John Willment had made his name in motor racing in the late 1950s as a competitor and purveyor of speed equipment to the racing driver. The Willment inlet-over-exhaust cylinder head conversion for the 100E side-valve Ford was one of the most potent power-producing pieces of equipment in period.
He raced a 100E Ford with Jeff Uren at that time and although they often discussed the formation of a saloon car racing team it did not come to anything and they went their separate ways, Willment to develop his chain of Ford dealerships and Uren to run his plant hire business. Willment ran John Willment Automobiles in Chertsey Road, Twickenham and also controled other Ford dealers like Lamberts of Kingston. Jeff Uren raced various Fords, eventually became Team Manager for the Ford factory rally team for a year, and then went back to racing on his own.
In the winter of 1962 John Willment decided that the time was ripe to start his own racing team and naturally he called on Jeff Uren to run it for him. John wanted the publicity for Willments Ford agencies, and Jeff had an ambition to develop a range of performance equipment for Ford cars. The original plan was to run Lotus Cortinas, but the model was delayed, and the decision was taken to run a team of GT Cortinas until the Lotus became available.
Jeff went to see Walter Hayes of Ford and asked for 3 GT Cortinas, a load of spares and £10,000 to cover costs. Jeff persuaded Walter that he could win the British Touring Car Championship in 1963, which started in spring.
A deal was agreed, and the team took delivery of 3 GT Cortinas and prepared them for racing in a few short weeks. They were FOO 173, FOO 299 and FOO 300. They also needed drivers, so Jack Sears was persuaded to come out of retirement, and along with Jimmy Blumer, David Haynes, Les Leston and Bo Ljungfeld, the Willment Cortina race team was born, and so was the distinctive white with red stripes livery.
The car won its class at Oulton Park in its first race on April 6th, 1963. With further development, the Willment GTs were developing 119bhp at 7500rpm in Group 2 trim using standard manifold and a single weber carburettor.
The activities of the Willments Team didn’t go un-noticed by Ford America, who had been expanding their focus on racing activities world wide. They asked Willment if they would race a Ford Galaxie alongside their GTs, which of course they were delighted to do. The Galaxie arrived fully developed by Holman and Moody in South Carolina couple of days before the International Trophy meeting on May 11th. It ran rings around the Mk2 Jaguars, which were the cars to beat, increasing Willments credibility and reputation still further.
The Galaxie also provided Jack Sears with his favourite saloon race car, which he bought in the 1990s and had fully restored. keeping it for the rest of his life!
In the summer of 1963, Willments finally got hold of a Lotus Cortina, registered 780 BOO, which they set about preparing for racing as soon as they were homologated in September 1963.
It was entered in the Thee Hours meeting at Snetterton in September 1963, driven by Jack Sears. He ran a very close race with Jim Clark and Trevor Taylor in the Team Lotus cars, their 2nd race for the Lotus Cortinas, with Jack coming a close 4th overall.
However, the GTs had one more trick to play in 1963 to promote the launch of the Cortina in the USA. Two of the cars, FOO 229 and FOO 230, were flown over to race in the US, along with an Alan Mann prepared GT (unregistered), racing in the Andrews Racing gold colours. They came in positions 1, 2 (Alan Mann car) and 4 in the Marlboro 12 hour race, a highly credible effort from both Willments and Alan Mann teams.
Jack Sears won the BTCC in 1963 with the Willment GT, Galaxie and Lotus Cortina and for 1964 the Lotus Cortinas (BTW 299B and BTW 300B) replaced the GT Cortinas. 780 BOO wasn’t head of again in the BTCC series, although it has been suggested that it may have raced as the ‘3rd’ car using the registration number of one of the BTW cars as required.
At the International Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park end of the 1964 season , Willments ran a Lotus Cortina registration number 230 FOO. Nobody seems to know where it came from or where it went, but it’s very possible that it was 780 BOO coming out of retirement for one last race!
In 1965 and 1966, only BTW 300B was used, and it had a colour change in mid-1965 from the distinctive white with red stripes to all-red.
In May 1966 at the Crystal Palace meeting, Willment entered a car that, at first glance, looked like BTW 300B. However, it was a later Aeroflow car! Driven by Paul Hawkins, could this have been an ‘updated’ Pre-Aeroflow BTW car, or was it an entirely new car? We don’t know the answer…yet!
The Cortina GT Cars
The Willment Team, along with Alan Mann Racing, wanted to race in the BSCC series for the 1963 season, and both teams wanted to use the Lotus Cortina. However, delays in production meant that they had to gain experience with the GTs until the Lotus Cortina had been homologated.
Willments were very successful with their GTs throughout 1963, and the success with these cars in the UK and the USA didn’t go un-noticed in both countries.
Three cars were built, FOO 173, FOO 299 and FOO 300. FOO 173 was badly damaged early on in 1963, leaving the other two to compete in the BSCC series, and in autumn that year, to get shipped to the USA, along with Alan Mann’s GT, to compete in the Marlboro 12 hour race.
The Willment GTs all lined up at Silverstone
The wider view showing the fleet, service van and camping facilities!
Bob Olthoff in FOO 173 at Silverstone British GP International Touring Car race
Jack Sears in the GT being chased by Sir John Whitmore in the Mini Cooper. Jack went on to win the championship in 1963 in the GT, Galaxie and Lotus Cortina, and Sir John came in 2nd in the Cooper and Cooper ‘S’. Both, of course, went on to have great success in Lotus Cortinas in 1964 and 1965.
August 1963 at Brands Hatch, FOO 173 was no more
173, 229 and 230 (David Haynes, Richie Ginther and Jeff Uren), worrying Albert Powell in his Jaguar at Crystal Palace June 1963
David Haynes in FOO 173 at Crystal Palace
David Haynes (FOO 230) chasing John Sparrow at Brands Hatch, September 1963
Frank Gardener driving FOO 230 at Silverstone International Trophy meeting May 1963
David Haynes (FOO 230) and Frank Gardner at Silverstone May 1963
FOO 229 and FOO 230 line up with the Alan Mann GT (running under the Alan Andrews banner) having arrived in the USA for the Marlboro 12 hour race
The first International success for the Cortina
The Galaxie!
I’m not making any apologies for including a few photos of this awesome machine in a site dedicated to Lotus Cortinas! It changed the face of racing in the BSCC series,, raising the profile of Willment with Ford America significantly and proved to be a huge thorn in the side for the Lotus Cortinas.
Silverstone July 1963, and the Galaxie driven by Jack Sears was making itself well known. Two Cortina GTs in the background hinting at things to come.
Goodwood Easter 1964, and Jim Clark gets off the line ahead of the 400 bhp Galaxie, but only because full power cannot be applied straight away with the big Ford as that just spins up the wheels!
The Galaxie was hard to beat in dry conditions
The Galaxie leads Jim Clark, Peter Arundell and Bob Olthoff
Jack Sears described the Galaxie as like driving ‘a block of flats’ around the tight UK circuits, but it was his favourite saloon car for racing, and along with the Willment GT and Lotus, gave him the 1963 championship
The Lotus Cortinas
The Willment team campaigned just 3 factory funded Lotus Cortinas in the period of 1963 to 1966, although there is probably a 4th car that appeared in May 1966 that had no registration number and was the later Aeroflow model.
780 BOO appeared in mid 1963 and competed in a couple of non-BSCC races, presumably to shake it down. It then competed with Jack Sears driving at Snetterton in September 1963 alongside the two cars from Team Lotus, and finished third in class behind Jim Clark and Trevor Taylor in the Team Lotus cars.
It didn’t appear to race in any other BSCC races in 1964 – 1966, although on a few occasions Willment cars were raced without registration plates fitted, and thoughts are that 780 BOO could well have been used as the ‘spare’ car.
780 BOO (1963) Jack Sears
BTW 299B (1964, 65) Bob Olthoff
BTW 300B (1964, 65) Frank Gardner
Unregistered (1966) Tony Dean, Paul Hawkins
780 BOO at the Silverstone Martini Trophy race (non-championship) in July 1963
780 BOO at Snetterton with Jack Sears for its first BTCC race on September 28 1963
Silverstone Martin Trophy
Mallory Park
BTW 300B Snetterton March 1964. Frank Gardner no 76 lines up
BTW 300B Snetterton March 1964 Sir Gawaine Baillie leads Frank Gardner
BTW 300B Snetterton March 1964 Frank Gardner
BTW 299B Aintree April 1964 Frank Gardner leads Jackie Stewart (Red Rose Motors)
BTW 299B Silverstone May 1964 16th International Trophy meeting Frank Gardner
BTW 299B and BTW 300B Silverstone May 1964 16th International Trophy meeting Franc Gardner leads Bob Olthoff
BTW 300B Silverstone May 1964 16th International Trophy meeting Bob Olthoff
BTW 300B May 1964 Crystal Palace A W. Brausch Niemann followed closely by David Haynes
BTW 299B Brands Hatch British GP support race July 1964 Jack Sears
BTW 299B Brands Hatch British GP support race July 1964 Jack Sears
BTW 299B Brands Hatch British GP support race July 1964 Bob Olthoff
BTW 300B Oulton Park September 1964 Jack Brabham Galaxie leads Bob Olthoff
230 FOO in its only appearance driven by Bob Olthoff, September 1964 Oulton Park, alongside Jim Clark and Jack Sears
BTW 300B March 1965 Brands Hatch Race of Champions Meeting Frank Gardner
BTW 300B Oulton Park International Race Meeting April 1965 Frank Gardner
BTW 300B Snetterton April 1965 Frank Gardner gets the jump on Jim Clark and Jack Sears in their Lotus Cortinas.
BTW 300B April 1965 Goodwood St. Marys Trophy race Frank Gardner
BTW 300B (now in red livery) August 1965 Brands Hatch Guards International Race Meeting Frank Gardner
BTW 300B September 1965 Oulton Park International Gold Cup meeting Frank Gardner
BTW 300B Snetterton April 1966 Brian Muir
Unregistered Willment Team car, Crystal Palace May 1966. Driven by Paul Hawkins
Unregistered Willment Team car, Crystal Palace May 1966. Driven by Paul Hawkins
