Tag Archives: Russell

Aeronautical Heritage – Mackson 500 F3

The Mackson 500 F3 came about through a short lived collaboration that started in 1951 between constructor “Mac” McGee and aeronautical engineer Gordon Bedson who’s curriculum vitae included working for Vickers Armstrong on the ultra modern Valiant jet bomber.

The Mackson was built in Guildford Surrey with a tubular frame, independent front wishbone suspension and swing axle rear and fitted with the latest Dunlop alloy wheels.

Mackson 500 F3, Gordon Russell, Castle Combe,

A Norton double knocker engine was specified, although an example has also been fitted with a JAP engine in the United States, the Norton gearbox transmitted power to the rear wheels through chain drive and the solid rear axle.

The 18 gauge aluminium body is noticeably lower than it’s contemporaries like the Kieft CK52 and Cooper Mk VI.

Mackson 500 F3, Gordon Russell, Castle Combe,

Designer Gordon tested the original Mackson, but Arthur Gill ran two cars for himself and Alan Scoble while a third car was bought and raced by Peter Braid, with no wins during the 1952 season Gordon Bedson left the team to become a director at Kieft.

No more Mackson’s were built, but they continued to be raced, one being converted into first the Saxon Formula 3 car which was upgraded to Formula Junior spec, Gordon Russell is seen at the wheel of today’s example at Castle Combe.

Thanks for joining me on this “Aeronautical Experience” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I will be looking at another Mini variation that never made it into production. Don’t forget to come back now !

Fritzpro Hullavington Sprint – Hullavington

Leave a Reply

Having left Castle Combe on Saturday the 21st of March swearing I would never marshall again thanks to the unrelenting bitter cold wind on Sunday the 22nd of March I once again got up at the crack of dawn to go and marshall at the Fritzpro Hullavington Sprint in Wiltshire not more than a stones throw from the venue where I nearly froze to death the day before.

Luckily the day was a fraction warmer and the unrelenting winds had died down as Hullavington is essentially like Castle Combe used to be, the site of an airfield. Craven Motor Club and the British Army Motorsports Association were organising the first motorsports event to be held here for many years. Due to my marshalling duties I only managed a few snaps early in the morning, during the lunch break and at the end of the day.

Nissan Micra, Matt and Suze Endean, Fritzpro Hullavington Sprint

Regular readers might remember meeting Murial the 1994 Nissan Micra at the Autosport International earlier this year here she is again with owners Matt and Suze Endean who finished 2nd and 4th in class A3 respectively.

Austin Healey 3000, Fritzpro Hullavington Sprint

Making all the right noises was Peter Walton’s 1964 Austin Healey, despite competing against far more modern and nimble machinery Peter managed to avoid the wooden spoon and finished 8th fastest in a class of nine A5 competitors.

Ford Cortina GT, Fritzpro Hullavington Sprint

Similarly aged but not so lucky in avoiding the class B9/10 wooden spoon was Callum Barnley in his pre cross flow Ford Cortina GT, which new would have produced just 78 hp.

Talbot Sunbeam, Fritzpro Hullavington Sprint

Runner up in the unofficial most entertaining drive of the day category easily went to Mike Smith in his Rally spec Talbot Sunbeam that suffered from a chronically loose rear end which saw him collect the class D15 wooden spoon.

Ralt RT3,Fritzpro Hullavington Sprint

2nd and 3rd fastest respectively in the same D15 class were John Opie and John Burton in their splendid 2 litre / 122 cui Ralt RT3 above.

Jedi Mk4, Fritzpro Hullavington Sprint

The most entertaining and fastest driver of the day was Bradley Hobday who danced rather than drove his Jedi Mk 4 a full 3.65 seconds round the course than 2nd placed Andy Porter in a similar 1 litre / 61 cui motor cycle engined Jedi Mk 4.

Austin Mini, Fritzpro Hullavington Sprint

During the course of the day I was stationed at the back of the circuit with Ian Fisher initially we parked our cars we thought well away from the circuit on another perimeter road however during the two practice runs an errant Mini Cooper S was headed straight for us when it left the track. Mercifully for all concerned the car came to rest on the grass and carried on unaided.

Suitably warned of the dangers of our position Ian and I immediately moved our cars another 30 meters away from the incident. Later in the morning novice Tom Russell was not so lucky as his car, seen above, left the track spun across the grass and on across the perimeter track, where we had been parked earlier, and as it broadsided the grass on the other side of the perimeter track the wheels dug in and flipped the car onto it’s roof.

Fortunately Tom unlike his car was completely unharmed, we soon had the car back on it’s wheels whose drivers side tyres had popped off the rim, the rear window had also popped out in one piece, Tom and friends in the paddock managed to patch up the Mini so that he could carefully drive home.

Finally the event raised £1584 for the Combat Stress Charity, among their fund raisers was a quality cake stand to absolutely die for !

If you are interested in competing in Sprints Bristol Pegasus Motor Club have one coming up at Llandow near Cardiff on Saturday 9th May and another at Hullavington on Monday May 25th more details can be found on the BPMC website here.

If you would like to Marshall at either of these events, I shall be at both, please leave a fb message below and I will get in touch about the arrangements.

