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The Crumpled Cup Auto Solo – Rolls Royce Car Park Filton

On Sunday I headed down to Queen Square for the regular second Sunday of the month Avenue Drivers Club meeting only to find all access roads blocked by Bristol Half Marathon stewards one of whom apparently had no idea where Queen Square was, which made for an interesting point of departure for a conspiracy theory which I shall refrain from repeating here.

MCW Metrobus MkII, Rolls Royce Car Park, Filton

Later at mid day I made my way over to the Rolls Royce Car Park at Filton for the Bristol Pegasus Motor Clubs first Crumpled Cup Autosolo. Upon reflection I wish I had stopped off longer at The Ark Bus, 1982 MCW Metrobus, a faith in motion project, to ask for some much needed devine intervention to help me to remember the three different routes through the 31 cones that were to make up the three timed tests of the event.

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The Volkswagen Golf Mk IV Estate is not an obvious choice of vehicle for this type of event and certainly not when carrying more than half a tank of fuel, but I determined that I would have fun and that I did in spades despite the fact that of my nine runs, three times through each of the three routes I actually only managed to complete the course correctly on five occasions ! Fortunately this was still better than some so I did not come last in the front wheel drive class.

Honda Civic, Rolls Royce Car Park, Filton,

Martyn Mitchell warned me that his Honda Civic would only be in contention for the slowest time of the day and perhaps next time he will join me by the bus in some requests for devine intervention on the memory front.

Citroen Saxo, George/Ashley Pope, Rolls Royce Car Park, Filton

Father and son George and Ashley Pope shared their Citroën Saxo to take front wheel drive honours with Ashley only scoring two clean runs on the final test which ironically was the only test on which George scored only one clean run, George was the comfortable winner of the front wheel drive class and would have finished 3rd overall had the event been run as an open competition between all eight competitors.

Westfield SEiW, Andy Moss, Rolls Royce Car Park, Filton

Struggling with the turning circle of his self built Westfield SEiW was club chairman Andy Moss.

Vauxhall VX220, Martyn Lidbury, Rolls Royce Car Park, Filton

Despite having the smaller Lotus Elise size front tyres on his Vauxhall VX220 Martyn Lidbury also struggled with the turning circle of his car which otherwise made all the right noises as he drove it to third in class on his first event with the club.

Westfield SEiW, Ben Bishop, Rolls Royce Car Park, Filton

Second in the rear wheel drive class was Ben Bishop in his Westfield SEiW with the second best score overall too.

Mazda MX5, Chris Buckley, Rolls Royce Car Park, Filton

Lowest scores of the day were recorded by Chris Buckley in his supercharged Mazda MX5 who only scored maximum points on his very first run of the afternoon.

Everybody seemed to enjoy the event which I hope shall be the first of many to come, my thanks to Pete Goodman for getting permission from Rolls Royce to use the venue, to Alan Spencer for organising the event, to Tim Murray the events secretary and score keeper, marshals Ann Mitchell and Nick Woods and not least my fellow competitors who made the 4 hours of the competition fly by.

Thanks for joining me on this “The Crumpled Cup Auto Solo” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Mercury Monterey. Don’t forget to come back now !

Ian’s Great Escape – Oulton Park Gold Cup

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At the weekend I took a break from attending the Gold Cup on Monday as in recent years and went on the Sunday, my decision was influenced by slightly larger grids for the races and slightly better weather, I was rewarded with a short lie in and a great day’s racing which kicked off when Tim Murray and I visited the press office where we were greeted with a warm welcome and great cup of coffee by friends made over several years on The Nostalgia Forum.

Morgan, Kivlochan, Ginetta, Ward Booth, Lotus, Barter, Ginetta Boland, Gold Cup, Oulton Park,

After a quick visit of the pit area we made our way to Deer Leap for the 10 lap Oni Plc Historic Road Sports race which was led on the opening lap by front row starter Kevin Kivlochan in the #98 Morgan Plus 8 seen above already in second place on lap two. Pole starter Julian Barter driving the #51 Lotus Elan S4 completed the opening lap in 4th but recovered to relieve the races second leader Roger Waite in another Lotus Elan on lap 5, the red #32 Ginetta G4 driven by Patrick Ward Booth finished 3rd ahead of Kevin’s Morgan and the blue #27 Ginetta G4 driven by Dave Boland.

