Lotus 18 GREAT CARS 10

Transcription

1 GREAT CARS 10 Lotus 18 The complete life of Moss s famous 1961 Monaco Grand Prix winner Rob Walker s story included Further 1961 wins in the German and Modena GPs Privateer racing in 1962 with Count Volpi Later life, including its time in the Donington Collection The car s history told in exhaustive detail

2 The first Lotus single-seater, the type 12, seen at the 1956 London Motor Show with Colin Chapman (dark suit, hand in pocket) and Brian Lister (bow tie) among those in the background. The Revs Institute for Automotive Research/George Phillips The front-engine type 12 gave Team Lotus its World Championship début in the Monaco Grand Prix of 1958, Cliff Allison finishing a promising sixth. The Revs Institute for Automotive Research/George Phillips last-ever World Championship Grand Prix victory for a front-engine car when he won for Ferrari at Monza in the absence of the leading British teams. At first Lotus ploughed a traditional furrow after making its World Championship début in the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix. For two seasons Lotus made use of its types 12 and 16, cars that were, as far as company founder Colin Chapman was concerned, really Formula 2 designs. The Lotus 12, the company s first multitubular spaceframe car, was unveiled at the Motor Show in London, powered by the then-new Coventry Climax FPF engine. The car was exceptionally light, which led to chassis breakages. In addition to the prototype, Team Lotus, Chapman s works operation, raced four different type 12s during 1957, while three were sold to private teams. The new cars proved unable to beat the Coopers, their best results that first year being two second places in non-championship races. Four more Lotus 12s were built for the 1958 season, when Team Lotus entered Formula 1, first with a 1.9-litre 14 Great Cars

3 The four-cylinder Coventry Climax engine was used to propel all Lotus Grand Prix cars from the type 12 (seen here at Monaco in 1958) to the type 21. The Revs Institute for Automotive Research/Karl Ludvigsen Climax engine and then a 2.2-litre one. The star driver was Cliff Allison, who overshadowed team-mate Graham Hill, but Allison s only World Championship points came with fourth place in the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. The type 12 was soon superseded by the type 16, which came on stream halfway through 1958 and was described as a mini Vanwall. There was a connection, for the innovative Chapman was responsible for the Vanwall s spaceframe chassis and suspension, thereby playing a part in the transformation of the fortunes of the Vanwall marque, enabling it to win the inaugural Constructors Championship in The Lotus 16 s multi-tubular spaceframe was wider and stiffer than that of the type 12, but its smooth bodywork made of 22-gauge aluminium sheet and tightly wrapped around the chassis tubing was so light that it repeatedly cracked and split, and often distorted out of shape. At first the FPF engine was fitted unconventionally, canted over at 62 degrees to the right and offset at 5½ degrees from the car s centre line, but Coventry Climax was unhappy about this lubrication problems had occurred during prior use of the layout in sports cars and so the installation was reconfigured with the engine canted over at 17 degrees to the left and offset at 6½ degrees. The prototype Lotus 16 made an unremarkable début at the French Grand Prix at Reims in July 1958, retiring with overheating problems. Two cars were built and one or both took part in World Championship races for the rest of the year, the best finish being Hill s sixth place at Monza, albeit eight laps down on the winner. Retirement, however, tended to be the norm. Six more type 16s were constructed for Len Terry, then at the start of an illustrious career as a designer, joined the company and made various changes to the car, including the introduction of an angled bulkhead at the front of the cockpit that stiffened that area and helped to keep the driver cooler. Again retirements were usually the state of play, the best positions in World Championship rounds being new Team Lotus member Innes Ireland s fourth and fifth places in, respectively, the Dutch and Portuguese Grands Prix. Life was little better in Formula 2, with just a couple of second places. Lotus 18 15

4 The beginning of it all: Alan Stacey in the prototype Lotus 18, in Formula Junior guise, at the 1959 Brands Hatch Boxing Day meeting, where he spun in the race but worked himself back to third place. LAT Images Lotus proudly displayed a Formula Junior type 18 at the Racing Car Show in the Royal Horticultural Hall, Westminster during January The smart green bodywork now featured glass-fibre panels but Autosport hoped that a more pleasing bodyshell would eventually evolve. The Revs Institute for Automotive Research/George Phillips in Formula 1 throughout Despite its début performance, however, the works cars were usually overshadowed by the Coopers in the World Championship. Nonetheless, John Surtees, a member of the factory team in 1960 alongside his motorcycle racing commitments with MV Agusta, described the Lotus 18 as probably the most competitive car of his career. The Lotus 18 was also available to independent Formula 1 teams from the very beginning and continued to be used by privateers for some years to come. One of them, Gerry Ashmore, recalls: Like all Lotus kit cars from the racing section, you never got a full kit. They gave me a body shell and a chassis, a bit of front suspension, two rear wheels, no front wheels and no rear suspension. Mine was the last type 18 chassis to be built. After I had paid them for it and they had cleared the cheque, they introduced the 21. The Lotus 18 did not enjoy the same success in Formula 2 as it did in Formula 22 Great Cars

