Classic and Competition Car 93 June 2018 by Simon Wright

June 2018

Issue 93

The 21st Century magazine about cars and motorsport of the past and present.

In this issue

Lexus take first podium in Blancpain Endurance at Silverstone

British Hillclimb, Prescott Flying Scotsman Rally

Our Team. Simon Wright Editor Janet Wright. Staff Photographer.

Contents Page 3

News.

Page 8

Flying Scotsman ERA Rally.

Page 14

Ferrari Challenge Europe.

Page 21

British Hill Climb Championship, Prescott.

Page 26

New Unnamed Classic Car Group, Stourbridge.

Page 32

British GT, Rockingham.

Page 37

British F3, Rockingham.

Page 41

Archive photo of the month.

Page 42

Donington Historic Festival.

Page 56

VSCC Curborough Speed Trials.

Page 63

Greasy May

Page 68

Silverstone Classic Preview day.

Page 75

Drive It Day, National Memorial Arboretum.

Page 83

Blancpain GT Endurance Cup, Silverstone.

Independant Freelance contributors in this issue. Pete Austin. Syd Wall David Goose & Stuart Yates of MotorsportImagery

All content is copyright classicandcompetitioncar.com unless otherwise stated. All photographs are copyright and cannot be used for commercial purposes unless by prior approval of the original copyright holder. We try to ensure accurate and truthful reporting but if you spot an error, please contact us and will we verify and correct accordingly. We do not organise any events which are mentioned and we are not responsible if the event does not take place or is cancelled. Please contact the event organiser before making a long trip.

Classic and Competition Car is published by simonwrightphotos.com High View Drive, Kingswinford, West Midlands DY6 8HT E-mail simonwright57@hotmail.com Tel 07905 435973 As well as this magazine, you can follow us on Twitter @classcompcar and join our Facebook Group Classic and Competition Car.

Front Cover. Markus Palttala, Stephane Ortelli and Norbert Siedler Lexus RC F GT3 Blancpain Silverstone © Simon Wright Alain Janssens and Luc Bresseleers 1938 Bentley Derby Special - Flying Scotsman Rally ©ERA/Gerard Brown To Subscribe for free and be notified when the next issue is Alex Summers negotiates the cement dust after a big oil spill at Semi circle in qualifying. British Hillclimb published please click here. To check out our web site with Prescott © Syd Wall.

additional photos please click here

June 2018

Page 2

News

Editorial. International GT racing has a lot going for it. Cars that look similar to their road going counterparts, powerful, noisy and exciting. Under the current GT3 rules the category continues to flourish Worldwide. The recent Blancpain race at Silverstone saw a field of 50 cars take the start, with twelve major manufacturers represented from Europe and Asia. After 3 hours racing there were still 17 cars on the lead lap, and the first 4 were all different makes of car, with Aston Martin taking the win. Long may it continue to entertain the fans. © Simon Wright

Bentley Boy Guy Smith has final race for Bentley. Guy Smith announced that the Blancpain GT Endurance race at Silverstone would be his last for Bentley Team M-Sport. Following a plan made with the team at the end of 2017, Smith has closed an impressive career as a works driver to a close at his home circuit, Silverstone. After a 17 year association with Bentley, which included winning the 2003 Le Mans 24 Hour race in the Bentley Speed 8, he will continue to be an ambassador for Bentley and will retain his role supporting Bentley customer teams around the World. He will also stay as a Bentley Motorsport test and development driver. Smith said “This was not an easy decision to make, but the time is right for me to step back and allow some younger talent in to my Bentley seat. At the end of last year I decided that I wanted to see the new second generation Bentley Continental GT3 through its first race after being part of its development from the start - and we achieved that at Monza a few weeks ago. It feels right that my final race with the team should be at Silverstone, which has been one of the most important circuits of my career.” Smith’s seat in the No. 7 Bentley will be taken by South African racer Jordan Pepper, who has previously raced for Bentley customer teams in Europe, where he has demonstrated both speed and racecraft. June 2018

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Tordoff races Porsche. Former BTCC driver Sam Tordoff raced his recently purchased 1954 Porsche 356 Pre-A 1500S sports car in the Pre 63 GT race at the recent Donington Historic Festival. Although one of the oldest cars in the race, it is able to be competitive due to its light 750 kg weight, agile handing and the 1582cc engine developing around 170 bhp. After qualifying 15th overall, and fastest in class, he had quite a short race. He retired in the pits on lap 7

Cleland back in Vauxhall. Former Double British Touring Car Champion John Cleland from Wishaw in Scotland, was racing in the Super Touring Car Challenge for 1970-2005 Touring Cars at the Donington Historic Festival. In the BTCC He raced a Vauxhall Vectra from 1996 to 1999 and took two race victories at Donington Park in 1998. He won both his titles driving Vauxhall, in 1989 in the Astra GTE 16v and 1995 in the Cavalier 16v. At Donington the Vectra in a spirited race to finish 2nd, just 0.562 of a second behind winner James Dodd in his Honda

Lagonda set to revolutionise the luxury SUV. Scheduled to be unveiled in 2021 it will be the first emission-free luxury battery electric SUV to market. It will be the first of a range of state of the art, emission free luxury vehicles. © Simon Wright

June 2018

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Costello switches 2 wheels for 4 At the Donington Historic Festival, British motorcycle racer Maria Costello MBE from Northamptonshire was a new addition to the HRDC “Touring Greats’ field. She held the Guinness World Record for being the fastest woman to lap the Isle of Man TT course at an average speed of 114.73 mph. She was also the first woman (solo racer) to stand on the podium at the Isle of Man when she took 3rd place in the Ultra Lightweight category in the 2005 Manx Grand Prix, on a Honda RVF400. At the Donington Historic Festival she was driving an Austin A30 Academy car, she qualified 5th in class but unfortunately retired on lap 9. BMW celebrate 10,000 BMW i3 sales in the UK. The Electric BMW i3 is the best selling compact electric vehicle in the premium sector, Worldwide since 2014. They have now exceeded 10,000 sales in the UK. The BMW group have delivered more than100,000 electrified vehicles Worldwide in more than 74 countries in 2017. Worldwide there are more than130,000 charging locations. Launched in 2013, the BMW i3 offers emission free driving with instantaneous power delivery and an increased range. Sales have almost tripled in the last four years. June 2018

New Ligier JS F3 is about to hit the tracks. The Ligier JS F3 was revealed at the USA Formula 1 Grand Prix last October. It is now ready to race for the first time. Designed by Onroak Automotive and built at their workshops in North Carolina, it will supply the whole field in the new F3 Americas Championship. Like the Ligier JS F4 designed for the F4 U.S. Championship, the JS F3 will use Pirelli tyres and Honda power. Five events are in the schedule, from the beginning of August through to mid-October to make the F3 Americas Championship 4-5 August Pittsburgh International Raceway Complex 9-11 August Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. 14-16 September New Jersey Motorsports Park. 13-14 October Nola Motorsports Park.

Changes to Classic and Competition Car at Issuu. If you read Classic and Competition Car through the Issuu web site, you will no longer be able to download the magazine. You should still be able to read it on-line there. This is due to changes by the Issuu web site and not Classic and Competition Car. You can still download the magazine from our web site www.classicandcompetitioncar.com Page 5

An unusual car in the Historic Touring Car Challenge with Tony Dron Trophy race at the Donington Historic Festival was the Volvo 242 Turbo. Driven by John Young and Phil Perryman it qualified 25th, 8th in class. At the end of the one hour race it finished 16th overall and 5th in class, despite getting a 5 second penalty for exceeding track limits. ÂŠ Simon Wright

June 2018

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Blakeney-Edwards Marathon Festival.

Classic and Competition Car monthly magazine. You can get the latest issue of Classic and Competition Car magazine every month from our web site at www.classicandcompetitioncar.com. Read it online or download it free from the web site. With over 7 years of history, all our past issues can be downloaded from the Previous issues page of our web site. We also have photo galleries which we hope to expand during 2018, so visit the web site often to see what is new.

Frazer Nash Supersports

ÂŠ Simon Wright

The Donington Historic Festival was a busy event for quite a few drivers. Not content with competing in one race, several drivers contested as many races as they could. Jon Minshaw and Phil Keen who drive together in the British GT series, drove three races together, Jaguar Challenge, Pre 63 GT and Pre 61 Sports cars, and the GT & Sports Car Cup in different cars. The Pearson brothers raced the GT & Sports Car Cup, Jaguar Classic Challenge and the Pre 56 Sportscars, plus an Audi A4 and an Alfa Romeo 156 in the Super Touring Car Challenge. However, the award for the busiest driver should go to Patrick Blakeney-Edwards who drove a Frazer Nash Supersports in the Mad Jack race, an AC Cobra in the Pre 63 GT, a Lister Jaguar Coupe in the GT & Sports Car Cup, a Rover SD1 in the HTCC Tony Dron Trophy and the Historic Touring Car Challenge and won the RAC Woodcote Trophy in a Cooper T58.

Issue 1

Issue 20

Issue 2

Issue 3

Issue 24

Issue 19

Issue36

ÂŠ Simon Wright

Issue 60

Rover SD1

June 2018

Issue 72

Issue 84

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Â© ERA/Gerard Brown

Flying Scotsman Rally. Report from Andrea Seed and Photos by ERA/Gerard Brown

June 2018

Andrew and Jonathan Davies 1936 Riley 12/4 Special

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Burnett/Vokes winners in the 1939 Alta

RARE ALTA WINS THE TENTH FLYING SCOTSMAN RALLY A rare 1939 Alta, crewed by Gareth Burnett and Matthew Vokes, has won the tenth © ERA/Gerard Brown anniversary run of the Flying Scotsman Rally. Driver Gareth Burnett has won the event twice before in 2013 and 2016, both at the wheel of a Talbot 105 Alpine, making the first driver to score a hat-trick. Burnett said: “It was probably the toughest event yet with the best competition. But the real joy was in bringing this car to this event when no one thought it would even finish it – and that included me!” June 2018

Although an experienced classic rally navigator, this was Vokes first ever vintage rally and the first time he’d met Burnett. Vokes said: “It’s been © ERA/Gerard Brown a real 3rd overall Bill Cleyndert/Dan Harrison 1925 Bentley experience, great route, fantastic competition and cracking company. You couldn’t ask for more really.” The winners beat off strong competition from fellow two-time winner William Medcalf, with navigator Andy Pullen, who finished just .07 behind the leaders in the 1925 Bentley Super Sports. Bill Cleyndert and Dan Harrison, also in a 1925 Bentley, secured third place. The four-day event, organised by the Endurance Rally Association, covered 726 miles and negotiated 13 Tests and 15 Regularities. It started at 1pm on Thursday 26th April and ended around 3:15pm on Sunday 29th April on the world-famous Royal Mile, with crews greeted by Frank Ross, Edinburgh's Right Honourable Lord Lieutenant and Lord Provost. Amongst the Class winners were David Ayre and David Duncan in

2nd overall Medcalf/Pullen 1925 Bentley Super Sports

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Class winners Pioneer Cars David Ayre/David Duncan 1907 Itala 40

the newly repaired 1907 Itala, last year’s winners Paul Crosby and Ali Procter in the 1939 MG TB Supercharged, and Peter Lovett and © ERA/Gerard Brown David Richards, Chairman of the MSA, in the 1937 Frazer Nash BMW 328. There were special awards for three of the 107 crews Class winners 1920-1948 upto 1500cc Crosby/Procter that crossed 1939 MG TB Suercharged

June 2018

the start line at Brooklands Motor Museum on Thursday, as the event returned to its roots with an exciting Class winners Lovett/Richards 1937 Frazer Nash BMW 328 new ‘Brooklands to Edinburgh’ route over four days of exceptional motoring. The Spirit of the Rally award went to Jef and Anton Van © ERA/Gerard Brown Hoylandt in the 1934 Lagonda M45 Tourer, while the ‘Concours d’Elegance award went to Rob and Hayley Stoneman in the 1935 Spirit of the Rally award winners Jef & Anton Van Alvis Hoylandt 1934 Lagonda M45 Tourer Firebird Special. The award for the Best Dressed Crew was split between two crews, with an award given to each of the navigators. Marina Goodwin in the 1934 Talbot 105 Alpine, with husband Graham, and Ann Boland in the 1929 Bentley Page 10

