Robert Blakemore

From an early age Robert Blakemore had a passion for pre-war racing cars, particularly Aston Martins. His father owned a MkII, and the young Blakemore would wile away hours just sitting in the driver’s seat imagining he was racing at some of the world’s famous circuits…being careful not to touch any of the dials and switches! Work found commercial aircraft playing a big part of his life following a university education, although the racetrack occupied some of his spare time. However, accepting voluntary redundancy, former Captain Blakemore grasped a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join Ecurie Bertelli, a well-established center of excellence for pre-war Aston Martins, with a view to becoming the owner over a five-year period. VR’s European Editor, Mike Jiggle, took time to understand his journey from boyhood dreamer to managing director of the company from which his father purchased the MkII Aston he once played in.

Many young boys have dreams of becoming a racing driver or a pilot. In your particular case your career and interests have led you to doing both, two bites of the cherry you might say. Was this all to do with a love of speed?

RB: Certainly not speed per se, although I am a bit of an adrenalin junkie. In an airplane, it wasn’t the normal everyday flights that gave me any sort of excitement, it was when the weather was poor or challenging, or a mechanical issue arose, or the flight somehow became compromised that really thrilled me. Having to work through the difficulties to a successful conclusion was the greatest buzz.

Motor racing has given me that same rush, not necessarily driving at break-neck speed, pre-war Aston Martins are not fast compared to modern racing cars, but learning how to get the maximum out of a racing car. I like to be the last of the late-brakers, or driving the optimum line through a corner knowing I’d wrung every ounce out of both man and machine and been on the edge.

So, how did this evolve from being a young boy?

RB: Before I was born my father had always had some nice cars to drive, he had a couple of pre-war Alvis models, he also had a Rolls-Royce, but he didn’t like it that much and got rid of it very quickly. It was when I was about eight years old that he bought a 1935 Aston Martin MkII from Morntane Engineering in London, which held much more promise, it was a racing car. At that time, Morntane was owned by Nick Mason and run day to day by Derrick Edwards. Of course, Morntane became Ecurie Bertelli in later years.

My father kept the Aston in the garage and I’d love to get behind the wheel of this superb racing machine, it was all I’d dreamed of with the exhaust coming out of the side, a spot-lamp fixed to one side for rallying—a real racer, which spurred my imagination without moving a single inch. It did, however, promise much more than the Alvis cars, which we’d taken on tours and some rallies. My father had a quite stressful job working for IBM, his love of classic cars was a sort of escapism for him, and the Aston was good enough for the racetrack.

You father raced?

RB: Well, his racing was more by accident than design. The story is that my father’s car was having work done on it and was taking a little longer than he desired to be completed. I’m not too sure whether it was Morntane or Ecurie Bertelli at the time, but he tried to force Derrick Edwards’ hand. Knowing Derrick would do anything to get a customer’s car ready for a race meeting, father told him he’d like the car ready for the VSCC High Speed Trial. Of course, this certainly wasn’t the case, it was just a ruse to get his car finished! My father’s bluff was well and truly called when Derrick called saying he was sorry the car would not be ready for the VSCC event, but not to worry as another car had been entered in my father’s name for the event as he didn’t want him to be disappointed.[pullquote]“For me, the only thing better than flying is pre-war Aston-Martins!”[/pullquote]

At that time, it was quite simple to get a license from the RAC (Royal Automobile Club), you simply rang them up and they sent one out in the post, the only other proviso is that the driver had to wear a crash hat, and it was recommended they wore gloves. So, my father purchased a crash helmet and took part in his first ever motor racing event, and absolutely loved every minute of it—the bug had really bitten. He eventually purchased a Le Mans, a MkII, and then sold them both to purchase Derrick Edwards’ Ulster, which he raced with Andy Bell for a number of years. So, I grew up watching my father race with Andy and generally got to know many others involved in the vintage motor racing scene. When I was old enough, I took to the track too.

I remember talking to Tim Parnell, who told a story of the time his father, Reg, had purchased a number of pre-war racing cars and stored them at the family farm. As a boy, Tim would love to sit in the driving seat and pretend he was racing. I suppose you did much the same with your father’s Aston MkII?

RB: Yes, yes, I did much the same. I was allowed to pretend all I wanted, as long as I didn’t touch any of the switches. Sawing at the wheel was great fun.

Where did the love of flying come from?

RB: I’m not too sure, it just seemed a great thing to do and so I decided I’d have a go. After University, I borrowed some money and gained my Commercial Pilot’s License. For the next 15 or 16 years that was my day-to-day employment. It was mainly European short-haul flights for various airlines in the UK. I did four years as a First Officer and the rest of my time as a Captain. I flew into most of the big airports in Europe, like Schiphol Airport Amsterdam and Charles de Gaulle Paris, also the tiny ones too, like Bergerac in the Dordogne region of France—it had about three parking spaces—and many other airports in between.

In my time, I had pretty well as many problems during flight as one could have. I even started off with an engine failure mid-flight! During my career, pretty much everything failed—other than losing cabin pressure. It was good fun, as I mentioned before, I loved being on the edge.

