HUNGER GAMES

Whether it was 997cc Anglias or RS2600 Capris, legendary race car driver, John Fitzpatrick dominated ’60s and ’70s saloon car racing behind the wheel of a Ford. Here’s why.

Let’s make no mistake about this. Although we all remember him for his valiant efforts in Anglias, Escorts and Capris, John Fitzpatrick won many more races in many other types of cars too, and didn’t retire until 1986, years after he ever stepped into a European Ford competition car.

He had a long and distinguished career in motorsport. Those of us who have been around British motor racing circuits for some years first saw the young Fitz in Mini Coopers, but that was in the early 1960s. By the 1980s, however, not only had he won races in cars as fearsome as Porsche 962s, but he had also become a team owner, notable for running such cars in many countries, worldwide. Have I forgotten something — well yes, for sure, if you include a period in his mid-years as General Secretary of the BRDC, and also as a successful proprietor of a company making truck-based transporters.

Crossing over

For John, Black Country-born to a family whose company made commercial vehicle bodywork, his club motor racing career started in his own Mini Cooper, after which, aged only 20, he started racing for the new Birminghambased Broadspeed team. In 1964, he was attracted to the John Cooper works Mini team, then went back to Broadspeed in 1965 to drive their class-dominant 970cc Mini Cooper S in the British Saloon Car Championship (BSCC).

Because Broadspeed often beat the works team cars (‘much to their annoyance’ is how Ralph Broad once told us) there was more and more friction in the BSCC ranks as the year passed by, so it was really no surprise when Broadspeed (of which John Fitzpatrick’s driving was a major asset) was recruited to run

works-supported Anglia 105Es in the muchchanged British Championship for 1966. Since this would now be run to FIA Group 5 regulations, which virtually allowed unlimited changes to the engine, Fitzpatrick was immediately supplied with a 115 bhp 997cc Anglia which dominated the 1-litre category. Ralph Broad was personally involved in the engine tuning programme, with help and some components being supplied by Cosworth, and later by Holbay.

That was the year in which John won his capacity class no fewer than eight times, and won the entire Championship on points. In 1967, after his erstwhile driving partner, Anita Taylor, had been replaced by the aggressive Chris Craft, his Anglia had a canted-over engine with Tecalemit fuel injection and 124 bhp. Another seven class wins followed (team orders were sometimes applied, as by that stage it was clear that Craft was equally as fast in the sister car), but on this occasion it was a massive Alan Mann Racing Ford Falcon which lifted the Championship crown.

For the author, in 1966 there was one memorable occasion when he sat in the Anglia alongside Fitz on a series of high-speed laps of the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit, an occasion which proved just how remarkable the Broadspeed car was, and how smooth and accomplished the driver proved to be. He might have had a ruthless reputation for tactics on the track, but it did not show on that testing day.

Broadspeed then moved up for 1968 and 1969, when they provided Fitzpatrick and Chris Craft with a pair of newly-launched Escort 1300GTs for the British Championship. Once again the smart maroon/silver cars had Tecalemit fuel injection, specially modified

“FITZPATRICK WAS SUPPLIED WITH A 115 BHP, 997CC ANGLIA WHICH DOMINATED THE 1-LITRE CATEGORY OF THE SALOON CAR CHAMPIONSHIP”

Crossflow heads with vertical inlet ports, and no less than 145 bhp at 9000 rpm, and were remarkably fast, if not totally reliable, throughout the season, when they had to battle, head-to-head, with the latest works Mini Cooper S cars driven by John Rhodes.

In spite of having to suffer some irritating mechanical breakdowns in this advanced little car, Fitz was as fast as ever, though in 1969 his season started badly, which allowed team-mate Chris Craft to lead the class structure throughout. Even so, Broadspeed won the Entrants’ (Manufacturers’) Championship.

For 1970, the Championship reverted to FIA Group 2 regulations, which harmed Broadspeed’s Escort chassis layout a little — but not its state of engine tune! Not only had team-mate Chris Craft moved up to race a Broadspeed Escort Twin Cam in the 1.6-litre class, but Fitzpatrick’s good fortune returned with the change of rules, for with a brand new 1300GT (EVX 256H), this time with no less than 149 bhp from 1.3-litres, he once again dominated the class, winning seven of the 12

events, and also took third place, overall, in the entire Championship.

Bigger, faster

The modest, but cheerful and determined, Fitzpatrick, by this stage ready for bigger and faster things, was already one of Ford Motorsport’s favourite sons, so in 1971 they encouraged Broadspeed to build him an ultimately-tuned Escort RS1600. For publicity reasons this car usually raced with RS1600 plates on show at the front of the car, and started life as a state-of-the-Broadspeed-art Group 2 Escort (it was really MEV 34J), with a chassis which included Lockheed F1-type disc brakes all round, and accurate rear suspension location ensured by a transverse Watts Linkage.

Originally it ran with a 1.7-litre BDA engine (both Broadspeed and Cosworth had had a hand in its preparation), with Lucas mechanical fuel-injection, and at least 240 bhp. Fitz showed the new car’s class at once, winning the first event (at Brands Hatch) outright, which shocked the 5-litre American-car opposition (Chevrolet Camaros and Mustangs) to the core, especially as Ralph Broad let it be known that an enlarged and significantly more powerful BD-type engine was already under development. Two weeks later Fitz took second place to Muir’s Camaro at Snetterton, and the season-long scenario began to fall into place. The Camaros, by the way, had 500 bhp 5.7litre engines!

