Tag Archives: VSCC

Twice Mille Miglia Class Winner – Maserati 4CS #1126

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In 1931 Maserati built a prototype supercharged 4 cylinder 2 seat racer to compete in the Mille Miglia 1,100 cc / 67.1 cui class called the 4CTR (cilindi testa riportata) with twin overhead camshafts and a detachable cylinder head.

01 Maserati 4CS_2364sc

The supercharged motor produced nearly 100 hp / per litre and was fitted to a modified Maserati 26M single seater chassis and a two seat body. Giuseppe Tuffanelli and Guerino Bertocchi drove the car on the Mille Miglia to victory in the 1100cc class finishing 22nd overall.

Based on this success Maserati built a series of 5 4CS models and they won the 1100cc class at the Mille Miglia in 1932, ’34, ’35 and ’36.

02 Maserati 4CS_2365sc

So far as I know chassis #1126 seen here was the square nosed #15 car driven by Ettore Bianco and Guerino Bertocchi to class victory and 7th overall on the 1935 Mille Miglia.

Owner Ettore Bianco then drove #1126 to victory at the Circuito Varese in July 1935 and a second in class in the 1935 Coppa Ciano.

03 Maserati 4CS_2366sc

For 1936 Ettore teamed up with M. Boccali for the Mille Miglia in which they finished 6th overall and 1st in class one spot behind the 4CS, fitted with a 1500cc 91.5 cui version of the 4 cylinder motor, driven by Omobono Tenni and Ettore’s 1935 team mate Guerino Bertocchi which took 1500 cc honours.

Later in 1936 #1126 was sold to Ignazio Radice Fosatti who recorded a second in class run on the Coppa Mercanti run on the Stelvio hillclimb before going to Monza for an attempt at the 1100cc 12 hour distance record. Unfortunately Ignazio was killed in the 9th hour of the attempt after hitting a dog that strayed onto the track.

04 Maserati 4CS_2367sc

Scuderia Ambrosiana bought the wrecked car and had it repaired for Giovanni Lurani & Luigi Villoresi to drive in the 1937 Mille Miglia from it retired. Later in the year Luigi recorded a 7th overall and class win on the Colle del Moncenisio in France before the car headed East to new owners in Singapore.

Joshua Lee was the unfortunate owner of #1126 in 1942 when it was confiscated by the Japanese Army and he was murdered.

05 Maserati 4CS_2368sc

The last in period race for #1126 is recorded as the 1950 Johore Grand Prix with the car now registered in the entry list as an LA Special, with 3.5 Litre Jaguar SS 100 motor, by Lim Peng Han who did not finish the race after an accident.

The car then made it’s way to the UK via the United States where it was briefly fitted with a Do Soto V8 motor as part of an uncompleted project. Ken Painter bought #1126 in 1969 and by 1985 had completed it’s restoration.

Adam Painter is seen driving #1126 in these photo’s taken at Prescott where the car was listed as having a supercharged 1500cc motor.

Thanks for joining me on this “Twice Mille Miglia Class Winner” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at a slippery bodied Bugatti. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Third At La Turbie & Pau – Maserati 8CM #3009

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Joining Whitney Straight Ltd as debutant entrants on Grand Prix scene in 1934 was Ecurie Braillard a team run by Countess Nelly Braillard who’s drivers included her younger brother Louis Braillard, who has beaten the up and coming Whitney Straight in the 1933 Grand Prix d’Albi, Benoit Falchetto and Raymond Sommer.

Maserati 8CM, VSCC, Spring Start, Silverstone

Like Whitney Straight Ltd Ecurie Braillard opted for the Maserati 8CM buying two of them including #3009 featured today, in these photographs taken at last weeks VSCC Spring Start meeting at Silverstone, which were supplemented by a Bugatti Type 51.

Maserati 8CM, VSCC, Spring Start, Silverstone

Unlike #3011 which was the subject of a book by Denis Jenkinson information on #3009 is a little more difficult to find. Of the references I have found is one in which Louis drove #3009 to third fastest time in the 1934 La Turbie Hillclimb in Provence France.

