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Tuesday 19 March 2024

BRM 50th Anniversary 1999

The 50th Anniversary of the BRM was marked at the Coys International  Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1999 by a display of many of the cars, some of which took part in track parades.
This is a photograph I took during one of these parades when I was stuck in the middle of the Silverstone paddock overlooking the Abbey curve. Not a terribly good photograph, but the pale green BRM V16 was being driven by Argentinian driver José Froilán González who drove the V16 car in aa few non-Championship races in 1952 and 1953.The car in front of the BRM V16 looks to be the 1968 BRM P133 which was driven in the display by Reine Wisell, whilst the BRM P25 at the rear seems to have Tony Brooks at the wheel.

Monday 18 March 2024

1948 Leyland Tiger PS1

This was one of the vehicles that turned up at a small motoring meet at the top of Werneth Low in Hyde in July 1991.
It's a 1948 Leyland Tiger with a Brush body, and was provided new to Burnley, Colne and Nelson.  It was converted to front entrance for one man operation in 1960 and reconverted to the original rear entrance during restoration in the early 1970s.

Sunday 17 March 2024

1972 Surtees TS11

This was one of the competitors in the Derek Bell Trophy race at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2008.
It's Gregory Thornton at Lodge Corner in his 1972 Surtees TS11. The TS11 was built for Formula 5000 racing and Gijs van Lennep won the 1972 Rothmans European Formula 5000 Championship driving one of these cars. Gregory Thornton's car is recorded in this oldracingcars.com car history as 'the John Yandell car'.

Saturday 16 March 2024

1901 De Dion Bouton 4½hp Voiturette

This was one of the entrants in the Lancashire Automobile Club's Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1980 and is pictured in a very wet Manchester before the start of the run.
It's the 1901 De Dion Bouton of Major Arnold Pownall and a note in the programme of the event says this about the car:

3. Major A.Pownall, Wilmslow, Cheshire
1901 De Dion Bouton 4½ h.p. Voiturette
This single cylinder car was assembled in America and spent its life there until 1972, when it was imported into this country.

The DVLA record says that the car is currently taxed and this is due for renewal in May 2024.

Friday 15 March 2024

Friday's Ferrari

This is a photograph that I took at the Ferrari Racing Days meeting at Silverstone in September 2017.
It's a 1978 Ferrari 512 BB and is the last of a line of Berlinetta Boxer cars designed by Leonardo Fioravanti that was introduced in 1973. The Berlinetta Boxer cars have a flat-12 engine designed by Giuliano de Angelis and Angelo Bellei with the original one, powering the Ferrari 365 GT4/BB, having a capacity of 4,390cc. In 1976 the flat-12 engine was increased in size to 4,943cc for the Ferrari 512 BB, and in 1981 the four triple-choke Weber carburettors were replaced with Bosch mechanical fuel injection in the BBi.

Thursday 14 March 2024

1959 Cooper T51

This car competed in the HGPCA Pre 1966 Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton Park in June 2006.
It's Richard Longes' 1959 Cooper T51 and has a 2,495cc engine, presumably the Coventry Climax FPF engine that powered these cars in 1959. It seems to be chassis F2-18-59.

Wednesday 13 March 2024

1992 Brabham BT60B

This is a photograph I took at the Donington Park Museum in September 2014.
It's a 1992 Brabham BT60B, the last Formula 1 racing car produced by the company, and has a 3,498cc V10 Judd GV engine instead of the Yamaha engine that powered the previous year's BT60. The board at the side of the car reads as follows:

1992 Braham BT60
The Brabham BT60's were revamped to 'B' specification to accommodate leased Judd V10 engines.  Damon Hill was recruited in time for the Spanish Grand Prix, but it was not until the British Grand Prix that he managed to squeeze his BT60B onto the grid for the race, where he finished last. That chassis never qualified again and was written off in practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix. The chassis before you today. no. 6, is the one Damon qualified for the Hungarian Grand Prix and finished 11th in the race and this "turned out to be the last hurrah for the famous team which had now fallen on such disappointing times". This is the last Brabham to race in a Grand Prix and launched Damon Hill into a Formula 1 career which saw him become World Champion in 1996. This car was purchased (as a tub) at the Minardi auction and restored to its original running order by Terry Mander.