Magee, Damien (Mad Dog!)

[verglas]

With the sad passing of Barry 'Catchpole' Foley I wondered whether anyone knows what happened to Damien Magee, the original Mad Dog from the Catchpole cartoon strip. I remember him leading an F3 race by a country mile at a soaking Thruxton in a Palliser WD F3 before totalling it 'out the back', and then re-appearing in the Shell Sport Gp8 series sponsored by 'Monkey' Brown plus one GP start in a rented Brabham I believe. I last saw him one Wednesday moring at Mallory Park overseeing a relative testing a FF1600 in about 1989. Does anyone else have memories of this exuberant character and where is he now??

[Andrew Kitson]

There was a Festival of Motorsport in Belfast(?) a couple of years ago. I'm sure I read at the time that Damien had attended along with many famous faces from Irish motorsport.

[Edgar Jessop]

I was hoping someone would know the answer to this one.

Damien used to show up regularly at Brands about 10 or 12 years ago whenever the Irish lads were over with Tommy Doherty or Mick Duffy or Cliff Dempsey or Alan McGarrity but I haven't seen him more recently.

Equally I last saw Tony 'Monkey' Brown, his patron and sponsor at about the same time. [Don't call him 'Monkey', Edgar, he doesn't like it, he goes ape!]. He was seling cars in Wood Green from a showroom he shared with a couple of Tommy Byrne's old friends and backers.

[gfm]

Apparently Edgar, Monkey Brown still operates for Bernie Ecclestone and his collection.

[Edgar Jessop]

Well he does know where the bodies are buried, doesn't he?

We might not be talking figuratively!

[DaveM]

I took these pics of Damien Magee's Lola in April 74, according to the date printed on the slide mounts, so that would make it the International Trophy meeting at Silverstone. No sign of Damien though.

[DaveM]

.

[Adrian Mc Bride]

Hello All
I,ve just been pointed at this site by a friend. Damien is my uncle and I can confirm that he is alive and well and living in London, England. He is still very fit and plays a lot of squash. He is basically retired and married a few years ago.
Here goes with some anecdotal stuff, not too boring I hope.
As a child (12 yrs) I vividly remember going to many of these races and his F1 break in a Brabham BT42, Sweden I think where an engine mounting broke but he finished anyway. Another memory is a non championship race at Silverstone in the same Brabham (number 40 and no sponsorship!) where the throttle stuck (fire extinguisher had been set off earlier) and he used the kill switch on and off to drive the car for a few laps before retirement... Things were different then.
He was competitive in the 1976 Shellsport F5000 series in a March where the main opposition was David Purley in a Lec Chevron I think. A really nice guy, I remember. Davina Galica (remember her? I certainly do) was there too in a Surtees no 13.
Money or sponsorship were never things he had although I understand that Mr Ecclestone may have helped him in his brief appearance in F1....
Word has it thatTony Brown actually once sold the Lola (Chevron?)Damien drove in the f5000 series as he was driving in the race. What a way to showcase that the car was competitive!
I suspect he has many stories about those times but I would love to see any photos you guys may have of his career.
I can send them on and see if he has anything to add if that is of interest.
Best regards
Adrian Mc Bride
ps what a superb source of information these forums are, its been a fascinating trawl. Well done to all.
pps I remember his chief mechanic was Keith Tilbrook (name on side of 60 car above) who was sadly involved in a bad car accident a few years back.
ppps I think Damien is still in touch with Val Musetti
ppps enough!

[spearce]

I think I saw him at mallory on a wed morning a few years ago, helping somebody with a FF. Me hay even have had a bash himself ....................... ???

[Adrian Mc Bride]

If it was c.1990,that might have been him in my brother Fergus's Van Diemien RF 85......

[M Greenslade]

ppps I think Damien is still in touch with Val Musetti

Whatever happened to Val Musetti? I seemed to recall him driving I think McLaren M23 in Group 8 Shellsport 1976, I seem to remember he used to wear long very long gauntlets and a helmet bib ala James Hunt.

I believe he used to be a stuntman.

BvB

[tonful]

Originally Posted by M Greenslade

ppps I think Damien is still in touch with Val Musetti

Whatever happened to Val Musetti? I seemed to recall him driving I think McLaren M23 in Group 8 Shellsport 1976, I seem to remember he used to wear long very long gauntlets and a helmet bib ala James Hunt.

