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JOHN MACDONALD'S RACING HISTORY
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This compilation of John's racing results was a direct result of me writing my motor racing reminiscences of our times spent racing in the Far East. Upon completion it was natural enough to try and record his race history of these times. This then expanded to try and make a comprehensive record of his entire racing career. In collating John's racing results there were several people without whose help this compilation could never have been done. First, of course, is John himself. Besides giving me access to his photos and scrapbooks, he continued to add long forgotten details to fragments that I unearthed. Without his consent, it would have been a non-starter. Eli Solomon, who has written a book about the history of the Singapore Grand Prix, allowed me access to his voluminous information that he had collected from all over the world. We had a great time sorting out conflicting evidence and proved, on more than one occasion, that the written word was not always correct! Paul Schofield, whose father Tom, wrote the monthly Motor Sports Club of Hong Kong magazine, the "Chequered Flag", very kindly went through the entire collection collating records of John's achievements. Without his contribution, this compilation would Ken Thomson, of the Jersey Motor Cycle and Light Car Club obtained the Bouley Bay hill climb results for me, Mark Joseland of the Midland Automobile Club found the Shelsley Walsh hill climb details and Pete Stowe, the archivist for Castle Coombe racing circuit, found John's road racing results. Pete also went to the trouble of checking for additional information about John's races there. These gentlemen all replied to my email requests about John's racing history within 24 hours. Truly remarkable as it is more than 50 years after the events! Tony Johnstone of the Brighton and Hove Car Club retrieved John's results for the Brighton Speed Trials while Baz Stapleton of the Sunbeam Motorcycle Club dug out the details of the Ramsgate Sprint. John Aley and Ian Thompson of the Motor Cycling Club confirmed the dates of John's 1957 races organised by them. The archive section of Motorcycle News, run by Jacqueline Harris, provided information about those races of John's where I had no other leads. The Central Library of Hong Kong allowed me access to copies of the South China Morning Post and Hongkong Standard and I very much appreciated their kind and efficient help as well as their prompt retrieval system.
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be very much poorer. Dickie Arblaster went through his motor sport records for Singapore and Malaysia and sent me items of interest about John's racing in that part of the world. George Spence, an old friend of John's, who is now the Vice-president of the Vincent Owner's Club contributed by combing through old copies of the Club's magazine for information about John's Vincent racing days and also provided some reminiscences from that era. Bob Buxton, a stalwart member of the Motor Sports Club of Hong Kong also made a contribution.The Singapore Library's digital newspaper collection proved invaluable for information about races in Singapore and Malaysia. A very sincere thanks to everyone who contributed in helping me compile this motor racing history of John Macdonald. I take full responsibility for what I have written and, although I've made every effort to ensure accuracy, any errors or mistakes must be laid at my door. I hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Angus Lamont
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DateEvent/sLapsDistanceVehicleEngineGrid positionRace resultRace timeFastest lapComments
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1957
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early 1957Kirkby Mallory Park Leicestershire--Vincent HRD 998cc1m 4.50sCircuit length = 1.35 miles. Dave Dunnicliffe suggested a test day at Mallory Park to see whether John was fast enough to go racing. He did 35 laps and his best lap time was 1m 4.5s. Presumably this was thought to be a competitive time as the following results will show.
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22-Jun-57MCC, "Production Motorcycles Only" Race Silverstone, Northamptonshire5 58.2 miles 8.2 milesVincent HRD 998cc1st 1stCircuit length = 1.64 miles. Race No. 2. John's first race and his first win was a 5 lap scratch race and he followed this up with a 1st in the 5 lap handicap race. He also collected a 3rd class award in the Time Trial (cramp). At this time he was the Technical Officer of the Vincent Owner's Club.
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6-Jul-57BMCRC's "Trophy Day" Silverstone, Northamptonshire--Vincent HRD 998ccCircuit length 1.607 miles. 7th in a handicap race after being unable to start. 1st class award in the Time Trial.
