1970's

The 1970s really were Gerry’s most prolific decade of motor racing. Club motor racing in Britain then was on the BBC every week (on Grandstand) and you always new that if you saw Gerry lining up and Murray Walker commentating you would be in for a fun Saturday or Sunday afternoon. It has always been widely reported that Gerry was not shy and retiring and this made him ideal for interviews, quotes, guest speaking at club and charity events and columns (he wrote in Car and Car Conversions, Motor and Autosport). He even had several films made, most notably Barry Hinchcliff’s “There’s Only One Gerry” and of course the publications of Only Here for the Beer and Competition Driving.

Not only was there the numerous race and championship wins for Gerry in the DTV Vauxhalls but there was also his own forays into racing cars of his own (when DTV commitments didn’t clash), sponsoring others (including F1 World Champion Denis Hulme, Tony Lanfranchi and even offering Colin Chapman and Graham Hill a drive in Gerry’s Lotus XI!) and his blossoming business, Marshall Wingfield, in partnership with John Wingfield.

Gerry also won the final car meeting to be held at Crystal Palace in 1972.  Run by AMOC, the final race was a Historic Sports Car race.  Gerry won in a Lister Jaguar.

When in 1977 DTV and Vauxhall decided to go rallying everyone thought Gerry would be okay and there were rumours flying around of offers and deals involving Ford and Leyland products. The truth for ’78 was somewhat different and he managed to scrape a deal together to race Colin Vandervell’s ’77 spec Ford Capri for the national Tricentrol championship and a Triumph Dolomite Sprint for the two production car championships, the Derwent TV/Shellsport and the Britax championships, with both cars being sponsored by Triplex, who were Colin’s sponsor but due to work commitments he wouldn’t be competing in ’78. Gerry asked if Triplex would be prepared to throw in a few extra bob for the Dolomite. The Dolomite was prepared by Roger Dowson and Alistair Barrie under the Downie racing banner and the Capri was prepared by John Westwood.

The Dolomite turned out to be the far more successful of the two cars with 21class wins and three second places from 25 starts, with Gerry winning the both the Derwent TV/Shellsport and the Britax championships in the Dolomite. The Capri driving was not the success that Gerry had hope, with the Tricentrol Championship costing more than anticipated and the only result of note was the start of the season, in the wet at the International Trophy at Silverstone, when he finished first in class and second overall. There other flashes of brilliance but bad luck always seemed to prevail, like when leading at Donington when the gearlever broke off.

The start of the 1979 season looked promising, with Gerry forming GMR (Gerry Marshall Racing) in partnership with Roger Dowson to run two Triumph Dolomites in the Group 1 RAC Tricentrol Championship (with Rex Greenslade in the second car) and one car in both the Production Saloon car championships (which had both been one the season before). Both cars had continued sponsorship from Triplex and new deals with Esso, Motor and significant backing from BL Motorsport. Also, the engines were being prepared by Don Moore, who also built the engine for Gerry’s Lister Jaguar for the Lloyds & Scottish series. There was also talk of co-driving a Chevrolet Camaro in the ETC but that didn’t get past practice.

1979 was also the first season Gerry really started preparing cars for other people with GMR, as there were also a Dolomite for Juliette Slaughter, another Dolomite for David “Jess” Yates and Capris for Eric Cook and Trevor Scarborough, and some advice/help for Mike Brown (the company accountant) and Martyn Marshall (Gerry’s youngest brother) and their Vauxhall Magnum (the ex-Hamilton Motors race car), plus of course there was still Marshall Wingfield to run and a family!!

Things started well and even though being in a lower class he managed to battle for outright wins. There was also the accolade of John Webb and the BARC organising the Gerry Marshall Benefit Races at Brands Hatch and sharing the Dolomite with Roger Clark at the TT event at Silverstone and all seemed to be going well with Gerry really being at the height of his career when disaster struck at the Grand Prix support race in the July of ’79 which was supposed to be the highlight of the year, with good rides in the Dolomite and Lister Jaguar.

“As the Capris stormed off on their second lap, one of the nastiest accidents in recent saloon racing befell Gerry Marshall. Almost flat out down the straight from Stowe to Club, Marshall was fractionally ahead of Walkinshaw’s Mazda and keen to stop him moving up to challenge class leader Greenslade. A few feet before the 100yds marker board, the two cars touched and Marshall was launched into a series of rolls, the severely damaged Sprint landing in the catch fencing at Club” Autosport, July 19^th 1979.

Gerry would have been travelling over 100mph and was extremely lucky to survive. During the accident, the sheer force made his helmet come off (still intact and fastened) and the mountings of his seat had broken, which meant he was thrown around the inside of the car, unprotected. He was knocked unconscious, had severe lacerations to his face and head (needing over 100 stitches), had three fractures to his skull, cracked ribs, damaged jaw, teeth, kidneys and damage to his back and spine (these plagued him through the rest of his life). As bad as this was, the doctors told him if his helmet hadn’t of come off he would probably have broken his neck!!

Remarkably he was out of hospital in ten days and back behind the wheel of a Dolomite and his Lister in the August Bank Holiday races at Brands Hatch and before the season was out he was back to winning ways, looking forward to the eighties and the possibility of more to come with his relationship with British Leyland.

The relationship with Vauxhall became stronger throughout the 1970s and he raced the now (and even then) legendary Supersaloon Vauxhalls, Big Bertha (Ventora), Baby Bertha (Firenza) and Old Nail (the first ever production and race Firenza), as well as various standard, Production Saloon and Group One Firenzas and Magnums.

Gerry raced Lotus Elans, the special Costin Amigo, Ford Escorts (winning the inaugural Mexico Championship from Jody Scheckter in 1971 and also finishing runner up to Roger Clark in the 1974 Avon Tour of Britain), a Lister Jaguar (winning the last ever race at Crystal Palace in 1972), Lola T70, Holden Torana, Hillman Avenger, Clan Crusader, Austin Marina, Birdcage Maserati, Mk2 Jaguar and BMWs.