62 replies to this topic

[Alan Cox]

The VSCC season opened with the 'Spring Start' meeting at Silverstone - Good weather and generally good fields.

Mark Valvekens getting to grips with his newly acquired Aston DBR4

Chloe Mason - Aston Martin Ulster during the High-Speed Trial

[Phil Rainford]

That is a superb image of the Aston Mr Cox !!

 

PAR

[Alan Cox]

You are very kind, Mr Rainford. I don't think Mr Valvekens intended to approach the corner at that angle, but he controlled it superbly and didn't slacken his pace.

[Steve L]

Any pics of the ERA's please Mr. Cox     ?!

 

May I ask which were on static display as well as the runners?

[Odseybod]

Without wishing to tread on Alan's toes ...

 

The ERA display had most of the usual suspects, also some notable absentees

 

 

 

As well as some suprises

 

 

 

 

While the race had fewer participants than (?) 10 years ago (though a few more than this)

 

 

But was quite tightly fought until Humphrey developed fuel problems

 

 

Leaving Mark Gillies in R3A to canter home unopposed.

 

 

Elsewhere, Mr Cox and I had our customary grumble about scaffolding

 

 

But found plenty more to enjoy

 

Edited by Odseybod, 15 April 2014 - 18:30.

[elansprint72]

Funny how much taller and narrower the tyres used to be in B&W photos...

[Tim Murray]

Tremendous photos, chaps. It was a great surprise to find the Challenger on display - presumably we can expect to see it fully restored in the fullness of time.

 

Sadly, the event was marred by a couple of serious accidents which put Garry Whyte, John Turner and TNF's Richard Bishop-Miller into hospital. Best wishes to all of them for a full and speedy recovery.

[Mallory Dan]

No F Libre Marches, Alan?

[Odseybod]

..

 

Sadly, the event was marred by a couple of serious accidents which put Garry Whyte, John Turner and TNF's Richard Bishop-Miller into hospital. Best wishes to all of them for a full and speedy recovery.

 

Thanks for mentioning what I should have done, Tim.  I hadn't realised who was involved in the 500 coming-together (at Becketts?) but did unfortunately witness the Garry White one on Saturday.  As you say, best wishes to all three.

[Tim Murray]

Yes, at Becketts, witnessed by Arttidesco and me, which naturally rather dampened our enthusiasm. Up until then we'd enjoyed a great day's motor sport.

[Steve L]

Great pictures, many thanks.  These go a long way to making up for me not being able to be ther at the weekend.

 

I wish I could have seen the Challenger (Challenge?) !  Does anyone have more photos of this very interesting car please?!

[Odseybod]

I wish I could have seen the Challenger (Challenge?) !  Does anyone have more photos of this very interesting car please?!

 

Just this one:

 

[Alan Cox]

I can do no better than Odseybod's excellent offerings but I can add a front view of the Challenger, ERA race and Patrick Lindsay Trophy double winner Mark Gillies, plus Helmut Gassman's Lancia D50 replica

 

For information, the results are here: http://www.theresult...vscc-round1.pdf

Edited by Alan Cox, 15 April 2014 - 17:36.

[Roy C]

I wish I could have seen the Challenger (Challenge?) !  Does anyone have more photos of this very interesting car please?!

 

[arttidesco]

A selection of Spring Start snaps.

 

 

Auction Alert ! 49 R8 yours for an estimated £700k to £1m at Goodwood.

 

 

Always good to see one's former racing instructors going well, Calum Lokie on his way to victory lane aboard Maserati 6CM (1556)

 

 

TNFer Peter Horsman, Lotus 15, leads Dr Barry Woods Lister Jaguar on the way to a fine win in the 50's Sports Racing Cars event.

 

 

Tony Wood tricycles his way to a win in the TEC - MEC.

 

 

All was well the lap before it all went horribly wrong at Becketts for Richard Bishop Miller in the #57 Revis and John Turner in the #86 Cooper, wishing them both a speedy recovery.

