Sir John Whitmore at a Goodwood test day in August, behind the wheel of the Cobra GT he drove at East London, South Africa, in 1965.
In 1963, three Willment-run cars were taken to South Africa for the South African season—a Lotus Cortina, a Ford Galaxie and the Cobra GT I am running at the Goodwood Revival in 2004!
There were several drivers and we used to just switch drivers and switch races. I drew the “short straw” at East London and got the Cobra for that race. I won the race but I remember that the car that finished 2nd was an MGA, and I was quite a long way in front of it—I sort of drove with my elbow out the window. At least when I come to drive it again at Goodwood, I can remember it very well. That was the only race I did with that car, which remained in South Africa. Bobby Olthoff owned it and did a number of races with it.
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