Post by dinger on May 25, 2020 10:32:52 GMT
I have been asked, by a number of folk, what I remember of and the engine spec of the white with a red stripe, Celica featured in the short video clip recently posted by, I think, Oliver Conlon. I remember it well.
1976 Circuit of Ireland and a Celica TA22 GT. Driven by the fast, but somewhat wild young Swedish driver Bengt Lundstrom, co driven by Fred Gallagher who speaks on the video - yes the same Fred who went to become a Toyota legend and winner at the top level with Waldegaard and Kankkunen. We, Neville Johnstons sponsored them to the tune of £100, not a vast sum , even back then, as you see on the front guards, co sponsors Motor and Sport matching that with their name on the front screen. Which you don't see on the tape, because it was smashed when they rolled the Celica, early in the long five day rally. They drove from Friday afternoon to the Tuesday finish with no screen, occasionally using goggles and getting the roof pushed back up a bit with a big hydraulic jack.
Our £100 got us great publicity as their heroic efforts attracting much media attention. They also spent some time in a river in Donegal on the Monday night, but made the Tuesday finish winning their Class and 16th overall - very good after all their adventures, from over 100 starters. The car in Group 2 spec which would have allowed some mods to the 1600cc 2-TG unit, although Bengt was getting some support from compatriot Ove Andersson's TTE, who were of course developing their works TA22 GT's into a much more modified 16 valve, 2 Litre car for World Championship events. However as you see and hear on the tape as the car roars off on a closed road special stage down in county Kerry, it looks and sounds very sharp.
Thinking back to our young Mr Lundstrom words like "those were the days", or "they don't make them like that any more" come to mind. However when he had the Celica on four wheels and on the road, he was clearly very fast and apparently as reported back, in between chasing the local colleens round the Killarney night clubs, during the Saturday and Sunday overnight stop overs - I wasn't there! Lovely also, to see on the video, a TA22 GT in the heat of competition and doing what it was built for.
1976 Circuit of Ireland and a Celica TA22 GT. Driven by the fast, but somewhat wild young Swedish driver Bengt Lundstrom, co driven by Fred Gallagher who speaks on the video - yes the same Fred who went to become a Toyota legend and winner at the top level with Waldegaard and Kankkunen. We, Neville Johnstons sponsored them to the tune of £100, not a vast sum , even back then, as you see on the front guards, co sponsors Motor and Sport matching that with their name on the front screen. Which you don't see on the tape, because it was smashed when they rolled the Celica, early in the long five day rally. They drove from Friday afternoon to the Tuesday finish with no screen, occasionally using goggles and getting the roof pushed back up a bit with a big hydraulic jack.
Our £100 got us great publicity as their heroic efforts attracting much media attention. They also spent some time in a river in Donegal on the Monday night, but made the Tuesday finish winning their Class and 16th overall - very good after all their adventures, from over 100 starters. The car in Group 2 spec which would have allowed some mods to the 1600cc 2-TG unit, although Bengt was getting some support from compatriot Ove Andersson's TTE, who were of course developing their works TA22 GT's into a much more modified 16 valve, 2 Litre car for World Championship events. However as you see and hear on the tape as the car roars off on a closed road special stage down in county Kerry, it looks and sounds very sharp.
Thinking back to our young Mr Lundstrom words like "those were the days", or "they don't make them like that any more" come to mind. However when he had the Celica on four wheels and on the road, he was clearly very fast and apparently as reported back, in between chasing the local colleens round the Killarney night clubs, during the Saturday and Sunday overnight stop overs - I wasn't there! Lovely also, to see on the video, a TA22 GT in the heat of competition and doing what it was built for.
