Discussion
Anybody got any good links and photos (or stories) of the legendary "Baby Bertha" Firenza pedalled by the late great Gerry Marshall?
I was disappointed to find very little on a Google search although this was a good find.
This footage of Baby Bertha is AWESOME!
So.... any photos/links/tales??
I was disappointed to find very little on a Google search although this was a good find.
This footage of Baby Bertha is AWESOME!
So.... any photos/links/tales??
Strange you should post this - I was talking last night with some old friends about the wonderful Boxing Day race meetings at Brands Hatch in the 60/70s that we all used to attend, though nostalgia ain't what it used to be!
Special Saloon racing was the main reason for us going to Brands although the legions of Formula Fords and Renault 5s pouring through Paddock towards chaos at Druids were always good reason to stand in the (seemingly always)sub-zero Boxing Day temperatures for hours, fortified by turkey sandwiches, a bellyful of christmas pud and a hip flask of Glayva (God we knew how to have a good time in those (pre-Sky, pre-video, pre-Playstation) days!!
I have a load of 35mm slides and prints of GM's Baby Bertha and all sorts of powerful machines from the Special Saloons era such as the late Nick Whiting's brilliant All Car Equipe Escort, Colin Hawkers amazing and beautiful Toleman VW Fastback, Tony Strawson's awesome 7.2 litre Capri and a B19 (?) Chevron with an Imp body shell. Maybe this will be the year when I get these images into an electronic format.
There's some info on Big and Baby Bertha here
Special Saloon racing was the main reason for us going to Brands although the legions of Formula Fords and Renault 5s pouring through Paddock towards chaos at Druids were always good reason to stand in the (seemingly always)sub-zero Boxing Day temperatures for hours, fortified by turkey sandwiches, a bellyful of christmas pud and a hip flask of Glayva (God we knew how to have a good time in those (pre-Sky, pre-video, pre-Playstation) days!!
I have a load of 35mm slides and prints of GM's Baby Bertha and all sorts of powerful machines from the Special Saloons era such as the late Nick Whiting's brilliant All Car Equipe Escort, Colin Hawkers amazing and beautiful Toleman VW Fastback, Tony Strawson's awesome 7.2 litre Capri and a B19 (?) Chevron with an Imp body shell. Maybe this will be the year when I get these images into an electronic format.
There's some info on Big and Baby Bertha here
Thanks for the photos Trackside!
Hut49 - you MUST get some of those photos online! Would love to see more images of Big & Baby Bertha - and the Chimp (CHevronIMP). My interest in racing started a bit after this, around 1980. My Saturday job was at a garage which ran a Mod Saloon Imp and the first time I saw Big Gerry race was around that time too. Funnily enough, Mallory Park. Made a big impression.
Never heard Baby Bertha until I saw that YouTube clip I linked to. Fantastic sound, that Repco Holden.
Hut49 - you MUST get some of those photos online! Would love to see more images of Big & Baby Bertha - and the Chimp (CHevronIMP). My interest in racing started a bit after this, around 1980. My Saturday job was at a garage which ran a Mod Saloon Imp and the first time I saw Big Gerry race was around that time too. Funnily enough, Mallory Park. Made a big impression.
Never heard Baby Bertha until I saw that YouTube clip I linked to. Fantastic sound, that Repco Holden.
Best I have, shame about the railing, just caught it coming back in at Goodwood in 2005.
http://mercia.biz/gfos2005/photos/pho
http://mercia.biz/gfos2005/photos/pho
www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4CXVDTrfrc
Didn't TVR consider a Holden V8 to follow up the RV8 in the wedges?
www.gerrymarshall.com/
Edit:
http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.
Didn't TVR consider a Holden V8 to follow up the RV8 in the wedges?
www.gerrymarshall.com/
Edit:
http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.
Edited by dinkel on Monday 1st January 19:12
Boss - Nice to hear that Baby Bertha struck a chord with you, she is/was an absolutely brilliant car and I wish I had have been older and been able to watch her race in the '70s. I was lucky enough to see her race in the early '80s and obviously spent a lot of time with her and Old Nail before Dad sold Baby Bertha in the mid/late '80s.
As for photos, I have 100s!! There is one posted on my website (www.gregormarshall.co.uk/gallery.html)
If you would like to see more then let me know and I can post them on PH (someone will need to remind me how to use photobucket though!!) or I can send/show them to you, as I see you're only up the road from me anyway.
