‘I wish Rootes had let me do more with the Tiger’
Irish former rally driver Rosemary Smith is best known for escapades in Sunbeam Rapiers and Hillman Imps, but a one-off drive in a works Sunbeam Tiger left her questioning Rootes’ deployment strategy
Motoring was very much in my genes,’ says Rosemary Smith, born into a middleclass family in Ireland. ‘At the tender age of 11 I took the wheel of a big old Vauxhall, my feet just able to reach the pedals. I then went go kart racing, encouraged by my father, and won the Class 1 Championship first time out. Later, I was lent an early MG and took part in hill climbing to further hone my competitive driving skills.’
After competing in rallies at local level Rosemary’s first contact with Rootes’ cars and international events came in 1962, when she shared a privately entered Sunbeam Rapier with Sally Ann Cooper on the Monte Carlo Rally; they finished well down the field. ‘I hated it, recalls Rosemary. ‘All that snow, ice and fog, it took me weeks to recover.’ But it was enough to get her noticed.
It was at the Monte Carlo Ball that Rosemary, looking elegant in a full-length gown, was approached by a balding middle-aged man with the unlikely line, ‘I’ve been watching you.’ It was Rootes’ competitions manager Norman Garrad. His suggestive overture was followed by a letter offering Rosemary a works drive; she replied with an firm declination.
Luckily, Rosemary’s mother read the missive and replied on her behalf, agreeing to the contract. It was the start of Rosemary’s career working for Rootes, during which time she entered several rallies in Sunbeam Rapiers and Alpines. ‘I recall walking into Rootes’ Competitions Department workshops in Coventry for the first time. Everyone was very friendly and helpful including Peter Harper and Peter Riley. But the place was such a mess.’
On the 1963 Monte Carlo Rally, Rosemary managed to tumble her Rapier down the side of the Col de Perty in the Alps. Grinning mischievously, she admits, ‘We received more publicity from our accident than Rootes’ performance on the entire rally.
‘The Rapier always felt unsteady on the road with poor roadholding. In contrast I loved the Alpine because it was an easy car to drive quickly with good handling. The steering was light with compliant suspension and I entered it in many events over the next two years.’
The Sunbeam Tiger began as an idea hatched by Ian Garrad, Rootes’ West Coast sales manager in California and son of Norman. His vision was to fit a small-block Ford V8 into the Alpine in search of more speed, attracting enthusiasts on both sides of the Atlantic. The notion grew legs and after a brief development programme with V8-powered Tiger prototypes, Rootes sanctioned the car’s production while plans for adding the Tiger to Rootes’ competitions team began taking shape in 1963.
In early 1964 Norman Garrad’s place as Rootes’ competitions manager was taken by EX-BMC rally manager Marcus Chambers. To promote the Tiger two cars were entered in the Le Mans 24 Hours – both failed to finish – while three cars were built as rally contenders, their first event being the Geneva rally of October 1964. Rosemary was chosen as one of three drivers, along with Peter Riley and Tiny Lewis.
‘Coming from the Alpine I had high hopes for the Tiger,’ she recalls. ‘I thought it would have all of the Alpine’s blessings and attributes but with more power. I did a test session with another Rootes driver, Keith Ballisat, in an early development Tiger at MIRA, where we exceeded 120mph on the banked section.’
The Tiger’s rally engines were prepared by Shelby American in Venice, California and comprised a Holley carburettor, polished
cylinder heads, a high-lift camshaft and solid pushrods. Behind was a Powr-lok differential to aid traction. Inside, the cabin was the usual set-up of rally seats, gadgets for the co-drivers and rollcages to protect the teams should the unthinkable happen. Says Rosemary, ‘Being tall I found the Tiger a comfortable car to live with, adjusting the seat to give myself lots of leg room, though on rough stages my helmet would hit the inside of the hard-top.’
In preparation for the first season outing, Rosemary and Peter Riley took one of the rally Tigers on a recceing trip to France. ‘I can recall Peter saying to me, “You know, you and Tigers get on very well together.” I think he was right,’ says Rosemary with a smile. Held between 15-18 October, the 1964 Geneva Rally was marked
‘Peter Riley said to me, “You know, you and Tigers get on very well”. I think he was right’
by light snow and ice. Three Tigers and two rally spares ‘barges’ were airlifted from Baginton airfield near Coventry to Paris, before an overnight stop over at Trojes. The Tigers were then driven by mechanics and reached Geneva by the end of the day. However, almost from the outset, there were problems.
Peter Riley’s car started to misfire and the fault was traced to the points in the dual-point distributor closing up. However, a more serious issue was that the clutch linings in Tiny Lewis’s Tiger had burnt out. As a precaution it was decided to change the clutch plates on all three cars, so the mechanics had to work overnight to ensure they were ready for scrutineering. ‘We crews flew straight down to Geneva so knew nothing of the troubles that had beset the cars on the way down until we arrived,’ Rosemary admits.
