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■ Words and Pics: Keith Lee

Drag racing is very much a family sport. And while at the recent British Drag Racing Hall of Fame gala, I caught up with Glen Read and his brother Tim who were there to enjoy seeing their old rivals and friends, the Stones team, inducted. Their late father, Jim Read, made his mark in the sport both on and off track. There were four sons in total, with Steve and Robin being the other two. All of them were, and still are, involved in the drags, even though they are in their senior years.

The Readspeed legacy all emanated from the family business, which was situated at the amusingly named Frogs Island in Oxfordshire. Jim’s family tree surgery operation would be home to the team vehicles, and he was always welcoming to other racers as well.

I remember first meeting the Read clan when they arrived en masse for one of the BDR&HRA area meetings I had started in Berkshire, which must have been over the winter of 1969-70. They made an impression then, and still do.

Not maybe the most obvious choice for drag racing, but Jim first raced his Volvo Amazon street car back in 1971, having been introduced to the sport by two of his sons who persuaded him to take them to Santa Pod in 1969. The Swedish motor gave way to a blue Camaro the following year. Glen meantime took over driving the Volvo, for his own first taste of racing.

Late in ’72, Jim moved into the dragster ranks, with a car based around the old Weekend Warrior chassis assembly which was fitted with a Ford V8 motor and auto trans. It was called Autofrog and fittingly painted a muddy brown. It gave him a taste of something different, and it would not be long before he wanted something faster.

At the tail end of 1973, Jim and myself spent a week sharing an apartment in California during a drag racing trip. We both saw the result of a serious funny car fire, in the form of the remains of Butch Maas’ ravaged fire suit. At that time, a major fire had not occurred in the UK, but this sight at the Simpson shop was sobering – and Jim would be an early proponent of treating safety equipment properly, as scant regard was generally paid to safety gear at that time. Interestingly, although Tim was the

Above: Jim Read conducting the start line, as Stripteaser launches against Stagecoach Left: Steve Read trying out the cockpit of Jim’s rear-engined car for size. In the background, you can see the team bus dominating the pits at Santa Pod Below: Jim posing in the engine bay of his dragster, back in the Frogs Island workshop

Left: Jim warming the hides of the rst car to carry the Le Patron name Above: Glen Read launching hard in his neat little 1800cc Volvo powered entry

only son who did not compete himself directly, in later years he would become part of the UK tech crew – and very much involved in checking safety equipment.

Both Tim and Glen crewed for renowned Swedish racer Krister Johansson in the current millennium, until he retired. Now they support Jonny Lagg at races.

Of Jim’s four sons, Steve was generally referred to as the wild one. He did go to Australia in the mid seventies. Steve has done a lot of racing around the world and in modern times established himself as a major Top Fuel racer down under. The ‘Pom’ Steve Read must have confused more than a few over there, given that their own top racer just happened to be a certain Jim Read – no relation.

For a few years, the Read crew, under the name Readspeed, was a team which literally stood out in the pits. While most racers maybe had a van and beaten up trailer, Jim acquired an ex-Lesney Matchbox Toys double-decker staff bus, which transported their dragster downstairs, while the crew quarters/observation deck was on the upper deck. It was a popular place to watch the racing from, given the unobstructed vantage point!

Our Jim had become involved with the BDR&HRA committee right from his early days in the sport and would serve as club chairman for a good number of years, as he worked to improve the sport he loved. When he wasn’t racing, he would often appear on the start line, doing stints as an unofficial starter at Santa Pod and keeping an eye on how things were working.

Pro Comp started in 1975 and it became a popular addition, as it featured a mix of dragsters, funnies and altereds. It would be a class which would feature the Read name for many years to come. Jim debuted his blown hemi, called Le Patron in mid ’75. He had wanted to buy the Mister Six car from Dennis Priddle but ended up purchasing the previous Hot Wheels slingshot rolling chassis. Paintwork was by friend and noted custom bike builder Uncle Bunt, aka John Reed.

Others running under the Readspeed banner included Glen, who built a Harold Bull-chassied dragster the previous year – still sticking to Volvo power. Local bike racers Bob Beckwith and Ray Elger also saw their machines refinished in scroll designs from Uncle Bunt. Way before his record-setting Daimlers, Robin’s first four wheel action would, like Glen, feature Volvo power in his Junior Dragster entry.

Knowing that he needed a more modern design to be competitive, Jim called on Dennis Priddle to construct a rear motor car for him. This would be the first Priddle RED design seen in action and it would prove to be a very successful and long-lived machine.

When we were out in California, Jim struck up a friendship with engine manufacturer Ed Donovan. Naturally it was Ed who he got to supply one of the 417 Donovans to power the new racer, which rolled into action in 1978. It proved to be a great car, which saw so much action in the following decade as the family competed all over the continent. Jim took it into the sixes, prior to Steve taking on the driving duties. Sadly, Jim suffered heart problems and passed away at the tail end of the eighties.

The only one of Jim’s sons still actually driving is Robin – who, with the help of his his dedicated crew, has achieved so much with his tiny blown Daimler powered cars, having clocked a mighty 6.37s/208mph at this year’s Nostalgia Nationals. He has come a long way since his earliest quarter mile excursions riding my old Triumph powered Lambretta! The Spirit of Le Patron name of Robin’s latest car serves as a fitting tribute to the Readspeed patriarch.

Above left: Bird’s eye view of the business end of the rear-engined car, which did so much travelling around Europe Above right: Sat in the pits is the Camaro which Jim used to run in the early 70s, before later turning his attention to the dragster ranks Right: Hard to believe that Robin Read’s Spirit of Le Patron is only 2.5 litres. He ran 6.37s/208mph following this burnout. Team member Bill Mears on the right

Left: Jim was taken with Left: Jim was taken with the truck at Ed Donovan’s factory. He would later buy the ex-Priddle Ford F100 which did many, many miles hauling the trailer around the tracks. len nally ran it into the ground in Norway, where he now lives