Tag Archives: Davies

AWDC Britpart Safari Championship R7 – Walters Arena, Neath

Last October I popped across the Severn Bridge to visit Walters Arena, Neath a disused quarry, for the 7th round of the All Wheel Drive Club (AWDC) Britpart Safari Championship, due to a number of circumstances immediately after the event I managed to loose my camera’s memory card before I had down loaded the images somewhere between Neath, London and Bristol which were my next ports of call in the following 24 hours. Last weekend the memory card turned up so here is my belated blog.

Land Rover Tomcat, Rob Bool, Walters Arena, Neath

I was alerted to the AWDC Britpart Safari Championship at last years Castle Combe Rally Day where several competitors gave impressive demonstrations on a make shift off road course. Above the Land Rover Tomcat of Rob Bool is seen on his way to a second place finish in class.

MG Metro 6R4, Ivan Dudley, Walters Arena, Neath

I believe Ivan Dudley has built several space frame MG miniMetro 6R4’s with BMW M3 engines for different off road competitions, he is seen above on his way to a 14th place overall finish.

Mitsubishi Milner, Colin Davies, Walters Arena, Neath

There are several chassis manufacturers I have not heard of before I believe the vague interpretation of a Mitsubishi Pick Up above sits on a Milner chassis built in Derbyshire which could be powered by any number of motors different motors including, 5 litre / 302 cui Ford Coyote or BMW M3 to name a few, Colin Davies is seen above on his way to a 10th place finish overall.

Land Rover Milner Evoque, Wyn Williams, Walters Arena, Neath

The Range Rover Evoque likeness above driven by Wyn Williams to a 4th place finish overall also sits on a Milner chassis.

Peugeot Simbugini, Oliver Arnold, Walters Arena, Neath

Oliver Arnold is seen above heading for a 3rd place finish in his Peugeot 206 likeness I have no idea what kind of chassis the car has, if you know please do not hesitate ti chip in below.

Mitsubishi Milner R5, Chris Bird, Mitsubishi Milner, Chris Bird, Britcar Safari Championship R7, Walters Arena, Neath

Chris and co driver John Bird are seen above on their way to a win in their Mitsubishi Milner V8 after recovering from a stop on the opening stage.

Two participants were taken to hospital with non life threatening injuries from the event, emphasising how tough a discipline the AWDC Safari Championship is, details of this years series which kicked off on March 20th can be found on this link.

Thanks for joining me on this “AWDC Britpart Safari Championship R7” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at the last in the current series of Camaro’s. Don’t forget to come back now !

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The Great Western Sprint – Castle Combe

A couple of weeks ago I popped along to help out the Bristol Motor Club marshall there annual freeze fest better known as The Great Western Sprint at Castle Combe, mercifully it was a dry sunny day but as ever the persistent freezing wind out at Bobbies where I was stationed meant that humour had a very tough fight on it’s hands.

Ford Fiesta, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

My responsibilities precluded taking any photo’s of the action so here are a selection of arbitrary shots taken in the paddock shown in running order, first up from Abergavenny Martyn Davies’s Ford Fiesta with which he won the A1 Roadgoing class for cars with motors up to 1400 cc / 85.4 cui.

Suzuki Swift, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

Phil Tuckers 1989 Suzuki Swift, which finished second in class behind Martyn, caught my attention because the model was also sold as a Subaru Justy like the one Robert Solarski drove on the recent Tavern Motor Club Washingpool Farm Targa Rally.

Ford Escort Mexico, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

On my way over to Castle Combe I observed Rowland Turner was wearing ear protectors at the wheel of his 1975 Mk 1 Ford Escort as he made steady progress on the motorway, Rowland finished 8th in the up to 1800 cc / 109.8 cui class.

Audi S4, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

One of the more powerful cars in the paddock was Roger Banks’s Audi S4 powered by a twin turbo 4.2 litre / 256 cui 40 valve V8 said to produce over 700 hp. Roger recorded fastest time in his all wheel drive beast with a NASCAR sized rear spoiler in the C3 modified class on the practice run but broke down on his first timed run, leaving Keith Murray in his old school Audi 80 to take class spoils as he had done on this event in 2013.

