George Begg
1930-
George Begg -
Many thanks to Peter Bramwell for most of this tribute.
George Begg, who lost his battle with cancer at his home in Hervey Bay on Australia's
Fraser Coast, was the iconic New Zealand No. 8 wire motor racing engineer. He was
76. If he hadn't already existed it would have been damnably difficult to create
him. George, on the other hand, seemed to have had no such problems. He wanted to
build a racing car, so he did. Then he built another 17. Where was the problem? George
was hands-
The early Beggs looked as though they'd been hewn from raw metal but they did the job. Sophistication wasn't a word high in the Begg spelling order. That would evolve. First make it work, then make it win.
George had raced motorcycles on the Isle of Man and that takes a special kind of
courage and skill just to stay on the bike and keep the bike on the road, never mind
stay on the road and be quick. TT legend Bob McIntyre once said "You go up the mountain
on your machine and you come down on your nerves..." Since 1907 it has been a tortuous
37.7-
He appreciated that there was a knack in building racing cars and that fellow-
I don't wish to suggest that George Begg was any sort of genius, it was just that
he hadn't understood when it was explained to him that it was impossible to build
racing cars that would win in just about every form that he built them. Small single-
Which is not to mention the books George wrote. You haven't asked me, but I'll tell you that writing anything from scratch if you've never sat down to write before, is nigh on impossible. George just did it. Nobody had explained to him that he couldn't. Or if they had, he hadn't listened, probably thinking about something else, like the book he was about to write.
George Begg was a story-
Begg started building his racing cars in Drummond, a tiny country village inland from Invercargill, where he had been producing agricultural and farming equipment.
"Drummond was the best place in the world to build racing cars because you didn't
have smart-
Graham McRae, the Kiwi who built his own cars and won races and titles round the world, made a rare public appearance to honour George at a Begg Tribute event at Teretonga a few weeks before his death, a measure of his appreciation for the man who had helped him early in his career. George said McRae had showed him that dogged persistence and ignoring the gauges could win races...
David Oxton and Jim Murdoch were among the Begg drivers present at the Teretonga
demonstrations and George remembered his proud moment at Silverstone when Oxton,
now 60, raced the 5-
By coincidence, Alastair Caldwell, another long-
George had met and married Freda when they met on the Isle of Man and George paid tribute to his wife for letting him race his Manx Norton on 'The Island' when he was 59... the unspoken inference being that perhaps he should have known better but Freda was happy to let him do it.
George could do just about anything he put his mind to, a man who came to mind when
the conversation turned to Number 8 wire Kiwi entrepreneurs. He wrote his autobiography
When the Engine Roars then updated it a few years later with chapters added on restorations
of famous racing cars in New Zealand. Then came the book on Burt Munro followed by
a book on Bruce McLaren, written with the wry eye of an engineer who had followed
the McLaren career as a racing driver and car-
The first Begg was powered by a 650cc BSA and built for local racer Barry Keen who bought the car back in 1979.
Hamish Blake, age 9, was George's hugely proud grandson, at George's side throughout
the celebrations wearing a flat cap copying Grandad and looking for all the world
like Jackie Coogan. They rode together Kennedy-
George was asked all weekend which was his favourite of the 18 Beggs he had built. He sidestepped the question by comparing his cars to his children. There were no favourites. He continued the family comparison: "After I made one, I thought I'd make another. It's like a family; if you have one kid you can have another, it's no bother. They are a bit like kids, you make one good one and you think 'I'll have another just like it.'"
Michael Clark, author of the new Begg book, also tried to draw George on the most
significant of the racing cars he had built. 'I wasn't at all surprised by his answer
and in fact guessed correctly when asked by George -
The Tribute event at Teretonga was very much a time-
Begg family tree
1963/64: Begg 650 -
1965: Begg 1600 -
1966: Begg Sports -
1967: Begg Daimler -
1967: Begg 1500 -
1967/8: Begg Twin-
1968/9: Begg monocoque -
1968: McBegg sports car -
1969: Begg FM2 -
1969: Begg FM2 -
1970: Begg FM3 -
1970: Begg FM4 -
1972: Begg FM5 -
1973: Begg FM5 -
1973: Begg JM1 -
1974: Begg 018 -
George Begg's interest in motorsport started with two wheels, not four.
