Classic and Competition Car 110 November 2019

Page 1

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

Issue 110 November 2019

Classic and Competition Car Founded 2010

BTCC Silverstone.

Sunday Scramble Bicester Heritage

Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000

Castle Combe Autumn Classic

WRC Wales Rally GB


Contents

Page 5

News.

Page 12 BARC Sprint Curborough

Page 4 Photo of the Month.

Page 34 VSCC Prescott Long Course.

Page 41 BRSCC Mallory Park

Page 18 Bathurst 1000

Page 49 Sywell Classic, Piston & Props

Page 27 Red Oktober Page 54 BTCC, Silverstone

Page 61 VSCC Vintage Welsh Trial.

Page 68 Archive Photo of the month.

Front cover: Bathurst 1000 Mclaughlin & van Gisbergen lead battle © Syd Wall. BTCC Silverstone © Motorsport Imagery Sunday Scramble © Simon Wright. Castle Combe Robin Pearce AC Ace led the FiSCar race ©Peter McFadyen WRC Wales Rally GB © Motorsport Imagery.

Classic and Competition Car

Page 69 MSVR Race meeting Donington.

Our Team. Simon Wright - Editor. Janet Wright - Staff Photographer. Independent Freelance contributors in this issue: Pete Austin, Peter McFadyen, & Syd Wall. Plus David Goose & Stuart Yates of Motorsport-Imagery.

November 2019

2


Page 75 Autumn Classic Prescott Hill Climb

Page 103 WRC Wales Rally GB

Page 114 VSCC Madresfield Vintage Driving Tests

Page 84 Sunday Scramble Bicester Heritage

Page 95 Castle Combe Autumn Classic

Page 108 Wales Rally GB National Rally

Page 111 WRC Wales Rally GB Historic display

Page120 Closing Shot You can download or read online Classic and Competition Car magazine from our web site at www.classicandcompetitioncar.com All previous issues can be downloaded from the Previous issues page on our web site

For motoring events we suggest The motoring Diary web site 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

November 2019

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 As well as this magazine, you can follow us on Twitter @classcompcarand join our Facebook Group Classic and competition car

To Subscribe for free and be notified when the next issue is published please email simon.wright@classicandcompe titioncar.com To check out our web site with additional photos please visit www.classicandcompetitioncar.com

3


Š Syd Wall

Photo of the month

Hazelwood/Smith lead Coulthard/D’Alberto, Heimgartner/Fullwood and the helicopter through the Esses during the Bathurst 1000 in Australia.

Classic and Competition Car

November November2019 2019

4


News

Š Peter McFadyen

One of the Group C Nimrod Aston Martins took part in a lunchtime high speed demonstration at the Castle Combe Autumn Classic meeting. It was marking the 60th anniversary of the marque’s Le Mans win

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

5


© Janet Wright

David Coulthard, BRDC President. The British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC), who own Silverstone, have announced that former Grand Prix driver and current Channel 4 Grand Prix commentator, David Coulthard MBE has been elected as President of the BRDC. This took place at the Club’s Annual General Meeting which took place at Silverstone circuit on Tuesday 24th of September 2019. He takes over from Paddy Hopkirk MBE Who had held the position since 2017. David Has been a member of the BRDC since 1989 when he won the British Formula Ford Championship and became the first recipient of the prestigious BRDC McLaren Autosport Award. He won the Macau F3 Grand Prix in 1993 and joined Williams as a test driver in 1993 and became a full time driver for the team in 1994. He finished 3rd in the World Championship in 1995 for Williams. His first Grnd Prix victory was with Williams in Portugal in 1995. He joined McLaren in 1997 and took 12 Grand Prix victories up to 2004. He also finished runner up in the 2001 FIA World Championship to Michael Schumacher. He finished his driving career with 3 years at Red Bull Racing, which he joined in 2005.He is now best known as Grand Prix commentator for Channel 4.

Classic and Competition Car

© Motorsport-Imagery

Dan Harper - Porsche Champion. Becoming the Youngest ever winner of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB, teenager Dan Harper secured his title at Silverstone. Flying High. Al-Attiyah is the new champion of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship after winning the Rally Cyprus in his Volkswagen Polo Gti R5

November 2019

6


Š Motorsport-Imagery

Flying Tanak on the move.

Ott Tanak showed his intent from the start of Wales Rally GB. Apart from an issue with the light pods on the Yaris he seemed to have a relatively clean run through to victory. Having clinched the 2019 WRC World Championship title, he has now announced his move to Hyundai for the 2020 season.

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

7


ATS Dragon. The new division of ATS Automobili, ATS Corsa is making a comeback to the racing circuits with a new in-house developed car, the RR Turbo. Customers get a Chromium molybdenum spaceframe chassis weighing only 40kg without roll-bar. The chassis tubing are welded to form a central tub which offers a spacious cockpit. Powered by a modified 2 litre Honda turbocharged in line 4 cylinder engine, which produces up to 600 hp and 530 Nm of torque.It is matched to a six speed 3MO FTX sequential gearbox by a monoblock ergal bellhousing which acts aa a support for the suspension, dampers, wing mount and exhaust. It also features a Limited Slip Differential and has ATS-Sicom carbo-ceramic discs, double wishbone pushrod suspension with electronic Tractive shock absorbers, adjustable via a touchscreen display in the cockpit. Finally Michelin tyres aid the cars handling. It is eligible for German VLN, French VdeV, CIVM and European hill climbs and pices start at â‚Ź110,000 plus local taxes, with first deliveries expected in Spring 2020.

Classic and Competition Car

Hyundai Veloster N ETCR Hyundai Motorsport has begun testing the Veloster N ETCR electric racing car at the Hungaroring, near Budapest, ahead of its racing debut in 2020. The car completed two days trouble free running to start an extensive development program. The engineers wanted to learn more about the chassis balance and to harness the power of the midmounted electric motor driving the rear wheels. The batteries are fitted in the floor, and double wishbone rear suspension, the chassis is radically different to any previous Hyundai Motorsport project.

November 2019

8


New Fiat 500X Sport. The new Fiat 500X Sport joins the 500X Urban family with a starting price of ÂŁ22,500 OTR. It features tuned suspension settings, lowered ride height by 13mm, steering system calibration and 19 inch alloy wheels with high performance tyres leads to improved agility and more driver pleasure. The 1.3 litre FireFly Turbo petrol engine develops 150 hp and is matched to a six speed DCT dual clutch automatic transmission. The model has plenty of driving assistance systems, including Traffic Sign recognition and Lane Assist plus cruise control as standard. It also comes with a 7 inch Uconnect infotainment system with satellite navigation, automatic climate control and rear parking sensors. The system is also compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Externally the car has body coloured side skirts and wheel arches, diffuser style rear bunpers, dual chrome exhaust and full LED headlights and fag lamps. Lamborghini takes Blancpain GT Honours. By winning the final Blancpain Endurance Cup race of the season in Barcelona, the Orange1 FFF Racing Lamborghini has also won the Endurance Cup title for the team. Driven by Andrea Caldarelli, Marco Mapelli and Albert Costa, who stood in for an unwell Dennis Lind, they worked up from their third grid spot to win the race after three hours of racing. They won the title by just two points from the Mercedes-AMG of Luca Stolz, Marco Engel and Yelmer Buurman which was involved in an accident near the end of the race which put them out of the race and the title. Next years series starts at Monza on the 17th-19th April 2020.

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

9


Mazda 3 TCR Race car. Mazda North America has revealed the new Mazda 3 TCR race car which will compete in the 2020 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series in the United States. The series starts in January with a four hour race at Daytona Speedway. The car is eligible in 36 TCR aligned series all around the World and will be sold to privateers. The car is powered by a turbocharged 4 cylinder TCR compliant engine which develops 350 bhp and is matched to a six speed paddle shift competition gearbox. RenĂŠ Rast takes DTM Championship. Audi Sport Team Rosberg secured the DTM teams Championship when Champion RenĂŠ Rast, in his Audi RS 5 DTM, took his 7th victory of the season at the DTM finale at Hockenheim. This was also the 50th victory for the Audi RS 5 DTM. He won the Saturday race, starting from Pole position after wet qualifying. The race was dry and he beat BMW driver Marco Wittmann, while Mike Rockenfeller took the 3rd position in his Audi Sports Team Phoenix Audi RS 5 DTM.

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

10


Maserati Tipo V4 World Land Speed record. On 28 September 1929, Mario Umberto “Baconìn” Borzacchini, at the wheel of a Maserati Tipo V4, set the world land speed record for the flying 10 kilometres. The car had made its race debut on 15 September, driven by Alfieri Maserati in the Monza Grand Prix, finishing the race in sixth place. Two weeks later, before the race at the Circuito di Cremona, the “Giornata dei record”, a time trial on the flying 10 kilometres, was organised. The race was held on the old state (now provincial) highway no. 10-Padania Inferiore, which runs in a straight line East-North-East out of the city of Cremona for approximately 17 km. The 10 km course started from the town hall at Gadesco Pieve Delmona and finished at Sant’Antonio d’Anniata, a village near Pessina Cremonese, with a 3 km margin for the flying start and for stopping. The international rules

Classic and Competition Car

required the course to be completed twice, once in each direction. The average of the times logged was approved for the purposes of the record. Borzacchini covered the uphill leg in 2’25”20/100, with an average speed of 247.933 km/h. On the downhill leg he took two more seconds, logging 2’27”40/100, giving an average of 244.233 km/h. His overall average time was 2’26”30/100, equivalent to a speed of 246.069 km/h: world record for class C (from 3,000 to 5,000 cc). This was an extraordinary achievement by Mario “Baconìn” Borzacchini, breaking the previous recorded, set by Ernest Eldridge at Montlhéry in 1927 with 225.776 km/h and a time of 2’39”45/100. The name Maserati Tipo V4 referred to the V layout of the two rows of 8 cylinders, placed at a 25° angle, and the displacement of 4 litres. Each of the two sets of cylinders had its own magneto ignition, its own carburettor with supercharger and its own crankshaft, giving a power output of over 280 HP. The chassis was specially reinforced to cope with the massive power of the engine. It consisted of the usual C-section pressed steel section rails; the car had a 4speed gearbox with a single propeller shaft ending at the rigid rear axle with semi-elliptical spring suspension. It proved impossible to eliminate the rapid tyre wear and the inadequacy of the braking system, problems generated by the car's immense power and considerable weight

November 2019

11


BARC Sprint Championship Final. Curborough, 21st September 2019. By Simon & Janet Wright.

Ed McDonough in his Formula Ford Dulon MP15

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

Š Simon Wright

12


in his Radical SR4 sports racer with a best time of 58.28 seconds, 5th overall. Moving into the fast modified saloon territory, saw Chris Edwards in a Mazda 323GTX set the 8th fastest time overall Class winner and 3rd overall Glyn Sketchley Force PT

Fastest Time of Day went to David Tatham in his OMS Hornet © Simon Wright

The British Automobile Racing Club Midland Centre held their Grand Finale September Sprint over the weekend of the 21st and 22nd of September 2019. The Saturday event was held over the Figure of 8 layout, while the Sunday was run as a two lapper round the normal circuit layout. © Janet Wright The field was split into numerous classes for different types with a 61.75 second run to win the Modified Series of vehicle, with the slower production based cars starting Production Cars 2001cc and above class. He was chased first. The fastest Times of the day came from the Racing closed behind by Chris Howard-Harris in a Caterham Cars up to & including 1100cc class, with Fastest Time of Superlight in 9th to win the Modified Specialists Cars 1701cc Day (FTD) going to David Tatham driving an OMS Hornet & above class with a time of 61.87 seconds. who set a time of 51.29 seconds on his first timed run. He With two classes for Lotus Production cars, Duncan Fraser was over 3 seconds faster than his nearest rival, Steven in a Lotus Elise set the 10th Potter who took 2nd overall with a © Simon Wright fastest time of the day, with a best time of 54.33 seconds in his time of 62.98 seconds to win OMS 2000M. Winning his class in the Road Going Lotus Series 3rd overall was Glyn Sketchley Production cars class, driving a Force PT from the Racing beating Nigel Hannam in a Cars 1601cc up to & including Lotus Elise S1 into 11th place 2000cc class in a time of 54.59 with a time of 63.62 seconds, seconds. Moving away from single winning the Road-Going seater racing cars saw Clive Lotus Supersport Series Wooster winning the Sports Libre nd 2 Fastest was Steven Potter in an OMS 2000M Production cars class. Cars up to & including 1700cc class 13 November 2019 Classic and Competition Car