Class 3, All Cars 1920 to 1948, 1501 to 2500cc 1st Peter Lovett & David Richards 1937 Frazer Nash BMW 328 -1991cc 2nd Stephen Owens & Nick Cooper 1937 Jaguar SS100 - 2500cc 3rd Gavin & Diana Henderson 1939 Frazer Nash BMW 328 -1971cc Class 4, Vintage 1920 to 1930, over 2500cc 1st Peter Neumark & Guy Woodcock 1922 Bentley 3-41⁄2 - 4398cc 2nd Hugh Apthorp & Graeme Brown 1929 Bentley 41⁄2 - 4500 3rd Jonathan Procter & Joe Twyman 1925 Bentley 3-41⁄2 - 4398cc Concours d’Elegance winners Rob & Hayley Stoneman 1935 Alvis Firebird Special

41/2, with husband Andrew, both received the accolade. Rally Director Fred Gallagher said: “This event has got better and better year after year. The standard of cars and driving is excellent, but the credit must go to the navigators who face an intense challenge. Our thanks go to every crew and marshal who has contributed to this fantastic event over the past ten years.” For all the results and the latest updates on the forthcoming ERA events, visit www.endurorally.com The 10th Flying Scotsman - 2018 - Awards Overall Awards 1st Gareth Burnett & Matthew Vokes 1939 Alta - 2000cc 2nd William Medcalf & Andy Pullan 1925 Bentley Super Sports 5300cc 3rd Bill Cleyndert & Dan Harrison 1925 Bentley 3-41⁄2 - 5300cc Class 1, Pioneer Cars - pre-1920 1st David Ayre & David Duncan

Class 5, Vintageant 1931 to 1948, 2501 to 4000cc 1st David Thomson & Alan Smith 1936 Talbot 105 Alpine - 3377cc 2nd Rob & Hayley Stoneman 1935 Alvis Firebird Special - 3571cc 3rd Rudi Friedrichs & Helga Friedrichs 1933 Alvis Speed 20 SA - 2566cc Class 6, Vintageant 1931 to 1948, over 4000cc 1st James Gately & Tony Brooks 1937 Cadillac Convertible - 5670cc 2nd Willem & Ellen Vermeulen 1936 Alvis Speed 25 - 4300cc 3rd Alain Janssens & Luc Bresseleers 1938 Bentley Derby Special 4250cc Lucky Dip Team Winner - MHR 2 Alan Beardshaw & Peter Fletcher 1934 Aston Martin Ulster - 1500cc Gavin & Diana Henderson 1939 Frazer Nash BMW 328 - 1971cc Peter Lovett & David Richards 1937 Frazer Nash BMW 328 - 1991cc © ERA/Gerard Brown

1907 Itala 40 - 7500cc

Class 2, All Cars 1920 to 1948, up to 1500cc 1st Paul Crosby & Ali Procter 1939 MG TB Supercharged 1466cc 2nd Shane Houlihan & Richard Pain 1937 Riley 12/4 Special - 1492cc 3rd Andrew Davies & Jonathan Davies 1936 Riley 12/4 Special - 1500cc June 2018

Class winners vintage - Neumark & Woodcock 1922 Bentley 3-4 1/2

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Vintageant 1931 to 1948, 2501 to 4000cc Class winners David Thomson & Alan Smith 1936 Talbot 105 Alpine

Vintageant 1931 to 1948, over 4000ccClass winners James Gately & Tony Brooks 1937 Cadillac Convertible

Best Dressed Crew - navigator Ann Boland in the 1929 Bentley 4 1/2

June 2018

Best Dressed Crew - navigator Marina Goodwin 1934 Talbot 105 Alpine

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Andrew Bailey and Philippa Spiller 1918 Stutz K Roadster

Trevor Finn and Lorna Hackett 1936 Alvis Tourer

Arjen Geirnaet and David Meeuws 1931 Lagonda 2L Supercharged

Keith Weed and Richard Holmes 1940 Pontiac Silver Steak

Peter Kappler and Peter Horsburgh 1930 Aston Martin International

Shane Houlihan and Richard Pain 1937 Riley 12/4 Special

June 2018

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ÂŠ Janet Wright

Ferrari Challenge Europe. Silverstone. 27-29th April 2018. By Simon & Janet Wright Trofeo Pirelli Martin Nelson (Scuderia Autoropa) 11th leads Vicente Potolicchio (Rossocorsa) 3rd in first race.

June 2018

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ÂŠ Janet Wright

races, with the Pirelli Classic Series supporting the main race activity. The three day meeting held practice and a couple of Tests on Friday, but the main action started on Saturday with the Ferrari Challenge Coppa Shell first qualifying session. American Jean-Claude Saada put his Ferrari 488 Challenge car on pole position by almost two seconds for the first race ahead of Vladimir Hladik from the Czech Republic and Italian Manuela Gostner. The fastest of the S-Am class was 6th placed Alexander Nussbaumer from Austria. Saada led off from the start and held the lead for the first lap before dropping down to 17th position and fighting his way back to 12th by the end of the race. It was Hladik in the Baron Motorsport Ferrari who took the lead which he held through to the chequered flag, to ÂŠ Simon Wright

Jean-Claude Saada claimed pole for the Coppa Shell races

The Ferrari European Challenge 2018 arrived at a very cold and damp Silverstone at the end of April for the second round of the series, following the prologue at Misano and the first round at Mugello in Italy. There are three Ferrari Challenge series, Europe, which is the oldest, North America and Asia -Pacific. The Ferrari Challenge is the widest ranging one make series in the World. It was started in 1993 and all events are FIA approved. The championship has proved to be a great success because all participants are dealers or authorised race shops which means that the cars are closely matched and the emphasis is on driver ability. There are three categories in each race: Trofeo Pirelli, Trofeo Pirelli Am and Copa Shell, which includes further classes like the Gentlemen Cup, for drivers over 55, and in Europe and Asia there is the Ladies Cup for women. The Ferrari 488 Challenge is the first one make series for a turbo car created for the non female series and runs in the main June 2018

Vladimir Hladik Ferrari 488 Challenge won the first Coppa Shell race

win by over four and a half seconds. Dutch driver Fons Scheltema for Kessel Racing took 2nd place and Gostner took 3rd for Ineco-MP Racing. Nussbaumer in his Formula Racing Ferrari 488 Challenge took the S-AM class win in 5th overall. The second race saw Saada on pole position again in his Page 15

Rossocorsa Ferrari ahead of Swiss driver Christophe Hurni in his Team Zenith Sion - Lausanne Ferrari and Swedish driver Ingvar Mattisson in his Scuderia Autoropa Ferrari. As the race started on Sunday, Saada again had his luck run out and he was out on the first lap. This left Hurni to lead from start to finish, winning by just over a second. Behind, the battle for 2nd was initially led by Mattisson, who won Alexander Nussbaumer won the S-AM class, until at half distance. the S-AM class in Coppa Shell Race 1 Hladik passed him for 2nd but he had to secumb to Italian Erich Prinoth in his Ineco MP Racing Ferrari by lap nine where they stayed till the end. As they left Silverstone, Prinoth was leading the championship by fourteen points from Hladik and Gostner.

Ingvar Mattsson Scuderia Autropa won the S-AM class Coppa Shell Race 2

The Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli saw German Bjorn Grossmann claim pole position in his Octane 126 Ferrari 488 Challenge from Danish driver Niklas Nielsen in his Formula Racing 488 and Vicente Potolicchio from Venuzalia in his Rossocorsa 488. Leading P-AM class driver was local British driver Chris Froggatt in his Ferrari GB 488. The first three places remained static through the race with Grossmann winning by over two seconds from Nielsen, with Potolicchio a

Christophe Hurni won the 2nd Coppa Shell race.

June 2018

Bjorn Grossmann in the Octane 126 Ferrari 488 Challenge won the first Trofeo Pirelli race. Page 16

Trofeo Pirelli Henry Hassid (Charles Pozzi) 6th in first race. © Janet Wright

Trofeo Pirelli John Sawbridge (Ferrari GB) Ferrari 458 Challenge finished 12th © Simon Wright

Ferrari Formula Classic Tim Walker Ferrari 355B finished7th © Janet Wright

Coppa Shell Tommy Lindroth (Baron Motorsport) Ferrari 488 Challenge 15th in first race

June 2018

Ferrari Formula Classic Richard Moseley Ferrari 328 GTB finished 10th. © Simon Wright

Coppa Shell David Lim (Formula Racing) and Manuela Gostner (Ineco - MP Racing)

Ferrari Formula Classic Richard Fenny Ferrari 308 GT4 finished 14th. © Simon Wright

Coppa Shell Thomas Gostner (Ineco MP Racing) Page 17 7th Race 1

Chris Froggatt took both P-Am class wins in the Ferrari GB 488 Challenge car in the Trofeo Pirelli races

further seventeen seconds behind. British driver, Sam Smeeth was 4th while Froggatt took the P-AM class win in 7th overall. The second race on Sunday saw Grossmann start again from pole position but this time Nielsen got the drop on him to lead from start to finish, winning by just over two seconds from Grossmann. Frenchman Henry Hassid in his Charles Pozzi 488 held 3rd place throughout, with Smeeth taking another 4th place and Froggatt taking another class win in 7th again. This left Nielsen leading the championship by twelve points as they left Silverstone, from Grossmann and Hassid. © Simon Wright

Niklas Nielsen in the Formula Racing 488 won race 2 of the Trofeo Pirelli

June 2018

Supporting the Ferrari Challenge at Silverstone was the Ferrari Owners Club Great Britain Pirelli Ferrari Formula Classic series which qualified on Saturday and had their race on Sunday. Now in it’s fifteenth year, the race had attracted a twenty two car entry, which unfortunately Ferrari Formula Classic winner Wayne Marrs dropped to twenty Ferrari 355 Challenge after one had technical problems in mid-week testing and the Ferrari 550 of Peter Fisk had an off in free practice on Friday. The race was a mixture of Ferrari 355 Challenge cars, 328 GTBs, a Mondial T, © Janet Wright a pair of 355Bs, a 328GTS and several 308 GTB and GT4s. Tim Mogridge put his Ferrari 355 Challenge car on pole position, ahead of Gary Culver in a Ferrari 328 GTB. At the start, the second row of

Ferrari Formula Classic Chris Goddard Ferrari 308 GTB won his class

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Group. The other class winners were 4th placed Chris Butler in his Ferrari 328 GTB, 11th placed Chris Goddard in his Ferrari 308 GTB and 16th placed William Moorwood in his Ferrari 328 GTB.

Ferrari Formula Classic Class winner Chris Butler Ferrari 328 GTB

Wayne Marrs and Tristan Simpson both made slow starts, which allowed third row man Chris Butler to shoot through to 3rd at the first corner. However by the end of the first lap of the Grand Prix circuit, Marrs in his Ferrari 355 Challenge car had recovered, and taken the lead from Culver and Mogridge. The first three had more pace on the damp track and pulled well ahead of the rest of the field with Mogridge moving into 2nd and having a battle through the race with Culver, swopping positions during the eight lap race. At the chequered flag, Marrs took the win by just 0.533 of a second ahead of Mogridge, with Culver just another 0.388 of a seond back in 3rd and winning his

In between the races were a couple of Passione Ferrari track sessions each day which saw various Ferrari road going suopercars taking to the circuit for high speed demonstration runs. There were also impressive static displays of Ferrari sports cars in both the paddock and outside the Wing. The next race of the Ferrari Challenge series is at Misano in June, followed by Brno, Barcelona and Monza. © Simon Wright

Ferrari Formula Classic 1st Marrs 355 Challenge, 2nd Tim Mogridge 355 Challenge 3rd Gary Culver 328 GTB

June 2018

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Ferrari 348 GTS

Ferrari Enzo © Simon Wright

Ferrari 412

Ferrari 559 GTB

June 2018

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British Hillclimb Championship Rounds 1 & 2 at Prescott April 29th. By Syd Wall.

