Classic and Competition Car 92 May 2018

May 2018

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

In this issue

British GT from a wet Oulton Park

Issue 92

Our Team.

Simon Wright Editor Janet Wright.

Staff Photographer.

Contents Page 3

News.

Page 7

World Rallycross media launch, Silverstone.

Page 11

BRSCC TCR Championship, Silverstone.

Page 21

‘Mini’ Pride of Longbridge.

Page 31

Archive Photo of the Month.

Page 32

British Gt Oulton Park.

Page 37

VSCC Formula Vintage Round 1, Silverstone.

Page 45

MSVR Club Car Championship, Donington Park.

Page 53

Goodwood Members Meeting.

Page 61

BRM Association Track Day.

Page 66

Stoneleigh Chummy.

Page 68

MG Car Club Sprint, Curborough.

Page 71

Light Car Welsh Weekend.

Independant Freelance contributors in this issue.

Pete Austin.

Peter McFadyen Syd Wall David Goose & Stuart Yates of MotorsportImagery

All content is copyright classicandcompetitioncar.com unless otherwise stated. All photographs are copyright and cannot be used for commercial purposes unless by prior approval of the original copyright holder.

We try to ensure accurate and truthful reporting but if you spot an error, please contact us and will we verify and correct accordingly. We do not organise any events which are mentioned and we are not responsible if the event does not take place or is cancelled. Please contact the event organiser before making a long trip.

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

Front Cover.

British GT in the wet at Oulton Park © Motorsport Imagery.

May 2018

To Subscribe for free and be notified when the next issue is published please click here. To check out our web site with additional photos please click here

Page 2

Editorial.

The Pride of Longbridge event had to be curtailed into a much smaller event this year as the venue, Cofton Park, was not in a suitable condition to take thousands of cars driving on the waterlogged ground. The organisers set the event up to give support to the factory workers when the site was originally closed down. But over the years the event has really turned into a celebration of what those workers achieved, with the vehicles they built.

You don’t need to hold the event on the date of the closure, you should remember the date, but the event should be moved to the summer when the park is not likely to be waterlogged. You can never predict the British weather, but in the summer the park ground should be firm and dry enough to still be able to hold the event even if it rains on the day. The organisers put a lot of effort in to organise this event, but people also put a lot of time and their money to attend, and it seems a shame that a lot of that effort was lost this year with the reduced numbers that attended, at the organisers instructions. Surely it would be better if the organisers efforts reached fruition every year, rather than having to cancel or run a reduced event due to outside circumstances.

News

Porsche hybrid race car is faster than Formula One. On April 9th, an evo version of the Le Mans winning Porsche 919 Hybrid established a new track record at Spa-Francorchamps. Works driver Neel Jani lapped the 7.004 kilometre long Belgian Grand Prix circuit in the Ardennes mountains in 1 minute 41.770 seconds. The thirty four year old Swiss driver beat Lewis Hamilton’s record by just 0.783 of a second. The previous record was set on 26th August 2017 by the Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid in qualifying.

The Porsche achieved a top speed of 359 km/h and set an average speed of 245.61 km/h on his record breaking lap. Porsche wanted to show what can be achieved by the Porsche 919 when the restrictions of the WEC regulations are loosened. All six of the 2017 LMP1 drivers contributed to this project. The original 919 won the Le Mans 24 hours and the FIA World Endurance Championship for the last three years, from 2015-2017. The Evo model power train remained as per the previous race car. The fuel feed restrictor was removed and with updated software the engine power went from 500 HP to 720 HP The energy recovery system increased from 400 to 440 HP. Aerodynamics were improved with larger front diffuser and larger rear wing with an active controlled drag reduction system. Add a four wheel brake by wire system and weight reduction of 39 Kg. Finally Michelin developed new compounds to increase grip.

May 2018

Page 3

© Motorsport-imagery

Nissan Formula E Launch.

Academy award-Nominated actress Margot Robbie headlined the Nissan Formula E launch tour event in Los Angeles. Margot is the companies electric vehicle and sustainability ambassador. The is the start of an exciting era for Nissan as it enters the FIA Formula E Championship. The Nissan Formula E car was first revealed at the Geneva Motor Show, and was shown to an array of VIP guests in Los Angeles.

Nissan’s entry into the electric street racing series coincides with the launch of the new generation of Formula E car, which features striking new aerodynamics and a whole new battery and powertrain package. Nissan is the first Japanese automotive brand to enter Formula E. The entry is the latest expression of Nissan Intelligent Mobility, the company’s future vision for changing how cars are driven, powered and integrated into society. Nissan has already sold more than 300,000 Nissan Leaf vehicles worldwide.

Wet Debut for Invictus.

The Invictus Games Jaguar team had a wet start to their British GT adventure at Oulton Park at the beginning of April.

Drivers Ben Norfolk and Jason Wolfe put their Jaguar F-Type SVR GT4 (22) in to 34th place on the grid on the 17th row, while the sister car (44) of Steve McCulley and Matthew George was in 28th place on the grid on the 14th row.

At the end of the one hour race the 22 car finished in 30th place, just ahead of the 44 car in 32nd place, placed 7th and 8th in class. The second race was red flagged due to the wet weather after just 3 laps, with 22 in 28th place and 44 in 26th.

May 2018

Page 4

Morgan unveil Aero GT in Geneva.

The Morgan Motor Company unveiled a new limited run variant of the Aero 8, the race inspired Aero GT at the Geneva Motor Show. Only eight examples will be produced of the Aero GT to mark the end of production of the Aero 8 at Morgan’s Pickersleigh Road Factory.

The Aero GT features the Morgan N62 V8 engine as fitted to the Plus 8 50th Anniversary model that was also revealed in Geneva.. This will be the last Morgan model to feature the normally aspirated V8 engine. The first customer Aero GT has been completed and is finished in Miami Blue with Black interior

Volkswagen celebrates two wins to start the season with Engstler Motorsport in Sepang At the TCR Asia season-opener in Sepang, Malaysia, Engstler Motorsport made a perfect start to the new touring car season in Asia. Victory in the first race went to Luca Engstler (D) and Mitchell Cheah (MAL) followed suit in the second. Cheah completed a VW 1-2 in the first race, dominated by the Engstler Motorsport team that claimed the top 3 positions in qualifying. 18 year old Engstler, finished the eventful second race in 3rd. Race-winner Cheah had started from 9th and benefited from various incidents before overtaking the remaining cars after a restart to take the lead. After contact in the opening phase of the race, Engstler also had to battle his way up from 9th and was rewarded with a 3rd place finish. The next two races of the TCR Asia season will take place at the second event of the series in Buriram, Thailand, from 1st to 3rd June. More information: www.asia.tcr-series.com May 2018

Changes to Classic and Competition Car at Issuu.

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

Classic and Competition Car monthly magazine.

You can get the latest issue of Classic and Competition Car magazine every month from our web site at www.classicandcompetitioncar.com.

Read it online or download it free from the web site.

With over 7 years of history, all our past issues can be downloaded from the Previous issues page of our web site.

We also have photo galleries which we hope to expand during 2018, so visit the web site often to see whats new.

TVR joins the Rebellion.

Rebellion Racing have announced it’s partnership with iconic British sports car manufacturer TVR. In September 2017, TVR revealed it’s latest Griffith road car.

Following its entry in the LMP1 category of the FIA World Endurance Championship Super Season, Rebellion Racing revealed their Oreca R-13 prototype at the FIA WEC Prologue event at Le Castellet circuit in the South of France.

This will allow the TVR name to return to the 24 Hours of le Mans with Rebellion Racing. The two companies share common values on and off the track, which is why they decided to take up this new challenge together for the 2018-2019 Super Season. TVR last appeared at Le Mans in 2003, 2004 and 2005 with a TVR T400R in the GT2 category.

May 2018

Issue 1

Issue 20

Issue 60

Issue 2

Issue 3

Issue 24

Issue 72

Issue 19

Issue36

Issue 84

Page 6

2018 FIA World Rallycross Championship media launch Silverstone

By Syd Wall

Š Syd Wall

The Audi A1 driven by Andreas Bakkerud looked impressive on the jump and on landing

May 2018

Page 7

The 2018 FIA World Rallycross Championship season was launched at Silverstone with all 15 permanent drivers present and examples of all the latest cars. The championship goes from strength to strength and is gathering more and more interest from manufacturers and professional teams.

VW are present again with factory developed cars for Petter Solberg and current champion Johan Kristoffersson, Peugeot and Audi have pledged further support for their existing teams, Prodrive have built new Renault Meganes for Guerlain Chicherit and a pair of WRX modified 2016 WRC Hyundai i20s complete the professional teams with three additional entries who can score drivers points but not team points.

