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97-465: Henry Leslie Firth, OAM (18 April 1918 – 27 April 2014) was an Australian racing driver and team manager. Firth was a leading race and rally driver during the 1950s and 1960s and continued as an influential team manager with first the Ford works team and then the famed Holden Dealer Team (HDT) well into the 1970s. Firth’s nickname was "the fox", implying his use of cunning ploys as a team manager. Firth won

194-409: A Ford Cortina GT . The Ford works team didn't enter any cars for the 1966 Gallaher 500 at Bathurst and Firth teamed with Ern Abbott in a Morris Cooper S to finish in 6th place. The first nine finishers in the race all drove the famed Cooper S. 1967 saw Firth notch up his last victory as a driver in the annual 500 mile race at Bathurst, winning the 1967 Gallaher 500 with a young Fred Gibson in

291-500: A Ford XR Falcon GT , the first Australian made Ford Falcon to use a V8 engine . Sydney based racer/designer Frank Matich was scheduled to co-drive with Firth but had to withdraw due to other commitments. Firth wouldn't have minded so much on missing out on the driving talents of Frank Matich as he was always of the belief that drivers used to being able to drive their specially built race cars hard weren't well suited to Series Production racing where you had to be much easier on what

388-406: A transformative shift, echoing past pivots. The industry, much like the cars it champions , has had to navigate through a global pandemic and a persistent chip shortage, each threatening to derail production schedules . At the same time, a new course is being charted towards an electric future, a dramatic change in direction that is challenging the old guard of gasoline engines. There is also

485-618: A "manufacturer's" logo and "vehicle name", yet use components produced by another automobile manufacturer. There are also other stock car governing bodies, most notably the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). In the UK, British Stock car racing is also referred to as "Short Circuit Racing". UK Stock car racing started in the 1950s and grew rapidly through the 1960s and 1970s. Events take place on shale or tarmac tracks – usually around 1/4 mile long. There are around 35 tracks in

582-537: A Cortina GT500 - Australia's answer to the Cortina Lotus produced to comply with the local build requirements to be able to be raced of 100 units; initial batch 122, as opposed to running the Cortina Lotus which would have been imported with a minimum requirement of 250 - built by and intended for Harry Firth in the 1965 Bathurst 500 was clocked at 118 mph down Conrod Straight using a 3.9 diff, Lotus gearbox, large diameter (non radial) tyres and 7,900 rpm. The Cortina

679-427: A different engine and suspension. The Mk2 took a while to appear, first appearing in 1967. The main difference was the choice of colours and the lack of a stripe, although most had them fitted at Ford dealers at extra cost. The only cosmetic changes made were a black front grille, 5.5J x 13 steel wheels and Lotus badges on rear wings and by the rear number plate. The badge on the front grille was an option at first. Unlike

776-476: A different final drive of 3.77:1 rather than 3.9:1. The Mk2 was a wider car than the Mk1, so although they looked the same, the steel wheels had a different offset so as not to upset the tracking, and radial tyres were now standard. Another attraction was the larger fuel tank. The spare wheel could now be mounted in its wheel well, but the battery remained in the boot to aid weight distribution. The only real difference to

873-410: A distance of 8 mi (13 km). It was won by the carriage of Isaac Watt Boulton . Internal combustion auto racing events began soon after the construction of the first successful gasoline -fueled automobiles. The first organized contest was on April 28, 1887, by the chief editor of Paris publication Le Vélocipède , Monsieur Fossier. It ran 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from Neuilly Bridge to

970-422: A few teething problems reported by the first batch of owners, (most of these problems show how quickly the car was developed) some of the engines were down on power, the gear ratios were too close and the worst problem was the differential housing coming away from the casing. This problem was mainly caused by the high loads put on the axle because of the A bracket it was an integral part of the rear suspension. This

1067-705: A growing number of events for electric racing cars, such as the Formula E , the Eco Grand Prix or the Electric GT Championship . In single-seater ( open-wheel ) racing, the wheels are not covered, and the cars often have aerofoil wings front and rear to produce downforce and enhance adhesion to the track. The most popular varieties of open-wheel road racing are Formula One (F1), the IndyCar Series and Super Formula . In Europe and Asia, open-wheeled racing

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1164-660: A hard front end. Jim Clark won the British Saloon Car Championship easily, in the US, Jackie Stewart and Mike Beckwith won the Malboro 12-hour, and Alan Mann Racing also performed well in the European Touring Car Challenge , including a 1–2 victory in the 'Motor' Six Hour International Touring Car Race at Brands Hatch . A Boreham-built car also won its class, came 4th outright, and won the handicap section, in