Like so many young New Zealanders in the late 1940s George turned to a motorcycle for cheap transport to take him to and from his job as a trainee fitter and turner.
From a farming community in Southland, one of the most southerly parts of New Zealand's South Island, George realised his ambitions would take him into engineering, not farming, and he moved to the southern city of Dunedin. His older brother sold him a 1929 BSA Sloper motorcycle, no marvel as a sports machine but it enthralled the young rider.
Sheer enthusiasm for motorcycling meant absorbing every detail about bikes, and bike racing, in particular the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy races.
The urge to go racing resulted in the purchase of a 1938 Royal Enfield Silver Bullet 500cc single, with which George competed in club races. The Bullet, steadily modified further for racing, was joined by a BSA Golden Flash 650 twin.
After completing his apprenticeship in 1952, George felt that fortunes were to made elsewhere and, in company with close friend Doug Johnson, headed north.
New racing challenges
The first step into serious racing was a 500cc Triumph GP twin, then a Velocette KTT was bought for the pair to share, to be joined by a Norton Manx 500cc, but Johnson was soon to sell out his share and return home after a family bereavement.
For George the time had come to chase a particular dream; to compete at the Isle of Man.
He sold up and in 1955 set sail for Britain in company with friend Bob Cook.
En route from Southampton to Liverpool (to embark for the Isle of Man) he called
in at the AJS works to collect his new 7R 350cc racer. These racers were extremely
competitive as delivered from the factory, and provided hundreds of riders with fast,
good-
Taking part in the 1955 Manx Grand Prix races for amateur riders was exciting, terrifying,
and enormously rewarding and a mid-
After the Manx races the pair returned to England and competed in club events, against
some very famous names, including Duke and Surtees. While the racing lacked the social
enjoyment of New Zealand, the team-
Working in a variety of engineering jobs to support themselves, George and Bob competed in the GP again in 1956, George again receiving a finisher's medallion, while Bob Cook won a silver winner's replica for his 25th place. Bob was to die in a racing accident at the Aintree circuit near Liverpool within a few months of the GP, a shattering blow.
His heart no longer in it, George competed in the Ulster Grand Prix of 1956 knowing he was finishing with racing. The 7R and the rest of his equipment was sold and he prepared to return to New Zealand early in the new year. One thing had changed, however. On the Isle of Man he had met, and married, Freda.
Returning to a cold New Zealand winter in 1957, with little capital and a need to
find work, George joined an engineering firm repairing earth-
With some saved money, and a loan from his father, George set up an engineering business in Drummond, a tiny community in central Southland.
With no immediate business, it was a brave move but as the work started to trickle in the young engineer began to look for ways to generate more business.
Starting with a simpler, stronger design for a device to help farmers handle sheep, in order to treat foot rot problems, George found a ready market in local farming districts.
Front-
The solution was found in a copy of Racing and Sports Car Chassis Design written by Mike Costin (of later Cosworth fame) and David Phipps. Here was a challenge. Could he build a racing car?
The result of 18 months work, sometimes running smoothly sometimes not, was the Begg 650, powered by a BSA A10 650cc motor.
In typical New Zealand engineering style, the Begg 650 used whatever parts were most appropriate, but some very unlikely components became part of a racer, including steering and brakes from very pedestrian Morris cars.
By September, 1964, the Begg 650 was ready to run. Through social contacts, George had met Barry Keen, a young driver from Otautau, who was ready and willing to take the wheel.
The car looked sophisticated compared to most other home-
While the 650 had been built in the Drummond workshop, the plan to build another car called for more room. The end of the workshop was extended and the new building was promptly dubbed "George�s Toyshop".
The new car was a simple spaceframe , strengthened with curved steel panels welded
between the side tubes. A popular choice with specials builders in New Zealand, a
Humber 80 engine was selected. This 1600cc overhead valve design matched up to the
not-
Dr David Bruton, the intended driver, got the job in exchange for assembling the engine. The car was first run, unimpressively, at Teretonga in November, 1965; teething troubles would take time to eliminate.
With more work completed, the car was entered for a support race at the Lady Wigram Trophy meeting in January 1966, a round of the Tasman Cup. A third in class, after a spin in the wet conditions gave the team a boost, George considering this the moment when his feet were firmly on the bottom rung of the ladder of success.