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31-Aug-57Midland Automobile Club's Shelsley Walsh hillclimb, Worcestershire 1,000 ydsVincent HRD 998cc Race No. 72. Times: 1st run 42.92s: 2nd run 41.50s. Class winner was Howard German, 596cc Douglas, in 39.97s. FTD motorcycles was G. T. Salt, 499cc Norton 38.09s. 2nd FTD was Howard German, 348cc Velocette, in 39.60s.
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7-Sep-57Brighton and Hove Car Club's Brighton Speed Trails 1 kmVincent HRD 998ccThis was a wet meeting but I have no other information about this event.
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14-Sep-57MCC, Kirkby Mallory Park Leicestershire5 106¾ miles 13½ milesVincent HRD 998cc1st 6thCircuit length = 1.35 miles. 1st in the 5-lap Scratch race. 6th in the 10-lap Handicap race. Ist class award in the Half-hour Time Trial. John and his friend, George Spence, rode their bikes to this meeting. George's then girlfriend drove his Austin Seven to the meeting on L-plates carrying all their gear in it.
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George Spence has told me that John won the Vincent Owner's Club Piccioto Trophy in both 1957 and 1958. This was awarded for the best performance by a club member in events not organised by the Vincent Owner's Club. George went on to say that John did a lot of work to make his Vincent one of the best handling examples of the breed. He was responsible for a number of improvements to the hydraulic damper and then went one better by persuading Konito produce a special one for Vincents. George still has one on his Vincent to this day! It seems that John continued his improvements in the handling department and ended up using a Woodhead Monroe spring / damper assembly for the front forks.
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1958
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19-Apr-58BMCRC's "Silverstone Saturday" Silverstone, Northamptonshire--Vincent HRD 998cc1stCircuit length 2.927 miles. Held on the full circuit not the Club circuit. John won the 1,000cc Club Handicap race.
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26-Apr-58Castle Coombe Circuit Wiltshire814.72 milesVincent HRD 998cc1st11m 22.6s 77.64 mph1m 22.6s 80.18 mphCircuit length = 1.84 miles. 2nd in his heat to John "Spud" Stacey but the positions were reversed in the final. The Motor Cycling report reads "another very close race was the 1,000cc non-experts final in which J. Macdonald (Vincent) managed to beat J. F. Stacey (Norton) who had outsmarted him in the heat". The Motor Cycle report said "clinging to the rear wheel of D. Macdonald's Vincent in Heat 1 of the 1,000cc non-experts race, J. F. Stacey (Norton) swung out to claim victory in the final few yards; the Vincent rider did not fall for the trick a second time and won the final from Stacey by a machine's length".
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11-May-58Sunbeam Motorcycle Club's Ramsgate Sprint, Kent 440 ydsVincent HRD 998cc3rd FTD13.08 sec.Race No. 75. 33 entries. Standing start with a considerable headwind and running on petrol. John was competing in the solo racing motorcycle class up to 1,000cc where he was only beaten by Charlie Rous (Vincent) with a 12.46s and the legendary George Brown on his Vincent Special "Nero" who recorded 12.55s.
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17-May-58Aberaman Motorcycle Club Aberdare Park, Trecynon, Wales--Vincent HRD 998cc1st DNFCircuit length = 0.9 miles. 1st in heat. Fell off while 3rd in final. Motorcycle News said "the performance of John Macdonald's 998 Vincent in the third heat battle with Phil Read's 348 Norton had the crowd breathless and he exceeded 97mph which the late Dave Bennet clocked over the short home straight which bears his name". The circuit had been resurfaced and all the spare gravel pushed into the edges of the road surface leaving a good abrasive surface. Someone had evidently slowed down and rightly got off the "racing line" thus moving a layer of gravel into John's path with the inevitable result! Bill Hindes, who sponsored Peter Darville and also built simply gorgeous Norvins, slipped John a handful of £ notes to help fix the damaged bike. John's knee was damaged sufficiently badly in this accident to keep him out of the army until the end of the 1958 season. He had a regime which insured that it was better when racing and worse when a medical was due and, at the end of the 1958 season, he made sure that he was OK for his army medical!