Leastone F5, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

6th in the up to Racing Cars up to 1100cc / 67 cui E1 category was Nick Mizen in his Irish built Leastone F5 fitted with a 900cc / 54.9 cui Suzuki Motorcycle engine.

Jedi Mk 1, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

Martin Pickles qualified for the top 12 run offs and finished with 7th best time of the day with his 1 litre / 61 cui Jedi Mk1.

The larger engined Reynard DB Mk 1 shared by Mark Smith and Craig Sampson recorded first and second fastest times of the day respectively.

Thanks for joining me on this “The Great Western Sprint” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a 1931 Chrysler. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Bird’s Wyedean Win – Wyedean Forest Rally

On Saturday I popped over to the Forest of Dean to see the 40th Weir Engineering Wyedean Forest Rally for which 175 entries had been received.

The Wyedean started and finished at Chepstow Race Course and was run over 8 stages making a total of 43.42 stage miles that were linked by 98.37 road miles.

MG ZR, Gemmell, Beebe, Blaze Bailey, Wyedean Rally,

This was the first Rally I had been to since the 1985 Lombard Race Rally, during the course of the day I visited two stages the 3.26 mile Blaze Bailey on the eastern edge of the Forest of Dean near Soudley and 6.02 mile Mailscot near Staunton on the western edge.

Above co driver Matt Beebe directs enthusiastic spectators in their efforts to get driver Richard Gemmell and his MG ZR out of a mud trap that saved the car from a couple of hundred foot drop into an abyss on the last corner of the Blaze Bailey stage, the #243 crew recovered to eventually record a 100th place finish from the 120 crew’s who made it back to Chepstow.

Mini Cooper S, Lewis, Fife, Mailscot, Wyedean Rally,

Unfortunately I was not party to any radio communications during the event which made it impossible to follow what was going on in terms of positions and stage times so today’s blog will be limited to photographs of the winners of the 5 classes which split into a total of 16 sub classes each with a winner along with an overall winner.

The historic class was divided into four, winners of the H1a Class were Peter Lewis and Paul Fife in the 1963 #255 Mini Cooper S, seen above in the Mailcot Stage.

Datsun 240Z, Easson, Reynolds, Blaze Bailey, Wyedean Rally

Back in 1971 and 1973 Datsun 240 Z’s driven by Edgar Hermann and Shekhar Mehta respectively won the gruelling East African Safari Rally proving the model was no flimsy boulevard cruiser.

It was therefore perhaps no great surprise that Jeremy Easson and Mike Reynolds won class H2b on Saturday with their #53 240Z built in 1974.

Mazda RX7, Scannell, Stevens, Blaze Bailey, Whedean Rally,

Nowhere near as noisy as it’s circuit racing siblings was the 1979 #48 Mazda RX7 crewed by class H3b winners Jake Scannell and Adrian Stevens which like the #53 Datsun is seen on the Blaze Bailey stage above.

Ford Escort RS1800, Elliot, Price, Blaze Bailey, Wyedean Rally,

The Ford Escort in MkI and MkII guises was a rallying staple through out the 1970s, winning the 1970 World Cup Rally in MkI form and the 1979 World Rally Championship in MkII form.

The #24 Escort RS1800 Replica above crewed by Nick Elliot and Dave Price won the H4 category and as we shall see was one of three MKII shelled Escorts to win awards on Saturday, the #24 started life as a far more mundane 2 door Ford Escort Popular.

Nissan Micra, Quinn, Carmen, Mailscot, Wyedean Rally,

Three classes were run for the Rally First starter series for novice crews running production cars with a few basic competition safety features.

The RF 1.0 class for cars running motors of no more than 1 litre / 61.5 cui was won by the 2001 #260 Nissan Micra S crewed by Nick Quinn and Neill Carmen seen above on the Mailscot Stage.

Volkswagen Polo, Handford, Davies, Blaze Bailey, Wyedean Rally,

Morgan Handford and Richard Davies took top honors in RF1.4 despite taking the longest route around the final corner of the opening Blaze Bailey stage in their 1999 #236 Volkswagen Polo 1.4 16V.

Volswagen Polo GTi, Smith, Houldsworth, Mailscot, Wyedean Rally,

Top starter class RF1.6 honours were taken by Mick Smith and Calvin Houldsworth driving their 2001 #220 Volkswagen Polo GTi seem above on the Mailscot Stage.

