1963 Merlyn Mk4/6

This is a photograph that I took at the Knickerbrook chicane during the 60 minute long Historic Motor Racing News Gentlemen Drivers Sports Racing Challenge race at the Gold Cup Meeting at Oulton Park in August 2005.

Leading is the 1963 Merlyn Mk 4/6 shared by Gareth Burnett and James Diffey followed by the 1963 Lotus 23B of Denis Welch. Colchester Racing Developments was founded in 1960 by Clive Maskrey and Selwyn Hayward and produced Merlyn racing cars from 1960 to 1979. The Mk 4 sports car was built to FIA Appendix C regulations and could be powered by either an 1,100 cc Ford Anglia inline four or 1,998 cc Coventry Climax engine but the programme of the event shows that this car has a 1,558cc engine. The Lotus 23 was introduced in 1962 to compete in the smaller classes of sports car  racing and was used with engines with capacities ranging from  750cc up to 1600cc. The programme says that this car has a 1,598cc engine, presumably the Ford Kent derived 4-cylinder inline Cosworth unit. It proved to be an extremely successful car and about 130 examples of the Lotus 23, 23B and 23C were produced between 1962 and 1963.