1261-693: A lap at 388 km/h (241 mph). The series' biggest race is the Indianapolis 500 , which is commonly referred to as "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" due to being the longest continuously run race in the series and having the largest crowd for a single-day sporting event (350,000+). The other major international single-seater racing series is Formula 2 (formerly known as Formula 3000 and GP2 Series ). Regional series include Super Formula and Formula V6 Asia (specifically in Asia), Formula Renault 3.5 (also known as

1358-472: A much easier time following and passing than in open-wheel racing . It often features full-contact racing with subtle bumping and nudging due to the small speed differentials and large grids. The major touring car championships conducted worldwide are the Supercars Championship (Australia), British Touring Car Championship , Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM), World Touring Car Championship and

1455-644: A piece of the distributor fell out and delayed the car 26 minutes. All four cars retired from that year's RAC rally, which was severely snow-affected. The first works victory came in December 1965, when Roger Clark and Graham Robson won the Welsh International. In 1966, Ford managed to homologate the car for Group 1, which requires 5000 cars to be built. In the Monte Carlo Rally , Roger Clark finished 4th, only to be disqualified, and then Elford finished 1st in

1552-450: A practical mode of transport, but soon became an important way for automobile makers to demonstrate their machines. By the 1930s, specialist racing cars had developed. There are now numerous different categories, each with different rules and regulations. The first prearranged match race of two self-powered road vehicles over a prescribed route occurred at 4:30 A.M. on August 30, 1867, between Ashton-under-Lyne and Old Trafford , England,

1649-580: A revised wishbone geometry. They scored 8 class wins, many driven by Jim Clark. In the European Touring Car Challenge , Sir John Whitmore scored another four wins, not enough to give him the title, being beaten by Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAs . Cortina Lotus Mark 1's are a consistent class winner in modern Historic Touring Car racing throughout the world. The fastest official recorded speed is 147 mph (237 km/h) at Mount Panorama Bathurst in Australia by Marc Ducquet. The recorded speed by radar on Conrod Straight

1746-523: A roll of wire, while leading Australian Motoring journalist and former part-time racer Bill Tuckey once wrote of Firth that as a driver, engineer and team manager, he was "As cunning as an outhouse rat" . Firth was awarded the Medal of the order of Australia on 26th January 1999 for services to Motor Racing as a driver, team manager and engineer. https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/887108 On 27 April 2014, Firth died in his sleep surrounded by his family, he

1843-679: A six-hour race at the Green Valley Raceway in Smithfield , Texas , and a four-hour race at Riverside in California . Following the Riverside race, the American's reportedly wanted Firth to stay and help the team but Firth refused, stating that he had to be back in Australia for a rally. Harry Firth won the rally in question, the inaugural Southern Cross Rally, with navigator Graham Hoinville, driving

1940-426: A small, low-cost machine on small tracks. Many of the current top drivers began their careers in karts. Formula Ford represents the most popular first open-wheel category for up-and-coming drivers stepping up from karts. The series is still the preferred option, as it has introduced an aero package and slicks, allowing the junior drivers to gain experience in a race car with dynamics closer to F1. The Star Mazda Series

2037-457: A so-called "Dealer's Council") was actually a full works team backed by Holden and set up by GMH executive John Bagshaw. Because of General Motors worldwide factory ban on motorsport at the time (dating back to the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans disaster that killed 80 people), the team's cash flow from Holden had to come through the 'back door' to avoid alerting GM headquarters in Detroit . Ironically,

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2134-788: Is NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing). NASCAR's premier series is the NASCAR Cup Series , its most famous races being the Daytona 500 , the Southern 500 , the Coca-Cola 600 , and the Brickyard 400 . NASCAR also runs several feeder series, including the Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series (a pickup truck racing series). The series conduct races across the entire continental United States . NASCAR also sanctions series outside of

2231-448: Is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non-racing disciplines. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various types were organized, with the first recorded as early as 1867. Many of the earliest events were effectively reliability trials , aimed at proving these new machines were

2328-687: Is a worldwide series that runs only street circuit and race tracks . These cars are heavily based on technology and their aerodynamics. The speed record was set in 2005 by Juan Pablo Montoya hitting 373 km/h (232 mph). Some of the most prominent races are the Monaco Grand Prix, the Italian Grand Prix , and the British Grand Prix . The season ends with the crowning of the World Championship for drivers and constructors. In

2425-640: Is another entry-level series. Indy Lights represent the last step on the Road to Indy , being less powerful and lighter than an IndyCar racer. Students at colleges and universities can also take part in single-seater racing through the Formula SAE competition, which involves designing and building a single-seater car in a multidisciplinary team and racing it at the competition. This also develops other soft skills, such as teamwork, while promoting motorsport and engineering. The world's first all-female Formula racing team

