'Running' update!
Ken Clarke has offered what he knows of the first 6 Group A cars built fior the 1983 season. We still need to discuss/confirm in the main thread subsequent histories.
Chassis 001-012 were built between 1983-85 with black interiors and possibly a C-Pillar/jack design type distinctive to those cars. Chassis 013-020 were built 1985-86 with white interiors and also possibly with their own distinct C-Pillar etc, arrangements.
1983 CHASSIS
001
Test and Development car and then French 'Marlboro' Super Tourisme car raced by Rene Metge. Subsequent history TBC.
Alex Elliott suggests possibility that this was supplied as a development hack to Griffin Motorsport for 1987? Yet to be confirmed, so the Griffin car could still have been 005 or 013!
002
1983 Hepolite Glacier driven by Steve Soper which won BTCC until tribunal took it away mid way through 1984. Car did selected ETC rounds and won the '83 TT sharing with Rene Metge.
Possibility that Soper did couple of '84 BTCC meetings with it, in Fleet colours in 1984Subsequent history TBC.
003
1983 Sanyo BTCC driven by Peter Lovett.
Subsequent history TBC.
Was this also a 1984 Sanyo car?
004
1983 Sanyo BTCC driven by Jeff Allam. Also selected ETC rounds (including Spa 24 hours?)
This is assumption but I think Dave Carvell has told us that the history shows it to have been campaigned in the '84 BTCC too. Drivers either Lovett/Schlesser or Pond.
Confirmed entry Bathurst 1984, # 61 (Hahne/Allam)
Sold by TWR to Ian 'Del' Lines 1986/7 as part of package deal including ex-Pond rallycar B565AOX and a Bastos shell used to reshell Del Lines' crashed ex-works rallycar A379VUK (Chassis 006 perhaps?).
Still in Bathurst Mobil colours at the time according to photos on SD1 club website
1986 Sold to R.A. Potter, driven in '87 BTCC by D Carvell
Sold to Belgium - ran at Spa 24 hours 1988 in Eurodefi colours.
005
1983
LHD car for Eddy Joosen.I nitially white with black interior, then Barclay livery for ETC duties
1984 French Super Tourisme Marlboro Marc Duez car
1985 French ST Marlboro spare/test car J-L Schlesser
Eventually sold to Arthur Carter collection (maybe via Brian Chatfield?)- resprayed in Bastos colours
Now with Allan Dippie in NZ- resprayed to Marlboro colours.
006
Herbie Clips liveried (later images show this not to be the case) rally car built for Tom Walkinshaw/John Davenport on the Bianchi Rally.
Subsequent history TBC. Believed to have been written off. (possibly part of the Del Lines deal above)
1984 CHASSIS??
Important note: One 1984 Fleet car was almost certainly written off in the infamous TT Woodcote shunt by Duez (Either 007, 009 or 010?).
Perhaps rebuilt/reshelled in which case it may have been given a new chassis id? Unlikely as later car that was totalled (017) was reshelled and kept original chassis identity.
Also, which chassis were the 3 or 4 Computervision Grp A Rally cars built in 1984 and '85?
007
TBC - Probably built for 1984 BTCC or 1984 ETCC (Likely Fleet livery) or Rally?
008
Almost confirmed. Fleet ETC entry 1984, then reliveried in Bastos colours as the 3rd car for 1985 ETC season. Shunted at Donington ETC round by Soper and rebuilt. Ken Clarke says: 'This car went on to do the Nissan Mobil series in New Zealand in 1986. This car was also driven by Soper & Hahne 1984. Soper, Schlesser, Duez, Brundle (Spa), Joosen, Thibault & TW 1985 then Tom & Win, Nissan Mobil Series '86.'
We now have picture evidence to support this on flickr where blue paint is clearly seen where the brown bumper has been torn off!
009
TBC - Built for 1984 (Possibly the Gitanes car?) or rally?
010
TBC - Built for 1984, either BTCC or ETC or rally?
011
New for Bathurst 1984 (# 60 Soper/Dickson)
Listed for sale on racecarsdirect.com early last year. Link no longer works, so don't know what history was in the advert...
(Possibility it then went onto compete in 1985 ETC?)
We now seem to have confirmed that this was the car that Linden Racing entered for Mike O Brien in the 1986 BTCC. There were pics of it pre season still in Mobil colours from it's Bathurst foray.
New info 10/08 from KA: car was later in Portugal
Found several references to this car being driven by Armindo Correia in historic events in the last couple of years. A quick Google image search for him came up with more pics of the car in plain white, http://www.outrosmotores.com/imagem/...0_DSC04020.jpg
further search turned up more pics in Bastos colours,
http://escapelivre.forumotion.com/de...braga-t206.htm
011 competed in what seems to be a 6-hour historic race at Braga last year, but posted a DNF."The Rover is the TWR 011 (original).
012
TBC - Likely one of the first cars built for 1985 season. ETC or rally?
1985 CHASSIS??
013
1985 French Super Tourisme, Marlboro livery for Schlesser
Subsequent history not yet determined.
