Drivers and cars, all from Kyalami SA

[frans]

Hi,

I have access to multiple photos from many years ago. It was taken by various photographers and all honour to them whoever they may be. All these were taken in South Africa at the Grands Prix held there.

First is Graham Hill, wife Betty, Colin Chapman. Then James Hunt and Others. You, the readers might know.

Regards, Frans.

[frans]

A few more.
Jacques Laffite.

Jean-Pierre Jarrier.

Peter Revson.

[frans]

Jackie Stewart,

UOP Shadow,

Vittorio Brambilla,

[Steve Holmes]

Wow, these are stunning!

[frans]

1) Lunch is enjoyed at I think SA's racing chairman's house, Francis Tucker. I can see Jackie Ickx, Pam Scheckter, Jody 2) Scheckter, Denny Hulme. I'm sure others will complete the names.
2) Petersen, Ickx, Warr, Chapman looking worried.
3) Ken Tyrell having a word with the drivers. Plenty known faces here!
4) Jackie Stewart takes another win.
5) Jean-Pierre Jarrier in the UOP Shadow.

[John McKechnie]

Do you have any pix of the saloon cars that ran in SA at this time..CanAm Firenzas etc ?

[khyndart in CA]

Frans,
I am enjoying your photos very much as they show a time before we lost so many of this group such as Peter Revson, Ronnie Peterson,
Patrick Depallier, Tom Pryce, Francois Cevert and Roger Williamson (Who did not compete here at Kyalami.)

The lunch table scene has some I recognize with Peter Revson at the front on the left with Ronnie Peterson's head just over his shoulder. I'm not sure of who is sitting with Revson. Opposite Revson with elbows on the table is Teddy Mayer, then Eion Young and Phil Kerr on the right.
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Also that other image showing Peter Warr brings back memories of when he interviewed me in July 1973 at Hethel, as I vainly attempted to seek a job with Team Lotus. It was a wonderful experience and he did take me to lunch.

(Ken H)

[frans]

John, For you but scarce.

A few for you John, but not always the best quality.

Our Saloon car champ in both the Can-am and Mustang. Unfortunately the Can-am came too late into that series where the Perana ruled the scene. The Can-am ran away from the Perana and with ease but not for long and they stopped that series. I think that the Can-am would have been more known if the series carried on for another year or two.

[frans]

Sports and GT.

Porsche 917 John Love/Richard Attwood 1970 9 Hour

Porsche 917 Jo Siffert/Kurt Ahrens 1970 9 hour

Ferrari 250LM David Piper 1966 ( hour.

Ferrari P4 Paul Hawkins

Ferrari 412 David Piper 1968.

[John McKechnie]

John, For you but scarce.

A few for you John, but not always the best quality.

Our Saloon car champ in both the Can-am and Mustang. Unfortunately the Can-am came too late into that series where the Perana ruled the scene. The Can-am ran away from the Perana and with ease but not for long and they stopped that series. I think that the Can-am would have been more known if the series carried on for another year or two.

Thank you so much Frans.
I am enjoying the F5000s however we have never seen many Saloon Car racers from SA.
Of course we now know that our legendary Ford Falcon GTHO is known as the Fairmont GT there and of course you had Holden Monaros racing there as well.
We welcome and enjoy all pix you wish to put up

[Oldfart]

We also know that there was a giant killing saloon, being the Renault Gordini piloted by Frans Cronje!

[khyndart in CA]

Some good South African Renault R 8 & R 10 information from 1964 - 1970 at this site.
Thanks for the tip, Rhys.

http://alconi.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-renault-alconi.html

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(Ken H)

[Roger Dowding]

I believe that one of those Renault R8 Gordini [ or South African Tuned model ] cars came to New Zealand with a South African who used to Race it ..

[khyndart in CA]

I believe that one of those Renault R8 Gordini [ or South African Tuned model ] cars came to New Zealand with a South African who used to Race it ..

Roger,
Is this the Renault R8 Gordini you are referring to ?
https://www.autocar.co.nz/classic-reviews-app/the-glory-of-gordini

(KH)

[Oldfart]

I believe that one of those Renault R8 Gordini [ or South African Tuned model ] cars came to New Zealand with a South African who used to Race it ..

