The restored BSCC battler back in its family's hands after 50 years

The Imps of George Bevan became famous in British Saloon Car Championship competition during the early 1970s. Thanks to the efforts of a small band of enthusiasts, including Bevan's grandson Jonathan, one of the ex-Bill McGovern title winners has recently returned to the race track

Marcus Pye Sep 30, 2021, 1:28 PM

Fifty years ago, Irishman Bill McGovern matched Australian Frank Gardner’s back-to-back British Saloon Car Championship titles. But in his case it was from the 1000cc class, driving Imps prepared by George Bevan, doyen of privateer entrants. The following season, 1972, they rewrote the history books, winning all 10 rounds to complete a resounding hat-trick – despite a frosty relationship with Chrysler’s competition department.

Bevan, from the Isle of Dogs in east London, made Chinese restaurant cookers for a living. He and his small team – who worked on both – set exemplary standards. The Lagoon Blue Imps, prepared behind his end-of-terrace council house at St Paul’s Cray, Orpington in a borrowed double garage, were class victors in 28 of the 33 BSCC races they started over the three campaigns!

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Author Marcus Pye

Raised initially within earshot of South London’s fabled Crystal Palace circuit, racing engines are the soundtrack to my life. Car enthusiast Dad and godfather took me to British Grands Prix of the 1960s, which sowed the seeds of my passion. Reading Autosport every Thursday morning, following my hero Ronnie Peterson’s exploits, fuelled it.

Volunteering as a BARC junior at Thruxton in the mid-'70s led to lap-charting for commentator Simon Taylor, Autosport's publisher, and grid/pit marshalling. Landed my dream Autosport job aged 19 in July 1977, working under legendary editor Quentin Spurring and Robin Bradford. A staffer for 20 years (1000 issues!), freelance since 1997, I’m its longest-serving writer.

Over 45 seasons I have reported 1200-plus events - covering F2, F3000, F3, club and Historic racing to hillclimbs and sprints at towards 100 venues - and commentated worldwide, most notably at Goodwood and the Spa Six Hours.

My driving CV lists almost 550 competition cars spanning 140 plus marques. Since 1981 I’ve contested over 200 events, from Brands Hatch to Daytona, scoring the occasional result. Co-owning and racing the Chevron B40 in which Keke Rosberg won Enna-Pergusa’s European F2 round the weekend after I joined Autosport and an F5000 Lola T332 were special!

A lottery windfall would see me buy a Chevron B8 (my favourite car from boyhood), Lola T294 and March 782 - and expand my racing sticker archive, popular on Facebook. Beyond the sport and family, my abiding interest is classical music.