Readers recall Graham Hill, Alex Zanardi and the sport’s more human age

Your article about the Lotus 49 brought back memories [Rebirth of an F1 wonder, June]. In the 1990s I lived in a small village outside Northampton. On Sunday afternoons I would wander up the hill to watch some scrambling. There would often be another man who had wandered across from his ‘mansion’. We’d exchange pleasantries. He was Keith Duckworth [DFV designer].

I sang in the benefice church choir and one practice my fellow bass Richard was absent. I enquired the following week as to his absence. He had been in Detroit to visit Ford. Did he work for Ford? No – Cosworth. What did he do there? Managing director. He was Dick (Richard) Scammell.

I owned a bright yellow Westfield. One Sunday I went to buy sweetcorn from the local farm shop. When I came out there was a man underneath the car! I watched and waited for a while and eventually he emerged and said he was just looking to see how these kits were now constructed. He was Mike Costin [Cosworth co-founder].

My neighbour was a hairdresser who knew my interest in racing cars. He got me an invite from one of his customers to see round the factory. He was Paul Morgan [Cosworth engineer; co-founder of Ilmor].

Happy days. Keep up the good work on the mag – always the best.

Andrew Forsyth, East Haddon, northamptonshire

Thank you for the article on Graham Hill on his final F1 win at the ’71 International Trophy at Silverstone (When Silverstone was still gloriously mad, online). As usual Matt Bishop drew our attention to a wonderful driver and human being and to that glorious period in F1. Your articles looking back to those no-nonsense times spark memories of when only a handful of people designed, built, drove and maintained the best grand prix machines. Contrast that to the vast numbers of employees now running F1 teams – progress surely not?

These articles keep the legend of the sport we love alive; the heroes, the rogues, the cars when F1 was the noble pinnacle of greatness. Sadly I cannot say the same of the present day.

Brendan Walls, via email

It is interesting that you quote the power of the J-47-19 fitted to the Flying Caduceus at almost 7000bhp [Just for the record, June]. Traditionally jet power is quoted as lb of thrust. The relationship of thrust to horse power is complicated. The hp of a jet is a function of speed. The J-47 is rated at 5200lb thrust. Curiously at 375mph it would produce 5200hp; at 450mph it would produce 6240hp but static it would produce 0hp!

Art Arfons found a General Electric J79 jet from a Starfighter abandoned in a scrapheap. He phoned GE for help rebuilding it but was told he could not own one as it was restricted for military use only and the manual was top secret. There were missing turbine blades but by moving some he got the engine balanced and it worked well enough in his Green Monster to take the Land Speed Record.

Peter O’Donnell, Epsom

I enjoyed your recent article about Robert Kubica [Kubica: the long road to glory, June]. We had a holiday in Kraków a few years ago, where every house and shop displayed a picture of Karol Wojtyla – Pope John Paul II, he being a native of the city. We did a city tours, where a local guide introduces tourists to notable landmarks. At one point, our tour guide asked the group, “Can any of you name somebody famous from Kraków?”, to which I offered, “Robert Kubica.” Apparently, that wasn’t the answer she was looking for.

Ian McRae, North Lanarkshire

I was delighted to read of Piers Weld-Forester in the letter from Tony Gomis in your excellent June issue. Piers and I grew up almost together. We went to the same school and to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst from which Piers was commissioned into The Royal Green Jackets, The Rifle Brigade. Through our respective military careers we kept in touch. He owned a Lotus Cortina that he drove with much gusto until it broke its transmission and I towed him the few miles home with my Fiat 500D, cooking the clutch.

When Piers was 21, he received a healthy inheritance and promptly purchased a Ferrari Daytona and through our then family firm, Auto-Sleepers Ltd, my brother, Anthony, ordered a Ford GT40 for Piers, from Ford Advanced Vehicles in Slough, tax and duty free, as Piers was then serving with his Regiment in Germany. With introductory commission that my brother passed on to Piers, the total cost of the GT40 was £40,000!

To the mild irritation of his commanding officer, Piers was able to drive beneath the guardroom barrier without it being raised!

Tragically his wife lost her life when the DC-10 in which she was returning after a modelling assignment in Tunisia depressurised over the Eremonville Forest near Paris, killing all on board. Shortly afterwards, Piers, too, lost his life while racing bikes at Brands Hatch. My parents and brother went to his funeral service in Cheltenham where a wreath alongside his coffin spelled ‘Piero’ in flowers. Prince Michael and Barry Sheene were present. It was Piers who purchased the Unipower marque, visiting my parents for tea in the factory demonstrator, parked in the same spot where the GT40 and Daytona had been parked only a few years previously. A short life but well spent, I say.

Charles Trevelyan, Cheltenham

I enjoyed looking at the picture of Stirling Moss (on a Trojan Trobike) in your subscribe section of the June issue as it is so typical of ‘The Boy’ and was shot just before maybe his greatest drive. On closer scrutiny I believe you can see Maurice Trintignant in the background and just possibly a back view of the boss himself Rob Walker. Thanks for a reminder of grand prix racing as it used to be.

Ian Garden, via email

Your May issue cover story [The boys are back in town: 1976] reminded me of an encounter with Barry Sheene. On July 20, 1980 I was a very enthusiastic teenager about to participate in my first race meeting as a marshal. I recently came across my programme and passes from the day [pictured, right]. I had managed to get Sheene to autograph my programme!

My involvement as a trackside marshal continues to this day, having recently started my 46th consecutive season with a trip to the IndyCar Long Beach Grand Prix.

Bob McEwan, Burnham on Crouch, Essex

Regarding the death of Alex Zanardi. In 2001, my wife and I were on a day trip to Monte Carlo. Walking towards the Loews hairpin, coming towards us was a man with his child on his shoulders. He smiled at us and when he had walked by I asked my wife if she knew who he was. She didn’t. I told her that it was Alex Zanardi. Sadly, just over a week later this young man’s life would be overturned following a devastating accident.

Tony Wright, Norwich