Classic and Competition Car 34 July 2013

Classic and Competition CarJuly 2013 Issue 34

Cholmondeley Pageant of Power Blancpain Silverstone

La Vieen Bleu

British GT Snetterton

2PageClassic and Competition car July 2013

Contents

Page 3 NewsPage 5 Sir Chris Hoy's Radical racing debutPage 8 Pietro Fittipaldi F4 Snetterton

Page 14 British Hill climb Championship Shelsley WalshPage 15 GT Cup Brands HatchPage 18 La Vie en Bleu PrescottPage 22 Archive Photo of the month.Page 23 Blancpain Endurance Silverstone.Page 27 Four Ashes Car meetingPage 31 British GT Championship SnettertonPage 34 BRDC Formula 4 SnettertonPage 36 Shelsley Walsh Breakfast clubPage 37 Cholmondeley Pageant of PowerPage 42 VSCC Cadwell ParkPage 47 Classic car of the month - Austin A90 Atlantic convertiblePage 49 Corvette Club UK 60th celebration Coventry Transport museum.

Our TeamSimon Wright - Editor.Simon has been photographing and reporting on motor races for many years. Served an engineering apprenticeship many years ago. Big fan of the Porsche 917

Pete Austin.Pete is the man for Historic racing, with an extensive archive of black and white images covering the last few decades of motorsport in Britain. Very keen on BRM.

Mick HerringMick's first love is GT racing, including Historic's, especially the Lola T70. Has an extensive knowledge of all things GT.

Janet Wright.Janet has been taking photographs for many years, and is also very skilled in video. She likes Aston Martins

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All content is copyright classicandcompetitioncar.com unless otherwise stated. All photographs are copyright the original photographer and cannot be used for commercial purposes unless by prior approval of the original copyright holder.We try to ensure accurate and truthful reporting but if you spot an error, please contact us and will we verify and correct accordingly.We do not organise any events which are mentioned and we are not responsible if the event does not take place or is cancelled. Please contact the event organiser before making a long trip.

Classic and Competition Car is published by simonwrightphotos.com High View Drive, Kingswinford, West Midlands DY6 8HT E-mail [email protected] Tel 07905 435973

Front Cover.Allan Rennie Flies at Cholmoneley Pageant of Power in his F1 Lotus - Martin 35 © Simon WrightBlanchemain/Beaubelique/Goueslard Ferrari 458 Italia Blancpain Silverstone © Janet WrightMike Ward Bugatti T13 La Vie en Bleu Prescott © Simon WrightMark Poole starts to slide his Aston Martin British GT Snetterton © Mick Herring

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EditorialThis has been a dark month for all motorsport fans, with many deaths occuring. Our sport has got a lot safer in recent years and drivers have walked away from some serious accidents. Safety measures can always be improved, but motor racing is an inherantly dangerous activity. It is terribly sad when a marshal is killed and we mourn the loss of Mark Robinson, the Canadian Marshal who died while helping to recover a broken down car at the end of the Canadian Grand Prix. These volunteers are vital and motor racing could not take place without them. They are all highly trained and skilled people and yet accidents can happen to anyone. To all the family and friends of the people we have lost recently, we offer our sincere condolences.

News

Colin Turkington takes double victory at CroftFormer Champion Colin Turkington has taken the new E-bay Motors BMW 125i M Sport to the front in the British Touring Car Championship by winning two of the latest races at Croft. He nearly made it three in a row, but had to settle for 2nd place in the third race behind Championship leader Matt Neal in the Honda Civic.Turkington was in fine form around the Yorkshire circuit, grabbing Pole position on Saturday during qualifying, then leading the first race on Sunday from start to finish. His strongest challengers at Croft were the Honda Civic pair of Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden.Turkington was already the most sucessful British Touring Car driver around Croft with six former victories to his name at the circuit. His Croft winning tally is now eight.With the championship now at the half way point, Turkington has moved in to 5th place just 40 points behing current championship leader Matt Neal.

Allan Simonsen Gulf Aston Martin Vantage

© Simon Wright

© Janet Wright


New Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4

Seen at the Cholmondeley Pageant of Power as part of a display to celebrate 50 years of Lamborghini. The new Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 is very much a supercar. Powered by a 6.5 litre V12 engine which produces 700 HP, fitted to a 7 speed transmission and all packaged in a Carbon fibre monocoque with aluminium front and rear frames, the car can do 0-62 mph in only 2.9 seconds and reach a top speed of 217 mph.

Wizzo's Electric performance at Prescott

Barrie Williams made a charging performance at La Vie en Bleu hillclimb when he drove the new Renault Reo, the zero emission electric car in the competition. He won the Electric Vehicle Class (He was the only entry) but he also set a very creditable 61.06 second time up Prescott which placed him 72nd overall out of a 135 car entry. He also got a drive in a Renault 5 Turbo where he

finished 7th overall in a time of 51.93 seconds, 2nd in class.

© Simon Wright

© Janet Wright

© Janet Wright

© Janet Wright © Janet Wright

© Simon Wright


Sir Chris Hoy's Radical Racing Debut 1st June 2013 by Mick Herring.Nearly all media attention focused on Britain's most decorated Olympic cyclist, Sir Chris Hoy, as he made his motor racing debut on June 1st, his Radical SR1 Cup car carrying the number 1.Having qualified sixth for the 21 car grid, he would finish fifth in both of his races on Brands Hatch's Indy circuit and challenged relentlessly for fourth throughout his first race, finishing less than 0.4 seconds behind Brian Caudwell. His second race saw him go from sixth to second at Paddock Hill Bend on lap 1 but drop back to fifth over the course of the race, this time more than halving the gap to the driver ahead. Aged 37, with six gold and one silver Olympic medals to his credit the, now retired, eleven-time world champion cyclist is no stranger to sporting competition.Already a keen track day participant, he announced his intention last October to join the, new for 2013, Radical SR1 Cup which is designed as an entry-level rung for novice drivers on the

Radical Sportscar ladder, comprising of ARDS test racing license completion, two dedicated track days and a total of eight races (two per meeting) at MSVR circuits.Following tuition from Radical works driver and Le Mans winner, Andy Wallace, Sir Chris described his race debut as "Brilliant fun".

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring © Mick Herring


Audi win Le Mans.Audi clinched their 12th victory in the classic 24 hour endurance race with Dane Tom Kristensen (right), already the most successful driver at the event, winning his 9th victory. It was a sad victory for Kristensen, as fellow Dane Allan Simonsen lost his life in a tragic accident on only the 4th lap of the race when his Aston Martin left the circuit at Tetre Rouge.The Audi R18 e-tron quattro was the first hybrid car to win the classic Le Mans 24 hours last year and this year victory went to the No2 car driven by Tom Kristensen/Alan McNish and Loic Duval. This was Audi's 12th victory in the last 14 years, with them closing the gap on Porsche who have won the most races with 16 victories over a 43 year period since 1970.

New Vauxhall Cascada

Spotted at the Pageant of Power, the new Vauxhall Cascada is a two door, four seater soft-top convertible with prices starting from £23,995. Powered by a brand new 1.4 or 1.6 SIDI Turbo Ecotec engine or a 2.0 Bi-Turbo CDTI diesel twin turbo engine, delivering power and economy through a new highly responsive 6 speed automatic transmission. The high torsional chassis/body delivers exceptional handling, precise steering and a smooth ride.

Le Mans 2013 winners Loic Duval, Tom Kristensen and Alan McNish

© Simon Wright © Simon Wright

© Janet Wright

© Janet Wright


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Mika Salo joins Blancpain series at Silverstone.Former Finnish Grand Prix driver Mika Salo got a call on the Thursday evening before the Silverstone Blancpain Endurance race, asking him to drive for SMP Racing. He made his series debut driving the teams No 71 Ferrari 458 Italia with Russian drivers Devi Markozow and Victor Shaitar. The car was running in the Pro class and finished 17th overall and 13th in class finishing 1 lap down from the winner.

CarFest 2: The sequelsMaintaining the idea of both a North and South event, this years CarFest events are shaping up to be better than ever. This year it is the North event which comes first, having moved to the Oulton Park racing circuit on the 2nd to the 4th of August 2013. It is followed three weeks later by CarFest South, again held at Laverstoke Park Farm in Hampshire on the

23rd to the 25th August 2013. Both events are now full 3 day shows with action from mid-day on Friday with a full live music line up headed by the chart topping Texas at both events.Conceived and hosted by BBC Radio 2 and The One Show presenter Chris Evans, who will be broadcasting live on the Saturday from

both shows on Radio 2. Supporting the BBC Children in Need, last years 2 events raised a staggering £968,735 for the charity.

Super Touring Cars at Silverstone Classic.

Twenty Six year old BTCC winner Frank Wrathall will be driving the 1996 Vauxhall Cavalier again this year in the Fujifilm sponsored Super Touring Trophy races at the Silverstone Classic 26th - 28th July 2013. Frank is hoping to go one better than last year when he finished 2nd in both races. for more information see the official www.silverstoneclassic.com website.

