Story and photos by Vince Johnson
Australia 18-20 March 2011
Maserati 250Fs haven’t been thick on the ground at race meetings since the fifties, but there were three of them at the Phillip Island Classic in March. During Sunday’s lunchtime demonstration they ran together for several laps. Peter Giddings in 2501/2523, Tom Price in #2525 and Jeffrey O’Neill in #2527 were obviously enjoying the moment. They’d filled the podium in their first race on Saturday morning in that order, proving they weren’t there just to circulate, and the sound of these three Italian classics had grown men misty eyed.
Gidding’s car, chassis number 2523, which according to Peter’s website began life as #2501, became #2523, unofficially became #2504, and now has reverted back to #2501/ #2523 …O’Neill’s car, one of the ‘lightweight’ Type 2 Maseratis, had been completed late in ‘56 for the ’57 season. It was sold to Moto Guzzi works rider Australian Ken Kavanagh in 1958. #2525 had won the 1956 Italian Grand Prix at Monza in the hands of Stirling Moss, once again the bridesmaid in the Drivers’ Championship that year.
The 4.4km track south of Melbourne woke at dawn on the Sunday morning to an 11-car display at the start line that spanned 10 decades.
In 1906 at the Sarthe circuit near Le Mans, Louis Wagner had driven a 14.25 litre 59HP Darracq for 103 miles before retiring with valve trouble in the inaugural French Grand Prix. The car then crossed the Atlantic to Long Island, winning that year’s Vanderbilt Cup.
At the finish line Wagner became the first ever race winner to be greeted with a chequered flag. In 1910 Malcolm Campbell had used the twin block four cylinder engine (bore 180mm, stroke 140mm!) from Wagner’s car to power his first Bluebird at Brooklands and in 1914 Neville Minchin had a 4-seat tourer body fitted in the UK.
Following WW1, a naval officer from New Zealand bought the engine from Ireland, where it had been fitted into a speedboat. He had the intention of doing the same down under but it ended up powering a generator in a newspaper office. In the 1960’s its owner chased original parts to rebuild it but the process stalled. Anne Thomson and Wallace McNair took on the project in 2003, sourcing standard Darracq running gear from a 50hp tourer. The frame carries chassis number 18676. In 2006 the car went to France for the centenary celebrations, with the hundred-year-old engine from Wagner’s entry in that first Grand Prix. At Phillip Island Thomson drove the car with vigour the whole weekend, scoring a 2nd place in the Regularity run on Sunday morning.
Representing the twenties in the grid display was Bugatti chassis #4540, a 1925 Type 44 R35A 11hp model. Alongside the 250Fs on the front row was Ron Townley’s 1948 Lago Talbot F1 GP car. Chassis #110002, the second car built for that year’s 4500cc formula, it was raced in Europe for five years before Doug Whiteford took it to Australia. Rod Jolley’s 1958 Monza Lister Jaguar and the 1959 Brabham Cooper F1 from Sir Jack’s first championship filled the third row, while the Gurney Eagle of Lou Sellyei Jnr and Indy Eagle of Aaron Lewis flanked the Alan Jones championship winning 1980 Williams FW07.
When the photos were done the three Maseratis turned to face the sea towards turn 1, giving Giddings, Price and O’Neill, and those others fortunate enough to be present, time to dwell on the era of Fangio, Moss and Behra.
But the cars and their drivers weren’t there for reminiscing. The 250Fs mixed it in the Regularity events with everything from Alan Telfer’s 1926 Bugatti 37/35B and Trevor Montgomery’s 1927 Alfa Romeo 6C1500 to Flavio Puccinelli’s 1974 Group 4 spec Lancia Stratos, whose megaphone exhaust managed to drown out the cam chains of its V6. In the Group Sc races, 14 Alfas dominated the 17 car under 2000cc class. The Ferraris of Brendan Bonning, Jim Reark and Trevor Bassett and the Panteras of Perry Spiridis and Ross Jackson kept the larger engined classes honest, with Spiridis winning two of the four races and taking second in the other two. Marcus Gordon’s Giulia 1600 was the sole Alfa in the Mini Cooper dominated Group Nb while Phillip Simmie and Bill Magoffin’s Alfas upheld Italy’s honour in Group Nc. Hugh Harrison’s 2.5 litre Alfa Romeo GTV V6 led many of the V8s home in Group A. In the Group J, K, Lb and Invited races, the 250Fs battled with the Lister Jaguar and Lilo Zicron’s 5 litre 1959 Devin amongst a field of over 40 pre-1960 cars.
Record crowds attended over the weekend, no doubt encouraged by the weather. Many came for the home-grown Bathurst, Ford Falcon and Holden Torana anniversaries, but the earlier classics soon had them hooked. Next year it will be half a century since the arrival of Ferrari’s 250 GTO. If the Victorian Historic Racing Register, the well-oiled organisers of the Phillip Island Classic, keep to their current form, the 2012 grids should have the fans weeping.
Best of the Rest
Flavio Puccinelli’s 1974 Group 4 spec Lancia Stratos.
Kent Patrick, Bugatti Type 37A.
Ross Jackson’s De Tomaso Pantera goes by Perry Spiridis De Tomaso Pantera (n. 28).
1959 Stanguellini FJr., Norman Falkin.
1983 Alfa-Romeo, Hugh-Harrison.
1980 Ferrari-308GTB, Len-Watson.
Line up of the three Maseratis and other historics on the grid.
John Hardy, Alpine Renault A110. John is a regular competitor with his well driven Alpine.
Full race results at
http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?20/03/2011.PHIL
There is no doubt that the various international entrants and their cars added much to the spectacle at Phillip Island – the Maseratis in particular were a joy to behold. However, it should be noted that it was a local competitor – David Reid in the 1959 Holden-based Faux Pas Aussie special – who actually blitzed the meeting.
In the feature race David comprehensively beat the entire field including the Maseratis and in earlier races he either won or secured a podium finish.
David was also the well-deserved recipient of the ‘Drive of the Meeting’ award.
It is amazing that Vince Johnson can present a report on the meeting but fails to mention David or his car….a little objectivity would go a long way.
PS: And, yes, I know that apart from its name the Faux Pas special isn’t French or Italian but let’s have some balance.
Nice to see Colin Wilson-Brown’s 1750 GTV,albeit slightly locked up,into MG Corner,with a fine 6th Place,in the feature Race at the Island,for Group S Sportscars,along with my Alfa GTV,driven by Geoff Burgess, in his Regularity Event. That car won two out of three Group Nc Touring Cars,up to 3 Litre,in a field of 54.Life in the old dog yet.Must be the Corrosion Lightweighting process,that Alfa invented,for it to do so well.
Now I’m relegated temporarily,to Commentary,and I must say from that vantage point in the Tower,the Group S Race ,was the best of the Meeting,but taking nothing away from the other Races,and Racers,all of whom covered themselves in the Phillip Island mantle of achievement,by Sunday night.
Monday morning,it poured rain,in Sydney just to put a final cap on how good it was at this,the 2011 “Goodwood by the Sea”,Phillip Island Historic Meeting…Ad Break…Brought to you by the VHRR,Shannons Insurance.etc etc…..
250F’s with scaffolding fitted?…..Ugh!!!!….desecration!!!!!.
Speaking of balance as Frank Cuttell did, I couldn’t but notice the omission of Ian McDonald’s performance in the Elva Courier. With a mildly tuned MGA engine in a road going sports car, Ian knocked off two of the Maseratis and was only beaten by Peter Giddings in the racing. Not bad for a 74 year old with only a 135 hp under the right foot. Mind you, the Maseratis sounded absolutely glorious belting down the straight!