5 Non-championship races early in 1960 indicated the Lotus 18 s competitive nature. Having won the Glover Trophy at Goodwood, Innes Ireland repeated the feat at the Silverstone International Trophy, as seen here The Revs Institute for Automotive Research/George Phillips Mike Costin christened the Lotus sequential gearbox the queerbox ; it is seen in the back of Alan Stacey s Lotus 18 at the 1960 Silverstone International Trophy. The Revs Institute for Automotive Research/George Phillips Junior during As use was made of the four-cylinder 1½-litre Coventry Climax FPF engine, cars could double up for both Formula 1 and Formula 2, meaning that no examples were specifically built for Formula 2. All six chassis used in Formula 2 by Team Lotus, as well as five Lotus Components-built cars used by independent teams, appeared at other times in Formula 1 races. Despite its inferior handling, a Porsche, though, was the car to have in Formula 2 during 1960 and it is perhaps noteworthy that Rob Walker entered one of these for Stirling Moss while running a Lotus 18 in Formula 1. However, there were wins for Lotus drivers Jim Clark, Trevor Taylor, Innes Ireland and Tony Marsh. At the end of the 1960 season, Formula 1 took over as a 1½-litre category and Formula 2 briefly disappeared, returning with a 1-litre limit in Formula Junior continued until the end of 1964 when it was replaced by the similar Formula 3, which catered just for 1-litre engines. Lotus 18 23

6 The 1960 season he managed to pass Brabham to unlap himself, and drove brilliantly smashing the lap record repeatedly to finish fourth, just 1.1 seconds behind thirdplaced Graham Hill s BRM, while Brabham duly won. For Brabham, this was the first of five consecutive Grand Prix victories. For Moss and his Lotus 18, it was all about to go horribly wrong. During Saturday practice for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, Moss s car suffered a hub failure and lost a rear wheel at Burnenville, going into a violent spin, hitting a bank, lurching on its side and hurtling back across the track. Moss was thrown out, sustaining quite serious leg, nose and back injuries. He was confined to hospital for a month and had to sit out the French and British Grands Prix. His World Championship challenge was effectively finished. This was not the only Lotus 18 accident at Spa-Francorchamps that year. Soon after Moss s shunt, Mike Taylor suffered a Stirling Moss and Lotus 18 in perfect harmony around Monaco s station hairpin in 1960, with World Champion Jack Brabham s Cooper trailing. The Revs Institute for Automotive Research/George Phillips Innes Ireland suffered an electrical failure in the Monaco Grand Prix, his engine expiring on the hill up to the Casino. He pushed the car home, finishing exhausted and unclassified as he had only completed 56 laps of the 100. The Revs Institute for Automotive Research/George Phillips 28 Great Cars

7 The 1960 season Moss celebrates the first of his two Monaco Grand Prix wins with a Lotus 18. The Revs Institute for Automotive Research/George Phillips Stirling Moss, Innes Ireland and Alan Stacey battle for second place in their Lotus 18s at the start of the Dutch Grand Prix, with Phil Hill s front-engine Ferrari just behind them. Brabham is already ahead and out of sight. The Revs Institute for Automotive Research/George Phillips Lotus 18 29

8 Before Monaco In the Glover Trophy at Goodwood, Moss could only manage to finish fourth owing to a sick engine. The Revs Institute for Automotive Research/George Phillips Lotus 19. Meanwhile, that same day Jim Clark, as Moss had feared, confirmed his potential at the Pau Grand Prix, where he took a Lotus 18 to his first Formula 1 win for Team Lotus. Hereafter, Moss used the older 906 rather than 912 for three more nonchampionship Formula 1 races before the World Championship opener in Monaco. In the Brussels Grand Prix, an unusual event run as three heats with an aggregate overall result, he finished seventh after suffering a chronic misfire in the first heat. The Vienna Grand Prix at Aspern brought him victory and a new lap record. In the Syracuse Grand Prix in Sicily, however, he could only manage a disappointing eighth owing to carburation problems, with a singleton example of Ferrari s new F161 winning on its début in the hands of rookie Giancarlo Baghetti, followed by Porsches driven by Dan Gurney and Joakim Bonnier. The Syracuse result indicated the challenge that the British were facing. Motoring News predicted, On paper, the Italian cars must be by far the fastest this season, and judged Baghetti s victory, rather unpatriotically, a good thing because it would stimulate interest. Really keen rivalry could redeem the FIA s unpopular half ton Formula, whereas a succession of dreary races might well kill it. This may be what many people have wanted in the past months, but the Formula is now a fait accompli, so let us make the best of it, as Ferrari appears to be doing, and build to win. Goodwood Glover Trophy, 3 April 1961 Circuit length 2.4 miles (3.863km) Distance covered 42 laps, miles ( km) Starters 14 Pole position Stirling Moss (Lotus-Climax 18), 1m 27.8s, mph ( kph). Classified finishers 12 Fastest lap John Surtees (Cooper-Climax T53), 1m 28.0s, mph ( kph) Winner s average speed mph ( kph) Top 10 1st John Surtees Cooper-Climax T h 3m 10.0s 2nd Graham Hill BRM-Climax P57 3 1h 3m 36.6s 3th Roy Salvadori Cooper-Climax T53 9 1h 4m 19.4s 4th Stirling Moss Lotus-Climax 18 (912) 7 1h 4m 43.6s 5th Innes Ireland Lotus-Climax 18 (372) 5 1 lap 6th Henry Taylor Lotus-Climax 18 (916) 17 1 lap 7th Tony Marsh Lotus-Climax 18 (909) 29 1 lap 8th Cliff Allison Lotus-Climax 18 (915) 15 2 laps 9th Bruce Halford Emeryson-Climax 23 2 laps 10th John Campbell-Jones Cooper-Climax T laps 64 Great Cars

