Ralph Colmar blogs on all things motoring…
When I first started this blog in the summer of 2010 I imagined that it would be a fun thing to do every once in a while, by day three I realised I had a daily project on my hands and now two years later this daily project has become an unexpected adventure.
I have been passionate about cars ever since Dad turned up in our drive way in Larnica, Cyprus with a brand new Austin A40 Countryman, I remember excitedly running the length of my bedroom veranda which bordered the drive taking in every last detail, the colour the shape the shiny moon disc hub caps, the slant of the A stamped into the caps and the chrome Austin A40 badge on the back.
Some time later still aged all of five I sat in my Dad’s lap behind the steering wheel and the deal was he pressed the pedals and I steered the car what a feeling, it is no exaggeration but sitting in what I now know to be a tiny little car felt like sitting at the controls of a starship.
As I learned to read it was always books about cars that I wanted to read, Cars Cars Cars Cars by SCH Davis was an early title, about the development of the family car and soon afterwards my teenage years disappeared into a seeming endless selection of books on the history of motor racing and he magazines MotorSport and Autosport interspersed with visits to race tracks in Zambia and Europe.
During early adult hood I took a summer job as a car cleaner for a Honda dealership in London, a couple of years later I did a work placement at Volkswagen in Germany as part of my European Business studies degree, after college my first job was driving a Ford P100 pick up truck delivering refurbished leaf springs and then as I started to take things more seriously I got into sales and ended up at a Volvo Dealership in London turning round a workshop from the bottom of the quality league to the top.
During this time I also helped a school friend who raced a 2.8i Ford Capri and later string of little Alfa Romeo’s at weekends. I used to take every opportunity to go to the race track when not otherwise engaged which included a weekend at Indianapolis, 10 summers at Le Mans and dozens of lesser race meetings during which I developed a passion for photography.
After preparing and racing my own Citroen 2CV in a 24 hour race at Mondello Park my passion for photography took over my life and through the naughties I made a string of journeys by car through the UK Europe at night recording them in hundreds of long exposure photographs and exhibiting them at over 100 exhibitions.
My interest in photography then developed and expanded into stop frame animation and most recently documentary film making, the subject of my most resent film being The Connew Story about a Grand Prix car designed in a bedroom, built with beer money and run on a wad of French Francs.
I still use every opportunity to get out to motoring related events be it an Avenue Drivers Club meeting at Queen Square here in Bristol, or an International motor race at Silverstone, one of my greatest simple joys has been to join the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club with whom I love to take part in all manner of low cost events including production car trials, cruises and Navigation exercises.
I guess “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” is all about sharing that passion for being out on the highway, the race track or even muddy field and the stories behind a hand full of the vehicles I and octasionally my friends come across.
I hope you will join me daily at “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” if you have a comment or suggestion to make please do not hesitate to use the comments box, it requires a little patience but it will be rewarded with a response as soon as I am aware of it. If you loose patience with the comments system you can also contact me at infoATpsychoontyres.co.uk.
Don’t forget to come back now !