Â© Syd Wall

Will Hall scooped FTD on the very last run of the day

June 2018

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Ben Stephenson upheld the honour of the small engined cars when it dried out, scoring a point in his first run-off

have the reliability it didn’t have last year. The close competition was shown by the three stars leaving Prescott equal on points at the head of the championship. Richard Spedding was the victor on both rounds of the second Prescott meeting last year and did well again with two 4th places in his new GWR Raptor Mistral despite some gearbox mapping problems (but see championship update below). Two big engined Gould GR55s took alternate 5th and 6th places for Dave Uren and Jason Mourant, leaving them joint 5th in the table. Alex Summers & Paul Haimes had led a massive 25 car entry in the Class I class runs and continued the battle in the championship run-offs, swapping 7th and 8th places to end tied in 7th place. Les Mutch qualified for both run-offs but had a fail on the second and ended the day tied for 9th place with Robert Kenrick who only qualified and scored in the morning run-off.

A wet and windy Prescott greeted the teams for the first rounds of the 2018 British Hillclimb Championship. The especially dismal Saturday practice sessions favoured the smaller Class I cars with 2015 champion Alex Summers leading the way (not in his DJ Firestorm which is still being repaired after the big accident at Gurston Down last year) but while Sunday started with a still wet track and a freezing wind, conditions improved, the track dried, times tumbled throughout the day for all the classes and the larger cars took station at the front.

Wallace Menzies narrowly took the first round from Trevor Willis and Will Hall. At the end of the day, Will Hall set FTD at 30.04s, a fraction under half a second faster than Willis and third placed Menzies. Hall’s Force-WH-Xtec-AER gives around 750 hp from its turbocharged engine and looks to June 2018

Paul Haimes took 7th & 8th in the run-offs

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ÂŠ Syd Wall

Ian Daniels took a class win in his rare 2.5 litre Reliant Sabre 6

June 2018

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Trevor Willis on his way to 2nd place in run-off 2

Wallace Menzies on his way to winning run-off 1 here and overall lead at the end of day tied with Willis & Hall © Syd Wall

Steve Owen qualified twice and scored in the morning to tie in 10th place with Ben Stephenson, delighted with a point in his very first championship run-off. Championship positions after round 1: 1= Menzies, Willis and Hall 18pts; 4 Spedding 14; 5= Uren and Mourant 11; 7= Summers and Haimes 7; 9= Mutch and Kenrick 2; etc Series update after the third event at Harewood. Spedding has dropped off the leader board after an oil leak and fire at the second venue, Craigantlet, ended in two non-scores. But he was back in action at Harewood, his rebuilt supercharged 1300cc Suzuki engine now bordering on 500hp! Championship positions after round 6: 1 Willis 54pts; 2 Menzies 52; 3 Hall 48; 5 Mourant 37; 6 Dave Uren 28; 7 Haimes 15; 8 Mutch 12; 9= Fidoe, Nicola Menzies and Ray Rowan 9 Peter Joy’s beautifully presented 1959 Lotus 7

June 2018

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Richard Spedding grabbed two 4th places in his new supercharged GWR-Raptor

Peter Stader’s unusual 1.7 Hillman Minx © Syd Wall

Flat out here, Jason Mourant swapped 5th and 6th places with Dave Uren

June 2018

Dave Uren loses traction after launching into run-off 2

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New Unnamed Classic Car Group meeting Old Wagon & Horses Public House, Near Stourbridge By Simon Wright ÂŠ Simon Wright

Pontiac Firebird

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Now that summer is on it’s way, lots of local car meetings are now switching from Sunday morning ‘Breakfast’ meetings to early evening meetings during the week and others are adding them as additional social get togethers. With nice weather making for long sunny evenings, these meetings do attract a large number of classic car owners, who like to look after their vehicles during the winter, so that they can use them in the summer. This was the first evening meeting of 2018 for the New Unnamed Classic Car Group, and they were greeted with a lovely bright evening. Meeting at the usual location of the Old Wagon and Horses public house, between Stourbridge and Kidderminster. There was a good turn out of vehicles, including many classic cars, plus some more modern cars of interest. The first car to catch the eye was a 1973 crimson 5.6 litre Pontiac Firebird. The Firebird model was built between 1967 and 2002 as a pony car to take on the Ford Mustang in the market place. The one on show here was a second generation model, that were built between 1970 and 1981. This was a two door coupe, built in Ohio. The total production figures for 1973 were 46,313. © Simon Wright

MG Lineup

These events enjoy support from the Central Region MGF Register who always have a good turn out of British built MG sports cars and saloons. They tend to line up together across June 2018

MG 1300 Saloon

the back of the field and usually have a good mix of MG TF sports cars and MG Zs and ZT saloons. At this meeting there was a nice 1969 MG 1300 saloon complete with black vinyl roof. This was the MG sporty version of the popular Austin Morris 1300 saloon, powered by the 1275cc A series engine and fitted with the unique Hydrolastic suspension system. The A series engine was transversely mounted, driving the front wheels, like the original Mini. The MG version was launched in 1962 as a 1100cc car, but when the Mark 2 was launched in 1968, it was fitted with the larger 1275cc A Series engine and twin SU carburettors. This developed around 70 bhp. In total, around 26,000 MG versions were built between 1962 and 1971. Probably the biggest rival to the Austin/Morris1100/1300 range in the early 1970s was the Ford Escort. The car was first introduced in 1968 by Ford Europe. It was a traditional styled 3 box saloon with a rear boot and a front engine, rear wheel drive Page 27

Ford Escort

transmission system. The car was available with a range of different engine sizes from 1 litre through 1.1 litre, 1.3 litre, and 1.6 litre, all cross-flow designs. There was also a 1.6 litre Lotus © Simon Wright Twin Cam version, 1.6 litre Cosworth BDA version, 1.7 litre Cosworth BDB version and a top of the range 2 litre Pinto engine. It was also available as a two door or four door saloon and an Estate car. The second generation model Escort was built between 1974 and 1982. There was a fine example of a blue 1977 2 litre Ford Escort Mk 2 on show. A more unusual car, tucked away on the edge of the field was a 1994 Nissan Skyline GTS 25T. This is a June 2018

supercar designed to look more like a luxury saloon. It’s 2.5 litre Double Overhead Cam turbocharged engine produces 246 bhp and features NVCS (variable inlet cam phasing). The two door coupe design VW Beetle complete with rear spoiler can do 0-100 kms/hr in around 6 seconds. On some models, the top speed is limited to 180 KM/Hr. Even so this is a very competent Grand Tourer. At the other end of the performance scale was a red 1967 Volkswagen Beetle. Fitted with an air cooled 1493 cc engine, mounted in the rear of the car, the Beetle was originally designed as a cheap “peoples” car. It was manufactured from 1938 until 2003. Its concept was formulated by Adolf Hitler, who wanted a cheap simple car to be mass produced for the people. The lead engineer on the project was Ferdinand Porsche, so it was the fore-runner to all later Porsche sportscars. By 2003, over 21,529,464 were built, making it the longest running and most manufactured car on a single platform.

Nissan Skyline GTS

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© Simon Wright The three wheeled car was made popular with the Reliant Robin starring in the TV show “only Fools and Horses’, but it was not the only three wheeled car available in the 1970s. The Bond Bug was a quirky three wheeler, only available in a tangerine orange colour. Six white Bugs were Bond Bug made for a Rothmans cigarette promotion, and three are believed to still exist. The Bond Cars Ltd company was purchased by Reliant, and the Bond Bugs new chassis used Reliant Regal running gear. The car didn’t have conventional doors, the whole top half of the body lifts up, tilting from the front. Powered by a 700cc Reliant light alloy four cylinder engine, originally developed from the Austin 7. Later models had an uprated 750cc engine. When launched it developed 29 bhp, while the up-market 700ES model produced 31 bhp. A total of 2,270 were built between © Simon Wright 1970 and 1974. One of the major motor manufacturers in the recent past was Austin Morris, many of which were built at nearby Longbridge. Some cars, like the Mini and Metro were built in large numbers, where as other models were built in much smaller

June 2018

MG TA

© Simon Wright volumes. One such model had the code name ADO 17 or more commonly known as the Austin Morris 1800 or 2200 depending on the engine fitted. At the Morris 2200 meet was a green 1975 Morris 2200. Fitted with the transverse mounted 2227cc E Series engine, which is a single overhead cam straight 6 engine. This was one of the last of the 2200 that was built between 1972 and 1975. Very few of this model have survived on the roads, one reason being that the bodyshell was exceptionally strong which made it a popular choice for Banger Racing and Destruction Derby events! One thing that meets like this bring out is the vast development that has taken place in car production over the past 100 years. A good example of this, in black and white, was a black 1986 © Simon Wright Ford Sierra RS Cosworth parked nose to nose with a white 1937 MG TA Midget.

Ford Sierra RS Cosworth

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Both, in their day would have been considered a high performance fun car. The MG was powered by a small 1141cc engine with twin carburettors. It could reach 80 mph with a 0 - 60 mph time of 23.1 seconds. The black Ford Sierra Cosworth with its large tea tray rear wing and massive exhaust pipes, has a 2 litre, turbocharged engine developing over 200 bhp. It has a maximum speed of 149 mph with a 0-60 mph time of 6.5 seconds.

Ford Capri

Mini © Simon Wright

Cobra © Simon Wright

June 2018

Interesting line up

Ford Classic Capri

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Ford Capri

Beach Buggy

Ariel Atom 500

Lotus Excel

Ford Cortina

Triumph GT6 © Simon Wright

June 2018

Vauxhall VX220 and Jaguar XK8

Austin A30

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British GT & British F3 – Rockingham 28-29th April 2018 By Stuart Yates and David Goose of Motorsport Imagery.

The UltraTek Racing Team RJN Nissan 370Z GT4 of Stephen Johansen and Jesse Antilla with a sideways Fox Motorsport Mercedes behind

June 2018

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This year’s annual visit to Rockingham would be the first of the 2 hour endurance races for the 2018 season. Saturday dawned with the forecast wet weather taking a grip at the Northamptonshire circuit. As qualifying got under way on a wet but drying track it was Phil © Motorsport-imagery Keen who driving superbly in the tricky condition Pole position for Phil Keen s would give the Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3 pole position for Sundays race. Championship leaders Jon Minshaw and Phil Keen now had the best possible chance to overturn a 20s pitstop success penalty. Optimum Motorsport’s Flick Haigh and Jonny Adam would start in second place in their Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 ahead of TF Sport’s similar Aston Martin of Mark Farmer and Nicki Thiim in third. GT4 grid would see a Tolman Motorsport front June 2018

row with Charlie Fagg and Michael O’Brian on pole in their McLaren 570S GT4 ahead of sister car driven by Jordan Albert and Lewis Proctor. Race day and the weather was dry and sunny, conditions which would produce a frantic race, which also had a batch of penalties handed out along with four safety car periods. The result of all this would give ERC Sport’s Lee Mowle and Yelmer Buurman victory in their Mercedes-AMG GT3. Luck was not with Barwell Motorsport’s Jon Minshaw who would twice have substantial leads cut due to Safety Car periods. Optimum’s Flick Haigh gave chase initially before losing out to Sam De

A great victory for Lee Mowle and Velmer Buurman Mercedes-AMG GT3

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Runners up Ian Loggie and Callum Macleod Bentley Continental GT3

Haans Lamborghini Huracan before the first Safety Car period, which was triggered by Shaun Balfe’s McLaren hitting the Turn 12 wall. Haigh’s excursion at Tarzan just after the restart promoted Graham Davidson in the Jetstream Aston Martin up to third behind De Haan. A second Safety Car period followed, © Motorsport-imagery being triggered by David Pattison’s beached Tolman McLaren, when Davidson dived down Shaun Balfe and Rob Bell McLaren 650S GT3

June 2018

the inside at Deene. The race had come to ERC Sport, it was getting away from Barwell whose challenge faltered at the pitstops. First, De Haan’s Huracan – due to inherit second place – was retired with a clutch problem before co-driver Jonny Cocker had a chance to re-join. The pitstops also put paid to Barwells second place when Race Control handed Minshaw and Keen a subsequent 10s stop/go penalty for an infringement. Joining Mowle and Buurman on the podium were TF Sport’s Derek Johnston and Marco Sorensen in the Aston Martin V12 Vntage GT3 – who were subsequently penalised 30s post-race. In the end final GT3 position were: Lee Mowle & Yelmer Buurman in the Mercedes, Ian Loggie & Callum Macleod in the Team Parker Racing Ltd Bentley Continental GT3 in second and Andrew Howard & Darren Turner in the Beechdean AMR Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 in third. © Motorsport-imagery

