1968 BRM P133

The Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998 marked 50 years of racing at the circuit with a display of 50 cars marking each of those 50 years, some of which also took part in track parades throughout the weekend. This is the car that was chosen to represent 1968.

It's the 3 litre V12 1968 BRM P133 of Ean Pugh - at least that's what it says in the programme of the event. The P133 was produced in Bourne by BRM following the design of Len Terry's P126 which was built by his own Transatlantic Automotive Consultants company. There is some suggestion that the car pictured above is actually a P126. Only two examples of the P133 were built, the second of which was written off in an accident at the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix by Pedro Rodriguez. The remaining P133 was driven in the 1968 season by Pedro Rodriguez, and by Jackie Oliver in the first part of the 1969 season. The programme of the event made this brief mention of the car:

‘The BRM concern had its ups and downs but 1968 was one of its better years, and the 3-litre P133, as raced by Pedro Rodriguez, will certainly bring memories flooding back.’

Pedro Rodriguez didn’t win any of the races that year, but he had a second place finish at the Belgian Grand Prix, and two third, a fourth and a sixth place finish to end the season in sixth place in the World Drivers’ Championship table.'

Cooper v BRM

I took this photograph at Luffield Corner during the Grand Prix Masters race at the Silverstone Historic Tribute meeting in June 2004.

Leading is Ron Maydon in the 1968 Cooper T86C Alfa Romeo with David Brown close behind in the 1968 BRM P126. The Cooper, chassis F1-3-68,  originally had a 3-litre V8 engine as used in the Tipo 33 sportscar, but was later converted to F5000 specifications with a Ford V8 5-litre engine. By the time of this Silverstone meeting it had been put back in it original form with a 3-litre Alfa Romeo engine. David Brown's BRM is chassis P126/01 and was the first BRM to have a V12 engine, which also has a capacity of 3-litres.

On 17 May 2018 I showed a photograph of the Cooper in the pit garage at this meeting.

BRM P126

The Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1993 included a display of cars celebrating British Racing Green, and this is one of the cars included in that display.

It's a 1968 BRM P126, a car that was raced by BRM in the 1968 F1 season and had a 2,998cc V12 engine. Richard Attwood was one of the BRM team drivers that season, and he drove the car in the track display at this Silverstone meeting.

Wolf WR1

These two cars are competing in the Grand Prix Masters Race at the Silverstone Historic Tribute meeting in June 2004.

Leading is the 1977 Wolf WR1 of Max Samuel-Camps ahead of the 1968 BRM P126 of David Brown. The Wolf has a 2,993cc Ford Cosworth V8 DFV engine and was driven in the 1977 World Drivers Championship season by Jody Scheckter, finishing second in the Championship with three wins. The BRM has a 2,998cc V12 BRM engine and is chassis P126-01, driven in the 1968 season for the Reg Parnell Racing team by Piers Courage who only had a few minor placings and finished well down the final Championship table.

BRM P126

This car competed in the Grand Prix Masters race at the Silverstone Historic Tribute meeting in June 2004.

It's David Brown's 1968 BRM P126, and is chassis P126/01. The car was designed by Len Terry, who had previously designed cars for Lotus and Eagle, and was built by Len Terry and Frank Nichols at their Transatlantic Automotive Consultants premises using the new BRM V12 3-litre engine - the first V12 engine produced by BRM. The car raced throughout the 1968 season alongside the P133, which was BRM's own version of the car using the V12 engine, but neither were particularly successful.