THAMES VALLEY SECTION AUTUMN 2015 NEWSLETTER & EVENTS DIARY
Photo : John Timms
WHITE LION ITALIAN CLASSICS 2015 Hartley Wintney, Surrey
On the morning of the 28th June 2015 the Thames Valley and Surrey sections gathered at the White Lion Antiques and Lifestyle Centre for their Italian themed breakfast classic car meet.
The White Lion Antiques and Lifestyle Centre is housed in a Grade II listed former Coaching Inn. The Centre has a bistro/tearoom and sells a range of antiques and collectables plus modern furniture, gifts, jewellery, modern and vintage
clothing and has a bespoke kitchen and bathroom department. The Centre is managed by Jerry Mahony, a former Racing Driver. Jerry was 1991 British Thundersaloon Champion and in the 1988 British Touring Car Championship he scored Ford’s first win for the Sierra RS500 at Silverstone. They started holding monthly classic car meetings in 2012. Meandering through the decades the oldest Alfa was Des Clare’s Giulia saloon. The 70s brought a pair of excellent 105 series 1750 GTVs, an S2 Spider and a Junior Zagato. Heading into the 1980s Kevin Rascher brought his stunning South African 3 litre GTV6. Every time I see this car it amazes me how Kevin has kept a 31 year old car looking so new. Paul Tomlinson and Grant
PAGE 1
Richardson - Surrey section Secretary - also displayed their GTV6s. Alex Goldbloom’s white S3 Spider and my own rare 75 2.5 V6 automatic finish off this decade. Two 916 series cars, a Spider and a GTV plus Nigel Copcutt’s 105 S4 Spider represented the 90s. Early 21st cen-
tury cars were a 147 Ducati Corse, 156 Selespeed saloon and Sportwagen and a brace of Brera’s. The solitary 8C coupe attracted lots of attention while a Giulietta Veloce, Giulietta Sportiva and John Timm’s 159 Sportwagen represented modern Alfas.
SUMMER NIGHTS Giro Tramonto
White Lion Antiques theme their meetings but any classic car is welcome, so there are lots of other interesting cars to see. Most notable being a Jaguar M2 saloon fitted with supercharged V8 from a XKR8! An enjoyable time was in progress until the inevitable rain came sending the majority scurrying home. NICK SUITER Fox & Hounds at Christmas Common - they all made it before the kitchen closed at 9pm - but not by much! After a very pleasant meal, the answers to the navigational quiz were revealed and winners drawn - Ewan winning an Alfa Romeo fleece donated by Alfa Aid, Mario a 4C print and John a car portrait session.
The first edition of the Giro Tramonto took place on the 6th of July in place of our normal monthly meeting, starting from the Bird in Hand at Knowl Hill. Numbers weren’t huge, but there was a good variety of cars with Adrian Jardine’s SZ, Guy Swarbrick and Mario Guzzetti’s 939 Spiders, Nick Suiter and Julian Milne’s Giuliettas and John Timms’ 159 Sportwagon were the ‘modern’ contingent - only one of which needed
a jump start in the car park. Section newcomer Ewan in his Series 1 Spider had the (possible) benefit of having Jonathan Griffin as a navigator - and was one of four 105 series cars along with the three Giulias of Chris Grainger, Andrew Cloney and Andrew Stevens. Cars left in batches of two or three and - despite a few small glitches in the route guidance - not only did they all make it to the finish at the
The feedback from the first event was positive, so the aim is to run the event again next year with a few more cars - which means we’re going to have to find a bigger pub!
PAGE 2 THAMES VALLEY SECTION NEWSLETTER
GUY SWARBRICK
HISTORIC RACERS Silverstone Classic
The Silverstone Classic in July was once again a fantastic celebration of historic motor racing with saloon cars, sports and GT cars and open wheel race cars from all eras represented. Car club displays and trade stands fill the centre of the circuit. There’s a lot of noise and loads of people.There’s so much to see that it is really not possible to do it justice in just one day - so I decided to go for two days!
