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VSCC Spring Start – Silverstone

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A couple of weeks ago I headed over to Silverstone for the VSCC Easter Spring Start meeting during which 11 races took place.

GN Ford Piglet, Doug Cawley, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

Dougal Cawley headed the opening lap of the Fox & Nichol Trophy in his GN Ford known as Piglet, but after 12 mins it was a surprised Rudiger Friedrichs who took the flag on his debut on the 1932 #138 Alvis Firefly seen above in third place.

Frazer Nash Targa Florio, Ian Dalglish, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

Eddie Lees won the race for Frazer Nash and GN cars from Martin Hunt both driving Frazer Nash’s, Tony Lees in COGNAC is seen above about to relieve Ian Dalglish in the #172 Frazer Nash of third place while Martin Stretton is seen with head lights blazing on a mission to make up ground from a fall to eight
place on lap 2, he finished an eventual 5th.

Lotus 18/21, Peter Horsman, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

After a first corner in which Connaught driver Micheal Steele was sent airborne to the detriment of his car but fortunately without injury to the driver, the Pre 1966 HGPCA race for Grand Prix cars was restarted and Peter Horsman in his 1961 #22 2 1/2 litre Lotus Climax 18/21 led all the way after starting 3rd on the grid.

Frazer Nash Fast Tourer, Chris Chilcott, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

Chris Chilcott and Andy Bush are seen dicing for fourth on the opening lap of Race 4 for pre war sports cars, aboard Frazer Nash and Riley respectively, Chris never made it to the end of the first lap and Andy retired on lap 6 of the 8 lap race leaving Jo Blakeney – Edwards to win aboard her Frazer Nash.

Amilcar Hispano Special, Tom Walker, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

Seen blasting past Astrophysicist Robin Tuluie’s #20 Riley Menasco Pirate above is the GP Italia Trophy race winner Tom Walker in his Amilcar Hispano Special.

Lagonda V12 Le Mans, Darren McWhirter, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

The longest race of the day, half an hour, was the Tom Cole Trophy Race for 1950’s sports cars, won by Darren McWhirtter in the 1954 #64 Lagonda V12 Le Mans seen lapping the 1952 #10 Nash Healey Le Mans driven by Sam Stretton.

Riley 12/4 Special, James Whitmore, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

The longest race of the day was followed by the shortest, the 5 lap All Comers Short handicap that was won by James Whitmore in the 1934 #156 Riley 12/4 Special seen leading a gaggle of earlier starters above.

Farrallac Allard Sports, Tony Bianchi, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

After early leader Lister driver Roberto Giordaneli out braked himself on the end of the Club straight on the opening lap, Tony Bianchi took the lead of the 50’s Sports and Sports Racing cars race in his Cadillac powered #7 Farrallac and holding off eventual winner Mark Lewis in his #100 Lister Chevrolet for four laps of the ten lap race.

Lotus 12, Andrew Smith, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

For the first 11 laps of the 13 lap Patrick Lindsey Memorial and Amschel Rothschild Trophy Andrew Smith looked set to finish 2nd in his #10 Lotus 12, seen above being followed by eventual third place finisher Frederick Harper in his Kurtis Roadster, until pole sitter and leader Philip Walker spun his Lotus 16 and had to settle for second.

Morgan Plus 8, Keith Ahlers, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

Keith Ahlers smoked the field in the the AR Motorsport Morgan Challenge Series race leading all 18 laps from pole and setting fastest lap of the race to win by nearly half a minute in his fire breathing #29 Morgan Plus 8.

ERA E-Type GP1, Duncan Ricketts, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

Three ERA’s took turns leading the final All Comers Scratch Race for Pre War cars but Terry Crabb aboard ERA 12C, Nick Topliss aboard ERA R4D both gave way to 3rd place starter Duncan Ricketts aboard the ERA E-Type GP1 who took the lead on lap 3 and help it to the finish 5 laps later.

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

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Brean Stages Rally – Brean Leisure Park,

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A couple of weeks ago I popped along to Brean Leisure Park where Club Rally Sport West were celebrating the 20th Anniversary edition of the 2 day Brean Stages Rally which was the first round of the Subaru WRC Spares ASWMC Sealed Surface Stage Rally Championship, the AWMMC Heart of England Rally Championship and BP Motor Bodybuilders & Engineers CMSG Stage Rally Championship which between them attracted 96 entries.

