André Loubser (right) presenting a bust of former Guild president Lord Strathcarron he had made to current president Nick Mason (left) at the 2011 Goodwood Revival Meeting.

The Guild committee was saddened to learn that overseas member André Loubser passed away unexpectedly while attending a car club event near his home in Cape Town on Sunday, 25 October. He was 80 years old.

Fellow overseas member and friend Graeme Hurst penned this obituary to André, who contributed much to the local classic car and racing community throughout his career. A career that spanned the design, production and marketing of cars as well writing about them. And one that saw André working with some big names in the racing community.

Like many automotive journalists, André Hugo Loubser’s love of cars began at an early age when he started collecting Dinky cars. By the age of just seven he
moved onto the real thing when he took his father’s Morris 10 for ‘a drive’. The Dinkys soon gave way to another all-too-common passion: collecting car brochures from local dealerships. André would later joke that his school satchel was usually 80% brochures and 20% school books!

The son of an English teacher, André was schooled at Cape Town’s prestigious Diocesan College (known as Bishops) and was by all accounts a prolific reader who spent much of his teenage years following the local and overseas race scene through various publications. He also enjoyed a flair for sketching, often frustrating his teachers by using school notebooks to bring to life his thoughts on ‘improving’ the lines of production sports cars such as the Mercedes 190 and 300 SLs.

After leaving school in 1957, he worked for an oil company before taking up a position as a PA and salesmen with a motor dealership in the provincial town of George, some 275 miles east of Cape Town.

It was a rather far-flung location but his responsibilities there would pay a fruitful dividend towards his dream of working abroad for a German car manufacturer after he was asked to host Porsche works boss Baron Huschke von Hanstein and driver Jo Bonnier, who were visiting the area en route to the East London Grand Prix. The association led to an offer of a position with Porsche’s Sales and Export division in Stuttgart, which André took up in 1962.

It was an exciting time to be at the famous company which was on the cusp of launching the iconic 911. And the dream-come-true job delivered a further surprise when, as the salesman responsible for orders from VIPs, André received an enquiry for a Porsche 904 GTS from none other than Stirling Moss – one of Andre’s boyhood heroes.

The negotiations with the great hotshoe, whose SMART race team featured two South African mechanics, led to an offer to head up the implementation of Stirling’s Paint-a-Car franchise across the UK and parts of Europe. And a life-long friendship with Stirling, something André was enormously proud of.

In late 1966 André married his English wife Gillian, who was secretary to the Sales Manager of the Rootes Group. The couple lived in London and, for the next few years, André turned his hand to automotive design, establishing Dynamic Designs which offed a Kamm-tail boot extension for BMC’s 1100 sedan, among other products.

André was also involved with the production of the Enfield electric city car before using his experience with Stirling Moss to go into business back in South Africa with motorcycle racer Mike Hailwood. The pair founded Autospray, which – much like the Paint-a-Car system – offered a rapid, on-demand, respray service. André oversaw the opening of 17 branches across the country over the next three years.

It was his friendship with the two-wheel ace that put him in touch with the country’s colourful international racing scene and he developed a deep passion for the South African 9-Hour Sports Car series and the annual F1 Grand Prix.

For the remainder of his career, André was involved in various car design projects, including the design and launch of the CAV GT40, a South African replica of the famous sports car racer. He also increasingly turned his hand to writing for a living, publishing numerous articles, including a comprehensive account of South Africa’s pre-war Grand Prix era which featured the likes of von Delius and Rosemeyer in their mighty V16 Auto-Unions.

It was his passion and unrivalled knowledge of the racing scene – along with his many treasured friendships with some big racing names – that led to André fulfilling another dream: to document the history of the country’s famous Kyalami race track.

Some 25 years in the making, his 400-plus page 2011 book Kyalami is a comprehensive and arguably unrivalled summary of one of the most colourful and eventful periods of motorsport at a much-loved international circuit.

With a foreword from 1979 F1 Champion Jody Scheckter and input from a raft of top drivers, including the likes of Denny Hulme and Jackie Stewart, this meticulously researched work is a fabulous legacy to one of South Africa’s most passionate and knowledgeable motoring and racing enthusiasts.

GOMW president Nick Mason said: “We are very saddened to lose such an enthusiast. André was always very committed to keeping us up to speed in his world. We really need that sort of commitment and he will be sorely missed.”

RIP André, you will be missed and our condolences to your wife Gill during this difficult time.

Graeme Hurst

Guild vice-chairman Guy Loveridge adds:

I had known André by “fax” – yes it was last century – and then email exchanges. My only face to face meeting was when he presented the Lord Strathcarron bust to the Guild at Goodwood Revival. He was charming, cheerful and delighted to be with us all at the scene of so much Guild history.

André, as Graeme notes, was a car mad kid who achieved his dream jobs in life. With Porsche he was noted as a member of Porsche’s Export Sales Department (and formerly of Cape Town). He indeed oversaw SMART’s 904 GTS purchase. The two native South African mechanics were brothers Ed and Bud Rossler. They raced as well as spannering: a G.S.M .Dart in South Africa and even a Lotus Elan at Sebring under the S.M.A.R.T. banner.

Like many of us, André was an inveterate hoarder – in 1996 he sold one of Stirling’s crash helmets which André had been given along with a blue Dunlop racing suit. Being the gentleman he was he asked Stirling, after having the items for well over 30 years, if he was “OK” to sell them – Stirling answered in typical Moss fashion – “If you can sell the helmet, go ahead and good luck. Be happy, Ciao.” He also kept the full file on that 904 GTS, one of just six supplied with a six-cylinder engine, and wondered if the then current owner might like it all? It included colour slides of the Nurburgring 1000km race from 1964; original homologation papers, etc etc. The car was a metallic green, the S.M.A.R.T. ‘house colour’ but was painted blue for sale, via Rob Walker’s Pipbrook Garage.

André became the “Porsche Man” to the jet set – in his two years at Stuttgart he sold cars to film stars – Elke Sommer; industry ‘giants’ – Mrs Lilian Studebaker and motor racers, including of course Stirling Moss. That deal, to the S.M.A.R.T. team, at the time “was run by three South Africans” led him to then working for Stirling’s “Paint-a-Car” system in London for four years.

André wrote extensively of his life and experiences and was always chatty and ebullient in communications. Sir Stirling and Lady Susie spoke fondly of him at the opening of the Beaulieu Motorsport feature and Stirling posed with the Grand Prix winning helmet Andre had been gifted 50 years before.

The Guild is deeply saddened to report the passing of good friend and colleague Neil McIntee, following a short battle with cancer.

A highly respected and knowledgeable automotive journalist, Neil studied at the University of Leeds, before starting a career in the music business as an A&R man. Among others, he discovered Lena Lovich, whose single Lucky Number went to number 3 in the UK chart in 1978.
 
He might well have become a veterinary surgeon, following in his father’s footsteps, having acted as his assistant as the course vet at Wolverhampton Race Course. However, his father was also a keen amateur rally driver, kindling Neil’s interest in all things automotive.

Neil got into motoring journalism in the passenger car market, working for Autosport, Autocar and Which Car? magazines, where his prowess behind the typewriter was equalled by his abilities behind the wheel.

Neil moved to commercial vehicles in 1993, when he became the editor of What Van? He held that position for more than 16 years, leaving to establish the VansA2Z website with close friend Kevin Gregory in 2010.

Neil was a very popular member of the commercial vehicle press, both with colleagues and with manufacturers. Having attended van and pick-up launches and exhibitions across Europe and beyond for many years, he was a highly skilled driver and an experienced editor. Yet he was happy to share his expertise and knowledge with others, making everyone feel welcome and included.

Steve Banner said: “Neil and I attended umpteen vehicle launches, at home and overseas. Driving together, we managed to get lost in almost every country in Europe, due mainly to my inability to read a map. Thankfully Neil was a far better driver than I was a navigator, and we always reached our destination, eventually.”

Dan Gilkes added: “It was always a pleasure to spend time with Neil, whether tackling unknown city streets behind the wheel of a van, discussing digital camera technology or simply finishing a bottle of red as we watched the sun set on a far-flung launch event.

“Seeing his name on a list of attendees meant that it was going to be a good trip. A great journalist, a great driver and a great friend.”

Everyone within the Guild and the wider automotive media world will, I’m sure, wish to send their sincere best wishes and condolences to Neil’s wife Sirpa, and to all of his family and friends at this time.

By Steve Banner and Dan Gilkes

Sirpa has created a JustGiving page in his memory and in aid of the Princess Alice Hospice. Donations are welcome.

Neil’s funeral will take place on 15 July, at 11.20am, with a webcast on this link. After clicking on the link, on the top right of the screen enter the username:

Toyu5726

followed by the password:

313270

before clicking the ‘log-in’ button.

Photo: Neil McIntee (centre) at the 2018 Silverstone Classic, with Jim Loveridge (left) and Guild vice-chairman Guy Loveridge.  Taken by George Loveridge.

Rallying journalist and competitor, long-standing GOMW member Martin Holmes died earlier this month aged 80. His GOMW colleague Maurice Selden looks back at his career.

I first met Martin around 1975 when I was a staff photographer at LAT.  He became for me a constant presence in the world rally championship together with Hugh Bishop, who I often spent a lot of time with. So, when Martin suggested I join Martin Holmes Rallying in 1987, I jumped at the chance, as by then rallying had also become my first love. We also both lived in Woking and it seemed perfect for us: he wanted a full-time photographer and I wanted to specialise in rallying.

It was clear to Martin at that time that rallying was going through a change after the madness of the Group B era and that Group A would attract more teams and manufacturers into the sport. This would bring an increase in work opportunities for journalists and photographers. This proved to be the case and I was privileged to be a part of an amazing time in rallying.

I was soon impressed by Martin’s professionalism and his clinical attention to detail, probably stemming from his legal background. He would never send out a story without first verifying all the facts from his extensive archive. Martin, Ursula (his PA) and I became a well-honed team during my time with him in Pyrford. Every event was organised to the last detail.

In the early days, Martin and I would both photograph stages but gradually he left the photographic side to me while he concentrated on fact finding and conversations with competitors, team personnel and organisers in the service area and press rooms. From then on Martin used a compact camera for his detail pictures and candid shots.

Meals were merely pit-stops as far as Martin was concerned. Everywhere we went around the world the joke was that he would always order a soup and a steak, devour them as quickly as possible before rushing back to the Press Office to continue working, while I preferred to relax over a leisurely meal with friends and colleagues, unwinding after a busy day.

Martin (left) with Sir Stirling Moss (Photo Jeff Bloxham)

Martin’s work and the World Rallying Annuals that he produced for 33 years are highly respected by everybody in the sport and are used as a primary reference. I am proud of my contribution to each edition from 1987 onwards; we mostly agreed on the photographic content. He was also author and co-author of many other books, including Rally Navigation, A History of the New Zealand Rally and the Rally Encyclopaedia in Estonia.  The final book he was involved with was in 2019 – The Great British Rally with Graham Robson. His rally reports and feature stories were published in magazines throughout the world.

Martin was interested in all forms of motorsport as well as aviation and engineering. We had some great experiences together, (I won’t mention his driving…), we often used private planes in Kenya and helicopters in other countries. He hired a helicopter from Fairoaks for me once so that I could practise using a hand held GPS system before our first attempt on a rally. Such was his attention to detail that on many rallies, he would ask me to go to the event a month before it was held to recce all the stages and take GPS co-ordinates for suitable helicopter landing places on the stages. We were once both invited to a glorious day at the Fangio Museum in Balcarce in Argentina where we were given unprecedented access to the treasures and memorabilia this excellent museum has to offer. I remember taking outside solid gold trophies to photograph, which shows the respect that the curators had for Martin’s reputation. One of my favourite memories.

I will miss him and all his idiosyncrasies. He was one of a kind and I was fortunate that we joined forces at the right time for us to work together so successfully for so long.

A well-known figure in the world of rallying as a reporter, photographer, author and competitor, Martin Holmes was a regular contributor to publications across the world as well as the author of Rally Navigation and publisher of the Pirelli World Rally Annuals.

His rally co-driving career included professional drives with Vauxhall, Datsun, Toyota, Ford, Lancia, Skoda, Chrysler and Renault.

He won the GOMW Timo Makinen Trophy in 1978 and the GOMW Rootes Gold Cup in 1981 as well as the Fleet Street RAC Rally award in 1980 and 1981.

The Guild sends its deepest condolences to his son Jim and his family.

Rev for Martin on 01 July is an initiative to celebrate the life of Martin Holmes. The idea comes from his son Jim who says that as numbers will be limited at the funeral it will be a way for his friends and colleagues to remember him and be involved in the day.

Jim is inviting all those who knew Martin to get into a vehicle at 1pm on 01 July (the time of his funeral service) and rev the engine in his memory. There will be a memorial event for Martin once the current Covid-19 situation has eased.

Martin’s grand-daughter Florence has set-up a Facebook page where people can upload photographs and videos.

Main photo: Martin co-driving for Timo Makinen on route to finishing sixth on the 1980 RAC Rally  (courtesy Guy Loveridge)

Guild life member John Haynes, creator of the world famous Haynes Manual, has died at the age of 80 after short illness.

His career in publishing began after he built and sold an Austin 7 Special while still at Sutton Valance school, receiving so much interest in the car that he decided to produce a booklet showing other enthusiasts how to make one like it. The first print run of 250 copies of Building A ‘750’ Special sold out in 10 days.

Haynes did National Service in the RAF, where he met his wife to be Annette. On the way to their wedding he stopped to buy Annette a second hand IBM Proportional Space Type Writer as her wedding present.

In 1965 Haynes was posted to Aden where he created the first Haynes Manual, after helping an RAF colleague rebuild an Austin-Healey Sprite. The manual was published in 1966, and the first print run of 3,000 sold out in less than 3 months.

Over the next quarter of a century Haynes manuals enjoyed extraordinary success and the Haynes Publishing Group PLC was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1979. In 1995 Haynes was awarded an OBE for services to publishing.

The success of the business enabled Haynes to build up an impressive collection of cars. In 1985 he founded the Haynes International Motor Museum in Sparkford, Somerset as an Educational Charitable Trust, bequeathing his cars to the charity to be held for the benefit of the nation. He continued to support the museum charity throughout his life by donating cars and funding its growth. The museum now displays more than 400 vehicles, is enjoyed by over 125,000 people a year and is recognised as one of the finest automotive museums in the world.

He continued to serve as chairman of the Haynes Publishing Group until 2010. In 2014 he was made a Guild Life Member in recognition of his services to automotive publishing and his long support of the Guild.

Guild chairman Richard Aucock said: “We were proud and delighted to make John a Life Member in 2014, and it was fitting that he was honoured alongside another legend, Murray Walker. Most motoring journalists are car nuts who will have been eternally grateful to John on many an occasion between the axle stands. Truly someone just like us, we will miss John, but his influence on our industry and our passion will live on for many years to come.”

John Haynes is survived by his wife Annette, brother David and sister Mary, two sons and five grandchildren.

John Harold Haynes OBE
25 March 1938 – 8 February 2019

The funeral service for Guild vice-president Graham Macbeth, who has died at the age of 88, will take place at Poole Crematorium, Gravel Hill, Broadstone, Poole, Dorset BH17 9BQ at 2pm on Friday 11 March.

The service will be followed by tea at Les Bouviers Restaurant, Arrowsmith Road, Canford Magna, Poole, Dorset BH21 3BD. The family would like to know numbers of those attending the tea – please advise the Guild Secretariat direct at generalsec@gomw.co.uk.

Family flowers only but donations may be made to The Guild of Motoring Writers Benevolent Fund in Graham’s memory.

Graham Macbeth was a Guild member for more than 60 years. He became assistant honorary secretary in 1962, chairman in 1974 and was made a vice-president at the 2008 AGM when he handed over the role of honorary secretary to Chris Adamson.

He was the motoring correspondent for the Brighton Evening Argus from the 1950s to the 1980s, and worked for Practical Motorist magazine in the 1980s and 1990s. He was also press officer, general secretary and then competitions manager of the British Automobile Racing Club and press officer at Brands Hatch between 1967 and 1979.

The Guild extends sincere condolences to Mary and family at this sad time.