© Janet Wright

© Janet Wright

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

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Pietro Fittipaldi BRDC F4 Snetterton 15th/16th June 2013. By Mick Herring.Heralding from a motor racing dynasty, where his grandfather is a former twice-winner of both the F1 World Champion and the Indianapolis 500, together with a CART Championship title in his long career, it is probably unsurprising that 16 year old Pietro Fittipaldi (the clue is in the name) is following in the footsteps of his grandfather, the legendary Emerson Fittipaldi to race single-seater, slicks and wings cars in England in the quest for a place in F1.Pietro enjoyed success in karts from the age of seven and aged just 15 took the crown in a junior NASCAR championship in the USA.His championship of choice is the new BRDC F4, these MSV F4-013 cars utilise an FIA compliant advanced spaceframe chassis built by RFR , the company headed by the equally legendary Ralph Firman, founder of Van Diemen.The 2.0 litre Ford Cosworth Duratec engines produce a reliable and

consistent 185 bhp across all competing cars, being coupled to a 6-speed paddle-shift Sadev transmission also with Cosworth control. BRDC F4 is an 8 round championship with three races per circuit per meeting at the four MSV tracks plus Silverstone and Donington.Immediately recognisable by his variation of his grandfather's famous black/orange arrow helmet, Pietro was rewarded with a fifth place on Saturday, a 13th place in Sunday's first, red-flagged, race and an 11th in the final F4 race of the day at Snetterton's 300 circuit. His lap times improved over the weekend as he became more accustomed to Snetterton alongside many experienced UK regulars. This year Pietro will battle against young drivers on the same UK tracks that first welcomed Emerson in 1969.

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring


Allan Simonsen - 5th July 1978 - 22nd June 2013 A Personal Tribute. By Mick HerringMany people more knowledgeable than I will tell you the statistics behind the career of one of the best, if not the best, GT drivers of the modern era, who we lost today at Le Mans aged 34.These are just my personal thoughts, written at the end of probably the saddest day I can remember since I started photographing our sport seriously, of a driver who always entertained, made any car punch above its weight and drove with supreme skill.I knew Allan through my connections with Hector Lester's Rosso Verde Ferrari team, the compact, underfunded Anglo-Scottish-Irish (and Danish) British GT squad. The team's small budget always meant that they are a model or a spec behind the big boys but the well respected Dane always delivered the Ferrari 430, later a 2011 458 Italia, in the best possible position to Hector or brought it back up the order, wringing the last ounce of speed from it as he went.He probably could have had the pick of the pitlane in British GT but chose to remain faithful to Rosso Verde.He was the driver's (or more likely, the team manager's) driver, racing so many different types of car in every category of sports car and the Australian V8 Supercars at Bathurst, flying from his home in Monaco to co-win the GTE Pro category in a 458 at the 2012 Donington ELMS meeting at short notice. In 2011 Allan took the record for the fastest ever lap around the Mount Panorama Bathurst circuit in a Ferrari 458 GT3. That's a few statistics but the Allan I knew was ever-smiling and deeply analytical of

his cars performance, conveying it in perfect, if often, Anglo-Saxon English. You always got a genuine warm handshake and conversation, never the "I've got to be somewhere" fleeting greeting.He lost his life on the fourth lap of the Le Mans 24hr at the wheel of an Aston Martin, a loss that will not only be felt by his fiance, baby daughter, family, the teams he drove so brilliantly for but the whole of the motor racing world. I and everyone at Classic and Competition car offer our sincerest condolences to Allan's family and friends. A pleasure to have known you, witnessing and photographing your peerless skills, R.I.P mate.The most poignant words came from Rosso Verde team member, John Thomson, who said "As a small team, characters like Allan acted as talisman. We didn't work hard because he asked us to - we worked hard because we wanted to help him go faster".

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring © Mick Herring © Mick Herring

© Mick Herring


Jose Froilan Gonzalesz5th October 1922 to 15th June 2013

Known by the nickname The Pampas Bull, Gonzalez was born in Arrecifes, Argentina in 1922. He is best known as the driver who scored the first Grand Prix victory for Ferrari in a World Championship event, winning the 1951 British Grand Prix held at Silverstone.He made his Formula 1 debut the year before in 1950, driving for Scuderia Achille Varzi in the 1950 Monaco grand Prix at the wheel of a Maserati 4CLT-48 where he qualified 3rd but went out on the second lap. A freak wave from the harbour flooded Tabac corner on the first lap causing a massive pile up taking out 8 cars from the 19 car field. Gonzalez damaged his car in the accident, but managed to get through the pile up and was running 2nd to Fangio. Unfortunately he crashed out on the second lap and his car caught fire and he suffered burns.In 1951 he drove three different cars during the season, a Talbot Lago T26C-GS in the 1951 Swiss Grand Prix, a Maserati L4 in the Belgium Grand Prix, then switched to Ferrari for the rest of the season, finishing 3rd in the World Championship.He competed in the World Championship for 9 seasons from 1950 to 1957 and 1960. During that period he won 2 Grand prix, the second being the 1954 British Grand prix again also held at Silverstone, again at the wheel of a Ferrari. In total he had 15 podium finishes, 3 Pole Positions and six fastest laps. He also won the 1951 Coppa Acerbo for Ferrari, a non-championship race at Pescara circuit in Italy. He also won the Le mans 24 Hours in 1954 driving with Maurice Trintignant in a Ferrari 375 Plus and the 1954 Portuguese Grand Prix in a Ferrari 250 MM Berlinetta.His last race was the 1960 Argentina Grand Prix where he drove a Ferrari in to 10th place.He passed away in Buenos Aires at the age of 90.To his family and friends we offer our sincere condolences

© Pete Austin


Andrea MameJanuary 1972 - 30th June 2013

Italian driver Andrea Mame aged 41, was involved in a multiple collision at the start of the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo race at Paul Ricard in the South of France driving a Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4. Despite the best efforts of the emergency services who were immediately in attendance, his injuries proved fatal.This followed his best results at Silverstone and Monza this year where he had finished 4th in both races. Mame was born in Milan, Italy and was chairman and CEO of the Mame Group which was founded in 2009. His aim was for the Group to become the World's number one manufacturer of forgings in the 60 ton section in terms of quality, product characteristics and customer service.To his family and friends we offer our sincere condolences.

Jason Leffler16th September 1975- 12th June 2013

Jason Leffler was born in Long Beach, California and started his racing career in Midget cars in the USAC series and won three consecutive titles in 1997, 98 and 99 and he also won the Silver Crown series championship in 1998. He joined Joe Gibbs Racing in 1999 and made 4 starts in the Busch Series. He also competed at Walt Disney World Speedway in the Indy racing League but crahed out of the race. He started the 2000 Indianapolis 500 with Treadway Racing and backing from Roger Penske. He qualified 17th and finished in the same position 3 laps behind the winner Juan Pablo Montoya. He switched to NASCAR in the Winston Cup Series driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. In the NASCAR Nationwide series he won 2 races from 294 starts during a 12 year period and he took 1 win in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He was killed in an accident at a 410 Sprint car heat race at Bridgeport Speedway in New Jersey, America on Wednesday evening when a suspension failure caused the car to hit the wall and flip several times.To his family and friends we offer our sincere condolences.

Sebastien Clouzeau1975 - 17th June 2013.

From Saint-Omer, Pas de Calais, 38 year old French driver Sebastien Clouzeau had been racing since 2009 and was a regular in the Classic F3 Trophy. Competing at the Spa Classic meeting, he crashed on the last lap of the second race at Eau Rouge driving a Martini Mk42 Alfa Romeo. He hit the left wall at high speed and sustained severe head injuries. He was taken to Hospital and put in to an induced coma, but later sucumbed to his injuries.

To his family and friends we offer our sincere condolences.

© Simon Wright


Jeremy Lord.1939-2013

Jeremy was a solicitor by profession but was also a successful club racer in the 1960s and 70s. Moving from Clubmans racing to the Motoring News Sports GT Championship, he won the championship in 1970 and again in 1972 driving a Nathan Astra and then again in 1973 driving a Lola T212. In 1974 he switched to a Lola Coswoth T280. He also had a one off drive in the unipart liveried Formula 3 March - Triumph Dolmite Sprint in a Formula Libre race at Silverstone thanks to David Price who prepared the cars for Lord to race. Lord became company secretary for David Price racing and the sister company DPS. Due to his legal skills, Price asked Lord in the 1980s to look after the administration and contracts of the new British F3 teams group FOTA. He went on to become the main driving force behind FOTA, still under the title secretary, becoming the championship co-ordinator. He finally stood down from FOTA after the 2008 season, when FOTA joined up with the British Touring Car Championship. He kept his interest in Formula 3 and was still attending races until the end of 2012.He was also an occasional racing instructor at the Thruxton racing school. He passed away on Sunday 9th June 2013 after a short illness.To his family and friends we offer our sincre condolences.

