Thought the students of Formula 1 obscura amongst us might enjoy this recently rediscovered record...

















D'you like the body panel workmanship on that difficult nose section?



...and then there's this bit of monocoque-chassised fun - admittedly non-F1 - but front end under-damped? I bet it felt absolutely HORRIBLE!



All Copyright photos from: The GP Library

DCN

Looks mighty like the Berkshire Special - the chassis doesn't look too grotesque but as you say the bodywork looks a bit on the blacksmithed side!

The other car looks a bit like the Fry F2 sans dorsal fin...?

Yes, Hodges' book confirms it's a Fry-FPF. Searching through the Le Mans & Formula 2 Register it can be seen that Doug's photo depicts Mikes Parkes during the B.R.S.C.C. Formula 2 Race at Brands Hatch, on June 8 1958.

In the other pics, isn't that the back of Raymond Mays' bonce?

One observation I recall reading about the Fry pointed out that Mike Parkes is 6'4. That cockpit is very small, and very far forward. Where did his legs go? - what must the driving position have been like?

(That said, I'm mightily impressed by how much space Parkes managed to engineer into the Imp. A former colleague of mine who's even taller than Mike at 6'5 has an Imp and he has headroom in it!

Trying to christen the engine in the first car - Lea Francis or Riley? That's one hell of a fuel tank too, the designer was obviously thinking along similar lines to a D50, and isn't the front suspension Topolino based?
Certainly looks like RM from the rear.
Come on DC put us out of our misery.
P.S. I thought you were supposed to be finishing you know what?

Fine machines ,I wonder if someone will start a thread : "Guess whos driving them next year".

Regards Bjørn

PS Not me !!

Pretty sure the Berkshire Special appeared with a LeaF engine.

Their is a Formula Junior car in Canada that looks a lot like the Bershire F1. The guy drives it very hard and very bravely. That a lot of air under the front tires in that photo!

Oops, I managed to miss your positive ID.

Surely the separate rocker covers suggest Riley 9 rather than 12/4? I'm ashamed to admit I can't remember the Leaf arrangement but presumably it's the same as the 12/4 bearing in mind Hugh Rose designed both.

Tim Fry was Mike Parkes' partner in the Imp (Asp?) project - also quite a tall fellow who was still running a design consultancy in Dunchurch last I knew.
It may be worth considering the similarities between what you see and the Imp which effectively used a Climax engine and looks to have very similar suspension geometry!
The pic is 1958 and the Imp announced (I think) in 63. Production car design cycles would be about four years at that time. Whilst it is a mid rather than rear mounted engine this car could have contained many of the germs for the Imp prototypes.
The wheels - what are they off - they look very modern.

With regard to the first pictures didn't the Connaught use a LeaF based engine?

There's a snatch of footage of the Fry in one of the MFQ videos...