Ken Davies interviews John Sprinzel – Images courtesy of John Sprinzel

Retro-Speed tracks-down rally and racing legend John Sprinzel to a small idyllic island in Hawaii to find out more about his fascinating motor sport career.

As a schoolboy, I spent many sleepless nights reading John Sprinzel’s unmissable book ‘Sleepless Knights’ and I think that this compelling tome was responsible for first igniting my lifelong passion for motor sport! But, as well as successful international rally and racing driver, there was so much more to John Sprinzel, just add these two already impressive talents to businessman, entrepreneur, motor sport visionary, writer, journalist, PR man, yachtsman … and raconteur!

Born in Berlin October 1930, John first came to prominence rallying and racing saloon and sports cars, famously finishing third overall in the inaugural British Saloon Car Championship of 1958 driving his own Team Speedwell Austin A35. In 1959 John won the British Rally Championship navigated by future BMC and Ford Competitions Manager Stuart Turner, using both an Austin Healey Sprite and Alfa Romeo Giulietta Ti, the former being a car for which the Sprinzel name would become synonymous, as well as the registration number PMO 200, taken from an Abingdon Sprite which found its way onto many Sprinzel competition cars.

In September 1957 John founded the highly successful tuning firm Speedwell Performance Conversions Ltd and was joined by future Formula 1 Champion Graham Hill. There, he developed an alloy-bodied version of the Sprite, a streamlined coupe called the Speedwell GT, designed by Frank Costin and built by Williams & Pritchard coach builders. John then sold his shares in Speedwell to Hill and was lured away by Donald Healey to set up Healey Speed Equipment Division London, including the promise of Sebring and Le Mans works drives for the Healey Motor Company.

Proving his sublime versatility, during 1960 John won his class at the 12-Hours of Sebring race, then scored 3rd place overall on the Liege-Rome-Liege and 2nd on the RAC rally. This resulted in 6th place in the European Rally Championship and all achieved in Austin-Healey Sebring Sprites. This too was the car that John was instrumental in developing personally, with distinctive aluminium and glass fibre coupe bodywork sketched out by Sprinzel for Williams & Pritchard to mould into the finished article. The name 'Sebring Sprite' quickly became a generic term for any Sprite fitted with disc brakes, and later for any Sprite with coupe or fastback bodywork.

Because of safety concerns about the speed differentials of smallest and largest-engined cars, a separate four-hour race for GT cars of under one litre was organised at Sebring in 1960, where Stirling Moss drove a Sebring Sprite to a class win and second overall. In the 12-hour race, Sprinzel drove a prototype Sprite to a class win and 41st overall, built and entered by the Healey Motor Company.

John then went on to open his infamous garage in London’s charismatic Lancaster Mews, which soon became a Mecca for the racing and rallying community in the capital. Many more successful and high-profile rallies and international forays were undertaken by Team Sprinzel from the rather chic and trendy pied-e-terre mews location, including the 1968 World Cup Rally in a MG Midget which was famously modified with an innovative roof-mounted long-range fuel tank, and cruel retirement on the last day of the event! All John’s extensive international rallying experience was then harnessed in 1970 when he led the organising team of the iconic London to Mexico World Cup Rally. The 1972 Welsh International Rally was John’s last rally as a driver, using an ex Bjorn Waldegard Porsche 911, appropriately registered PMO 220.

John then turned his back on the fickle European climate and moved to a tiny Hawaiian island to pursue a career in his other passions – wind surfing and yachting, which he continues to this day, blissfully happy with his family. John published three volumes of memoirs, 'Sleepless Knights' (1962), 'Spritely Years' (1994) and 'Lucky John' (2013) and also a tuning manual for BMC cars called 'Modified Motoring' (1959 and 1961).

The name John Sprinzel is also one of the exclusive ‘Who’s Who’ of names amongst 23 listed on the prestigious British Sportscar Hall of Fame with a citation reading: ‘John Sprinzel won the British Rally Championship and his class at the 12-Hours of Sebring behind the wheel of an Austin Healey Sprite and is one of the best known racing and rally drivers of his era’. Peer recognition doesn’t get any better than that!

Enjoy our ‘big interview’ with one of the great personalities of international rallying and racing.

We begin our interview with an easy question, how did you make your start in motor sport?
I grass tracked my Ariel Red Hunter while in the RAF in 1949 and then borrowed my mother’s Austin A35 to take part in the 1955 RAC Rally.

What has been the best moment in your motor sport career?
I think third overall on the 1960 Liege-Rome-Liege Marathon in a steel-bodied Sprite or fourth overall on the 1965 Safari with a bog-standard Mercedes 190 saloon.

What has been the worst moment?
The stub axle breaking when leading the private owners on the London to Sydney in an MG Midget with Roy Fidler.

Which event did/do you most look forward to?
The Liege Rally.

Congratulations, you've won the lottery, what car do you rush out to buy?
Almost any version of the 911 Porsche.

What are your future motor sport plans?
Watching it all on TV.

Which competition car and driver has impressed you most?
Probably Vic Elford’s drives in 911s with David Stone.

What's the most entertaining event you’ve ever been involved in?
Running the 1980 London to Mexico World Cup Rally with John Brown – and finally realising how much work there is in organising a big event.

What would you say is your most effective or personal asset?
My lovely wife Caryl, who I met when I sold her a Marcos 47 years’ ago.

What advice would you offer the aspiring driver or co-driver entering the sport?
Do every possible event in all types of competition in as many different cars as you can. Then decide which is your best and concentrate on that.

Who has been your greatest motoring inspiration?
Originally Jimmy Ray and Goff Imhoff, names you’ve probably have never heard of but who were very successful drivers of the early fifties – in Triumph and Allard.

Tell us something surprising about yourself?
My passion was always sailing – either crewing on ocean racers or representing Greece for three years in the World Windsurfing Championships.

Just one extra question, please John … what will we find on the Sprinzel car CD or iPlayer?
A lot of varied pop. Cold Play, Beatles and in between.

Thank you John for being a great sport and taking part in the Retro-Speed Big Christmas Interview and we extend our good wishes to you for the future.