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Aintree British Grand Prix Support Race

Aintree, Great-Britain

Date: 21/7/1962
Track length: 4.830 m
Attendance:
Entries accepted:
Starters:
Finishers: 22

Pole position: Parkes?
Fastest lap: Jane in 2.15,8

Distance:
Average speed: 123,62 kmh
Weather:
Ruleset: Group 2
Car info:  

 

It was Australian Bob Jane in John Coombs' 3,8 Jaguar who took the lead, pursued by Mike Parkes and Jack Sears in the Equipe Endeavour cars.
Jane, weaving this way and that way, was determined to keep in front. KeIsey's challenge with the big Chevrolet lasted just one lap, for a radiator hose burst and that was that. Behind the five Jaguars, Alan Hutcheson (Riley) and Peter Harper (Sunbeam) were having a furious battle to lead the 3-litre category - so furious was it, that Harper completely lost it at Tatts, and dropped to 16th place. Close behind Hutcheson came John Love in the works Cooper- Mini, leading the 1,000 cc section.
Jane's driving was somewhat spectacular to say the least. On the fifth lap he spun round at Cottage Corner, and was nearly hit by both following cars. During the avoidance, Jack Sears took the lead, chased by team-mate Parkes. Farther back came Sir Gawaine Baillie, ahead of Peter Dodd. Undaunted by his tete-a-queue, Jane once more set off to challenge Sears and Parkes, but had plenty of leeway to make up. John Love thrilled the crowd by overtaking Hutcheson, and Christabel Carlisle was also close to the Riley, having cheekily passed Nicky Byrne’s Mercedes-Benz 220 SE, then second to Hutcheson in the 3-litre class. Bill Blydenstein had abandoned his Cooper-Mini with engine bothers, and Borrowman gave up with suspected valve failure.

Keith Bell, right at the back of the field, overturned his VX 4/90 Vauxhall at Cottage Corner, but scrambled out unhurt. The Vauxhalls were most disappointing, the highest-placed after seven laps being Aston’s in 22nd place.

Attention was now focused on the comeback of Peter Harper, who was simply thrashing the Rapier round, breaking the class record time and time again. By lap 8 he had overtaken Christabel Carlisle's red Cooper-Mini into eighth place, and was rapidly overhauling Love and Hutcheson, who had managed to retake the Cooper-Mini, which was slipstreaming his blue car. By 10 laps, only Sears, Parkes, Jane, Baillie, Dodd, Hutcheson, Love, Harper and Miss Carlisle were on the same lap: two laps later, only the five Jaguars remained.
Mick Clare had the wretched luck to have a piece of wood hit and wreck his fan on the Cooper-Mini, and drove into the infield at Tails to abandon. John Whitmore, having lost time following a spin at Tatts, had moved into third place in the class, behind Christabel Carlisle, Edward Lewis (Riley) and Peter Jopp (Rapier) both overtook Byrne's Mercedes.

Sears continued to hold off Parkes, ho was quite content to tail his team-mate. Anyway, all was not well with his brakes, for clouds of smoke poured from the front discs as he slowed for Tatts.
With five laps to go, Harper was only 6 seconds behind Hutcheson, but still had Love to pass. Next time round it was 4,5 sec but still the dark-green Mini was in front. On lap 14, the Sunbeam sped past Love, closing up rapidly on the blue Riley. As they disappeared down towards Waterway, Harper was almost on the tail of his rival's car. They swept round Anchor, a few feet apart. Then, overtaking at Collage Corner, it seemed as if both cars touched.

Harper got round safely, but the Riley went end over end, then rolled. FortunateIy, Hutcheson was uninjured.

