Rex Flowers: A Story of his 1961 Gemini Mk3A-09 Cosworth-Ford FJ Part 6 of 15
[Continued from Part 5]
Seven cars took the starter’s flag for Race 1 at Teretonga, including Rex in his Gemini. This race was also Heat 1 of two to determine qualifiers for the ‘big race’ that day, the ‘Teretonga International’. Rex later said he was by now in a serious situation with badly worn tyres on the Gemini, but he was unable to buy replacement new race tyres. Of those listed to race in Heat 1, Forest Cardon did not start in his Lycoming Special, and Johnny Mansel in his Cooper T51-Maserati was switched to Heat 2. The 6 lap race was won by Bruce McLaren from Stirling Moss and Bill Thomasen. It is not known in which position Rex finished the race.
The next race for Rex was to have been Race 8, a ‘Racing Car Handicap’ event over 6 laps; however, Rex said he probably did not start (DNS) this race due to tyre wear.
The big race of the day was Race 10, the ‘Teretonga International’ held in hot and dry conditions over 50 laps giving a race distance of 120km. Of those entered to start, #15 Forest Cardon’s Lycoming Special, #21 Lou Stonell’s Lynx FJ, and #31 Brian Prescott’s Maserati 250F 2501/2523 were all scratched, and #70 Ross Greenville’s Lotus 18 FJ was added.
As the photo below shows, #47 Bruce McLaren in the Tommy Atkins Cooper T53 Climax 2.7 was on Pole position of the start grid (on the front right), with #7 Stirling Moss (Rob Walker’s Cooper T53 Climax 2.7) next to him, #4 Jack Brabham (‘works’ Cooper T55 Climax 2.7) was third, and #11 Lorenzo Bandini’s (Centro Sud Cooper T53-Maserati 2.8) completed the front row of the grid.
Front row from left – 11 Bandini, 4 Brabham, 7 Moss, 47 McLaren (on Pole)
Second row from left – 52 Thomasen (dark car with white noseband), nearly obscured beyond Moss is 18 Shelly, 5 Hyslop (the white car and a blue stripe and noseband behind and to the right of McLaren)
Third row from left – 14 Amon (under the left-side arrow), 19 Hoare, 41 Palmer (extreme right of the photo)
Fourth Row from left – 23 Eade (under the right-hand arrow), 20 Histed (his white helmet just visible), 70 Greenville
On Rear Row (rear behind Greenville in photo) – 25 Flowers
(out of the photo are 17 Mansel, 57 Cottle) – photo via Barrie Hobkirk (perhaps in Autocar magazine?)
Graham Vercoe’s 1993 book ‘The Golden Era of New Zealand Motor Racing’, page 177, reports: ‘The race was held in blazing hot conditions which made the circuit a touch slippery but this did not trouble McLaren who shot into the lead and pulled steadily away from Moss. Brabham ran second for two laps until passed by Moss. The Australian was quite unhappy and drifted further and further behind. Bandini held fourth briefly but pit stops to try and cure a persistent ignition problem put paid to his chances and finally caused his retirement. Amon, who had finished fifth in his heat, also did not finish [due to tyre wear].Hyslop held fourth for most of the race after Bandini’s demise but a late pitstop (he thought he was out of fuel but it was a faulty fuel pump) dropped him back’. Rex said he retired the Gemini from the race with acute tyre wear.
Results of the 1962 Teretonga International:
1st 47 Bruce McLaren Cooper T53 Climax 2.7 50 laps 1 hr 0 mins 07.6 sec
2nd 7 Stirling Moss Cooper T53 Climax 2.7 50 laps 1 hr 0 mins 56.2 secs
3rd 4 Jack Brabham Cooper T55 Climax 2.7 50 laps 1 hr 1min 35.4 secs
4th 41 Jim Palmer Lotus 20 Cosworth-Ford 1.5 49 laps 1 hr 2min 47.2 secs
5th 52 Bill Thomasen Cooper T51 Climax 2.0 49 laps
6th 5 Angus Hyslop Cooper T53 Climax 2.5 48 laps
7th 19 Pat Hoare Ferrari 256 Dino V12 3.0
8th 17 Johnny Mansel Cooper T51 Maserati 2.8
9th 18 Tony Shelly Cooper T45 Climax 2.0
10th 57 Barry Cottle Lola Mk1 Climax sports 1.2
11th 20 John Histed Lola Mk2 Ford FJ 1.5
12th 23 Bob Eade Maserati 250F 2508 2.5
11 Lorenzo Bandini Cooper T53 Maserati 2.8 Did Not Finish – ignition
14 Chris Amon Maserati 250F 2504/09 2.5 Did Not Finish – tyres
25 Rex Flowers Gemini Mk3A FJ 996cc Did not Finish – tyres
70 Ross Greenville Lotus 18 FJ 996cc Did Not Finish
Dunedin Festival Road Race, Dunedin city, Saturday 3rd February 1962. Having by now found some replacement tyres, Rex entered is Gemini in the Dunedin Festival Road Race meeting held on a street circuit in Dunedin city on Saturday 3rd February 1962. After practice was finished Rex had qualified the Gemini in seventh position of the 16 cars that stared in the main race.
