THAMES VALLEY SECTION WINTER/SPRING 2017 NEWSLETTER & EVENTS DIARY
A BIRD IN THE HAND ...and the end of the bush
A
fter many years at the Bird in Hand in Knowl Hill, a change of ownership saw the venue for our monthly meeting closed for six weeks for a major refurbishment. For April we moved down the road to the Horse & Groom at Hare Hatch. Like the Bird in Hand, our alternative venue has good beer, good food and some areas big enough to accommodate us all - but the same wasn't true of the tiny car park!
wood panelling had gone from a dark varnish, to a lighter, limed effect. That and some new tables make the whole place feel much bigger we just need to hope that the new dining area isn't too popular or we'll have the same car parking challenges we had on our 'road trip'. And the loss of the of trees between the car park and the car dealership will help keep the cars clean!
So, a month earlier than anticipated, we were back 'home', to find thatnothing much had changed - but everything was different!
It wasn't a problem on our first night back as the first meeting of the year in the light saw a decent turnout for our first themed night of the year FWD night.
The carpets had gone to reveal the wood floor underneath and the
Section Secretary Nick Suiter, Treasurer John Timms and Philip O'Hara
brought their Giuliettas, there were three Busso engined cars (Oliver Yarrow's 156 saloon, Kearn Faltyn's 916 Spider and Michael Haines' 916 GTV), my 159 ti Sportwagon, Julian Milne's 33 and Lee Foulser's GT. Jeremy Suiter qualifies for all three theme nights this year - his 4WD 939 Spider sneaking in to FWD night, RWD night and Spider night. The star of the evening, though, was probably the only RWD car in attendance, section Chairman Jonathan Griffin's Giulia 'rally car'. The next section meeting is at the Bird in Hand on June the 4th - the aforementioned Spider night. GUY SWARBRICK
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GOODWOOD IN MARCH 75th Members' Meeting
T
he 75th Goodwood Members’ Meeting, the fourth in the modern-day era took place at the 2.40-mile West Sussex race circuit on the weekend of 18th/19th March. Historic racing machinery forming the centrepiece and more modern 60s thru to early 80’s cars providing thrilling races.
Less formal than the Revival and more accessible than Festival of Speed, the Members' Meeting has an 'anything goes' atmosphere. The modern incarnation of the event was founded by Goodwood owner Lord March, recreating the atmosphere of the original Members’ Meetings. A two-day affair featuring races for pre WW1 and pre WW2 grand prix cars, motorcycles, 50’s and 60s sports cars, Group 1 70s/80s Touring cars plus three demonstration runs. The demo runs celebrated iconic periods in motorsport.
Picture by Barry Clark The first, for 3-litre Sport Prototypes, featured Ferrari, Alfa Romeo (2 x Tipo 33), Matra, Lola and Mirage. The second, Legends of GT1, gathered together a collection of late-1990s and early 2000s endurance racing cars. The final parade was for Group A Touring Cars, which was split into two sections, the first for early GpA machines such as the Rover SD1, BMW 635CSI and Volvo 240 Turbo, and the second part for later cars like the Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 and BMW M3. Unfortunately an Alfa 75 Turbo spotted in the paddock didn’t run. Race two, the Gerry Marshall Trophy, was a two-driver affair for touring cars. Pole position fell to Mark Blundell and Kerry Michael in a Ford Escort RS2000, but a penalty for a jumped start hurt their chances.
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although no Alfas competed, in the Graham Hill Trophy for 1960-66 GT racing cars. The TVR Griffith 400 of Mike Jordan and Mike Whitaker scrapping with two AC Cobras, driven by Michael Gans/Andrew Wolfe and Shaun Lynn/Emanuele Pirro.
The Chevrolet Camaro Z28 of Nigel Garrett and Stuart Graham took up the running, before the Rover SD1 of Gordon Shedden and Chris Ward moved to the fore and pulled clear for a convincing victory. The only
owner Steve Tillack.
Jordan, in for the second stint, pulled off an audacious move, overtaking Wolfe around the outside of the penultimate corner to claim the lead and then the win.
The G1 was the first design from Alfa Romeo after the end of the A.L.F.A. brand. Giuseppe Merosi designed an update for the pre-war
Highlight for Alfisti was the Varzi Trophy for pre WW2 Grand Prix cars. Featuring no fewer than 6 Alfa Romeos, two Tipo Bs and four 8C
Alfa competing was the ex-Chris Snowden ‘Apilette’ GTV6, now owned and raced by Paul Clayson, being ably assisted by very rapid ex-F3000 driver Nicolas Minassian.
