Wimhurst 1972 Formula Atlantic history
Jack Paterson in his Formula Atlantic Wimhurst at Brands Hatch in March 1973. Copyright Ted Walker 2007. Used with permission.
Designed and built by Len Wimhurst, this one-off 1972 Formula Atlantic car for Jack Paterson proved uncompetitive, and has not been seen since the middle of the 1973 season.
After Palliser Racing Cars closed down early in March 1972, Len Wimhurst, the company's chief designer, formed Len Wimhurst Engineering at his home in Catford in south-east London. 45-year-old Wimhurst was a toolmaker by trade before joining Lola Cars and then Brabham, where he rose to be workshop foreman. Similar to Brabham designer Ron Tauranac, Wimhurst was a practical engineer who gradually improved his designs rather than being an innovator. Palliser was formed when Wimhurst suggested to Hugh Dibley that he build a car to Wimhurst's design, and the company was very successful for several seasons. Wimhurst's Formula Atlantic designs, culminating in the Palliser WDB4 that took Vern Schuppan to the 1971 British Formula Atlantic title, were panelled spaceframes, but he had experience of monocoques in the sports cars manufactured by Palliser for John Green's Daren company. In early 1971, Wimhurst was said to be working on a monocoque design for Formula 2.
Within a few weeks of Palliser's closure, an artist's impression was released of a "New Wimhurst FA car" that was due to appear soon after Easter. It was of monocoque construction and conformed to new Formula 2 regulations, so it is likely to have evolved from his planned 1971 Palliser F2 design. It had wide low sidepods with the main radiators on top of the sidepods at shoulder level, similar to the new Lola T300. It was fitted with BRM's development Ford BDA engine, as had been tried briefly in Vern Schuppan's works Palliser at the end of 1971. It was to be driven in the British Formula Atlantic series by Jack Paterson, a well-known GT racer.
If you can add to our understanding of Len Wimhurst Engineering or of this car, or have photographs of it that we can use, please email Allen at allen@oldracingcars.com.
Designed and built in 1972 by Len Wimhurst and fitted with a 1600cc Ford BDA engine for Jack Paterson (Seer Green, Buckinghamshire) to drive in the British Formula Atlantic series. Paterson had a terrible season, only setting a known practice time at three races, and not finishing a single race. He did better in 1973, finishing 12th at the opening Formula Atlantic race, but the car was still well off the pace. Paterson was classified fifth in a non-championship Formula Atlantic race at Thruxton in late May, but that is deceptive as he was the final finisher and four laps behind anyone else. A win in a Mallory Park Formule Libre race the following weekend against very limited opposition was the car's only highlight. Paterson's last drive in the car was at Silverstone at the end of July 1973, and the following week he advertised it in Autosport. The car then went to Barry White (London), who told Ian Hebblethwaite that it went to Yorkshire for Formule Libre or hillclimbs. Note that this is highly unlikely to have been the "unique" "Wimhurst LP2" that Philip Guerola and then Richard Piper drove between 1976 and 1981. Subsequent history unknown
Driven by: Jack Paterson. First race: Mallory Park, 18 Jun 1972. Total of 14 recorded races.
Other Wimhurst designs
Wimhurst also produced a Formula Ford car in 1972 that was called the Wimhurst Mk 4. Two of these were driven that season under the Renoir Racing banner by Americans Bob Burgess and - confusingly - Jas Patterson, but without significant success.
Wimhurst then designed a Formula Ford car in 1973 for Konig/Heath called the Wimhurst KHF1. He then revived the Palliser name in 1974 with partner Les Oakley to produce a Palliser 742 for the new Formula Ford 2000, a car that showed a lot of promise in the hands of Damien Magee. Another libre design followed in 1976, then a Wimhurst PLP4 that was converted to Formula Talbot for a while. Wimhurst continued as a freelance designer and by the early 1980s was working as a race engineer in Formula 3.
Sources and acknowledgements
The news of Palliser's liquidation was carried in Autosport 9 Mar 1972 p4. Directors of the firm were Hugh Dibley, Len Wimhurst and Robert Winkelmann. The announcement of the Wimhurst FA was in Autosport 30 Mar 1972 p3, and the announcement of the two Renoir Racing Wimhurst Mk4 Formula Fords was in Autosport 20 Apr 1972 p3. A Motor Sport article about Palliser (Motor Sport March 1971 pp218-219) also shed light on Wimhurst's designs, and there is further background in The Pace Motor Racing Directory (p495).
Historian Michael Oliver advises that Jack Paterson is no longer alive to help with this topic.
If you can add to our understanding of Len Wimhurst Engineering or of this car, or have photographs of it that we can use, please email Allen at allen@oldracingcars.com.
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