Spirit of ‘64
A set Spitfire racing wheels sparked a fourteen year labour of love. The result was a reborn ADU 1B, class winner at Le Mans fifty years ago.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is, without doubt, the most famous endurance race in the world. Asked about British winners, most of us would name Bentley, Jaguar and Aston Martin. But what about Triumph?
Mark Field, proprietor of Jigsaw Triumph specialists, knew all about Triumph’s adventures at Le Mans. Over twenty years ago, he embarked on an epic journey to recreate the Triumph works team of 1964 and 1965, when Spitfires topped their class. The story of Triumph’s victory – achieved on a tight budget and resulting in a coveted class one-two – fired Mark’s imagination.
A chance discovery
His Le Mans Spitfire obsession, for that’s the best description of his condition, started in the unlikely surroundings of a car boot sale in a small Leicestershire village. “I spotted four wheels with racing tyres and recognised them as magnesium wheels from the works Spitfires”. A deal was done quickly, Mark paying just £10 for the lot.
“Now I had the wheels, I wanted to find as many original Le Mans parts as possible.” His quest took off in two directions. “I went to Coventry and ‘appropriated’ a complete directory from a local phone box. Every week, I spent an afternoon phoning everyone who
The phone calls paid off, with unique parts found via former Triumph workers
lived near the old Standard Triumph factory, trying to find anyone who had worked there.” Meanwhile, Mark spent many long evenings crafting a replica of the unique fibreglass Le Mans bonnet from photographs. A year later, he was able to display the original wheels and replica bonnet on the Triumph Sports Six Club stand at the NEC Classic Motor Show.
His search for rare works parts accelerated: “A chap came to the TSSC stand, saw the bonnet and wheels and left his phone number for me.” This turned out to be Vic Welch, whose job was to make wooden bucks for new Triumph bodies. Vic supplied the original Le Mans fuel tank and racing filler cap.
Worth the wait
Meanwhile, Mark’s phone calls paid off, with more unique parts unearthed from the sheds and garages of former Triumph workers. Mark recalls: “The old factory boys didn’t want money, they just gave up the parts because they wanted to see the Le Mans car rebuilt.” The exhaust system was fabricated from drawings provided by Triumph engineer Dennis Barbet and an original Girling racing master cylinder was found in an NEC autojumble, later complimented by a pair of AR Girling Racing calipers. Most remarkable of all, Triumph test driver Fred Nicklin produced a Chronometric rev counter, still working and etched with the car’s registration, AD U 1B.
The rebuild became unstoppable. A lightweight ‘cow horn’ chassis was found, as was the experimental X70 cylinder head. Mark recalls that, “I traced the cylinder head to a man who emigrated to Adelaide and intended to use it for circuit racing in Australia.” After nine months of long-distance haggling, the head was finally repatriated.
Moment of truth
For Mark, the most moving moment came early in 2004: “I had done everything imaginable to bring the Le Mans Spitfire back to life. The moment it fired up, I was overcome with emotion.” The rebuild was completed in 2004, fourteen long years after Mark found the wheels. Competition papers from the FIA confirmed the restored car’s original works status, and the DVLA re-allocated the original registration number of AD U 1B. The little racer was back!
With documentation completed just in time, Mark entered the 2004 Le Mans Classic. AD U 1B raced again at Le Mans, though head gasket failure forced retirement.
Undeterred, Mark has raced AD U 1B in every one of the biennial Le Mans Classic events since, except 2008 when serious illness stopped him. In 2006 the Spitfire went well, until the race was stopped by a massive crash in which Adrian Newey’s Ford GT 40 was destroyed. Mark’s best result so far came in 2010, when AD U 1B finished the race first in class and 43rd overall.
He recollects: “The weather was scorching, with track temperatures up to 52 C; hard for both car and crew. At the finish, driver Alistair Pugh gave the same clenched fist victory salute through the side window as in the 1965 win.”
2012 was less successful, with another unfortunate head gasket failure, though the pit crew managed an engine swap in just forty-five minutes, getting the car out again to achieve 48th place. The source of said engine is another story in itself. Mark’s enthusiasm for works Spitfires is such that he had also recently completed the restoration of rally car AD U 7B, which he took to Le Mans to display. Its rally prepared engine was pressed into use on the track.
Not finished yet
Mark’s ambitions kept growing. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Spitfire’s first Le Mans entry, he planned to race not one but three Spitfires, recreating the Sixties works team at Le Mans Classic in July 2014. And he’s almost succeeded: “I built two more Le Mans cars, as faithful to the originals as possible, though they are replicas, not restorations.” The three cars were first displayed together on the TSSC stand at the 2013 NEC Classic Motor Show.
Both new cars have already raced at Silverstone and are ready for Le Mans. When Mark submitted his applications for entry to Le Mans Classic 2014 he was rewarded with acceptance for AD U 1B, but rejection for the ‘new’ Spitfires. He says: “I’m gutted. This is the 50th anniversary, there won’t be another chance. The organisers said there are too many cars of this type.” Hard to understand when no other Spitfires entered. Harder still when Spitfire fans from the TSSC attend every Le Mans Classic en masse, one of the largest club contingents.
Unfortunately it’s too late for this year, but always philosophical, Mark has the last laugh: “British Triumph enthusiasts want to see three Le Mans Spitfires race together. As Le Mans won’t allow it, all three cars will run at Silverstone during MGLive! in June. And I’m also planning a way to get the three cars on the Le Mans track in July.” Watch this space.