The Roaring Season

Steve,
The day was spoiled by the accident in that race.
Dave Mathews was in the Broadspeed Capri which had a slow start and is in about 7th position behind the white Escort. If you look closely you will see it is a LHD Capri and that is a factor that helped saved Dave's life.
You can read more at this site written many years later.


https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity- ... d-10523107



(Ken H)

khyndart in CA wrote:While messing around today I found the original slide I took at Silverstone July 1973 at the British GP Meet.
It gives an idea of how Becketts Corner looked back then as the Saloon Car race started.
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[ATTACH=CONFIG]60423[/ATTACH]
(K Hyndman photo..)

This is a modern day clip of the same corner.(The grandstand is about where the red and yellow
Land Rover is in the top photo ..but a lot further back from the track !)
[video=youtube;OCIUhN61jEw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCIUhN61jEw[/video]

(We had more fun in 1973!)

Ken H

Wow! Superb photo Ken. In the end Frank Gardner in the Camaro took the win, from David Howe in an AMC Javelin who finished just ahead of Jonathan Buncombe in an Escort. Muir in the BMW was out early with engine failure, while Dennis Leech pictured in the Mustang drifted back to 14th due to various issues.

Not sure if you recalled Ken there was a big shunt early in this race?

While messing around today I found the original slide I took at Silverstone July 1973 at the British GP Meet.
It gives an idea of how Becketts Corner looked back then as the Saloon Car race started. (K Hyndman photo..)

This is a modern day clip of the same corner.(The grandstand is about where the red and yellow
Land Rover is in the top photo ..but a lot further back from the track !)
[video=youtube;OCIUhN61jEw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCIUhN61jEw[/video]

(We had more fun in 1973!)

Ken H

Spgeti wrote:Superb shots of the 2nd Gen Camaro. What rules did this race in Steve. Why I ask is that the bonnet is modified with a rear facing scoop.

Bruce, it was actually raced under Group 2 regulations, although these were obviously getting further and further offtrack throughout the 1970s. This is why its important to use the FIA date classifications when building a racing group around Appendix K regs.

Bruce,
This was the 1973 RAC British Saloon Car Championship. Touring Cars class A-D. Is this any help ? It certainly had a wide range of engine sizes and the big complaint of the day was the speed differences and you can see why !

You can read a bit about it here;
http://www.btcc.net/history/in-depth/1958-1990/

(Ken H)

Superb shots of the 2nd Gen Camaro. What rules did this race in Steve. Why I ask is that the bonnet is modified with a rear facing scoop.

Great clippings Ken. These two had some furious battles in the BSCC, beginning in 1970 when Gardner raced an ex-Bud Moore Trans-Am Mustang and Muir had an ex-Penske Racing Camaro.

It was fun to watch this Camaro in action, especially when these two Australians, Brian "Yogi"Muir and Frank Gardner were racing at the same time. (Luckily there was no live on-board "mike" in 1973 !)
( Ken H )

Ray Bell wrote:That would be the car which got the gearbox then...

Jane used it himself through 1971 IIRC.

That sounds right then Ray. Gardner did the deal with Bob Jane in early 1973 after he'd raced the Camaro in New Zealand and then in Australia. He'd already been racing his new second generation Camaro throughout 1972, but fitted with a small block Chevy 350. The big block 427 motor/box was fitted to the new car for 1973.

Spgeti wrote:The attached photos of this car are just superb. The detail is really there for those of us into that sort of thing.
Shame I have not got the money and one can’t live in a car....

I agree Bruce. The car was never really changed from how Gardner raced it in 1971, even though it ended up in Australia being campaigned in the Sports Sedan ranks. It only raced briefly as a Sports Sedan and then quietly put away. So although its been restored, there was very little to actually change, so its now presented as a really honest car, and something of a timewarp.

Steve Holmes wrote:I see its come up for sale: https://www.dhrofgo.com/for-sale/1967-c ... bscc-etcc/

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The attached photos of this car are just superb. The detail is really there for those of us into that sort of thing.
Shame I have not got the money and one can’t live in a car....

That would be the car which got the gearbox then...

Jane used it himself through 1971 IIRC.

Ray Bell wrote:Is this the car which got the trick gearbox built for Jane's 7-litre Camaro?

Fabricated steel gearbox case, larger gear spacing, custom-made gears with dog engagement, heavily blasted to look like a casting and painted with aluminium paint.

Ray, I don't know about the gearbox, but the ZL1 alloy block 427 Bob Jane used in his Camaro in 1971 ended up in the second generation SCA Freight Camaro Frank Gardner raced in 1972/73 etc (pictured below). I did read somewhere the 1967 Camaro pictured above was traded on the engine as part of the deal but I could be mistaken.

Is this the car which got the trick gearbox built for Jane's 7-litre Camaro?

Fabricated steel gearbox case, larger gear spacing, custom-made gears with dog engagement, heavily blasted to look like a casting and painted with aluminium paint.

I see its come up for sale: https://www.dhrofgo.com/for-sale/1967-c ... bscc-etcc/

Good to see the Gardner Camaro out racing again, at this historic event. Eric Broutin, of French Speed Connection, who is in the white and black '67 Camaro pictured here just in front of the white and blue Alfa, is seen chasing the Gardner Camaro. It was Eric who posted these cool pics.

Thank you for posting this, this is really great info. Re the Martin Thomas Camaro bought by John Shoesmith, is this the blue car that now competes in the Heritage GT series? It looks completely different to the way it looked when raced by Martin Thomas and no longer has the large flares etc.

Frank de Jongs excellent touring car racing website has Malcolm Gartlan Racing entered in several early BSCC events in 1969 with a Falcon Sprint, and Brian Muir driving. Could Leech possibly have purchased this car mid-season? Malcolm Gartlan Racing appears to have entered the car in the first four rounds, then there are no more appearances, but Leech first appears from round 5 onwards.

Hi

Response to postings re British Touring Cars late '60's/70’s.

I would make the following response in date order in an effort to provide some clarity as, in the past, certain "historic" cars have assumed a different identity.

1968: Malcolm Gartlan ran the ex Allen Mann/Frank Gardner Falcon Sprint with David Hobbs driving at nearly all of the BTCC rounds.

1969: Malcolm Gartlan did not run a car at all during that season having sold the Sprint to Dennis Leech. I do not believe David Hobbs ever drove the Du Plessis Camaro.

1970: Bill Shaw ran the second of his Camaro's with Roy Pierpoint driving. That car was scratch built during the winter of '69/'70 and is an entirely separate and different car to the first generation SCA freight car. The car was sold at the end of the 1970 season to Martin Thomas who subsequently sold it to its present owner, John Shoesmith.

Having personally been involved with the construction and maintenance of at least two of these vehicles from the outset including the actual original purchase of one of them, there is photographic and written evidence to support these facts.

Hope this information is useful.

CharlesB

Paul LeSueur wrote:Where is the car now, my dad was one of Franks mechanics so would be interested to have a look
Paul

Hi Paul,

The Camaro is back in the UK, please PM me and I will put you in touch.

CCR

Wow, that is awesome! Who would have thought this old building could have so much history. Looks partially derelict? I love learning about these old buildings, and the histories they have. So was this building a part of Southern Motors, or was it completely separate?