It's exactly 50 years since a dreadful accident in the Dutch Grand Prix shamed Formula One and, perhaps, robbed Britain of its next World Champion. At the time, several young British chargers were being eyed by F1 teams: Tom Pryce, Tony Brise and James Hunt all looked like strong hopes for the future. But for many the man on his way to the top was a stocky, smiling lad from Leicester called Roger Williamson.
Roger came via boyhood karting to club racing in a self-built Mini, winning 14 out of 18 races. He went on to dominate the 1970 club saloon championship in an indecently fast Ford Anglia. Then his dad, Dodge, who ran a small garage and raced speedway 'bikes, scraped up the funds to buy him a Formula Three car on hire purchase. At once he was winning, but Dodge still hadn't made the first payment when the tired engine needed an urgent rebuild. In the paddock, a thickset chap with a broad Leicester accent came up and said: "Why don't you put in yer spare engine?" Roger laughed: "What spare engine?" So the man said: "Go and buy one, lad. I'll pay fer it."
That man was Tom Wheatcroft: hard-nosed builder, millionaire property developer, huge motorsport enthusiast. It was the start of an extraordinary relationship. Tom treated Roger like a son, and Roger never took his benefactor for granted. Now with the right equipment, he dominated F3. In two years he won an amazing 44 races, three championship titles and the prestigious Grovewood Award, given each year to the most promising young driver. He became a crowd favourite for his distinctive head-down crouch at the wheel, his indomitable determination and self-belief in the cockpit, and his perpetual broad grin out of it.
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Denne historien er fra September 2023-utgaven av Classic & Sports Car.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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A Breath of Fresh Air- Alfa Romeo's exotic, V8-powered Montreal was like nothing the marque had made before, but can it compare with a Porsche masterpiece, the 911S 2.4?
The stereotype of the ItaloGermanic automotive rivalry is that the Latin car will be brilliant to drive, but poorly built and ergonomically flawed, while the Teutonic will be the opposite. Yet these 2+2 sports coupés both ran against orthodoxy. In the Montreal, Alfa Romeo created an outlandish-looking two-door more comfortable, more powerful and more refined than anything it had produced for decades. Meanwhile, Porsche continued to refine its back-to-front, austere and increasingly aged 911. Neither took a traditional development path, but both created thrilling and individual cars that have echoed through the decades.
Daring to be diminutive
AMC's Gremlin and Pacer, and Ford's much-derided Pinto, led America's response to the threat of imported European compacts
THE LONG WAY ROUND
There is a great tradition of overland trips by Land-Rover, but the tale of this 70s Aussie epic and the car itself was discovered by chance
Handsome cab
The Phantom V limousine marked the beginning of the end for coachbuilder James Young, but this Rolls-Royce represents the craft at its very best
DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES
Racing for their own F1 teams brought some drivers success and an enduring legacy. For others, it turned into a nightmare
20 30 LITRES CYLINDERS, 400BHP......AND MORE THAN A CENTURY OLD
Thunderous torque, flame-spitting stub-exhausts, white-knuckle thrills - and hopefully no spills - aboard a trio of Edwardian racing titans
ICON.
The three top-selling vehicles in the USA in 2023 were pick-ups, topped by the Ford F-Series. This is the truck that started it all
Blurred Lines
lan 'Del' Lines blended the V8 burble of Triumph's open GT with real practicality in his Stag V8 saloons and estates
Home of the brave
The innovative Silverstone proved a hit with keen amateur drivers. To mark its 75th, Healey's club racer returns to the circuit for which it is named
PLAYING ALL THE ANGLES
Alfa Romeo's wild RZ eschewed the jellymould styling of the period to offer a striking, wedge-shaped take on open-topped performance motoring