Tag Archives: Turner

Le Jog – Aust Services

At the beginning of December Le Jog passed through Aust Services for an Autotest in the Car Park, below are some of the runners and riders.

MG A, Volker Haltenhof, Horst Pokroppa, Le Jog, Aust Services,

Volker Haltenhof and Horst Pokroppa collected a nice round 100 min time penalty and were classed 30th in their 1957 MG A.

Rover P4, Robert McClean, Susan McClean, Le Jog, Aust Services,

Spirit of the Rally Trophy winners were Robert and Susan McClean who were classified 19th in their 1962 Rover P4.

Porsche 356, Jonathan Miles, Andy Elcomb, Le Jog, Aust Services,

The #10 Porsche 356, also built in 1962, was driven by Jonathan Miles and Andy Elcomb who were classified 11th overall first in class and won a Bronze Medal Status.

Volvo 123GT, Roger Osborne, Barbara Osborne, Le Jog, Aust Services,

Roger and Barbara Osborne appear to have retired their #4 Volvo 123 GT early in the event, which was won by a similar car driven by Andy Lane and Iain Tullie who clocked up just 8 mins 1 sec in penalties over the three day drive from Lands End to John O’Groats.

Austin Mini, Rachel Vestey, Owen Turner, Le Jog, Aust Services,

Classified 14th in their 1972 Austin Mini 1275 GT were Rachel Vestey and Owen Turner, Australian Rachel won the Ladies prize too.

MG B, David Maryon, Andy Ballantyne, Le Jog, Aust Services,

The 1966 MG B driven by David Maryon and Andy Ballantyne also retired from the event.

Thanks for joining me on this “Le Jog” edition of “Gettin a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Daytona 24 Hour competitor. Don’t forget to come back now !

Monterey Brits – Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion

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Today’s post features a selection of the British built cars seen at this years Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca by Karl Krause.

Morgan Super Aero, Rolex Motorsports Reunion, Laguna Seca

Instantly recognisable by it’s V twin engine, sliding pillar front suspension and three wheels is this JAP powered 1930 Morgan belonging to and driven by Larry Ayres.

ERA R2A, Rolex Motorsports Reunion, Laguna Seca

It was a great pleasure to find that the second ever ERA to be built, R2A built for the companies financer Humphrey Cook in 1934, was flying the flag in California driven by Paddins Dowling who only bought the car last year.

Lagonda V12, Rolex Motorsports Reunion, Laguna Seca

I don’t believe Richard Morrison’s short wheel base 1939 Lagonda V12 is one of the Le Mans Team cars but that does not make it any less desirable in the authors eye’s.

Turner Mk III, Karl Krause, Rolex Motorsports Reunion, Laguna Seca

I understand Karl Krause recently qualified for his racing licence and during the run up to the Reunion he got a run in Steve Lilves #48 1965 Turner Mk III. Karl is seen above coming down the Corkscrew one of the most famous corners in motor racing.

Triumph TR6, Bill Warner, Rolex Motorsports Reunion, Laguna Seca

Above Bill Warner drives the 1971 Group 44 Triumph TR6 of the type the US champion of the British sports car Bob Tullis drove between 1969 and 1973 before switching to a V12 E-type Jaguar.

Lola T332, Rolex Motorsports Reunion, Laguna Seca

Finally I understand the 1974 #5 Viceroy Lola T332 above was driven to victory twice over the Reunion week, once by owner Zak Brown and secondly by Richard Dean who in a tenuous link was the first driver to show me the ropes around Brands Hatch at the wheel of a Brands Hatch Racing School Ford Escort XR3i in 1989 when he was an emerging talent in Formula Three !

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton and Karl Krause for arranging to take and taking today’s photographs respectively.

Thanks for joining me on this “Monterey Brits” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at some of the Porsche’s at the Reunion. Don’t forget to come back now !

The Great Western Sprint – Castle Combe

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A couple of weeks ago I popped along to help out the Bristol Motor Club marshall there annual freeze fest better known as The Great Western Sprint at Castle Combe, mercifully it was a dry sunny day but as ever the persistent freezing wind out at Bobbies where I was stationed meant that humour had a very tough fight on it’s hands.

