Tag Archives: Mini

Slick & Economical – Austin Mini Pick Up

Between 1961 and 1982 there were very few changes to the Austin Mini Pick-Up except in 1978 when the model was marketed as the Mini 95.

Austin Mini - Pick-up, Malta Classic Car Museum, Qwara

The 1961 Sales brochure reads “The slickest and most economical means ever of transporting a 5-cwt.(254-kg.) load!

Austin Mini - Pick-up, Malta Classic Car Museum, Qwara

Ingenious design and practical body styling have been successfully co-ordinated to produce this revolutionary runabout, ideally suited to the needs of the smaller business.

Austin Mini - Pick-up, Malta Classic Car Museum, Qwara

Such tradesman as plumbers, builders, painters or nurserymen will find that within the compact proportions of the Austin Mini 1/4-ton Pick-up are approximately 19 3/4 sq. ft, (1.83m.²) of floor space and a totally enclosed cab with saloon car comfort for two people.”

Austin Mini - Pick-up, Malta Classic Car Museum, Qwara

The portion of the brochure devoted to the van went on “Similar to the world-beating, incredible Austin Mini Saloon, both of these new light commercials have all the identical features for ultra-safe, speedy and dependable delivery service.

Austin Mini - Pick-up, Malta Classic Car Museum, Qwara

Over the 21 years of it’s production life an estimated 58,179 Mini Pick-ups were built with the Austin, Morris and after 1976 Leyland badges.

Today’s featured example is on display at the Malta Classic Car Museum in Qwara.

Thanks for joining me on this “Slick and Economical edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me agian tomorrow for a look at the last of this month’s Tuesday featured Wolseley cars. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Rally Landcrab Recreation – Morris 1800 (ADO 17)

1964 saw the launch of the third in range of Alec Issigonis practical front wheel drive British Motor Corporation (BMC) models that started with the Mini variations in 1959 progressed to the ADO16 1100 and 1300 variations first seen in 1962 and had grown to the ADO 17 1800 variations for 1964 with the launch of the Austin 1800 that was followed two years later by the Morris 1800 of the type featured today.

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Prior to the current owner of this 1966 model purchasing it for £200 on the 28th of February 2011 the car had spent 17 years in a barn and a further two years rotting in a garden because the clutch had failed in 1992.

Morris 1800, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol.

Since 2011 the owner has replaced the clutch, rebuilt and refurbished the braking system scraped, cleaned, etch primed and coated the under side in bitumen under seal and carried out a few welding repairs to the wings / fenders around the headlights.

Morris 1800, Classic and Sports Car Action Day, Castle Combe

By May 2012 the Morris had passed it MOT and was back in use as a daily driver. Since then the owner, a member of the Norton Radstock Classic Vehicle Club has attempted to use the vehicle as a starting point to recreate a period works rally car of the type that was used in the 1968 London to Sydney and 1970 London to Mexico World Cup Rally marathons where Landcrabs finished 2nd and 9th respectively.

Morris 1800, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol.

The AD0 17’s in Austin, Morris and Wolseley guises, all affectionately known as land crabs were extremely roomy and rugged vehicles but ultimately even in up market Wolseley guise a touch to pragmatic for owners of vehicles of this size and consequently did not perform in the market as expected. The ADO 17’s were eventually produced in three different series being joined by six cylinder 2200 variations in the third series from 1972. Production of the Morris 1800/2200 variants totaled 95,271 between 1966 and 1975 when the model was replaced by the new wedge shaped ADO 71 Morris 1800 and 2200 which soon after became known as the Princess.

Thanks for joining me on this Morris 1800 (ADO 17) 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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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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Mad Snow & Englishman – Great Western Sprint

It’s only five years since the last time it was so cold at this time of year and it must be a sign I wear double thickness rose tinted lenses that I cannot remember it, however at 5:45 am my alarm clock went off on Saturday and about an hour later I stumbled out of the house and made my way to Castle Combe where I had volunteered to marshal at the Great Western Sprint sponsored by Williams Automobiles and organised by the Bristol Motor Club for the day.