MG ZR, Riddick, Riddick, Mailscot Wyedean Rally,

The BTRDA kick Start 1400 series is run in two classes for slightly more sophisticated cars than the Rally First vehicles, but with tightly controlled stock restricted specifications on motors and suspensions.

Winners of Class 1400 C were the Scotish pair Keith and Mairi Riddick in their 2001 #227 MG ZX.

Vauxhall Corsa, Bennett, McNeil, Blaze Bailey, Wyedean Rally,

The slightly more liberal 1400 S class was won by #201 Vauxhall Corsa crewed by David Bennett and Alistair McNeil seen above on the Blaze Bailey stage following a much better line through the final corner than the #236 RF1.4 class winning VW Polo.

Ford Fiesta ST, Cook, Jones, Mailscot, Wyedean Rally,

Group N is an internationally recognised production based category that allows only safety modifications and a free choice of electronic control unit (ECU) for the motor, the success of the category can be judged by the fact it has remained largely unchanged since it’s inception in 1982.

Winners of the Group N3 class for vehicles with motors up to 2 litres / 122 cui on Saturday were Geno Cook and Ryan Jones who drove the #66 Ford Fiesta ST seen above in the closing gloom towards the end of the final Mailscot Stage.

 Mitsubishi EVO IX, Thompson, Murphy, Blaze Bailey, Wyedean Rally,

Russ Thompson and Andy Murphy won the over 2 litre / 122 cui Group N4 class driving the #10 Mitsubishi Evo IX seen on the Blaze Bailey Stage above.

Peugeot 205 GTi, Lloyd, Roberts, Mailscot, Wyedean Rally,

The top five classes, B10, B11, B12, B13 and B14 cater for a range of specialised vehicles which must retain FIA crash tested type body shells, which precludes the use of space / tube frame specials.

Winners of the up to 1600 cc / 97.6 cui B10 class were Thomas Lloyd and Sherrin Roberts in their formerly Grey 1987 #60 Peugeot 205 Gti running with non period LED fog lights.

Ford Escort Mk II, Elsmore, Harrold, Mailscot, Wyedean Rally,

Graham Elsmore and Stuart Harrold won the first three Wyedean Rallies from 1975 to 1977, the pair were also British Group One, similar to Group N, champions in 1977 and competed for works Ford, Triumph and Vauxhall teams in to the 1980’s.

They were loaned the #32 Ford Escort Mk2, seen hanging it’s tail out on the Mailscot stage above, by event sponsor Rob Weir, Graham and Stuart repaid Rob’s kindness with an up 2 litre / 122 cui class B11 victory.

Ford Escort Mk II, Phelps, Manuel, Blaze Bailey, Wyedean Rally,

Over 2 litre / 122 cui B12 class honours were won by the #61 Ford Escort Mk2 crewed by Tim Phelps and Elwyn Manuel, their car is powered by a 2.4 litre / 146 cui motor who’s origin I was not able to determine during the course of the event.

Mitsubishi EVO IX, Elsmore, Edwards, Mailscot, Wyedean Rally,

Graham Elsmore’s son Nik is a proper chip off the old block, he was 1999 BRTDA Gold Star champion and shared the #21 Mitsubishi Evo IX above with Matt Edwards to finish 5th overall and win the B13 class for vehicles over 2 litres / 122 cui with four wheel drive.

Ford Fiesta ST, Payne and Williamson, Mailscot, Wyedean Rally,

The events Press officer Andrew Haill kindly explained that despite finishing behind 2 other B14 competitors James Payne and Carl Williamson driving the #3 Ford Fiesta ST above on the Mailscot stage were awarded the top honours in class B14 because the top three overall finishers are excluded from class awards.

Ford Focus WRC 07, Bird, Davies, Blaze Bailey, Wyedean Rally,

Clear overall winner of the 40th Weir Engineering Wyedean Forest Rally with five stage wins and 3 second fastest times was 2005 ANCRO National champion Cumbrian Paul Bird and his Welsh co driver Aled Davies driving his 2007 #1 Ford Focus WRC.

