Rally legend Paddy Hopkirk on his 1964 Monte Carlo win, hot hatchbacks and the glory days of rallying.
CAR: Your Cooper S won the Monte Carlo rally 51 years ago. Big engine, small car: it was the original hot hatch…
Paddy Hopkirk: ‘I suppose it was. John Cooper swapped Formula Junior parts into the Mini to make the Cooper; my S had a bigger, 1071cc engine. It was close to a showroom car, though they revised the wipers so they didn’t fall off and the seat brackets so they wouldn’t break, stupid things that would wreck your chances.’
When did you realise you had something special?
‘I drove the Cooper S on the roads around Oulton Park, and thought its performance and handling were something else: it drove like a go-kart. We did the ’63 Tour de France and the French fell in love with it, this underdog against the big teams.’
What was your driving style?
‘The Finns used left-foot braking to compensate for no limited-slip differential: it saved you if you were going too fast into a loose-roads corner. But it was very hard on the car, they would break gearboxes, unlike me. I could do it but not naturally. I heel-and-toed, but I had ability because I started driving aged nine.’
Can you believe it’s 51 years ago?
‘It’s wonderful, I didn’t think I’d live this long! People say “Paddy put the Mini on the map” but I didn’t realise it at the time.’
Back then, was rallying bigger than F1?
‘It was bigger then than now: you were driving for your country, trying to sell British engineering. Rallying felt adventurous, going to places like Monte Carlo.’
Why did you win in 1964?
‘A mix of things: I was a reasonably good driver, Henry Liddon was a wonderful co-driver, we had a great, well-prepared car. I was there for three months practising, getting the notes right.’
Did the mountain passes favour the Mini?
‘On winding, fast roads it was very good: the roads were snowploughed, so the small Mini probably had an advantage with those narrow stretches and high banks.’
What was the reaction when you won?
‘It was tremendous. Life magazine flew in from New York, we met Princess Grace, had telegrams from the Beatles and the prime ministers of the UK and Ireland.’
What happened next?
‘I did five Le Mans, the Targa Florio, Sebring. I liked rallying, endurance racing wasn’t bad, but circuit racing doesn’t bring out the best manners in drivers!’
And did you spot rally driver Kris Meeke?
‘I was judging a competition at Silverstone, and picked him not only for his driving ability but his charisma, being an Ulsterman! He wore my logo when he drove the Monte last year.’
Have you driven many hot hatches?
‘I drove an Integrale: terrible ergonomics but wonderful four-wheel drive. I owned a 205 GTi: in the ’80s that was the closest you could get to a Mini Cooper S!’
Paddy supports motor industry training charity Skidz.org.uk