Stolen Brabham racing car found in raid
Paraparaumu man John Rapley is pleased his rare stolen historic racing car has been found but dismayed at the state it’s in.
The 1962 Brabham BT2, rumoured to have links to the Great Train Robbery of 1963, was stolen from his property in Paraparaumu Beach in July last year.
After more than a year the historic car was uncovered during a police raid in Lower Hutt this month. However the car had been exposed to the weather, creating corrosion in many places including the engine area, and parts from it were missing.
“It certainly hasn’t been cared for.” And a converted caravan, which John had stored the car in had been “stripped on the outside, and gutted on the inside”.
“They made a pretty big mess to put it mildly.”
Discussions are underway with an insurance company about the car and caravan. Mr Rapley thought the car, which has had various modifications including the chassis, and is now essentially a replica of the original, would be gone forever.
“Everyone told me it wouldn’t be seen again.”
The car was special because of its history and the work he had put into it.
Driver Roy James reportedly used it as a getaway car in the Great Train Robbery.
It is also believed Kiwi Formula One driver Denny Hulme drove it before it was passed on to another racing legend, Graham McRae.
In 1987 Rapley got his hands on the car, and spent countless hours working on it.
Information passed onto police meant Detective Sergeant Mike Tohill and his team were able to locate John’s prized possession.
Mr Tohill said it was fantastic to return the car to its rightful owner.
“Given its history and uniqueness, I’ve been aware of this case since the car was taken but unfortunately other leads haven’t led anywhere before this.
“The message to those involved in this sort of offending is that we will be knocking on their door one day.
“We won’t stop looking for these items no matter how long it takes.”
Although the car is no longer driveable, Mr Rapley was very pleased to have it back.
“She’s certainly had one hell of a ride.”
The Great Train Robbery was the robbery of £2.6 million from a Royal Mail train heading from Glasgow to London on the West Coast Main Line in Buckinghamshire, England in the early hours of August 1963.
After having tampered with the lineside signals to bring the train to a halt, a 15-strong gang of robbers attacked the train.
With careful planning the robbers escaped with over £2.6 million (equivalent to £50m today). The bulk of the stolen money was never recovered.
Former racing driver Roy James was the getaway driver during the famous robbery. The successful Formula Two driver claimed he turned to crime because he was unable to get the sponsorship to enable him to drive Formula One.
He died in 1997 at 61.