Race Team Mechanics.

[Dale Harvey]

The Lola T332C # HU61 has been beautifully restored and is owned at present by the Davison family in Australia.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]34521[/ATTACH]
(Chris Nicholls photo )






( Ken Hyndman )[/QUOTE]


The Lola is now owned by the Berryman family and Driven by Tim Berryman.
Dale.

[khyndart in CA]

Thanks Dale,
I should stick with the old information such as "at one time it was owned by .... "

Ken.

[Bailey]

The Lola T332C # HU61 has been beautifully restored and is owned at present by the Davison family in Australia.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]34521[/ATTACH]
(Chris Nicholls photo )






( Ken Hyndman )

The Lola is now owned by the Berryman family and Driven by Tim Berryman.
Dale.[/QUOTE]


I think you'll find that the Davison/Berryman T332 is HU34 that was new to Guy Edwards in the UK.
HU61, which is the car pictured driven by Alan Jones next to Warwick Brown in the T430 at Riverside,
was badly crashed in Australia by Jones, during the 1977 Rothmans series, and was replaced with
HU34 for Jones to continue in that series at Sandown and Adelaide etc Theodore owned HU34 as
well at that time HU34 stayed in Australia, as it was purchased by Jon Davison
HU61, which was a T332c, wasn't repaired, and didn't run again

[khyndart in CA]

Geez,
I should stick to the past and not the present !
Not only did I get the owner wrong I also described the wrong car !
Sorry folks.
Perhaps I got confused when I saw this !

"Six Lola F5000 Tubs Discovered in Michigan " (Sports Car Digest. March 2011)

( Ken Hyndman )

[Dale Harvey]

Geez,
I should stick to the past and not the present !
Not only did I get the owner wrong I also described the wrong car !
Sorry folks.
Perhaps I got confused when I saw this !

"Six Lola F5000 Tubs Discovered in Michigan " (Sports Car Digest. March 2011)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]34523[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]34524[/ATTACH]




( Ken Hyndman )

Never mind Ken, your photos and stories are still appreciated.
Dale.

[khyndart in CA]

This is what makes it so hard to write about Lola (HU 61).
So who is correct ?

http://www.f5000registry.com/lola.html

has this comment.
" Make: Lola
Model: T-332C
Year: 1976
Chassis: Lola HU61
Engine: Chevy 5 Litre


Transmission: Hewland DG 300

Owner: Marc Rauchfuss
Location: Simi Valley, CA, USA

Previous Owners: Theodore Racing - Teddy Yip

Racing History: Car ran for the first time at Road America in August 1976 driven by Derek Bell who was substituting for Alan Jones. Jones drove car in one additional race in 1976. Car later appeared at Surfers Paradise in Australia in 1977 where it was crashed during practice. Marc Rauchfuss currently restoring the car to original specifications to return it to historic racing in the Formula 5000 U.S. Revival Races.




( Ken Hyndman )

[khyndart in CA]

It does seem that Alan Jones was pretty harsh on two of the Lola T 332 chassis that he drove but he was able to carry on and move on to the Williams F1 team where he had wonderful success in the early eighties.
This reminded me of when I tried to get some wealthy business men here in Santa Barbara, CA to take the step to purchase this FW 07 (# 1)Williams back in 1987 and I was going to have Patrick Head authenticate the car before it came over here. They almost did go ahead and then thought it was not a very good investment with comments of " who wants to watch old Grand Prix cars trundle around"!
If only they could have realized just how popular this racing is here now I think this would have been a wonderful investment.
We are starved for Formula One action here in the west coast.

( Ken Hyndman )

[khyndart in CA]

1st Long Beach race weekend. Sept. 1975.
Some parting shots of Graham Donaldson, Tony Brise and # 64 Lola T332 (HU37)

Julian Randles and Graham Donaldson tend to Tony's Lola under the watchful eye of Theodore Team owner, Teddy Yip. On pit lane, Shoreline Drive, Long Beach. CA.
(Julian would later be a partner on the Theodore team.)

(Hyndman talking to Tony Brise about life in San Diego.)

Pushing Tony in the Lola to the start .L to R; Graham Donaldson, Teddy Yip, Kerry Agipou, K Hyndman & Sid Taylor.
(Apart from Hyndman it was a very good team !)
Years later Al Unser signed my only copy I had of this scene and Al said he had been so impressed with Tony here at Long Beach that he felt sure he would go on to greatness.
Also signed by Don Nichols whose Shadow F 5000 car is in the background.


(Ken Hyndman collection )

[Bailey]

This is what makes it so hard to write about Lola (HU 61).
So who is correct ?

http://www.f5000registry.com/lola.html

has this comment.
" Make: Lola
Model: T-332C
Year: 1976
Chassis: Lola HU61
Engine: Chevy 5 Litre


Transmission: Hewland DG 300

Owner: Marc Rauchfuss
Location: Simi Valley, CA, USA

Previous Owners: Theodore Racing - Teddy Yip

Racing History: Car ran for the first time at Road America in August 1976 driven by Derek Bell who was substituting for Alan Jones. Jones drove car in one additional race in 1976. Car later appeared at Surfers Paradise in Australia in 1977 where it was crashed during practice. Marc Rauchfuss currently restoring the car to original specifications to return it to historic racing in the Formula 5000 U.S. Revival Races.




