just like that - in his first
Marque Cars race ever.
Kevin Taylor who improves
every time he’s out, came in
2nd and the red Escort with
Ilani Vonk was third. Talk
about being a fast learner!
Rey Cornelissen in the Alfa
was 4th followed by Howard
Nel, Johan Botha on his first
outing in the Martini Porsche
To the editor… “you have mail!”
Page 30
6 April 2009
Letter to the Editor
HRCR
Dear Sir,
I refer to an incident that occurred at Midvaal at Parc Ferme directly after the final saloon car
race. Just short of 40 Drivers were instructed to wait for over half an hour whilst their cars were
inspected, to check legality against HRCR regulation compliance. Approximately 9 cars were singled out, and the drivers told to take corrective measures before the next race to be held at the
Zwartkops circuit, or face being excluded from any further racing in Historics. The manner in
which this action was conducted was clearly not appreciated by any of the drivers, and perhaps
MSA can give consideration to the fact that most drivers were still enjoying an adrenalin rush
from a very exciting race that had just ended. A little more tact and a simple show of appreciation
from time to time (something like “thanks for all the money you guys spend with us and thanks for
putting on the best show of the day”) would go down well, and perhaps more will be achieved in
this manner. Secondly, these cars were inspected just a few weeks earlier as is an annual common practice to HRCR members, where each and every one received the HTP stamp of approval. It is unlikely that the cars in question have been tampered with and it should be noted that
some have had no changes made in 4 full seasons of racing. Thirdly, it would appear that our
very own President had no knowledge of what was to take place after the race referred to. Surely
this action is a deliberate show of bad manners? Some of us felt so strongly about the incident
that we then took it upon ourselves to withdraw from the Lichtenburg event as we felt we had had
enough of this unnecessary style of conduct. It seems a shame that this ugly tactic had to be
adopted, but it had the desired effect, and those concerned have received a period of grace for 6
months in which to correct the said infringements. My personal apology to Mr. Glen Rowden for
all that was said. I have decided to withdraw my decision not to race at Lichtenburg, and will
surely be there, as I look forward to the event and enjoy the weekend away and the hospitality of
the people of Lichtenburg. I sincerely pray that someone will have the common decency to offer a
hand of apology to the drivers who plan to boycott Lichtenburg, and persuade them not to do so.
Finally, the cause of the problem needs to be addressed, and by this I mean the laws which control the various categories of historic car racing in this country. We need to do this post haste, so
that this class of racing may reach the status it so richly deserves. Thank you.
Selwyn and Mike Roberts
Team Mercedes
It would not be a pity but rather a great tragedy if your cars were not to continue with the ‘no
holds barred’ racing that we have come to enjoy at the various tracks around the region. Indeed it
is good news that you have decided to race at Liggies, I know that more than a few will be delighted with your decision not the least the paying public at Lichtenburg where I believe we see
more paying customers that anywhere else in the country.
Obviously, however, the rules are the rules which must be abided by and perhaps this aspect of
our club has been too lax in times past. But imposing the rules can be done in two ways, the Midvaal way and the smart way. We all know that one can attract many more bees with sugar than
vinegar. Perhaps the officials that doled out the corrective instructions should be gently requested
to phrase the required changes in a more personable manner. In fact having my own car (Capri)
withdrawn last due to its poor upkeep was done in a very tactful manner that allowed me to keep
at least a modicum of self respect whilst complying with the retirement of the well used racer.
Editor.
Page 31
Volume 10 issue 4
TERRY’S TRIVIA
http://www
.dancewith
shadows.c
content/up
om/motor/w
loads/2009
p/03/ross-b
rawn-brawn
-gp.jpg
http://www.dancewithshadows.com/motor/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/renault-r29-photo.jpg
Once upon a time there
were these motor racing
chaps who appeared to
have lost their jobs until a
big man –both in stature
and ability pulled a rabbit
out of the bag and saved
the day and then to add
further to everyone’s happiness (Well OK all of
those who had not been
paid off) the team went to
the season’s opening race
and won it and two other
rather impetuous fellows
fell over each other in their
efforts to ensure that the
team mate of the winner
was able to come second.