I know that the 2 R8 Gordinis raced in NZ currently have been created in NZ by 2 Gordini addicts ex South Africa. One known by friends and family as "Gordini Houdini", a very clever man, with more tricks up his sleeves... He also bought his road car R8G with him. (Time to open up Frans :) )

[Roger Dowding]

Roger,
Is this the Renault R8 Gordini you are referring to ?
https://www.autocar.co.nz/classic-reviews-app/the-glory-of-gordini

(KH)

Yes indeed, I read about in a Car magazine, unsure if Autocar as don't usually buy it but,do get a loan of mags, or see at a Medical waiting room, - nothing serious, being there.
Oldfart, " Hast though unveiled " the Author of this post ??

[Oldfart]

He now seems to have gone into hiding :)

[frans]

Hi,

Out of hiding again, back from Aus and 42 degrees. People living there are all going to heaven, they have hell on earth.

Yes it is my Gordini in the NZ Autocar, bought it in 1980 when it was 10 years old and still have it. I can tell a lot about the Renaults, however they weren't very common in NZ, none of the Froggies are. Always thought it could be because of the Rainbow Warrior?

Here is just an Appetiser.

The Gordinis where real giant killers in South Africa mainly due to a very clever man and driver called Scamp Porter. For the SA guys and Renault fans he was like a Caroll Shelby was for Ford. Not only Sprint races but Enduros as well. Tops in the Enduro results was probably in the 1969 Rand Daily Mail 9 hour race. Won by David Piper and Richard Attwood in a Porsche 917, then Mike D'Udy in a Lola T70, then a German team in another Porsche 908 and in 4th place Scamp Porter and Geoff Mortimer in a Renault Gordini. That is the overall results. They were helped by a characteristic Highveld thunder storm late in the afternoon and it was like some fiction movie watching the Gordini flying past the aquaplaning Porsches, Mirage Ford, Chevron, Lola T70 etc. and unlapping itself.

This thread will be a long one if we go on about the Gordinis in SA. Maybe I should start a another post about that if there is interest in it.

Regards, Frans.

[Oldfart]

Of course we want to know about Gordinis Frans

[Roger Dowding]

Of course we want to know about Gordinis Frans

YES yes yes Frans .. we do indeed - Those stubby [ square ] Blue cars with the White stripes .. are great .. keep the story g[R]o[W}ing ...

[John McKechnie]

In the South Island ,late 1960 , Brian Crosbie was racing a R8 Gourdini...only Gourdini raced in NZ..please correct if wrong.
Our family had a R10 in 1970 and it was extremely lively,great in corners

[frans]

The Renault make was much stronger in SA than over here and because of the performance and race wins it became much strongerbecause of the old saying "win on Sunday, sell on Monday".

Scamp Porter was in a perfect position working for Renault on the the Renaults and racing them. I think that meant a store full of spares. Then over and above that was another 2 clever guys, Puddles Adler and John Conchie that started the Alconi developments. This was a conversion kit that was available as a bolt-on kit on the standard non-Gordinis. ie. the non crossflow head engines. (Gordini was cossflow) These Renault Alconi kits were so good that the Renault factory honoured the original warranty. The biggest engines were 1108cc and the Alconi was the only 1100 "production" car at the time to do a genuine clocked 100 mph. The kit consisted as a cam, head, twin downdraught weber carb, extractor and a few extras such as a rev counter, badges etc.

Those days the 1000cc cars were still in abundance and there were a class for them. A very well known racing driver, Gordon Briggs, imported a 1000cc Broadspeed Anglia from England and he was untouchable with that car. The first ever 1000cc car to break the 2 min barrier at Kyalami's 4.1 km track. Soon Alconi caught on to this Broadspeed Anglia and they decided to downscale the 1108 motor to a legal 997cc and then they whipped the Broadspeed time and again.

With these potent cars Renault made a big name for themselves. Photos taken during the endurance races in SA proves a lot against the likes of the very fast Alfa Romeo of the SA Saloon car champion, Toyota Celicas, Mustang. Sprint races were lapped much quicker.

Scamp Porter developed the Gordinis to such an extend that it couldn't be equalled in France and engine builders came over to see what he did. His racing number was 128 most of the time. I will add a few photos for now.

