Crystal Palace "full version" 1971 British Saloon Car Championship

[@juergenpaton5004]

Here I am watching a race that happened over 50 years ago....and it still is epic today.

[@uncensored5104]

Legends driving legendary cars, commentated on by another legend! The glory days of British motorsport.

[@sahhull]

Theres more racing in one lap of this than a whole season of F1

[@mainman2999]

I saw this race as an eight year old, then when i was 18 bought an RS1600, 30 years later, I still have it, its THAT much fun to drive still!

[@simplayer666]

You saw this race live AND bought an Rs1600 when you were 18? wow, you lucky get! I had a mexico when i was 18 and thought i was lucky!

[@mainman2999]

fred astairs you were lucky, you were one of the few who got to drive a proper escort ! You can see my BDA if you click on my name and see my video.

[@simplayer666]

mainman2999 Yea, lucky my dad was into doing up old wrecks otherwise I'd never have had one so young. Annoyingly we had to sell it back when they were worth practically zilch, put it into an auction and it made £440... I even sold a 1300e for £200, hindsight is a wonderful thing! Don't sell your BDA!... not unless you get offered something you can't refuse...

[@erudzitis84]

mainman2999 u must have been o e superrich 18 year old, only 1% could afford those, they equivalent to 130 thousand funt sterlings now

[@bensingleton3923]

How has it not just rusted away.

[@SimonThompson-dd9zv]

Absolutely brilliant, even the commentary. Timeless. And great driving,

[@UKbrownSkinBoy]

I'm 43, lived near there growing up and didn't realise until today that there was a racng circuit at Crystal Palace!!

[@TastyChevelle]

I was surprised to hear Murray Walker as early as 1971! What a treasure.

[@LB1973]

He started as a commentator in 1948, after driving a tank in WW2, Dude is 96 in a couple of weeks!

[@barryotoole6990]

Murray a true legend and drivers had respect for him. He sounded like he was driving when he was commentating got into it 100%

[@LB1973]

@@barryotoole6990 have. he thankfully isn't confined to history yet

[@littlewol2620]

@@LB1973 i didnt even realise he did it in the 40's, i knew he was doing motorbikes and such in the 50s. thanks for the information

[@blxtothis]

LB1973 well said, he was mainly a motorcycle enthusiast in his early days, not many people realise that he had a parallel career as a renowned Advertising professional.

[@kyleshepard8406]

one of the best races I've ever seen.

[@MrMccurley]

Given the video technology of that time, whatever crew filmed and edited this race footage were masters of the art. ABC Wide World of Sports couldn't have done better.

[@darren2514fv]

This is BBC

[@mattmattmatt131313]

I counted only 5-6 cameras all together. Every shot is a bit different. Every shot so dynamic.

[@texleeger8973]

@@darren2514fv He's praising the BBC production by comparing it to the old and famous for its racing coverage Wide World of Sports. Jim McKay, we fondly remember ye.

[@andredeketeleastutecomplex]

Back when BBC meant something.

[@BulletmanDoom]

I wasn't old enough to remember this race but I remember watching it in the mid to late 70's on the old black and white. Real racing with so much variety and still all fairly competitive. This and rally cross back then have never been surpassed for sheer excitement and superb entertainment, it makes todays races look clinical and lifeless.

[@victormildew1717]

No silencers, Castrol R40 oil fumes filling the air, proper racing !

[@paulnicholls8683]

Castrol R40. Mmm

[@barrycuda3769]

I love that castor oil smell. Iv'e wondered for years if race cars back then put some castor oil in with the petrol ?. I know they used it in the crankcase, but surely the smell didn't come from the slight amount that gets past the piston rings?

[@rvsteve583]

the sound of the cars as they go by, is fantastic!

[@MrACOUSTICPETE]

No wonder the Escort still has a very strong following . Cracking little car , cracking race and a classic demo of skilful commentating from Murray ! Sky F1 commentators ,listen and learn !!!

[@Ogma3bandcamp]

I'm a simple guy, I hear Murray Walker and I hit like.