Classic and Competition Car


© Janet Wright

© Simon Wright

Nigel Hannam Lotus Elise S1 won Class 7

Class 5B Formula Ford winner Laurence Marks Van Diemen RF84

Class 4C winner Clive Wooster Radical SR4 © Janet Wright © Simon Wright

Class 3F winner Chris Howard-Harris Caterham Superlight

© Janet Wright

© Janet Wright

Class 8A winner Damon Green Volvo Amazon

Class 9B winner Paul Gearing Austin 7 Pigsty Special © Simon Wright

Martin Roberts spins off course in his Lotus Elise S2 Sport 190

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

Class 1B winner Dean Cubitt Mazda MX5

© Simon Wright

14


© Janet Wright

Roger Legg won his class in his Caterham Roadsport

Class winner Lloyd Bettinson Phoenix R1

The unusual Phoenix R1 of Lloyd Bettinson was 14th overall with a time of 64.00 seconds to win the Modified Specialists Cars employing motorcycle derived engines class. Another single car class was the Period Defined Racing Cars class which saw Tim Densham finish 15th overall in a Mallock Mk11 with a time of 64.36 seconds to win the class. In a similar position was 20th placed Roger Legg in a Caterham Roadsport who won the Road going Specialist Cars up to & including 1700cc - Car derived engines class with a time of 65.44 seconds. © Simon Wright

© Janet Wright

With a famous name from the past, James Hunt in a BMW E30 won the Road going Sports & Saloon Cars 2001cc & above class, finishing 25th overall in a time of 66.45 seconds. Just behind in 27th was Dean Cubitt in a Mazda MX5 with a time of 67.15 seconds to finish first in the Road Going Sports & Saloon cars 1401cc up to & including 2000cc class. The Formula Ford 1600 racing cars manufactured before 1st January 1994 class saw Laurence Marks in a Van Diemen RF84 set the fastest time of 68.51 seconds for 29th overall. The next class winner was Taras Andrusin in a Renault Clio 172 Sport who finished 32nd with a time of

Tim Densham in his Mallock Mk11 won his class.

© Janet Wright

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

Class winner Taras Andrusin Renault Clio 172 Sport

15


© Simon Wright

69.33 seconds to win the Modified Series Production Cars 1401cc up to and including 2000cc class. Running as car number 1 was the Road Going Standard Sports & Saloon cars 1401cc up to & including 2000cc class winner Neal Bateman in a Ford Fiesta who finished 33rd with a time of 69.68 seconds. The next class was won by Stuart

Class SB winner Neal Bateman Ford Fiesta

© Janet Wright

© Janet Wright

Ballinger in an Austin Mini set a time of 71.41 seconds to finish 42nd and fastest in the Road Going Sports & Saloon Cars up to & Including 1400cc. The car that won the Sports Libre Cars 1701cc & Above class was a Hyundai Coupe driven by Zac Hughes set a time of 72.32 seconds to finish 45th overall. Just behind in 46th was the Modified Series Production Cars up to and

Classic and Competition Car

Class 4D winner Zac Hughes Hyundai Coupe

including 1400cc class winner, Rebekah Edwards in a VW Lupo with a time of 73.60 seconds. Moving back in time, we arrive at some of the slower cars, that are still competitive in their respective classes. The Period Defined Road-going Production cars class was taken by Damon Green in a Volvo Amazon who came 50th with a time Class 1A winner Stuart of 75.34 seconds. Ballinger Austin Mini Finally there were two classes for the Bert Hedley Memorial Championship for Austin 7s. The Track cars class was won by Paul Gearing in his Austin 7 Pigsty Special who set a time of 77.57 seconds to finish 54th. The Road Cars class was won by Gerald Mullord in his Austin 7 Hamblin Cadet Special with a time of 84.39 seconds, in 61st place, beating two of the Austin 7 track cars in the process.

November 2019

16


Class 3A winner Rebeka Edwards VW Lupo

Class 3C winner Chris Edwards Mazda 323GTX

© Janet Wright

Class 1C winner James Hunt BMW E30

© Janet Wright © Simon Wright

Class 9A winner Gerald Mullord Austin 7 Hamblin Cadet Special

© Simon Wright

Duncan Fraser Lotus Elise won Class 6

© Simon Wright © Simon Wright

William Hunt in his Ford Sierra spun off and got stuck in the ditch. It took nearly an hour to extract his car from the ditch.

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

17


Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. Mount Panorama Circuit, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. 10th-13th October 2019. By Syd Wall.

The Holdsworth/Randle Mustang leads the field.

Classic and Competition Car

November November2019 2019

Š Syd Wall

18


Kenworth Australia organised the drivers parade

Near the end and Mclaughlin leads van Gisbergen, Courtney and Whincup after Coulthard’s drive through penalty.

© Syd Wall

Drama and controversy. The Great Race of 2019 had it all with a CAMS (the Australian motorsports authorities) issuing the winning Dick Johnson/Penske team with the biggest ever fines and penalties, though they will have been relieved that their winning car and drivers, Scott McLaughlin and Alexandre Premat, were excluded from the penalties and retained the victory. The incidents started in Thursday practice, held in wet and cold conditions when one of the race favourites, Luke Youlden, made heavy impact with the Sulman Park walls in the Penrite Holden Commodore, removing the

Classic and Competition Car

front suspension. Wildcard Jake Kostecki did the same with less severe damage. An all nighter by the Erebus Motorsport team had Youlden’s car © Syd Wall ready at 5am, but Kostecki Brothers Racing made a $5000 bungle with their repairs. A steering rack stop was left in the car and they hit the wall seconds into the first Friday practice session leading to a fine by the stewards, but little damage. The 5th practice session was held in warm conditions and Scott McLaughlin set a new qualifying record at 02:03.4813 in the DJM/Penske Ford Mustang with a surprise 2nd place for the Nissan Altima of Andre Heimgartner, 0.5s down but the first sub 2:04 time for a Nissan. The temperature plummeted for Friday’s qualifying, © Syd Wall dropping to 4C with heavy rain and a brief snow shower on the mountain! McLaughlin was fastest again, 23s off his warm weather pace followed by Chaz Mostert’s Supercheap Auto Racing Mustang. After two more practice sessions on Saturday, the day ended with the 10 fastest from Friday qualifying taking part in the

Mostert/Moffat were podium favourites until Mostert took out his team mate and himself

November 2019

19


© Syd Wall

pole position shoot out. Ideal conditions led to quick times from the start, culminating in another new record for the Ford Mustang of Scott McLaughlin, 2:03.3783s. Following in 2nd and 3rd positions were the Mustangs of Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters, team mates in the Tickford Racing team - more of them later. Raceday brought sunshine with the forecast remaining good for the day and with the lap record qualifying speeds, the pundits were suggesting that this could be the quickest ever time for the race but the drama began even before the race start. Brodie Kostecki pulled off on the formation lap due to carbon dioxide poisoning and burns from a driver cooling system failure, delaying the race start by 15 minutes. The team received permission for his cousin Kurt to swap in and start the race but Brodie was later cleared to drive by medical staff. We didn’t have to wait long for Some spectators just watch the video screens - see those in the bottom left with their backs to the circuit.

© Syd Wall

Classic and Competition Car

IndyCar veteran Simona de Silvestro leads a midfield battle

the first safety car when on lap one, the Commodores of Tim Slade, 9th on the grid, made minimal contact with Scott Pye’s at just the third corner pushing Slade into the wall causing race ending damage. We were then treated to 100 laps of flat out racing with pit stops for tyres and fuel meaning we had multiple leaders throughout the first 3.5 hours of the race. Then on lap 101, Todd Hazelwood’s Commodore had a heavy crash at Sulman, head and neck pains meaning he was hospitalised for checkups but was cleared later. The final third of the race was peppered with 6 more safety car periods. The Kostecki car crashed with 50 laps to go and all the leading cars came in for a splash and dash and now, the teams were looking closely at the race ending strategies. Jamie Whincup’s Red Bull Holden Commodore managed to get out quicker than Mclaughlin and took the lead again. Two laps later and we had the first big talking point of the race. Tickford Racing team mates Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters in the

November 2019

20


Supercheap and Monster Energy Mustangs respectively must have been on a warning after the previous round in Pukekohe when Mostert hit Waters while they were lying 3rd and 4th, Mostert retiring with suspension damage but Waters able to carry on to finish 3rd. This time, both were on fuel saving orders and lying 3rd and 4th again but approaching the Chase, somehow Mostert decided he could get by Waters. Waters saw him coming but as they were fuel saving, he didn’t think Mostert was making a move and held his line. Mostert then locked up, slid into Waters and put them both in the sand. Incredible! Both were pulled out and continued after time in the pits and a drive through for Mostert but two very possible podium positions had disappeared. Tickford boss Tim Edwards called them stupid after Pukekohe - I wonder what he had to say to Mostert after this. With 29 laps to go, the order is Whincup, McLaughlin,

Chaz Mostert flat out through Sulman Park, tracked by Jamie Whincup.

© Syd Wall

© Syd Wall

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

Gerry Jacobson/Dean Fiore finished 19th in the Nissan, 2 laps down, after more than one brush with the scenery.

21


© Syd Wall

Coulthard and van Gisbergen - the two Shell Mustangs sandwiched by the two Red Bull Commodores. Now the big controversy. With 26 laps to go, the safety car is deployed when Alex Rossi, one of the two American wildcards, crashes on the Mountain. The top ten are all close together and the rules are that the gaps must be maintained, with no more than 5 metres between cars. By

A midfield bunch head down The Dipper

© Syd Wall

Fabian Coulthard muscles his Mustang past Rick Kelly’s Nissan after his drive through penalty

from McGlaughlin. If there is another safety car period it might be a winning strategy. Meanwhile McLaughlin's team is confident that his fuel saving strategy will get him over the line....its a fascinating finish with several permutations.

the time the cars reach the final corner of the lap, Coulthard is now over 40 seconds behind McLaughlin. The rest of the field was disadvantaged (no overtaking when the safety car is out) and Coulthard would be able to pit after McLaughlin had left, without stacking up behind him. Everyone else was taken out of the lead battle. The race stewards looked at this straight away and gave Coulthard a drive through penalty. Whincup is going for broke and not bothering about saving fuel. He has stretched the lead to over six seconds

Classic and Competition Car

Now with 10 laps to go, two backmarkers crash. McLaughlin stays out but Whincup comes for a squirt of fuel. Van Gisbergen now 2nd, James Courtney 3rd and Whincup 4th. Three laps to go - another safety car when Andre Heimgartner's Nissan goes into the wall. This time, no-one stops. We have two laps under the safety car and a one lap sprint to the flag. Van Gisbergen presses but he can’t make any impression and McLaughlin takes the win! The team celebrates (Penske’s first Bathurst win and DJM’s first since 1994 when Dick Johnson himself won) but must be aware that they will be investigated.

November 2019

22


© Syd Wall

Indy 500 pole-winner James Hinchcliffe and Alex Rossi took this Holden Commodore to 18th place.

The Holdsworth/Randle Mustang leads the field at a safety car restart.

© Syd Wall

Soon after the race, it’s announced that there will be an enquiry into the DJM/Penske team’s actions and the race result remains provisional. Scott McLaughlin claimed that the safety car controversy had no effect on the potential outcome of the race but runner-up Garth Tander said © Syd Wall this was rubbish. He and team mate Shane van Gisbergen were among those worst-affected when Fabian Coulthard slowed dramatically behind the safety car, eradicating any fuel advantage Tander and van Gisbergen had gained over McLaughlin and his codriver Alexandre Premat by

stopping during the previous caution. Seven days after the race, CAMS announced their decision, handing DJRTP a $250,000 fine ($100,000 suspended) and deducting 300 points from their teams’ championship tally, the maximum the rules allow. Fabian Coulthard/Tony D’Alberto were also dumped from sixth to 21st in the results, the last of the classified finishers. Many teams thought this was a let off, with no penalty for the winning car. The full report makes interesting reading and one suspects that if CAMS could have issued bigger penalties, they would. 202,000 spectators attended over the 4 days of

The De Pasquale/Brown Commodore qualified 7th but crashed out with 25 laps to go. Gets my vote for the best livery

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

23


© Syd Wall

the meeting. It’s no wonder, with tension throughout the Great Race and numerous high quality support races over 3 days. It’s definitely a bucket list race but make sure you bring clothes for all weather eventualities. On Friday, I was wearing what I would wear on a bad day on Epynt and it still wasn’t enough, but I’d been down to a T shirt and shorts hours earlier.

The Holden Commodore of Shane van Gisbergen/Garth Tander speeds past one of the private houses which line the Mountain Straight.

