1960 / 70's Mini Racing Photos

[Oldskoolbaby]

Not sure where this is. Ryan Lee is the second mini back going very sideways.

[ivor badger 2]

Not sure where this is. Ryan Lee is the second mini back going very sideways.

Lydden?

[mab01uk]

Couple of nice period photos of Mini racer Simon Ridge in the early days at Brands Hatch (around 1966-67) when he was running his own Free Formula car and before the heady days of sponsorship! He later drove for Automex & D J Bond.
Original Photos: Sunrise International Productions B.S.Kreisky (Archive: Martin Henn)

I recently got back in contact with ex-Free Formula Mini racer Simon Ridge who lives local to me and has some great stories and memories of those days, some of which (along with some more photos), I hope he will be able to share with us soon.
In the meantime here is Simons write up from the excellent book 'Mini: The Racing Story' by John Baggott....and also his part in introducing James Hunt to going motor racing with a Mini !










James Hunt's race Mini

I met up with ex-Mini racer Simon Ridge yesterday (now 74) who gave me a dvd with some great footage of my late brother Steve racing in Miglias at Brands Hatch in 2000 (filmed by his son who is a professional TV cameraman). Also had a long chat with him about the good old days of 1960/70's Mini racing, including the James Hunt story above in more detail......Simon also showed James Hunt how to heel and toe in a Mini going up and down the Ewell by-pass in Surrey between the Organ Inn roundabout (now a crossroads) and Seymours Garden Centre (now a Homebase DIY store). He also said that when James turned up in his mothers Minivan with a leaking radiator to follow Simon to Silverstone for the first time, he had calculated to carry enough bottles of water to stop every 15-20 minutes on the journey there and back, in order to keep it topped up....Simon assured him that there was a water tap at Silverstone for the return trip and he only needed enough water to get him there......

There were so many other great stories about Simon's race successes, incidents and accidents, plus his times with DJ Bond, Automex, Barwells, Langley Motors, Maypole Motors, Paul Butler, Chris Tyrrell, Terry Harmer, Mo Mendham, Jon Mowatt and many more who were well known or were locally famous at the time to my brothers and I as Mini enthusiasts (especially Chris Tyrrell), but I will try to recall some of his memories over the next few days.....for next time I will need to record them just to keep up with his many fascinating recollections of that era and prevent information overload!

Also noticed this recent post from Mike Harte on the Ten-Tenths Motorsport forum relating to James Hunt and his Mini racing days:-
"I had the pleasure of racing against James a few times when he still pedalled tin tops. And he often, for reasons best known to him, raced under an assumed name or the name of the owner of the particular car. A practice that he continued for a number of years.
The most memorable occasion for me was a race at Oulton, where he made a demon start in a Mini a few rows behind me. His problem in those days was that he was convinced that he could win the race or his class before the first corner, and, with his starts, that was sometimes a possibility.
However, on this particular day, nobody, myself included, would allow him to bully his way through, and the result was that he took to (or was forced onto) the grass on the inside. My last sight of him was his car flying through the air with the car on it's side as it hit, roof first, a tree that happened to be firmly planted there.
I also have memories of him clambering out of the back of small vans in the paddocks of circuits, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, when we turned up to sign on early in the morning. There was no doubting his absolute passion for motor racing in those days."
http://tentenths.com/forum/showpost.php ... stcount=34

That Hunt racer pictured at the bottom looks much more like an ex Mitchell/Darbyshire car...

I finally got around to asking 1960/70's ex-Mini racer Simon Ridge for more background details about James Hunts race Mini and whether it is was really the Mini often shown in the photo above, he told me the story below as he remembers when we met up at the recent Brands Hatch Mini Festival.....