Lightening Envoyette, Peter Moreton, Lotus 22 Andy Hibberd, Gold Cup, Oulton Park,

We moved to the inside of Lodge for the next couple of races. Above Peter Moreton had an electric opening lap in the first of the two Silverline Historic Formula Junior races leading the field from 4th on the grid in his #75 Lightening Envoyette, front row starter Andrew Hibberd in the #179 Lotus 22 completed the opening lap in third and is seen above lining up to relieve Peter of the lead for good at the end of lap 3, John Fyda driving a Brabham BT6 finished second ahead of Peter with less than 6 seconds covering the top three after 20 mins of close racing.

TVR Griffith, Gardner/Cox, Mike Whitaker, Gold Cup, Oulton Park,

Mike Gardiner and Dave Cox qualified their #77 TVR Griffith on pole for the HSCC Guards Trophy supported by Dunlop Tyres GT Race but there was no stopping Mike Whitaker in the similar #46 TVR seen above about to take the lead at the end of the 2nd lap which he would hold onto until pitting on lap 11 handing over the lead to the similarly Ford 289 powered AC Cobra driven by Robert Bremner. After the pit stops had cycled through Mike Whitaker led until the end of the race ahead of the Gardiner / Cox TVR and Robert in the over steering (loose) AC.

Brabham BT21, March 703 Simon Armer, Gold Cup, Oulton Park,

By the end of the 40 min GT race Tim and I had made our way over to the inside of Old Hall from whence we watched the start of the first of two The Cubicle Centre Historic Formula 3 races. Fourth place starter Steve Seaman in his #26 Brabham BT21 nipped through to lead the opening 4 laps of this race from pole man Simon Armer driving the #22 March 703 who is seen above about to pass Steve to claim the lead which he held onto to take the flag a gnats over 17 seconds ahead of Micheal Scott’s Brabham BT28. Steve came home forth behind clear championship leader Leif Bosson driving another Brabham BT28.

Chevron B37, Neil Glover, March 742, Mark Dwyer, Gold Cup, Oulton Park,

One of the highlights of the weekend was seeing Neil Glover driving the one off 5 litre / 302 cui 1976 Chevron, celebrating it’s fiftieth anniversary this year, B37 F5000 car which he qualified second for the first of the weekends Derek Bell Trophy races behind the 2 litre / 122 cui 1974 March 742 Formula 2 car driven by Mark Dwyer. Neil snatched the lead for the opening 3 laps of the race with Mark snapping at his heals in the nimble March who finally grabbed the lead on the third lap and pulled out a nearly six second advantage when a major incident between Denton’s and Cascades required the red flag to be shown on the 8th lap.

Ian Ashley, Derek Bell Trophy, Gold Cup, Oulton Park,

5th place starter 67 year old former Grand Prix driver Ian Ashley driving the #188 Lola T300 Formula 5000 car came down the chute between Denton’s and Cascades for the 8th time in 4th place behind the Clubmans Mallock driven by Mike Charteris when he came across a hapless lapped Brian Cullen driving a 1970 1600 cc Formula 2 spec #18 Crosslé 19F. Just after the Denton’s right hand kink Ian clipped the left rear wheel of the Crosslé with his right front and went flying down the track until his rear end hit the retaining barriers which sent the car into a barrel roll before landing on it’s right side and then came to rest miraculously the right way up. Fortunately Ian was able to release himself from the remains of his Lola unaided and gave spectators a thumbs up to a good dose of applause, neither driver suffered any injury that I know of.

Jaguar E-type, Micheal Wilkinson, Gold Cup, Oulton Park,

After the dramatic low’s and high’s of the incident the 40 min Jaguar Heritage race passed by in relative tranquility. The third place starting #50 E-type of Michael Wilkinson and John Bussel took over a commanding lead with 6 laps to go, when Martin O’Connel’s pole winning E-type retired 1 lap after his compulsory pit stop, to finish over a minuet and a half clear of Paul Castaldini who was just third placed pairing of Dave Coyne and Robert Gate who made it an all E-type podium as several of the cars struggled to the end with smoking brakes, exhausts and or transmissions.