24HP into the luxury G1, a direct competitor with Rolls Royce. The chassis was a lengthened 40-60 HP model fitted with a new 6.3L straight-6 engine producing 70 bhp and 216 lb/ft of torque. Only 52 examples were built and, except for the two prototypes, all 50 found their way to Australia.
Monza. Christian Gläsel in a Tipo B won beating a hoard of Bugattis, Maseratis plus a couple of Talbot-Lagos and a Delahaye.
Alfa Romeos racing in the SF Edge Trophy, named after pre-war racer and record-breaker Selwyn Francis Edge included two RL Targa Florios and the unique G1, brought over from Los Angeles and raced by its
Worthy of mention here for producing the race of the weekend,
John Surtees, who sadly died earlier in March, was remembered with ‘a minute of noise’ - with those in the paddock revving their engines in a tribute to the 1964 world champion. NICK SUITER
& EVENTS DIARY - WINTER/SPRING 2017 PAGE 3
RETURN TO ZWARTKOPS South African Odyssey Part II
I
was very lucky to once again to be invited to visit South Africa. On arriving I was whisked off to see Arnold Chatz.
He is also the inspiration and motivator behind the GTV6 3-litre, hounding Autodelta to increase engine capacity to compete with the BMWs. One highlight was a customer 2.5 litre GTV6, without any doubt being in the best original condition I’ve ever seen.
Arnold (now retired) is the original Johannesburg area Alfa dealer and a legendary Alfa racing driver. He arranged a Giulia Quadrifolio test drive at speeds in urban area I never experienced before, if there were a traffic light Grand Prix we’d be the winners! The first 13 Giulia’s at the dealership were Quadrifolios - it seems South Africans are getting theirs before us in the UK. Next we were taken into workshop where hiding in the corner at was Arnold’s pride and joy, a rare GTV6 3-litre in immaculate condition. Day 2 encompassed a visit to Glenwood Motors at Zwartkops Raceway, owned and operated by Dawie
De Villiers. Dawie has been tuning and producing large bore Busso V6 engines for many, many years.
The third day saw me at Power Mods an aftermarket engine electronic control manufacturer. I purchased an ECU and loom and received 2 hours free programming tuition from Paul de Carvalho. Paul’s brother and proprietor of Power Mods, Domingos de Carvalho, loves producing wildly modified Alfas, his latest project is an Alfa 6 powered by a Toyota V12 engine! Why I hear you ask? A short trip around the block was all that needed to answer that question. My final Alfa fling, before heading off to Cape Town for sea, sand and surf, was to see Kevin Strap at AK Classics. A treat for Alfisti as their showroom and workshop were overflowing with Alfas. Many thanks to Kev for the lunch time hotdogs and beers. NICK SUITER
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SOUTHERN ALFA DAY 2016 Hever Castle
S
outhern Alfa Day for 2017 was organised by the Kent and East Sussex Section and had the magificant, historic Hever Castle in Kent as the backdrop. We organised a small convoy meeting up at Chobham Services on the M25 under grey skies.
white and green models into an Italian tricolor. They did get a tricolor organised (see below) but - not surprisingly - the majority of the cars formed a
Amazingly, it stayed dry all day - but poured down on the way home! The venue were pleased with the event and have invited us back for
Mario Guzzetti led the way in his V6 Q4 Spider - shadowed by my own example - with John Timms in his 2.4 159 Sportwagon - plus a GTV from the Surrey section. The weather showed no signs of improving as we wound our way through the Kent counrtyside, but by the time we arrived it had at least stopped raining. A number of other Section members - including Martin and Ella Dominguez in their familiar French blue Junior Zagato - had made their own way to the venue, where the organisers had intended to park cars by colour - forming the red,
long red line through the middle of the assembled cars - and a trio of Junior Zagatos were given pride of place in front of the castle.
