GRANTURA DAY OUT Artist Tim Layzell’s frenetic Revival debut
It was back to the drawing board for artist and TVR devotee Tim Layzell as he traded paintbrush for racesuit at Goodwood
Artists who race are a rarity. The great Géo Ham tested Bugattis while seeking inspiration for his brilliant work, and Nick Faure was as good at cartooning as he was at competing in a vast range of machines, including 11 Le Mans attempts. Dexter Brown enthusiastically campaigned his hot XK120, a highlight being a trip to Ghent to follow in Norman Dewis’ record-breaking tracks. Now Tim Layzell can proudly join that select set after an impressive debut in his TVR Grantura at the Goodwood Revival, finishing a hard-fought fifth in the Fordwater Trophy.
Layzell’s career has long mixed his passion for art with his automotive interests: “As a family we’ve always had a thing about glassfibre sports cars. When I was young my dad owned a Gilbern GT; it was near concours, but he was devastated to discover the chassis was rusty and ended up making a new one. From an early age we learnt how to weld. While still at primary school my brother and I made our own pedal go-karts and it always got very competitive. Dad would take us to VSCC meetings and ERA R4D was a favourite racer, so my go-kart had to be painted silver and black to match it. In later years we’d rent proper go-karts for a few races, which was great fun, but nothing went any further.”
Childhood trips to Castle Combe inspired, too: “The charity events organised by C&SC ’s Mike Mccarthy for the Stroke Association were fantastic. To ride, aged 13, with Frank Sytner as he drifted a D-type through Quarry was an unforgettable experience. ‘Whizzo’ Williams was another hero. Those were great days.”
Layzell has always enjoyed working on cars, which no doubt gives his painting an authentic dimension. “After I’d learnt to drive I bought a Midas kit car,” he explains. “I rebuilt it and did a few local rallies with my brother. I also courted my wife in the Midas.”
The glassfibre compulsion continued with a blood orange AC 3000ME. “With the Broadspeed Turbo specification, it had massive lag and wasn’t really suitable for hillclimbing at Wiscombe,” he remembers. “Eventually the engine blew up and it all turned into a nightmare.” But the TVR bug had bitten when he was 12, and his father bought a 1600M: “I recall being disappointed that he didn’t buy a Vixen – even then I knew they were lighter and faster.”
As his automotive art career took off, Layzell indulged in a series of Chimaeras: “I remember first seeing one at the London Motor Show and I fell in love with it. Fast, great looking, with a beautiful interior and that amazing exhaust, it had all the characteristics of the AC Cobra and Big Healey I craved. There was nothing like it on the market. I owned four and every time I sold one I regretted it and bought another.” Over the years he’s also owned the 1968 Motor Show Vixen S2, which he used for hillclimbing; a Tuscan V6; and an outrageously fast T350C: “Our family seems to be addicted to TVRS.”
Promoting and selling his artwork at events became all-consuming, but when time allowed he’d escape his stand and walk around: “I felt I was missing out; the yearning to go racing never left me. The Autumn Classic at Castle Combe is a local event, and in 2017 I went in convoy with my brother’s TVR Griffith and our sons as passengers. We were walking through the wet paddock looking for chips when I spotted a white Grantura, XPG 1. At the back of my mind I’d been looking for a historic racer and this looked so cool in American-style livery.”
That evening, Layzell started researching the Grantura’s history: “The story captivated me. Owner Phil Cooper had discovered it as a barnfind in the south of France. When he rang the TVR Car Club to check the chassis number, its amazing history came to light. I still have his original serviette with scribbled notes.”
Ordered new by Wing Commander John ‘Paddy’ Gaston, it was prepared for racing with a lightweight chassis and body. Through the 1964 season, XPG 1 competed in all the major international sports car events including the Spa 500km, Nürburgring 1000km and the Guards Trophy at Brands Hatch. “It even ran in the 2-litre GT support race at the Goodwood Tourist Trophy,” says Layzell. “Gaston finished fifth when Mike Spence won in the Chequered Flag Elan. I phoned TTP, the TVR specialist that had worked on my cars, and they said, ‘If you want one, that’s the best. It’s up there with the Griffith prototype.’ I had to buy it, and later
considered featuring the TVR in a painting commission of Daytona Cobras at Spa.”
Even with the historic TVR in his garage, the hope of racing at the Revival remained a dream. The Grantura is eligible for the Fordwater Trophy, but the GT race alternates between three different eras and 1960-’66 wasn’t scheduled until 2019. As a result, it is always oversubscribed so he wasn’t hopeful, even in a car with Goodwood history: “Commentator Henry Hope-frost was a friend and in conversation I mentioned I’d bought the TVR. He kindly put me in touch with the Goodwood team and I couldn’t believe it when I was accepted this year. I wish he’d seen the race, but I carried a ‘Fever’ sticker on the car in his memory.”