2522-594: Is commonly referred to as 'Formula', with appropriate hierarchical suffixes. In North America, the 'Formula' terminology is not followed (with the exception of F1). The sport is usually arranged to follow an international format (such as F1), a regional format (such as the Formula 3 Euro Series), and/or a domestic, or country-specific, format (such as the German Formula 3 championship, or the British Formula Ford). F1

2619-870: Is the FIA World Endurance Championship . The main series for GT car racing is the GT World Challenge Europe , divided into two separate championships: the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup and the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup . This series has formed after the folding of the various FIA GT championships. The prevailing classes of GT cars are GT3 , GT4 and GT2 class cars. GT2 cars have powerful engines, often exceeding 600 horsepower. However, they have less downforce than GT3 cars and also have less driver aids. GT3 cars are far and away

2716-522: Is undergoing a period of transition, but is still the longest-running road racing series in the U.S. The National Auto Sport Association also provides a venue for amateurs to compete in home-built factory-derived vehicles on various local circuits. In sports car racing, production-derived versions of two-seat sports cars , also known as grand tourers (GTs), and purpose-built sports prototype cars compete within their respective classes on closed circuits. The premier championship series of sports car racing

2813-634: Is well known in the US for its competitiveness in the under 2000 cc class of the Trans Am Series . Canadian born Australian Allan Moffat shocked the outright class cars, winning Round 3 of the inaugural series in 1966 at the Bryar Motorsports Park in Loudon , New Hampshire . Whilst the Cortina Lotus is somewhat overshadowed by the success of the Ford Escort in rallying, it performed admirably in

2910-653: The 24 Hours of Le Mans , begun in 1923. It is run by the Automobile Club of the West (ACO). Team Ferrari won the race in 2023. With auto construction and racing dominated by France, the French automobile club ACF staged a number of major international races, usually from or to Paris, connecting with another major city, in France or elsewhere in Europe. Aspendale Racecourse , in Australia,

3007-620: The 24 Hours of Le Mans , the Rolex 24 at Daytona , 24 Hours of Spa -Franchorchamps, the 12 Hours of Sebring , the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen , and the 1,000-mile (1,600 km) Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta . There is also the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring on the famed Nordschleife track and the Dubai 24 Hour , which is aimed at GT3 and below cars with a mixture of professional and pro-am drivers. Production-car racing, otherwise known as "showroom stock" in

Harry Firth - Misplaced Pages Continue

3104-502: The Ampol Round Australia Trial in a Cortina GT. Firth also won the 1964 Lowood 4 Hour with John Raeburn in a Ford Cortina GT . Firth and John Reaburn finished 3rd in the 1964 Armstrong 500 in a Cortina GT, while Bob Jane won his 4th in a row, teaming with George Reynolds , also in a GT. Firth and Reaburn also teamed in the 1965 Armstrong 500 , but while the winning Ford Works car of Barry Seton and Midge Bosworth

3201-712: The Bathurst 500 , including its predecessor at Phillip Island , four times (twice in the final two races held at the Island and twice at Bathurst ). He also won the Southern Cross Rally and the Australian Rally Championship . He was inducted into the Supercars Hall of Fame in 2007. Firth has often been described as a 'bush engineer', someone who could probably build a race winning engine from nothing more than

3298-711: The Rallye Sanremo (Rally of the Flowers), only to be disqualified as well. Elford came 2nd in the Tulip Rally . Bengt Söderström was named victor of the Acropolis Rally , after the 1st-placed Mini Cooper S was disqualified. New cars were used for the Coupe des Alpes (Alpine Rally), where Elford's engine blew up after leading, while Roger Clark finished second. Clark was always competitive, but suffered with unreliable cars, coming 3rd in

3395-601: The Teams Prize . In 1969, Firth was considered by those at Ford to be 'too old' and was replaced as Ford Works Team boss by Al Turner, an American more known in Drag racing than circuit racing. Within a short time he had crossed over to General Motors Holden (GMH) to become manager of the new Holden Dealer Team , which despite the "Dealer" name (and Harry's claims on the ABC's Four Corners program in 1970 that as team boss he worked for

3492-539: The WeatherTech SportsCar Championship starting in 2014. These races are often conducted over long distances, at least 1,000 km (621 mi), and cars are driven by teams of two or more drivers, switching every few hours. Due to the performance difference between production-based sports cars and purpose-built sports prototypes, one race usually involves several racing classes, each fighting for its own championship. Famous sports car races include

3589-637: The World Touring Car Cup . The European Touring Car Cup is a one-day event open to Super 2000 specification touring cars from Europe's many national championships. While Super GT traces its lineage to the now-defunct JGTC , the cars are much more similar to GT3 race cars than proper touring cars, and also have much more aggressive aerodynamics. The Sports Car Club of America 's SPEED World Challenge Touring Car and GT championships are dominant in North America. America's historic Trans-Am Series