( Ken Hyndman )

Ken, It seems that HU61 did very few races, besides the above, it also did the Rothmans round at Oran Park
in Alan Jones hands prior to the Surfers round.

The Rauchfuss T332 was put together by Alan McCall in the 80's. It is unclear as to how it became HU61

[Bailey]

Geez,
I should stick to the past and not the present !
Not only did I get the owner wrong I also described the wrong car !
Sorry folks.
Perhaps I got confused when I saw this !

"Six Lola F5000 Tubs Discovered in Michigan " (Sports Car Digest. March 2011)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]34523[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]34524[/ATTACH]




( Ken Hyndman )

No worries Ken, you certainly have some good stories to tell The Long Beach F5000 race looks like it was a great event to
be at Tony Brise sure went well there, passed Mario Andretti more than once, not many people did that in F5000 in 1975

re the six T190 tubs in Michigan, I was told that they became 6 T70 Lolas, made in Michigan

[khyndart in CA]

Thanks Tony,
You will not be forgotten.
[video=youtube;XiSY0huKkkg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiSY0huKkkg[/video]



Ken & Graham

[khyndart in CA]

Graham stayed on in California working for the Dan Gurney AAR team based in Orange County where he gained wonderful experience working with people such as Phil Remington known as the master of all fabricators. Graham said he was such a humble man to work with but also very tough and when you read some of these sites you will see why. He was still working even after turning 90 yrs. old !

http://allamericanracers.com/a-tribute-to-a-legend-phil-remington/

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/features/a4708/features-magazines-features-the-life-of-phil-remington/





(Ken Hyndman )

[khyndart in CA]

Dan Gurney and Teddy Yip were good friends and Teddy raced the Gurney Indy cars for different drivers including the female driver Desire Wilson in 1982 but sadly another driver Gordon Smiley died in a practice session and the same sponsor for both cars withdrew from the event.

(Wilson during Indianapolis practice 1982 in Gurney Eagle for Theodore racing )



(Ken Hyndman )

[khyndart in CA]

I got to meet Desire Wilson in 1999 when I was working at a BMW dealership and each year when the new models were introduced some of us would go to a track / parking lot somewhere in Southern California to test drive / hammer and compare the latest BMWs against the competition. I rode with Skip Barber and 4 others in a BMW 325 E in 1986 around the old Riverside course and entering the
Turn 9 corner I kept thinking the brakes had failed but Skip made it look easy and was chatting throughout !
Desire Wilson was at the Fontana Track and we did a slalom course in the parking lot. No one else seemed to know who she was but when I started talking about NZ.(She drove in the Pacific Series in 1980 ) Rugby and racing. (Teddy Yip and Theodore) she was very friendly and told me how to use my feet and not drive like an "old lady"!
( So even though I got bit off course I decided to enter my Desire Wilson story. )

[video=youtube;kIJPw1RakIE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIJPw1RakIE[/video]








(Ken Hyndman )

[khyndart in CA]

Graham Donaldson went to Macau several times and always enjoyed being a guest of Teddy Yip who basically ran the whole place !
Teddy Yip was one of the main forces behind the Macau Grand Prix back in '70s and 80s, leading the Grand Prix to be one of the world's most famous motor racing events. The Macau Grand Prix parties he hosted for many years at his home also became a central part of the social aspect of the Grand Prix.
Many current or former Formula One drivers have participated in the event early in their careers and some of them have won the prestigious prize. Famous winners include Riccardo Patrese, Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, David Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher and Takuma Sato.
In 1983, it was decided by the organizers that since Formula Pacific was becoming obsolete, the race would be held as a Formula Three event. Initially, they wanted to run a F2 race, but as they were unwilling to make any large circuit modifications, which included cutting down trees, the organizers decided to adopt Formula 3 cars for the feature race and it was sanctioned by FIA as the F3 World Cup title race. At the same time, Yokohama Tire was officially designated as the sole supplier of control tires for the competitors.
A young Ayrton Senna won the first Macau F3 race driving for Teddy Yip in a Ralt RT3-Toyota. 1983.

(Ken Hyndman )

[khyndart in CA]

As we went our different ways Graham would join up with different teams and I will list some of them after California he moved to Michigan where he was involved with ; Doug Shierson and Howdy Holmes plus Tom Gloy, Tom Foster, Norm Hunter and Alan Berg in Formula Atlantic. He also spent time with Formula 2 teams in Mexico with Oscar Hidalgo and Rafael Martinez.
I remember catching glimpses of him at the IMSA GTP and Indy Cart races when he worked on cars for Geoff Brabham at "Kraco"
Nissan with Bob Earl and Chip Robinson and Geoff in the GTP ZX Turbo and later with the Hotchkis Race Team with driver Jim Adams.
Graham went on to work alongside renown engine builder Larry Slutter at the Toyota racing engine department "TRD" where he would be for 20 years before finishing his working days and has now begun a well earned retirement.
Here is a glimpse of some of the race cars that Graham Donaldson was involved with.