Emma Wilkinson1967-2013

STATEMENT FROM THE ENDURANCE

RALLY ASSOCIATION: THE PEKING TO PARIS RALLY

On Wednesday 12th June, a participant in the Peking to Paris Rally was involved in a tragic road traffic accident on the Tyumen-to-Omsk federal highway, resulting in the death of British crew-member Emma Wilkinson. Emma, aged 46 with two children, was with her partner and fellow participant Peter Davies, who was not hurt in the accident, driving Car 92 – a 1970 Chevrolet C10.The Tyumen region police reported that the incident was a head-on crash between the British driver’s Chevrolet and a Volkswagen Polo. They added the Polo’s passengers, a 31-year-old man and a baby died while a woman is in intensive care in hospital.Rally Director Philip Young said: “Emma was a fun loving, lively and popular member of the rally. In the three weeks we've been together both she and Peter proved themselves to be capable, competent and resourceful. Their 1970 Chevrolet C10 pickup was a remarkable sight in the Mongolian wilderness and today our thoughts and sympathies are with Emma's family and friends including her two brothers Robert and Mark who are also participating.” The Endurance Rally Association team in Russia and the UK Rally office are working with the local police, the Foreign Office and the British Embassy to offer the family whatever assistance is needed at this difficult time.

Mark Robinson1975-2013

A Thirty Eight year old Canadian Track marshall died after the Canadian Grand Prix. He was assisting with the recovery of Gutierrez's Sauber, when he stumbled and was run over by the recovery crane. The driver could not see him due to the suspended Grand Prix car. He was stabilised by track medical personnel and airlifted to hospital but he succumbed to his injuries at the hospital and passed away.A special tribute was held at the British grand Prix, where marshals, drivers, team bosses and officals joined in a minutes silence in a ceremony underneath the podium at the end of Friday practice.To his family and friends we offer our sincere condolences.


NATIONAL RALLY HELD AT SHELSLEY WALSHOver 50 vehicles belonging to members of the Sunbeam Talbot Darracq Register attended their Annual National Rally HELD at Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb over the weekend.Glaming examples of the marque together with several "unrestored and original‟ examples descended on the iconic venue and took the opportunity to drive up the famous Worcestershire hill climb course, home of the Midland Automobile Club.Register treasurer John Zimbler said: “I came to Shelsley Walsh last year as a guest of fellow enthusiast and longstanding MAC member Rob May and decided that it would make a fantastic place to hold our annual rally, and the facilities and a chance to drive the renowned hill simply added to the attraction.“Several of our members are keen bread makers and the MAC has kindly opened its restored water mill, which is now fully operational, and we hope to obtain some of the flour the volunteers produce on site to take home for our baking.“We have had members travelling here from the length and breadth of the country in a wide variety of STD cars dating from 1912 to 1936, however we don‟t really expect them to break any records driving on the hill today. “We are hosting a Gala Dinner this evening and tomorrow we will visit Russell Cooke at Bridgnorth who has a superb collection of vintage vehicles and memorabilia, making it the perfect weekend for all involved and we are very grateful to the MAC for hosting our group.”John is pictured right, with some of his fellow register members and his 1934 6-cyclinder 3- litre Talbot 105, painted in a rather fetching Orange colour, chosen by his grand daughter. From Mark Constanduros MAC

The RAC (Roger Albert Clark) RallyRecreating the famous RAC Rallies of the past, the Roger Albert Clark Rally, named in honour of the rallying legend Roger Clark, will run on classic rallying stages across North Yorkshire, Northumberland, Cumbria and the Borders in November. Croft racing circuit will host a stage on Saturday 9th November 2013 which will allow fans to get close and see the two wheel drive classic rally cars in action, with easy access for the public. It also gives the crews a different challenge to the more usual loose surface stages For more information visit www.croftcircuit.co.uk or the event web site at www.rogeralbertclarkrally.org.

Newey tries taming the Raging Bull - and fails!.Red Bull Grand Prix Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey tried his hand at the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe Championship at Silverstone supporting the Blancpain Series. After finishing 8th in the first race with Alberto Sabbatini, Newey lost control of the Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 on the warm up lap while weaving on the Hanger straight, trying to generate warmth in to the cold tyres. He hit the barrier hard, taking the car out of the race.

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

John Zimbler (right) and fellow members

Sunbeam Talbot Darracq register

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MAXIMUM WINS FOR MORAN AT SHELSLEY WALSHLudlow driver Scott Moran took maximum points from both run-off wins to increase his lead in the MSA British Hill Climb Championship at a thrill packed weekend held at Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb in Worcestershire.Reigning champion and local Worcester resident Trevor Willis managed both second place slots but came under pressure from DJ Race Car drivers Wallace Menzies in his Firestorm and young Alex Summers in his Firehawk.The leading championship positions after the weekend are Scott Moran on 84 points, Trevor Willis on 66, Roger Moran on 61, Wallace Menzies on 57 and Will Hall on 54 points.In perfect conditions, the tone for the day was set in the first batch of cars when Yorkshire driver Vic Lord broke the record for Roadgoing Production cars with a 33.09 run in his immaculately prepared Lotus Elise S1, previously held by fellow Elise driver Sarah Bosworth.Force SR4 driver Rob Stevens set a new record of 25.59 in the Over 2000cc Sports Libre class with Andrew Henson breaking his own record in the Formula Ford class with a run of 32.77.Reigning Midland Hill Climb Champion Mike Turpin of Hereford, driving his supercharged Vauxhall VX220, continued in the defence of his title by taking the honours in the Modified Series Production Sports Car Class, closely followed my Mick Harriman in his Audi Quattro.

Motor dealers and major MAC sponsors Stratstone invited guests to the event to celebrate gaining a franchise for Morgan Sports Cars and a parade of the various examples, manufactured just down the road at Malvern, performed a demonstration run up the hill for spectators.Adding a more unusual twist to proceedings were demonstration runs by specialist Land Rover conversion company Bowler, who brought along their EXR-S 4WD Rally Raid vehicles, together with their enormous support vehicle, a very strange sight indeed travelling up the narrow track at Shelsley Walsh.Once again, over a dozen iconic Ferrari cars, ranging from 348, 355, 430 and California models – and in colours other than Red! - which are competing in the Pirelli Ferrari Hill Climb Championship, arrived at the venue, simply stuck on their racing numbers and sprinted up the 1000 yard track in style, much to the delight of the crowd.Many Thanks for the report by Mark Constanduros at Midland Automobile Club

Scott Moran at Shelsley Walsh. Photo © Geoff Robinson

EXRs driven by Ed Cobley. Photo © Mark Constanduros


GT Cup Brands Hatch Indy Circuit 1st/2nd June 2013. By Mick Herring.Returning to Brands Hatch for the second time in three weeks, this time on the 1.2 mile Indy circuit, and much drier weather.

With its elevated position on the outside of the Brabham Straight, the GT Cup hospitality afforded a good view of the races.Generating huge interest was the Invitation class American Riley Daytona Prototype Track day car of Bob Berridge and

Nigel Mustill, still with its air conditioning fitted.

Saturday afternoon's 40 minute (with two drivers if desired) race saw Alex Martin's Ferrari 458 open an immediate lead which was all negated when he

tangled with a novice Ginetta he was lapping. Chris Randall made a flying start to pursue Mustill's mighty Riley until the diminutive Lotus retired with driveshaft problems after 33 laps, leading when Mustill and the Porsche of Peter Smallwood pitted to hand over to their pro drivers.After a strong start, Kevin Riley's Mosler made two lengthy stops with technical problems, stoically rejoining despite losing 13 laps.After the pitstops had worked through, Bob Berridge brought the Riley home 31.5secs ahead of the Peter Smallwood/Ben Barker Porsche.

Synchronised Spinning Alex Martin Ferrari Marcus Vivian Ginetta

Colourful Mazda RX7 Phil Collard

Race 1 Chris Randall Lotus Challenges RileyTech DP

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring © Mick Herring

© Mick Herring


Alex Martin eventually slipped to 3rd, a lap down, as he fought the Ferrari's steering, damaged in the Ginetta contact.Rupert Martin's Ferrari 458 was 4th a further lap behind son Alex.Sunday's first 25 minute sprint races featured 150 spectators making a 15 minute grid walk once the cars had assembled, allowing them to get up close to the variety of powerful machines they would soon see racing.

Alex Martin made a lightning start, a little too lightning, gaining a drive through penalty that would see him fight back through the field to another 3rd place finish 7.7secs behind eventual winner Nigel Mustill's Riley Prototype.A race-long monumental battle between Kevin Riley's Mosler and Mike Saunders' TVR Cerbera would have them both trade the lead until the yellow TVR collided with the Ginetta

as the Mosler closed in again.Saunders retired immediately putting Kevin back in the lead until gearbox paddle change problems saw him complete the final 4 laps in 6th gear only, thus allowing Nigel Mustill to claim victory 100 metres from the flag.