Concours prizes over the years.
because nearly everyone peels off to watch the racing but there were a good selection of cars lined up. A red 2000 GTV that had been raced by Richard Thorne in the HSCC 70s Road Sports Championship in the distant past pulled up next to us - it was for sale and I believe has now found a new owner. Jonathan Trinder’s beautiful original Alfasud 1.2 Ti stood out to me. He’s owned it from new and won many Club
Because Friday qualifying had been wet we had the treat of seeing topsy-turvy grids with a Porsche 911RSR fourth on the grid amongst the big Lolas and prototypes in the Sports and GT race, not that he was able to maintain that position after the start. There were Alfas in many of the races. The grey Alfaholics GTA driven by Andrew and Max Banks went very well in the U2TC (Up to 2-litre Touring Cars) race and ran in the top three before retiring. Roz Shaw was pushing her Sprint GT hard but got tagged by a Lotus Cortina which put her out and Will Dick in Dave Erwin’s white Giulia Ti Super had a possible suspension failure which pitched him into a dramatic roll. Happily he escaped shaken but largely OK. The 105-cars didn’t have the best of the day! In the Supertouring races, the 156s of Neil Smith and Steve Dymoke put on a good show with Neil running close to the front. On Sunday we cruised up in Rich’s mint black Alfasud 1.5 Ti - a lot more civilised than the Giulia - and with that familiar exhaust rasp on the overrun. If you’ve had a Sud you’ll know what I mean. It was the polar opposite of the day before with grey clouds, rain-affected racing and spectators departing in droves after lunch, thinking it was
On the Saturday, I drove up in my green Giulia Super Elaborazione with my old friend Rich Allibone. It was a dry and sunny day - perfect for a road trip. The car is exhilarating to drive with race suspension and a torquey engine modified by Titus Rowlandson at Victory Garage and a real hoot on fast sweeping A-roads and back doubles, if a bit loud on the motorway. The Club supports this event and Nick Wright had the AROC truck and hospitality area set up in a prime position behind the old pits where we were able to park on the tarmac as opposed to the lush grass of the more open areas. This is not so much of a ‘show-and-shine’ event
& EVENTS DIARY - AUTUMN 2015 PAGE 3
all over for the day. But then the rain eased, racing restarted and we were treated to some entertaining action with brave driving in all categories. It was fantastic to see a Mini Cooper S really pushing a TVR Griffith and a lightweight E-Type; catching them in the corners only
to be outdragged on each following straight. Neil Smith showed well again in the wet Supertouring race but an off-track moment dropped him back from the lead battle.
weekend and whether you like racing or not, definitely worth making the effort to see such an amazing array of classic cars of all ages on and off the track.
Yes, we had sunshine and got a right soaking but it was a memorable
As we left to go home on the Sunday, Rich’s Satnav powered up and displayed the destination for the Sud.... ‘Firenze’!
CROSS SECTION Goodwood Breakfast Club Graucho Marx famously said that he wouldn’t want to join any club that would have him as a member. The Goodwood Breakfast Club is unusual in that it will admit most people, some of the time - but
refuse entry to most people, most of the time. The number of people who are always eligible is tiny. What is it? Well, most of the clues are in the name. It’s a themed,
JONATHAN GRIFFIN multi-marque, modern and classic car ‘show and shine’ event which takes place at Goodwood Motor Racing Circuit, nestled in the South Downs. It starts ludicrously early - especially if you’re driving down
PAGE 4 THAMES VALLEY SECTION NEWSLETTER
from the Thames Valley on the day of the event. And you can buy breakfast - which largely consists of the estates organic bacon and sausages in rolls, with or without Lord March’s free range eggs. And you can only attend if you meet the criteria for the theme of the day. Breakfast is served until quite late, but festivities kick off very early officially 8am, but rather earlier in practice. As you arrive the marshalls will direct you to one of a number of different areas within the circuit. If your vehicle is sufficiently interesting - and they have a wonderfully broad set of criteria - you may be given one of the coveted spots on
the track itself, in front of the pits. Otherwise, depending on your arrival time and the range of cars that have turned up on the day, you’ll either be directed to the ‘stable blocks’ behind the pits or onto the remaining section of track. On busy mornings, the line of cars will extend well past the chicane and round the last corner. There are half a dozen meetings a year - all with a different theme and it’s quite possible that one car will be eligible for more than one event. This year, for example, my Spider was eligible for both Soft Top Sunday and Vee Power Sunday. If it had been two miles per hour quicker, it would also have qualified for the ‘Bahnstormers’ event - open to any car capable of 155mph straight from the factory (the front wheel drive version of the V6 is eligible) and, in years gone by it would have qualified for the Italian Cars event sadly discontinued as it wasn’t quite broad enough to attract the numbers some of the other themes do. Once you’re parked up you’re free to wander around and look at the other cars or picnic by your own. Almost every car there - no matter how obscure or commonplace - seems to be of interest to somebody.
