59 replies to this topic

[Darren Galpin]

In the 7th January 2010 edition of Autosport, there's a letter on pg 88 adding to the list of known British tracks which are no longer used. The letter mentions Langar Airfield, which was used by the Nottingham Sports Car Club in September 1948. Does anyone have any more details of this track, such as a map, distance, results....?

[MCS]

In the 7th January 2010 edition of Autosport, there's a letter on pg 88 adding to the list of known British tracks which are no longer used. The letter mentions Langar Airfield, which was used by the Nottingham Sports Car Club in September 1948. Does anyone have any more details of this track, such as a map, distance, results....?

Landed there once - having avoided a parachute jump that was taking place (I kid you not) - in the mid-eighties. Never quite forgotten it as a result...

It was a grass runway - mind you that's almost forty years on from NSCC meeting you mention Darren. Was it actually a race, or a sprint or an Autotest, or what?

[Derwent Motorsport]

Landed there once - having avoided a parachute jump that was taking place (I kid you not) - in the mid-eighties. Never quite forgotten it as a result...

It was a grass runway - mind you that's almost forty years on from NSCC meeting you mention Darren. Was it actually a race, or a sprint or an Autotest, or what?

http://www.controlto...uk/L/Langar.htm gives some history.

[Darren Galpin]

Letter says that there were 13 races, with races limited to six cars.

[Tim Murray]

Google throws up this site which has the following entry:

Although Langar Airfield is better known as a parachuting and skydiving centre it does have a motor sports history.

It was used for grass track racing with what is believed to be the last meeting held on 31 October 1974 and it is the venue of a thriving karting and buggy circuit.

However, the meeting that I am most interested in is the one held on 18 September 1948. I believe it to have been the first meeting held by the Nottingham Sports Car Club. There were 13 races each of between 3 and 5 laps with a maximum of 6 cars in each race.

I do not know the circuit used, was it the perimeter track as was used at other airfield circuits such as Silverstone and Thruxton? Who took part? Did anyone attend the meeting? Does anyone have any photographs?

Any information would be welcome.

Please contact Nigel Wood on 01949 860001 if you can help.

I'm guessing this is the same person who wrote to Autosport (which I no longer read)? There is a brief mention of the event on the Nottingham SCC site, but no real info.

[RAP]

Google throws up this site which has the following entry:



I'm guessing this is the same person who wrote to Autosport (which I no longer read)? There is a brief mention of the event on the Nottingham SCC site, but no real info.

There was a meeting 18 Sept 49 (not 48). Races ran round the perimeter road similar to Goodwood. Lap 3 miles. Only race mtg I know of there.

RAP

[Terry Walker]

Very Goodwoodish:

[Sharman]

The perimeter looks a bloody sight more interesting than anything that Tilke has come up with in recent years

[MCS]

Mmmm...well it wasn't a "grass runway" then

I'll blame my memory.

Interestingly, if you look at the Rufforth layout on Barry's recent thread, it's fairly easy to transpose a very similar track onto the image we have here (perhaps obviously)...

[fuzzi]

When I was a lad growing up not far away, we used to get RCAF Shackleton's flying over to or from Langar, so I'm happy to see the google image with nice solid runways, after the remarks about a grass strip.

I was always surprised then that these maritime reconnaissance aircraft operated out of a base so far from the sea. I know very few people have good things to say about Shackletons - 70,000 rivets in loose formation etc, but the four Rolls-Royce engines roaring overhead were a lovely sound.

[Stephen W]

Very Goodwoodish:

The perimeter looks a bloody sight more interesting than anything that Tilke has come up with in recent years

Interestingly, if you look at the Rufforth layout on Barry's recent thread, it's fairly easy to transpose a very similar track onto the image we have here (perhaps obviously)...

During WWII the construction of airfields and their runways were undertaken by various teams working for & with the RAF. The planners were provided by a book of standard plans (a sort of A - F of layouts) hence the similarity of Langar to Goodwood and Rufforth. Following on this line Thruxton and Woodvale (Southport) have identical layouts.