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26-May-58Greenwich Motorcycle Club Brands Hatch Club Circuit, Kent--Vincent HRD 998cc1st 4thCircuit length (short circuit) = 1.226 miles. Bike No. 36. 1st in the heat run in the rain and 4th in the final because of a tank-slapper! John told me that he remembers this very well (who wouldn't!) but never mentioned it because he felt that he would not be believed! At one time he had a photo of the tyre marks left on the track after this event. John felt that his newly acquired alloy front wheel (with a 190mm BSA Gold Star front brake) contributed to the tank-slapper. Additionally, his Cromwell Knoll crash helmet had already been "banged up" and had de-laminated. It had been repaired with filler and painted after which it was given due wear and tear for scrutineering! I'm almost certain that Fred Merrill was the source of the story below and I think that "his friend" was a rider named Chris Williams.
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There is a tale in the 1970 edition of the MSCHK's Chequered Flag explaining why John ended up in Hong Hong in the first place. Once upon a time John raced Vincents back in England. For those who don't know, these are particularly potent 1,000cc motorcycles, whose handling and steering characteristics are generally agreed to be "interesting". Our John was pretty good on these controversial beasts. Other riders of the day thought he was definitely going places. That is until THE DAY at Brand's Hatch. My informant - no mean performer himself - was following John at the time. In spite of many years of very varied racing experience he says that he has never witnessed a more terrifying sight. Whilst entering Paddock Hill Bend, a particularly awesome downhill right-hander the Vincent got into an almightywobble, a real tank-slapper, in fact. I am assured that this was the longest, fastest, and most uncontrollable wobble ever observed by these hardened participants. And on a Vincent this would definitely be listed in the NO JOKE category. Contrary to popular opinion at that instant however, John did not give up the seemingly unequal battle and eventuate on his posterior. My friend suggested that the high cost of Vincent spares perhaps even influenced his efforts. However, he stayed aboard, and the bike gave up its efforts to unseat him, the wobble eventually fizzled out, and the corner was somehow negotiated successfully. My friend, an incurable humorist, ended the tale with the following comment. "We never saw John again - and we don't blame him!" I wonder if you can tell who the story teller was, John?
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Jun-58Vintage Motor Cycle Club Sprint Ely, Cambridgeshire-440 ydsVincent HRD 998cc3rd FTD12.5 sec.Standing start. Running methanol using standard petrol pistons. I have been unable to find any information about this event. The VMCC said they would try and find out what was available but never came back to me. Reviewing John's programme of events June seems to be the most likely time for this event.
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29-Jun-58Evesham Automobile Club's Long Marston Sprint, Warwickshire-1,000 ydsVincent HRD 998cc4th FTD21.6 sec.Standing start. Ave speed 96 mph. (I made it 94.7 mph). The racing fraternity acknowledged John's bike as the fastest road registered bike running on petrol in the UK. Beaten only by George Brown (998 Vincent) 20.30s, Charlie Rous (998 Vincent) 20.40s and F Williams (998 JAP/Norton) 21.4s, all of which were racing machines running on methanol. The first five motorcycles all bettered the car record for this event
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5-Jul-58BMCRC's "Trophy Day" Silverstone, Northamptonshire--Vincent HRD 998cc6thCircuit length = 1.607 miles. The BMCRC "Trophy Day" programme says "John Macdonald is another rider in his first real season of racing. He remains faithful to a 1,000cc Vincent HRD and has performed wonders with this machine, a by no means new example. After winning almost all he could at the two MCC "production machines only" meeting last year, he won the 1,000cc class in the Club Handicap at Silverstone Saturday and the Non-experts Final at Castle Coombe a week later. Since then he has always finished in the first four wherever he has ridden." 1st class award in the Time Trial despite an exhausting start! In another race he was demoted from 4th to 6th by a split oil tank which leaked oil on to the rear of the bike.
