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1963 Crystal Palace 
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1963 Brands Hatch BSCC 
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British Grand Prix - International Production Touring Car Race

Silverstone, Great-Britain

Date: 20/7/1963
Track length: 4.710 m
Attendance:
Entries accepted: 36 and 7 reserves
Starters:
Finishers:

Pole position: Sears in 1.53,2
Fastest lap: Sears in 1.52,2 = 151,13 kmh

Distance: 12 laps
Average speed: 146,67 kmh
Weather: Dry
Ruleset: Group 2
Car info: 1963 Cars

 

The Jaguars did their best, but the dry conditions resulted in the inevitable Sears Ford Galaxie victory. For the first two laps Salmon succeeded in splitting Gawaine Baillie’s V8 from the other 7-litre American, but horse power soon told and Gawaine went into second place. Behind Salmon came Adams, MacDowel and Powell, with Blumer in the Alan Andrew's Cortina holding off Bob Olthoff in a Willment machine. Further back the Mini-Coopers of Whitmore, Carlisle and Hopkirk were at it again mixing it with Pendleton's Jaguar.
Miss Burns-Greig had the terrible misfortune to suffer a flat tyre on the starting grid and after ineffectual attempts to change the wheel herself, abandoned. Down at club corner Ralph inverted his Mini, while Elizabeth Jones came to rest at Copse with mechanical problems.
Coundley (Mercedes Benz) and Mann (Ford Zodiac) disputed the 3-litre class.
Nothing could approach the big Fords. Salmon's brave attempt to keep up saw him easily outpacing the other Jaguars by 1-2 seconds a lap. Blumer went on confidently in the buff painted Cortina, but Olthoff was well within striking distance, and David Haynes was also very much in the picture, the three GT Cortinas pulling away from Peter Harper's Rapier.
However it was the Cooper S battle that provided the main interest, Hopkirk, Whitmore and Miss Carlisle all taking turns to lead, the little cars doing some pretty entertaining antics in the swerves. Then on the ninth lap, Salmon's engine gave up the ghost, and he abandoned at Copse. Powell had already retired with his engine emitting strange noises and Cuff Miller lost most of the water from his Rapier.
Olthoff put on the pressure and gradually closed on Blumer. Then Blumer's car glided to a standstill at Becketts. Christabel Carlisle had dropped out of the Mini battle, disputed hotly by Whitmore and Hopkirk.
Sears took the chequered flag to win, followed by Baillie who had closed up to within 5.2 seconds. MacDowel, the leading Jaguar was over a minute behind. Olthoff was sixth overall, and Whitmore and Hopkirk, still hammering away at each other, crossed the line about a second in front of Pendleton's Jaguar. Mann managed to beat the Mercedes-Benz by 1.8 seconds.
Source: - Autosport


Class A-D
Pos Pos in class # Team / Entrant
Car- Engine
Drivers, Nationality Engine
vol. (cc)
Engine
Type
Group Distance,
time
Qualifying position Qualifying time Fastest lap Reason out
1 1 56 John Willment Automobiles
Ford Galaxie
Jack Sears, GB
6997 V8 D 12 laps, 23.07,4 1 1.53,2 1.52,2  
2 2 57  
Ford Galaxie
Gawaine Baillie, GB
6997 V8 D 12 laps, 23.12,8 2 1.54,6    
3 3 50 John Coombs
Jaguar Mk II 3.8
Mike MacDowel, GB
3781 L6 D 12 laps, 24.14,8        
4 4 52 Team Tourist Trophy
Jaguar Mk II 3.8
John Adams, GB
3781 L6 D 12 laps, 24.15,2        
5 5 54  
Jaguar Mk II 3.8
Chris McLaren, GB
3781 L6 D 12 laps, 24.25,6        
6 1 31 John Willment Automobiles
Ford Cortina GT
Bob Olthoff, ZA
1498 L4 B 12 laps, 24.27,6        
7 1 8 Cooper Car Co.
Austin Mini Cooper S
John Whitmore, GB
1071 L4 A 12 laps, 24.36,2   2.00,0 1.59,6  
8 2 7 Cooper Car Co.
Morris Mini Cooper S
Paddy Hopkirk, IRL
1071 L4 A 12 laps, 24.36,6        
9 6 53  
Jaguar Mk II 3.8
Mike Pendleton, GB
3781 L6 D 12 laps, 24.38,0        
10 3 4 Don Moore
Morris Mini Cooper S
Christabel Carlisle, GB
1071 L4 A 12 laps, 24.39,8     1.59,8  
11 2 30 John Willment Automobiles
Ford Cortina GT
David Haynes, GB
1498 L4 B 12 laps, 24.39,8        
12 4 10 Alexander Engineering Co.
Morris Mini Cooper S
Mick Clare, GB
1071 L4 A 12 laps, 24.59,0        
13 5 11 Janspeed Engineering Ltd.
Morris Mini Cooper S
John Fenning, GB
1071 L4 A 12 laps, 25.05,0        
  3 34 Alan Fraser Racing Team
Sunbeam Rapier
Peter Harper, GB
1592 L4 B 11        
  4 33  
Riley 1.5
Alan Hutcheson, GB
1489 L4 B 11        
  1 42 Alan Andrews racing
Ford Zodiac Mk 3
Alan Mann, GB
2555 L6 C 11 laps, 23.40,2     2.05,0  
  2 40 R.E.C. Parkes
Mercedes 220 SE
John Coundley, GB
2195 L6 C 11 laps, 23.42,0   2.06,6    
  3 41 John Willment Automobiles
Ford Zodiac Mk 3
Jeff Uren, GB
2555 L6 C 11 laps, 25.06,0        
    17 Team Red Rose
Morris Mini Cooper S
Harry Ratcliffe, GB
1071 L4 A          
    24 Trevor Taylor
Ford Anglia Super
Anita Taylor, GB
1198 L4 A          
    55 Zenith Films
Jaguar Mk II 3.8
Albert Powell, GB
3781 L6 D          
DNF   51 Atherstone Engineering
Jaguar Mk II 3.8
Mike Salmon, GB
3781 L6 D   3 1.55,2   Engine
DNF   35 Alan Fraser Racing Team
Sunbeam Rapier
Ellis Cuff-Miller, GB
1592 L4 B         Coolant
DNF   32 Alan Andrews racing
Ford Cortina GT
Jimmy Blumer, GB
1498 L4 B     2.00,0 1.59,8  
DNF      
Austin Mini Cooper
Michaelle Burns-Grieg, GB
997 L4 A         Puncture
DNF   5 Alexander Engineering Co.
Morris Mini Cooper S
Elizabeth Jones, GB
1071 L4 A          
DNF   19 Profit Counsellors (Int.) Ltd
Morris Mini Cooper S
John Ralph, GB
1071 L4 A         Accident
DNS   58 Alan Brown Racing Ltd
Ford Galaxie
Denny Hulme, NZ
6997 V8 D   4 1.56,6   Homologation issue - disc brakes