In Sunday's final race, with the Riley non-starting, Alex Martin made no mistake, taking the clean sweep of pole, fastest lap and lights to flag victory by 24secs from a trouble-free Kevin Riley. Chris Randall had a steady race in 3rd but the battle behind him was resolved by

Spectators swamp on gridwalk

Race 3 Trouble-Free 2nd For Kevin Riley Mosler

Mustill-Berridge Riley Daytona Prototype Trackday Car Mk22 R2 Winner

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring


just 0.074secs in favour of Rupert Martin's Ferrari 458 ahead of Dan Stringfellow's BMW.Both had experienced drama during the race, the Ferrari spinning on oil from the expired TVR and the BMW slowing and requiring its electrics to be re-booted, thus pitching them back together for the charge to the line.Jeff Wyatt completed a hat-trick of victories across the weekend in his GTA Class BMW.

Chris Bentley Porsche 996

Jeff Wyatt 3 GTA Class wins

Left Bottom: Exciting Race 2 Kevin Riley Holds Off Saunders TVR, DP Riley Waits

Left middle: R2 Alex Martin's Quick Start Netts Drive-Through

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring


La Vie en Bleu, Prescott 2nd June 2013. By Simon & Janet Wright.

For one weekend every year a small part of the English country- side becomes a French outpost. Organised by the Bugatti Owners club, La Vie en Bleu celebrates all things French at the Prescott hill climb course. The Sunday is predominately French cars in action on the hill, though not exclusively, and the orchard car park field is turned over to French car clubs and car manufacturers to display classic and

modern French cars. To add to the flavour of the event, in the paddock there are Can Can dancers giving regular shows, and a onion sellers wander the spectator areas along with other people who dress in classic French style clothes, mime artists and a vintage French bus always travels part way up the course during the lunch break.

To add some extra glamour to the event, there is usually at least one Bugatti Veyron in the paddock, which does demonstration runs up the hill at various times during the day, and a modern (1980's) Grand Prix car to delight the crowd with the roar of its engine as it also blasts up the hill giving several demonstration runs. This year it was an ex-Nelson Piquet Benneton B190 that threaded its way to the top of the course.It was a lovely sunny day, and the view from the top of the hill over the rolling Cotswold landscape was beautiful. There is also a great view from the top over a large part of the lower course. The large sweeping Ettorie's corner can be seen through the trees from almost the entire top level of the track. The track is 1127 yards and offers

Bugatti Veyron on a demonstration run

Fastetst time went to Kendrick Lewis in his Lotus 61MX in 47.05 seconds

Alexander Rippon Bugatti T35B did a 58.09 to finish 3rd in class

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

© Jnaet Wright


great viewing along the entire length.This year the competition was fierce and there were plenty of Bugatti's in action on the hill. However it was a more modern British car that set the fastest overall

time of the day. Kendrick Lewis led home a Lotus 1-2 in his Lotus 61MX in a time of 47.05 seconds, with Martin Jones second fastest in his Lotus 51A - FF just .83 of a second slower in 47.88 seconds. Third fastest overall and first French car home was the Renault Alpine A110 of Bob Gibson who won the Post 1972 Sports Car class (Class 9). The first saloon home was in 4th place and was a Hillman Imp of Ian Moss who was also below the 50 second mark in a time of 49.88 seconds. The second saloon car in the top 10 was driven by top racing driver Barrie Williams in a Renault 5 turbo 1. Wizzo was also driving a Renault Zero Emission electric car which was nearly 10 seconds slower up the hill.

British cars also ruled the roost in the post 1959 Classic sports car class with the Austin Healey 100/6 of Pat Cooper being fastest in 51.94 seconds, 8th fastest

Bob Gibson Renault Alpine A110 3rd and first French car

Ex-Nelson Piquet Benneton B190 on a demo run

Tony Gomis Marcadier 'Can-Am' Gordini did a 55.44 secondsLiz Swain in a Renault 8 Gordini

© Simon Wright

© Janet Wright

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright


overall, while the pre-1959 class went to the Austin Healey 100M of Keith Jenkins in 53.33 seconds. There was a good entry for the 500 Class, with these nimble little F3 500s proving ideal on the twisty nature of the Prescott hill. Two finished just outside the top ten with Jon Brough in a Cooper 500 Mk5 setting a time of 53.08 seconds to win the class, just ahead of Mark Riley in a Keift Creamer JAP in 53.16 seconds, 11th

and 12th overall.Moving on to the pre war cars and 3 wheels proved faster than 4 as Chas Reynolds in a Morgan Supersports Jap won the pre war up to 1500cc class in a time of 53.82 seconds. The French cars were holding their own in the more modern classes with David Wheeler in a Renault 8

Bob Burrell in his Costin Amigo

Branislav Sudjic in a Hotchkiss 686 GS

Hugh McGarel-Groves in a Delage DM Sport

Alistair Dent F3 500 Hornet F3 Jap has no time to admire the view over PrescottJohn Redman Heritage 'C' Type

© Simon Wright © Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

© Janet Wright

© Janet Wright


Gordini winning the pre 1972 Saloon cars class with a time of 54.25 seconds. Next up by a mere 1/100 of a secod was Robin Baker in the Amilcar Spl - Hispano who won the Pre war cars over 4000 cc

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© Janet Wright

© Janet Wright

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© Simon Wright


The annual '24 Heures du Mans' was held last month, an event that still has a unique atmosphere. My one and only visit to the event was 30 years ago in 1983. Hopefully this night shot captures some of this atmosphere that only this event provides. A stream of tail lights shows up as the cars have just passed under the Dunlop bridge and head down towards the esses before Terte Rouge with the fairground on the left. That year saw a Rothmans Porsche 1-2 with Vern Schuppan, Hurley Haywood and Al Holbert leading home the second place 956 of Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell. In fact Porsche 956 cars filled the first 8 places with Mario Andretti, Philippe Alliot and Michael Andretti coming in third in a Kremer run car.

Archive Picture of the monthBy Pete Austin

© Pete Austin


Blancpain Endurance Silverstone 1st-2nd July 2013. By Simon & Janet Wright.GT racing continues to grow in popularity and the Blancpain Endurance series is the perfect example, enjoying huge grids all through Europe. A massive entry of sixty cars included vehicles from Aston Martin, Nissan, Audi, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, McLaren, BMW and Lamborghini. The second round of this years series took place at Silverstone over the full Grand Prix circuit, running out of the original pits. The grid curved round Woodcote corner with 57 cars lined up for the start from an entry of 60 vehicles. Local hero Darren Turner had the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 on Pole position, which he shared with Frederic Makowiecki and Stefan Mucke, alongside the Nissan GT-R

Nismo GT3 of Lucas Ordonez/Peter Pyzera/Alex Buncombe.As the massive field completed the rolling start formation lap to take the start, Ordonez used the power of the Nissan to grab the lead from Turner with the Ferrari 458 Italia of Skryabin/Basov/Guidi in third place. Everyone made it round the first lap, though at times there were 3 or 4 cars across the track scrambling for position. At Brooklands the Audi R8 of Primat/Jarvis/Haase was nudged in to a spin by the Ferrari 458 of Shaitar/Markozow/Salo,

Winners Daren Turner/Stefan Mucke/Frederic Makowiecki Aston Martin Vantage GT3

A pair of Ferrari 458 Italias in front of the BRDC centre

© Janet Wright

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

Running wide out of Club corner


but was able to continue. The leading pair began to pull away from the rest of the field and after 10 minutes they were already 7 seconds clear of the 3rd place Ferrari. A very early visitor in to the pits was the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 of McKenzie/Howard/Adam with a gearbox problem but they were able to continue after changing the gearbox in under 30 minutes and returned to the race 7 laps down on the leader and finished 43rd.Turner took the lead just after the 30 minute mark after one of the Gulf McLarens ran wide through abbey and lost momentum. The two leaders went either side of the gulf car on the approach to village and went through the corner side by side, with Turner on the outside. The two leaders went through the loop side by side, but Turner had the inside line and got the advantage on to the Wellington straight. Turner was able to slowly extend his lead.

Rodin Younessi in the MRS GT Racing McLaren MP4-12C was having a tough day with several spins including a hign spin rotation at the end of the Hanger straight after being clipped by the Lamborghini of Marc Hayek. Next car in trouble was Bas Leinders who got side swiped by a backmarker and forced off circuit just after abbey. Once he managed to extract the BMW Z4 back on to the track, he slowly limped back to the pits and was soon back out again after losing 3 laps. Antoine Leclerc was the first driver to get a drive

GTR Class winning Porsche 997 GT3 R of Konopka/Harty

Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 of Hummel/Jans/ChristodoulouBMW Z4 and ferrari 458 battle down the Hanger

straight

© Janet Wright

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright


through penaly for exceeding tack limits more than four times in the ART Grand Prix McLaren MP4-12C. The second ART McLaren then lost a front wheel coming on to the Wellington straight while been driven by Gregoire Demoustier, who managed to get the car back to the pits.At the hour mark, most of the cars headed for the pits for their refuelling stops and Darren Turner managed to stretch the Aston Martin to 1 hour and 6 minutes and 38 seconds, 32 laps before requiring refuelling and changing over to Fred

