Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #102

Minis at the 'Ring (9) 

Freed Unipower GT back in the show scene

Your votes please!

Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #98

Biota newsflashes

Update: Mini Marcos at the Nurburgring

Coldwell in colour - at Shelsley Walsh

Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #97

Minis at the 'Ring (8) - The 1000 kilometres of 1967...

... With 3 Mini Marcoses - this one being the most mysterious 

The Mini derivatives of the NEC Classic Motor Show 2025

Trident T3 turns out to be alive and well

Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #64

Minis at the 'Ring (7) - Marcos, Fletcher and the Jem works team

A Landar R6 in the UK

Dennis Adams dies - this were his Mini derivatives

Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #46

Minis at the 'Ring: Roy Johnson's Mk1 Mini Marcos

What happened to the original Camber / Maya GT demonstrator?

The ART Mini Marcos at the 1969 Amsterdam Racing Car Show

Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #38

Minis at the 'Ring (5) - crashing the Martini Mini ASC

The real Mini Miura - Lamborghini's Mini based prototype

Preparing the Ogle for Knebworth Park

Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #23

Minis at the 'Ring (4): Martini Mini ASC in 1964

MiniSprint Travellers in Australia

What exactly is this mould..?

Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #14

Available again: Ridgway Sports Conversions front end

Minis at the 'Ring (part 3) - crashing another Deep Sanderson

Bonkers Mengers Mini Mokes for sale

Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #9

Minis at the 'Ring (2): Deep Sanderson 301 at 1000kms race, May 1963

A comprehensive look at the car number 97 and its preparation 

Late 1960s Scamp Mk1 - unknown, unbuilt and... unregistered

Jem Marsh and the Mk4 Mini Marcos, not built by Marcos Cars

Now in Maximum Mini Newsletter #4:

New series starts: 'Minis at the 'Ring'

Part 1: the Deep Sanderson 301 Prototype

New Ogle badges now available 

Mystery MiniSprints in Japan

The Deep Sanderson 301 prototype (3)

Over to the Deep Sanderson 301 prototype in racing. It's first outing on the circuits seem to have been at Oulton Park in March 1962, with Chris Spender behind the wheel and with plenty of competition from Lotus Sevens and Austin-Healey Sprites. The result is unknown and unfortunately I don't have any pictures of it there with racing number 23. It was followed a by a race at Goodwood under number 76 a week later and from here there is some pictorial evidence. But again nothing is known about the race results, so again any further information is welcome. It was also raced at Biggin Hill in April 1962 with Len Bridge behind the wheel, two pictures can be found below.

But the international race to put the Deep Sanderson on the map was to become the ADAC 1000 kilometers of the Nürburgring in May 1962. Chris Spender now teamed up with Len Bridge as drivers and a third driver was also mentioned: Robin Carnegie, but he supposedly never drove. The 997cc car was classified in sports cars up to one-litre with competition now coming from Sprites and Midgets, Lotus 23s and Fiat-Abarths. One car that was also entered to the race was the elusive and also Mini powered Gitane GT but that did not arrive. 

From Chris Lawrence's biography: "We had the Deep Sanderson on a trailer behind Christopher Spender's Ford Zephyr. We were allowed to set up the caravan in the centre of the Fahrenlager, right outside the three garages allocated to us, and we either ate up at the Nürburgring hotel outside the pits, or the girls fed us in the caravan. Richard and Penny had what we christened, or rather Carrie Spender christened, a turnip lantern and they lived in that. A turnip lantern is a VW Camper van with a lifting roof for head room. Why a turnip lantern? Well, have a look at one in use at night."

The LawrenceTune team had some troubles getting the car ready for the race. Lawrence: "The truth was, it was a flimsy ultra-light and the German inspectors did not like the look of it one little bit. They were really right about that, but we persevered and after much additional strengthening of seat mountings and fuel tank location, we obtained a one-day practice pass.That was when I learnt my only German to this day: Guten Morgen Herr Doktor, Bitte würden Sie meine Wagen stampen?, meaning Good morning doctor, can you please stamp my car so that it can go out on the circuit for some practice?"

The small team finally did manage to make it to the race. Lawrence: "Christopher started and put in some unexpectedly quick laps, before handing over to Len for his first stint, which also went well, if a little slower. Christopher's second turn at the wheel was even better and the little car was beginning to wipe the condescending and amused smiles off a few faces. There were also one or two astonished looking inspectors wandering about, but as is often the case with these things, it was all too good to last and Len, trying a little too hard, I suspect, to get on terms with Spender's efforts, lost control after the Flugplatz, once again putting a LawrenceTune car in the top of a tree. The pit was informed that Len was allright, but had been taken to a hospital in Adenau for observation. (...) The recovery of the Deep Sanderson was quite an evolution, and many hands were required to manhandle it back onto the track from its perch up a tree. (...) Le had said that he thought the steering might have broken, but that turned out not to be the case."

When you read those passages in the book it seems as if the car spent quite some time on the track during the 1000 kms race, but according to Manfred Rommelsheim, who saw it race and took one of the pictures included below it fell out in its 13th lap already. Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien won the race in a Ferrari Dino, Graham Hill became third in a Porsche 718 behind the Ferrari 330 LM/GTO of Scuderia Venezia.

 

Goodwood, March 1962. Christopher Spender races the Deep Sanderson 301 prototype

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Goodwood again. Results for this race are unknown as they are for Oulton Park a week earlier

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

This is supposedly at Biggin Hill in April 1962. Now with Len Bridge behind the wheel

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

And again. Result is unknown once more, so any informations would be much welcome

Picture The Filby Files, Jeroen Booij archive

 Over to Germany for the 1000 kms race at the Nürburgring in May 1962. Turnip lantern in the back?