The championship visits 12 countries this year with the USA present for the first time at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas, and the UK round moving to Silverstone from Lydden Hill.

The season kicks off in Barcelona over the weekend of April

© Syd Wall

The VW Polo of Solberg and Kristoffersson was camouflaged to hide May 2018 new developments

© Syd Wall

Petter Solberg was entertaining as usual

14th with Britain’s round on May 25th-27th at the Silverstone Speedmachine festival

© Syd Wall

The Olsberg Fiesta of Kevin Eriksson was also hiding new developments

Page 8

© Syd Wall

The Peugeots flew high but…

May 2018

Page 9

Š Syd Wall

‌landed like this every time. Timmy Hansen at the wheel May 2018

Page 10

BRSCC TCR. Silverstone National circuit. 31st March-1st April 20-18

By Simon and Janet Wright. with additional photos by Stuart Yates of Motorsport Imagery. © Janet Wright

Oliver Taylor Honda Civic Type-R TCR leads Carl Swift Cupra TCR V3 DSG and Darelle Wilson Vauxhall Astra TCR

May 2018

Page 11

© Motorsport-imagery

Double race winner Dan Lloyd being pursued by Aiden Moffat in race 1.

The brand new TCR UK Championship made an impressive debut at Silverstone, and was no April Fool, but more like an Easter Egg. A new series in the UK, this is a headline championship for the British © Janet Wright Racing and Sports Car Club (BRSCC) for 2018. TCR UK is the latest series to join a growing list of championships already taking place around the World. The aim is to produce cost effective national Touring Car championships with the same cars that can be used for national, regional and International events. These

Lewis Kent Hyundai i30 N TCR at the front of the pack while Finlay Crocker Honda Civic Type R TCR runs wide

May 2018

© Simon Wright

cars are also eligible for Endurance racing and compete in championships like the 24 Hour series and the Super Taikyu series in Japan. The German series Howard Fuller Honda Civic Type-R TCR leads the midfield pack has already proved to be very popular, with a grid of 26 cars in 2016, which had grown to 48 cars for 2017.

Designed to produce some of the finest Touring Car races, the cars are Front Wheel Drive hatchback or saloon performance versions of production cars. Powered by a 2 litre, turbocharged petrol engine, producing around 350 bhp, there are cars produced by Alfa Romeo, Audi, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Peugeot, Opel, Renault, SEAT, Subaru and Volkswagen.

The UK Series will be held as fourteen 30 minute races, over seven weekends, at circuits including Silverstone, Brands Hatch, Knockhill, Castle Combe, Oulton Park, Croft and Donington Page 12

© Simon Wright

Park.

The series opener, over the Easter weekend, saw a reasonable entry of twelve cars take to the track, with cars from Volkswagen, Alfa Romeo, Honda, Hyundai, CUPRA (SEAT) and Vauxhall. Former BTCC driver and 2009 Renault Clio UK Winter Cup Champion Dan Lloyd made a stunning debut into TCR with Pole position and victory in both races driving the WestCoast Racing Volkswagen Golf GTi (23). This performance was all the more amazing as he only made a deal with the team 5 days before the event, for just the one meeting.

He dominated the first race, leading from lights to flag, though chased hard for the whole race from BTCC star Aiden Moffat in his Laser Tools Racing Alfa Romeo Giulietta (16), who was only © Motorsport-imagery

for exceeding track limits. Making it three different manufacturers in the first three places was Oliver Taylor, who drove a controlled race in his Pyro Motorsport Honda Civic Type-R TCR (32), holding 3rd and the last podium place for the first race.

Swedish driver Andreas Backman was 4th in his WestCoast Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR (19), ahead of Howard Fuller Olli Kangas in the Cupra TCR in his Sean Walkinshaw Racing Honda Civic Type-R (65). Finlay Crocker rounded out the top six in his Vaizon Connect Racing Honda Civic Type-R TCR 2018 (8). He had incurred a five second penalty for exceeding track limits, but it didn’t alter his finishing position.

The cars were closely matched on performance, but there was © Janet Wright

Aiden Moffat Alfa Romeo Giulietta lifts a wheel

2.255 seconds behind the Golf at the finish. Moffat had done well to qualify second as he lost two lap times from qualifying May 2018

Stewart Lines Cupra TCR V3 DSG 9th in race 1

Page 13

Š Motorsport-imagery

Finlay Crocker Honda Civic Type R TCR during race 1

a lack of overtaking in this first race.

The second race, later in the afternoon, saw a shake-up in the grid, with Stewart Lines on Pole position in the Maximum Motorsport Cupra TCR V3 DSG (95) from Olli Kangas another Cupra TCR (44) and Andreas Backman in his VW Golf GTi (19) . First race wiinner Lloyd was down on the fifth row alongside Moffat. Backman made the best of the start and took the lead befoe the end of the first lap, which he held until lap six. Lloyd had got up to 3rd place by the end of the first lap, from his 9th place on the grid. He soon passed Kangas for 2nd place at the end of the second lap, and closed the gap on his team mate before taking the lead on lap five. For the next few laps they stayed in tight formation at the front. Moffat had followed Lloyd through the field at the start and was securely in May 2018

3rd place behind the leading Golf train. Then on the eleventh lap he took 2nd place from Backman, which he held until he retired on lap twenty nine, just two laps from the end. This let Backman back into 2nd place, where he finished, 4.738 seconds behinf Lloyd.

Oliver Taylor had driven a steady race to take 3rd at the end in his Honda Civic Type-R TCR, nearly 19 seconds behind Backman. Fuller improved on his first race 5th position, with 4th in the second race. Kangas took 5th place in his LMS Racing Cupra TCR while Jessica Backman took 6th place in her WestCoast Racing Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR. Lloyd set the fastest lap in the TCR second race at 58.663 seconds, an average speed of 100.67 mph round the National circuit, and left Silverstone with a 25 point lead in the TCR Championship, will he be at the next round at Knockhill? Š Simon Wright

Andreas Backman WestCoast Racing VW Golf GTi TCR 4th in race 1

Page 14

Reason took pole position in his Honda Civic FN2 and converted it into a win in the first race of the season. Lewis Rose finished 2nd in an EP3 over four and a half seconds behind, with Mark Grice 3rd in another EP3.

The second race on Sunday had a Top Ten reverse grid, with Mark Gibbons (123) on Pole position from Tim Evans (33), with race one winner Reason, down in 10th place. However, it was Daniel Hobon who won the second race in his EP3 (25) by over four seconds. He grabbed the lead before the end of the first lap and held it all the way to the chequered flag. Rob Baker in another EP3 took 2nd place while Grice made it two 3rd places in a row. First race winner Reason was back in 9th place. © Motorsport-imagery

Civic Cup Race 1 Winner Daniel Reason

© Simon Wright

The BRSCC had laid on a full and impressive support program for the first TCR meeting at Silverstone. First race of the weekend was the first of two Cox Motor Parts Civic Cup races.

Now in its eighth series, this was the first Civic Cup meeting run under the BRSCC. The Civic Cup is a one make series for the Honda Civic Type-R built between 1990 an 2013. The series is run as a single class with identical power to weight limits. Daniel Race 2 winner Dennis Strandberg VW Scirocco leads Martin Depper VW Scirocco and Thomas Walker VW Golf in the VW Racing Cup

© Motorsport-imagery

Civic Cup Daniel Hobson Winner of Race 2

May 2018

The Milltek Sport VW Racing Cup were out second on Saturday for their first race of the weekend. The series is open to any racing Volkswagen with a log book. All the cars are in a single class based on power to weight ratio. New for this year is the merger with the Maximumgroup.net VAG Trophy which will have its own grid and start ten seconds behind the main Milltek Sports VW Racing Cup cars. At Silverstone there were just three cars in the VAG Trophy event. Dennis Strandberg took Page 15

Š Janet Wright

most of the second race, with Standberg slowly working his way through the field, getting to the front with just four laps to go. With just two laps remaining Bond dived into the pits to retire. This left Owen Walton in 2nd place, over 4.5 seconds behind, in his Slidesports Audi TT. Third place was taken by Chris Panayou in his VW Scirocco. Š Janet Wright

Simon Walton Audi TT leads Ethan Hammerton VW Golf VW Racing Cup

pole position in his Maximum motorsport VW Scirocco, while the fastest VAG car was Simon Tomlinson in his Allumy Motorsport VW Golf. Standberg led most of the way, but near the end of the race Jamie Bond in his team Hard VW Golf managed to grab the lead for a couple of laps before on the penultimate lap Standberg got back in front to take victory.