The following weekend at Teretonga saw the Beggs entered as a team. Both the 650 and 1600 were raced together in a staggered start. Both won their classes. This success made Dave Bruton a possibility for the South Island Special Championship, which he took out with a third at Waimate and a class win at Ruapuna. For the Begg team, this was a moment for great celebration.
Both cars were to be sold later in 1966, the 650 still surviving though the 1600 went on to hold the New Zealand Hillclimb Championship.
Consolidating business
The formation of a new company in partnership with Auckland business man Spencer Allen (and another engineering works in Auckland) gave George a firmer foundation from which to pursue his motor racing.
A sports car seemed the most attractive project to try next. Plans were drawn up
for a spaceframed Can-
The finished Begg Sports, complete with near vertical exhaust stacks, was tried out along a straight, sealed section of road in front of G.N. Begg Engineer, as were nearly all of the 18 cars that were built...
Early results were good. The car was competitive despite some technical limitations (mostly in carburation) and a series of placings saw Barry Keen take third in the 1966 New Zealand Sports Car Championship.
George regards the Begg Sports as one of his best cars. It enjoyed more success in other hands and still survives.
Plans for a Begg Sports Mark II, powered by a 5.3-
By using bits and pieces acquired on his travels, George reasoned that he could build
up a single seater for the South Island Specials class. To a basic spaceframe were
added Jaguar disc brakes, and a Brabham BT-
The car�s eventual Daimler V8 engine was developed using Triumph motorcycle engine tuning techniques, Edward Turner having designed both engines using common hemispherical cylinder head and cam profiles. The car was reasonably successful, and did well in Lindsay Tosh�s hands after George sold it to him.
What was significant about the Begg-
The Toyshop was producing more than one car at a time by now. During 1967 George built two more spaceframe chassis, one for himself and another for Keith McFadzien. Sixteen months later, George was to watch with horror as the car crashed at Teretonga, killing McFadzien. The cause had been a tyre deflation.
George�s own car, chassis six, was fitted with a Ford 1498cc motor. The car won first
time out with Barry Keen and a week later George was to see four of his cars finish
1, 2, 3 and 5 in a New Zealand-
But George hankered after something else. As a race car builder he had done remarkably well from his Drummond base; better, he reasons than if he had been based amongst other builders in Auckland. He harboured a wish to build cars in Europe, so arranged to meet to meet with Bruce McLaren when he came to New Zealand for the 1968 Tasman Cup series.
McLaren had heard about George Begg and his cars, and agreed to take George into the car building team in England for six months. With Freda�s strong support, the dream was becoming reality.
George joined McLaren�s early in 1968, Freda taking the family back to her home on
the Isle of Man for the six-
Bruce McLaren had built up his car-
Bruce himself was only 30 when George joined him but was widely regarded as a good driver and an even better car maker.
George�s initial nervousness about the contribution he could make to the team was pushed aside when the first person he worked with at the factory was a former motorcycle racer of his acquaintance from 1955. The ice was broken but the pressure of the new circumstances was draining on his health. When news came of his family settling in well on the Isle of Man he found it easier to devote himself to the challenge.
George worked extensively on the M6 Can-
Moving into development of the awesome M8, George spent most of his time at McLaren�s working on the sports car program. Circumstances, however, took him to 1968 German Grand Prix as a mechanic for the Formula One team, even managing a lap of the original long circuit in the team�s station wagon!
McLaren�s death in a testing crash in 1970 was a shattering blow. George was to suffer a double blow with the sudden death of his business partner Spencer Allen only five days after Bruce�s funeral. Back into the Toyshop
It was too late to build a national championship car for the 1969 season so a stopgap car was built using experience gained from his time in England. The car was built as a spaceframe with panels rivetted to the frame tubes for rigidity.
The car used a 1600cc Vegantune Twincam as a stressed member and the finished product was very light and very neat.
