CAR PROFILE

1964 SUNBEAM LE MANS TIGER
S/N: B9499998, British Registration Nº ADU 180B

Owner:  Darrell Mountjoy, California, USA

             One of two race cars (plus a development car) commissioned by Rootes Group and built by Lister of Cambridge to compete as works entries in the 1964 24-Hours of Le Mans, showcasing the introduction of the production Sunbeam Tiger later that year.

·Competed at Le Mans as Nº 9 with driver Peter Procter and co-driver Jimmy Blumer.

·Retired from Le Mans after 123 laps, in the tenth hour with motor failure.

·Lent to Bernard Unett, Rootes Group Development Engineer, and campaigned very successfully in the Redex Championship during the 1965 and 1966 racing seasons.  Raced once in Belgium (late 1964) with Jimmy Blumer as its driver.
 
 

·Went to Alan Fraser Racing where it was subsequently stripped of parts to create the “Monster Tiger”.

·Retrieved by Ted Walker, c. 1971.  Reconstructed by Ken Dalziel using Jaguar parts, c. 1974, and vintage raced by John May in the UK.

·1979, purchased along with the Alan Fraser “Monster Tiger” by Chris Gruys of California and imported to the USA.  Original parts reunited to the car during restoration by Jim Wallace.  Vintage raced by Chris.

·1987, sold at auction, then resold to Syd Silverman of New York.  The car was vintage raced by Syd in SVRA and participated in the 1990 Monterey Historics.

·2001, sold at auction to Darrell Mountjoy of California. Complete restoration to period specifications with safety upgrades in 2002 by Steven Alcala.

·2002, shipped to England to be co-driven by Peter Procter in the Goodwood Revival and then to France in the inaugural Le Mans Classic.

Reunion of the Le Mans Tigers at the Goodwood Revival, 2002

·First-time reunion of the two competition Le Mans Tigers in England since 1964.

·First-time reunion of the principals involved with the 1964 Rootes Group Le Mans effort, including:
·Brian Lister, builder of the Le Mans Tigers.
·Ken Hazlewood, Le Mans Tiger project engineer for Lister.
·Peter Procter, original driver of the Nº 9 car.
·Jimmy Blumer, original co-driver of the Nº 9 car.
·Claude Dubois, original driver of the sister Le Mans Tiger, Nº 8 (Reunited at Le Mans).
 
 

 
·Peter Procter: GB, professional road racing and rally driver during the 1950s and 1960s.

·Original driver of the Nº 9 Le Mans Tiger in 1964 at the 24-Hours of Le Mans.

·Involved in a horrific crash at Goodwood in 1966 that left 65 per cent of his face and upper torso covered in third degree burns.

·Returned to motorsports after thirty-six years at the Goodwood Revival in 2002 to drive the same Le Mans Tiger he drove in 1964.  Two weeks later he returned with it to Le Mans to compete in the inaugural Le Mans Classic.

·Named “Pick of the Litter” by Vintage Motorsport, Jan/Feb 2003, for his Goodwood return.

·Named “Hero of the Year” by Classic & Sports Car, February 2003.

Competition Successes

·Le Mans, 1961, 1962, 1963 & 1964 ~ finished 1st Place in Thermal Efficiency Index in 1961.
·Tour De France Auto ~ 1st Place in Ford Mustang.
·1955 to 1958 ~ 500cc Formula 3 ~ several 1st, 2nd & 3rd places in various races.
·1959 to 1963 ~ Formula Junior ~ more than 20 1st places including Silverstone, Mallory Park, Oulton Park, Ireland Etc.
·Drove for Ken Tyrrell for two years.
·Drove Formula 2 for Lotus ~ 2nd Place in the Berlin Grand Prix at Avus, 2nd Place in Vienna Grand Prix, 4th Place at Clermont Ferrand.
·1st Place in the 6hr Saloon-Car Championship at Brands Hatch.
·Several high places in European Saloon-Car Events in Mini & Lotus Cortina.
·Drove in over 30 International Rallies, 8 Monte Carlo, 8 RAC, 2 Acropolis, 5 Alpine, 4 Tour De France, 3 Tulip, 1 Liege-Rome-Liege & over 30 Nationals with several 1st Places.
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·Before racing, Peter was a professional cyclist winning the British Road Race Championship in 1951.
·Rode for Great Britain in two World Championships, Tour Of Britain 14 Day Race, Warsaw Berlin Prague 14 Day Race, Route De France 14 Day Race, and won The King Of The Mountains in The Tour Of Britain.