Tag Archives: Morgan

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 !

Share

Classic Clubs – Silverstone Classic

Today’s blog is dedicated to all the hundreds of car clubs and thousands of classic car enthusiasts who brought classic cars along to Silvertone Classic as we take a look at some of the clubs present.

Aston Martin Owners Club, Silverstone Classic

No less than three, from a total production of 100, of the 2002 limited edition Aston Martin DB7 Zagato’s headed the Aston Martin Owners Club parade.

Berkeley Enthusiasts Club, Silverstone Classic,

Celebrating it’s 50th Anniversary in style was the Berkeley Enthusiasts Club, above a Berkeley Foursome and B105 lap the Silverstone Circuit.

BMW Car Club, Silverstone Classic,

Complementing the 40 metre BMW wheel and Village Green the BMW Car Club was out in strength, above a Z3 and Z1 lap the circuit during one of the parades.

Classic Corvette Club UK, Silverstone Classic

Classic Corvette Club UK was celebrating it’s 35th anniversary, the ’78 Indy 500 Pace Car Limited Edition above was built a year before the formation of the club. This one has the desirable 220hp L82 motor option, the 1978 Indy 500 was won by Al Unser in his Cosworth DFX powered Lola T500.

Daimler & Lanchester Owners Club, Silverstone Classic

The Daimler & Lanchester Owners Club always have a fine display of SP250s at this event and this year was no exception.

Mustang Owners Club of Great Britain, Silverstone Classic

The Mustang Owners Club of Great Britain were celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Pony Car, above a ’70 convertible stands next to a ’69 Shelby GT 500.

Ginetta Owners Club, Silverstone Classic

Regular readers will know I’m a big fan of the Ginetta G33, one day when I’m in a position to buy one I’ll become a member of the Ginetta Owners’ Club.

Jaguar Enthusiasts Club, Club, Silverstone Classic

John James of the Jaguar Enthusiasts Club was able to help me out with an Otter Switch for GALPOT’s most famous XK140 owner Geoffrey Horton in California.

Lamborghini Club UK, Silverstone Classic

The original competition spec prototype Lamborghini Muira Jota burned to the ground on the, unopened, Brescia ring road in April 1971, a member of Lamborghini Club UK has built this wonderful replica of the Prototype originally built by Bob Wallace.

Mercedes Benz Club, Silverstone Classic

Amongst the Mercedes Benz Club members vehicles was this imperiously tailfined 1967 Mercedes Benz 200.

Morgan Sports Car Club, Silverstone Classic

Wecoming Morganeers was the Morgan Sports Car Club with 5,000 owners world wide.

Piper Sports And Racing Car Club, Silverstone Classic

Catering for just 80 examples ever built is the Piper Sports And Racing Car Club which is primarily concerned with preserving the marque for whom Tony Hilder designed the 30″ GT’s first seen in 1968.

Porsche Club Great Britain, Silverstone Classic


Porsche Club Great Britain
is the UK’s only officially recognised club for the marque and has close links with Porsche AG and the marques official importer Porsche Cars Great Britain.

Stag Owners Club, Silverstone Classic

Driven by a zest for life for those united by a common interest in the Triumph Stag classic car is the Stag Owners Club.

Karmann Ghia Owners Club, Silverstone Classic

The Karmann Ghia Owners Club attempts to support all aspects of ‘KG’ ownership from purists who want to see original cars to those whose interests include customisation, lowering and performance modifications.

Thanks for joining me on this ‘Classic Clubs’ edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for Americana Thursday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

Prelude To Le Mans – 6 Hours of Silverstone

Easter Sunday emerged gray and overcast at dawn but nothing was going to dampen my enthusiasm for getting to Silverstone just in time for the gates to open because Porsche were due to make their first official appearance in top line sports car racing since 1998 Le Mans winning Porsche GT1-98 was retired from competition.