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12-Jul-58Castle Coombe Circuit Wiltshire814.72 milesVincent HRD 998cc8th11m 52.8s 74.35 mphRace No: 28. In the 1,000cc Non-expert's race John was 3rd in his 5-lap heat, 9.6 sec behind the heat winner, with a time of 7m 32.4s. Ave. speed 73.21 mph. He finished 8th in the 8-lap final with a time of 11m 52.8s. This was despite the engine being 20% down on power because of problems with the valve timing!
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24-Jul-58Jersey Motorcycle and Light Car Club's Bouley Bay hill-climb, Jersey-1,011 ydsVincent HRD 998cc2nd FTD57.8sPractice: 1st run: 57.8s. 2nd run: 58.4s. Official: 1st run: 59.2s. 2nd run: 57.8s. 2nd in Class. Class winner and FTD was Jim Lees-Baker on a 650cc BSA with a time of 56.8s. John stayed with Bill Roberts and during the meeting the Vincent snapped its triple row primary chain, fortunately without damaging the engine. He thinks that he got a spare chain from Bill and carried on. John's prize money was £3-2 shillings.
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4-Aug-58Guernsey Motorcycle and Car Club's Val de Terres hill-climb, Guernsey 921 ydsVincent HRD 998cc4th FTDThe only entry from England in the motorcycle section. The flywheels were out of alignment, probably as a result of the jolt that they got when the primary chain broke at Bouley Bay. John says that it took him a long time to diagnose and fix this problem. He stayed with Jimmy Lanyon.
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30-Aug-58Midland Automobile Club's Shelsley Walsh hill-climb, Worcestershire 1,000 ydsVincent HRD 998cc1st in classRace No. 71. Times: 1st run 44.08s: 2nd run 40.65s. John's early "engine management" system had both the ignition and valve timing set 15 degrees early! FTD was George Brown on his 998cc Vincent Special "Nero" with a 37.74s. and 2nd FTD went to G. T. Salt, 499cc Norton 38.86s.
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6-Sep-58Brighton and Hove Car Club's Brighton Speed Trails 1 kmVincent HRD 998cc15thRace No. 66. There were 30 entries for the BMCRC Motorcycle Class - Unlimited. John's first run was exactly 30.00s and his second was 32.60s. Charlie Rous (Vincent) got FTD with a 22.05s and Howard German (Brough Superior-Norton-JAP) was second with a 22.35s. It must be remembered that John was racing a road going bike against pure sprinting machines.
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4-Oct-58BMCRC's Club Meeting Crystal Palace--Vincent HRD 998ccCircuit length: 1.39 miles. According to the programme John raced but he was not featured in the reports or the results. MCN said "the crowd had little to enthuse about for continuous heavy rain showers spoilt everything. Dismal conditions throughout the morning and torrential rain just before the start flooded parts of the track and pumps had to be brought into action. Even though, there were pools of water everywhere and showers of spray followed the riders". Not much wonder John can't remember this meeting!
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1962
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Sep-625th Total International Rally (Central African Rally) Southern Rhodesia & Mozambique--Lancia Aurelia GT B202,541cc V-66th (1st in class)Organised by the Pretoria Motor Club this annual event was like the early Monte Carlo Rallies with a variety of starting points. John's navigator was car sick soon after the start and lay in the back seat so John did the driving and the navigation concurrently during the 2-day event. The sump was holed in the bush and repaired by lining the sump with a tarpaulin! The event finished at Lourenco Marques, Mozambique, where the prize giving was held.
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1963
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Motor Sports Club of Hong Kong events
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 MSCHK Omega slalom series
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3-Nov-63Autumn Slalom, Sek Kong airstrip, New Territories--Lotus Elite1,220cc Coventry Climax1st in class 81m 27.02sThis was John's first MSCHK event and he had mechanical troubles on his second run. He had been wrongly entered under the name McDonnel.
