motoprint news 5 January 2009
Sam Tingle
Another link with a great age of Southern African motor racing has been broken with the death of Sam Tingle on 19 December. I am not an avid reader of local newspapers or a regular watcher of local TV and only saw mention of this while ‘Googling’ for info on what may become one more Kyalami/AN other/Gauteng/sport to the people scam. Sadly but unsurprisingly, I found just two reports on Sam’s death.
There is not much I can add to all the tributes due him, but would like to repeat some words that go back to 1976. I was helping the Johannesburg branch of the SCC with their newsletter and went along to ‘interview’ Eddie Pinto, long-time mate and preparer of Sam’s cars. ‘All the years with Sam were very enjoyable, very informative, very relaxing. He’s the Most of all the gentlemen God ever put on this earth. He was a happy-go-lucky man, he never had a bad word for anybody, he always had a smile. On the day of the race it became business. Whether he came first or last meant nothing in his life, but at the same time it didn’t hold him back from trying for first place.’
Great times made by great men.
Eric Brockhoven’s Lolettes
Several months ago I placed in the members’ area photos of Eric’s Chev-engined Lolette that Bunny Wentzel intends to have restored. This car was raced by Eric himself in the 1967 SA GP supporting race for sports cars. (Go to ‘advanced search’, second option ‘free format’ and type in Item 1 ‘Lolette’.)
Last week I spent an afternoon with Stan Taylor as he recalled the high jinks and low lifes of the 60s and 70s. Hilarious and wonderful. Stan and his big mate (in both senses) Frank Rundel drove Eric’s Porsche-engined Lolette in the 1968 Kyalami 9 hour, finishing 1st in class and 11th overall. For the front bodywork, a mould was taken from Clive van Buuren’s Porsche 906 and for the rear from Uncle Doug Serrurier’s mighty open Lola T70. This was then cut down the middle, an appropriate section removed and the halves joined up, more in keeping with the more modest proportions of the Lo…lette.
The Porsche engine was lent by Al Klesse of Peco and taken straight back after the race! The car was then fitted with a roller crank VW unit (much better in Stan’s opinion) and taken to 14th overall in the Roy Hesketh 6 hour. One of the versions of its fate is that it subsequently disappeared to Angola, and Stan subscribes to this story as well.
He has allowed me to copy some of his own photos and I have placed these in the members’ area for free download.
Please remember that all the photos in this section are copyright david pearson/www.motoprint.co.za and remain my property. They are offered to motoprint members for personal use only. They may not be copied or transmitted in any form nor distributed to any medium.
|