'Stack pipe' BRM to feature at hillclimb tribute

Title-winning BRM F1 car and equally notable stable-mates to grace Shelsley Walsh hillclimb event this weekend.

31 May 2012

A number of iconic BRM racing cars will be on display at this weekend's Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb as the event celebrates the marque's championship year of 1962.

Among those models on display will be Graham Hill's title-winning P578 'stack pipe', as well as the first BRM to win an F1 grand prix, the P25 driven by Jo Bonnier and now owned by Gary Pearson. Meanwhile, a P48 will be displayed alongside the TechCraft BRM from Coventry Transport Museum, which was built by the late Roy Lane using the BRM engine & four wheel drive system from the 670P, while Mike Luck will be demonstrating the P261 owned by Richard Attwood which still competes in historic racing.

1968 British Hillclimb champion Peter Lawson, who campaigned the four-wheel drive BRM 670P, will also make a return to the scene of his triumph this coming weekend [2-3 June], while the famous BRM Leyland Transporter, which was on display at Race Retro in February, will also be on the BRM display, courtesy of Hall and Hall. It will also be used to transport the P57/8 and the P48 from Bourne.

Tim Parnell, who was team manager at BRM from 1970-74, and Tony Southgate, who designed some of the later BRMs between 1970-72 will also be on hand, joined by David Owen OBE, son of Sir Alfred Owen of The Owen Racing Organisation who owned BRM.

Meanwhile, a lot more up-to-date, a 1992 Benetton F1 car raced by both Michael Schumacher and Martin Brundle, has been confirmed for a forthcoming Silverstone Auctions sale, which takes place at the home of British motorsport on 21 July as part of the Silverstone Classic weekend.

The car, a Benetton B192- 02, comes race-ready and is equipped with a Ford HB V8 engine capable of producing more than 700bhp. Schumacher drove the car in his first full season with the Benetton team and it paved the way for countless future successes with designers Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne. It is estimated at between ?250,000 to ?280,000.

"When it comes to modern racing legends, seven-time world champion Schumacher has to be one of the best," Nick Whale, managing director of Silverstone Auctions, said, "Brundle was also a world-class competitor who enjoyed considerable F1 and sportscar glories and whose informative television commentaries have [now] established him as a household name in the UK.

"If this car's fantastic race pedigree isn't reason enough to make it particularly attractive to potential bidders, then there's also the prospect that it has been prepared for action by renowned F1 specialists Earl Goddard and Dick Langford and is ready to take to the track."

Benetton finished a very respectable third in the 1992 manufacturers' championship in 1992, with features included on the B192 going on to help Schumacher towards his back-to-back 1994 and 1995 title-winning cars.