© Syd Wall

The end of two races Todd Hazelwood’s Commodore is carried back as Cameron Waters drives his Mustang back from the Chase’s sand pit

The Davison brothers during Friday’s wet qualifying

Classic and Competition Car

© Syd Wall

November 2019

© Syd Wall

Tim Slade qualified 9th but retired with just the 999 of 1000kms to go.

24


Angus Fogg won 3 of the 4 Touring Car Masters races in his 700+hp Mustang, faster on Conrod than all the V8 Supercars

© Syd Wall

The SuperUtes first lap - 3 wide through Hell Corner!.

The Touring Car Masters field head up Mountain Straight.

Classic and Competition Car

© Syd Wall

© Syd Wall

November 2019

25


Š Syd Wall

Aaron Borg leads the Toyota GT86 field through The Esses.

Š Syd Wall

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

Flame outs on every corner - the crowd's favourite in Touring Car Masters.

26


Š Simon Wright

Red Oktober 2019 Trabant, Zastava and Wartburg all on display in Coventry.

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

Millenium Place, Coventry. 5th October 2019. By Simon & Janet Wright.

27


The East German Trabant is as popular as ever. © Janet Wright

Eastern Bloc lineup outside Coventry Transport Museum.

© Simon Wright

Classic and Competition Car

The annual Eastern Bloc car rally Red Oktober was held in Millennium Place, outside Coventry Transport museum. Organised by the Wartburg Trabant IFA Club, the event attracted a varied entry of Cold War Eastern bloc cars from ‘the other side of the Wall’ to the home of cold war British car manufacturing. The event is open to all Eastern Bloc vehicles designed or built during the Cold War period, with free entry for all eligible cars. The most popular car on display was the icon of East Germany, the Trabant, built by East German car manufacturer VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau. This small 500cc two cylinder, two stroke car was built in East Germany between 1957 and 1990 with over 3 million produced. All three versions produced were on show at Coventry, the two door saloon, the three door station wagon and the doorless jeep. The car was designed as a people car for the masses, but it took ten years to acquire a Trabant and East German buyers November 2019

28


were placed on waiting lists of up to 13 years, depending on how close to Berlin that you lived. The demand was so great that the ratio was 43 buyers for every car produced in 1989, up to the fall of the Berlin Wall. This boosted the second hand price to double the original purchase price. The car was fitted with Š Simon Wright a duroplast body mounted on a one piece steel chassis. The transverse front wheel drive, two stroke engine produced 25 hp. The car could reach 62 mph and took 21 seconds to accelerate from 0-62 mph. It had independent suspension

which was unusual in 1957 and the car remained much the same until they acquired a licensed Volkswagen 1 litre four stroke VW Polo engine in 1991. The 1980s model was so basic that it had no tachometer, no dashboard indicators for headlights or indicators, no fuel gauge, no rear seat belts and no external fuel filler. The petrol and oil mixture had to be poured directly in to the fuel tank under the bonnet which was gravity fed to the engine (no fuel pump). There were several Wartburg at Coventry. Another East

Trabant Jeep Š Janet Wright

German manufacturer that actually dates back to 1898 and takes its name from Wartburg castle which overlooks the town of Eisenach where the cars were produced. From the Trabant 501 3 door Station wagon

Classic and Competition Car

Š Janet Wright

November 2019

29


Wartberg Logo

© Janet Wright

1950s, Wartburg cars used a three cylinder two stroke engine with only seven moving parts. The company was acquired by Opel in 1991. The cars at Coventry were the later models, the 353 from the 1980s and the 1.3 which was the last production model and visually looks the same as the 353. This car was also known as the Wartburg Knight in various countries. It was produced in three body styles, the Limousine (Saloon), Tourist (Combi) and Trans (pickup). The other major manufacturer represented was probably

Wartberg Tourist 353W

© Janet Wright

the best known in the UK, Škoda. This is one of the oldest vehicle manufacturers in the World, first founded in 1895 and is based in Mladá Boleslav in the Czech Republic. The rare Skoda on show wasn’t that old. A blue 1991 Skoda Favorit Forum Plus is one of only three left of this model, with only 163 of the Favorit still on the road. This model was designed when Skoda was still under communist rule and was built © Simon Wright before the © Simon Wright

Classic and Competition Car

Wartberg 1.3

Skoda Favorit Forum plus

November 2019

30


company was bought by Volkswagen. The small front wheel drive hatchback was designed by the Italian design company Bertone and used the Skoda four cylinder, inline, water cooled 1289cc engine connected to a 5 speed manual gearbox. The engine produced 62 bhp. A more traditional Skoda was the green 1989 Škoda 136 Rapid. This rear engined, rear-wheel-drive 2 door coupe was built between 1984 and 1990 in Bratislava. The 136 version was introduced in 1987 with an upgraded 1.3 litre engine featuring a new aluminium alloy 8 port cylinder head which produced 62 bhp. It had a top speed of 95 mph and a 0-60 mph acceleration time of 14.9 seconds. These cars are a rare sight on British roads these days with only 20 officially road registered in 2018. More unusual, and probably unique on British roads, was a nice red 1987 Zastava Yugo 513. Zastava Automobiles was

Zastava Yugo 513

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

a Serbian car manufacturer which went bankrupt in 2017. It was originally founded in Kragujevac, SFR Yugoslavia in 1953 as Zavodi Crvena Zastava (“Red Flag Factories”).

Skoda and Wartberg lineup.

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

31


During the 1980s the brand name was changed to Yugo. The 513 is also known in some markets as the Zastava Skala or Yugo Skala and is based on a Fiat 128 saloon. The 1.3 litre engine is fitted with a two barrel Weber 30/32 DMTR 90/250 carburettor and produces 65 hp. The Russian built Lada range was also represented with a 1996 Lada 4X4 and a 1994 Lada Cossack, both of which were based on the Lada Niva. They were produced by the Russian manufacturer AvtoVAZ and it was the first mass produced off road © Janet Wright Lada 4x4 vehicle to combine a unibody construction with coil spring independent front suspension. They also used a recirculation-ball truck

steering box for off-road reliability. When the Niva brand name was transferred to General Motors, the model was sold in the UK as the Lada Cossack. The original design brief was to produce a car suitable for rural areas, for the villagers and farmers of the Soviet Union. It was the first VAZ vehicle not to be based on a Fiat design. Finally, there was a commercial vehicle on display a Barkas B1000 Fire Service van. The Barkas B1000 is a forward control panel van with a 1,000 kg payload,

Barkas B1000

Classic and Competition Car

© Simon Wright

manufactured by East German manufacturer VEB BarkasWerke in Chemnitz. They were produced between 1961 and 1988. It has a front mounted 1 litre, 2 stroke, 3 cylinder engine driving the front wheels. It also featured an unusual independent suspension system - diagonal link front and rear suspension with torsion bars and hydraulic shock absorbers, with hydraulically operated drum brakes all round. Most of the owners were making a weekend of it, moving to the final Sunday Scramble of the year at Bicester © Simon Wright Heritage the next day. Lada Niva 4WD Cossak 32 November 2019


© Janet Wright

Wartberg 353

© Simon Wright

Trabant 1.1 3 door station wagon

Ural 750 motorcycle and sidecar © Janet Wright

© Simon Wright

Trabant 501 saloon and 501S 3 door Station wagon

© Simon Wright

Skoda 120L FIVE

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

33


© Peter McFadyen

VSCC Speed Championship Round 9 Prescott Long Course Hill Climb 28th September 2019. By Peter McFadyen

Richard Gatley’s rapid 1935 Frazer Nash/BMW 319 Saloon was second fastest in its class ahead of many sports cars

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

34


Nick Topliss (ERA) set the fastest time of day

competing. Another, known as AJM1, was driven to first place in the 1101-1500cc division of the pre-war racing cars class by Ben Fidler, son of Brian Fidler who currently owns both this car and R4D. The third ERA, R12C was driven by both James Crabb and his father Terry who were second and third in class behind Ben with James winning the award for Fastest Young (i.e. under 30) Driver of the day. Four records were broken in the pre-1941 classes and two more in the classes for postwar historic racing cars and invited 1950s sports-racing cars.

© Peter McFadyen

VSCC Prescott Hill Climb The Vintage Sports Car Club are one of the few organisations which still use the short course at Prescott Speed Hill Climb near Gotherington, Gloucestershire but many competitors prefer the longer version which includes the loop around Ettore’s Bend. So, in recent years, the club have run events on both, keeping the short course for their main event of the year, traditionally held in August and adding a second event later in the season on the long course.

Second in the class for Standard and Modified Sports Cars up to 750cc was Miss Tiziana Mutschler from Germany in her Austin 7 Sports Ulster

Fastest time of the day was set by Nick Topliss driving R4D, the one-time ERA works car and one of three ERAs

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

© Peter McFadyen

35


© Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

Ben Fidler aims for a very tight line through The Esses on his way to another class win in ERA AJM1

Julian Grimwade’s Alvis-engined Frazer Nash Single Seater which won its class

Classic and Competition Car

© Peter McFadyen

November 2019

David Furnell’s Austin 7 ‘The Toy’ once again won the class for Special Sports Cars up to 1100cc

36


© Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

Mrs Jane Murray in her Bugatti Type 37A

Alex Simpson in the Alvis Goodwin Special broke the record for post-war historic racing cars © Peter McFadyen

Tim Sharp’s 939cc MG PB was second on handicap in its class

© Peter McFadyen

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

Jeremy Flann was fastest of the Edwardian cars and set a new class record in his 1918 8.2 litre Curtiss Le Zebre Special

37


© Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

Historic car dealer Tom Hardman at the Esses in his MG Bellevue Special

Andrew Briggs shared this MG L Type Magna with its owner Maurice Gleeson

Jonathan Mellor set a new record for Special Sports Cars 1501-3000cc in his AC/GN Beetle

© Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

Spike Milligan’s Connaught A7 at The Esses

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

38


© Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

Edmund Burgess drove his Bugatti Type 51 to second place in class behind the overall winner Nick Topliss’s ERA

Dr ‘Spike’ Milligan (nearest to camera) wheels his 1952 Connaught A7 out of its transporter © Peter McFadyen

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

Peter Hopkinson’s Riley Special emits a puff of smoke on the overrun as he slows for The Esses

39


© Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

Vicky Sly (car no 1) and Alan Bee head a line-up of Austin 7s waiting to take their first practice run

Greg Lerigo won his class against stiff opposition from another Riley Special driven by Mike James © Peter McFadyen

The winner of the class for Standard & Modified Sports Cars over 2000cc was John Fack in his Railton Light Sports

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

© Peter McFadyen

The three ERAs which competed at the meeting – Terry and James Crabb’s R12C (numbered 7167), R4D (186) and the red AJM1

40


Š Janet Wright

BRSCC Mallory Park Raceday.

Saturday 14th September 2019. By Simon & Janet Wright.

Start of the Hyperdrive ST-XR race

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

41


Š Simon Wright

In the second Monoposto race (8) Martin Wright spun his Dallara F301 at the hairpin while fighting for the lead. This left Neil Harrison (10) to win both races in his Dallara F302.

The British Racing and Sports Car Club (BRSCC) returned to Mallory Park in September with a mixed ten race program of saloon, sports car and single seater racing. After morning practice, the meeting opened with the first fifteen minute Š Simon Wright Monoposto Tideman Trophy single seater race before the lunch break. Pole position was claimed by Martin Wright in a Dallara F301 by only 0.044 of a second from Neil Harrison in a Dallara F302. It was Harrison who took the lead at the start and won by 0.178 of a second

Classic and Competition Car

from Wright, with both winning their respective classes. In 3rd place, and also taking a class win was Bryn Tootell in a Van Diemen RF99. In 4th overall and winning the M1000 class was Roger Wright in a Speads RM07, just ahead of Chris Baldin in a Class winner Sam Formula Vauxhall Lotus, Donn in the Scarab Euro 1 in both winning the Classic class Monoposto races in 5th. The other class winners were 7th Philip Davis in a Van Diemen RF98, 8th Geoff Fern in a Dallara F301 and 15th Sam Donn in a Scarab Euro 1. Now starting from

November 2019

42


Both class winners, Bryn Tootell Van Diemen RF99 and Roger Wright Speads RM07 in the Monoposto races.

