1962 Lotus 24

This is a photograph that I took at Aintree on practice day for the British Grand Prix in July 1962. It was actually a colour slide that had deteriorated, but I’ve managed to restore it to a recognisable picture.

It's the UDT Laystall Racing Team's 1962 Lotus 24 which was driven in the race by Innes Ireland. The Lotus 24 was a spaceframe car offered to customers instead of the monocoque Lotus 25 used by the Lotus works team, and was powered by the Coventry Climax FWMV 1,496cc V8 engine. Innes Ireland qualified the car in third position on the grid, but because of some wear in the gearbox it was rebuilt overnight by the mechanics. During the warming-up lap before the race one of the selector forks in the gearbox broke and the mechanics quickly removed the top to remove the broken parts before the start leaving Innes Ireland with no second or third gear. When the flag fell he couldn't find any gear and sat on the grid as all the other cars dodged round him and went on their way. The car was then wheeled to the pits and the mechanics spent several laps getting the gearbox to work, Innes Ireland starting the race on lap 10 with only 1st, 4th and 5th gears but he soldiered round to finish in 16th and last place 14 laps behind the winner, Jim Clark.

1962 Porsche 804

I took this photograph in the paddock at Aintree in July 1962 during practice for the British Grand Prix.

Number 8 is the 1962 Porsche 804 of Dan Gurney in which he qualified in sixth position on the grid and finished the race in ninth position. Number 10 is that of his team mate Joakim Bonnier who took seventh place on the grid but he retired after 27 laps of the 75 lap race.  Porsche had first built a single seat racing car in 1959, the 718, using the 1,498cc flat-four boxer engine from their sports car to create a Formula 2 car. In 1961 the engine capacity for Formula 1 cars was reduced to 1½ litres and the Porsche 718 was able to compete in Formula 1 races that season. The Porsche 804 was built to compete in Formula 1 races in the 1962 season using a new Flat-eight engine of 1,494cc, and with this car Dan Gurney won the French Grand Prix and finished in third place in the German Grand Prix to end the season in fifth place in the World Drivers' Championship. Jo Bonnier's best finish was fifth place in the Monaco Grand Prix and he finished in fifteenth place in the Championship. Porsche finished in fifth place in the World Constructors' Championship. That first place in the 1962 French Grand Prix is Porsche's only Grand Prix victory.

1962 Lola Climax Mk 4

This a photograph that I took at the Waterway corner with my Kodak Brownie 127 on practice day for the British Grand Prix at Aintree in July 1962.

It's John Surtees in the Bowmaker-Yeoman Racing Team Lola Climax Mk 4. The Lola Mk 4, like several of the other teams, used the 1,496cc V8 Coventry Climax FWMV engine. Three of these cars were apparently built with John Surtees driving chassis BRGP42 in the race and Roy Salvadori chassis BRGP43. John Surtees qualified in second place on the grid behind Jim Clark's Lotus 25 and those two drivers finished the race in that order. Roy Salvadori qualified in eleventh place on the grid but failed to finish the race, retiring after 35 laps with ignition problems.

1962 Lotus 24

This is a photograph that I took at Waterway corner during practice for the British Grand Prix at Aintree in July 1962.

It’s Masten Gregory in a Lotus 24 Climax, entered by the UDT Laystall Racing Team. He qualified in fourteenth place on the grid and ended the race in seventh position, one lap behind the winner. The Lotus 24 was powered by the same 1,496cc Coventry Climax FWMV engine as the Lotus 25, but had a conventional spaceframe chassis instead of the Lotus 25's monocoque chassis.

1961 Porsche 718

This is a photograph that I took at the Aintree 200 race meeting at Aintree in April 1962.

It's Wolfgang Seidel's 1961 Porsche 718 with the 1,498cc 4-cylinder boxer engine. He started in 14th position on the grid, but retired after 10 laps with a broken differential.

1962 Lotus 24

This is a photograph that I took at Waterway Corner at Aintree on the Friday practice day for the British Grand Prix in July 1962.

It's Trevor Taylor in his Lotus 24 which was powered by the same 1,496cc Coventry Climax FWMV engine as the Lotus 25, but had a conventional spaceframe chassis instead of the Lotus 25's monocoque chassis. The Lotus 25 was to be run by the Lotus team and the Lotus 24 was intended to be a customer car although Trevor Taylor drove the Lotus 24 in five of the nine World Drivers' Championship races that season. He qualified in tenth place on the grid at Aintree and finished in eighth place in the race, and his only points scoring finish that season was in the Dutch Grand Prix when he finished in second place.

Phil Hill

This is a photograph that I took at Aintree on the Friday practice day for the British Grand Prix in July 1962.

It's the 1961 World Champion Phil Hill who retired his Ferrari 156 Dino on lap 47 of the 75 lap race. The paddock was in the middle of the circuit (and the Grand National horse racing course) and this is looking towards Ormskirk Road which is in front of the building in the background - the main stands are to the left of the picture. The only way to get from the stands to the paddock and vice versa was via a tunnel underneath the two race tracks and the sign on the right points the way to that tunnel.

