Cooper T43

I took this photograph in the paddock at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Donington Park in June 2003.

The car would have competed in the Flockhart Trophy Race, but there's no number 223 listed in the programme of the event in that race, nor in any of the races at that meeting. It looks like the 2 litre 1957 Cooper T43 of Tania Pilkington, which did take part in that race but was supposed to be number 117. If it is Tania Pilkington's car it's chassis #F2-24-57. Car number 6 behind the Cooper is the 1,071cc 1960 BMC MkI of Grant Wilson that was entered in the Front-Engined Formula Junior Cars race.

Supermarine Spitfire

The Silverstone motor racing circuit is on the site of a WW2 RAF bomber station and, apart from the first few meetings which used stretches of the original runways, in its early years the circuit followed the line of the perimeter track. This meant that the runways were able to be used by aircraft and part is still in use, mainly as a heliport, for the British Grand Prix and other meetings. I've seen a variety of aircraft there when I've attended meetings, and this is one I photographed at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting in July 1998.

It's a Supermarine Spitfire Mk VIIIc and was built in 1944, but didn't see any wartime service. Its engine is a Rolls-Royce Merlin built under license in the USA by the Packard Motor Car Company. The aircraft was shipped to Australia in 1944 where it remained till 1979 when it was acquired by Robs Lamplough who brought it to this meeting at Silverstone where he was competing in his Lotus 33. The programme of the event has an article which refers to the various reminders around the circuit of Silverstone's wartime history and says:

'But this weekend there could be rather more reminders than usual because, once again, there will be an outstanding display of vintage and classic aircraft assembled by Simon Ames and the Air Squadron. This group of aircraft enthusiasts number about 100 and includes former RAF Cranwell graduate, Robs Lamplough. BRDC member Robs, a very successful racing driver in the late 1960s, will be racing his Lotus 33 this weekend but is also expected to arrive in his magnificent Spitfire Mk VIII. This 1944 aircraft is believed to be one of only four airworthy Mk VIIIs and it took a team of engineers at Filton some 14 years to painstakingly restore.'

Friday's Ferrari

This car in the paddock at Oulton Park was one of the competitors in the Cheshire Building Society Allcomers race at the Richard Seaman Memorial Trophy meeting in July 1987.

It's Neil Corner's 1960 Ferrari Dino 246 F1 car which escaped Ferrari's annual demolition of obsolete Grand Prix cars at the end of that season and was sold to New Zealander Pat Hoare. It's the car with which Phil Hill won the 1960 Italian Grand Prix but was modified for Tasman Series racing with the 2½ litre F1 engine replaced by a 3 litre engine as used in the Ferrari 250 TR sports cars. The chassis number was changed from #0007 to #0788.

Auto Union

On 2 December 2012 and 10 August 2016 I showed photographs of the Auto Union C-Type and D-Type that appeared at the Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Donington Park in May 2001. Here's another photograph I took that day.

Taken at Coppice Corner, it's the 3 litre V12 supercharged 1938 Auto Union D-type leading the 6 litre supercharged V16 1937 Auto Union C-type.

Bentley 3/8

This was one of the competitors in the Richard Seaman Memorial Vintage Trophy Race at the VSCC's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies Meeting at Oulton Park in June 1982.

It's Tim Llewellyn approaching Lodge Corner in his Bentley 3/8, a 1926 Bentley 3 litre, chassis LM1338, with a 1930 8.3 litre engine.  This was 36 years ago, and as far as I'm aware he's still racing the car today.

Cooper T40 Bristol Bobtail

This car competed in the Louis Vuitton 1950s Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1997, although it's first appearance was as a Formula One car in the 1955 British Grand Prix at Aintree.

Listed in the programme as Katharina Schmidt's 1955 Cooper Bobtail, it's the 2 litre Cooper T40 Bristol that Jack Brabham drove in his first World Championship Formula 1 race in 1955.

On 20 May 2014 I showed a photograph of Katharina Schmidt sitting in this car in the paddock at Silverstone in 1993.

The car behind the Cooper is Paul Pappalardo's 3 litre 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO, chassis #5111GT.

Tony Brooks

I took this photograph on practice day for the British Grand Prix at Aintree in July 1957.

On the left is Tony Brooks who shared the winning drive in the Grand Prix with Stirling Moss in a Vanwall. Tony Brooks, who was barely fit enough to take part in the race having injured himself in a crash at Le Mans only 4 weeks previously, took third place on the grid with team mate Stirling Moss in pole position. Moss led the race from the start with Behra's Maserati 250F second and Brooks third, but Moss's car suffered a misfire and Brooks was called into the pits to swap cars with Moss. Stirling Moss went on to win the race, due in no small part to the clutch on Behra's car exploding when he looked certain to win, and Mike Hawthorn, then in second place, suffered a puncture when he ran over bits of the debris. Tony Brooks in Moss's car eventually suffered an engine failure and he didn't finish the race.

The person to whom Tony Brooks is talking in this photograph is Alf Francis, who was mechanic to Stirling Moss in the early 1950s, and in 1957 was with Rob Walker's team whose Cooper Climax T43 was driven in this race by Jack Brabham. Tony Brooks also drove for Rob Walker in some F2 races and non-championship F1 races that season.