The Macau/Singapore Grand Prix Tojeiro
Based on the timescale of delivery October/November 1961 the Tojeiro DKW was most likely chassis TAD61/03. The history on how Walter Sulke came to ask John Tojeiro to build him a car with a DKW engine to race in the Far East is not known in any detail but Eli Solomon who edits the Singapore motoring magazine and author of ‘Snakes and Demons - the History of the Singapore Grand Prix’ is on the case and has been searching for any clues as to what happened to the car.
Sulke was the Hong Kong Mercedes Benz and DKW importer who, over the years entered various cars and drivers in the premier races in the Far East
Nov 18 1961 IX Grande Premio de Macau
9th (No4) Arthur Pateman Tojeiro FJ DKW. Entered by Walter Sulke
1962 Singapore GP
Bill Wyllie Tojeiro Formula Junior. Entered by Walter Sulke
(Bill Wyllie won the 1960 Johore GP winner in a Auto Union 1000S also entered by Walter Sulke).
1963 Singapore GP
Peter Cowling Tojeiro Formula Junior
Tojeiro Formula Junior
Monday, 16 August 2010
Thursday, 12 August 2010
Bridgehampton 1961 |
The details of John Tojeiro’s Formula Juniors are fairly sketchy as I have discovered in researching the history of my Tojeiro chassis (TAD02/61) purchased as basket case in 2006. So any help in filling in the blank spaces would be appreciated.
The car had been brought back to the UK from the USA and it was suggested that it was the Tojeiro sent to the Far East fitted with a three cylinder two stroke DKW engine for the Hong Kong Mercedes Benz agent Walter Soulke to enter in the Macau Grand Prix.
Looking at my chassis it was fairly obvious that it had been fitted with a Ford 105E engine from the outset and could not be the ‘Macau DKW’ car. The only other known Tojeiro FJ was a BMC engine Tojeiro/Britannia campaigned in the UK by Francis Pound and no one I talked to had any knowledge of any other Tojeiro FJs built.
It was only when Googling ‘Tojeiro USA’ did I come across various 1961 Sports Car Club of America race results not only listing one Tojeiro FJ but sometimes two entered in one race. The name Jay Heizer appeared again and again and further Googling produced a professor at a Texas University by the name of Jay Heizer. Contacting him he told me that he was ‘the’ Jay Heizer having been Tojeiro’s US Agent and had imported two Ford engine Formula Junior cars.
The Formula Junior story so far....
Having concentrated throughout the 1950s on the design of big engine sports cars usually for John Ogier and Ecurie Ecosse plus some 1100cc Coventry Climax engine cars with the arrival of Formula Junior in 1959 John Tojeiro decided to get involved in single seaters and produced a design for a rear engine car.
It was a simple space frame with coil spring/integral dampers units and wishbone suspension at the front. At the rear he attached the coil spring/dampers to the top of the rear hub carriers requiring the chassis to sweep to take the top fixing giving the car a high tail look. It was designed with drum brakes those at the rear being inboard attached to an inverted Volkswagen gearbox. The car ran on 15 inch wheels sourced from Elva Cars and was enclosed in an aluminium body styled by Cavendish Morton.
Francis Pound, having successfully raced MG sports cars, wanted to progress to Formula Junior and he was recommended to approach Tojeiro about a car. Ordering one to be powered by a BMC A Series engine. This was given chassis number TAD 10/60.
On delivery Pound spent 1960 sorting out the car and did not enter his first race, a BARC Members meeting at Goodwood, until March 11th 1961.
In 1957 Tojeiro had been commissioned to design a road going GT car for a new company the Britannia Car Company utilising a space frame chassis, a Ford Zephyr engine and a two door coupe body again designed by artist Cavendish Morton who penned all the bodies for Tojeiro
The Britannia Car Company was owned by Ackland Geddes, an heir to the Dunlop tyre fortune, He wanted a good way to market and promote the GT as sales had been poor (only 6 cars were ever produced) and decided that Formula Junior was a way to promote the name so Britannia Racing was formed and, following the sale of the first FJ bearing the John’s name to Francis Pound, Tojeiro sold the existing design to Geddes.
Three cars were produced during the 1960 season. They were not front runners despite a Basson tuned engine there being little or no money for development and they were up against the well sorted works cars of Lola, Lotus, Cooper, Elva et al.
At the end of 1960 the Britannia Car Company went into liquidation allegedly owing John Tojeiro money for his design services and so it is believed that to recoup some of the debt he took back all the unused Britannia FJ chassis, body and suspension components.
Since the announcement of John’s original Tojeiro/Britannia design Colin Chapman had introduced the Lotus 20 and it was obvious to Tojeiro that rear suspension needed redesigning so the repossessed Britannia chassis were chopped off behind the cockpit and a new rear end grafted on to take Lotus like rear suspension.
FJ was becoming popular in the USA and Tojeiro was approached at the end of 1960 by Jay Heizer about supplying cars. A deal was done and in April 1961 two Ford engine cars were shipped out to Washington.
Jay Heizer found two buyers Frank Fuller, who was racing a 1957 Chevrolet Corvette and the other by John Marble 'a local wealthy playboy' according to Heizer.
1961 SCCA Race Results
April 29/30th Virginia International Raceway Danville President’s Cup
No. 118 Driver John Marble Entrant Campbell Smith
May 13/14th Cumberland Municipal Airport Maryland
IX SCCA National Championship Races Jaycees Cup
No 88 Driver Jay Heizer Entrant John Marble
16th DNF Overheating problems
No 89 Driver Paul Fanning Entrant Frank Fuller
May 27/28th Bridgehampton New York SCCA Championship Race
No 46 Driver Jay Heizer Entrant John Marble
14th DNF Melted Piston
No 47 Driver Paul Fanning Entrant Frank Fuller
Transmission broke in practice
June 10/11th Vineland Speedway New Jersey
No 46 Driver Frank Fuller Crashed on 1st lap
Sept 22nd Watkins Glen New York SCCA XIV Grand Prix Seneca Cup
No 146 Driver Frank E Fuller 9th
No 105 Driver Campbell T Smith Entrant John Marble DNF
Date Unknown Marlboro, Upper Marlboro, Maryland Washington DC
Driver Frank Fuller Carb problem in practice.
Crashed in race and wrecked chassis. Replacement one
sent from UK
Date Unknown Reading Airport Pennsylvania
Driver George Meszaros Dashboard frame broke NS
Date Unknown Suffolk Regional Race Westport Long Island
Driver George Meszaros No oil pressure withdrew
Date Unknown SCCA Race Reading Airport
Driver George Meszaros 3rd place
May 7th 1964 Cumberland Municipal Airport Maryland
Cumberland Lions/SCCA Steel Cities (39) Albert E Windish
Memorial Trophy FJ/F Libre
No 1 Driver Walt Phillips (Silver springs Md) 5th
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