Paul, the head of Paul Bird Motorsports who run PBM Moto GP and British Superbike teams, has finished 2nd twice on this rally before was thrilled to win the event at the third time of asking.

Paul finished last season with two straight rally victories, which has now become three and he will be looking to make it four on the Malcom Wilson Stages Rally on March the 7th.

If you have never seen a forest rally in person I can heartily recommend it, your fellow spectators are unfailingly friendly, kids seem to love the sport, one six year old on Saturday managed to detain his Dad on the stages for many hours beyond the original two Dad had planned for the visit and most National Forests in the UK can be visited for free, though there maybe charges for car parking, as for example the reasonable £6 being charged for Forestry parking on the Mailscot Stage.

Thanks for joining me on this “Bird’s Wyedean Win” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at King Richards ’67 Plymouth Belvedere. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Rainy Day Grooves – Oulton Park Gold Cup

On Bank Holiday Monday two friends and I braved some atrocious weather as we headed 150 odd miles North to Oulton Park for the last day of the Gold Cup meeting.

Lola T292, Sinclair, Martini Trophy, Oulton Park

By the time the racing got started the track had dried out a bit though the track conditions were still treacherous as Tony Sinclair drove his #12 Lola T292 to a comfortable 13 second victory over Sam Carrington Yates driving a Chevron B16 in the second of the weekend’s Martini Trophy contests.

Chevron B17, Derossi, Classic Racing Cars, Oulton Park

Local pride in the Chevron marque from nearby Bolton was restored by Francois Derassi driving his #66 Chevron B17 who won the Rodney Bloor Trophy for Classic Racing Cars by 32 seconds over Palliser WDB2 driver Andy Jarvis.

Derek Bell Trophy, Oulton Park

The first of the days Derek Bell Trophy races looked set to go to Micheal Lyons in his blue grooved wet shod Formula 5000/A #74 Eagle FA74 but Richard Evans driving a slick shod Formula 2 #77 March 742 with only 2/5ths the cubic inches and half the number of cylinders of the Chevy Stock block V8 powered Eagle managed to claw back Micheal’s opening lap six second lead to take the win as the track dried out.

Super Touring Trophy, Oulton Park

The first time I came to Oulton Park in 1985 John Cleland was driving an Opel Monza in the Uniroyal Production Car race. On Bank Holiday Monday he was driving his 1998 #98 Vauxhall Vectra and after all sorts of problems for the Championship contending Honda Accord’s of Stewart Whyte and James Dodd, John won the Super Touring Championship race from the #44 Audi A4 quattro of Paul Smith. James claimed the championship with an impressive 4th place finish from the back of the grid.

Historic Touring Cars, Oulton Park

The rain became a little heavier during the first Historic Touring car race and the #67 Austin Mini of Peter Morgan consequently got the best start while the #1 Ford Lotus Cortina of Tim Davies got bogged down. 3 wheeling Tim recovered to take a close victory over Peter by just 0.3 seconds.

HSCC Classic Clubmans, Oulton Park

By the time the Classic Clubmans came out my friends and I opted to take cover and watch the race from the car. Mark Charteris won the race in the #1 Mallock Mk 20/21 by just over a second from Spencer McCarthy’s Mallock Mk 20b.

Historic Formula Ford 2000, Oulton Park

The inclement weather continued during the Historic Formula Ford 2000 race which was won after a good battle by Benjamin Tusting in the yellow #64 Reynard SF79 by just under 4 seconds from Benn Simms in the #2 Royale RP30.

Historic Formula Ford 1600, Oulton Park

The biggest field of the day started the Historic Formula Ford 1600 race. Micheal Mallock who had spent much of the race in fourth place driving his family #9 Mallock Mk9 came through the myriad back markers on the last lap to claim a victory, possibly the first for this car since the late 1960’s, over John Murphy in the green #3 Merlyn Mk20A.

Derek Bell Trophy, Oulton Park

Tim Barry driving his recently restored Ford GAA V6 powered March 76A suffered broken legs and a broken wrist in a nasty accident which stopped the second Derek Bell Trophy race.

The latest news from the hospital is that Tim has already asked doctors when he can drive again ! I am sure you will join me in wishing Tim and his March a speedy recovery.

