Sunbeam folks,
It is with great sorrow for me to report that Des ODell has passed
away this morning at his home in England. We had a chance this last summer
to get to know Des and his wife Gail. For those of you who are not familiar,
Des joined the Rootes' Competition Department and became Team Engineer/Team
Manager during the period when the Tigers were competing on the rally scene.
He was primarily responsible for developing and improving the Tiger in
competition. He also handled the complex tasks of logistics. He became
Competition Manager after winning the London to Sydney Marathon Rally with
the Hillman Hunter. Subsequently he became Motorsport Director. When Talbot
took over, he became Director Motorsport Europe. When Peugeot arrived he
became Director Motorsport UK/Technical Director Peugeot International.
Des had been invited to attend SUNI III and was very much looking
forward to coming to America and meeting all of us.
Dave McDermott
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