Gerry Marshall And Baby Bertha

[Steve Holmes]

Absolutely brilliant little documentary here (just under 8mins long) about Gerry Marshall and the Team DTV V8 Vauxhall Firenza Super Saloon. Bill Blydenstein opens with a brief on the newly built Baby Bertha, and its predecessor, the Ventora based Big Bertha, which had been written off.

Following is some priceless 1970s Super Saloon footage at Oulton Park, both in the pits and during the race. And, best of all, a hot lap with big man himself, hustling that machine like only Gerry Marshall could.

[Shano]

Man that's annoying to watch with a scene change nearly every second.

[Jaydee]

Fabulous memories. I raced with Gerry for many years when he was driving the Marsh Plant lightweight DB4 and then the highly modified Marsh V8. He was in my view, and that of many others, the best tin top driver of his generation, and he won his 600th race at an Aston/Thoroughbreds/Intermarque meeting on August 6th 2000 at Snetterton. There was a presentation to him and a signed programme and poster, both of which I still have. best memories:

- watching him stroll down the pit lane at Brands about 20 years ago with a pint in his hand no more than ten minutes before we all saddled up. Geoffrey Marsh was in full pursuit of his driver trying to get him to hurry along. As the long suffering team owner caught up with him, Gerry just turned round, emptied the pint, and gave Geoffrey the glass before getting belted into the V8-he won of course and lapped me in the process with a cheery wave out of Clearways as he drifted the great beast onto the straight.

- when he was a test/works driver in TVRs at a test day at Silverstone, he strolled over to our garage where we were prepping the Nimrod for its first outing since the WSC in 1984. He said 'where the hell are going to race that?' to which I said I had no idea but it seemed like a good plan to give it an airing. He was pretty rotund at this stage of his life and bemoaning the fact that he couldn't fit in the Nimrod's cockpit, so he proceeded to tell me to get belted in, and that he would come by in the wings and slicks TVR and show me the quickest way round for a wings and slicks car...he was brilliant of course and after two laps pulled aside to let me and the Nimrod blast off into the distance.

- in the paddock at Croft for a BTCC meeting where we had the Aston championship grid supporting the main event. By then we had people like Tiff Needell, Jackie Oliver, Simon Taylor and others, doing two driver races in our cars, simply because they wanted to come along and have fun with us, and for no other reason. We were missing Gerry and the dummy grid was forming up, when he appeared, suited and helmeted, on a mobility scooter to be pushed and prodded into the car. By then he was not well at all, and we had no idea how he got his licence (race licences in the UK are way harder to get and keep than here in NZ; for a National 'A' licence for tier 1 meetings, you need a bi annual heart stress test/ECG, and an annual medical). Guess who won? Gerry of course.

Gerry was a real gent. Always polite to a fault, always stood up when he met someone new or a woman came anywhere near where he was sitting. Never forgot a name and was a great flirt. Great man, great company, great driver. Sadly, I was at Silverstone the day he died in April 2005; it was a test day and he was driving the ex Richard Petty IROC Camaro and didn't come round where we were waiting for him. He had simply parked at Luffield, turned everything off, and died. Even now it brings tears...

[ERC]

Good stuf John. Check out the other thread on the John Pope Special (The Aston Martin engined Firenza just in case anyone isn't aware of what it is!)

[Steve Holmes]

Wow, amazing post John, thanks so much for sharing that. I can't imagine how difficult it must have been, being there the day he died. You were obviously very close to him.

He could drive a saloon car like few others. He really had a way of just grabbing it by the scruff of the neck and dragging it. Graceful isn't a term usually applied to his driving style! As well as his involvement with TVR in the '80s, he also raced a factory (for want of a better word, they were a cottage industry) TVR Griffith in the mid-60s. This was one of the original Griffiths, with the 289ci Ford V8, and tiny 86" wheelbase. And he threw that thing around with typical gusto, despite its reputation for snapping out very quickly, and without warning.

Thanks again John.

[zombie289]

Wow, great clip, never realised that car ran a holden engine, I always thought it was chevy powered.

[Steve Holmes]

I think it was Repco-Holden powered Pauly, so basically an F5000 motor.

[Yeah yeah na]

.....600 race wins!!!! I hope I can live to enter 600 races.....legend.

I purchased one of those $4.99 vhs tapes from the warehouse some years ago that had a feature on Gerry, bertha and its build, along with other 70's uk motorsport. I almost wore out the section that featured the man and his driving!!! A great motivation for my passion to have big motors in small cars...

[bry3500]

[bry3500]

[Yeah yeah na]

A bit more info here....

http://www.gerrymarshall.com/

[Steve Holmes]

Awesome!