I am sorry to have to tell those who knew him or knew of him, that Brian Culcheth passed away on the 11th September at the age of 83.
In his early days of rallying, Brian drove Mini-Coopers and Cooper 'S's on all sorts of rallies from full internationals to club events.
He was a very competitive and successful driver with the reputation of not being crash-prone.
After success with the Minis, he moved on to a variety of other 'works' BMC/BLMC cars such as (say it quietly) the Marina in both 1.3 and 1.8 sized engines. He was second overall on the London to Mexico World Cup Rally in 1970 in a 'works' Triumph 2.5PI. Then he drove for Opel, winning the British Championship.
Some may recall the 1982 'Golden 50 rally' which celebrated 50 years since the first RAC Int ran. On that event he partnered Paddy in AJB44B and they won the event.
I was privileged to count Brian as a personal friend from around 1960 and can say that in addition to being a great driver, he was also a great bloke.
RIP Brian.
