Letters, March 2020

Browse pages
Current page

1

Current page

2

Current page

3

Current page

4

Current page

5

Current page

6

Current page

7

Current page

8

Current page

9

Current page

10

Current page

11

Current page

12

Current page

13

Current page

14

Current page

15

Current page

16

Current page

17

Current page

18

Current page

19

Current page

20

Current page

21

Current page

22

Current page

23

Current page

24

Current page

25

Current page

26

Current page

27

Current page

28

Current page

29

Current page

30

Current page

31

Current page

32

Current page

33

Current page

34

Current page

35

Current page

36

Current page

37

Current page

38

Current page

39

Current page

40

Current page

41

Current page

42

Current page

43

Current page

44

Current page

45

Current page

46

Current page

47

Current page

48

Current page

49

Current page

50

Current page

51

Current page

52

Current page

53

Current page

54

Current page

55

Current page

56

Current page

57

Current page

58

Current page

59

Current page

60

Current page

61

Current page

62

Current page

63

Current page

64

Current page

65

Current page

66

Current page

67

Current page

68

Current page

Current page

70

Current page

71

Current page

72

Current page

73

Current page

74

Current page

75

Current page

76

Current page

77

Current page

78

Current page

79

Current page

80

Current page

81

Current page

82

Current page

83

Current page

84

Current page

85

Current page

86

Current page

87

Current page

88

Current page

89

Current page

90

Current page

91

Current page

92

Current page

93

Current page

94

Current page

95

Current page

96

Current page

97

Current page

98

Current page

99

Current page

100

Current page

101

Current page

102

Current page

103

Current page

104

Current page

105

Current page

106

Current page

107

Current page

108

Current page

109

Current page

110

Current page

111

Current page

112

Current page

113

Current page

114

Current page

115

Current page

116

Current page

117

Current page

118

Current page

119

Current page

120

Current page

121

Current page

122

Current page

123

Current page

124

Current page

125

Current page

126

Current page

127

Current page

128

Current page

129

Current page

130

Current page

131

Current page

132

Current page

133

Current page

134

Current page

135

Current page

136

Current page

137

Current page

138

Current page

139

Current page

140

Current page

141

Current page

142

Current page

143

Current page

144

Current page

145

Current page

146

Current page

147

Current page

148

Current page

149

Current page

150

Current page

151

Current page

152

Current page

153

Current page

154

Current page

155

Current page

156

Current page

157

Current page

158

Current page

159

Current page

160

Current page

161

Current page

162

Current page

163

Current page

164

Current page

165

Current page

166

Current page

167

Current page

168

Current page

169

Current page

170

Current page

171

Current page

172

Your Speedshop article [A Blooming Lotus, January 2020] reminded me that during the ‘50s as a teenager in Bridgnorth, I and petrolhead friends spent our time working on our road cars or building ‘specials’ based on Austin 7s. A young student from Cirencester Agricultural College appeared, called John Whitmore. His road car was a Lotus 6 and he and I travelled many times to the Littleton Arms, Hagley, to attend meetings of Hagley and District Car Club. This always seemed to be in the winter and there was no windscreen, but John always seemed to find an old pair of goggles for me.

One bitter evening off we went with goggles in position. The whole evening was spent in great company and also thawing out from the journey. On the way out John said that we had to collect something, which turned out to be a Lotus windscreen and he placed it across the back of the car and asked me to put my arm over it to avoid it falling off. On the freezing 18-mile journey home, I quickly lost all feeling in my arm and lost interest as to whether the windscreen had fallen out. The only consolation was that while most people would have taken half an hour for the journey, John would take 15 minutes.

When John began racing we attended some events to support him, including a speed test around Marsh’s Farmyard at Kinver, which was frightening as then they used just a few scattered straw bales to protect the public from death or injury.

A great character, John also had the reputation of racing a highly tuned Austin A35 around Bridgnorth very late at night, inches from a friend’s identical car.
Malcolm Scott, Wolverhampton


Classic heroes

Hard-hat chicken logo connects Essex Racing with Classic Heroes’ current Sussex base

I greatly enjoyed the article on the Project Astons in the February issue. Whilst I knew that John Ogier had fielded the Essex Racing Stable team, I hadn’t previously made the connection to his chicken-farming enterprise.

Classic heroesA small part of John Ogier’s chicken-farming legacy continues to be suitably petrol-fuelled – his original building at Buxted in Sussex now houses the office for classic BMW specialist Classic Heroes.

 

Run by the ever-ebullient Barney Halse, Classic Heroes gives a nod to John Ogier’s business in its logo of a chicken wearing a crash-helmet. One feels that Ogier would have approved.
Andrew Barrett, Brandon, Lincs.


The 2019 Matters of Moment was a great opportunity to look back and remember some great moments.

A missed moment that deserved a mention was the three-abreast pass that Callum Macleod pulled off through Eau Rouge to take second place in the British GT race – surely it ranks as one of the standout moments of 2019?

Anyone lucky enough to have made the run down toward Eau Rouge in any car knows how daunting it looks as you get closer and closer – to have cars both sides, knowing no one is going to blink… It’s a standout moment – no question!
Geoff Hanson, Leighterton, glos


It may be my age, 53, but I could not help nodding in agreement with Mr Thackwell [Racing Lives, February] when he spoke of vanity, self-obsession and lack of humility in motor sport. I notice these failings even more so in American football, where any successful play comes with chest-beating and gloating while looking for the nearest television camera. Old boys do think things were better back in the old days and in this area I’m afraid they (we) are correct.

Always enjoy your magazine, thanks for your efforts.
Jorge Alvear, Duluth, Georgia, USA


The photo of Mario Andretti at the rear wheel of his Lotus 78 [Chapman and the Wing Car, February] does not show him checking the wheel torque, but rather checking the corner weights on his car. Doug Nye refers to this on the same page in his article, together with Andretti’s practice of checking the tyre circumferences to pick a well-matched set (or not if you wanted to induce some bias). All practices he learnt racing on American oval, dirt tracks.
Andrew Beint, Chippenham, Wilts


I noted in Speedshop [January 2020] a disapproval of Lotus Elans fitted with Spyder chassis. I wish to plead the opposing case. Touting originality may be a tantalising prospect for the Lotus car buyer/seller, as it provides a case for downgrading a car’s value and a profitable opportunity for replacing a serviceable chassis with another.

Between the late 1970s and 1994, Spyder Engineering manufactured over 4000 chassis for the Elan, the Plus 2, and Europas, almost all of them of spaceframe construction. The original chassis in the Elan and Plus 2 were unfit for purpose: the front suspension bulkhead towers were exposed to the ingress of water and road debris. As a result, they rotted and fell off, often after a mere 10 years.

If ever there was a car that triggered ambivalence, it was the Elan. Though a joy to drive, it was a persistent nuisance to own. Once, while attempting to catch a Stranraer ferry, my own Elan Sprint severed a driveshaft coupling by the roadside as night fell. For those who drove them, originality presented major disillusionments, as Jim Clark’s candid notes to the factory testified.

Those Spyder chassis were premium products. Though more expensive than the original, they corrected inexcusable faults. They were also substantially stiffer. Proud of the work, I have always considered our contribution to the Lotus Elan as akin to Abarth’s endeavours with the Fiat 500 — a desirable upgrade.
Vic Moore (Spyder co-founder), Atlanta

Write to Motor Sport, 18-20 Rosemont Road, London, NW3 6NE or e-mail, [email protected]