TriumphTR4

Bob Tullius and the Triumph TR4

The American driver who took three SCCA national titles in TR4s, E Production in 1962 and D Production in the next two seasons, raced at Sebring for the factory team, and founded Group 44 in 1965.

About the pictureA 2024 tribute car in Group 44 livery, not his TR4

A white Triumph TR4A race car numbered 44 in Quaker State livery, panned at speed on a tree-lined circuit.
Stand-in Group 44's colours and No. 44 on a TR4A-type car at a historic race, Summit Point, West Virginia, August 2024: a tribute, not his car.SmackJam, CC BY-SA 4.0

Bob started the season with a brand new TR-4 which, in his own words... "is put together very carefully."

TSOA Newsletter, June 1964

It was carefully put together, and it won. That season Bob Tullius took his third national championship of the Sports Car Club of America in a row, all of them in TR4s, and racingsportscars counts him the TR4's most frequent driver. A year later he founded Group 44 with his mechanic, Brian Fuerstenau, and Dick Gilmartin, and Group 44 raced Triumphs and much else until it closed in 1990.⁠1​2​3​4

TR4 seasons

Sources for Bob Tullius

Moss Motoring, "Bob Tullius, Group 44 Inc.", 5 Apr 2009⁠4; Moss Motoring, "Press Release: British Sports Car Hall of Fame", 20 Mar 2017⁠5; Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, June 1962, Jun 1962⁠6; Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, September–October 1962, Sep–Oct 1962 (vol. 8 nos. 9 and 10)⁠7; Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, September 1963, Sep 1963 (vol. 9 no. 8)⁠8; Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, March 1964, Mar 1964 (vol. 10 no. 3)⁠9; Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, November 1964, Nov 1964⁠2; Aaron Severson, "Grandfather's Ax: The Many Evolutions of the Triumph TR4, Part 1: TR4 and TR4A", Ate Up With Motor, 22 Oct 2012⁠10; racingsportscars.com, Sebring 12 Hours 1963, results⁠11; racingsportscars.com, Sebring 12 Hours 1966, results⁠12; Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, September 1968, Sep 1968 (vol. 14 no. 9)⁠13; Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, December 1968, Dec 1968 (masthead "Volume 14, Number 11")⁠14; racingsportscars.com, "Triumph TR250 – All Results"⁠15; racingsportscars.com, Sebring 12 Hours 1968, results⁠16; racingsportscars.com, "Triumph TR6 – All Results"⁠17; Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, December 1972, Dec 1972 (vol. 18 no. 12)⁠18; Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, November 1972, Nov 1972 (vol. 18 no. 11)⁠19; Aaron Severson, "Grandfather's Ax: The Many Evolutions of the Triumph TR4, Part 2: TR5, TR250, and TR6", Ate Up With Motor, 7 Nov 2012⁠20; Aaron Severson, "Way of the Wedge: The Triumph TR7 and TR8", Ate Up With Motor, 5 Feb 2012, pp. 1–5⁠21; Michael L. Cook, "1981 Triumph TR8: Fast and Last", Special Interest Autos, no. 156, Nov–Dec 1996, pp. 10–17⁠22; Don Sherman, "Triumph TR8" (road test), Car and Driver, Aug 1980, pp. 36–40⁠23; racingsportscars.com, "All Results of Triumph TR8" (1979–1999)⁠24; Michael Lamm, "1st Drive in the Triumph TR8", British Car, Feb–Mar 1999, pp. 46–48⁠25; Classic & Sports Car, RIP Bob Tullius 1930-2026, Jack Phillips, 19 Mar 2026⁠26; Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, "1974 Jaguar E-Type Group 44 Racing Car"⁠27; Andrew Frankel, "V12 Epoch", Motor Sport, Dec 2004, p. 70⁠28; Andrew Frankel, "Unsung heroes: The V12 Jaguars that kept its racing heritage alive", Motor Sport, Mar 2015, p. 58⁠29; Alan Henry, "Sports round-up", Motor Sport, Dec 1974, p. 32⁠30; racingsportscars.com, "Jaguar E-Type – All Results"⁠31; racingsportscars.com, US Champions Road Atlanta [BP] 1975, results⁠32; Motor Sport, "Around and About, December 1975", Dec 1975, p. 32⁠33