Third place finish for Andrew Howard and Darren Turner Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 Page 34

completed the podium in their Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4. Matthiesen managed to climb two places to second,after making a superb start in the opening laps before attacking race leader Charlie Fagg in the Tolman Motorsport Ltd McLaren 570S GT4. Ben Green’s BMW M4 made it a three-way scrap for the lead initially before an excursion at Deene dropped the M4 down to seventh. © Motorsport-imagery

GT4 Winners Callum Pointon and Patrick Matthiesen Ginetta G55 GT4

HHC Motorsport’s Patrik Matthiesen and Callum Pointon claimed their maiden British GT4 victories at Rockingham, driving a Ginetta G55 GT4 while UltraTek Racing Team RJN’s Stephen Johansen and Jesse Anttila were the first Pro/Am pairing home, driving a Nissan 370Z GT4 in second overall. Academy Motorsport’s Matt Nicoll-Jones and Will Moore © Motorsport-imagery

Ben Green & Ben Tuck in the Century Motorsport BMW M4

UltraTek backed up its best-ever British GT4 result by also taking fourth overall and a Pro/Am one-two courtesy of Kelvin Fletcher and Martin Plowman in a Nissan 370Z GT4 , who both produced standout performances in their respective stints. Indeed, the latter made the decisive move on O’Brien on the final lap. Going into the next round at Snetterton it puts Callum Pointon and Patrik Matthiesen 12.5 points ahead of Michael O’Brien and Charlie Fagg in the GT4 Championship. GT4 pole for Charlie Fagg and Michael O’Brien McLaren 570S GT4

June 2018

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Second place start for Flick Haigh and Jonny Adam © Motorsport-imagery

Jordan Albert and Lewis Proctor McLaren 570S

Mark Farmer and Nicki Thilm would start third © Motorsport-imagery

Kelvin Fletcher & Martin Plowman with a thirteenth place finish in a Nissan 370Z GT4 © Motorsport-imagery

June 2018

The Team HARD. with Trade Price Cars Ginetta of Anna Walewska & Callum Hawkins-Row on the Rockingham OvalPage 36

ÂŠ Motorsport-imagery

Hard charging Jamie Chadwick

June 2018

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contend with an early safety car period after several cars went off on the first lap. Championship front-runners Nicolai Kjaergaard and Clement Novalak were among the casualties on an eventful first lap, with Kjaergaard falling to third in the standings after his early © Motorsport-imagery

A maiden pole position for Tom Gamble

Moving on to the British F3 Championship qualifying, and after a late flying lap Fortec's Tom Gamble sealed his maiden pole position after a closely fought session between Gamble, Jamie Chadwick, Jordan Cane, Clement Novalak and Linus Lundqvist. After a difficult session championship leader Nicolai Kjaergaard would start down in twelve position. Making the most of his pole position Tom Gamble took his first single seater race win at a wet Rockingham. After making a fine start he was never seriously challenged despite having to June 2018

Jusuf Owega slightly sideways

retirement. Behind Gamble Linus Lundqvist came second, Jordan Cane third. After her fourth place start © Motorsport-imagery Jamie Chadwick could only manage a ninth place finish. A thrilling race two at Rockingham saw Lanan Racing’s Kush Maini come from fifth on the grid to take his first British F3 victory. This gave us five winners from the seasons first five races. Carlin’s Nicolai Kjaergaard came second after starting back in 13th position,

Race two victor Kush Maini

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Linus Ludqvist © Motorsport-imagery

Linus Lundqvist came third. After finishing fourth Jamie Chadwick was given a 5 second penalty for track limits which © Motorsport-imagery

An up and down weekend for Billy Monger

June 2018

Manuel Maldonado

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dropped her back to tenth. Continuing his comeback Billy Monger initially finished in the top six but was handed a three second penalty which dropped him back to seventh. In the third and final race at Rockingham it was Double R racing’s Linus Lundqvist who would take victory coming from a third place start and in so doing extending his championship lead. It was a hard fought victory with constant pressure coming from Nicolai Kjaergaard who finished runner up and pole sitter Kush Maini in third with just 0.638s covering the top three. Another disappointing finish for Billy Monger, who had a coming together with Tom Gamble at Deene which forced him to retire with just over a lap to go.

Clement Novalak failed to finish race 1 after a first lap incident

Tristan Charpentier

June 2018

Third place in Race 1 for Jordon Cane

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ÂŠ Pete Austin

Archive Photo of the month. By Pete Austin. At the recent Silverstone Classic Media day Martin Brundle was filming for Sky Sports driving a Ferrari 246 Dino and sporting a Mike Hawthorn style bow tie. Presumably this will be shown as a tribute to Hawthorn who won the World Championship 60 years ago. This months photo shows Brundle driving a Tyrrell 014 Renault in practice for the 1985 European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch. He retired from the race itself with a water pipe failure.

June 2018

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Donington Historic Festival. 4th-6th May 2018. Donington Park By Simon Wright.

ÂŠ Simon Wright

Jon Minshaw had a very busy Historic Festival, here in the Audi A4 in the Super Touring Car Challenge race where he finished 5th .

June 2018

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The new grandstand at Hollywood offers great views over the circuit. U2TC Trophy class winners P & D Mursall BMW 1800Ti

This annual fixture, running on the National circuit, is the highlight of the Donington Historic season. With all qualifying taking place on Friday, it allows the weekend to run twenty races, covering all types of historic racing categories covering pre-war right up to 2005 for single seaters, sports cars, GT and Touring cars. Car clubs put on displays of members vehicles in the infield area and Historic rally cars gave demonstration runs round a course laid out on the Melbourne © Simon Wright loop. Many of the racing categories enjoyed two races over the weekend. Jaguar display on the infield

June 2018

Starting both days of the weekend in great style were the Pre 61 front engined FJHRA/HSCC Silverline Formula Junior single seaters. Formula Junior was first introduced 60 years ago as a training ground for future Grand Prix drivers. Ray Mallock put his U2 Mk2 on pole position, in probably the only series where the U2 is not unique in being front engined! Chris Drake was 2nd in the Terrier Mk 4 Series 1 and Mark Woodhouse was 3rd in the Elva 100. The © Simon Wright first three were all within a second. In the first race, Drake took the initial lead, with Mallock right behind, until lap 5 when they swopped positions. They were Ray Mallock won the second Front engined Formula Junior race

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Gemini pair James Owen just ahead of Ralf Emmerling in the front engined Formula Junior race

together for the whole race, but Drake went through to the lead on lap 11 to win by just 0.36 of a second from Mallock. In 3rd place, over 25 seconds behind, was Alex Morton in the Condor SII, while Woodhouse had dropped back to 7th. The second race on Sunday saw Mallock start from pole again and this time he led the majority of the race, with Drake always in his shadow. Drake did manage to lead one lap in the middle of the race, but Mallock made sure of staying in front at the last lap to win by a clear five seconds with Darke 2nd and Morton taking another 3rd

These were the most modern cars racing over the weekend, from the mighty 2 litre Super Touring Cars of the 1990s and the pre-1990 Group A cars, battling with pre-2006 FIA S2000 and invited BTC cars. This allowed Vauxhall Vectras, BMW 318s and 320s, Alfa Romeo 155 and 156s to fight it out against Honda Accords, Peugeot 406s and Audi A4s. This was one of the smaller entries for the meeting with just eleven cars. James Dodd took a very close pole position from John and Gary Pearson in their Audi A4 by just 0.641 of a second. Former BTCC Champion John Cleland took third place on the grid in his Vauxhall Vectra. in the first race Dodd lead from start to finish, © Simon Wright

Abigail Eaton took a couple of class wins in her Holden Commodore James Dodd dominated the Super Touring Car Challenge in Honda Accord

position. The Super Touring Car Challenge for 1970-2005 Touring cars were the second race on Saturday and seventh race on Sunday. June 2018

with Cleland following for the whole race to finish 0.562 of a second behind in 2nd place. The Pearson’s had dropped to 7th on the first lap but slowly climbed back to 3rd place by the end of the first race to win their class. Not to be bored, they also took another class win in their Alfa Romeo 156SP in 9th place. Page 44

Nick and Harry Whale took another class win in 4th place in their BMW M3, and Abigail Eaton in her immaculate Holden Commodore in 5th place. Finally Eric Mestdagh in his popular BMW CSL took the final class win in 8th place. The second race started with the grid in the finishing order of the first race and saw Dodd take a second win from Cleland, while Harry Whale finished 3rd to take another class win in the BMW M3. Eaton was 4th in the Holden Commodore to take her 2nd class win of the meeting, along with Mestdagh in 6th. The Pearsons managed to retire both their cars which gave the final class win © Simon Wright

L&M Halusa were fastest in the Ferrari 250GT Breadvan in the Pre 63 GT race

in this race to Keith Butcher in his Audi A4. Keeping the variety going was the Pre-63 GT race on Saturday. This one hour race featured some icon cars, like the Ferrari Breadvan, Aston Martin DB4GT, the AC Ace, MGA twincams, SZ Alfa Romeo, Lotus Elite and E-Type Jaguar. To the delight of the crowd, the iconic Ferrari 250 GT ‘Breadvan’ of M & L Halusa took the closest of pole positions by just 0.190 of a second from the Aston Martin DB4GT of Friedrichs/Hadfield. Adding to the variety, the Jaguar E-Type of current British GT pairing Jon Minshaw and Phil Keen was only a further 0.666 of a second behind, 3rd on the grid. The Ferrari Breadvan looked impressive for the first twelve laps while in the lead, until it June 2018

© Simon Wright retired. first it was chased by the E-Type of Minshaw and Keen, and then by EType of Andrew Kirkaldy took the lead when the Breadvan dropped out, until it’s pitstop on lap fourteen. This put the Minshaw/Keen E-Type back in to the lead until lap 20 when they pitted and retired. This promoted the Friedrichs/Hadfield Aston Martin in to the lead, which they held all the way Jose Zanchetta retired the Chevrolet Corvette C1 in the Pre 63 GT Race to the finish. The first three remained in the same order for the last nineteen laps, with the Aston Martin winning by over twenty six seconds from the Grant-Peterkin/Blackeney-Edwards AC Cobra. The only other car on the same lap was the 3rd placed Jaguar E-Type of Cottingham/Stanley. Showing the variety in the field, in 4th place was the Austin Healey 3000 Mk2 of class winners Van Lanschot/Le Blanc, one lap behind the winner. The other class winners were 10th placed Lambert/Markovac in a Ginetta G4, 13th placed Shears/Gurney Morgan Plus 4 Supersport, 3 laps behind, and finally 15th placed Pritchard Jones/Crewdson © Simon Wright

Friedrichs/Hadfield Aston Martin DB4GT won the Pre 63 race

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Michael Lyons Lola T400 won both Derek Bell Trophy races

Brashaw in another Formula 5000 car next up in his March 73A. Mark Dwyer in a March 742 and David Tomlin in a Rondel Motul Mi were both in Formula 2 cars in 3rd and 4th on the grid. Both races saw Michael Lyons lead from start to finish, followed closely all the way by Brashaw. In the first race, Dwyer lead the Formula 2 battle until lap twelve when he retired leaving the class win, and 3rd place overall to Tomlin in the Motul. The Class E winner was 5th placed Christopher Atkinson in a Surtees TS8, and class B went to Frazer Gibney in a March 76B. In the second race, Gregory Thornton make it a Formula 5000 1-2-3 in his Surtees TS11 to finish 3rd and took a class class win. Tomlin made it two class wins in a row in 4th place in his Formula 2 Rodel. Class B was taken by Keith Norris in his © Simon Wright

Turner Mark III, 4 laps behind. Switching back to single seaters, the HSCC Derek Bell Trophy for Formula 5000 and Formula 2 single seaters 1967-1979 had a twenty minute race each day. It is interesting that round the Donington Park circuit, the nimble 2 litre Formula 2 cars can easily hold their own against the far more powerful, but earlier built 5 litre Formula 5000 cars. That is unless Michael Lyons is taking part! Michael was over two seconds faster in qualifying, than anyone else in his Formula 5000 Lola T400, with Jamie © Simon Wright

