Auto Action #1823 by Auto Action

RACE TO THE FUTURE SUPERCARS SALE REACTION

P O T S S S E PR SUPERCARS HYBRID FUTURE REVEALED

BACK ON TRACK NEW STARS ROUGH UP THE OLD GUARD

THE AUSSIE VOICE OF INDYCAR

LEIGH DIFFEY – AUSTRALIA’S OTHER INDYCAR STAR

ISSN 2204-9924

9 772204

Issue #1823 Nov 04 to Nov 17 2021 $9.95 INC GST

992016

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PLUSCHAPMAN’S LOTUS 29 INDY ’63 CLOSE... BUT NO CIGAR

LATEST NEWS

GROVE THE FINAL JIGSAW PIECE

A licence exemption is the only thing delaying the final field for the 2022 Repco Supercars Championship. By Paul Gover, News Editor GROVE RACING is waiting until this year’s season is complete before filing a request for an exemption for Matthew Payne, the speedy young Kiwi it hopes to inject into the series as teammate to David Reynolds. Payne is set to race both Super2 and Carrera Cup through to the Bathurst 1000 meeting, but there is no certainty that he will get a dispensation on his Superlicence. There is some suggestion that he might not qualify, as the process involves both Supercars and Motorsport Australia and includes a requirement to complete a full season in Super2, but team boss Stephen Grove tells Auto Action that the team is focussed on Payne. “We’re clearly working on Matty. He will be racing Super2 and Carrera Cup through to the end of the year,” he says. “He will have his points, he will have two rounds of Super2 under his belt – Sydney Motorsport Park and Bathurst – so it seems silly that he would have to do four rounds next year to make it up to six.

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“But there is a process and we need to follow that process. I’m not in favour of that, and not because of Matty Payne, but because there needs to be other avenues to Supercars. If you’re cutting that off, you’re cutting off anyone trying to come to Supercars from other categories.” Grove says his team has a fully-rebuilt Nissan Altima ready for Payne, one of the cars previously built and race by Kelly Racing, and he is happy with how the youngster has come through his early test laps in both Super2 and Supercars machinery. While Grove, and Supercars, waits on Payne the rest of the field for 2022 is set and includes a number of driver moves and driver swaps up and down the pitlane. The only driver without a seat is Zane Goddard, who is leaving Matt Stone Racing. Nick Percat is now confirmed at Walkinshaw Andretti United, the outfit once known as the Holden Racing Team and where he won the Bathurst 1000 with Garth Tander in 2011 and cut his teeth as a Supercars youngster.

“It’s pretty exciting to be heading back. It will bring completion to the plan that Tom Walkinshaw and Martine originally had for me at HRT, to be racing the #2 car for them,” says Percat. “I left them at the end of 2014 and now I’m trying to return home and repay their original faith. There is some unfinished business. I want to keep the dream alive.” For Todd Hazelwood, who is also leaving Brad Jones Racing but heading to Matt Stone’s crew, there is enthusiasm for 2022 and beyond. “They have Triple Eight equipment and the team has grown a lot since I was last there. Hopefully we can drive the team forward and kick some goals together,” he says. Then there is Cam Waters, who has just been renewed with Tickford Racing and Monster Energy as an obvious championship challenger next year. “I’m pumped to have a new deal and go around again. I love being in the team and I’ve got a sick sponsor. I want to get on and focus on winning races and championships,” Waters says.