9 Before Monaco Borrowed gears The Vienna Grand Prix at Aspern was the first for privateer Gerry Ashmore with his new Lotus After practice he found that he was third on the grid behind Stirling Moss and a promising newcomer, Shane Summers, in a Cooper T53. Ashmore remembers the practice session: I thought, Stirling s playing with me. He s not driving the way Stirling Moss normally drives. Then I heard a rumble grumble in the back end of my car because the crown wheel and pinion had lost its teeth. Ashmore had no spare gearbox. As he was short of money, he needed to start the race in order to get the cash to go home. He approached the Rob Walker transporter where he found a young lad Tony Cleverley and, in the back, a spare gearbox. I said to the kid, Do you want to earn 50? In 1961 that was a handsome amount of money. All Cleverley had to do was to lend Ashmore the gearbox but he knew that this could get him the sack. However, Ashmore persuaded him that he would just do the three or four laps necessary to earn the starting money, then retire, remove the box and put it back in the truck nobody would know. Ashmore went to work with the gearbox, which was clearly marked SM2. As he did so, he felt a tap on his shoulder and it was Moss looking down at him. He quickly threw a rag on top of the box. These ratios are different from mine, said Stirling. They re the only ones I ve got, Mr Moss, replied the deferential Ashmore. Moss, completely unaware that they were in fact his ratios, wished Ashmore good luck. On the start line, Ashmore could see Cleverley mouthing three or four laps. He nodded in understanding. The race started with Moss leading Ashmore, but not by much. After three laps Gerry cheekily decided not to pit, as agreed, but instead to try to overtake Stirling. Into an S-bend he went halfway past, dabbed Equipped with the borrowed Rob Walker gearbox in his Lotus 18, Gerry Ashmore cheekily pushed Stirling Moss during the opening laps of the 1961 Vienna Grand Prix at Aspern. Courtesy of Gerry Ashmore the brake pedal, the rear wheels locked, and the car spun across the infield. Now it was most definitely time to return to the paddock, wash the gearbox down and return it to the Walker truck. Many decades later Tony Cleverley remembers the episode and points out that he shared the 50 with the other mechanics. Lotus 18 65

10 Chapter 6 Moss vanquishes the Ferraris Monaco Grand Prix, 14 May 1961 By 1961 Monte Carlo had become a happy hunting ground for British men of speed. The theme started in 1914, when Howard Pixton from West Didsbury, Manchester, flew his Sopwith Tabloid seaplane there at a speed of 86.78mph to win the second Schneider Trophy contest. The first Monaco Grand Prix for, held in 1929, was won by Englishman William Grover-Williams in a British Racing Green Bugatti Type 35B. In 1950 another Englishman, Stirling Moss, won the supporting 500cc Formula 3 contest and six years later, in 1956, led the Grand Prix from start to finish in his Maserati 250F. For the last three years of the 2½-litre formula, from 1958, British-built cars won every time, Moss himself taking the honours again in 1960, driving a Lotus 18. That same year Henry Taylor won the Formula Junior support race in a Cooper. Three days before practice began for the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix, the Rob Walker team loaded Lotus on its big, blue, flat-bed, drop-side Commer truck together with a Cooper T53 that had been used the previous weekend to win the InterContinental Formula race at Silverstone and was taken along as a reserve car. Mechanics Tony Cleverley and John Chisman headed for Dover in the truck to catch a ferry to France, while chief mechanic Alf Francis led the way in his own car, which Cleverley recalls as either an old Mercedes-Benz or a black and white Ford Fairlane. From Calais, they drove to the French Riviera and to a hotel in Èze-sur-Mer, just two or three miles west of Monte Carlo. On arrival, they washed the truck and cleaned it up, and took the cars to the small workshop at which they habitually prepared for the race. According to Walker s biographer, Michael Cooper-Evans, the morale of Walker s men was low after some lessthan-successful pre-championship Formula 1 races. The team s engines had been suffering from a chronic carburation problem for which a solution was proving to be elusive. There was even a fear that Moss might be regretting his decision to stay with the Walker team rather than accept the invitation he had received from Huschke von Hanstein to join Porsche, a new Formula 1 contender rated so highly by Moss that he had predicted a couple of months earlier that one of its drivers, Joakim Bonnier, was his favourite to win the World Championship. Chassis 912 differed from other Lotus 18s in that it was built from strongergauge metal and fitted with a Colotti five-speed gearbox instead of the Lotus sequential unit. The previous year, Walker s Lotus 18 (chassis 376 ) had used the Lotus gearbox until the crash at Spa, after which a Colotti unit had been installed. At the start of the 1961 season, Walker told Moss that he wanted to fit a Colotti gearbox to 912 straight away, but his driver, recalling the previous year s transmission troubles, said that he would not even sit in the car if it had a Colotti box. Rob persuaded Stirling at least to try the Colotti in a private practice session, whereupon Stirling pronounced himself so pleased with its action that he then said he would not drive the car unless Looking supremely calm at the wheel of 912, Stirling Moss accelerates out of Monaco s station hairpin, with the railway station itself in the background. Grand Prix Library 66 Great Cars