The training is very good and many, if not all, scenarios are played out, so when the real thing happens it becomes second nature to know what to do. There are system failures, then multiple system failures to contend with—even with things that in reality would never have happened.

I assume it sharpens the mind much more having problems while in flight rather than on a simulator?

RB: Yes, but it’s really very methodical and disciplined– the training is second to none. Every six months I’d be in the simulator, keeping abreast of any new procedures, or scenarios. When it does go wrong, the brain goes into gear and as a pilot you simply deal with it.

I suppose when Sully landed his crippled plane on the Hudson that was about as bad as it gets with a positive outcome?

RB: Yes, and after that, pretty much every pilot used any spare time on the simulator to land a plane on water – it had a dramatic effect. Having said that, if any incident out of the norm occurs in reality, then a pilot wants to practice his reaction to that event or set of circumstances. It’s a good aid to learning and keeps a pilot truly engaged with current trends. There is a saying “safety is no accident”—it’s a very deliberate process in aviation not to have an accident. I believe, in 2017, there were no passenger jet aircraft crashes worldwide. The safety standards are very high. An air crash still makes headline news. It is, by far, the safest form of travel—statistically donkeys are more dangerous.

Back on terra firma, what was your first road car?

RB: It was nothing too dramatic, or exciting, it was a Vauxhall Astra. It was simply something to get me from A to B, and as a student, as cheaply as possible. I learned to drive in the family Land Rover —now that was a bit special. The car was used to tow the horsebox and, of course, the trailer to take the Aston to race meetings. Looking back, I don’t think I’ve ever owned anything that’s too exciting for the road. I tend to look at modern cars as being relatively dull. Yes, they may be superb to others, they’re built to do almost everything the driver desires—even driverless on the horizon—but they lack one thing for me, passion! Most are designed using computers, it appears that most of the desired parameters are put into a computer program and the same shape comes out—the human element is lost, there’s no character.

What led to your change of direction in employment, leaving the airways for Ecurie Bertelli?

RB: It was simply my then employer looking to reduce staffing levels—downsizing on pilots too. I was offered a reasonable redundancy package and accepted it after agreeing with Andy Bell that we should work toward me taking over the running of Ecurie Bertelli. For me, the only thing better than flying is pre-war Aston-Martins!

I’d raced a pre-war Aston for some years when the opportunity arose, and I also purchased a 1935 Riley as well—I couldn’t afford an Aston. I rebuilt the Riley engine and you could say I was reasonably engrossed in the vintage scene.

Are you saying a Riley is a poor man’s Aston?

RB: To be honest, Rileys may be considered to be better cars, but they don’t have the gravitas, or branding, of an Aston. There are far more of them about, so being more plentiful they don’t hold a huge price tag. On the whole, the cars are very similar, but the Rileys are more abundant.

On a personal note, can the draw of the Aston and your current post at Ecurie Bertelli inexorably be traced back to your father buying the MkII?

RB: Yes, certainly, it all stems from there. It also stems from my desire to be running and owning an Aston instead of a Riley, too. Growing up, I got to know the history and heritage of many of the pre-war Astons being run at VSCC and AMOC events. I also got to know the owners past and present, and they knew me. It was a great platform to begin working from.

What was the first working day like at Ecurie Bertelli?

RB: It was a real difference to what I’d been used too. Flying, by its nature, is a very regimented occupation, the roster tells you when you’re working and where you’re going, in the cockpit there’s a certain drill of checks and procedures to go through prior to flight. My first day here was possibly the antithesis of all I’d been used to. Working here is a more creative role, problems to solve in all the avenues of working, from the practical side of things through to the office systems too. However, the disciplined approach of my former career has greatly assisted my work here. Having to change my mindset to working in a different way, especially as I was embarking on a process to eventually take over the reins of the company, a role where I could almost do as I please, has been challenging.

Therefore, to answer your question, my first role was to stock-take and understand all the spare parts we either manufactured ourselves, or those that others produced on our behalf. This list currently amounts to around 1,700 parts. The evaluation process with this was to ensure all the costings were bang up-to-date.

Once this was achieved, I looked at some of our manufacturing procedures, especially with gaskets. Our gaskets were produced by hand from original patterns, this was a lengthy process that was ideally suited to programing via CNC and laser cutting—computer-led technologies that are more efficient both in accuracy and time.

The basic grounding over those early months helped tremendously and allowed me to understand the business from scratch. Feeding me extra responsibilities ensured I learned not only at a steady pace, but a thorough one too. Most of what the company did and valuable information of the running of the business was locked in Andy’s (Bell) head. Four years on, and I not only manage myself, but also hand tasks to all members of the workforce—including Andy Bell.

Andy Bell’s working life started with Morntane Engineering and later Ecurie Bertelli, and the part he’s played is indelibly marked. Have you found it difficult for others to understand that you are now in charge?