The Begg Twin Cam (chassis seven) was first raced at the Lady Wigram Trophy meeting
in January, 1969. The car was tricky to drive and despite Barry Keens�s best efforts
the car was not a winner in its original form. The car was sold and a new project
hatched -
While with McLaren�s George had acquired a spaceframe of McLaren M1, the body of
an M6, an engine from an M6, and gearbox and suspension parts from the M6-
At Timaru the next weekend the car was matched against the Begg Sports (now owned
by Brent Hawes and fitted with a bigger engine) and an Elfin. The McBegg, as the
car was nicknamed, for its McLaren-
Hawes was to die in the Begg Sports some months later, the second driver to met his death in a Begg, though neither crash was due to the car�s failure.
Another parting of the ways occurred when Barry Keen decided that he was neglecting his farm and gave racing away. George rates him one of New Zealand�s most talented drivers who could have gone a long way in the sport. George recruited Geoff Mardon to take his place.
The McBegg, chassis eight, even broke the New Zealand land speed record at a top speed of 286kph.
The winning formula
The arrival of Formula 5000 marked a new phase for Begg Engineering. This category
of single seater racing was being pursued in both Europe and the USA, and most builders
were using 5-
George has bought back the Begg-
Formula 5000 was going to be expensive and the hobby basis upon which George was building cars had to give way to a more commercially based arrangement for Begg Engineering Ltd. One of the first decisions was to employ a good engineer to help develop the cars planned for the new formula. The right man was Fred McLean.
McLean had done time in British motor racing and race engineering, designing and
building Titan cars. He became Begg Engineering�s first full-
The first car was the FM2 (FM1 was to have been a Formula Two car but was never built).
Two were built (chassis nine and ten), both angular, wedge-
Mardon then took over the car, while chassis ten was driven by Pierre Phillips from
the USA in the international series at the start of 1970. Several frustrating non-
FM2/9 was sold to Neil Doyle who raced it successfully, and FM2/10 was also sold off in 1971.
Over the winter of 1970 three Formula Ford chassis were built (chassis 11, 12 and 13) under the designation FM3, though the cars were bare chassis with suspension, destined for customers.
FM2/10 was overhauled and improved to the extent of a strong win first time out at Pukekohe. Geoff Mardon was maturing as a driver and the team was finding reliability through better engineering.
Work was begun on a new car for Geoff, something lighter and longer in the wheelbase. The FM4 that resulted was one of the best of the series.
Gold Star success
While the FM4 (chassis 14) was essentially an uprated FM2 it used McLaren wheels
and uprights, a Stanton-
After early failures while the team sorted the car out, Mardon won at Pukekohe and Ruapuna in March 1971. George even put the car though the standing quarter mile at a club sprint, the car managing a quick 11.9 sec.
For the 1971-
The car was sold to Ken Wright and was further modified. Success in Gold Star events
during 1972-
It was evident that the Begg/McLean team was clicking. The exchange of ideas and
engineering solutions was beneficial to both men, and at the end of the 1971-
The FM5 continued the winning pattern set by the FM4. It was built from a combination
of hand-
The car was built around the fuel cells giving it the bulging midriff that contrasted with the angular look of its predecessors. The bulkheads were fabricated from alloy and polystyrene foam "sandwiches" and the entire monocoque weighed in at only 32 kilograms.
An offer from Graham McRae to take over the Leda race car works McRae ran for a wealthy backer tempted George to consider another move to Britain but a visit to the company revealed that managing the company was not likely to be a successful venture for him.
Watching F5000 racing in Britain, though, planted the seed of an idea, which didn�t
go away as George prepared for the 1972-
Arriving back in New Zealand George was met by Garry Pedersen who needed a car to
replace his crashed ex-
Fred McLean had finished off the FM5 over the winter and it looked beautiful in its yellow paint. More importantly, it looked as good or better than anything George had seen overseas.
The car worked well from the outset, winning first up at Pukekohe. While the early
stages of the Gold Star series looked as though David Oxton would bolt away, some
mechanical problems led to the series coming down to a match between the FM5 and
Garry Pedersen in the well-
The Tasman Series was planned to include the Australian races for the Begg team. Arrangements were made with Australian Kevin Bartlett to swap facilities and transportation in each country. While the series promised much, the first race saw Oxton taken off in practice by another car and the FM5 being badly damaged. A hasty repair session got the car on the grid but in his determination to work his way through the field, Oxton clipped a marker, bending a wishbone.