Makowiecki who returned to the track still leading the race from Stippler in the Audi. Around the one hour 15 minute mark the Pro-Am leading Nissan GT-R in 5th overall of Pyzera got a drive through penalty for passing under the yellow flag, along with the Ferrari 458 Italia of Castellachi in 7th place overall. Just after half distance Vanthoor moved in to second place at the end of the Hanger straight but also received the driving standards flag for exceeding the track limits as he fought with the sister car of Stippler.At the second hour mark, the second wave of pit stops took place. With just under an hour to go the Nissan GT-R of Shulzhitskiy/Doherty/Reip pulled off the circuit to retire in a cloud of smoke from under the bonnet. Stippler was the first of the leaders to pit, while the leading Aston Martin stretched out his fuel stop until there was just 47 minutes to go, when Stefan Mucke took over. The Aston rejoined the race still leading by about 17 seconds from Raist in the second placed Audi.The drama was not quite over as with just 23 minutes remaining, the Vita4one

Hexis McLaren MP4-12C of Sims/Dusseldorp/Parente pass the Wing on the way to 7th

© Janet Wright

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

Audi R8 LMS Ultra of Ide/Kumpen/Winkelhock finished 9th

Hayek/Kox Lamborghini LP560-4 retired from race


Team Italy Ferrari 458 Italia of Petrobelli/Amos/Castellacci was smoking down the Wellington straight and drove straight off across the gravel at Luffield to stop at the fire point with a major fire from the engine bay. The Marshalls were quick to attack the fire with two extinguishers.After 3 hours the Turner/Makowiecki/Mucke works Aston Martin Vantage took the victory, Turner being the first English driver to win a round of the Blancpain Endurance series, with the first Blancpain

win for Aston Martin. They were over 20 seconds ahead of the Belgian Audi Club Team Audi R8 LMS Ultra of Ortelli/Vanthoor/Rast with their sister team car of Stippler/Sandstrom/Mies in third. The Pro-am class was won by 10th place finisher Ordonez/Pyzera/Buncombe in the Nissan GT Academy Team RJN Nisssan GT-R Nismo GT3, the last of the unlapped runners. Second in that class went to Poole/Osborne/Abra in the Barwell Aston Martin Vantage GT3 who were 13th overall and third in class went to the Thiriet by TDS Racing Team BMW Z4 of Hassid/Badey. The final class winner, in the GTR class, was the ARC Bratislava Porsche 997 GT3 R of Konopka/Al Harty in 25th place overall and 2 laps down on the overall winner.

© Janet Wright

© Janet Wright

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© Janet Wright

BMW Z4 leads Ferrari 458 Italia leabs McLaren MP4 12C

Ordonez/Pyzera/Buncombe Nissan GT-R Nismo

Franchi/Colombo/Kechele BMW Z4

Kray/Younessi/Gini McLaren MP4-12C


Four Ashes Car meet, near Wolverhampton, 6th June 2013. By Simon & Janet Wright.A bright summers evening saw a very large turn out for the Four Ashes Public House car meeting. Held on a field behind the pub, located just to the north of the city of Wolverhampton, the meeting drew people from a large area round Wolverhampton, Cannock and Stafford. The lovely weather drew out hundreds of cars, causing large queues from Wolverhampton and the nearby M54 motorway.The variety of cars attending covered all aspects of motoring with classic, custom cars, supercars and modern cars all sharing the large display area. Several motoring clubs had brought a selection of members cars together for the social gathering , including a group of the Vauxhall VXR owners club and there were several Ford Granada models all parked up together. As you entered the display area there were lots of interesting cars on display including a nice

Wartburg 1000, a Vauxhall Victor FB, a Ford Classic Capri and a Hillman Humber Sceptre which nicely set the scene for the evening. At 6:45pm the field was already pretty full, and more cars kept arriving. Several classic American cars with plenty of chrome and fins made an apperance along with some British cars from the 1960's that were made to resembe these American classics, but

© Simon Wright

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© Simon Wright

© Simon WrightVauxhall line up in the sun

Desoto arrives

Wartburg 1000Datsun ZX280 arrives


on a smaller scale, like the Vauxhall Victor and the Ford Cortina. As well as the normal Ford Cortina Mk1there was also a Mk1 Cortina Estate. European cars included a 1993 Alpine Renault A610 Turbo (right) in an eye catching canary yellow colour. There

was an unusual Chrysler 300C convertible (right) with lift up doors rather than opening out doors which looked immaculate. As the evening went on, the low summer sun soon cast long shadows, and still the cars were arriving, including a fine example of a 1950s Vauxhall Velox LIP (left).Not all the cars that arrived

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Line up in the evening summer sun

A pair of Mk1 Ford Cortinas

Vauxhall Velox LIP © Simon Wright

Alpine Renault A610


were old, some were very modern like the Vauxhall VX220 which was built by Lotus cars in Hethel, Norfolk and had much in common with the Lotus Elise, though hardly any parts were interchangable. The family resemblence can be seen in the picture on the right showing a VX220 next

to a Lotus Elise. Not all the cars that arrived were in immaculate condition (yet). Some were obviously in the early stages of restoration such as the 1949 Model Ford (left). With North Wales being quite near, there were several historic rally cars that drove in to the delight of the crowds. The Ford Sierra (right) proved to be an effective rally car in the late 1980s, but never achieved any where near the sucess of the Ford Escort which preceeded it in Rallying. The 1969

Austin Maxi 1750 (lower right) was more an endurance rally contender in the 1970s on events such as the 1970 London to Mexico World Cup Rally. Prepared by BLMC dealer Marshalls of Cambridge with the assistance of the BLMC Motorsport department in Abingdon. It was driven by an all women crew of Tish Ozanne, Bronwyn Burrell and Tina Kerridge and showed some promise in the event, getting as high as 35th out of 106 starters. Unfortunately it did not make the finish, running out of time at a control pont in Argentina after getting bogged down in a desolate area after 4 inches of rain fell in an hour. The only other rallying Maxi with works history is currently in the Heritage Motor Museum at Gaydon.

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© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

© Janet Wright

© Janet WrightAustin Maxi 1750 Rally car

1949 Model Ford

Vauxhall VX220 and close neighbour Lotus Elise

Ford Sierra rally car


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Left: 1950s Studebaker Champion.Right Aston Martin DB6Middle left: Vauxhall Four Nineth and Ford Anglia.Bottom Left Volkwagen Camper van lineup.Bottom Vauxhall Victor

© Simon Wright

© Janet Wright

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

© Janet Wright


British GT Snetterton 16th June 2013. By Mick HerringAfter the drama of the 3 hours GT500 at Silverstone where, within two minutes Trackspeed lost all three of their Porsches in two accidents, requiring two new bodyshells and a complete new car, they were back with a bang and, for a while, with wins in both 1 hour races on Snetterton's 300 circuit.In GT4 the Optimum Motorsport Ginetta G50 of Ryan Ratcliffe and Rick Parfitt Jr in their first season of British GT took their first win and followed it up with another hard-won victory.A race one, first corner incident, prompting a broadside slide for Mark Poole's Barwell Aston Martin and subsequent contact with an innocent, Gregor Fisken's Trackspeed Porsche, would see three cars eliminated on the spot, yellow flags but no safety car whilst the Aston was moved.

Meanwhile Steve Tandy and Rembert Berg made the initial running and then Berg and Andrew Howard in Optimum BMW Z4, M-Sport Audi and Beechdean Aston Martin respectively, each heading the early race with Howard leading until his pit stop and Silverstone success, time penalty saw Jonny Adam resume the Aston in a 5th place he would hold at the flag.The ultimate outcome of the race had been decided much earlier when Andrew Howard slowed for the yellow flag that Trackspeed's Jon Minshaw hadn't seen, Minshaw overtook, only to be rewarded with three points on his license and a 30 second time penalty.Phil Keen took the car over from Minshaw and drove to a considerable winning margin on the road but the penalty would drop them from 1st to 7th, handing victory to Ahmad Al Harthy and Michael Caine.Thus, cars moved up a position, so Warren Hughes brought Rembert

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

R1 Winners On Track Jon Minshaw-Phil Keen Trackspeed Porsche

R1 L to R On Grass Poole Aston, Richard Sykes Ginetta G55, Fisken Porsche all 3 retire


Berg's M-Sport Audi early leading car to 2nd with VonRyan Racing's McLaren 3rd ahead of Beechdean's Aston.With a resounding 42secs margin, Ryan Ratcliffe and Rick Parfitt Jr scored their jubilant first GT4 Ginetta G50 victory ahead of Steve Chaplin/Tom Wilson's Aston Martin and championship leaders Zoe Wenham/Declan Jones.

Lee Mowle's BMW Z4 went grass cutting avoiding the first corner fracas and again later on lap 1 needed a stop to clear debris, regaining the lead lap and was compensated later when co-driver Joe Osborne set a new lap record en-route, 1:51.998.