SEASON 2022 RUNNERS AND RIDERS RED BULL AMPOL RACING Shane van Gisbergen Broc Feeney

SHELL V-POWER RACING Anton de Pasquale Will Davison

TICKFORD RACING Cam Waters James Courtney Thomas Randle Jake Kostecki

WAU Chaz Mostert Nick Percat

BRAD JONES RACING Andre Heimgartner Bryce Fullwood Macauley Jones Jack Smith

EREBUS Will Brown Brodie Kostecki

COOLDRIVE Tim Slade

GROVE RACING Matthew Payne? David Reynolds

TEAM TEKNO Fabian Coulthard Garry Jacobson

MATT STONE RACING Todd Hazelwood Jack Le Brocq

TRIPLE 8 RENEWS GM DEAL

By Paul Gover, News Editor The Bulls will continue to race in red until at least the end of 2023. General Motors has renewed its backing for Triple Eight Race Engineering for two years, through to the first season of the Gen3 era in Supercars, despite the closure of its Holden operation. T8 will continue to field its Red Bull Ampol Racing Team Commodores in 2022 before switching to the all-new Camaro coupe in 2023. The deal is confirmed by GM ANZ, which will use its motorsport involvement to continue the promotion of a number of its brands ACDelco, GM Trade Parts and GMSV - on the cars. “Holden has been a part of the motorsport landscape in Australia and New Zealand for over 70 years - and we’re proud to be continuing this legacy with this announcement,” says Marc Ebolo, managing director of GM ANZ “Our relationship with Triple Eight is a highly visible reminder to Supercars fans that there is ongoing support for Holden genuine parts and servicing.” Roland Dane says the renewed deal continues a link which has been in place for more than a decade. “We’ve been the official Holden homologation team since 2016 and the unofficial one since 2010,” Dane says. “We’re now the homologation team. They haven’t got a factory team as such any more.” Dane confirms the deal was inked with GM ANZ but has a link much higher in the GM world. “It’s a local decision that’s made completely in agreement with the people in GM over there in Detroit. The people over there know full well what’s going on.” He refuses to be drawn into details, especially on funding, but confirms it is an extension of the two companies existing deal. “It’s both financial and technical,” Dane says. The continued tie-up with General Motors extends an arrangement with the red brand, although broken during the years when T8 raced Falcons in Supercars, that stretches back to 1996 when Triple Eight became the official Vauxhall factory team in the British Touring Car Championship. It was in the heady days of Super Touring competition, when major makers splashed multiple millions on racing in the UK, and the team’s original drivers included Dane’s great mate and former Formula One racer Derek Warwick and BTCC champion and regular Bathurst visitor John Cleland. Looking ahead, Dane expects the GM link to continue strongly into the future. “I think it means that we carry on representing the brand for the foreseeable future as the homologation team, and continue to develop the Gen3 car for everyone.”

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Image: Motorsport Images

FULLWOOD GRABS BJR DRIVE AFTER MONTHS of speculation, Bryce Fullwood will move from Walkinshaw Andretti United to the Brad Jones Racing outfit, effectively in a direct swap with Nick Percat, looking to remain with the team for a period. In his near two seasons in the Supercars Championship with WAU, Fullwood scored a podium finish at The Bend Motorsport Park last year and has recorded multiple top 10 finishes. Fullwood is excited to be joining BJR next year and explained the reasons why the team appeals to him. “BJR is a team that really runs on passion, they’ve probably got the most passion up and down pit lane,” Fullwood said to Auto Action. “Everybody there eats, sleeps and breathes racing all day, every day of the week.

“For me, being with a team that is in charge of their own destiny, in designing their own parts and building their own cars is something that appeals to me. “That’s similar to WAU and one of the reasons why WAU appeal to me also. Just for me, it just opens up some opportunity to develop and be able to help drive the team forward.” Fullwood has only signed for 2022 at this stage, but would like to remain at the team when the new Gen3 era commences in 2023. “For me, the aim will be to just cement myself within the team, get to know everybody in the team, be excited to go racing and hopefully work with the team for some time. “They certainly did prove to be very competitive when the COTF car came out, and I think they’re quite big at not

over-complicating things there, which I think was potentially a contributor to all of that. Fullwood will be joined at BJR in 2022 by his former housemate Andre Heimgartner who moves from Kelly grove Racing. The former Super2 Series winner previously raced with Heimgartner in the Pirtek Enduro Cup and is boosted by the opportunity to race alongside his mate. “For me moving forward, Andre is a guy who’s a very, very hard worker,” Fullwood said. “He’s not a show pony kind of guy. He’s all about head down and bum up and hard work bring results and that’s the way I go racing as well, so looking forward to working with him, it’s going to be good fun.” Dan McCarthy