Dallara F312, Ocon, Verstappen, Silverstone

Before the pits walk about which would give spectators an opportunity to see the new Wundercar the third FIA Formula 3 race of the weekend was run. The cars were all mandated 2012 Dallara F312 but now running motors which are sealed and have to last a whole season. Much to the delight of his vocal fan club Ferrari’s protege Antonio Fuoco won the event by just under five seconds from sixteen year old Max “Son of the Boss” Vertappen who is seen above being gifted second place by third place finisher Esteban Ocon who wound up the weekend with the championship lead having finished 2nd and then 1st in the weekends earlier races. Max is son of former Formula One Racer Jos ‘The Boss’ Verstappen perhaps best remembered as the driver sitting in the Benetton which erupted into a fireball at the 1994 German Grand Prix and winner of the 2008 LMP2 Le Mans series title.

Porsche 919, 6 Hours Of Silverstone

By the time I got to the pit lane for the walkabout the queue was already enormous but within a couple of minuets it was moving and unsurprisingly spectators were standing 6 deep trying to get a glimpse of the Porsche 919 Hybrid which was started from scratch, leaving the past behind, as evidenced by the turbocharged 2 litre V4 and and two energy recuperation systems that has been developed over the last 30 months.

The #14 driven by Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb and the #20 driven by Timo Benhard, Mark Webber and Brendon Hartley showed phenomenal speed in free practice being over 10 mph faster than their rivals in a straight line. They lined up 3rd and 6th on the grid respectively despite being the only runners in low down force Le Mans spec.

Anthony Davidson, 6 Hours Of Silverstone

The #7 Toyota TS 040 Hybrid driven by Alexander Wurz, Stéphane Sarrazin and Kazuki Nakajima was on pole ahead of the #1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro driven by Lucas di Grassi, Loïc Duval and Tom Kristensen. Forth on the grid was the #2 Audi of Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoit Tréluyer ahead of fifth place Anthony Davidson, seen seated above right, who shared the #8 Toyota with Nicolas Lapierre and Sebastian Buemi, seated above right. Less than half a second covered the qualification times of the 6 work LMP1 cars.

Toyota TS 040, Audi R18, 6 Hours Of Silverstone

Toyota led the opening laps of the race but it was not long before André Lotterer in the #2 Audi, seen above about to relieve the Sebastian Buemi of third place, got to the front of the field. As the first hour of the race unfolded rain started to fall that would, unknown to anyone at the time decide the outcome of the race. Buemi pitted from fourth to take on a set of intermediates, Wurz pitted from second to take on full wets as Toyota wisely split it’s strategy between its cars while the ever optimistic Audi Team elected to stay on slicks.

Porsche 911 RSR, Holzer, 6 Hours Of Silverstone

The Porsche 919’s were running comfortably in 5th and 6th places until the #14 first lost a wheel and then returned only to experience a drive problem and retire after completing only 30 laps. In the LMGTE Pro class however the works 911 RSR’s were comfortably running 1st and 2nd with the #91 driven by Patrick Pilet, Jörg Bergmeister and Nick Tandy easing away from the #92 seen above driven by Marco Holzer, Frédéric Malowiecki and Richard Lietz. With less than an hour to go the #91 pulled into pit for full wets but when the #92 was about to follow suit the pit lane was closed, and was to remain so until the race was called nearly half an hour early handing the LMGTE Pro class win and 7th place overall to the #92 of Holzer, Malowiecki and Lietz who finished just over 40 seconds ahead of their team mates.

Morgan Nissan, Pla, 6 Hours Of Silverstone

The LMP2 class pole was won by Roman Rusinov, Oliver Pla and Julien Canal driving the #26 Morgan – Nissan, seen with Oliver Pla driving through Becketts above, from the similar #47 Oreca 03 badged example driven by Mathew Howson, Richard Bradley and Tsugio Matsuda. On their way to a 5th place finish overall the #26 had to change their nose twice, to repair damage the first time and then fit one with the correct dive planes the second, but managed to catch and pass the #47 which received a 10 second penalty for speeding in the pit lane and was later penalised a lap for unsafe release from a pit stop.

Porsche, Toyota, Aston Martin, 6 Hours Of Silverstone

Meanwhile the #7 Toyota, seen above about to overtake the #88 LMGTE Am Porsche RSR driven by Christian Ried, Claus Bachler and Khaled Al Qubaisi, on the full wets was struggling and fell behind the sister #8 car of Davidson,Lapierre and Buemi on intermediates which inherited the lead after the #1 Audi which di Grassi crashed into the barriers on slicks in the wet at Woodcote had to retire with a broken suspension pick up point and the #2 Audi also on slicks lost four laps and five places when Lotterer went off at Stowe.

