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About Bill.
After being immersed in the WA motor racing scene for more
than three decades, it is hardly surprising that 72-year-
old Bill Downey still has more than a hint of Castrol R coursing
through his veins.
His racing history includes rubbing shoulders— and the odd
wheel— with the likes of Sir Jack Brabham & Bruce McLaren.
These drivers appeared on the same entry list for the 1962
Australian Grand Prix at Caversham, which Bruce won &
with Downey assigned to drive a Corvette- powered Ferrari.
(Refer image at bottome of page)
Downey and the front-engine Ferrari were up against numerous
other greats, including Bill Patterson, Bib Stiliwell and
Lex Davison, all in rear-engine Cooper Climaxes.
The era of front-engine racing cars was fast fading, and the
more nimble rear-engine designs were on the cusp of a revolution
that would change open-wheeler racing forever Downey said
the advantage of the rear-engine cars was immediately obvious.
“In a straight line the Ferrari-Corvette was wonderful, It
gobbled up everything and stayed with Brabham. But come corner
time...”
Sadly, Downey never made it to the grid and was speaking only
from his experience in practice for the big race. After six
practice laps he brought the car into the pits with engine
trouble and withdrew.
Downey "but this time a starter" aslo competed in
the 1979 Australian G.P. held at Wanneroo Park. Unfortunalty
a mechanical problem forced his retirment in this race also.
More recently, three bouts of cancer in the past six years
have spurred him to channel his passion for racing and direct
it to the future. These days, Bill spend his time building
children’s pedal cars which replicate some of the famous racing
cars of the 1920s and 30s.
Examples of these are the Bugatti Type 35, Alfa Romeo P3,
Maserati 4CLT and MGK3.
All the cars have fibreglass bodies, and the pedals work like
a bicycle’s, incorporating a back-pedal brake. Battery power
can also be added if requested at building stage.
Downey's enthusiasm has lead him to sell some of these vehicles
but he says that his target market is not what you might expect.
“I’ve decided not to target the parents of the kids but their
grandparents, Grandparents appreciate what they are,— the
vintage of them. ‘And they tend to keep them, and let the
kids use them when they come to visit. When I used to go and
visit my grandparents as a child, it was just a stuffy little
old place where you couldn’t enjoy yourself”
Bill says that his own grandchildren couldn't get enough of
them when they were little
Bill Downey can be contacted at home on 93991992 or by
Email at ronaldd1@optusnet.com.au
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