Maserati 8CM, VSCC, Spring Start, Silverstone

At the end of 1934 Louis was injured in an accident on the St-Lô Hillclimb apparently after insisting the teams other 8CM’s, #3015, brakes were switched from hydraulic to mechanical operation. His injuries were compounded by a skiing accident early in 1935 which saw him follow Whitney Straight into early retirement aged just 29. Ecurie Braillard, for whom Louis’s brother in law Benoit Falchetto had won the the 1934 Grand Prix de Picarde and a Libre race at Montlhéry aboard #3015, disbanded at the end of 1935.

Maserati 8CM, VSCC, Spring Start, Silverstone

Luigi ‘Gigi’ Soffietti bought #3009 from Ecurie Braillard for the 1935 season and recorded a 3rd place with it in the 1935 Grand Prix run on the streets of Pau in Southern France.

Maserati 8CM, VSCC, Spring Start, Silverstone

Current owner Sean Danaher, seen in the white fire suit, is recorded as having spent between 1990 and 1999 restoring #3009.

Thanks for joining me on this “Third At La Turbie & Pau” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at a Bugatti. Don’t for get to come back now !

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VSCC Spring Start – Silverstone

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I awoke at 3:40am on Sunday full of anticipation, the weather forecast was good, the dawn chorus was getting underway as I prepared my sandwiches and daylight was lighting up the day as I headed towards Silverstone with my friend and regular GALPOT contributor Tim.

M4, Eastbound

We took the fast route in order to get to the circuit early, meeting up with friends for breakfast in the canteen we were saddened to learn of the death of Lotus Elan driver Alan Fleming in Hockenheim the day before and that Garry White had been seriously injured driving a GN Gnome the same day at Silverstone.

Lotus 49 R8, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

Tim and I took a wonder round the paddock in the morning where we were astonished to find the late 1968 Lotus 49 R8 as raced by Graham Hill, Richard Atwood, Jo Bonnier and most successfully by Dave Carlton in South Africa to two local F1 championships, form the center of a Bonhams display. The car is expected to fetch between £700,000 and a million at Goodwood in June.

Standard, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

While we were working our way through the paddock the vehicle above wafted through the crowd, I was surprised to learn it appears to be powered by a Standard Vanguard motor, if you know anything else about the car please chime in below.

ERA 80th Anniversary Trophy, Gillies, Morris, Topliss, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

The racing got underway with the ERA 80th Anniversary Trophy which was one by Mark Gilles aboard the green wheel lifting 1934 ERA seen leading the ERA 11B of David Morris which retired leaving Nicholas Topliss in the #5 blue ERA R4A to finish second.

FJHRA , Goodliff Woodhouse, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

The battle for honours in the front engined Formula Junior race lasted the whole race with Simon Goodliff in his red 1960 Lola Mk2 managing to hold off the green 1959 Elva 100 driven by Mark Woodhouse.

Riley, Super Rat, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

Pete Candy driving the 1936 Riley Super Rat seen in the paddock above won the 8 minute Short Scratch Race for pre war cars.

HGPCA Pre 66, Griffin, Moreton, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

The action continued with the second race for pre ’66 Grand Prix Cars which was won by John Romano who clocked up his second win of the weekend in his 1964 Brabham BT11. Above Alex Moreton in his 1961 Lotus 21 is about to lap Paul Griffin in his 1959 Cooper T51 on his way to a seventh place finish.

Maserati 6CM, Lockie, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

It’s always great to see one of my former race instructors, from 1989/90, take part in an event above one such was Calum Lockie who is seen driving a 1938 Maserati 6CM to victory in the pre 1941 Continental Trophy race.

50's Sports Racing, Horsman, Wood, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

Regular readers will have heard me make many references to The Nostalgia Forum who’s knowledgeable members include Peter Horsman seen above driving the #248 Lotus 15 above to victory over the #256 Lister Jaguar of Dr Barry Wood in the 1950’s sports racing cars event.

