The Mechanic's Gallon

Gary Critcher
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The Mechanic's Gallon

I came upon the phrase ‘the mechanic’s gallon’ a while ago. Teams in the 60’s were trying to save weight and make the car as light as possible, inc. putting as much fuel in the car at the start of the race so that it lasted JUST to the end. This generally worked but a few times ran out of fuel with a few laps to go. So unbeknownst to Colin Chapman, the mechanics when fuelling the car would add an extra gallon, just to make sure it was enough, hence the ‘mechanic’s gallon’!

  1. 1 JAN

    Peter Warr of Lotus

    Download the audio here, also on the YouTube Channel Here is an excerpt from the interview we filmed with Peter Warr for my Lotus 72 documentary. These are the pieces where he's not talking about the 72! Peter (or PEW as he was known) was the Team Lotus Team Manager as well as at Walter Wolf Racing. But before that, he worked at Lotus very early on. He also tells us one of the ways that Jim Clark won the Indy 500 in 1965, pay driver Alex Soler-Roig at Clermont-Ferrand in 1970 and Dave Walker in F3 in 1971. The interview was conducted by Steve Holter.

  2. 24/12/2024

    Beaky Sims tells us what it was like to work on the revolutionary gas turbine Lotus 56B

    Download the audio here, also on the YouTube channel. Reine Wisell pictured in the 56B in the Silverstone pitlane at the 1971 British GP.Picture courtesy of the Supercharged Collection.

  3. 23/12/2024

    John Miles explaining the principles of anti-squat and anti-dive suspension pioneered on the Lotus 72

    Download the audio here, also on the YouTube channel. Beaky Sims pictured with John Miles in the Lotus 64 at the 1969 British Grand Prix at Silverstone.Picture courtesy of the Supercharged Collection

  4. 20/12/2024

    Dave Brodie, recorded in April 2016

    Download the audio here, also on the YouTube channelI met the Brode just twice, the first time was to film this interview (April 2016) for my Lotus 72 documentary. The connection to that was that he was Ronnie Peterson's best friend, and indeed, at his wedding to Barbro was not only his chauffeur but also his Best Man!In this interview I cut virtually nothing out, the Brode was such a skillful storyteller that we needed no re-takes.Ronnie is my favourite Grand Prix driver and as the interview drew to a close both the Brode and I knew how it was going to end, we both finished with tears in our eyes.RIP Brode, thank you for your time and patience.

  5. 10/02/2023

    Peter Burns, part 2 of 2, recorded 23rd January 2023

    Download part 2 of the audio here  Gary continues his interview with Peter, you can watch the whole conversation on YouTube.

  6. 10/02/2023

    Peter Burns, part 1 of 2, recorded 23rd January 2023

    Download part 1 of the audio here  Our guest this time is Peter Burns, who, although not on the front line in the pitlane, still wracked up 35 years in motorsport. After being involved with the organisation of the inaugural Dubai Grand Prix in 1983, he then worked for McLaren in Formula One, being in at the very start of hospitality provided by the teams for their sponsors. In this role he got to know very well people like Alan Prist, Ayrton Senna, David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen.Having been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 2017, Peter is now working with Parkinson's charities, in 2021 he was part of a team who swam the Solent to the Isle Of Wight, raising £47,000. This year they will again swim, this time around the Isle Of Wight! For more information and if you'd care to donate, please visit their website at www.positivelyparkinsons.co.ukThe Grand Prix Trust is a charity formed over 30 years ago by Jackie Stewart to help former F1 employees when times are hard. Both Peter and I are involved with them. Please visit their website at www.grandprixtrust.comYou can also watch it on Gary's YouTube channel.

  7. 19/01/2023

    Ron Tauranac

    Another interview from our archive, this time with the late Brabham and Ralt designer Ron Tauranac. Notoriously reticent to be interviewed, I heard from him after I sent him a copy of the interview, he said he wished he had said more! Ron is interviewed by my friend Alan Morgan. Audio podcast is here. You can also watch the interview at https://youtu.be/pPHC1JY0kW4

  8. 06/12/2021

    Robin Day, part 3 of 3

    In part 3 Robin tells us what it was like to work for Bernie, working on the BT55 then on to Leyton House March in 1987. Then it was a move to Indycar but still with March, back to the F3000s then lastly six months at Pacific Grand Prix in 1993.All three parts of the interview are also on YouTube at https://tinyurl.com/mryh6f8xAudio podcast is here.

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    About

    I came upon the phrase ‘the mechanic’s gallon’ a while ago. Teams in the 60’s were trying to save weight and make the car as light as possible, inc. putting as much fuel in the car at the start of the race so that it lasted JUST to the end. This generally worked but a few times ran out of fuel with a few laps to go. So unbeknownst to Colin Chapman, the mechanics when fuelling the car would add an extra gallon, just to make sure it was enough, hence the ‘mechanic’s gallon’!

    Information

    • Creator
      Gary Critcher
    • Years Active
      2020 - 2025
    • Episodes
      24
    • Rating
      Clean
    • Copyright
      © (c) Gary Critcher
    • Show Website
      The Mechanic's Gallon

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