Old Warriors

TimD · 23 Sep 2001, 00:28 (Ref:149622)

At the Bentley Drivers Club meeting at Silverstone today, Win Percy was reunited with his first tarmac track car - he started out in an autocross Ford Anglia, but the first race car was something rather different.

Big Sam - a modified Datsun 240Z of the genus Samuri.

And in the first of its races today, Win took it by the scruff of the neck, and did magnificently, swapping places throughout the race with a Ford GT40 Mk2, driven by Trevor Taylor.

Yes, THE Trevor Taylor, of Team Lotus.

Which makes me ponder on a number of things...

First, what a wonderful sport we have where internationally renowned drivers can show up at a humble Saturday clubbie and race their nomex socks off.

What an awesome machine is a Samuri 240Z if it can dice with a 7-litre GT40.

How much more impressive is Win Percy when he is given a car that's fast but evenly matched with the opposition. He's a dicer at heart when he hasn't got an awesomely dominant drive.

And finally, what a wonderful sport we have when old warriors can return to their haunts, long after their heyday, and still be quick, still be competitive, and still give the youngsters something to think about.

Ray Bell · 23 Sep 2001, 04:14 (Ref:149664)

That's what Jack said...

hmm... better explain that.

Sandown Park, 1978, the old circuit, Fangio in a W196 with a 3-litre engine (was that his last drive?), Brabham, just twenty-two years on from his third world title in the car that took that for him...

"It gives you a lot of heart to see he can still drive like that," Jack told me...

Allan Tomlinson, en route from Sydney to Perth in a Ferrari in the seventies, tried himself out at the scene of his great triumph - Lobethal. "I know this road," he told himself... but very quickly he caved in and backed off to touring speeds, and I'm glad he did, I have had many interesting conversations with him since. If you'd like to understand this comment better, I urge you to look at this:

http://www.atlasf1.com/bb/showthread...threadid=14846

Yes, it's great that many drivers come out with their minds still attuned to how they used to do it... good point, Tim!

Big Sam · 1 Feb 2007, 20:24 (Ref:1831338)

Well sorry to reply so late Tim...er nearly six years late, but I have only just joined the Forum.
I have had Big Sam for twenty years now and BDC Silverstone was the first time that I managed to get Win back in the car. He loved it, as you could see from his racing, and though Sam only has around 250bhp it is the corner weight balance and braking that makes it so special. Win said it teh handling was nothing like teh old Sam! Restoring the car whilst keeping its works rallying dents and dings was a challenge but we did straighten out the left front corner that Win had raced when it was 1 3/4 " out! We had a lot of fun that day and Win was marvelous. Three years previously when I entered BDC Silverstone on my own with Tony Dron driving as well, and as a BDC member, I was relegated to the back of the grid despite being third in practice. Why? "Oh so you were the chap that bought a Japanese car to BDC Silverstone were you" !!

**John Turner** · 1 Feb 2007, 20:44 (Ref:1831360)

Warm welcome, 'Big Sam'; a car that I've always had a really soft spot for. It's not just drivers that are the old warriors! I'm sure (I hope) that not all BDC members mentally reside in the days of the British Empire!