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Dec-63Winter Slalom, Sek Kong airstrip, New Territories--Lotus Elite Porsche Super 901,220cc Coventry Climax 1,582cc1st in class 81m 23.24s4th in Class 9 in the Porsche with a 1m 25.38s. The track was identical to the one used in November so John's times showed some real improvement.
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Jun-6319th RSAC Scottish International Rally Scotland -1952 Army Land Rover1,997cc12th (1st in class)An army entry. A report states "easily beating all other "restricted" entrants". The crew comprised of John, Corporal V. Whittaker and a navigator.
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1964
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Motor Sports Club of Hong Kong events
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 MSCHK Harper hill-climb series MSCHK Harper hill-climb series champion. Winner of the Wallace Harper trophy.
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5-Jan-64Round 1. Golden Hill hill-climb, New Territories 913 ydsLotus Elite1,220cc Coventry ClimaxFTD45.31sThe Chequered Flag said "A fairly recent newcomer, set up FTD with a fairly good run of 45.31s, and with a little more practice at starting his times in this car, which is well suited for the hill, could be brought down to the 43 second mark. It is surprising to see that a lot of competitors do not pay more attention to their starts as in most instances a good start can give them a second or so off their final time".
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19-Jan-64Round 2. Wong Nei Chong hill-climb, Hong Kong 842 ydsLotus Elan1,558cc Ford twin-camFTD34.74 sec. Hill recordNew hill record in Bill Gray's Elan. Bill Gray was 3rd FTD with a time of 36.17s. John also ran a Lotus Elite but suffered a buckled wheel!
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2-Feb-64Round 3. Jubilee Reservoir hill-climb, New Territories -Lotus Elite1,220cc Coventry Climax2nd FTD46.54s.Winner of Class 8 and tied with H. Asmussen driving a Porsche Super 90 for 2nd FTD. Bill Gray got FTD with a 46.32s in his Lotus Elan.
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MSCHK sprint
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19-Apr-64Sek Kong airstrip, New Territories 1 kmYamaha 250cc 2-stroke2nd FTD28.68sThe winner was also on a Yamaha and he set a course record for motorcycles of 27.68s.
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13-Sep-64Sek Kong airstrip, New Territories 1 kmFord Galaxie5,768cc (352ci) or 6,390cc (390ci)2nd in classBob Harper lent John the car. For some unknown reason John does not feature in the results of this meeting.
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 MSCHK Omega slalom series MSCHK Omega slalom series champion. Winner of the Omega trophy.
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Apr-64Spring Slalom, Sek Kong airstrip, New Territories--Lotus XI Yamaha TD11,098cc Coventry Climax ..248cc 2-strokeFTD1m 20.98sCar kindly loaned by Jim Atkinson. John only did one run on the bike which a 1m 40.14s and it seems likely that the bike gave trouble.
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10-May-64Summer Slalom, Sek Kong Airstrip, New Territories--Lotus XI Yamaha TD11,098cc Coventry Climax ..250cc 2-strokeFTD cars FTD bikes1m 19.40s 1m 21.21sCar kindly loaned by Jim Atkinson. The bike was running properly this time and gave him 5th FTD (cars and bikes) overall.
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1-Nov-64Autumn Slalom, Sek Kong airstrip, New Territories--Lotus Elite Bug Kart 980cc DKW 2-stroke 100cc McCulloch1st in class 101m 22.27sJohn's nearest competitor did a 1m 40.15s run, the best part of 18 seconds slower. Here is the tale behind the engine change! The front end and the Coventry Climax 1,220cc engine of the Elite was destroyed when a street lamp fell on it in Kowloon. John obtained a "new" front end, minus engine, from a USA write-off and grafted the two halves together using the steel windscreen surround tubes as dowels. He inserted an ex Martin Redfern DKW 1,000cc competition engine and stuffed the DKW crankcase with "Go-power" reed valves with tubes going all over the place! Paul Wong of Rainbow Glass Fibre did all the bodywork. The car had a ZF gearbox with a very high 1st gear that was a disadvantage on hill-climb starts, otherwise the result was a quick car that pulled well from zero rpm up. The entire rebuild was done at the Wong Tai Sin police station! In the kart he did a 1m 24.72s.
