Formula One and hot rod memories from Sunderland in 1974
Life was getting racy in Sunderland 50 years ago - thanks to Formula 1 and hot rods.
Over to a fab five of car builders and students from Bede School who shared the headlines.
After two years in the making, and two trial runs, a drag racing car from Wearside was ready to break into major international events - if it could get sponsorship.
The “hot rod” was made at the home of Bob Hughes and £500 was spent over two years building the car.
Fab five were hot rod stars
The five men behind it - Bob, his brother Alan, Alan Moseley, Alan Gregory and Tom Falconer - were members of the North East Hot-Rod Association in 1974.
And the car called Incredible Hulk had raced at Santa Pod in Northants and Silverstone and qualified for the finals in both events.
Bob said at the time: “We want to enter the big events but the car needs a great deal of money spent on it and this is why we are looking for a sponsor.
“There are many improvements we could make if we had the money.”
The formula for success at Bede School
Ten pupils from Bede School in Sunderland rubbed shoulders with a well known sporting personality, and got themselves on television as well.
They recorded a programme for Tyne Tees Television in which they interviewed the racing driver Graham Hill.
The pupils - five boys and five girls - were all from the lower sixth form at the school, and were selected by staff from 30 other nominees after Tyne Tees had approached the school asking it to send ten children to take part in its series “Tell Me Why.”
They did ‘remarkably well’
There were nine programmes in which panels of pupils from schools throughout the North East asked questions of well-known people.
Mr Ronald Clarke, head of the upper school at Bede, said that the pupils coped remarkably well and that they had done a lot of research before they went.
“The way they rose to it was magnificent, ” he added.
The pupils pictured, left to right, were Sue Jobling, Jaqi Fenwick, Marcya Pearlson, Denise Foster, Gill Brydon; back - Symon Elliott, Anthony Watson, Harry Binks, Alistair Ferrier and Martin Wright. Tell us if you were one of the Bede School pupils in the news or perhaps a big fan of hot rod racing.
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