Piper GTT

This car took part in the AMOC Lighthouse Anglo-American Thoroughbred Challenge race at the Aston Martin Owners Club Race Meeting at Oulton Park in May 2002.

It's Peter Bremner's 1970 Piper GTT, a car which was offered for auction by H&H Auctions in July 2008, though the programme of the Oulton Park race shows an engine capacity of 1600cc instead of the 1700cc shown in the auctioneers' description of the car. The Piper Sports & Racing Car Club keeps track of the surviving Piper cars.

Franklin

This is one of the cars taking part in the Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1993, here seen before the start of the run at the Village Hotel, Cheadle.

It's a 1915 Franklin 8M Tourer, and again there's little information in the programme of the event, just that it was entered by Beverley R Jobins of Poulton-le-Fylde.

Allard

This is a car I photographed at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1995.

It's an Allard, possibly a J2 model, but the front suspension and the body don't look quite right. I've done a search and can't find any other photographs of this car anywhere.

Stutz Blackhawk

Here's a couple of cars that took part in the 2 hour VSCC Pre-War Sports-Car Team Relay Race at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2006.

They're both 1929 Stutz Blackhawks, the one above being the car of John Guyatt and the one below is that of George Holman.

This article tells you about John Guyatt's car, SV 8089, and this one has details of George Holman's car, BS 9278. It seems that both cars took part in the 1929 Le Mans 24 Hour race.

Leyland Beaver

This was one of the vehicles in the 'Commercial Vehicles over 3 tons' class at the Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally at Heaton Park, Manchester, in September 1995.

It's a 1946 Leyland Beaver 12IB, and the programme of the event showed this information about the truck:

Leyland Beaver, 1946                                                                                             AHL 622

Entered by          S Burton, Littleborough

This vehicle, operated new by Beverley's Beers of Wakefield, was obtained in a derelict condition

in 1983. A pictorial description of the major restoration undertaken over a five year period at the

Museum of Transport is contained in the museum's excellent guide book.

Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B

This is a photograph I took at the Richard Seaman Memorial Trophy meeting at Oulton Park in August 1992.

It's a 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring SWB Spider, and this site suggests that it's one of the four Alfa Romeo team cars that took part in the 1938 Mille Miglia, but I've not been able to confirm this.

Friday's Ferrari

Here's a car that took part in the Champagne Charles Heidsieck Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1993.

It's David Cottingham's 1957 Ferrari 500 TRC, serial number 0682MDTR, originally campaigned by Ecurie Nationale Belge and had the four-cylinder 2 litre Lampredi designed engine. Behind the Ferrari is Willie Tuckett's 1955 Jaguar D-type, and number 32 on the left is Simon Draper's 1955 Bristol 450S.

Maserati 150S

This car was part of a display at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2005.

It's a 1956 Maserati 150S, serial number 1667, and was originally a works race car. It's not listed as taking part in the 1950s sports car race in the programme of the event and I don't recall it as being in the demonstration run by various Ferrari and Maserati cars. I remember that the racing driver Brian Naylor, who lived in Stockport and had a car showroom in Wellington Road South bought one of these cars in 1956. I lived about five miles from Stockport and I recall on more than one occasion riding to Stockport on my bicycle to see the Maserati and other of his race cars on display in the showroom. Brian Naylor's car, incidentally, was one earlier than this car, serial number 1666.

3 Cars in Guernsey

Here are three cars I photographed on our recent trip to Guernsey.

This is a Vauxhall Victor F Series from the late 1960s/early 1970s which I'd noticed before in Cobo on earlier visits, but this was the first chance I'd had to take photographs of it.

This is a Mini I photographed on the Albert Pier in St Peter Port, and looks like it's a Mk VII from the late 1990s.

This is a sad looking Aston Martin Lagonda that I spotted in Les Varendes from my seat in a passing bus.

I went there the next day to take these photographs.

Maserati A6GCS

Here are a couple of photographs I took of a car at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

It's a 1954 Maserati A6GCS, and as it's green at first I thought it may have been the ex-Gilby Engineering car (chassis number 2052) I mentioned in yesterday's post, but it appears to be chassis number 2058. I think the Gilby Engineering car was a darker shade of green.

I don't think it took part in the race meeting - there's no race number on the car and it isn't listed in the programme of the event.

The early Maserati A6GCS models were cycle-winged versions, and I showed some photographs of a 1947 car on 14 December 2014.

McLaren M14A

This car competed in the Silverstone International Trophy race for Pre 1978 Grand Prix Cars at the Silverstone Historic Festival meeting in August 2001.

It's the 1970 McLaren M14A of Graham Wilcox and is a car which was raced by the McLaren team in the 1970 season and early part of the 1971 season. It gained several 2nd, 3rd and 4th places in the hands of Bruce McLaren and Denny Hulme, but Bruce McLaren, who took second place in the Spanish Grand Prix, was unfortunately killed early in the season when testing an M8D CanAm car at Goodwood.