(1984 Portland CART race. Graham is on the right checking the rear area of Geoff Brabham's KRACO March 84C in which he would finish second the next day. ... photo Bill Wagenblatt)

(Geoff Brabham at speed. Portland. 1984. ..Bill Wagenblatt photo )

1990_Chip Robinson & Geoff Brabham shared this Nissan GTP NPTI for a win at Miami.

(Jim Adams, John Hotchkis at Daytona in the Porsche 962/ 72 Turbo prepared by Graham. 1989 )

This is where Graham worked developing the Toyota engines to being the best in many types of racing.

http://www.trdusa.com/

Well done Graham. You came a long way from being an apprentice in Rotorua.
You probably did not want to take all this credit, you humble buggar, but you were regarded as one of the best and if I had not put this out there for others to read I don't know who would have.
Now go relax and share this with your family and grand kids.
"You did a bloody good job, mate !"
(Ken Hyndman )

[khyndart in CA]

When I was in Sydney in 1970 one Saturday, I was downtown looking in the shops and walking past me was Graham Baker who I recognized from seeing him at Pukekohe. We started talking and he suggested that I go out to David Mckay's Ferrari dealership to see if they needed a mechanic, but they were not interested in someone from Morrinsville with lawnmower and Land Rover experience !
Graham also suggested that I stop in and see Wally Wilmott who was starting a performance workshop in Woolloomooloo and Wally was friendly but was busy at the time and soon after I left Sydney to go back to NZ. But I was grateful for Graham Baker's suggestions.

I recently read that he had had some health issues and I wondered if any of you could give an update.

He and his family have certainly been popular in the Houston, Texas area with what they have done with the Houston Motorsports Complex.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (center) recently welcomed the 2010 NASCAR state championship contingent to his office in Austin. From left are Houston Motorsports Park owner Graham Baker, Texas champion Joe Aramendia, Perry, Joe Aramendia's wife Carolyn Aramendia, and Houston General Manager and Promoter John Mandabach. Texas Governor's Office







(Ken Hyndman )

[khyndart in CA]

I do not know how it is today but back in the sixties and seventies many NZ mechanics would finish an apprenticeship and head off to be involved in racing in all parts of the world and most would gain valuable knowledge and then return while others would stay away and do very well. One of those would be John Nicholson who grew up in Wanganui and helped run his father's engine rebuilding business before moving to the Wellington area where he started out in racing at the same time as Graham McRae.
I remember seeing John drive his Lotus 27 around Pukekohe and finish the 1968 NZGP in ninth place and this was only his seventh race overall !
I have this album photo of the 1968 NZGP grid waiting while Denny Hulme is presented a prize to celebrate him being the 1967 Formula One world champion. The ill fated Brownlie Brabham is in the foreground and if you look closely you can see John Nicholson's pit area in the background.

(Jan. 6. 1968)


(Ken Hyndman )

[khyndart in CA]

I do not know how it is today but back in the sixties and seventies many NZ mechanics would finish an apprenticeship and head off to be involved in racing in all parts of the world and most would gain valuable knowledge and then return while others would stay away and do very well. One of those would be John Nicholson who grew up in Wanganui and helped run his father's engine rebuilding business before moving to the Wellington area where he started out in racing at the same time as Graham McRae.
I remember seeing John drive his Lotus 27 around Pukekohe and finish the 1968 NZGP in ninth place and this was only his seventh race overall which included Chris Amon and Jim Clark in their prime !

I have this album photo of the 1968 NZGP grid waiting while Denny Hulme is presented a prize to celebrate him being the 1967 Formula One world champion. The ill fated Laurence Brownlie Brabham is in the foreground and if you look closely you can see John Nicholson's pit area in the background. (Between L.Brownlie and D.Oxton )

(Jan. 6. 1968)


(Ken Hyndman ) p.s. Could any others in this photo be identified please.

[khyndart in CA]

In 1969 John had made his way to England and due to lack of funds he did not race but instead got a job at McLaren's where he used his engine building knowledge to help George Bolthoff build the 1969 Can-Am engines and he also spent some time in the States, based in Detroit. When he came back to England, Bruce McLaren used Nicholson's driving ability to do some of the initial testing of the M8D Can- Am car.
Bruce then needed someone to build the Cosworth DFV Formula One engines and after some brief training with Cosworth, John had the very important job of being responsible for McLaren's F 1 engine program. This was to lead to John branching out and establishing the best Cosworth DFV engine business.
Nicholson McLaren Engines (NME) was founded in 1972 by John Nicholson to maintain the Cosworth DFV engines for McLaren Racing.



(Ken Hyndman )