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.

Cooper T86C Alfa Romeo

This was one of the competitors in the Grand Prix Masters race at the Silverstone Historic Tribute meeting in June 2004.

It's Ron Maydon's 1968 Cooper T86C Alfa Romeo, the last Formula One car to be built by the Cooper Car Company. It uses the same 3 litre V8 engine as the Alfa Romeo T33 sports car in place of the ineffective Maserati and BRM V12 units with which the earlier Cooper T86 and T86B cars had been fitted. It did not compete in either of the two Grand Prix races for which it was entered in the 1968 season.

On 14 June 2017 I showed photographs of this car that I'd taken At Oulton Park in 2003.

Cooper T86C Alfa Romeo

On 5 March 2016 I showed a photograph I'd taken of a 1968 Cooper T86B BRM at Donington Park in 2005. It was one of two cars built to accommodate the BRM V12 engine after the Maserati V12 unit used in the original Cooper T86 had proved to be unsuitable. Here are a couple of photographs  that I took at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2003 of the third car built in 1968, the Cooper T86C with an Alfa Romeo engine.

The Alfa Romeo engine was the 3 litre V8 unit used in the T33 sportscar, but it proved in testing to be badly underpowered. In 1968 the car was entered for the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch and the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, to be driven by Lucian Bianchi, but didn't turn up for either race. A sad end to Formula One racing for the once highly successful Cooper team.

The car was driven in the Force Classic Grand Prix Cars Gold Cup race at Oulton Park by Ron Maydon.