After the restart Micheal Lyons did not put a foot wrong in his Eagle to claim victory over his nemesis from race one Richard Evans. 1974 Gold Cup winner Ian Ashley marked his return to the F5000 category after an absence of 35 years by driving his Lola T300 to a fine third, having finished 4th in the earlier race.

Historic Touring Cars, Oulton Park

The rain only got heavier during the 2nd Historic Touring car race and the tarmac from Knickerbrook up Clay Hill got a lovely pearlescent finish courtesy of Ian Brown’s Volkswagen Beetle which dumped all of it’s oil on the racing line on lap 2.

The consequent scrabble for steerage and traction proved highly entertaining and it was the red and blue Mini’s of Peter Morgan and Tim Harber who made the best of it with the #37 Ford Lotus Cortina of Mike Gardiner coming home third to round out an entertaining day at the races.

Thanks for joining me on this Rainy Day Grooves edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be going for a little test drive in a 35th Anniversary Ford Mustang. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Howards Day – Castle Combe Easter Monday

Easter Monday’s meeting at Castle Combe was dedicated to the memory of Howard Strawford who died on February 23rd leaving a huge void for not only his family and friends but also the greater Motorsport community in South West England.

Howards Day, Castle Combe

Howards legacy is the Castle Combe Circuit as it stands today which he saved from closure in the 1970’s after managing to secure the support of former World Champion James Hunt. By 1981 Howard had gained permanent planning permission to operate the track as a motor sports venue and engaged in a programme of continual improvements to the tracks facilities which have been to the benefit of both national and club motor sport. Belated condolences to Howards family and friends.

Volkswagen Jetta GTi, Howards Day, Castle Combe

When I got to the circuit I headed straight for Tavern Club House where I had agreed to meet Ted the day before at Thruxton and enjoyed my second Big Boys Breakfast in 8 days. Afterwards Ted and I went for a stroll around the circuit when we stumbled across this immaculate 1989 VW Jetta GTi.

Volkswagen Golf GTi, Howards Day, Castle Combe

As we walked round the track the wind picked up and it got sufficiently cold for Ted to decide to head for the warmth of his dark room while I wondered around the paddock where I stumbled across Martyn Walsh’s VW Golf GTi which qualified 9th for the first of the two BRSCC Teekay Couplings Production GTi Championship races and finished 7th in the first race and went one better in the second GTi race finishing 6th.

Super Mighty Mini, Howards Day, Castle Combe

Mini’s were in abundance at Castle Combe with races for the 60 hp Mighty Mini’s and 90 hp Super Mighty Mini’s the #23 MerlinPoweredMini.com of Mark Burnett runs in the more powerful Super Mini class however on this occasion it appears he traveled from Guildford in vain having failed to set a qualifying time he recorded a did not finish (DNF) with zero laps completed in Race 1 and did not take the start in Race 2.

Vauxhall Astra, Howards Day, Castle Combe

The Castle Combe Saloon Car Championship in Association with National Windscreens has some new entires this season including the #86 Vauxhall Astra of Kevin Bird who used to campaign a BMW 130i in this series. Kevin qualified 10th and finished 7th in the single race for the series.

Reynard FF84, Howards Day, Castle Combe

There appeared to be more stickers on Juiceie Bruceie’s BJ Welders Real Steel 4×4 / Llaemdos Racing Reynard FF84 than fibre glass, but as we shall see there was only one little incident Juiceie’s Mum might have had to worry about in the Formula Ford race for which he qualified a respectable 18th ahead of four newer vehicles.

Chevrolet LS3, Howards Day, Castle Combe

Perry Waddams used the prodigious horsepower of his Chevrolet LS3 motor to power his #77 Crowthorne.com TVR Tuscan to 12th on the grid and an 8th place finish in the Castle Combe, Sports & GT Championship supported by Siliconehoses.com.

BRSCC Mazda MX-5 SuperCup, Howards Day, Castle Combe

The first race in the 11 race programme only had 7 starters but it only takes two cars to make a race and Matthew Davies in the #91 Mazda MX5 Mk3 and Andrew Clarkson in the #67 Team SMG / Clarkson Electrical MX5 Mk 3 both wanted to win the first BRSCC Mazda MX5 SuperCup race of the day. Clarkson eventually won by less than a second from pole but only after at least 5 changes in the lead up to lap ten of the 15 lap race.