a celebration of Father's Day on the 17th of June - details on page 9. GUY SWARBRICK
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CROSS SECTION Museo Storico di Alfa Romeo
H
aving not been since the 2015 re-opening, I was lucky enough to get two opportunities to visit the Alfa Romeo Museum in Arese in the space of three
and on both of my visits provided an opportunity to see some unusual Alfas belonging to visitors and staff - in my case a relatively rare facelift 166 the first time and a considerably rarer Alfa 6 the second time. The next major change is the entrance - which currently houses a 4C, a reasonably well stockedgift shop and the ticket desk.
months last summer. The contrast to the 'old' museum couldn't be stronger - even if some parts of the buildings - and some of the exhibits - are familiar. The new expereince starts in the car park - which is now actually alongside the museum entrance -
The previous museum was free - if you could find it - but even with the charges, the new one still seems much better value. Through the turnstiles and there's a small collection of racing cars the March-Alfa Indy Car, a Formula Boxer single seater and the 164 Procar, among others.
The main hall traces the history of the marque from the 1912 15hp Corsa to (currently) the 2007 8C Competizione. The collection's larger than the museum, and the line up changes regularly.
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The concept car hall has some of my personal favourites - cars as diverse as the Disco Volante and the Nuvola - but the Tipo 33-based Carabo was the only one I had as a Matchbox car displayed like the sculptures they job of re-telling the early years of From there, you're into a section are, throughout the entire collecQuadrifoglio. on aero engines before, unexpecttion. edly, taking an escalator to the top Yet more road cars follow - and a of the building. Then it's the 'Area BELEZZA' - the mini-cinema which shows a seconcept car section, which is one of quence of movies featuring Alfa There you're into more familiar
The pre-war motor sport hall has an excellent audio visual presentation but it's the wall of victories - and the cars - that leave a lasting impression. Several models have both a complete and stripped down, cut-away version territory with the first two levels taking you through the 'Area TIMELINE' - the history of the road cars. Here - as in all of the sections - there is more on show than just
the highlights for me. These are the cars most of us have only ever seen in pictures. From there, you move into the
Romeos as co-stars. It includes, as you would expect, the Graduate and a number of Italian language films - but not, perhaps unsurpris-
What could possibly be better than a pre-war Grand Prix car wit a 3.2 litre, 270hp straight eight engine? A pre-war Grand Prix car with two 3.2 litre, 270hp straigt eight engines - the Bimotore ingly, The Italian Job. the cars themselves. As well as the evocative pre-war portion of the information panels and video pres- 'Area VELOCITA' - motorsport Then you're into another of my entations you might expect, there's section and the first 'multimedia favourite areas in the museum- the experience' which does a good also a liberal sprinkling of engines, It's not just full-sized cars - there's a fascinating collection of styling models and a wall of toy cars and models alongside the escalator as you exit the main section of the museum
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4C. It's nowhere near as exciting as it sounds, but as you're there... The Alfa dealership at the end of the route is a welcome relief - a chance to get yur hands on the current range with danger of anyone actually trying to sell you anything! post-war motorsport section which features a selection of GTAs and GTAms, several Tipo 33s, the Brabham BT-45B. The story doesn't stop there - German and World Touring Car Cham-
And even when you've finished with the cars, there's more to the museum. A series of pods take you on a video journey through the history of the Arese site and provide a fascinating insight into the workings of a pre-robotic car factory.
The café and restaurant are seem to be there mostly for the benefit of the staff, but it's a much more civilised place to grab an espresso or a bite to eat than the new shopping mall down the road. If I'm honest, I still don't think the
The final instalment of the car collection has the most modern of the competition cars - ranging from the sports and saloon cars of the 1970s and 1990s to a couple of Formula One machines pionship 155 and 156s end the journey through the car collection.
And there's the 4D experience... tlting, bucking, Recaro seats; 3D glasses and the fourth dimension special effects using air and water jets (it's a fine spray - you won't need to take waterproofs, but you might want to put your camera away) - take you on a journey in a variety of Alfas through a range of different terrains - culminating in a fast and furious urban pursuit in a
museum alone justifies a flight - let alone a drive - to Arese from the UK. But if you're in the Milan area, it's well worth a visit. Even the most ardent Alfisti will struggle to make a visit last more than half a day, but at €12 it's hardly going to break the bank. GUY SWARBRICK
After you exit the museum, you arrive in a full-blown Alfa Romeo dealership - with a rather nice café and restaurant next door
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27th May 2017 The Section has been invited to attend the launch of the brand new Unity Alfa Romeo franchise in Kidlington, north of Oxford. A number of places are available for classic Alfas in the showroom cars will need to be there by 8.30 on the day of the event - please contact Nick Suiter to coordinate. The area around the showroom will
be reserved for other member's cars from 10am.
