Telford, Oulton Park and meeting up with Roger

The problems I was having with exhibits which were unlabelled were troubling me. I’d been to the front desk to ask about things and not everything was known even there. In order to ensure that I’ve got it all sorted now I’ve called on the assistance of noted author, journalist and historian Doug Nye and he’s further referred to Rick Hall of Hall & Hall, who restore these cars for clients including, in the past, Tom Wheatcroft.
 
In the end we’ve managed to confirm things, even one crankshaft which was incorrectly labelled!
 
I mentioned that I knew some prize exhibits were no longer there, but one of the great ones did remain, that was a replica of a Mercedes-Benz W125 from the mid to late-thirties:
 

W125 replica. It was very appropriate to have such a car here as the two German teams raced at the Donington circuit in that era. But this was the only such car on display.
 
Then, across the aisle, was the whole BRM display. I have a bit of a soft spot for BRM as they came good after years of failure just as I was taking an interest in Grand Prix racing. Before BRM – British Racing Motors – came English Racing Automobiles, though, the main people involved had been building the ERA…
 

ERA E type. With a 2-litre engine, this car’s history is both pre-war and post-war, developed in 1939 but not raced until after hostilities ended. A sister car which has some minor differences was racing before the war.
 
Note that it has an independent front suspension by trailing arms, like a Volkswagen. It had a rear suspension with swing axles for a short time, this being replaced by a de Dion arrangement. The first BRM, the V16, had a similar front end and it can be seen here:
 

BRM V16. The pinnacle of complication, this car was built to show British engineering prowess and featured a 12,000rpm 1.5-litre V16 engine which had an engine note to delight any enthusiast. It was also a dismal failure for the first couple of years.
 

BRM P57. Displayed in pretty much the form in which it won the opening Grand Prix of 1962, the Dutch Grand Prix, this is the car which turned around the fortunes of BRM. Some variations came later in the year which made it look better, and it kept going so well that it took Graham Hill to his first World Championship.
 
As BRM had gone away from being a consortium drawing assistance from the whole British Motor Industry and was now owned by Sir Arthur Owen it was determined by him that they had to win or die. The ultimatum was put down and the team were able to respond. They even delved into other activities, like building and selling engines to other teams and privateers and building the Rover-BRM turbine car for Le Mans. Another project was a 4-wheel-drive car for F1:
 

BRM P67 4WD. With the 3-litre formula having been announced, BRM indulged in experimenting with a 4WD car with the 1.5-litre engine, it was a dead-end and that was reflected in that they were not among the teams which built 4WD cars later in the sixties despite the new 3-litre fomula giving extra power which might help with that drive arrangement.
 
After sinking into oblivion again with the highly complex H16 engine at the beginning of the 3-litre formula, BRM relented and simplified with a string of V12-engined cars. These engines were effectively ‘extensions’ of the 2-litre versions of the 1.5 engine which had proved so successful. Success didn’t come to the V12 overnight, however, as Grand Prix cars were changing rapidly.
 

BRM P139. One of a string of V12 cars, this one didn’t achieve much for BRM, only some minor places in the hands of John Surtees.
 
Finally they hit their straps again beginning with the P153. At the same time they obtained some sponsorship which finally took the cars out of their drab dark green colour. Some very talented drivers helped out too, principally Pedro Rodriguez and Jo Siffert.
 

P153 and P160. Both of these cars won races for BRM, but it came at a price as Jo Siffert lost his life in one. Wins also came from Peter Gethin and Jean-Pierre Beltoise.
 
These cars were to be the last of the successful string of cars which had been winning for a little over a decade. The team began to stumble and fall into decline, it was sad to see it happen but that’s the way it has always been in such a highly competitive environment.
 
Going back to the original BRM, however, the Donington collection had some great exhibits. The V16 was incredibly complicated, as can be seen in these pictures:
 

V16 cutaway. No doubt this was prepared many years ago, but still worth looking at. The engine’s central gear train to the camshafts is seen, preventing camshaft whip, the huge centrifugal supercharger on the front, the big pipes from the supercharger too.
 

Front view. Looking from the front the size of the supercharger, made by Rolls-Royce, is clearer. Again the central drive train for the cams, but also the water pump can be seen on the side of the crankcase, driven by a jackshaft skew-driven off that central drive train. The tiny sleeves for the four cylinders are clear in this shot, protruding from the block and to be sealed with compressible rings which were charged with holding in the cylinder pressures at 11,500 rpm and 585 horsepower.. The cylinder bores are just 1.95” and the stroke a mere 1.9”.
 