Ford Anglia, Andrew Phipp / Colin Silvester, Brean Stages Rally, Brean Leisure Park,

Cars of all ages were competing above the #22 1966 Ford Anglia Super with a decidedly non standard 2 litre / 122 cui engine was built in 1966, Andrew Phipp and Colin Silvester retired on stage ten of 12.

MG Maestro, Kevin/Megan McCarron, Brean Stages Rally, Brean Leisure Park,

The 1984 MG Maestro driven by Kevin and Megan McCarron was classified 63rd overall one spot ahead of an MG Metro driven by Stewart Wood and Bryony Edmund.

Proton Compact GTi, Ryan Fagan, Jordan Joines, Brean Stages Rally, Brean Leisure Park,

Ryan Fagan and Jordan Joines failed to get a full day’s competition in on either of the two day’s of the even in their 2001 Proton Compact GTi.

Darrian T9, John Lewis / Paul Jones, Brean Stages Rally, Brean Leisure Park,

At the sharper end of the field John Lewis and Paul Jones guided their #33 Darrian T9 into 22nd place.

Ford Escort Mk2, Josh Payton / Marcus Mizen, Brean Stages Rally, Brean Leisure Park,

Having entertained us with his car control at the wheel of a BMW in the Bristol Pegasus Motorsport December Auto Test at Aust Sevrvices Josh Payton and Marcus Mizen were still ‘avin the crack in their 2 litre / 122cui Vauxhall Red Top powered 1981 Ford Escort Mk2 on their way to a Class win and a highly respectable 8th place overall.

Subaru Impreza WRC, Ian Godney / Chrstopher Gifford, Brean Stages Rally, Brean Leisure Park,

Try as they might Godspeed and even Godspeed brakes were not enough to get Ian Godney and Christopher Gifford in contention of the win of the two day event, by the end of which their 1998 Subaru Impreza WRC was looking particularly second hand.

Subaru Impreza S12 WRC, Steve / Yvonne Furzeland, Brean Stages Rally, Brean Leisure Park,

Comfortable winners of the 2016 Brean Rally Stages for the second year running were Steve and Yvonne Furzeland in their 2006 Subaru Impreza S12 WRX.

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

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Irascible Swiss Perfectionism – Talbot AV 105 #31054

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At the 1926 London Motor Show Talbot presented it’s new 1665 cc / 101 cui six cylinder 4 seat sports touring car the 14-45 designed by it’s Swiss Automotive Engineer Georges Roesch.

Roesch who was described as an irascible perfectionist, over saw the development of the 20-70 variant of the 14-45 which used the same engine block given larger cylinder bores and strokes with a capacity 2,276 cc / 138 cui that was launched in 1930.

Talbot 105, Silverstone Classic Test Day,

The final iteration of Roesch’s six cylinder, for today’s featured 105 model launched in 1931, again using the same block yielded a displacement of 2969 cc / 181 cui and could be tuned to produce 119 hp for road racing and a reputed 125 hp for racing at Brooklands.

Talbot 105, Silverstone Classic Test Day,

With an eye on the up to 3 litre class spoils and encouraged by Colonel Warwick Wright, Arthur W. Fox and Charles Nicholl entered a team of three Talbot 2.3 litre AO90 cars for Le Mans in 1930 keeping one of them as a spare.

The car driven by Brian Lewis and Hugh Eaton duly finished 3rd overall behind two Bentley Speed Six’s and first in class, 17 laps down on winners Woolf Barnato and Glen Kidston, and the second car driven by Johnny Hindmarsh
and Tim Rose-Richards finished 4th overall.

Talbot 105, Silverstone Classic Test Day,

In 1931 Arthur W. Fox and Charles Nicholl took a team of three 3 litre / 183 cui AV 105’s to Le Mans and today’s featured chassis #31054 was the spare.

