Please tell my Mrs. that......

As Mr Arron states earlier

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Ian Smith - Diz
[B]And I believe Howard Done is making a return to FF1600 this season. I'm not sure what he's been upto for the last twenty odd years though.

He has probably been getting over the fact that he appeared on my first ever reel of film that I managed to snap while armed with a press pass.......and a camera




......as did Champion of Oulton frontrunner Mike Lindley





PAR

Phil,
As you managed to snap the film you did very well to develop it.

Some mega understeer there on Lindley's Reynard..................

A change of Reynard did the trick ;)




PAR

The day for which all Cheshire motor racing enthusiasts had been holding their breath - Mr Arron's race debut on 14th March 1987, with George McGlashan's long-suffering Crossle

Posing for the assembled press mutitude - the tousle-headed young hotshoe makes ready (Edit: In the days when he still had hair to tousle)

No, this isn't the front row - but, there again, it's not the back either

Noble Brothers failed to see the potential in using Mr Arron to promote their waste disposal business, since when they have gone from strength to strength

Adopting a classic line through Deer Leap


Some other highlights from the meeting: One of Ian Smith's heroes, Malcolm Barfoot

Another Champion of Oulton/Formula E perennial, Roger Eccleston

Oops! Not the ideal approach to Cascades..

Do you have the programme or results for this meeting. I have a strong feeling it's the day I did this

Pleased to see I outqualified a bloke in a bobble hat and a couple of vans...

To be honest, if i was Mike Lindley, i would have taken an understeering 84FF Reynard over a well set up 85FF all day long. I still can't believe Adrian Reynard made such a hound of a car.

I forget why I bothered to go all the way from Essex to Castle Combe in 1977 for what looks like a fairly nondescript meeting, but here is some of what I saw. Apparently I didn't keep the programme, so no names available.

Did the four straggling fordies behind you qualify out of session?
Gets hat and departs hurriedly

Pic one Ed Stephens?

Saloons Brian Prebble in the lead perhaps and the orange windowed imp Basil Dagge.

Pete

John Chatham in Healey number 4?

Basil Dagge , red and yellow imp .

Gareth Lloyd - The spinning Formula Ford

It was Oulton Hall, owned by the Egerton family, hence the Egerton Arms pub just down the road and a hostelry for many a weary racegoer. The hall which dated from 1718 did indeed burn down in 1926. The land remained and so did the monument on the infield which was erected in 1846 in memory of Sir John Egerton who died during the Sikh war of 1845. Throughout the war years the land was used as an army staging camp - General Patton was based here in the run-up to the Normandy landings, and Joe Louis, his PT instructor and the reigning Heavyweight Champion of the World, gave exhibition bouts in the valley at Deer Leap....

As Dan feels the Forum is not getting his juices flowing at present.......

How about a Formula Libre car that might at least wake him from hibernation ;)




PAR

Go on then Dan - which one is that?

John Holmes? I bet his crutch straps were tight...........

Is that the Rover engined car that he ran in Libre?

Turning into Lodge, off the throttle? Mighty good shot.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mondiale M85S
[B]John Holmes? I bet his crutch straps were tight...........

I know what type of DVD collection you have ;)

PAR

Oh no not this again!! According to John himself, as confirmed by Norman D, its 772P-U1, ex works/Bruno/Dickson etc. According to others its not...

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mondiale M85S
[B]John Holmes? I bet his crutch straps were tight...........

I didn't think you could buy Formula Libre DVD's to be honest, Phil.

How about this one to get the little grey cells working?






PAR

Stuart McPherson?

I'll go for the easy part.

................................. rounds Lodge Corner, on a dry track.

Who still yearns for the days when Formula Fords did this....? Richard Street, Old Hall Corner May 1983


Jim Crawford shared this Chevron-Mazda B16 with Barrie Williams in the 1983 Thundersports Gold Cup.


Not quite sure what category this was - Was it ASCAR? From 1983

UGLICAR, surely

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Alan Cox
[B]Who still yearns for the days when Formula Fords did this....? Richard Street, Old Hall Corner May 1983


Alan I will be first in the queue for the TARDIS.....

PAR

In those days Formula Ford was Exciting, Competitive, Varied, Skillfull, Packed grids, Full of personalities.

And damn good entertainment .

Pete

This car came up in conversation at the North West TNF tour of the Chevron works! One of the recreations which was in the workshop having a Winter spruce-up uses a period Mazda rotary engine.

Another example of Vin Malkie's beautiful preparation.....