So who doesn’t believe in
fairy stories? (Clearly this
is a case of ALL BRAWN
AND ALL BRAIN! ED.) I
can’t wait to see what happens in Malaysia.
Now that the Japanese
Grand Prix is back again at
the Fuji Circuit possibly reminds one of the memora-
ble first running of the GP
at that track in
1976
wh ich
was the final
race of the championship
and a deciding one at that
with James Hunt and Niki
Lauda duking it out..
It had been a dramatic season with the sad
and fiery accident at the
Nurburgring which had almost claimed the life of the
heroic Austrian Niki Lauda
who had bravely returned
and although far from fully
recovered had shown by
sheer guts that he was not
giving up the fight to retain
his title and a month after
his accident finished 4th in
the Italian GP then 8th (no
points ) in Canada followed by a 3rd place at the
Watkins Glen US Grand
Prix and so to Fuji where
Hunt needed to finish no
lower than 3rd and that with
Lauda scoring no points.
Well sadly for his ardent
supporters Niki Lauda, although qualifying third on
the grid during Saturday’s
perfect weather decided
that driving in the shocking
weather which blew in on
the Sunday was too dangerous and slowly came
into the pits after 2 laps
and called it a day. He
said that he valued his life
more than the World
Championship. The late
very erudite Denis Jenkinson was extremely critical
of this stating that he
wished to make it quite
clear that it is not easy to
race in the rain but that it
is n ot more d ang erous ,however, it is more
difficult than in the dry and
that it was more difficult
but not dangerous for
Lauda, Pace (Brabham
Al f a)
and
F i t t ip a l d i
Continued overleaf
Page 32
Volume 10 issue 4
TERRY’S TRIVIA
(Copersucar/Fittipaldi) who
gave up! He was equally
outspoken about appeals,
bickering , lawyers and tribunals stating that the
VSCC seemed to have the
right attitude because the
last time that a protest was
made ( twenty five years
ago) the secretary took the
fee and the protester to
the nearest bar and spent
the former on refreshment
for himself and the latter.
He was of the opinion that
the VSCC were lucky that
they had no little grey men
running around with tape
measures telling them that
they had just lost a race
which they had won.
Lotus who had not
captured pole position for
more than two years were
thrilled when Mario Andretti
did the job –
everyone had been convinced that the front row
would be held by the two
main protagonists and Andretti qu ietly surprised
them all pushing Hunt to
second spot and Lauda to
third. Hunt had also had a
turbulent season having
lost his sponsor—Lord
Hesketh the year before
but was snapped up by
McLaren –his car was disqualified from 1st place in
the Spanish GP because it
was too wide! The points
were reinstated a few
weeks later following an
appeal then after winning
the British GP he was
again thrown out because
his car had received repairs before the restart after a shunt at the original
start. Following Lauda’s
Ring crash it looked as if
James was cruising to the
title but then Niki made a
comeback.
The usual halfhour warm up had taken
place followed by an argument between those who
were quick in the wet and
those who were not—the
start was delayed and the
drivers had another 15
minute session followed by
another drivers meeting
where most voted by a
substantial margin that the
circuit was too dangerous.
However, the organizers
had decided that there was
going to be a motor race
and opened the pits and
slowly the cars took up
their positions on the grid.