[RCH]

When I was a lad growing up not far away, we used to get RCAF Shackleton's flying over to or from Langar, so I'm happy to see the google image with nice solid runways, after the remarks about a grass strip.

I was always surprised then that these maritime reconnaissance aircraft operated out of a base so far from the sea. I know very few people have good things to say about Shackletons - 70,000 rivets in loose formation etc, but the four Rolls-Royce engines roaring overhead were a lovely sound.;)

Going off topic but as a total non-expert I always thought the Shackleton was well liked? Stayed in service long enough! My one memory of a Shackleton was driving along the coast road from Teignmouth to Torquay, must have been late '60's. Heard an aircraft, glanced to the left to see a Shackleton lumbering along below me!

[David McKinney]

During WWII the construction of airfields and their runways were undertaken by various teams working for & with the RAF. The planners were provided by a book of standard plans (a sort of A - F of layouts) hence the similarity of Langar to Goodwood and Rufforth. Following on this line Thruxton and Woodvale (Southport) have identical layouts.

Must have spread to the Dominions as well - I could build Ardmore and Ohakea from that, and with a bit of a push Wigram as well

[Stephen W]

Must have spread to the Dominions as well - I could build Ardmore and Ohakea from that, and with a bit of a push Wigram as well

I suspect the Allies all had the same set of layouts. I was told by a stonemason who was part of the RAF planning team that (a) dependant on prevailing wind direction, and (b) the shape of the plot of land available then they built the appropriate layout.

[RS2000]

RCAF Shackletons? RAF Shackletons would have been at Langar when Hawker Siddley had a facility there, not for RAF operations.

[john winfield]

Langar is five or six miles from where I live and I was down at the airfield a couple of weeks ago, helping my son learn to drive. (Unfortunately, or fortunately perhaps, he wasn't blasting around the perimeter but just working on the basics in the lower figure of eight, bottom left of the photo). Next time I'm there I'll check how much of the perimeter is accessible, or even still exists. I know for example that there are barriers between the lower figure of eight and the indoor kart centre, bottom right.
Bingham is the nearest small town, three miles up the road that features top left. The library there has a local studies section, full of books for virtually every village in the vicinity, but not Langar. Samuel Butler made the village famous, but 'Erewhon' and 'The Way of All Flesh' make disappointingly few references to the Nottingham Sports Car Club. I also checked a few Nottinghamshire Airfield books but no joy. I'll keep looking.

[fuzzi]

RCAF Shackletons? RAF Shackletons would have been at Langar when Hawker Siddley had a facility there, not for RAF operations.

Yup RCAF. My father worked there for a while as a civilian driving fork lifts etc. When the RCAF pulled out the housing - mainly located in the nearby large village of Radcliffe on Trent was sold off complete with US sized cookers and fridges - they made a big impact on British housewives who went to view the properties.

Please tell us more about HS's prescence.

[RS2000]

Please tell us more about HS's prescence.

Not much I can tell. The Avro facility at Langar had become HSA by the time it closed. Trial installations of updates on RAF Shacks was one task and may have included the "ultimate" mod to "MR3 Phase3 (Viper)" standard, although I think subsequent "production" installations were by CWP. ("Phase 3" itself was a separate level before the Vipers were subsequently added for take off assistance but is often wrongly quoted as being the Viper mod standard). AEW2 probably post dates HSA being at Langar?

[fuzzi]

Thank you

[Sharman]

Whilst we have aircraft knowledgable people on tap. does anybody remember trhe original Lancastrian, not the freight carrying pre York but a Lancaster with the two outboard Merlins replaced by jet engines?

[fuzzi]

Whilst we have aircraft knowledgable people on tap. does anybody remember trhe original Lancastrian, not the freight carrying pre York but a Lancaster with the two outboard Merlins replaced by jet engines?

