188 Classic & Sports Car September 2019
BruceMcLarenwonforthefirsttimeat
Sebringtocaptheseason,asBrabhampushed
hisCooperovertheline(again)to securethetitle.
Brabhamdominated 1960 withfivewinsin
eightstartsin a T53,coilsprung,withinnovative
newtransaxlegearboxandstilla curvedchassis
(againstBrabham’sprotestations).It wasstiffer
andlower,andfashionedinjustsevenweeksin
thefaceof Lotus’perhapsfaster18.
Thegoalpostsmovedfor’61,as F1shrankto
1.5litres,andjustonepodiumwasforthcoming.
Brabham’sUSGPpolewasscantpartinggift.
McLaren remainedfor’62, winningat
Monacoaboarda V8T60,whilepodiums
atAintree,Monza,WatkinsGlenandSouth
AfricasuggestedCooper hadarrestedthe
wobble.Yetit wouldbefouryearsuntila Cooper
wonagainandthecompanywassoldfollowing
thedeathof OldManCharles.
TwodoublepodiumsforJohnSurteesand
JochenRindtsignalleda brief 1966 revival
beforeBigJohn– who’dmadetheleapfromtwo
wheelstofourwithCooperat Goodwoodin ’60- endedtheteam’sdroughtat Mexicoin a T81.
It wonagainin Joburgtoopen’67,fuelpump
hangingoutofthebacktofightvaporisation.
LocalJohnLove’sT79developeda misfireand
requireda splash-and-dash,allowingPedro
Rodríguezto win.Coopersbotheredthepodium
onlytwicemore:BrianRedmanat Jaramain ’68
andLucienBianchiat Monacoa fortnightlater.
ButbythenJohn’soldspeed-trialrival
Issigonis’MinihadalreadymadeCoopera
householdname,despitefadingF1fame.
From top: Moss manhandles a Cooper-JAP
MkIII at Zandvoort in 1949 on the support
bill for the Dutch Grand Prix; Alan Brown
of Ecurie Richmond drops his drink during
the 1952 British Grand Prix, one of five
Cooper-Bristol T20s in the field
From top: John Cooper stands with 500cc
F3 car; Cooper was no stranger to building
bespoke customer sports cars, but the T39
‘Bobtail’ was the first production racer –
here en route to third in class at Le Mans
in ’57 shared by McLaren and Ian RabyMoss (7) powers off
in Goodwood’s Glover
Trophy in 1960, driving
a T51 just a month
before beating McLaren
at Monaco in a Lotus- Moss chased race-
winner Innes Ireland
(Lotus 18 ) throughout