What certainly influenced
the officials was the fact
that thousands of Japanese had queued right
through the night in their
enthu s ias m
to
see
the
running of Japan’s
first Championship Grand
Prix
Starting well, Hunt
slid into the lead in absolutely atrocious conditions
with visibility at less than
100 metres and built a
g ood
l ead
–n arrowl y
avoided being taken out by
the Monza Gorilla-Vittorio
Brambilla who flew past in
the diabolical conditions
and then spun in front of
Hunt. Eventually the track
started drying and tyre
wear became a problem to
the degree that Hunt –who
had been waiting for a signal from his pit to change
tyres and they waiting for
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45440000/jpg/_45440279_huntsplit416.jpg
Page 33
Volume 10 issue 4
TERRY’S TRIVIA
him to indicate that he
wanted new boots!—had a
front tyre deflate but luckily
near the pit and the
Mc L a r e n
l ads
c al ml y
changed all 4 wheels. This
was the era which had not
progressed to the use of
pit- to- car radio chats He
rejoined in 5th spot but was
able to easily pass Ragazzoni’s
Ferrari and Jones’ Surtees and claimed the one
steam to claim his second
title—Jody Scheckter, who
had driven the 6 wheeler
Tyrell in 1976 and gave
the strange car it’s only
victory, at Anderstorp in
Sweden won first time out
the next year in the new
Wolf at Buenos Aires-one
of only three manufactures
to win their first ever GP—
(Alfa Romeo in 1950 and
Mercedes Benz in 1954
are the other two) Jody
finished second to Lauda
http://images.google.co.za/images?
q=ANDERSTORP+GP+TYRELL+6+WHEELER&btnG=Search+Images&hl=en&um=1&sa=2
point necessary to win the
Championship but only after a shouting match with
the late Teddy Meyer, because he thought that he
had not finished high
enough and blamed the
lack of pit signals—Hunt
was able to celebrate his
victory in the World Championship.
The following year
saw Lauda back on full
only two points adrift.. The
Ren ault cars appeared
with1.5 litre turbo-charged
engines which were considered a joke but soon
everyone would be using
that format.
Also in a similar fashion
to other “home” Grand Prix
some of the wealthy Japanese had secured rides for
themselves but more interesting than the usual
“bought” drives was that of
Masah iro Hasemi wh o
drove the Kojima KE007 a
“kit car “ using CosworthHewland power and gearbox, conventional layout of
suspension and side radiators but clothed in striking
looking bodywork. The car
was built by the former Suzuki motocross rider Matsuhisa Kojima and nobody
expected to see the car
being very competitive first
time out, but they were
shaken during the first
session when for a while
Hasemi was quickest until
Goodyear frantically produced some more sticky
ru bb er for Hun t an d
Lauda—left-overs from the
American race. He was
classified 11th although 7
laps down.
So amid much media-hype over Hunt’s one
point Championship victory
and amid much rejoicing
especially
and understandingly by the British it
was almost unnoticed that
Andretti had put Lotus
back on the victory trail after so long in the wilderness and he went on to
claim the title two years
later in 1978.
Pam and Terry Townsend
Self Catering
Accommodation
From R250 pp sharing
Thorntree is situated in Chartwell, just off Cedar Road, 25 minutes from Zwartzkops, and 20 minutes from Kyalami. We are 3 minutes away from Broadacres shopping centre. Broadacres Shopping centre hosts a Barnyard theatre and a variety of restaurants and fast food outlets. Fourways
Mall, Cedar Square and Monte casino facilities, offer full shopping, movies, theatre and casino
entertainment, are all within 5kms of Thorntree.
Thorntree offers a variety of fully furnished accommodation in a tranquil country setting. We cater for the single guest to full self-catering units for two to six people. Braai facilities, large lapa
bush pub.
Thorntree is also the ideal venue for medium to large private functions from casual spitbraais to
full service formal events. No venue hire.
For the Racing enthusiast we also have a fully operational and exceptionally versatile workshop
which includes a four poster lift, engine hoist, various welding applications including (MIG, TIG,
Aluminium and gas welding) Lathes and Milling machines to mention just a few.