Tullius had raced since 1961, in a TR3 bought the year before. In 1962 he wanted a TR4, and Ate Up With Motor tells how he asked Mike Cook, Standard-Triumph's American advertising manager, for one. Racingsportscars has his first race in a TR4 at Lime Rock on 30 June 1962, 2nd in E Production, and by the end of the season he was the class's national champion, a first for Triumph in the importer's reckoning.

In March 1963, as "Triumph's National Class E Champion", he led one of the importer's three TR4 crews at Sebring, with Bruce Kellner and Jim Spencer, and they were 4th in the class. For 1963 the TR4 was reclassified into D Production, and the importer's newsletter announced "TULLIUS TAKES DP TITLE", with Spencer runner-up; Ate Up With Motor says he drove one of the Sebring cars. In 1964, in the new car Fuerstenau looked after, the newsletter found him "virtually unbeatable", and that Labor Day he also won an F Production race at Thompson in his old TR3. He won D Production again and the class's race at the American Road Race of Champions at Riverside that November, and the newsletter hailed "Triumph's National Champion three-years-in-a-row".

The 1965 D Production title went to Steve Froines. At Sebring that March Tullius shared one of the factory's Spitfires with Charlie Gates. At Sebring in 1966 he and Gates drove the TR4A that Kas Kastner's department entered as a prototype, and it was out after 47 laps with a fire in the engine bay. By then he had founded Group 44, and his TR4 years were behind him.⁠4​10​3​9​34​11​8​1​35​2​36​37​12​38

Roles

  1. 1962

    Driver

    1962–1964. SCCA national champion in E Production in 1962, Triumph's first national class championship by the importer's account, and in D Production in 1963 and 1964, in TR4s. Ate Up With Motor says he and Ed Diehl built his 1962 car from three wrecks after the factory TR4 was wrecked in practice; Triumph then gave him one of Kas Kastner's Sebring TR4s, and in 1964 he raced a new TR4 that his mechanic, Brian Fuerstenau, prepared

    Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, September–October 1962, Sep–Oct 1962 (vol. 8 nos. 9 and 10)⁠7; Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, March 1964, Mar 1964 (vol. 10 no. 3)⁠9; Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, September 1963, Sep 1963 (vol. 9 no. 8)⁠8; Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, November 1964, Nov 1964⁠2; Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, June 1964, Jun 1964⁠1; Aaron Severson, "Grandfather's Ax: The Many Evolutions of the Triumph TR4, Part 1: TR4 and TR4A", Ate Up With Motor, 22 Oct 2012⁠10; Moss Motoring, "Bob Tullius, Group 44 Inc.", 5 Apr 2009⁠4

  2. 1965

    Founder

    Group 44 Inc., Falls Church, Virginia, with mechanic Brian Fuerstenau and advertising man Dick Gilmartin; Gilmartin raced the team's Spitfire

    Moss Motoring, "Bob Tullius, Group 44 Inc.", 5 Apr 2009⁠4

Results

A yellow year marks a win.