As far as I can sort out the original Lancastrians were (slightly) civilianised Lancaster bombers with a few seats powered by four Merlin engines. The Lancastrian test bed you mention was a Rolls-Royce Hucknall beast with the two outer Merlins replaced by (I think Nene) engines. From memory the craft was said to be faster with the two jets operating alone than with four Merlins.

Yorks were used for passengers as well as freight for a short time, but I believe they were desperately slow. They were very comfortable - Lord Mountbatten used one when he was the last Viceroy of India.

[Macca]

My mother lives in Bingham, and I know Langar well. The best info on the airfield is in 'Action Station Vol.2' by Bruce Barrymore-Halpenny; scans here:
http://img121.images...294/langar1.jpg
http://img442.images...111/langar2.jpg
http://img403.images...3/1/langar3.jpg

One thing that isn't mentioned in the book is that poet/author/broadcaster Wynford Vaughan-Thamas flew on a mission from Langar with a BBC sound engineer in a Lancaster of 207 Sqd on a raid to Berlin to make a recording for radio broadcasting.

Paul M

[Macca]

I didn't mean to kill the thread by posting that book article - did people find it useful?

The main technical site on the North side of the airfield, where two hangers are still visible, now houses (amongst other things, such as nurseries and scrapyards) a John Deere tractor factory..........and a farmer in one of their products has just cleared the road outside my window!

The middle runway is the one used by the parachute school; the remains of the bottom runway near the kart track were maintained and used by a model aircraft club the last time I wa that way.

Paul M

[MCS]

As far as I can sort out the original Lancastrians were (slightly) civilianised Lancaster bombers with a few seats powered by four Merlin engines. The Lancastrian test bed you mention was a Rolls-Royce Hucknall beast with the two outer Merlins replaced by (I think Nene) engines. From memory the craft was said to be faster with the two jets operating alone than with four Merlins.

I've just spoken to my Father, who worked on some of the machine tooling that was used to convert the initial Lancaster to the Lancastrian - built at Waddington (Lincoln) he said.

He also told me that Avro produced a bona fide new Lancastrian after the war - a production facility was set up, although he couldn't remember where.

[La Sarthe]

Yup RCAF. My father worked there for a while as a civilian driving fork lifts etc. When the RCAF pulled out the housing - mainly located in the nearby large village of Radcliffe on Trent was sold off complete with US sized cookers and fridges - they made a big impact on British housewives who went to view the properties.

Please tell us more about HS's prescence.

Sorry, but the RCAF never operated Shackletons. They did operate the not-dissimilar looking Canadair Argus but no Shackletons - only the RAF and South African Air Force ever operated these.

The confusion's probably caused by the fact that the Canadians and Avro/Hawker Siddeley shared the airfield for many years. A very detailed history is contained in the book Aviation in Leicestershire and Rutland by Roy Bonser and there was also a good article in the Airfield Research Group's magazine 'Airfield Review' a few years ago. I'll check them tonight to see if there's any mention of a race meeting.

Peter

[RS2000]

Sorry, but the RCAF never operated Shackletons.

Yes, I'd meant to come back on that one too. The South African ones were the only export Shackletons. The RCAF went from the Neptune via the Argus to the Aurora and I don't think any were ever permanently based in the UK.
OT, but the Neptune (in Netherlands colours) at the RAF Cosford museum:
http://yfrog.com/bb1001443lj

[Sharman]

I've just spoken to my Father, who worked on some of the machine tooling that was used to convert the initial Lancaster to the Lancastrian - built at Waddington (Lincoln) he said.

He also told me that Avro produced a bona fide new Lancastrian after the war - a production facility was set up, although he couldn't remember where.

So, what was a bona fide Lancastrian. My original post suggests that, and this post appears to confirm, it was not a slightly modified Lancaster but an aircraft in its own right.