David Tomlin F2 Rondel Motul Mi won his class in race 2

June 2018

Nick & Harry Whale BMW M3 E30 won the Historic Touring Car Challenge with Tony Dron Trophy

Chevron B49 in 8th place. The Motor Racing Legends Historic Touring Car Car Challenge with Tony Dron Trophy was a single sixty minute race on Saturday. The grid of pre-1991 British and European Touring Cars included such classics as the Rover Vitesse SD1, the BMW CSL ‘Batmobile’, the Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 and the Broadspeed Jaguar XJ12C. However it was the BMW M3 E30 that dominated practice with Page 46

Class winners Snowdon/Guest Alfa Romeo GTV6

Nick and Harry Whale took pole position by just 0.292 of a second ahead of the similar M3 of Smith and Moulton-Smith. Steve Soper and Chris Ward got to within a second of the BMWs with the Bastos Rover Vitesse. For many fans, this race was one of the high-lights of the weekend as a full grid of thirty nine cars rocked off the start towards Redgate. The race was a BMW benefit, with the Whale BMW M3 leading until its pits stop. The Smith/Moulton-Smith M3 then took over at the front until they pitted for the driver change which let Eric Mestdagh in his suerb BMW CSL offically lead one lap before he made his compulsary pit stop. This put the Whale M3 back in the lead, which they held until the finish. The other BMW M3 of Smith/ Moulton-Smith was over thirty six seconds behind at the finish, © Simon Wright

just ahead of the class winning Bastos Rover of Ward and Soper in 3rd. The only other car to compete the full 45 lap distance was Mestdagh in his class winning BMW CSL in 4th place. In 5th place was yet another class winning BMW, the 635 of Bland and D’Cruze. Another solo driver, Alex Thistlethwayte, took 6th in his class winning Chevrolet Camaro. In 7th was Patrick Watts in his class winning Ford Capri Mk3 S. The other class winners were 9th placed Morris and Shephard in their Volkswagen Golf GTi Mk1, 15th placed Snowdon and Guest in an Alfa Romeo GTV6 and 18th placed Caton and Swadkin Ford Escort Mk 1 RS1600. The final three class winners in the race were Tom Pead in his BMW 1600Ti, k © Simon Wright

Winner U2TC Steve Soper Ford Lotus Cortina

& T Clarke in their Triumph Dolomite and Paul Clayson in his Alfa Romeo GTV6. After the lunch break on Saturday was the first of two U2TC Trophy for pre-66 under two litre touring cars races. These races are very popular, with large grids of Ford Lotus Cortinas battling for victory against BMW 1800 TiSA and Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA saloons, while the Mini Cooper takes on its old rival the Hillman Imp. This series always provides close and exciting racing, and Steve Soper in a Ford Lotus Cortina took

Class winner Eric Mestdagh BMW CSL finished 4th

June 2018

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pole position by only 0.219 os a second from A & M Banks in the Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA. The first five on the grid were all within the same second. Soper led the first lap from Andy Wolfe in another Ford Lotus Cortina and the Banks Alfa Romeo. Wolfe then took the lead for a couple of laps while soper and the Banks Alfa swopped places behind. Soper then got back in front, all three having a tremendous scrap for the lead. Wolfe then held the lead for five laps while Soper and the Alfa Romeo still swopped places behind. Wolfe pitted first giving the lead back to Soper for a lap until he and the Banks Alfa Romeo both pitted together. This left the lead to Daniele Perfetti in another Ford Lotus Cortina for a couple of laps until he pitted. He also picked up both a 5 second and 10 second penalty for exceeding track limits and eventually finished in 17th place, one lap behind the winner. When he pitted it was Wolfe back in the lead, which he maintained until the flag to win from Soper by just 0.945 of a second with the Banks Alfa Romeo in 3rd. Nick Swift won his class in his Morris Mini Cooper S in 5th overall. The final class © Simon Wright

Pole to 2nd Wilson/Stretton Maserati 250S

winner was the BMW 1800 Ti of P & D Mursall in 19th overall. Another one off race on Saturday was the one hour Motor Racing Legends Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy for pre-56 sportscars. Another large grid, with a fantastic entry saw the Maserati 250S of Wilson/Stretton on pole position by just over 0.272 of a second from the Jaguar D-Type of Monteverde/ Pearson and the Cooper T38 of Wakeman/Blakeney-Edwards was only a further 0.216 of a second further back. The race © Simon Wright

The A&M Banks Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA added a bit of variety to the U2TC grid and finished 2nd in the second race.

June 2018

Wakeman/Blakeney-Edwards won in the Cooper T38

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was initially lead by the D-Type Jaguar of the Pearson brothers John and Gary until their pitstop on lap thirteen. This handed the lead to the Cooper T38 of Wakeman/BlakeneyEdwards until they pitted on lap nineteen. This briefly gave the lead to the Lotus Mk X of Paul/Bourne until their pitstop on lap twenty-three. This let the Wakeman/Blakeney-Edwards Cooper back in to the lead which they held until the end of the race, winning by over © Simon Wright twenty six seconds. The Wilson/Stretton Maserati 250S was 2nd overall and won its class and the Monteverde/Pearson Jaguar D-Type was Cottingham Ferrari 500 TRC 3rd, with the other D-Type driven by the Pearson brothers in 4th and the last car on the lead lap. In 5th overall and winning their class were Paul/Bourne in the Lotus Mk X. In 6th place was another class winner, Rudiger Friedrichs in a Jaguar CType followed by more class winners Ure/Wigley in a Cooper Bristol T24/25. The final class winners were Gane/wolinski in a © Simon Wright

Cameron Jackson Brabham BT2 won both FJunior rear engined races

lovely Jowett Jupiter. Now switching back to single seaters, the FJHRA/HSCC Silverline Formula Junior Championship for Pre 64 front & Rear engined cars had their first race on Saturday and were the final race of the meeting on Sunday. Cameron Jackson in his 1962 Brabham BT2 took pole position by just 0.229 of a second from Sam Wilson in his 1961 Lotus 20/22 with Jack Woodhouse 3rd in another Lotus 20/22. Jackson won both races leading from start to finish. Wilson and Woodhouse battled for 2nd, with Woodhouse ahead in race one and Wilson reversing the result in race two. The other class winners were Peter de la Roche in a Lola Mk3, Jason Williams in a Lotus 20/22, and in the first race, Crispian Besley in a Cooper T56 and Tony Olissoff in an Elfin Mk 1. In the second race it was Jeremy Deeley in a

Class winning Jowett Jupiter of Gane/Zwolinski

June 2018

Peter De La Roche 1961 Lola Mk3 won his class in both races

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son Jordan Austin GT40 took victory by over seven and a half seconds from Brown, while 3rd place went to James Colburn in an Austin A40 Speedwell. Colburn finished 4th, giving Austin a clean sweep. The class winning Jaguar Mk1 of Darren McWhirter was 5th overall, followed by Ding Boston in 6th and winning his TG class in the Riley 1.5 OUMF. The other two class winners were Turral and Diffey in an Alfa Romeo Sprint GT in 11th to take the TG63 class and the Academy class was won by Swaffer and Shawyer in the 12th placed Austin A40 © Simon Wright

Andrew & Mike Jordan won the Touring Greats in the Austin GT40

Cooper T56. Another one off race on Saturday was a forty five minute race for HRDC ‘Touring Greats’ for pre-60 Touring Cars with invited “TC63’. This series features a great range of competing saloons, from the nimble little Austin A35 and A40 to the Italian exotica of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Ti Berlinas and the sturdy Volvo Amazons. Former BTCC Champion Andrew Jordan and his father Mike in their Austin GT40 took a comfortable pole position by over a second from Neil Brown in an Austin A35 Speedwell. Making it an Austin lock out in qualifying, Chrissy Palmer was 3rd in another Austin A40. After twenty six laps, the father and © Simon Wright

Unusual Austin Lancer SII of M&D Green ahead of Austin A35 Speedwell of Pearson/Fores and Jaguar Mk1 of Les Ely

June 2018

Eventual winners Thomas/Lockie Jaguar E-Type had a moment in qualifying when the Rich/Butler E-Type spun in front of it. Pre 66 Jaguar Academy car.

Finishing the Saturday programme was a one hour Jaguar Classic Challenge for pre-66 Jaguar Cars race. This allowed iconic ‘Big Cats’ to stretch their legs around the sweeping turns of Donington Park. Iconic Jaguars like the C-type, the D-type and the E-type to compete in the same race as the Mk1 and Mk 2 saloons and classics like the XK120, XK140 and XK150. With a field of so many similar Jaguar E-Type cars, it was Benjamin Short who claimed pole position by just 0.055 of a second from the Pearson brothers. Short lead until his pitstop on lap twenty seven and by lap twenty five, only the first two were on the lead lap. Initially the Pearson E-Type was 2nd on the first lap, but the Thomas/Lockie went through in to 2nd and held it until lap thirteen when the Pearson’s went back in to Page 50

Variety in the Pre 66 Jaguar race with Jaguar XK150S of Paul Kennelly leads E-Type, Jaguar Mk1 saloon and another E-Type.

2nd for five laps until they took their pitstop, when Thomas/ Lockie went back in to 2nd place again. Short took his compulsary pitstop on lap 27, which gave the lead to Thomas/ Lockie, which they held until their pitstop on lap Thirty Six. They returned to the track still in front of Short and held it to win by over sixteen seconds from Short, even though the winners were given a 10 second penalty for jumping the start. The Pearson © Simon Wright brothers E-Type was in 3rd place. Minshaw and Keen won their class in their E-Type in 7th, with A & G Bull were also class winners in 12th in another E-Type. The final two class winners were Paul Kennely in a Jaguar XK150S in 21st and the Jaguar D Type of Sheppherd/Barrett. On Sunday, the VSCC members got their chance to entertain in the forty minute Mad Jack race for Pre-War Sports Cars. These were the oldest June 2018

cars competing at the meeting, with all sports cars built before 1941. A large field of twenty nine cars saw Wakeman and Patrick Blakeney-Edwards put their little Frazer Nash Super Sports on pole position by just 0.053 of a second from the similar car of Gillett/Williams, with Rüdiger Friedrichs only 0.317 of a second further back in his Alvis Firefly 4.3. Friedrichs was the early Class winner Mad Jacks Gareth Burnett leader from Gareth Burnett Alta Sports 3rd overall. in the Alta Sport and the Wakeman/Blakeney-Edwards Frazer Nash who were having a battle for 2nd. The Frazer Nash of Wakeman/Blakeney- Edwards took the lead on lap nine and Burnett took an early pit stop on lap ten. Friedrichs and Wakeman/Blackeney-Edwards swopped the lead while Tom McWhirter in a Jaguar SS 100 had taken 3rd place until he pitted on lap fourteen. The Frazer Nash of Wakeman/Blakeney-Ewards held the lead until lap seventeen when Friedrichs took the lead and held it to the chequered flag, winning by just 0.496 of a second after forty one minutes of racing. Burnett took 3rd, almost a lap down. All three on the podium won their respective classes. The other class winners were M & L

Mad Jack winner Rüdiger Friedrichs Alvis Firefly 4.3

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Halusa in their Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Zagato Spyder in 6th, Clive Morley in a Bentley 3/4 1/2 in 7th, Richard Iliffee in a Riley Kesteral Sports in 8th and Jock Mackinnon in a Bentley 3 litre tourer in 15th. The last class winner was Rebeca Rettenmaier in 22nd in her Maserati 8C 3000. © Simon Wright

cars had managed to complete 80 laps around the 1.979 mile National circuit. The Pearson E-Type won the race and the GT4 class by 12.649 seconds from the similar E-Type of Clark and Keen with Wakeman and Patrick Blakeney-Edwards were 3rd in their Lister Jaguar Coupe. The first three were the only cars to complete the full distance, with Voyazides and Hadfield in 4th place, a lap behind. The GT3 winners were Corfield and Welch in 6th overall in an Austin Healey 3000. The other class winners were 7th placed Peeters and Zurstrassen who won SP1 in their Lotus 11, while GT2 was won by Ward and Newall in a TVR Grantura Mk III and finally the GT1 class winner was the Lotus Elite of Gordon and Finburgh. © Simon Wright