014
1985 Bastos ETC car
With Colin Pearcy by 1998, sold to Brian Kershaw around 2003
015
TBC - Likely a Bastos ETC shell?
016
1985 Bastos ETC car - scrapped at TWR 1985/6
017
1985 Bastos ETC car (Walkinshaw/Percy 85 TT winner?) crashed at Zolder by TW!
subsequently reshelled by Dennis Leech (and campaigned in 1987/88 BTCC TBC.)
1989 sold to Nick Humphrey - crashed at Mallory and reshelled
1990 sold to John Quartermaine - raced in UK Modsaloons & Thundersaloons, sold on around 1993/4
Now owned by Surrey collector (Tim Morley??) - restored by Ken Clarke 2004/5
1986 CHASSIS?
018
1986 Bastos ETC car (Hahne/Allam/Schlesser/Brancatelli)
Sold to Allan Scott- went to NZ around 1990
Now owned by Allan Dippie in NZ- still in original Bastos colours
019
1986 Bastos ETC car
Kept for TWR collection
Sold to Jeff Allam when TWR collection auctioned 2004/5
020
Last car built 1986 Bastos/South Pacific(?) car
later owned by Kevin Eaton, then bought by Arthur Carter for his collection
Restored by Ken Clarke for a Surrey owner (same one who owned 017 before Charles Williams?)
NON TWR OR NON WORKS GROUP A RACE CARS
Andy Rouse Engineering
3 to 4 cars believed to have been built around 1984.
ARE001
TBC - First ICS car written off at International Trophy Meeting with limited parts recovered (BTCC second round of 1984).
ARE002
TBC - Second ICS car hastily built, then title winner that year in Rouse's hands, embarrassing the TWR factory cars often.
Then raced by Pete Hall in 1985/86 and then sold to Tim Harvey and run by John Maguire Racing to win 1987 Class A title in Istel colours. Possible shunt pre Snetterton round and may have been re-shelled before the TT.
Subsequently sold onto Derek Hales and x?
Currently believed to the car Nigel Garrett runs in Classic Thunder.
ARE003?
TBC - Pete Halls prodsaloon car. Belived to be the car Barry Robinson and Jon Jeffrey reced at Bathurst in 1985 in some kind of prodsaloon spec with slicks and other upgrades tbc.
'ARE004 GAR'
Summary from Paul Davis. in main thread: Charles Sawyer-Hoare's red/yellow/white Daily Mirror/Esso BTCC car. Originally built for Grp 1 spec by Martin Thomas in 1981 for Brian Muir and then run for Rad Dougall in 1982 before being sold to Charles ready for 1983.
Taken over and re-worked to Grp A specs by Rouse for 1983/84 seasons.
Sold to Tim Slako in 1985, raced it in CS-H's original colours then white and then in the infamous Pink/Green livery between 1985-1987. Current whereabouts not known?
Martin Thomas Racing/Linden Racing
Martin has kindly offered the following info:
One car built, entered for Gordon Spice in 1983 BTCC. BRG livery
Then driven by Neil McGrath under Clive Faine/Linden Racing banner in 1984 (actually tended by Rouse for at least that season) through to 1986 BTCC. Green 'Connells' Estate Agents livery in 1984 then white and green 85/86.
Sold to Graham Scarborough for 1987 BTCC (possibly still run by Thomas?) who ran it in long time sponsors Letchworth Roofing red over white livery.
Subsequent history to be confirmed but pictures in the main thread show it in Tony Strawsons hands in 1988 Thundersaloons so it may have been bought by him or pal Gerry Marshall?
Mike O'Brien raced sister Faine/Linden/Connells white Vitesse in 1985/86 but not known yet whether this was a Martin Thomas built car or an ex TWR chassis.
Now confirmed that this was in fact an ex TWR chassis originally built for Bathurst in 1984 chassis #011
Dennis Leech ran second Martin Thomas prepared car in 1983-85 (and possibly 1986.) Originally Rex Greenslade's Patrick Motors/Martin Thomas Group 1 car.
Dennis then purchased TWR rebuilt chassis/shell (017) for 1987/88.
German DTM - Nickel
Thanks to Herbert we now have more in depth info about the German cars
1983
First car built (black). Raced by Armin Hahne in the Deutsche Rennsport-Trophäe. Hahne won a few races with it. Subsequent history TBC.
1984
2x new white coloured cars for the DPM/DTM driven by Olaf Manthey and Jörg van Ommen; later replaced by Dieter Selzer.
1985
1 new car for Manthey. Teammate Walter Mertes raced an '84 car (which one TBC.) Post DTM histories TBC.
1986
The DTM winner - another brand new car with light bodyshell built by Rover (Cowley or TWR TBC?).
Only five of them were built and one was for Nickel. Guess TWR had the other 4?.
It also featured Dunlop 'Denloc' tyres for the first time whereas the previous cars ran with Goodyears. This car also got the new Double-Twin-Cam-(Twin Plenum?) engine from TWR which provided more power and torque.
Car was raced once more by Peter John at the Norisring in 1987.
Was/is on display at BMW in munich as part of the deal when BMW bought Rover.