Archie Scott Brown

[Pilgrim]

I've just ordered a copy of Robert Edwardes' 'Archie And The Listers' (it comes highly recommended apparently), along with a copy of a Stirling Moss biography by the same author.

Obviously, Archie Scott Brown commands respect not only for his number of race wins, but the fact that he did it while in such poor physical condition simply amazes me.

I was wondering whether he ever raced at Le Mans and what kind of record he had there, if any.

Can anyone help here?

[Nordic]

Its some time since i read the book, which I recall as very good, but I think you will find Archie Scott Brown never raced at Le Mans, or that much outside the UK apart from Spa where he died.

Most tracks in Europe would not let him race thinking his handicap would prevent him exiting his car, the ACO at the time i think took this view as well.



 

[Lorry]

I've just read "Powered By Jaguar" (Poundland £1), and ASB had trouble abroad (and in Ireland) due to his disabilities. He was getting away with it, and had several events but I'm not sure LM was one of them.  Lister did have entries, but Spa was in May.

Lister didn't enter in 1957, so it looks like ASB never made it to the Sarthe

[termietermite]

Did this have anything to do with the Le Mans start - rather than problems during the race?  When David Piper has raced classics here he has always been exempt from the "show lm start" that they go in for in these races.  He's another guy whose driving abilities did not seem to wain after he lost his leg whilst filming the Steve McQ movie.  Some of these guys never cease to amaze me, most of us can't drive that well when all our bits are in full working order.

[Pilgrim]

It could have been to do with leaving the car in the event of a crash.

Given his disabilities, I reckon ASB would have had great difficulty in getting out of a car.

Maybe this contributed to his sad passing in some way.

[Kpy]

It could have been to do with leaving the car in the event of a crash.

Given his disabilities, I reckon ASB would have had great difficulty in getting out of a car.

Maybe this contributed to his sad passing in some way.

Best wait 'til you read the book, which is excellent.
In fact Archie raced at Sebring, the Tasman series in 1957, and set fastest practice lap for the Nurburgring 1000 kms in 1957. He was down to drive the second stint in the latter race so as to avoid having to make the Le Mans start running across the track. He was never entered for Le Mans.
As for his death being connected to his inability to exit the car, well it was. He was trapped in the semi-inverted wreckage whilst dowsed in 30 gallons of fuel which ignited. Nothing to do with his handicapped limbs.

[Boorish Grobian]

It's interesting that Alan Stacey had a similar disability (lost his right leg below the knee).  Alan was a fine F1 & sportscar driver (he drove at Le Mans) until his tragic death, also at Spa, in 1960.  Graham Hill used to relate a funny story of how, at track physicals at European venues, when they went to check Alan's legs, Alan would put forward his good leg, then Graham would create a distraction, then Alan would put forward the same leg.
Apparently the doctors never caught on, or just turned a blind eye.
Fax 

[Martini...LB]

It's interesting that Alan Stacey had a similar disability (lost his right leg below the knee).  Alan was a fine F1 & sportscar driver (he drove at Le Mans) until his tragic death, also at Spa, in 1960.  Graham Hill used to relate a funny story of how, at track physicals at European venues, when they went to check Alan's legs, Alan would put forward his good leg, then Graham would create a distraction, then Alan would put forward the same leg.
Apparently the doctors never caught on, or just turned a blind eye.
Fax 

In those days with the cameraderie around that is prob true.

Good to see you in writing mood again Fax, funny though I was thinking the other day that Matt H is a bit quiet these days.

Look forward to seeing you at SEBRING in march, for a little longer this time.

>Martini...

[Boorish Grobian]

Hi Martin,
Will be there in sunny Florida for sure. Sebring is probably my favorite race of the year and nothing, but nothing will keep me away from the old bomber base in March.
See you there, cold beer in hand!
Fax

[Canada Phil]

Hi Martin & Fax,
 Me too for Sebring. This talk of drivers with disabilities reminds me of my early years as a spectator theere was this guy who raced a motorcycle in his black leathers , everyone wore black in those days,and only after a few years of watching him did I see him off the bike walking to the podium he was comletely folded in 1/2 with a hump back which of course suited riding a bike just fine. Opened the eyes of a young boy to the capabilities of the so called disabled.
Phil

[nopanic - neil]

I know this is a very old posting,

but after reading about this guy in the Telegraph motor section today, and reading more on the internet. What a brave and strong willed person.

