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“Pall Mall Rally”

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Description: These images were taken for the August 13th 1978 edition of the Tribune weekly newspaper – the first of which was published with the caption “Bryan Hooper, Tim Gibbes and Russel Harris check out the device.”

An excerpt from the article read:” They're calling it Tim Gibbes' secret weapon. And plenty of people laughed when he showed up for Round Three of the Pall Mall rally last weekend with the plywood and aluminium contraption attached to the rear of his car. But they weren’t laughing when he showed how effective it was in action….”

“He and the men who designed the device, Bryan Hooper and Russell Harris, are thinking about taking out a patent to protect their invention. Tim said they didn’t get the idea from the Nikki Lauda grand prix racer – that development was just a coincidence….”

“During June, Nikki Lauda had won the Swedish Grand Prix for Formula One cars driving a Brabham BT46B fitted with a controversial fan in the rear bodywork to cool the Alfa Romero engine. Gibbes’ design team…took this concept further by fabricating a rear panel for the car which would offer several advantages – the roadholding would be greatly improved because of the downforce generated, the worm air from the engine and transmission would be drawn from under the car making it more comfortable in the cockpit area and the stones and gravel would be spread back out onto the road surface, the latter being achieved by angled fins on the fan shroud.”

These images form part of the Manawatū Evening Standard Negative Collection. Unfortunately, only negatives between April and December 1978 are held.