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MSCHK rally
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Oct-1964?Autumn Rally, HK, Kln & NT -MG TF1,250cc4thNavigator: G. Jones. John won the Performance Award for consistency without picking up any of the major awards.
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John won the MSCHK Wallace Harper Hill Climb Trophy and the Omega Slalom Series and was 2nd in the following: the Pirelli, the Novices, the Venezuela GT, the Gerry Dawson GT and the Gerry Dawson Motorcycle awards. The Chequered Flag went on to say "perhaps we can say we have the "find" of the season and the name Macdonald is sure to find it's place on many of the major awards in the years to come". How true that was!
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15-Nov-64Macau Grand Prix XI60228 milesLotus Elan1,558cc Ford twin-cam8th6th Bill Grey's car. Completed 51 laps. The left rear of body got crunched outside the Police Post. "Incompetence" according to John! (One of the very rare times that John damaged a car on the track.) From the start he worked his way up to 6th place by lap 7. After this he yo-yoed up and down the lap chart probably as a result of his accident, which required him to pit at least 3 times.
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1965
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1965HK Kart Club McCulloch 100cc 2-strokeHong Kong Kart Club Champion.
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15-Jan-651st Asian Kart Prix, Heat 1 Tanauan, Batangas, Philippines3911.29 milesBug Kart McCulloch 100cc 2-stroke1st20m 55sThe four qualifiers from Hong Kong for the final were John Macdonald, Walter Haskamp, Michael Kadoorie and Sammy Lee. Other qualifiers were "Dodjie" Laurel, "Baby" Luna and Henry Lee. John beat "Dodjie" Laurel in the first heat.
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16-Jan-651st Asian Kart Prix, Final Tanauan, Batangas, Philippines40-Bug Kart McCulloch 100cc 2-stroke1st28m 43.2sIn the final "Dodjie" Laurel led the race except for the last 4 laps, but Steve Holland, who had done poorly in the first heat, unselfishly allowed John to pass him and go on to win thereby giving him overall victory.
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5-Jun-65Hong Kong - Manila Interport races Sek Kong airstrip, New Territories, Hong Kong--Techno Parilla 100cc 2-stroke-John remembers that John Kirk, who went to meet the drivers at Kai Tak airport, arrived at Sek Kong with an apparantly empty coach much to the dismay of the organisers and Hong Kong drivers. Just as everyone was starting to get really upset, up popped the Filipinos who had been lying on the floor of the coach! John had a brand new Parilla engine (the only one of its kind in Hong Kong) for this event and, after the time trials where he had gone third quickest, was selected for the main Interport event the following day.
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6-Jun-65Hong Kong - Manila Interport races Sek Kong airstrip, New Territories, Hong Kong--Techno Parilla 100cc 2-stroke-There was no mention of John in the SCMP's rather comprehensive report on the Interport meeting so it seems likely that he didn't start (possibly due to engine problems with his new Parilla). The Hong Kong team ran out easy winners.
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Motor Sports Club of Hong Kong events
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 1965 MSCHK Harper hill-climb series MSCHK Harper hill-climb series champion for the 2nd year in a row. Winner of the Wallace Harper trophy.
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7-Feb-65Round 3. Jubilee Reservoir hill-climb, New Territories -Lotus Elite 980cc DKW 2-stroke2nd FTD46.39sFTD went to John Kirk in a Lotus 23B with a time of 44.69s.
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21-Feb-65Round 4. Golden Hill hill-climb, New Territories 913 ydsLotus Elan Lotus Elite1,558cc Ford Twin-cam ..980cc DKW 2-strokeFTD43.82sFTD in the Elan and the steering broke on the Elite at the final corner slamming the car into the cliff face where it did a "wall of death" type performance at a height of 6 feet for some considerable distance! He was also the Handicap winner in the Elan.