[@derekantill3721]

Watched racing at Crystal Palace many times, get really close to the circuit, great for taking photos.

[@briancox8264]

Absolutely brilliant. And just as I remember it. So many thanks for this. I used to go regularly as a lad with my Mum and Dad and later as a teenager. I must admit I had begun to doubt my memory - tight, twisty circuit, surrounded by concrete walls, ford galaxies dicing with Minis and Cortinas. Graham Hill, Jim Clark, Jack Brabham, Jochem Rindt, Jackie Ickx etc. all turning up for a weekend meet. It was a great place to watch really exciting racing. One random memory - a formula three meet I think - in the stretch coming down out of the trees, which was actually at the bottom of many peoples gardens , a pet dog ran across the circuit wrote off the car, and nearly killed a driver. Sadly the dog was killed. A bit different from where we are today.

[@simonvancoevorden295]

RIP Gerry Marshall ! Him & my old boss Roger Clark were world champions at beer drinking. Two great characters.

[@rasapleckaitiene6283]

0

[@paulmcduff2716]

The very thought of driving a 3ltr vauxhall viva frightens me to death, if you have driven one you will know what im on about. best bit of racing ive seen in ages

[@sataneatcheese6243]

I've not been this far on the edge of my seat since my days as a child watching 90s touring car!

[@lovejago]

LOLO now thats some of the best racing iv seen in my 48 years of motorsports !!!!! in the top 20 for sure!!

[@spencermoore2468]

When ever I've watched a race with Gerry Marshall in it it's been pure entertainment whether he come first or not. Fantastic stuff !!!

[@fifie1]

Fantastic video, fantastic time... I want to live in 1970 !

[@garrywitcomb2334]

This is some fantastic footage,I've watched this so many times,it never gets old . .,. Love it !!!!! 😆😆

[@elmonte5lim]

What a cracking race! The guy in the Camaro, did well to stay in front as long as he did, with the mighty RS relentlessly up his derrière. Great stuff!

[@fiveowaf454]

I'd have liked to see the RS get ahead before the twisty part of the track to see if he could get far enough ahead to not get passed on the straight by the Camaro with its big engine, the RS seemed that it would do a faster lap time, other than the straight the RS seemed to be getting held up. Just when I thought that might happen we had the crash. Still a fantastic race though, great to see all the sliding and cars not all "honed" to perfection so they had sizeable differences in performance at different points of the track to make for exciting racing.

[@abymondesir23]

Well fukn said

[@johncarl5505]

The Mustang is the best here though, starting last and finishing third.

[@russefrance4869]

The circuit was a ten minute walk from where I lived and I was a 16 year-old spectator somewhere there in amongst the North Tower crowd.

[@nosmoking6055]

great race, thanks for sharing. R.I.P. Murray

[@Tikkarifle]

Just found this video and grateful for the post. What these guy's managed to do back then was real gutsy display. Thank you.

[@davidjones493]

Awesome race, just wish we still had racing like that today, and great to hear Murray full of enthusiasm too, what a legend!

[@amelierenoncule]

What Ho!...One of those suspenseful British, 'David vs. Goliath' saloon car races of the '60's & '70's. Great fun, what!?

[@peterlyons2000]

right!

[@nicolaandria522]

your "Wodehouse English" is quite good, carry on...

[@TheOneandOnlyGodHydra]

I can imagine I'll be watching this many, many times over. Just an absolutely amazing race

[@kevcall]

Still one of the most thrilling saloon car races I remember. Sure this was the reason many of us yearned for an RS1600 back then. Interestingly enough, Mike Crabtree, despite winning that race in such an amazing fashion was I think demoted to second place, penalised for a jump start. Watch at 0'57 ("a real blazer of a start").. seems extremely harsh to me!

[@RattusWonkler]

FANTASTIC archive footage. Just discovered this after spending the weekend at my sons new place right on the edge of the park and his garden backs onto the top of the old circuit. Great Murray walker commentary too. Cracking video. Cheers!

