Historic race and rally news

DOWN THE

He raced for more than 30 years “I lived and raced in Australia in the 1960s and then raced all sorts of cars in the UK, including Production Saloons, British Touring Cars, Thundersports and historics. In 1979 I had a Lotus 23B and won the first race at the first HSCC meeting at Donington Park. In 1980 and 1981 I had a Lotus 22 Formula Junior and the 23B together.”

He raced with John Foulston “They were very good days and that’s what I liked to do best and I was fortunate to be successful. One year, in 1981 or 1982, I picked up six trophies in one night; how fortunate was that? I raced for John Foulston for six years up until his death in September 1987.”

They hit it off straight away “I knew Martin Covill very well and John asked Martin who he would recommend to drive for him. Martin suggested two people and I met John one lunch time. He asked me what my favourite lunch was and I said a cappuccino coffee and a smoked salmon sandwich. He said that’s exactly what he liked and about 40 minutes later he said I was going to drive for him. It was a great opportunity and I said I’d do my best.”

They had a lot of success “I raced the Can-am cars, like the Mclaren M8F, and the Thundersports Lola for John and it was fantastic. He was pretty brave and determined to do well. After two years with him, he wouldn’t drive a car unless I’d got it set-up to suit his driving style.”

He wasn’t there the day Foulston was killed “He bought this Mclaren M15S Indycar and I told him it was lethal. I tested it for him twice. I still get quite upset about it and the day he was killed was the first time he went testing without me. I’d been there every time he went testing.”

There was a final footnote “When John died, in his safe were five letters and five cheques and his wife Mary said mine wasn’t the biggest cheque but it was the nicest letter. It was addressed to: ‘A dear friend who taught me to race and win’.”