Situated on the edge of the Lincolnshire Fens, the sleepy market town streets of Bourne came alive to the sound of music, or to the noise of roaring racing engines on this occasion, to paraphrase the words of Oscar Hammerstein. The event was BRM Day, the 50th Anniversary celebration of Graham Hill’s first F1 Driver Championship, and the one and only time the famous BRM marque took the F1 World Championship crown. Bourne was the home of Raymond Mays, who established British Racing Motors there in 1947, and the whole town embraced the spirit of the occasion. Mays lived in Bourne and employed many inhabitants of the town and surrounding villages in his tireless effort to achieve Grand Prix greatness with the marque. The team remained there until finally closing the workshop doors in the mid 1970s.
The main streets were closed to allow outstanding displays, parades, processions and demonstrations of roadcars, racecars and the great and the good all associated with the BRM team including former drivers, mechanics, team personnel and relatives of the same. One of those involved was David Owen, son of Sir Alfred Owen, representing the financier of the team, “Owen Racing Organisation,” which was emblazoned on the cars during the 1960s. He was overjoyed to see such a turnout, “It’s just tremendous! To think, what my father started all those years ago, through the ups and the downs, should culminate into such celebrations as we have here today. It’s almost a David and Goliath story that a little team based in rural Lincolnshire should take on and win the Formula One World Championship, driven by the wonderful Graham Hill. It’s good to think that the legend lives on, equally for BRM, Graham Hill and, of course, British engineering.”
Bette Hill, wife of the late World Champion, added, “What a glorious day, to think the people of Bourne should come out again and celebrate, just as they did 50 years ago when Graham won the championship. It’s marvellous.” Son Damon, a former World Champion himself, demonstrated his father’s P261 and the 1962 World Championship-winning car, “Old Faithful,” P578, in lively style and said, “To think that 50 years on, the efforts of BRM and the legacy and spirit of the team has not been forgotten by the people of Bourne, or by the race fans who have traveled many miles to see this spectacle. I think the BRM success in 1962 was an inspiration for many “copycats,” and particularly Colin Chapman, who must have thought if BRM can do it, so can Lotus.”
Also entertaining the thousands gathered along the route was Sir Jackie Stewart, former teammate of Graham Hill, who commented, “BRM were one of the mainstays of the motor sports industry in the United Kingdom throughout the 1950s and ’60s until their demise in the 1970s. Without their start, no one was close to beating the Italians. Ferrari, Maserati and Alfa Romeo were way ahead of anything else. BRM was the very start of the British assault on the Formula One World Championship, and inspired many other teams, including Vanwall, Lotus and Cooper. As a result of their efforts too, the UK now employs 40,000-50,000 people in the motorsports industry. We’re now producing most of the World Championship cars and our technologies are sought from every corner of the world, which could never have been dreamed of before those days. Driver training was also founded during those early BRM days and British drivers came to the fore, which they’ve continued to do ever since. It’s a shame BRM had to close, but the memories and legacy of those former days lives on and has been clearly demonstrated today.”
The organizers were thoroughly thrilled the day had gone so well and their efforts so richly rewarded. All profits from the event are to be donated to local charities and appeals. To take racing cars and put them into an environment where they are really not meant to be captures the imagination and delights of the onlooking generations, both male and female. Roll on the next celebration.
By Mike Jiggle