I believe he used to be a stuntman.

BvB

I think he used to do the stunts driving on The Professionals but wouldn't like ot swear on it being correct.

[Tim 27]

As an 9 year old boy I remember being enthralled by the battles Damien used to have in the 76 Shellsport Championship with David Purley driving the Chevron B30. Damien's March was sponsored by Hexagon of Highgate that year, and I remember being dissapointed when he had a very large accident in front of me at the old Russell at Snetterton on either the first or second lap.

Originally Posted by M Greenslade

[I]Whatever happened to Val Musetti? I seemed to recall him driving I think McLaren M23 in Group 8 Shellsport 1976, I seem to remember he used to wear long very long gauntlets and a helmet bib ala James Hunt.

I believe he used to be a stuntman.

BvB

Val may well have had a go in an M23, I just don't remember it. I remember him being mainly a March man, usually the car was in white and red and sponsored by Bernigra ice cream. Think he may have driven a Surtees at some point too though.

Martin, I remember his large bib and gauntlets too!

He was very good stuntman, his career lasting over forty years.
Type his name into Google, and a huge list of TV and film credits can be seen.

One of, if not the main stuntman in American Werewolf in London, and the driver of the Peugeot driving through burning corn fields in their ad campaign are just two I personally remember.

[Alan Raine]

Originally Posted by Adrian Mc Bride

pps I remember his chief mechanic was Keith Tilbrook (name on side of 60 car above) who was sadly involved in a bad car accident a few years back.

I must have been standing near DaveM at the time

[M Greenslade]

Thanks Tim I remember you being there, I think I was marshalling with your dad at Esses, it was actually my first ever meeting and as for the old Russell, absolutely awesome. Yes I think you are right it was probably something like a March 721 or 731 that Musetti was driving, perhaps not the quickest but very brave.

Bladders

[Tim 27]

I'm sure someone will correct me if I am wrong, but seem to remember Damien's March being labelled a 751A?
Musetti always seemed to be a year behind with his March's, so perhaps his would have been a 741 during the 76 season?

[Dan Rear]

Val M, after his F3 Royale RP11, had a couple of F2/FAt Marches. We think one may have started life as a 73B, the other a 732. He updated them from about 1974-76 variously, and described them variously as '73B/742/752/75B'.

Mid-76 he then got the ex-Kuwashima 'proper' 752 that Tom Walkinshaw had converted to a F5000 using the 3.4 GA engine. Val used this mid-76 to early 78, and called it a '76A', then '761' after he'd fitted a DFV for the Aurora UK F1 series in 1978. I think he wrote it off mid-78.

Damien Magee used the ex-Jones/RAM March 751 that used another 3.4GA in UK F5000 in 1975, from early 1976. the Hexagon Team called it a '76A'. It later passed to Guy Edwards, who used it 77 and 78, intially with the GA, latterly a DFV, very similar to Val's car then.

[Tim 27]

Thanks for sorting that out Dan.
Guy Edwards March was labelled a 781 in the 78 season.
So was it the original 751 just reworked with the 78 series nose added on?
Remember the car as being blue and white with Ultramar and Eagle Star sponsorship.

[Dan Rear]

Tim, in 78 Edwards initially used the 751/75A updated, before the 781 was finished after the first few AFX races. Bruce Allison then used the 751/75A until his own 781 was ready mid-year.

[MONDELLO MAN]

Adrian I have sent you a pm.

[GBRM]

I've PM'd you too - fingers crossed hear back from you at some stage.
Cheers.

[sallyupshall]

Keith Tillbrook is my father i have been doing some research into his past and got brought onto this site. Great to see the picture of the car with his name on!

[sallyupshall]

[QUOTE=Alan Raine;2129645]I must have been standing near DaveM at the time

Keith Tillbrook is my father. I have been doing some research into his past and got brought onto this site!

[John Turner]

Welcome, Sally.

[Geoff Clement]

[QUOTE=Tim 27;2129594]As an 9 year old boy I remember being enthralled by the battles Damien used to have in the 76 Shellsport Championship with David Purley driving the Chevron B30. Damien's March was sponsored by Hexagon of Highgate that year, and I remember being dissapointed when he had a very large accident in front of me at the old Russell at Snetterton on either the first or second lap.


Yes i was there racing that day and i saw it too, he spun and hit the bank backwards if i recall correctly, it was the day Lauda had his fire accident.