30 years of motorsport memories - 1958 - 1988 – Part 1

Report by David Harbey

1 January 2022

Last winter, like many others, I used lockdown to research some family history and look through the collection of photographs we had inherited.

We failed to discover any royalty in our ancestry, although I did find a cutting of a meeting of the Stockton and District Automobile Club in 1904 which suggests there was money somewhere in the family – but I don’t know if any of my relatives are shown. There were also links to Bourne in Lincolnshire, of which more later.

More importantly, I finally scanned my late father’s motorsport images. Like many, he used his camera to capture memories of events attended.

He also competed on, and organised, a few Brailsford and District Motoring Club events where he and my mum won the occasional trophy which was proudly displayed on the dresser.

There was also an intriguing photo he had purchased of a Triumph Herald at speed on the Regent Rally, but it wasn’t one we owned …

Dad worked in the motor trade for 30 years and introduced me to motorsport - for which I am truly grateful – after all, he could have been a trainspotter! 

I don’t remember my first Grand Prix - Silverstone 1958 - I was a couple of months short of being actually born but I was there ! Peter Collins won – his last before his untimely death at Nurburgring two weeks later.

There’s a few photos from that day taken with, I believe, something like the Kodak camera shown, not really ideal.

The Ferrari on the lorry looks like Von Trips car which suffered engine failure, while the TR3A of Titterton and MacCalden appears to be on display following the Alpine Rally earlier in the year where they finished 8th.

Stirling Moss was a huge hero for my Dad, as for many at the time; there’s a lovely shot of him in the Aston Martin at the International Trophy in 1959. Given the format of the photo, I suspect it is purchased.

In 1961, the British Grand Prix was at Aintree, but the photos are the GT and saloon car races. Apparently, I was left with my grandparents for that one …

Back in the sixties, the Monte Carlo Rally started from various cities in Europe for the run to Monaco before the final stages in the mountains. Simply getting there was an achievement some years.

It might have been the presence of Graham Hill in an Anglia, but we drove up to Barnby Moor on the A1 near Doncaster for the check point in 1960.

There was the obligatory family photo with a Triumph (such brand loyalty !), an early “Grid Kid” whose parents let him wander off reins dragging behind (no, I didn’t come to any harm) and a Sunbeam Rapier – ah, that might be why we had a blue and yellow one a couple of years later in a short dalliance with something other than a Standard or a Triumph.

In 1961, we were at Oulton Park for the Gold Cup, then a regular non championship race for the F1 teams. Moss was in the Ferguson run by Rob Walker Racing and won, the only time a four-wheel drive car won a Formula 1 race, benefitting from the damp conditions.

Alas, Moss was to suffer his grand prix career ending accident at Goodwood the following Easter. In Autumn 1962, we were back at the Gold Cup; in those days, there were no fences – either lining the track or restricting access to the paddock.

Here we see Bonnier, Ginther, Brooks and a new hero for my Dad, Graham Hill.

Hill, racing for BRM based in Bourne (remember that link) went on to be 1962 World Champion. As we have seen, Dad had a habit of snapping family alongside the cars.

As you can also see, I’d rather have been photographed with Jim Clark’s Lotus. Saloon cars supported the main event; a Mini and what might be a Wolseley had a less successful day than anticipated.

Moss flew into the 1963 Gold Cup by helicopter and toured the track in his Facel Vega to the adulation of the crowds. He was always popular and in demand for autographs.

Living just outside Derby, Oulton Park was essentially our “local” circuit and I had always thought that our first trip to Brands Hatch was 1968. It seems that Dad, at least, was there in 1964 when he narrowly beat Hill to the win!

There were also race meetings at Mallory Park (grid shot) and the Gold Cup again – with Brabham, Chapman, Ginther among others in the paddock.

It was all change in 1965 as the Kodak camera was replaced by an Ilford Sportsman and 35mm colour slide film ! The British Grand Prix was at Silverstone and we had our own personal grandstand at Abbey (we’d moved up in the world from the Standard Flying Eight to a Standard Ten by then as well).

The BRM transporter was in the paddock, my hero Clark won and there were lots of paddock shots.

“Historics” were also appearing on the race card with this Maserati 250F attracting the attention of – well, you can probably guess. 

Later in the year, there was a trip to Oulton Park for the RAC Rally. I had to go to school and probably suitably grumpy about it, but my younger brother got to go.

