Letters - October 2024

I was delighted to read of Jenks’s public-road jolly in the Lotus 12 [The time we drove a racing car on public roads, June 2024]. It reminded me of a tale told to me by Derek Rutherford who was interviewed by Bill Boddy many years ago. (See From Ards to Le Mans, July 1988.)

John Hindmarsh, who won the 1935 Le Mans for Lagonda, was bored with his family by Boxing Day so telephoned Derek (also bored). They went to the Lagonda works and took the Le Mans team car for a thrash round the countryside. They crashed it into a hedge and had to tow it back to the works and spent half the night repairing and covering up the damage. Nobody found out. I don’t know if this was Christmas before or after the race.

In hindsight I should have pressed Derek for more detail but it’s too late now.

Simon Tyrrell, Longhope, Gloucestershire

Your August issue was a thoroughly enjoyable read. May I comment on the Le Mans editorial [Editor’s Letter] and Doug Nye’s contribution [The Archives]. Can you imagine if Le Mans did not have parts of the track named? Could we visualise where and what drivers were experiencing without those names? “X is accelerating hard out of Turn 6 on to the first straightaway,” instead of “exiting Tertre Rouge on to Mulsanne”. I guess it must be the mystique of many of the old circuits and the lack of history of the more modern tracks. Maybe they do have names but they are just not infamous enough, yet.

Patrick Gledhill, Hersham, Surrey

For historical accuracy I have to correct the recent letter [September issue] regarding the Jaguar XKSS (subsequently D-type) that belonged to my father William (Bill) Rigg. This is based on personal knowledge, family history research, competition records, and an article penned by Father in 1964.

The XKSS first was supplied by Coombs of Guildford in May 1957, UDT acquiring it in 1960 and changing the number to UDT 100. UDT disposed of it in April 1962 when the number was changed to 548 ARX, and father purchased it in September 1962. It was used for the sprint at Wellesbourne in March 1963, where my brother Mark reportedly “spoilt a promising run with a violent spin”. Thereafter, the previous letter’s facts are incorrect: the XKSS, although prepared for racing in fact never took part in any events. Although father did participate in those events listed that was not in the XKSS, which was kept at father’s factory near Dudley. To quote from father’s article:

“A visitor at the factory said he would love a run in it. Unfortunately, within one mile the offside front brake locked solid at 80mph and a Corporation’s lamp post was demolished backwards without any sensible diminution of velocity. Both stepped out unhurt from a passenger compartment which was cramped enough initially but now about a foot shorter.”

It was after that that the Jaguar was rebuilt as the D-type, certainly in competition by July ’63, until a valve collapsed at Brands Hatch. The engine was then re-built to full 3.8 spec for ’64. As the car had neither the original engine, body or chassis it was decided to re-register it AWP 816B.

The accident referred to in that previous letter happened in July 1964 at Silverstone when a tyre blew on Hangar Straight. It did sufficient damage to render the D-type hors de combat for our scheduled departure to Ireland in 10 days’ time for the meetings at Dunboyne and Phoenix Park. One has to consider that this had unintended consequences, as the Lotus Elite that father then acquired for those events had some faults which may have contributed to his fatal accident when he and I were competing in the Leinster Trophy meeting.

As our competing ceased it was sold to Nigel Moores. There is a photograph of the Jaguar at the Pebble Beach Concours in 2010 – but re-built as an XKSS. It is now in the Louwman Collection in the Netherlands, still bearing that latter registration number.

Charles Rigg, Pershore, Worcestershire

We must have an end to team orders beyond ‘Don’t crash into your team-mate’. I would like to see only one car from each team scoring constructors’ points, as there is only one team making two cars. Cars could change places on team orders for the drivers’ championship but the lower-placed car would score the constructors’ points, not the driver who has finished first, while they still score the full points allocation in the drivers’ championship.

No driver should have pressure placed on them by their own team where the second-placed driver in the drivers’ championship, and race leader, is in a prime position to score maximum points while the championship leader struggles with his car balance.

Steve Whitfield, Consett, County Durham

Doug Nye’s page from The Archives is always the first I turn to when the latest edition of Motor Sport drops through my letterbox. His latest article, How can a kid get ‘in’? [September issue], highlighted an important part of the motor sport industry, and the fantastic work being achieved by the Heritage Skills Academy. He also enlightened us of his own experience of entering this ‘entrancing new world’.

As Motor Sport is celebrating 100 glorious years I have been looking back through my rather large collection of past issues and found this in the ‘Situations Wanted’ section October 1962: “GRAMMAR SCHOOL BOY (17½) requires work in motor racing team. Mechanically minded, inexperienced but very enthusiastic. Would like to work near either Brands Hatch or Goodwood, but will consider all offers.”

I thought at first this might be the very letter that a young Mr Nye wrote, starting his journey into the world of motor racing. If not, it certainly supports his own story very well.

Oliver Venning, Woodbridge, Suffolk 

[Doug tells us that it is not his letter, but it does indicate he wasn’t the only school-leaver desperate to get into the business. GC]

After reading Steve Gray’s letter about meeting the legendary Parnelli Jones last month, I thought you might be interested to see the enclosed shot of him at Goodwood. Over the years I also met Jim Hall, Dan Gurney, Phil Hill, Junior Johnson, Bill Summers (Goldenrod) and Smokey Yunick. All were absolute gentlemen and were all overcome by the amount that we all seemed to know about them and their careers. When I told Jim Hall that I had seen the 2F winning at Brands back in 1967, he said, “You’d better have a sit in it then!” He went on to say that he wished he had concentrated on winning a bit more than just coming up with ever more new ideas, whilst Parnelli speculated that he should have perhaps tried his hand at F1.

I also asked Bill Summers about further potential for Goldenrod, and he thought it had another 20-30mph in it if they had been able to do another run.

Others even earlier included Mickey Thompson at Debden in 1963, though as a shy 16-year-old I only mumbled a few questions about his LSR car of a couple of years before, and Don Garlits at Santa Pod when he was beaten by Pete Crane with the UK’s first five-second run in 1967. Pete was a friend at the time, and we just about recognised each other at the recent Dragstalgia (Santa Pod) after some 45 years for a good long reminisce.

John Dickson, Wrotham Heath, Kent

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