11

12 Moss vanquishes the Ferraris Stirling s diary entry for Sunday 14 May Note the double underlining in the phrase flat out all race. Courtesy of Sir Stirling Moss True to its tradition in this era, Autosport celebrated a British success with its front cover in green rather than the usual red. 100 Great Cars

13 Moss vanquishes the Ferraris I saw that chequered flag I wasn t sure, particularly with the Ferraris right on my tail. I kept getting signals about them but it seemed to me that it was a different chap each time. One signal I would get it was Phil Hill, a couple of laps later it was Ginther. One would have a go and then the other one. I had to drive flat out from approximately the third lap to the 100th. I was right on the limit. Writing in his usually understated diary, Moss twice underlined all in the entry flat out all race. It had not for him, though, been a perfect day. There was the little matter of a missed 500 Francs, the cash prize awarded for breaking the lap record. He and Ginther shared the fastest lap of the race at 1 minute 36.3 seconds, but this was 0.1 second adrift of the best that Bruce McLaren had managed when winning the previous year in a Cooper with a 2½-litre Climax engine. There was an intriguing postscript FIA World Championship, round 1 to Moss s brilliant performance. Writing in Motor Sport just before the race, the magazine s continental correspondent, Denis Jenkinson, had said in typically forthright style, It is high time that Rob Walker stopped producing starting money specials for Stirling Moss to drive. In the light of the Monaco Grand Prix result, any defence against the libel suit that Walker now brought became impossible to sustain. Damages of 1,000 were agreed, the money going to charity. Motoring News saw the victory in context. Moss saves the day for Britain, boldly proclaimed the paper s headline the following Thursday. However, it added, Had our manufacturers got swiftly down to the task of building to the new half-ton rulings instead of decrying them as ridiculous, we might not be facing defeat this year by more advanced Italian and German cars. The paper also declared, Ginther is of the stuff that Champions are made of, and Ferrari will once again be congratulating himself on his choice of drivers. In fact, despite the promise of this race, Ginther never won for Ferrari, and his one and only Grand Prix victory did not come until 1965, in Mexico with Honda. As for Ferrari, the Italian team did not win again at Monaco until 1975, with Niki Lauda. At the end of the season, Autocourse looked back and stated: Stirling Moss had given an exhibition of masterly driving such that few will be privileged to witness again, a drive that places him firmly amongst the most immortal exponents of the sport. Praise indeed. As for the removal of those side panels, it certainly worked in giving him sufficient ventilation, as Stirling later recalled. Remember, in those days, races were almost three hours long. At Monaco, I won the race in two and three quarter hours, which is a darned long time. Circuit length miles (3.145km) Distance covered 100 laps, miles (314.5km) Starters 16 Pole position Stirling Moss (Lotus-Climax 18), 1m 39.1s, 70.99mph (114.25kph). Classified finishers 13 Fastest lap Richie Ginther (Ferrari F161) and Stirling Moss (Lotus 18), 1m 36.3s, 73.05mph (117.57kph) Winner s average speed 70.70mph (113.79kph) Top 10 1st Stirling Moss Lotus-Climax 18 (912) 20 2h 45m 50.1s 2nd Richie Ginther Ferrari F h 45m 53.7s 3rd Phil Hill Ferrari F h 46m 31.4s 4th Wolfgang von Trips Ferrari F laps (not running at finish) 5th Dan Gurney Porsche 718/2 4 2 laps 6th Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax T laps 7th Maurice Trintignant Cooper-Maserati T laps 8th Cliff Allison Lotus-Climax 18 (916) 32 7 laps 9th Hans Herrmann Porsche 718/2 6 9 laps 10th Jim Clark Lotus-Climax 21 (930) laps (not running at finish) Other Lotuses DNF Michael May Lotus-Climax 18 (914) 8 Gearbox (42 laps) DNS Innes Ireland Lotus-Climax 21 (931) 30 Accident in practice DNQ Henry Taylor Lotus-Climax 18 (915) 34 World Championship positions, top five (points after one round) 1st, Stirling Moss, 9; 2nd, Richie Ginther, 6; 3rd, Phil Hill, 4; 4th, Wolfgang von Trips, 3; 5th, Dan Gurney, 2 Lotus