Bond gained a five second penalty for exceeding track limits, but it did not affect the results as Toby Davis in the other Team Hard VW Golf finished 3rd and was still a further four seconds behind at the flag. Simon Tomlinson took the VAG Trophy class.

The second race saw Thomas Walker on Pole position, with Standberg back in sixth place. Tomlinson was again fastest in the VAG class event. Standberg was another driver making it two out of two victories over the weekend. Jamie Bond led May 2018

Aldo Riti leads Ashley Boyles and Jack Sycamore Mazda MX5 SuperCup

Always popular, the BRSCC Mazda MX-5 Supercup had a massive entry of 37 Mazda MX-5 Mk3 cars for their 3 races over the weekend. In qualifying the first eight were covered by less than a second. Luke Herbert was fastest, even after losing one lap time for exceeding track limits. It was William Stacey who led at the end of the first lap, with Herbert back in 23rd.

Stacey was locked in battle with Jonathan Greensmith who managed to lead the fourth lap before Stacey re-took the lead.

Steve Roberts now took over the chase in second place with Page 16

Š Simon Wright

James Blake-Baldwin leads Jonathan Greensmith and pack in to Brooklands Mazda MX-5 SuperCup

the three of them separated by just over a second. They stayed that way to the chequered flag, with Stacey winning by just over two seconds after seventeen laps. The second race was won

by Jack Harding by just 0.215 of a second from James BlakeBaldwin, with Alden Hills in third place. Stacey retired on lap twelve from 8th place. The third race saw Blake-Baldwin move up to take the victory from Luke Herbert, who was just 0.1 of a second behind at the flag. Jack Harding took 3rd place.

The BRSCC Alfa Romeo Championship saw a split grid with Chris McFie on Pole position in his Fiat Punto Abarth in the Power Trophy while Tom Hill claim the first position in the second half of the grid in his Alfa Romeo 156 in the Twin Spark Cup. From the start it was Paul Webster in his Alfa Romeo 156 GTA in the Power Trophy that led from start to finish, winning by over eight seconds from Simon McFie in his Fiat Punto Abarth after Chris McFie retired on the first lap in the other Fiat Punto Abarth. Tom Hill was third to win the Twin Spark Cup class. Webster also won the second race, this time from May 2018

Christopher Oxborough in his Alfa Romeo 75 V6 who took the Modified Class win in both races. Third place went to Simon McFie in his Fiat Punto Abarth. Hill again won the Twin Spark Cup class.

Single seater action was provided by three rounds of the Avon Tyres National Formula Ford Championship. Joey Foster was fastest in qualifying driving the Ray GR08. Typical of Formula Ford races, a train of cars quickly formed with Josh Fisher in a Van Dieman RF99 leading the first couple of laps before Foster took the lead and the first three cars broke away from the main pack. Niall Murray in another Van Dieman RF99 and Foster battled for the lead most of the race with Foster taking the win from Michael Moyers in a Spectrum 011C and Murray back in 3rd. The second round saw Luke Cooper in a Swift SC16 take a narrow victory over Murray and Moyers, all covered by less than half a second.

The third round saw Murray take a dominate win by over six seconds from Matt Round-Garrido in a Medina Sport JL17 and Cooper. Š Janet Wright

Niall Murray Van Diemen RF99 Formula Ford

Page 17

Š Simon Wright

May 2018

John Svensson goes flying in his Van Diemen JL 12K

Page 18

© Simon Wright

Matt & David Green 1959 Austin Lancer 18th in HRDC Coys Trophy

Sunday saw two more support races from the Historic Racing Drivers Club (HRDC) added to the programme. The first was the HRDC Coys Trophy for Touring Cars 1958-1966. British © Simon Wright Touring Car Champion Andrew Jordan sharing a Ford Lotus Cortina with Howard Donald took pole position, but had to give second best to race winner Pete Chambers in another Ford Lotus Cortina by just 0.172 of a second. Making it a Ford 1-2-3 was Frank Slevin and Paul Mullen in a Ford Falcon Sprint.

The other class winners in the race were Gavin Watson in an Nick Maton MG Magnette ZB has a Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA, Vernon quick spin in Coys Trophy race MacKenzie and George Frankel May 2018

in another Alfa Romeo Giulia Super, Rhea Sauter and Andrew Newall in an Austin A30 Speedwell and Robert Burdett in an Austin A40 Academy.

The final race of the weekend was the HRDC ‘Allstars’ for pre1966 Sports, GT & Touring Cars. John Spiers put his 1965 TVR Griffith on pole position, and took a clear win by nearly 47 seconds after a 30 minute race. Only five cars remained on the same lap as the winner with Pete Chambers finishing 2nd in a Ford Lotus Cortina Mk1 and winning his class. in 3rd overall was Chris Clarkson in an Austin Healry 3000. James Colburn in a Lenham Sprite GT was the final car on the same lap as the winner in 5th overlall, winning the A Series Challenge class. The other class winners were Louis Frankel in an Alfa Romeo Giulia Super, Ding Boston in a Riley 1.5 and William Davison in an Austin A35 Academy car. © Janet Wright

i

Tom Grindall MG W&P GT 9th HRDC Allstars

Page 19

© Motorsport-imagery

Ben Sharpe Honda Civic © Simon Wright

Bill Shepherd Ford Thunderbird Coys Trophy © Simon Wright

© Janet Wright

Bevington/Hampton Isuzu Bellett HRDC Coys Trophy

May 2018

Russell Joyce 3 wheels his VW Polo

© Janet Wright

Formula Ford First lap © Simon Wright

Shooting fire Fred Shepherd Ford Mustang HRDC Allstars

© Simon Wright

Paul Clayson Vauxhall VX 4/90 ahead of Gavin Watson Alfa Romeo Giulliatta Ti

© Janet Wright

Winner John Spiers TVR Griffith HRDC Allstars

Page 20

‘Mini’ Pride of Longbridge 14th April 2018, Lowhill Lane, Longbridge

By Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

May 2018

Page 21

© Simon Wright

Due to the recent bad weather, the Pride of Longbridge had to be run as a Mini POL this year. For the second time in the last three years, Cofton Park was waterlogged and not in a suitable condition to house several thousand cars. The organisers sent out a message several days before the event for people not to

May 2018

travel to the event as it could not be held as planned.

Because some people had travelled from overseas and others from further away had got hotels already © Simon Wright booked, the organisers got permission to run a much smaller event by parking cars on the pavement in Lowhill Lane, the road that runs between the old Longbridge factory site and Cofton Park.

With careful marshalling by the organisers, parking cars across the pavement, several hundred cars were able to park up for the much smaller crowds to admire. The event was successful © Simon Wright due to it being a lovely sunny and warm day, and the fact that the majority of people followed the organisers instructions to stay away. Several smaller events were also held to take some of the local enthusiasts. Nearby Wythal Bus museuem held another Mini PoL event which attracted around another hundred vehicles including the convoy which made the trip up from Cowley and had a line up of Rover BRM cars on show. Some Rover and Metro owners met up on the public car park on top of the local Lickey Hills and not far away at Stoke Prior in Bromsgrove was another location for owners to meet up.

Page 22

Three Rovers, two from the Netherlands and one from Germany

Lowhill Lane was still open to through traffic, but the event passed off without any major traffic disruption, due to the smaller numbers attending. The majority of cars were the more modern and later model Rover and MG models, but there were still a few of the classic vehicles which had turned up. Longbridge was the birthplace of many famous Austin models, and the most famous is probably the original May 2018

Š Simon Wright

Austin Mini. There were several out in the sunshine, including a pair parking outside the main entrance to the old factory, plus a Mini convertible, and a red and white Riley Elf, round the corner in Groveley Lane. Back in Lowhill lane there was another blue Riley Elf that had been converted into a convertible, parked next to a red Mini Traveller complete with wooden rear body panel strips.

From an earlier time, there were examples of the small Austin A30/A35 and the more modern hatchback styled Austin A40.

Page 23

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

Austin A30/A35 © Simon Wright

Austin A40

Austin Reflection

© Simon Wright

Austin Dorset

May 2018

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

Austin 1100

Austin Mini Traveller

Page 24

© Simon Wright

Another popular Austin model was the Austin/ Morris 1100 from the early 1970s, plus an upmarket Vanden Plas version.

As a former Austin Apprentice, the car in production Vanden Plas 1100 when I was there in the early 1980s was the Austin Allegro. With unique Hydrogas suspension and when it was launched, a square steering wheel, the Allegro was produced in various trim levels and a © Simon Wright choice of engine size from 1100cc to 1750cc.