A fifth at Levin a week later was good for the team and the car had finished only
a second or so behind Bartlett's Lola T300. Another fifth at the lady Wigram Trophy
race in Christchurch and an eight in a rain-
But plans for the Australian races were to be dashed though poor arrangements made by others on the team's behalf, and an impossible schedule to make the first start convinced George to call the project off. As it was, he was already planning something much more challenging.
In early 1973 George Begg embarked on his most ambitious racing project to date.
After seeing the McRae set-
David Oxton would drive, Joe Wright would be head mechanic and George himself would be "team manager, mechanic and general dog�s body."
Preparations were made for the team to live in England for the season, though it meant the end of the partnership with Fred McLean who chose to move to Christchurch and open a garage. Fred helped prepare the cars for the English circuits.
The package taken abroad consisted of FM5/01, two spare engines, a spare gearbox,
four spare front wheels, four spare rear wheels and 13 cases of other parts and tools.
In a curious reversal of the problem New Zealanders had racing English-
The first race at Mallory Park resulted in a damaged engine in practice, after Oxton had qualified the car 12th out of 30. With no time to change the engine the car was withdrawn. The potential, however, was evident.
At Silverstone a week later, with a rebuilt Morand Chevrolet V8 fitted, the car was
qualified in 24th place out of 30, in a combined F1/F5000 entry. An F5000 race on
the Saturday saw Oxton 12th on the grid and despite less-
In the main event, a snow shower re-
The weather continued to be poor and Snetterton was also cold and wet. Oxton was as high as 4th on the grid but a mechanical problem (traced to a fuel delivery fault caused by the contrasting weather conditions between New Zealand and Britain) saw him drift back to seventh.
Heavy rain at Brands Hatch meant a start from the rear of the grid though times in private practice matched the front runners�. Driving with caution in heavy spray, Oxton hit a bump on the track surface launching the car off the track. Though the FM5 was extensively damaged, Oxton was uninjured.
A huge rebuild followed and FM5 received its back paint scheme (as it now appears in the Southward Motor Museum). Previously all Begg cars had been yellow.
Another wet practice at Oulton Park resulted in Oxton starting from ninth and finishing ninth. While the following meeting at Mallory Park threatened to be another wet weekend, clearing weather gave Oxton a chance to show FM5�s abilities and he started from the second row. Oxton drove the car into third before a slow puncture forced him to back off, eventually crossing the line for a superb 5th.
A European detour to Misano in Italy held plenty of promise as the car was qualified third but the local council decided the track was unsafe to run F5000 so the race was abandoned. A 3000 kilometre trip but apparently a lot of fun.
The Dublin Grand Prix for F5000 cars resulted in a 6th overall placing over two heats. It was the last race for in Britain for George, as the car had to be shipped back to New Zealand after the next meeting at Silverstone, and George had promised the family a tour of Europe before they returned home.
At Silverstone the Begg was 4th fastest but torrential rain just before the race flooded the circuit and the meeting had to be abandoned.
FM5 was sold to David Oxton. George calculated that of the 35 international F5000 races in 1973, the car had finished in the top six in five of them, not counting the NZ Gold Star which Oxton had won. The season had delivered plenty.
With business expansion taking much of his time, and Oxton using FM5 to good effect to win the 1973 Gold Star series comfortably, Begg took a break.
Through Oxton, however, he met Jim Murdoch who wanted to return to New Zealand after a season in Formula Atlantic to race Formula Ford. The car, the JM1, was built in the Toyshop from George�s designs and took Murdoch to second in the national championship for Formula Ford.
But the urge to build one more Gold Star contender was running strong and Begg settled on one last project, named 018 as it was to be the 18th chassis built.
The car was to put an end to nasty suggestions that the Begg/McLean partnership had been based on Begg�s money and McLean�s talent. While never denying the contribution of many people to the success of the team, Begg felt entitled to recognition as the team�s director and creative centre.
Murdoch and Begg decided on a two-
The car would have sidepod radiators, a longer wheelbase, and weight closer to the centreline. The monocoque would be made from sandwiched polystyrene and aluminium sheets and driver protection would be extensive.