In all 72 crews – made up of 49 in the Touring category and the remainder in the GT Class into which the Tigers were entered – left the start at Plainpalais, a wide open space in the centre of Geneva. ‘My co-driver, Margaret Mackenzie, collected our route details and handled the paperwork while I checked the car over,’ says Rosemary. ‘The beginning of any rally can be a nerve-wracking experience, with your mind focused totally on the start marshal and achieving a clean getaway.’
In a late afternoon of light rain and cold grey skies, the cars followed a tortuous route round the southern half of the city to arrive at the start of the first test at the Col du Marchairuz, a high mountain pass in the Jura mountains. This comprised a hill climb of 5.5km in length, the near perfect tarmac surface by then decidedly slippery with a covering of rain.
The best run was awarded to a Porsche 904, while Peter Riley took second best in his Tiger. The next test was an 11km hill climb located at the Col de la Faucille just inside the French border where conditions were a little better, but with the stage having to be negotiated in heavy rain. Recalls Rosemary, ‘On this section the marking system favoured the smaller-engined Group 1 cars while the larger engined GT cars like the Tiger were penalised, although Peter still managed to do well in his car.’
The next test was at the picturesque Les Neyrolles in Eastern France, the course including a sharp hairpin hidden by the brow of a hill. Next, the cars motored south to Saint-jean-en-royans, a small commune in south-eastern France, before starting a 21km gallop to La Cime du Mas. By now the weather was improving with the surfaces noticeably better, although the wooded sections had still to feel the effects of the drying conditions so drivers were cautious.
Leaving Saint-jean the route led down the Rousset to Die and on to Recoubeau-jansac, the entrants taking in a fast section over the Col de Pennes. The going up the route by Jansac proved slippery for some cars, though impressively the Tigers handled it without difficulty. Then followed a one-hour stop at Bedoin at the foot of Mont Ventoux. Explains Rosemary, ‘That was where the Tiger’s development engineer Don Tarbun had put one of the development cars through its engine cooling tests the previous year.’
‘I was always given the Hillman Imp once that was launched. I wanted to scream and shout’
From Bedoin the route led the cars up the 14.5km stage to Chalet Reynard. Then from Mont Ventoux came the run across the Alps through Laragne-montéglin and Guillestre and close to the Italian frontier. The cars were then confronted with the next hill climb from Cesana to Sestriere.
The route over the Col d’izoard was cancelled because of heavy snowfall and the teams were instructed to use the N49 from Briançon in the Hautes-alpes region of south eastern France, and over the Col de Montgenèvre. That was followed by a relaxed stretch to the next time-control at Almese on the western fringe of Turin. Most cars had time in hand from better road conditions.
From there the cars ran either over the Great St Bernard Pass or through the newly opened tunnel to Champex, making the start of a tight road section where timing was especially stringent; from there the cars returned to France over the Col de la Forclaz.
After a seven-hour break at Chamonix, where the Tigers were serviced and crews took refreshments, battle resumed. Heavy snow resulted in the cancellation of the test at Col de la Joux Verte and the cars continued on to Mont Revard with snow only covering the last 2.5km. Lewis pushed hard and finished the hill climb with the fastest time in the GT category.
Next the cars tackled the run up to Beaufort with snow testing drivers and cars, many coming stuck on the run down to Barrage de Roselend, Lewis and Riley included. Rosemary stopped to give assistance and got temporarily snowbound herself before continuing. ‘As a team you always give other members help whenever possible. Luckily, the weather on the ’64 Geneva wasn’t that bad and the Tiger handled the conditions reasonably well.’
Only 38 cars completed the course, the Tigers finishing 11th, 15th and 20th overall and first, second and third in the Over 2500cc GT Category. Sunbeam came second in the manufacturer’s championship. ‘We should have done better and while Margaret was a brilliant navigator, by the time we reached Geneva town centre it was dark and we got lost, which sadly put us back.’
Critical to any rally is mutual confidence between crews and mechanics. Says Rosemary, ‘I always had great regard for the Rootes mechanics. They always managed to keep me going even when things went seriously wrong. Luckily nothing did on the Geneva.’
To garner opinions about the Tiger’s performance, Chambers produced feedback forms for the crews to complete. The comments included suggesting that if the Tiger was to compete favourably against other cars like the ’Healey 3000s, it needed far more power than the 200bhp it was currently delivering; the brakes would require upgrading to discs all round too. But overall, the trio concurred that with a little time the Tiger could be developed into Rootes’ most successful rally car. Recalls Rosemary, ‘My major criticism of the Tiger was that despite its 15.5in steering wheel, the steering was very heavy. I’ve had electric power steering fitted to my own Tiger.’
The Tiger’s performance on the Geneva Rally was impressive, and it gave Rosemary every right to believe that it would be the stepping stone for her to drive Tigers on rallies in the future.
‘Rootes’ PR executives thought differently,’ she concludes ruefully. ‘I was always given the Hillman Imp once that was launched. I wanted to scream and shout and tell them to give me a faster car but I never got one. I was always sad that Rootes never let me do more with the Tiger.’