Mazda MX5, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

Between signing on at the Strawford Centre and breakfast at the Tavern Club House Tony Thomas was defrosting his MX5 in the paddock.

Big Boys Breakfast, Tavern Club House, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

They say an army marches on it’s stomach and with the inclement weather I decided a Big Boys Breakfast looked like a bargain at £6.95.

Kayne Special III, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

After my hearty breakfast I had just enough time to scoot around the paddock where John & Jonathon Biggs were preparing to fit the familiar Kayne Special III with road tyres to cope with the slippery conditions.

ADR Sport 2, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

Andy Lawrence ADR Sport 2 displayed a welcome sense of humour which may have helped him to a class win in the under 1800 cc Sports Libre Class.

Austin Cooper S, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

Looking pristine despite the conditions was Mark Whitchurch’s Austin Cooper S.

Ginetta G4, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

According to official records Roger Coote’s Ginetta G4 dates back to 2000 despite wearing a circa 1966 license plate more in keeping with the design era of the car.

Volvo Amazon, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

Sleet was falling as David Jamesons prepared his 1968 Volvo Amazon for a practice run.

Ford Cosworth DFR, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

The 1988 Formula One season saw teams choose between two engine options 1.5 litre turbo or 3.5 litre atmospheric induction, Ford chose to abandon it’s turbo and supplied the Benetton team with a normally inducted Ford Cosworth DFR V8, like the one seen here in the back of Terry Graves Gould GR37, Benetton managed to finish 3rd in the manufacturer’s championship behind the Turbo powered McLaren Honda and Ferrari teams and ahead of the Lotus Honda and Arrows Megatron (BMW) turbo teams.

Subaru Impreza, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

My partner for marshaling duties on the inside of the track at Westway for the day was Carl, who drove us from the marshals meeting to the circuit gate opposite our post in his 2006 Sabaru Impreza fitted with natty Warholesque green and pink wheels.

Mini Cooper, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

Apart from reporting the odd miscreant competitor who missed the Bobbies chicane our duties were not particularly taxing. Our post also served as the finishing line for the 1 3/4 lap sprint. I grabbed the following snaps on my i-phone while stood down during tea breaks. Above James Pile crosses the finishing line in his MINI Cooper Traveller.

Audi 80 Quattro, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

Last time I recall seeing an Audi 80 on a race track was in 1980 when Sir Stirling Moss drove one in the British Saloon Car Championship, car of the day for me was undoubtedly Keith Murray’s Audi 80 quattro fitted with a turbocharged motor the car not only looked and sounded great but went like a rocket easily winning the Harkness Tyres Modified Production class beating Andy Trayner driving an Audi Quattro Coupé.

Mallock Mk 18b, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

Luke Trotman’s Mallock Mk18b broke a drive shaft in practice and then failed the first timed run, as did the two other competitors in the Sports Libre under 1800 cc class and ended up finishing second in the final run. It was around this time that I spotted something dayglo on the track and called a temporary halt to the proceeding for what turned out to be a ball of dayglo masking tape, shades of calling a NASCAR style ‘Jr caution’ there ! Doh !

Van Diemen RF 96, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

Van Diemen was founded by the father of the only Australian to win a NASCAR Race Marcos Ambrose and Ralph Fairman father of one time Formula One driver Ralph Fairman Jr in 1973. Steve Miles is seen above driving his 1996 Van Diemen RF 96 which would have started life a Formula Ford 2000 spec car to a fifth place in the top 12 Run Offs.

Lola Tegra Judd T90, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

The event overall was one by Terry Holmes in his Lola Tegra Judd T90 who only needed one run in the top twelve to set fastest time, and generously decided not to take a second run saving us marshals from standing a around in the freezing for an additional couple of minuets.

At mid day proceedings had been stopped for a welcome lunch break during which I refuelled on delicious beef madras curry with rice AND chips but by the end of the day my sense of humour was beginning to slip and I was ready to get home and jump into a hot bath to defrost.

