Gerry Marshall, Baby Bertha and team DTV

[carburretto]

Was DTV fanatic..Had an HB viva, brabham tuned...however...was wood away by the blue oval.....and vauxhall has gone down hill ever since.....because the old days & Bill Blydenstien with GM was a match, and, competition for Ford...Classics rule ok...OK!!!!!

[carburretto]

@carburretto should read wooed away by the blue oval....should`av gone to school more often lol....!

[baldandold]

the droop snoot Firenza was Vauxhalls answer all the F**d pony cars like the Mexico and RS2000, i had a 2300cc viva (not the magnum) and it was scary, i also had a Montego MG Turbo - whhhoooooooooo

[wickiezulu]

Out of interest, does anyone have any info on the stillborn Cavalier Coupe based "Mega Bertha"?

Also, does anyone know anything about the 2.5-3.0 Turbo Slant Four engine it was supposed to be powered by prior to being replaced with an 8.1 V8 before it was then abandoned?

[TeifiValley123]

@wickiezulu There was a small piece on the Droop Snoot Group website a while back that it was in Ireland being restored. There was 1 picture of the remains of the shell on there too. Dunno whats happening to it at the mo.

[TheLloydA1]

The CSCC (classic sports car club) have created a series for these cars known as super saloons they had there first outing at mallory park last weekend there were about 30 or more super saloons,Baby Bertha,v8 Beatle all the famous cars.The racing was very close,Just thought i would tell you that now you can se these cars race again.

[paulhunter123]

i guess all these people are dead now

[browny993]

This is epic ......Real car racing were men drove cars to the limit,smoked a cig during races and then had a few jars afterwards.

In my opinion 70/80s were the glorydays for car racing/motorcycle racing ....now its all about looking good on tv ,not swearing,advertising nonsense,look at the BTCC is is $h17 and it is boring,just like F1 and WRC.

Real bread & butter racing that ignites your soul ...and just love those haircuts

[thfelipeth]

whats the name of that epic song?? lol

awesome video!!!

[thfelipeth]

whats the name of that epic song?? lol

[GeeseOz]

What is the music that's played in the racing section please

[brillianthurrah1957]

Brings back memories of watching Gerry et al at Brands in the 70s. Met GM in the bar and had a chat - nice bloke, greatly missed. GM had some great battles with Nick Whiting (who came to a very sticky end). And some of the cars were just plain mad - F1, F5000, F2 chassis with replica bodies. Bloody good fun, though.....

[ruairi50]

these are real machines not the the junk thats out these days

[dilawer321]

WOW i love the way the drivers had o man handle these old touring cars

[zamzungas]

''a time when men were men and the best racing cars had more power than grip''

[thiscocks]

love the onboard commentary! 'Lovely' lol

[ruisliphoopsa]

i remember gerry racing a magnum for Hamilton motors !!!!

[tpvalley]

cars were cars then.

[Mpayne]

OMG i went to see his firrenza at donington. best car there well i dont no like cause nigel mansels car woz there lol.

[coffindodgers]

Many happy memories, I can remember the dices between Gerry and Nick Whiting.Super Saloons were the best races ever. Gerry was a gentleman and a damn good driver. Many thanks

Nick

[bign3ck]

RIP Bill, i knew him well, he modded many Nova Heads for me, Vauxhals greatest tuner and a really nice person, helped me so.

[gt40mk1]

Awesome!!

[jonnytheboy23]

Fantastic footage. I love the comment(around 5.00mins) when GM says "Nice and steady" Christ, i wouldn't like to see his fast then!

[superbracey]

What an awesome bit of footage! Just wish I was old enough to have seen those cars - and drivers - in person!

[robbf23]

soundtrack is epic.. anyone know who it is?

[superbracey]

I don't know - I tried using Shazam and Midomi on my iPhone to scan what the music was. To no avail, I'm afraid.

[neilb13]

As did I. Didn't mean to cause offence was looking at it from todays view point where weight is everything.

[jontyracer]

None taken,

I'd like to have seen Gerry in an F1 car lol

He was a character by all accounts

[neilb13]

"Ok, the cars lighter and we've increased the power. Now lets put in the big fat driver!!"

Lol.

[jontyracer]

it wasn't just any "fat Driver" .....it was GM.

He started his career in minis!

[Fingerebob]

Brilliant!. I met GM briefly at one of my club meets 3-4 years ago. He was asked to drive a members car (an rx7) which he drove even quicker than the owner in it! (who wasn't too shabby himself). Shame we done away with super saloons.

[saltiremini]

Fantastic video. Thats my Dad in the other Firenza (Bill Dryden). He drove Old Nail that day. He said it had a terrible miss fire that day. Anymore Firenza stuff?

[gavinedinburgh]

Hi Saltire mini

Saw your dad racing at Ingliston in the late 70s. How is he and whatever happened to the SMT Firenza?

[BillDFC]

My brother ( Jim Dryden ) drove mini coopers and in the wet could beat the Vauxhalls.

[gavinedinburgh]

I know - saw him and you at it at Ingliston in the 70s. Also saw your final race in the Firenza at Ingliston which I think you won, the same race when Doug Niven's beetle lost its nose in the wet, and the same meeting when iain McLaren's F1 went airborne!

[selectiveinspiration]

Small world - I was standing just a bit further up from where Iain McLaren crashed that day!

[gringoyayo]

gerry marshall:full force racing legend

[supacorse]

great vid ,loved these cars when they were racing,wish I was that quick round Oulton

[martinsuzuki53]

what a hero Gerry was

[supacorse]

Excellent clip thanks for sharing

[Kringlebeast]

What a great find, thanks so much! What a fantastic track.

[autofive]

cracking vid

thanks for posting it

[GRAHAMAUS]

Rest in Peace Gerry and Bill - the worls is the more boring for your passing.

[GRAHAMAUS]

Sheer Joy! Thanks for posting ;) Firenzas always were and always will be my favourite cars - you can keep yer Porsches and Mercedes!