Typical clubbie scene at Aintree, me standing in the mud dodging stray wheels, sun shining, absolutely freezing.

...definitely a Merlyn, Geragrd

And loving every minute of it ;)

Kind regards

Phil

Absolutely, what a shame it will never happen again.

Just noticed that the magnificent Pavillion is shown in the middle background.

Geoff's Brands pics above show some interesting F4 cars - other than the Leslie and Chamberlain FF2000 Reynards and FF1600 at the end.

The one headed Frank Bradley, is in fact, I think, Bob Laughton's GRD. Also there are Miki Dee's VanDiemen/GRD, the Jim Ward Gem, and just poking in, the Brian Turner Hawke DL14/BTC. Is the yellow car following Briggs' Delta the Davis T3? The Dave Gilbert car was described as a 718, I don't recognise the odd looking Stuart West car though. Need to sort my 79 progs out and report back!

I think Laughton's car is an Ensign Dan.

The Bob Laughton car is an ENSIGN LN4. Jim Ward's car was entered at Oulton Park as a GRD 753. Finally the Stuart West car at Oulton Park was listed as a STAL 78B.

You're right Andy and Steve, I'm slipping! Just checked my prog for F4 MP 9-9-79. The STAL's a distinctive thing isn't it, I assume based on an old F3/FF2000 car? Presumably build by STuart West and ALan somebody... The no.17 isn't listed in my prog, but Neil something in a Jamun rings bells? No 44 is the Bill Cowling Delta 784, sister car to Briggs'.

At Aintree, well back from the Kincraft, would that be the Jenvey/Lester Ray Vogue SP2, it used to do sundry Libre races around this time?

There is something about the STAL that reminds me of a Tiga FF.

The Neil "Somebody" that Mallory Dan can't quite recall was Neil McBride, who went on to work for Jamun for a few years. Jim Wards car is his GRD - he'd stopped using his self-built Gem by then.

The picture of Ian Briggs shows him driving Mike Wilder's Delta IRF4 which he used to clinch the championship in '79, after his sponsor pulled out, leaving him unable to continue with his usual Delta T784.

I can't remember much about the STAL - I don't think it did many races.

I just knew I was going to have trouble with some of those names! 'Frank Bradley' must be Bob Laughton, as you say, but in an Ensign LN4 according to the programme. It then follows that the '15' I thought was Miki Dee is really Jim Ward in a GRD 753. No. 17 alongside him is not in the programme. The car behind Briggs could well be Davis, while no. 44 is Bill Cowling in a Delta. Gilbert's car is indeed a March 718, while Stuart West's is that well-known make, a TBN!
If only I knew the difference between an Elden and a GRD of those days, I could have got them right first time, but I couldn't even find a pic on the net for comparison. Oh, well, must try harder!

Note to self: read all the posts before replying!

Agree Steve, the 1978-80 Tiga, as driven by Almo Coppelli, Jim Weaver, and Tim L-D, amongst others. Perhaps Mr Ganley copied the triangular tub design from the STAL...

As the Stal was a "78B" maybe it was a 1978 FF1600 chassis and basic bodywork?

Could be. Lights and rad look in the right place.

Suggest Tim L-D



Kind regards

Phil

The Stuart West car was I think based on an old Super Vee chassis from Canada, Make unknown.
Yes Dan you are correct STuart & ALan = STAL his mechanic was Alan ?????. They were based in Birmingham in 78.

Originally featured in post 1194...


...this illustrates a) that I was standing about three feet closer to Deer Leap than you were and b) Tim Lee-Davey had fewer sponsors by the time he reached me.

Plus he had changed his number and the sun had gone in! Incredible! :\

With Esther Rantsen behind him anything could happen

Can't see Esther. Was she in a PRS that season?

More from Brands, 1/7/79. I didn't seem very interested in the Wendy Wools that day, so these are all I have. No names, no pack drill...

I think it was at the festival after one of the heats. I was minding my own business in one of Kent's finest loos, when in came TLD followed by an irate Australian driver (the name Handford rings a bell) who was clearly upset by something that had happened on the track. His last comment was "even ******* Esther bloody Rantsen can't help you now" although a couple of mechanics eventually diffused the situation

Mmm, Geoff, that bonnetless Skoda is interesting. Is it Barry Barnes in the very first spec saloon Skoda, the ex-Meek/Poole/Whiting/Everett car??

I think the newer one is Tony D, perhaps in the much discussed on the otehr place Lola T492 based car, also Rob Mason in the 2-litre Stiletto. I wonder if the red Escort may be Dave Wilson's car, by then sadly outpaced by the hybrids.

Barry Barnes was certainly there, as was Tony Sugden. The other, as you say, is Dickinson. The Escorts in my programme are Alan Smith and Brian Leeks, who was 3rd reserve. Rob Mason's Stiletto is given as 1500cc (?)