Thanks for joining me on this “Mad Snow & Englishman” 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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Jubilee Race Day – Castle Combe

The weather took a turn for the better on the third day of the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations as I headed for the Jubilee Race Day at Castle Combe.

Super Mighty Mini's, Jubilee Race Day, Castle Combe

The Super Mighty Mini’s were waiting in the holding area for the days first practice session to commence so I took the opportunity to have a wonder round the paddock.

Volkswagen Golf TDI MK IV, Jubilee Race Day, Castle Combe

Lloyd Allards Golf TDi was already queuing up for the practice seesion before the first got underway, unfortunately Lloyd did not complete the entire 2nd practice session and ended up scratching his entry from the Castle Combe Saloon Car Championship.

Mighty Mini, Penelope Jones, Jubilee Race Day, Castle Combe

Novice entrant Penelope Jones had a highly entertaining side ways moment in the pre 1990 Mighty Mini practice session out at the Esses, she caught this slide beautifully and carried on at unabated pace to qualify 24th out of a 31. despite the rear of her car running so low that her tyres were catching on the body work.

BMW E63 M6, Douglas Watson, Jubilee Race Day, Castle Combe

Castle Combe VADABAR Sports & GT Championship series sponsor Douglas Watson is seen heading for scrutineering above in his V10 powered BMW E63 M6, prior to qualifying 18th, 2nd in class.

Spectrum 10b, Ben Norton, Jubilee Race Day, Castle Combe

Ben Norton, driving the #111 Spectrum 10b, won pole by half a second for the Castle Combe Formula Ford 1600 Championship supported by Start Line from Roger Orgee. Before the race Orgee father reckoned that his son had not got the best from the #3 Van Diemen.

Loaded Gunn TS11, Craig Mitchell, Jubilee Race Day, Castle Combe

Designed in Wiltshire with the aid of a home made wind tunnel, the Loaded Gunn TS11 of Craig Mitchell managed to qualify 10th for the Open Sports and GT’s challenge before it was withdrawn from the race.

Castle Combe Saloon Car Championship, Jubilee Race Day, Castle Combe

The opening race of the day was won by Adam Prebble in his Rover 220 Turbo seen taking the chequered flag ahead of Tony Hutchins in his Audi TT, William Di Claudio took class B honours in his Peugeot 106 and Charles Hyde Andrew Bird won Class C in his Ford Fiesta.

Super Mighty Mini's, Jubilee Race Day, Castle Combe

The opening lap of the first Super Mighty Mini race, seen above saw Pat Ford spin at Camp Corner in his pursuit of the leaders. The 25 minuet race was won by a contrite and apologetic Gary Patterson, ahead of Bob Bennetts and Neven Kirkpatric after leader Chris Morgan was accidentally taped into the barrier at Tower.

Jade 3, Tony Sinclair, Jubilee Race Day, Castle Combe

Tony Sinclair, driving the #1 Jade 3 in the special invitation class like wise took a flag to flag victory from pole in the Castle Combe VADABAR Sports & GT Championship. Last years champion Simon Tilling made a typically poor start but recovered some of his lost ground to finish 3rd behind the #86 Radical Prosport of Andrew Shanley. Gary Prebble took class C honours in his Mitsubishi Evo and heads the championship overall.

Mighty Mini, Jonathon Lewis, Jubilee Race Day, Castle Combe

Jonathon Lewis, seen above, won both 25 minuet rounds of the Mighty Mini series. In the first race be came through from 4th on the grid to beat Chris Slade and Kevin Fletcher to claim top spot on the podium.

Castle Combe Formula Ford 1600 Championship, Jubilee Race Day, Castle Combe

Roger Ogree in the #3 Van Diemen made good on his Dad’s assessment and snatched the lead at the start of the Castle Combe Formula Ford 1600 race while pole sitter Ben Norton dropped all the way down to 9th as seen in the photo above. However it was Steven Jensen driving the #22 Spectrum 011b who won the race after taking the lead on lap 3 while Ben Norton recovered to bag second place from Roger Ogree with two laps just to go !

