Gold Cup Classic - Oulton Park

Oulton Park circuit is one of Britain's more difficult tracks, while attending racing school there I spun off on two separate occasions, located near Little Budworth in Cheshire.



The last time I was spectating at Oulton Park in Cheshire then future world champion Damon Hill was given a one off drive in the British Formula 3000 Championship race by Colin Bennett and future Oulton Park circuit owner Dr Jonathan Palmer had a one off drive in the Celebrity car that featured in the Honda CRX championship in 1989.



On Bank Holiday Monday I got to the track for the second day of the Gold Cup Classic meeting, just as qualifying got under way for the Sir Stirling Moss trophy race. Former FIA Historic Formula One Champion Bobby Verdon Roe, seen here driving a 1957 Aston Martin DBR1, going through a much altered Druids Corner on his way to qualifying on pole.



Oulton Park now has a tarmac Rally Stage and an interesting variety of vehicles were to be found trying to navigate the slippery conditions, including this Surprising Skoda Estelle, keeping spectators entertained with numerous 360 degree spins.



The Historic Formula Ford race for Ford Kent powered single seaters built from 1969 - 1972 was highly entertaining with Rob Wainright piping Ben Mitchell and Benn Simms in a three way last lap shoot out. Former Grand Prix driver Ian Ashley driving the #62 Lola T200 is seen here passing Stuart Baird in the #6 Merlyn MK11A for fifth prior to Ian's early retirement.



I missed the Historic Touring Car race won by Mark Jones in favour of having lunch with friends from The Nostalgia Forum, afterwards the Derek Bell Trophy race for a mixture of open wheel cars was run. Richard Evans in a Formula Atlantic March 79B snatched a last lap victory from Michael Lyons Formula 5000 Lola T400. I did not realise it at the time I took the photograph above but this is a recreation of the Lotus Martin built to Formula One regulations in 1966.



Judy Lyons, Michael's mother, driving the #33 Lola T332 above, gambled on rain returning during the race and opted for intermediate tyres, at the end of the race she showed no sign of disappointment that her strategy had failed or that she was not classified in the final results.



The small grid of Group 6 2 litre / 122 cui cars for the Martini Trophy race included this Martini liveried Chevron B31 belonging to Graeme and James Dodd which failed to finish.



Charlie Kemp did his best to make a race of it driving the 1970 vintage #10 Lola T210 but was eventually unable to keep up with John Burton who took the Martini spoils driving a Chevron B26.



The E Type challenge was probably the race of the day helped by tricky weather conditions, earning my personal vote for driver of the day was Jon Minshaw who worked through the field from the back of the grid to second place behind Martin O'Connell in a race filled with lurid 'moments'.



John Ure and Patrick Blakeney-Edwards won the Woodcote Trophy driving a Cooper Bristol finishing ahead of the #57 Allard J2 seen here of Malcolm Verey and Dennis Welsh after Stephen Bond, who had rarely been more than a few car lengths behind the Cooper, lost up to a minute making his mandatory pit stop.



Benn Simms made up for his disappointment in the Formula Ford race by winning from the back of the grid in the Classic Formula 3 race driving the #1 March 803B seen here lining up
to pass the Keith White in the blue Ralt RT1.



Brian White and Keith Stantton drove their Triumph TR2 in both the Stirling Moss and Woodcote Trophy races, Brian is seen here exploring the outer limits of the track at Old Hall during Woodcote Trophy on his way to a 19th place finish.



Jon Minshaw teamed up with John Stretton to win the Woodcote Trophy in the #133 'Knobly' Lister Jaguar above lapping the D-Type of Ben Eastick which finished 7th.



Final race of the day was the 'Amitsead Barnet Financial Services' Historic Formula Ford 2000 championship race for Pinto powered cars circa 1978 - 1981 which was won by Nelson Rowe. Nelson Duke, in the yellow helmet above driving a Reynard SF79 about to pass the Delta T79 of Robert Trusting, impressed the event race sponsor 'Mallory Dan' sufficiently with his drive from the back of the grid to 13th place to win the FF2000 driver of the day award.



In between races and watching the rally car demonstration there was a feast of classic cars on display including my personal nomination for car of the day this Piper GT



After a great day out all too soon it was time to say 'until next time' to Barry, Roger, David, Mallory Dan, Alan, Phil and Simon from the Nostalgia forum and head for home.

Thanks for joining me on this Gold Cup edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres', I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !

Swiss Style British Built - Alvis TD21 Drop Head

Among the more handsome vehicles to be built in Britain in the late 1950's was the Alvis TD21, like the 1959 example seen here at the recent Silverstone Classic.




The TD range, available in 2 door saloon or drop head form came with an Alvis 3 litre / 183 cui 6 cylinder motor with 7 bearing crankshaft which produced 115 hp.



The bodywork was designed by Swiss company Hermann Garber working with the Park Ward coach works who took on the production of the beautifully proportioned panels which were mounted on a separate chassis.