Tim Rose-Richards and Owen Saunders-Davies completed 173 laps to finish third 11 laps behind the winning supercharged Alfa Romeo 8C 2300LM, also running in the 3 litre class driven by Lord Howe and Sir Henry Birkin and a supercharged 7.1 litre Mercedes Benz driven by Boris Ivanowski and Henri Stoffel (F)

Talbot 105, Silverstone Classic Test Day,

In 1932 AW Fox entered two AV 105 cars for the Le Mans 24 Hours, one as a spare and #31054 got it’s turn to shine as the nominated race car with Brian Lewis and Tim Rose-Richards at the wheel.

Completing 180 laps Brian and Tim finished 3rd a staggering 38 laps behind the winning super charged Alfa Romeo driven by Raymond Sommer and Luigi Chinetti which finished two laps ahead of it’s sister car driven by Franco Cortese and Giovanni Battista Guidotti.

Talbot 105, Silverstone Classic Test Day,

During the 1931 season Humfrey Symons and Norman Garrad, drove #31054 on the Alpine Rally winning the Glacier Cup, while John Cobb drove the car to a 6th place finish overall 2nd in class in the Brooklnds 500 with a speed of 104.60 mph.

After Le Mans in 1932 Johnny Hindmarsh drove #31054 in the Tourist Trophy but finished unclassified four laps down on the winning Riley 9 driven by Cyril Whitcroft, the sister 105 #31053 driven by Tim Rose-Richards did a little better finishing 6th two laps down.

Talbot 105, Silverstone Classic Test Day,

At the 1932 Brooklands Autumn Meeting Irish speedway rider Fay Taylour was entrusted with #31054 where she finished second in the Ladies Race.

The cars last known in period result for #31054 came on the first of September 1934 when it was entered by D. C. Sidebottom for Earl Howe in the Tourist Trophy where it was classified 13th.

Talbot 105, Silverstone Classic Test Day,

GO54 is currently owned by Nicholas Pellett who is seen driving the car at the recent Silverstone Classic Test Day.

During the course of the day Nicholas kindly took me for a thrilling ride around the circuit, the overwhelming memory of which was the comfortable ride afforded by the Luvax hydraulic dampers and the smooth pull of the straight six engine.

My thanks to Nicholas for his hospitality.

Thanks for joining me on this “Irascible Swiss Perfectionism” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a 1930 Mercedes Benz. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Bird’s Wyedean Win – Wyedean Forest Rally

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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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Fatal Exhaust – Maserati 8C 3000 #3002

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After Alfieri Maserati’s death in March 1932 the remaining Maserati brothers continued to develop his new 3 litre / 183 cui supercharged straight eight motor. Before the end of 1932 Maserati had fitted a 220hp version of the new motor to an 8C chassis #3001 for Luigi Fagioli to drive in the Czechoslovak Grand Prix at Brno where he finished second to Louis Chiron in his Bugatti T51.

Maserati 8C 3000, Goodwood Festival of Speed

With the financial collapse of Bentley in 1931 the Bentley Boys were struggling to find British built vehicles in which to race. A second Maserati 8C chassis #3002, seen here at Goodwood, was bought by former Bentley Boy and 1928 Le Mans winner Bernard Rubin for fellow Bentley Boy and 1929 Le Mans winner Sir Henry Ralph Stanley ‘Tim’ Birkin to drive in the 1933 season.

Maserati 8C 3000, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Unfortunately ‘Tim’ only got to drive #3002 once in the infamous 1933 Tripoli Grand Prix, a race which is best remembered for a story surrounding a legal syndicate which comprised three lottery ticket holders and three drivers who agreed to divide up various prize monies on offer equally in the event that one or more of the syndicate drivers won, came second, third or any conceivable combination thereof.

Maserati 8C 3000, Berend, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Of course being described by W.O. Bentley to be “the greatest Briton of his time” ‘Tim’ would have nothing to do with the syndicate and intended to do his best to ensure they did not get their result and led the opening four laps of the race. On lap 16 ‘Tim’ pitted which, due to his inexperienced pit team, is said to have cost him more time than his rivals and in particular syndicate members Archi Varzi, who did not need to stop and Tazio Nuvolari who did.

Maserati 8C 3000, Berend, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Some sources say it was during this pit stop that ‘Tim’ accidentally burnt his arm on the exhaust of his car, others say it was during practice earlier in the event, but either way ‘Tim’ continued to finish third, 1 and half minuets, behind Archi and Tazio in that order, the same order to which both are alleged to have agreed on the flip of a coin on the morning of the race.