Super Mighty Mini's, Jubilee Race Day, Castle Combe

Gary Paterson again had the measure of his competitors in the second, post 1990, Super Mighty Mini encounter and is seen above pedaling the #50 ahead of the #1 of Elliot Stafford, who finished second. Chris Morgan who recorded fastest lap finished third in his repaired Mini, resplendent with tank taped n/s wing / fender, that started at the back of the 18 car field.

Hillman Imp, Martin Baker, Jubilee Race Day, Castle Combe

With the #122 Loaded Gun being among several non starters in the Open Sports and GT Challenge race it was left to Tony Sinclair to win his second race of the day in his Jade 3. Bob Berridge in his Chevrolet V8 powered Aquila GR1 came second ahead of Craig Flemming in the race which was interrupted by a Red Flag to clear up the mess from George Mitchells accident. Above Martin Baker is seen exercising his recently completed Hillman Imp in anticipation of a forth coming Super Saloon race, Martin finished third in class behind Stuart Dixon and Dylan Popovic.

Mighty Mini's, Jubilee Race Day, Castle Combe

David Marcussen in the led going into Quarry Corner on the opening lap of the final Mighty Mini race of the day but it was Jonathon Lewis seen hidden behind David’s #42 that came home the winner ahead of David. There scrap for third was eventually settled in favour of the #17 driven Kevin Fletcher taking a break from his day job playing Andy Sugden in the agricultural television soap “Emmerdale”.

Spectrum 011b, Steven Jensen, Jubilee Race Day, Castle Combe

Steven Jensen won the “Driver of the Day” award for converting his third place start to a convincing victory in the Formula Ford race.

Thanks for joining me on this Jubilee Race Day edition of ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres’ I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Futuristic French Le Mans Index of Performance challenger. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Automobilists Cave – National Motor Museum Beaulieu

Beaulieu Abbey was built on land bequeathed by King John to a group of Cistercian monks, more strict in their vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience than Benedict monks, in 1204. The newly self appointed defender of the faith and head of the Church of England, King Henry the VIII, dissolved the abbey and had it destroyed in the 1530’s and the Beaulieu estate passed into the hands of secularist Thomas Wriothesley in 1538 who converted the monastry Great Gatehouse into a dwelling now known as the Palace House. His ancestor the present Lord Montagu created a Motor Museum in 1956 as a tribute to his father the Motoring pioneer John, Second Baron Montagu of Beaulieu.

Ferrari F310, NMM Bealieu

The last, only, time I visited Beaulieu was on a rainy day in June 1974, I remember reading about Niki Lauda’s first victory driving a Ferrari 312 B3, at the Spanish Grand Prix, in Motor Sport Magazine in the back of the car on the way down. This time my trip was fueled by the Simply Italian parade featured on GALPOT yesterday and a need to replenish my stock of Ferrari images which are getting low. The only Ferrari in the National Motor Museum last Sunday was this replica 1996 F310, interestingly the nose is of the earlier type than the replica F310 that sits in the Haynes International Museum. This low nose replica matches the form of the nose that was fitted to Micheal Schumachers F310 when he won the 1996 Spanish Grand Prix, his first victory in a Ferrari.

Bugatti T15, NMM Bealieu

Seems like every time I leave the house on some motor related expedition I come back with far more questions than answers. This cool piece of brass work, I presume it’s brass, was attached to the side of a 1910 Bugatti T15. The top looks a tad sophisticated for this to be a simple motor oil or motor spirit receptacle, if you have any idea’s what it is please chime in below.

Bluebird Norris Proteus CN7, NMM Bealieu

My earliest flights of imagination into unadulterated raw speed were undoubtedly inspired by the exploits of Donald Campbell to reach 500 mph in the 4,450hp Bluebird Norris Proteus CN7 in the early 1960’s, being a terrible tease I’ll save the outcome of his attempt for a future blog.

