These photos were taken at the first Formula One meeting I ever attended, back in the dim and distant past (1971). I apologise for the image quality, but it's not just my memory of the events that have faded. The photos were taken by my father, I was rather too young to handle a camera.
The actual meeting itself was unusual by modern standards - it was not a Grand Prix - the main race The G.K.N.International Trophy, was contested between F1 and F5000 cars.
I'm afraid that my memories of this event are a little vague. I remember that when we arrived, the first race was about to start - a race of vintage cars on the Club Circuit. We watched the start of this from the Grandstand overlooking Woodcote corner, but soon wandered down to Copse Corner. I wasn't too pleased to find out when we got to Copse that there were no seats, just a grass bank.
The vintage cars finished their race - and to my eyes they looked pretty fast, but shortly afterwards I found out what fast really was. I'll never forget the start of my first Formula One race (or even the parade lap). The noise was unbelievable - I'm still convinced that I could feel the ground shake. Seeing the cars hurtle into Copse was unbelievable. I suppose that by modern standards the cars weren't that fast, but they looked like they had to be glued to the tarmac to survive Copse.
We wandered round the circuit after the race settled down and waited at Abbey Curve - this was possibly the best place to watch to cars, a fast left hand curve, with excellent visibility. Two years later, at the next British Grand Prix held at Silverstone, I found that that meant that you could line up a shot, pan round as the cars decellerated, and you could pick off a shot at the apex relatively easily. On the subject of that next Grand Prix, my father bought Paddock Tickets for the entire family - and he still maintains that it didn't cost that much. Try doing that at Silverstone these days!
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The helmet is a bit of a giveaway as to the identity of this chap - the late Graham Hill, driving (if memory serves me correctly) a Brabham. The car shows how much has changed in F1 since those days - the front air intake, the spacious cockpit, the remarkable lack of aerodynamics. This was the last Formula One race he ever won, so I'm glad I was there. |
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 This is Jackie Stewart, driving a Tyrrell. He didn't
win this race because his throttle stuck open, and he spun off
at Copse Corner, which allowed Graham Hill to win. However, he
did win the British Grand Prix about a month later, and went
on to take the Drivers Championship. One thing you might notice
in all of these pictures, is the lack of safety barriers. It
did mean you got a superb view of the race though. |
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 If I was glad any of the photos survived, it has
to be this one. The driver is Emerson Fittipaldi, and the car
is a Gold Leaf Team Lotus (which incidentally started the downward
spiral into dependance on tobacco sponsorship). The car though,
differs in several significant areas from the Brabham and the
Tyrrell above. The lack of an air intake, no cylinders and no
noise- this car was the experimental (and very short lived) Lotus
- Pratt & Whitney gas turbine. Apparently it handled badly
- it had very heavy steering, so that in the British Grand Prix
later in the year, Emerson who had had a cold, didn't feel that
he was able to handle it successfully, and it was driven by Reine
Wisell, retired on lap 57. The car never really performed, unfortunately,
it's best result coming in Italy, where Emerson managed to wrestle
it home in 8th, just over a lap down on the winner. I have very
fond memories of this machine, for a start it demonstrated the
spirit of innovation I greatly love in Formula One, but also
because it was nearly totally silent. I see threads on r.a.s.f1
talking about the best sounding engine, but believe me, seeing
the gas turbine Lotus hurtle along silently was distinctly eerie
and totally unforgettable. |
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This next picture should show you how much the sport has changed over the years. Can you imagine this scene in Formula One nowadays, the Formula One cars and drivers sharing a celebratory lap on the back of a truck with the winners of a Formula 3 race? If you are interested, somewhere on that truck (probably hidden by the young girl) is a very young Damon Hill.
Anyway, I'll leave you with the only other photo I've been able to clean up so far. It isn't Formula One, it was taken during the vintage car race at the meeting. Look at all the wonderful safety measures:- Armco, trye barriers and gravel traps are all conspicuous by their absence. If I remember correctly, there were a couple of bales of straw in front of the fence.
Well, anyway. On to some memories.