The successor to the Mini was the Metro, the first small hatchback Austin Allegro mass produced by Longbridge. Alongside the normal road going versions, there was a white rally MG Metro 6R4 parked outside Q gate. Developed in conjunction with Williams Grand Prix May 2018

© Simon Wright

MG Metro 6R4 Rally car

team, the 6R4 was developed at the height of Group B Rallying in the early 1980s, It was powered by a mid engined V6 2997cc engine, which produced around 410 bhp.

In its heyday, Longbridge was part of the massive British Leyland/Leyland Cars empire, which included Jaguar, Rover, MG, Triumph, Land Rover, Morris as well as Austin, and there were several cars from the other parts of the empire on show, including several classic Rover luxury saloons of various vintage. Also absorbed into the Leyland brands were such famous former manufacturers as Riley, Wolseley, Vanden Plas, Standard and Daimler.

In recent years the cars that were manufactured at Longbridge first bore the Rover name and then the MG badge. It was quite interesting to see some of the saloons in Rover and then MG trim, with only minor differences in the layout. A fine example of this is the Rover 75 and the MG ZT saloon. The Rover 75 was Page 25

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

MG ZT and Rover 75 - Spot the sutale differences.

an executive car initially produced by the Rover Group at Cowley and later by MG Rover at Longbridge. It was available as a saloon or estate car with front wheel drive, and also available as a V8 engined rear wheel drive specification.

The Rover 75 was launched at the 1998 Birmingham Motorshow. Three years later, in 2001, less than a year after the split of MG Rover from BMW, the MG ZT was launched..

The body shell and chassis were almost identical to the Rover 75, with a more aggressive grill, sportier styling, stiffer suspension and re-tuned engines. There were also plenty of more modern © Simon Wright MG sports cars, including the MG TF and MG P, plus the classic MG B and MG Midget from the 1960s and 70s.

Later MG Midget and MG TF Sporrtcar May 2018

Rover 216. Another German visitor, I like the number plate © Simon Wright

This MG made the trip all the way from France.

Page 26

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

MG ZT Charity car

Rover Streetwise © Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

1973 Wolseley Six 2200 © Simon Wright

1983 Austin Ambassador 2.0 HL

May 2018

© Simon Wright

Riley Elf

© Simon Wright

1959 Rover 80

Page 27

Lickey Hill’s POL meeting.

With Cofton Park being unusable and the organisers telling people not to attend at Longbridge, a group of Rover and Metro owners arranged to hold a mini meeting just a few miles away from Longbridge, on the carpark on top of the Lickey Hills. They had lined up the cars on the side of the public car park and had a reasonable display of cars to put on a good show. The Rovers were mainly the 200 series models There was also a 1984 Rover SD1 S Vanden Plas at the back. Š Simon Wright

Rover and Metro line up on the Licly Hills

May 2018

Page 28

© Simon Wright

Rover 114 GTi line up with an original Austin Metro on the far end

© Simon Wright

Rover 200 Coupe

© Simon Wright

Rover SD1 Vanden Plas S

May 2018

© Simon Wright

Rover 114 GTi

© Simon Wright

Page 29

© Simon Wright

1988 Austin Metro City 998cc

May 2018

Page 30

Archive Photo of the month.

Š Pete Austin

By Pete Austin.

Former BRM Grand Prix driver Howden Ganley made a guest appearance at the recent BRM Association Track Day which you can read about elsewhere in this issue. Ganley also drove for Frank Williams and Maki in his F1 career and this months photo shows him in the Maki F101 Cosworth during practice for the 1974 British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch. Sadly the car failed to qualify for this event

May 2018

Page 31

Š Motorsport-imagery

British GT Round 1 Oulton Park

By David Goose of Motorsport Imagery

The three Lamborghini Huracans made the best of the wet weather conditions.

May 2018

Page 32

© Motorsport-imagery

Last years GT3 Champion Rick Parfitt Jnr and new team mate Ryan Ratcliffe showed strong pace during practice but the Bentley's lack of wet weather pace was evident during the weekend.

British GT Championship - Round 1, Oulton Park Start of the 2018 season and a weekend of firsts for the British GT Championship as it left the © Motorsport-imagery picturesque Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire. Despite speculation last year, that the two series would split into separate GT3 and GT4 race calendars a grid of 35 cars started the combined races.

The first round of the season saw the first female pole sitter, the first female race winner and the first race declared a result after only 4 laps, not bad for the season opener.

The race winning Demon Tweeks

Qualifying for the Lamborghini followed the safety car for four laps before racing for the day was weekend took place stopped. in good weather on the Saturday evening, with amateur driver, Flick Haigh taking outright pole position in the Optimum Motorsport Aston Martin with Phil Keen and John Minshaw securing pole in the second © Motorsport-imagery race on Easter Monday. Rick Parfitt Jnr in the Bentley together with new race partner Ryan Ratcliffe performed well in qualifying, putting the Team Parker Racing machine into second place on the grid, however the now veteran Bentley proved a bit of a handful in the wet conditions on race day.

The first race started in driving rain with Haigh in the Aston Martin taking the lead of the 35 car field from the start in the difficult conditions.

The first corner saw Mark Farmer in the Aston Martin drop to the back of the field after first corner contact with John Minshaw. In the GT4 battle, Callum Pointon in the

Becoming a bit of a favourite in the GT4 class, the McLaren 570S filled 4 of the top 5 places in the GT4 class.

May 2018

Page 33

© Motorsport-imagery

Ginetta led at the start of the race, Will Moore’s Aston Martin retired after contact with Ricky Collards Century Motorsport BMW M4and throughout both the GT3 and GT4 fields even the most experienced of drivers found the conditions difficult.

John Minshaw in the Lamborghini made the best of the cars wet weather handling and with local knowledge closed the gap to Flick Haigh, reaching second place at the start of the pit window. After the mandatory round of pit stops. Johnny Adam © Motorsport-imagery

Ricki Collard and the Century Motorsport BMW team "enjoying" the wet conditions.

first woman to get pole position and also win a race in the GT3 class. Darren Turner finished second in the Aston Martin shared with Andrew Howard with Lee Mowle and Patrick Buurman in the Mercedes AMG finishing in third. A hard charging Phil Keen brought the Barwell Motorsport © Motorsport-imagery

Stephen Johansen's debut in the UltraTek Nissan 370Z GT4 .

led the GT3 class taking over from Flick Haigh from a hard charging Phil Keen, continuing John Minshaw’s hard work in the Lamborghini until a bold move to lap one of the GT4 Ginettas led to a broken wheel and puncture putting the Lamborghini out of the podium places.

Johnny Adam completed the victory by lapping the 2017 Parker Racing Bentley on the last corner and Flick Haigh became the Toyota GT86 GT4 of Steller Performance.

May 2018

Page 34

© Motorsport-imagery

© Motorsport-imagery

The Beechdean Aston Matin GT3 running close to the standing flood water.

Lamborghini Huracan home in fourth place. Ben Barnicoat and Adam Balon took victory in the GT4 class in their McLaren 570S, with four of the McLarens finishing in the top five GT4 positions, BTCC Star Rob Collards son Ricky finished third in the Century Motorsport BMW M4.

Race two saw the weather deteriorate significantly, with torrential rain and attrocious track conditions. After four laps behind the safety car the rule book was scrutinised and a result was declared based effectively on the qualifying positions. Phil Keen and John Minshaw were declared the victors in their Lamborghini but the victory, despite being worth full points on paper must feel like a somewhat hollow win in the circumstances. The race meeting was cancelled at the end of the GT race on safety grounds with no sign of an end to the rain and the standing water on the circuit severely limiting the drivers ability to warm their tyres and therefore grip levels were May 2018

It was clear from the start that any form of racing in the afternoon was dangerous and nobody seemed surprised when it was cancelled.

too low to continue racing. The British GT Championship continues at Rockingham Motorspeedway at the end of April when hopefully the weather will be better. © Motorsport-imagery

Lee Mowle and Yelmer Buurman showed good pace throughout the weekend in the ERC Sport Mercedes AMG GT3.

Page 35

Š Motorsport-imagery

Devon Modell and Struan Moore enjoyed the strength of the now veteran Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3.

May 2018

Page 36

Š Simon Wright

Formula Vintage Round 1 Silverstone

By Simon & Janet Wright with additional photos by Pete Austin

May 2018

The Chain Gang in action

Page 37

© Janet Wright

The Vintage Sports Car Club (VSCC) held the first round of the Formula Vintage championship at Silverstone over the weekend of the 21st and 22nd of April. Using the shorter National circuit, this event was traditionally the Spring Start meeting, which started in 1949. After morning practice the first event was a High Speed Trial just before the lunch break. © Simon Wright

Greg Parnell Morgan Aero 8 GTN leads Tony Rivers and Alex Laidlaw Morgan Roadsters

Morgan Plus 8.

