THE CHANGING MAN
MARCH, SHADOW, FITTIPALDI, Tyrrell, ATS, Toleman, Renault, Alfa Romeo, Brabham, Benetton; then there was a leftfield switch to Suzuki and Yamaha in motorcycling, before a return to four wheels to work on a Volvo estate touring car… Prolific John Gentry has been a rolling stone during his multicoloured five-decade motor sport career, spent as a master draughtsman and race engineer for the likes of Emerson Fittipaldi, Chris Amon, Gilles Villeneuve, Jean-Pierre Jarier, Teo Fabi, Derek Warwick, Elio de Angelis, Ron Haslam and many more. This is some racing life, and for a man who prides himself on his dedication to the minutiae of detailed design, it all seemed to happen purely by chance.
He welcomes Motor Sport (pre-lockdown) to his beautiful home nestled in a corner of a picturesque Oxfordshire village. The craggy features, creased smile and soft timbre as he speaks reflect a surprisingly gentle character for a battle-hardened, well-travelled racing lifer. John is a popular man in the business and it’s easy to see why.
Before we get down to the details of his incredible life, there’s a tour to undertake. Up a steep flight of stairs is his converted attic office, a perfect nook with plenty of natural light, lined by photos – motorcycles outnumber the cars – and souvenirs that each carry a story. In one corner, he points to what could be a worksurface, if it was clear. Somewhere under there is the draughtman’s board he took with him when he left March – for the first time.
Back downstairs, we step into his wife’s stylish, more spacious and less cluttered office (well, she is an interior designer) and John draws back a curtain. What it reveals is his ‘museum’: a cluster of classic motorcycles pristinely restored by his own hand and packed into a secret room. There’s a Suzuki RG500 in factory Sheene colours, a BSA Goldstar, a 350cc Yamaha and myriad Hondas, his favourite machine maker. Hung from a rail is his collection of instantly recognisable leathers: the names read Schwantz, Haslam, Kocinski… He’s enjoying our astonishment as we gawp open-mouthed in wonder. Motor sport has clearly treated him well. So tell us your story, John...
GENTRY WAS BORN IN KINGSTON UPON THAMES in 1950 and left school at 15 without a single qualification. “I didn’t enjoy school much,” he says. “I was good at technical drawing and football. I played for Kingstonian’s ‘A’ team, but wasn’t good enough to turn pro.”
The school youth employment officer, fearing for his chances of landing a job, suggested he become a TV repair man. “I didn’t want to do that: I wasn’t even old, for a junior draughtsman in a contract drawing office in Chessington. I went for the interview and got the job. It was a really good grounding.”