The BRSCC Alfa Romeo Championship, now in its 38th consecutive year, started the afternoon action with their first twenty minute race. The field was split into two classes at Mallory Park, with Power Trophy cars, which are allowed some modifications and run to a maximum power-to-weight formula, at the front. The other class at Mallory was the Twin Spark Cup class which is for standard production class Alfa Romeos that use the 2000cc 16v Twin Spark engine. A relatively small grid of © Simon Wright

© Janet Wright

Pole position, Harrison again dominated the second race, this time beating Martin Wright by over thirteen seconds, again both winning their class. Roger Wright this time finished 3rd, winning his class, while Tootell finished 4th, also taking a second class win. Baldwin, Davis, Fern and Donn also took second class wins.

Chris Baldwin Formula Vauxhall Lotus won the Classic class in both Monoposto races Jamie Thwaites won both Alfa Romeo races in his Alfa Romeo 155

© Janet Wright

Classic and Competition Car

just nine cars lined up with the Power Trophy cars at the front. Jamie Thwaites put his Alfa Romeo 155 on Pole position in the split grid race, with Tom Hill heading the second batch of cars in his Alfa Romeo 156 in the Twin Spark Cup class. From the start, David Messenger grabbed the lead in his 156 with Thwaites chasing in his

November 2019

43


Š Simon Wright

155. Messenger extended his lead slowly to over seven seconds by lap sixteen, then Thwaites started to close the gap and on the last lap he retook the lead to take the win by over six seconds. Andy Inman finished a distant 3rd in his 156 GTA, the only other car to complete full race distance. The Twin Spark Cup class was won by Tom Hill in 5th place, over thirteen seconds ahead of Simon Cresswell in his 156 and Martin Jones in his 147. Only eight cars took the start to the second race and again Thwaites took another victory, this time by just 0.476 of a second from Messenger, again leaving it until the last lap to sweep through and win after Messenger had led from the start. Inman again took 3rd, but this time was much closer to the leading pair, just over seven seconds behind. Tom Hill also scored a double victory in the Twin Spark Cup class in 4th place, one lap down, again from Cresswell and Jones.

David Messenger led initially in the Alfa Romeo race but finished 2nd in both races in his Alfa Romeo 156. Š Simon Wright

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

Winning the Twin Spark class in both Alfa Romeo races was Tom Hill in his Alfa Romeo 156.

44


© Janet Wright

Ford Fiesta XR2. Roberts started the second race in the lead again, but after leading for the first nine laps he had a problem at the hairpin and dropped down the field but recovered to 3rd by the finish and still won his class. Heslop took the outright victory just over one second ahead of Greg Speight in another Fiesta XR2. Lewis Bowron won Class B on a Ford Escort XR3i in 7th, while the final class winner was Morton, taking a second class win of the day in 11th. Matthew Spencer Ford Fiesta St leads Christopher Rowlands Ford Fiesta St into Devils elbow in the ST-XR race First ST-XR race winner Justin Roberts Ford Fiesta ST.

The Hyperdrive ST-XR Challenge had two fifteen minute races during the afternoon. On Pole position was Justin Roberts in his new Ford Fiesta ST150, who went on to dominate the race from William Heslop who won his class in the Ford Fiesta XR2. A little way behind was Adam Brown in another Fiesta XR2. The other class winners were 7th Ryan Bowron in a Ford Escort XR3i, and 9th Matthew Morton in a Second ST-XR race winner William Heslop Ford Fiesta XR2i

© Simon Wright

Next was the Track Attack Nippon Challenge/Tricolore Trophy/Multi Marques race. Nick Gwinnett put his Renault Clio on Pole position by just 0.118 of a second from Christopher Freeman in a Honda Civic Type R. The first race was dominated by Gwinnett but he was chased hard throughout the entire race by 2nd Robert Buckland in another Renault Clio who was only just over two seconds behind at the finish. In 3rd place was Freeman in the © Janet Wright

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

45


Christopher Freeman won his class in his Honda Civic Type R in the Track Attack race Track Attack race 1 winner Nick Winnett Renault Clio also won the Tricolore Trophy class.

© Simon Wright

Civic, winning his class. The Multi Marque class was won by Clive Haynsford who was 4th in a Mazda RX-8. The other Track Attack class winners were 5th Phil Wright in a Honda Civic, 11th Kevin Houghton in a Peugeot 206 GTi and 12th Nick Glover Mazda MX-5 Mk 2.5. The other class winner was 9th George Goucher in a Renault Clio. In the second race Gwinnett led for the first five laps before Clive Haynsford worked his way through the field from 4th place on the first lap to take the lead. He won by over five seconds after the race was red flagged after Gwinnett crashed out while challenging for the lead. This left

© Simon Wright

Buckland to take another class win in 2nd again, Freeman 3rd, and Phil Wright in 4th. Goucher, Glover and Houghton also took second class wins. Making a trip away from home was the Welsh Sports & Saloon Car Championship, which bought quite a small mixed field for their races. The superb Audi R8 ALMS of © Simon Wright

Track Attack race 2 winner Clive Haynsford Mazda RX-8 and Multi Marques class winner

© Simon Wright

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

Start of the Welsh Sports & Saloon Car race with Keith Butcher Audi R8 ALMS on pole.

46


© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

Welsh Sports & Saloon Car race winner Keith Butcher in his Audi R8 ALMS about to lap Andrew Williams MG ZR105 before the MG retired in the first race.

Class winning Damian Longotano in a Westfield SE finished 2nd overall in the first Welsh Sports & Saloon Car race

Keith Butcher took Pole position but was less than a second ahead of Mark Williams in a Peugeot 205. In the first race, Butcher won by over twenty three seconds. In 2nd place was Damian Longotano who started from the back of the grid and worked his way through the small field in a Westfield SE to win his class. Williams took 3rd place over nine seconds further back. The other class winners were 4th Mike Moss in a Caterham Supersport, 5th Colin Dunn in a Renault Clio 172 Cup and 7th Alan Smith in a Ford KA. Making it two victories in a row was Butcher in the Audi over forty three seconds ahead of Williams, who won his class in this race. The other class winners all took second class victories in this race. © Janet Wright

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

Mark Williams Volkswagen Golf, finished 2nd in the second Welsh Sports & Saloon Car race

47


Peter Futers Ford Escort XR3i in the Hyperdrive ST-XR Challenge second race finished 4th in class.

© Janet Wright © Simon Wright

Start of the first Alfa Romeo race with David Messenger Alfa Romeo 156 leading Andy Inchman Alfa Romeo 156 GTA, Ben Sharich Alfa Romeo Mito and eventual winner Jamie Thwaites Alfa Romeo 155 © Janet Wright

The Honda Civiv Type R pair of Tony Markham and Alfie Jones head for the hairpin in the Track Attack Nippon Challenge race.

Keith Butcher Audi R8 ALMS leads the field into the Esses in the Welsh Sports & Saloon car © Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

Monoposto race Rachel Lovett Swift SC99Z leading Will Cox Van Diemen FVJ, Mark Smith Swift FB91 and Christopher Lord Van Diemen RF82

48


Š Pete Austin

Sywell Classic Pistons & Props Sywell Aerodrome 21st & 22nd September 2019. By Pete Austin.

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

Matt Wrigley (Lola T332).

49


© Pete Austin

Frank Lyons (Brabham BT35).

Mini lineup.

© Pete Austin

Warm sunny weather greeted the entrants and visitors to the annual Sywell Classic held at the historic Sywell Aerodrome in the shadow of the ‘art deco’ Aviator Hotel. This was in direct contrast to the wet conditions on the same day last year although things would change on Sunday.

The area adjacent to the airfield was as usual full of classic and historic cars from the many car clubs present including an impressive line-up of Minis celebrating the 60 Anniversary of the marque. In the air three historic aircraft put on a display comprising the P-47 Thunderbolt ‘Nellie’ together with a Hispano Buchon which appeared in the film ‘Battle of Britain’ and the Grace Spitfire which both engaged in a mock ‘dogfight’. th

© Pete Austin

© Pete Austin

Classic and Competition Car

P-47D Thunderbolt - Hispano Buchon - The Grace Spitfire.

Tim Metcalfe (Eccles Rapier)

November 2019

50


Š Pete Austin

Sauter DKW and Auto Union DKW

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

51


© Pete Austin

Chevrolet burnout.

Tony Keele.

© Pete Austin

Always popular with spectators are the dragsters and hot rods performing burn-outs on the sprint strip and smoking their way to the finish line. Following the historic motor bikes, and after a delay, it was time for the karts and racing and classic cars to

complete their runs on the ‘Racing Runway’. One of the star cars appearing this year was a Jaguar E Type driven in the past by Sir Stirling Moss and Win Percy.

Historic bikes.

© Pete Austin

Classic and Competition Car

© Pete Austin

November 2019

Ex Moss-Percy E-Type versus Bentley

52


Judy Lyons (Caterham)

As last year the Lyons family were represented with Frank driving an immaculate F2 Brabham and Judy a Caterham. An interesting pairing which lined up together in the paddock were a Formula Junior Sauter DKW and an Auto Union DKW saloon. Matt Wrigley in his Lola T332 was one of two F5000s running and it is always good to see Tim Metcalfe in his Eccles Rapier representing the older cars. Definitely plenty to see and do for those attending on a pleasant, sunny Autumn day. Š Pete Austin

Ginetta Owners Club.

Š Pete Austin

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

53


Š Motorsport-Imagery

British Touring Car Championship, Silverstone, 28th-29th September 2019. By David Goose of Motorsport Imagery.

Senna Proctor in the now ageing Subaru Levorg.

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

54


Jason Plato took an early lead in race one but was quickly passed by a very fast Tom Ingram

© Motorsport-Imagery

The penultimate round for the BTCC and combined TOCA package saw the BTCC, Clio and Porsche competitors tackle the Silverstone National Circuit. In a change of fortunes, BTCC legend Jason Plato took pole position for the first race in the Power Maxed Vauxhall Astra, his 51st career pole but his first of 2019. The weekends races were however more important to the handful of drivers still in with a chance of taking the 2019 title. Colin Turkington led the standings with Dan Cammish and Andrew Jordan putting pressure on the experienced BMW driver. In a rain affected race day, Colin Turkington would end the day extending his championship lead over his nearest contenders, but this would mean the title would go down to the final rounds at Brands Hatch in October.

Classic and Competition Car

Race one saw Jason Plato lead from pole, but a hard charging Tom Ingram in the Toyota Corolla barged his way through into the lead on lap four and went on to win the race. Plato finished second with Chris Smiley in the BTC Racing Honda third. Colin Turkington didn’t help his championship cause by finishing 14th, losing points in the race to both Cammish and Jordan. Race two saw the field leave the line on slick race tyres, however heavy rain mid race changed the whole pattern of the race. Tom Ingram in the Toyota led from the start but light contact with Jason Plato’s Vauxhall allowed Tom Oliphant in his BMW to sneak through into the lead. Mid race the rain came down and the first major casualty was Adam Morgan in his Mercedes who went off on slicks and

November 2019

55


Colin Turkington didnt have the best of race weekends but still left Silverstone with an increased championship lead over his rivals

Two race victories over the weekend for Tom Ingram in the Toyota Corolla

Š Motorsport-Imagery

got stuck in the gravel. The Safety Car was called out and on the re-start Tom Oliphant from the lead ran wide allowing the other leaders to pass, Tom Ingram took the lead and never looked back. Turkington finished in second place form 14th on the grid, Dan Cammish 3rd from 11th on the grid. As the

Classic and Competition Car

Š Motorsport-Imagery

race continued the conditions worsened and the decision was taken by the race organisers to red flag the race after 19 of the planned 22 laps, the result therefore stood as a complete race. Race three saw the field once more affected by the wet conditions that changed significantly during the race. The field started on dry tyres but as the conditions worsened, the drivers had to choose between staying out or pitting for wet tyres. A spin by Matt Simpson early in the race gave the teams the opportunity to switch the cars onto wet tyres under safety car conditions meaning that less overall race time was lost to their competitors. A number of drives chose to pit early and were rewarded with good track position. Two of these drivers, Jack Goff and Aiden Moffatt surged through the field on their new wet tyres. With Moffat chasing hard for Š Motorsport-Imagery the lead through Copse Corner he ran wide Race 3 started in the wet and 56 November 2019 the conditions got worse


Jason Plato in the Power Maxed Vauxhall Astra had a much better weekend than of late

© Motorsport-Imagery

Andrew Jordan in the Pirtek BMW © Motorsport-Imagery

and spun, recovering to take a safe second place but allowing Jack Goff to almost cruise to a first victory for Team Hard. Colin Turkington finished the third race in 7th, ahead of both of his title contenders for the second race. Overall a good and varied race weekend with the three main title contenders failing to shine in any of the races, however of the three, Turkington left the circuit with an increased lead in the Championship and despite only finishing on the podium once in the three races, must have been the most satisfied of the three main title chasing drivers. The Clio Cup and BTCC titles willow be decided at the final races of the season at Brands Hatch in October. © Motorsport-Imagery

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

Mark Blundell in the Audi

57


Š Motorsport-Imagery

2019 Porsche Carrera Cup GB Champion Dan Harper

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

58


Double Race Winner George Gamble

A good full grid always delivers good racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup © Motorsport-Imagery

The Porsche Carrera Cup GB title was almost decided at the previous round with youngster Dan Harper racing for JTR requiring only a handful of points at Silverstone to secure the 2019 title. Mixed weather conditions throughout the weekend made some tyre decisions a lottery, with drivers in race one split between wet and dry setups, race two was however a wet race. Amigo Redline’s George Gamble took victory in both races, becoming only the second driver to win two

© Motorsport-Imagery

© Motorsport-Imagery

races in a weekend this season. Team Parker Racings Justin Sherwood took two class victories at the meeting and secured the 2019 Am Category title, the Pro-Am title however was still open with Karl Leonard extending his championship lead but not securing the title. By winning the Pro title for 2019, teenager Dan Harper became the youngest ever champion in the history of the Championship.