[Terry Walker]

As I understand it, the Lancastrian was built by Avro's Canadian offshoot as a passenger / cargo transport plane for the RCAF, and based on the Lancaster, but the Lancaster had to be extensively adapted to be used , as you might expect: get rid of armaments, provide proper cabin doors, cargo doors, windows, etc and so on. Wings, engines, tail etc were the same.

Two of them were used in the UK as test beds for a range of Rolls-Royce jet egines just after WW2, undoubtedly the ones mentioned further up the thread.

The Lancaster also spun off the Lincoln bomber, which in turn was adapted into the Avro Tudor civil aircraft, mostly famous these days for the disappearance of two of them en route to South America (The Star Tiger and the Star Ariel). Ufonuts have it that they were snatched by alien spaceships in the Bermuda Triangle, but in fact the route was hazardous, navigation was by sextant, and there were often powerful unreported head winds on the way. The Tudor competed with the DC4, which was a better plane. Few Tudors were built.

[fuzzi]

Sorry, but the RCAF never operated Shackletons. They did operate the not-dissimilar looking Canadair Argus but no Shackletons - only the RAF and South African Air Force ever operated these.

The confusion's probably caused by the fact that the Canadians and Avro/Hawker Siddeley shared the airfield for many years. A very detailed history is contained in the book Aviation in Leicestershire and Rutland by Roy Bonser and there was also a good article in the Airfield Research Group's magazine 'Airfield Review' a few years ago. I'll check them tonight to see if there's any mention of a race meeting.

Peter

Ah well it was a long time ago. Memory eh?

Edited by fuzzi, 12 January 2010 - 07:20.

[Sharman]

As I understand it, the Lancastrian was built by Avro's Canadian offshoot as a passenger / cargo transport plane for the RCAF, and based on the Lancaster, but the Lancaster had to be extensively adapted to be used , as you might expect: get rid of armaments, provide proper cabin doors, cargo doors, windows, etc and so on. Wings, engines, tail etc were the same.

Two of them were used in the UK as test beds for a range of Rolls-Royce jet egines just after WW2, undoubtedly the ones mentioned further up the thread.

The Lancaster also spun off the Lincoln bomber, which in turn was adapted into the Avro Tudor civil aircraft, mostly famous these days for the disappearance of two of them en route to South America (The Star Tiger and the Star Ariel). Ufonuts have it that they were snatched by alien spaceships in the Bermuda Triangle, but in fact the route was hazardous, navigation was by sextant, and there were often powerful unreported head winds on the way. The Tudor competed with the DC4, which was a better plane. Few Tudors were built.

My reference books, "Aircraft of the Fighting Powers" only go up to Vol V, and the Lancastrian does not appear in those 5 books. The York does and it was first produced in 1942. It had, as I thought, the Lancaster wing and tail, the latter modified to 3 fins to compensate for the increased "keel" effect caused by the change from mid-wing to high wing. It had a range of over 3000 miles with an operating speed of 275mph at 21000ft, as it was unpressurised it usually flew at a lower level when in service as a passenger aircraft. It couls average 213mph transatlantic and flew UK/India in 42 hours including stops. So for its day it was not noticeably slow when compared with the flying boat service which was the alternative. However who can tell me more about the Lancastrian?

[RS2000]

However who can tell me more about the Lancastrian?

Without researching it, I think Lancastrians were a mix of Lancaster conversions and new build aircraft. Built at Avro Woodford?
The motorsport connection is of course that Donald "Pathfinder" Bennett (of Fairthorpe, as well as being a competition driver) was at British South American Airways, using Lancastrians along with Tudors. The most famous story is the Lancastrian that went missing without trace en route to Santiago, Chile and the remains of which only emerged from a glacier in the Andes in comparatively recent years.

