Laurie
Bond was a life long racing enthusiast although he is better known for his
other creations, most notably, a number of three wheeled vehicles. His first
machine, the Type-B, also known as the "Doodlebug", made its debut at the
Shelsley Walsh in June 1947. Powered by a 499 cc Rudge Whitworth engine, it
featured an aluminium monocoque shell and front-wheel drive. The Type-B was
tiny with much of Laurie's body poking out of the cockpit and it ran on tiny
wheels, had no springs, relying on the tyre sidewall's flex for suspension He came 5th out
of 8 in class and in July went on to win the class on Jersey, but an
accident back at Shelsley Walsh in September (a roll at the Esses, rather
inevitable) and the new 500 rules saw the
end of the Type-B.
Laurie set about designing and building a new car for 1948 season and the
Type-C was the result. Again, an aluminium monocoque formed the basis for
the car with a JAP engine mounted in a Elektron cast frame which supported
the specially designed wishbone front suspension. The car also featured
front wheel drive with his own design alloy wheels and inboard mounted front
brake drums to reduce the un-sprung weight.

The completed vehicle had a very low dry weight and required ballast to
bring it up to the 500 lb. minimum. To finance the project, Laurie marketed
the machine to be built to order, however delays meant that it was not ready
for its first scheduled event and subsequent races saw little in the way of
success. In total 3 or 4 Type-C cars are believed to have been built. The
project did however attract much attention from the press and the machine
remained highly regarded, helping to establish Laurie's reputation.
A shot of a Bond Type C, taken at the 2005 500 Owners Association garden party.

As reported in Iota:

Bond Advertisement


Of course
Laurie bond is best known for his three wheeled mini cars, one of which was
used by Claude Tipper to undertake a
European Grand Tour but he also designed and raced other cars, such as the
Berkley, and at the end of the 50s, he designed and built a full glass-fibre
monocoque Formula Junior. |