Contact: Val to book or for more details. Cell: 082 555 3202
Email: [email protected] - www.thorntreebb.co.za
Page 35
Volume 10 issue 4
For What it’s Worth Phakisa for 2009. with Fritz Koch next. At least
Peter (MG), Chris Myers
(TVR) Derik Hatting (Triumph
GT6) Leon Botha (911 Porsche) and myself in the Moggie, had problems. EVERYONE
ELSE
B RO K E
OUT….Giuseppe, Michelle,
Joe Tex, Isi and Evert Botha.
The problem is that we don’t
race Phakisa often enough
and it’s a new learning experience every time.
Race 2 was won by Johan
Botha (How’s THAT for fast
learning!) followed by Howard
(Marcos) Giuseppe (Alfa)
Kevin Taylor (Capri) Fritz
(Mini Marcos) Rey Cornelissen (Alfa) and Jannie van
Rooyen was 7th – why? He
was so enthused and encouraged by winning his first ever
Marque Cars event that he
managed a huge spin and
had some catching up to do.
Ilani was next and I have no
idea why. She did SO well in
the first heat, with Michelle
Perry bringing up the rear. Do
I remember that she too had
a spin? She should have
done MUCH better because I
understand that she qualified
AND raced the first heat with
4 wheels and tyres in the
boot. Sandbagging? Bootlegging? Wheel booting certainly. Joe Tex and Isi broke
out AGAIN! When Isi was
asked why and how he managed to go so fast, he said
he’d adjusted the brakes!!!!
UZZZ UTTT Isi? Amazing! 3
seconds per lap faster by adjusting the brakes. I have to
try this some time. Actually I
have to try finishing a heat
sometime!
Overall we had Kevin Taylor
winning his first Marque Cars
Race overall followed by
Continued overleaf
Page 36
Volume 10 issue 4
For What it’s Worth Phakisa for 2009. Photo by Michelle Perry
Howard Nel, Johan Botha
(first time out) Jannie, Rey,
Ilani , Fritz, Giuseppe, Michelle, Joe Tex, Isi and Evert
didn’t do the last heat. Because we don’t have class
trophies, the first 5 we presented with prizes which
were a bit strange I thought.
How did you chaps feel about
them?
tential participants… Do you
think it might be the Nashua
Mobile caps that make them
look like chain gang members? Or is it the loot that
they seem not to know what
to do with? Yeah – OK – I’m
just green.
Terry.
Saturday night saw us visit a
place who’s name I really
should remember but I don’t.
In an old house it was and full
of motoring thingies. Very
nice and the food too was
more than palatable.
Photo by Michelle Perry
Generally a very good weekend and I thank all who
were there and who, by
there presence and participation, made it so.
Terry Allan 082 412 0371
It has been suggested
that publishing this pic
might scare away poPhoto by Michelle Perry
Page 37
Volume 10 issue 4
Low Profile’s low compression race Kent
Pat Lee managed to
save all the rods and
pistons as well as
his camshaft but the
crank will require
some serious re-
building and a little
bit of spit and polish
at least.
Page 38
Volume 10 issue 4
JACKIE PRETORIUS—1934—2009
South African Racing Legend
died on Monday 31st march
2009
In many sports there are invariably Characters who often
lighten and enliven the game
and sometimes their antics are
quite naughty and often really
outrageous but in most instances these characters are
very popular and even loved
and possibly this affection
brings out the best ( or worst?)
in their actions particularly at
prize awards or other semiserious functions. Jackie Pretorious was without exception the
most loveable Character that
South African Motorsport has
ever been lucky enough to
have known.
In present day Motorsport –
with the exception of motorcycle racing-the whole thing has
become rather sterile and professional with little contact between the fans and the drivers
but in Jackie’s era it was different, he was well known and
extremely popular. Many will
recall his driving of the Lola
Formula A car owned by his
good friend and mentor Doug
Serurrier –the Walls Cream
Special with its logo “Stop me
and buy one” and before he
began his track racing career
http://vne-resource.iol.co.za/30/picdb/article2/4/2/86131
he would be remembered as
part of a Hell-Drivers troupe
which toured some of the more
widespread country dorps
causing amusement with their
antics one of which almost cost
him his life when, dressed as a
clown he was accidently hit by
a dive bomber stunt car.
