Grant V
Member
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This is an excerpt from my father's unfinished memoir - cancer got the better of him in 2010 before he could complete it. He was 28 when he raced the 200Si:
†Otello Nucci (generally known as Jack) was the owner of a bus company, based in Pretoria. His busses ferried passengers to and from the outlying areas to the North and North-West of Pretoria. The bus depot and workshops were situated in Pretoria-West. I had met Jack when I had recently joined RW Evans Garage, where he made business visits. I am not able to clearly recollect what the business was about, but I suspect that he may have had an interest in a company that supplied RW Evans Garage with Maserati mopeds.
I received a phone call from Jack Nucci who invited me to lunch at his workshop. He employed only Italian artisans to repair and maintain his fleet of busses. We sat down in a large kitchen with his workshop staff of twelve or fifteen men, to whom I was introduced. We were all presided over by Beppe, Jack's friend of many years, who was also the cook.
At the completion of our sumptuous Italian pasta meal, Jack arrived at the reason for his invitation to lunch. He had bought a Maserati 200Si at the beginning of the year. In fact, I had known about the car and had seen him take the car up the LM hill climb, in September. Jack asked me if I would drive the car at the forthcoming summer international races. These would take place at the new Killarney Circuit on 17th December 1960 and at the SA Grand Prix Circuit at East London on 27th December, 10 days after the Killarney race. I did not jump up and down and clap my hands with joy. I said, yes, that I would like to do that, please, would he tell me more, I asked. I tried to speak in a quiet sophisticated sounding voice. (I hoped.)
Jack would do all the administration work and pay the entries. Furthermore, he, his 16 year old son Paul, Beppe and I would trail the 200si down to the Cape in Jack's Rambler sedan. He also stressed that he would bear all the costs and that he did not want me to contribute financially at all. What a generous man, and a gentleman. We sealed the arrangements with a handshake. From Cape Town we would motor through the garden route to East London, where we would compete in the SA Grand Prix.
The field would consist of some overseas competitors in 1500cc formula two cars and the rest of the field made up of SA racing cars and one or two sports cars, including us. There was, of course, no way that we could possibly be competitive in the front of the field. The fact that Jack had sufficient confidence to trust me with his personal jewel was a great thrill for me, coming out of the so called wilderness.
We arrived in CT a few days before the races so that we could check over the Maserati and clear scrutineering and documentation. The 200si Maser drew as many admiring glances as the works Porsches of Stirling Moss and Jo Bonnier. The Maser was a beautiful work of art in the Italian tradition and the Porsches, Coopers and Lotus cars where just(!!) functional racing cars.
The Maserati produced maximum power at 7800 RPM. There was no championship at stake or the possibility that we could win the race, so for the sake of reliability and less wear and tear on the motor, we decided to limit the revs to7500. After about four laps in practice I detected valve bounce at 7200rpm. I elected to limit the motor to 7000rpm, and what's more, this further lowering of the rev limit did not affect the lap times appreciably. Perhaps I was getting to know the car and the circuit better. When grid positions were put up on the notice board, we were about three quarters of the way back from the pole sitters. Dawie Gouws in the Porsche Spyder was next to me.
The front row of the grid was filled by Moss, Bonnier and Taffy von Tripps in a Lotus Climax. After one lap I was mixing it with the rear third of the field, being fast down the long back straight, but losing out to some of the lighter racing cars, on the bends. The Porsche Spyder and the Maserati were still running close together. A strong wind had been gusting across the track for the whole race, and on the last lap I came around a bend to find the whole track surface covered with sand. The Maser slid off the track and sank in the sand, just spinning the wheels. The marshals rushed up and wanted to give me a push, which I frantically waved away as I was afraid that they would push dents into that beautiful lightweight aluminium body. I saw bundles of light brushwood that had been blown up against the fence.
I pointed to the brushwood and shouted to the marshals to bring a few arm loads of the stuff. The good lads understood immediately and brought the twigs. Swiftly they scooped the sand away from the front of the rear wheels and wedged the brush under the wheels as best they could. I had the car in gear and let in the clutch sharply. The car lurched back onto the track and I was off, with a backward wave to the marshals. When I arrived at the start and finish line, I was flagged off with the chequered flag
The works' Porches were first and second, followed by von Tripps, Lotus Climax.
The East London race was titled 7th International RAC SA Grand Prix. Besides the two main players of Moss and von Tripps in the works' Porches , there was a new main character in the form of Jack Brabham in a Cooper Climax.
The front of the grid comprised Brabham, Moss and Bonnier. Von Tripps who ran so well in third place in Cape Town was not in the hunt, apparently his car suffering from ignition bothers. At the start the two Porsches pulled away from Brabham. At the back of the field I was having a fairly serious race, fending off Dawie Gouws in the Porsche Spyder. The Maser had the edge on the straights, but on the corners, Dawie and the Spyder were all over the back of the Maser. Eventually I was held up by a back marker and the Spyder got through and pulled away ever so slightly. I rued the loss of 500rpm, otherwise our contest may have been much closer.