Raise a glass to him later this week, as it was 50 years ago he died.

Now going to order the book about him of Amazon now and read more.

[Brian]

From the telegraph today.

Archie Scott Brown died 50 years ago this week. An immense talent behind the wheel, he was also disabled from birth. Writer Robert Edwards pays tribute to this remarkable driver

"A phenomenal pilot with uncanny car control…" JM Fangio William Archibald Scott Brown was born in Paisley on Friday, May 13, 1927 and, although athletic enough in temperament, he was initially considered to be unlikely even to walk. His legs lacked shinbones, his feet were both clubbed and reversed, and his right hand was missing; he would never be taller than 5ft. Dozens of delicate operations in his early childhood eventually allowed him mobility, even (later) some sport.

   
Skill: Archie in his Lister-Maserati at the 1956 British GP 
The car (lawnmower engine-powered) which his father built for him in 1938 introduced him to speed early on. It became clear that, whatever his difficulties, Archie had unusual balance, which was doubly useful when riding to school aboard a vicious retired pit-pony.

"He loved speed, even as a child" recalled one early teacher. Importantly, he also learned to "drift", the black art of balancing a car with all four wheels sliding, which was a prerequisite of fast laps on the primitive crossply tyres of the time.

After abandoning St Andrews, Archie's career options were limited, but he joined Dobie's Tobacco and was despatched to East Anglia in 1949. His mother, who had divorced Archie's alcoholic father, accompanied him and the pair settled in Cambridge.

A legacy allowed him to buy an MG in 1951, which was when he met fellow enthusiast Brian Lister, who raced a feral Tojeiro-JAP special at local events. Quickly it became clear that Archie was the more gifted driver and so his motor racing career commenced. Lister became the entrant and turned to the family engineering business. If the Tojeiro's engine lasted, Archie usually won.

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For 1954 Lister produced his own car, the Lister-MG, with an engine tuned by Don Moore, and an entry was made for the Oulton Park Empire Trophy. Archie qualified first in class, but a protest from another entrant led to his entry being banned by the RAC and his racing licence revoked for a tense two months.

Lister opted for Bristol power for 1955 and it became a benchmark of the two-litre class and beyond. He re-engined the car with a Maserati unit in 1956, which was elegant but unreliable. Archie had also been spotted by several Formula One teams and he led the Connaught effort for that season, winning the first Formula One race he entered. He retired from the British GP, but put his car on provisional pole for the Italian GP in 1956 before his entry was refused on medical grounds. But unreliability dogged Connaught and the team would soon be sold to Bernie Ecclestone. He declined a later offer from BRM upon Mike Hawthorn's urgent advice.

Jaguar's withdrawal from competition offered another engine for 1957 and, urged by sponsors BP, Lister worked over the winter to produce Archie's celebrated missile, the 300bhp Lister-Jaguar, aboard which he entered 14 races in 1957, winning 12 of them. The car went into limited customer production for the 1958 season.

That year had promised much for the Cambridge team, bonded as they were by Archie's success - plans were afoot for a Le Mans entry, but before that came the Sports Car GP at Spa-Francorchamps on May 18.

Uncharacteristically, he had been beaten by Masten Gregory in another Lister-Jaguar at a previous meeting and was anxious to score the 72nd victory of his short career.

The weather was mixed. On lap six, Archie, in the lead, found himself in a huge drift when the car hit standing water. The right front wheel clipped a road sign, which should have been removed, and the axle snapped. Uncontrollable, the car plunged over the verge and exploded. Two brave gendarmes pulled him out but he was too badly burned to survive. He died the next evening, 50 years ago.