DEALER LAUNCH Kidlington, Oxford
As well as the opportunity to show our cars to the public and visit the new showroom, Alfa GB will be bringing a 4C and a Giulia Quadrifoglio and offering passenger rides.
FESTA DEL PAPA Hever Castle
17th June 2017 Supporting the Henry Surtees Foundation.
There will be a display of Alfa Romeo cars on the lawns at Hever Castle. ars will be displayed similarly to C last year's Southern Alfa Day with a mosaic and a red carpet. There will, however, be areas designated for special and rare Alfa Romeos and Register displays.
HAYNES INTERNATIONAL MOTOR MUSEUM Sparkford, Somerset
14th May 2017
Our trip to the Haynes International Motor Museum begins with breakfast at the Popham services on the A303 - home to the (in)famous Heston Blumenthal Little Chef. e'll leave there between 9.30 W in 10.00 in convoy - but members are obviously welcome to make their own way to the museum. We expect to arrive between 10.45 and
11.15. John Haynes’ love of motoring and business led to the hugely successful Haynes Publishing Group and, as a collector of cars and most things related to them, John’s ambition to create his own Museum was inevitable. The Museum opened on 10 July 1985 by Richard Noble. The collection expanded as vehicles from around the globe were acquired
increasing from 29 to nearly 400 in 30 years As well as the car collection, there's also a café and a well stocked shop.
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WHAT’S ON DIARY
Calendars of our events can be found on our Facebook page and on our website www.aroc-uk.com/ thamesvalley May 14th Haynes International Motor Museum visit Sparkford, Yeovil BA22 7LH 27th Unity Alfa Romeo dealer launch Shipton-on-Cherwell, Kidlington OX5 1H
29th-30th Silverstone Classic Silverstone Circuit, Towcester NN12 8TN
June 6th Bird in Hand, Knowl Hill Spider Night
August 6th Classic Car Sunday Goodwood Breakfast Club, Goodwood Motor Circuit, Chichester, West Sussex PO18 0PH 8am (free - but registration required)
July 4th Bird in Hand, Knowl Hill Fun Concours
13th Italian Festival Brands Hatch Circuit, West Kingsdown DA3 8PU
June 4th Italian Car Extravaganza Newby Hall, Ripon HG4 5AE
20th Midlands Italian Car Fesitival (MITCAR) Ragley Hall, Alcester B49 5NJ
4th Soft Top Sunday Goodwood Breakfast Club, Goodwood Motor Circuit, Chichester, West Sussex PO18 0PH 8am (free - but registration required)
September 24th Southern Alfa Day Royal Gunpowder Mills, Waltham Abbey EN9 1JX
10th Giro Cinquanta Miglia Leaves the Bird in Hand, Knowl Hill 17th Festa del papà Hever Castle, Edenbridge TN8 7NG Free entry for Alfa Romeos 25th Cotswolds Alfa Day-Giro Panoramico Upton House, Banbury OX15 6HT July 2nd Berkshire Motor Show Prospect Park, Reading RG30 2ND 9th National Alfa Day Knebworth House, Knebworth SG3 6PY
November 5th Vee-Power Sunday Goodwood Breakfast Club, Goodwood Motor Circuit, Chichester, West Sussex PO18 0PH 8am Registration required If there are any other events you’d like to see here? Email nico12367@ gmail.com Section Meetings Monthly at 8pm, first Tuesday Venue The Bird in Hand Country Inn, Bath Road, Knowl Hill, RG10 9UP
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August 1st Bird in Hand, Knowl Hill Blag-a-Ride September 5th Bird in Hand, Knowl Hill Rear Wheel Drive Night October 3rd Bird in Hand, Knowl Hill November 7th Bird in Hand, Knowl Hill December 5th Bird in Hand, Knowl Hill Christmas Quiz Next time Reports from the Giro, Haynes museum visit and National Alfa Day. Your contributions are welcome reports, pictures, event dates and details, article ideas and feedback - and your Me & My Alfa story can be sent to aroctvnews@swarbrick.com Published by AROC Thames Valley. All pictures are by the article author unless otherwise credited. Edited by Guy Swarbrick