Ford Fiesta, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

My responsibilities precluded taking any photo’s of the action so here are a selection of arbitrary shots taken in the paddock shown in running order, first up from Abergavenny Martyn Davies’s Ford Fiesta with which he won the A1 Roadgoing class for cars with motors up to 1400 cc / 85.4 cui.

Suzuki Swift, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

Phil Tuckers 1989 Suzuki Swift, which finished second in class behind Martyn, caught my attention because the model was also sold as a Subaru Justy like the one Robert Solarski drove on the recent Tavern Motor Club Washingpool Farm Targa Rally.

Ford Escort Mexico, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

On my way over to Castle Combe I observed Rowland Turner was wearing ear protectors at the wheel of his 1975 Mk 1 Ford Escort as he made steady progress on the motorway, Rowland finished 8th in the up to 1800 cc / 109.8 cui class.

Audi S4, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

One of the more powerful cars in the paddock was Roger Banks’s Audi S4 powered by a twin turbo 4.2 litre / 256 cui 40 valve V8 said to produce over 700 hp. Roger recorded fastest time in his all wheel drive beast with a NASCAR sized rear spoiler in the C3 modified class on the practice run but broke down on his first timed run, leaving Keith Murray in his old school Audi 80 to take class spoils as he had done on this event in 2013.

Leastone F5, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

6th in the up to Racing Cars up to 1100cc / 67 cui E1 category was Nick Mizen in his Irish built Leastone F5 fitted with a 900cc / 54.9 cui Suzuki Motorcycle engine.

Jedi Mk 1, Great Western Sprint, Castle Combe

Martin Pickles qualified for the top 12 run offs and finished with 7th best time of the day with his 1 litre / 61 cui Jedi Mk1.

The larger engined Reynard DB Mk 1 shared by Mark Smith and Craig Sampson recorded first and second fastest times of the day respectively.

Thanks for joining me on this “The Great Western 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 1931 Chrysler. Don’t forget to come back now !

BAC MSC Challenge Trophy – Autumn Classic Castle Combe

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It’s not everyday that I get to write a feature about a single 15 min race, but last Sunday 500cc Formula 3 cars returned to their spiritual home to compete in a race solely for the 500cc Formula 3 cars for the first time in 59 years.

Iota Milli Union, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

Not all of the cars that turned up were competing, among the static displays with the 500 Owners Association was this Iota Milli Union, considered to be one of the oldest 500cc Formula 3 cars built to the original Iota plans advanced by Dick Caesar.

This particular car was originally built by Bristol Telephone Engineer and motorcycle racer GH Millington in 1946/7. This combination took part in the first closed event at Castle Combe run in July 1950 where Gerry Millington finished second in the first race for the newly internationally recognised formula to be run at the circuit.

Currently the car is in need of a new £600 magneto which the present owner can ill afford at the moment.

Effyh, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

The Efflyh above is thought to be one of 10 500cc F3 cars built in Sweden, I believe this particular car built in 1950 found it’s way to Senator T. Newell Wood who drove it on his 960-acre Brynfan Tyddyn estate in Pennsylvania. In 1956 this car is thought to have been fitted with a Norton engine, Cooper suspension and the straight edged bodywork seen here.

BACMSC Challenge Trophy, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

The prize for competitors in the 500cc Formula 3 race was the Bristol Aeroplane Company Motor Sports Club’s Challenge Trophy which was commissioned by the same club that is generally regarded as being the home of the 500cc Formula 3, since many of those instrumental in devising it were employees of the Bristol Aeroplane Company during the ’39-’45 war.

The original BAC MSC was reformed as the 500 Club in 1946 an organisation that later morphed into the British Racing and Sports Car Club. Bristol Aeroplane Company revived the BAC MSC as the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club in 1955.

I am afraid my attempt at lashing my video camera to the spectator fence for the start of the BAC MSC Challenge Trophy race was less than successful, but in this clip you get a feel for the sound these cars make en masse, turn up the volume to off the dial !