14 The second victory 164 Great Cars

15 The second victory Moss rains supreme in Germany. LAT Images turned into proper rain, light at first but becoming heavier. From my point of view that was a benefit, recalled Stirling many years later. For whatever reason, I could be quicker in the wet. There was renewed optimism in the pits, as Robbie Walker recalled: My father was thinking, It s all over now. He knew that Stirling could walk all over the opposition in the rain at the Nürburgring. In the rain the race pace slowed by nearly half a minute. In addition to his wet-weather prowess, Moss also had his D12 rain tyres, although these were now very worn. Hill returned to second place but the gap to Moss was now 15 seconds. Ferrari fortunes slumped even further when Mairesse went off the road trying to take fifth place from Surtees. Moss went into the last lap 18 seconds ahead of Hill. By the approach to the Karussell the American pulled back four seconds but by now it seemed that Moss was playing with his distant challenger. He had certainly taken back over six seconds by the time the pair reached Schwalbenschantz (Swallow Tail) and now the rain was coming down in earnest. Almost hidden in a cloud of spray, Moss crossed the finish line 21.4 seconds ahead of the first of the Ferraris. Behind him the two Italian cars were duelling again. Von Trips slipstreamed Hill Lotus

16 Museum piece Tom Wheatcroft is delighted to see Sir Stirling Moss in the cockpit of 912 at the 2006 Historic Motorsport Show at Stoneleigh. Courtesy of Vintage Racecar magazine trickle of visitors that passed through. However, it did have one big excursion in 2006 when it went with 18 other Donington cars to an art exhibition in Denmark. Along with Alberto Ascari s Ferrari 500 and Ronnie Peterson s Lotus 72, among others, 912 was displayed in the newly opened ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum at a show called Racing Cars The Art Dimension. The cars were seen by around three-quarters of a million people. Tom, by now in his mid-80s, began to consider selling the collection and shared his thoughts with Kevin, who suggested that his father sell cars one at a time and gain satisfaction from finding the most suitable new owners. There was an obvious person to whom they thought 912 should be offered Sir Stirling Moss but nothing came of that. The net was cast wider and auctioneer Guy Loveridge recalls interest being shown in the car by a potential French buyer, but Tom kept hiking the price. The whole Donington operation had its problems by this time. A 150-year lease on the land, which includes the museum was agreed in 2007 with Donington Ventures Limited, a company that planned to bring the Formula 1 British Grand Prix to the circuit, with all the expensive upgrades this entailed. Donington Ventures Limited went into administration in 2009, only a few weeks after Tom Wheatcroft s death. Realising that so much money was tied up in the collection, Kevin decided that some of his late father s treasures really had to go. He spoke to Rick Hall and an arrangement was made whereby Rick would find the buyers and I would find the price. So it was that Kevin was introduced to aviation entrepreneur Stephen Bond as a potential buyer for 912. I took to him, recalls Kevin. He was the man for the car. We drank endless pints of tea and shook hands. The car had been dormant for so long and was now ready to live again. 276 Great Cars

17 Museum piece Hall & Hall s Rob Hall samples 912 at the 2011 Cholmondeley Pageant of Power. Alan Cox Rick Hall also had a go in 912 at Cholmondeley in 2011 but his chance was at the press day for the Pageant of Power. Alan Cox Lotus

18 Chapter 18 Racing again When, in 2011, Stephen Bond saw 912 on its pedestal in the Donington Collection, he knew he had to have it. Looking back, he remembers being aware that the car was significant, but he did not realise just how significant. Only in subsequent years has he learned to truly understand the worth of what he bought that day. Keith Fell, who looks after Stephen s cars, played a part in the decision: Stephen wanted a car that would get him into the Monaco Historic Grand Prix and I said that there was only one [among Donington s cars] that could guarantee that, and that was the Stirling Moss Lotus 18 that won at Monaco in Just before finally agreeing the deal with Kevin Wheatcroft, Stephen had a try-out in 912 around the museum s car park it was the first time he had driven a single-seater. Back in 1961, when other schoolboys might have been dreaming of Stirling Moss s giant-killing feats, young Stephen Bond s attention was focused on aircraft. Given his family background, that is not surprising. His father, David, a war-time Avro Lancaster pilot, went into business in peacetime operating Avro Lancastrians, Handley Page Halifaxes and little Austers for air taxi and charter work, and then in 1953 moved on to helicopters. In 1961 David formed Management Aviation to operate Hiller 12E helicopters and in due course Stephen followed his father into the business: I ve been involved with aviation all my life. When Stephen was 26 his father died and he became managing director of the expanded operation, providing helicopters on long-term charters for oil companies, air ambulances, the police and lighthouse services. With the rapid growth of the North Sea oil market, Bond Helicopters, as it was renamed in 1984, became a major player. A sister operation acquired in Australia was the largest of its kind in south-east Asia. The group, in which Stephen s three brothers were also involved, grew to become one of the top five helicopter operators in the world. However, by the mid-1990s, with European trade barriers being removed and subsequent interest being shown by a Norwegian public company, Stephen was made an offer he could not refuse. In 1997 he took time off and relocated to Adelaide, South Australia where he met his wife Victoria and where an interest in historic cars was kindled. He started to read motoring magazines and one day noticed an advertisement for a Jaguar XJ 220 supercar. Not long before, XJ 220s had been selling for around 400,000 but this one was only 150,000. Later, on a trip back to the UK, he bought an XJ 220 and had it shipped to Australia, where he used it for commuting. The car certainly got noticed. I got invited everywhere with it, recalls Stephen, including being part of some parade laps at the Australian Grand Prix. I had never been on a race track before. During the Friday and Saturday parades, Stephen dutifully remained in line as everyone circulated at about 50mph. Setting out on the Sunday, however, he stalled the engine, and by the time he restarted it the rest of the parade had long gone. In chasing it, he managed In 2012, 912 went back to Goodwood for the Festival of Speed where it was, once again, driven by Sir Stirling Moss at a mere 82 years of age and after recovering from the broken ankles he sustained in his fall down the lift shaft at his London home two years earlier. LAT Images 278 Great Cars