With either 4 speed manual, sourced from the Austin Healey parts bin, or 3 speed Borg Warner automatic transmission the TD had a top speed of 103 mph.



The TD21 was upgraded to Series II spec in 1961 with external changes including integrated front fog lights and internal changes including all round disc brakes and ZF 5 speed manual gearbox. From 1958 to 1964 1070 TD21's of both types were built.

Thanks for joining me on this Swiss style edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres', .I hope you'll join me again tomorrow when I'll be visiting Oulton Park for some classic and historic races. Don't forget to come back now !

Thunder In The Hills - Mendips Raceway

Last Sunday after I had dropped friends off at the airport I found myself with some unscheduled time on my hands. Normally I might have sauntered home to watch what remained of the Belgian GP but when I got to the roundabout of decision I headed in the opposite direction from home and went on a little drive through Somerset.



After a couple of deviations from the main road I came to a tiny sign saying 'STOCK CAR RACING', I needed no encouragement to follow it and ended up at Mendips Raceway.



Mendips Raceway turns out to be my local paved oval located between Shipham and Charterhouse it caters for the four formulae which collectively are often referred to as Banger racers.



The Mendips Raceway oval, opened in 1969, dips to the east with an optional figure of 8 configuration. This year fourteen dates comprised the fixture list.



Races are started behind a pace car with drivers starting positions usually in reverse championship or reverse previous race order.



This series I Ford Mondeo served as both Pace Car and Victory Parade car on Saturday.



The entry level into banger racing is known as Junior Rods featuring vehicles with engines up to 1000cc / 61 cui such as the Mini's of #14 Andy Russell and #7 Aaron Charles. Junior Rods are a strictly non contact form of banger racing aimed at attracting competitors aged 11 -16.



BriSCA Formula 2 can trace it's origins back to 1960 when a formula for heavily armoured, usually self built cars weighing 650 kgs / 1430 lbs was introduced. Today these cars maybe powered either by Ford Pinto or Ford Duratec motors. Contact between vehicles is permitted in F2 though Liam Rowe was probably wondering if it was worth it as his front wheels get airborne. Note unlike the closed wheel cars which turn right F2 cars turn left.



Finally there were several heats and a final for Rookie Bangers in which almost anything appears to go as #41 Sam Holdings finds out on the way to winning the Rookie Bangers trophy.



After the races four tractors, named Thunderbirds 1 to 4 were used to clear up the mess. Thunderbird 1 is seen pushing Adrian hearts Mondeo and pulling Lee Dalton's Ford Cortina to the paddock, where repairs were made, and both cars started further races !



Having a lifting crane on your transporter can make access to vehicles for routine maintenance and repairs easier tasks. Note the driver of the #721 Mushwacker is powered down 'a la' Jimmy Johnson at Texas in Fall 2010.



Car of the day for me was this Pininfarina designed Austin A40 Countryman, a car of the type I first steered on a beach while sitting on my old mans lap aged all of 5, this one being a tad over enthusiastically pedalled by Dan Steeds who got himself black flagged from one of the Junior Rods races for avoidable contact.

Thanks for joining me on this Banger edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !

Thinwall Special #4 - Ferrari 375 #010

Having failed to become a regular Grand Prix contender with his first attempt at building the Ferrari 125 F1, Ferrari's second attempt at building a Grand Prix car was based around a 4.5 litre / 274 cui normally aspirated V12 motor designed by Aurelio Lampredi.



The 375 proved a more competitive proposition against the 1.5 litre / 91 cui supercharged pre war designs of Alfa Romeo that were the class of post WW2 Grand Prix fields. Jose Froilan Gonzalez was at the wheel of a 375 when he won the 1951 British Grand Prix, claiming the marques first victory in a World Championship Grand Prix Race.



The fourth and final 1952 Thinwall Special seen here at the Donington Collection, shares the same, long Indianapolis chassis design as the Grant Piston Ring Special. This car should not be confused with the third Thinwall Special which comprised the Ferrari 125 chassis I looked at last week fitted with a 375 type motor that scored a famous victory in the rain shortened International Trophy at Silverstone in 1951.



Piero Taruffi won the first and second of 8 victories recorded for this car at Dundrod and Silverstone in 1952. Mike Hawthorn and Nino Farina were also engaged to drive the car in 1952 and 1953. Peter Collins appears to have been the last driver to race this car, owned by Tony Vandervell, in 1954.

Many thanks to Don Capps for clarifying the distinctions between the four Thinwall Specials.

Thanks for joining me on this Ferrari Friday edition of 'Gettin a lil' psycho on tyres' I hope you will join me again tomorrow for some banger racing. Don't forget to come back now !

Bespoke Luxury Shopping Trolley - Aston Martin Cygnet

A couple of weeks ago, returning from a trip to the Cotswold Motoring Museum, I was playing I spy with an auto knowledgeable Italian 13 year old as we drove through Cheltenham looking at the back of this car it was my turn to say I spy something beginning with C, we dispensed with the manufacturers initials after only a coupe of rounds.



