Colin Chapman Not Quite Winning - 1971

[trw99]

Well this is priceless!

Wonderful team managers race at Brands from 1971 in Escort Mexico's, Colin still proving he has what it takes, splendid commentary from Graham Hill and Barrie Gill. You will enjoy this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKjLwkzL5rM

Tim

PS Apologies if this has been posted before

[ardee_selby]

Tim,

Fantastic, and as you say, priceless footage. Pity they didn't have mic's to capture in car "commentary"!

Cheers - Richard

[Elanintheforest]

Brilliant coverage. The cars were pretty standard, with noisy exhausts and normal road tyres pumped up to 50psi to add to the fun for the spectators.

Having just watched the documentary about Graham Hill again, the fun definitely went out of motor sport in the 80s!

The Mex is nowhere near as fast as an Elan, but they are so chuckable that they can be forgiven for that. A pair of 40s is pretty easy to fit, and then it sounds like an Elan as well.

Here's my pairing....
Mark

[alaric]

That was brilliant. Thanks for posting the link.

Sean.

[alan.barker]

maybe it was better without mics in Chapman's car when the engine blew up just before the finish. It think it would have needed to be heavily censored!!!!!!!!!! n'est-ce pas!!!!!!!!!
Alan B

[jimj]

I was there, in an Elan, that day and, watching the clip, I was there again but in the car with Colin (in my imagination) willing the car on.
Jim

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

Brilliant coverage. The cars were pretty standard, with noisy exhausts and normal road tyres pumped up to 50psi to add to the fun for the spectators.

Having just watched the documentary about Graham Hill again, the fun definitely went out of motor sport in the 80s!

The Mex is nowhere near as fast as an Elan, but they are so chuckable that they can be forgiven for that. A pair of 40s is pretty easy to fit, and then it sounds like an Elan as well.

Here's my pairing....
Mark

I think I'd push that date a bit more forward.
Just thinking about those wildly fast ground effect F1's with sparks flying everywhere.
Hill & Schumacher playing at WW III etc.

Thanks to Tim for sharing that clip, I loved it; Mr. Chapman could certainly pedal a car fast!

Cheers
John

[trw99]

With acknowledgement to Milan Fistonic on TNF, here is some more information on the race, with a couple of gems. Firstly, look at that first sentence - no surprise there then! Secondly, look at the final sentence after the results list, what a great sporting gesture.

"Chapman managed to bend the rules by taking his Escort into the paddock at the end of practice instead of returning it to parc ferme and Tony Rudd spent 20 minutes with his head stuck under the bonnet.

THE RACE (as reported in Motoring News)

The Escort race opened proceedings at 11.15 on race morning, but bright summery weather had already attracted an estimated 40,000 people into the circuit by then and they were all on tenterhooks around the club circuit.

The race was on from the moment when Grahame White dropped the flag, and Chapman was doing his best to rub the trim strips from Brabham?s Escort as they rushed headlong into Paddock Bend. Frank Williams had barged his way through to third place and it was a miracle that no one was actually pushed off at Paddock Bend, for by the time they got to Druids there was hardly a car without a mark of one sort or another, and more was to come.

Brabham held a tenuous lead starting lap two, by which time a particularly brave Frank Williams was doing his level best to oust Chapman from second place, resulting in a long autocrossing moment for Williams along the bottom straight, which lost him his place, for John Surtees came storming through. Frank thus fell into the grips of Max Mosley and the two of them diced splendidly for the remainder of the race, with Mosley trying all he knew to show one of his less happy customers just how it should be done.

The rest of the field really wasn?t in it, for a largish gap opened out before Costin hove into sight with Phil Kerr and Jackie Epstein trying to find a way past on all sides.

Eric Broadley briefly held off one of his principal customers, Doug Hardwick, then began a wheel-to-wheeler with Ed Nelson, Ken Tyrrell and Ian Williams. Bringing up the rear were Alan Rees and Tim Parnell, who between them have the distinction of being the smallest and largest Formula 1 team managers respectively.