In Race two, Joe Osborne took the lead at the Montreal Hairpin and broke the lap record again before works and Trackspeed Porsche driver, Nick Tandy reset it at 1:31.561 as he closed in on Osborne.The two lapped in unison for many laps until a slight touch caused Osbourne's BMW to spin, they soon came back together and Nick Tandy sportingly immediately waved Joe back through to the lead before retaking it cleanly before handing over to David Ashburn.Matt Bell's United Autosport Audi had similar battles with Dan Brown's 888 BMW Z4 before their pit stops.Trackspeed's Ashburn resumed in the lead with a determined Steve Tandy, taking over the 888 BMW Z4 from Dan Brown, chasing Ashburn for his 9sec lead, reducing it to less than half a second at the flag.Mark Patterson, now in the United Autosports Audi and Lee Mowle's 888 (taken over from Osborne) resumed and went to the flag in 3rd and 4th

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

R1 Mark Poole Aston Martin Broadside

R2 Barff Ferrari Leads John Gaw Aston Martin

R2 Early Race Nick Tandy Porsche Pursues Joe Osborne BMW


respectively. Optimum's second GT4 victory of the day was far from certain when the Ginetta G50 shut down during Ryan Ratcliffe's stint. Ryan managed to restart the car and set about the deficit before handing over to Rick Parfitt Jr. He then drove what he described as the race of his career to date to overcome the 20sec deficit to take the lead and with it, the GT4 championship lead with his young Welsh team mate.

The next round takes place at the Brands Hatch GP circuit on 10th/11th August with half a point separating the GT3 lead and 5 points the lead of GT4.

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

R2 Early GT4 Battle Ginetta Trio

R1 Lee Mowle Grass Cutts Again on Lap 1 R2 Ashburn Porsche Hangs on To Lead From Steve

Tandy BMW


BRDC Formula 4 Snetterton 15th/16th June 2013. By Mick Herring.The ultra competitive nature of the BRDC Formula 4 Championship would witness three different winners leaving Snetterton's 300 circuit and equal reversals of fortune in their positioning in the other races.

Race one on Saturday afternoon was won by James Fletcher by 2.085 secs from Charlie Robertson with fairly equal spacings covering Seb Morris and Raoul Hyman in 3rd and 4th at the end of the 10 laps. Pietro

Fittipaldi was a distant 5th 14.1 secs behind the leader, narrowly beating Falco Wauer.

Race 2, Sunday's first was red-flagged as the cars exited the first corner, Riches, when Matt Bell and Sennan Fielding touched from 2nd and 3rd positions, Matthew Graham also getting caught up. It would be just these three that didn't take the restart although several cars required replacement bodywork.

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

Race 3 winner Charlie Robertson Subsequently excluded

Race 2 winner Struan Moore

Race 2 Close knit pack


Part 2 was run over 8 laps from the original grid positions minus the non-starters. Struan Moore taking his and Hillspeed's maiden victory by 2.3 secs from Raoul Hyman, 5 secs ahead of Falco Wauer, who made progress after his 8th place on Saturday. Close in behind were Seb Morris and Charlie Robertson. Former McLaren F1 driver Mark Blundell made the podium presentations.

Sunday's final F4 race of the weekend was won by Charlie Robertson, his second of the season so far and following on from his strong 2nd place in Saturday's encounter. Fastest lap was also his reward again. HHC team mate Raoul Hyman followed him home 3.6 seconds adrift. A rapidly closing

third place by Jake Hughes, once he had overcome James Fletcher, finishing just 0.36 secs behind the HHC pair was significant improvement over 10th and 6th in the previous two races.However the race result and championship standings were overturned when the top two cars were subsequently excluded for technical infringements relating to the attachment of the rear wing's Gurney flap.

This post race amendment promotes Hughes and Fletcher to 1st and 2nd and Jake Dalton to 3rd.The F4 Championship now heads for the next races at Oulton Park.The podium presentations were made by local hero and former F1 driver Martin Brundle, who has a Snetterton corner named in his honour.

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

Race 2 Seb Morris joins Hyman- Wauer battle

Race 2 Seb Morris 4th

Race 2 Falco Wauer tries to fend off Raoul Hyman

Race 3 Raoul Hyman 2nd on the road subsequently excluded


RECORD TURN OUT FOR SHELSLEY BREAKFAST CLUB 16th June 2013A record number of people turned out for the monthly Breakfast Club meeting at Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb on Sunday.Organisers reported that the paddock areas were filled with so many special cars by very early morning that many visitors had to park in the Orchard overflow car park.Midland Automobile Club commercial manager Mark Constanduros said: “We are delighted that this very social monthly meeting has become such a success and that many new faces are turning up at Shelsley Walsh for the first time, not only to look at the wonderful array of cars on show but also to meet up with like minded motoring enthusiasts.“We had Hot Rods, Street racers, classic saloon and sports cars, several supercars including Porsche, Ferrari and Aston Martin and Jaguar UK brought along their new F-Type which also created a lot of interest.“Our Stratstone Restaurant had served over 200 traditional breakfasts by mid morning and the atmosphere within the courtyard and paddock areas was

simply buzzing, with many visitors also taking advantage of the opportunity to walk the hill.”MAC member Chris Bayliss, who works for Jaguar UK, was responsible for bringing along the latest F-Type sports car, having previously used the iconic location with Jaguar for filming last year and said it was the ideal place to display their latest showcase machine.“I am a great fan of Shelsley Walsh and have personally booked a place on the Driver’s School next month, but for that I will be driving my father’s old Fiat Stilo Abarth, which is very different in style, power and performance to the car I brought along today!”Other enthusiastic drivers turned up in all manner of machines, including more recent classics including two Mk 1 Ford Escort Mexicos and a Mk1 Mini Cooper S in full rally trim, a car which will be celebrating its 50

th

Anniversary at the Classic Nostalgia meeting to be held at Shelsley Walsh on 27

th & 28

th July.

The next Breakfast Club meeting takes place from 9am on Sunday 14th July and visitors

are asked to register their attendance via the club’s website at www.shelsley-walsh.co.uk.With thanks to Mark Constanduros of Midland Automobile Club

Chris Bayliss and the Jaguar F Type. Photo © Tony Adams

Supercars and super classic. Photo © Tony Adams

Mk1 Mini Cooper S and two Mk1 Ford Escort Mexicos. Photo © Tony Adams


The sixth Pageant of Power continued the trend of previous years with slightly unsettled weather. However, this did not stop 60,000 people attending the three day event that represents the best in two, three and four wheel motorsport. The event is unique in British motor sport as it combines track action for cars and motorbikes, plus racing on the water and action in the air. Add in the car club display area and the Historic scrambling track and you have the perfect day for speed fans everywhere.There was major support for the event from nearby manufacturer Bentley which always has a major presence at the event. This year also saw a large contingent of Aston Martins' on site to celebrate the centenary of this great marque. These ranged from an Aston Martin Ulster LM16 right through to the Aston

Martin V12 Vantage S and all were given a run round the 1.2 mile circuit, either in the competition or as demonstrations. Lamborghini were also in the mood to celebrate their 50th anniversay at a track that has given them

good results in the past including an outright win.Some of the biggest attractions for the crowds are some of the largest cars, the flame throwing, thundering vintage aero cars. These 'bricks' (don't think aerodynamics had been invented back then) are not the prettiest cars to look at, but with very large capacity engines ranging up to

Cholmondeley Pageant of Power. 14th - 16th June 2013. By Simon & Janet Wright.

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

© Janet Wright

Fastest time went to the flying Radical RXC driven by Robbie Kerr

Aston Martin celebrated their centenary in styleHistoric sidecar scrambling


46.5 litres, they shake the ground as they go past. The Brutus BMW used all 46.5 litres of its aero engine to record a time of 102.35 seconds with Jorg-Oliver Holzwart at the wheel, but this

was not enough to beat VSCC regular competitior Chris Williams from winning the pre-war class in his usual 24 litre Napier Bentley which tyre smoked its way to a time of 81.90 seconds on its 5th and final run at the meeting. The 42 litre Packard Bentley of Duncan Round was equally spectacular, spitting flames from its multiple exhaust pipes as he set 5th best time in class at 105.28 seconds.Another popular category with the fans are the modern Grand Prix cars, many of which get airborne over the hump back bridge, another unique feature on the circuit. This year

there was a good selection, the fastest being Rick Hall in the ex-Nigel mansell JPS Lotus 87 which set the 11th fastest overall time of 63.39 seconds ahead of the Arrows A3 of Andy Willis at 65.19 seconds. Alan Rennie put several of the more modern F1 cars to shame with his 3rd in

class time of 66.05 seconds in the high flying Lotus Martini 35 which got all 4 wheels airborne at the hump back bridge.The Sports Racing cars had some strong contenders for fastest time with Jordan Witt showing the latest Chevron GT3 as the fastest in the class with a time of 60.71 seconds while Justin Law in a superb Martini coloured Jaguar XJR 220 GT was fastest of the classic sports cars, second fastest in the Sports Racing car class with a time of 64.43

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

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© Janet Wright

Justin Law Jaguar XJR 220 GT

Rick Hall JPS Lotus 87

Duncan Round Packard Bentey 42 litre


seconds. He was also lucky enough to be driving the Jaguar XJR15 and was third fastest in that car with a time of 69.77 seconds.Cholmondeley has always drawn an impressive Super car class and in the past, the overall winner has often come from this category. The line up this year was mouth watering with Aston Martin, Bentley, Bugatti, Jaguar, McLaren and Porsche, to name just a few, all having contenders for fastest Supercar. The fastest roadcar, the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse with ex-Le Mans 24 Hour winner Andy

Wallace driving, could only manage 9th in class, such was the competition. Tim Marshall-Rowe again proved that the Lamborghini LP570 Superleggara is the fastest supercar round the Pageant 1.2 mile course in a time of 62.64 seconds. The Porsche Carrera 4S of Richard Bott was second with a time of 65.28 seconds while the Aston Martin Centenary Vanquish of Steve Tompkins finished third in class on 68.46 seconds. None of these were fast enough, however to challenge for fastest time of the event this year.The fastest cars at this years Pageant of Power came from the Racing Saloons and Track Day Cars class. These purpose built racing cars for the road, dominated the event, with Robbie Kerr breaking the outright course record in his Radical RXC with a

stunning time of 55.29 seconds. He also probably won the highest jump award at the hump back bridge, with all 4 wheels well off the track. He was followed very closely by Scott Mansell in the Caterham SP/300R with a time of 56.53 seconds. Third overall and winning the Single seater class was Gary Thomas in the Force PC with a time of 58.59 seconds.