FULLWOOD UNDERSTANDS WAU DECISION WAU OPTED for experience over youth in chosing 2011 Bathurst 1000-winning driver Nick Percat over Bryce Fullwood, but the Northern Territtorian understands the decision. “For sure I understand why things are happening the way they are– I completely get it,” Fullwood told AA. “This sport is a cutthroat industry and that’s just the way it is, so, I completely get that and I’ve been proud to be a part of the team through the rebuilding process. “Obviously the team wanted a big change when Chazzy (Chaz Mostert) and I came on board, and, the culture that is in the team here now is absolutely awesome, and I feel proud to

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have been a part of building that.” Fullwood stepped straight out of Super2 into the WAU outfit. During the two year spell at the team he has had some massive highs, including a podium finish at The Bend Motorsport Park. He has had some challenging moments also which he mainly attributes to lack of experience compared with his Bathurst 1000-winning teammate Mostert. “I think there’s probably a small amount that he’s eight years ahead in inexperience to me,” Fullwood said. “If he wasn’t doing a better job than me with eight years more experience ... well that’s just not the way it works.

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“Definitely, there’s times when I haven’t done the best job, but I’ve been very lucky that I’ve had a very supportive team. “Chaz has been really keen to try and help me learn along the way, but I’m going to be the first to admit there’s always things we can always do better. “There’s been weekends that I haven’t gone very well, but I’ve always had my head down and bum up and worked as hard as I can to rectify some of those things.” Fullwood looks fondly back on his time at WAU and will be forever thankful for the opportunity the team gave him. Obviously WAU gave me my shot to the main series and that’s something that I’ll never forget.

“I’m the first rookie that they’ve brought through into the main series for a really long time and so I really respect that, and I’m quite proud of that. “I’ve learned a lot here, obviously – they’re pretty big operation. They’re a big professional team and it’s been really good to learn how a main series team goes racing, obviously, coming straight out of Super2. “To work with Chazzy has been awesome. He’s a driver that’s in his element at the moment in his prime and to learn from someone on his calibre has been awesome. So for me, I’ve loved every minute of it, it’s been really awesome.” Dan McCarthy

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LATEST NEWS

OJEDA SECURES BATHURST CO-DRIVE SUPER2 SERIES front runner Jayden Ojeda has officially secured one of the last remaining co-drives for the Bathurst 1000. After an evaluation test earlier this year, Matt Stone Racing has now confirmed that Ojeda will team up with Zane Goddard in the #35 entry for this year’s Great Race. “I’m thrilled to be teaming up with Zane for the Bathurst 1000 in the #35!”, Ojeda said. “It has been a chaotic year so far, so I am looking forward to heading to Bathurst and turning some extra laps.” Team Owner Matt Stone indicated that he has been reviewing the co-driver options for his team’s young drivers. MSR is the last team to formally announce its codrivers for the Bathurst 1000. “We have been assessing our co-driver options for a while now and wanted to have a good look at the top Super2 talent as well as some experienced drivers.” Stone said. “We generally prefer to support the younger drivers, but at the same time this is Zane’s Championship so the most important factor is to have a safe pair of hands who understands the role of a co-driver and will work well with Zane and the team.” At just 22 years of age, Sydney-sider Ojeda already

has one start in the Bathurst 1000 to his credit, as a last-minute addition to the GRM wildcard entry alongside Tyler Everingham last year. Ojeda has been a regular front runner in Super2 the past two years and currently sits third in the championship standings with two rounds remaining. “After a solid performance in Super2 so far this year, and the advantage of having done his first Bathurst 1000 race last year, we decided that the time was right for Jayden to deliver a solid enduro performance this year with our team,” Stone continued. “We think that the combination of Zane and Jayden can deliver a very good result in the Yellow Cover Racing car if everything goes to plan.” Rhys Vandersyde