3686-593: The 1948 Australian Grand Prix (driven by Frank Pratt). In the 1950s Firth successfully competed in Porsche 356 ’s in races and hillclimbs. Firth had a great record in the Alpine Rally winning the event five times between 1953 and 1962. Firth then teamed with Bob Jane in a Mercedes-Benz 220SE to win the 1961 Armstrong 500 at Philip Island. In 1962 the Firth Motors workshop at Queens Avenue, Auburn ( Melbourne ) became

3783-465: The 1980s and 1990s all over the United States. In North America, stock car racing is the most popular form of auto racing. Primarily raced on oval tracks , stock cars vaguely resemble production cars, but are in fact purpose-built racing machines that are built to tight specifications and, together with touring cars, also called Silhouette racing cars . The largest stock car racing governing body

3880-462: The 24 hours of Le Mans (held annually since 1923) and in the (European) Le Mans series , Asian Le Mans Series and the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship . These cars are referred to as LMP (Le Mans prototype) cars with LMH and LMDh cars being run mainly by manufacturers and the slightly less powerful LMP2 cars run by privateer teams. All three Le Mans Series run GT cars in addition to Le Mans Prototypes; these cars have different restrictions than

3977-786: The 4000 mile 10-day Tour de France. Other Cortina Lotus achievements included the Austrian Saloon Car Championship, the South African National Saloon Championship, the Swedish Ice Championship, and the Wills Six-Hour in New Zealand. 1965 saw the Cortina Lotus winning regularly, the car being more competitive due to the increased reliability of the new leaf spring rear end. Driving for Alan Mann Racing , Sir John Whitmore dominated and won

Harry Firth - Misplaced Pages Continue

4074-560: The A-bracket suspension meant that Ford decided to replace it with the more conventional GT rear suspension. This became available in June 1965, and while the car still seemed to be afflicted with bad luck, a few victories were racked up. Four of the newly updated cars competed in the Alpine rally of July 1965, and Vic Elford's car led outright, all the way. Well, until less than an hour from finishing, when

4171-588: The Bois de Boulogne. On July 22, 1894, the Parisian magazine Le Petit Journal organized what is considered to be the world's first motoring competition, from Paris to Rouen. One hundred and two competitors paid a 10- franc entrance fee. The first American automobile race is generally considered to be the Thanksgiving Day Chicago Times-Herald race of November 28, 1895. Press coverage of

4268-620: The British Saloon Car Championship, which was now open to Group 5 Special Touring Cars , as regulations had been changed. Fuel-injection and dry sumping were allowed, and with Lucas injection and tuning by BRM , the engines could produce 180 bhp (130 kW; 180 PS) at 7750 rpm, increasing their ability to stay with the Mustangs. The cars also had the MacPherson struts replaced with coil springs and shock absorbers and

4365-705: The Canadian Shell 4000, 2nd in Greece, and 4th in Poland. The Cortina Lotus finally proved itself with an outright win in the RAC rally. F1 World Champion Jim Clark crashed his (twice), but Söderström saw his through to a 13-minute victory, with Gunnar Palm. Other victories in 1966 were in the Geneva rally by Staepelaere, and by Canadian Paul MacLellan in the Shell 4000. A final win before the advent of

4462-406: The Cortina Lotus began in 1961. Colin Chapman had been wishing to build his own engines for Lotus, mainly because the Coventry Climax unit was so expensive. Colin Chapman's chance came when he commissioned Harry Mundy (a close friend and designer of the Coventry Climax engine and technical editor for Autocar ) to design a twin-cam version of the Ford Kent engine . Most of the development of

4559-430: The Elan about to be launched. The Type 28 or Lotus Cortina or Cortina Lotus (as Ford liked to call it) was duly launched. Ford supplied the 2-door Cortina bodyshells and took care of all the marketing and selling of the cars, whilst Lotus did all the mechanical and cosmetic changes. The major changes involved installing the 1,557 cc (105 bhp (78 kW; 106 PS)) engine, together with the same close-ratio gearbox as

4656-474: The Elan. The rear suspension was drastically altered and lightweight alloy panels were used for doors, bonnet and boot. Lightweight casings were fitted to gearbox and differential. All the Lotus factory cars were painted white with a green stripe (although Ford built some for racing in red, and one customer had a dark blue stripe due to being superstitious about green). The cars also received front quarter bumpers and round Lotus badges were fitted to rear wings and to

4753-428: The European Touring Car Championship in KPU-392C, Jack Sears won his class in the British Saloon Car Championship (a Mustang won outright), Jackie Ickx won the Belgian Saloon Car Championship, and a Cortina Lotus won the New Zealand Gold Star Saloon Car Championship. Other wins were the Nürburgring Six-Hour race, the Swedish National Track Championship, and the Snetterton 500. In 1966, Team Lotus registered new cars for