Ferrari F458 Italia, 6 Hours Of Silverstone, 6 Hours Of Silverstone

While the #2 was making up lost time the #71 LMGTE Pro Ferrari F458 Italia, seen above was being driven by Davide Rigon and James Caldo to an eventual 5th in class finish ahead of the #81 F458 Italia driven by Stephen Wyatt, Michele Rugolo and Sam Bird which recorded a third place class finish in the LMGTE Am division behind …

Aston Martin Vantage V8, Silverstone, 6 Hours Of Silverstone

two works Aston Martin Vantage V8’s. On this occasion #95 Aston Martin seen above brought home the GTE Am bacon with Danes Kristian Poulsen, David Heinemeir Hansson, Nicki Thiim recording a 15th place overall along with class honours.

Audi R18 e-tron quattro, Treluyer, 6 Hours Of Silverstone

On intermediate tyres Benoit Treluyer recovered to 4th place in the #2 Audi when just after the 3 hour mark he appears to have locked a wheel braking for Copse corner, clouted the inside barrier and then went sailing over the kitty litter to come to rest on solid ground against the barrier, which he hit hard enough for the front wheels to be facing in different directions. Benoit valiantly cleared up the worst of the mess, against the marshals better judgement, jumped back in the car fired it up and got it going all of 5 yards before the Audi steered its self into the gravel trap and retirement. For the first time in 18 races going back to 2011 neither Audi finished which “may” yet have effectively handed not just the race but also the World Endurance Championship to Toyota.

Porsche 919, Hartley, 6 Hours Of Silverstone

On his LMP1 debut New Zealander Brendon Hartley meantime kept the #20 Porsche 919 Hybrid on the black stuff as it progressed to a third place with Timo Bernhard and Formula One™ refugee Mark Webber sharing the podium finish. Porsche will be keeping their Le Mans low down force spec bodywork for the next round of the WEC championship at Spa where they will continue their preparations for Le Mans which they are obviously very keen to win on their return to top flight endurance racing.

Lola B12/60 - Toyota, Heidfeld, 6 Hours Of Silverstone

“Quick Nick” Heidfeld was the immediate beneficiary of the #2 Audi’s misfortune as he was handed back 4th place in the race driving a triple stint in the long in the tooth Toyota powered Rebellion Racing Lola B12/60 which by Le Mans should be replaced by a pair of Oreca built Toyota powered R-One LMP1 Coupés. Quick Nick with team mates Nicolas Prost and Mathias Beche came home fourth overall a distant 8 laps behind the winning #8 Toyota.

Safety Car, 6 Hours Of Silverstone

With an hour to go the rain returned getting ever more heavy, this led to the Pace Car being brought out and for twenty odd minuets we had a curious situation where, other than those immediately behind the pace car when it came out, none could maintain anything like the pace necessary to actually catch it. For some like the #12 Rebellion Lola this may well have been because cockpit was steaming up reducing visibility, for others like the #91 Porsche RSR it was because they were on the wrong tyres and the pit lane was closed, because the pace car was out and so with twenty six mins to go the race director sensibly called the race.

The Wing, 6 Hours Of Silverstone

Anthony Davidson is seen above celebrating Toyota’s 6th WEC victory with his team mates and the third place Porsche crew on the podium built into The Wing, while the rest of the cars are seen in Parc Ferme on the start finish straight.

The Silverstone 6 Hours, the 2014 edition of which can be seen on this link, has often been used by the works Porsche team as a prelude to it’s assault on the Le Mans 24 hours, on this occasion one of the cars performed well enough to show that the team should be in the ball park for victory in the 24 hour classic, while Toyota cleverly split their tyre strategy during a period of weather uncertainty to secure a victory for one of it’s cars leaving the other well placed.

Last years 6 Hours of Silverstone, Le Mans and World Endurance Championship winners completely dropped the ball when the weather threw a curve ball leaving both of their entries on the wrong tyres at the wrong time showing that not even the very best of teams over the last 15 years always has things to learn and room for improvement.

