While looking through an old selection of posts I came across a paddock picture of the Chequered Flag Elite behind which is a black Austin Healey 100 which I think may have belonged to Julian Sutton who contested the Autosport production car championships in the period.
I was a huge fan of Sutton at the time, mainly because of his habit of negotiating most Britsh circuits sideways. He made the old Healey go at a most undignified pace and was invariably at or near the front of the grid. Add to this is the fact that he nearly did me serious harm when he went off and nearly hit me on one occasion, when I was mashalling at Mallory. At the time of these races, Autosport suggested that he may have been talented enough, among others, to have an F1 career.
I think Julian Sutton went on to race an Attila later and I seem to remember his name in the support race to the 1966 British GP. However his career seems to have just faded away.
I seem to recall that he was a ship owner from Yorkshire (Hull?). The photograph has prompted me to enquire if anybody else remembers this flamboyant driver and knows what may have become of him.
Full Version: Julian Sutton
A gent of that name was recently chairman of the HGPCA when racing a single-seater HWM. He'd be about the right age, but I never found out if he was the same man. I don't recall his driving of the HWM equating with your description!
ISTR the 100S man went on to race other cars - an early Marcos rings a bell. Maybe that was someone else though, because I think there was a John Sutton active about the same time
ISTR the 100S man went on to race other cars - an early Marcos rings a bell. Maybe that was someone else though, because I think there was a John Sutton active about the same time
QUOTE (David McKinney @ Aug 20 2010, 12:13) 
A gent of that name was recently chairman of the HGPCA when racing a single-seater HWM. He'd be about the right age, but I never found out if he was the same man. I don't recall his driving of the HWM equating with your description!
ISTR the 100S man went on to race other cars - an early Marcos rings a bell. Maybe that was someone else though, because I think there was a John Sutton active about the same time
ISTR the 100S man went on to race other cars - an early Marcos rings a bell. Maybe that was someone else though, because I think there was a John Sutton active about the same time
Julian is alive, very well, living in the norht east of England and is usually a visitor at the SIlverstone Classic but did not see him this year.
He is/was a particularly talented racing driver. This is Julian with his Healey 100M at the ill-fated Edzell circuit in Aberdeenshire.
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QUOTE (David McKinney @ Aug 20 2010, 11:13)
A gent of that name was recently chairman of the HGPCA when racing a single-seater HWM. He'd be about the right age, but I never found out if he was the same man. I don't recall his driving of the HWM equating with your description!
ISTR the 100S man went on to race other cars - an early Marcos rings a bell. Maybe that was someone else though, because I think there was a John Sutton active about the same time
ISTR the 100S man went on to race other cars - an early Marcos rings a bell. Maybe that was someone else though, because I think there was a John Sutton active about the same time
The Marcos man is John Sutton, owner of the Maclachlan and Brettell Austin 7 single seaters. He ran the Motorsnippets web magazine and now contributes to Motormarques. The story of the Marcos was written up on one of the sites and I believe he has recently bought the car back.
None of this is relevant to Julian Sutton of course. I don't know if it is the same chap but the HWM driver in question also used to campaign the GHD 500 and the ex Bianchi Alvis single seater.
Thanks at least for clarifying my memory about which Sutton was which. I was relying entirely on memory, and it's all a long time ago...
Thank you for that.
The attitude of the car in the photograph would tend to re-enforce the fond memories I have of the man and his Healey. I have a very blurred colour slide of Julian's Healey taken with my old Coloursnap Bantam at the Lake Esses at Mallory from that period, I must look it out. I think I also remember his picture on the front cover of Autosport so somebody else must have thought him worthy of note. I recall him telling me once that I was the first person who had ever asked for his autograph, I wish I still had it.
Is he the HGPCA man, if so he never seems to conduct the HWM with the same panache as the Healey, and was it he who raced the Attila?
The attitude of the car in the photograph would tend to re-enforce the fond memories I have of the man and his Healey. I have a very blurred colour slide of Julian's Healey taken with my old Coloursnap Bantam at the Lake Esses at Mallory from that period, I must look it out. I think I also remember his picture on the front cover of Autosport so somebody else must have thought him worthy of note. I recall him telling me once that I was the first person who had ever asked for his autograph, I wish I still had it.
Is he the HGPCA man, if so he never seems to conduct the HWM with the same panache as the Healey, and was it he who raced the Attila?
Thinking about the Sutton name, wasn't there a John Sutton who raced, of all things, a Vauxhall Velox or Cresta in the BSC around that time?
Reference all of the above I contacted Julian and posed some of the questions. His full answer is below. His reference to Gordon is Gordon Ramsay who owned the Atilla.
Graham
Sad not to be at classic meeing. I never raced an HWM & am afraid I can,t remember whom Gordon sold the Attila.good in a straight line,but shed wheels like autumn leaves when corned hard! Over the years I raced Lotus Elan ,Elit ,23,47 ,Ford GT 40,some sort of Lister for Ecurie Ecosse which preferred going backwards rather than sharp end first,a frog eyed sprite which I inverted at the Nurburgring & one or two others which are probably best forgotten. I never raced a 100S healey but mine was modded up to 100S spec. & was just as fast if not faster.
Look forward to seeing you again in the not too distant future.