4850-409: The FIA GT cars. Another prototype and GT racing championship exists in the United States; the Grand-Am , which began in 2000, sanctions its own endurance series, the Rolex Sports Car Series , which consists of slower and lower-cost Daytona Prototype race cars compared to LMP and FIA GT cars. The Rolex Sports Car Series and American Le Mans Series announced a merger between the two series forming

4947-495: The Geoghegans), were correctly awarded 1st place later that night. Firth won the 1968 Australian Rally Championship driving a Ford Cortina Lotus . That year he also led a three car Ford Australia assault on the inaugural London–Sydney Marathon , preparing a trio of XT Falcon GT's for the event which started on 24–25 November at Crystal Palace in London and traveled through Europe , the Middle East and South Asia before arriving in Bombay , India on 1–2 December. From there,

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5044-597: The HDT in a Holden Monaro GTS350 , with Des West and Brock finishing third in a similar car. Over the next eight years the Holden Dealer Team under Firth achieved many notable race and rally victories and championship wins. Included among these are: At the end of 1977, Firth retired as manager of the Holden team but continued his involvement in motor racing as National Chief Scrutineer between 1978-1981. 1961-62 were run at Phillip Island. The race moved to Bathurst in 1963. Racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing , motor racing , or automobile racing )

5141-421: The HDT operated out of Firth’s Auburn workshop, the same that had once housed the Ford works team. That year (1969) Firth was instrumental in launching the professional careers of two soon to be famous drivers – talented up and coming rally driver Colin Bond and young tearaway Peter Brock whose feats in an Austin A30 had brought him to Firth’s attention. Bond and Tony Roberts won the 1969 Bathurst 500 for

5238-415: The Mk1, the Mk2 was also made in left hand drive from the start of production. The Mk2 Cortina Lotus also gained an improved and more powerful (109 bhp (81 kW; 111 PS)) engine, which was formerly supplied as the special equipment engine option on Lotus Elan and the Cortina Lotus Mk1. The gearbox ratios remained 2000E ones but the car now used the Mk2 GT remote-control gearchange. The car also had

5335-666: The UK and upwards of 7000 active drivers. The sport is split into three basic divisions – distinguished by the rules regarding car contact during racing. The most famous championship are the BriSCA F1 Stock Cars . Full-contact formulas include Bangers , Bombers, and Rookie Bangers – and racing features Demolition Derbies, Figure of Eight, and Oval Racing. Semi Contact Formulas include BriSCA F1, F2, and Superstox – where bumpers are used tactically. Non-contact formulas include National Hot Rods, Stock Rods, and Lightning Rods. Lotus Cortina There were 3,306 Mark I and 4,093 Mark 2 Lotus Cortinas produced. The history of

5432-532: The UK, the major club series are the Monoposto Racing Club , BRSCC F3 (formerly ClubF3, formerly ARP F3), Formula Vee and Club Formula Ford. Each series caters to a section of the market, with some primarily providing low-cost racing, while others aim for an authentic experience using the same regulations as the professional series (BRSCC F3). The SCCA is also responsible for sanctioning single-seater racing in much of North America. There are other categories of single-seater racing, including kart racing , which employs

5529-401: The US, is an economical and rules-restricted version of touring-car racing, mainly used to restrict costs. Numerous production racing categories are based on particular makes of cars. Most series, with a few exceptions, follow the Group N regulation. There are several different series that are run all over the world, most notably, Japan's Super Taikyu and IMSA 's Firehawk Series, which ran in

5626-413: The US, with Team Lotus running cars in Britain for Ford, and Alan Mann Racing running cars in Europe, also on behalf of Ford. The Cortina Lotus was able to beat almost anything except the 7-litre V8 Ford Galaxies, and later, Ford Mustangs . In 1964, a Cortina Lotus leading around a bend with its inside front wheel in fresh air became a familiar sight, as the cars were set up with soft rear suspension and

5723-409: The United States, including the NASCAR Canada Series , NASCAR Mexico Series , NASCAR Whelen Euro Series , and NASCAR Brasil Sprint Race . NASCAR also governs several smaller regional series, such as the Whelen Modified Tour . Modified cars are best described as open-wheel cars. Modified cars have no parts related to the stock vehicle for which they are named after. A number of modified cars display

5820-438: The United States, the most popular series is the IndyCar Series . The cars have traditionally been similar to, though less technologically sophisticated than, F1 cars , with more restrictions on technology aimed at controlling costs. While these cars are not as technologically advanced, they are faster, in part due to their lower downforce compared to F1 cars, and also because they compete on oval race tracks, being able to average

