Attachment 511366
Attachment 511367
atmospheric shot .......I suppose the large Union Jack helped if they played the French national anthem for constructors wins back then too?
Printable View
Attachment 511366
Attachment 511367
atmospheric shot .......I suppose the large Union Jack helped if they played the French national anthem for constructors wins back then too?
GREAT shot !!!!
That was 1969... Stewart took the British GP in that car by a full lap !!!!
Cheers
Great photo.Quote:
Originally Posted by 911MRP
Other teams too...For a short while McLaren strayed just outside Surrey having started business there and ended up back there. Late in the Colnbrook era under the LHR flight path:
Attachment 511370
Much more upmarket than the original New Malden / Kingston upon Thames shared shed that by Al accounts ad an earth floor.
Having spent time working at the current awe inspiring MTC however i'm sure I'dve much preferred the more human atmosphere of the olden days.
I'm too young to have known these 60s era workplaces although the locations line the A3 heading from SW London out into Surrey; an area that was a magnet to world class talent and instrumental in making the UK a world class Motorsport cluster today.
Steve
Sadly Matra (my GOD the sound of those V12s!!!) is no longer in business... missles, aero, or otherwise. As for McLaren? In keeping with it's recent racing travails, there have been both yin and yang.
Attachment 511386
Somehow appropriate that's a feature of their corporate campus architecture. A looong way from a dirt-floor shed.
All can thank Bernie for their good fortune.
Indeed they can David. Bernie didn't do so badly himself.
F1 teams had some eclectic locations in England. Somewhat outside the Surrey theme, Team Lotus were at Ketteringham Hall after moving out to Norfolk. Move date precededed Bernie's shaking and moving:
Attachment 511453
A few images here including some that Getty and Alamy etc sell feature the place:
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...:&vet=1&w=1300
https://www.gettyimages.in/photos/ketteringham-hall
The Hall is separate from but only a short drive from the Hethel main factory and track on the old WW2 air base on Potash Lane. When I worked at Lotus I used to keep a permanent office in "Kett Hall" as well as an office in the main Hethel factory splitting working week about 2:3 days each location. (The factory office for a time was adjacent to Chapman's former office. Used to be Chapman's right hand man Bushell's office back in the day I heard). My boss and I used to use "Kett Hall" for running various special projects such as restructuring the business or major OEM client engineering programmes.
The race shops were in sort of converted old muse stable right around around the back of the old Hall.
Attachment 511460
Senna is pictured sitting on the lawns at side of building with the beautiful Orangery leftmost in the shot.
Privelidge to work in that historic old stately home with Lotus F1 history and workshops and main building; marvelous huge old rooms. Hall was still owned by Clive and the Chapman family but iirc; we leased it at time - as my old boss a long term Lotus employee and enthusiast often used to say at the time if I suggested we meet there rather than in the main factory : "it would be rude not to use it!"
Both the Hall and the Hethel site were used by US Airforce. Seem to recall the factory tour guide used to make the point actor James Stewart was based there during his wartime service. Being a petrolhead he was less interesting than the motoring folks to me. Think of all the Motorsport and folks who'd worked there.
We used to use the old bomber base control tower for watching and running events on track -- one-time I pulled a few strings and invited a bunch of my early 911 Porsche friends there for the day: a free factory tour and track demo with drives by our test drivers. One mate who I still see today was so impressed by the test driver demo around the Hethel track even went out bought a Lotus to go with the 69S he's owned since 80s -- still has both today. The company benefitted from the jolly ..errm Porsche owner sales promotional event ... I laid on for my old Porsche pals ;)
Steve
I visited the 'woodshed' when I was 16 - I wrote to the team asking what they did with their old cars at the end of the season and they must have thought I was a buyer... they invited me to the shed and I had to get my elder brother to drive me there... well before I had a camera unfortunately. I guess they must have been disappointed when I turned up but, very decently, gave me a tour of the workshops etc., I recall the 001 cars being up on trestles at the time... I don't recall the name of the person taking us round, but it wasn't a mechanic and I have a vague recollection it was Derek Gardiner, and they kindly asked all my gauche questions about the car... somewhere I probably still have the correspondence I had with them but no idea where as I've moved many times since then...
Later on I used to drive past McLaren most days on my way to work, but never 'dropped in'... the only time I did that was at Modena in 1990 when I was allowed just beyond the gatehouse but no further onto the hallowed turf!
Don't know how many are aware that Danny Sullivan worked as a gopher for Ken before staring to race FF in England.
Perhaps apt the famous Tyrell woodshed is being saved and moved about 50 miles south of its original location near the A3 Surrey England to a lawn on Goodwood track, which given that's where the young JYS was spotted and signed up to Tyrell’s racing organisation leading to success for both team and driver at the pinnacle of world motorsport.
Nice period film I received embedded in a message telling the story about the shed’s move from Magneto:
https://youtu.be/s6A-S5A75A0
Brooklands Museum roughly a handful of miles from the woodshed’s original site couldn’t afford the cost to relocate it. A lot more people will see it at Goodwood Circuit than its current (original) site or even Brooklands, I suppose. At least the risk of it being demolished and lost forever has lessened due to the financially successful Goodwood events now being places to be seen at … who knows maybe some of the folks who dress-up in period outfits to swan-about during the Goodwood Revival weekends might even get to know what the old woodshed is. There are still motoring enthusiasts who attend who will appreciate it too, of course.
JYS pictured at the RAC with one of the cars during his 80th birthday lunch alongside a famous guest who had a palatial house (a few palaces actually) very near to the clubhouse — she was the club’s patron.
Attachment 610058
Expect she was much more familiar with the Goodwood horse racing track than the motor racing circuit despite both being on the Duke’s family’s estate in Sussex.
Steve