[philsmith]

I have just got hold of these interesting chassis that are supposedly ex Gordon Murray.
Some interesting stuff

the top one is a MIni chassis, just one side of the body is still there, held on with press studs! Two Ks Mk1s and 4wd.
Next is a machined aluminium chassis with a 26d and MRRC steering, there was no body for this and I don't think it ever had one as the mounting holes in the rear have never been drilled and there is no wear on the guide.
At the bottom is a 196B fitted into a flat pan brass chassis with drop arm.This had a Auto Hobbies Shelby Cobra body.

there were also three other standard cars, a Cox ford gt, Monogram Ferrari 250 and an AMT Avanti with a Revell SP80 chassis.

I shall try and contact Gordon to see if I can get confirmation that he built them.

 

[dgersh]

Fascinating stuff Phil! Didn't know he was a slot buff.... but now that I think of it, wasn't he the one who proposed a 1/1 Scalextric as the racing car of the future in Motor Sport a few years ago?

That 4WD Mini would be an interesting GT entry at Bordo, non?

How on earth do you find this stuff anyway???!!!! (what, me jealous?)
Don

 

[philsmith]

I got this through a Scalextric collector who sometimes gets slot stuff, he has no interest in it

He says that he got these from a guy who worked at Brabham who at the time had an interest in Slot racing and Gordon gave them to him.
I have emailed Mclaren with some pictures to try to get Gordon to confirm that he built them.

I think quite a few of the F1 people were into slot racing, especially Ross Brawn who even did a few articles for Model Cars

QUOTE That 4WD Mini would be an interesting GT entry at Bordo, non?

If I knew which cars we could run at Bordeaux then maybe yes!
Is a Mini a GT car?
I thought there was going to be a list of acceptable cars?

 

[dgersh]

It's coming Phil, it's coming!
Seems we chose a rather thorny subject, but that should make it all the more fun, eh?

 

[howmet tx]

Wow! Those gave me goose bumps, Phil!
What a guy, Gordon Murray....
Thanks for posting.

 

[philsmith]

I just got this email form Tony Condon (superhornets) so the mystery is finally solved!

Hi Phil
I,ve got bad news
Grdon Murrays secretary showed him those pictures that you PUT on SF last week and apparently he reckons they are not his handiwork
disappointing but there you are
Nice cars any way ?

Cheers tony

Now I just need to find the guy I got them from and get my money back

P.S. watch out for the Twin K's chassis in a car for next years Bordeaux

 

[philsmith]

QUOTE That 4WD Mini would be an interesting GT entry at Bordo, non?

Just looked back over this topic and it seems that Don is clairvoyant!

 

[superhornets]

Hi phil
sorry to be the bearer of bad news ,I was really kinda hoping that they were the handiwork of GM but never mind ,they are definately old and very good examples of the crafsmanship and lateral thinking that went on during the golden age

Cheers tony

 

[Russell Sheldon]

"I think quite a few of the F1 people were into slot racing, especially Ross Brawn who even did a few articles for Model Cars"

I'm interested in finding out more about Ross Brawn's slot racing career. Does anyone know for sure when and to what extent he was involved? I believe that he went to school in Reading, Berkshire, so I'm guessing that he raced at a club in Reading?

In terms of the timeline, in the early 1970s Ross joined the Atomic Energy Authority in Harwell, Oxfordshire, before getting into full-size motor sport in 1976, when he joined March Engineering in Bicester. He joined Williams in 1978, followed by stints with the FORCE/Beatrice and Arrows F1 teams. TWR Jaguar hired him in 1989, where he designed the 1991 World Sportscar Championship winning Jaguar XJR-14. Later that year Brawn returned to F1 as technical director at Benetton, helping them win the World Drivers' Championships in 1994 and 1995 with Michael Schumacher, along with the 1995 World Constructors' Championship. He went to Ferrari in 1997 and the rest is history.

I picked up from the BSCRA UK Slot Racing list that Ross was involved with HB Slot Racing Products (run by Tony Hough? Is that correct? If so, is this the same person who set-up One-O-One with Dave Harvey, also based in Reading?). I also read that Ross Brawn's father, Ernie raced slot cars at Pinewood.

Does anyone know the facts?