RB: Yes, to a degree. Andy is, and always will be an integral part of the business. However, Ecurie Bertelli is made up of many people, all with great knowledge and experience, and getting that known more widely has been key. While the public perception may be Ecurie Bertelli equals Andy Bell, the reality is that Ecurie Bertelli equals an excellence of work and the team that produces it, including Andy Bell. On our web site we like to introduce the team behind Ecurie Bertelli, which has been a tremendous help and brings individual talents and experience to the fore—this has always been the case, but never publicized.

The gradual and measured change over what will be a five-year period has certainly stood us in great shape. It would have been far, far more difficult had Andy Bell stopped working one day and I took over the next. Indeed, if that had been the case the business would have fallen to pieces by now, I have no doubt. While the technical skills have grown over the years prior to my joining, the systems of running the business hadn’t grown at that same pace. For instance, if we had run out of a part, no one would have had a clue how to source, or replenish the stock. Workflow processes too, were another conundrum; all these things weren’t down on paper, simply all in Andy’s head.

Today, the business systems ensure I get an email when we are low, or out of a particular part. If it became necessary for a product recall, which we had recently, we can identify where and to whom we supplied the parts. We are in a situation where the skill of an individual is paramount, but the business now has the ability to retain the knowledge. I’m now looking at efficiency gains, improving the way we work in the workshop and being involved with more events than before, so many can enjoy their cars. Recently, we’ve added a couple of vehicles to the business that drivers can rent on an “arrive and drive” basis, rather than own their own vehicle.

I look at the many wooden plan chests behind you; there must be a great deal of history and heritage here that you can draw on?

RB: We’ve got information in the business that stretches back to the very start of Aston Martin. While we mainly focus on the pre-war cars, our archive gives detailed information on Aston Martin cars produced up until 1985. We still collect and receive additional data today, so the archive is truly a living thing. We also work on the archive, continuing to update photographs of the various cars and models, the racing history—period and modern—the owner details and all things to ensure we have the most up-to-date records possible.

The VSCC has recently embraced rallying as well as racing, it seems a lucrative business. Do you see yourselves getting more involved in the modern rallies and tours?

RB: While racing is my first love, I did the Mille Miglia last year for the first time —an amazing experience, I must say. The atmosphere is electric and the scenery stunning for the whole of the 1,000 miles. I’ve been very lucky too to have competed at Le Mans Classic in a car, which in period took 8th place overall—that was another tick off of the bucket list. Racing through the night was especially exciting. The Goodwood Revival has become such a special event to take part in, Lord March continues to do a great job, and so being invited to race there was a privilege. The quality of the event, both on and off the track, is simply second to none.

Previously, I’d done a 1,500-mile tour of Europe with my father in a 1933 Aston Martin Le Mans, and a number of similar tours like that while I was studying at University, but nothing competitive until last May. Rallying is a very different way to extract the most out of your vehicle, as accuracy, particularly timing, is essential. As an event, the Mille Miglia dominates the work schedule here over the winter months.

How does your discipline as a pilot transfer to the track, be it racing or rallying?

RB: There are two main areas. Firstly, preparation is imperative both for car and aircraft. Practically speaking, great hand and eye co-ordination is a valuable transferable skill set too. There is, and always has been, an inexorable connection between pilots and racing drivers—many times both are at the edge of their abilities.

Many pilots of WWII took to motor racing to try and maintain that adrenalin buzz. Did you not want to drive anything faster than a pre-war Aston, or Riley—say a modern formula or GT racing car?

RB: I’ve been offered, and indeed raced an E-Type Jaguar and cars like that, but the adrenalin rush for me is not how fast you can go down the straight, but going through the corners absolutely on the limit—it’s both the skill and thrill of doing that correctly, knowing you couldn’t have done it any better, or quicker—it’s a great buzz and complete satisfaction. Out and out speed in a straight line holds little magic for me.

Hypothetically speaking, if money was no object would your dream car be an Aston Martin?

RB: Yes, well, it would be two Astons actually.

Always two bites at the cherry?

RB: I would buy an Aston Martin Ulster 1.5-liter, because it represents the pinnacle of the era, it was the most successful car ever campaigned by the works and also has a great presence, great to look at. I would also want a Speed Model too as, in my view, they are technically the best of the pre-war cars, they are very scarce too—not many were made. The hydraulic brakes are just incredible, with a “gruntier” two-liter engine, an all round better car.

Lastly, there is a trend, especially by those who are investors, to simply salt away various cars and hide them from the public in the hope that the ultimate hammer price would increase and give them a better return. What are your views on that?

RB: I’m not an advocate of that at all. It does a car no good at all to simply sit in a garage, or lock-up. In fact, I’d say it devalues them. Keeping a car racing and in the public eye is the way forward, adding to its period history by racing, rallying or competing in modern classic events adds to the value too. I must say, in our small corner, it’s not something I’ve come across.

All our customers love to take their car out and show it off, what’s the point of owning something simply to lock it away? Surely, the great motivator in buying such a car is to enjoy, what after all is a living and breathing machine. It is seeing these cars regularly competing that is that gives me, and many others pure enjoyment.

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