1960 Maserati T61

I took this rather blurred photograph with my Kodak Brownie 127 camera in the paddock at the August Bank Holiday meeting at Aintree in 1960.

It's John Coundley in the 1960 Maserati T61 that he drove for the American Camoradi team. The car has a 4-cylinder inline 2,890cc engine and seems to have been one of the cars that competed in the Le Mans 24 Hour Race in June of that year. I've not been able to confirm the chassis number, but it seems likely that it was either 2461 or 2464.

1962 BRM P578

This is a photograph I took in the paddock at Aintree on practice day for the British Grand Prix in July 1962.

It's the 1962 BRM P578 that Graham Hill drove in the race and is chassis P578/1 with the upright 'stack pipe' exhausts. He qualified in fifth place on the grid with Jim Clark in the Lotus 25 in pole position. In the race Jim Clark led from start to finish and Graham Hill ended up in fourth place, thanks in part to mechanical problems suffered by the Lotus 24 of Innes Ireland who had qualified ahead of Graham Hill. The BRM had been introduced in 1961 as the P57 with a 4-cylinder inline 1,496cc Coventry Climax FPF engine as BRM's new V8 1½ litre engine was still on the drawing board at the start of the season. By 1962 the P56 BRM 1,498cc V8 engine was available and the car was re-designated as the P578 in acknowledgement of the V8 unit. Jim Clark was the man to beat that season, but although he won three of the races he was plagued by retirements in another four and Graham Hill won the Drivers' World Championship with four victories and four other points-scoring places. BRM also won the Constructors' World Championship.

John Surtees

I took this photograph in the paddock on practice day for the British Grand Prix at Aintree in July 1959.

John Surtees started his motorcycle racing career in the early 1950s, and was given a place in the Norton works team in 1955. By the end of that season the Norton Company was having severe financial problems and for the 1956 season John Surtees switched to the MV Agusta team. He won the 1956 500cc World Championship, and then both the 500cc and 350cc Championships for the team in 1958, 1959 and 1960. In 1959 he had a test drive for Aston Martin and this led to him taking a place in the Lotus F1 team for the 1960 season. In 1961 he drove a Cooper T53 for the The Yeoman Credit Racing Team and a Lola Mk4 for the Bowmaker Yeoman Racing Team in 1962. In 1963 he joined Scuderia Ferrari, won his first Grand Prix that season, in Germany, and finished in fourth place in the World Drivers' Championship. Still with Ferrari in 1964, he won the Drivers' Championship by one point from BRM's Graham Hill. 

In the photograph above the gentleman in the cap on the left-hand side is John Hartle, then John Surtees' team mate at MV Agusta.

1961 Emeryson Mk2

This is a photograph I took in the paddock at Aintree during practice for the British Grand Prix in July 1962.

It's the Emeryson Mk2 of Tony Settember who qualified in nineteenth place on the grid and ended the race in eleventh position, four laps behind the winning Lotus 25 of Jim Clark. The car was a development of the 1960 Emeryson Formula 2 car and had a 4-cylinder inline 1,496cc Coventry Climax FPF engine. Tony Settember's team had acquired the cars from Ecurie National Belge who had raced them in 1961 with Maserati engines, but Olivier Gendebien had failed to qualify his car for the Monaco Grand Prix, the only World Championship race which the team had entered that year. Tony Settember fared little better in 1962, failing to qualify for the Italian Grand Prix, the only other Grand Prix race it was entered for. Behind the Emeryson is the Ecurie Galloise transporter of Jackie Lewis.

Dan Gurney

I took this photograph in the paddock at Aintree on the Friday practice day for the British Grand Prix in July 1962.

It's Dan Gurney getting ready to go out on a practice session in the 1962 Porsche 804 in which he qualified in sixth position on the grid and finished the race in ninth position. Porsche had first built a single seat racing car in 1959, the 718, using the 1½ litre flat-four boxer engine from their sports car to create a Formula 2 car. In 1961 the engine capacity for Formula 1 cars was reduced to 1½ litres and the Porsche 718 was able to compete in Formula 1 races that season. The Porsche 804 was built for the following season using a new Flat-eight engine of 1,494cc, and with this car Dan Gurney won the French Grand Prix and finished in third place in the German Grand Prix to end the season in fifth place in the World Drivers' Championship. His team mate Jo Bonnier's best finish was fifth place in the Monaco Grand Prix and he finished in fifteenth place in the Championship. Porsche finished in fifth place in the World Constructors' Championship. That first place in the 1962 French Grand Prix is Porsche's only Grand Prix victory.

1962 Porsche 804

I photographed this car on the approach to Waterway corner at Aintree during practice for the British Grand Prix in July 1962.