[Sharman]

Without researching it, I think Lancastrians were a mix of Lancaster conversions and new build aircraft. Built at Avro Woodford?
The motorsport connection is of course that Donald "Pathfinder" Bennett (of Fairthorpe, as well as being a competition driver) was at British South American Airways, using Lancastrians along with Tudors. The most famous story is the Lancastrian that went missing without trace en route to Santiago, Chile and the remains of which only emerged from a glacier in the Andes in comparatively recent years.

Woodford is probably right, I lived in Wilmslow immediately post war and it was an easy bike ride even for an 8 year old, over the years there were many interesting shapes to be seen in the air, Lincolns and Shacks plus a bit later the Avro 717 (I theeeenk?) A & B followed by Vulcan test flying. If I went the other way over the Bailey Bridge at Oversley Ford there was Ringway and all the military stuff that Airwork serviced.

[La Sarthe]

I've gone through my records, and apart from the fact that Langar is of course in Nottinghamshire there's nothing on any motor racing meeting.

Peter

[simonlewisbooks]

The Lancaster also spun off the Lincoln bomber, which in turn was adapted into the Avro Tudor civil aircraft, mostly famous these days for the disappearance of two of them en route to South America (The Star Tiger and the Star Ariel). Ufonuts have it that they were snatched by alien spaceships in the Bermuda Triangle, but in fact the route was hazardous, navigation was by sextant, and there were often powerful unreported head winds on the way. The Tudor competed with the DC4, which was a better plane. Few Tudors were built.

Was this one of the aircraft featured in a TV doc. some years ago? One of the planes had begun emerging from a glacier in the Andes one piece at a time as it gradually slide down the mountainside. Quite an eerie sight. The explanation for the accident was due to flying into the (then) unknown 'jet stream' which threw out the navigation and fuel consumption figures so badly that the pilot crashed into mountains he was told he had already passed over safely. A cruel way to learn another valuable lesson in civil aviation.

[RS2000]

Was this one of the aircraft featured in a TV doc. some years ago? One of the planes had begun emerging from a glacier in the Andes one piece at a time as it gradually slide down the mountainside. Quite an eerie sight. The explanation for the accident was due to flying into the (then) unknown 'jet stream' which threw out the navigation and fuel consumption figures so badly that the pilot crashed into mountains he was told he had already passed over safely. A cruel way to learn another valuable lesson in civil aviation.

The Lancastrian I mentioned above, not the Tudors in the quoted post.

[Doug Nye]

British South American Airways had a brief and tragedy-studded existence, losing two Tudors - Star Tiger and Star Ariel - plus the Lancastrian 'Star Dust' - G-AGWH - whose wreckage was located only in 2000, as related. In broad brush the Lancastrian emerged immediately postwar simply as a civilianised, disarmed, modestly furnished Lancaster...

DCN

Edited by Doug Nye, 13 January 2010 - 23:06.

[elansprint72]

Was this one of the aircraft featured in a TV doc. some years ago? One of the planes had begun emerging from a glacier in the Andes one piece at a time as it gradually slide down the mountainside. Quite an eerie sight. The explanation for the accident was due to flying into the (then) unknown 'jet stream' which threw out the navigation and fuel consumption figures so badly that the pilot crashed into mountains he was told he had already passed over safely. A cruel way to learn another valuable lesson in civil aviation.

stendec


Check it out on the web.

Edited by elansprint72, 14 January 2010 - 20:45.

[elansprint72]

Woodford is probably right, I lived in Wilmslow immediately post war and it was an easy bike ride even for an 8 year old, over the years there were many interesting shapes to be seen in the air, Lincolns and Shacks plus a bit later the Avro 717 (I theeeenk?) A & B followed by Vulcan test flying. If I went the other way over the Bailey Bridge at Oversley Ford there was Ringway and all the military stuff that Airwork serviced.

Here are a couple of Woodford products in the excellent Air and Space section of the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry.

[RWB]

Just to get back to motor racing, the only other UK circuit I can call to mind that had just one race meeting was Edzell. Are there others?

