49 Very special days – Part 1

By Geoff Farmer

Photos courtesy of Richard Crawford Photography

PART 1 / 2

It was inevitable I was always going to race. But there was absolutely no reasoned explanation for such blind faith. My Dad was a huge Stirling Moss fan, and indeed in the late 50’s built and raced his own karts. So Sundays spent on windy Yorkshire airfields became routine for the Farmer family – and the bug had firmly bitten.
For me, there was only one driver – not Stirling Moss but a certain Jim Clark. And if you were a Jim Clark fan, so it was almost a certainty that the name ‘Lotus’ was similarly revered. All my school exercise books were adorned with front view sketches of Lotus 25’s and later (for me the best-ever) the Lotus 33, just such a beautiful car.
My first ever Grand Prix was with Dad and elder brother Mike at Silverstone in ’67. By then, Jimmy had already won first time out at Zandvoort in the new and revolutionary DFV powered 49; but to see and hear first-hand my hero in the stunning green and yellow team Lotus car was just beyond belief. During that GP weekend, I was only feet away from the cars in the paddock, saw Colin Chapman, and actually brushed against Jimmy as he squeezed through a gap in the crowds. And, of course, he won again!
Only some nine months later, I remember vividly that Sunday of April 7th hearing the 6pm radio news of the accident that took my hero’s life at Hockenheim. To this day I’ve only twice experienced more painful personal loss.
So why did it take some 31 years for me to get to own a Lotus Formula 1 car? That’s far too long a story to even scratch the surface of, but suffice it to say here that after some 20 years of club racing in many varied categories, I hankered after racing historic GP cars and for ten years, acquired, rebuilt and raced two cars (an ex Guerrero Theodore 183 and ex Brundle/Bellof Tyrell 012) with more than a little success. During this time, and through my very good friend Roger Swanton, in whose Brabham BT18 I have enjoyed numerous wins, I was introduced to Cedric Selzer (formerly an original Team Lotus & Jimmy’s then mechanic), and invited to drive his ex-Jim Clark Lotus 25…
So it was, that the first day I sat in car raced by my late hero, was the Friday of the 1996 Coy’s meeting. I have to admit to some very emotional moments as I was strapped in and began the first exploratory lap of the historic GP circuit. Some twenty four hours later, the car was set up to my liking and I knew why the drivers that didn’t drive Lotus’ wished they did. Just a wonderful experience to be “at one” with such a purposeful and great car. And the weekend was a success, with class wins both days and 3rd overall on the Sunday. Seeing myself rounding Copse on the giant StarScreen in Jimmy’s car had to be one of the most surreal moments of my motor sport experiences. To cap a great year (and I swear with absolutely no prior knowledge) I was presented with the Coy’s Driver of the Festival at the Historic Motor Sports Awards later that season. So began a very privileged and successful few years driving for Cedric, and for which I am deeply indebted to him.
Fast forward to February 1999. My love of the historic motor sport scene has continued and my horizons now somewhat broader. Adelaide had run a race for pre-68 GP cars earlier that year and are also to run another in 2000. Also, the Goodwood Revival organisers were making noises about running a pre-68 race at that year’s 99 meeting. I just had to get a car!
I had discussions with several people. And, indeed nearly bought a BRM. But you can’t buy a BRM if you’re a Lotus fan, can you? As if by some divine intervention, I became aware of the well-publicized sale of the ex-Jo Siffert Rob Walker Lotus 49B (chassis R7) which was to be auctioned later that year. I gave the matter some thought, and then some. My brother Mike had actually been at Brands in ’68 when Jo won his and R7’s maiden Grand Prix, and I well remember watching from home on TV as the high rear-winged car held on to beat Chris Amon’s Ferrari and win a famous (and of course, now historic) victory. How much would the car make at auction? Could I afford it? Should I afford it? I should mention that I may have seen the car at the Donington Collection in the late 80’s, but my more recent memory was of a very forlorn former shadow of itself on display in the Silverstone paddock at the ’92 British GP. Definitely not a pretty sight! But of course it was a Lotus, and a very famous one at that. What I would only learn weeks later was the great wealth of good feeling, affection almost, which seemed to surround almost everything and everybody that became connected with the car, which I’m now convinced is a testament to it’s original owner – ‘Gentleman’ Rob Walker.
And so, on July 28th, armed with the financial knowledge of how far I personally was prepared to go, I left work at midday (complete with a pretty bad migraine headache) to arrive at the Buxton Pavilion, scene of the auction. The pavilion was hot, sticky, thronged with some hundreds of people, and in front of the stage on an elevated platform , a totally unloved, uncared for, horribly neglected and engineless Lotus 49. In less than a minute, I knew there and then I was certifiably insane. But, I equally knew a Lotus 49 could win Adelaide and Goodwood…

I’ve attended many auctions connected with major plant purchases for my engineering company and have some Golden Rules. One of them is “never start the bidding”. Another is if I really want something, “don’t get beaten”. Problem was, I wasn’t sure how badly I wanted what I’d just seen. Lots 1 to 48 proceeded with an hours normal over-hyping of some classic cars. Then lot number 49. literally by then I was nauseous, and all my bodily instincts suggested the loo was a far more appropriate place to be. This time a lot more genuine preamble by the auctioneer of a truly wonderful car, it’s unquestioned originality and authenticity, it’s driver and great owner. In 2 to 3 minutes, the selling price was within 10% of my pre-planned maximum but the bidding had slowed, then stalled, and the auctioneer was going through his “any more bids, going for the second time” procedure when yours truly, made his (what turned out to be one and only) bid, and upped the ante, £25,000. The plan worked. Seeing a new and (apparently committed) bidder, no counter bid was made. I’d won.
I vaguely remember Roger Cowman saying “well bought”, and asking Simon Hadfield if he’d arrange collection of the car. But I needed to go outside and be ill! Julius Thurgood who’d been involved in the sale on behalf of the Walker family. Located me and introduced me to Rob’s daughter, Dauvagne. I think this may have been a worthiness test but, whatever, some two hours later and courtesy of Barclays, I became the present custodian of a car which was to dramatically affect many lives for a good few months.
As I had deliberately kept total silence about this project to literally everyone, the drive home was spent relating news of my new purchase to friends and family. But, I have to admit to the biggest dose of ‘Buyers Remorse’ I’ve ever experienced. A good night’s sleep helps however. Quite remarkably the next day was coloured with many congratulatory phone calls, and not one attesting to my madness!

Written by Geoff Farmer, September 2002
Geoff Farmer drove a number of Sports2000 Pinto cars in the early 80s including Lola 590, Tiga SC81 and Royale. As well as competing in Sports 2000 he also raced his Pinto in Thundersports. As his club racing career progressed he raced in various categories including a Formula 3000 Lola in British events before racing Historic 1960s/70s Grand Prix cars.