Karl Leonard

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

59


© Motorsport-Imagery

Jack Young left Silverstone with a good championship lead going to the last rounds at Brands Hatch.

Winner of his first Clio race, Brett Lidsey

© Motorsport-Imagery

Two races over the weekend for the Renault Clio Cup drivers, with the title for 2019 still being contested by two drivers, Max Coates and Jack Young. Coates entered the weekend with a slender lead over Young, although mathematically other drivers were still in the title hunt, realistically it was a straight head to head between the two drivers. Race one saw a first victory for Young’s team-mate Brett Lidsey, but a second place for Coates saw him extend his championship lead. Lidsey led the race from pole position but was under pressure in the early stages of the race from both Coates and Young, Jamie Bond joined the party and eventually split the two title contenders to take third in the race. Jack Young maintained his series of victories by winning race two, thereby winning one race at each of the previous four race weekends. Race two wasn’t as successful for Max Coates, who after a racing incident with Brett Lidsey and Jade Edwards, although Coates got stuck in a gravel trap he did escape but eventually only

Classic and Competition Car

finished eleventh, thereby switching a six point championship lead to a fifteen point deficit to Jack Young as they left Silverstone. The guaranteed that the title would go down to the final rounds at Brands Hatch in October.

November 2019

© Motorsport-Imagery

Max Coates had mixed fortunes over the weekend

60


© Peter McFadyen

VSCC Vintage Welsh Trial. Presteigne, Powys. Saturday 12th October 2019. By Peter McFadyen.

Michael Power’s GN Anzani was going well but unfortunately retired on Sunday

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

61


© Peter McFadyen

David Leigh (Frazer Nash Interceptor) won the SWB Standard Cars class

© Peter McFadyen

VSCC Vintage Welsh Trial The VSCC celebrated the 80 anniversary of the first Vintage Welsh Trial, known then as the Welsh Rally, with event headquarters, then as now, in the border town of Presteigne, Powys. In earlier years, competitors had to cover a considerable road mileage, proving the distance travelled by collecting receipts for purchases made along the way. This element has since been greatly reduced but they still have to visit one of three ‘filter’ points on Saturday morning before setting off to tackle six challenging hills during the afternoon. On the following day, nine more hills await them before the winners are announced at the final hills at Cwm Whitton Farm. Meanwhile, a separate group of cars competed in a scatter rally on Saturday afternoon. th

Presteigne itself was a hive of activity with vintage cars lining the high street and the shops, especially the antique

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

Guy Weatherall’s Austin Chummy with the small town of New Radnor down in the valley behind him

62


© Peter McFadyen

Sarah and Helen Skelton won a 2nd class award in their Austin 7 Special

Experienced triallist Stephen Fathers looks happy as he climbs The Smatcher in his Austin Abbott Special

© Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

In Presteigne high street was full of vintage cars such as Susan Hill’s Crouch Helix.

VSCC President Jenny Lees was doing a stint of marshalling on the trial and watches as Jeremy Brewster’s Lea-Francis P-Type goes by © Peter McFadyen

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

Courtyard Antiques had a nostalgic selection of Dinky models and other automobilia in its window display.

63


and second-hand ones, dressing their windows with motoring related displays. Even the local schoolchildren get involved with some of their drawings and paintings displayed at the event headquarters, the high street garage. This year’s overall winner was Simon Price in his short wheelbase Ford Model A Special, a car in which he has had many previous successes. Seven other drivers in the same class, the SWB Modified & Special Cars, achieved first class awards with nine more winning second or third class awards. Among the long wheelbase cars, Gareth Graham was victorious in his 4½ litre engined Bentley 3Litre. The classes for standard cars were won by David Leigh’s Frazer Nash Interceptor in the SWB division and Robert Frankcom driving a Dodge 129 Fast Four in the LWB class. The scatter rally was won by Harry Colledge in Alistair Littlewood’s Ford Model A completed Saturday’s hills but retired on Sunday.

© Peter McFadyen

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

© Peter McFadyen

Simon Price and Karen Davies on their way to the top

64


© Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

Martyn Quilter’s Singer Junior Special on The Smatcher. Eddie Williams in his Austin 7 Ulster was a first class award winner

his 1924 Vauxhall 30-98 with class wins going to Jonathan Yeeles (Austin Chummy) and Douglas Martin in a Lancia Augusta.

Hamish Monro’s Riley 9 was to retire after Saturday’s hills.

© Peter McFadyen

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

© Peter McFadyen

The all-female crew of Charlotte Bowyer’s Ford Model A decorated its headlights with ‘eyelashes’ for the trial.

65


© Peter McFadyen

Stewart Rich and Francine Pimperton finished an excellent fourth overall in their Austin 7.

© Peter McFadyen

Keith Hill going well at The Smatcher, a well known hill which was used on the very first Welsh Rally in 1939.

© Peter McFadyen

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

Gareth Graham’s Bentley 3-4½ Litre had the power to win the long wheelbase class.

66


© Peter McFadyen

Karen Davies, bouncing for Simon Price, gets a face full of mud from the front wheel of the winning car

© Peter McFadyen

There were very few MGs competing – this is Claire Rolfe’s 1930 M Type

Versatile racing driver Tony Lees (green coat) helps to push Jessica Smith’s Austin 7 Sports off the hill after she achieved a creditable 15 points on The Smatcher (only six drivers reached the top score of 25 all day)

© Peter McFadyen

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

© Peter McFadyen

Matthew Roberts gained a third class award in the LWB Standard Cars class with his Model A Ford.

67


Archive Photo of the Month.

These days this country's round of the World Rally Championship take place mostly in Wales. Years ago the event used to venture further south. This months photo shows the Ford Escort RS1600 MkII of Roger Clark and Jim Porter on the Knebworth, Hertfordshire special stage during the 1971 RAC Rally.

By Pete Austin.

Classic and Competition Car

Š Pete Austin

November November2019 2019

68


MSVR Race meeting.

28th-29th September 2019. Donington Park national circuit. By Simon & Janet Wright.

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

Š Simon Wright

69


© Janet Wright

Winner of the first Porsche race was Peter Morris in his Porsche 997 C2S

MSVR held a two day meeting at Donington Park towards the end of September with many of their championships drawing to a conclusion. The meeting started with the Petro-Canada Lubricants Porsche Club Championship with Pirelli first of two races on the day. It was the Porsche 997 C2S of Mike Price that took Pole position but unfortunately he retired from the first race on lap two. Starting from the front row of the grid, Peter Morris led from start to finish, winning by over two seconds in his Porsche 997 C2S from Simon Clark in his Porsche Cayman S. In 3rd place was Jake McAleer in a Porsche © Simon Wright

Classic and Competition Car

© Simon Wright

996 C2. The other two class winners were 8th James Coleman in a Porsche Boxster S and 18th Scot Adams in another Porsche Boxster S. The second race saw Morris start from Pole and the curse of pole position struck again, with him retiring from the lead into the pits on lap twelve along with 2nd placed Price. This promoted third placed James Coleman Porsche Boxster S won his class in both races McAleer into the lead, which he retained until the chequered flag, winning by over three seconds from Kevin Harrison in another Porsche 996 C2 and Andy Toon, also in a Porsche 996 C2. Coleman and Adams both took class wins again. The Focus Cup Championship is an arrive and drive package, featuring identical Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S cars, owned and maintained by Focus Cup Ltd. They had two races on Saturday and saw the precise Andy Wilmot in the Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S on pole position after all the other drivers in the top five have at least one lap time disallowed for exceeding track limits. He

The second Porsche race was won by Jake McAlear in his Porsche 996 C2

November 2019

70


© Simon Wright

Jac Constable won two of the three Radical races

© Janet Wright

led for the first race comfortably until the penultimate lap the first half of the race before his pit stop, handing the when Russell Cager took the lead and was the first to lead to Marcus Clutton for Valour Racing, until his pitstop. cross the line. But the win went to Harry Nunn, with Cager De Sadeleer then regained the lead and won by over classified 2nd and Richard Avis was 3rd. Wilmot took the three seconds from Clutton. Despite receiving a five fastest lap of the race and finished 4th. There second second penalty for exceeding track limits, Dominik outing was Race 9 on the programme and it was David Jackson still finished 3rd for RAW Motorsport. May who started from Pole position on the top six reverse The second race saw drama right from the start when it grid. This time Wilmot made sure of his victory, setting was red flagged on the first lap and Jason Rishover, Peter another fastest lap time, beating Harry Nunn into 2nd place Brookes and Mark Richards were all out and did not make who was just ahead of Gary the restart. Then from the © Janet Wright Mitchell. This ensured that restart, Jackson led until Andy Wilmott is the 2019 just four laps from the end, Focus Cup Champion with when he retired. This 433 points ahead of Russell handed the lead to De Cager in 2nd place with 412 Sadeleer who took the points. Harry Nunn was 3rd chequered flag first, but in the championship on 400 then was given a five points. second penalty for The Radical Challenge exceeding track limits Championship had their first which dropped him to 2nd race before the lunch break place. This handed victory with Jérôme de Sadeleer on to Jac Constable the win pole for 360 Racing. He led Jérome de Dadeleer won the first Radical race but lost the second due to a 5 second penalty

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

71


© Simon Wright

© Janet Wright

Archie O’Brien won the Am class in the third Mini Challenge race

Marcus Clutton took a couple of 2nd places in the Radical races.

for Fix Auto with Hart GT. In 3rd, nearly twenty seconds behind, was Chris Preen for Valour Racing. The third race, which took place on Sunday, saw Jac Constable take his second victory of the weekend, by

over nine seconds from Marcus Clutton. Taking another 3rd place was Dominik Jackson. After the lunch break it was time for the first of the Mini Challenge Cooper Pro & Am Classes races. Pole position went to privateer Robbie Dalgleish by just 0.047 of a second, despite loosing two lap times for exceeding track limits. Archie O’Brien headed the Am grid, starting 10 seconds after the Pro field. Dalgleish maintained his advantage to win by just 0.732 of a second ahead of Alex Nevill for LDR Racing and Toby Goodman for Excelr8 Motorsport was 3rd. In the Am class, O’Brien led the first half of the race before Lee Pearce got in front to win by just 0.337 of a second from O’Brien and Josh Martin took 3rd in class. In the second race, Dalgleish took the early lead but was passed by Goodman who won by just 0.722 of a second © Simon Wright

Robbie Dalgleish won the first Mini Challenge Cooper Pro & Am class race, leading Alex Nevill (2nd) and James Hillery (3rd)

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

72


© Janet Wright © Simon Wright

Hywel Lloyd won both F3 Cup races in the iInvitation Class. Followed home by Cup class winner in the second race Stefano Leaney.

Tony Goodman won two of the three Mini Challenge races

from Lydia Walmsley, while Dominic Wheatley was 3rd. In the Am class Pearce made it two in a row, just ahead of Lawrence Harris in 2nd place in the class for A Reeve Motorsport, and Andrew Langley was 3rd in class for Norfolk Cars Mini Specialist. The third race saw Goodman take a second victory of the weekend with James Hillery in 2nd for Dankan Mini Shop with HW Racing, while Dalgleish managed 3rd. In the Am class it was O’Brien taking the class win in this race from Pearce and Harris.

