By Sunbeam74
Published: February 1, 2008
The Moss/Pickering Alpine
Sterling Moss, Ian Garrad, and Jack Brabham discuss strategy for the 3 hour enduro.
By Steven Silverstein and Scott Christie
If you know your automotive history you’d agree that almost every automobile marque has produced a few specific cars that seem to be shrouded in mystery, enticing today’s collectors and enthusiasts. Be it a special prototype, a one-off show car, or perhaps a specially prepared race car, these mystery vehicles simply vanish, absorbed by time and never seen again. Rootes, and in particular Sunbeam, has had more than its share of these mystery cars. One such car is the so-called “Moss/Pickering Alpine”. Few remember this particular Alpine, though it gained fame early with Stirling Moss behind the wheel.
Our story begins in mid-1961 at the five year old Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California. Carved out of an old turkey ranch in the California desert, Riverside quickly became the premiere venue in southern California for amateur and professional drivers alike. The 1961 event was full of famous drivers, including Stirling Moss and Jack Brabham. Both drivers were on hand for the feature race driving big bore sports racers, but Rootes Competition Manager Norman Garrad had arranged for the two to drive Sunbeam Alpines in the 3 hour endurance race. Norman’s son Ian, in charge of Rootes USA’s West Coast Operations, made the arrangements with the intent that it would prominently feature the Alpine and hopefully increase sales.
Two cars were prepared. The first, a white Alpine, #1, nicknamed “Rosebud”, had been temporarily borrowed from Bud Rose’s dealership. This Alpine was raced frequently by Steve Froines. Bob Hagin, who worked for Bud, would maintain this car over the many seasons that Steve raced. The other car was a Wedgewood blue Alpine, #7, which would eventually be known as the Moss/Pickering Alpine. Rumors abound concerning Rootes factory mechanﾭics arriving weeks in advance with competition parts in tow to prepare this blue car. No real evidence has been found to support this story, though when the car was sold on to subsequent owners there were some very special parts on the car including the rare competition Microcell seats. As to other modifications to the it is difficult to say, though former owners and drivers all waxed on concerning the excellent preparation details on the car. We’ll touch on those details in a moment, but on to the race….
It was a very hot day in Riverside, California – it was said to have been over 100 degrees. Rumors persist that Moss had been out late the night before and upon arriving at the track seemed to be less than enthusiastic about driving the Alpine in the enduro. Hung-over was a term tossed around but Moss was a professional and I find that hard to believe. Once practice rolled around Moss took the fresh car out on the track. It didn’t take long for the Alpine to be wheeled back into the pits with engine problems. Some say he over-revved the engine though perhaps it just failed on its own accord. Did I mention it was over 100 degrees and Moss had been out late? You just can’t be certain but Moss promptly took a spot on the pit-wall where he informed Garrad that his race was over. To which Garrad, well-known for his crusty Scots personality replied something to the effect, “The hell you ARE! I am paying you to drive!”We can use our imaginations regarding this discussion but I’d bet it was entertaining.
Garrad’s solution lay with Brabham and his white Alpine. Both Moss and Brabham would share “Rosebud” for the 3 hour event. I don’t need to go into details but needless to say Moss and Brabham won their class and came in third overall against some impressive competition.
Now, what happened to the Wedgwood Blue Sterling Moss car? Well, as you could probably surmise it was sold to Ray Pickering hence the name the “Moss/Pickering” Alpine. Pickering was a well known SCCA racer who had most notably driven for the MG factory at Sebring. Once he acquired the Alpine he continued to race in the Southern California area – he became a real fixture in F-production driving this Alpine on the west coast. Upon his retired from the Air Force Ray moved to the mid-west, making Lawrence, Kansas, his home. He opened a small speed shop near the university called “Competition Sports Cars” ship south of Chicago.) From his base in Lawrence he continued to race the Alpine, racking up more than 25 first and second place finishes. Ray also let others race his Alpine – one being a local student named Bob Hines. Bob worked as Ray’s “crew” at national events and to pay Bob for his services Ray let him drive the Alpine in regional events.
After five years of working for Ray Pickering, Keith Thomas purchased the car in 1965 for $2,800. Keith would become better known for racing Shelby Mustangs but also had a great racing record in the Alpine too. According to Keith he won the regional championship. Records show he had a number of first place finishes and two track records. Eventually Keith sold the Alpine to Steve Blake; however, Keith would continue to race the Alpine into 1970. Fast forward almost 37 years later, just before Thanksgiving. I get a phone call from Keith Thomas. Amazingly, Keith had finally received a letter I had sent to him earlier in the fall and wanted to talk about the car. Keith remembered the car fondly, saying it was the best looking race car he ever drove. Keith recalled how competitive the car was, citing the first class attention spent on the engine’s details. Ray had done everything possible within the rules to make that Alpine scream. Keith seemed to recall that Ray was even involved with the original build of the car. The manifold was extra special – so special Keith had to carry a certificate to events stating that it complied with SCCA regulations. From the movies and photos of this car in racing action it is clear that it was one hot Alpine.
What happened to this Alpine? Nobody knows for sure. My best guess is it remained in Stephen Blake’s possession for a time. I would speculate that it was put back on the road, with evidence of its successful and famous past gradually being erased. Could it still be lurking around the Lawrence, Kansas area? I’m hopeful that someday it will turn up…