Bloody Mary, NMM Bealieu

Thanks to GALPOT reader Tim Murray I have been enjoying a book called Special by John Bolster, John built ‘various devices’ himself including Bloody Mary seen here, a successful JAP powered ‘device’ built in the early 1930’s. I’ll save full details for another occasion save to say John was the only one who had the confidence in his own work and was brave enough to take this device to victory lane in sprint and hillclimb event’s !

Austin A40 Countryman, NMM Bealieu

Like all worthwhile publicly supported institutions the National Motor Museum consumes cash by the case load in order to keep it’s exhibits in good order, and runs a sponsorship scheme for individual vehicles,you can find out more about sponsoring a vehicle at the National Motor Museum on this link. I’d like to thank those who sponsored this 1966 Austin A40 Farina Countryman, known as Tubby, on behalf of Maurice Wycliff Timmins. One just like it called Daisy played a huge role in my own formative years.

AC Shelby Cobra, NMM Bealieu

It was sad to learn of the passing of Carroll Shelby last week, among his many achievements was the bringing together of a little AC roadster and a huge 7 litre / 427 Ford V8 which became known as the AC Shelby Cobra. Today original versions of these much copied vehicles can fetch over a US$ 1,000,000. The restored 1965 vehicle seen here was fitted with the cheaper 7.01 litre 428 cui Ford V8 was once the property of part time circuit and drag racer John Woolfe who had two such cars, the left hand drive above also seen in this link and a right hand drive registered GTM777F which can be seen about to get whipped by a much smaller engined dragster “Hustler” driven by ‘Tex’ Blake in the photo linked here. Any one interested in learning about the UK drag scene will find this link to the John Woolfe Racing site quite fascinating.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, NMM Bealieu

In one of my more romantic moments I once proposed to some one after seeing the most fantasmagorical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on television, we are no longer together but we remain friends. This is one of several film stars at Beaulieu I’ll be covering some of them in more detail next Sunday. Apparently the “GEN 11” registration is now to be found on a 2011 Honda Jazz.

Mini Convertible, NMM Bealieu

I’m not a big time gambler but I am now the proud owner of a raffle ticket to win this Mini Convertible, I also hold tickets to win a Morgan, and Triumph SE one day my number is bound to come up 🙂

Citroën 2CV6 Special, NMM Bealieu

I’ll end today’s over view of the National Motor Museum with this Citroën 2CV6 Speciale, I have probably had more fun and adventures in this type of vehicle than any other. This 1986 2CV6 Speciale, just 24 miles on the clock, is barely out of it’s wrapping with delivery stickers and protective wax still on the windows, was put straight into storage after it was purchased.

The Second Baron of Beaulieu John Montagu in 1906 predicted ‘Europe in a few years time will become for the motorist one vast Holiday area’. How right he was and how lucky we automobilists are that his son Edward The 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu founded the National Motor Museum, a fascinating part of that tapestry.

Thanks for joining me on this ‘Automobilists Cave edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”. I hope you will join me tomorrow when I’ll be featuring a vintage MG. Don’t forget to come back now !

PS Many thanks to Allan Lupton at The Nostalgia Forum for informing me the receptacle I asked about above is a Rushmore acetylene generator for the acetylene lamps that proved more reliable than electric lamps of the period.

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Di Claudio’s Day – Motors TV Live Race Day

The weather gods decided to give the billed Mini Invasion at Castle Combe an unrelentingly endless variation of track conditions on for the 12 races held on Bank Holiday Monday. Regrettably I missed the opening GadgetHelpline.com Castle Combe Classic race which appears to have been comfortably won by Nick Stagg from pole.