I am not sure that I’ll be able to make it to Le Mans or indeed any of the rest of the WEC rounds but I’ll be following it with keen interest until the end of the season.

Thanks for joining me on this “Prelude To Le Mans” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me for Americana Thursday tomorrow ! Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

Classic Europeans – Desert Classic Concours d’Elegance

Last week I looked at some of the classic American vehicles at the Desert Classic Concours d’Elegance, today it is the turn of some of the Classic Europeans thanks to Geoffrey Horton who kindly shared his photographs.

Jaguar, de Tomaso, Ferrari, Desert Classics, Concours d'Elegance

Geoffrey’s Jaguar XK140 FHC SE/MC is seen above parked alongside the unique De Tomaso Sport 5000 which was raced once and retired from the 1966 Grand Prix di Mugello and the Replica Ferrari Testa Rossa I looked at on Friday.

Delage D8 Letourneur et Marchand, Desert Classics, Concours d'Elegance

In 1935 Louis Delage had to liquidate the Delage company he founded in 1905 and sold the marque to Delahaye. The first Delage of the Delahaye era 4.7 liter / 286 cui straight eight powered D8-120 twelve chassis of which were sent to LeTourneur et Marchand where stunning 18′ Aerosport Coupe Coachwork was fitted, the 1937 example above is one of eight known to remain.

SIATA Daina Gran Sport, Desert Classics, Concours d'Elegance

For some reason my blog on the SIATA 208S proved one of the most popular I have ever written to date, the 1951 SIATA Daina Gran Sport above was a FIAT based Special predecessor of the 208 powered by a modified FIAT motor with a unique to model overhead camshaft and twin carburetors which increased the power from 60hp to 72hp.

Lancia Aurelia B24 Convertible, Desert Classics, Concours d'Elegance

Lancia manufactured the Aurelia from 1950 through to 1958, from 1956 Lancia built just 521 B24 Convertibles like the 1957 example seen above.

Mercedes Benz 300 SL Coupé, Desert Classics, Concours d'Elegance

In 1963 Mercedes Benz was winding down production of it 300 SL Coupé derived 300SL Roadster building just 26 of the latter, above is one of just seven 1963 300 SL Roadsters thought to have been built for the European market.

Porsche 911 Adamowicz Trans Am Tribute, Desert Classics, Concours d'Elegance

Tony Adamowicz dominated the up to 2 litre / 122 cui class of the 1968 Trans Am series winning eight out of ten races to seal the championship, above is a Porsche 911 Adamowicz Trans Am Tribute car built by the same team who built the original.

Citroen 2CV6 Beachcomber, Desert Classics, Concours d'Elegance

In 1990 I was driving through a small town in Surrey when I spotted A 1983 Citroen 2CV6 Beachcomber for sale in a drive. Having bought and sold several of these cars I had no hesitation in pulling over to check it out. It was not in the same condition as the one seen above but I bought it there and then anyway and over the next couple of years drove it 36,OOO miles extremely happy miles across Europe.

Maserati MC12 Stradale, Desert Classics, Concours d'Elegance

On the 1st of December 1914 the Maserati brothers, Alfieri, Bindo, Carlo, Ettore, and Ernesto established the company, featured on this blog every Monday, bearing their name. FIAT became the current owners of the company in 1993 and in 2004 after an official 4 decade absence from racing Maserati returned to the tracks with the MC12 Corsa. The MC12 Stradale is the road going version heavily based on the running gear of the faster Ferrari Enzo. Like the Enzo all 50 MC12s were pre sold.

Morgan Aero 8, Desert Classics, Concours d'Elegance

Finally a sad tale soon after this photo of a Morgan Aero was taken it was involved in a collision with a truck. Fortunately no one was hurt but the Morgan was left much the worse for wear.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing his photographs.

Thanks for joining me on this “Classic Europeans” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a vintage Plymouth. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

Brits Take Morgan Hill – The 2013 British Fall Classic

Last month Geoffrey Horton took his immaculate Jaguar XK 140 to Morgan Hill in California for The 2013 British Fall Classic and kindly shared today’s featured photographs.