The All-Comers scratch race for Pre-War cars (VSCC set 5) saw James Baxter in the 1934/35 Riley ERA take a good win by over six seconds ahead of Nicholas Topliss in the 1935 ERA R4A. In the short 11 lap race, the pair had lapped the entire field, with Simon Stokes the best of the rest in 3rd place Fox & Nicholl Trophy winner Richard Pilkington Talbot T26 SS leads Marcus Black Talbot Lago T23

© Simon Wright

The first race after lunch, was the Fox & Nicholl Trophy Race for standard and modified pre-war sports cars. Richard Pilkington took the first race win of the day and the Fox & Nicholl Trophy in his 1937/38 Talbot T26 SS, just over two seconds ahead of Marcus Black in a 1939 Talbot Lago T23.

Some way behind in 3rd place was Chris Chilcott in a 1926/30 Frazer Nash Fast Tourer, who also took the award for 1st Vintage car to finish.

The next race was the first of two AR Motorsport Morgan Challenge races. These invited events always provide close racing and after the first twenty minute race it was Philip Goddard who won by over eight seconds from Roger Whiteside and Tony Lees was in 3rd place, all driving a James Baxter Riley ERA battling with Nicholas Topliss ERA R4A

May 2018

Page 38

© Simon Wright

driving a Riley Treen. The other class winners were Richard Hudson in a Bentley 3/4 1/2 litre and Mark Elder in an Austin Sports Special, while the winner on handicap was Ian Standing in a 1935 Riley TT Sprite.

A short 5 lap All-Comers Handicap race for Pre-War cars (VSCC Set 6) saw David Seber win in his 1934 Wolseley © Janet Wright

Rod Jolley Cooper T45/51 three wheeling it through Luffield. HGPCA race

front right wheel high in the air round most of the right handed corners.

Race seven on Saturday was the Silverstone Trophy for Hornet Special, from Chris Goddard in a 1934 MG PA-PB. Special Pre-War sports cars. There was a great variety of Third went to David Saxl in his Riley 12/4 Special.

1930’s sports cars on the grid, with Another invited series were the Aston Martin, MG and Bentley lined HGPCA races for Pre-1966 Grand © Pete Austin up against Alvis, Riley, Frazer Nash, Prix Cars. Their first race on HRG and Lagonda. It was a clear Saturday saw Barry Cannell take victory for Ruediger Friedrichs, to the win in his Brabham BT11A from claim the Silverstone Trophy, in his Andy Middlehurst in the iconic 1932/35 Alvis Firefly. He was over Lotus 25 R4 just ahead of Tom 27 seconds ahead of Richard Iliffe Dark in a Cooper T51. The most in a 1934 Riley Elf. Frederic spectacular driver through Luffield Wakeman was 3rd in his Frazer was 4th placed Rod Jolley in a Nash Super Sports, while the Cooper T45/51 who spent most of winner on handicap was 5th placed the race on three wheels, lifting the Barry Cannell (Brabham BT11A) won both HGPCA races

Tim Harrison The Hornet Racing Special and India Walker Austin 7 Special in the All-Comers Handicap race for pre-war cars

May 2018

Page 39

© Janet Wright

© Simon Wright

Alexander Hewitson Riley 12/4 Special leads the midfield pack in the Silverstone Trophy race for special pre-war sports cars.

Mark Gillies in his 1936 Aston Martin Speed model.

The highlight for many people was the Freddie Giles Memorial race for Frazer Nashes. These British sports cars were built from 1922 to 1957, first by Frazer Nash Limited, then by AFN Limited. All the pre war cars use a unique multi-chain © Simon Wright

transmission, while the post war cars had conventional transmissions. The race was won by Julian Grimwade in a 1934 Frazer Nash Single seat racing car. He led home a trio of Frazer Nash Le Mans Replicas driven by Martin Hunt, John Ure and Martyn Corfield. The handicap winner was Patrick Blakeney-Edwards in his 1930 Frazer Nash Majzub Frazer Nash Miilie Migla Superspeed in 6th place. Julian in the Freddie Giles Memorial race for A short 5 lap All-Comer Frazer Nashes Handicap race for pre-war cars (VSCC Set 6) saw a really close finish with James Whitmore in a Riley 12/4 Special taking victory by just 0.42 of a second ahead of Jack Bond in © Janet Wright

Martyn Corfield Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica in the Freddie Giles Memorial race for Frazer Nashes

May 2018

Douglas Martin Hillegass Sprint car passes Michael Barber MG PB in the All-Comers Handicap race Page 40

© Pete Austin

a 1914/18 Vauxhall A/D Type. Mark Elder was 3rd in an Austin Sports Special, nearly 3 seconds further back. © Janet Wright

Double winner Philip Goddard Morgan Plus 8 leads Andrew Thompson Morgan ARV6 in the Morgan Challenge race

The final race on Saturday was the second AR Motorsport Morgan Challenge Race which saw a second victory for Philip Goddard again ahead of Roger Whiteside, but this time with a larger gap of over thirteen seconds. Andrew Thompson took 3rd place in a Morgan AVR6 behind the leading Morgan Plus 8s.

Sunday started with the Standard & Modified pre-war sports cars (VSCC Set 3) race. The Frazer Nash proved to be the car to have in this race with Edward Williams in a Frazer Nash Super Sports winning ahead of Chris Chilcott in a Frazer Nash Fast Tourer. Mark Brett was a distant 3rd in his Bellamy Ford LMB V8 Special..

Amschel Rothschild Trophy winner Frederick Harper Kurtis Indy-Roadster

The Patrick Lindsay Memorial & Amschel Rothschild Trophies race was a 15 minute thriller with Frederick Harper in the 1957 Kurtis Indy-Roadster taking a close win by just 0.73 of a second ahead of Gareth Burnett in the Alta 2 litre. Third place © Pete Austin went to Simon Diffey in the 1955 Connaught B Type. The handicap winner was Mark Gilles in ERA R3A in 5th place on the track.

Harper was awarded the Amschel Rothschild Trophy, with Burnett taking the Patrick Lindsey Memorial Trophy.

The 1950s Sports Racing Cars race saw Charlie Martin take a dominent win by over 32 seconds

Winner Edward Williams Frazer Nash Super Sports

May 2018

Page 41

© Pete Austin

Another short 5 lap All-Comers Handicap race for pre-war cars (VSCC set 6) followed with Douglas Martin in the Hillegass Sprint Car take a very close win by just 0.29 of a second ahead of Heinz Stamm in his Aston Martin Speed model.

Another close finish for 3rd saw William Elbourn in a Riley 12/4 Special just claimed the place ahead of Richard Bradley in an Aston Martin Ulster by just 0.08 of a second. © Janet Wright

Charlie Martin Lotus 15

in his Lotus 15. Second place in this thirty minute race went to Frederic Wakeman in a Cooper Jaguar Sports while Tony Bianchi was the last podium placed driver in his Ferrallac Allard Sports. The first Pre-1956 car and first on handicap was 6th placed Ruediger Friedrichs in a Jaguar C Type.

The second HGPCA race for Pre-1966 Grand Prix Cars of the weekend saw a repeat of Saturdays race with Barry Cannell in the Brabham BT11A taking a second victory ahead of the Lotus 25 of Andy Middlehurst. A little further back in 3rd place was Jon Fairley in another Brabham BT11/19. © Pete Austin

Bartek Balicki Aston Martin 15/98 finished 19th in All-Comers Handicap

The GP Italia and Lanchester Trophies race was a fifteen minute race which gave Robin Tuluie a win in a 1929 Riley Menasco Pirate by near seven seconds from Tim Llewellyn in a Bentley 3/8 2 str who was the winner of the Stanley Mann Cup. The first standard car and winner of the GP Italia Tropy was 3rd placed Julian Majzub in a Bugatti Type 35B. Patrick Blakeney-Edwards in his Frazer Nash Super Sports took another class win in class B, as well as being the handicap Harindra De Silva Scirocco BRM finished 15th in second HGPCA race

May 2018

Page 42

© Pete Austin

© Pete Austin

Mark Gillies (ERA R3A) Handicap winner Patrick Lindsay Memorial race Richard Wilson (Maserati 250S) finished 2nd in Tom Cole Trophy race.

© Pete Austin

winner again.