It was naturally the lead battle which commanded everyone?s attention, for Brabham was up to all his old tricks as Chapman desperately tried to find a way through. Whichever side Chapman chose, somehow when he came to draw alongside, that particular bit of road seemed to be full of red Escort. Surtees had already had a scare (?I was minding my own business and they all ran into me?) but nevertheless watched the duel from a safe third, his Escort looking very second hand indeed. Mosley, still chasing Frank Williams for all he was worth, had somehow hooked bumpers with someone, while Costin was holding his pursuers through the corners because a wing had been pressed on to a tyre and everytime he turned right, the wheels caught on the arch and the whole lot slowed down!

Chapman got more and more desperate as the laps ticked off, and his efforts to nudge Brabham off line at Paddock had the crowd on tip toes, while the door-shutting at Druids was nobody?s business. On the ninth lap it looked as though he was going to try the inside line through Paddock for a change, but just as Brabham eased over, Chapman yanked the steering wheel hard left and came up on the outside.

They were almost side by side through Paddock, and Brabham was slightly off line. At the bottom of the hill the Escort all but got away from him and Chapman was through, giving him a quick nudge en passant. Motor racing?s David Niven looked all set for his greatest-ever strategical victory with less than three quarters of a lap to the waiting flag.

Bit it was not to be. Pounding through Clearways, Chapman tried to grab top gear, only to find that there was nothing there (?absolutely nothing,? he said, ?not a gear of any sort?) and Brabham scrambled past on the outside, having lost only a couple of seconds in the excitement.

Chapman had to coast across the line, and a grateful Surtees was handed second place on a plate, with Chapman a bitterly disappointed third. This hasn?t been a very good season for him and his cars, but it was very unfair to suggest as someone did that he had retired because his suspension had broken!

Frank Williams stayed in front of Max Mosley for fourth place (you?d have thought Max was chasing him for cheques) and a delighted Phil Kerr found a way past Mike Costin?s battered machine for sixth.

So Jack Brabham won the race which had been named for him, and earned a great round of applause. But what a disappointment for Chapman! Televiewers across the country caught a glimpse of him moments after he had seized the lead, with a grin from ear to ear which was dashed from his face so soon afterwards.

More, please Mr Stuart Turner, and please ask them all to do it again.

1. Jack Brabham ? 11m 08.6s
2. JohnSurtees ? 11m 11.2s
3. Colin Chapman ? 11m 11.4s
4. Frank Williams ? 1m 16.2s
5. Max Mosley ? 11m 18.0s
6. Phil Kerr ? 11m 24.4s
7. Mike Costin
8. Jackie Epstein
9. Doug Hardwick
10. Edward Nelson
11. Eric Broadley
12. Ken Tyrrell
13. Ian Williams
14. Alan Rees
15. Tim Parnell
FL. Colin Chapman ? 1m 05.2s

Brabham generously handed over the winner?s trophy, which carried his name, to Chapman."

Tim

[dougweall]

Tim,

Excellent post, the write up just puts the final touches to a great story.

Thanks,

Doug

[trw99]

I have just come across this thread, which I started nearly 13 years ago!

It's worth a bump as I have just looked at that race again and it is as thrilling second time around as it was first. Graham Hill's dry and witty commentary is well worth it, as is the spectacle of Colin Chapman besting the recently retired Brabham, even if it was for only one lap!

Great fun and a new year delight!

HNY all!

Tim

[Spyder fan]

Thanks for the bump Tim, certainly worth a re watch

This link to the same video has better quality picture (slightly) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6Ux-hBEtKM&t=437s

[Andy8421]

Thanks for the link. The video quality is still pretty grim. There are AI upscaling programs that can do wonders to old video like this, but they need fancy GPUs to process the files. I will see if I can convince my son (who has a fancy GPU) to see if he can improve the video.

FWIW, the video captures the Club circuit at Brands really well. Still my favourite circuit.

Andy.

[stugilmour]

That was great. Thanks for bumping. I must have missed it the first time around.

[HCA]

I guess evolution ends up killing everything - races like this, Graham Hill, Murray Walker and James Hunt...

[Donels]

I remember watching this on tv at the time. Great racing and great fun. Single make racing was brilliant. Thanks.