As Graham said above I do have a Firenza that I'm building into a racecar (you can see pictures and story on my website) and I do own Old Nail, which was the must successful and historic Firenza Dad raced (first ever Firenza, won over 60 races, etc), but that's a story for another day!!
As for photos, I have 100s!! There is one posted on my website (www.gregormarshall.co.uk/gallery.html)
If you would like to see more then let me know and I can post them on PH (someone will need to remind me how to use photobucket though!!) or I can send/show them to you, as I see you're only up the road from me anyway.
As Graham said above I do have a Firenza that I'm building into a racecar (you can see pictures and story on my website) and I do own Old Nail, which was the must successful and historic Firenza Dad raced (first ever Firenza, won over 60 races, etc), but that's a story for another day!!
dinkel said:
Ai Greg, unfortunately the link doesn't work. Love to see the pics 
This does www.gregormarshall.co.uk/gallery.html
I think the closest you can get in Europe is something like the Dutch Supercar Challenge, you get GT cars in their but you get them racing against others like ex-DTM cars, and ex-V8star cars (which is as close to a modprod as you can probably get now) plus others too. Lot's of Brits take part including Britcar racers I think.
They are over here at Silverstone on the 8th September this year. No Brands Hatch this year though.
They are over here at Silverstone on the 8th September this year. No Brands Hatch this year though.
hut49 said:
Strange you should post this - I was talking last night with some old friends about the wonderful Boxing Day race meetings at Brands Hatch in the 60/70s that we all used to attend, though nostalgia ain't what it used to be!
Funny you should say that - I too was searching around the web on Christmas Day thinking that there must be some racing on somewhere....but apparently not!
hut49 said:
...Colin Hawkers amazing and beautiful Toleman VW Fastback...
Otherwise known as the DFVW 
DFVW
chim666 said:
hut49 said:
...Colin Hawkers amazing and beautiful Toleman VW Fastback...
Otherwise known as the DFVW DFVW
I remember standing at the exit of Clearways into Clarke Curve on a cold drizzly day at the end of a Brands race. I will never forget the image of seeing the DFVW disintegrate against the Armco eventually coming to rest in the pit straight. It was the closest I'd ever been to such a monumental impact and to see such a beautifully prepared car in a million pieces of fiberglass spread over the track was frankly shocking. Fortunately the cage protected the driver and he walked away, rather sheepishly to thank his engineers for their tubular welding prowess probably!
chim666 said:
hut49 said:
Strange you should post this - I was talking last night with some old friends about the wonderful Boxing Day race meetings at Brands Hatch in the 60/70s that we all used to attend, though nostalgia ain't what it used to be!
Funny you should say that - I too was searching around the web on Christmas Day thinking that there must be some racing on somewhere....but apparently not!
I think there was a meeting at Mallory Park on Boxing Day....www.mallorypark.co.uk
Mrs Hui
hui said:
chim666 said:
Funny you should say that - I too was searching around the web on Christmas Day thinking that there must be some racing on somewhere....but apparently not!
I think there was a meeting at Mallory Park on Boxing Day....www.mallorypark.co.uk
the Plum Pudding - Bikes, Sidecars, Caterham & Single seaters... good day out - bikers are nutters... sidecars guys insane - caterhams are always fun to watch...wasnt a big turn out for the singleseaters unfortunatly this year.Ive got a copy of that video off youtube, the two mechanics are Dick Waldock and Geoff Hall, who I worked with at Chamberlains a while back. The pair of them would come up with some rather good stories at tea breaks although tbh I couldnt quote them in case I got it wrong! Though it was common for Mr Marshall to come into the pits, stop and say to Dick and Geoff "make it look like somethings wrong" sit there for a while then blast off again to give the crowds a show! I spoke to Geoff 2 months ago, he recently retired and Dick sadly passed away a few years ago after a short illness. It was at his funeral that Gerry turned up, stick in hand and stood at the back of the church. I met him a few times, always drink in hand in the bar, I think it was a few months after Dick died that he went also.
ccharlie6 said:
i wish we still had modprod races and super saloons, where have all the lairy modprod cars gone? the skoda with a chev V8 in the back, any of those cars. any ideas? i'm sure at historic meetings it would be a real crowd puller to see these thundering round the circuits.
I think this little lovely may have given Baby Bertha a good run.....well, perhaps not ..but a lovely racer all the same...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy4XzPazOYE
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