The Cooper F J at Cotati Raceway - 1962

During his stay in England filming The War Lover Steve purchased a Cooper Formula Junior, which he had shipped back to California.
From William F Nolan's Star On Wheels:

Steve took the car to Cotati and clocked fast enough time through the traps before engine trouble waylaid him. He worked all night on the engine, preparing for Sunday's main. These efforts seemed to be paying off in the early laps, as he battled driver Ed Leslie for the lead.

"We were into a real ding-dong for first," declared Steve. "Then water began leaking into the combustion chamber from a split in the head. Due to this, I lost power in a spark plug, which put me on three cylinders. Naturally, I dropped behind Leslie. This bugged me, so I began pushing harder than I should have, taking the turns at full opposite lock, sliding into the dirt and grass. I finally got too far out of shape and clipped one of those little circuit loudspeakers they have near the road's edge, just wiped it right out. Then I got a rock in my goggles, which all but blinded me, and I sailed off into the weeds."

Steve in the Cooper Formula Junior RacecarNeile had been spectating at the race and saw Steve shoot off course. She was furious at him for deliberately exceeding his limits and began telling him so in front of the crowd. ("She was speaking for a lot of racers' wives, so I shut up and let her bawl me out. I figured I had it coming.")

A week later, running the repaired open-cockpit Cooper at Santa Barbara, Steve won both of his events.

This Photo Gallery is presented courtesy of Donna Redden.