When Surbiton conquered the Motor Racing world
By Surb_People | Tuesday, February 01, 2011, 12:46
I came across this last week and thought it might be of interest. It’s about John Cooper, who gave his name to the Mini Cooper and was apparently a founding father of auto racing – all from his garage in Surbiton. By placing the motor in the rear of the vehicle, John Cooper caused a revolution in motoring. When Cooper entered Formula One, they won in Argentina and Monaco. And in 1959, a Cooper won the World Championship and Cooper cars won the Constructors title. The team took 16 Grand Prix victories in nine years and even won the Indianapolis 500.
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Surbiton's John Cooper became a 'founding father' of motor racing
Check out the full Las Vegas Review Journal article for the full story of a Surbiton hero who conquered the world.
Photo: dicktay2000
Comments
Thanks for that - excellent stuff. I hadn't realised that it was that building on the Ewell Road that was the Cooper building. I hadn't noticed that Pizza Express had a poster of it, but will keep an eye out for it next time. Cheers.
By Surb_People at 12:41 on 21/07/11
ReportWhen I was in the new Pizza Express recently I noticed an old poster on the wall. Cooper garage 243 Ewell Road. Being near to my work address I had to look into it. I had no idea this was the birth place of so much motoring history. Here are a couple of links and a lovely bit of old video.
http://tinyurl.com/3lspf3q
http://tinyurl.com/3mo258p
By Seven21 Design Ltd at 12:30 on 21/07/11
Report