Weslake, the engineering company founded by Harry Weslake, has a story worth telling and not just for its most notable achievement: designing the V12 engine for Dan Gurney’s All American Racers Formula One car, the Eagle Mk1, from its workshops in Weslake Reserch laboratory in Harbour Road, Rye.
Harry Weslake was an expert in gas flow and cylinder head design having built his reputation by designing, refining and testing motorcycle and car engines for Bentley, Jaguar, Vanwall, Ford and other British motor industry giants. In 1947 he set up his research facility in Rye designing car, motorbike, aircraft and boat engines under the name of Weslake & Co.
In the mid 60s, the American motor racing driver, Dan Gurney, wanted to build racing cars for his All American Racers to challenge Ferrari, BRM and others. He commissioned Weslake to build a 3.0-litre V12 Formula One engine, designed by Aubrey Wood, for his Eagle Mk1.
Mike Camier, who grew up in Rye and rode on Weslake speedway bikes in the 1980s and is researching the history of the company, has always been fascinated by Weslake. “As a young boy growing up in sixties Rye, I was always intrigued by the sounds of engines being pushed to the limits and which motor racing or motor-cycle racing celebrity might be visiting Weslakes in Harbour Road. If I was exceedingly lucky I might even catch a glimpse of what I consider to be one of the most beautiful race cars ever built, the AAR Eagle.”
Dan Gurney explained, “When the first car appeared in Zandvoort at the Dutch Grand Prix in 1967, it received a lot of admiring stares from the public and the experts and was showered with publicity. It was, and remains, an aesthetically beautiful racing machine. The nose shape, which is probably the single most identifying aspect of the car, was something that I worked out with Len Terry, our chief designer. Of course it says ‘Eagle’, it is the vestigial beak of an Eagle. This was something that caught the fancy of the motorsports designers and the public.”
Dan Gurney wrote, “The car was designed, constructed and assembled in Santa Ana, California by my company, All American Racers, which I had founded in 1965 with Carroll Shelby as my partner. ( I subsequently bought Shelby out and have been sole owner of AAR for more than 30 years). Sometimes I read that the car was built in England by AAR’s European subsidiary Anglo American Racers. This is not true. Anglo American Racers represented the racing team traveling with the car to the circuits and maintaining and preparing the car at our shop in Rye. We had no manufacturing facilities over there and never intended to build the car anywhere else but at home in Santa Ana, California.”
The Gurney-Weslake collaboration’s success was proved when Dan Gurney won the 1967 Race of Champions at Brands Hatch followed by the high point for the Eagle-Weslake team- winning the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps on 18 June 1967 (see the Rye News story Rye’s Grand Prix Secret)
There is one photograph that records both the personal and historical importance of the Weslake Eagle contribution to engineering and racing history in the town: that of the team at the Forge restaurant in Rye, celebrating the victory of Gurney at the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch in 1967 with the trophy on the table. On the left: Harry Weslake, Bill Dunne, Michael Daniel and Caroline Dunne. On the right is Mike Lowman, with Dan Gurney leaning forward and smiling next to him. Behind Gurney is team driver Richie Ginther and team mechanic Tim Wall. The designer of the car, Len Terry, was there but not in the picture. The photo was kindly supplied by the owner of the Forge at the time, Derek Bayntun.
Mike Camier “Notwithstanding the exciting motor racing story, we must not forget the phenomenal success of the Weslake speedway engine. An engine which dominated the exciting sport of motor-cycle speedway globally for many years. Culminating in winning the Individual World Speedway Championship with Peter Collins in 1976. The first of many major successes in the sport. An engine that I was lucky enough to be able to race in that era.”
In 1978 Harry Weslake died of a heart attack, at the age of 81, whilst attending World Speedway Championships at Wembley where Weslake engined speedway bikes took second, third, fourth and fifth place.
The Weslake & Co company continued in Rye until October 1983 when it called in the receivers. One of the directors, Brian Lovell used the name to set up Weslake Developments soon after and this traded until around 1990. It was based at Jempson warehouses in Winchelsea Road in two of the ex-Farnborough units concentrating on engine research for motor and engine industries, light aircraft and the MOD. Later there were 30 employees and the site included four engine test cells, workshops and office. The company continued to research, build and test engines for car, truck, aircraft firms and the MOD.
In 1984, Harry’s stepson, Michael Daniel, who had been the managing director of Weslake & Co set up again with most of the original Weslake team in the Harbour Road facility, naming the company Emdair Ltd. This relocated to Guestling and was renamed Weslake Air Services focussing on light aircraft and airship engines.
Weslake are still alive and well and presently quietly designing and testing a range of engines for light aircraft and outboard applications. These will be announced once development has been completed.
Mike Camier is surprised that so little has been done by the town to officially acknowledge the successes of the company (there is a blue plaque to Harry Weslake in Exeter where he was born but none here). “Perhaps this is a prime opportunity to ask how our town or council might celebrate the achievements of Weslake & Co research engineers and the links to the many famous race teams during the latter half of the last century. After all 2027 marks the 60th anniversary of that Formula One win, whilst it is 50 years this September since a Weslake engine was used to secure that first individual World Speedway Championship.”
If anyone has a story to tell, had family working at Weslakes or as part of the Formula 1 and speedway engine projects, Mike Camier would like to hear from you. He is happy to be contacted at mike.camier@icloud.com
The site of Weslake & Co on Rye Harbour Road is now named Weslake Industrial Park.
Image Credits: Weslake , AAR , All American Racers , Mike Camier , Juliet Duff .