James Hunts Mini racer
"At first glance (see photo above) it looked like it was 214, the number on his car for the only race in it he ever did. It was Brands GP Circuit 8th Oct 1967, the two previous races he had entered were both up at Snetterton. He got failed in the scrutineers bay for no Laminated front screen, the second attempt I had previously warned him it would fail again, as he had used his brothers Meccano set to secure the passengers seat.He failed scruts again. Quite depressed, by that he took my next piece of advice that Brands is a much nearer place to drag the Car to, and have it fail in the scrutineering bay.

He entered the race, and by a miracle it passed scrutineers, only to be black flagged on the 4th lap for dropping oil on the track, after some others had gone off the track because of his oil slick. He told me he was more than fed up, and that he would sell it, and buy a Formula Ford. I think he got about £450 for the car. However the number in your photo is 274, its got spats, which no one had in ’67. Also it had bonnet stripes, and different colour on the front panel. He could not have afforded the paint back then. That's not him driving either.

The history of the car is that it had been raced by Mac Ross, a Mini racer from London , who owned an Antique furniture outlet. He managed to stuff it into the Ladies Toilet at the end of the Pit lane at Mallory. A Galvanised Iron and Timber Chemical loo, it was lucky no one was inside. Toilet and car were written off. Next Race at Mallory saw newly instated pit lane wall, well, Timber and Armco.

The car or wreck, ended up in Belmont, Sutton, Surrey. A bloke who worked for Belmont Garage bought the wreck, and rebuilt it with another shell. He then took it out on the road with three girlfriends in it to the local Pub. He then offered to run them home, and rolled it somewhere near the roundabout at the top of Winkworth Road, Banstead. No one hurt surprisingly, the wreck was recovered to Belmont Garage. The Police wanted to see him, as it had no plates, tax or insurance, so he did a runner to Paris, where he stole a car near the Arc de Triomphe. He managed to crash that within minutes of stealing it and now had Interpol after him. That was the last anyone heard of him. The Garage meanwhile had gone bust and shut down. I knew someone there with a key to the back yard, and £45 was exchanged for the wreck. I trailered it with James to his Parents house, just a couple of miles down the road.

There was a rumour it was on the Strap [HP], James Hunt found an expired 1961 850, and paid a small amount for it to the old lady who owned it. He spent almost the next two years changing over the shells. I offered to help a few times, but he wanted to do it all himself. For an 18 yr old , he was very driven and determined to race it against me. There's more, but its late".....Simon

[Pete]

However the number in your photo is 274, its got spats, which no one had in ’67.

Doesn't he mean almost all Minis had spats in '67?? Its completely understandable when the old boys get details wrong and they do alot.. The only reason that anyone thinks that's James Hunt is because I found that photo about 15 years ago in Ted Walker's drawers ( ) and it has James Hunt written on the back. I posted up a low res copy on here which has been shared elsewhere online . To be fair the odd photo of Ted's would sometimes have the wrong detail on the back and I'd occassionally I'd correct them. The story above from Simon is pretty much what's written in John Baggot's book so I assume that's where John's info came from regarding James Hunt? If that's not James Hunt then who is it? Rhodes did drive Mitchell's car now and again but that's not him, only the race programme will nail it.

[mab01uk]

Following on from my previous post above, some more interesting details are recalled below in a recent email from Simon Ridge, on James Hunt and his race Mini......

"When I mentioned Passenger seats I should have explained. Racing a Mini in the mid sixties, almost every one drove it to the Circuits. If you had a trailer, you were a Works team ! So all had passenger seats. Roll Bars, and seat belts were not Mandatory. In fact one very hairy shunt on the top of Paddock at Brands on the first lap of a race saw Mo Mendham ejected through the Lamey screen, forward somersault off the bonnet, and onto the track. Unconscious, he was taken to Hospital. The following year, seat belts were needed, still no rule for you to have a roll cage. That came later. Passenger seat rule was then lifted, put back and then lifted again, by the RAC MSD.