John & Gary Pearson won the GT & Sports Car Cup race in their E-Type

The longest race of the weekend was a two hour race for GT & Sports Cars Cup for pre-66 GT and pre-63 sports cars. These were the types of cars that raced in the World Endurance Championship in period. With an over-subscribed entry, a maximumof forty cars took the start, with the John and Gary Pearson Jaguar E-Type on pole position by less than half a second from the thunderous AC Cobra of Leo Voyazides and Simon Hadfield. After two hours, these superb GT and Sports © Simon Wright

The Morley Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray was 15th in GT & Sports Car

June 2018

Stirling Moss Trophy for Pre 61 sportscars won by Chris Ward Lister Knobbly

Another Sunday only race was a one hour race for the Motor Racing Legends Stirling Moss Trophy for pre-61 sports cars. This was a prestiguous race, with the winner receiving the actual cup that Sir Stirling Moss won at the 1955 British GP. Oliver Bryant put the lotus 15 on pole position from the Minshaw/Keen partnership, which seemed to be in quite a few of the races, this time driving a Lister Knobbly. Bryant led until his pit stop on lap eighteen which briefy allowed Chris Ward, driving a Lister Knobbly, to lead for one lap, then he pitted, Page 52

After the second race for the Super Touring Car Challenge, the penultimate race of the weekend was a forty five minute race for the HRDC ‘Coys Trophy’ celebrating the BTCC 1958-1966 saloon cars. This race features regular David and Goliath battles between Mini Cooprs battling with Jaguar Mk1 and Mk2, Ford Lotus Cortinas and roaring V8 engined Ford Falcons and Mustangs. Handling at Donington is more important than power as Martin Coys Trophy winner Graham Pattle Strommen proved by getting Oliver Bryant put the Lotus 15 on Pole Stirling Moss Trophy race Ford Lotus Cortina Mk1 pole position in his Ford Lotus Cortina Mk1 ahead of Rob Fenn giving the lead back to Bryant. He continued to dominate until in a Ford Mustang, with the incredible Nick Swift 3rd on the grid lap thirty eight when he retired. This gave the lead back to Ward in his Mini Cooper S. From the start Strommen dropped to 4th who led the last three laps to take victory by over eleven and it was the Thomas and Lockie Ford Falcon that powered in seconds from Minshaw and Keen. Wood and Nuttall © Simon Wright to the lead from the took the last podium step, making it a Lister Knobbly second row of the 1-2-3. The only other car on the lead lap was the grid, chased by Lister Chevrolet of Robertson Smith and Fenn in the Cottingham. The next four places were all taken by Mustang. They class winners, with Ahlers/Bellinger in 5th driving a stayed ike this for Lola Mk1 Prototype. In 6th place and winning the the first seven laps class was the Rejo Mk3 of Harrison/Watts, Costas until the Mustang Michael was 7th in Lotus Xi and the final class made its pit stop winner in 8th place was the Cooper Monaco of and Graham Pattle, Ditheridge/Cannell. who was solo June 2018

Thomas/Lockie Ford Falcon retired in the Coys Trophy

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David Jones Volvo Amazon was 2nd in class Coys Trophy

placed Nigel Batchelor in a Ford Mustang, while the TG class went to Ding Boston in the Riley 1.5 OUMF in 13th. Ben Colburn in a Austin A40 Speedwell won Class S in 17th and the final class winners were Class TC63 went to the Frankel and MacKenzie Alfa Romeo Giulia Super in 21st place. Nigel Batchelor Ford Mustang won his class in 6th with the aid of his afterburners!

driving, moved into 2nd place. The Falcon remained out front until its pit stop on lap 14 which gave the lead temporarily for three laps to the Alfa Romeo Sprint GT of Alexander and Fores. The Falcon soon made up the ground and retook the lead on lap eighteen but five laps later it retired. This gave the back to Pattle in the Cortina from the Alfa Romeo of Alexander and Fores, who in turn were being chased down by Swift in the Mini. With two laps to go, Swift moved into 2nd place and Pattle took the win by over two and a half seconds from Swift and Alexander and Fores took 3rd. The TCV8 class was won by 6th June 2018

Several F1 cars did demo laps at lunch time over the weekend

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GT & Sports Car Cup 3rd Wakeman/BlakeneyEdwards Lister Jaguar Coupe

James Colburn Austin A40 Speedwell passing Tony Hall Vauxhall VX4/90 Touring Greats © Simon Wright

T&H De Silva Jaguar E Type GT & Sports Car © Simon Wright

Adam Simmonds F5000 Lola T142 Derek Bell Trophy © Simon Wright

Darbyshire/Cameron Morgan Super Aero Mad Jack race

June 2018

Raly car action on the Melbourne loop over the weekend

Radcliffe/Osbourne Jaguar Mk1 saloon Pre 66 Jaguar race © Simon Wright

Alex Thistlewayte Chevrolet Camaro Historic Touring Car Challenge

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VSCC Curborough Speed Trials. 6th May 2018. By Simon & Janet Wright.

ÂŠ Janet Wright

Peter Batty three wheels his 1930 Frazer Nash Super Sports to take second in class

June 2018

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Fastest Time of Day went to Ian Baxter in the Alta 61 I.S.

First round of the VSCC Speed Championship took place at the Curborough sprint track, near Lichfield, in the heart of England. Although the event always clashes with the nearby Donington Historic Festival, there was still a full entry for the Speed Trials. With this event steeped in tradition, the club always use the original one lap layout, so that previous records remain the benchmark for current competitors. The two tricky parts of the course are the sharp bends at Molehill and getting the fastest clean exit out of the long Shenstone hairpin on to the main straight. It can be easy to run wide on the exit, but if all four wheels cross the line or leave the track, it is an

Charlie Martin Morgan Special was the fastest young driver.

June 2018

automatic fail and no time is recorded. As usual for these events, the field was split into different classes, giving everyone the chance of taking a victory against cars of a similar performance. The overall winner, taking the Curborough Trophy was Ian Baxter in the 1937 Alta 61 I.S. Single seater racing car with a time of 35.76 seconds. The next overall winner was Tom Walker driving a 1930 Amilcar Hispano Special who set the fastest Vintage © Janet Wright Tom Walker Amilcar Hispano Special was the Fastest Vintage time in 36.31 seconds. The final overall award went to Charlie Martin in the Morgan Special, who was the Fastest Young Driver with a time of 38.35 seconds. The event always starts with the smaller engined cars, and Class 1 was for the Standard and Modified Sports-cars up to 750cc unsupercharged. The fastest time in class went to Gregory Harrison in an Austin 7 Ulster Sport with a time of 48.85 seconds. The first modified Vintage car was Kristoffer AArhus-Hudson with his Austin Ulster Rep Page 57

with a time of 50.45 seconds, while the 1st on Handicap in the class was Daniel Hunter in an Austin Ulster Sports. ÂŠ Simon Wright

Johnson in another Frazer Nash Super Sports, while 1st on Handicap was Andy Cawley in another Frazer Nash Super Sports. Classes 4,5 and 6 were merged into one class for Standard and Modified Sports Cars from 1501 to over 3000cc unsupercharged and over 2000cc supercharged. Fastest was John Gillett in his 1934 MG K3 with a time of 44.18 seconds. Paul Wignall in an Alvis Silver Eagle was the 1st Modified Vintage car in the class and Iain Warner in a Bentley 3 litre was the fastest Standard Vintage. Alexander Duce in a 1937 Delahaye 135 M was 1st in Handicap in class. The Edwardians Class 7 is always a crowd favourite, and fastest was the 1917 Hudson Super Six Racer of Ian Balmforth with a run of 49.81 seconds, while David Jones was fastest on handicap in his Talbot 12 HP. Special Sports cars up to 1100cc unsupercharged and up to 750cc supercharged made up Class 8. Kevin Morton was ÂŠ Simon Wright

Daniel Hunter Austin Ulster Sports won the Handicap in Class 1

Class 2 was for Standard and Modified sports cars 751-1100cc unsupercharged, and up to 750cc supercharged. One car dominated the results, as it was the only car in the class, but honours were split between the two sharing drivers. Raymond Knight was fastest in the Vale Special to win the class with a time of 49.92 seconds. However, the handicap winner was William Lowe with his time of 51.59 seconds in the same car. Class 3 for Standard and Modified Sports Cars 1101-1500cc unsupercharged and up to 1100 cc supercharged was dominated by various versions of Frazer Nash. Tom Waterfield was fastest in his Frazer Nash Super Sports with a time of 40.71 seconds. The 1st standard Vintage in class was David June 2018

Roger Collings Bentley 4.5 litre Parkwards S

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Miss Annie Walker Frazer Nash Martyr Spl © Janet Wright

Simon Eames Wolseley Hornet Special © Simon Wright

David Marsh Bugatti Brescia 2 Str

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Class winner Winston Teague Wasp Single Seater had a spin on one run

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Terence Watson 1933 Riley Rowson

fastest in his Riley 9 Special with a time of 45.24 seconds. Robert Moore in a little Austin 7 was the 1st Vintage car in class, and the Handicap winner was Clive Bergman in an Austin 7 Special. Class 9 was for Special Sports Cars 1101-1500 cc unsupercharged and up to 1100cc supercharged. Greg Lerigo in a Riley Special was fastest with a time of 40.40 seconds, while another Riley Special driven by Peter Hopkinson was first on handicap. Class 10 for Special sports cars 1501-3000cc unsupercharged and up to 2250cc supercharged saw Simon Skelding set the fastest time in class with a 44.54 seconds in his 1911 AC 16/80 Special. The Handicap winner in the class was Roy Newton in an MG J2. Regular VSCC front runner Dougal Cawley was easily fastest in Class 11 for Special June 2018

Sports cars over 3000cc unsupercharged and over 2250cc supercharged. His 1929 GN/Ford Piglet set a time of 38.57 seconds, over three seconds faster than 2nd in class. The handicap class winner was Christopher Batty James Edwards Morgan Super Aero 2 STR in a Frazer Nash Super Sport. We now moved in to the Racing Car classes, where the faster cars show their performance. Class 13 for Pre-41 Racing Cars up to 1100cc was won by Winston Teague in his colourful Wasp single seater with a time of 39.83 seconds. George Scholey in an Austin Ulster was 1st on handicap. Class 14 for Pre 1941 Racing Cars 1101-1500cc saw Charlie Martin in the spectacular Morgan Special set the fastest time in class with a 38.35 seconds. He also took the Young Drivers Fastest time of day overall. The Handicp winner was Ms Hannah Enticknap in a Morgan GN Salome. Class 15 for Pre-1941 Racing Cars 1501-3000cc saw the fastest time of the day set by Ian Baxter who took the Curborough Trophy in his Alta 61 I.S. Single seater. The Handicap winner in the class was

Mark Walker GN Thunderbug tests curborough new wind tunnel!