Picture Reilbach, Jeroen Booij archive

Chris Spender and Len Bridge joined the car. I think this is Bridge, who crashed it later

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

LawrenceTune team had lots of trouble to get it through scrutineering. Note replaced rear view mirror

Picture Manfred Rommelsheim

"Len, trying a little too hard, I suspect, to get on terms with Spender's efforts, lost control after the Flugplatz, once again putting a LawrenceTune car in the top of a tree"

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Deep Sanderson shared its class with Sprites and Midgets, Lotuses and Abarths

Picture Racingsportscars.com 

How a Deep Sanderson racer was turned into a Triumph Special

It's been some time since I wrote about Deep Sandersons, so it was good when Christopher Tamblyn contacted me about one such car. One his stepfather once owned. He wrote:

"Dear Jeroen. My stepfather bought this car around 1964/1965 from a well-known garage owner and wheel manufacturer JA Pearce of Staines Middlesex, who used to make the Magna magnesium wheels. I remember the car had a scrutineer label on the door pull but that was for a hill climb, it did have a hot Mini Cooper engine in the back with a Weber carb and it was road legal. I remember coming home from school and sitting in the car and pretending to drive it, oh what days they were.
I also remember that the rear suspension kept braking at one of the rose joints eventually putting the car and my step father through someones front hedge of their house just outside of Winchester!"

The Deep Sanderson 301 as owned by Chris Tamblyn's stepfather in the mid-1960s

Picture courtesy Christopher Tamblyn

The Deep Sanderson joined by the Jaguar XK140 of the Tamblyn family

Picture courtesy Christopher Tamblyn

From the pictures that Chris sent I recognized the car as 'AJB 150B' and had several pictures of it, too, being raced and crashed at the Nurburgring in May 1964.

Seen here in May 1964 at the Nurburgring, competing (?) a Ferrari 250 GTO

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Unfortunately, it was crashed on that day and ended in the bushes

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Chris continued: "This is just amazing, I recognize that Weber on that big inlet manifold, and the small number plates, as you say this is the car and we didn't know about this bit of history. We kept the car but he dismantled it and put the body on a Triumph Spitfire chassis with some small modification! Just stopping for a cry! This car and all of its ancillary equipment were then sold to a really nice guy called Chris Gow who was someone big in the Mini club after my father had passed away who also owned a Deep Sanderson. Around about a year later Chris had either sold his car and I had also found the chassis number of our Deep Sanderson and I think I sold that to this person so that he could have a 'proper' Deep Sanderson. I hope you have been able to follow this story and I am sorry I can't be any more specific about our car, but please keep in touch as its always nice to talk to interesting people about classic cars. Stay safe and kind regards, Chris"

The Deep Sanderson's body was eventually used on a Triumph Spitfire chassis

Picture courtesy Christopher Tamblyn

Longer and taller, re-registered and repainted in red, but still recognizable as a Deep Sanderson!

Picture courtesy Christopher Tamblyn

Jeremy Delmar-Morgan passed away at 77

It's with great sadness that I found out about the death of Jeremy Delmar-Morgan. Only now, as he passed away on 12 June 2018 at the age of 77 already. That's almost two years ago, but I thought the man definitely deserved an obituary here despite the time lapse. Unfortunately I never had the chance to meet him in person.

Delmar-Morgan was born in a gentry family in London and got in touch with Hillman Imp tuner Paul Emery in his early 20s. It was under Emery's flag that he entered his first race in 1964: the Nürburgring 500 Kilometres in September that year and behind the wheel of an Imp. From that moment on a real taste for racing was developed and Delmar-Morgan showed up at a wide variety of tracks with Emery tuned Imps, a Lotus 23, a Brabham BT8 and even several Divas for the works team.

It was in Emery's London workshop, though, that Delmar-Morgan first learned about the DART of Dizzy Addicott. Emery had given a hand in the car's build and Delmar-Morgan liked the idea of a much streamlined Mini for racing. The car was eventually launched on the Racing Car Show of January 1964 at the Emery stand. When Delmar-Morgan found out that Addicott had enough of the DART project in a premature state, he took it over it for 750 pounds and turned the car into the Mini Jem. Meanwhile, Jem Marsh did a similar thing in launching the Mini Marcos...

Delmar-Morgan set up Jem Developments Ltd. and started a racing campaign with his Mini Jem, the first race once again being the Nürburgring 500 Kilometres of September 1966. He came home at a very respectful 18th overall and 2nd in class. Delmar-Morgan built and sold over 20 cars from his workshop in West London. In November 1966 he moved to Penn Garage in High Wycombe where Robin Statham rented him premises. Delmar-Morgan saw it as a temporarily solution as he had plans to move to a new factory close to Silverstone but these plans were never realised. He delivered another 12 body shells from Penn Garage, but then had enough of it. Delmar-Morgan then sold the Mini Jem project to Statham (obituary here) halfway in 1967.

He continued to race up until 1969, mostly in a privately entered Porsche 906. After that he focused on a career in investments. He married twice and had four children.

Jeremy Delmar-Morgan was the man behind the Mini Jem

Picture Braveheart Investment Group

He was friends with Paul Emery who had a hand in the development of the DART...

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

...And from the DART came the Jem - first production car seen here with works van behind

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

Delmar-Morgan raced a Mini Jem with some success. Here seen at the Nurburgring in 1966

Picture Jeroen Booij archive

After that he was mostly seen behind the wheel of his Porsche 906 - here at Brands Hatch

Picture zuff.be