Star Torque Issue 244 Winter 2016

Spencer Martin winning cars:
48-215 Holden1963
Brabham BT11A 1965
Ferrari 250LM 1965
Sydney to take a job as an advanced driving instructor.
I have kept in constant touch with him during his career,
ending up going to Le Mans with him and the Mercedes-
Benz team in 1999 with the CLR.
This CLR is the car that famously took off at over 300kmh
doing a full loop-the-loop before landing on its wheels the
right way up! The mechanics put another CLR together,
where this happened to Mark AGAIN in that car 2 days later!
In 2013, Mark invited my son and I to go to his penultimate
race in F1, at Austin, Texas. He flew us first class to
L.A., where we stayed for
a week to get over jet lag
in a great hotel. We were
then flown in a private jet
to Austin, for the F1 race,
with the best seats in the
house and he would not let
us pay for anything. Many
thanks Mark for being
such a great friend and
great racing driver.
Spencer was asked to
drive a Brabham Alpha
Romeo at the 2006 Tasman
revival for Paul Moxham.
Mark and Spencer in the F1 Red Bull car
Ferrari 196 C multiple winner Spencer Martin & Kerry Minolas & 1994 at Laguna Seca
“I hadn’t driven an open wheeler for over 40 years
and I didn’t know if I could get up to speed,” said
Spencer at 68. My first test session at Eastern
Creek where I went out on the track and spun on
the second corner. On returning to the pits, I asked
if the tyres were new and was told they were eight
years old, to warm me up! With a new set, the car
and the driver settled into a cracking pace.
ended up in second place, being narrowly beaten
I by half a car length by John Smith in a Lotus 49,
which had an extra 100 horse power than us!
This was my farewell race and I still enjoy the
wonderful world of racing cars and the people who
supported me during my career.” Spencer says.
Mark in FULL FLIGHT in the CLR Spencer farewell race in 2006
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