MIEDECKE SURNAME TO RETURN TO TCM AT MT PANORAMA THE MIEDECKE surname will return to the Touring Car Masters series at this year’s Bathurst 1000. George Miedecke, the son of 21time TCM race winner and Aussie motorsport legend Andrew, will make his TCM debut with Whiteline Racing at Mount Panorama this November 30-December 3. He will do so racing the same car his dad raced for the Adelaide-based team. Miedecke will join Adam Bressington in the two-car Chevrolet Camaro team as the Whiteline squad shuffles their already successful line-up for the final round this year. It will complete something of a careerlong ambition for Miedecke as he follows in his father’s footsteps by driving one of TCM’s most iconic cars. Regular driver Bressington will jump aboard the team’s race-winning 1970 Camaro RS at Bathurst: border restrictions unfortunately keeping Queenslander Mark King on the

sidelines for the event this year. That will allow Miedecke to drive the iconic 1969 Camaro SS raced so successfully by his Dad – one of the most successful car and driver combinations in TCM history. “It’s very cool and to be honest, I never thought I would get the opportunity to drive that car,” Miedecke said. “I spent a lot of my formative years in racing watching Dad drive that car or racing together at the same events like the Clipsal 500. “It was always a bit of a dream of mine, not necessarily to drive in TCM, but more specifically to drive for Bob and Shaz (Middleton, team owners). They have run such a good show for such a long time. “Dad drove that car for six or seven years straight and that car and my early years of racing, are super connected.” Miedecke, who continues to race – his last start came in the Bathurst 6 Hour Production Car enduro in April – said

while he wasn’t searching for the Bathurst opportunity it was one he couldn’t turn down. “We’ve got a lot of stuff going on at the moment and I didn’t really need to do this, but when Dad rang me and said Bob had been on the phone and wanted me to drive the car, I said ‘Hell yes! How do I make this happen!” “It’s really exciting but it’s also a big ask,” he added. “TCM has a lot of very good cars and really good drivers and I think it will be tough given the amount of practice we get; I’ll still be getting to know the car on the last lap of race four, I reckon. “At the same time, I’m lucky that over the years I have done a lot of laps at Bathurst – this will be visit number 13 or 14 to the Mountain.” Miedecke Senior started 49 TCM rounds between his debut in 2010 and retirement from the class in 2016, all of them for Whiteline Racing. The family relationship goes back even further than that, with Miedecke having

raced NASCARs for the team – headed up by Bob and Sharon Middleton – well before they joined TCM. George’s addition to the grid will further build on the family theme within TCM, with three second-generation drivers set to feature on the Bathurst grid. Alongside Miedecke, Cameron Mason (son of 2007 TCM champion Steve) and Jamie Tilley (Son of TCM legend Brad) are also entered. The Bathurst event, the fourth round of the series, will see four races contested to decide the 2021 Touring Car Masters titles across all three classes. TCM hits the track on Tuesday, November 30, with races on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The Whiteline duo are likely to be contenders in what is shaping to be a strong TCM field to decide the 2021 titles; 19 cars currently entered for the Bathurst event ahead of entries closing. Dan McCarthy

THE VOICE OF CHOICE The Voice of IndyCars has had a distinctive Aussie twang for several years ...