5917-490: The World Series by Renault, succession series of World Series by Nissan ), Formula Three , Formula Palmer Audi and Formula Atlantic . In 2009, the FIA Formula Two Championship brought about the revival of the F2 series. Domestic, or country-specific, series include Formula Three and Formula Renault, with the leading introductory series being Formula Ford . Single-seater racing is not limited merely to professional teams and drivers. There exist many amateur racing clubs. In

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6014-440: The base for the Ford works team. Firth and Jane drove a Ford Works Team Ford Falcon XL to victory in the 1962 Armstrong 500 at Philip Island. Firth and Jane recorded the races first hat-trick of wins when they won the 1963 Armstrong 500 driving a Mk.I Ford Cortina GT at Bathurst (the race had moved to Bathurst that year due to the poor state of the Phillip Island Circuit following the 1962 race). In 1964 Firth and Hoinville won

6111-457: The dash. An internal bonnet release and a more conventional mounting for the handbrake were also phased in. A new single-rail gearshift mechanism was used. The car stayed in production until 1970. The Cortina Lotus was marketed in Europe as the Cortina Twin Cam in 1969/70. Two 4-door versions were supplied to the Mid-Anglia Constabulary for evaluation as use as a fast patrol and pursuit car by British Police forces. The trial never went beyond

6208-402: The engine bay was the air cleaner mounted on top of the engine. The interior was almost identical to a GT. The Mk2 did exactly what Ford wanted, it was far more reliable whilst still quick enough to be used in competition, until it was replaced by the Escort Twin Cam . The car did receive a few updates, but none as urgent as the Mk1's. Only a few months after production started, the Lotus badge on

6305-410: The engine was done on the 997cc and 1,340cc bottom end, but in 1962 Ford released the 116E five bearing 1,498 cc engine and work centred on this. Keith Duckworth , from Cosworth , played an important part in tuning of the engine. The engine's first appearance was in 1962 at the Nürburgring in a Lotus 23 driven by Jim Clark . Almost as soon as the engine appeared in production cars ( Lotus Elan ), it

6402-400: The event first aroused significant American interest in the automobile. The Targa Florio was an open road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily , Italy near the island's capital of Palermo . Founded in 1906 , it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 and 1973. The oldest surviving sports car racing event is

6499-407: The famous 2000E gearbox ratios were used. These lowered first and reverse about halfway between the Cortina GT ratios and the ultra close-ratio box. All these changes made the cars less specialised but far more reliable and all the special parts were still available for competition as well as to members of the public. The Cortina Lotus had by this time earned an impressive competition reputation. It

6596-632: The last step up to premier GT-class racing. Other major GT championships include the GT World Challenge America , GT World Challenge Asia , Super GT , and the International GT Open . There are minor regional and national GT series using mainly GT4 and GT3 cars featuring both amateur and professional drivers. Sports prototypes, unlike GT cars, do not rely on road-legal cars as a base. They are closed-wheel and often closed-cockpit purpose-built race cars intended mainly for endurance racing. They have much lower weight, more horsepower and more downforce compared to GT cars, making them much faster. They are raced in

6693-424: The main difference being that first, second and reverse were much lower (numerically higher) ratios. From 1964, standard steel panels were used rather than the light alloy ones, though alloy items and ultra-close ratios could still be specified when buying a new car. The second main change came in late 1964 when the entire Cortina range had a facelift which included a full-width front grille and ventilation outlets on

6790-517: The mid-1960s, which might be surprising, given its reputation for unreliability. The first Cortina Lotus to be rallied was a Cortina GT with the Lotus engine, in the 1963 Spa-Sofia-Liege rally in September, just to try out the engine, and driven by Henry Taylor to 4th place. The first outing in a rally by a Cortina Lotus proper was in the 1963 RAC Rally , campaigned again by Taylor, with co-driver Brian Melia. It finished 6th somehow, in spite of its A-bracket rear end needing constant attention. The A-bracket

6887-442: The most popular class of GT cars, with premier racing series such as the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA both using GT3 as their top class of GT car. GT3 cars have more significant aero than a GT2 car, but also have less horsepower, typically falling in between 500 and 550 horsepower. GT4 class cars have very little aerodynamics and less horsepower than GT3 machinery, typically around 450 horsepower. GT4 typically serves as

6984-461: The oldest car racing series still active in the world. The first TC competition took place in 1931 with 12 races, each in a different province. Future Formula One star Juan Manuel Fangio (Chevrolet) won the 1940 and 1941 editions of the TC. It was during this time that the series' Chevrolet-Ford rivalry began, with Ford acquiring most of its historical victories. Over the last few years, auto racing has seen

