They Think It’s All Over – It Isn’t

11 September 2016

‘They think it’s all over, it is now!’ But for Nick Fennell and Martin Stretton, it wasn’t!  The 20-minute Glover Trophy for early 1960s 1.5-litre Grand Prix cars was almost over. Martin had just snatched back the lead, after a race long battle, before they swept through the chicane seemingly towards the chequered flag. However, it was not there, the race still had a scant second to run before the 20 minutes were up. Nick grabbed the lead back, while Martin had a massive moment, his Lotus-BRM 24 bouncing spectacularly over the grass. And thus it really was all over, Nick taking his Lotus-Climax 25 to what was a sixth successive victory for a Classic Team Lotus prepared car in this race with Martin recovering to finish second.

Throughout, the race had been a contest between space frame Lotus 24 and the slightly newer but far more technically advanced monocoque Lotus 25. The team managers of 1962 who had purchased Lotus 24s only to find them obsolete overnight when the factory unveiled the type 25 would perhaps have been in wonder as first Miles Griffiths (also in a BRM-engined type 24), with a great start from the outside of the front row, and then Martin, led the race. There was no way, though, the suitably blue helmeted Nick was going to leave it to the monocoques and, with Miles falling back, the race developed into a frantic battle between the two green cars.

Miles eventually finished third ahead of 1970 Le Mans winner Richard Attwood who came in fourth, appropriately driving a BRM as he had done in 1964 and 1968. James King, who early in the race had harried the leading trio, came in fifth in his ex-Dan Gurney Brabham-Climax BT7.

(Ends)

Editor’s Notes

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