Epstein's adventure

Sir,

I took this photo on the startline for the 1963 Targa Florio. The car is a 2-litre Cooper-Climax driven by the recently deceased Jackie Epstein and co-driver Bill Wilkes. The car was classified 23rd, but if I remember correctly it crashed on its last lap at very high speed, putting Jackie in hospital. Again, I seem to remember visiting him in hospital. However, he made a full recovery to drive again in the Targa with Paul Hawkins in a Ferrari 275LM. Jackie was of course the son of the great sculptor and painter Sir Jakob Epstein.

Perhaps Bill Wilkes is still around and can fill us in on their Targa adventure. In those days, any visit to the depths of Sicily was indeed an adventure. I think the car must have been written off, but who knows – it may still be around and happily racing in historic events?

Paul Watson, Halstock, Dorset