7081-506: The oldest existing purpose-built and still in use automobile race course in the United States is the 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km) Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana . It is the largest capacity sports venue of any variety worldwide, with a top capacity of some 257,000+ seated spectators. NASCAR was founded by Bill France Sr. on February 21, 1948, with the help of several other drivers. The first NASCAR " Strictly Stock " race ever

7178-535: The rear C-pillar - because the Cortina Lotus also gained Ford's new Aeroflow system as well as an update to the interior. The third and probably most important change came in mid-1965, when the Lotus rear suspension was changed for the leaf springs and radius arms of the Cortina GT. This replaced all the stiffening tubing as well. The last update also came in 1965 when the rear drums were swapped for self-adjusting items and also

7275-465: The rear panel was cancelled and a new TWIN CAM badge was fitted under the Cortina script on the boot lid. Despite the badge changes, Ford UK continued to market the model as the "Cortina Lotus". The new combined clock and centre console was fitted. In late 1968 the entire Mk2 range received some cosmetic changes; for the Lotus, this meant that the 4 dials on top of the dash were brought down and made part of

7372-554: The reduction of the schedule from 56 to 34 races a year, established 1972 as the beginning of NASCAR's "modern era". The IMSA GT Series evolved into the American Le Mans Series , which ran its first season in 1998. The European races eventually became the closely related European Le Mans Series , both of which mix prototypes and GTs. Turismo Carretera (TC) is a popular touring car racing series in Argentina, and one of

7469-467: The rest of the range. The remainder of the gearbox was identical to the Lotus Elan. This led to a few problems because although the ultra-close gear ratios were perfect for the race track or open road, the clutch was given a hard time in traffic: the ratios were later changed. The early cars were very popular and earned some rave reviews; one magazine described the car as a tin-top version of a Lotus 7 . It

7566-499: The right side of the radiator grille. Interior modifications were limited to a centre console designed to accommodate the new gear lever position, different seats and the later style dashboard, featuring tachometer , speedometer , oil pressure, water temperature and fuel level gauges. A wood-rimmed steering wheel was fitted. The suspension changes to the car were quite extensive; the car received shorter struts up front, forged track control arms and 5.5J by 13 steel wheel rims. The rear

7663-726: The sport, former Formula 2 champion Jonathan Palmer reopened the F2 category again; most drivers have graduated from the Formula Palmer Audi series. The category is officially registered as the FIA Formula Two championship. Most rounds have two races and are support races to the FIA World Touring Car Championship . Touring car racing is a style of road racing that is run with production-derived four-seat race cars. The lesser use of aerodynamics means following cars have

7760-409: The standard Cortina's wheel well and was bolted to the left side of the boot floor. The battery was also relocated to the boot, behind the right wheelarch. Both of these changes made big improvements to overall weight distribution. Another improvement the Cortina Lotus gained was the new braking system (9.5 in (240 mm) front discs) which were built by brake specialist Girling . This system also

7857-613: The teams and their cars had an eight-day boat trip to Fremantle , Western Australia . The cars then traveled across the Nullarbor Plain into South Australia before finally crossing into New South Wales and arriving at the Warwick Farm Raceway in Sydney on 18 December. The Ford Works Team cars, which included Firth in the driving line up, survived the tough conditions of the marathon rally and finished 3rd, 6th and 8th and claiming

7954-646: The two vehicles, which are both still in existence. To homologate the car for Group 2 Touring Car racing , 1000 were required to be built in 1963, and the car was duly homologated in September 1963. In the same month, in the car's first outing, in the Oulton Park Gold Cup , the car finished 3rd and 4th behind two Ford Galaxies , but beat the 3.8-litre Jaguars which had been dominant in saloon car racing for so long. Soon Ford were running cars in Britain, Europe, and

8051-463: Was 'THE car' for many enthusiasts who before had to settle for a Cortina GT or a Mini-Cooper and it also amazed a lot of the public who were used to overweight 'sports cars' like the Austin-Healey 3000 . The launch was not perfect however, the car was too specialist for some Ford dealerships who did not understand the car; there are a few stories of incorrect parts being fitted at services. There were

8148-516: Was 143 mph. The car was owned by Bob Pearson and had a 203HP Twin Cam engine built by Randall Edgell in New Zealand. 185/60-13 Radial tyres, 4.3 differential and 9,500 RPM. Considering the relatively low horsepower of the standard pushrod GT500 Cortina and the Lightweight alloy panelled Cortina Lotus this speed is achievable. For example, the legendary Australian driver "Gelignite Jack" Murray driving

8245-498: Was a bad time for them to build another model. Ford were also concerned with the unreliability of the Lotus built cars, so a decision was made at Ford that to continue with its competition drive and make the car more cost effective they would make the car at Dagenham themselves, alongside the other Cortina models. In order to do this the Mk2 had to be much easier to build than the Mk1 so that it could be made alongside Mk2 GT production, just with

