F1 race star John Love advises a Hillman Imp driver named Roy McBride

The place was Cape Towns Killarney Race Circuit,managed then and now by the WPMC,the year will have been 1972. For me the event was special in that my 998cc Hillman Imp entry in the Argus race series as car number 75F, was also one of  the saloon cars that were back up events to the South African  F1 series,one of the F1  drivers was John Love,a six times South African F1 Championship winner.

John Love

At the time I was in the pits that were at the rear of the main pit lane pits,I was about to pour some of Shells 100 octane fuel into the petrol tank from one of those large square 20 litre steel cans we were issued with. The neck of the can was at the bottom,just as I was about to pour what was left of the petrol into the Hillman Imps petrol tank,John Love stopped by and advised that I would do better if the containers neck was at the top.

I ask you,who today and being a six times champion would ever bother to comment like this to a young guy with his Hillman Imp!

John Love seen here in his Cooper and at Kyalami in the 1972 F1 world championship,at this time he was in first place,what happened? read story in the link below.

Read more about this amazing SA driver here http://www.f1rejects.com/centrale/love/index.html

 John Love continued to be one of the leading racers in southern Africa despite nearing 50 years of age, and he kept competing in the World Championship South African GP right up to 1972, although he never emulated the success of January 2, 1967. In one of the more dramatic races in the story of Formula One, although one surprisingly almost forgotten, it was the day when perhaps the biggest upset in Grand Prix history came within seven laps of being realised. It was a triumph of the unpredictable, which sadly modern F1 has done its best to avoid.

Thanks John.

R McB

My own Hillman Imp with a 998cc engine based on a Mk1 block,with a very worked on cylinder head and a works R20 camshaft,the car went very well.It used 12"x6"J steel rims with Dunlop slick tyres,which suitably lowered the gear ratios.My thanks to Eric Wells who took the picture,I assume this was in 1972 when I was racing in the Argus Championship that year.

More on John Love from Wikipedia (many thanks)

John Love (racing driver)From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Love Born 7 December 1924(1924-12-07)

Died 25 April 2005(2005-04-25) (aged 80)

Formula One World Championship career

Nationality Rhodesian

Active years 1962-1965, 1967-1972

Teams Cooper, privateer (Cooper, Brabham, Lotus, March, Surtees)

Races 10 (9 starts)

Championships 0

Wins 0

Podiums 1

Career points 6

Pole positions 0

Fastest laps 0

First race 1962 South African Grand Prix

Last race 1972 South African Grand Prix

John Maxwell Lineham Love (December 7, 1924 - April 25, 2005) was a racing driver from Rhodesia. He participated in 10 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on December 29, 1962. He achieved 1 podium, and scored a total of 6 championship points.

Love was born in Bulawayo. Six times South African F1 Champion in the 1960s, he had originally shone in the European Formula Junior firmament back in 1961-62 at the wheel of a Cooper-Austin from Ken Tyrrell's team. An unfortunate accident at Albi resulted in a very badly broken arm and effectively thwarted his chances of moving into full-time F1, but he came close when he was nominated as Phil Hill's replacement in the works Cooper team for the 1964 Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Nevertheless, he became a regular contestant in the South African Grand Prix and was leading the 1967 event at Kyalami in his 2.7 L Climax-engined Cooper when a misfire prompted him to make a precautionary stop for extra fuel and he dropped back to finish second behind the works Cooper-Maserati of Pedro Rodríguez.
Love owned the Jaguar dealership in Bulawayo and had his own stock car racing team in the 1980s.