BRSCC, Mighty Minis Championship, Howards Day, Castle Combe

Jonathan Lewis driving the #2 Mighty Mini won the first BRSCC Mighty Mini Race from pole and is recorded as having led all but one lap however the race lead changed many more times particularly with Damien Harrington in the #53 Mini seen above leading on Westway leading into the final Camp Corner where Lewis was always ready and able to steal the lead back again. The winning margin was just .106 seconds after 13 laps.

BRSCC, Teekay Couplings, Production GTi Championship, Howards Day, Castle Combe

Simon Hill in his evil handling GTi provided the only opposition to pole sitter Lewis Hopkins in the BRSCC Teekay Couplings Production GTi Championship race, Lewis won the 11 lap contest by over 5 seconds. Further down the field #45 David Parris is seen in 10th place before retiring on lap 6 being chased through Bobbies chicane by #70 James Howlison, #83 Paul Blackburn and #56 Nick Jarvis who finished the 11 lap race in 9th, 10th and 11th places respectively.

BRSCC, Super Mighty Minis Championship, Howards Day, Castle Combe

Next up was Race 1 for the Super Mighty Mini’s, Peter Trevett was swallowed up by the grid at the start and eventually finished fifth but it was Elliot Stafford who led by over a second until lap 6 when the pressure started to mount from Jamie White, Patrick Ford and Scott Kendall. #51 Elliot, who held on to win by less than a quarter of a second, is seen raising a rear wheel above as #8 Scott Kendall and #45 Jamie White try and find a way past going into Tower Corner.

National Windscreens, Castle Combe Saloon Car Championship, Howards Day, Castle Combe

With the temperature in the tropical 3 degrees above freezing zone a great race looked in prospect from the Castle Combe Saloon Car Championship in Association with National Windscreens race, even though Mark Wyatt in his Vauxhall Astra had qualified nearly 2 seconds ahead of anyone else. William di Cluadio made a race of it and led lap one in his green championship winning W-A-S Racing Peugeot 106 GTi but Mark was back in charge until lap 6 when he retired at Quarry. di Claudio led again until lap 10 when he finally succumbed to the superior power of Rob Ballards Chippenham Conversions / Interceptor Racing SEAT Leon 20v Turbo. Rob is seen above having just over taken William out of Old Paddock on his way to a 1.5 second victory.

StartLine, Castle Combe, Formula Ford 1600 Championship, Howards Day, Castle Combe

Steven Jensen started his 2013 Castle Combe Formula Ford 1600 Championship supported by StartLine with a convincing victory from pole, his only challenger was Roger Orgee who retired his #3 Van Diemen on lap 6. However down the field there was plenty of excitement, the aforementioned Juiceie Bruceie got his Reynard FF84 off to a brilliant start rising from 18th on the grid to 10th at the end of lap 1 before he appeared to out brake himself going into the Esses, Juiceie recovered and finished an eventual 16th one lap down.

BRSCC Mazda MX-5 SuperCup, Howards Day, Castle Combe

The second Mazda MX5 SuperCup race was won by Matthew Davies by six seconds from Andrew Clarkson in the #67 Mazda, who temporarily gave his second place up Mike Comber coming out of Quarry in the #58 MX5 as seen above. Mike could not make the pass stick over the remainder of the lap and settled for his second third place finish of the day.

Micheal Kason, Fiat X1/9, Howards Day, Castle Combe

The Castle Combe Sports and GT Championship supported by Siliconhoses.com race did not live up to the expectations of a battle between the leading Radicals of pole sitter Josh Smith fellow front row starter Andrew Shanley and second row starters Manhal Allos and Simon Tilling, Tilling retired out on the circuit on lap 2 which required the safety car to neutralise the field on lap 6 and in the ensuing chaos Andrew Shanley was handed a one lap lead as a result of the wrong car being picked up as the leader. Still former drag racer Michael Kason’s Zubedo.com Dallara Fiat X1/9 provided plenty of flame spitting entertainment as it headed for a 16th place finish, which kept me occupied for the remainder of the race.

BRSCC, Mighty Minis Championship, Howards Day, Castle Combe

With 8 races down and 3 more to go the 60 hp Mighty Minis came out for their second run and it was a real barnstormer with Jonathan Lewis, teenager Zack Booth, Pole sitter Damien Harrington and Charlie Budd all leading at least one lap by never more than half a second. In the end Harrington pulled of a last lap last corner maneuver at the last corner Camp that stuck all the way to the finish line to win his second race of the day by .108 secs. Above #2 Jonathan Lewis, who finished 2nd, #16 Zack Booth, who finished 3rd and eventual winner #53 Damien dispute every inch of tarmac on the run up to Avon Rise midway through the race.

BRSCC, Teekay Couplings, Production GTi Championship, Howards Day, Castle Combe

For a while it looked like Simon Hill had got on top of his handling demons which were much in evidence in the first Production GTi race but after just two laps the red #51 GTi had to concede to the faster white #95 of Lewis Hopkins who became the second two time winner of the day.

BRSCC, Super Mighty Minis Championship, Howards Day, Castle Combe

The Super Mighty Mini’s concluded the meeting with their second run and their was no going home early and guessing the result, above with two laps to go Bob Bennets, who would finish 3rd leads on lap 12, on lap 13 is was the turn of #77 Patrick Ford who finished 2nd to lead and at Camp Corner on the final lap Elliot Stafford nailed his exit perfectly to become the second two time winner of the day.

As a tribute to Castle Combes much missed savior Howard Strawford the day had served as a poignant reminder to all that Howard had done for motor sport and the wonderful legacy and high standards that those of us who remain will have to live up to.

Thanks for joining me on this ‘Howards Day’ edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow, don’t forget to come back now !

21/04/13 PS My thanks to Castle Combe historian Pete Stowe for pointing out various spelling errors in drivers names, apologies to all concerned.

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Ferrari by David Bailey – Ferrari 550 Maranello GTS

Some of you who read my Rowdy blogs may remember a blog about the 2002 celebrity Prodrive Ferrari 550 Marranello GTS (03).

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That chassis took part in at least 42 Races in the GT/GTS class for at least four different teams from 2002 to 2006 and had a host of celebrity drivers including,

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Colin McRae World Rally Champion, British Touring Car Champions Rickard Rydell & Alain Menu, British, Luc Alphand former World Cup Skiing Champion and Dakar winner, David Brabham Japanese GT Champion and Le Mans winner 2009, Jan Magnussen Danish Touring Car Champion, Danica Patrick queen of IRL, Darren Manning IRL driver, Christophe Bouchut 1993 Le Mans Winner, and one of my former racing instructors Tim Sugden former British and Asia Pacific GT Champion.

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Prodrive prepared a batch of 20 550 Maranello GTS’s for racing in Europe and the States where they were regular winners in the GT/GTS class in 2001.

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In 2003 today’s #88 550 Maranello GTS Chassis ZFFZR49B000108462, the 6th of the 20 Prodrive built, was driven by Thomas Enge, Jamie Davies and Peter Kox,

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with around 750hp coming from it’s V12 engine,

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beat the Corvettes by 10 laps at the Le Mans 24 hour race winning the GTS class coming home 10th overall.

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This vehicle entered exclusively by the Prodrive team is known to have run in at least 9 races in 2003 in all bar one carrying the #88, this chassis carried the #08 in it’s last known final at Petite Le Mans.

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When the effervescent Jackie Irwin, who has petrol running through her veins, told us on my recent visit to the Prodrive factory we were allowed to sit in some of the vehicles parked in the display area like a 12 year old I headed straight for the 550 Maranello,

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the experience of sitting in this fabulous car was an odd mixture of agony and ecstasy, the seat was made for someone with hips the size of a 12 year old, yet at the same time the purposefulness of every last detail inside the vehicle sent my mind straight to Le Mans, by some strange fate I also found my self posing for this photograph taken by David Bailey , I am sure Twiggy would have felt far more comfortable in the seat, but then I doubt she would ever find herself posing for David Bailey of the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club.

My thanks to David Bailey, everyone at the Bristol Pegasus MC and Prodrive who made my visit such an interesting day out.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s David Bailey edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and that you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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