8342-582: Was aged 96. Firth was born in Orbost , Victoria. Firth enlisted in the Australian Army on 23 October 1939 and was assigned to the 1st Corps of Signals. He was discharged at the end of the war on 3 October 1945. https://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au/veteran?id=421086&c=WW2 After returning from service in World War II, Firth turned his attention to motorsport. He was involved in preparing the winning BMW 328 for

8439-418: Was also being made in left hand drive when production finished around late 1966 and the Mk2 took over. Ford wanted to change a few things for the Mk2, the Mk1 had done all and more than they could expect in competition, but the public linked its competition wins with Lotus and its bad points with Ford. Ford still wanted to build a Mk2 Lotus and compete with it, but Lotus were moving from Cheshunt to Hethel so it

8536-460: Was created in 2006. The group was an assemblage of drivers from different racing disciplines and formed for an MTV reality pilot, which was shot at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca . In December 2005, the FIA gave approval to Superleague Formula racing, which debuted in 2008, whereby the racing teams are owned and run by prominent sports clubs such as A.C. Milan and Liverpool F.C. After 25 years away from

8633-433: Was even more radical with vertical coil spring/dampers replacing the leaf springs and two trailing arms with a A- bracket (which connected to the differential housing and brackets near the trailing arm pivots) sorting out axle location. To support this set-up, further braces were put behind the rear seat and from the rear wheelarch down to chassis in the boot. The stiffening braces meant that the spare wheel had to be moved from

8730-471: Was fitted to Cortina GTs but without a servo, which was fitted in the Cortina Lotus engine bay. Initially, the engines were built by J. A. Prestwich of Tottenham and then Villiers of Wolverhampton. In 1966, Lotus moved to Hethel in Norwich where they had their own engine building facilities. The Cortina Lotus used a 8.0 in (200 mm) diaphragm-spring clutch, whereas Ford fitted coil-spring clutches to

8827-714: Was held on June 19, 1949, at Daytona Beach, Florida , U.S.. From 1962, sports cars temporarily took a back seat to GT cars , with the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) replacing the World Championship for Sports Cars with the International Championship for GT Manufacturers. From 1962 through 2003, NASCAR's premier series was called the Winston Cup Series, sponsored by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company cigarette brand Winston . The changes that resulted from RJR's involvement, as well as

8924-485: Was made even worse by the fact any oil lost from the axle worked its way on to the bushes of the A bracket. There were four main updates made to the Mk1 Lotus during its production to solve some of these problems. The first change was a swap to a two-piece prop shaft and the lighter alloy transmission casing was changed to the standard Ford item; this also included swapping the ultra-close ratio gears for Cortina GT gear ratios,

9021-521: Was persevered with by Vic Elford and David Seigle-Morris for the 1964 Tour de France Automobile , a 10-day, 4,000-mile (6,400 km) event, as it was run completely on sealed roads, unlike the rough RAC Rally. Their car came 4th outright in the Touring Car category, and first in the Handicap category, in a mix of one-hour sprints, hillclimbs , and mountain road rallying. Still, the general dodginess of

9118-511: Was really a road going car. Matich then recommended Gibson (who had finished 2nd in the 1966 race in a Cooper S) for the drive, with Firth meeting Gibson for the first time at a Bathurst hotel on the Friday before the race. Firth and Gibson were actually flagged in 2nd behind their Ford works team mates, Ian and Leo Geoghegan but following a re-count of the lap charts (after Firth protested the result resulting in long term animosity between himself and

9215-519: Was replaced with a larger capacity unit (82.55 mm bore to give 1,557 cc). This was in order to get the car closer to the 1.6 litre capacity class in motorsport. Whilst the engine was being developed, Walter Hayes (Ford) asked Colin Chapman if he would fit the engine to 1,000 Ford saloons for Group 2 homologation . Chapman quickly accepted, although it must have been very busy in the Cheshunt plant, with

9312-582: Was the Harry Firth developed Ford Cortina GT500 , Firth and Reaburn finished only 14th outright but won Class A for cars priced under £ 920 in a Mk.I Ford Cortina 220 . As part of his work with Ford Australia , Firth was recommended as a driver by a young Canadian born Aussie racing in the new Trans-Am series in the United States named Allan Moffat , and he traveled to the US and co-drove with Moffat in an Under-2 litre class Lotus Cortina in two races,

9409-518: Was the world's first purpose-built motor racing circuit , opening in January 1906. The pear-shaped track was close to a mile in length, with slightly banked curves and a gravel surface of crushed cement. Brooklands , in Surrey, England, was the first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing venue, opening in June 1907. It featured a 4.43 km (2.75 mi) concrete track with high-speed banked corners. One of

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