19

20 Racing again to spin the XJ 220 into a run-off area. The spectators, being Aussies, gave me a hard time and that was my first experience of driving fast on a race track. At this time he had already participated in the Classic Adelaide Rally in a borrowed Porsche 356 and as he result he purchased a Jaguar XK 140 roadster for a second go at this important event. Soon after, he decided to return to the UK for good with his new wife and brought the XK 140 with him, joining the XK Club. With other club members he went on a tour to Spain in 2004 and another to St Petersburg two years later. As technical support, he took along a guru as Stephen describes him in the shape of Keith Fell, a specialist in the maintenance and restoration of XKs. I had been thinking about getting into motor sport, says Stephen, and Stephen Bond continues to race his Maserati 250S, which was built for the 12 Hours of Sebring in Here he is about to demonstrate it at the Bicester Flywheel Festival, an event that combines cars and aeroplanes, as the Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boat in the background indicates. Author The care of 912 has become the responsibility of Keith Fell. Courtesy of Keith Fell 280 Great Cars

21 Racing again Keith, with whom I had now struck up a friendship, pointed out that the best way in would be through historic racing. I have been reasonably good at taking advice and finding the right people to take advice from. It was clear that what Keith did not know about historic motor racing was not worth knowing. As a result Bond bought an MGB for the 2007 season. It was a good, straight-forward FIAaccredited MGB, says Keith. It was a car that could cover all spectrums, allowing us to run it on semi-slick tyres in ordinary races but we could do FIA events as well. We just couldn t pack in enough racing and I think we did about 25 events that year. Stephen s next step was to add a Lotus Elan 26R to his stable and with this he did some longer races that required two drivers. Keith, as well as being responsible for maintenance and preparation, took on co-driving duties. One weekend at Snetterton Stephen watched an event specifically for Listers, the charismatic sports-racing cars that Brian Lister and his team built from the mid-1950s to the early 1960s. Stephen was taken with them. Keith, his great adviser, pointed out that a barn-find Lister-Bristol was coming up at an H&H auction in Buxton in August 2008 and attended on Stephen s behalf. Keith bid for it and bought it at the top of my limit. The next day I saw in the Daily Telegraph the headline, World record paid for historic car at Buxton [it was a record price for a Bristol-engined Lister]. I thought, Oh no, that s me and I hadn t even seen the car. However, Gary Pearson at Pearsons Engineering did a fantastic job on its restoration and Lotus now lives in a cherished state at Stephen Bond s Gloucestershire home. Author it looked amazing for its first race at the Silverstone Classic in It is one of my favourite cars because it is such a joy to drive. The little Lister-Bristol was a regular class winner but up against Lister-Jaguars it was totally outclassed. Stephen began to crave more power. The result was the purchase in 2011 of a Maserati 250S, a Lotus

22 Racing again An early outing in 912 for Stephen Bond, seen here in the car with Keith Fell alongside, came at a 2012 test day at Silverstone run by the Historic Grand Prix Cars Association. David Beard car that ran in the 1957 Sebring 12 Hours and Mille Miglia, and then, with a 2-litre engine, was used that same year by Swiss driver Willy Daetwyler to win the first European Hillclimb Championship of the modern era. Only a matter of months after his purchase of the Maserati 250S, the opportunity to acquire a car from the Donington Collection came along. I don t know what made me first start thinking about single-seaters, says Stephen, but the camaraderie of the HGPCA [Historic Grand Prix Cars Association] was part of it. When Keith found out that Kevin Wheatcroft was considering, on a discreet basis, selling certain of the key racing cars in the Donington Collection, I went along to see him. Given the choice, it had to be the ex-moss Lotus 18. With the deal done, Keith collected 912 from Donington with Rick Hall, removing it from its stand together with all the display photographs that surrounded it. He took it for refurbishment to Ian Nuthall s Nottingham-based IN Racing, which had rebuilt the Lister s Bristol engine. There 912 was investigated and completely stripped. The car would run but it was very tired, says Keith. It was driveable for a demonstration, but no more. The chassis was slightly twisted. The coil springs were the original ones and had lost all their tension. The shock absorbers were leaking. There was also work to be done to return 912 to genuine type 18 specification. Although Wheatcroft had discarded the 18/21 bodywork back in 1965 and returned the car to conventional type 18 appearance, nothing had been changed under the surface. For example, on a Lotus 18 the drive shafts also serve as upper suspension arms, whereas an 18/21 has independent suspension, so the 18/21 suspension that had been on 912 since the 1961 Belgian Grand Prix was removed and stored. The Coventry Climax engine was rebuilt and a correct five-speed Colotti type 10 gearbox fitted, the car having received a six-speed Colotti type 32 at some point. The car was race-prepared for historic competition with non-period safety belts and fire extinguisher. Brackets were welded onto the chassis to carry a removable roll hoop, so that the car could be raced with this safety feature but could also be made to look correct for demonstration purposes. The first race for the revitalised 912 was in April 2012 at a Vintage Sports Car Club (VSCC) meeting at Silverstone, where Stephen discovered that when driving a single-seater you become part of the car. 282 Great Cars

