1973
The Competition History of RAD 366G - Marcos 1600GT :1968-1974
Timeline on technical events (1973):
I find am unable to find notes on any work that Stan and Tony carried out over the preceding winter. It`s well possible that we decided not to progress further with development work as this would involve major expenditure i.e., Steel crank etc. I was happy with this arrangement as I considered that the car was going quickly enough.
One step forward was the use of slicks whose grip was amazing. I also bought from Roger Andreason some specialized wet weather tyres all as described below.
Later in the Summer we had a more serious catastrophe in that the Crankcase block split. New one required.
Tyres:
| Slicks. | 185/550 13 D22 370 compound on 8"rims at front. |
| 200/550 13 D22 370 compound on 81/2"rims at rear. | |
| Bought 12.3.73. Used to the end of racing with, I think, a second set later. | |
| Andreason`s wets were bought in summer of 1972. 425/950 970. One is different. | |
Races:
Date | Circuit | Club | Practice | Race | Finish | No |
March 25 | Thruxton | BARC | 2.03 | 16.54.4 (10l) FL:1.38.7 | 5/22 (C4) | 62 |
| First race of the year with Practice on a damp track but a dry race to follow. My race notes say that oil pressure started low but recovered. Sunshine roof failed and the rear screen broke. Not a promising start. | ||||||
April 23 | Castle Combe | BRSCC | 1.13 | 14.00.6 (9l) Wet | 7/21 (C3) | 159 |
| An amazing day and in Practice I achieved my best ever lap time of 90.75 mph. We were on slicks. Race conditions were wet sadly. | ||||||
May 28 | Castle Combe | BRSCC | 1.20.8 | No further info. Did not start | 129 | |
| Our non-start was almost certainly due to engine block problems. See notes on next race. | ||||||
July 8 | Thruxton | BARC 100kms | 1.36.4 | Pitted on 9th. | Dnf | 226 |
| The coolant loss mentioned in the notes of the race at Combe earlier developed into something more serious. The crankcase block split. Unrepairable and a new block was required. No more racing that Summer. | ||||||
Oct 28 | Thruxton GT Race | BARC | 1.35 FL:1.35 | ? (7l) FL:1.35 | 12/19 | 6 |
| Back in business with a brand-new block. The race was merged with the GT class of quicker cars. We put up decent Practice and race times to make it a good way to finish a troublesome year. | ||||||
© Ian Gemmell 2024