[@gummigalosch]

What a race......WHAT a race :-) Damn it. What a car that was......the Ford Escort and here driven by Crabtree... 1.6 ltr Ford RS against the 5.7 ltr Chev Camaro....and the others 2,5 ltr Vauxhall....and 3 ltr V8 Escort :-) What a race......what a car.....what a driver. And the Ford RS wins....it WON that race. What a race....what a race :-)

[@racketman2u]

was that a Camaro? I thought it was a small aircraft carrier.

[@johncarl5505]

@@racketman2u The real boss is the Mustang that started last and finished third.

[@VincentComet-l8e]

Superb racing action!

[@mariolindsay8267]

One of the best races ever shown on TV, Gerry went on to WIN the race as Mike Crabtree jumped the start, which was explained fully by Dickie Davies at 5pm that day during the football results. Amazing racing at such a small circuit. Myself and my brother were Gerry Marshall / DTV fans all our life, so much so that we have written a book called Vauxhall in Motorsport, recording the history from 1904 to the present day. The Lindsay twins.

[@Johnnywhamo]

People standing on the apex of corners with no barriers in front of them lol. Ah the 70's gotta love it.

[@KenMac-ui2vb]

I remember back in High School in Detroit we'd skip and go to MIS to watch the NASCAR qualifying. We would climb on the fence in Turn One and watch Petty's Daytona Super Bird and the rest go flying inches from our faces at 200 beans. Man it was so cool. Those days are way over.

[@areyouundoingthatorwhat9181]

I have an old book of formula racing photographs,many of the pictures taken from the very edge of the track, the photographer inches away from cars hurtling past them,you can see other photographers in some of the frames where their suit jackets etc. are affected by the air movement they are that close. Rally fans like a bit of peril😁.

[@TheUncleBilly]

For many years I admired Gerry Marshall. You always knew that if he was on the track, all his opponents would be made to race hard for anything, not just "take part"! I was sorry when he retired and even more hurt when the following year he died. He was a true British racing driver!

[@JimProng]

I met Gerry a few times and he was always approachable, friendly and had time to chat to anyone. Top fella.

[@ecossearthur]

He was outstanding, I raced with him in the lower CC class... He was awesome and looked after us younger guys!

[@klaseronen7535]

I saw my first touring car races in Finland in the 1970s when I was a kid. Watching races like these it is painfully obvious that the peak of racing has been passed a long time ago. Less technical means more pure racing.

[@probablygraham]

These were the golden days of saloon car racing. Whether it was Crystal Palace or Thruxton or even Brands Hatch it was great to watch the Escorts racing against the Mustangs and Camaros. The V8s would pull away on the straights but the Escorts would get them in the corners. I remember one day at Brands Hatch when you could hear Frank Gardner and John Fitzpatrick coming out of the woods at Brands Hatch before coming under the bridge, screaming and thundering, and then the two cars came out backwards into Clearways because they had touched before the bridge. Amazing racing.

[@jasonbentley2819]

Ahh these cars sound so damn nice.

[@scottsoul64]

BRILLIANT racing,on the edge of my seat with this

[@sylvatica7]

The spectators certainly got value-for-money watching this amazing race !

[@Pod6168]

This video makes me smile! Reminds me of SCCA racing from the early 1970s.

[@robertclarke3789]

Fantastic to see my hero from back in the day....the one and only Gerry Marshall!!

[@martingoldfire]

It took me 3 days to finish this, because I had to go every time I began watching. Thankfully the racing was so intense that I kept trying until the checkered flag, great racing!

[@Hologhoul]

Fantastic stuff... Brilliant filming, the angles, catching the natural drift as they come blasting through corners!

[@petyrkowalski9887]

What an utterly fantastic race and great, eclectic mix of cars and engines. Brilliant driving as well. Plus Murray Walker..... Motor racing heaven.

[@AtZero138]

Epic.. cheers from Southern California

[@kyle8952]

5.7 litre Cameros, minis, and a mid engined ford escort silhouette car all in one race. mad.

[@karpabla]

Pretty epic race! Apart from that, lots of interesting details in this video. Cars, track, marshals, public, ... all of it is so lively and fresh that , in comparison, today 'sophisticated' races (not only F1) looks lifeless and robotic. The thing we have a lot better today is TV production and info, although this video in particular is very well filmed.