The Tom Cole Trophy race was for 1950s sports cars and saw Patrick Blakeney-Edwards victorious again, sharing a HWM with M. Hunt They narrowly beat Richard Wilson in his Maserati 250S by just 0.22 of a second. This pair had lapped the rest of the field in this thirty minute race with Richard Woolmer in a HWM Cadillac, while 4th placed Stephen Bond in a Lister Flat Iron was the handicap winner.

The final race of the weekend was a final ten lap All-Comers Scratch race for pre-war cars (VSCC set 5) which saw Julian Grimwade in his Frazer Nash Single seat car take another victory ahead of James Baxter in his Riley ERA by just 0.20 of a second. In 3rd place was Oliver Llewellyn in a Bentley 3/8 2 str while Dougal Cawley was a worthy handicap winner in GN/ Ford Piglet.

Simon Diffey Connaught B Type 3rd Patrick Lindsay Trophy

May 2018

Page 43

© Pete Austin

© Pete Austin

Tony Best Ferrari Dino 4th place Patrick Lindsay Memoral © Janet Wright

© Pete Austin © Simon Wright

Heinz Stamm Aston Martin Speed Spicial

© Janet Wright

Francesca Wilton Austin S/S © Simon Wright

Craig Hamilton Smith Morgan Plus 4 Club Sport pulled off at Luffield on last lap © Pete Austin

© Simon Wright

Leonard Lord Riley Falcon

May 2018

Gareth Burnett Alta 2 Litre 2nd Patrick Lindsay Memorial

Alex Pilkington Alfa Romeo 6C 1750

Page 44

© Janet Wright

MSVR Club Car Championship 14th-15th April 2018. Donington Park.

By Simon & Janet Wright.

Dean Hyde BMW E30 battles with Hogg/Wright Porsche 944 S2, Kevin Stirling Ford Fiesta and Simon Reed Mini Cooper Trackday Championship May 2018 Page 45 Classes B, C & D race

© Simon Wright

classes, with the Moto 1400 class moving across to join the 2 litre grid with F3, 2000 and FR2000. Another change for this year is that the grids for races 2 and 3 will be decided by the fastest lap times in the previous race. The Moto 1400 class uses a 1400cc motorcycle engine in a Dallara chassis, and the lighter bike engined cars should suit some circuits better than the old Formula 3 cars. However at Donington the F3 cars still reign supreme with Ben Carter claiming Pole position in his © Simon Wright

Monoposto double winner Ben Carter Dallara F306 behind Geoff Fern Dallara 1400 in practice

Now that Motorsport Vision Racing (MSV) have taken over the running of Donington Park, it was fitting that one of the first club meetings of the year was the MSVR Car Club Championship meeting over the weekend of the 14th and 15th April on the National circuit. The circuit is already undergoing major changes in its infrastructure, with the paddock area fresh tarmac and a new restaurant called “Garage 39” at the end of the pit garages. Even the toilet facilites are being refurbished or rebuilt around the track.

The first of two races on Saturday was for the Mini Challenge Cooper Pro/Am series. The Cooper class cars are based on the early R50 Mini Cooper. The series provides close racing as was demonstrated during qualifying when Jono Davis took pole position by just 0.067 of a second from Stuart Lane. Kyle Reid in his Mini R50 Cooper was dominant at Donington, winning both races. In the first race Simon Walton took 2nd and Ethan Pitt was 3rd, but he went one better in the second race to take the runners up spot. Toby Goodman was 3rd in the second race. The Am class also had a double winner in Alex Nevill from Andy Godfrey and Neal Clarke in the first race and Gary Papworth and Adrian Norman in the second.

For 2018 Monoposto had a change in the championship May 2018

Mike Hatton Dallara F301leads Kevin Otway Van Dieman F4 in the Monoposto F3, 2000,Fr2000,and Moto 2400 race

Dallara F308. He won all three races from Richard Fores in his F3 Dallara F301 in the first race and Tony Bishop in his F3 Dallara F304 in the second. James Densley won the FR2000 class in all three races as well, taking 3rd in his Tatuus Formula Renault in the first race, 6th place in the second and 3rd in the final race. The 2000 class also had a triple winner in Bryn Tootell, 4th in the first race, 5th in the second and third races. Finally the Moto 1400 class was won by Geoff Fern in a Page 46

Š Simon Wright

Dallara 1400 in 7th place in the first race, but it was Jason Timms who won it in the second and third races, finishing 3rd and then 2nd overall.

The Lotus Cup UK & Elise Trophy first races saw Craig Denman in a Lotus Elise S Cup R car take all three wins from Alex Ball in a Lotus Elise S1 in the first two and Joe Taylor in the third in his Lotus Exige, which had taken 3rd in the first two races.

The final race saw Axel Van Nederveen in a Lotus Elise 11 1R take the final Alex Ball Lotus Elise S1 and Jason podium step.

McInulty Lotus Elise S3 Cup R The Toyo Tires Racing saloons series had two races on Saturday. The series caters for two wheel drive saloon and sports racing cars which have been mass produced and more than 5,000 manufactured during a twelve month period. The race is split into six classes, five based on engine capacity and a sixth for cars compliant with the Toyo Tires Production BMW Championship regulations. The first race was a BMW walkover with the E36 M3 model taking the first four places. The race was won by

Stephen Pearson by less than a second from Nigel Innes, while leader of the first half of the race, Roger Kneebone, finished 3rd ahead of pole sitter Karl Cattliff. The second race saw Innes win from Cattliff, while first race winner Pearson took 3rd with Kneebone now in 4th place.

The other class winners in both races were 5th placed Colin Philpott in a Jaguar XJS, Oliver Davies in a Toyota Starlet, Matt Swaffer in a BMW 120d, Richard Ibrahim in a BMW E36 323i, William Davison in a BMW E30 320i and finally 16th placed Ryan Brimsted in a Peugeot 106 took the last class win in the first race. In the second race it was Adrian Matthews in a Ford Puma.

Mini Challenge - Cooper S also had two races on Saturday. Will Fairclough took the first race win from Stuart Lane and Rob Austin, while in the second race Austin took the win from Kevin Owen in 2nd place, while first race winner Fairclough was back in 3rd place.

The two races for the Petro-Canada Lubricants Porsche Club Championship with Pirelli saw Mark Sumpter on Pole position in a Porsche 996 C2. However, the first race was red flagged on lap 13 and it was Craig Wilkins in another 996 C2 who won Š Simon Wright

Winner Craig Denman Lotus Elise S Cup R Lotus Cup UK & Elise Trophy

May 2018

Page 47

the first race with Sumpter in 2nd. Peter Morris was a close 3rd in a 997 C2S. The second race went full distance and Sumpter took a clear victory from Morris and Wilkins was back in 3rd.

The other class winners in both races were Jonathan Evans in a Porsche Cayman S, Del Brett in a Porsche Boxster and Carl Hazelton in a Porsche Boxster S. High light of Sunday were the two MSVT Trackday races. The MSVT Trackday Trophy is a series designed for production and production based saloons, hatchback and sports cars. The six classes are determined by power to weight ratio, with a forty five minute race for up to two drivers. Robin Welsh and Paul McErlean took the victory from pole position in their BMW 330 Club, heading a BMW 1-2-3.Gary Burstow drove on his own to 2nd place in his BMW 328i with John Lyne over 30 seconds further back in his BMW E36.Jamie Ward in 6th place won his class in his Ford Fiesta ST after Jonathan Calder and Nick White got a drive through penalty after a short pit stop and

finished just thirteen and a half seconds behind the Fiesta in their Renault Clio. The other class winners were Paul Simpson in his Porsche 944 S2, Ben and Harry Corbey in a Honda CRX, and Hannah Gardin and David Smitheram in a BMW Mini Cooper S. Back to single seaters with the other Monoposto race for Moto 1000, Classics, 1800 and 1600. This series is dominated by two Formula Ford and Van Diemen dominated classes plus two motorcycle engined classes. Fastest in Practice was Tom Rawlings in his Moto 1000 Speads, but he was beaten in the first race by Dean Warren in his Mono 1000 Speads RM04A. Š Simon Wright

Š Janet Wright

Classic winner Peter Venn Anson SA4 had a spin in practice. Monoposto Moto 1000 race

Ben McGhee Jedi Mk6 and Marcus Sheard Reynard 883 (64) in the Monoposto Moto 1000 race

May 2018

Peter Venn was 3rd and won the Classic class in his Anson SA4. Phil Davis at the wheel of a Van Diemen RF98 won the 1800 class and Geoff Fern won the 1600 class in his Van Diemen RF89. The second race was on Sunday and saw Mark Reade win the race in his Moto 1000 Leastone 1000 after Dean Warren got a ten second penalty for a false start, though he was far enough head to retain 2nd place. In this race another Classic class winner finished 3rd overall, but in this race it was Matthew Bromage in a Ralt RT30 taking the Page 48

Start of the Toyo Tires Production BMW Championship race

© Simon Wright

honours. Chris Lord won the 1800 class in his Van Diemen race, with Davison leading from start to finish.

