The sucesses of Dealer Team Vauxhall
Bill Blydenstein, Gerry Marshall and the cars of Dealer Team Vauxhall dominated British salon car racing for a decade after Blydenstein won his first race in a Viva in 1967. Formed independently of GM and their bosses at Luton by a syndicate of London dealers, the team earned Vauxhall a racing reputation 'on the cheap' and bring a smile to the face of many a collector or motorsports enthusiast. DTV had its origins in Blydenstein's own garage, where he built the first racing Viva, named the Shaw & Kilburn Special, in 1966. Before that time he had been heavily involved with Minis, both as a driver and an engineer; but the possibilities of this new model from Vauxhall (the HB Viva, which succeeded the original HA in 1966) intrigued him. Blydenstein wrote to Vauxhall asking permission to adapt the HB for the production car racing circuit, and, though his request was never formally granted, a number of enthusiasts from within the company managed to smuggle out the parts he would need. Despite its relatively puny 98hp engine, the Shaw & Kilburn Special turned out to be a remarkably competent racing vehicle, and Blydenstein himself drove the Viva to a class win on its debut at Snetterton in 1967. The formation of Driver Team Vauxhall
In spite of his early success at the wheel, Blydenstein decided to commission a new driver for the Viva so that he could concentrate on the engineering side of things. Crucially, that man turned out to be Gerry Marshall, then a successful driver of more powerful cars like the TVR Griffith and Lotus Elan. Marshall was (and remained until his death in 2005) one of the great larger-than-life characters of British motorsport. Famed for his compulsively entertaining ‘sideways' driving style and his easy relationship with the press, Marshall is now considered one of the greatest motor racing drivers of all time - a reputation he cemented whilst racing for DTV. Marshall's partnership with Blydenstein led the pair to instant track success and it grew with each passing season, as the former gained experience at the wheel and the latter tuned, tinkered and fitted new parts to the car (notably the two litre GT engine that Vauxhall started making in 1968). 1970 was an especially good racing year, and it was based on this success that a consortium of Vauxhall dealers approached Blydenstein in 1971 with an offer of sponsorship. This moment was the birth of Driver Team Vauxhall, a production car racing team that had no official backing from the manufacturer it represented (the consortium of dealers sidestepped Luton completely, funding the DTV direct from their own coffers), yet would establish it in the eyes of the public as the premier force in production car racing. ‘Old Nail' and early victories
1971 was also the year that the team switched to Vauxhall's new ‘Firenza' body style. The new car kept up DTV's run of success admirably, thanks in part to the many engine and other component changes instigated by Blydenstein. Notably for spectators, it gained the famous ‘droopsnoot' nose section in 1974, to complement Vauxhall's aerodynamic new production model. In fact, the car chalked up so many victories in the years up to 1975 (winning a total of 63 races and several Super Saloon championships) that it began to acquire a celebrity following of its own. ‘Old Nail' as the car was known was Marshall's most prolific winner, and DTV was later to present it to him personally as a memento of those victories. The Berthas
Old Nail might have been retired a year earlier had it not been for the failure of ‘Big Bertha', a 500hp monster of a racing car that was based on the prototype for a new V8 version of the Ventora (another Vauxhall saloon). Besides winning trophies, the racing Ventora was designed to raise the profile of the forthcoming road car; but in the event, the plans were scrapped and it never went into production. Big Bertha suffered a similar fate when, just four outings into its career, the car sustained heavy damage due to a braking fault. With the V8 Ventura back on the shelf, the marketing incentive for running Big Bertha no longer existed, and it was not recovered to racing condition. Instead, Marshall went back to driving the much more reliable Old Nail. Old Nail's permanent successor in 1975 was in fact another Firenza, into which Big Bertha's 5 litre V8 had been fitted. The resulting car, christened ‘Baby Bertha' in honour of its predecessor, was almost literally unbeatable for the following three years; winning the Super Saloon Championship two seasons running and all but three of the 40-plus races it competed in. It too was retired in 1978, as that was the year Vauxhall ceased production on the road-going Firenza. Cheap car insurance for your Vauxhall
What was most astonishing about Vauxhall's meteoric rise to fame in the motorsports world was the fact that beyond designing the road cars on which the racing models were based, Vauxhall itself (and GM for that matter) had practically nothing to do with DTV. You could say the firm got a pretty cheap deal - just like you could yourself with Hoot Car Insurance Services. Our team of dedicated motor insurance experts has put together a range of policies for Vauxhall owners that leave most of the competition standing. In fact, you could potentially save 30 percent on your car insurance premiums just by switching to us. So for tailored Vauxhall car insurance at an undeniably great rate, click below. 
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