[Dave Wisdom]

Francois Cevert was arguably one of the most charismatic Grand Prix drivers of the 1970s. A trained concert pianist with classic film star looks, he was at the height of a motor racing career that would have likely crowned him Frances first Formula One World Champion. Nurtured and primed to take the helm from Jackie Stewart following his retirement from motor racing, Francois was due to step into the number one seat at Tyrrell, when his life was tragically cut short during practice for the 1973 United States Grand Prix.

I was fortunate enough to witness Francois in action at the 71 and 73 British Grand Prix. However, my most enduring memory is of the half dozen demonstration laps he completed at Leicestershire's Mallory Park at the August 'Ford Sport Day' meeting in 1973. 006 was still using the same gear ratio set up from the previous weekends Austrian Grand Prix at the Osterreichring; a somewhat different prospect to the 1.35 miles of Mallory...… However, Francois did not disappoint and provided the packed crowd with a wonderful display of his skill. Hearing his Tyrrells Cosworth V8 popping and banging up to Shaws Hairpin, then witnessing him flooring it through Devils Elbow down towards Mallorys pit straight is perhaps my greatest memory of any race meeting I have ever attended. Pure magic…he was my hero.

My build (using one of Charlie Fitzpatricks Classic Beta shells) is intended to represent Francois one and only Grand Prix victory at the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen in 1971. The model is still in early stages, but I shall endeavour to post updates as it develops.

Thanks for looking.

Dave

 

[justDave]

Dave, it looks good already, and it's great to have the back story behind the car. Don't forget to show us the dirty bits as well!

David

 

[Philip P]

Dave,

The car is looking good so far. This is one of the F1 cars that I have vowed one day to buy/make so I shall watch with interest.

Excellent stuff!!!

Cheers,

Philip

 

[Lou E]

Very cool car and you are doing a great job of it, looking forward to your updates.

 

[dreinecke]

Dave,

That is one of my favorites, and you've nailed it! I really have to get back to my vintage F1 projects soon!

 

[ClubSpecial]

Dave, I haven't forgotten the Matra MS80 for F-F Models, just haven't got enough hours in the day, but it WILL be done!! Just for you

How's the Rover coming on?

Martin

 

[Jaak]

Thanks Dave,

For sharing this captivating story and sharing your build

Never heard of him but will Google to learn more about the man.
Will follow your thread and progress with interest.

Cheers,
Jaak

 

[David Lawson]

Dave

A very nice write up and I always think that some of the best slot cars are built by people who have a personal connection with the original car. Your vivid memories of seeing Cevert race this Tyrrell show me that you are building this car with a passion and I'm certain it will be stunning when it's finished.

Jaak

Cevert is extremely well known and I hope you do try and research his career. Jackie Stewart readily admitted years ago that by 1973, Cevert the team number two driver was faster than him at some of the grands prix but that he happily followed the world champion out of a sense of loyalty and for the benefit of a good team spirit. Something you don't see being done these days.

David

 

[Nick_MSM]

What a great looking car.

 

[Slotrace.dk]

Great looking car.
My friend Holger is a great Francois Cevert fan and I have sent him a link to this topic.
Bet he will give you a comment on your work shortly.

 

[circuittaps]

René - you are so right. Just see my SF logo.

The unforgettable Francois Cevert was - and still is - my all time greatest hero concerning motor racing. Back in 1973 I attended both the Belgian and the Swedish Grand Prix, so I saw Francois taking a superb 2nd place after Stewart on Zolder (their fourth out of a total og six 1-2 victories) and again a fine 3rd on Anderstorp.

Saturday October 6th 1973 was a very, very sad day I will never forget.

Until this very day I still collect Francois Cevert regalia such as books, articles, die cast models, posters etc.

For my slot car collection I have so far unfortunately only managed to include Francois´ Matra MS 650 #32 from Le Mans 1970 (PSK CB045). When Vanquish was still on the market I never gave up hope they would once release a McLaren M8D to cellebrate his CanAm victory on Donnybroke September 17th 1972.

So Dave, should you ever consider creating two of these models, just name your price and send me your PayPal account number.

What a great tribute to a great man!

/Holger

 

[CJA]

Hi Guys,

David, I was there that day, Mallory Park, when one thinks back, it was amazing by todays standards that one could see international stars driving, and racing !!, at what is today a "club" circuit.

On a different tack, I was there when Agostini put one over the multi cylinder "jap" bikes on his MV Augusta. Brilliant memories.

He came out of Devils Elbow so fast and on the limit that his right toe caught the Motorcycle News banner on the armco and tore it off.

Anybody here witnessed that. Awesome.

vbr Chris A.

 

[JT Previa]

Dave,

I'm also a Cevert/Sterwart/Tyrrell fan, though only from reading the race reports of the time in Road & Track when was I was a pre-teen. I love the spunky airbox F1 cars of that era

and look forward to following your project.

JT

 

[BigDog]

Great choice of car, David: that is one good looking body! Also, to celebrate F. Cevert is a very cool thing as he really was a splendid driver, as you (and J. Stewart!) have said. I lived in Europe from 68 to 72 and went to many F1 races (camping, on a budget, of course), so I saw him race a lot and he effectively was a top notch driver. At the time I thought his' was a most unfair death, as I imagined he had a very bright future ahead of him...

Holger, in two opportunities I got his autograph. I haven't seen them in years - I suspect I lost them, along with a whole bunch of other drivers and artists autographs, when my fraternity burned down (

) when I was in college, a long time ago. But that is not a sure thing and as I intend to bring down my house to build a new one in it's place, in the following months (perhaps a year), I'll have to move out and you know that's a great opportunity to find old things. Well, if I find even one of them, I promise to send it to you, as you'll surelly make better use than me.

Cheers and thanx for sharing your beautiful project, Dave! You can be sure I'll be following this Thread closely!

Bigdog

 

[Dave Wisdom]

In appreciation of everyone's valued thoughts and comments so far, here is a picture of the projects current state. Still a long way off completion, but I've added the wing mirror supports and started on the roll bar. Hopefully, its now 'beginning' to look something like Francois 002. More to follow...

Once again, thank you for all your comments and interest.

Dave

 

[andre acker]

Hi Dave,

Beautiful work so far !

That's one of my favourie F1 cars !

Which tires are you using ?

Best regards.

André Acker.

 

[Dave Wisdom]

A little more progress has been made with 002. Still have to fit the wing mirrors, one or two other details and of course, most importantly, a model of Francois himself.

Thanks again for looking.

Dave

 

[DH71Tiger]

Excellent work Dave, a fine tribute to a great driver.

Thank you for sharing it with us.

Tally H

Andrew

 

[JAKE.]

Awesome looking car, so very faithfully reproduced, great stuff [

].

 

[zagato]

Very nicely executed young man. Top marks! Regards, Graham.