Tec Mec, Wood, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

Tony Wood lifts a wheel at Becketts above on his way to his second win of the weekend in the Pre ’61 Racing Car event driving the 1959 Tec Mec F415 which readers may remember I looked at in some detail recently.

Pre War Handicap, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

By comparison the 5 lap pre war Handicap race felt like a race in slow motion, above a couple of Rileys lead a gaggle of cars in the event which was won by Richard Hudson driving a Bentley.

F3 500, Bishop Miller, Kingsland, Turner VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

The penultimate event of the day was for the 500 cc / 30.5 cui Formula 3 cars this was declared, with Ian Philips the winner, after the; #57 Revis driven by Richard Bishop Miller, #59 Staride Mk 3 of Xavier Kingsland and #86 Cooper Mk 9 of John Turner came to grief at Becketts one lap after the photo above was taken. I am not entirely sure what happened but the out come was that John Turner was thrown out of his Cooper and Richard Bishop Miller had to be cut out of the Revis and both were taken to hospital.

Andrew Mitchel won the final Pre War race of the day driving an HRG but by then Tim and I were negotiating a few diversions on the way home, seeing John Turner falling out of his Cooper having left me feeling considerably the worst for wear.

My thanks to Alan Cox at the Nostalgia Forum for pointing me in the direction of the results pdf.

I hope you will join me in offering sincerest condolences to the the family and friends of Alan Fleming and best wishes for speedy recoveries to Garry White, Richard Bishop Miller and John Turner.

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

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8 Cylinders 24 Valves – Bugatti Type 30

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Late in 1922 until 1926 Ettore Bugatti offered the 2 litre / 122 cui Type 30

Bugatti T30, Huntley, VSCC, Prescott

The Type 30 was however not all new the horseshoe radiator was carried over from the later Type 13/22/23 Voiturette Brescia models…

Bugatti T30, Huntley, VSCC, Prescott

as was the chassis which was available with 100.4″ or 112.2″ wheelbase and “occasionally” with a 94.5″ wheelbase option, ie the same options as for the earlier models.

Bugatti T30, Huntley, VSCC, Prescott

The front brakes on the early Type 30’s built between 1922 were hydraulic operated but from 1924 to ’26 they were cable operated as were the rear brakes on all Type 30’s.

Bugatti T30, Huntley, VSCC, Prescott

It is believed around 600 Type 30’s were built, the recently restored example seen here at last years VSCC Prescott meeting, driven by Douglas Huntley, was originally built in 1925.

Thanks for joining me on this “8 Cylinders 24 Valves” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at Red Bull’s 2013 season. Don’t forget to come back now !

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DB Six – Dodge Brothers Senior Six Opera Coupé

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Five years after the Dodge Brothers, Horace and John, died unexpectedly due to unrelated causes their widows sold the company to Dillon, Read & Co in, up to the time, the largest ever cash transaction involving some US$ 146 million. At the end of 1925 Dillon, Read & Co also acquired a majority in Graham Inc and the three Graham brothers worked for Dodge Brothers until 1927 when Dodge introduced it’s first 3.6 litre / 244 cui six cylinder models.

Dodge Brothers, Senior Six Opera Coupe, VSCC, Castle Combe

The L head six produced 60 hp and complemented the 40 hp Fast four in the Dodge range which was loosing market share falling from second largest manufacturer in 1920 to 7th place by 1927 prior to Chrysler’s acquisition of Dodge Brothers in 1928.

Dodge Brothers, Senior Six Opera Coupe, VSCC, Castle Combe

Identifying the exact age of today’s Senior Six Opera Coupé, seen at Castle Combe a couple of years ago, has proved extremely difficult officially it’s listed as a 1929 model however I have only been able to match it to models with the distinctive horizontal bonnet / hood vents dated 1927 and 1928.

If you know the exact years the horizontal vent Sixes were in production please do not hesitate to chime in below.