Maserati 8C 3000, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Tragically the burn ‘Tim’ had suffered from the exhaust turned septic and that in combination with his malarial condition put him in hospital six days after the race and five weeks later Britain lost one of it’s most popular and able drivers.

Maserati 8C 3000, Goodwood Festival of Speed

#3002 was driven in 1934 by Hon. Brian Lewis for Noel Rees at Brooklands where it came second in the International trophy to another Maserati driven by Whitney Straight with both cars sharing the lap record.

Maserati 8C 3000, Berend, Goodwood Festival of Speed

By 1937, following a string of ever less competitive performances with a variety of drivers #3002 was retired only for it have a post ’39-’45 war career, starting in 1946 when first Dudley Froy drove the car in the Easter ’46 VSCC Elstree speed trials.

Maserati 8C 3000, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Next future legendary Aston Martin, Ford GT40 and Gulf Racing manager John Wyer prepared #3002 for T.A.S.O. Mathieson drive in some of the earliest post war French races at Bois du Boulogne, St Cloud, where finished a best 5th and GP du Rousillon, where TASO recorded a 6th place finish.

TASO then started converting the 220hp car for road use and registered her for use on the kings highway, but sold her on in 1947 to Mike Oliver before the job was complete.

Once Mike had finished the conversion to road spec he drove #3002 to a seventh place finish in the ’48 Luton Hoo sprint.
Later in 1948 new owner Squadron Leader John Crampton DFC continued competing with the car at the Prescott and Shelsey hillclimbs along with the Brighton Speed trials and at Goodwood up until 1949.

The car was subsequently rebuilt, still in road going trim, by Alan Southon of the Phoenix Green Garage at Hartley Wintney before spending time in the United States.

Cameron Miller then undertook a restoration of #3002 for Peter Kaus of the Bianco Collection which included replacing the body, the remains of the old one subsequently found their way on to another Maserati which I shall be revisiting next Monday.

The Louwman Museum in the Netherlands now owns #3002 which is seen at Goodwood with Hulsoff Berend at the wheel.

My thanks to FailedJourno at The Nostalgia Forum for pointing out that I confused today’s featured #3002 with the car I shall be revisiting next week.

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

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5th Tony Marsh Memorial Weekend – Gurston Down

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On Sunday I made the first of what I hope will be many visits to Gurston Down for the 5th Tony Marsh Memorial Weekend hillclimb. Gurston Down just west of Salisbury is set on a working farm and was devised by six time British Hillclimb champion Tony Marsh in 1965.

Gurston Down, Wiltshire

The course is just over a half a mile long and rises a total 140 feet, it is also the only Hillclimb in the UK that starts on a downward slope. As I found out on Sunday the facilities and viewing areas are excellent and it is no surprise to hear that Gurston Down has won the Norrie Galbraith Memorial Trophy for best organised British Hillclimb Championship event a record eight times.

Mortimer, Porsche 911, Gurston Down, Wiltshire

After a cup of tea and obligatory bacon and egg roll in the excellent restaurant on arrival I made my way up to the Ashes Bend towards the top of the hill during the opening practice runs arriving in time to observe the second practice runs. Above Bob Mortimer lifts an inside front wheel in his Porsche 911 at the apex of Ashes.

Gates, Force LM, Gurston Down, Wiltshire

On his second practice run Johnathon Gates was forced into a bit of lawn mowing at Ashes bend as the back of his car stepped out unexpectedly under braking. No damage was done and he ended the day with 8th fastest time.

Rudge, Westfield SEi, Gurston Down, Wiltshire

Mike Rudge is seen correcting oversteer / push coming out of Ashes in his Westfield SEi, he easily won his class by seven seconds more surprisingly to me he finished with 9th fastest time of the day beating a number of single seat open wheel cars in the process.

Stapely-Bealing, Formula 1300, Gurston Down, Wiltshire

During her second practice run Hannah Stapely-Bealing came by showing signs of contact with the Wiltshire scenery however the car was repaired and put in two timed runs, however the motor of her Formula 1300 Clubmans car was no longer running cleanly and she was around a second off her first practice run.