Switching to single seater action, the F3 Cup Championship had a relatively small entry and saw Hywel Lloyd for CF Racing claim pole position in the Invitation class for both races. The fastest Cup contender was Stefano Leaney, who was over a second and a half seconds slower in 2nd after having one lap time disallowed for exceeding track limits. Lloyd went on to win both races. In the first race he was almost twenty nine seconds ahead of Clan Carey for Chris Dittmann Racing who had his team mate Chris Dittmann right behind. In the second race it was Darragh Daly who finished 2nd for Team Fox Racing ahead of the consistent Chris Dittmann taking his second 3rd place of the meeting. © Simon Wright

© Janet Wright

Classic and Competition Car

Lee Pearce took two Am class wins in the Mini Challenge race

November 2019

Cain Carey won the Cup class finishing 2nd in the first F3 Cup race.

73


© Simon Wright

The Mini Challenge - Cooper S came out late in the afternoon for their first race of the weekend. Daniel Butcher-Lord for Dankan Mini Shop took Pole position but was beaten in the race by Rob Austin for A Reeve Motorsport. Butcher-Lord took 2nd, only 0.386 of a second behind at the flag, while Andy Montgomery for Mad 4 Mini was 3rd. In the second race Butcher-Lord managed to reverse the order to win by over three seconds from Austin, while Stuart McLaren was 3rd for Mad 4 Mini. In the final race, Butcher-Lord made it two wins in a row, this time beating Alan Lee for A Reeve Motorsport after Austin retired at half distance. Montgomery took another 3rd place. Sunday saw two Heritage Formula Ford Races take place. Tom Brown in a Van Diemen took a shortened first race after a red flag from Joe Porter in a Van Diemen RF92 and Jaap Blijleven took 3rd in a Reynard FF88. The second race saw Brown drop to 3rd with Porter taking the win and Blijleven in 2nd. Also on Sunday were two races for Z Cars & MSVR Allcomers, which saw Tim Bishop on Pole position driving a Caterham R500. The race was led from the start until it was red flagged on lap ten by Bishop won won by over fourteen seconds from Z Cars winner Ed Giddings in a BMW Z4, with Jamie Jeffrey in 3rd in another BMW Z4. The second race saw Bishop take another win, while Jeffrey went one better to finish 2nd and win the Z class with Giddings back in 3rd.

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

Classic and Competition Car

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

November 2019

Sometimes the racing was too close in the Mini Challenge 74 as Hillery was pushed wide by Nevill at Redgate


Ex-Autosport editor and BBC Radio F1 commentator Simon Taylor in the HWM Stovebolt Special races past the funfair in The Orchard

Autumn Classic Prescott Hill Climb,. 5th-6th October 2019. By Peter McFadyen

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

Š Peter McFadyen

75


© Peter McFadyen

Richard Mason’s Austin Healey 3000 Mk2 was a class winner.

© Peter McFadyen

A Cadillac Fleetwood of the late 1920s leads the three Indian motor cycles which took part in the lunchtime cavalcade on the hill

Prescott Autumn Classic

Classic’ over the weekend of 5 and 6 October. There was live music and dancing in the paddock and owners of American cars came to display © Peter McFadyen them there or in The Orchard and some of them paraded up the hill at lunchtime. In the competing classes, however, it was more Anglo than American with guest clubs bringing rounds of their own championships for such as Triumph TRs, TVRs, Historic Rally Cars, Austin Healeys, Morgans, Aston Martins and 500cc F3 racing cars. The host club fielded big classes for their own th

The Bugatti Owners’ Club brought their Prescott hill climbing season to a close with two separate meetings under a single heading ‘The Anglo American Autumn Bruce Young’s Competition 2-Seater was fastest of the three pre-war Aston Martins in the AMOC Speed Series class

th

© Peter McFadyen

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

76


Gavin Meanley hard at work in his 6.6 litre Buick-engined Ford Model A

Alistair Howells in the 250cc Velocettepowered Angle Iron Special which, probably just as well, was not too fast.

© Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen © Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

John Dent (Cooper Mk8 JAP) won the 500cc F3 class

Classic and Competition Car

© Peter McFadyen

Mark Hales, Chaparral 2A Chevrolet, second in class

November 2019

77


members’ championships and a small class of prewar Bugattis had their own handicap. American cars would be perfect for the ‘Flathead’ or side-valve class but so are the British 1172cc Ford © Peter McFadyen

Keith Thomas gets off the line in his Buckler MkV with supercharged 1172cc Ford engine competing in the ‘Flathead’ class

engined Bucklers and their bigger, mostly V8-engined, counterparts, the Allards. Both makes provided their usual strong support for the class but only Clark Devey’s Model 68 Ford hot-rod upheld transatlantic interests. The Invitation & American Marques class did include a recreated American Chaparral and a Chevrolet powered McLaren M12 CanAm car along with a Camaro Z28 and the HWM Stovebolt Special, a British car modified in America and fitted with a Chevrolet engine, but the promised Plymouth Barracuda failed to show. The minimal American presence in the entry did not deter, however, from an excellent weekend of British hill climbing and the shear number and variety of cars taking part over the two days was most impressive. Michael Ward’s 1921 Bugatti Type 13 Brescia competing in the Bugatti Handicap

Classic and Competition Car

© Peter McFadyen

November 2019

78


© Peter McFadyen

Clark Devey’s 4.5 litre V8-engined 1936 Model 68 Ford

Winner of the AMOC class was the Noble M12 GTO 3R drive by Bob Searles © Peter McFadyen

Classic and Competition Car

© Peter McFadyen

November 2019

Ross Stone’s Porsche 911RS on the hill

79


Edmund Burgess approaches the Esses in his Bugatti Type 51

© Peter McFadyen

Tim Boles in the Chevrolet Camaro Z28 finished third in the American Marques & Invitation class

© Peter McFadyen

Classic and Competition Car

© Peter McFadyen

November 2019

Selfie-stick mania has spread to Neil Bennett’s Batten Special

80


Ford Coupé in fine ‘oily rag’ condition

An immaculate Allard Palm Beach in The Orchard

© Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

Offenhauser-engined Ford van

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

81


© Peter McFadyen

Ford Model A in The Orchard with the BOC Clubhouse behind.

© Peter McFadyen

Classic and Competition Car

Showgirls, Jeep and GI in the parade

November 2019

© Peter McFadyen

Commentator Nick Upton interviews Simon Taylor in the paddock

82


Buckler Backbone Special

© Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

Classic and Competition Car

© Peter McFadyen

November 2019

The newly restored Buckler Backbone Special of Simon Ambrose has a tubular backbone chassis similar to that of the Lotus Elan but designed and produced several years earlier.Simon Ambrose (left) works to solve a minor electrical problem on the Buckler BBS or Backbone Special which he has just completed a major restoration

83


Sunday Scramble,

Bicester Heritage, 6th October 2019. By Simon & Janet Wright.

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

Š Simon Wright

84


Š Janet Wright

The final Sunday Scramble of the year had a sold out entry of 6,000 enthusiasts arriving at Bicester Heritage at the beginning of October. A bright sunny, but slightly chilly Autumn day welcomed the crowds to the former world time airfield, which is now a technical site as well as still being a working airfield. A lot of the vehicles were displayed around the Bicester Heritage Technical site buildings which house over 40 specialist historic and restoration companies, while the rest lined-up along side the airfield. Most of the specialist restoration firms that are based on site had vehicles on display, and many other interesting vehicles were parked amongst the buildings. One that really caught the eye was a

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

replica of the 1973 Nascar No. 43 Dodge Charger of Richard Petty, painted in the red and blue STP colour scheme of the actual race car, which won the 1973 Daytona 500. Richard Petty raced in NASCAR between 1958 and 1992. During that period he won a record 200 races and took the NASCAR Cup Championship seven times, also winning the Daytona 500 a record seven times. He also managed another record, winning 27 races, 10 of them consecutively, in a single season. Large American cars were well represented by a variety of different cars, but nearly all as single representatives of their model. An unusual one was the first generation Chevrolet El Camino utility Š Simon Wright

85


including an exterior sun visor over the split design windscreen. This model was produced between 1941 and 1952 and from 1946 to 1948 it was a sub series of the Chevrolet Fleetmaster series. In 1947, the Fleetline accounted for over 70% of Chevrolet sales. It was powered by a 3.5 litre straight six engine which produced 90 hp. This particular car has been modified and fitted with a 5.7 litre engine. © Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

vehicle that looks more like a saloon car from the front rather than a pickup truck, and even featured the rear fins, so popular on saloon cars of the period. It was adapted from a two door station wagon platform that integrated the cab and cargo bed into the body. The model was first introduced in 1959 and ran until 1960. Then production resumed in 1964 until 1987. It was classified in North America as an SUV. Parked next to the El Camino was a sky blue 1948 Chevrolet Fleetline. This was typical of the 1940s styling, with a rounded body © Janet Wright design

Classic and Competition Car

Parked together on the edge of the airfield were a pair of Chevrolet Station wagons, including a red and white 1957 210 model and an earlier example which appeared to be undergoing restoration. Away from the American cars, their was an immaculate gold coloured 1952 Jowett Javelin. The Javelin was Britains first all-new car following the second World War. The innovative design was instantly acclaimed, but output was limited initially by the rationing of steel. With an advanced monocoque constructed body, with an aerodynamic design, the 5-6 seater produced nimble performance from its flat four twin carburettor crossflow engine, which produced 52 bhp. It had excellent handling due to all round torsion bar suspension. Over

November 2019

86


© Simon Wright

The model made its debut in March 1970 and came with a 2.5 litre fuel injected engine. It developed 160 bhp, which was the most powerful of the ‘A’ series Commodores. This gave the car a top speed of 123 mph. There were over 156,330 Commodore A series built, 2,574 were GS and GS/E variants.

23,000 were produced between 1947 and 1953. The model also had a successful motorsport career, winning the 2 litre Touring Car class win in the 1949 Spa 24 hours race, and taking a class win in the 1.5 litre class in the Monte Carlo Rally and an outright win in the 1953 Tulip International Rally. Another popular car from Europe was represented with a fine example of a 1971 Opel Commodore GS/E Coupe.

© Simon Wright

There were many interesting displays, spread amongst the buildings. For local enthusiasts, there were a nice pair of Minis parked together, a Mini Clubman 1275 GT and a Mini pickup truck. Just down the road were a trio of black Volkswagen Golfs, a G60 and a pair of GTi 16V © Janet Wright

© Janet Wright

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

87


© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

and just opposite were a pair of red Audi Quattro's. Another pair of vehicles showed the history of British Leyland off road vehicles with the last of the Austin Gipsy range parked next to a more recent Land Rover Discovery. Originally the Austin Gipsy was designed as a rival for the Land Rover, before both companies came together under the British Leyland organisation. Production of the Gipsy finished in 1968. There were quite a few rare and unusual vehicles on © Janet Wright

Classic and Competition Car

show. The stunning design of a blue 1974 Bitter CD luxury sportscar showed how the German firm re-bodied other manufacturers vehicles. The company was founded in 1971 by former racing driver Erich Bitter and produced cars between 1973 and 1989. The Bitter CD is a three door hatchback coupe, powered by a 5.3 litre Chevrolet V8 producing 227 hp. The CD was first shown as a prototype at the 1969 Frankfurt Auto Show as the Opel Coupé Diplomat (CD). In 1971 the Opel design boss David Hools encouraged Erich Bitter to build the Bitter CD. Because he didn’t have the finance to set up his own production facilities, Bitter turned to Baur GMBH in Stuttgart, a proven independent small scale manufacturer. Bitter made alterations to the original 1969 Opel CD and Baur manufactured the body panels, assembled the shell and did the interior fittings and trimmings as well as installing the Opel Diplomat’s mechanicals. In total Bitter sold 395 CD cars by 1979. The red 1939 Hotchkiss 686 is a perfect example of the French manufactures high performance Grand Sports

November 2019

88


© Simon Wright

cars. The model number represents the number of cylinders followed by the bore of the engine (in millimetres). The company that was based in Paris built cars between 1903 and 1955. The company was originally an arms manufacturer, as represented by the twin cannons on the company logo. They started making engine components such as crankshafts for other manufacturers such as Panhard et Levassor and De DionBouton. They then built complete

Classic and Competition Car

engines and finally moved on to complete vehicles. The car at Bicester showed the quality of their cars in the 1930s that enable the company to win the Monte Carlo Rally in 1932, 1933, 1934, 1939, 1949 and 1950. A silver 1964 Alvis TE21 Super 2 door drophead had a body styled by Graber of Switzerland and built by Mulliner Park Ward, with a distinguishing feature of having twin headlights mounted one above the other. The 3 litre straight 6 Alvis engine produces 130 bhp and gives the car a top speed of 107 mph. The car had either a 5 speed ZF manual gearbox or automatic option, with coil spring front suspension and leaf spring rear suspension, with disc brakes all round. A total of 352 were built between 1963 and 1966. A famous name in the motoring World is Zagato, the styling house and coach © Simon Wright building firm who have been associated with major manufacturers like Aston Martin, Bentley, BMW and Lamborghini. Their fortunes in recent years have been revived with the likes of the Alfa Romeo SZ and the Aston Martin Vantage Zagato, but in the late 70s the company was feeling the effect of many manufacturers doing in-house styling, so © Janet Wright the company produced their only car

November 2019

89


© Simon Wright

they ever manufactured completely, and it was a major surprise. The Zele was only 77 inches long, an electric city car designed for town use. Ahead of the times, it was advertised as free from atmospheric pollution, with a very quiet engine and very economical to run. The body was made from reinforced glass fibre with 2 seats and some baggage space. The engine was a 24 volt, 2000 watt engine with direct drive on the rear differential through a flexible coaxial coupling, providing 3 forward speeds and reverse, controlled by switches on the dashboard. The mechanical components were sourced from either the Fiat 500 or Fiat 124. The car had a top speed of 33 mph and a range of around 30 miles. The car was imported and marketed in the UK by Bristol Cars Ltd, with a list price of £1994.84 including car tax and VAT in 1975.

engine develops 140 bhp. As well as the Drophead Coupe, it was also produced as a 4door saloon and a 2door coupe, but it was more expensive than its rivals and only 270 were sold of all the three body styles, with only 55 built of the Drop Head coupe. The car had a separate chassis, with coil sprint front suspension, and torsion bars with a swing axle at the rear, with servo assisted drum brakes all round. The interior was luxurious with a polished walnut dashboard and door trims, leather seats and adjustable arm rests on the front seats. It also was fitted with a heater and a radio.