Lenham P69 Waggitt/Needham, Gold Cup, Oulton Park

Normal service returned with the Guards Trophy supported by Dunlop Tyres Sports Racing cars race. On the opening lap 5th place starter Jon Waggitt was the man on the move with the #33 Lenham P69 seen here followed by the pole sitting and eventual winning #18 Elva Mk 7, driven by Maxim Bartel and Callum Grant, ready to pounce by the front row starting #6 Chevron B6 driven by Nick Thompson and Sean McClurg. Jon kept the lead for all of two laps before the #18 reasserted qualifying form and went on to win the 40 min race by over 8 seconds from the #33 Lenham that Jon shared with Peter Needham that finished a further 5 seconds ahead of the Chevron B8 driven by Charles Allison. In the back ground seventh place starter Marcus Mussa spins his #88 McLaren Elva M1B going into the Hislops chicane.

70's Road Sports, Gold Cup, Oulton Park

The 20 min 70’s Road Sports Bob Trotter Celebration Race may have been shorter than some, but provided the most closely contested victory as second place starter Jim Dean made the running over the first five laps in his little green #72 Lotus Europa, eventual winner, by just .089 of a second, was Charles Barter whose powerful blue #24 Datsun 240Z started 3rd but had to take to the escape road going into Hislops on the opening lap in order to avoid the spinning 5th place starting Lotus Elan driven by Iain Daniels. Jim finished 2nd just under 5 seconds ahead of the light green #1 TVR Tuscan driven by Peter Shaw.

March 703, Simon Armer, Gold Cup, Oulton Park,

The starting grid for the second Cubicle Centre Historic Formula 3 race was exactly the same as the first, unusually the finishing order of the first race played no part in the starting order for the second, once again it was third place starter Steve Seaman in the Brabham BT21 who went into the lead on the opening lap, but this time he held onto it until lap 6 before a determined Simon Armer found away past for the final two laps of the race which he finished just over half a second ahead of Steve and nearly 8 seconds ahead of Michael Scott.

Historic Formula Junior, Gold Cup, Oulton Park,

The grid for the final race of the day, second Silverline Historic Formula Junior race was determined by the finishing order of Junior race one, but pole sitter Andrew Hibberd finished the opening lap in third as the electric Peter Moreton again led with John Fyda between them. Andrew is seen above having just taken the lead from Peter who was demoted to third as John followed Andrew to take second on lap 3. The order remained the same until the end of the race with the top three again finishing less than six seconds apart with plenty of entertaining battles through the field to keep the results uncertain until the very end of a great day’s racing.

Thanks for joining me on this “Ian’s Great Escape” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be visiting the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. Don’t forget to come back now !

Delicious And Wholesome – Ice Cream Vans

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With the summer holiday season still in full swing, at least in the UK, I thought I’d focus today’s post on Ice Cream vans.

Bedford CF, Arnolfini, Bristol,

The first time I remember taking a photo of an ice cream van was in 2005 when I was collecting images that might make interesting subjects for poems, the reflected image of a Bedford CF Ice Cream Van standing in front of the Arnolfini in Bristol above never did get used for a poem, but ever since I have kept half an eye out for these bearers of Delicious Wholesome products.

Morris J-Type, Silverstone Classic,

The oldest Ice Cream van I have in my files is this 1949 J-Type Morris seen above early in the morning at last years Silverstone Classic.

Volkswagen Type 2, Volksfest, Easter Compton,

Earlier this year at Volksfest in Easter Compton I couldn’t resist buying a single scoop of Marshfield Farms finest from The Split Screen Ice Cream Company who claim to be operating the oldest Volkswagen Ice Cream Van in the country in the form of the 2012 British Street Food Award winning 1964 Type 2 seen above.

Citroën HY, Cribbs Causeway, Bristol,

Seen in another early morning photo is this 1968 Citroën HY, belonging to Ice Cream Events, which in an ironically, one couldn’t make this up, used to be operated by French Fire Fighting Services before being imported to the UK in 2011.

Ford Transit, Castle Combe

Since at least the late 1960’s, when they first came into my regular summer experience, Ice Cream vans in the UK have often had Disney characters painted on them, above Mel’s Super Whippy Ford Transit is covered in characters from the animation Cars and was appropriately seen at Castle Combe race circuit a few years ago.

Ford Transit, Porsche Curves, Le Mans,

The further traveled, but more modestly decorated 1995 Transit 150 above is seen on the banking of the Porsche Curves at Le Mans, France, during the 24 Hour race around 05:24 am !

Mercedes Benz Sprinter 311, Bristol,

It would appear that while Bedford CF Ice Cream vans are disappearing they are being replaced by Mercedes Benz Sprinters like the 2000 311 example operated by Carmelo & Sons seen above in Clifton, Bristol.