23 Racing again From there 912 travelled to Monaco to compete in the 2012 Historic Grand Prix, which, quite understandably, Stephen describes as the race of my career. With just the one single-seater race under his belt, he was apprehensive when he arrived in the Principality. People kept asking him if it was the car. Former Grand Prix driver Jochen Mass was among those who gave advice about how to drive the track. Stephen admits that his heart was pounding as he sat in the car ready to go out for the first time: To sit in that car at Monaco the enormity of it was incredible and hugely emotional. Come the race, Stephen shot off from the grid and initially felt that he had forgotten everything, even to the point that he slowed down when he saw traffic lights. Before long, though, he started to get into a groove, but then the engine began to misfire and for the second half of the race he only had three cylinders: It was like being powered by a lawnmower engine. Post-race there was initial disappointment about the engine problem, but after the whole experience had sunk in Stephen realised that driving the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix winner at the scene of its triumph was the best experience of his life. Over four seasons Stephen raced 912 extensively, at some great circuits in Europe, including Spa-Francorchamps, the Nürburgring, Imola, Zandvoort, Barcelona, Brno, Dijon and Pau, and closer to home at Goodwood, Silverstone, Brands Hatch and Donington. During that time he had only one incident in it, at Spa in 2013, when he lost the back end during a tight battle with fellow Lotus 18 driver Erik Staes and ended up getting rammed when his rival had nowhere to go. The first of four reunions with Sir Stirling Moss during Stephen s ownership of the car occurred in 2012 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where the great man twice drove 912 up the hill with the side panels removed. In 2013 Sir Stirling was present for the first of the car s two appearances as a static exhibit at Race Retro, held at Stoneleigh, where the show s press officer, Andrea Seed, had to organise a hasty and busy photo It was originally Stephen Bond s idea to keep 912 for just the Monaco Historic Grand Prix and the Goodwood Revival, as seen here in 2012, but that plan soon expanded. David Beard call. Then in 2016 there were two more get-togethers, first at the Monaco Historic Grand Prix the subject of the next chapter and then at the second annual Bicester Flywheel Festival in Oxfordshire. At the Flywheel event, a celebration of cars and aircraft, Sir Stirling showed his true class during a public signing session and interviews. Right on time, he sat down and started to sign, smart in navy-blue blazer, open-necked lightblue shirt and grey trousers, but now frail and sporting an unfamiliar beard. His signature is smaller than most but at least it can be read, which is more than can Lotus

24 Chapter 19 Return to Monaco Andrew Hibberd raced 912 in Monte Carlo 55 years on It was déjà vu for Lotus 18 chassis 912. On the morning of Sunday 15 May 2016 the blue-and-white car was sitting on the grid at Monaco ready to race and minus those side panels. True, Nino Vaccarella had tried to qualify here in 1962, while current owner Stephen Bond had also competed with it two years previously in the Monaco historic event, but this was the first time that 912 had raced here in this iconic guise since Stirling Moss s victory in At the wheel, on this occasion, was one of Britain s top historic racers, Andrew Hibberd, although it has to be admitted that this particular wheel was far from being the original. Indeed, it had not even come from a Lotus 18. In 1961 the big problem for 912 was the power of the Ferraris. In 2016 the Lotus 18 stood even less chance in its 12- lap race because any 1½-litre Formula 1 car from the period was eligible which meant that 912 was up against cars with Climax and BRM V8 engines. Motor racing is in the Hibberd blood. Andrew s grandfather, Stan, started racing in 1964 with an 1,172cc Buckler sports car. Father Michael, who runs a Rolls- Royce and Bentley restoration business, followed a decade later, initially with motorcycles, then cars such as MGBs. Inspired by William Taylor s book about Lotus, Michael decided that he wanted a Formula Junior Lotus 27, although his return to motorsport in 1999 came in a Lotus 20/22, and the following year he won the Historic Formula Junior Championship. For 2001 an ex-peter Arundell championship winner was duly sourced and in 2008 Michael won the Chichester Cup at the Goodwood Revival. Andrew followed his father onto the tracks in 2002 with a Lotus 20 and within a year moved on to a Lotus 22. Since then he has competed in cars such as a Lotus 23 sports racer and latterly a Formula 3 Brabham BT18 originally raced by Chris Irwin for the Chequered Flag team. In 2003 father and son started preparing cars for their first historic racing customer and two years later this business moved up a gear when Rudolf Ernst put them in charge of his stable. By 2017 Michael Hibberd Motorsport was looking after around 35 historic racers, from a 1915 Stutz to a 1985 EMKA-Aston Martin Group C car, but with an emphasis on small-capacity single-seaters of the early 1960s. To explain how Andrew found himself on the grid at Monaco in 912 in 2016, we have to reintroduce another familiar Lotus 18, chassis 915, which we encountered at the end of the previous chapter. Stephen Bond first met Andrew when, having purchased 915 from Helmut Gassmann, he visited the Hibberds Langley premises with Keith Fell. They were impressed by the way we had prepared the car and asked if we would also look after Stephen s ex-moss Lotus 18, recalled Andrew. Because I am a Lotus man, it was exciting to become involved with such a famous Lotus. Both cars were now prepared by the Hibberd operation for the 2016 season, with 912 destined in particular for the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique, which Stephen once again planned to enter, and A classic high view at the street circuit as Andrew Hibberd races 912 in the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique of James Mann 290 Great Cars

