IN ERROL GILMOUR, the Australian Motorsport community has lost one of its best.  

The Queensland-based owner of Gilmour Racing and father to former Australian F3 champion Chris, Errol sadly died on Thursday following a brief but stubborn battle with Bowel Cancer.

His family were by his side at his passing, appropriate for a man who dedicated his life to supporting their ambitions and dreams via a shared love of motorsport.

If there was ever an ‘unsung hero’ in our sport, it was Errol.

Never flashy and far from extroverted, Errol was a ‘get it done’ individual who loved nothing more than working on his racing cars and making them go faster – and then enjoying the success when they succeeded.

For the most part he stayed away from the politics, looking only to enjoy his passion and make his bright red and always immaculate Formula 3 cars go as fast as he could make them go.

Errol was passionate about open wheel racing especially and quietly ran his own racing team for more than fifteen years; taking delight in beating bigger teams with his little family operation and relishing the challenge it offered.

After a successful and lengthy career working at John Deere, Errol ultimately retired to his racing team which he effectively built from a ‘dad and lad’ outfit into a respected professional team that had a hand in crafting the careers of several young drivers.

After progressing with son Chris through Karting and into Formula 3 in 2003, Errol founded Gilmour Racing in 2004 – purchasing a 2001 Dallara to tackle the championship that year.

In a pitched battle with Team BRM’s Karl Reindler, the Gilmour’s ultimately missed the title by just three points in a climactic finale’ on the Gold Coast.

Affectionately referred to as ‘Team Errol’ in the F3 paddock, the Gilmour family team would prove a startingly effective combination over their successful Formula 3 career.

Chris would do the driving, while his mum Jen loyally travelled to each round, keeping the boys fed, watered and encouraged throughout.

Meanwhile, ‘Team Errol’ would be mechanic, engineer, truck driver, driver coach and more.

The team won their first title in 2007, Chris Gilmour defeating BRM’s Lee Farrell in a close year-long battle for the National Class ‘race within a race’ that year.

Two partial seasons followed before the team regrouped for an all-out attack on the 2011 championship.

Armed with a later-spec F307 Dallara, Gilmour Racing won six races in a season that would ultimately deliver ‘Team Errol’ their first outright championship and the Gold Star award.

It was an incredible day for the Gilmour family, achieving the pinnacle of a journey that had begun seven years earlier.

I remember Errol being fiercely proud for having won it his way; against bigger teams but putting all of the knowledge and skills he’d developed over the years to give Chris the tools to do the job. And he always had total faith in his lads’ ability to do that.

The team finishing second in 2012, again with Chris driving, but at this point things were beginning to change.

With Chris now heavily focussed on his booming real estate business in Brisbane, Errol shifted the team into something of an arrive-and-drive outfit, though with Errol it was always more than just that.

Though he added members to the team to support multiple cars and a growing level of competition, it never stopped feeling like ‘Team Errol’.

His Queensland contacts brought youngster Ben Gersekowski to the fold, the quietly-spoken Queenslander ultimately finishing second in the 2014 championship before going on to become a professional driver for Lamborghini’s global GT3 program.

That fact that made Errol immensely proud, as did his relationship with Queensland businessman Mark Ward; who not only purchased several of Gilmour cars, but also backed the team via his McDonald’s franchises as well.  

More success would follow in 2015 as the team clinched a double title, thanks to Jon Collins’ outright championship and via the late Luke Spalding’s win in the National Class.

Cameron Shields won the National class title the following year, while another outright Championship came in 2017 via Perth driver Calan Williams – now chasing the pathway to Formula One in Europe.

Cameron Shields’ stint at the team saw him just miss the title in 2018, but would be another of the Gilmour fold to head overseas – this time to the USA.

Quietly and under the radar, Errol had guided Gilmour Racing to become a strong part of the landscape developing young talent in Australia. Like he was racing with his son in the early 2000s, his passion remained the same for this new breed of young stars – related or otherwise.

My interactions with Errol began in 2004 as my own career in the sport began to take shape.

As the series caller and PR guy, chats with Errol were regular, not only because his team was always in the mix, but because he and his family were just excellent to be around.

You were always welcomed into the ‘Team Errol’ bunker, greeted by Jen with a piece of something delicious that she had made in advance of the weekend trip away and a smile from Errol – who would be keen to explain his latest tweak or innovation on his cars, offer a piece of advice or wisdom or his opinion on the current state of affairs.

He would always ask what I was up to and, knowing Errol, he always meant it when he said he was proud to see how my Career had flourished from our early days together in F3.  

In those earlier days, Errol and Jen would drive to each round towing the trailer and car behind his daily driver while Chris would jet in later that night or first thing Friday morning.  

There were many times where I would happily lend a hand unloading the car during the pre-round park up on a Thursday night, whether it was in the pouring rain at Phillip Island or the heat of Darwin.

It seemed only logical, because there were countless times where I saw ‘Team Errol’ helping out others in the paddock when they needed it – be it advice, parts or just a chat.

He was that kind of bloke.

At the end of most events, before the Sunday night rush to the airport I’d go and shake Errol’s hand and either congratulate him on a job well done or offer sympathies for a challenging weekend.

Without fail, every time we’d part he would leave me with a simple; ‘You’re a good man, Richard’.

I always appreciated that: coming from Errol it felt like high praise.

I last saw Errol at The Bend last year, when I ducked in to the AMRS round to see the F3 cars in action and catch up with some friends in the paddock.

By that point I had drifted away from F3 and on to other things; but catching up with Errol was like the early days all over again.

And as ever, as I walked away from our chat he left me with the same saying.

Errol leaves behind wife Jenny, sons Chris and Matthew and a host of grandchildren, all of whom basked in his knowledge, wisdom and generous nature that won’t soon be forgotten.

His achievements as a team owner, engineer, mechanic or otherwise are perennially underrated given what he achieved and from where he started.

Ultimately, his team won seven outright or class titles and finished runner-up a further five times. It is as good a track record as anyone in modern-day open wheel racing in this part of the world.

But beyond that, his energy, his approach, his sheer passion for what he was doing and his love of going racing with his family – real or racing family – is the endearing memory of the man they called ‘Team Errol’.

Most of all, It was he that was the good man.

He will be missed.

WORDS: Richard Craill IMAGES: Dirk Klynsmith