There is much made of our Le Mans adventure. Rumors about it multiply every decade. There is even a tale that claims we drove TOK from England through France to the circuit.  That one is true.

In those days, Chris would tow his steed of the moment on a car carrier behind an old Jaguar estate car he owned, stuffed with car parts, tools and track side creature comforts. We had met up at his place before leaving for Le Mans. The plan was that Chris would set off before us with TOK in tow and I would leave a bit later. All seemed to go well with Chris and my wife Penny and I started down the road 30 minutes after Lawrence. But we had not driven far when we found TOK, at the side of the road, abandoned! A note from Chris in the car explained that the carrier had burned a bearing and that we should leave our vehicle and drive TOK. And so it found its way to Le Mans under its own steam!

Problem is, race cars do not carry passenger seats. Penny sat on the floor all the way learning more than anyone would want to know about British and French 1962 road surfaces! Then she stoically did the same on the way back. That is her Le Mans memory!

I first met Chris Lawrence in 1959 when we were both doing Club and national races in the UK. However, we really got to know each much better at the Nurburgring in 1960 when he was co-driving Bill de Selincourt’s Lola-Climax 1100 in the 1,000 kms race and I was with Bob Staples in his AC Ace-Bristol. We then moved on to Spa-Francorchamps for their series of sports and GT races and discussions there led to me driving the Deep-Sanderson FJ cars from time to time. Our wives, Penny and Jenny Lawrence got on very well and that added to the synergy of the tiny crew we all made. I joined Chris full time at the end of that year to drive a Morgan in international GT races for the next two seasons - culminating in our class win at Le Mans in 1962.

Chris was a very clever and ingenious engineer who not only developed and tuned the Plus Four Morgan with great success but will also be remembered for his work with the series of Deep-Sanderson cars (Formula Junior and GT), the patented Lawrencelink suspension, the design and development of the French Monica luxury GT car and, as the final achievement of his career, the design and development of the Morgan Aero 8 - both production and racing versions. The Aero 8 changed the whole concept and future of the Morgan company.

As well as developing cars, Chris could race them against, and beat, strong opposition in many categories throughout his long racing career - which even included some outings in a Cooper-Ferrari in Formula One in the late Sixties. We got on really well as friends and made a very balanced team for long distance races as we were both the same physical size so no fiddling with seats was required and, as an added bonus, could produce virtually identical lap times on a regular basis without straining the car. Chris had a particularly skill in that he was incredibly quick through the slower and medium speed corners - I could never keep up with him at Silverstone, Snetterton or Crystal Palace, for example! We had a really happy time with our little team in 1961 and 1962 with a lot of laughs, some disappointments and also some major success. I have very fond memories of Chris and our time together - I’m sure we had much more fun in motor racing in those days for the whole scene was much more relaxed although we were there with all the serious intent young men can muster.

August 2011

Morgan Club Newsletter Editors may use this with credit to Richard Shepherd-Barron and the Wire. Please advise us.

The family has also posted an account of his career on the LawrenceTune site at http://www.lawrence-tune.co.uk/
 

Richard Shepherd-Barron. There are few figures in any marque that can cut as fine an impression as Richard Shepherd-Barron. He does it without effort and an easy charm. He is a totally genuine guy with credentials that would make others swell-headed. His is not. (His lovely wife Penny would have none of that in any case!). His effort here for Chris Lawrence is typical of Richard. He comes from an era when Motor Racing was considered a gentleman’s sport, an attitude that blessed what many regard as the Golden Age of motor sports! It characterizes his personality.  Richard raced professionally for 5 years in the late Fifties and early Sixties, driving and testing cars; Fiat-Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Lotus, Cooper, AC-Bristol, Morgan,  Deep-Sanderson, Taraschi-Fiat, Chevrolet, Porsche, Ferrari, Ford GT40, Mini. He raced in International GT and Sports Car races on circuits such as Silverstone, Brands Hatch, Goodwood, Nurburgring, Monza, Le Mans plus Formula Junior (like today’s Formula Ford) at Pescara and Reggio Calabria.  In 1959, Richard competed in 42 different events, winning 15 and finishing in the first 3 in more the 1/2! It is a privilege to know him.

EMAILS TO THE EDITOR (editor@mogwire.com)
 

On 19/08/2011 10:56 AM, Philip Bacon wrote: What an interesting and warm description of their time racing  together...  cheers, Phil

On 19/08/2011 6:18 PM, Simon J Orebi Gann wrote:  ..... his great creations which can still be  enjoyed today, the Morgan SLRs.  His vision was for a stylish and high  performing sports car which would of course have been proven on the track to establish pedigree. The three Morgan ones are today to be seen performing even better than they did in period, and are invariably admired.  3 years ago at Bentley Drivers  Club race meeting at Silverstone, Chris saw one of the SLRs win the 4-cylinder  race,   and he was nearly in tears he was so happy. Simon

On 18/08/2011 9:52 PM, W Chris Towner wrote:  He   was   demanding,   cantankerous,  straight   forward,  direct  and  short on patience.  I  told him this often and  it   actually  brought  a  smile  to  his   face.  I   watched   him   and   the Dewalt Development   team  at  Morgan  prepping  the  car  for  Lemans . It  was  not without some comedy.  At one point,   the  Aero  coasted  off  its  jacks  and  hit  a   wall...... all in slow  motion. Chris  buried  his  head  in his hands as  the  lads   looked  on going " Oops!"   I  was  welcome   at  his  home  in   Hereford  and   would  offer   latest   news   from  the  MMC   as  he  was  enjoying  the time  left  in  his  life   post-  Dewal - Le Mans era . It  was   customary  for me to  bring   along   copies  of  Vintage  Motorsports magazines  from  the  US.  He   was   always  so  grateful  for  those back issues . I  would   kid  him  of  being  too   cheap   to subscribe to them directly.  "Why  should  I ?", he would reply with a smile, "You  pass  them   along.. Cost  me  nothing  but   simple  conversation  to  a  respectful  fan.  Mr.  Lawrence  left  his mark on  the  brand.  I  will  miss  him.  Chris

I did not know Chris Lawrence personally, did not even meet him. The closest I got was to work on some of his engines. From that, I can confirm that he was a wizard, someone to be admired for his ingenious mind and the quality of his work. I am still saddened by his death though, firstly because the leaving of any good man from our lives is regretful but also because with him, a chip of a whole era of motor racing has gone. I am talking about the days when an old banger towing a trailer, a few spares in a tool box and a few quids in your pocket were enough for two couples of amateurs to tour around Europe and race their wonderful machines. No sponsors, no huge lorry with mechanics, no computer mapping and radio communication. A much simpler world. At the risk of sounding nostalgic, this simpler world without all the ridiculous requirements imposed by lawyers, the camaraderie between the teams, the inventively required to get by, appeal to me more than the commercialized system of today where everything must be treated  as a business.  Chris, with his victories in the little Morgan and only R S-B and their wives, was the perfect example of the David against the Goliaths of the big teams. May it long stay in our minds. Jean-Frederich

Well done Richard. A warm tribute. Jack