After the 2nd World War motor racing started to make a comeback in the UK and Europe. The only cars existing were those built before the war and these pre-war cars made up the grids. In the UK there was a pent-up desire for racing but the costs were far too high for most who were struggling to recover economically.
Enter John Cooper who was to offer and revolutionize racing car design forever.

A group of impassioned racers got together and created a class for racing cars powered by motorcycle engines of up to 500cc. This was a fantastic solution for the home constructors and there were many motorcycle engines available both in the UK and Europe.

There weren’t any purpose-built circuits like today but there were many military airfields or towns willing to close the public roads to provide racing venues. The class prospered and many new drivers had their first taste of motor racing. The grids were full to overflowing and the racing was spectacular.

Small firms started up to provide purpose-built cars. The most successful were Cooper cars and Kieft. Both of these went on to produce Sports Cars and large displacement single seaters. Cooper went on to win 2 World Championships with Jack Brabham in 1959 and 1960.

Some of these F3 cars were sold to the USA and featured in SCCA racing often winning outright due to their nimble handling and very favorable power to weight ratio. I had always wanted to at least have a drive in one of these just to experience another chapter in motor racing history. So many of my heroes had their start in these cars and this really pushed me.

One of my good friends Steve Froines, a very successful SCCA racer had a friend Bob Korst who wished to sell his Cooper Norton. This was my chance so I went with Steve to have a look and a few hours later I was the proud owner of a 1955 Cooper Mk13 with a short stroke Norton Manx GP engine. This was the best of the best.

Most of the F3 cars used JAP speedway engines, but the Norton was more powerful and much more reliable. This engine was used in the Norton Manx GP Bike and was designed for long-distance races giving them a reliability advantage over the JAP.

Norton didn’t sell spare engines unless you had one of their bikes so there were not many Norton powered cars and the ones that were running had an engine taken from a motorcycle. When I bought my car I got a call from a Canadian who wanted to buy my engine because it came from his bike. Nowadays new engines have been produced.

I sent my Cooper to the UK where I was then living and gave it to a known specialist Charlie Banyard Smith who lived down the road. He recommissioned the car. It had been sitting for many years but was virtually new. I had made a good purchase.

The first race for the car was at a famous circuit Mallory Park in Northampton. This circuit was unchanged from the years when F3 races were held so the lap times could be compared to those of the past greats. This was particularly interesting to me. I would be able to race there and see how I might have performed against the best of their day.

Charlie met me at the circuit and we unloaded the Cooper in the pits. A lot of the other F3 owners came to look. It was an unknown car and this was a really enthusiastic group. Nobody knew me either so I got a lot of free advice. I had practiced many times at Mallory Park so I knew the circuit very well. I did the practice and qualified 5th and a few eyebrows were raised. I was being noticed. The race was that afternoon so I relaxed and waited. The F3 cars are very basic and need to be push started. To keep them running one needs to activate the fuel pump manually by pulling on a cable attached to the pump. This is activated when the car is moving by the back axle.

My race was called on the loudspeaker and we lined up on the pre-grid. Charlie and his helper pushed me off and I made a lap and slotted into the 5th starting position. The 1minute warning came and I was pushed to start the car and a few moments later I started on my sighting lap. I completed the lap and lined up on the start and waited for the flag to drop. I made a good getaway and slotted myself into 3rd. 2 laps later 2nd and then I took the lead and began to stretch it until the end of the race.

This was so much fun. I loved the car and I was living the experience I had always wanted. After the race, I was told that I had equaled the lap record of Eric Brandon, the works Cooper driver, in 1955! This was like getting an A+ on your school report card.