Dick Russell's
Photos
Website visitor Dick Russell
contributed these interesting photos.
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Does anyone know what
this pretty little car might be? Maybe it's an MG Special?
The craftsmanship & detail work (louvers, etc.) might mean it's one
of the Italian "Etceterini".
Historian Ron Cummings
thinks this might be Joe Playan's Hagemann MG Special at Torrey Pines Oct.
22-23, 1955. The program
shows a 6 hour enduro for Saturday,
Oct. 22.
Dick Russell confirms
both the car's identity and the race: "The MG Special pic's are of
Joe Playan doing LeMans start, 6 hr. endurance race, at last (?)Torrey
Pines race, before track was turned into golf course." |
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Wild looking LeMans start!
There's our little car among a huge field of under 1500cc competitors:
note Jack McAfee in #88 Porsche
Spyder. I wonder if this was an enduro limited to smaller cars
or if the big bangers were just gridded farther ahead and aren't shown
here. Does anyone know where & when this event took place?
Here's the entry
list for the Oct. 22 1955 Torrey Pines 6 hour enduro. It shows
plenty of "big bore" cars entered and #145 as the "MG Playan Special" with
drivers Marion J. Playan & Bob Mauser.
Website contributor &
historic racer Bob Engberg
remembers the Enduro:
"I was at that six-hour
enduro at Torrey Pines with my brother Chuck and Fred Puhn. The little
red and white car just visible next to the McAfee Porsche is an Abarth
207A, the very car that Fred bought some 30 years later and restored. It
was one of about 12 of the Fiat-engined cars and while they were beautiful
to look at, they were underpowered and heavy and no match for the Lotus
Mk IX in competition. In the enduro, a D-Jag won after being chased hard
by Phil Hill in a two-litre Ferrari Mondial.
I asked Hill about the
race when I met him at last year's Coronado event, to see if he remembered
it. Sure enough, he told me he was gaining on the Jag when the engine finally
blew." |
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My guess is that
Ken Miles in #50 550A Porsche Spyder makes short work of these two
Lotus Mk.9s. Does anyone know where & when this was or who's
driving the two Lotus cars?
From Ron Cummings:
"This looks like Turn 3 at Palm Springs. With Miles in von Neumann's 550A,
it had to be late 1957 at least."
From Dick Russell:
"Ron is correct about the 550 spyder #50 being Ken Miles, turn 3, at Palm
Springs in 1957."
From the program for another
event: Class"G" #91 Lotus Mk.IX is 1100cc. and is driven by Harvey
Mayer.
From Bob Norton's 4-CD
compilation of "MotoRacing" magazine: Class "G" #150 Lotus Mk.IX
is driven by Fred Newman. |
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Fun photo! From
Dick Russell: "#131 is Jim Parkinson spinning out on last turn of
Torrey Pines, not sure of date, probably 56." |
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