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Ms Hannah Enticknap 1924/26 Morgan GN Salome

Christopher Rhys-Jones in a 1934 Lagonda Rapier Special. The final class, 16 for Pre 1941 Racing Cars over 3000cc saw Tom Walker in the 1930 Amilcar Hispano Special set the fastest Vintage time of the day overall with a run in 36.31 seconds. The final class handicap winner was Julian Grimwade in his 1934 Frazer Nash Single seater. The event has a garden party feel to it, with many of the spectators arriving in their vintage limousines and having a lovely picnic while watching the cars on track competing. This is one event where the value of the cars in the spectator car park can easily match the value of the cars in the paddock. © Simon Wright

John Deveuve 1907 Humber 15hp

June 2018

Bob Drewitt 1922 Swift Anzani Special

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Neil Thorp Hudson Spikins Special

Mrs Claire Furnell-Williams Austin 7 The Toy

George Scholey 1931 Austin Ulster © Janet Wright

Tom Waterfield 1929 Frazer Nash Super Sports © Janet Wright

June 2018

Jeffrey Edwards Alvis Sports Special

Mark Purnell Riley Special

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Plymouth Belvedere outside the River Rooms

June 2018

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the River Rooms. Now that the light night summer evenings are here, even more people turn out with their cherished American vehicles. This is not a place for typical English or European classic cars, the meetings are specifically for the American, Custom car and hot rod owners and big American bikes like the Harley Davison. The May meeting had a really good turn out on a sunny evening. The main car park behind the River Rooms soon filled with American cars and trucks, plus various hot rods and custom cars. First to catch the eye was a flame red 1995 5.7 litre Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. The Firebird model was built between 1967 and 2002, designed as a Pony car to compete with the © Simon Wright

Greasy hold car meets every second Wednesday evening of the month, all through the year, for Hot Rods, Muscle cars, sickles and anything American. The evening meetings are held just off Stourbridge ring road with two large car parks. During the cold, dark, winter months, some hardy souls still turn up in the hot rod or American car, while others just turn up for the social event in © Simon Wright

Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

Chevrolet Camaro, Buick LeSabre and Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme

June 2018

Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro. This was a fourth generation model with extreme aerodynamics compared to previous models. The basic Firebird was powered by a 3.8 litre V6, producing 200 hp. The Formula and Trans Am models were fitted with the 5.7 litre LT1 V8, identical to the engine in the C4 Corvette except for more flow-restrictive intake and exhaust systems. Page 64

The beauty of this event is the contrast in the vehicles. Next to the modern supercar looking Pontiac was a 1934 Ford Hotrod with a bright green and white paint job and a full exposed 5.2 litre V8 engine and half exposed front wheels. The next car was © Simon Wright

Chevrolet 5100 Pickup truck

1934 Ford Hot Rod

At this point a monster truck growled on to the car park, a 1958 Chevrolet 5100 pickup truck, with raised bodywork and large tyres and a 5.7 litre engine. This was a nice contrast to another pickup truck on the other car park which had been lowered to the point where it would not clear any speed humps in the road. The lowered pickup truck was a 1953 Ford F100 which is powered by a 3936cc engine. © Simon Wright

another modern American muscle car, a 2013 red Chevrolet Camaro with a black bonnet. This 6.2 litre monster is a 5th generation pony car from Chevrolet, which began producing the Camaro back in 1967. After the more modern supercars, it was back in time to a 1973 Buick LeSabre. This model had the new Federally mandated 5 mph front bumper and a new vertical bar grille and a 7.5 litre engine. Parked next to it was a 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme 2 door coupe powered by a 5.7 litre engine. The Cutlass Supreme was a mid-sized car produced between 1966 and 1997. This was a second generation model. June 2018

1953 Ford F100 pickup truck

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Ford Popular - Anglia

A sort after British car for hotrod conversion is the 1950s ‘sit up and beg’ Ford Popular/Anglia range. There were a couple on the car park. One was a 1954 Ford Anglia which looked immaculate with its blue paint job and “Boss Tin” on the doors. The other was a 1954 Ford Pop that is both lower and wider and appears to be undergoing restoration. © Simon Wright

Ford Anglia

June 2018

1957 Mercury Station wagon

A two tone 1957 Mercury station wagon burbled in to the car park, the 5.2 litre © Simon Wright engine typical of most American cars of the period, when fuel was cheap, and size meant everything. Even at low speeds, the V8 engine has a distinctive sound. The muscle cars continued to arrive, with a classic Ford Mustang joined by a Dodge Challenger, a Chevrolet Corvette and a Ford Torino Dodge Challenger

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Ford Hot Rod

1955 Ford F100 V8 pickup truck in red, 1947 Ford Pickup truck and 1987 GMC Van

1976 Lincoln Continental Mk IV

Ford Coupe

2007 Chrysler convertible

1949 6.6 litre Chevrolet pickup truck

June 2018

Ford Torino

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Silverstone Classic Preview Day Silverstone By Simon & Janet Wright with additional photos by Pete Austin

ÂŠ Pete Austin

June 2018

Jaguar Mk1

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Touring Car celebration about to go on track

Silverstone Classic held their preview event at the beginning of May at a very wet Silverstone. In front of the media, many teams and drivers took the opportunity of testing round the full circuit prior to the event on the weekend of the 20th to the 22nd of July 2018. Cars from most of the different races were lined up in the pit garages at the Silverstone Wing, and were allocated different track sessions, with similar type cars, single seaters, sports cars, saloons etc. After lunch, the weather cleared up and finally the sun even came out, so most of the drivers who tested in the rain, could later test in dry weather all in one day, so whatever happens in July, those June 2018

who attended the launch day should be well prepared no matter what the weather Gods throw at them. An interesting addition to the day was the presence of both Sky TV and Channel 4 filming historic pieces to celebrate 70 years of Grand Prix racing for their British Grand Prix programs. Sky had their main presenter and former Grand Prix driver Martin Brundle dressed up in a 1950s outfit, complete with dicky bow, to represent British World Champion Mike Martin Brundle Hawthorn. He was driving the Ferrari 246 Dino as used by Hawthorn in 1958, round the circuit while being filmed for a piece for the Sky F1 coverage which will be shown during their British Grand Prix program. Meanwhile, British TV host company Channel 4 had three former F1 drivers in attendance. Nine time Grand Prix Winner and FIA World Endurance Champion Mark Webber, former Grand Prix driver Karun Chandok © Pete Austin and former Williams F1 test driver

Chandok, Webber & Wolff

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the same era. Joining them in the pit garage was the voice of Motor racing Murray Walker OBE who was there to be presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Another famous Grand Prix face present was engineering genius and current Chief Technical Officer at Red Bull Racing, Adrian Newey OBE. Considered to be one of the best engineers in Formula 1,

Martin Brundle Ferrari 246 Dino

Susie Wolff MBE. They were all wearing white overalls and period open face helmets for a photoshoot in the garages and then were filmed driving round in formation at the wheel of three vintage Grand Prix cars during the lunch break on a very wet circuit. Webber took to the track in a ERA GP1 E-Type as raced in the first Grand Prix in 1948. Chandok took to the wheel of a Alta and Wolff was in a Cooper Bristol Grand Prix car, both from

Murray Walker OBE

Newey’s designs have won over 150 Grand Prix and ten World Constructors Championships, with three different teams, Williams, McLaren and Red Bull. When not at the race tracks with his job at Red Bull, Adrian likes to compete in historic motor racing. He has competed in Tour Britannia and various historic races. he has previously raced a Ford GT40. He was out driving his Formula 1 Gold Leaf Team Lotus 49 © Pete Austin

Webber, Wolff & Chandhok on track

June 2018

Adrian Newey

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Jonathan Kennard - Tyrrell 011

Williams FW07

June 2018

1979 Shadow DN9

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Jason Plato and Ash Sutton

Another celebration at this years Silverstone classic will be 60 years of the MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC). There will be several races covering various periods of the history of the championship over the Classic weekend. At the launch were four former champions: John Fitzpatrick, Rickard Rydell, Jason Plato and current champion Ash Sutton with the Subaru Levorg. Between the four drivers, they have won more © Janet Wright than 125 races. Fitzpatrick is the oldest surviving Champion, born in Birmingham in 1943, he June 2018

took the British Saloon Car Championship in 1966 driving a 1000cc Ford Anglia for Team Broadspeed. Swedish driver Rydell took the British Touring Volvo S40 Car Championship 20 years ago in 1998 at the wheel of the Volvo S40 which was at the track for the media day. Jason Plato has won the British Touring © Janet Wright Car Championship twice in 2001 for Vauxhall and 2010 for Silverline Chevrolet, and on the day he was driving his current mount, the Subaru Levorg. Other Austin A40 Championship cars present on the day were the 1994 Volvo 850 Estate, Frank Gardner’s 1968 championship winning Alan Mann Ford Escort, and the 1960 Championship © Janet Wright winning Austin A40 of George ‘Doc’ Shepherd. These cars will be back at the Classic as part of a 60 car Diamond Anniversary Parade on Tin Top Sunday. Another series celebrating its Diamond jubilee is Formula Alan Mann Ford Escort Mk1

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Junior, which already has over 100 cars entered for the Silverstone Classic event in July. A new series for this years Classic is the Masters Endurance Legends series which will feature multiple gold medal winning cyclist Sir Chris Hoy. This will be one of three sports car and GT races paying tribute to the Daytona 24 hours race in a ‘Daytona at Dusk’ on Saturday evening. The other two races are The International Trophy for Classic GT Cars and the

Lola T70

FIA Masters Historic Sportscars. Away from the track, car clubs will take over the infield of the circuit with many anniversaries being celebrated. These include 50 years of the front engined V12 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona. This was named in honour of the 1-2-3 finish Ferrari had in the 1967 Daytona 24 Hour race. The Pininfarina styled Grand Tourer was built between 1968 and 1973, during which © Simon Wright

Peugeot 908 Le Mans car

June 2018

Ferrari Daytona Celebration of 50 years

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1,406 were built. this included 15 light weight competition cars that took GT class wins at Le Mans in 1972, 1973 and 1974. Also the Aston Martin DB1 and DB 4, which impressed in the paddock and on the track at the media launch, will celebrate

Susie Wolff

Aston Martin DB1

their 70th and 60th anniversaries respectively. Porsche will also be celebrating the 70th anniversary of its first model, the 356, which entered © Pete Austin production in 1948. The nippy little Austin Healey Sprite is another model turning 60 this year, while the Jaguar XK 120 has it’s 70th celebration this year. Paddy Hopkirk & Jeremy Vaughan with

the RAC Trophy

June 2018

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Jaguar line up between the trees

June 2018

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The Federation of British and Historic Vehicle Clubs ‘Drive It an annual event where all classic and historic vehicle owners are encouraged to go for a drive in their cherished vehicle. The event is to raise awareness of the large and important extent of the Classic Vehicle movement in the UK. The Federation is a group of over 450 clubs and museums and around 1,500 trade and individual supporters. Their aim is to continue the freedom to use old vehicles on the roads without any undue restriction. Drive It Day this year was Sunday 22nd April 2018, and there were major meetings being held all around the Riley Elf country. One of the biggest was held at Bicester Heritage where the event coincided with their popular Sunday Scramble meetings. The one we attended was another large gathering of several hundred vehicles at the National Memorial Arboretum, near Lichfield, Staffordshire. The car displays were all within the grounds of the Arboretum, with car club and individual cars on show. The cars had to be on display between 11am and 4pm, which gave the owners ample opportunity to enjoy the sunshine, and also explore all the memorials that are in the National Memorial Arboretum. There were some very interesting cars scattered throughout the grounds, as well as some fine examples of more popular classic and vintage models.One of the most eye catching, due to the bright colour June 2018

Lancia Delta Integrale

scheme, was a replica of a Martini racing Lancia Delta rally car. There was a good turn out of Jaguar owners, with the Jaguar Enthusiasts Club, North Staffordshire region had vehicles lined up together. Most were more modern saloons and sports cars, but right in the middle was the unmistakeable bonnet of the amazing E-Type Jaguar sports car. Facing the Jaguars were various classic cars from the 1950s and 1960s. In these vehicles were some very nice examples of British motoring history, including an immaculate 1968 Maroon Daimler 2.5 saloon which was almost identical in external appearance to a pale blue 1968

Daimler 2.5

Jaguar 3.4

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Rolls Royce

Wolseley1500

Sunbeam Talbot 90

June 2018

Austin 7 car and van

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Jaguar 3.4 saloon in the Jaguar lineup. The only external difference was the Jaguar on the bonnet which is replaced by a D on the Daimler. © Simon Wright

Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Corvette, Buick8

Just opposite was probably the ultimate Japanese sports car, the incredible Honda NSX, which was developed by Aryton Senna in conjunction with Honda. All the popular British saloons Honda NSX from the 1950s and 1960s seemed to be represented, with cars from Ford, Austin, Morris, Hillman, Wolseley, Vauxhall and Triumph, plus foreign favourites like the original Volkswagen Beetle.