© Simon Wright

With similar styling to the Bentley Continental, the maroon 1955 Lagonda 3 litre Drophead Coupe looked every bit as luxurious as contemporary Bentley and Rolls Royce models. The Lagonda 3 litre was produced by Aston Martin Lagonda from 1953 and 1958 and was the second Lagonda model of the David Brown/Aston Martin era. The Lagonda straight six twin overhead cam 3 litre

Classic and Competition Car

© Simon Wright

November 2019

90


Near the main entrance to the site were another collection of American cars, including a Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, a Lincoln Continental, a 1970 Chrysler Imperial and a 1959 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 amongst the lineup. The Oldsmobile looked stunning in its two tone white and blue

© Simon Wright

paintwork. The Oldsmobile 88 was produced as a model from 1949 until 1999 and from the 1950s it was the divisions top selling line until 1974. The car at Bicester was a fourth generation 2 door coupe model that was produced from 1959 to 1960. The lower priced Dynamic 88 model featured the 6 litre Rocket V8 with a two barrel carburettor, producing 265 hp. BMW heritage exhibited a selection of historic cars, © Simon Wright including a 1938 BMW 328 roadster and the original BMW Supercar,

Classic and Competition Car

the 1978 BMW M1. They were joined by a display from the BMW Owners Club UK which included a 635CSi from the 80’s and a 1939 328 Frazer-Nash. Motorsport fans enjoyed the spectacle of Mercedes-Benz © Janet Wright

AMG displaying one of their heritage F1 cars, and played God save the Queen with the engine. Backing on to the active airfield was one of the biggest gatherings of Porsches I have ever seen, with most road going models probably represented, including a cream and

© Janet Wright

November 2019

91


This year has been a great year for the Sunday Scramble meetings and the next meeting is scheduled for Sunday 5th of January. Remember to book in advance on their web site www.bicesterheritage.co.uk © Janet Wright

© Janet Wright

red 1962 Porsche 356 parked next to an orange 2003 Porsche 911 GT3 RS. The meeting was not just about exotic cars, the Wartburg Trabant IFA Club were well represented and celebrating the 50th Birthday of the club with a line up of Trabant's and a birthday cake.

Lotus line-up

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

Austin 1100 saloon and Austin 1300 Estate

92


© Simon Wright

Fiat 500 line-up

© Simon Wright © Simon Wright

© Janet Wright

Nissan GT-R

1964 Tatra

1933 Rolls Royce 20/25

© Janet Wright

Nissan 200SX

© Simon Wright

© Janet Wright

© Simon Wright

De Tomaso Pantera

Classic and Competition Car

1901 Panhard

November 2019

1947 Chevrolet pickup truck.

93


© Simon Wright

© Janet Wright

1928 Lancia Lambda

Saab Owners Club display

© Simon Wright

© Janet Wright

1964 Pontiac Parisienne

Classic and Competition Car

This Ferrari Daytona may not be all it seems.

November 2019

94


Castle Combe Autumn Classic Castle Combe. 5th October 2019. By Peter McFadyen.

The David Jones / Jon Harmer Volvo Amazon closes on Julian Crossley’s Jowett Javelin in the Coys 100 Trophy race.

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

© Peter McFadyen

95


Nimrod Aston Martins Group C took part in a lunchtime demo.

© Peter McFadyen

Castle Combe Autumn Classic In line with the trend set by the Silverstone Classic, Donington, Oulton Park, Croft and of course Goodwood, the Wiltshire circuit introduced its own annual historic festival in 2012 and, eight editions on, it is still one of the best and remains true to its own individual flavour. Autumn weather can be changeable to say the least but for this year’s Autumn Classic, on Saturday 5 October, it was just th

© Peter McFadyen

Classic and Competition Car

Pit stop for Andy Shepherd’s AC Ace

© Peter McFadyen

In the HRDC Allstars race, Martin Hunt’s E-Type Jaguar is pursued by Austin Healeys, Sunbeam Tiger, Mini Cooper, Ford Falcon and Jaguar

about ideal, cool but dry. The Historic Racing Drivers’ Club (HRDC) provided three of the eight races with packed fields of saloons and sports cars in each. Front-and rear-engined Formula Junior single seaters always go well at Castle Combe as do the 1950s sports cars of the FiSCar InterMarque series and the Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club’s race for their pre-1966 cars, racing as ever for the Norman

November 2019

© Peter McFadyen

Gavin Watson’s 1962 Giulietta Ti

96


© Peter McFadyen

Ben Cater’s 1964 Ti Super

The huge field of 1958-66 Touring Cars in the HRDC Coys 100 Trophy race head towards The Esses on their opening lap © Peter McFadyen © Peter McFadyen

First of the single-seaters to finish in the Freddie Giles Memorial Trophy race, in fourth place overall, was Tony Lees’s AC/GN Cognac Special a car formerly raced by Giles.

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

© Peter McFadyen

The close battle for the lead in the Coys 100 Trophy race was resolved in favour of Ambrogio Perfetti’s blue Lotus Cortina with Pete Chambers’s red one finishing second

97


© Peter McFadyen

Robin Pearce (AC Ace) leads at the start of the FiSCar 1950s Sports Cars race with eventual winner Jonathan Abecassis lying second in his red and white Austin Healey 100

Dewis Trophy named for the famous Jaguar test driver who passed away earlier this year. The VSCC usually have a race for pre-war sports cars at the meeting but this year were replaced by the Frazer Nash car Club with a race for their own marque and the related GNs dedicated to the late Freddie Giles who competed in all branches of automotive competition from trials to races and hill climbs to rallies. The only disappointment was the opening race, a non-championship affair for the HSCC’s Historic and Classic Formula Fords which together could

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

muster only six starters, three of whom were effectively eliminated in a first corner shambles; hopefully, that will not be repeated in future years. Very sadly, during the HRDC Allstars race, one of the series’ regular competitors, Austin A40 driver Marc Swaffer, pulled off the track as he succumbed to a fatal heart attack. The race was immediately red flagged and, after an understandable delay, racing resumed with later races slightly shortened.

98


© Peter McFadyen

Austin A40 followed by A35 and A30 at Quarry Bend

© Peter McFadyen

Alex Thistlethwayte’s Ford Mustang finished third in the Coys 100 Trophy race

© Peter McFadyen

David Alexander’s Alfa Romeo Sprint GT was a class winner in the Classic Alfa Challenge race

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

99


The Jaguar MkVII driven by Graham Love

© Peter McFadyen

Alan Bull (3.8 Jaguar E-Type) finished second overall in the Jaguar race

© Peter McFadyen

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

© Peter McFadyen

The close race for Formula Junior victory between Stuart Roach’s orange Alexis and Chris Drake’s frontengined Terrier Mk4

100


© Peter McFadyen

Driven by ex-Grand Prix driver Karl Wendlinger at the recent Goodwood Revival, the Studebaker Silver Hawk was in the hands of ex-BTCC star Patrick Watts at Castle Combe.

Patrick Blakeney-Evans dominated the Freddie Giles Memorial Trophy race for pre-war Frazer Nash and GNs with his Super Sports model

© Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

Mark Williams (AC Cobra) won the interrupted HRDC Allstars race.

101


© Peter McFadyen

Antony Ross’s 1969 Spyder

Andrew Keith-Lucas (Jaguar XK150), brother of the BBC weather presenter, won his class in the Norman Dewis Trophy race for pre-’66 Jaguars

© Peter McFadyen

One of the famous works racing Frazer Nash single seaters was this supercharged 1½ litre car driven by Andrew Hall who finished seventh overall in the Freddie Giles Memorial Trophy race

© Peter McFadyen

James Bayliss (Frazer Nash TT Replica) in the Freddie Giles Memorial Trophy race Ben and James Colbourn won their class in the Coys 100 Trophy race with their 1959 2½ litre Standard Vanguard

Fred Shepherd’s 3-wheeling Ford Mustang at Camp Corner

© Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen © Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

Classic and Competition Car

race winner Ted Pearson’s 1974 Alfasud Ti Trofeo

November 2019

© Peter McFadyen

Winner of the Norman Dewis Trophy race for pre-’66 Jaguars was Martin Hunt’s E-Type

102


Š Motorsport-Imagery

WRC 2019 - Rally of Wales 3rd-6th October 2019. By David Goose of Motorsport Imagery.

2019 Wales rally GB winners Ott Tanak and Martin Jarveoja in the Toyota Gazoo Racing Yaris WRC.

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

103


© Motorsport-Imagery

The UK’s round of the World Rally championship rolled into town during the first week of October, however this year it was a new town. 2019 saw the service and control base for the event move to the seafront at Llandudno, away from its previous base at the Deeside Toyota factory. The rally was run over 4 competitive days, from Thursday to Sunday. Day one saw just one stage, a quick run around Oulton Park, the first time the venue had held a WRC stage for 26 years. This came after the ceremonial start on Liverpools historic waterfront. Friday, Saturday and Sunday saw the cars take on most of the regular stages in North and Mid Wales, although most stages have changed slightly over the years. Friday saw the cars loop away from Llandudno twice with a stage held in the darkness at the famous Aberhirnant venue. Saturday was a busy day with almost half of all the stage miles around the mid Wales forests, © Motorsport-Imagery

Louise Cook and Stefan Davis in the Ford Fiesta R2

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

Craig Breen's rather bruised Hyundai i20 WRC

104


Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin could have finished on the podium except for one minor off road excursion in Penmachno.

© Motorsport-Imagery

Stage One at Oulton Park was a fans event with a collection of Historic Rally Cars on display and a drift demo in the paddock, followed by a stage demonstration by Sir Chris Hoy driving the late Colin McRae’s rally winning Subaru Impreza. The opening stage proved to be the usual short blast around Oulton Park, with the drivers trying hard but realising that they could not win the rally on the opening day, but they could lose it. Ulsterman Chris Meeke in the Toyota Yaris took an early lead in the forests on Friday, until late in the day when both Tanak and Ogier overtook him before the end of there day. The two top title contenders were perfectly placed for an epic duel for the remaining days of the event, with third placed in the Championship, Neuville holding 4th pace in the rally. The weather caused

with a final super stage on tarmac around Colwyn Bay’s seafront. Sunday sees the now traditional return to the Brenig reservoir area, with a quick blast around the Great Orme in Llandudno before the ceremonial finish back on the seafront at Llandudno. 2019 marked the 75th running of the RAC Rally as it has always been known in UK. The 2019 season started with Sebastien Ogier in his Citroen looking to take his seventh straight WRC title but as the season progressed he has found himself trailing Estonian Ott Tanak in the Toyota, with Belgian star Thierry Neuville in third place in the standings. With 90 points still to be claimed from the final rounds it looks likely that the champion would come from these three contenders. Tanak led by 17 points from Ogier, with Neuville a further 13 back. Ogier has been the master of the Welsh forests for the last few years winning 5 of the last 6 Welsh events, only losing to Ford driver and local favourite Elfyn Evans who prevented him making it a clean sweep.

