Racing Sports Cars

User avatar
Killarney Racer
Posts: 731
Joined: Sat 12 Jan 2008, 21:23
Location: Cape Town

Re: Racing Sports Cars

Post by Killarney Racer » Fri 14 Mar 2008, 14:21

Hot summer days, sitting in the trees to get a better view because the circuit was so packed. Always a south easter blowing, always dust in the air, constant noise for 3 hours from high-tech BDA's, V8's, V6's, rotaries, sophisticated sports cars from overseas, a mixture of quick and humble local and occasionally overseas tin-tops, local specials, index of performance winners.

You went home with a headache, sunburnt, buggered from walking around the circuit.

That is how I remember the 3 hour races and that is how I want to remember them.

User avatar
henryk
Posts: 416
Joined: Tue 04 Sep 2007, 11:36

Re: Racing Sports Cars

Post by henryk » Fri 14 Mar 2008, 15:43

My sentiments exactly.
Escort's Forever !

User avatar
zahistorics
Posts: 4764
Joined: Sun 12 Aug 2007, 13:53
Location: Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
Contact:

Re: Racing Sports Cars

Post by zahistorics » Fri 14 Mar 2008, 16:45

Jack Holme built 4 Ecosse sports cars.

Ecosse I, based on a Lotus, was crashed and the bits were eventually rebuilt as a Lotus again.

Ecosse II still survives and is with Ritchie Jute.

Ecosse III is the only South African Built car to ever have scored a point in the World Sports Car Championship.

I saw it here in the UK last September - a bit untidy, but still mostly original - I know that becuse I used to lurk in Jack Holme's garage where it was built and developed. It is wierd to look at a car nearly 40 years later and recognise bits like brackets and welds.

http://www.zahistorics.com/testgallery.asp

Based on an LDS Ecosse III started life as a 1 Litre with a Cosworth SCA 'Screamer' (10 000 rpm red line), then grew into a 2 Litre with Cosworth FVA power, now has a BDA motor.

This car has now been bought by Dave Alexander, and is due back in ZA in in April.

Ecosse IV, a road legal car with a Lola replica body still surives and is with Jack's grandson in Oz.

User avatar
zahistorics
Posts: 4764
Joined: Sun 12 Aug 2007, 13:53
Location: Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
Contact:

Re: Racing Sports Cars

Post by zahistorics » Fri 14 Mar 2008, 16:46

KR - that's how I went home from Piper Races at Zwartkops this year!

User avatar
Killarney Racer
Posts: 731
Joined: Sat 12 Jan 2008, 21:23
Location: Cape Town

Re: Racing Sports Cars

Post by Killarney Racer » Fri 14 Mar 2008, 16:55

ZAH - I didn't realise Holme built 4 cars. The one that raced in the Sports Cars series - was that no 1?

Does Jute ever take it on the track?

I heard about the one overseas - I though it must have been the car I am thinking of that raced in the sports series here. It was red with silver sides and maybe a black stripe over the top?

So this will end up a Killarney? Cool

User avatar
zahistorics
Posts: 4764
Joined: Sun 12 Aug 2007, 13:53
Location: Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
Contact:

Re: Racing Sports Cars

Post by zahistorics » Fri 14 Mar 2008, 17:32

I think Ecosse II was red, silver and black. That's probably the car you are thinking of. Looks a bit like a Lotus 23. Ritchie doesn't race it.

Ecosse III was metallic blue with an international orange stripe and wheel centres.

Jack's other sports cars were a Lotus 26R (Elan) and a Chevron B8.

26R was red with black top, later metallic blue with a silver top for a few years then back to red and black. Now owned by a reclusive chap in the UK who doesn't use it and won't let anyone see it. That car did about 60 000 track kilometers and I think about 30 000 road kilometres all on the original Coworth tuned twin cam - never rebored!

B8 was powered by a 2 litre BMW. Tough as nails. I believe it is now onwed by Marcus Pye here in the UK.

User avatar
Hi-Fi
Posts: 881
Joined: Sat 12 Jan 2008, 21:26
Location: Cape Town RSA

Re: Racing Sports Cars

Post by Hi-Fi » Fri 14 Mar 2008, 18:11

Hey guys, I'm getting exhausted on this site! What on earth possessed the administrator to open this in the first place? Isn't it amazing how it was intitially opened probably for the guys who own those V8 muscle car beauties ( I wish I owned one!), so that they had a place to chat and it is now encompassing all motor racing in this fair country of ours?

All I can say is, well done! I bet you never dreamed this would happen. I'm going to do some serious scratching around for pics to post.

Peter Bolton was mentioned in an earlier post. I can remember when he made his first Tiger GT. This up-right silver thing with its painted on red rear lights came out to race at Killarney and crawled around the track. I was too young to know what his power plant was in those days. It was very interesting to see how this car evolved from the initial silver dream machine, to the slightly faster car, then when he cut the roof down, widened the body and wheels sustantially, fitted a giant V8 and found he could get speed out of it.

In the 1967 Cape 3 Hour, Peter Bolton found himself placed very high up on the grid for the Le Mans start not because of quick times, but because of engine capacity. He raced this car in that format for quite a long while. I remember him spinning the thing coming out of Malmesbury bend. The noise of tortured tyres and tyre smoke was incredible. I guess the "truck" tyres he used must have carved up the track! Then he disappeared for quite a long while. Suddenly he popped up again in a completely diiferent more streamlined Tiger GT, this time powered by a Renault 16 motor that was mounted as a mid engine. This car went quite well as far as I can remember and then he disappeared again, never to be seen. I heard that he emigrated to either Australia or New Zealand.

Has anyone got pictures of his cars?

User avatar
Killarney Racer
Posts: 731
Joined: Sat 12 Jan 2008, 21:23
Location: Cape Town

Re: Racing Sports Cars

Post by Killarney Racer » Fri 14 Mar 2008, 22:55

Killarney Racer wrote: Seeing this is such a huge and varied topic, I wonder if the moderator would consider opening a section for this topic so it does not get lost amongst all the other topics.

I have to confess there is a certain addiction to this forum.


I believe Bolton was actually an Aussie!!

User avatar
Hi-Fi
Posts: 881
Joined: Sat 12 Jan 2008, 21:26
Location: Cape Town RSA

Re: Racing Sports Cars

Post by Hi-Fi » Sat 15 Mar 2008, 00:06

The first Tiger GT

User avatar
ZA Perana
Posts: 7313
Joined: Sun 15 Jul 2007, 18:01
Location: Cape Town

Re: Racing Sports Cars

Post by ZA Perana » Sat 15 Mar 2008, 22:05

Not really the SA theme but its amazing to see the many famous sports cars that graced SA tracks back then, for example in 1964 or around there David Piper brough his Ferrari 250 GTO, shipped to Cape Town and then driven through the night to Kyalami.

Other famous cars he brough included the famous Ferrari 250 LM, winner of the 9 hour I beleive.

Then there were the GT40's and Lola's... :D
Alfa GTV 3.0
Ford Capri Perana V8
Chevy Lumina Supercharged

Wait not for tomorrow to do what can be done today, live each day for one knows not what the next day may hold.

Post Reply

Social Media

     

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 10 guests