RACING DRIVERS DIRECTORY-1

RACING DRIVERS DIRECTORY -I

The racing careers of the leading Grand Prix drivers have been repeated so many times that they are well known to most followers of the Sport. We feel that there are just as many interesting stories to be told about the men who race almost every weekend at Club and National meetings up and down the country. We hope that those people who watch the racing from the Grandstand and never visit the Paddock will derive some amusement and knowledge from this series, which will be continued next ntonth.—M. L. T. John Bekaert : A well-known performer in Restricted and National events, John Bekaert commenced racing in 1955 and since then has driven a Lotus Mk. 6, Aston Martin, C-type Jaguar, H.W.M.-Jaguar and Lister-Jaguar, the last four indieating his decided preference for ” hairy ” motor cars. Since 1955 he has gained 56 wins, 24 seconds and. 17 third places, but despite Several tries has never quite managed to pull Off the MOTOR SPORT SilVerat011e Trophy. Of works drives he has driven once for the works Lister team and for Eettrie EcosSe, and has also had more exciting offers which he has refused for various reasons. For 1960 he will retain the 3.8 Lister

Jaguar and will also race the Cooper-Smith Formula Junior car.

John Bekaert has had his fair diary of amusing incident*. Once he upset the oecupants of a police car hy approaching a 30-m.p.h. sign at 130 m.p.h. in the 11.\ .M.-.hasoar ! Last year he won a race in Eire with no clutch, a hent king-pin, bent de Dien tube, a collapsing wheel bearing and the bonnet almost off. The Irish spectators thought it was gteat fun. At Aintree, shortly after the Irish incident, he had a magnificent accident in which he took Beeehers Brook in great style—unfortunately the car remained behind, where it had hit the bank !

When not motor racing he is a textile manufacturer, is married, with two children, and for personal transport uses a Volvo and a Sprite.

David Buxton started serious racing in 1957 with an Austin Healey 100S of Team Healey, following up in 1958 and ’59 with a Lotus Eleven and Fifteen, which gained him several places. He also drove a Lotus Elite which gained him nine wins, including the 1,300-e.e. G.T. class at the German G.P. meeting at Avus. For 1960 he will be driving a works ” Team Elite ” car in all the International sports and G.T. events, and also his own Loins Seventeen. There may also he a works Formula I drive but details are hush-hush at the moment. He will be organising the Elite team as well as driving in it, and also hopes

to construct a G.T. car to his own design. David Buxton is Managing Director of his own garage business,

which deals in many exotic ears, including Lotus, Cooper, A.C., Austin Healey, Triumph and Maserati. He is not yet married and is fortunate enough to drive a Maserati 3500GT as a road cur.

Jim Clark : By the end of 1960 Jim Clark’s face should be well known to everyone, as he will be joining the Aston Martin Formula 1 team along with Triutignant and Salvador’. Although most of his appearances have been in Restricted and National sports-car races, this has not, prevented his undoubted talents from being !potted. He commenced racing in 1958 with .11 Porsche I600S and a 1)-type Jaguar, both belonging to the Border Reivers. In Scotland he was unbeatable, and when his farming e.orrunitments allowed he made successful sorties across the border into England.

For 1959 Jim Clark drove the ex-Bruce Halford Lister-Jaguar and a Lotus Elite, in both of which he gained many successes, including 10th place at Le Mans with John Whitmore. In 1960, apart from World Championship races with Aston Martin. he Will drive the Border Reivers DORI in major sports-car events, and will possibly drive a Formula Junior Lotus in certain events.

James Clark Junior (as • he calls himself) is a farmer in Berwickshire, is mot yet married, thinks that Moron SPORT IS one of the more accurate magazines when it comes to reporting (we didn’t twist his arm!), and drives :a Porsche 1609 Super and a Lend-Rover.

Colin Eseutt has driven a variety of ears in his career, including Lotus Eleven. T.V.R. Greritura, D-type Jaguar, M.G.-A Twin-Cam, Lister-jaguar. with a number of places in Club and National events. also competed in this year’s Monte Carlo Rally and, like so many other racing drivers have done before. he considers it a very hairraising experienee. Ile is sure that there are a number of potential Stirling Moss’s Who never -graduate from rallies to racing.

Colin Eseott is due for a busy 1960 season, driving a Twin-Cam M.G. at Sebring, Le Mans and Nurburgring, a now Lister-Jaguar in International races, and a T.V.R. for Grand Touring races. He is a Director, not yet married, and uses an M.G.-A 1600 for private transport.

