Bond

Laurie Bond was a life long racing enthusiast although he is better known for his other creations, most notably, a number of three wheeled vehicles. His first machine, the Type-B, also known as the "Doodlebug", made its debut at the Shelsley Walsh in June 1947. Powered by a 499 cc Rudge Whitworth engine, it featured an aluminium monocoque shell and front-wheel drive. The Type-B was tiny with much of Laurie's body poking out of the cockpit and it ran on tiny wheels, had no springs, relying on the tyre sidewall's flex for suspension  He came 5th out of 8 in class and in July went on to win the class on Jersey, but an accident back at Shelsley Walsh in September (a roll at the Esses, rather inevitable) and the new 500 rules saw the end of the Type-B.

Laurie set about designing and building a new car for 1948 season and the Type-C was the result. Again, an aluminium monocoque formed the basis for the car with a JAP engine mounted in a Elektron cast frame which supported the specially designed wishbone front suspension. The car also featured front wheel drive with his own design alloy wheels and inboard mounted front brake drums to reduce the un-sprung weight.

The completed vehicle had a very low dry weight and required ballast to bring it up to the 500 lb. minimum. To finance the project, Laurie marketed the machine to be built to order, however delays meant that it was not ready for its first scheduled event and subsequent races saw little in the way of success. In total 3 or 4 Type-C cars are believed to have been built. The project did however attract much attention from the press and the machine remained highly regarded, helping to establish Laurie's reputation.

A shot of a Bond Type C, taken at the 2005 500 Owners Association garden party.

As reported in Iota:

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Of course Laurie bond is best known for his three wheeled mini cars, one of which was used by Claude Tipper to undertake a European Grand Tour but he also designed and raced other cars, such as the Berkley, and at the end of the 50s, he designed and built a full glass-fibre monocoque Formula Junior.