1961 Cooper T56

John Cooper was very much a motor racing pioneer in post-war Britain. With the production of his Cooper 500, that would provide grass-root motorsport for the likes of Stirling Moss and Graham Hill, it also launched the Cooper Car Company as a very successful race car manufacturer. Before long the Cooper-Bristol front engined Formula 2 was being used by Hawthorn and Fangio, which served to strengthen still further Coopers positioning as an emerging force in motorsport. In 1957 Jack Brabham drove a privately entered Cooper Formula 2 into 6th place at the Monaco Grand Prix, the rear engine design spelt trouble for the front engined fraternity of Ferrari, Maserati and BRM. The momentum continued in 1958 as Moss won the Argentine Grand Prix and Trintignant won this time at Monaco.In 1960 Jack Brabham was Formula One World Champion in a Cooper, the engine behind the driver was here to stay.

Offered here today is an original Cooper Mk2 Formula Junior T56 with a fascinating history from John Coopers 'purple patch' era. Midland Racing Partnership ran this car as a privateer entrant in the 1961 Formula Junior Championship for Richard Attwood. Usually these cars ran BMC engines, but this T56 ran a Ford unit throughout the twenty event BARC series. In September 1961, Richard Attwood won the Goodwood BARC event. Soon after that event the Cooper was sold to South African Trevor Blokdyk.

First event for Blokdyk was at Kyalami in the 'Rand Spring Trophy' on November 4th 1961, where he won his class and was fifth overall, quite an achievement considering the engine was still the Formula Junior FJ Ford-Holbay. He contested four Grand Prix races of the Springbok series gaining class wins and ahead of various Cooper-Climax cars. Wins also followed in Formula Libre. For the 1962 Formula Junior season, he returned to Europe and finished 14th in the Goodwood Chichester Cup in April. A tour of Europe then followed with successes at Nogaro, Montlhery and Mettet, before travelling down to Caserta, near Naples, for a 6th overall. The final race was an 8th at Reims. Returning home, he decided to convert the Cooper to period Formula One specification.

The main changes he had to make were the fitment of a 1500cc Alfa Romeo engine, T53 suspension and disc brakes. At the Rhodesian Grand Prix at Kumano, Blokdyk came a credible 5th on 2nd December 1962. Unfortunately, for the 'blue riband' event, the South African Grand Prix, Blokdyk could not qualify against the likes of Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Surtees and Ginther. Unused in 1963, the Cooper was then fitted with a Ford Twin Cam engine and Hewland gearbox for the 1964 Grand Prix series, the modifications proving to be very successful resulting in a win at Killarney. The last race for the Cooper was in April 1968, when Blokdyk finished second to his main adversary, John Love. The Cooper T56 and talents of Trevor Blokdyk had become a very familiar sight to the motorsport public of South Africa for a period over six years.

Eventually, after a period in the USA, the Cooper was discovered by our vendor who, in 2005, restored the T56 as it was found in the 1962 -68 Formula One specification. The Ford Twin Cam was rebuilt to exacting 1500cc specification by Rob Morley and much of the originality of the car has been retained throughout the rebuild. The discs are the originals from Blokdyk's period. Beautifully prepared and ready to go, this car now represents an opportunity to own and race a sixties Formula One car and unique piece of Cooper history. Complete with FIA HTP historic papers means the car would be welcome in all relevant races worldwide.