Leigh Diffey is one of Australia’s greatest motorsport exports, even if he has never raced. The one-time star caller for Supercars is now a worldwide television presence as the face – and voice – of IndyCar racing in the USA. He has never lost his Queensland twang, or his Downunder sense of humour, yet still banks a seven-figure salary from the giant NBC network and this year fronted its track-and-field coverage from the Olympics Games. Report: Paul Gover Images: Motorsport Images IF YOU ask Leigh Diffey to name the best racing driver in the world, right now, the answer will come as a shock. It’s not Lewis Hamilton, or Max Verstappen, or Alex Palou or even Shane van Gisbergen Diffey goes for Kyle Larson, and he should know. The transplanted Queenslander has his finger on the pulse of all forms of motorsport, from Formula One and MotoGP to Supercross and IndyCar and NASCAR, in his role as the motorsport front man for the giant NBC Network in the USA. It’s a massive change, and a huge achievement, for a Brisbane boy whose original dream was to call the homegrown Supercars. “How do I describe myself? I’m a broadcaster,” Diffey tells Auto Action from his American home, deep in the green belt just outside New York City. The kid who started as a trackside

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commentator for local motocross, where he spruiked his youthful mate Darryl Beattie, is now a 50-year-old veteran who has been at the tip of Supercars broadcasting, lived in London to commentate the World Superbike Championship, and is now at the top of his game – and his business.

Apart from anchoring the live coverage of the IndyCar World Series, Diffey has just completed another Olympic Games with NBC, this time as the lead commentator for track-and-field. And he has a big role in broadcasting of Rugby. But back to Kyle Larson. “The best driver? In anything?

“Currently, in the world?,” says Diffey as he searches for an answer to the question. As always for Diff (or ‘Stiffey’) it must be The Right Answer. “One of the best drivers in the world, by far, is Kyle Larson. The guy is in a car about four times a week. And he has just dominated NASCAR this year. “I also think that, at the age of 41, what Scott Dixon is doing is still incredible. “It’s tough, because I think it is so subjective. It’s like polls – someone says it’s The Top 100 drivers of 2021. You read it and say ‘Really?’ “It’s the subjectivity of it that bothers me. How do you grind out a matrix? “What I like is the retro way that modern drivers are looking at racing now. They want to do the Rolex 24 at Daytona. They want to try and do Bathurst. Alexander Rossi goes off to do the Baja 1000. “To me, that’s the best driver in the world – the driver who wants to do the most racing in the world. So it harks back to stepping outside your comfort zone.”

He searches for an answer to the question. As always for Diff (or ‘Stiffey’) it must be The Right Answer.

The IndyCar ‘A’ team (top) – Diffey, Calvin Fish and AJ Almendinger at work ... Kyle Larson (centre) has been the revelation of the NASCAR world and Diffey is a huge fan. The greatest thrill, though, has been lapping the Indy 500 oval with the great Mario Andretti ... One driver who has done it all, from NASCAR and IndyCar to Formula One and Sprintcars, is Diffey’s good mate Mario Andretti. He is clearly in awe of one of the greatest all-rounders of all time, likely best of all, who took him for a two-seater IndyCar ride at more than 320km/h around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2019. “It was a life changing experience,” says Diffey.

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“He did scare me a little bit. I was taken aback by the violence of it. He said we got up to about 190 milesand-hour.” But what also impressed Diffey, the professional and not just the race fan, is the commitment by the then 79-yearold. “In between passenger runs he comes in to the pits and tunes the car. He is full-on.”

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It’s a similar commitment to the focus and vision, hard work and research – and talent – that took Diffey all the way to the top of his chosen career. “I raced motorbikes when I was a kid. And I still have my first bike, here in the garage. It’s a Honda MR50 and it’s about to be sent off for restoration. “I raced until I was 16 or 17. And then I stopped and did school. My mate

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Darryl Beattie grew up the same, and his mum was my school teacher. Darryl came to our local bike club and the rest is history. “That’s how I got into commentary. My brother raced, Darryl raced, I would go to the meetings and knew all the people. I was just hanging around. “The folks at the club said I’d made a few speeches and done pretty good, and asked me if I’d do the commentary.” Was there ever a temptation to try car racing? “Not really. You go for a fun go-kart meeting and I’ll always be in on that. I’ve had the opportunity to drive cars on a track, but what do I have to win or what do I have to lose? “I’m not in my position because I’m a professional car racer. I’m a professional broadcaster who knows racing.” Now, aged 50 and living comfortably in Ridgefield in Connecticut, just outside New York, Diffey says he is happy with the lifestyle for his wife and two children. But he also knows what it took to uproot himself from Australia, where he could still have been in the commentary booth with Neil Crompton, to chase a dream in the UK and then the USA.