It's Dan Gurney in the 1962 Porsche 804 in which he qualified in sixth position on the grid and finished the race in ninth position. Porsche had first built a single seat racing car in 1959, the 718, using the 1½ litre flat-four boxer engine from their sports car to create a Formula 2 car. In 1961 the engine capacity for Formula 1 cars was reduced to 1½ litres and the Porsche 718 was able to compete in Formula 1 races that season. The Porsche 804 was built to compete in Formula 1 races in the 1962 season using a new Flat-eight engine of 1,494cc, and with this car Dan Gurney won the French Grand Prix and finished in third place in the German Grand Prix to end the season in fifth place in the World Drivers' Championship. His team mate Jo Bonnier's best finish was fifth place in the Monaco Grand Prix and he finished in fifteenth place in the Championship. Porsche finished in fifth place in the World Constructors' Championship. That first place in the 1962 French Grand Prix is Porsche's only Grand Prix victory.

Lotus 15

I took this photograph on practice day for the British Grand Prix at Aintree in July 1959, and it's one of the cars that competed in the Sports Car support race.

It's the Lotus 15 of David Buxton, and is one of 27 cars that were produced between 1958 and 1960. The car was a successor to the Lotus Mk X, developed from the Lotus Eleven but designed to accommodate engines from 1½ to 2½ litres. It was intended for International Sports Car racing, but though cars were entered in the 1958 and 1959 Le Mans 24 Hour race none of them managed to finish.

1962 Cooper T60

I took this photograph in the paddock at Aintree on practice day for the British Grand Prix in July 1962.

It's the 1962 Cooper T60 that was driven in the race for the Cooper works team by Tony Maggs, and has a 1,494cc V8 Coventry Climax FWMV engine. It is chassis F1-18-61 and Tony Maggs qualified the car in thirteenth place on the grid and finished the race in sixth place. In the 1962 season his best result was second place in the French Grand Prix and he was seventh in the World Drivers' Championship.

1962 Lotus 24

This is a photograph that I took at Aintree on the Friday practice day for the British Grand Prix in July 1962.

It's Trevor Taylor's Lotus 24 which was powered by the same 1,496cc Coventry Climax FWMV engine as the Lotus 25, but had a conventional spaceframe chassis instead of the Lotus 25's monocoque chassis. The Lotus 25 was to be run by the Lotus team and the Lotus 24 was intended to be a customer car although Trevor Taylor drove the Lotus 24 in five of the nine World Drivers' Championship races that season. He qualified in tenth place on the grid at Aintree and finished in eighth place in the race, and his only points scoring finish that season was in the Dutch Grand Prix when he finished in second place.

Carlos Menditéguy

This slightly blurred photograph shows Argentinian racing driver Carlos Menditéguy in the paddock at Aintree on practice day for the British Grand Prix in July 1957.

Carlos Menditéguy drove a Maserati 250F for the Maserati team in this race and qualified in ninth place on the grid, but retired after 35 laps. He took part in 10 Formula 1 World Championship races between 1953 and 1960, but five of these were in the Argentinian Grand Prix and his best result in those 10 races was third place in the 1957 Argentinian Grand Prix.

1962 Porsche 804

 I took this photograph in the paddock at Aintree in July 1962 during practice for the British Grand Prix.

It's the 1962 Porsche 804 of Dan Gurney in which he qualified in sixth position on the grid and finished the race in ninth position. Porsche had first built a single seat racing car in 1959, the 718, using the 1½ litre flat-four boxer engine from their sports car to create a Formula 2 car. In 1961 the engine capacity for Formula 1 cars was reduced to 1½ litres and the Porsche 718 was able to compete in Formula 1 races that season. The Porsche 804 was built to compete in Formula 1 races in the 1962 season using a new Flat-eight engine of 1,494cc, and with this car Dan Gurney won the French Grand Prix and finished in third place in the German Grand Prix to end the season in fifth place in the World Drivers' Championship. His team mate Jo Bonnier's best finish was fifth place in the Monaco Grand Prix and he finished in fifteenth place in the Championship. Porsche finished in fifth place in the World Constructors' Championship. That first place in the 1962 French Grand Prix is Porsche's only Grand Prix victory.

Innes Ireland

This is a photograph I took in the paddock at the Aintree 200 meeting in April 1962.

It's Innes Ireland, who drove one of the UDT-Laystall Racing Team's Lotus 18/21s in the Aintree 200 race. He qualified the car in fifth position on the grid, but retired after 26 laps of the 50 lap race with a broken valve. In the 1962 World Drivers Championship a series of retirements, and only one points-scoring finish - fifth place in the South African Grand Prix - left him in sixteenth place in the table at the end of the season.

Jack Brabham

In the 1950s and 60s if you went to race meetings on the practice day you could wander round the paddock watching the mechanics preparing the cars and mingle with the drivers and team members. I took this photograph on the Friday practice day at Aintree for the 1962 British Grand Prix.

This is Jack Brabham who drove a Lotus 24 at this meeting because his first Brabham car, the BT3 wasn't yet ready to race - it made its debut in the next Grand Prix in Germany. He qualified in ninth place on the grid and finished the race in fifth place, albeit a lap behind the winner Jim Clark in his Lotus 25.