Dunedin Festival Road Race, 3rd February 1962 – on the left edge of the photo is #17 Maurie Stanton’s Stanton-Corvette; the next car to the right is the red #8 Chris Amon Maserati 250F; just to left of Amon’s helmet and well behind his car is #9 Ian Young Cooper T23 Bristol sports. Just to the right of Amon in a low red car is #25 Rex Flowers Gemini Mk3A FJ. To the right of Flowers and well behind him is a tall red car #46 of Bob Blackburn (in a white helmet) Maserati 4CLT. The low green sports car to the right of Flowers is #57 Barry Cottle Lola Mk1 Climax. To the right of Cottle is the red #52 car of Bill Thomasen Cooper T51 Climax; and the green car with yellow wheels to the right and alongside Amon is #43 Ross Greenville Lotus 18 FJ. To the right and behind Thomasen and Greenville is the white helmet of #10 Ron Rutherford 260M Zephyr Special. The red car to the right of Greenville is #19 Pat Hoare Ferrari 256 Dino V12, and the green nose of #41 Jim Palmer Lotus 20 is just visible to the right of Hoare’s Ferrari. On the right is the red car of #18 Tony Shelly Cooper T45 Climax. – photo in Jim Barclay Collection via Barrie Hobkirk
Dunedin 3rd February 1962 – from the left of the photo is #8 Chris Amon Maserati 250F 2504/09; #43 is Ross Greenville Lotus 18 Ford FJ; behind Amon and Greenville is #25 Rex Flowers Gemini Mk3A Ford FJ; behind Flowers is #17 Maurie Stanton Stanton-Corvette; car #19 is Pat Hoare Ferrari 256 Dino V12; nearly obscured just to the left and beyond Hoare is #57 Barry Cottle Lola Mk1 Climax; the white helmet just to the left and beyond Hoare’s helmet is #52 Bill Thomasen Cooper T51 Climax; behind Hoare is #23 Bob Eade Maserati 250F 2508; on the right is #18 Tony Shelly Cooper T45 Climax – photo via Rex Flowers in Jim Barclay Collection
Dunedin 3rd February 1962 – #25 Rex Flowers on the start grid for the Dunedin Festival Road Race. Note that the car has a black number 25 on a white disc on the left-hand side of the car under the cockpit. Other photos taken at Wigram two weeks before Dunedin show the car has no such number on a white disc on the right hand side of the car under the cockpit – instead, there is a number 25 in white numerals on the engine cover on the right-hand side of the car. Photo via Rex Flowers in Jim Barclay Collection
Dunedin 3rd February 1962 – #41 Jim Palmer Lotus 20 Ford 1500cc leads #25 Rex Flowers Gemini Mk3A FJ Ford 996cc – Photo HRSCC Veloce Newsletter 10 of 1989 in Jim Barclay Collection
The Dunedin Festival race – Graham Vercoe’s book ‘The Golden Era of NZ Motor Racing’, page 178 records a brief narrative about the race: ‘The international contingent along with Angus Hyslop, went off to Australia after the Invercargill race which was just as well as the monsoon season had retuned in time for Dunedin. Tony Shelly [Cooper T45 Climax] was probably the favourite for the race and confirmed this by securing pole position from, surprisingly, Chris Amon [Maserati250F] and Ross Greenville [Lotus 18 FJ]. Jim Palmer [Lotus 20 Ford] was back on the second row and Pat Hoare [Ferrari 256 Dino V12] on the third. John Mansel had problems [with the Cooper T1 Maserati] and was thought to be a non-starter.
It was Hoare’s day, confirming the Christchurch driver as the country’s leading wet-weather exponent. He put the Ferrari in front of early leader Amon on lap 3 and simply drove away from the field, lapping everyone in the process, to win by the biggest margin in eight years. Not that he was unscathed: late in the race he had a brake lock up and slid into the back of Blackburn’s Maserati 4CLT, crumpling its graceful tail and the nose of the Ferrari.
Palmer had followed Hoare past Amon on the third lap and stayed there the remainder of the race. The third place never looked secure for anyone. Amon had assumed that position after being displaced from the lead but tangled at the hairpin with Thomasen [Cooper T51 Climax] who also wanted it. Amon’s Maserati ended up with a crumpled nose around a telegraph pole on one side of the road and Thomasen in the Cooper was treated for injuries.
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