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MSCHK car rally
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20/21-Mar-65Spring Rally, HK, Kln & NT--Fiat 1100 D1,221cc20thNavigator: Bob Ashton. Finished 20th out of 24. He incurred a "special" penalty for making up lateness at more than ½ a minute per mile (whatever that means).
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29-May-65Summer Rally, HK, Kln & NT--Renault R8 956ccDNFNavigator: Dennis Banfield. John was one of the last cars to arrive at the finish of stage 1, about 7 minutes late. A boulder had rattled down the hillside of Mount Davis and smashed into the windscreen of the Renault, resulting in a cut on the nose and some bruising to Dennis. To put the finishing touches to the Renault he collided with another entrant in a Wolseley coming down the hill, putting both cars out.
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 MSCHK Omega slalom series MSCHK slalom champion
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4-Apr-65Spring Slalom, Sek Kong airstrip, New Territories--Lotus Elan Renault R81,558cc Ford Twin-cam ..956ccFTD57.86sFTD in the Bill Grey's Elan and class 1 winner in the Renault with a 66.95s. Bill Grey did a 60.35s in the Elan.
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9-May-65Summer Slalom, Sek Kong Airstrip, New Territories--Lotus Elan Renault R81,558cc Ford Twin-cam ..956cc3rd FTD61.85sSecond in Class 1 in the Renault 8 with a 70.28s. Second in Class 11 in the Elan with a 61.85s. FTD went to Steve Holland in a Lotus 18 FJ with a 58.09s, second was Bill Grey in 60.92s (probably in the same car).
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 Oct-1965Autumn Slalom, Sek Kong airstrip, New Territories--Lotus 18 FJ1,098cc Cosworth FordFTD53.7sJohn beat Steve Holland who did a 54.8s in a Lotus 23B. Sir David Trench, the Governor of Hong Kong, was in attendance.
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27-Dec-65Winter Slalom, Sek Kong airstrip, New Territories--Lotus 18 FJ Fiat 15001,098cc Cosworth Ford 1,491ccFTD1m 27.9sOn a wet track got FTD by 8 seconds in the Lotus! Class 3 winner in Gaylord Chan's Fiat 1500.
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Bob Buxton told me that he clearly remembered the occasion at an MSCHK slalom (in either 1964 or 1965) when he was driving a Vauxhall VX 4/90 FC (1,594cc) and observing to John that his car was totally "out-classed". John undertook to drive his car in the next slalom event where he did a"demonstration" run as he already had his maximum of two entries. Not only would his time have won Class 3 (unmodified saloon cars 1,500cc to 2,000cc) but he bettered the FTD for the modified saloon car class as well!
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 MSCHK Sprints
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25-Apr-65Spring Sprint, Sek Kong airstrip, New Territories-1 kmRenault R8 956cc1st in class41.74sA very wet meeting. Class 1 winner.
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26-Sep-65Autumn Sprint, Sek Kong airstrip, New Territories-1 kmLotus 18 FJ1,098cc Cosworth Ford3rd FTD26.05 sec.Martin Redfern in a Jaguar XKSS got FTD with a 25.06s in very wet and cold conditions. L C Kwan was second in a Lotus 23B with a 26.02s.
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MSCHK Shell Economy Run
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22-Aug-65Hong Kong, Kowloon & the New Territories -Renault R8 956cc3rdJohn says won the best actual mpg award by default as the winner refused to be re-scrutineered after the event! The car returned 57.93 mpg. Overall winner was Lau King Leung in a Triumph Herald who did an adjusted (performance and handicap equation) 59.01 mpg.