RF82, while the 1600 class was again won by Geoff Fern.

The MSVT Trackday Championship had such a large entry, that The Toyo Tires Production BMW Championship is now in it’s the organisers decided to split it in to two separate races. The © Janet Wright fourteenth season and is a one make series for the first was for B, C BMW E30 3 series car made between 1983 and 1990. an D, while the Only the 318i and 320i are allowed with the M40 or the second race was M20 engine respectively. for classes S & A. David Graves in his BMW 320i was on pole position The first race was and led the first three laps before William Davison in his for classes B, C & BMW E30 320i took the lead and stayed in front to win D which had a in the first race with Sam Strong in 3rd in his BMW E30 large entry of 320i. The second race was a repeat result of the first interesting cars again split in to May 2018

BMW winner William Davison BMW E30 320i

Page 49

© Simon Wright

Garry Littlewood Renault Clio leading Chris Payne VW Beetle Cup in the Trackday Championship classes B, C and D race

classes, based of Power to Weight ratio. The forty five minute race saw another impressive win by Welsh and McErlean in their BMW 330 Clubsport. John Lyne improved on his Trackday Trophy result by finishing 2nd in this race in his BMW E36. Pete Jokinen in his BMW Mini Cooper S took 3rd overall even though he also got a 30 second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Kevin Stirling in a Ford Fiesta took a class win in 5th. The final class winner was Jack Youhill in another Ford Fiesta in 19th position.

The second race was for classes A & S, the two most © Janet Wright

May 2018

© Janet Wright

Start of the Trackday Championship Class S & A race

powerful classes, with S as 201-225 bhp/ton and class A having 176 - 200 bhp/ton. This was a smaller field than the other race, but still had eighteen enteries. When the race started it was getting dark and raining. It was Jamie and Ryan Gibbs in their BMW M3 on pole, but only finished the thirty minute race in 10th place. The early leader was the Caterham Super Sport of Callum McDougall and Ben Simonds who led till lap 9 when they did their pit stop. This dropped them to 2nd behind the Porsche Caymen of Warren Allen, who led until he too pitted. This left the Porsche Boxster of Andy Ball and Rich Hughes leading as they had not yet pitted. When they stopped, this left the lead and the victory to James Britton in his BMW E36 M3. McDougall and Simonds finished 2nd and won their class (S) and Ryan Steel was 3rd in a Citroen Saxo.

Page 50

© Janet Wright

Mark Nenadic Seat Leon Supercopa leads Ty Boothroyd BMW M3 and 3rd placed Ryan Steel Citroen Saxo in Trackday Championship Classes A & S © Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

McDougall/Simonds Caterham SuperSport ahead of Warren Allen in the Porsche Cayman

May 2018

Colin Tester/Adrian Timpson Toyota MR2 goes off at Coppice to lose the lead of the Trackday Championship Class B, C, D race Page 51

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

Paul Baker Lotus Elise S1 spins while chasing Mike Perkins Lotus Elise S2 Lotus Cup UK race. © Simon Wright

David Roberts Rover Tom Cat finished 7th Trackday Championship Classes B, C, & D race © Simon Wright

Miles Cook BMW 320SE runs wide at Redgate Toyo Tires Production BMW race. © Janet Wright

Winner Monoposto Moto 1000 race Dean Warren Speads RM04A passes (45) Mark Reade Leastone 1000

May 2018

Bryn Tootell Van Dieman RF01 FF2000 Monoposto Championship F3

Page 52

© Peter McFadyen

Goodwood Members Meeting

By Peter McFadyen

Jochen Mass in the Porsche 935 Langheck ‘Moby Dick’

May 2018

Page 53

© Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

There were eight Porsche 904 Carrera GTSs in the Ronnie Hoare Trophy race. The green number 71 was driven by Jason Barron while next to it in the paddock is James Cottingham’s winning car © Peter McFadyen

Vincent Gaye’s Ferrari 275 GTB/C leads three Porsches out of the assembly area to begin qualifying for the Ronnie Hoare Trophy race © Peter McFadyen

James Cottingham’s winning Porsche 904 Carrera GTS passes Rob Myers’ Porsche 911 in front of the pits. Maurice Maxence’s 904 follows.

May 2018

The Bentley ‘Pacey-Hassan Special’ driven to seventh place by Page William Medcalf in the Bolster Cup race

54

Š Peter McFadyen

Eddie Williams drove this Maserati 250F, one of the Cameron Miller cars, to 2nd place in the Hawthorn Trophy race for 1950s F1, F2 & F Libre cars Š Peter McFadyen

Crispin Harris in the AC-Bristol Monoposto owned by VSCC commentator Nick Upton held 3rd place for much of the Hawthorn Trophy race before dropping to 5th at the finish

May 2018

Page 55

© Peter McFadyen

Tony Wood won the Hawthorn Trophy race in his Cooper-Bristol Mk1. Julian Grimwade’s Frazer Nash Norris Special follows him out of the chicane © Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

Formula 3 cars line up for qualifying. When the weather worsened, many of them withdrew from Sunday’s race

May 2018

Despite the snow, some brave F5000 drivers went ahead with their demonstration laps. This is Brian Redman in the two-seater Lola built Page specially to give passenger rides rather than to race

56

© Peter McFadyen

Geraint Owen was on pole position for the Hawthorn Trophy race but was pushed away from the grid with gearbox problems before the race © Peter McFadyen

Martin Hunt shared his AC Cobra with Patrick Blakeney-Edwards, the pair finishing eighth overall I the 45-minute Moss Trophy race

May 2018

Cars ready for the Salvadori Cup race for 1955-60 sports cars. The green and yellow Lister Jaguar of Jon Minshaw was on pole but a spin meant that he finished down in seventh place. James Wood’s Lotus 15 is nearest the camera

© Peter McFadyen © Peter McFadyen

Helmut Rothenberger’s Mercedes-Benz 710 SSK was one of two of these 1929 cars, the other driven by ex-Grand Prix driver Jochen Mass

Page 57

© Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

BRMs have a long association with Goodwood – remember Jean Behra’s spectacular crash at the brick-built chicane in 1958? Ben Mitchell qualified his 1957 P25 in 2nd for the Hawthorn Trophy but, in true BRM tradition, was a non-starter when it came to the race

© Peter McFadyen

Marino Franchiti in his father-in-law Nick Mason’s Maserati Type 61 ‘Birdcage’ finished fifth in the Salvadori Trophy race

May 2018

John Guyatt tries – in vain – to get some warmth into his hands from the radiator of his 1939 Talbot Lago T150C before the ‘Caracciola Sportwagenrennen’ race for continental sports cars of the type which raced between 1925 and 1935 Page 58

© Peter McFadyen

David Coulthard made his competitive debut at a Goodwood Members Meeting driving this Mercedes-Benz 300SL to ninth place overall in the Salvadori Trophy race

© Peter McFadyen

Winston Teague unfortunately retired the GN Wasp from the Bolster Cup race © Peter McFadyen

May 2018

Ex-Ronni Peterson/Dieter Quester BMW 3.5 CSL

Page 59

© Peter McFadyen

Alastair Pugh finished an excellent fourth in the Caracciola race in his Frazer Nash / BMW © Peter McFadyen

Martini Lancia Beta Monte Carlo in the Group 5 ‘ Special Production Cars’ demonstration

May 2018

Patrick Blakeney-Edwards had a busy day driving a variety of cars including this Bentley 3/8 litre Special in which he took pole position and finished fourth in the Bolster Cup for pre-war special sports cars

© Peter McFadyen © Peter McFadyen

An unusual ‘Bobtail’ Cooper, the Porsche-powered example driven by Andy Prill in the Salvadori Trophy race

Page 60

BRM Association Track Day, Blyton Park, 17th April 2018.

By Pete Austin

© Pete Austin

BRM P160

May 2018

Page 61

© Pete Austin

© Pete Austin

BRM P48

After a break last year members turned up at a cool, windy but dry Blyton Park in Lincolnshire for the fourth running of the BRM Association track Day. The track, now owned by Ginetta and laid out on the former Blyton Airfield, provides good viewing for the many members and their guests.