[elansprint72]

Just to get back to motor racing, the only other UK circuit I can call to mind that had just one race meeting was Edzell. Are there others?

Yawn...... why not start a separate thread on .... yawn.... Edzell? This is a place so remote from "civilisation" (if you can call Edinboro' civilised) that even the Google satellite images are so blurred that even the sharp bits look like Monet painted them; on a day when he forgot his contact lenses.

Let's stay off topic.

[Darren Galpin]

Just to get back to motor racing, the only other UK circuit I can call to mind that had just one race meeting was Edzell. Are there others?

I take it you are referring to just car meetings, as Edzell has also been used (and still is) for motorbike racing. Other UK tracks which hosted just one car meeting include Tholthorpe and Horam (combined motorcycle meeting with match races for cars).

[RAP]

Whitchurch only had one car mtg, in 1959. Dunholme one car & bike mtg too, as I recall.

Had not heard of Horam, can you tell us more?

RAP

[john winfield]

On the motor racing front, I thought that I had stumbled on a potential source of information. There is an interesting website being developed for Langar and neighbouring Barnstone, dedicated to its history, people, buildings, activities etc. and there are plenty of village photographs already posted. I was just about to email the main contact regarding the NSCC meeting when I recognised his name: Nigel Wood. He's the person who wrote to Autosport in the first place! I'll contact him anyway and see if he's aware of the thread that's developing on TNF.

One thing I did notice was that the Howe family originates from Langar and can be traced through to motor sport's Earl Howe, daughter Sally Curzon and, by marriage, to Piers Courage.

[La Sarthe]

I take it you are referring to just car meetings, as Edzell has also been used (and still is) for motorbike racing. Other UK tracks which hosted just one car meeting include Tholthorpe and Horam (combined motorcycle meeting with match races for cars).

By Horam do you mean Horham in Suffolk? This was an 8th Air Force base in the war, home of the 95th Bomb Group.

Peter

[Nigelw]

In the 7th January 2010 edition of Autosport, there's a letter on pg 88 adding to the list of known British tracks which are no longer used. The letter mentions Langar Airfield, which was used by the Nottingham Sports Car Club in September 1948. Does anyone have any more details of this track, such as a map, distance, results....?

As the person responsible writing the letter to Autosport I thought I had better join in the correspondence! We are presently creating a website covering the history of Langar and Barnstone villages (http://www.the parishcouncil.org/orange/home.html). Whilst carrying out some research for this I came across a reference to the Nottingham Sports Car Club meeting. As I have had a passionate interest in motor sports since my parents bought me a Scalextric set for Christmas in 1962 I thought I had better follow this up.

Thanks to RAP I now have the correct date of 18 September 1949. What I don't have are any photographs, programme or competitor or spectator accounts. There must be some of these out there.

For those with an aeronautical bent, in addition to the many photographs of 207 Squadron's Lancasters, we have seen photographs of Lancasters and Shackletons which were serviced there by AVRO. One villager, whose father worked for AVRO, has photographs Vulcans taking off and landing and one of a Gloster Meteor parked nose down on the Langar to Harby road having overshot the runway.

One story we need to follow up is of one of the test pilots flying over the Vale of Belvoir looking for brewery delivery lorries. As rationing in the 1940's was having an effect on beer supplies he would note where the lorries were heading and that pub received a visit from thirsty drinkers that eveniing!

[john winfield]

As the person responsible writing the letter to Autosport I thought I had better join in the correspondence! We are presently creating a website covering the history of Langar and Barnstone villages (http://www.the parishcouncil.org/orange/home.html). Whilst carrying out some research for this I came across a reference to the Nottingham Sports Car Club meeting. As I have had a passionate interest in motor sports since my parents bought me a Scalextric set for Christmas in 1962 I thought I had better follow this up.

Thanks to RAP I now have the correct date of 18 September 1949. What I don't have are any photographs, programme or competitor or spectator accounts. There must be some of these out there.