Silly Buggers. Anyway , in the year where you had to have one, James borrowed his Father’s Favourite Deckchair. It was one of those “Motorist Deck Chairs that were made by Smiths, with steel bar, and foldable. So James “Borrowed" that and some Meccano from his younger brother. Four small holes were drilled just in front of the crossmember, and four behind , missing the fuel line miraculously, and he thought he was set to go.

I had a look, and said that I doubt it would pass. It didn’t !! ……. So if anyone claims they have James’s Car, look for the eight small quarter inch holes for the “Teeny Meccano bolts” that held the foldable deckchair down !

It had a great engine in it though. Mac Ross bought a Don Moore engine and Gearbox. “The” Engine to have in those days, along with Downton."

Oh. no, Dinner is ready.

Simon

(hopefully there maybe more snippets to follow.....)

[mk1]

This thread just gets better & better.

[BigWig]

Very good. Really interesting stuff.

[mab01uk]

Another great race just uploaded below from the 1970's at London's Crystal Palace circuit.....

Crystal Palace saloon car race 03/10/70
The up to 1000cc Saloon car race from Crystal Palace (10 laps) as shown on BBC Grandstand. Commentary by Murray Walker.
Pole - 196- Roger Wiliamson - Ford Anglia - Holbay F3 Engine
197 - Les Nash - Ford Anglia
201 - Simon Ridge - Automex Mini 992cc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eDmnIt-_7U


Roger Williamson (Anglia) leading Simon Ridge (Automex Mini)

[mab01uk]

Last year I suggested to MiniWorld editor Karen Drury that she should interview 1960/70's Mini racer Simon Ridge and publish some of his great stories and photos from that era including how he introduced local boy James Hunt to the world of motor racing via Minis. A few weeks later a meeting was arranged and we spent most of a day at my brothers house listening to Simon's stories and asking him questions. Karen has put together an article from the recordings and Part 1 has 8 pages featured in the latest April 2019 MiniWorld magazine with lots of not seen before great period photos from Simon's Mini racing archive. Part 2 will follow in the May 2019 issue of MiniWorld magazine.

[underkut]

Fantastic pics, can someone tell me what allowed them to deseam and indeed it looks like some roof chops(unless it is depth perception) ?
I assume it was a complete free for all.
I am very interested in any deseamed roofchops that were racing in the 60s so if there is any more pics or indeed details on what and why they tried such things it's a great thread to hear about them.
Cheers

[surfblue63]

I am very interested in any deseamed roofchops that were racing in the 60s so if there is any more pics or indeed details on what and why they tried such things it's a great thread to hear about them.

There's some info on the various saloon championships here

www.modbase.info/home/

[mab01uk]

Fantastic pics, can someone tell me what allowed them to deseam and indeed it looks like some roof chops(unless it is depth perception) ?
I assume it was a complete free for all.
I am very interested in any deseamed roofchops that were racing in the 60s so if there is any more pics or indeed details on what and why they tried such things it's a great thread to hear about them.
Cheers

Special saloon racing in the 1960/70's allowed deseaming, engine swaps, lowering of the body onto a spaceframe, etc as long as the basic silhouette of the car remained the same....deseaming, removing bumpers, rear undertrays, etc improved aerodynamics over the body on a Mini racer.

Deseamed Mini racers :









Lydden 1973. Ken Welch, Robin Brooks (Longman), (Pete sombody) Keith Padmore, Dave Foster. Lydden regulars in 850 Special Saloons.

Robin Brookes dark metallic green, de-seamed ultra lightweight Longman short-stroke 850 Mini, a frequent front runner in the 850 special saloon class in the 1970's.

Robin Brookes Mini in the Paddock at Brands Hatch 17-9-1972
"Robin Brookes and his dad (pictured here) were both butchers and raced in the 850cc free formula special saloons in the early 1970s, their dark green Mini had an ultralight weight de-seamed shell and a special engine built by Richard Longman which was the first short stroke 850 with an 850 block and 970 Cooper S crank thus giving a 846 cc ultra short stroke having the block shaved to the maximum."
Video Here:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDbwdKTAozc


Monty Guildford's Mini racer fitted with an Imp engine, he finished it in 1973 after an 18 month build.
The engine was built and tuned by George Bevan but the gear box was designed by my Monty and built by Peter Wise of Goodland engineering of Tonbridge Kent. The crank was a one off. The exhaust exited out of the nearside A panel!

