John Buffum and the Triumph TR7
British Leyland's man in North American rallying from 1977 to 1980: four seasons, four SCCA Pro Rally titles, and guest drives in Abingdon's works cars in Britain.
About the pictureA historic TR7 rally car of 2024, standing in for his cars.
In North America the TR7's rally record belongs to John Buffum. British Leyland's American company ran him from 1977, in a four-cylinder TR7 and then the V8, and each of those four seasons ended with him as the Sports Car Club of America's Pro Rally champion. The rallying page tells the works team's story; this page follows him.source 1source 2
Beginnings in Europe
Sources for John Buffum
Motor Sport, Rally reports on the works TR7s (group), Jun 1976 – Jan 1981source 3; Aaron Severson, "Way of the Wedge: The Triumph TR7 and TR8", Ate Up With Motor, 5 Feb 2012, pp. 1–5source 1; Chris Turner (credited by the club), "The Works Triumph TR7 V8 Rally Cars" and the car pages (group), TR Drivers Clubsource 2; Motor Sport, "Lunch with Fred Gallagher", Apr 2019, p. 53source 4
Motor Sport reported in 1977 that he had learned to rally in Europe, as an American serviceman in Germany. In a filmed interview of 2019 he recalls those years, Triumph's call and his four seasons with the TR7 and the V8.source 3
1977
With the SCCA's title in 1977 he also took the North American Rally Cup, Ate Up With Motor writes. That year he ran in the Critérium du Québec too, where Motor Sport noticed him:
He now drives for Leyland USA and in his Triumph TR7, initially prepared at Abingdon but now looked after in the USA, he put up some pretty remarkable times, often beating some of the visiting professionals.
Wikipedia gives him 4th place there.source 1source 3source 5
1978
In August 1978, with Neil Wilson, he drove the works car OOM 512R on the Burmah Rally in Britain and finished 8th. On the Critérium du Québec that October, in an Abingdon-built TR7 V8, he lost a wheel, and the crew were disqualified for limping out of the stage without their crash helmets, Motor Sport reported. Wikipedia adds that he retired from the RAC Rally that November. At home he won the SCCA's title again.source 2source 3source 5
1979 and 1980
His third and fourth SCCA titles came in 1979 and 1980, and the TR Drivers Club also records him as North American champion in 1980. California's La Jornada Trabajosa fell to him in 1979, with Fred Gallagher, Tony Pond's co-driver, reading the notes. On the RAC Rallies of both years he drove a works V8, TUD 682T, lent for the event, in 1979 and HRW 251V, with Pierburg fuel injection, in 1980, and he retired from both, the second time with axle trouble.source 2source 4
Later
Roles
- 1977
Works driver
1977–1980. British Leyland's North American rally driver. Ate Up With Motor, citing the Triumph Newsletter, says he won seven of BL's eight North American rallies in 1977; he was SCCA Pro Rally champion four years running (TR Drivers Club: "four years in a row")
Aaron Severson, "Way of the Wedge: The Triumph TR7 and TR8", Ate Up With Motor, 5 Feb 2012, pp. 1–5source 1; Chris Turner (credited by the club), "The Works Triumph TR7 V8 Rally Cars" and the car pages (group), TR Drivers Clubsource 2
Results
- 1978
Burmah Rally 1978
August 1978. John Buffum and N. Wilson (co-driver), in OOM 512R: 8th overallsource 2
- 1978
Critérium du Québec 1978
October 1978, Quebec, Canada. John Buffum: disqualified: drove out of a stage without crash helmets after losing a wheelsource 3
- 1979
Lombard RAC Rally 1979
November 1979, Great Britain. John Buffum, in TUD 682T: source 2
- 1980
Lombard RAC Rally 1980
November 1980, Great Britain. John Buffum and Ian Grindrod (co-driver), in HRW 251V: retired: axlesource 2
Sources
Every source the site cites is on the sources page.
- Primarymade at the time, by the maker or by people who were there
- Referenceserious later work: clubs, specialists, magazines, books
- Uncheckedencyclopaedias and enthusiast sites: cited beside a good source, named in the sentence, or marked Unchecked
- Aaron Severson, "Way of the Wedge: The Triumph TR7 and TR8", Ate Up With Motor, 5 Feb 2012, pp. 1–5, p. 3, the four titles; p. 3; p. 3, the North American Rally Cup, citing the Triumph Newsletter, December 1977. ateupwithmotor.com/model-histories/triumph-tr7-tr8 Reference
- Chris Turner (credited by the club), "The Works Triumph TR7 V8 Rally Cars" and the car pages (group), TR Drivers Club, rally history: the titles, 1977–80; rally history; car page, OOM 512R: the Burmah, 1978; car pages, TUD 682T and HRW 251V: the RAC Rallies of 1979 and 1980; the North American championship, 1980; car page, OOM 512R; car page, TUD 682T; car page, HRW 251V. trdrivers.com/articles21/rallyhistory.html Reference
- Motor Sport, Rally reports on the works TR7s (group), Jun 1976 – Jan 1981, Nov 1977; Nov 1977, p. 25, his start in Germany; Nov 1977, p. 25, the Critérium du Québec: "He now drives for Leyland USA …"; Nov 1978, the Critérium du Québec; Nov 1978, p. 69, Rally Review. motorsportmagazine.com/archive Primary
- Motor Sport, "Lunch with Fred Gallagher", Apr 2019, p. 53, p. 53; p. 53, La Jornada Trabajosa, 1979; p. 53, Cyprus 1984. motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/april-2019/53/lunch-with-fred-gallagher Reference
- Wikipedia (EN), "John Buffum", introduction: 4th on the Critérium du Québec, 1977; introduction: the RAC Rally, 1978; introduction: BL's withdrawal from American rallying after 1980. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Buffum Unchecked