The BRM Association was formed to promote the history and legacy of the former British Racing Motors (BRM) Grand Prix racing team for BRM car owners, ex employees and enthusiasts alike. The

selection of BRMs running this year included examples of the P25, P48, P261 and P160 together with an ex Siffert BRM powered Cooper Formula 2 car.

As before other marques were present to add to Ben Casey the variety and interest including the Tec Mec Maserati, a Cooper Bristol, F1 Brabham BT3 and Williams FW04, Chevron B49 and a rare Lola T100 F2 car in Surtees colours. Brabham and Lotus sports cars added to the mix.

One of the most enjoyable features of this day is the gathering of former drivers, employees and other associates from the glory years of BRM. Howden Ganley made an appearance and was happy to be photographed with the P160 he drove in period. Sir Alfred Owen’s son and patron of the Association, David Owen OBE together with former mechanics John Sismey, Ben Casey and Dick Salmon among others enjoyed chatting to © Pete Austin

May 2018

BRM P25

Page 62

BRM P160 with David Owen OBE, Howden Ganley & BRM Association committee

the members in the lunch break. Former BRM designer and engineer Mike Pilbeam was even looking after the running of the Pilbeam Judd hillclimb car which was present. Patron Rick Hall had brought along some of the cars owned or looked after

by Hall and Hall who are based in Bourne and Gary Pearson had also come along with his P25. Auctioneer and member Colin Young who has one of his auction houses based in the former BRM workshops in Bourne was casting an enthusiastic eye on proceedings.

During the lunch break members who had arrived in their Rover 200 BRMs were given a few laps of the circuit. Annual subscription to the Association is £12 and includes an excellent annual magazine together with the opportunity to attend other events during the year. www.brmassociation.org © Pete Austin © Pete Austin

BRM P261

May 2018

© Pete Austin

John Sismey

Page 63

© Pete Austin

© Pete Austin

Cooper Bristol Mk1 & Tec Mec Maserati

David Owen OBE © Pete Austin

Mike Pilbeam

May 2018

© Pete Austin

Rover 200 BRM parade.

Page 64

© Pete Austin

Dick Salmon

© Pete Austin

Williams FW04

May 2018

© Pete Austin

Howden Ganley

Page 65

Stoneleigh Chummy

By Syd Wall © Syd Wall

Recreation of the 1924 photo

May 2018

Page 66

© Syd Wall

The Armstrong Siddeley / Hotchkiss derived V-twin engine

The Colmore Trial, organised annually by Stratford upon Avon Motorcycle Club, has been running since 1911 and is one of the world’s oldest motoring events. While entries are now restricted to motorbikes, in the early days cars also took part.

The events were known as reliability trials, as manufacturers were keen to show that their cars and bikes could handle the rough, muddy, unsurfaced roads.

A section regularly used was Bushcombe Hill in Bishop’s Cleeve, just outside Cheltenham. It is now tarmac of course, but on Sunday April 22nd, an example of a car which took part © Syd Wall in the 1924 Colmore Trial tackled the tough 1-in-4 hill.

The car is a 1923 Stoneleigh Chummy, built in Coventry and is powered by a 9hp 1050cc V-twin engine, derived from a radial aircraft engine jointly designed by Stoneleigh Cars, Built by May 2018

Armstrong Siddeley

© Syd Wall Armstrong Siddeley and Hotchkiss. There are only three examples of the Chummy left in the world and this is the only one still running.

Neil Cooke and his father brought his wonderful little car Stoneleigh Cars, Built by Armstrong Siddeley to the bottom of the hill and was confident that the car would make it to the top, if a clear run could be managed without encountering traffic coming downhill. A couple of motorbikes and cars acted as sweepers in front of the Stoneleigh and the run was completed without interruption. Afterwards, the car was taken downhill and positioned half way up for photographs, recreating a picture of a Stoneleigh Chummy with competition number 238 taken at the 1924 Trial. © Wall AtSyd95 years old, it would be no surprise for the car to be able to tackle the hill in another 95.

Neil Brooke & his Father at the top of Bushcombe Hill

Page 67

MG Car Club Speed Championship Curborough, 8th April 2018

By Simon & Janet Wright.

© Simon Wright

Andy Walker MG BGT V8 set a time of 61.44 seconds against his target of 61.40

May 2018

Page 68

© Janet Wright

organised by the MGCC Midland centre.

Using the figure of eight layout gave the competitors more of a challenge and the bright and sunny day meant that the track was in good condition for plenty of action.

The MG Speed series is split in to four classes to give each competitor an equal chance of winning. The four classes are Group 1 (Standard), Group 2 (Road Going A), Group 3 (Road going B) and Group 4 (Specials - Road going & Specials Racing). A target time is then set per model and competitors are © Simon Wright

Ben Carpenter

The MG Car Club speed championship is now in it’s 32nd season. Organised by the MGCC North West Centre, the series provides low cost competitive motor sport, providing classes for all models of MG and Austin Healey Sprites. The second round was held at Curborough, near Lichfield, on Sunday 8th April, © Janet Wright

David Abram

Dave Morris

May 2018

scored on how they do against the target time. For example, if a target time is 110 seconds and the competitor drives the course in 108 seconds, the score would be (target time/actual time) X 100 giving a score of 101.85 points.

The top point scorers at Curborough were N Walker who did the course72.17 seconds with a target time of 73.27 seconds, scoring him 101.52 points. Next in the points was M Wollacott with 100.19 points after a time of 77.67 seconds against a target Page 69

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

of 77.82 seconds. C England was third achieving target time of 72.26 seconds to score 100 points. A Walker was next with his time of 61.44 just slightly slower than his target 61.40 seconds.

It wasn’t just MG cars taking part in the sprint. There were Renault Clios, Peugeot Hatchback, Triumph Spitfire even several very fast single seater racing cars including a F3 Ensign Richard Withers © Simon Wright

© Janet Wright

Christopher England

Fyrth Crosse

© Janet Wright

Colin Gale © Janet Wright

May 2018

James Garrow Shand

David Jones

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

Rich Yapp

Mark Dalton

Page 70

© Peter McFadyen

Light Car Welsh Weekend.

By Peter McFadyen

May 2018

Dick Preston, 1927 Jowett Short 4 Chummy

Page 71

© Peter McFadyen

John Burgess, 1914 Vauxhall Prince Henry at a bridge over the river Mule

The Light Car & Edwardian Section’s annual Welsh Weekend is one of the VSCC’s most popular and enjoyable events of the year. This year, approximately 160 cars took, part most of them © Peter McFadyen in Saturday’s 75 mile tour, with many staying on for Sunday’s gentle trial.

The March weather, snow in particular, Richard and Annie Scaldwell, 1021 Salmson AL

May 2018

© Peter McFadyen

kept the organisers busy checking and revising the tour route and it was finally settled with only three days to spare.

The weekend is based at the Metropole Hotel in Llandrindod Wells, Powys which also played host to the Section’s annual dinner and prizegiving on Saturday evening. With no set starting time, John Rolinson, 1928 Morris Cowley the tour crews could set out at any time from 9am to enjoy the outward leg via Pennybont and Crossways along some less travelled roads through attractive Welsh scenery to arrive at Montgomery in time for lunch. Residents there, including the Page 72

© Peter McFadyen

Robert Britcher 1914 Darracq V14

© Peter McFadyen

Nicholas Hildyard, 1922 GN Vitesse

© Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

Frank Esson, 1923 Calthorpe

May 2018

Richard Fry, 1925 BSA 10

Page 73

© Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

Tom McEwen, 1921 GN Vitesse

Town Crier, gave them an enthusiastic welcome and admired the cars parked around the town while their crews tackled a sort of walking treasure hunt, searching for answers to a set of questions or clues set by the organisers. Suitably revived, they could then set off on the return leg passing close to Newtown and back to ‘Llandod’.

Sunday’s trial, for the second year in succession, was won by one of the younger competitors, this time 15 year-old Sarah Blake driving a GN Vitesse. Francine Pimperton, a regular startline marshal at VSCC race and speed events, won the Llwynbarried Trophy in her Austin Chummy and, combined with her tour results, i.e. the quiz, was declared the weekend’s overall winner.

May 2018

Paul Easter, 1915 Sunbeam 16

Page 74

© Peter McFadyen

© Peter McFadyen

LCES Chairman Richard Marsh, Austin 7 © Peter McFadyen

Mark Hofton, 1923 Fiat Tipo 501 © Peter McFadyen

VSCC ex-President Tony Stephens, 1925 Trojan Utility

May 2018

George Stanton, 1931 Wolseley 10

Page 75

© Peter McFadyen

Keith Hill, 1923 AC Empire

May 2018

Page 76