[@Roblstar]

What a fantastic race to see! I appreciate the quality so much! I was a Motor racing marshal for 8 years in the 1990's, so I do know what I am seeing... At a track that no longer exists aswell! Please keep them coming! Fantastic!

[@gregtaylor6146]

Oh, it 'exists' all right ...... you can WALK right round it.

[@davidupham7046]

What a great film, fantastic, those were the days. I was at the International Car Race Meeting on Monday June 3rd 1963 I was 19 then. Jim Clark was racing also Graham Hill and Roy Salvadori, I still have the program for that day.

[@turboslag]

Now this is motor racing! Never saw the race at the time so I was waiting for the Camaro to make a mistake due to the Escort pressure, and he made two! Brilliant, really brilliant stuff!

[@joeymills3410]

Walker, Marshall, Crabtree? Unreal racing... such a beautiful singing noise!!!!!

[@lauriecooper8194]

Thanks so much for posting this. I've got the original on VHS somewhere & I never tire of watching this race. What superb cars - and drivers.

[@barryotoole6990]

Great race bumper to bumper yet clean racing... REAL RACERS

[@Hanzilla75]

Brilliant!! Thank you so much for posting this!

[@timwaldock1313]

My dad was one of builders of Gerry's cars for DTV so having just seen this brings back good memories. Geŕry & Dad unfortunately not with us but Gerry was a fantastic driver and character.

[@donalfinn4205]

Brilliant racing. All car racing should be like this!👍☘️

[@stenovitz]

"thanks" is so little a word for uploading!

[@dougauzene8389]

The Timeless Murray Walker...

[@tattymagoo]

That is proper racing!

[@justinellis8864]

Wow, what an utterly stupendous race. Thanks so much for posting it. Like Thomas ,my relations are from Biggleswade, but i was only four in 71' and don't remember any racing in Crystal Palace. stunning performance from Mike Crabtree to beat Thomas'. What an extraordinarily well balanced car the Ford Escort RS 1600 was!

[@adamsmithelec]

Crystal Palace is my local park. As much as I love it now, I would loved it even more back in the day when you could watch these cars thundering around it!

[@CD513]

Ohhh my... Good God... Thee Greatest clip I might have ever seen

[@dinsdaleseven1627]

Wow. Classic small and nimble vs big and powerful.

[@garyskippracing]

Mike Crabtree driving the little Escort that could. Thoroughly brilliant!

[@matthewpayne42]

I never would have believed a Vauxhall viva could keep pace with a 5.7 Chevy. Great stuff.

[@fourutubez7294]

I grew up watching motorsport like this with my dad, mostly on tv, and I still love it to this day. It's important to remember that no one bothered to save all the boring races so the selected highlights paste a prettier picture than it really was.

[@EugVR6]

When racing was real. That RS1600 sounds amazing

[@zakelwe]

After 40 years of this classic race .... Murray RIP ... :(

[@markhenry5492]

Well done bloke, thanks for posting. I love this era of racing.

[@steviebanana3366]

What a race! Had goosebumps all the way through it! Wonderful

[@jrushen4235]

We don't see racing as intense as this today. Edge of the seat stuff. Superb.

[@soundbelch1600]

It's no different to watching the racing at the Goodwood Revival each year. Older cars lend themselves to good racing. Give them the right circuit and sit back and watch.

[@lrcb40]

I think we do, but it's more clinical, with the technology being more advanced. These cars were one step up from garage built - not "works" teams like they are today.

[@bzdtemp]

You're watching the wrong racing. Forget F1 and the like, check you the Aussie Super car races and the IMSA races in the US, the later can be found for free and without ad breaks live at IMSA.com and two days after the races on the IMSA youtube channel.

[@Ratboy2004]

Ya, and death was truly a lot more likely back then!!