For those with an aeronautical bent, in addition to the many photographs of 207 Squadron's Lancasters, we have seen photographs of Lancasters and Shackletons which were serviced there by AVRO. One villager, whose father worked for AVRO, has photographs Vulcans taking off and landing and one of a Gloster Meteor parked nose down on the Langar to Harby road having overshot the runway.

One story we need to follow up is of one of the test pilots flying over the Vale of Belvoir looking for brewery delivery lorries. As rationing in the 1940's was having an effect on beer supplies he would note where the lorries were heading and that pub received a visit from thirsty drinkers that eveniing!

Hello Nigel - nice to have a chat and welcome to TNF. Do you know where NSCC went off to next after their first meeting at Langar? Silverstone? Snetterton? If we could trace an early programme perhaps we'll find some leads; competitors, references to the Langar meeting etc. Autosport magazine didn't appear, I think, until later in 1950 so I'm not sure if any magazine would have covered the 1949 Langar event which, presumably, would have been too minor to receive a mention in 'Motor Sport'. Anyone know?

[David McKinney]

Do you know where NSCC went off to next after their first meeting at Langar?

Gamston, I would have thought

[john winfield]

Gamston, I would have thought

Thanks David; I'd forgotten about Gamston. Kvadrat's list shows an NSCC meeting in August 1950.

I was confused about Gamston when I first moved up here. There's a Gamston on the Langar side of Nottingham, near an airfield (Tollerton) but the circuit was at the Gamston near Retford wasn't it, in the very north of the county?

[Nigelw]

Hello Nigel - nice to have a chat and welcome to TNF. Do you know where NSCC went off to next after their first meeting at Langar? Silverstone? Snetterton? If we could trace an early programme perhaps we'll find some leads; competitors, references to the Langar meeting etc. Autosport magazine didn't appear, I think, until later in 1950 so I'm not sure if any magazine would have covered the 1949 Langar event which, presumably, would have been too minor to receive a mention in 'Motor Sport'. Anyone know?

Hi John,

Thanks for making contact and introducing me to the forum. I believe the NSCC moved on to Gamston, the one near Retford, not the one near Nottingham. My mother tells me that I did attend a meeting there but I don't recall it as I was still in her womb!

My earliest motor sport recollections are from poor, defiled Donington Park. We used to attend the go kart meetings in the early 1960's run on a circuit based on the Melbourne Loop. I always regret not going up the hill to see if there were any remains of the old cicuit still to be seen. I sincerely hope Donington does not rejoin the list of disused circuits. Perhaps Jonathan Palmer will follow up his strong comments made at Autosport International and take on the lease for the circuit.

In addition to Donington we also watched kart racing at Darley Moor, an old airfield near Ashbourne in Derbyshire. This circuit is, I believe still used for motor cycle racing. One name I remenber from those days was Barry Maskell, who went on the race in Formula 3 for Lotus.

Nottinghamshire does have another lost motor racing venue. In 1903 a Gordon Bennett Cup trial was held on the Duke of Portland's Welbeck Estate to select members of the Great Britain Team. On 25 April a series of flying kilometre trials was held. This consisted of 3 uphill and 3 downhill runs. A hillclimb challenge was held on the 27th. This was a clandestine affair held at Dashwood near West Wycombe. The result was 1st J Stocks, Napier, 2nd Charles Rolls, Napier, 3rd mark Mayhew, Napier and 4th Efdward Lisle, Star.

The drive was used by the Nottinghamshire Automobile Club for a number of years prior to the First World War for its annual sprint.

[fuzzi]

An even more tantalising idea was this:

As part of the ACGBI 1000-Miles Trial which took place in May 1900 and passed through the main towns of England and Scotland it was proposed that when the Trial arrived in Nottinghamshire a 28mile road race would be organised from Welbeck Park Gate to Mansfield and return. Sadly it remained a proposal and the competitors had to make do with speed trials in Welbeck Park.