Anyone remember Saab's one-make series?







BTW: Great find Phil, Knickerbrook was an awsome corner...

I wonder who was that chap in the flat cap with the cameras getting in the way of Steve's camcorder

Thanks for that again Phil, a great find

If he had done that to me he would have woken up with a large lump on the back of his head! Why do you think I take a monopod with me?

Seems like a good theory, and it would be the right period. When eventually I unpack my OP programmes, I'll try and find the entry list.

Look at the photos in Phils's post, then look at the video

Yes, it's me

I forgive you Brendan, just dont do it again!
Cheers Steve.

That would be a plan......

Yes - but mainly for how strong the cars where.
One went straight on at Lodge, in the days before gravel traps, charged the tyre barrier head-on and ended up with front end on top of the tyre wall.
The driver just selected reverse and before the marshals could get there with bottles etc, he managed to reverse off the tyre wall and continued.
Next time round, with a big grin on his face, he gave us a cheery wave as he took the corner at unabated speed. As far as I could see the only visible damage to the car was a broken headlight glass and a few scuff marks on the bumper bar.

Brilliant

In the end Phil Marg lost it on his own, although Roger E was making it hard for him.

Back in the 80's there was a race series for Rally cars run in the north west - it was always good value as the rally boys were somewhat experimental when it came to racecraft. Kim Mather ran his scary twin-engined Scirroco and with his circuit experience, was usually the man to beat.

Anyone else remember this series, and what became of it?

I seem to remember Tony Worswick ran a Ferrari in it.

You are right Alan, he did. Canary yellow I seem to recall.

My late Dad competed in it and I think one of our esteemed regulars on here had a go in it too.

Yes I remember it well - lots of sideways action from the Rally Drivers. I seem to remember a certain Barrie Williams in a Nissan?

The 108 Car Club was responsible for the rally series, although there were random classes for rally cars in other north-western events of the epoch (Longridge sample below).



As for the Saabs, the championship usually featured a guest car and a former Motoring News colleague – Tim Watson – was invited to drive at Thruxton. Tim is a lovely bloke (he went on to become vice-president of marketing for Ford America and presently does something similar for Jaguar Italy) but was always renowned for his supreme gullibility, so everybody else in the office crafted all manner of stories about potential Saab quirks. “Oh, the floor-mounted ignition won’t be a problem, but you might have to keep your belts slightly loose to operate the column gearchange” – that kind of thing. One lunchtime, he wandered off to find a sandwich, spotted a Saab 900 parked in a side street and went to investigate whether the column gearchange was fact or, more obviously, fiction. He peered intently through the window for half a minute or so, then felt a hand on his shoulder. Car audio theft was a popular local pastime in London EC2, so Inspector Knacker wanted to know exactly what he was doing. Being Tim, he told them the truth. Strangely, “I’m racing one of these at Thruxton on Sunday, officer, and wanted to know whether it really had a column gearchange” didn’t convince them of his moral probity and they ended up questioning him for quite some time...

You can't park that there lad...



From a 750mc meeting at Cadwell.

Simon, is this the place to share Tim's experience with a cat bell?

Snap! Just put a gallery from the same meeting up on my site: Was this you or Andrew?

Definitely Canary yellow- he still has it apparently:

http://www.twaengineering.co.uk/ferraripho...lery_76971.html (bottom of the page)

http://www.ferrariownersclub.co.uk/happeni...op/images/5.jpg

It's me. I can tell by the helmet.

I'm very grateful that you lent me your negs of our racing at the time so I could do my own prints. I missed that one.

I just loved driving around Cadwell Park

Suspect you need to start a fresh thread about future Ford vice-presidents who had to go to A&E because they had a pet's toy jammed in one nostril... A rare breed, I believe.

Somewhere, I think I have shots of Tim's company Fiesta XR2 festooned with official BTCC race numbers that we pinched from the MSA after a wine-infused lunch. He only found out when he was preparing to drive home.

A great picture,showing how the outside tyre is more heavily loaded than the inside tyre...

Aah - happy days at Cadwell! The kerbs on that corner are now quite severe. The result is less speed on the entry to The Mountain, and sadly, less air.

(see below...)

