On Saturday, June 12, Australian Motorsport lost one of its higher achievers. Mal Simpson may not have been a driver or team owner, as he put it, he was just “the boy’s” mechanic. It just so happens that “the boy” was Stirling Moss and throughout Moss’ time with the Rob Walker Racing Team, Mal worked on his cars under the legendary Alf Francis. 

Mal Simpson (Left) in deep discussion with Stirling Moss

 Mal began his career as a racing mechanic working for the likes of Fred Vogel and Ralph Sach in his mid twenties, but with a passion for Grand Prix cars, the MGs of the Sydney-siders was just not enough. Mal moved to England to follow that dream and with a bit of luck met Tony Caldersmith, who he had known in Sydney, who was at the time working for Team Lotus. Tony introduced him to “either Willie Griffith or Jim Endruweit” who gave Mal a job at Lotus. 

  He didn’t stay too long at Lotus though, and was soon working for Rob Walker. Now having the reputation as one of Grand Prix racings best mechanics Mal worked on the Formula 1 and Formula 2 cars of the great Stirling Moss. The combination of Mal, Moss and Alf Francis won six world championship Grand Prixs including those stunning victories at Monaco and the Nurburgring for Rob Walker racing. Including non-championship races the trio won twenty formula one races before Moss had his horrific accident at Goodwood in 1962. 

  With Moss gone, the competitiveness of the Rob Walker entered cars dropped off as did Mal’s desire to remain in Europe. He returned to Australia and took up a position with Comalco which he held until 1984 when he used his vast knowledge to aid his old mate, Fred Vogel in running Fred’s motoring bookstore in Sydney. Not many of the customers of this store would have known just what Mal had achieved in his life as he was not one to talk much about his own part in the Moss saga. When you did get him to speak of those days however, there were some wonderful stories about “the boy” and a true affection for both Stirling and Rob Walker. 

  In 2004 at the Goodwood Revival I met Stirling for the first time, introducing myself as a friend of Mal’s. There followed a pleasant discussion, not about Stirling, but about the great times he had spent with Mal and just what a genuinely nice, and exceptionally talented fellow Mal was. In typical Stirling fashion, he signed the copy of the Revival programme I had picked up for Mal with the words, “We had much more fun, and much more crumpet.” Mal didn’t want to expand on that either.

Mal in 2004 with Australia's other "greats" Jack Brabham and Ron Tauranac

   When he finally retired a few years ago Mal moved down to the New South Wales Southern highlands region where he lived close to his long time friend, David McKay. Mal died on Saturday following a long illness and will be greatly missed by all those who had gotten to know him. A friendly, quiet, private man, who just happened to be one of our unknown motor sport greats. I guess that book we tried to talk him into writing will now never be. That is also our loss.

 Sam Snape

 16-06 2010 

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