Thanks for joining me on this “Delicious And Wholesome” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at Lord Hesketh’s all new 1975 Formula One Challenger. Don’t forget to come back now !

Best Closed Car – Ferrari 166 Inter Touring Berlinetta #043S

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Any one lucky enough to have attended the 1950 Torino Saloon might have stumbled, across todays featured Ferrari 166 Inter chassis #043S fitted with a Touring Berlinetta chassis body.

Ferrari 166 Inter Touring Berlinetta, The Quail

Like the sister 1948 right hand drive chassis #017S I looked at a couple of years ago chassis #043S also went to Milan where a Dr Moretti became the first owner.

Ferrari 166 Inter Touring Berlinetta, The Quail

At some point unknown #043S went to the United States an remained there until 1987 when it migrated to The Netherlands for a couple of years.

Ferrari 166 Inter Touring Berlinetta, The Quail

Brit Danny Donovan had #043S restored at the turn of the century, he changed the colour from red to dark blue and had the car registered HPP 5, a registration currently assigned in the UK to a 1969 Gold Mercedes 280 SL.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing these photographs at The Quail – A Motorsports Gathering a couple of years ago where the car was nominated the Best Closed Car.

Thanks for joining me on this “Best Closed Car” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”. I hope you will join me again when I’ll be looking at a 24 hour race winning Production Saloon car. Don’t forget to come back now.

We Want Information – Juno Triumph

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A couple of years ago I took today’s featured photographs of Alistair Hunt’s Juno at Crystal Palace.

Juno Triumph, Motorsport At The Palace, Crystal Palace,

The event Souvenir Programme tells us the car was built in 1955 and there are one or two references on the internet to the car being powered by either a JAP, unlikely or Triumph, more likely, motor.

Juno Triumph, Alistair Hunt, Motorsport At The Palace, Crystal Palace,

Searching the word “Juno” at The Nostalgia Forum led me to a reference regarding the 1920’s play by Sean O’Casey “Juno and the Paycock” and “Juno Beach” which was liberated by Canadian and British Forces in the Normandy Landings on D-Day 1944.

Juno Triumph, Motorsport At The Palace, Crystal Palace,

It would appear the late author David Hodges may have owned the Juno, but this has yet to be confirmed.

So if per chance you know anything about the Juno, who built it, owned it and or drove it please do not hesitate to chime in below.

Thanks for joining me on this “We Want Information” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at one of Jim Clarks Lotus 38’s. Don’t forget to come back now !

Secretaries Turnkey Racer – Shelby G.T.350 R #SFM5R098

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Allegedly when Carroll Shelby first saw a Ford Mustang his original description was of a mere “secretary’s car”, but that did not stop him building a run of over 500 2 seat 350 G.T.350 variants to meet the Sports Car Club of America’s requirements and a special run of 34 G.T.350 R turnkey racers like today’s featured chassis #SFM5R098.

The 34 G.T.350 R cars were fitted with blue printed motors that produced up to 360hp, weight saving plexiglass side and rear window’s and Goodyear Blue Dot tyres mounted on American Racing 15″ x 7″ wheels.

Shelby G.T. 350 R, Concours On The Avenue, Carmel By The Sea,

Today’s featured G.T. 350 R, photographed by Geoffrey Horton at Concours On The Avenue, Carmel by the Sea, a couple of years ago is the 7th to have been built and the fifth to have been delivered to a paying customer in the form of Ned Owen.

Ned raced this car, which featured an Essex Wire Black stripe with orange pin stripe in SCCA class B Production races from 1965 to 1967 with Ford drivers Skip Scott and Ken Miles also said to have had one off drives in the car.

Shelby G.T. 350 R, Concours On The Avenue, Carmel By The Sea,

In 1967 #SFM5R098 was purchased by a Canadian who crashed it in 1969 after which it remained in an Ontario barn until it was bought unseen by Shelby aficionado Rick Kopec of Connecticut for $5,000.

Rick had #SFM5R098 restored to the condition it was in when bought new by Ned Owen only changing the race number from Owen’s customary #92 to #98 in deference to the cars chassis number.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing today’s photographs.

Thanks for joining me on this “Secretaries Turnkey Racer” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Shafer 8 – Rigling Buick

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Like the Wonder Bread Special I looked at last year today’s featured chassis is credited as being the handy work of Herman Rigling who is said to have built no fewer than 8 of the 40 chassis that started the 1931 Indy 500.