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“Gurney pitted again for tyres, he ran a different set up to Clark, and then again two laps later as a wheel was loose.”

average was 149.750mph despite an unfavourable wind, using the strengthened, narrower, Dunlop wheels. Then Dan set off in The Mule–R1, but ended his run after three laps – he was stuck with the 149.019mph he had done on the Sunday; Clark would start fifth, and Gurney 12th. Jones won pole with 151.153mph speed; there was still plenty of kick in those old-tech, highly refined, fit-for-purpose roadsters! Before race day, sufficient Halibrands were procured for both cars, while Ford’s Bill Gay sorted Bill Stroppe’s stock-car crew to look after Lotus’ critical pit work. RACEDAY: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK The sheer noise and scale of 250,000 spectators attending the Memorial Day classic is not to be believed. In 1963 the field had perfect race conditions, a 22-degree day under a clear blue sky. After the politicians, brass bands and marching gals had done their thing, the Chevrolet pace car took the field up to 90mph and released 14,000-horsepower. Jones’ Watson took an immediate lead and was soon 14 seconds up the road from Gurney, in ninth and Clark 10th. At 100 miles, Dan let Jim through as his engine had lost its edge (a cam lobe had worn off). Parnelli upped his pace to cover his additional pitstop, but Lotus matched him. Jones stopped under yellows on lap 62 – his experience meant he worked the yellows better than Lotus – when Clark led. Gurney stopped on lap 92, taking on three

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tyres (his left-front was ok) and fuel in 42 seconds. Clark pitted three laps later for the same combination of tyres and fuel – his stop was 32 seconds. Clark was then third, 40 seconds adrift of Jones in the lead, from Jim Hurtuboise’s Novi. Clark inherited second place after the last surviving crowd-sentimental-favourite, Novi, retired on lap 102, black flagged for dropping oil. Then Jones pitted under a yellow and maintained his lead, the gap to Clark got out to 47 seconds, and remained much the same. Approaching Jones’ final pitstop circa lap 160, there was another car into the wall, and another yellow, so he pitted. A race official pointed to oil dripping from the Watson during the pitstop – he was on the move after 21 seconds. Gurney was third, while Clark started to gain ground on Jones – by lap 177 the gap was five seconds. On lap 178 Eddie Sachs’ Watson spun on the oil but continued. Then Jones’ Watson puffed blue smoke as he backed off for the corners, but the gap to Clark increased to nine, then 10 seconds as the oil leakage continued. Gurney pitted again for tyres (he ran a different set up to Clark), and then again two laps later as a wheel was loose. Chief Steward and ex-racer Harlan Fengler had warned drivers before the race that dropped oil would incur instant disqualification. Jones’ crew chief, Johnny Poulsen visibly remonstrated with Fengler in front of the main straightaway crowd. Clark did his best to keep his car under control “on a track now awash with oil, waiting for the lead car to be black flagged.” Then Jones’ car owner, long-time entrant JC Agajanian – multi-millionaire pig farmer, race-track owner and USAC director – joined the fun, also lobbying Fengler. Chapman, with smoke coming out of his ears, joined in, but was told to bugger-off as the car in question was not his. Fengler called for binoculars… Meantime, Clark was having trouble passing cars, including one huge slide which took him towards the wall – then one of the crowdfavourites, Eddie Sachs, lost it on the oil,and his Watson went straight into the wall. ‘Goddammit!’ thought Fengler. On the one hand he didn’t want his decision to cost a driver his life. On the other, his personal bias was to his countrymen and those to whom he owed his livelihood rather than a few visiting ‘Limeys in a