C-Max he said pointing to the Ford in front of us, no I replied, he gave up quickly and I pointed to the back of this Aston Martin and said 'Cygnet'.



No no he appealed Toyota iQ just like my Auntie in Milan. I pulled over at the next junction parked the car and we went to have a look.



To stay ahead in the automotive industry just like in motor sport one has to think laterally, so when the European Union announced regulations that car manufacturers had to reduce the average fuel consumption across their fleet average Aston Martin wasted little time in finding a partner making low emissions vehicles.



Settling on a partnership with Toyota to make a high end, at £30,000 that is the extremely exclusive high end, version of the Toyota iQ a vehicle that will cost as little as £10,000.



From the rear the two cars, apart from the badging and diffuser are identical, while the front get the Aston Martin look with grills and trim that is with out doubt not from the Toyota parts bin.



The interior is also bespoke Aston Martin customers choosing abundant stitched leather in a variety of two tone colour combinations.



Performance is quoted as 107 mph with the CVT (constant velocity transmission) automatic being 0.2 secs faster than the 6 speed manual in the 60 mph dash that takes 11.6 seconds.



Aston Martin hope to sell 4000 Cygnets, which went on sale in the UK earlier this year, annually.

Thanks for joining me on this I Spy edition of Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres', I hope you'll join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !

Multi Purpose Vehicle - Volvo 240 Tørslanda

The Volvo 200 series launched in 1974 was a significant update of the 140 series which is outwardly easily identifiable by federal spec of railway sleeper like low impact bumpers that gave the vehicle all the style, despite the best efforts of Jan Wilsgard, of a house brick.



From 1974 - 1993 the 200 series came with a variety of straight 4 engines, some with turbo chargers, Peugeot Renault Volvo, PRV, aluminium V6's and straight 5 cylinder or 6 cylinder diesels sourced from the Volkswagen.



Over the 19 year production run there were numerous stylistic updates which softened the more extreme features of the early 200 series, it was never considered a particularly good looking car but it's robustness and average 19 year longevity did lend the 200 series a certain status cache somewhere between a Range Rover and a Mini Van, the latter which first appeared as the 200 series production was being wound up.



The 1993 Tørslanda special edition, named after the Swedish factory that built them, was a back to basics estate station wagon model, allegedly designed to cope with harsh Scandinavian winters.



It featured, by then already retro, manual mirrors, door locks and windows front & rear, plastic trim in place of chrome which fairs badly in snow, heated seats, power steering, full length body stripes and BBS style alloy wheels.



The 200 series estates / station wagons, which accounted for a third of the 2.8 million units produced in Sweden, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Italy and Malasia, were particularly popular with those needing a large cargo area, the 41 cubic feet cargo area could carry large pieces of furniture, cookers, fridges, washing machines or hay bales and was often supplied with a dealer fitted rear facing seats that could accommodate two small children. These cars are still popular with trades people in Europe today.



Whilst outright performance was rarely top of the list of a typical 200 series customers desires, Volvo did support the development of a turbocharged two door model that allowed Gianfranco Brancatelli and Thomas Lindström driving for the Eggenberger Motorsport team to share the 1985 European Touring Car Championship.


Thanks for joining me on this Tørslanda special edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres', I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !

Royal Tragedy - Rover P6 Series II 2200 SC

Some of you may remember I found a cut'n'shut Rover Series I P6 Cabriolet behind a hedge last year, today I am looking at the Series II P6 introduced in October 1970.



Initially the P6 Series II comprised exterior changes to the grill, plastic replacing alloy, rear lights and the instrumentation and switches of the two more expensive Twin Carburettor and 3500 versions.



From 1973 the Series II P'6s came in three flavours the 98 hp 2200SC, Single Carburettor, 115hp 2200, Twin Carburettor and 3500.



Production of the P6 ceased in March 1977 with 32, 270 units produced over four years. Allegedly the last 2200 model was a Left Hand Drive export model that was converted to Right Hand Drive by the Tourist Trophy Garage in Farnham.



British Leyland, the nationalised merger of large swathes of the British motor industry was entering it's worst period of industrial relations during the production of the P6 and this was reflected in abominable reliability issues, one driving organisation reporting that their 3500 P6 had required three engines, two gearboxes, two clutch housings and a wiring loom in 6000 miles motoring over 6 months and was off the road for 114 days out of the 165 days that it was tested over !



An attempt was made to export a high spec P6 to the USA but with less than 1500 units sold many of the cars built for the USA were eventually sold in Left Hand Drive European markets instead.



While driving her daughter Stéphanie home on September 13th, 1982, Princess Grace of Monaco, nee Grace Kelly, suffered a stroke which caused her to drive her P6 off the road. She never regained consciousness and died from her injuries the next day, while Stéphanie who fractured her neck in the accident, made a full recovery.

Thanks for joining me on this edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres', I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !