SL70/12 was delivered new to John Mecom Racing as a spare chassis at the beginning of June ’65 more or less on the same day that Walt Hansgen wrote-off Mecom Racing’s original T70, SL70/3, during practice for the Players 200 at Mosport Park.
Mecom built up the newly delivered spare chassis using the gearbox, running gear and parts from SL70/3 with the build being completed in a little over three weeks since the Mosport crash. Fitted with the rare alloy Chevrolet 327ci V8, the newly built SL70/12 made its debut at the Galveston Regional SCCA race in July ‘65 in the hands of the now fully recovered Walt Hansgen. He retired when a water pipe failed.
At the Road America 500 in September ’65, Mark Donohue, who had made his professional racing debut with Mecom earlier in the year at Sebring, was invited back to partner Hansgen. They qualified the car on pole, but in the race retired after 83 laps when leading with Mark at the wheel. In the five week break before the run up to the US Professional Fall Series, SL70/12 was stripped down and fully rebuilt with all components beefed up to Mk2 spec for multiple Indy 500 winner, Parnelli “Rufus” Jones.
In the three big money events at Laguna Seca, Riverside and Las Vegas, Jones qualified and ran well at the front end of the field in each race, but poor reliability saw him fail to finish any of the races. SL70/12 was scheduled to take part in one more event in ’65, at Nassau for the Bahamas Speed Week with up and coming Scottish driver Jackie Stewart nominated to drive. Mecom scratched the entry after Walt Hansgen wrote-off the sister chassis, SL70/13 at the Las Vegas event.
SL70/12 underwent a further rebuild and prepared for sale the following year when it was bought by Leroy Melcher Jr of Houston, a close friend of John Mecom. Leroy raced the car solely in the Southwest Division of the SCCA winning the national race at Green Valley in 1966. In October of that year he offered the car for sale. It was bought by the Dodge dealership located on Highway 59 in Houston, and then next turns up the following year with Henry Hoyos of Venezuela. He raced the car in South American for the next year or so then sold it to Tom Bancroft who acquired the car through Ronnie Bucknum. Tom first advertised the car for sale in 1971 and in 1975 sold it to AE Russell who did little with it. In 1979 it was bought and placed in storage by Mac McClendon, who sold the car to Marc Devis in 2007. In 2010, SL70/12 was restored in the original Mecom livery as raced by Walt Hansgen and Mark Donohue at Road America in 1965. Back on track and racing in the US, Marc won the 2013 Sebring Fall Historics and the very first Daytona 24 Hours Classic held in December 2014. In early 2016, Marc sold this famous old racing car to its current owner, Michiel Smits of the Netherlands.
04/06/65: John Mecom, Mecom Racing Team, Houston, Texas, USA.
• US Lola Importer - supplied as spare unbuilt chassis - built up July ’65
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• with Chevrolet 327ci 5.3 litre V8 alloy engine.
• re-engined with Ford 289ci 4.7 litre V8 after one race.
• raced by Mark Donohue ’65 Road America 500.
• raced by Walt Hansgen ’65 USRRC.
• rebuilt with MkII components and suspension Oct ‘65.
• raced by Parnelli Jones ’65 US Professional Fall Series.
00/00/66: Leroy Melcher Jr, Houston, Texas, USA.
• repainted dark green.
• raced in Southwest SCCA events.
00/00/67: Dodge Dealership, Highway 59, Houston, Texas.
• for re-sale only.
00/09/67: Henry Hoyos, Venezuela.
• entered by Venezolana Aerea De Craga.
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• raced by Hoyos in South America 1967/68.
00/00/69: Tom Bancroft, Essex Fells, New Jersey, USA.
• acquired through Ronnie Bucknum.
00/00/75: AE Russell, USA.
• kept in dry storage - little used.
07/04/79: Herbert “Mac” McClendon, Santa Ana, California, USA.
• placed in dry storage.
13/08/07: Marc Devis, Belgium.
• restoration in 2009/2010 to original Mk1 specification Mecom Racing Team livery.
• raced in US Historics, winner 2013 Sebring and 2014 Daytona 24 Hours Classic.
00/02/16: Michiel Smits, Netherlands.
• current owner.
22/07/65: Galveston Regional SCCA #11 W.Hansgen Rtd water hose.
12/09/65: Road America 500, SCCA #11 W.Hansgen/M.Donohue Rtd 83 laps.
17/10/65: Monterey GP, Laguna Seca #15 P.Jones Rtd clutch.
31/10/65: LA Times GP, Riverside #18 P.Jones Rtd 30 laps.
14/11/65: Stardust GP, Las Vegas #18 P.Jones Rtd -.
04/12/65: Nassau Trophy, Bahamas #12 J.Stewart DNA withdrawn.
12/02/66: Polar Prix, Green Valley SCCA #24 L.Melcher Jr 1st 10 laps.
19/05/67: Lagullinas des Merida, Venezuela #111 H.Hoyos 1st -.
11/11/67: GP Ciudad de Valencia, Venezuela #111 H.Hoyos Rtd.
19/11/67: Maracaibo 500 Kms, Venezuela #111 H.Hoyos - -.
10/12/67: Caracas 6 Hours, Venezuela #3 H.Hoyos/P.Gunn 3rd -.
19/05/68: Lagullinas des Merida, Venezuela #111 H.Hoyos 1st -.
29/12/68: Circuito los Proceres, Venezuela #111 H.Hoyos 1st -.