[@acfsf_rj]

Look for TURISMO NACIONAL, pure intense Brazilian racing 🤣

[@aldo1conn]

What a race I was absolutely glued to the screen that rs 1600 was some machine

[@Rio-by1eh]

One of the best races I have watched wow****

[@dodge33cymru]

Amazing upload and quality, thanks

[@plottwist1733]

That Escort sounds awesome at full revs down the straight. Just the raw sound of the engine. No turbo muffling the induction and exhaust like with today's 4 cylinder cars.

[@feydespiel.]

BDA... just an awesome engine...

[@baylessnow]

I never get tired of watching this race.

[@Exige000]

Escorts, Minis, Vauxhall Vivas and a great big Yank hunk of iron.......ONLY in Britain and ONLY in the 1970s. I used to watch many of these races at Oulton Park. Gerry Marshall, Gordon Fitzpatrick and others - WONDERFUL.

[@Exige000]

and no talk of tyre deg or loss of downforce......

[@Exige000]

and who needs Japanese drifting when you can have an RS1600 Escort going round every corner sideways?

Iconic machinery at an amazing venue and topped off with Murray Walker doing the commentary... good times!

[@mattvaughan180]

Now that’s racing at its best, thanks for sharing

[@leftpastsaturn67]

Superb footage... thanks for the upload.

[@TeamBombersportsUK]

It's almost a shame these days that so many series go for unanimous engine packages, like ALL having 2.0L 4-cylinder engines (BTCC) or ALL having 5.0L V8s (V8 Supercars). I'd love to see a return of this kind of racing, where performance is balanced to equalise cars with different engines and sizes and drivetrains. GT3 is proving it can be done - everything from turbo V6s to V12s race in that! I think in BTCC currently, twisty tracks like Brands Hatch and Knockhill would balance out the faster tracks like Silverstone and Thruxton (Snetterton is kinda a mix of both now with the redesign) so it would be fun to see Civics vs Jaguar XFRs or something!

[@chrisjordan4187]

Hi, I used to say the same as you till I watched modern day clubmans run by the BRSCC, this was at Brands Hatch. Yes there were the one make series but there was such a variety and big and small all racing together, just like in the 50's 60's and early 70's

[@thejudge-kv2jk]

All about cost reduction mate. But I agree.

[@plottwist1733]

They're all FWD (Barring the BMW's) in the BTCC nowadays too. It's looking like BMW are going to be switching to FWD soon as well.

[@rossbrumby1957]

Bring back production car racing at Bathurst and give us something we can identify with.

[@jackworrall4986]

Wonderful! Thanks for uploading!

[@MrSpanks]

Thanks for posting this awesome racing!

[@peteuk8688]

Bloody brilliant! Thanks for uploading!

[@bubsbarney3340]

V8 5.7 Chevy, Vauxhall 2.5, and a RS1600 and a few minis and a mustang thrown in for good measure and Murray Walker commentating makes a perfect recipe for a great race.

[@racketman2u]

not to mention a rear-engined Escort!

[@MrBgb1976]

Brilliant race, wee viva put on a show

[@fishstyle88]

well, thats racing! not that stupid electric crap... just need a chassis, engine, suspension and a DRIVER god bless the old days... would love to have been born in these days I am nineteen and in love with historic cars and racing !

[@jasonbentley2819]

Exactly! I own a 1984 VW Polo Coupe and the main reason why I love it is because its good simplicity! No electric asissted this or that, just pure good classic engineering.

[@benvg]

Jason Bentley I bought a Corolla ke70 recently and love it to bits for that same reason, so fun to drive. It will be off the road for a bit longer and I can't wait to get it registered. By the way the 84 coupe you have looks like a blast, very light? Mine is also an 84, its a station wagon.

[@arccrenshaw8391]

brakes... you need brakes.

[@skidooboy8977]

I think a "run what you brung" electric series would be awesome

[@racer98]

u wot m8 dont like a bunch of hoovers and dysons running around on a track ? LOL

[@shanemolloy2824]

Loving it 5L V8 rooooaaarrrr ! Thank you so much, great race!! The one and only Murray "He not only smokes cigars he practically eats them!" 😆 classic Murray! Xx

[@liamgross7217]

I thought it was Murray, the footage feels very old, the call not so much.

