One of the most famous Formula Fords of all time, the ‘Magic Merlyn’ will be back racing in the HSCC Historic Formula Ford 1600 Championship in 2025 in the hands of newcomer Greville Ball.
The Merlyn MK11a from 1969 was raced to great success by Emerson Fittipaldi, Colin Vandervell and Jody Scheckter in particular. After next being raced by Frank Sytner, the car was later sold to America where it was restored by renowned engineer John Bright in 1997.
Due to its level of success with Fittipaldi, Vandervell and Scheckter, it was nicknamed ‘Magic Merlyn’ and was bought back by Scheckter in 1977 to be part of his collection of cars from his racing career. More recently, it was offered for sale at auction last May and bought by Kent-based Ball.
The former motorbike racer was looking for a suitable car to switch to four-wheel competition and decided that the Merlyn would be ideal for the Historic Formula Ford 1600 category.
Ball said: “I thought that if I was going to buy a car for Historic Formula Ford, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I’m really into the history of the car and I want to get it ready to race. I felt it might create a lot of interest.”
Currently, the Merlyn is in the process of being readied for racing and Ball aims to have a couple of test sessions before a planned debut in the car at Snetterton at the end of April, in the opening HFF1600 races of the season.
In period, the Merlyn was initially owned by Denny Rowland who ran it for young Fittipaldi when he came to first came to the UK in 1969. When Fittipaldi quickly moved up to Formula 3, the Merlyn was sold to Vandervell, who continued its success with a remarkable run of victories in 1970. In 1971 Scheckter acquired the Merlyn for his debut season in Europe, and first made his name with some spectacular performances in the car.
When Scheckter moved up to Formula 3, he sold ‘Magic Merlyn’ to Sytner. It was later owned by Paul Pfanner in California and has been in the Scheckter collection for 27 years. When Ball takes the car back to the track, it will be the Merlyn’s first race for at least three decades.