You may have sensed a tendency to Standard Triumphs  – Dad worked for the dealer in Derby, so there had to be a photo taken by the Triumph 2000. 

In 1966, Jack Brabham won the Gold Cup, with Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart retiring. Just eleven cars started with five finishing – so those halcyon days of the Gold Cup aren’t always what they seemed ! Still there was a Triumph 2000 racing …

The British Grand Prix in 1967 was at Silverstone and the historics, Ferrari and Maserati road cars and the fashion of the day took centre stage photographically.

We were at our favourite spot at Oulton Park for the Gold Cup – at the end of the Avenue where they turn left into Cascades and by the looks of things on our personal grandstand (by now on top of a Herald).

Brabham and Stewart led the Gold Cup field away with the former taking the win. Supporting races for sports and saloons also featured.

Paddock access was as good as ever with Graham Hill checking something out on the Lotus Cortina he would drive later in the day. The GT40 belonged to Neil Corner (chassis #1014), to later be owned by Noel Edmunds.

1968 was a big year. Looking back, I am not quite sure how it all came together, but Dad and Mum planned a two week, seven country camping tour of Europe in a well laden Herald Estate.

That set the Harbey tradition of ensuring there is some motorsport near any holiday and we found ourselves at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa – the old Spa, the 14 km lap, public roads, proper Spa.  There was a Formula Ford support race, Ford advertising the new Escort and a long walk back for Graham Hill. And yes, we drove the track !

Not content with that, we ventured south once more for the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch parking up on South Bank and sleeping in the car on the Friday night before the race.

To round out the year there was the Gold Cup and the RAC Rally !

1969 appears to have been a more relaxed year although we did make our first visit to somewhere that would be a regular fixture in the calendar in later years.

On the way back from a camping trip to the Costa Brava (by faithful Herald Estate again) we stopped off at Le Mans – this shot is somewhere between Mulsanne and Indianapolis. We would be back.

By contrast, there was also the RAC Rally – I suspect this is somewhere like Clipstone …

The archives are then somewhat empty until 1973, but we certainly went to the Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1971. For 1973, there’s plenty of shots of modern and historic.

The sleek green sports car is the ill-fated Jaguar XJ13 and Peter Revson won in the Yardley McLaren.

The following year saw us back at Silverstone, but for the Tourist Trophy which was also a round of the European Touring Car Championship.

Winner Stuart Graham, in his Camaro, achieved TT wins on two and four wheels. He can still be seen racing the Camaro today in historic events …. The photo of the red Dolomite at Woodcote reminds us of the loyalty to the Triumph marque; by then Dad had moved to work for Jaguar Rover Triumph and had a succession of Triumph Dolomite company cars – alas, none were Sprints.

A Ferrari 250 SWB in the paddock in Rob Walker colours with its link to Moss and Hill was always going to attract his eye !

The 1975 Grand Prix was notable for the first use of the chicane at Woodcote and the hailstorm that stopped the race early. Fittipaldi won, whilst Hunt and Crawford both needed a tow home. The Dolomite Sprint rally car on display attracted attention, of course.

The next two shots deserve some background. I said earlier that Oulton Park was our “local” track growing up – but Darley Moor was much closer. Dad helped run a Sunday School at Wyaston which I was also taken along to.

As we left, we could often hear the bikes at Darley Moor, but I didn’t get to go there until a couple of years ago, when I realised just how close we were to the action – just across the fields ! I think I must have been at my Saturday job on this occasion.

In 1977, the turbo era was underway in F1 with the Renault making it’s debut at Silverstone. The day started as it should with a fry up and there were lovely historic cars in the paddock.

That chap Moss was there, and there was a record-breaking Ferrari 512M to see as well as the ill-fated Big Cat Jaguar that promised so much. 

James Hunt won for the home crowd and the paddock was still open for spectators to wander around and see the stars and cars.

Whilst 1977 had seen the opening of Tom Wheatcroft’s revitalised Donington, the prints of that day are beyond using here. However, we headed to the Donington Museum on a snowy January day in 1979 and were treated by a very different view of the circuit.

In 1980 we were back for the ProCar meeting for BMW M1s – always a fine sight and sound.

The support races give a sense of the long gone “way we were” at Donington. Nary a fence in sight …

That is probably a good time to conclude part 1. A big race in France was beckoning and Group B rally cars were not far away either …

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