An existing motor was uprated with Bartz components from the USA, and McLaren suspension
uprights were fitted. Inboard rear brakes meant wheels could be 13 or 15-
The car�s chassis tub turned out to weigh only 4.5kg more than the FM5 but was as much as four times stronger. The first outing was to be round one of the 1974 Gold Star at Ruapuna in September.
Even the colour was a departure. After changing FM5 to black, George was all for 018 being painted the familiar Begg yellow. Murdoch persuaded him to paint it dark blue. But with yellow highlights.
The finished car was lighter than its British-
Determined to make round two at Levin, the car was sorted out a little further and
proved surprisingly good in its first track sessions. Murdoch was not well and the
competition was fierce: Graeme Lawrence in a new Lola T332, Neil Doyle in a Surtees,
Frank Bray in the now ex-
018 was a sensation. Its design was ground breaking for New Zealand builders and it was clearly a match for the European designs. Its early running, however, was less exciting. Minor problems hampered the car�s speed but Murdoch made 4th on the grid on the tight Levin layout.
The first run of 018 resulted in a second placing. The team was delighted, and followed this with a third at Pukekohe a week later, though some of the niggling faults were still there. Fuel feed when the tanks were nearly empty was a major problem.
At the new Manfield circuit near Palmerston North, the car was dogged by faults and eventually overheated itself out of the race.
Back at Pukekohe, but with Lawrence in the opposition, 018 triumphed. Murdoch managed to get past Graham Baker�s FM5, and George Begg had the pleasure of seeing 018, an FM5 and an FM4 take the first three places.
The tally so far (and despite the teething troubles) was a second, a third and a
first with a brand new car and a less-
Fuel injection was fitted to the Bartz Chevrolet. At The Levels, Timaru, the car
performed well and despite an off-
Underdogs in the Gold Star series, the Begg team was even lower rated as a chance in the 1975 Tasman Cup.
The first race at Levin revealed poor rear suspension but without replacement parts
Murdoch had to do the best he could. Still battling ill-
At Pukekohe the next week the car was modified to try to cure the handling problem, with some success as the sixth grid position proved. On a wet track, Murdoch took advantage of Begg�s decision to start on rain tyres to force his way into 2nd by the end of the first lap, behind Australian Warwick Brown. With fancied runners falling by the wayside, and despite a spin, Murdoch maintained a strong pace to bring the car home to second place in the New Zealand Grand Prix. The team was ecstatic. Murdoch was awarded the Bruce McLaren Memorial Trophy as first New Zealander home, presented by Bruce McLaren�s father, Les. The McLaren connection was a warm reminder for George.
In a sharp reminder of the ups and downs of motor racing, Murdoch fared less well
at Wigram, qualifying 8th and struggled to finish only one place better. At Teretonga
a mid-
Incentives to continue the series in Australia persuaded George to meet the team�s
costs to take 018 to Sydney. Qualifying mid-
The car showed new problems at Adelaide, caused by the changes in temperature. What had worked fine in New Zealand�s cooler climate was not working so well in the Australian summer. Some hasty improvisation, and a rebuilt engine, earned the team a 7th, and some handy prize money.
At Melbourne�s Sandown Park, the engine again gave trouble and an elderly spare was fitted. Having to start off the back of the grid due to lack of practice, Murdoch eventually ran off the circuit, damaging the car.
The Australian series was not successful but was by all accounts a happy exposure to life in Australia. So much so that George and Freda later chose to retire there.
1975 proved a difficult year for business, and with complications in the family�s move from Drummond to Christchurch, motor racing took a back seat. Jim Murdoch took on many of the responsibilities of getting the car ready but the pressure affected his health through the season.
The financial pressure on the machinery company, caused by an economic downturn affecting the whole country, and sales tax issues, also saw the end of George�s plans to produce some chassis for sale. While their production would have improved the quality of F5000 competition in New Zealand, the cost would have become prohibitive.
The 018�s engine was rebuilt in time for the first race at Teretonga in October 1975 but a test run found that the engine was far from well, a bearing having failed. The day before the race the standby engine was fitted. In trying to match the pace of Ken Smith�s Lola T332 it was evident that the second motor was not going to give 018 much of a chance. Stripping the engine revealed serious trouble and the team was out of the race.