Albert Gay : Typical of the type of enthusiast who goes racing for the fun of the thing is Albert Gay. No longer a youngster—he has a road-keen 18-year-old son—he started racing in 1958 with a ‘1’112, which gave him few successes but infected him with the ” bug”. In 1959 he drove Bertorelli’s Peerless in several races but at Brands Hatch he was involved in a spectacular prang which made the front page of the Daily Express. In the race he got away badly, but cut through the whole field until on the last lap, going into Paddock, he was on the tail f)f Simon Hill’s Peerless. Hill blew up his engine at this point, which sent hint across the track, forcing ‘Gay to move further out. Gay was also experiencing brake trouble, and all these circumstances made him take Paddock far too fast. Even so, he almost made it; only a hidden gulley in the grass made the car overturn. Miraculously the car is now almost rebuilt !

The crash :lid not put Gay off and he went on to something much faster—the ex-Keith Greene Formula 2 Lotus, which had only done about five races. He experienced gearbox trouble in the five-speed unit hut had almost cured the trouble when another accident interrupted his career. Going down Snetterton’s Norwich Straight at 130 m.p.h., the clutch on the Lotus exploded, SOMA of the pieces breaking his leg. Luckily the car ran into the infield and came to rest safely.

Undaunted, Gay has repaired the Lotus and his leg, re-purchased his original TR2, and looks forward to a better 1960 season. On the road he uses the TR2 and a Ford Zephyr.

David Good has confined his activities to hill-climbs, although not front choice. Ile suffers similar disability to that which ” handicapped ” the late Archie Scott-Brown but the R.A.C. will not allow Good to take part in circuit racing. His immaculate performances in the Hill-Climb Championship, in which he was second last year and third the two previous seasons, must make the R.A.C. decision difficult to justify. Good started off with the-ex-Diek Seaman, ex-Billy Cotton E.R.A., winningthe E.E.A. Trophy and gaining the class record at Great

Auelum, not an easy course. In 1956 he AVSS !bird in the Junior Hill-Climb Championship with a Mk. VIII Cooper-J.A.P. 1100. In ’57, ’58 and ’59 be competed with great success in t he Championship and now holds the course records at Brunton, Blaudford, Harleyford and Cheteau Impney. In 1960 he will once again tackle all the Hill-Climb Championship events, although he would much rather go motor racing. He was married only a few days ago, is a Company Director in the Dairy Industry, and drives a Jaguar 2.4.

Keith Greene has driven a great variety of cars, including 1100 Cooper, Lotus Eleven, Lotus Seventeen, Lotus F.2 and Cooper 1.2, on most of which, except the Ljans: Seventeen, he has gained some successes.

For 1960 he will drive two brand-new cars built by Gilby Engineering, owned by his father Sid Greene. For Formula 1 events he will drive a Cooper fitted with the latest Maserati engine giving 250 b.h.p., and in 1,100-e.c. sports-car races he will try and upset the Colas with the Gilby-Climax. He will also drive in International sports-car events.

A garage owner, Keith Greene’s hobby is archery. which prompted him to have his calling card inscribed with the legend, •• Have bow. will travel.” He is not yet married and prefers a modified Mini-Minor for road use. Brian Hart came into prominence last year when his Terrier won almost every race it entered in the 1172 Formula. Before that he drove a Lotus 7 for a short while with no great success, but when

Len Terry designed the Terrier at the of 1958 he built one with Terry’s help, and had the satialaetion of winning the Chapman Trophy for his performance during the season. hart’s 1960 plans are indefinite at the moment. but we should see

him at the wheel of Len Terry’s new brain-child, which will be a Formula Junior car. He is a Service Manager, drives a much-Worn A35, and appears to be a confirmed bachelor.

David Haynes : A consistent competitor in saloon-car races since 1956, !Jaynes has remained faithful to Fords (quite reasonable since he is a Ford dealer), using all the various Zephyr models in various stages of tune. He is modest about his achievements, admitting that he has never come first yet, but neither has he been placed last.

He is contemplating forming a team with Jeff Uren in 1960 on the basis of,” If you can’t beat ’em–join ’em,” but he feels that the way the 1960 saloon-car regulations are framed he might as well burn the Zephyr and build a Go-Kart. When not racing he is a Director of a Ford dealership and is not yet married. For a road car Haynes uses the sante car he races, which is not a dig at those saloon-car drivers who bring their cars to the track on lorries !

John Hine has driven both Mk. VI and XI Lotuses, together with a T112, and has gained wins at Aintree and Snetterton, as well as class wins at the Thames Estuary A.C. Hill-Climb. For 1960 he will drive a Cooper Formula Junior car in British and Continental events. He is engaged in the Motor Trade and is married, with one daughter, who figured in his most amusing racing moment. He was sitting all tensed up on the starting line at Brands Hatch when his small daughter’s voice piped up from the grandstand,” Put your foot down, Dad.” On the road he uses a 1113.