The British Fall Classic, Morgan Hill, Ca

Above Geoffrey’s Jaguar is seen on the Monterey Road in the middle of Morgan Hill.

Alvis TA 21, The British Fall Classic, Morgan Hill, Ca

If it’s big, but slightly smaller than a Rolls or a Bentley with a red triangle on the radiator grill it’s usually an Alvis as is the case with this TA 21 one of 302 dropheads built between 1950 and 1953 powered by a 3 litre / 183 cui straight 6.

Austin Healey 100, The British Fall Classic, Morgan Hill, Ca

Austin Healey’s were obviously just made for California sunshine the drop screen and two tone paint job point to this being a BN2 built between 1955 and 1956.

Byers MG, The British Fall Classic, Morgan Hill, Ca

Jim Byers of California designed the CR90 body to fit on cars with a 90 inch wheel base, the unused body of the car seen here was found by special restorer Jim Collins at a flee market at Lime Rock in the late 1980’s and it has since been fitted to an MG A chassis to make a most attractive 122 mph vehicle.

Ginetta G4, The British Fall Classic, Morgan Hill, Ca

This Ginetta left the UK in 1995/6 I believe it is a Ginetta G4 fitted with a 2 litre / 122 cui motor.

Jaguar XJS, The British Fall Classic, Morgan Hill, Ca

Looking at this Jaguar XJS it dawned on me that the 1980’s will be remembered for giving us colour coded bumpers. A couple of weeks ago a well known restorer of Lotus Elan’s reckoned that the XJS seats although heavy, thanks to 3 electric motors are amongst the most comfortable eve made.

Lotus Esprit, The British Fall Classic, Morgan Hill, Ca

The failure of the Lotus Type 82 Esprit Turbo to get a decent foothold in the US market during the early 1980’s meant that it was not until 1996 that a V8 Esprit would first see the light of day in public despite the V8 having been developed alongside the 4 cylinder turbo Type 82 model.

MG A, The British Fall Classic, Morgan Hill, Ca

Above one of the 31,501 78 hp, 96 mph MG A’s built between 1959 and 1960.

Morgan, The British Fall Classic, Morgan Hill, Ca

Appropriately Morgan was represented at Morgan Hill, this appears to be a 1968 model the wire wheels suggest is probably not be a plus Eight but if you know for sure please chime in below.

Rolls Royce Corniche, The British Fall Classic, Morgan Hill, Ca

The Rolls Royce Corniche was introduced in 1971, the colour coded bumpers and spoiler tell us that this car is a Corniche II of which 1,234 examples were built from 1986 until 1989.

Triumph Stag, The British Fall Classic, Morgan Hill, Ca

Finally a 3 litre / 183 cui V8 powered Triumph Stag, a model that started life after Giovanni Michelotti shaped a prototype from a 1963 Triumph 2000 saloon.

My thanks to Geoffrey for sharing the California sunshine and his photographs.

Thanks for joining me on this “Brits Take Morgan Hill” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

VSCC University – VSCC Prescott Speed Hillclimb

Apologies to all for the absence of any blogs over the last week, unfortunately this was unavoidable after a moment of absent mindedness. Over the weekend I popped over to Prescott with regular GALPOT contributer Tim for the VSCC Speed Hillclimb.

Ceirano S, VSCC Prescott

As ever the days education started in the car park where among several manufacturers, brands and models I’d not heard of before was this 1925 Ceirano built in Turin by SCAT (Societa Ceirano Automobili Torino) some years after founder Giovanni Ceirano, a prime mover behind the formation of FIAT in 1903, had died. Ceirano cars are best known for winning back to back victories in the Mille Miglia in 1911 and 1912.

Vauxhall Prince Henry, VSCC Prescott

The paddock was of course equally full of unusual delights above the nose of a Roland Duce’s 1913 Vauxhall Prince Henry.

Lees, Vauxhall Viper Special, VSCC Prescott

Another 1913 Vauxhall was Tony Lees Vauxhall Viper Special powered by a 200hp, 12 litre/732 cui Wolseley Viper aircraft motor of the type more usually found in late versions of the Royal Aircraft Factory SE5a and Avro 522.