Sears and Parkes took the chequered flag in line ahead, with Baillie in third place. Harper took the 3-litre class, but at the time of going to press a protest had been entered following the Collage Corner incident, and the results were not confirmed. Into second place came Peter Jopp in Alan Fraser's Rapier, followed by Edward Lewis (Riley), and Peter Pilsworth in another Fraser-Sunbeam. To John Love went the Mini class, with Christabel Carlisle splitting the factory entered cars by finishing ahead of Whitmore. Liz Jones was fourth, fastest lap in this section was shared by Love and Miss Carlisle, whilst Harper’s 2.26,8 was a new 3-litre record.
Bob Jane retired three laps from the end with serious overheating. Twenty-two cars were running at the end, the two remaining Vauxhalls bringing up the rear.
(Autosport July 1962)

Class A-D
Pos Pos in class # Team / Entrant
Car- Engine		 Drivers, Nationality Engine
vol. (cc)		 Engine
Type		 Group Distance,
time		 Qualifying position Qualifying time Fastest lap Reason out,
remarks
1 1 3 Equipe Endeavour
Jaguar Mk II 3.8		 Jack Sears, GB
 3781 L6 D 17 laps, 39.19,6        
2 2 2 Equipe Endeavour
Jaguar Mk II 3.8		 Michael Parkes, GB
 3781 L6 D 17 laps, 39.19,8   2.16,2    
3 3 4  
Jaguar Mk II 3.8		 Gawaine Baillie, GB
 3781 L6 D 17 laps, 39.58,2        
4 4 5 Bracknell Motors
Jaguar Mk II 3.8		 Peter Dodd, GB
 3781 L6 D 17 laps, 41.01,4        
5 1 9 Sunbeam Talbot Ltd
Sunbeam Rapier Series IIIA		 Peter Harper, GB
 1592 L4 B 16 laps, 40.05,2   2.29 2.26,8  
6 1 21 Cooper Car Co.
Austin Mini Cooper		 John Love, RSR
 997 L4 A 16 laps, 40.05,8   2.28 2.28,2  
7 2 24 Don Moore
Austin Mini Cooper		 Christabel Carlisle, GB
 997 L4 A 16 laps, 40.20,6     2.28,2?  
8 2 10 Alan Fraser
Sunbeam Rapier Series IIIA		 Peter Jopp, GB
 1592 L4 B 16 laps, 40.32,2        
9 3 15 Westover Racing
Riley 1.5		 Edward Lewis, GB
 1489 L4 B 16 laps, 40.35,6        
10 3 22 Cooper Car Co.
Austin Mini Cooper		 John Whitmore, GB
 997 L4 A 16 laps, 40.36,0   2.29    
11 4 11 Alan Fraser
Sunbeam Rapier Series IIIA		 Peter Pilsworth, GB
 1592 L4 B 16 laps, 40.44,0        
12 4 29 Downton Engineering Ltd.
Austin Mini Cooper		 Elizabeth Jones, GB
 997 L4 A 16 laps, 41.24,2        
13? 5 20 Equipe Rouge
Mercedes 220 SEb		 Nicky Byrne, GB
 2195 L6 C     2.23,6?    
  6 12 Alan Fraser
Sunbeam Rapier Series IIIA		 Ellis Cuff-Miller, GB
 1592 L4 B          
  5 28 Squadra Blez International
Morris Mini Cooper		 John Aley, GB
 997 L4 A          
  6 26 W.H. Griffiths Engineering Ltd.
Austin Mini Cooper		 Tony Rutt, GB
 997 L4 A          
21/22   16 Tourist Trophy Garage
Vauxhall VX 4/90		 Bill Aston, GB
 1508 L4 B          
22/21   18 Postland Engineering & Trading Co.
Vauxhall VX 4/90		 Warwick Banks, GB
 1508 L4 B          
DNF   7 Alexander Engineering Co.
Chevrolet Chevy II		 Charles Kelsey
 5359 V8 D 1   2.26   Water hose
DNF   23 Cooper Car Co.
Morris Mini Cooper		 Bill Blydenstein, GB
 997 L4 A         Engine
DNF   33 Scottish Clubman Ltd.
Austin Mini Cooper		 Bill Borrowman, GB
 997 L4 A         Valve
DNF   17 Lawrencetune Engines
Vauxhall VX 4/90		 Keith Bell, GB
 1508 L4 B         Accident
DNF   27 Alexander Engineering Co.
Morris Mini Cooper		 Mick Clare, GB
 997 L4 A         Fan
DNF   14 Barwell Motors Ltd.
Riley 1.5		 Alan Hutcheson, GB
 1489 L4 B         Accident
DNF   1 John Coombs
Jaguar Mk II 3.8		 Bob Jane, AUS
 3781 L6 D 14   2.16,6 2.15,8 Overheating