Mini Se7en & Miglia, MTVL, Castle Combe, Race 2

Having parked in a waterlogged field and donned my trusty green wellies I made my way to Quarry Corner in time to catch the 1st of two entertaining Mini Se7en / Miglia races. Kane Astin in the #11 who dropped several places off the line battled through the slippery conditions from 3rd on the grid to take the win in the the larger 1300cc / 79 cui Mini Miglia Class while a 15th place for Gareth Hunt secured a win in the 1000 cc / 61 cui Mini Se7en class. Above Robert Pavey was by no means the first to get caught out by the treacherous conditions at Quarry in the #94 Se7en as he was being lapped by Miglias of Astin #11, Dave Drew #2 and Peter Baldwin #33.

Startline FF1600, MTVL, Castle Combe, Race 3

As ever the 1st of the two Ford Kent powered Formula Ford races proved unpredictable on a drying track Steven Jensen in the #22 Spectrum 011b made the best of a forth place start to take the lead from pole starter Roger Ogree in the #3 Van Diemien RF00 while fellow front row starter Natham Ward in the #23 Spectrum 011c was swamped on the line and came through in 6th on the opening lap. As the race progressed Ogree, with an eye on a good points finish, was content to hold station behind Jensen while Ward made amends for his poor start and ended up out fumbling first Ogree and then Jensen to take a well earned victory by just over a second.

Mini Challenge, MTVL, Castle Combe, Race 4

As the Mini Challenge cars went to the assembly area the track conditions were still damp and all of the cars were on intermediate tyres however sensing a dry spell Shane Stoney’s crew elected to pull their driver from a scheduled 8th place start in his John Cooper Works Class #89 Mini Cooper S R56 in order to fit slicks and start from the pits. Inspired or wise the choice was the correct one as it soon became apparent that Shanes car was the class of the field lapping around 2 seconds a lap faster than anybody else it was only a matter of time before he picked off the entire field and took the flag nearly 10 seconds to the good from Sam Osborne, back in 14th place Jonathon Brown won the Club class.

Volkswagen Golf TDI, MTVL, Castle Combe, Race 5

Having recently become the owner of a VW Golf IV it was an easy pick to root for Lloyd Allard a member of the well known motoring Allard family who was driving an Allard Motor Sport Golf IV TDi in the National Mobile Windscreens Saloon Car race. Unfortunately despite qualifying well in seventh the conditions got the better of him and his race was effectively ended when he got caught out on an oil slick at the Bobbies chicane which sent him into a tank slapper that ended in the infield wheat crop. To his credit Lloyd regained the track to make an unclassified finish. The race run on a sodden and later oily track was won by pole sitter Tony Hutchings in an Audi TT from Mark Wyatt driving a Vauxhall Astra and Mark Funnel’s Mini Cooper S, Will Claudio in a Peugeot 106 GTi took class B honours with a 4th place overall and Russel Ackers driving a Vauxhall Astra in 6th overall won class C.

VADABAR Sports & GT, MTVL, Castle Combe, Race 6

With the track still very wet rain tyres were the only option for the start of the of the VADABAR Sports & GT Championship. Starting from pole in his all wheel drive Mitsubishi Evo Gary Prebble must have fancied his chances for taking a second win in the series and he made the most of it with a good get away to take a comfortable early lead, but as I saw several times last year this Championship is Simon Tilling’s to loose and after a poor start from third the drying track played to the strengths of his #23 Radical SR3long enough for Simon to take the lead. While he was searching for the few remaining wet patches on the drying racing surface Simon was nearly caught by Martin Baker in another Radical who finished just one tenth of a second behind Tilling. Above George Micheal did his best to save his #27 Toyota MR2 from a lurid spin at Bobbies, but ran out of talent and clobbered Douglas Watson series sponsors VADABAR BMW E36 M6.

750MC Toyota MR2, MTVL, Castle Combe, Race 7

George Robinson made the best of a pole position start to lead the early going from fellow front row starter Ben Rowe driving the #21 MR2, in the non championship Toyota MR2 race, a series that was on a day trip from its usual venue at Brands Hatch. However starting from forth Matthew Palmer was soon within striking distance of the pair of them in his #87 MR2. Several laps in Robinson tripped up and Matthew seized the lead and held it to the end with Rowe finishing second and a crest fallen Robinson coming home third. Jim Davies brought his MR2 Mk3 in forth to claim the class win for the newer cars with smaller motors.