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

© Motorsport-Imagery

Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm in the Citroen C3 WRC at the infamous Sweetlamb watersplash

105


problems throughout Friday with the constant rain leaving the stage surfaces extreme slippery making tyre selection critical, a choice that let Neuville down towards the end of the day.

Pontus Tidemand and Ola Floene in the Ford Fiesta WRC

Day 3 saw hard charging Hyundai Ace Thierry Neuville hunt down Ogier and grab second place in the event, but by the end of the day, Ott Tanak maintained his first place with a lead of 11 seconds at the close of the day. Star of the day was undoubtedly local hero Elfyn Evans who won the first three stages of the day, climbing to sixth place as a result. Unable to repeat the result of the 2017 event, Evans was fighting for a good result on his return after a back injury prevented him starting the last three WRC events. Sebastien Ogier struggled to keep up with the pace of either Tanak or Neuville, both drivers seemed to be well in control but Ogier commented after the day that he was right on the limit, and yet he still lost time to both drivers in

Š Motorsport-Imagery

Š Motorsport-Imagery

Kris Meeke led the rally in the early stage before finishing just off the podium and top Brit at the end of the rally.

Classic and Competition Car

front of him. It looked likely that Ogier would not make it six Welsh victories in seven years. Despite the weather, slippery stages and the stakes involved, the top three held position on the Sunday stages. The third stage of the day, the blast around the Great Orme at Llandudno was cancelled for safety reasons. A diving team has to be deployed on the sea in case a car leaves the stage and crashed into the water. Unfortunately the weather had lead to rough seas, outside the tolerances allowed for the diving teams to operate in the choppy waves, therefore for the safety of the competitors the stage was cancelled. Ott Tanak won the event by less than 11 seconds from second placed Thierry Neuville, a very slender lead after the cars had completed a total of 313 km. Sebastien Ogier completed the podium, 13 seconds behind 2nd place. In terms of the overall standings, Tanak increased his lead to 28 points and a victory on the next WRC round in Spain November 2019

106


would secure his first WRC title. Early leader, Kris Meeke in the Toyota finished fourth whilst Welshman Elfyn Evans in the Fiesta end up fifth after an eventful rally. Evans had run wide on a corner in the third stage, Penmachno which led to suspension damage and losing him 43 seconds to the leaders on the stage. At the end of the rally, Evans was only 48 seconds behind eventual winner Ott Tanak. At the end of the rally, Evans must look back on a successful event for him, but if only he had not gone wide in Penmachno he could well have challenged for a podium place if not top step on the podium. The WRC returns to Wales in late October 2020, in a move to its more traditional late season date. At the moment there has been no decision about the base for the event, Llandudno must be favourite but the organisers for the time being remain undecided. Rumours are going around that at some stage in the future the rally may be held in Northern Ireland, although again no decision has yet been made public.

Skoda Fabia's seem to be a popular car in many classes, including this R5 version driven by rising star Kalle Rovanpera

Š Motorsport-Imagery

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

Š Motorsport-Imagery

Teemu Suninen's MS-RT Fiesta WRC over the Sweetlamb jumps.

107


Stephen Benton's Ford Escort Mk2, still a very capable rally car

Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul had a good run thropugh the rally in the Hyundai i20 WRC to finish in second place.

© Motorsport-Imagery

© Motorsport-Imagery

Sebastien Ogier in the Citroen C3 WRC admitted that he was driving flat out with nothing left in reserve, even so he could only manage third palce

Wales Rally GB National Rally

© Motorsport-Imagery

Classic and Competition Car

Running alongside part of the WRC main event, over recent years a second rally has been run to allow National rally competitors to experience the testing demands of a selection of International Rally standard stages. The cars are not governed by the usual regulations regarding type and specification, resulting in many Ford Escort MKII, Subaru Imprezza’s and even Land Rovers taking part. The wide variety of cars adds to the spectacle, but at the head of the field there are always a small number of extremely competitive usually ex WRC cars. This years National Rally over 85 stage miles, was won by the Scottish duo of John Wink and Neil Shanks in their Hyundai i20 R5. Over recent years the event has been dominated by Scottish drivers and this years winners had finished second in the same event last year. Welsh Rally Champions, Dylan Davies and Lion Williams finished

November 2019

108


Š Motorsport-Imagery

Š Motorsport-Imagery

A high flying Andrew Graham in his Landrover 90 TD5 Š Motorsport-Imagery

second in their Subaru Impreza whilst third place went to Alan Dickson and Martin Forrest in a Mitsubishi EVO IX. Of 64 crews that started the event, 45 completed the challenging tasks. Of the front runners, several were forced to retire. Tom Preston in his Fiesta WRC had set an early fast pace but his rally ended with mechanical issues. Other potential rally winners including Roger Duckworth ( Subaru), Mathew Hirst (Mitsubishi) and Bob Ceen ( Subaru) all fell out of the rally challenge with either mechanical woes or errors. Initially facing a strong challenge to win the National Rally, John Wink and Neil Shanks ended the rally over one minute thirty seconds ahead of the second place driver, proving the point that to win a rally, first you have to finish the rally. Mathew Hirst and Declan Dear in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

109


Richard Wells and Calvin Houldsworth in the Ford Fiesta R2T proving you don't need a WRC car to go flying

© Motorsport-Imagery

Alan Dickson and Martin Forrest's Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX

David Edwards and Paul Dolby in the Ford Escort MKII

© Motorsport-Imagery

A bit of a heavy landing for Allum Hughes and Alun Horn in the Ford Fiesta

© Motorsport-Imagery

Dylan Davies and Llion Williams in the Subaru Imprezza STi

© Motorsport-Imagery

Rob Aslett and Ashley Aslett's Subaru Imprezza

© Motorsport-Imagery

Classic and Competition Car

© Motorsport-Imagery

November 2019

110


The Rally Car display include cars from the last 90 years, including many iconic cars from the last 50 years. From Mini Cooper’s to Audi Quattro SWB, rom Ford Escort MkII RS to MG Metro 6R4 and Subaru Impreza, there seemed to be a car from all recent years that brought back fond memories to many a rally fan. On circuit, Sir Chris Hoy took the legendary Subaru Impreza WRC of the late Colin McRae and his co-driver Derek Ringer round the Oulton Park stage ahead of the main WRC Rally Cars. © Motorsport-Imagery

WRC at Oulton Park - Car Display and Drift Demo As part of the 75th running of Rally GB, the organisers of the Oulton Park stage of this years WRC Wales Rally GB, set up a number of attractions for fans before the evening running of the rally itself. Loud and smokey action was provided by a number of Drift car demo’s including Steve Baggsy Biagioni in his Nissan Skyline GTR, despite damp conditions he managed to create an incredible amount of tyre smoke. © Motorsport-Imagery

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

Tessa Whittock's 550hp Nissan Skyline Drift Car

111


1965 Mini Cooper S, 60 year sold and the only Mini to win the RAC Rally

Bjorn Waldegard's iconic Ford Escort MKII RS1800

Classic and Competition Car

© Motorsport-Imagery

© Motorsport-Imagery

© Motorsport-Imagery

November 2019

Hannu Mikkola's 1977 Toyota Celica 2000GT

© Motorsport-Imagery

Colin McRae's Subaru in front of Richard Burn's Safari Imprezza

112


Bjorn Waldegard's 1980 Toyota Celica 2000GT

1971 Saab 96 V4

© Motorsport-Imagery

Hannu Mikkola's Audi Quatro SWB

© Motorsport-Imagery

Ford Escort MKI RS2000

© Motorsport-Imagery

© Motorsport-Imagery

Marlboro Nissan 240RS

Jimmy McRae's 1986 Rothmans Racing MG Metro 6R4.

© Motorsport-Imagery

© Motorsport-Imagery

© Motorsport-Imagery

Sir Chris Hoy entertained the crowds in Colin McRae's Subaru Imprezza.

Peugeot 205 T16 EVO

Singer 9 Sports Coupe

© Motorsport-Imagery

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

© Motorsport-Imagery

113


Š Peter McFadyen

Madresfield Vintage Driving Tests Madresfield Drive 22nd September 2019. By Peter McFadyen

With Madresfield Court in the background, David Corney’s Wolseley Hornet Special begins the Slow-Fast test with a marshal aboard to ensure fair play

Classic and Competition Car

November November2019 2019

114


© Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

the drive and being judged in their own concours competition. In fine weather, picnics are the order of the day but this year, Harry Colledge (Austin 7 Ulster) on alas, heavy the Forwards & Backwards test rain during the morning curtailed that pleasure. Braving the elements in his MorganRiley is overall winner of the Madresfield Trophy, David Pryke

Madresfield Vintage Driving Tests Gloucester Drive is a mile-long narrow stretch of very straight road in the grounds of Madresfield Court near Malvern. In the 1930s it was used for speed trials and cars used to become airborne over its undulations but since the war it has been used only for more gentle automotive pursuits, namely driving tests. For VSCC members the annual event is an ideal chance for a bit of friendly competition with spectators’ pre-war cars lining

Clare Mudie has her hood up against the rain in her Austin 7 Chummy

The five tests which competitors must tackle consist of two long established ones before lunch – the Forwards & Backwards test and Slow-Fast in which the idea is to go as slowly as possible over the first section and then accelerate to cover the second part as quickly as possible, the difference in times for the two parts determining the result. After a lengthy lunch break, three more tests begin with the spectators’ favourite known as the ‘pork chop’ in which competitors have to negotiate their cars around a squeaky imitation pork chop (now replaced by a healthy eating ‘veggieburger’). All tests are timed and points awarded accordingly with penalties added for not completing the tests correctly. © Peter McFadyen

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

115


© Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

James Duce in a rare 1925 Senechal TS Sport

David Rushton (MG M Type) narrowly avoids the ‘pork chop’

A combination of speed and care in observing the instructions brought victory to David Pryke and his Rileyengined Morgan 4/4 who ended the day with a total score of 20 points, comfortably ahead of David Rushton (MG M The belt-driven Bédélia BD2 ‘Course’ cyclecar has no reverse gear so Ben Brereton relied on willing helpers to push him backwards when required

Type) on 31 points and Robin Lees and Simon Bowyer, both driving Model A Fords who finished on 40 points. The spectators’ concours prize went to a 1935 Daimler 15 Drophead Coupé while the competitors voted among themselves for Adrian Ducker’s Alfa Romeo 6C as the car, other than their own, which they would most like to take home. © Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

Simon Bowyer also has a hood – his Model A Ford’s – to protect him

116


© Peter McFadyen

Adrian Ducker’s concourswinning Alfa Romeo 6C on the Slow-Fast test

Bruce Young takes a careful line around the ‘pork chop’ with his 1928 Trojan 3-Door Tourer

© Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

David Crouch always looks relaxed at the wheel of his 1925 Citroën Normande B10 which was formerly used on a farm in France

Les Bayliss’s 1925 Alcyon Tourer with its 500cc flat-twin engine and acetylene fuelled headlamps was unfortunately a nonstarter

© Peter McFadyen

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

117


© Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

Chris Pearson’s Rolls Royce Phantom II might seem an unusual choice for a competition car but it looked at home in the surroundings and even carried him to a second class award.

David Lamb was successful (at last) in getting his Riley Imp past and around the ‘pork chop’

© Peter McFadyen

Classic and Competition Car

William Marsh tied back the driver’s door of his Austin 7 Top Hat Saloon to improve his view of the course markers on the road

© Peter McFadyen

November 2019

Oh Dear! David Hince squidges the burger with his Austin 7’s front tyre.

118


Past President of the VSCC Roger Collings waits for the flag to drop for his vintage Bentley

© Peter McFadyen

Philip MilneTaylor reverses his 1905 Riley 9HP, the oldest car competing at Madresfield this year. The 1098cc V-Twin engine mounted under the seats of 1905 Riley 9HP

© Peter McFadyen

Corinne Davies-Griffith again shared the driving of David Rushton’s MG M Type

© Peter McFadyen © Peter McFadyen

Charmian Black gives the ‘pork chop’ a wide berth in her Alfa Romeo 6C

Richard Baxter’s Austin Ulster Replica sends the burger flying

© Peter McFadyen

Steve Loveridge in his DFP Type E4, one of only three cars of this make in the UK

© Peter McFadyen

Classic and Competition Car

© Peter McFadyen

November 2019

© Peter McFadyen

A Lanchester and Flat-Nose Morris among the spectators’ cars which line the drive

119


Closing Shot. By Syd Wall.

Mount Panorama is a beautiful circuit

Classic and Competition Car

November 2019

120


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.