Lined up next to the Jaguars were a selection of American cars. A 1988 white Ford Mustang convertible had its 5 litre engine on display, and parked next to stunning red 1977 5.7 litre Chevrolet Corvette. In complete contrast the next car was twice as high as the Corvette, a 1937 maroon 5.2 litre Buick 8 Saloon. It had a straight eight cylinder engine which gave around 90 bhp at the time. Drive it day is open to any classic car and at the Arboretum there were © Janet Wright several Toyota MR2 sports cars. This was supposed to be a rival to the very popular Mazda MX5, and the Toyota MR2 was a more advanced design with its mid-engined configuration, but there are far more MX5’s on the road than the MR2. Toyota MR2

June 2018

Volkswagen Beetle

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ÂŠ Simon Wright

June 2018

Morris Minor Traveller

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There were also a pair of replica Ferrari sports cars, one of which was a superb recreation of the Ferrari Dino Le Mans which took part in the 1972 Le Mans 24 hours race. The Dino 246 GTS belonged to Luigi Chinetti’s North American Racing Team (N.A.R.T.) and was fitted with a 3.2 litre V6 engine. It made its only Le Mans 24 Hours race in 1972 driven by Gilles Doncleux/Pierre Laffeach and Yves Forestier. They finished in 17th position overall and were 7th in the Index of Performance category. © Simon Wright

June 2018

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With the Arboretum being in the staffordshire countryside, it was fitting that there was a line up of historic tractors on display.

1930 Buick saloon

June 2018

Moving round to the main display area were quite a few vintage vehicles including a Bull nose Morris, plus an unusual pair of American cars from the period, a 1930 Buick saloon and a 1933 black Chevrolet saloon complete with white wall tyres. There were also several vintage Rolls Royce saloons

Ford Zodiac engine and car

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MG Magnette

Humber Pig Armoured Personnel carrier

The Cars were parked around the war memorials

June 2018

Talbot, Singer Gazelle and Singer Vogue

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Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup

ÂŠ Simon Wright

Silverstone 18th-20th May 2018. By Simon & Janet Wright

Vaxiviere/Dennis/Thiim dominated the race from start to finish in the Aston Martin V12 Vantage of R-Motorsport

June 2018

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Jordan Witt, Ricardo Sanchez and Struan Moore Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 finished 29th

The winning Aston Martin had a good lead on the first lap

The Blancpain series is probably the best GT series in the World at the present time. Fifty cars took the start at the Silverstone round in Great Britain, with a great mix of manufacturers represented. All the major European and some Asian GT manufacturers have cars in the field, including Mercedes, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Porsche, Bentley, Audi, Lexus, Jaguar, Lamborghini, BMW, Nissan and McLaren. With such a large entry, the qualifying sessions were broken down in to different sections to allow all the drivers an equal opportunity. After qualifying it was the British built Aston Martin of RMotorsport that claimed pole position, driven by Matthieu Vaxiviere, Jake Dennis and June

Nicki Thiim. Showing how close the regulations make this racing, the Mercedes-AMG Team Akka ASP team MercedesAMG GT3 driven by Tristan Vautier, Adam Christodolou and Raffaele Marciello were along side on the front row of the grid only 0.159 of a second behind, and the Emil Frey Lexus racing team were 3rd with the new Lexus RC F GT3 driven by Marco Seefried, Christian Klien and Albert Costa just a further 0.1 of a second behind. As the 3pm start came round, © Simon Wright forty nine cars took the start with the No 7 Bentley of Guy Smith, Jules Gounon and Steven Kane starting from the pits due to last minute dramas, while the No 8 Bentley had to start from the back of the grid after failing to get all three drivers to set a qualifying time due to power steering problems in Qualifying. The lead Aston Martin ran away on

Fontana/Zaugg/Grenier Emil Frey Jaguar dominated the Silver class until the rear wheel fell off 2018

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the first lap, already having quite a lead down the Hanger straight. The Mercedes held second place while the second R-Sport Aston Martin of Alex Brundle, Maxime Martin and Marvin Kirchhofer had moved up to 3rd, from 4th on the grid and was trying to challenge the Mercedes for 2nd place in the early laps. After the first hour and a 2nd placed Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Vautier/ third Christodoulou/Marciello of the way into the race it was the Lexus RC F GT3 of Markus Palttala, Stephane Ortelli and Norbert Siedler that was in the lead by just 7 seconds ahead of the MantheyRacing Porsche 911 GTR3 R of Dirk Werner, Frederic Makowiecki and Roman Dumas. In 3rd place was the Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS of Pieter Schothorst, Steijn Schothorst and Kelvin van der Linde some thirty seconds further back. Showing how well these regulations work, 4th place was held by the Garage 59 McLaren 650 S June 2018

Mikhall Aleshin, Miguel Molina and Davide Rigon Ferrari 488 GT3 finished 7th

GT3 of Andrew Watson, Come Ledogar and Ben Barnicoat. First place in the Silver Cup Class was 5th placed Abdulaziz Al Faisal, Hubert Haupt and Gabriele Piana in the Black Falcon Mercedes-AMG GT3. The Pro-Am Cup leader was in 6th in the © Simon Wright Ram Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 driven by Darren Burke, Salih Yoluc and Euan Hankey. The AM Cup was being lead by Alexander West, Chris Harris and Chris Goodwin in the Garage 59 McLaren 650 S GT3. The initial leading Aston Martin had dropped down to 8th, nearly 53 seconds behind the leader, due to its scheduled pitstop, having dominted the race up to that point. By two thirds distance, or two hours in to the race, the Manthey-

Raffaelle Gianmaria, Ezequiel Perez Companc and Giovanni Venturini, 30th in a Lamborghini Huracan GT3

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Michele Beretta, Sandy Mitchell and Martin Kodric who were only a couple of seconds behind. The Pro-Am Cup was now being led by the AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 of Duncan Cameron and Matt Griffin, now a lap down on the leaders. The AM Cup lead was now in the hands of Jon Minshaw, Adrian Amstutz and Leo Matchiski in the Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3 which had a five second advantage over the Garage 59 McLaren 650 S GT3 of West, Harris and © Simon Wright

Porsche 911 GT3 R of Dirk Werner, Frederic Makowiecki and Roman Dumas was 11th

Racing Porsche 911 of Werner, Makowiecki and Dumas was now in the lead by just over ten seconds from the Rowe Racing BMW M6 GT3 of Jesse Krohn, Connor de Phillippi and Jens Klingmann, while the Vaxiviere, Dennis and Thiim Aston Martin had dropped to 3rd due to its normal pitstop, with the first twenty one cars still on the lead lap. At this stage the Silver Cup class was still being led by the Black Falcon Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Al Faisal, Haupt and Piana back in 18th overall, but were in a battle with the Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3 of © Janet Wright

Pieter Schorthorest, Steijn Schothorst an Kelvin van der /linde were 19th in the Audi R8 LMS Goodwin.

Andrew Watson, Come Ledogar and Ben Barnicoat McLaren 650 S GT3 came 15th

June 2018

At the end of the three hour race, the winners were the RMotorsport Aston Martin V12 Vantage of Vaxiviere, Dennis and Thiim that took victory, just under eleven seconds ahead of the Mercedes-AMG Team Akka ASP Mercedes of Vautier, Christodoulou and Marciello. The Aston Martin had dominated the race, only loosing the lead during pitstops. The Emil Frey Page 86

Lexus Racing Lexus RC F GT3 took 3rd place and the last step on the podium driven by Palttala, Ortelli and Siedler, after fighting off the No 1 Audi of a charging Dries Vanthoor in the closing stages of the race. The Silver cup class was won by the Black Falcon Mercedes of Al Faisal, Haupt and Piana, one lap behind the overall race winners. This was after the Emil Frey Jaguar of Alex Fontana, Adrian Zaugg and Mikael Grenier dropped out from leading the Silver class in the last hour when it lost its right rear wheel at Luffield after a pitstop. The Pro-Am Cup class was won by the Ram Racing Mercedes_AMG GT3 of Burke, Yoluc and Hankey and finally the AM Cup Class was won by the Garage 59 McLaren 650 S GT3 of West, Harris and Goodwin. After 3 hours racing there were still seventeen cars © Simon Wright

Jesse Krohn, Connor de Phillippi and Jens Klinkmann were 13th in the BMW M6 GT3

on the lead lap, a testament to the close and competitive nature of this series. Local hero Guy Smith ended his driving career with Bentley, after an illustrious career with the marque, finishing 21st after the team had problems early in the race, but he was given a fitting send off from the fans and his collegues from his home race. After the race, the 4th place finishing Belgian Audi Club team WRT remain at the head of the Endurance Cup standings with June 2018

Silver Cup driversMads Siljehaugh, Lenny Marioneck and Patric Niederhauser Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX finished 23rd

No 1 Audi of Dries Vanthoor, Chris Miles and Alex Riberas now 11 points clear of the No 76 R-Motorsport Aston Martin trio. On the team side the gap is closer with just 5 points separating WRT from R-Motorsport. In the Pro-Am class there is a three way tie for the lead between Rinaldi Racing, Strakka Racing and AF Corsa, which all have 30 points from the first two events. The Silver Cup is lead by the No 6 Black Falcon crew, who now enjoy a 10 point lead over the No. 54 Jaguar. Finally in the Am Cup it is the No. 89 AKKA ASP team of Eric Debard, Phillipe Glauque and Fabien Barthez who are in the top position after winning the class in Monza and finishing 2nd in class at Silverstone.

Bentley Continental GT3 of Guy Smith, Jules Gounon and Steven Kane Page 87 started last and finished 21st

Close racing! Alexander West, Chris Harris,Chris Goodwin McLaren 650 S GT3 ahead of Alex Brundle, Maxime Martin, Marvin Kirchöfer Aston Martin V12 Vantage © Janet Wright

Jürgen Häring, Edward Lewis Brauner, Wolfgang Triller Porsche 911 GT3 R

June 2018

Thomas Jäger, Oliver Rowland, Adrien Tambay Mercedes-AMG GT3

Marco Seefried, Christian Klien, Albert Costa Lexus RC F GT3

Jon Minshaw, Adrian Amstrutz, Leo Matchiski Lamborghini Huracan GT3

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ÂŠ Simon Wright

team. The former 2016 British F4 Champion won the race from pole position and set the fastest lap on the way. American driver Logan Sargeant was 2nd and the rookie winner in the race. Former French F4 Champion of 2016 and current Championship Max ; won the first race for R-ace GP leader Ye Yifei from Supporting the Blancpain were a couple of races from the China finished 3rd, Charles Milesi won the 2nd for R-ace GP Eurocup Formula Renault series. Since 1971 Formula Renault gaining valuable points. Italian Lorenzo Colombo finished in 4th has discovered some of the greatest drivers in the World, as has and Russian Aleksandr Vartanyan was 5th. Into 6th place proved an ideal training ground for future Formula 1 drivers. came French driver Victor Martins. The second race on Sunday People like Alain Prost, Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton saw local hero Fewtrell retire which left Frenchman Charles have all progressed Milesi to take the race win from pole ÂŠ Simon Wright through Formula position for the R-ace GP team. Renault, which is Sargeant took the runners up spot proving to be an ideal again, with Yifei taking a second training ground for the consecutive 3rd place. Australian champions of Oscar Piastri was in 4th place and tomorrow. The first Danish driver and reigning SMP race was on Saturday Formula 4 champion Christian and proved to be a Lundgaard was 5th. Proving to be local dream result for consistent, Martins took his second local driver Max consecutive 6th place in the second Fewtrell, racing for the race of the weekend. Aleksandr French R-ace GP Arthur ; ;; Motorsports spun at Club. Thomas Maxwell JD Motorsport Vartanyan set fastest lap. June 2018

took avoiding action

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H Koller/E. Liberati Pro-Am class leads the pack round Luffield

The other supporting series for the Blancpain at Silverstone was the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Europe, where drivers compete in identical Lamborghini Cup cars based on the Lamborghini Huacán LP © Janet Wright 620-2 which has replaced the older Gallardo model. This was the second round of the series with two races over the weekend. Saturdays race proved to be the second consecutive victory of the season for Vito Postiglione and Karol Basz in their Imperiale Racing Team W. Van ; Lamborghini Cup class

June 2018

Lamborghini, while on Sunday it was Giacomo Altoè and Daniel Zampieri for Antonelli Motorsport Team. In the Pro Am class it was three in a row for winners Juan Perez and Loris Spinelli in the Antonelli Motorsport car which won the class in both races. The Am class was also won in both races by VS Racing with Andrej Lewandowski and August MacBeth, their first wins of the seaon. Finally the Lamborghini Cup victory went to Joseph Collado in the AGS Events car on Saturday and 2017 Champion © Simon Wright Gerard Van Horst took his first win of the season on Sunday. Altoè/Zampieri won the second race

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