Thanks for joining me on this “Fritzpro Hullavington Sprint” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a 1957 Imperial. Don’t forget to come back now !

Bob’s New Era – Cooper Bristol #CB/4/53

8 Race Card – Autumn Classic Castle Combe

1 Reply

A couple of weeks ago Castle Combe’s 2014 racing season came to an end with the third Autumn Classic meeting and it has without question grown and flourished in the 36 months since the first one.

Anthony Binnington Cooper T67, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

Today I’ll focus on last weekend’s racing and return to some of the other stunning attractions at a future date. First race of the day was for Formula Junior cars which was won by Jonathon Milicevic in his 1962 Cooper T59. During the grid walk about before the start I became acquainted with Anthony Binnington who qualified his ex Peter Revson 1963 Cooper T67 6th, fell to 19th on the opening lap and climbed up to 7th in the remaining 15 laps. Anthony tells me his car originally belonged to Peter Revson, first US born Can Am Champion in 1971, who set an all time lap record for the Formula Junior class at any track of 130 mph at Enna Pergusa, Italy on his way to a second place finish behind Frenchman Jo Schlesser in August 1963.

David Smithies, Bruce Montgomery, Austin Healey Challenge, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

The John Gott Memorial Trophy race for Austin Healey’s last year saw an attempt by the leading 5 cars to go into the Bobbies chicane simultaneously, this year the action was not quite so wild, but the race for the lead twixt winner David Smithies, driving the #50, who got the jump on pole man Bruce Montgomery, driving the #177, at the start was entertaining until Bruce was forced to give up his second place to David Grace who finished just over .2 of a second behind Smithies.

David Reed, Chris Jolly Historic Aston Martins, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

Simon Hadfield driving an Aston Martin DB3S drove a text book race to win the Historic Aston Martin race by nearly a minute. The second place challengers David Reed, driving the #53 Aston Martin DB2, and Chris Jolly, driving the #16 DB2 were rarely more than spitting distance apart until the final 2 laps when the invited Jaguar XK 150 of Paul de Havilland passed Chris and made it stick to the finish.

Andy Wallace, Les Ely Jaguar Enthusiasts Club, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

One of the high lights of the Autumn Classic was seeing 1988 Jaguar Le Mans winner Andy Wallace, driving the #61 Jaguar D type seen above after lapping the #31 Jaguar 3.4 litre Saloon of Les Ely, on his first visit to the circuit in 30 years. Andy recorded a dead heat in a Formula Ford (Pinto) 2000 race on his last visit to the circuit, this time he was in third place in the D-type when the safety car came out and trapped him out of position in traffic from which he could only salvage a 5th behind 4 E-type Jaguars driven by Martin Hunt, Mark Russell, Brian Stevens and Grahame Bull.

Patrick Blakeney Edwards, Fraser Nash Owlet, VSCC Pre War Sports Cars, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

I am quite sure if the only competitor in the VSCC Pre War Sports Car Race had been Patrick Blakeney Edwards the crowd would have gone home convinced they had got their money’s worth. Patrick driving the chain driven Fraser Nash Owlet as entertainingly as ever only finished 6th behind winner Frederick Wakeman who was driving a roadster bodied Fraser Nash Super Sports.

Robin Ellis, Simon Hadfield, John Ure, FiSCar 50's Inter Marque, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

The FiSCar 50’s Inter Marque challenge lived up to it’s name with the lead contested by a pair of Lotus Elites, the #6 Cooper Bristol driven by John Ure and Nick Wrigley, and the #10 Elva Courier by Simon and Amanda Hadfield, seen above with Simon going into a brief lead ahead of the eventual winning #75 Lotus Elite shared by Robin Ellis and Richard Fores. The Hadfields finished 10th and the Cooper Bristol 3rd behind the Lotus Elite driven solo by Brian Arculus.

Steve Jones, George Shackleton, Cooper, 500 Formula 3, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe,

I reported on the activities of the 500 Association on Saturday, above 500 Formula 3 winner of the BAC MSC Challenge Trophy Steve Jones thanks the track marshals with a wave with second place finisher George Shackleton riding shot gun, driving the #74 Cooper Mk X and #23 Cooper Mk XI respectively.

08 Austin Healey Challenge_2072sc

Light levels were falling as the final race of the day, for the ever entertaining Austin Healey’s, got under way.
David Grace, seen leading on the opening lap into Quarry above, made the best start and kept it to the end from pole sitter David Smithies.

I’ll be revisiting Castle Combe in the coming weeks with further blogs on this great day out.

Thanks for joining me on this “8 Race Card” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow to continue the Dodge centenary celebrations. Don’t forget to come back now !

No Enthusiast Should Miss – Ginetta G.15 Coupé

Racer and Runabout – Arnott Sports #AT112

2 Replies

Daphne Arnott was born into a mechanical world in 1926, her Grandfather appears to have been captain and secretary of the Bath Road Club and ‘in control of’ MMC built Werner Motorcylces and her father was responsible for the Arnott Superchargers sold through Carburetors Ltd in North West London.

Daphne spent many childhood hours spectating at Brooklands and in her early teens she became competent mechanic. During the ’39-’45 war she was employed by the Hawker Aircraft company.