Startline FF1600, MTVL, Castle Combe Race 8

Nathan Ward in the #22 Specrum 011c made no mistakes from pole position on his second start of the day, but it was Ben Norton in the #111 Spectrum, seen in third place behind Roger Ogree above, who came through from a fifth place start to take the win in a race where seven vehicles left the track in separate incidents that necessitated the use of the safety car to clear up some of the mess.

Mini Challenge, MTVL, Castle Combe, Race 9

With the first six starting in reverse order that they finished in the first Mini Challenge race and a dry track there was no luxury of a tyre gamble for Shane Storey who started sixth this time round. With just over three tenths of a second covering the top three finishers 3rd place starter Lee Allen got the better of 2nd place starter Lee Patterson leaving pole sitter Martin Depper to claim the last place on the podium unchallenged after the #22 of Chris Smiley, above, completed a whole 1.86 mile lap with a cut tyre in forth place before it finally blew out and sent him into the barriers without any substantial further damage. Henry Gilbert claimed 12th overall and the Club Class win.

National Mobile Windscreen Saloon Cars, MTVL, Castle Combe, Race 10

The second National Mobile Windscreen Saloon Car Race proved to be the race of the day as William Di Claudio in his little green Peugeot 106 GTi sensationally hounded the more powerful Audi TT ‘saloon/sedan’ (?) of Tony Hutchings over the first 8 laps of the race forcing Hutching’s to go lawn mowing of the outside of Camp on the last but one lap which gave William just enough momentum to seize an unassailable lead as they crossed the line going into the last lap. Mark Wyatt finished a further 4 seconds down the road in third, my man Lloyd Allard managed to keep his Golf TDi on the black stuff second time round starting 34th he came in a well deserved 7th !

Mini Se7en & Miglia Race 2, MTVL Castle Combe, Race 11

The Mini Miglia and Mini Se7en combined race was another close fought affair with rain and the safety car interrupting the entertainment, above Peter Baldwin who started 3rd took the win taking the lead on the last lap from the #22 of pole sitter Richard Casey and early leader David Drew in the #2.

VADABAR Sports & GT, MTVL, Castle Combe, Race 12

The twelfth and final event of the day held on drying track proved highly entertaining before the start when coming off pit road pole sitter Gary Prebble when straight into the corn field as his slick shod 4 wheel drive failed to find any grip. Prebble fell so far behind the field that he was still weaving through the field to his pole position on the warm up lap ! Craig Flemming starting second in the white and blue #5 Juno TR250 got the jump on Prebble and held the lead for 8 of the 9 laps. An incident requiring the safety car on lap 5 nearly destroyed the race having incorrectly picked up a hard charging Simon Tilling, in the distinctive orange #23 Radical, as the leader when he was still actually only in second place. Fortunately the incident was spotted and Simon was waved through with 3 laps to go and recovered his lost lap to set up a one lap shoot out. As the safety car came in Simon was marooned behind the lapped #41 Spar Jertona 85/09 of Jeremy Irwin while Flemming made the most of his opportunity to get away from the patient Tilling who waited until he crossed the finish line going into the last lap before blasting past the lapped Irwin as though he was standing still. Tilling then set about catching Flemming in what remained of the last lap. Incredibly Simon turned a 1,7 second lap to go disadvantage into a 0.7 second advantage as he crossed the line in a thrilling finish to the days action packed racing. Simon Tilling was the only driver to win both of his events at Castle Combe on Bank Holiday Monday.

William Di Claudio, Peugeot 106 GTi, MTVL, Castle Combe

William Di Claudio’s giant killing effort in the second saloon car race earned him the Driver of the Day award. As I headed back to the waterlogged car park the sun came out for what turned out to be a mild evening.

Thanks for joining me on this ‘Di Claudio’s 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 !

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