  • 1963

    Sebring 12 Hours 1963

    23 March 1963, Sebring, USA. No. 37, Bob Tullius, Bruce Kellner and Jim Spencer: 35th overall, 4th in GT2.5⁠11​39

  • 1964

    American Road Race of Champions 1964

    14 November 1964, Riverside, USA. No. 11, Bob Tullius: 1st in D Production⁠3​2

  • 1966

    Sebring 12 Hours 1966

    26 March 1966, Sebring, USA. No. 39, Bob Tullius and Charlie Gates: retired: engine-bay fire⁠12​38

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
  • Databaseresults and listings, entry by entry
  1. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, June 1964, Jun 1964, "put together very carefully"; Brian Fuerstenau; the 1964 car and Fuerstenau; "virtually unbeatable". vintagetriumphregister.org/tsoa/TSOA0664.pdf Primary
  2. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, November 1964, Nov 1964, the third national title; D Production, 1964; "three-years-in-a-row". vintagetriumphregister.org/tsoa/TSOA1164.pdf Primary
  3. racingsportscars.com, "Triumph TR4 – All Results", the most frequent TR4 driver; Lime Rock, 30 June 1962; the ARRC, Riverside, 15 November 1964; 15.11.1964, US Champions Riverside [DP]. racingsportscars.com/type/results/Triumph/TR4.html Database
  4. Moss Motoring, "Bob Tullius, Group 44 Inc.", 5 Apr 2009, Group 44, 1965; the TR3 of 1960; racing from 1961; the Sebring TR4; Group 44 with Fuerstenau and Gilmartin. mossmotoring.com Reference
  5. Moss Motoring, "Press Release: British Sports Car Hall of Fame", 20 Mar 2017. mossmotoring.com Reference
  6. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, June 1962, Jun 1962, p. 4. vintagetriumphregister.org/tsoa/TSOAJune62.pdf Primary
  7. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, September–October 1962, Sep–Oct 1962 (vol. 8 nos. 9 and 10), p. 1; p. 1, "BOB TULLIUS CLINCHES NATIONAL EP CHAMPIONSHIP". vintagetriumphregister.org/tsoa/aTSOA091062.pdf Primary
  8. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, September 1963, Sep 1963 (vol. 9 no. 8), "TULLIUS TAKES DP TITLE". vintagetriumphregister.org/tsoa/TSOA0963.pdf Primary
  9. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, March 1964, Mar 1964 (vol. 10 no. 3), Triumph's first national class championship. vintagetriumphregister.org/tsoa/TSOA0364.pdf Primary
  10. Aaron Severson, "Grandfather's Ax: The Many Evolutions of the Triumph TR4, Part 1: TR4 and TR4A", Ate Up With Motor, 22 Oct 2012, Mike Cook; the 1963 title in a Sebring car; Racing the TR4. ateupwithmotor.com/model-histories/triumph-tr4-tr4a/view-all Reference
  11. racingsportscars.com, Sebring 12 Hours 1963, results, results; No. 37; results, 35th. racingsportscars.com/results/Sebring-1963-03-23.html Database
  12. racingsportscars.com, Sebring 12 Hours 1966, results, DNF table; the TR4A prototype, out after 47 laps; DNF, 47 laps, engine. racingsportscars.com/results/Sebring-1966-03-26.html Database
  13. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, September 1968, Sep 1968 (vol. 14 no. 9), p. 2. vintagetriumphregister.org/tsoa/TSOASept68.pdf Primary
  14. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, December 1968, Dec 1968 (masthead "Volume 14, Number 11"), p. 3. vintagetriumphregister.org/tsoa/TSOADec68.pdf Primary
  15. racingsportscars.com, "Triumph TR250 – All Results". racingsportscars.com/type/results/Triumph/TR250.html Database
  16. racingsportscars.com, Sebring 12 Hours 1968, results. racingsportscars.com/results/Sebring-1968-03-23.html Database
  17. racingsportscars.com, "Triumph TR6 – All Results". racingsportscars.com/type/results/Triumph/TR6.html Database
  18. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, December 1972, Dec 1972 (vol. 18 no. 12), p. 2. vintagetriumphregister.org/tsoa/TSOADec72.pdf Primary