 

[Roy C]

Not racing, but "Rep" and a "Rep-Rep"

 

[Alan Cox]

I'm very sorry to have to relay the news that Garry Whyte, who was badly injured in the accident involving the GN Gnome at Silverstone last Saturday, died in hospital this morning. My condolences to his family and his many friends in the vintage racing world.

[Odseybod]

I'm very sorry to have to relay the news that Garry Whyte, who was badly injured in the accident involving the GN Gnome at Silverstone last Saturday, died in hospital this morning. My condolences to his family and his many friends in the vintage racing world.

 

So very sad to read this, Alan.  Many condolences to his family and friends.
 

[Stephen W]

I'm very sorry to have to relay the news that Garry Whyte, who was badly injured in the accident involving the GN Gnome at Silverstone last Saturday, died in hospital this morning. My condolences to his family and his many friends in the vintage racing world.

 

What a shock; very sad news. He was such an enthusiastic competitor and Vintage fan. He will be sorely missed. 

[JBaxter]

RIP Garry Whyte. A top man.

Edited by JBaxter, 19 April 2014 - 15:57.

[john aston]

Sadly I also saw in Autosport  that Al Fleming was killed in his Elan  at Hockenheim last weekend

[Morris S]

Now I know this is somewhat OT, but please forgive me this bout of self promotion. I've organised a track day / show for historic Minis and Mini based cars on behalf of the Mk1 Performance Conversions website. It takes place on May 4th at Blyton Park and features some of the rarest 60's Minis and Mini based sportscars on the planet including rare works competition versions of the Cooper, Cooper S, Ogle, Unipower GT, Minisprint, Marcos, etc etc.  Lots of action on track as well as static displays plus special guests include Barrie Williams, 'Jumpin' Jeff Williamson, Coldwell's Bill Needham, Barry Hawkins (Downton), plus touring car champions Alec Poole and Warwick Banks.  All proceeds go to 'Mission Motorsport' - the forces motorsport charity.

 

Many Thanks

 

Pete

Edited by Morris S, 20 April 2014 - 09:09.

[rbm]

 

All was well the lap before it all went horribly wrong at Becketts for Richard Bishop Miller in the #57 Revis and John Turner in the #86 Cooper, wishing them both a speedy recovery.

 

a quick update - the coming together with John resulted in a fracture to my spine, however after 2 weeks in Northampton hospital I have escaped and am back home. 

 

cheers Richard

[Alan Cox]

Thanks for the update, Richard. Pleased to hear that you are on the mend and back home. What news of John?

[rbm]

John escaped from hospital in less than a week, some fractured ribs which nicked a lung and he is a tad beat up.

[Odseybod]

A few snaps from the Sunday round of Donington's Historic Festival - a 'grand day out', though I personally would prefer fewer, shorter races - at least one of the 60-minute extravaganzas seemed about 15 minutes too long, but maybe that's my advancing years and dwindling attention span.

 

First, it was good to see il Grande John demonstrating the prototype (I think) Lola T70 CanAm car.  He complained that they wouldn't let him wear a helmet, so he had to keep the speed down ...

 

screen shots

 

Chris Scragg scored what looked like an easy victory in the XJ12C.  It now looks (and sounds) very well sorted - just a few years too late.

 

free photo upload

 

Sam Stretton was going great guns in the supercharged Alta sports car until it ran out of sparks.

 

image hosting 10mb limit

 

Spot the odd one out.  I'm sure Lotus Cortis are breeding on the quiet.

 

free upload image

 

The Maserati Centenary Trophy produced an interestingly varied field.  Victory went to Michael O'Shea in the Maserati-powered Cooper Monaco.

 

pic host

 

The field also included Wolf-Dieter Bauumann in his ex-Behra 250F in unusual Monaco racing livery.  I looked in vain for a Mr McKinney to tell me more.

 

pictures upload

 

The FIA Masters Historic Sports Car race produced the hoped-for thunderous start.

 

upload picture

 

The local insect life was clearly no match for a determined cat.

 

 

 

(Sorry for the stray bits of code - still getting the hang of the new image-hosting thingy)

 

 

 

Edited by Odseybod, 05 May 2014 - 20:51.