Above: It’s all happening. Gurney’s R3 in Gasoline Alley. Note unstressed engine, offset suspension, Colotti ‘box and extractors/megaphones. Above left: Gurney from Clark early in the race. Below: Gurney brought Yamaha as his sponsor - his crew looked after R3. Bottom: Smiles from Gurney and Clark despite copping the rough-end of the USAC-pineapple. Inset (opposite): Ford makes the connection between race and road V8s. Opposite centre: Overhead shows the sheer economy of Lotus packaging Opposite bottom: Oily Parnelli Jones en route to winning, Watson Offy roadster.

funny-green car.’ (with respect to Dan Gurney!). Then two officials reported it was water Jones was dropping, Agajanian denied the car was dropping anything. An official held the black flag but didn’t use it. If an American car/driver were in second place perhaps Fengler’s decision would have been different. With three laps to go, and a gap of 22 seconds to Jones, Clark accepted his second place; Jones won from Clark, then AJ Foyt in another Watson Offy, with Gurney 7th having also completed 200 laps. While Lotus, Ford, Clark and Gurney carried off their disappointment with great aplomb, a protest was not the way they – Ford in particular – wanted to win, there is little doubt they were shafted by the Indy Establishment. Other drivers weren’t so conciliatory. Eddie Sachs and Roger McCluskey both blamed Jones for their late-race accidents. Sachs publicly disputed the matter with Jones at a function the following day and copped a knuckle-sandwich for his troubles. The insular Indianapolis 16th Street entrance sign read ‘Indianapolis Motor Speedway – World Capitol of Auto Racing’. The ruling-junta held firm, the infidels were at the gate but jumping it was still two, long years away for Lotus, Ford, Chapman and Clark! PUB AMMO • Chunky Chapman’s monocoque chassis that wasn’t! He described his new Lotus 25/29 as having a “twin-tube ladder frame” or “bath-tub”. That ‘monocoque’ descriptor was a motornoter’s construct which stuck. • FoMoCo’s aluminium, pushrod, Weber carbed AX-230-2 Indy 255cid V8’s are members of

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racing royalty, the Windsor small-block V8 family, whose race credits include Le Mans 24 Hour and Bathurst 500 wins. • The Young Gurney’s back-street hot rods were Ford-flattie powered, so hooking up with the Blue Oval was natural to him! Mutually beneficial too, they won Le Mans together in 1967 when Dan shared an All-American victory with AJ Foyt in a 7-litre Ford GT Mk4. • There was plenty of chassis’ variety among the 33 Indy starters – 11 different makes, albeit only four were rear-engined, the two Lotuses and a pair of Thompsons, the latter using pushrod Chevs. • In addition to the two Ford V8’s were three 181cid supercharged Novi V8s. The balance of the field, 26 cars, were 4.2 Offy-powered. • Firestone created a run on 15-inch tyres when they produced such boots for the light Lotuses. Roadster racers dumped their 17-inch covers to grab the performance gain they perceived was in part due to the tyres, so there was a shortage of 15-inch tyres and Halibrand wheels to carry them. Frustrated by the lack of supply, AJ Foyt approached Goodyear, who supplied tyres in practice, but not the race. In so doing he ignited the Akron giant’s entrée into international racing. They got the hang of it pretty-quickly too, winning an F1 World Championship with our-very-own Jack Brabham in 1966. • Chapman first met with Ford in July 1962; his contract with them wasn’t signed until after the 29’s Indy test in late March 1963. He was a racer to his core – and a gambler – given the staggering amount of Lotus time and money invested to that point. Reference credit: ‘Team Lotus: The Indianapolis Years’ Andrew Ferguson.

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