Monty Guildford 850cc Mini-Imp 1973:-
viewtopic.php?f=4&p=96287

You might also like this thread below:-
What happened to all the de seamed minis
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=8506

[Pete]

Not forgetting one of the quickest...

[underkut]

[quote="mab01ukYou might also like this thread below:-
What happened to all the de seamed minis
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=8506[/quote]
Thanks Mab
I do remember that thread and did infact add a couple of pics of my car as it was back then, it has come on a bit and below is a pict from oct 18. Please ignore the badges as these are for my own preference. It never had that front on it when it was racing and have no idea what reg number (if it required one) that it raced under, so I think that has been lost in the history of minis.

[mab01uk]

Part 2 of the Simon Ridge article on 1960/70's Mini racing is now out in the May issue of MiniWorld magazine. Another 8-pages of great stories, memories and period photos from Simon's Mini racing archive!
(See May 2019 MiniWorld pages 90-97).

Last year I suggested to MiniWorld editor Karen Drury that she should interview 1960/70's Mini racer Simon Ridge and publish some of his great stories and photos from that era including how he introduced local boy James Hunt to the world of motor racing via Minis. A few weeks later a meeting was arranged and we spent most of a day at my brothers house listening to Simon's stories and asking him questions. Karen has put together an article from the recordings and Part 1 has 8 pages featured in the latest April 2019 MiniWorld magazine with lots of not seen before great period photos from Simon's Mini racing archive. Part 2 will follow in the May 2019 issue of MiniWorld magazine.

[mab01uk]

Simon Ridge - Automex Mini - Lydden Hill paddock 24th August 1969


(Photo: John Phillips)

[mab01uk]

(Photo: John Phillips)

More details below on the Lydden race, as remembered by Simon Ridge after seeing these old photos taken by John Phillips back in 1969:-

"The race in the photos at Lydden was on 24th August 1969. I was on Pole, and alongside was Mike Chittenden in his Morris Minor with a full race Ford 1650 under the Bonnet. I knew I had to get off the grid fast and keep him behind.
If he had got ahead, I would only have been able to get past on the corners, and with that size engine he was fast down the straights. I got a great start, and after a few laps at 10tenths, pulled out a good lead, so I eased off a bit, but in the last few laps, found I had eased off too much as he had now caught me, and looming in the mirror, I had to drive on the limit to keep ahead.
At the Flag there was just one second in it. Too close for comfort. I won the Jack Playford Trophy, and got fastest lap. The other Minis were some way back.
Strange thing, the time was 50.8, and I had broken the Lap Record the previous year on 20th July at 50.6, which I held for two and a half years. Obviously not 10tenths enough !!
The car had a new engine fitted, and Automex had put a “Running In “ sign in the back window. Talk about Red rag to a Bull !!! Think you can just see it in the photo."
Simon Ridge

[mk1]

Some more great photos MAB!

Thanks for sharing.

[Tim Harber]

I thought I recognized that calm , collected look....

Before by tim.harber, on Flickr

After by tim.harber, on Flickr

[agricola]

That picture of Andy Barton brought back memories. When he was putting the 1000cc SCA into the Mini I spent quite a lot of time at Newburn as I was rebuilding my S (Andy was really helpful). The SCA was mounted on an extended Mini box, as Andy found one of the first companies in Newcastle with a mig welder, so it was quite revolutionary. It were very quick and it was a ferocious battle between him Cedric Bell MAE mini and Alec Clacher imp at Croft. Inevitably AB went quick so quick as next visit found him limping and next door a very flat mini...
The 8 port head was sold to a grass tracker!!