I believe the picture of Pete Lovely in the Cooper Porsche #125, was at Pebble Beach 1956. He experienced a broken throttle linkage and drove that way for several laps, using his left hand instead of his right foot. YIKES!
I was wondering what he was doing there. I thought maybe adjusting the carbs, but using his hands in place of the accelerator is truly amazing.
I once snapped an accelerator cable on my old VW and nursed her home using a pair of vice grips clinging to the exposed and fraying end of the cable. I was all sorts of impressed with myself at the time, but running a race using the same method? Incredible!
That’s right–and he received the Sportsmanship Trophy for it, though some thought he should have been black-flagged for endangerment! I’m pleased to say he was one of very few drivers that my Father raced against in the ’50s and I raced against in the 90s and 2000s (Al Moss and John Benton are the others that come to mind). He was a terrific guy. Pace e bene, Pete. MJ
The Cooper Porsche was called
The Pooper” in the 1950’s
As a high school student I drove the unloaded VW transporter on a few occasions. Handling was a bit dicey in the Seattle rain!
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I believe the picture of Pete Lovely in the Cooper Porsche #125, was at Pebble Beach 1956. He experienced a broken throttle linkage and drove that way for several laps, using his left hand instead of his right foot. YIKES!
I was wondering what he was doing there. I thought maybe adjusting the carbs, but using his hands in place of the accelerator is truly amazing.
I once snapped an accelerator cable on my old VW and nursed her home using a pair of vice grips clinging to the exposed and fraying end of the cable. I was all sorts of impressed with myself at the time, but running a race using the same method? Incredible!
That’s right–and he received the Sportsmanship Trophy for it, though some thought he should have been black-flagged for endangerment! I’m pleased to say he was one of very few drivers that my Father raced against in the ’50s and I raced against in the 90s and 2000s (Al Moss and John Benton are the others that come to mind). He was a terrific guy. Pace e bene, Pete. MJ
The Cooper Porsche was called
The Pooper” in the 1950’s
As a high school student I drove the unloaded VW transporter on a few occasions. Handling was a bit dicey in the Seattle rain!