It’s not possible for me to list
many of Jackie’s achievements
and doubtless these will be acknowledged by other people
paying tribute to him but one
lasting impression will always
be his exciting win on the Hesketh track in Pietermaritzburg
http://vne-resource.iol.co.za/30/picdb/article0/1/3/86132
Continued on page 40
Page 39
Volume 10 issue 4
Mirth sluppied by
Terry Townsend
JACKIE PRETORIUS—1934—2009
Page 40
http://www.carsinaction.net/ViewArticle.asp?art=1704
where in pouring rain and with
atrocious visibility he raced the
entire event and led his pal ,
the late William Ferguson, who
spun off just before the finish,
really exciting and nail biting
stuff, for me that was his most
memorable race. A year later
after I had driven Jack Holme’s
Brabham on the same track he
told me that I had driven like a
(word beginning with C) because I had moved aside while
being lapped “ B*** them , if
you are first into the corner,
they must wait”
Jackie had a reputation for eating flowers –especially those
on tables as decorations at
Prize-giving functions after
race meetings and Basil Green
loves to tell the story where his
very young son Gary kept
teasing Jackie by brandishing
a “skrik” in front of his face—A
“skrik” was a loathsome plastic
jellylike toy made to resemble
horrible spiders or other creepy
crawly critters---eventually
Jackie grabbed the skrik and
ate it---young Gary bawled his
heart out and everyone
laughed except Shirley,
Jackie’s wife who said “Yes go
ahead and laugh but you don’t
have to live with him tomorrow
when he is trying to pass it”
O
ur young daughters always
traveled with my wife and I to
the away races and at Killarney
in 1970 at the event where
Sam Tingle had his serious
accident which ended his racing career-I was battling to rebuild my car’s engine in the pit
area with my family standing
by and Jackie informed my
wife that she and the girls had
better join him for dinner
“because your oke is going to
tell you to catch a hamburger”
to this day my daughters have
called him Hamburger and he
loved it.
In spite of his tough guy –
straight talking attitude many
will recall his soft reciting of poetry and best of all his lovely
version of the poem about
Shoes –it would be wonderful if
someone had made a recording of his gentle presentation… Yes Jackie Pretorius we
will all miss you –I doubt that
there will ever be another
Character to take Hamburger’s
place.
Pam and Terry Townsend
Page 41
Volume 10 issue 4
1968 South African Grand Prix flashback
The following article by Keith Collantine was retrieved from the following website on April 7th 2009
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2009/01/21/1968-south-african-grand-prix-flashback/
21 January 2009 by Keith Collantine
Lotus were hard to catch in 1968
- this is Graham Hill at Jarama in
Spain
F1 Fanatic guest writer Andrew
Tsvyk looks back at a time when
the F1 season started on January
1st.
It used to be that Formula 1 was
not a multi-billion dollar business, the cars were not developed
by rocket scientists in sterile
laboratories and there was a race
on New Year’s Day.
Alright, I have to admit that racing on New Year’s Day was not
common even before big money
arrived in Grand Prix racing. But,
as weird as it may seem nowadays, on January 1, 1968 there
was a world championship race at
the Kyalami circuit in South Africa.
Fable
Despite the celebrations, it was
business as usual for Jim Clark,
as the Lotus driver put in a typically dominant performance during qualifying, clinching a record-breaking 33rd pole position.
Team mate Graham Hill and Matra driver Jackie Stewart joined
Clark on the front row which, in
1968, was three cars wide. But
while Hill and Stewart were separated by 0.1s, Clark was a full
second faster.