25

26 Return to Monaco At rest in the Monaco paddock, 912 is seen with the over-large red steering wheel that Andrew Hibberd found difficult to use during early running in practice. Alan Cox Andrew Hibberd practising at Monaco the side panels are still in place but he now has a smaller, blacktrimmed steering wheel. James Mann 292 Great Cars

27 Return to Monaco 915 intended to run as a 2½-litre in the series run by the Historic Grand Prix Cars Association (HGPCA). These best-laid plans were upended when Bond had his nasty accident first time out with 915 at the Goodwood Members Meeting. As recorded in the previous chapter, Stephen decided that he would no longer race single-seaters. To celebrate the 55th anniversary of Stirling Moss s historic win at Monaco in 912, Credit Suisse, the bank, arranged to reunite driver and car in Monte Carlo at the biennual historic Grand Prix there. However, there was now a question about whether the car would be going at all. At one stage it was thought that it might be taken just for a demonstration but then the idea was mooted that Phil Keen, BBC Top Gear s latest manifestation of The Stig, might race it. Chassis 912 was accordingly prepared for Keen and, two weeks before the Monaco event, taken to Rockingham for a test. Keen was unable to make the session, so Andrew was asked if instead he would drive it around the Northamptonshire circuit. We found a few little faults, took it back to the workshop and did a few jobs on it. Andrew experienced something of the proverbial rollercoaster in the days immediately preceding the 2016 Grand Prix de Monaco Historique. A mere eight days before the event he was asked to race another Lotus 18 there, the ex- Michael May 1½-litre 914, then owned by John Elliott. I d never driven at Monaco and also hadn t driven this car. I spent the weekend before Monaco thinking that I would be driving the ex-may Lotus 18, went and collected it, and brought it back to our workshops and did a quick prep on Andrew Hibberd and Stephen Bond with Sir Stirling Moss, who is holding Andrew s model of 912. Courtesy of Andrew Hibberd it. It was then loaded into the truck with our other charges for Monte Carlo: the ex-moss Lotus 18, Helmut Gassmann s ex-rob Walker Connaught B-type and a pair of Formula Juniors, an OSCA and a Stanguellini. At 5.00am on the Monday, the Michael Hibberd Racing truck set off with Michael at the wheel. Andrew, who still had some work to do, remained in Langley. At 8.30am he received a phone call from Keith Fell. Lotus

28 Chapter 20 The car in detail Although modified by the Rob Walker team, as explained in Chapter 6, 912 would have left the factory as a typical example of a customer Lotus 18. The car was the first rear-engine single-seater from the fertile brain of Colin Chapman. The overall concept was his, with a design team, headed by Alan Styman, filling in the details. Mark Whitelock in his book Lotus 18: Colin Chapman s U-turn described the car s chassis as a masterpiece of geometrical refinement and mechanical simplicity. As it began its racing career in 1961, 912 was only ever powered by a 1½-litre Mark II version of the Coventry Climax FPF engine. Four-cylinder Climax engines were the norm for Formula 1 Lotus 18s in 1961 but 912 was unusual in its use of a Colotti gearbox rather than the Lotus sequential unit. During was converted to the more slippery-shaped 18/21 specification. However, in 1965, soon after Tom Wheatcroft acquired the car, it was restored to conventional type 18 appearance and has remained in this form into Stephen Bond s ownership, as can be seen on the following pages. With the squared appearance of the rear, there would have been no doubt in the minds of the following Ferrari drivers at Monaco in 1961 that the car in front was a Lotus 18. This style of number 20 was applied to the engine cover at the last minute because the removal of the side panels meant that no race numbers were visible on the sides of the car. Stirling Moss s office. The main dials in front of the distinctive red steering wheel display water temperature, engine revolutions and oil pressure. Other gauges are placed down the left-hand side of the bulkhead. 300 Great Cars

29