Fantastic picture. Mike Walker's works F3 Ensign in 1972, of course. Full marks for posting such a wonderful picture Alan.

And a definite candidate for the under-rated thread, in my opinion. EDIT: Mike Walker, I mean!

Two Lotus Elan themes





Will Schrvyer/Oliver Smith





Malcolm Rickets/Barry Sewell


Both from the Autosport 3 hours 2008?

Ive been looking at this picture Brendan and cannot work out who's F4 this is. Can you help please.

Keith has built a few cars over the years. Very clever bloke and a brilliant driver.His enthusiasm has helped regenerate the 1 Litre F3 screamers.

Sorry I can't ID the driver, maybe these additional pics will help.

Thanks Brendan. I still cant work out who or what car. Evan Alan Morgan is flumexed Great pics we will keep on head scratching.

John Gallant in a Jamun T8

Talking of the old White City: suggest 1975/6?? and number 369 Ged Walsh is after 135 by the look of the message on his car




I think I must have taken this on Mr Arron's camera as I am in possession of the print.

I wonder if you can still get a quote for your drive to be tarmaced by ringing Lymm 2559

PAR

No, you can't

Alan, if you tried ringing the number to find out, then that is very, very sad indeed.

If you tried ringing it now, you will possibly get somebody saying "No I don't sell ****** tarmac!

Don't jump to conclusions Ian; Alan might need his drive tarmacing.

Oulton Park 1986 4 Hour Relay - Is there another marshals post this close to the action?

Excellent

That Armco post suffered a lot!

Edit: The tree on the other side of the track has now gone

Quite probably, but they may take your order for a holly wreath

Is that Chester Wedgewood or his co driver at the wheel? I always thought it sadly perverse that the success of his company meant that CW, as chairman, had to forego all racing activities when the company floated. He seemed a pretty good chap.
Roger Lund

I was going to say Chester too Roger, I worked in an Office Equipment dealership and we sold Giroflex Chairs, from memory, a Herts (St Albans?) based company.

Very casual sitting on the armco a metre [or less] from the cars.

We used to do business locally with their operation in Penallta, north of Caerphilly.
Roger Lund

Probably not - but Lodge In gets pretty close!

I remember one Oulton Easter meeting in the late 70's - early 80's when Jeff Bloxam complained bitterly to me that I had ruined a shot he was trying to get of me flagging at Dear Leap.
Apparently I was leaning out over the Armco to show the blue flag rather than sitting on it and Jeff was trying to get a shot of me leaning out as the F1/F2 cars came close. As soon as he got into the right position I stopped leaning out. My reply was that I stopped leaning out as I was getting 'gravel rash' on the underside of my chin. At that time there was a 6 inch strip of untarmaced surface right under the Armco and one or two drivers where using it - in the process flicking up bits of gravel.
This must have been in the days before the armco post started to lean outwards - probably as a result of flag marshals leaning/sitting on it - could that possibly be Ron Cantor 'at rest' in the photo?

One advantage of this post was that if drivers persisted in ignoring the blue flags it was possible to administer a quick tap on the helmet with the flag pole as they passed by.

I can imagine that was very easy at this post

This was a barely modified shopping Metro about to be monstered by a 959!

It wasn't all high drama at that meeting though...

Possibly, but here is Ron loitering in the background, fag in hand as John Gillmeister parks up his Lenham-Hurst Brabham BT28 at Oulton in May 1970.


By giraffe138 at 2009-02-16

Ron only recently retired as a judge, but his marshalling career took him back to the Grand Prix circuit at Aintree and the Aintree 200 where he ran the assembly area. Ron always had either a cig, glass or flag in his hand at northern circuits for five decades, pitching up in his sporty Riley 1.5.

Don't forget that that the esteemed Mr Wedgewood once finished second in the Thundersports Gold Cup, sharing his Giroflex Chevron with Marcus Pye.

He also shared a Thundersports drive with John Morrison .....




....one more of the Porsche




PAR

What happened next?

Does it involve Dave Lowe's Lotus?

That is a good call ....... especially as it is nowhere to be seen ( yet?)


PAR

But I may have inside information

Doug Lague (1) & Roger E (12) may also have collided. Both retired on lap 6.

Doug Lague was later found to be running a bent engine and was politely kicked out of Formula E.