Rear view. This view emphasises the wide vee angle, 135°, and the size of the pipes carrying mixture to the cylinders from the supercharger.
 
In the background to this picture is a line of ‘Formula Classic’ racing cars. These were built by the Donington people to create an old-look class – front engined and open cockpits – for historic-type racing with modern conveniences. Like fuel injected engines etc. The presence of so many of these emphasised to me how many proper exhibits were no longer in place.
 
But there were still things to see and maybe I should stop complaining?
 
A very popular car in the late sixties…
 

Cooper T51 Coventry-Climax. A hugely successful car in 1959, this car like the one in which Jack Brabham won his first title was a very simple machine compared to its competitors.
 
These Coopers were campaigned by many people in Formula One, Formula Two (with the 1.5-litre Climax engine at that time) and all around the world. There must have been half a dozen of them in Australia by the end of 1960.
 
I mentioned 4WD Formula One cars, a popular diversion before the true effects of wings became obvious. This one was from Lotus and was one of the few which raced:
 

Lotus 63. Lotus used the 4-wheel drive setup in both F1 and Indianapolis cars, this one has the conventional Cosworth DFV engine.
 

Lotus 63 front suspension. There’s a driveshaft hidden in among the wishbones of the front end and inboard discs were a natural feature.
 
One of the really bright stars of the Formula One firmament in the late seventies and eighties was the Canadian firebrand, Gilles Villeneuve. He arrived in a spectacular flurry and turned on some great performances when his ‘never say die’ attitude shone through.
 
It was one such race which I saw him win on my only previous trip to Europe, the 1981 Monaco race, where he plugged on and got the win after Alan Jones had fuel pickup problems when in a dominant position. A very popular driver, especially in this car:
 

Ferrari 312T4. The ‘312’ designated 3-litres, 12 cylinders. The ‘T4’ was for a transverse gearbox, and it was the fourth iteration of the type. The ‘Villeneuve’ on the side means it was a car to be watched, very spectacular.
 
Ferrari persisted with the flat-12 engines for several years despite the difficulty they created as ‘ground effect’ became the prevailing performance feature of Formula One. Many feel, as do I, that aerodynamics and the big-spending allowed by big sponsorships spoiled Formula One.
 
In with that car is the Lotus which followed up from the last of the John Player Specials. Lotus struggled for a few years at that time.
 
Not all Formula One cars are built to be winners. When their engines were proving to be almost universally successful, Cosworth branched out to build a car that never raced:
 

Cosworth. Designed by Robin Herd and featuring 4-wheel drive, this 1969 project never amounted to anything as Herd left to design the first March cars. It had a unique 4WD system designed by Keith Duckworth while all others used the Ferguson system.
 
Among the large number of McLaren cars on display there was an Indianapolis car, the M24:
 

McLarens. The McLaren M24 Indianapolis car used the Cosworth DFX engine, this car sits next to the M7C F1 car of 1969 with the M21 next in line. The driver names are Johnny Rutherford, Denny Hulme and Jody Scheckter respectively.
 
 

Penske PC27. Roger Penske’s team built their own cars and this one is the PC 27. In line beyond it are McLarens M28, M29 and MP4/8.
 
Still looking for anything different, I found this engine. Designed by Weslake – who had a big part in the Eagle V12 of the late sixties – it was designed to be used in long-distance racing and was considered for Brabham F1 cars but never tried. It ultimately was a costly failure.
 

Weslake V12. Designed to be used in the Gulf Mirage team cars it was effectively based on the Eagle V12’s bottom end with a more modern top end.
 

March 711. The Ronnie Peterson model, the front wing, variously described as a tea-tray or other derogatory names, was unique.
 

Maserati and Ferrari. More cars from the fifties at last. Two Maserati 250Fs, each different to the other in small ways, and the very successful Ferrari 500 of the Alberto Ascari years.
 
These were cars which won many races and a championship or two. Just why they share company with WW2 German motorcycles escapes me.
 
And I escaped too. My time was up in the museum, I might well have judged it harshly but that was how I felt about it. So disappointed was I that I drove off and totally forgot to have a look at the famous Donington Park circuit!
 
I was well on my way to Telford and the cast iron bridge before I remembered and I wasn’t turning back.