The following weekend, at Ruapuna, the team was able to run the car with the first
engine rebuilt. While the car was qualified on the front row of the grid, a mid-
At Timaru the story was no better. Persistent leaks from the rear main bearing seal coated the brakes with oil. Three rounds and no points. The engine was found to have been incorrectly overhauled, and was rectified in time for the Pukekohe races.
Murdoch was in poor health but pressure of business forced George to hand over the running of the team to Jim for the round. The result however was a tonic. Two thirds in the two heats.
Jim Murdoch was chosen to partner Graeme Lawrence and Ken Smith in a trans-
George again missed the first round, at Levin, due to business pressures but some friends rallied to look after the car, letting Jim concentrate on his driving. After moving up to second the car spun inexplicably as it came onto the main straight, a problem traced to a broken mounting in the chassis. At Manfield the car seemed to have lost its handling edge and managed only two fifths.
The Australians won the series but at the Bay Park Gold Star race shortly after, the combined talents of the volunteers, who included mechanics who had worked with the best in Europe, was reaping rewards.
The car ran second behind Lawrence until a driveshaft twisted, and following a deliberately lacklustre showing in the last round at Pukekohe (unpopularly staged as a support race for the Grand Prix), the team finished a distant third in the Gold Star points. The depleted state of the team (engines, health, luck and more) weighed on George�s mind to the point of considering pulling out altogether. A fifth at the NZ Grand Prix did little to lift spirits.
A crash at the next round of the Peter Stuyvesant Series at Manfield eliminated the car from the starting grid though Murdoch was unhurt, thanks to 018�s strength.
The car was rebuilt in time for Wigram, Murdoch having been ordered to rest in the meantime. Despite being in poor shape Murdoch rallied for the Lady Wigram Trophy and, assisted a little by others� misfortunes, took a second place in the depleted field. But for the team that had rebuilt the car, it was a victory.
The next round was the last for builder and driver, and it was staged where the whole story had begun with the Begg 650; Teretonga. A flat tyre put Murdoch a lap behind but the car, looking as good as its proud owner could make it, took the chequered flag in fifth place. The points were good enough for third in the series, a fitting reward for the team.
It was over. And, it had to be acknowledged, it was a relief after the strain of the last season.
George reflects that the end of the 1976 season was a time to take stock. He says he was associated with some very fine drivers and mechanics and he looked back on a series of cars of which he was very proud.
Escalating costs forced hard decisions for many teams, Begg and Allen included. Motor
racing in New Zealand was becoming more complicated and after George�s departure
only one team tried to follow the New Zealand-
Perhaps an editorial from New Zealand's Motor Action in late 1974 said it best:
"We salute you George Begg. Your latest Formula A car, the eighteenth you�ve built, is a real credit to you and all those associated with it. Anyone who look closely at it will quickly swallow any former sarcastic comments about your cars being built like trucks and rather heavy.
"This latest car is a real work of art, a credit to any racing car manufacturer and one we�re sure any English racing factory would be proud to have produced...We believe that with this latest car, you can hold your head high with any racing car constructor anywhere. We�re proud of you and your contribution to New Zealand motorsport...And if you can build such a car in New Zealand, George, why can�t someone else?"
These days George and Freda Begg live in retirement in Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia. Typically George Begg throws himself into community projects, mostly focused on young people, with the same zeal as his racing.
George has returned to his first love, the racing motorcycles he started on, now become classics. To watch him cast his experienced eye over a Manx Norton or an AJS 7R engine casting is to see the engineer still turning his judgement into maximum revolutions per minute, maximum track speed, maximum reliability.
In 1985 a return was made to the Isle of Man TT circuit to compete in the race for Classic Motorcycles, part of the Manx Grand Prix. Engine failure forced George out after a lap.
In 1987 he returned to England and Europe for more classic racing including the Dutch TT Classic race. The next year he was back at the isle of Man for the Manx Classic and after four laps, nearly 280km of racing, he finished 35th out of more than 100 starters. At 58 years of age he was in his element still and the Norton Manx 500 had taken his racing passion full circle.
George, however, was true to his word about cars and 018 was the last chassis. Many have disappeared as old racing cars do, while others have been transformed into entirely different machines. Some survive in original condition and will remain a permanent reminder of a man�s determination to be judged on his deeds, not his words.