[@andyvondeluxe6851]

I had a Viva GT and first generation SS Camaro and loved them both. A win, win for me!

[@satelite383]

This is the second best race I have ever seen. Number one is Arnoux vs Villeneuve 1979 F1 Dijon prenois. Martin Thomas did an outstanding job in the heavy rumbling Camaro, guess tires gave up at the end.

[@alexmerelli6262]

Bringatrailer shared a clip of this. Awesome race

[@geoffg6867]

Just shows the ability of the little Escort, they weighed about 900 kilos and had a 1600 cross flow Lotus motor. I marvelled at them in 1969 -1971, what a little beauty

[@EugVR6]

Crabtree was driving an RS1600, that's 1.6 16v cosworth engine in those and in race spec were 720kg with 220hp. The Twin cams were only pushing 190hp in those days.👍🏼

[@2175Wook]

@@EugVR6 Mike Crabtree Cortina from this race , how do you know it was 720 kg and had 220hp ? It's race spec of 720 kg, I suppose that is the minimum weight of the car as built without driver, fuel and other liquids. 1.6 litre engine, It was not turbocharged was it ? I wonder what the rev limit was on that Cortina ? I wonder how the Martin Thomas compare to Mike Crabtree car in terms of weight and power and it's rev limit ? An excellent race to watch very close, the Camaro had better acceleration down the straight, but Cortina was better in the corners. Mike Crabtree got disqualified for jumping at the start and Gerry Marshall won it in his Vauxhall Viva.

[@EugVR6]

@@2175Wook Hi, It's not a Cortina, it's a Mk1 Escort RS1600 16v by Cosworth, the mk1 Cortina used the Twincam 8V lotus head on the pre X flow 1500gt engine, the 1500 L block was modified by Lotus for its better strength but the RS1600 used the 1600cc X flow block. A friend of mine used to race in the Thunder Saloon series in an ex works Escort and when it was weighed, it tipped the scales at 720kg but it might of been 760kg, The works cars were acid dipped to lighten the bodyshell, it was a long time ago, it was powered by an 8V All steel Mass X Flow, making 198hp at 9500rpm but I digress. The RS1600's were making well over 200hp in RS1600 guise, they ran 1800cc engines and upto 2000cc in later life. The RS1600 would rev to 8000 to 9000 rpm in race tune and would be running twin 48 carbs, with roughly 200 to 230hp the later RS1800 with the 2000cc BDG engines ran 275hp at 8500rpm.

[@2175Wook]

@@EugVR6 What was your friends name that used to race an ex works Escort in the Thunder Saloon series ? Who knows I might be able to find a photo of that car on the internet.

[@EugVR6]

@@2175Wook Paul Lawrence, he raced from 1993 to 1997, there were 2 cars in Dispatchit, sponsored colours of white with red and blue stripes, one car was a wide bodied Mk2 XR2 with 190hp all steel x flow, the other was Paul's MK2 escort with the ultra wide x pack, which is the same as Nick Whitings mk2.

[@robinking6201]

Have to thank the BBC for this for the program 100 Great Sporting moments . Another one was Barry Sheen and Kenny Roberts at Silverstone .

[@martinspeak-nd3ob]

Proves that the past was even better than I remember!

[@Tmuk2]

Clicked on this because I used to live in Crystal Palace and thought it'd be interesting to see the park back in the 70s but was absolutely captivated by the racing - And I'm not even remotely interested in Motorsport!

[@fiveowaf454]

That's the great thing about this sort of close racing, it has mass appeal due to its inherent excitement, where as much of today's racing is all bout tactics and pit stops which is of interest to the hardened fan but will bore the casual observer to death.

[@davidgarton2387]

Absolutely fantastic, racing in its purist form.

[@Speedfreely]

this was a treat for my insomnia tonight! how nuts are those people lining the edges of the track??!!! was there a lack of common sense back then? holy carp!

[@secretsquirrel5439]

They had more common sense back then than they do now. People have to be told where they're allowed to stand now.