Scaldwell, GN/JAP Grand Prix, VSCC Prescott

Among the fastest ladies present was Anne Scaldwell driving the GN JAP Grand Prix which was featured on this blog a couple of years ago.

Collings, Mercedes Simplex 60 HP, VSCC Prescott

Another familiar car was Ben Collings 1903 Mercedes Simplex 60hp.

Martin, Morgan Special, VSCC Prescott

Displaying maximum attack skills on the hill, what ever the conditions, was Charlie Martin in the fabric bodied Morgan Special entered by CJ Maeers.

Cobden, Riley Falcon Special, VSCC Prescott

Robert Cobden seen above driving the Riley Falcon Special did well to keep his car on the road after executing an unintentional 180° spin coming out of the Pardon hairpin.

Hulbert, ERA 4D, VSCC Prescott

Fastest time of the day was keenly contested with Mac Hulbert taking the honours and The Mays-Berthon Trophy 0.36 seconds from James Baxter, both driving ERA’s. Mac is seen in the 1938 ERA R4D which appropriately enough way not only conceived by Raymond Mays and Peter Peter Berthon but also driven to many post war hill climb victories by Mays.

Grafton, VSCC Prescott

On the way back through the car park we stumbled across the JAP powered Grafton cycle car, the vehicle was built by Tim Gunn, seen on the left, of the Gunn Cyclecar Co in 2001 using a timber frame and an assortment of vintage parts.

Thanks for joining me on this “VSCC University” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for Americana Thursday. Don’t forget to come back now !

Share

Motors TV Live Race Day – Castle Combe

Last Bank Holiday Monday I popped over to Castle Combe for the Motors TV Live Race Day where the 750 motor club brought along the Demon Tweeks / Yokohama Locost series which was joined by the MSA British Superkart Championship, Aero Racing Morgan Challenge, Lancaster Insurance and three Castle Combe Championships for a busy 13 race schedule.

750MC Demon Tweeks / Yokohama Locost Championship, Motors TV Live Race Day, Castle Combe

The first of two 750MC Demon Tweeks / Yokohama Locost Championship races took two starts to get underway and even then several competitors from the huge field found it difficult to stay on track on the opening laps above Steven Wells in the #7 Locost is seen having run out of track at the Bobbies Chicane trying to get back on course after passing the marshals post on the wrong side. The maneuver cost Steve who had been fifth twenty places of which he recovered nine for a 16th place finish. Locost race 1 was won by Alistair Garret who started from Pole and led every lap.

Wyatt, Barnard, Motors TV Live Race Day, Castle Combe

Mark Wyatt qualified on pole for the Castle Combe Saloon Car Championship in Association with National Windscreens race and ended up leading every lap after challenges from Tony Hutchings driving an Audi TT and William di Claudio driving his Peugeot 106 GTi faded once Wyatt started lapping cars on lap 5. Wyatt driving the yellow #98 Vauxhall Astra is seen above lapping the #100 Vauxhall VXR Turbo of John Barnard.

O'Reily, Platt, British Superkart Championship, Motors TV Live Race Day, Castle Combe

Not sure how many decades it has been since I have seen any Kart racing but the two races on Monday reawoke my appreciation of these ballistic mostly 2 stroke projectiles that lapped Castle Combe 10 seconds faster than the previous saloon car race. Above James O’Reily who started 4th on the #13 PVP Viper Honda pulls off a brilliant winning last lap, last corner, move going round the outside of Paul Platt aboard the PVP Redspeed Honda going into Camp Corner in the first of two MSA British Superkart Championship races.

Siliconhoses Sports & GT Championship , Motors TV Live Race Day, Castle Combe

Perry Waddams was a bit too keen to get the Castle Combe Sports & GT Championship supported by Siliconhoses.com race under way in his #77 Chevrolet LS3 powered TVR Tuscan Challenge, Perry is seen above relinquishing the lead, from a ninth place start to eventual winner Craig Flemming who started the race from second on the grid in his #5 Juno TR250 a couple of hundred yards after the start. Note Pole sitter Simon Tilling was swamped in the #23 Radical SR3T which had already fallen to fifth place.