Alan, i'd say the Aussie Handford would be Robert Handford who [stat alert] at one time held the lap record for FF1600's on Mallory's oval circuit in a PRS RH01.

Special anorak award will be awarded to any saddo who can name the corner after the Esses on the oval, essentially the loop behind Devils Elbow onto the startline.......

Lifted from another thread
Is there anybody of any note on here who might have photos of when he drove them?

Funny you should ask, Ian. I took some photos of Altrincham Town's most ardent Kent-based supporter when he "guested" in a P100 at Oulton Park. The photos were taken for "Fast Lane" magazine (for whom the said 'Robins' fan was working at the time) and, alas, they never returned them to me. I seem to remember that Keith Holland won on that occasion.

In the '60s it was called the Castrol chicane, very narrow, single file, lined by armco.

1) Altrincham Footballl Club is not posh enough to have a suffix. Plain old Alty will do.
2) I raced the P100 at Snetterton and Oulton, but don't think I have photographic evidence to support the fact. Sorry if FL didn't return your pix, ASDC. The magazine ceased to exist as a title when it morphed into Complete Car, which in turn was later folded into Autocar. I suspect transparencies of a journalist storming to fourth place (out of 10) in a P100 race were probably thought to be of minimal historical significance and I fear they might not have survived the magazine's itinerant career.
3) Keith Holland won both races in which I took part. His P100 had been lowered by approximately seven feet, compared with the others, and he usually qualified on pole by about a fortnight. The other cars, few though there were, tended to be reasonably close. I think the series withered, due to general absence of interest, after one and a half seasons.

What year was that Simon, do you have programmes? If you raced one at Snett and know the date...I know where I can probably find pics, if my snapper friend is willing to look through his old negs.

Blimey... It was during the first season of the series, but I can't recall whether that was '88 or '89. It was a summer meeting - July or August - and there was a two-driver Porsche event on the same programme. I know that because Mark Hughes was taking part in the latter and borrowed my crash helmet immediately after I'd finished the P100 race. Rather him than me...

I drove one Brands Hatch Racing entry and former Triumph 2000/Formula First racer Andy Elcomb was in the other.

That's about all I can tell you, I'm afraid (other than boring you with assorted arcane details about the race, which I won't).

I dont remember Kincraft looking like this when in the ownership of Ian Stronach,does anyone know if it is indeed Ian, i was only 9 years old in 75 though.

I don't remember it looking like that when raced by Jim Moore in '68 either!

I seem to remember Ian bought the car in bits /damaged and the bodywork had an update for 72/73 similar to this picture except the nose, the airbox is the same as the 73 car, my stepfather helped to build it and i think the airbox was his creation.

If you check out my post #48 in the Longridge thread:

http://forums.autosport.com/showthread.php...29&pagenumber=2

You can just see a different nose with two aerofoils rather than the bulky Aintree nose.

Neither do I !

thanks Pete,

That takes me back ,its not called the nostalgia forum for nowt, i will see Ian in a few weeks i am sure he will love to see these pics,would anyone have any pics of Ians Mcrae GM1 or his Chevron i think B28?

the roll hop on the KINCRAFT llooks more Mc Rae than Kincraft.

His McRae is here:

http://www.oldracingcars.com/f5000/mcrae/gm1.htm

I don't have a picture of his B28 but one did appear in Autosport in Oct 1979.

Allen

1976, phew, what a scorcher! This was the Houbigant meeting at Brands on 16th May. This is one of those very rare boxes of slides where I like almost every one. Unfortunately my Epson so-called Perfection ha bloody ha scanner has other ideas and is being even more troublesome than usual. I'm off to get the copper hammer

John Harper


Reg Woodcock

All of these are from Oulton Park in the mid 1980's














Can anyone identify the driver of the Marlboro FF2000? I assume the Warmastyle car is Russell Spence?

Tim

Bertrand Gatchot

Isn't the Warmastyle car Johnny Herbert in the Quest FF2000 from '86? I think the company got invloved with Racing for Britain about this time. Spence was in F3000 by this time.

Gachot and Herbert

Car 20 Miles Johnson

Kind regards

Phil

Think I have found a programme that will identify most of the drivers

1. Miles Johnson ( Good spot by me before ....even though I say so myself )

2. Johnny Herbert

3. Betrand Gachot

4. Gregory Hobbs ( Son of David I think?)

5. Noel Brown

6. Robin Smith and Stingbrace Another shot of their Chevron below



Kind regards

Phil

...and to round off, the Datapost Escort is Richard Longman. 1983/4 at a guess?

Parnell is the name of the oval loop at Mallory. The Castrol chicane was indeed there in the 60's, some of the surface mounting brackets for the armco posts are still there......

Thanks...now do you know the name of the new tight right hander, half way around Gerards, that the bikes use as a chicane and why it is called as it is?

Charlies - but I have no idea why it was called that