With his entry confirmed, Layzell started preparing: “James Cameron at Mission Motorsport rented me his BMW 318 E30 for a few races. With a 535 engine up front, it taught me a lot about car control. The Grantura had never had a passenger seat, but I fitted one so I could take my son out. At a track day Mark Hales came out for a ride and he was very complimentary. ‘Don’t touch the car’ was his advice.”
Extra preparation included an ARDS Advanced Course at Silverstone: “It was really useful because the focus was balancing a car on and off power with an emphasis on tyre preservation.” As the big day loomed, he booked a few test days at Goodwood, but track time was restricted by a gearbox problem: “We had just two weeks to go and TTP pulled out all the stops to get it done. Had it happened during qualifying at the Revival it would have been a disaster.”
Back home, his family was getting ready, too: “My brother took on the role of team boss John Wyer and the whole family came down to
“With the TVR you have to carry speed, which is a challenge – get it right with a four-wheel drift and it’s hugely rewarding”
support me because we also had my stand to run. The Fordwater always attracts a fruity mix of cars and it felt great to be lining up with two Abarths, an Alfa TZ and a Ferrari 275GTB. I remember thinking I’d be happy to qualify 20th, particularly against a grid of experienced regular racers. I knew my way around Goodwood and the car immediately felt good. With only 20 minutes, it was hard to find a gap for a clear lap: I got stuck behind an Iso Rivolta and couldn’t touch it on straights for power. After backing off I managed two quick laps. Going down the Lavant Straight I glimpsed the screen and saw I was up to fifth, so I called it quits to save the car. We eventually dropped to sixth with a 1 min 35.7 secs best.”
Happy, he then focused on his first-ever race start in the TVR: “Peter Bradfield was a good coach. His advice was to go up the inside and keep it clean for the first few laps.”
Layzell admits that he didn’t get much sleep thinking about the early morning, with the Fordwater Trophy as Saturday’s opening race, but the day was blessed with glorious sunshine. And when the Union Flag dropped he made a demon start, almost passing Nick Swift’s Mini Marcos on the inside. Mindful of cold tyres, however, he held back through Madgwick: “Chasing the leaders through Fordwater the TR4 went off. I was very close behind and lifted, which annoyingly let Harvey Stanley’s MGB through to fourth.” As the MG pulled clear, Layzell was also overtaken by Mark Sumpter’s
Porsche 911 through Woodcote, and from there the two cars engaged in a race-long battle. “I had a massive full-opposite-lock moment through Fordwater and backed off for a few laps. Telling myself to stay calm, I eventually caught Mark and made a move down the inside at Madgwick stick and retook fifth.” Pumped up by this, he set his sights on reclaiming fourth: “I got Harvey down the inside at Madgwick but the move compromised my exit speed and on to the straight he was right behind me. Through ‘No Name’ he came alongside and I thought we were going to hit. I left the door open and ended up on the grass. After that I thought it better to ease off and fight another day. Mark and I both had our lights on through the traffic, and although he was much quicker, I managed to hold him off.”
Layzell was rightly chuffed to take fifth in a 26-car field on his Goodwood debut: “Friends used to always joke about my loyalty to TVR, but over the years I’ve only had one breakdown and that was alternator failure. The success at Goodwood really vindicated those years of derision.”
And Layzell is full of admiration for the
Grantura as a racer: “It’s amazingly neutral and has incredible balance, as long as you keep it neat. What it lacks in power it makes up through the corners. Madgwick is daunting and needs a big gulp: the double-apex right-hander just seems to go on and on. With the TVR you have to carry speed, which is a challenge – when you get it right with a four-wheel drift it’s hugely rewarding. My family are regulars at Goodwood and we like to go out to Fordwater to watch. The high-speed spectacle through there down to ‘No Name’ and sliding through St Mary’s takes my breath away – it’s a view I’ve painted many times. This part underlines why this is a proper driver’s track.”
Weeks later, he’s still buzzing from his Revival experience: “I’ve been very lucky in life with a cool job, a great wife and kids, but this was one of the best days ever. To have all the family and my childhood friends watching made it even more special.” And he has plans for next year: “I’d love to do the Le Mans Classic and run at Spa in the Equipe GTS race, but nothing will match this.”
Layzell’s family links with Goodwood go back to before the track was created: “My grandfather was stationed at RAF Westhampnett in 1942 as an airframe fitter for Spitfires. For us, the first Revival was really special with Ray Hanna’s epic flying display. I first exhibited at the Festival of Speed aged 15 and we’ve been to every Revival. It’s a very special place.”