Such a performance must have
depressed the opposition, but
Clark’s rivals had probably got
used to the idea that their best
chance of success would come if
the Scottish driver hit troubles.
Clark’s Lotus often suffered mechanical problems, as Colin
Chapman’s creations were as fast
as they were fragile. Therefore,
Clark often had to relinquish race
wins, where he had been leading
by a lap or more.
But with Ford joining forces with
Lotus in 1967, mechanical gremlins had increasingly become a
thing of the past. The Lotus-Ford
partnership had already proved to
be a dominant combination on
the other side of the Atlantic,
with Clark winning the 1965 Indy
500, becoming the only driver to
win both the 500 and the world
championship in the same year.
And with Ford’s involvement in
motorsport reaching Formula 1 in
the second part of the sixties, Lotus were privileged to be the first
to get their hands on the new
Ford-Cosworth DFV engine,
which would dominate Grand
Prix racing over the following 15
years.
Ford’s Formula 1 debut at the
1967 Dutch Grand Prix was a
fairy-tale story with Graham Hill
taking pole position and Jim
Clark clinching the race win. The
Scot added two more triumphs to
his tally in the remaining rounds
of the 1967 world championship,
but lost out the ultimate prize to
Brabham’s Denny Hulme by ten
points.
Nevertheless, Clark had every
reason to be excited about the
upcoming season. First of all,
both the Lotus 49 and the FordCosworth DFV engine had
proved extremely quick from the
beginning. But while teething
problems spoilt a couple of races
in 1967, everyone expected
Continued overleaf
Page 42
Volume 10 issue 4
1968 South African Grand Prix flashback
Chapman and Cosworth’s Keith
Duckworth to solve them by the
first race of 1968.
Race
The weather was beautiful on
race day, which encouraged the
locals to attend the show. However, with track temperatures
reaching a staggering 54ºC and
air temperature 33ºC in the shade,
many participants were concerned not only about tyre wear,
but also the reliability of their
machines.
After a dominant performance in
qualifying, the Lotus-Fords were
expected to be untouchable in the
race, at least if nothing went
wrong with them. However, 28
year-old Jackie Stewart seemed
to have other plans.
While both of the British racing
green Lotuses had poor starts,
with Clark losing the lead and
Hill dropping down to seventh,
Stewart blasted to the front of the
field. Nevertheless, keeping
Clark behind proved difficult,
and when the 15 cars came nose
to tail down the main straight at
the end of lap one, pole-sitter
Clark made a bold move on
Stewart entering the first corner.
With the Lotus-Fords in the class
of their own in terms of top-speed
throughout the weekend, Stewart
was defenseless.
Having retaken the lead of the
race, Clark started to pull away
from his chasers. But while the
Scot had no problems with doing
that, his team mate, Graham Hill,
had more worries. Seventh at the
end of lap one, the 1962 champion had the bit between his
teeth, as he tried to recover the
lost ground. He soon moved
ahead of John Surtees (Honda)
and Chris Amon (Ferrari), setting
his sights on Jack Brabham and
Jochen Rindt. Graham profited
from Black Jack’s misfortunes,
whose engine started to misfire,
Pos #
Driver
1.
4
Jim Clark
2.
5
Graham Hill
3.
3
Jochen Rindt
4.
8
Chris Amon
5.
1
Denny Hulme
6.
21
Jean-Pierre Beltoise
the first team other than Lotus to
use Cosworth engines.
Jim Clark was untouchable on the
day and broke a major record
with his 25th career win, eclipsing the mark set by the great Juan
Manuel FanStarting gio in the
Car
position 1950s.
Sadly, it was
also Clark’s
Lotus-Ford
last win. A
1
49
few months
later the great
Lotus-Ford
Scottish
2
49
driver lost his
life
while
competing
in
Brabham4
a Formula 2
Repco BT24
race at the
HockenheimFerrari
8
ring It used
312/67
to be that
Formula
1
McLarendrivers raced
9
BRM M5A
e v e r y t h in g
that had four
Matra-Ford
wheels…
18
MS
Result
and took away third place from
Rindt on lap 13. After that the
Englishman had an uneventful
race as both Stewart and Clark
were out of reach, while Rindt’s
Brabham-Repco could not sustain
the pace of the Lotus-Ford.
