TILLEY GETS CHANCE TO SAMPLE LOTUS 18
Teenager thrilled with first outing in 1960s grand prix machine
Nineteen-year-old rising star of historic racing Benn Tilley got the chance of a lifetime when he stepped up to race a 1960 Formula 1 car at Brands Hatch.
Tilley had the remarkable opportunity to race an ex-jim Clark/john Surtees Lotus 18, thanks to owner Paul Smeeth, and came away with two strong finishes after taking a mature approach to the HGPCA Pre ’66 races. He was fifth in class and ninth overall in race one and third in class and sixth overall in race two.
The apprentice engineer, who will only be 20 in October, said it was a massive deal for him. “Hopefully driving cars like this will be good for my racing and I’m very grateful to Paul for the chance to race it,” said Tilley. “It is someone else’s pride and joy you’ve been entrusted with, so it’s important to bring it home.”
Tilley has followed his father Stuart into racing and makes a huge commitment to his sport. “I put half my wages away every month to pay for entry fees,” he said of his main campaign in a borrowed Lotus 23B in the Guards Trophy. He won last year’s Classic Formula Ford Championship in a Merlyn borrowed from Simon Hadfield.
Previously he raced Smeeth’s Formula Junior Lotus, but the 18 F1 car was a huge step: “Paul offered me the chance to race it. It is one of the most famous Lotus 18s so I was sitting in holy ground when I drove it. I loved it – there’s a lot more weight and a lot more torque than the Junior. It’s got the Lotus ‘queerbox’ as well, which takes a bit of getting used to.”