David Howard has driven an Aston Martin 1)112-4 Mk. 11 in Club events during 1959, gaining 14 places, including the .Aston Martin Owners’ Club Cup for the David Brown Championship. In 1960 he will be driving a 2.4 Jaguar and the aforementioned Aston Martin. In the photograph he is sitting in the burnt-out remains of the Jaguar warding off souvenir hunters ! The car appears to need considerable renovation before the 1960 season. In case readers think it odd that he should he wearing a topee, Mr. Howard asks us to point out, that the sun was shining at the time.

Pressed for comments, especially humorous ones Mr. Howard came up with the following : (a) English traffic police are wonderful; (b) the Volkswagen is a beautiful car; (e) Aston Martin well deserved to win the World Sports-Car Championship.

In the daytime David Howard is a Company Director, is not yet married. and on the road he drives either the Aston or the Jaguar.

Chris Lawrence is better known for his tremendous performances in the Morgan Plus Four but he has owned and raced a good number of cars Were them, including a Morgan three-wheeler, M.G. J-1, Type 38 Bugatti, M.G. K3, Rotacks M.G. Special and Elva Junior.

Last year, with the Morgan, he won a number of races. and at Goodwood he won the Freddie Dixon Trophy. Since then he has formed his own company to Market a Formula Junior car called the Deep Sanderson and a eottpti for road use. He will drive one of the Formula Junior ears himself as well as partnering Bill de Selincourt in a 1,100-c.c. Lola for International sports-car races, Ile seemsto get the jitters before his races as he says ” I’m going to retire ” at 10-minute intervals during each meeting, but once on the track he is one of the fastest drivers in Club racing. Christopher Marlyn started racing in 1957 with the ex-Peter Ashdown Mk. 9 Lotus, which never went very well but gained a few places in Club meetings. In 1958 he bought a new Lotus Eleven, which was prepared by limes Ireland and rail very well, gaining several places for its owner. 1959 was a disappointing season as he purchased a Lotus Seventeen and .a Twin-Cam M.G., both 44 which gave lots of trouble When lying third in the Ninhurgring 1,000 kilometres race in the Twin-Cain the distributor fell to pieces. At Le Mans he was entered in an Elite and reserve to two other Lotuses so he felt sure of a drive, but the Elite was crashed before the race and one of the other

Lotuses crashed just before he was due to take over. He also did not get a drive in the T.T. AS the Lotus he was due to drive retired before he Was due to drive. At the moment, Marlyn has no definite plans for this season but ‘vill probably eompete in some Formula Junior races with a Cooper

and also a few sports-car races. Aged 24, he is a Company Director, is not yet married, and drives a Volvo with a Ruddspeed conversion; which he considers a very enjoyable car to drive.

Bill Moss : This young man first hit the headlines with his fearless handling of the R5B E.R.A. ” Remus,” which he drove up to the end of the 1958 season, but before that he had driven a 1929 1500 Alfa-Romeo and the R1A E.R.A. with a fair degree of success. After watching the way he handled ” Remus,” many people began asking when he would get a more modern car. Moss answered this himself by purchasing a DB3S, which was not very successful and did not last long. He followed this up with a Lister-Jaguar and also drove a Formula 2 -Cooper for a private team. He had accidents in both these cars and was never as happy with the modern -cars as with the E.R.A.

Bill Moss’ plans for 1960 are uncertain as yet. He may return to vintage rating or carry on with Formula 2. By profession be is “one of the forty thieves,” is not married, and on the road he drives ” anything.”

Tim Parnell is the son of Reg Parnell, the Aston Martin Team Manager. He has restricted himself to driving Lotus and Cooper cars, including a Cooper 1100 sports, a Lotus Eleven and a CooperClimax Formula 2 car. His 1959 season was cut short at Brands Hatch when he had a particularly unpleasant accident which put him out of action for the rest of the season.

Next season he will be driving a Cooper-Climax Formula 2 car in partnership with Gerry Ashmore and will also drive a Formula Junior Cooper with Cosworth-tuned Ford engine.

‘rim Parnell is a garage owner and farmer in Derbyshire; and drives a Ford Zodiac.

Jack Pitcher A staunch supporter of the Formula 3 movement, Jack Pitcher has driven only Cooper-Nortons and will continue to de so during the 1960 season. He will be entering every possible 500-c.c. race that is open to hint, be it International, National or Club. A farming director in private life, he has no illusions about a motor-racing career; he races for the sheer enjoyment of driving fast. On the road he drives an A30. , Philip Robinson is a stalwatt supporter of Formula 3, 11,,

driven only. Coopers to date, w it h a number of successes. He started racing in 1952 with motorcycle-. but changed to a Mk. IV CooperJ.A.P. in 1954. With his CooperNorton he has won the 1958 Auto. sportClubman’s Championship and was third in the 1959 National Championship.