BACMSC Challenge, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

Regular readers may remember that at the beginning of the season I attended the VSCC Spring Start meeting at Silverstone where John Turner driving the #86 Cooper Mk 9 and Richard Bishop Miller driving the #57 Revis ended up in hospital. It was great to see both drivers going at it hammer and tongs with their repaired steeds at Castle Combe. On this occasion John finished 6th Richard 8th with Xavier Kingsland in the Staride Mk 3 I looked at last week 12th.

JP Mk 1, Alan Croft, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

16 different manufacturers were named on the entry list many vehicles were unique others, like the Scottish built JP Mk 1 driven by Alan Croft above, went into production.

Cooper Mk X , Steve Jones, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

The BACMSC Challenge Trophy race was won by Steve Jones aboard his Cooper Mk X by just over half a second from George Shackleton, seen popping his head out as they enter Old Paddock, who was driving a Cooper Mk 8.

Thanks for joining me on this “BACMSC Challenge Trophy” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at another ERA. Don’t forget to come back now !

185mph Motorway Test – AC Cobra Coupé #A98

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Having concluded that the original AC Shelby Cobra Roadster needed some more straight line speed in order to compete with the Ferrari 250 GT0’s at Le Mans both Shelby and AC set about building Coupé’s independently of one another in late 1963.

AC turned to Alan Turner to design their Cobra Coupé for the 1964 Le Mans 24 Hours. The less than complete car was taken to the Le Mans Test Weekend in April 1964 and Paul Bolton recorded the 27th fastest time in the 355 hp Coupé chassis #A98. Upon completion and with a spoiler fitted to help reduce lift the car was tested at the high speed MIRA test facility for which it proved to be too fast.

AC Cobra Coupé, Goodwood Revival

In order to test the cars top speed it was decided to go and test it on Britain’s M1 motorway at 4 am two weeks before the 1964 Le Mans 24 hours and both Jack Sears and Paul Bolton took turns at driving the car up a couple of junctions and returning at a time of day when there was no other traffic on the road.

Based on the revs used as reported by the drivers, axle ratio and tyre sizes the AC engineers calculated on their slide rules that the car had reached 185 mph.

AC Cobra Coupé, Goodwood Revival

One of the people present at the test was AC owner Derek
Hurlock’s nephew Tony Martin, who held an administrative position at the Sunday Times and spilled the beans to reporters with whom he worked later in the day.

Naturally the story was taken up and made front page news, however the incident did not contribute to the implementation of a blanket 70 mph on British Motorways in 1964 as a trial and made permanent in December 1965, as has become myth. The Ministry of Transport had been working on that legislation since far earlier in an effort to reduce death’s on Britain’s motorways which had been unrestricted since the first section of the Preston By Pass that was to become the M6 was opened in 1958.

#A98 was taken to Le Mans where it was qualified in 13th and gave the GT class winning Shelby Daytona Coupé designed by Pete Brock and driven by Dan Gurney and Bob Bondurant a good run for it’s money until fuel starvation intervened.

Foul play was suspected when newspaper was found in the petrol tank, after being told by their tyre supplier to not change their tyres Paul suffered a tyre failure on lap 77 which put him in hospital and caused a Ferrari avoiding the incident to leave the track which killed 3 spectators in an unauthorised spectating area.

It took an AC enthusiast 12 years to rebuild the wreck of #A98 into the condition seen here at Goodwood Revival in 2012.

Thanks for joining me on this “185 mph Motorway Test” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a unique British built US entered vehicle that competed in the Le Mans 24 Hours. Don’t forget to come back now !

VSCC Spring Start – Silverstone

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I awoke at 3:40am on Sunday full of anticipation, the weather forecast was good, the dawn chorus was getting underway as I prepared my sandwiches and daylight was lighting up the day as I headed towards Silverstone with my friend and regular GALPOT contributor Tim.

M4, Eastbound

We took the fast route in order to get to the circuit early, meeting up with friends for breakfast in the canteen we were saddened to learn of the death of Lotus Elan driver Alan Fleming in Hockenheim the day before and that Garry White had been seriously injured driving a GN Gnome the same day at Silverstone.