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28-Nov-65Macau Grand Prix XII Guia Circuit, Macau60228 milesLotus 18 FJ1,098cc Cosworth Ford3rd1st3h 20m 16.9s (67.33 mph)Car ex Wallace Harper, purchased for HK$ 7,000. A 5-year old car previously raced by John Kirk, Steve Holland and Albert Poon. John arc welded all the nuts to the bolts to prevent the car falling apart during the race! He had been told never to go past 6,000prm as the engine "ran out of power" but, according to Cosworth, the engine should rev to 7,600rpm! After a thorough examination John discovered that the wrong type of angle drive for the rev counter had been fitted resulting in the instrument under reading! He also discovered that one of the big end journals had been ground undersize but was fitted with standard bearing shells! Although 3rd on the grid Walter Sulke was adamant that John's times were wrong and that he should have been further up the grid. John also had a rear shock absorber in pieces an hour before the race. During the race he got stuck behind Grant Wolfkill in his E-type Jaguar for a long time before he managed to get past him and this might have helped him conserve fuel which was just as well as he ran out of petrol on the slowing down lap! What actually happened was that the race was red flagged on lap 59 so the results reflect the race positions at the end of lap 58. Had the race gone the full distance John would have run out of fuel on the last lap as he approached Statue Corner! There is also the possibility that Goodwin in his Lotus Elite was catching John up fast and might have overtaken him before the finish. The next time out at a MSCHK slalom the car broke the clutch shaft so luck was certainly with John that Macau!
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Paul Schofield remembers his dad, Tom, who was the Clerk-of-the-Course at Macau, telling him about John's early years at Macau. Tom reckoned that he used to relax the rules a fair bit for John. He said that John wasn't all that flush with money and he thought that he used to sleep in the "paddock". Amongst other things he asked for a dispensation to run a plastic/perspex windshield rather than a glass one. Tom used to say OK and keep things under his hat.
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1966
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1966HK Kart Club Techno Parilla 100cc 2-stroke42.5 sec. Circuit recordHong Kong Kart Club Champion. Winner of time trials for the Manila Kart Prix. Set a new Sek Kong circuit record. John recalls that the kart frame was "board stiff" so he cut one of the parallel members near the engine mount and slid a piece of rubber tubing over the area for appearance/scrutineering purposes.
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12-Feb-66Hong Kong - Manila Interport Races Tanauan, Batangas, Philippines30 laps13 milesTechno Parilla 100cc 2-strokeDNF Retired on lap 22 of the Asian Karting Prix while in 3rd place and retired from the Interport race on the 5th lap. These kind of events were more or less a free for all where anything went. It was here that John hurt his leg in an off road excursion into a culvert and it later transpired that he had broken it! Baby Luna was so furious about John's blocking tactics during the Interport team event that after the event he got a machine gun out of the boot of his car and started shooting down coconuts!
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13-Feb-66Hong Kong - Manila Interport Races Tanauan, Batangas, Philippines40 laps17.3 milesTechno Parilla 100cc 2-stroke3rd32m 44.8s3rd in the Interport and the first Hong Kong driver home.
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Motor Sports Club of Hong Kong events
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1966 MSCHK Harper hill-climb seriesMSCHK hill-climb champion.
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9-Jan-66Round 1. Golden Hill hill-climb, New Territories 913 ydsLotus 18 FJ1,098cc Cosworth FordFTD39.73 sec. Hill recordJohn brought two single seaters to the meeting, the Lotus 18 FJ and the Cooper T 59. After a practice run in the Cooper he decided to use the Lotus which he shared with Keith Payne. John set a new hill record of 40.43s on his first run and bettered this time on his second with a 39.73s.
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30-Jan-66Round 2. Wong Nei Chong hill-climb, Hong Kong 842 ydsCooper T 59 Mk. 3A1,498cc Ford push rodFTD33.22 sec. Hill recordCooper ex Tony Hegbourne, ex Martin Redfern. John slid off on his first run in the Cooper but set FTD on his second. He won Class 15 driving Keith Payne's Morgan 4/4 with a 37.44s which was also the 4th FTD.
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MSCHK Omega slalom series
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6-Mar-66Spring Slalom, Sek Kong airstrip, New Territories--Lotus 18 FJ Mini Cooper S 1,098cc Cosworth Ford 1,275ccFTDJohn did a 1m 27.60s to get FTD in the Lotus and he also won Class 6 in Walter Haskamp's Mini with a time of 1m 42.66s to win FTD for Touring Cars as well.