Entry is by invitation only - but anyone can apply to be invited. Simply register on the Goodwood website and apply for the events your car is eligible. They do manage numbers of each model to keep things interesting, so it helps to apply early but if you aren’t accepted- or there’s a theme you’re interested in but which you don’t have an eligible car
for, you can still go along - you just can’t park inside the circuit. Eligible or not, entry is free. The (excellent) breakfasts are not - but you’re free to take your own food and drink. Last year’s Soft Top Sunday had
& EVENTS DIARY - AUTUMN 2015 PAGE 5
a good selection of Alfas - a fair spread of 105 Spiders, a load of 916s and at least three 939s. This year the pickings were slightly slimmer - with just one 939 besides mine, a couple of 916s, a trio of 105s, a lovely Giulia Spider and - in pride of place on the starting grid - an 8C Spider. On both occasions there were also a couple of ‘Alfa-Ferrari’ Marlin kit cars with AROC badges. If you’re only interested in Alfas, it’s hard to recommend it but if you have broader tastes- or an evangelical mission to put your Alfa in among lesser cars to show their owners what they’re missing, it’s a great morning out. GUY SWARBRICK
WHAT’S ON DIARY
With what passed for summer receding fast, the events are starting to thin out a little and Nick Suiter has compiled a list of local and national events over the coming months.
September
11th-13th Goodwood Revival Goodwood Circuit 19th-20th Kop Hill Climb Kop Hill Road, Princes Risborough Buckinghamshire 26th Southern Alfa Day Amberley Museum & Heritage Centre
October
LOCAL DISCOUNTS We’ve managed to secure a 10% discount of all cash purchases (5% on cards) to AROC members with a valid membership card at Marparts - a friendly and helpful car parts and accessories store in Gosbrook Road, Lower Caversham (conditions may apply). Marparts also provided an Autoglym gift pack as a prize in this year’s Fun Concours - of which, more in the next Newsletter.
com and we’ll include it on the Section website and in the next Newsletter.
Section Meetings Monthly at 8pm on the first Monday, except when that falls on a public holiday when it is the first Tuesday The Bird in Hand Country Inn, Bath Road, Knowl Hill, Reading, Berkshire, RG10 9UP, tel: 01628 826622 October 5th The Bird in Hand, Knowl Hill
10th AROC Track day Blyton Park Lincolnshire
November
11th Auto Italia Motorsport Festival Brooklands
December
November
Until then, vist our website at http://www.aroc.uk.com/thamesvalley or our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/arocukthamesvalley
13th-15th NEC Classic Car Show Birmingham If there are any other events that you’d like included in the diary, contact Nick at nico12367@gmail.
2nd The Bird in Hand, Knowl Hill 7th The Bird in Hand, Knowl Hill
PAGE 6 - NEXT NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2015
MODEL CITIZENS Thames Valley Registrars While we may not be the biggest section in the UK, we do have a large proportion of the Model Registrars with Guy Swarbrick (939 Spider), Adrian Jardine (SZ/RZ) recently joining Richard Kerr (164) and Ian Packer (2600). There are still a few vacancies if anyone else is interested in taking on a Register! Next time... The next issue in December will feature Southern Alfa Day, the AROC track day, details of the Christmas dinner - and more! Your contributions are welcome reports, pictures, event dates and details, article ideas and feedback and can be sent to aroctvnews@swarbrick.com Published by AROC Thames Valley. Edited by Guy Swarbrick.