The first photo was taken at the entry to the Esses. The esses is shown on the 4th photo and you'll be able to estimate that it is about 3 km after the start and the Gordinis are still hot on the tail of the GT cars. Amongst them a Celica as well. The other photos just shows these 1108 and 1296 Renaults amongst totally different class cars. All, most, of the photos to follow later will show them in the vicinity of big stuff.

More to follow.

[Roger Dowding]

Great stuff Frans - keep them coming or as Ken H would " we enjoy your inputs " .. That from a Kiwi in the USA, to a Protea in New Zealand - ehh Ken..
Meanwhile this Kiwi is back home [ almost 3 years now ] after 8 years in Kangaroo Land ..

[John McKechnie]

Agree 100% with Roger....love your SA saloon cars also.
you had a mix of cars that all we kiwis growing up with cars can relate to....English, Aus and European

[khyndart in CA]

I see Jody Scheckter drove an R 8 in South Africa in the late 60s.
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I became a fan of his when he drove one of the Trojan T101 F 5000 cars in 1973 and it was a treat to be in the Trojan canteen and listen to the banter between Jody and Sid Taylor and others during lunch.
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Jody in the T101 at Laguna Seca . 1973.

Jody went on to become the 1979 Formula One Champion.

But I was saddened to learn of the recent tragic death of one of his daughters at the age of 21.


(Ken H)

[Oldfart]

Frans, stop hiding and tell us of your exploits.
In NZ there was also an R8 Gordini campaigned out of Rotorua, but I'm unsure if it was Peter Ackroyd or one of the Bakers.

[John McKechnie]

Ken...really clear pic of Jodys R8, the car must have worked hard in his hands.
What results did he get with it?

[khyndart in CA]

John,
I'm not sure of the results he got with it but this is what he said about that time in an interview. (2008 Motorsport Magazine.)

" when I was 18 and apprenticed at my dad’s garage in the Eastern Cape I got my hands on a beat-up old Renault R8. I had no money, but I scrounged the bits and pieces I needed to prepare it for racing. The rules said I had to have a rollcage, so I bent one up out of exhaust tubing. I didn’t think about the safety aspect. I locked the diff, which meant I got a reputation for going sideways – got black-flagged for it in my first national race, because they thought I was driving dangerously. We’d take it on a borrowed trailer 1200 miles to Rhodesia and back for a race, do the trip in 20 hours non-stop. I was doing my National Service in the middle of this, so I’d get leave to go racing, and get my cousin, who was a dentist, to give me a doctor’s certificate for the Monday if I needed to mend the car after the weekend. Then I supercharged it, which made it rather a handful, because it still had standard brakes and cut-down road springs. "

This car and driving skills got him noticed and the rest is history.
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( "Sideways" Scheckter in his R8 about 1968 at the Hesketh course in SA.)


(Ken H)

[frans]

Hi,

Jody was quick in that car but the majority races was in East London, some 1300 ks away. I saw him at Kyalami with that Renault when it was supercharged. The sidesways style must have suited him well because at the time the racing tyres was crossply and in the photo you can see how hard they were inflated. There are no distortion of the sidewalls at all. The big diameter wheels were typical because that helped to improve the ratio to a more acceptable one.

My own exploits were a little later when the Gordinis were almost classics and then real classics. The car I raced in SA weren't mine and belonged to a sponsor. Having a sponsor had its ups and downs but when it comes to modifying and someone else is paying the ups are good!! I prepared and raced that car until April 2001. I increased the capacity to 1480cc and because it had a close ratio 5 speed box in, the cam profile could be must better than my NZ car because the power band could be smaller. Much more hp than my NZ car. Weight reduction was a big thing as well with Lexan windows all round, no lights, no hinges. Colin Chapman would have proud of me. This car was ordered from France by Renault Africa, it was ordered as a RH drive and assembled on a LH drive assembly lane. One of the tell tales signs is the sissy handle on the RH side. Then Chris Swanepoel and Gus Crous, big SA names in Rally, went over to collect the car and raced it there in the Monte Carlo. They won their class and brought the car back to SA for continued rallying. Renault realised that the car was too low for the SA roads so they made it a track car. The car eventually changed many hands and we found it all beaten up under a tree for many years. I started the restoration and then racing it with a few get togethers and close calls as the nature of racing is. But who would worry that much when the sponsor pays for the repair of the body damage!!! Unlike now where I have to do everything myself.