[elansprint72]

Best final lap I've seen for a while:

 

[elansprint72]

A catholic selection of motorised conveyances at Oulton Park today; despite the very windy (and often wet) conditions a very small crowd saw some excellent racing. Would I be correct in saying that Borgward were never officially imported to the UK, or were they just very expensive? Looks like quite an advanced/quality design for the time.

 

 

 

 

Edited by elansprint72, 10 May 2014 - 20:56.

[alansart]

Would I be correct in saying that Borgward were never officially imported to the UK, or were they just very expensive? Looks like quite an advanced/quality design for the time.

 

 

 

Didn't Bill Blydenstein tune and race a few Borgward's.

[bradbury west]

Bill Blydenstein certainly made his Isabella go well, and  kept Alan Hutcheson et al honest in their Riley 1.5s or Rapiers. There was a fascinating piece in The Autocar about his kitchen sink tuning methods, incl devising a flowmeter process for the ports using  1 gallon oil cans. Check it out. But they were expensive.

Roger Lund

 

 

Edit, you just beat me Alan

Edited by bradbury west, 10 May 2014 - 21:29.

[elansprint72]

So they were imported to UK? I was wondering about the RHD. I really don't recall having seen one "back in the day" as our trans-Atlantic cousins would say.

[Robin Fairservice]

Yes, Borgward Isabella's were imported into England with RHD in the 1950's.  I have a John Bolster road test of a two door coupe in 1958. Price about £ 2000 including purchase tax.

[elansprint72]

Yes, Borgward Isabella's were imported into England with RHD in the 1950's.  I have a John Bolster road test of a two door coupe in 1958. Price about £ 2000 including purchase tax.

That WAS a lot of money in those days. Thanks.

[elansprint72]

Pony car at Donington.

 

[elansprint72]

Every which way...

 

[Bloggsworth]

 

Love the Irn Bru chassis - made from gurders...

[Bloggsworth]

IIRC, Borgwards were probably the first ordinary saloon cars to feature fuel injection, engines which performed more than adequately in F2 Coopers, borrowing the BRM P25 type air scoop.

[Odseybod]

IIRC, Borgwards were probably the first ordinary saloon cars to feature fuel injection, engines which performed more than adequately in F2 Coopers, borrowing the BRM P25 type air scoop.

 

Not sure about the fuel injection but their earlier Hansa was one of the first post-war production diesels.

[Allan Lupton]

Not sure about the fuel injection but their earlier Hansa was one of the first post-war production diesels.

There was some fuel injection work, particularly on the 1500 cc twin-cam as fitted to th Cooper, but the Hansa 1500/1800 and Isabella had carburettor engines - with a strange inlet manifold combined with the rocker box.

[elansprint72]

Close but no contact- Donington Historic.

 

Edited by elansprint72, 16 May 2014 - 13:31.

[elansprint72]

Victors- I rarely get near to the podium (real, or imaginary) I'm usually way out in the country. Why do these blokes use a flash gun?

 

[Alan Cox]

News about the Crystal palace Bank Holiday meeting

 

MOTORSPORT AT CRYSTAL PALACE

Bank Holiday Sunday & Monday 2014;

Unique Reunion of Classic Cars & Drivers

 

There's just a few days to go before the fifth annual running of Motorsport at the Palace, in association with the Ancaster Group.

 

The two-day motorsport festival, held over Bank Holiday Sunday and Monday 25-26 May, celebrates the wonderful motorsport heritage of the famous South London park. This year's event focuses on the near legendary 1971 Osram Saloon Car race, which saw Mike Crabtree, Martin Thomas and Gerry Marshall wage an epic battle for victory in one of the most exciting races of the era, a race so thrilling it features in the BBC's 100 Great Sporting Moments.

 

Both Crabtree and Thomas will be attending this year's Motorsport at the Palace as special guests, along with the actual cars they raced in that spectacular event 43 years ago. The late Gerry Marshall will be represented by his son Gregor, while an identical replica of the Viva GT in which Marshall won the '71 race will be put through its paces by owner Colin Robbins. The Class of '71 offers a rare opportunity to witness these extraordinary cars and drivers together once more, reunited at the home of their greatest battle.