Your aye
Julian
Graham
Sad not to be at classic meeing. I never raced an HWM & am afraid I can,t remember whom Gordon sold the Attila.good in a straight line,but shed wheels like autumn leaves when corned hard! Over the years I raced Lotus Elan ,Elit ,23,47 ,Ford GT 40,some sort of Lister for Ecurie Ecosse which preferred going backwards rather than sharp end first,a frog eyed sprite which I inverted at the Nurburgring & one or two others which are probably best forgotten. I never raced a 100S healey but mine was modded up to 100S spec. & was just as fast if not faster.
Look forward to seeing you again in the not too distant future.
Your aye
Julian
Thank you for that.
Please pass on my best wishes when you speak to Mr Sutton next.
Please pass on my best wishes when you speak to Mr Sutton next.
I'd love to see an image of the Frogeye (before inversion) if one exists.
Lovely to get responses from the horses mouth (as it were).
Lovely to get responses from the horses mouth (as it were).
QUOTE (Graham Gauld @ Aug 23 2010, 19:07)
Reference all of the above I contacted Julian and posed some of the questions. His full answer is below. His reference to Gordon is Gordon Ramsay who owned the Atilla.
Graham
Sad not to be at classic meeing. I never raced an HWM & am afraid I can,t remember whom Gordon sold the Attila.good in a straight line,but shed wheels like autumn leaves when corned hard! Over the years I raced Lotus Elan ,Elit ,23,47 ,Ford GT 40,some sort of Lister for Ecurie Ecosse which preferred going backwards rather than sharp end first,a frog eyed sprite which I inverted at the Nurburgring & one or two others which are probably best forgotten. I never raced a 100S healey but mine was modded up to 100S spec. & was just as fast if not faster.
Look forward to seeing you again in the not too distant future.
Your aye
Julian
Graham
Sad not to be at classic meeing. I never raced an HWM & am afraid I can,t remember whom Gordon sold the Attila.good in a straight line,but shed wheels like autumn leaves when corned hard! Over the years I raced Lotus Elan ,Elit ,23,47 ,Ford GT 40,some sort of Lister for Ecurie Ecosse which preferred going backwards rather than sharp end first,a frog eyed sprite which I inverted at the Nurburgring & one or two others which are probably best forgotten. I never raced a 100S healey but mine was modded up to 100S spec. & was just as fast if not faster.
Look forward to seeing you again in the not too distant future.
Your aye
Julian
The Lister of Ecurie Ecosse he was talking about was not a Lister but the second of the Tojeiro-Buick Coupes that he raced for Ecurie Ecosse at Croft early in 1965.
I was interested to read about Julian Sutton as we were frequently mistaken for one another whilst racing in the 1960's I remember on one occasion being introduced to the mother of a very attractive lady as Julian, this was in the paddock at Snetterton!!
I won the AUTOSPORT Championship in 1961 in the first privately owned Marcos GT. I also drove a Vauxhall Velox in the Saloon Car Championship in 1962. I then took the Marcos to Germany where we were Second in the 500km race at the Nurburgring. I still have the Maclachlan Special which I use for sprints and have just returned from France where it won its class in the Etretat-Benouville Hill Climb. As reported I have recently found my original Marcos in California where it is being restored for me by Paul Steinbeck in Yucca Valley.
I now run a motoring website called www.motorsnaps.com which is a Gallery of over 13,500 motoring photos. I have just been given Eric Dimmock's photo collection and am trying to scan all these photos onto the site. I also write articled for www.motormarques.com where there are stories about my motor racing exploits together with archive video.
I have also made about 40 videos and these are on YouTube and will feature on motorsnaps shortly. In addition I have just completed a 1 hour film of the Marcos 50th anniversary meeting with a full interview with Jem Marsh on the history of Marcos. A trailer of this can be found on the Marcos section of motorsnaps.
John Sutton
I won the AUTOSPORT Championship in 1961 in the first privately owned Marcos GT. I also drove a Vauxhall Velox in the Saloon Car Championship in 1962. I then took the Marcos to Germany where we were Second in the 500km race at the Nurburgring. I still have the Maclachlan Special which I use for sprints and have just returned from France where it won its class in the Etretat-Benouville Hill Climb. As reported I have recently found my original Marcos in California where it is being restored for me by Paul Steinbeck in Yucca Valley.
I now run a motoring website called www.motorsnaps.com which is a Gallery of over 13,500 motoring photos. I have just been given Eric Dimmock's photo collection and am trying to scan all these photos onto the site. I also write articled for www.motormarques.com where there are stories about my motor racing exploits together with archive video.
I have also made about 40 videos and these are on YouTube and will feature on motorsnaps shortly. In addition I have just completed a 1 hour film of the Marcos 50th anniversary meeting with a full interview with Jem Marsh on the history of Marcos. A trailer of this can be found on the Marcos section of motorsnaps.
John Sutton
Sorry to go further O/T, but like Jullians, there was another John Sutton racing at the same time, origionally in a Rejo and later in Mallocks
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/racecar/pandora/john_sutton.htm
There may also have been a third John Sutton mentioned when I was trying to trace the above, but I certainly spoke to 'Motorsnippets John' during my search
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/racecar/pandora/john_sutton.htm
There may also have been a third John Sutton mentioned when I was trying to trace the above, but I certainly spoke to 'Motorsnippets John' during my search
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