Kind regards,

Russell

 

[philsmith]

Russell, I always thought that Ross Brawn was the 'B' in 'HB', but I guess that others may have a lot more info.

I know that Derek Cooper was in touch with Ross a few years ago and remebered Derek and others from his slot racing days and sent Derek a Michael Schumacher signed baseball cap for James.

 

[gasowder]

Hi Russell, sorry you can't make it to Wolverhampton.
However, Ross Brawn; -

I can confirm that in the early / mid 60's his father was a member of the Ashton under Lyme club in Lancashire.
He was therefore a club mate of such luminaries as, Dave Lord, Keith Edwards & Brian Badger, to name but three.
About the same time I was starting my slot racing career

at the Newport Shropshire club, I know a young Ross attended at least one of our first (slot) open meetings with his dad as there's a picture of his car (a Cooper Oldsmobile I think) in the Model Cars report of the meeting.
Its one of the very early Model Cars, I'll have a look tonight & let you know the year & month, perhaps someone (Phil) can find it before & post the picture?
Eddie

 

[GRAH1]

Acording to Derek Howell ,Ross raced at Bolton dont know about his dad though

 

[Dick Smith]

Hi Russell,
I am also sorry that you won't be at Early Birds. We might meet one day!

Your enquiry about Ross Brawn's slot career has rather got lost in this thread. I tend to agree with Eddie that he grew up in Lancashire and only moved south in arround 1972/73 possibly when he was at Harwell.

The only time I know I was at the same slot racing meeting with him was early in 1973 (probably March) at a Reading 1/32nd meeting. I cannot actually remember talking to him but probably did as he was part of the organising team. The documentary evidence for this is on page 320 of the May 1973 Scale Models incorporating Model Cars. He wrote the race report and I am mentioned in the results.

Tony Condon tells a tale of asking Ross to go on the practice list to which Ross said "OK...Who are you?" which rather narked Tony as he was the current ECRA National Sports Champion and thought everybody knew him! But the Reading lads were not part of the 32nd "circuit" being one of the few clubs at the time who raced mainly 24th. I think..it was a long time ago.

 

[superhornets]

Hi Dick
The problem is that people have been asking the same question ever since

I believe Ross brawns dad currently races at pinewood ,and I did try to track ross down via that route recently but no one at pinewood seemed to know where he lived.

Cheers tony

 

[tedm]

I bought a motor from Ross Brawn at ARRA in the early 70's.It cost a fiver-a fortune in those days!Last week it blew up-I want my money back.Seriously,as I recall,he was the B in HB,although I could be remembering it wrong-again.I seem to recall him being somewhat hirsute-mind you,we all were in those days.......
TED.....

 

[gasowder]

I did look through my 1964 Model Cars & failed to find the meeting report, unfortunatley most of my 1965 copies seem to have dissapeared into the black hole that seems to exist in our house!
Its possibly in the February 65 issue, I remember the picture being at the top of the right hand page of a two page report on the Newport open meeting.
Eddie

 

[Chris Frost]

I had a chat with Tony Hough about HB some 5 years ago
He met Ross Brawn when they were both working at Harwell. That was when HB was formed. Tony continued supplying slot car stuff under the HB name long after Ross had left to pursue his full size motor racing career.

Chris

 

[Dick Smith]

Brilliant memory Eddie, the picture of Ross Brawn's Cooper Oldsmobile is exactly where you said. I thought it was earlier in a copy of Model Maker.

The second picture is from the previously mentioned report about the Reading Open Meeting in 1973 from Scale Models. The caption does not give the names of the blokes leaning over the daunting Reading banking, but as the room is fairly empty of car boxes etc it is a fair chance that that they are Reading club members and one may be Ross Brawn aged about 18ish. As TedM said, we were all hirsute in those days. Perhaps somebody with very keen eyesight might be able to put some names to the shapes.

 

[Russell Sheldon]

Many thanks for all the info received so far. That's a very impressive looking McLaren from a 9-year old! No doubt dad had some input.

It would appear that Ross' participation in slot racing spanned almost 10-years, from at least 1964-65 through to the early/mid 1970s, prior to him getting into full-size motor sport in 1976 when he joined March Engineering.

Kind regards,

Russell

 

[tedm]

I wish to complain about this thread! Please stop making me feel very old at once.......It's not my fault I started off racing chariots...
TED.....