Thanks for joining me on this “DB Six” 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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Cat Under The Bonnet ! – Aston Martin DB3 #DB3/6

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The Aston Martin DB3 was designed to compete at Le Mans in 1951 by ex Auto Union D-Type designer Eberan von Eberhorst. Ten cars were built the first five for the factory team, who’s most notable success was a victory in the 1952 Goodwood 9 hour race won by Peter Collins and Pat Griffith.

Woodgate, Aston Martin DB3, VSCC, Castle Combe

Originally the DB3’s used the 133 hp Vantage version of the 2.6 litre / 158 cui straight six designed by W O Bentley for Lagonda that was also used in the Aston Martin DB2. However despite the win at Goodwood in 1952 this motor proved uncompetitive when run against the 3.4 litre Jaguar C-Typesand eventually a 2.9 litre / 178 cui straight six was introduced to the model. Later still the DB3 was replaced by the lighter DB3S.

Woodgate, Aston Martin DB3, VSCC, Castle Combe

This particular chassis #DB3/6 was the first of the customer cars is known to have been raced by Bob Dickson in 1953, with the FHH534 registration plate, when he scored a best finish of 5th with Desmond Titterington at Dundrod in the Tourist Trophy. Bob is also known to have won his class in the 1953 Rest And Be Thankful Hillclimb which ran at Glen Croe in Argyll, Scotland.

Woodgate, Aston Martin DB3, VSCC, Castle Combe

The following season R H Dennis acquired #DB3/6 and took part in at least won event at Goodwood in September 1954 where he finished 6th. By this time the car had been fitted with a larger 200hp Jaguar motor, acquired a hard top, first seen on the works racer #DB3/1 at Le Mans in 1952 and had large sections of body work removed from behind the front and rear wheels.

Woodgate, Aston Martin DB3, VSCC, Castle Combe

Dennis raced the #DB3/6 until mid way through 1956 without much success and then entered Geoff Richardson for at at least three events at Mallory and Goodwood in which he finished 2nd, 3rd and 2nd before the car vanished from the known racing records.

The DB3’s body could be removed in twenty minuets and this may have had a role being fitted with a bizarre two tone body, initially with conventional doors, and later with gull wing doors and a third headlight.

In 1965 it was all change again as #DB3/6 was united with an Aston Martin motor and the body was swapped for again with the body from a 1957 Aston Martin DBR2.

In 1989 #DB3/6 was sold for a £180,000 pounds without anybody work or even a motor, 14 years later the gullwing body also passed through auction. #DB3/6 is seen in these photo’s with a 2.9 litre / 178 cui Aston Martin 6 cylinder motor being driven by Chris Woodgate on his way to victory in the Historic Aston Martin race at Castle Combe last year.

During the research for today’s post I stumbled across the Aston Martin Scrap Book which I can heartily recommend to anyone interested in the marque and one off Aston Martin bodies.

Thanks for joining me on this “Cat Under The Bonnet !” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at another racing Aston Martin, albeit from an altogether more recent era. Don’t forget to come back now !

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“Post Production Nose” – Aston Martin 15/98

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After the Aston Martin’s commercial and on track success with the 1 1/2 litre International, Le Mans and Ulster models the company launched new models, in 1936, that featuring 2 litre / 122 cui motors known as 15/98’s denoting the RAC taxable 15 hp rating and the actual 98 hp rating.

Dubsky, Aston Martin, 15-98, VSCC, Castle, Combe

The 15/98 was built with long wheel base (LWB) chassis with Sedan or Coupé bodies by E Bertelli Ltd and short wheel base (SWB) Speed Models with roadster bodies mostly by Abbey Coachworks in London.

Dubsky, Aston Martin, 15-98, VSCC, Castle, Combe

Today’s featured car, seen at Castle Combe with Austrian owner Peter Dubsky at the wheel is a 1937 SWB roadster with what appears to be a post production nose reminiscent of that seen on the unraced 1939 Aston Martin 2 litre Speed Model Monoposto which was built to set records at Brooklands.

My thanks to Alam Cox at The Nostalgia Forum who’s evidence suggests that today’s featured car has no “in period” competition history.

Thanking you for joining me on this “Post Production Nose” 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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