 

The '71 line-up will also feature a very rare 'Fraud' Cortina, raced in period by Australian Doc Merfield; and a WRA Anglia, campaigned in 1971 by George Whitehead. Yet to be confirmed classmates include Dave Brodie, ex-Crystal Palace lap record holder Martin Birrane - who raced a Mustang in 1971 - Robin Gray, and Jerry Johnston, chief mechanic for Team Vauxhall at the time of the Osram Saloon car race.

 

Alongside the Class of '71, a host of classic and modern cars will be taking to the parkland course in a bid to claim Fastest Time of the Day.

 

Away from the on-track action, Motorsport at the Palace offers an array of family-friendly attractions to keep guests of all ages occupied, including the ever-popular Diggerland, racing simulators, a child-friendly go-kart track and a range of retail stalls selling everything from books and model cars to framed prints and rarities. Visitors can even have their photos taken at the wheel of a stunning replica of the late Richard Burns' Subaru Impreza World Rally Car.

 

A large display of rare and exotic cars will also feature over both days, courtesy of many national clubs, while the Classic Motorcycle Racing Club will be displaying its finest machinery and conducting live demonstration runs over the two days. As always, the open paddock, located amid beautiful parkland, allows spectators a rare opportunity to see the cars close up and chat to the drivers and mechanics.

 

:: Tickets and further information can be found at http://motorsportatthepalace.co.uk/

 

 

 

[john aston]

This midsummer weekend features  Cadwell's best meeting of the year. the HSCC Wolds Trophy. The main race for F3 is  often undersupported but the packed grids for FF1600, FF2000 and saloons especially make this one of the year's must see events for me. Early start tomorrow and apologies in advance to my neighbours who will be reminded again how noisy a Caterham can be at 6am...No better circuit in the UK to watch historic racing .

[John Saunders]

Yes I will be there spectating both days,C F3 entry is very poor this year just 7 cars, hope there are some late entries.
Rest of the meeting looks good. I think CF3 and DBT suffer the same problem they can only get big grids at the bigger meetings,
Brands & Silverstone GP circuits.

Edited by John Saunders, 20 June 2014 - 06:41.

[Macca]

 

Not strictly racing, but the VSCC sprint event at Brooklands last weekend gave me the chance to see this car, which I hadn't known still existed - built by Charles Cooper for John before the war.

 

Paul M

[raceannouncer2003]

 

 

Not strictly racing, but the VSCC sprint event at Brooklands last weekend gave me the chance to see this car, which I hadn't known still existed - built by Charles Cooper for John before the war.

 

Paul M

 

Just started reading "The Grand Prix Carpetbaggers" (John Cooper with John Bentley).

 

"T1 Austin 7 Brooklands Special…1936…"

 

"…In fact this very nice little car became known as our Number One Cooper Special…"

 

Vince H.

[john aston]

Silverstone Classic coming up this weekend; looks like I will have a spare ticket for Sat and Sun. If interested please contact me - it's foc but you will need to see me on Friday at Silverstone to collect.

[elansprint72]

The VSCC Bob Gerard meeting last Sunday was curtailed by diabolical weather, the like of which I have never see. Several inches of rain, lightning strikes, gale-force gusts and floods. This colour photo is straight from the camera- no post-production malarky from me.

 

[Odseybod]

Pete, sorry I missed you on Saturday - only saw your name on the Meeja list as I was signing out.

 

It was a bit moist, wasn't it?  Here are some of mine of the last two races, before it was abandoned, plus high tide in the Paddock.  The wonders of digi technology make it looks much brighter than it actually was!

 

 

 

 

 

Kind of the sun to shine for the feature race, though - and to see Mr Bob's Cooper Bristol going well.

 

 

The Edwardians were the stars for me.  Here's Mark Walker with the mighty Darracq.

 

 

As the D300 seems to have survived another Donington drenching, I'm glad I went!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Wirra]

A selection of Spring Start snaps.

 

 

Auction Alert ! 49 R8 yours for an estimated £700k to £1m at Goodwood.

 

A bit surprised more hasn't been said about the new owner.