Hill overtook Stewart shortly before the Tyrrell driver was forced
to retire with a broken rod on lap
43. This was a huge disappointment for the Scot who had been
the only threat to Clark’s dominance. Tyrrell were using the
Formula Two-based Matra MS9
for the last time, and had become
Local interest
More than 100,000 people attended the 1968 South African
GP, but it was not only the hype
of Formula 1, good weather or
the new year atmosphere that encouraged the locals to watch the
world’s greatest drivers in action.
While there is no doubt that the
locals admired the likes of Clark,
Brabham and Hill, the South Africans also came to support home
drivers Dave Charlton, Basil von
Rooyen and Jackie Pretorius.
But while none of the locals
made it to the finish, the South
Page 43
Volume 10 issue 4
1968 South
African fans were cheering for
Rhodesian racer, John Love.
They hoped he would emulate his
performance of the previous year,
when he led the race in a privately-entered Cooper-Climax.
Love headed the field until lap
73, when a misfire forced the local hero to pit for fuel, losing the
lead to Pedro Rodriguez.
Love made a total of ten world
championship starts, his final effort being the 1972 South African
Grand Prix. While second place
would remain his best career result, the man from the country
now known as Zimbabwe is famous for his exploits in the local
South African F1 championship.
Accidents
The 1968 South African Grand
Prix saw 14 retirements out of 23
starters and the most dramatic
accident took place on lap two,
when a water pipe broke on Ludovico Scarfiotti’s CooperMaserati. The Italian did a fine
job of pulling off safely just after
the Esses and quickly left the
cockpit. Unfortunately, Scarfiotti
received second-degree burns and
was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Brenthurst.
Scarfiotti made a speedy recovery
and was able to race in the following round of the world championship at Jarama in Spain, finishing third. However, he would
lose his life one year later, crashing a Porsche 910 during a hillclimbing event in the German
Alps, aged 34.
DALLARA DYNAMITE
VERS ION SOU TH A FRI CA
With one of his workshop’s most important
tools in his hand, Bruce surveys how he
should begin this mammoth task.
Bruce’s Dallara is a completely fiberglass body
which he had to model
from the original steel X19
body that he bought in
June 2004. needles to say
he also had to strip off the
steel shell from the chassis to make way for the
fiberglass top. An interesting aspect of this project
is that Bruce had no racing vehicles to measure
up against so he fabricated his body shell by
using scaled photos of the
real item.
The Dallara was indeed a
very ambitious project that
lesser men would have
floundered with but Bruce
persevered and made his
dream come true and in
fact during the build project he even decided to
have a major op on his
knee which must have
made working in confined
spaces
and
ackward
situations
particularly
painful to say the least.
Well for all the pain and
suffering of the African
Dallara, the final result for
Bruce is a most comfortable car to drive with exceptional handling and of
late a good turn of per-
formance
that is surely set to continue and give him the
recipe to drill the Porsches that might just have
the audacity to challenge
him trackside.
Bruce loves his little
sports car which he fondly
relates is the most underrated sports car ever built.
Editor
Not one to stand on ceremony, Bruce immediately
puts his immense engineering prowess and determination to work and began to shape his dream.
DALLARA DYNAMITE
VERS ION SOU TH A FRI CA
The original steel body above was modeled in fiberglass and subsequently replaced including a rollcage built to FIA spec.
Let the stripping begin!
X19 Skeleton ready for its new body
Continued overleaf
On go the new panels.
Instruments panel and ancillaries installed
Beginning to take shape
Ready for its maiden test.
THE DREAM BECOMES REALITY!