For 1960 Robinson will-be sellin,..! the Cooper and driving an Envoy Formula Junior car for Ian Raby. He is a Garage Director, married.

and for personal transport use a Hillman Minx.

George Shepherd, perhaps better known as ” Doc.” because he is one, has gained a tremendous reputation as a saloon-car driver, piloting an A35 in 1958 and an A40 in 1959. In those years he won a number of races and scored innumerable. class wins.; taking the lap records at Goodwood, Aintree, Crystal Palace and Brands Hatch.

This season he will be driving an A40. the engine of which will be tuned by Don Moore now that he is free from commitments with Lister. He modestly claims that the secret of his success is that he is a friend of Harry Weslake, the cylinder-head expert.

Shepherd is married, with a son and a daughter, the son being an airline pilot and daughter Ann also drives in saloon-car races and rallies. Another claim to fame is that he is the uncle of David Shepherd the England cricketer. On the road he drives an Austin Seven and an MO.

Tom Threlfall started his career in 1957, when he was in the team which broke seven International records with an Austin A35. He followed this up by being in the team which broke eight International records at Montlhery in an Austin Healey 100. Since then he has been faithful to Lotus, winning the Yuletide Trophy at the 1958 Boxing Day Brands Hatch meeting, coining third in his class at the Rotten G.P. meeting and second overall in the Prix de Paris at Montlhi,sy last year. Tom Threlfall will be forsaking sports cars this year and will be driving a Formula 2 Cooper and a Formula Junior Lola in as many

events as he can manage. By profession he is a Civil Engineer, drives a Volkswagen and claims that he is a founder member of the British Overseas Racing Lads from Zanzibar !

D. J. ‘liven Brother of Jeff Uren, Douglas has driven both Jaguar and Ford since he started racing in 1955. Ile has competed in such rallies as the Monte Carlo, Tulip, R.A.C., and in the last two seasons he has raced and rallied a 3.4 Jaguar, gaining 26 awards during that time. In 1960 he will carry on with a 3.8-litre Jaguar in all grades of saloon-car events, and there may be a possibility Of a Jaguar drive at Le Mans. His most amusing moment was when he found himself going backwards at 100 m.p.h. at Goodwood last year and watching one of his wheels passing him in the right direction. He and bis brother also hold another record as they believe they were the first brothers to start in different cars in an International event. Douglas Uren is a Company Director, is married, with four children, arid drives a Riley 1.5 on the road because it’s safer.

Jeff Uren : Another driver who has remained faithful to Ford is Jeff Uren. He has raced and rallied most models in the Ford range. including the Anglia, Prefect and Zephyr. Last season he won the Saloon-Car Championship outright in his Zephyr. The car was exhibited at the Racing Car Show in January. With the Zephyr he has become the cleat; lap record holder at Goodwood, Aintree, Brands Hatch and Snetterton.

Last season he was appointed Team Manager of the Ford works rally team, but he will still compete in as many events as possible. During last season so many cracks were made about his name, such as ” Leston is passing Urea,” that he decided to register his new car JMU 8 ! In private life he is a plant hire contractor, is married, with two mad-keen sons aged 6 and 9, and, naturally enough, on the road Ito drives Ford Anglia and Zephyr.

John Whitmore : One of the most improved drivers of 1959, Whitmore would probably have been voted ” Rookie of the Year,” if this excellent American idea were brought, to this country. Last year he drove a Lotus Elite, gaining 10 wins and two second places, but near the end of the season the Elite was written-off at Monza, luckily without damage to the driver. He -also gained 10th place at Le Mans co-driving an Elite with Jim Clark. The Border Reivers recognised his talent and lent him their ListerJaguar for a couple of races at Charterhall, both of which he. won with ease. Nearer the end of the season he drove the 1i-litre Tojeiro and acquired a Speedwell-tuned

Austin Seven, which he used on the R.A.C. Rally and at Boxing Day Brands Hatch. He has made several fruitless sorties into rallies, including. the Monte, but regards them as” too damned dangerous.”

John Whitmore will have a busy 1960 season co-driving the Border Beivers DBR1 Aston Martin with Jim Clark in major sports. car races, and will also be a member of the Fitzwilliam Formula Junior team for Continental races. There will also be some outings in a new Formula Junior and Formula 2 Tojeiro.

On matters unconnected with racing he feels that the traffic laws should be brought up-to-date, having had unsatisfactory dealings with the police, and points out that it is illegal to drive an A35 van in top gear ! When not racing he farm, itt Essex. is not yet married, and for a road car he uses the Austin Sevcii. l,111,11 is ” MarVelIOUS.”