1971, Motor, Track Test at Silverstone

Bill McGovern

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

Statistics - (Main Racing Category)

1963

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

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'

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

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'

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 Andr 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] 

1967

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

George Bevan talking to Bill McGovern - Guards International July 1970 Comment by Bill McGovern when he signed his autograph: "It must be after the race, as George never laughed beforehand..."

1970

Touring Cars championship in a Sunbeam Imp
British Touring Car Championship, 72 points, 1st place

1970 Silverstone RAC Tourist Trophy (Gp 2)
two heats of 2 hours each
class win: McGovern; 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
British Touring Car Championship, 81 points, 1st place

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

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.

NCR Trophy Brands Hatch, 30 August 1971
John Turner managed 1 m 53.8 s in only a few laps on Monday, the Guys Automobiles Imp breaking a camshaft after only a handful of laps. The all-Imp eighth row was shared by Trevor Willcocks (1 m 55.6 a) and Melvyn Adams (1 m 55.8 s) while the Minis of Bob Riley, Mac Ross and Bob Jones were next up with 1m 56.0 s, 1m 56.2 s, and 1m 56.4 s respectively. Adrian Webb (Imp) and Jeremy Nightingale (Escort GT) did 1 m 57.0 s while Mike Drinkwater led the rest with 58.0 a. Littler pulled up well to take ninth ahead of the ultra reliable Bevan Imp, although McGovern did seem to slow towards the end with a suspect doughnut.

1972

Bill McGovern in Bevan Imp with many first places according to marks on the roof. The Mini Cooper S may be Chris Montague (1293 cc). That would make this 1972.

the 1972 British GP support race

British Touring Car Championship - 63 points, 1st place
Touring Cars championship (Wiggins Teape)

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 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)

Brands Hatch International Circuit, Kent, Great-Britain
19 March 1972
Bill McGovern in the 1-litre Bevan Imp dominated the smallest class - could this be the start of a championship hat-trick for the team?

Oulton Park, Cheshire, Great-Britain
30 March 1972
Heavy rain

Motoring News:
A caption in Motoring News a couple of weeks ago has offended Imp ace Bill McGovern, who tells us that nobody ever outbrakes him and wants us to apologise for suggesting such. Whatever, Bill won the 1-litre class with the Bevan machine by 17 seconds from Mo Mendham's Mini. The result put McGovern and Matthews into the joint lead of the Championship

Esso Uniflo Trophy
Thruxton, Hampshire, Great-Britain
3 April 1972

Touring Cars
Pos	Pos in class	#	Team / Entrant Car- Engine	Drivers, Nationality	cc	Engine Type	Group	Distance, time	Qualifying position	Qualifying time	Fastest lap	Reason out
1	1	5	SCA Freight Ltd. Chevrolet Camaro Z28 Mk2	Frank Gardner, AUS	5736	V8	D	25 laps, 36.42,2	2	1.26,8	1.25,4
9	1	1	George Bevan Hillman Imp	Bill McGovern, GB	998	L4	A	23		1.37,0	1.36,6
12	2	80	Hillman Imp	Melvyn Adams, GB	998	L4	A	23		1.38,6
DNF		78	Stapleton Motors Racing Promotions Hillman Imp	Adrian Webb, GB	998	L4	A	18

GKN Transmissions Trophy
Silverstone, Great-Britain
23 April 1972

Bill McGovern's George Bevan Sunbeam Imp scored maximum points in the sub-1000 cc category to hold on to the joint championship lead with Matthews

Crystal Palace, Great-Britain
28/5/1972

By winning the 1-litre class again Bill McGovern moves into a clear lead in the Wiggins Teape Paperchase, for Dave Matthews crashed his Escort and thus spoilt his points record.

John Player Grand Prix Support Race
Brands Hatch International Circuit, Kent, Great-Britain
15 July 1972

No drama in the little class: Bill McGovern just got on with the job of scooping up yet another maximum point score in search of his third Championship title in the George Bevan Imp.

Oulton Park Gold Cup
Oulton Park, Cheshire, Great-Britain
16 Sept. 1972

Round 7 of the ten-race Wiggins Teape Paperchase. It was a race of attrition and there were only 15 finishers but Bill McGovern kept up his unbeaten record this season with the George Bevan Imp in the 1-litre category.

Esso Uniflo RAC Tourist Trophy
Silverstone, Great-Britain
24 Sept. 1972

SKF Trophy for Group 2 cars
Mallory Park, Leicester, Great-Britain
1 October 1972

In the closing laps, McGovern closed right up to Montague but just failed to take him. In the smallest class, Ivor Greenwood (Imp Sport) was the closest to McGovern but by the finish he had been lapped by the leaders.

John Player Victory Meeting
Brands Hatch International Circuit, Kent, Great-Britain
22 October 1972 

Gardner, Matthews, Buncombe and McGovern had already won their classes in the championship before the event, but in any case, all four won their respective sections.  

1973

In the British Touring Car Championship, he gained 36 points for Team George Bevan, which was a 7th place.

1980

1980

BRSCC modified Saloon Champion. Bevan Imp

1986 - 1989

Renault 5 GT Turbo.
Finished 10th-3rd-4th overall in Championship in less modified car.

2009

At The Imp Club National Weekend: Imp 09 / IMPulse 09

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