Lotus 49 R8, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

Tim and I took a wonder round the paddock in the morning where we were astonished to find the late 1968 Lotus 49 R8 as raced by Graham Hill, Richard Atwood, Jo Bonnier and most successfully by Dave Carlton in South Africa to two local F1 championships, form the center of a Bonhams display. The car is expected to fetch between £700,000 and a million at Goodwood in June.

Standard, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

While we were working our way through the paddock the vehicle above wafted through the crowd, I was surprised to learn it appears to be powered by a Standard Vanguard motor, if you know anything else about the car please chime in below.

ERA 80th Anniversary Trophy, Gillies, Morris, Topliss, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

The racing got underway with the ERA 80th Anniversary Trophy which was one by Mark Gilles aboard the green wheel lifting 1934 ERA seen leading the ERA 11B of David Morris which retired leaving Nicholas Topliss in the #5 blue ERA R4A to finish second.

FJHRA , Goodliff Woodhouse, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

The battle for honours in the front engined Formula Junior race lasted the whole race with Simon Goodliff in his red 1960 Lola Mk2 managing to hold off the green 1959 Elva 100 driven by Mark Woodhouse.

Riley, Super Rat, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

Pete Candy driving the 1936 Riley Super Rat seen in the paddock above won the 8 minute Short Scratch Race for pre war cars.

HGPCA Pre 66, Griffin, Moreton, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

The action continued with the second race for pre ’66 Grand Prix Cars which was won by John Romano who clocked up his second win of the weekend in his 1964 Brabham BT11. Above Alex Moreton in his 1961 Lotus 21 is about to lap Paul Griffin in his 1959 Cooper T51 on his way to a seventh place finish.

Maserati 6CM, Lockie, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

It’s always great to see one of my former race instructors, from 1989/90, take part in an event above one such was Calum Lockie who is seen driving a 1938 Maserati 6CM to victory in the pre 1941 Continental Trophy race.

50's Sports Racing, Horsman, Wood, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

Regular readers will have heard me make many references to The Nostalgia Forum who’s knowledgeable members include Peter Horsman seen above driving the #248 Lotus 15 above to victory over the #256 Lister Jaguar of Dr Barry Wood in the 1950’s sports racing cars event.

Tec Mec, Wood, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

Tony Wood lifts a wheel at Becketts above on his way to his second win of the weekend in the Pre ’61 Racing Car event driving the 1959 Tec Mec F415 which readers may remember I looked at in some detail recently.

Pre War Handicap, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

By comparison the 5 lap pre war Handicap race felt like a race in slow motion, above a couple of Rileys lead a gaggle of cars in the event which was won by Richard Hudson driving a Bentley.

F3 500, Bishop Miller, Kingsland, Turner VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

The penultimate event of the day was for the 500 cc / 30.5 cui Formula 3 cars this was declared, with Ian Philips the winner, after the; #57 Revis driven by Richard Bishop Miller, #59 Staride Mk 3 of Xavier Kingsland and #86 Cooper Mk 9 of John Turner came to grief at Becketts one lap after the photo above was taken. I am not entirely sure what happened but the out come was that John Turner was thrown out of his Cooper and Richard Bishop Miller had to be cut out of the Revis and both were taken to hospital.

Andrew Mitchel won the final Pre War race of the day driving an HRG but by then Tim and I were negotiating a few diversions on the way home, seeing John Turner falling out of his Cooper having left me feeling considerably the worst for wear.

My thanks to Alan Cox at the Nostalgia Forum for pointing me in the direction of the results pdf.

I hope you will join me in offering sincerest condolences to the the family and friends of Alan Fleming and best wishes for speedy recoveries to Garry White, Richard Bishop Miller and John Turner.

Thanks for joining me on this”VSCC Spring Start” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” and that you will join me again for Americana Thursday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Serviceability – Aston Martin Vantage V8 GTE

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In 2012 Aston Martin returned to racing a GT programme with up to three Gulf sponsored works cars, split between the Pro and Am subdivisions, appearing in last seasons Le Mans Series races.