Bloody Mary, Gurston Down, Wiltshire

National Motor Museum Beaulieu kindly sent along former Autosport Technical Editor John Bolsters “Bloody Mary” Special for a welcome demonstration. The special started as a project for two teenagers to scare the cow’s in a nearby field and became a successful if by all accounts rather terrifying Brough Superior powered hill climb winner.

Penfound, Lester MG, Gurston Down, Wiltshire

I was introduced to another new, to me, manufacturer at Gurston namely Lester who built MG powered cars in the 1950’s. Stewart Penfound navigates the steep and tight Karousel in his example above.

Pamplin, MG XPAG Special, Gurston Down, Wiltshire

Another interesting MG was Chris Pamplin’s MG XPAG Special as listed in the programme and 1935 MG Magnette according to the registration plate.

Spicer, Ferrari 328 GTB, Gurston Down, Wiltshire

Standing out from an otherwise mostly red crowd of Ferrari’s was Mike Spicers Modena Yellow 328 GTB seen approaching Deer Leap which recorded 2nd fastest Ferrari time of the day.

Fanner, Subaru Impreza, Gurston Down, Wiltshire

Lewis Fanner will have given his wife with whom he shares their Subaru Impreza a scare as he spun the car going into Karousel. Fortunately he did not hit anything and returned to the paddock for his one remaining run.

Hadfield, Lotus 22, Gurston Down, Wiltshire

Simon Hadfield and Geoff Hunt shared this Lotus 22, originally designed for Formula Junior competition, and finished the faster of the two albiet second in class to the more modern Ensign LNF3 driven by Fyrth Crosse.

Beale, Ginetta G33, Gurston Down, Wiltshire

Over the past couple of months the lines of Graham Beales class winning Ginetta G33 have really grown on me, apparently the idea for the Rover V8 powered car was conceived on a table cloth in a pizzeria by Mark Warklett and Noel Palmer.

Street, Ford Escort XR31, Gurston Down, Wiltshire

Darren Street was another who found the entry to Karousel a bit tricky in his Ford Escort XR3i, here he is seen on his way to an appointment with the hay bales. Fortunately he suffered no injuries and he eventually drove to the top of the hill under his own steam.

Lewis, St Bruno Roughcutter, Gurston Down, Wiltshire

Like the Bloody Mary Special Adrian Lewis’s St Bruno Roughcutter Clubman’s car has an Autosport connection it being the creation of Barry Foley, best known as Autosports ‘Catchpole’ cartoonist. Barry built the car in the early 1970’s crediting help from a variety of sources including design input from Maurice Phillipe himself a part time Clubmans racer when not busy designing Formula One cars.

Dent, Hornet F3, Gurston Down, Wiltshire

On both of his timed runs Alistair Dent lost time when his tail got onto the grass on the exit of Karousel, which had the benefit of at least entertaining those of us watching, above Alistair is seen on his first run in the Hornet JAP powered 500 F3 car.

Chard, Mazda MX5, Gurston Down, Wiltshire

By for the most serious incident of the day was when Karl Chard left the road at Karousel and ended up going straight into the hay bales. Fortunately again Karl was unhurt which is more than can be said for the Mazda MX 5 which he shares with his brother Ian. At least all the wheels were still attached.

Flagg, Subaru Impreza STi, Gurston Down, Wiltshire

David Flagg lost 3/10ths of a second on his second timed run this display of wheel spin from his Subaru on the run to Deer Leap probably did not help his cause.

Hollier, Pilbeam MP62, Gurston Down, Wiltshire

Edward Hollier set best time of the day (BTD) running the course in 29.19 seconds in his Pilbeam MP62, both of his runs were quicker than the next fastest competitor Peter Smith who was driving a Force in the same class as Edward. Coincidentally Ed won last time that I saw him running at Wiscombe Park last month.

Another great day out at yet another great venue, if you have never been I doubt you will be disappointed.

Thanks for joining me on this “5th Tony Marsh Memorial Weekend” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

PS Shameless plug my British Grand Preview can be found at Motorsports Unplugged on this link.

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Howards Day – Castle Combe Easter Monday

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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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