Jones, Plant, Aero Racing Morgan Challenge, Motors TV Live Race Day, Castle Combe

Quarry was the place to be on the opening lap of the Aero Morgan Challenge race above pole sitter William Plant driving the #19 Morgan 4/4 is seen above after being inadvertently punted off by eventual winner Tom Jones driving the #67 Morgan Roadster. Plant made an entertaining recovery from 23rd to 3rd by the end of the 25 minuet race.

Lancaster Insurance MGOC Championship, Motors TV Live Race Day, Castle Combe

Pole sitter Lee Sullivan led the opening 3 laps of the first Lancaster Insurance MGOC Championship races driving the #68 MG ZR from the #77 MGF 160 of Robb Addison and #6 MG ZR 160 of John O’Brien but it was Ben Palmer driving the #12 MG ZR starting from 4th place who won the race starting from 4th on the grid after Sullivan dropped down the field on Lap 4. Above Sullivan leads the race on the opening lap through the Esses.

Startline Formula Ford 1600 Championship, Motors TV Live Race Day, Castle Combe

Race of the day was the Castle Combe Formula Ford 1600 Championship which saw the return of Ben Norton driving the #111 Spectrum 10b which he qualified on pole. Ben and Steven Jensen driving the #22 Spectrum 011b proceeded to romp away from the rest of the field while engaged in a thrilling dice that saw the lead swap many times. Ben eventually made the winning move seen above going into Tower Corner on the last lap, a nice way to mark becoming a father. Ben and Steven were unanimously voted drivers of the day for their thrilling performance.

750MC Demon Tweeks / Yokohama Locost Championship, Motors TV Live Race Day, Castle Combe

The second 750MC Demon Tweeks / Yokohama Locost Championship was as entertaining as the first with Alistair Garret starting from 4th grabbing the lead which he then swapped with Richard Jenkins on several occasions with novice Tim Neat joining the fun. The race was eventually won by Jenkins who is seen above chasing Garret while being pursued by Neat through Bobbies Chicane.

Platt, PVP Redspeed Honda, Motors TV Live Race Day, Castle Combe

Toby Davis driving the #3 Anderson Viper Honda made a brilliant start from 5th on the grid to lead the opening 3 laps of the second of the MSA British Superkart Championship races before surrendering it to Race 1 winner James O’Reilly #13 PVP who then spent the next ten laps swapping the lead with Paul Platt driving the #1 PVP, the final result saw O’Reilly snatch the lead on the last lap of the last corner again to become the days first two time winner. Above Platt leads O’Reilly and Davis onto Westfield.

Martin Chivers, Rover MG ZR, Motors TV Live Race Day, Castle Combe

Once Tony Dolley retired from the lead of the non championship Saloon Car race Martin Chivers driving the #65 MG ZR pulled away from the remaining field to take his first victory at Castle Combe by over 8 seconds. Martin is seen above at Tower.

Plant, Parsons, Aero Racing Morgan Challenge, Motors TV Live Race Day, Castle Combe

The second Aero Racing Morgan Challenge race saw William Plant making no mistakes starting from third on the grid William took the lead and was never headed eventually winning the race by over 4 seconds. William is seen above lapping the #45 Morgan 4/4 Sport of Tim Parsons.

Sullivan, Addison, Lancaster Insurance MGOC Championship, Motors TV Live Race Day, Castle Combe

Like wise Lee Sullivan made no mistakes in the second Lancaster Insurance MGOC Championship race winning by 1.2 seconds from pole, Lee’s #68 MG ZR is seen above being chased through tower by the #77 MG F 160 of Robb Addison who retired after 5 laps were completed.

Craig Flemming, Juno TR250, Sports & GT, Motors TV Live Race Day, Castle Combe

The final, non championship, race of the day was for Sports and GT cars which Craig Flemming starting from pole won by 5 seconds from the Mallock driven by Adrian Hamilton. Craig is seen driving the #5 Juno TR250 above along the Hammerdown straight.

After a glorious day in the sun I went home with my appetite for motor racing satiated for one day at least. Full results of the day can be found on this link.

Thanks for joining me on this “Motors TV Live Race Day” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for Americana Thursday. Don’t forget to come back now !

PS Earlier this week I was invited to write a for Motorsports Unplugged and you can read my first piece Fortune Favours Fernando and Ferrari on this link.

Share