  19. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, November 1972, Nov 1972 (vol. 18 no. 11), p. 2. vintagetriumphregister.org/tsoa/TSOANov72.pdf Primary
  20. Aaron Severson, "Grandfather's Ax: The Many Evolutions of the Triumph TR4, Part 2: TR5, TR250, and TR6", Ate Up With Motor, 7 Nov 2012, TR in twilight. ateupwithmotor.com/model-histories/triumph-tr5-tr250-tr6/view-all Reference
  21. Aaron Severson, "Way of the Wedge: The Triumph TR7 and TR8", Ate Up With Motor, 5 Feb 2012, pp. 1–5, p. 3. ateupwithmotor.com/model-histories/triumph-tr7-tr8 Reference
  22. Michael L. Cook, "1981 Triumph TR8: Fast and Last", Special Interest Autos, no. 156, Nov–Dec 1996, pp. 10–17, p. 13. triumphtr8.com/tr8-press-articles-and-cuttings Reference
  23. Don Sherman, "Triumph TR8" (road test), Car and Driver, Aug 1980, pp. 36–40, p. 38. triumphtr8.com/tr8-press-articles-and-cuttings Primary
  24. racingsportscars.com, "All Results of Triumph TR8" (1979–1999), race pages 1979-80. racingsportscars.com/type/results/Triumph/TR8.html Database
  25. Michael Lamm, "1st Drive in the Triumph TR8", British Car, Feb–Mar 1999, pp. 46–48, pp. 47–48. triumphtr8.com/tr8-press-articles-and-cuttings Reference
  26. Classic & Sports Car, RIP Bob Tullius 1930-2026, Jack Phillips, 19 Mar 2026. classicandsportscar.com/obituaries/rip-bob-tullius-1930-2026 Reference
  27. Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, "1974 Jaguar E-Type Group 44 Racing Car", race table. jaguarheritage.com/vehicle-collection/1974-jaguar-e-type-group-44-racing-car Primary
  28. Andrew Frankel, "V12 Epoch", Motor Sport, Dec 2004, p. 70, p. 70. motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/december-2004/70/v12-epoch Reference
  29. Andrew Frankel, "Unsung heroes: The V12 Jaguars that kept its racing heritage alive", Motor Sport, Mar 2015, p. 58, debut. motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/march-2015/58/keeping-british-end Reference
  30. Alan Henry, "Sports round-up", Motor Sport, Dec 1974, p. 32, "E-types almost make it", p. 32. motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/december-1974/32/sports-round Primary
  31. racingsportscars.com, "Jaguar E-Type – All Results", 3.11.1974, Road Atlanta [BP], 2nd. racingsportscars.com/type/results/Jaguar/E-Type.html Database
  32. racingsportscars.com, US Champions Road Atlanta [BP] 1975, results, results, 1st. racingsportscars.com/results/Road_Atlanta-1975-11-02c.html Database
  33. Motor Sport, "Around and About, December 1975", Dec 1975, p. 32, "Leyland Victories", p. 32. motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/december-1975/32/around-and-about-december-1975 Primary
  34. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, February 1963, Feb 1963 (vol. 9 no. 2), "Triumph's National Class E Champion" at the head of the Sebring team. vintagetriumphregister.org/tsoa/TSOA0263.pdf Primary
  35. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, September 1964, Sep 1964, the TR3 at Thompson. vintagetriumphregister.org/tsoa/TSOA0964.pdf Primary
  36. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, March 1966, Mar 1966 (vol. 12 no. 3), Froines's 1965 title. vintagetriumphregister.org/tsoa/TSOA0366.pdf Primary
  37. racingsportscars.com, Sebring 12 Hours 1965, results, the Spitfire with Gates. racingsportscars.com/results/Sebring-1965-03-27.html Database
  38. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, April 1966, Apr 1966 (vol. 12 no. 4), the fire; a fire after four hours. vintagetriumphregister.org/tsoa/TSOA0466.pdf Primary
  39. Triumph Sports Owners Association, Triumph Sports Owners Association Newsletter, March–April 1963 ("Sebring '63 Souvenir Issue"), Mar–Apr 1963 (vol. 9 no. 3). vintagetriumphregister.org/tsoa/TSOA030463.pdf Primary