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

© Janet Wright

Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse driven by Andy Wallace

Le Mans winning Bentley Speed 8 Guy Smith


The fastest of the two wheeled competitiors was Christian Iddon riding a Husaberg FS 650 Factory motor bike with a time of 59.40 seconds to claim fourth fastest time overall. Richard Blakeman on a KTM 450 was the second fastest motor bike, in 9th overall with a time of 62.89 seconds and third fastest motorbike was Chris Hodgson on

another KTM in a time of 62.95 seconds. The track was slightly damp for most of the weekend, and this probably contributed to the slower performances of the motor cycles.One part of the Cholmondeley estate that is always wet is the mere just behind the start straight. This years water based action was hovercraft racing. This was fast and furious with some spectacular racing as the course was over both water and land, with the start/finish line being on terra firma. Finally there was plenty of action in the air, with lots of helicopter activity including a

display from a Hughie and helicopter agility tests for the armed forces where a bucket is suspended below the helicopter and the pilot has to manuvere the bucket round an obsticle course, guided by his winch mans instructions. There were also several air displays above the Castle by various aircraft including a World War 2 Spitfire.This event continues to improve every year and if you like speed and powerful machinery it is well worth a visit.

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

© Janet Wright

© Janet Wright Martin Quirk Vincent Rapide

Right: Helicopter landing in front of the castle

Flying Arrows A3 of Andy Willis over the hump back bridge

The ground shaking 46.5 litre Brutus BMW


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© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

© Janet Wright

© Janet Wright

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© Janet Wright

Porsche 911 and Mini Cooper rally display

Paul Wright Aston Martin Ulster LM16

John Hackett Ducati 888 Corse

Amy Tomlin Alta Jaguar GP

© Janet Wright

Jordan Witt Chevron GT3 Audi R15 TDI Plus © Simon WrightSpitfire


On a colder than promised Saturday in June, the mini-Nurburgring that is Cadwell Park played host to the VSCC's bumper 11-race programme of full and varied grids.

VSCC Cadwell Park 8th June By Mick Herring.

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© Mick Herring

Sadly Sidelined Mac Hulbert ERA R4D in practice


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Race 1 - the Morgan Three Wheeler Club Challenge over 6 laps for the diminutive machines complete with passenger was won by the Hamish Bibby/Kate Bain duo, spectacularly to be seen on only two wheels through the Hall Bends section.

Race 2 - 6 laps for Frazer Nash/GN cars provided victory (the first of two and a 3rd) for Joanthan Cobb and his Frazer Nash Ford seen

at the bottom of the Mountain. Justin Maeers' mighty 6.2 litre GN Parker and Charles Gillett finished 2nd and 3rd.

Race 3 - Short Handicap for Pre-War Cars over 5 laps won by Tony Seber's MG PB, Stuart Roper-Marshall's Austin 7 Special had a grassy moment at the Hairpin to finish 22nd.

Race 4 - 8 laps for Williams Trophy Race for Pre-1935 Two Seater Grand Prix Cars, 4.4 seconds separated

Charles Knill-Jones in Nick Mason's Bugatti T35B from the similar car of

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

Race 1 winners Hamish Bibby-Kate Bain Morgan 8-80

Race 2 Winner Jonathan Cobb Frazer Nash Ford

Race 3 Stuart Roper-Marshall in a grassy moment was 22nd

Race 4 John Guyatt Talbot Lago T150C and Mike Preston Bugatti T35B


Robert Spencer. Pictured at Barn, John Guyatt's Talbot Lago T150C and Mike Preston's Bugatti T35B were 7th and 8th.

Race 5 - Melville Trophy Race for Special Pre-War Sports-Cars over 7 laps gave Jonathan Cobb his second victory of the day by a 45.34

second margin from Tim Kneller's Riley 12/4 Special.Race 6 - 7 laps for Geoghegan Trophy Race for Standard and Modified Pre-War Sports-Cars. William Mahany won in his HRG Le Mans Model by 2 seconds from Charles Gillett's Frazer Nash Super Sports. Adam Painter pictured at the Hairpin in his Maserati 4CS finished 5th. John Guyatt and Richard Lake finished 8th and 9th in Talbot Lago and Aston Martin 15/98 Speed respectively pictured at Hall Bends.

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

Race 4 Charles Knill-Jones Bugatti T35B Winner

Race 6 Adam Painter Maserati 4CS

Race 6 John Guyatt Talbot Lago and Richard Lake Aston Martin 15-98 Speed


Race 7 - F3 (500cc) Racing Cars 6 laps John Turner bright yellow and blue Cooper Mk9 won by 2.2 seconds from Roy Hunt.

Race 8 - Shuttleworth, Nuffield and Len Thompson Memorial Trophies Race for Pre-1961 Front-Engined Racing Cars over 10 laps the Riley Falcon Special of Robert Cobden wins by 35 seconds from Paul Jaye's Alta 2 litre, Tom Dark Bugatti T73C and Nicholas Topliss' ERA R4A with brothers Peter(Frazer Nash Le Mans Rep) and Christopher Mann(Alfa Romeo P3) in 8th and 9th all pictured at The Mountain base.

© Mick Herring© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

Race 7 Winner John Turner Cooper Mk9

Race 8 Paul Jaye Alta 2 litre, Nicholas Topliss ERA R4A, Tom Dark Bugatti T73C

Race 8 Christopher Mann P3 Alfa and Peter Mann Frazer Nash LM Repica


Race 9 - 5 laps Short Handicap Race for Pre-War Cars won by James Potter's Riley 9 Brooklands from Matt Shepherd's Austin 7 by 24.46 seconds.

Race 10 - John Holland Trophy for Vintage Racing Cars after 8 laps the gap between winner Robert Spencer's Bugatti T35B and Justin Maeers GN Parker was just 0.26 seconds with Jonathan Cobb slipping a further 3.3 seconds behind.

Race 11 - 5 lap Short Scratch Race for Pre-War Cars Robert Cobden's Riley Falcon Special chased the Riley Super Rat of Pete Candy to pass and win by 9.8 seconds.

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

Left: Race 9 Leaning Lea-Francis P Type Avon Tourer

Race 10 Robert Spencer Bugatti T35B Headed Justin Maeers GN-Parker 0.26 secs, Jonathan Cobb Frazer Nash Ford in 3rd

Race 11 Robert Cobden Riley Falcon Special Chases and Later Passes Pete Candy Riley Super Rat


Classic Car of the MonthAustin A90 Atlantic Convertible.

By Simon Wright.The Austin A90 Atlantic convertible was launched at the Earls Court motor show in 1948 by the Austin Motor Company and aimed at the American market. The sporting four seater convertible was built at Longbridge between spring 1949 and late 1950. It was powered by a 2.6 litre straight 4 cylinder engine producing 88 bhp, and the same design was later used in the Austin Healey 100. It provided power to the rear wheels and propelled the car to a maximum speed of 91 mph with a 0-60 mph time of 16.6 seconds. Fuel consumption was measured at 21.7 miles per gallon. It was fitted with independant coil spring suspension on the front and leaf springs on the rear, employing lever arm shock absorbers. Hydraulic brakes were used on the front wheels and a mechanical system used on the rear with 11 inch drums. Its

initial cost was just under £800. Options included a hydraulically powered soft top and window operation for £40 extra.In 1949, to promote the vehicle in America, an Atlantic was taken to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and was run non stop for 7 days and nights to demonstrate the reliability and performance of the car. It covered 11,850 miles at an average speed of 70.54 mph. This marketing ploy was not sucessful and only 350 were sold in America out of a total of 7981 built.It is thought that there are currently no more than 10 Atlantic Convertibles left on the road and about 25 saloons.This particular car has a unique feature. During the late 50's/early 60's the rear wheel spats were modified in a style based on the Jaguar XK120. This was because of a basic flaw in the original design - Once the springs have settled on the rear of the car, you would have to deflate the tyres to remove them from the car.