For Fitz the dramas then began to mount up, for the RS1600 then broke a front stub axle, at high speed, at Thruxton, which pitched the car off the track and damaged it severely. Weeks later, though, recreated around a new bodyshell (though it retained the 1.7-litre engine), it reappeared at Silverstone (where it finished third, plagued by a misfire and a collapsing wheel bearing), then suffered a serious engine oil leak at Crystal Palace.

Only a week after that, complete with a rebuilt engine, Fitz then took fourth place at Silverstone, beaten by three 5.7-litre Camaros). but drooped to seventh place in the British GP meeting at Silverstone (first an undertray came adrift, and a hurried pit stop was needed to rip it off, then a spark plug failed on the very last lap): that placing later being revised to fourth when three Camaros were disqualified for technical irregularities. A month later he finished second overall at Oulton Park, then at the end of the same month he returned to Brands Hatch and won outright.

The end of the season was explosive, in more ways than one. Ralph Broad had already arranged to buy the car from Ford, and had already pre-sold it on to a New Zealand customer, who flew halfway round the world, to Brands Hatch, for the Motor Show 200 meeting to watch John Fitzpatrick’s final outing. Having qualified third fastest, Fitz started out third, eventually moved up to second, then on Lap 11 the RS1600 came into contact with Frank Gardner’s Camaro, speared off into the trees, and was written off. Unsurprisingly, that was the end of that controversial RS1600’s career.

Cologne-bound

Fitzpatrick, for his part, had been kept very busy throughout the year, for he had also signed up with Ford-Cologne to race RS1600s in the European Touring Car Championship, where his usual partner was Jochen Mass. Although

“IN 1971 FORD MOTOSPORT ENCOURAGED BROADSPEED TO BUILD FITZPATRICK AN ULTIMATE-TUNE ESCORT RS1600”

it was not as eventful a year as was his time with Broadspeed, there were victories (including the Jarama 4-Hour race in Spain, and the Austria Trophy race at the Salzburgring).

This, however, was the point at which Fitzpatrick, Ford and Broadspeed temporarily drifted apart, for there was to be no official Ford works effort from Broadspeed in 1972, and John Fitzpatrick, not overly delighted by his fortunes in the previous year, abandoned the British series, and signed up for the prestigious BMW Team Schnitzer, of Germany, to tackle European Touring Car events in BMW 2800CSs, and also to race Porsche 911S for the Kremer team. By winning the European GT Championship in the 911s (five victories in nine events), he inspired Ford-Cologne so much that they hastened to bring him back into the Blue Oval’s Capri team for the whole of 1973.

For him, that seemed, this was a golden opportunity, for the 300 bhp Capri RS2600s had just won the European Touring Car Championship in 1972 (for the second year in succession), there was more to come for 1973, and with team-mates including Jochen Mass, Dieter Glemser, Jackie Stewart and Gerard Larrousse, it all looked very promising. Unhappily, this was the season in which BMW pushed their interpretation of the homologation regulations to the limit, launching the bewinged BMW 3.0 CSL (not for nothing was it nicknamed the Batmobile) which soon began to overwhelm the still-legal Capris.

This was the season, therefore, where Fitz started 10 races in Capri RS2600s for Ford-Cologne, but where he finished on six times. Nevertheless, Glemser and he won the four-hour Austria Trophy race outright, finished second overall (this time with Jochen Mass in the gruelling Spa 24 hours, and (along with Gerard Larrousse) was third in the Zandvoort (Holland) four-hour event.

That, however, was the height of it, for the works Capris could no longer beat the BMWs in a straight fight. In the high-profile British Tourist trophy race, held at Silverstone in September 1973, Fitz took third place overall in the first part (of a two part race), but retired from Part 2, while lying second.

This was his last appearance for many years in a works-supported Ford which, to absolutely fair, came as something of a relief for him. Later, when interviewed, John would often comment that, ‘I didn’t enjoy racing the Capris, for they were the worst handling racing cars I have ever driven...’ Oh dear!

In 1968 and 1969, Fitzpatrick habitually drove XOO 342F, with Craft always in XOO 341F. The two usually raced as close as this.

For 1968, Broadspeed provided John Fitzpatrick and Chris Craft with a pair of exquisitely engineered 145 bhp Escort 1300GTs, which were supreme in their capacity class.

Ralph Broad’s Broadspeed concern was the first to give John Fitzpatrick a start in Touring Car Racing.

The combination of Fitzpatrick and Broadspeed power in an Anglia 105E was irresistible in the BTCC in 1966 and 1967.

John Fitzpatrick (left) taking a bottle of champagne from Ford-Cologne competitions boss Mike Kranefuss, after wrestling with a Capri RS2600 throughout the Spa 24 Hour race in 1973.

The use of a specially-modified downdraught inlet ported head was one of the features which gave Fitzpatrick’s Anglia 105Es such remarkable performance.

Graham Robson Ford Photographic Although he was always competitive in the Ford-Cologne Capri, John Fitzpatrick described this as the worst-handling car he ever raced!

In 1971 John Fitzpatrick drive this 240 bhp Escort RS1600 in the British Touring Car Championship. The number plate was a publicity gimmick — the actual registration being MEV 34J .

In 1968 and 1969, John Fitzpatrick and Chris Craft were virtually inseparable in Broadspeed Escort 1300GTs, both of which had 145 bhp pushrod engines.

John Fitzpatrick and co-driver Henry Taylor, along with Roger Clark and Chris Craft in the sister 1300GT, cross the line together in the 1968 Nürburgring 6-Hour race.