'Wildcat Aerobatics' Air Display Team

As well as a full programme of Vintage, Veteran and Historic car races, the VSCC's Hawthorn Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in July 2015 gave us a flying display by the 'Wildcat Aerobatics' Air Display Team on the Saturday of the 2-day meeting. Here are some photographs I took of that display.

The aircraft were a pair of Pitts Special biplanes

The planes are registered G-DIII and G-ZIII

I was walking over towards the Knickerbrook corner when the display started and it took place just outside the circuit boundary at that point.

Willment-Climax

This is a car that took part in the 'Ten Lap Invitation Scratch Race for 1950's Sports/Racing Cars' at the VSCC meeting at Oulton Park in August 1996.

According to the programme of the event it's a 1957 Wilment, but it's the Willment -Climax which I think dates from 1956. It was driven at Oulton Park by the owner, Hugh Taylor.

Friday's Ferrari

This is one of the cars on display at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2004.

It's a 1970 Ferrari 312B, serial number 003 70, which was driven in the 1970 season by Jacki Ickx and Clay Regazzoni, who finished second and third in the World Championship, and the car was also driven in four of the races by Ignazio Giunti. I showed a photograph of this car in the Donington Park Museum on 13 July 2012.

Guernsey, December 2015

Another short visit to Guernsey last week for our grandson Edward's third birthday. Both he and granddaughter Eliza were their usual selves.....

.....Edward here showing grandma how loud he could shout.....

.....and Eliza happy and smiling most of the time.

On the Thursday we had Edward for a large part of the day.....

.....we went for a walk in Saumarez Park in the afternoon.....

.....where someone was feeding the ducks.....

.....so Edward had to give them the remains of his lunch.

On the Saturday Edward had his birthday party and his mummy had made him a lovely Thomas the Tank Engine cake.

Very clever of mummy, but Eliza seemed to be wondering what clever mummy was doing wearing a donkey on her head.....

The party was rounded off with a game of 'Pass the Parcel'.

The next day after lunch at Crabby Jack's at Vazon we managed to have a walk on the beach for the only time during our stay there, although it was cold and dull. That didn't seem to bother Edward and Eliza though.....

.....they both seemed to enjoy running around in their wellies.

Austin Clifton

This is a photograph I took on the Exchange Station car park in Manchester at the start of the Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in May 1992.

The information in the programme of the event had at this time become very basic and all that it said about this car was that it was a 1925 Austin Clifton Tourer entered by Lockwood & Greenwood Ltd of Audenshaw, Manchester. I had taken a photograph of the same car at the 1987 event which I featured on 16 December 2013, and the programme that year had just a bit of extra information about the car which I showed then, together with a little story about an Austin Clifton which I remembered from a children's book some years previously.

Lotus Cortina

The Jaguar Drivers' Club Cheshire Cats' Trophy Meeting at Oulton Park in April 1987 included as one of the events The CSCC Pre '65 Saloon Car Challenge Race. The field included no less than ten Lotus Cortinas and here are photographs of two of them.

This is Ron Cosgrove's car pictured in the paddock

Here's Colin Woodcock's car exiting Foulstons chicane and accelerating towards Hill Top.

Mercer Raceabout

Here's a car that was in the paddock at the Richard Seaman Memorial Trophy meeting at Donington Park in June 2003.

I've got it noted as a 1909 Mercer Raceabout, but they apparently didn't start making the Raceabout till 1910.

Bugatti Type 29/30

This car was on display in the Bugatti Owners' Club's marquee at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in August 1996.

It's a 1922 Bugatti Type 29/30 and the only survivor of the four cars which took part in the French Grand Prix of 1922 at Strasbourg. The race was won by Felice Nazzaro in a Fiat with Bugattis finishing second, third and fifth, and if it's got the correct number this would seem to be the car that finished in second place.

Porsche 718/2

Here's a couple of photographs taken on practice day at the British Grand Prix at Aintree in July 1961 of the two works Porsche 718/2 cars.

This is Jo Bonnier's car in which he qualified in third place on the grid and ended the race in fourth place.

This is Dan Gurney's car. He started in twelfth place on the grid and finished the race in seventh place, a lap behind the winner. Three of the four works Ferrari 156 'sharknose' models filled the first three places, the winner being Wolfgang von Trips. There was one other Porsche 718/2 in the race, the private entry of Carel Godin de Beaufort who finished in sixteenth place.

Friday's Ferrari

On 19 June 2015 I showed some photographs of one of the Ferraris that took part in the Intermarque Championship race at the Aston Martin Owners Club meeting at Oulton Park in May 2015. Here's another of the Ferraris that was in that race.

It's the Ferrari F355 Challenge that was driven in the 45 minute race by Vance Kearney and Lee Moulden and seen here in the scrutineering bay early in the morning.

Here's the car at Druids Corner during the morning practice session.

Cadillac Coupe de Ville

I took this photograph at the Northern Classic Car Show at G-Mex, