1971, Motor, Track Test at Silverstone

Bill McGovern

2 Jan. 1937 - ....
place, region

Statistics - (Main Racing Category)

Career Description

Represented London region in television 1963 - Autotests at Beavlie in 1071cc Cooper 'S'

1963 -	Set overall FTD in brands Sprint in Stage 1 Dolonton Cooper 'S' 1071cc.
1964 -	First race Brands on pole 0.2 sec off lap record. Finished 2nd Cooper 'S'
1964 -	Second race Snetterton, motoring news reported "antics of Bill McGovern and Gerry Marshall at the esses blanched the faces of even the most hardened spectators" Cooper 'S'
1966 -	Signed to drive Paul Emery's Hillman Imp The Emery colours were black with a yellow side flash Crystal Palace, 1966, May 30 - Ruleset: Group 5 Anita Taylor had been holding her own in the second 1000 cc Broadspeed Anglia although hard pressed by Bill McGovern in the leading Imp. Towards the end McGovern slipped by on the inside of Ramp Bend to snatch second place in the class, behind John Fitzpatrick. Icy Boxing day 1966 at Brands Hatch, British Special Saloon Car Championship 1) Ray Calcutt - Fraser Imp; 2) Ian McDougal - Broadspeed Cooper S; 3) Alan Harvey - Autocadia Cooper S; 4. Roger Nathan - Nathan IMPudence II; 5) Capt Ken's car; 6) Mac Ross - MAC10 Cooper; 7) Tony Taylor - Hartwell Imp; 8) Bill McGovern - Paul Emery Imp; 9) Peter Brown - Frazer Imp; 10) Martin Maudling - Ford Anglia. photo taken from: Capt. Ken's Mini Cooper racing days

Archie Scott-Brown Memorial Trophy Meeting - Saloon Car Race - 1st round BRSCC
Snetterton, 8 April 1966, dry weather

Pos	Pos in class	#	Team / Entrant Car- Engine	Drivers, Nationality	c.c.	Group	Distance, time	Qualifying position	Qualifying time	Fastest lap	Reason out
	3		Alan Fraser Racing Team Hillman Imp	Ray Calcutt, GB	998	A	14
DNF?			Paul Emery Hillman Imp	Bill McGovern, GB	998	A	14				Oil pressure
DNF			Alan Fraser Racing Team Hillman Imp	Nick Brittan, GB	998	A					Engine

BSCC 1966, round 4
Crystal Palace, London, Great-Britain (Ruleset: Group 5)
30 May 1966, dry weather
Ray Calcutt, driving a 998 Hillman Imp, entered into class A by Alan Fraser Racing Team, competition no. 53

found by 'Pils1989' in the André Pilette archive with "Paul Emery" written on the back
Paul Emery is the man on the extreme right of the rear row.
Emery looks to have a BRDC badge on his blazer.
and the tall guy with the big spotty tie is Bill McGovern who'd driven Paul Emery's Imps a few years before that photo seems to have been taken.
The guy on the left with the beard is Martin Hone, one-time owner of the Opposite Lock Club in Birmingham. The badges on the blazers are the logo of that Club. Suggests the photo may have a tie up with a Racing Car show held at the NEC. [source: forums.autosport.com]

doc knutsen: the rallying and racing regulations of the day differed somewhat, with rallies staying Gr2 and circuit racing going Gr5 from 1966. Rootes did not homologate much in the way of hot parts for the Imp, after it was homologated for Gr3 as a 998 car (primarily for rallying).. The British touring car championship was run for the much more liberal Gr5 up to and including 1969 and the process of homologating such things as front disc brakes for Gr2 was not done until 1970, leading McGovern to start the 1970 campaign with front drums. However, by April of that year, Chrysler UK had gotten the key parts of the 998 Imp Gr2 package homologated, enabling the Bevan Imp to score its famous title hat-trick.
[source] 

1968 -	Signed to drive the Bevan Imp British Saloon Car Champion in 1970-71-72 Raced against: Roger Williamson - Anglia James Hunt - Hillman Imp Bernard .... Imp Nick Brittan - Imp and Green Bean Anglia Vince Woodman - Escort Laurie Hickman - Escort.
1970 -	Touring Cars championship in a Sunbeam Imp
1971 -	Raced as Alan Jones team mate in Brabham BT36 Brands Hatch. 1971 Avon Round Britain Tour Moskvitch. Touring Cars championship (RAC) in a Hillman Imp 998cc
1972 -	Touring Cars championshi (Wiggins Teape)
1980 -	BRSCC modified Saloon Champion. Bevan Imp.
1986 - 1989	Renault 5 GT Turbo. Finished 10th-3rd-4th overall in Championship in less modified car.

BSCC 1966, round 4
Crystal Palace, London, Great-Britain (Ruleset: Group 5)
30 May 1966, dry weather
Ray Calcutt, driving a 998 Hillman Imp, entered into class A by Alan Fraser Racing Team, competition no. 53

1970 Silverstone RAC Tourist Trophy (Gp 2)
two heats of 2 hours each
class win: McGovern; Imp

1971 results; source: Motor Sport
Mar 14 Hepolite Trophy Mallory
Mar 21 Hepolite Trophy Brands
Apr 9 SKF Trophy Oulton
Apr 9 SKF Trophy Snetterton
Apr 12 Yellow Pages Trophy Thruxton
May 8 GKN Trophy Silverstone
May 31 Anerley Trophy Crystal Palace
Jun 5 NCR Trophy Silverstone
Jul 11 RAC Trophy Croft
Jul 17 Morlands Trophy Silverstone
Aug 21 Hepolite Trophy Oulton
Aug 30 NCR Trophy Brands
Oct 24 NCR Trophy Brands

the 1972 British GP support race

1972 results; source: Motor Sport 1973

Mar 19 Brands
Mar 31 Oulton
Apr 3 Thruxton
Apr 22 Silverstone
May 29 Crystal Palace
Jul 15 Brands
Sep 16 Oulton
Oct 1 Mallory
Oct 22 Brands

Bill McGovern driving a Sunbeam Imp at Zandvoort in 1971 photo taken from the BRDC archive

In 1971, at age 34, Bill McGovern did not have high flying carreer plans anymore. His wife, his four daughters and his shop with vintage furniture limited his region of activity. However ...
Furthermore he was an extraordinary test driver, who could report on the slightest change in tune or handling, which made the job for the tuner much easier.

Bill McGovern at the 1972 British GP meeting
source: David Lawson @ forums.autosport.com, thread: 'British saloon car racing of the 1960s and 1970s' (Aug 2 2006); also to slotforum.com on Aug 2 2006.

Silverstone TT 1972; source: Frank de Jong

caption by Frank: The Bevan Imp of McGovern, British champion for years, finished 14th; the other car was on the reserve list.
photo by Robert Clayson, no permission asked, but Frank says he does not mind.
Graham Robson says about George Bevan on page 295 of Rootes Maestros, chapter Imps in the BTCC: "His car - there was only one machine, by the way, which was used for for all three Championship-winning seasons - [...] " - after seeing this photo I am not sure what he means. Maybe that the reserve car never saw actual action...

Silverstone, 24 Sept. 1972, dry weather
Esso Uniflo RAC Tourist Trophy
Ruleset: Group 2 (1970)

Bill McGovern stayed a while at the National Weekend of The Imp Club after presenting Rosemary Smith with her trophy.

Literature

The British Saloon Car Championship - Bevan and McGovern Imp / Martyn Morgan Jones

Not Imp related:

Photo by Gerald Swan on the web:
Brands Hatch 1974, 17 March - Race of the Champions support, Bill McGovern driving a George Bevan 1.5-litre Volkswagen Passat (JPEG Image, 1000x626 pixels)

furniture shops: at the Belsize Road shop in Kilburn, NW6