The race ended with Moss and Bonnier in the lead, with Brabham third, having suffered broken goggles and a glass chip in the eye. A motoring magazine listed results up to 10th position and under “finishersâ€, listed me in 14th place, one minute behind Dawie Gouws. The next day Jack, Beppe and Paul went back by plane to Johannesburg, leaving me to return with the tow car, trailer and Maserati .â€
Being over taken, but in good company: No.6 Jo Bonnier Porsche 718, No.26 Fanie Viljoen Maserati 200SI, No. 1 Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax T53 and No.5 Count de Beaufort Cooper Climax:
†Otello Nucci (generally known as Jack) was the owner of a bus company, based in Pretoria. His busses ferried passengers to and from the outlying areas to the North and North-West of Pretoria. The bus depot and workshops were situated in Pretoria-West. I had met Jack when I had recently joined RW Evans Garage, where he made business visits. I am not able to clearly recollect what the business was about, but I suspect that he may have had an interest in a company that supplied RW Evans Garage with Maserati mopeds.
I received a phone call from Jack Nucci who invited me to lunch at his workshop. He employed only Italian artisans to repair and maintain his fleet of busses. We sat down in a large kitchen with his workshop staff of twelve or fifteen men, to whom I was introduced. We were all presided over by Beppe, Jack's friend of many years, who was also the cook.
At the completion of our sumptuous Italian pasta meal, Jack arrived at the reason for his invitation to lunch. He had bought a Maserati 200Si at the beginning of the year. In fact, I had known about the car and had seen him take the car up the LM hill climb, in September. Jack asked me if I would drive the car at the forthcoming summer international races. These would take place at the new Killarney Circuit on 17th December 1960 and at the SA Grand Prix Circuit at East London on 27th December, 10 days after the Killarney race. I did not jump up and down and clap my hands with joy. I said, yes, that I would like to do that, please, would he tell me more, I asked. I tried to speak in a quiet sophisticated sounding voice. (I hoped.)
Jack would do all the administration work and pay the entries. Furthermore, he, his 16 year old son Paul, Beppe and I would trail the 200si down to the Cape in Jack's Rambler sedan. He also stressed that he would bear all the costs and that he did not want me to contribute financially at all. What a generous man, and a gentleman. We sealed the arrangements with a handshake. From Cape Town we would motor through the garden route to East London, where we would compete in the SA Grand Prix.
The field would consist of some overseas competitors in 1500cc formula two cars and the rest of the field made up of SA racing cars and one or two sports cars, including us. There was, of course, no way that we could possibly be competitive in the front of the field. The fact that Jack had sufficient confidence to trust me with his personal jewel was a great thrill for me, coming out of the so called wilderness.
We arrived in CT a few days before the races so that we could check over the Maserati and clear scrutineering and documentation. The 200si Maser drew as many admiring glances as the works Porsches of Stirling Moss and Jo Bonnier. The Maser was a beautiful work of art in the Italian tradition and the Porsches, Coopers and Lotus cars where just(!!) functional racing cars.
The Maserati produced maximum power at 7800 RPM. There was no championship at stake or the possibility that we could win the race, so for the sake of reliability and less wear and tear on the motor, we decided to limit the revs to7500. After about four laps in practice I detected valve bounce at 7200rpm. I elected to limit the motor to 7000rpm, and what's more, this further lowering of the rev limit did not affect the lap times appreciably. Perhaps I was getting to know the car and the circuit better. When grid positions were put up on the notice board, we were about three quarters of the way back from the pole sitters. Dawie Gouws in the Porsche Spyder was next to me.
The front row of the grid was filled by Moss, Bonnier and Taffy von Tripps in a Lotus Climax. After one lap I was mixing it with the rear third of the field, being fast down the long back straight, but losing out to some of the lighter racing cars, on the bends. The Porsche Spyder and the Maserati were still running close together. A strong wind had been gusting across the track for the whole race, and on the last lap I came around a bend to find the whole track surface covered with sand. The Maser slid off the track and sank in the sand, just spinning the wheels. The marshals rushed up and wanted to give me a push, which I frantically waved away as I was afraid that they would push dents into that beautiful lightweight aluminium body. I saw bundles of light brushwood that had been blown up against the fence.
I pointed to the brushwood and shouted to the marshals to bring a few arm loads of the stuff. The good lads understood immediately and brought the twigs. Swiftly they scooped the sand away from the front of the rear wheels and wedged the brush under the wheels as best they could. I had the car in gear and let in the clutch sharply. The car lurched back onto the track and I was off, with a backward wave to the marshals. When I arrived at the start and finish line, I was flagged off with the chequered flag
The works' Porches were first and second, followed by von Tripps, Lotus Climax.
The East London race was titled 7th International RAC SA Grand Prix. Besides the two main players of Moss and von Tripps in the works' Porches , there was a new main character in the form of Jack Brabham in a Cooper Climax.
The front of the grid comprised Brabham, Moss and Bonnier. Von Tripps who ran so well in third place in Cape Town was not in the hunt, apparently his car suffering from ignition bothers. At the start the two Porsches pulled away from Brabham. At the back of the field I was having a fairly serious race, fending off Dawie Gouws in the Porsche Spyder. The Maser had the edge on the straights, but on the corners, Dawie and the Spyder were all over the back of the Maser. Eventually I was held up by a back marker and the Spyder got through and pulled away ever so slightly. I rued the loss of 500rpm, otherwise our contest may have been much closer.
The race ended with Moss and Bonnier in the lead, with Brabham third, having suffered broken goggles and a glass chip in the eye. A motoring magazine listed results up to 10th position and under “finishersâ€, listed me in 14th place, one minute behind Dawie Gouws. The next day Jack, Beppe and Paul went back by plane to Johannesburg, leaving me to return with the tow car, trailer and Maserati .â€
Being over taken, but in good company: No.6 Jo Bonnier Porsche 718, No.26 Fanie Viljoen Maserati 200SI, No. 1 Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax T53 and No.5 Count de Beaufort Cooper Climax:
