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• Auction House:
  Mossgreen
• Sale Name:
  Collectors' Motor Cars & Automobilia
• Sale Date:
  29 Mar 2015 ~ 3pm
• Lot #:
  12
• Lot Description:
  1981 RALT RT4 COSWORTH - 1981 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX WINNING RACING CAR
  Chassis No. 261 ; Year of Manufacture: 1981
  This vehicle will be sold unregistered.
• Notes:
  English born brothers, Ron and Austin Lewis Tauranac, began RALT [an acronym of their initials] in NSW during the late 1940s utilising motorcycle engines for rear engined racing cars. The collaboration between Sir Jack Brabham and Ron Tauranac began in 1961, under the auspices of Brabham Cars [Motor Racing Developments], the BT Brabhams ultimately becoming the most successful production single seaters in the world. Brabham tested and raced, Tauranac designed and constructed, resulting in two World Championships (1966 and 1967). When Sir Jack retired and returned to Australia in 1970, Tauranac acquired his share of MRD before selling to Bernie Ecclestone in 1971. Tauranac built the first modern RALT for Larry Perkins who in 1975 won the European Formula 3 Championship. Many aspiring World Champions drove RALTS: Piquet, Mansell, Hill, Villeneuve, Hakkinen, Prost, Jones, Lauda, Rosberg; even the late, great Ayrton Senna. Awarded an AO in 2002, Ron Tauranac holds a CAMS Lifetime Service Award. The late Mike Kable, former Motoring Editor of The Australian newspaper, wrote in Motor Racing Australia magazine in 1993 that Tauranac was "one of the most influential, most respected persons" in motor sport, a "quiet, self-effacing and decidedly gracious man, who deserves a huge place in motor racing posterity when its 20th century history is written". 2015 marks the 40th anniversary of the modern RALT. Built for the burgeoning international Formula Atlantic / Pacific / Mondiale categories, the highly successful RALT RT4 became the car of choice. One hundred and thirty-four RT4 cars were built between 1980 and 1987. RALT was sold to March Cars in 1988, however, due to financial difficulties production ultimately concluded. Ease of maintenance and strong steel and aluminium monocoque chassis make RALT cars much sought after by historic racers. This important Australian Grand Prix winning 1600cc Ford Cosworth BDD-engined Ralt RT4 was imported in 1981 by the late Graham Watson of RALT Cars Australia. Watson placed 3rd at Brands Hatch before entering the 1981 Australian Grand Prix [with Greg Siddle of Goold Motorsport] for Roberto Moreno, the young protégé of 3 times World Champion Nelson Piquet. Relatively unknown, Moreno qualified in pole position and won, beating F1 drivers Piquet, Alan Jones and Jacques Laffitte, a significant race in Australian history which signalled the birth of the ground effects era. Significantly, the AGP was won by RALT RT4s from 1981-84 inclusive. A week after the AGP, Moreno qualified 3rd in the Macau Grand Prix but an accident during practice prevented him competing. Repaired, the car was shipped to Shah Alam, Malaysia where Moreno won the Selangor Grand Prix on 29 November. Siddle entered Moreno in the 1982 New Zealand Formula Pacific Championship winning 3 out of 4 rounds including the New Zealand Grand Prix. The car passed to Willy Stobart who raced in the 1982 Australian Grand Prix. Next, George Cole (1984 Gold Star Series) and Graham Head (1985 Gold Star Series) owned and raced the car. It was last raced as per its Logbook entry in 1986 then sold in the early 2000s to Historic racer and discerning collector, Keith Berryman, and subsequently sold to the current owner in mid 2005, who refurbished the car including the engine soon after. In preparation for sale the car successfully completed forty-four trouble free laps in testing at Winton Raceway in 2014. In good original condition, RALT RT4 Chassis #261 presents a unique opportunity to acquire an original piece of Australian Grand Prix history, presented exactly as it was during its 8 November 1981 Australian Grand Prix win by Moreno. This racing car comes with a CAMS log book number H1967 and CAMS Certificate of Description issued 25 June 2007 which qualifies the car to race historic Group R.
• Estimate:
  A$60,000 - 70,000
• Realised Price:
  *****
  

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• Category:
  Automobiles & Accessories

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.