From the archives of Bob Montgomery, motoring historian
ALEC POOLE: In 1969, a young Dubliner became the first Irishman to win a British motor sport championship when he drove his Arden Mini to outright victory in the British Saloon Racing championship. It was a monumental achievement, and although the same young man went on to carve out an enviable career in motorsport, today his name is hardly a household name in Ireland, unlike his two contemporaries, Paddy Hopkirk and Rosemary Smith.
The young man in question is Alec Poole, who would add another British Saloon Championship in the mid-1970s, as well as numerous top placings at Le Mans, Sebring, Spa, Montlhéry, Daytona and Brands Hatch to a distinguished competition record.
A very versatile driver, Poole also competed successfully in rallies, co-driving Paddy Hopkirk in the famous London to Sydney Marathon and Roger Clarke in the London to Mexico World Cup Rally.
From an early age, cars were in Alec Poole's blood, his grandfather having founded a motor business outside Dublin, while his father, "Bill" Poole, imported Wolseleys and MGs, many of which were assembled at the firm's Islandbridge Works. Alec's first racing involvement came about through the building up of a Sprite body-shell which he found "lying in the MG factory grounds" while serving his apprenticeship there.
That "Frogeye" earned him the Austin-Healy Club's John Gott Trophy in 1965. A Wolseley Hornet followed and once again Alec proved to be exceptionally quick in it.
These performances brought about a partnership with Roger Enever of which one of the highlights was beating the works MGB at Montlhéry. This was followed up with class wins at Monza and Spa. 1968 took him to Le Mans, where he and Roger Enever finished 15th overall in a modified Sprite built by Donald Healey. 1969 was the year of Alec's break-through in British Saloon Racing Championship, driving an Equipe Arden 1,000cc injection Mini.
In the mid-1970s he campaigned a SuperSaloon 'Skoda' with a glassfibre body and a 2-litre BDG Cosworth engine where the back seat should have been. The late Gerry Marshall won that year's championship in the famous Baby Bertha, but Alec's Skoda with 275 bhp to propel its 1,400 lbs provided the giant-killing opposition which the crowds loved.
A spell as Nissan's Competition Manager gave this quiet Dubliner the opportunity to share his wide experience of the sport with a new generation of drivers. Inducted into Motorsport Ireland's Hall of Fame in 2002, Alec Poole remains almost unknown outside the sport, yet is one of this country's most successful drivers.