© Simon Wright© Simon Wright


© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright © Simon Wright © Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright


Twenty Thirteen is the 60th anniversary of the fabulous Chevrolet Corvette sportcar, built in America. Many UK owners took their cars across the channel to the Le Mans 24 Hours race as part of Chevrolets celebrations for this classic car. However, there were still enough cars to make a special display outside the Coventry Transport Museum on Saturday 22nd June. The Corvette club UK had arranged for the display in Millenium square, right outside the front of the museum. They made a fantastic effort and managed to get models from all 6 generations of the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. They also managed to display them in

Corvette Club UK 60th Celebration at Coventry. By Simon & Janet Wright.

© Simon Wright

© Janet Wright

Chevrolet Corvette Stingray C3 in the line up outside Coventry Transport Museum


order, with the sole C1 at the front, with three C2 models on the next row, follwed by C3 and C4 models in the next rank and finally the largest line, nearest the museum was made up of C5 and C6 models.The oldest car on display was the white C1 convertible with white wall tyres at the head of the display. The C1 model was built between 1953 and 1962, the first generation of the General Motors Chevrolet sports car. The engine capacity and power increased from the original 235 cubic inch (3.9 litre) 155 hp blue flame engine in the early models between 1953 and 1955 to the small block V8 265 cubic inch (4.3 litre) engine fitted

between 1955 and 1956. In 1957 the small block V8 increased to 283 cubic inch (4.6 litre) capacity and was used to 1961. The final versions of the C1 were fitted with a bigger small block FI V8 at 327 cubic inch (5.4 litre) engines. Power was delivered to the rear wheels through a 2 speed Powerglide auto transmission system though there was the option of a 3 speed manual system between 1955 and 1962 and a 4 speed manual system between 1957 and 1962. The 1953 model was the lowest volume production at 300 built and as they were hand built, each model is slightly different but all were polo white with red interiors and black canvas soft tops. Original cost was $3490. The original fibreglass body was a little lacking in fit and finish but around 200 are thought to have survived. The model is commonly referred to as the solid axle generation as it was only fitted with independant front suspension. In 1954 only 3,640 were built due to negative customer reaction to the early models and at the end of the year nearly 1/3 were still unsold. New colours were added, Pennant Blue with a beige interior, Sportsman Red and Black joined the Polo White all with

Different Corvette bonnet badge from all 6 generations - There

are others.

© Janet Wright

© Simon Wright

Chevrolet Corvette C1



red interiors. In 1955 the small block V8 made its debut with 195 hp and an optional manual transmission. Only 700 were built including a few of the original 6 cyclinder automatic transmission models. The Corvette emblem was enlarged and the V was now gold coloured to signify the V8 engine under the bonnet. The 1956 model had a new body and 3,167 were built. In 1957 the engine capacity was increased with an optional 4 speed manual transmission and optional fuel injection which was fitted to 1,040 models. In the 1958 model, seat belts were fitted by the factory and 4 head lights gave it a distinctive appearance. The next significant change happened in 1961 when four tail lights were used for the first time. In total 69,015 were built between 1953 and 1962.The C2 was known as the Corvette Stingray and was produced between 1962 and 1967 in St Louis, Missouri, as a 2 door

convertible or 2 door coupe. Powered by the 327 cubic inch (5.4 litre) small block V8 engine till 1965, a larger 427 cubic inch (7 litre) Big Block V8 was offered as an alternative in 1966/67.

The Coupe had a futuristic fastback design with an unusual split rear window and the four head lights were hidden in a pop up assembly. The coupe doors were also cut in to the roof to allow easier access. A larger fuel tank was accessed through a large round Corvette emblem in the middle of the rear of the cockpit area. Handling was improved with a new shorter wheelbase, faster 'ball race' steering and an altered weight distribution which made the steeing lighter and traction better with more weight over the rear wheels, now connected to an independant rear suspension system. A standard anti-roll bar was fitted to the front. In 1963 21,513 were built with an almost equal split between Coupe and convertible. In 1964 the split rear window was replaced with a single pane and the hood louvers were deleted. A total of 22,229 were manufactured, with the convertible selling 13,925, half as many again as the coupe at 8304. The 1965 model added the Big Block 427 cubic inch engine and increased production again to a total of 23,562 built. In 1966 the 427 cubic inch Big Block V8 was introduced with the unique bulging bonnet and total production figures rose again to 27,720 built during the year. 1967 saw a drop in production to 22,940 giving a total production for the C2 Corvette of 117,964.

© Simon Wright© Janet WrightChevrolet Corvette C2Chevrolet Corvette C2


The Chevrolet Corvette Stingray C3 rolled off the production lines at St Louis between 1967 and 1982 and again was available as a coupe and convertible and had distinctive flared up wheel arches at the front and was designed based the Mako Shark II. Engine options over the period ranged from the 305 cubic inch (5 litre) small block V8 to the 454 cubic inch (7.4 litre) big block V8. in 1968 production was 28,566 and this rose to a high of 58,807 in 1979 with a grand total of 542,741 built between 1968 and 1982. The performance of the final model C3 were 0-60 miles per hour in 7.9 seconds and the standing quarter mile was achieved in 16.1 seconds and a top speed of 85 mph. A celebration edition was produced in

1978 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the model. It was a two tone silver anniversary edition. Also in 1978, the Corvette was used as the Pace car for the Indianapolis 500 race, the first time the Corvette had been used, and a Pace car replica model was also produced for the public to buy.

The Corvette C4 was built between 1984 and 1996 and was a complete re-design. Due to production problems only 43 prototypes were built in 1983 and none were ever sold, all being destroyed, except one which is on display at the National Corvette museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The 1984 model started with the 350 cubic inch (5.7 litre) engine, and an all aluminium suspension designed for weight saving and rigidity.There was a one piece targa top and an electronic dashboard including an LCD speedometer and tachometer. In 1989 the manual transmission was replaced with a modern ZF 6 speed gearbox. Several anniversay editions were produced on the C4

© Simon Wright

© Janet Wright© Simon Wright

© Janet Wright


Chevrolet Corvette C3Chevrolet Corvette C4

Chevrolet Corvette C4 engine


including a 35th Anniversary edition which had a white exterior, interior and white wheels. In 1993 the 40th Anniversary edition featured a ruby red colour, 40th anniversary badges and embroidered seat backs. Chevrolet marked the end of C4 production by releasing the Grand Sport edition in 1996. Only 1000 were built, 810 Coupes and 190 convertibles, all fitted with the LT4 V8 engine which produced 330 bhp. All Grand Sports were admiral blue with a white stripe down the middle and black wheels and two red stripes on the left front wheel arch. Between 1984 and 1996 a total of 366,227 C4 models were built, with 35,109 built in 1986.

The C5 ran from 1997 to 2004 and used the Nissan 300Zx and Mazda RX-7 as benchmarks, as the C4 was critisised compared to its Japanese rivals in terms of quality and style. With a top speed of 181 mph, the new all aluminium small block V8 produced 345 bhp. It featured a distributor less ignition system and a different firing order. The sleek body had a low drag coefficient of 0.29 which enabled it to achieve 28 mpg. Initally the C5 was only available as a coupe, but the convertible was re-launched in 1998. In 1999 a fixed-roof coupe was produced which in 2001 become the Z06, the highest performance C5 Corvette. The rigid fixed roof design helped the handling along with upgraded brakes and less flex in the body. Further improvements in the 2004 model included a titanium exhaust system and a carbon fibre hood which reduced weight and gained performance.A total of 248,715 C5's were built, with the highest production being in 2002 when 35,767 came off the production line.

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

© Janet Wright

© Simon Wright




The current version of the Chevrolet Corvette is the C6 which has been in production since 2005. This all new design returned to exposed headlights for the first time since 1962, a larger passenger compartment, improved suspension and a new 6 litre V8 engine producing 400 bhp. Performance is impressive with a 0-60mph time of 4.2 seconds and a top speed of 190 mph. The drag coeffiecient of 0.28 and low curb

weight helped return between 16 and 26 miles per gallon. A new Z06 arrived as a 2006 model at the end of 2005. It was fitted with a 7 litre engine which produced 505 bhp, a top speed of 198 mph and a 0-60 time of 3.8 seconds.The ZR1 was announced in December 2007, fitted with a 6.2 litre supercharged engine producing 638 bhp and a top speed of 205 mph. In 2010 the Grand Sport model returned, a Z06 with a steel frame instead of aluminium, dry sump oil system on manual transmission models, improved rear suspension and a launch control system which produced a sub 4 second 0-60 mph time. The car returned 26 mpg.To date 215,123 C6 models have been built, with production peaking at 40,561 in 2007.The C7 has been announced and is due to hit the show rooms later this year. In the mean time enjoy this classic American sports car "through the ages" through the cars on display at Coventry.

© Simon Wright© Janet Wright

© Janet Wright © Simon Wright © Janet Wright

Chevrolet Corvette C6Chevrolet Corvette C6

Chevrolet Corvette C3 lineupChevrolet Corvette C6 lineup

Documents

Classic and Competition Car 34 July 2013