Introduction

This is the first instalment in a new series.

These articles will be relatively brief. They will be cross referenced with existing and proposed A&R articles.

Due to the nature of the subject and some lack of experience by the editors we will use internet information as needed.

The editors consider the American dimension of Chapman’s/Lotus development extremely important.

This dimension has many facets which include:-

• Moto racing in North America with related rules and governing bodies etc.
• The home grown and imported brands used in racing / competition
• The race tracks and their comparison with Europe
• The connectivity between racing , publicity, reputation , image and sales, particularly with regard to Lotus road cars
• The Lotus sales dealerships in US
• Geography and climate that favoured open sports cars like the Lotus
• The race track attendance /support and following of various series along with the associated financial viabilities
• Broad cultural exchange between Europe and US particularly with regard to car culture and competition
• American engines and particularly Ford and V8 engines adopted by Chapman for Lotus ; this to include race tuning
• US racing drivers ,particularly the owner racers who chose to compete in Lotus

A recurring under current of our study of Colin Chapman and Lotus is the search for objectivity. The editors have deliberate6ly used comparison and benchmarking to evaluate Chapman and Lotus.

In this series we hope we can combine both in an examination of race track, the nature of the competition and the performance of Lotus at a specific venue.

Where possible we will include details of the entry list in order that the range, extent and the contemporaries can be better understood.

The editors will offer some comment and interpretation that they hope will explain a moment in time.

Articles to follow will look at Indianapolis, Can Am and FI GP racing.

Riverside

Subscribers are directed to the many excellent websites that feature this circuit in Southern California.

The following details are quoted from the net:-

“RIR played host to almost every major racing series in modern history. NASCAR to Can-Am to Cal Car Club to Indy Cars to International Motor Sport Association (IMSA) to United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC) to The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and the AMA Superbikes all called the track home for high-pro?le annual events. In 1960, RIR hosted the Formula One United States Grand Prix. Take also into account that no other sports car race in the US was richer than the annual LA Times Grand Prix as notable drivers from all over the world descended on the black tarmac ribbons winding through dessert sands of Riverside.”

It’s worth looking at events to trace the Lotus entries. A programme cover [illustrated above seems to feature a Lotus 19 possibly driven by Stirling Moss.

Riverside 200, October, 1964

The editors invite our subscribers to study the entry list below and make deductions .We reserve ours for comments below.

It’s significant that the race took place in the early mid 1960’s a time of Anglo-American cultural exchange.

1	Brabham BT8	Thomas Hitchcock	green				open	mid
2	McLaren Elva Mark I Oldsmobile	Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd.	green (+white)	STP/BP		BP	open	mid
3	Brabham BT8 Climax	Team Elite (’62) Ltd.	white/green				open	mid
4	Brabham BT8	Ecurie Vitesse S.A., Geneva, Switz.	green				open	mid
5	Cooper Monaco T61 Chevrolet	Nickey Chevrolet	purple				open	mid
6	Chaparral 2A Chevrolet	Chaparral Cars	white	CHAMPION			open	mid
7	Brabham BT8 Climax	Stirling Moss Automobile Racing Team	green				open	mid
8	Lotus 19 Chevrolet	Alan Green Chevrolet, Inc.	green				open	mid
10	Lotus 19 Ferrari	Rosebud Racing – Tom O’Connor, Jr.	blue				–	mid
11	Brabham BT8 Climax	Robert Lamplough	red				open	mid
12	Cooper Monaco T61 Chevrolet	Bernice Mc I. Wintersteen	green/white				open	mid
14	Webster 2 Liter Type A	Webster Racing Enterprises	black/red				–	–
15	Lotus 30 Ford	Colin Chapman Team Lotus	green				open	mid
16	Lotus 23B Porsche	Trans Ocean Motors	white				–	mid
19	Lotus 19G Ford	Pacesetter Homes	white (+black)	PACESETTER Ford			open	mid
21	Lotus 30 Ford	Bob Challman – Ecurie Shirlee					–	mid
22	Lotus 23B Ford	Bob Challman – Ecurie Shitlee					–	mid
23	Hussein I Dodge	John Mecom, Jr.	dark blue (+white)	ZEREX SPECIAL	Firestone		open	mid
24	Lola Mk.6 GT Chevrolet	John Mecom, Jr.	blue/white				closed	mid
25	Genie Mk.10 Chevrolet	John Mecom, Jr.	blue/white				–	–
26	Scarab Mk IV Chevrolet	John Mecom, Jr.	blue/white				open	mid
33	Cheetah – Chevrolet	Clarence Dixon Cadillac, Inc.	silver				–	front
39	Cooper King Cobra Ford	Charles C. Cox	metallic blue				open	mid
51			blue/white		Goodyear		open	mid
60	Genie Mk.10B Ford	Don Webster Enterprises	yellow				–	–
61	Genie Mk.8 Chevrolet	Paul Reinhart	purple				open	mid
66	Chaparral 2A Chevrolet	Chaparral Cars	white				open	mid
69	Lotus 23B	Arciero Bros. Racing	red				–	mid
75	Platypus – Porsche	Hans-Adam – P.A.M.	yellow				open	front
77	Elva – Porsche	Oliver C. Schmidt	yellow				–	mid
81	Cheetah G.T. Coupe Chevrolet	Alan Green Chevrolet	green				–	front
90	Genie Mk.10 Chevrolet	George H. Koehne, Jr.	white				–	–
91	Fordette (McKee Mk.III Ford)	Shelby American, Inc.	blue				–	–
92	Cooper King Cobra Ford	Shelby American, Inc.	blue	STP	Goodyear	STP	open	mid
93	Cooper King Cobra Ford	Shelby American, Inc.	blue				open	mid
94	Cooper King Cobra Ford	Shelby American, Inc.	dark grey		Goodyear	STP	open	mid
95	Cooper King Cobra Ford	Shelby American, Inc.	blue				open	mid
96	Lotus 19 Monte Carlo Chevrolet	Arciero Bros. Racing	red				open	mid
97	Lang Cooper Monaco T61 Ford	Shelby American, Inc.	orange				open	mid
98	Shelby Cobra roadster	Shelby American, Inc.	metallic blue				–	front
99	Lotus 23B	Shelby American, Inc.	blue				–	mid
111	Lotus 23B Ford	Rick Muther	white				open	mid
146	Genie Mk.8 Comet	Jim Wessman	green yellow				open	mid
177	Elva Mk VII Porsche	Robert Bosch Spark Plug Special	silver/blue				–	–
	Cooper – Ford						open	mid
	Lotus 30 Ford	Colin Chapman Team Lotus					open	mid
	Lotus 23B Ford						–	mid
	Cooper – Chevrolet						–	–

Entered cars that did not arrive:

No.	Car	Entrant	Colour	Sponsors	Tyres	Lubricant	Body	Engine
9	Brabham BT8 BRM	Rosebud Racing – Tom O’Connor, Jr.	blue				open	mid
13	Ferrari Special	Robert R. Stevens	gold				–	–
17	Lotus 23 Alfa Romeo	G.R.T. Enterprises	white				–	mid
18	Ferrari Prototype	John Surtees	red				–	–
20	Lotus 30 Ford	Bob Challman – Ecurie Shirlee					–	mid
34	Elva – BMW	Benz Racing Team	white				–	mid
36	Cheetah G.T. Coupe	Four Jays Racing Team	red				–	front
38	Front Runner ‘I’ Chevrolet	Beach City Chevrolet	orange red				–	–
41	Elva Mk VIIS BMW	Rev – M. Racing	blue				–	mid
43	Lotus 23B	Frank Monise Motors	red				–	mid
44	Lotus 23B	Frank Monise Motors	green				–	mid
48	Porsche 718 RS 60	Ralph Wood	blue/white				–	mid
55	WRE II Chevrolet	Prince Sat	green				–	–
57	Lotus Seven	Haddad Enterprises	green				–	front
58	Cheetah G.T. Coupe	Bill Thomas Company	white				–	front
64	Lotus 23	Reg Parnell (Racing) Ltd.	blue/red				–	mid
67	Cooper	Team Corvette	white				open	mid
70	Genie Mark I Roadster Climax	Harry L. Banta	yellow				–	–
71	Ol’Yaller Mk II	Jerry Entin	yellow				–	–
76	Elva Mk VII Porsche	Oliver C. Schmidt	yellow				open	mid
78	Elva – Porsche	Oliver C. Schmidt	white				–	–
79	Elva – Porsche	Oliver C. Schmidt	yellow				–	–
82	Shivley Special Ford	Troy Clem	red				–	–
83	Pegasus I	Ralph Wood	green/white				–	–
87	Elva Mk VII Porsche	Ralph Wood	yellow/black				open	mid
88	Merlyn Mark 4A Porsche	Ken O’Neill	green				–	–
121	MG Special	Frank G. Blachly	bronze				–	–
123	Lotus 23F	Paul Scott	silver				–	mid
141	Lotus 23B Osca Special	W. F. Goodrum/Enduro Speed, Inc.	white/blue				–	mid
169	Genie Huffaker	Thomas M. Tobin, DDS	coral				–	–
170	Lotus 23B	Ernie Gravelle	blue				–	mid
178	Cooper Monaco	Grizzly Engineering	blue				open	mid
187	Cooper – Chevrolet	Jim Gravelle	red				–	–
221	Lotus 23	James W. Paul	blue				–	mid
222	Porsche Spyder	Masterson Racing Enterprises	blue				–	mid
444	Lotus 23B	Dio Brothers	white				–	mid

The editor’s note the range and capacity variation of potential Lotus entry which includes the 19, 23, and Seven.

European marques are well represented with Lola, Brabham, McLaren, and even Ferrari.

American marques of note are Chaparral, Webster, King Cobra and Shelby Cobra.

Also significant is the adoption of American engines into British marques.

Many of these marques competing in 1964 would go on to join the Can am series of 1966 [see dedicated A&R articles on both Can-Am and Chaparral].

Lotus 30

On this occasion we discuss the Lotus 30.The Type 30 driven by Jim Clark obtained one of its best results. There was a competitive field and engines of similar performance were included.

Equally there were some international level drivers competing against American talent that might have had more experience of the track.

The holistic combination of track, driver might have assisted Lotus to be well placed.

Figure 1.This is Spark scale model of the Jim Clark /Lotus 30 see entry details above. Car identified by race number. See: racingmodels.com.  A fine Spark 1:43 scale model.
SK2187 M8

The Lotus Type 30 Ford as raced to 3rd place in the 1964 Riverside 200 Los Angeles Times Grand Prix for Sports Cars by the great Jim Clark.

Rather than duplicate we suggest subscribers look at several of our dedicated articles on the Lotus 30&40.

Learning Opportunities

Our learning /educational opportunities are intended to be challenging thought provoking and requiring additional research and/or analysis.

These opportunities are particularly designed for a museum/education centre location where visitors would be able to enjoy access to all the structured resources available in conjunction with any concurrent exhibition.

In this instance we suggest the following might be appropriate:-

• Consider the content of an appropriate exhibition designed around American Country &Western anthems like “The Race is On”, Don’t Fence Me In”, “Fast as You”, “Looking at the World through a Windshield”
• Explore the economics /viability of circuits discuss circumstances of how and why Riverside was closed and redeveloped
• Study the origins of race circuits and assess their importance in the development of the automobile? Does the same apply today?
• Explore the economic geography of road circuits – how can the best sites be identified?
• Plot the location/distribution of the main North American road race circuits. Estimate the distances between and what population base did they serve
• Explore the social dimension of attendance , estimate popularity and motivation for attendance –drivers and spectators
• Compare / contrast oval and road racing circuits in North America
• Enumerate the marque/ brands that became Anglo-American hybrids adopting American engines in the 1960’s
• Debate the interrelationship between large capacity engines , modest outputs , cheap fuel and sustainability
• Contemplate the Who,Where,When and Why ,Which Lotus models helped establish the British brand in the US
• How might a virtual track experience of Riverside be created to generate user participation?

Exhibitions, Education and Economics

In the museum context the editors believe that commercial considerations are both necessary and complementary with its educational objectives.

For these reasons our suggested outline Business Plan includes provision for promoting products and services which share Chapman’s ideals of mechanical efficiency and sustainability. In addition we propose merchandising that explain and interprets the social and cultural context of Chapman’s designs in period. It’s suggested there will be catalogue for on line purchasing.

The editors consider it important to introduce a British and European audience to North American racing and its experience. This is more important as circuits get redeveloped like Riverside. For this reason it would be important to mount education and rewarding exhibition experiences connecting audiences with historical perspectives.

The following might be appropriate:-

• The American Dream: of motor racing
• Route 66
• California Dreaming: Racing in the sun
• Car Culture in the US
• Ford’s: The Engine of Change
• Mavericks of Racing Car Design
• Wild ,wild Horses:BHP of American engines in 1960’s

Conclusion

For brevity, impact and to avoid duplication in future pieces in the series; the editors use bullet points to summarize our evaluation of Riverside and the Lotus connection.

• Riverside was an important circuit and well regarded by drivers and spectators
• Race circuits across the world face threats of redevelopment but this can be a the loss of social capital
• Tracks like Riverside provided a neckless and chain assisting the development of American and later international motor racing
• Circuit variation and complexity was good for drivers and spectators
• Racing assisted automobile development and provided branding /publicity /advertising opportunity for manufacturers
• Related was engine development and particularly how the specialist European marques adopted American engines [think of examples like Jensen,TVR, AC and earlier Allard]
• Racing circuits provided driver experience, performance tuning to specific layouts and nurtured driver talent , often offering a stepping stone /springboard to international level
• Race tracks like Riverside were steeped in drama, excitement and visual spectacle. The live on in the memory and register as a competitive arena
• The race tracks provided a social and cultural exchange of ideas , machinery technology , experience and in the more amateur days a meeting place for direct and indirect participation
• The race circuits can also be studied as prism to examine social and cultural habits along with technological advances

The editors will enjoy developing this series. We invite subscribers to share experiences, photographs or to suggest tracks or events in North America which connect with Lotus.

The editors will then research these and write them up.

European audiences will be richer, more informed and culturally aware from the experience.