My last event before I emmigrated to NZ was April 2001. It was also my best race of all times.

It was easter and there were cars and classics from all over the country, cars never seen before in the National event. The track was Zwartkops, near Pretoria. This was now a full-on Classic class race. The Gordini was 33 years old at the time. One of the cars that brought back the memories was the restored Lucky Strike Ford Mustang of our Saloon Car champion Basil Van Rooyen. Lucky Strike was a Rhodesian cigarette company but I am not a 100% sure. It was residing in Cape Town and was railed up to Pretoria for this event.

A long story short, I out qualified and out raced the Mustang in both the heats. Not handicap racing! It was the first time in my racing career that I was actually noticing the crowd on the Grandstand at the end of the main straight. At the start of the straight I had a quick look at my gauges and then a look in the mirror where I saw the Mustang starting the straight. Then it was like a huge hand that picked it up and plonked it down right next to me at the end of the straight. Then I would out-brake him into the first righthander and then the winding bits started. I could increase the gap enough so that the next lap was identical to the previous one and so on and so on. The crowd was waving jackets and all sort of things, one guy was swinging his chillybin. On that note I finished my SA experience and handed the car over to the owner who still comes out in it every now and again.

Photo 1: Off loading. Note the 10" Michellin Slicks.
Photo 2: At Phakisa Track in the Free State, Gold Mine world.
Photo 3: The Mustang!!! restored version. The real car on a photo a few threads before.
Photo 4: At the Midvaal Track.
Photo 5: Me lying on my side at the back of the engine centering a new pressure plate between heats.

Regards. Frans.

[frans]

Try again.

I don't know why that one is upside down. Tried again but no luck.

Frans.

[khyndart in CA]

Frans,
Wonderful reading and information. Thank you.
I hope you don't mind me doing this to your photos, they are classic.
Ken.
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[Oldfart]

Thanks Frans, I have enjoyed every second of knowing you, I'm so glad you have written this for us all to enjoy. See you in May.

[Roger Dowding]

Frans,
Wonderful reading and information. Thank you.
I hope you don't mind me doing this to your photos, they are classic.
Ken.
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64524

Ken H, you neat me to it, was just rescanning Frans photos when I saw your post, cheers

Renault - sponsored by Volkspares ZA .. were they a sereis sponsor as severalcars seem tohave the white band on the windscreens..

[frans]

Roger, yes that was the series sponsor. The VW was raced as can be seen in the one photo. They were fairly quick because they used the 2000cc barrels from the Combis and bored them out to 4" with Chev V8 pistons. That gave them around 2500cc and sthen some were stroked to increase that even more.

My NZ racecar is road registered and by far not as "hot" as the SA car and then with Dot tyres and not 10" slicks.

Some photos of my NZ cars.

[frans]

Other photos of racing Renaults in SA in various shapes and forms. These were mostly privateers racing after the R8 Gordinis weren't made and they became the "handbuilt" stuff without agent sponsors.

[frans]

A few more...........

[frans]

and more...........

[frans]

John Mck,

You asked for videos of saloons racing of the Perana era, Couldn't find any.

Here is a saloon car race on the old Kyalami circuit. Unfortunately, it is via FaceBook so I hope the link will work. Commentary in Afrikaans and English, so hold on the English will be there.

https://www.facebook.com/alan.claydonfink/videos/10160264110178868/UzpfSTgyMDIyODg2NzoxMDE2MDI2NDE2Njc1Mzg2OA/

Regards, Frans.

[John McKechnie]

John Mck,

You asked for videos of saloons racing of the Perana era, Couldn't find any.

Here is a saloon car race on the old Kyalami circuit. Unfortunately, it is via FaceBook so I hope the link will work. Commentary in Afrikaans and English, so hold on the English will be there.

https://www.facebook.com/alan.claydonfink/videos/10160264110178868/UzpfSTgyMDIyODg2NzoxMDE2MDI2NDE2Njc1Mzg2OA/

Regards, Frans.

Hi Frans,
just seen this message now, have been busy. Love to see the race but Facebook link doesnt work.Looked at his facebook site, Geogf Mortimers V8 Chevair looks so cool.
regards,
John.