PAR

Originally posted by Alan Cox
Not quite sure what category this was - Was it ASCAR? From 1983

Car 0 is Brian Rice and the Aston alongside is Ray Taft i think.

Thanks for the ID, Mondiale.

The 1983 British Open Championship is rarely mentioned here, possibly because it didn't last beyond the opening round, after which the projected 5-race series was ditched due to lack of support. However, if you followed the series avidly, these may rekindle some memories.

The versatile and swift John Brindley, who drove Nick Mason's Tyrrell

Jim Crawford

Tiff Needell

Mike Wilds

Race-winner Mike Wilds, Williams FW07C

Most people will remember Scott Stoddart and Pete Aron as the Jordan-BRM drivers, but there was also Tony Trimmer

Jim Crawford - Ensign N180B

Crawford and Needell contest Lodge

John Brindley - Tyrrell 008

Brian Robinson (Chevron B42) finished second to Wilds

Pete,

IMHO it still does, although I'm probably a tad biased.
Kent engined Formula Ford 1600 [forget the Zetecs and Duratecs] stilll has packed grids [into the sixtys in the North West] and the Walter Heyes Trophy gathers about 150 of them. Add in Historic and Classic, which have their own championships. Ireland, both North and South, has thriving championships, as does Scotland and Castle Combe. There are thousands of the cars about these islands and about 300 of them are still raced on a regular basis.

A few more Aurora and British open Championship pics I think 79/ 80/82 / 83


Edwards De Villota

Salazar Lees

Jim Crawford



Trimmers BRM looks a bit high to me

Jim Crawford again same car different year
Cheers Steve.

1 April 1983.

Great pictures Alan!

Some more

F3

johansson 1980

Palmer passing Tassin to win the championship in 1981

F3000 Dave Coyne trying hard

Phil Andrews

F2000 Richard Street but in what I dont no ...
Cheers Steve

Comment of the weekend!

Dulon MP21 FF2000 - quite possibly the same car that will be out in the first Historic FF2000 race of the season on April 5th at Donington

Great shame the British Open didn't continue that year. There were some good cars and drivers at OP weren't there.

Given the improving UK economy in mid-1983, and the relative success of Thundersports starting that year and for the next 3 or 4 seasons, I'm sure a 'SuperLibre' series a la Group 8, could have provided some good racing and kept some decent cars employed for a few more years. Especially with the DFV becoming gradually more redundant in Effone from that time.

I think the British Open series grew out of the comparative success of the Dnington Open series which ran the previous year and enjoyed entries from the like of Warren Booth (or was it Bob Howlings) in his ex works Shadow DN9B and the fact Formula Atlantic had tanked as a 'headline series' post-Aurora days.

When the 'British' series foundered there was a much lower key McLean Hunter Open/Libre series which the likes of Lawler (McLaren M30) Trimmer (Lola T330) and Narsici (Trojan) appeared in. As you rightly say, with the success of THUNDERSPORTS a Gp8 style series might well have worked...but then would it have simply split the pool of suitable drivers and available money between itself and Thundersports?
Later we had the BRDC Group C2 series doing just that and the result was 2 weak series which quickly withered despite great promise.

The BRSCC Libre series (sponsorred initially by McLean/Hunter) ran from 1983 and 1989 (iirc) was was very successful, if somewhat more low key than the British Open series.

A few more ,Sorry no dates.....

Phil Bennet


Noel Stanbury ???





Duncan Bain Tony Norton


Ago


Fernando Ribeiro


Will Pringle


Richard Peacock Guy Dormel


Bernard Devany


Eddie Jordan


James Weaver



Tim Davies



Dave Scott




Tony Dean Nick Wittiez


Brian Redman




Mike Wilds Ian Ashly Bob Evens David Hobbs Lella Lombardi


Palmer
Cheers
Steve.

Steve

A real selection box there

PAR

Some great names amongst that lot, Steve. Good stuff.

Ha ha, yep, Mr. Wattiez in usual pose in his 5000 car. Despite the fact I polished it and made it as shiny as possible, it still didn't cut through the air fast enough with Nicky at the wheel.

Whatever hit the barrier on the inside of Lodge did so in while it was airborne

PAR

I'd say that's David Sears' Rushen Green RP26 behind Palmer, then Ribero. ( who's no 21, Hawke? and works VD behind that, Nogues?) Where's Dan when you need him.
That looks like Trotty in his RP26 coming up the inside with John Village in his Van Diemen on the outside of him? Have a memory that JV switched to a VD for a year between Royales.

Dr. JP's JSM truck was sold the end of that season to David Wheeler (SDC Royale). I remember as we went to Sussex to fetch it for David.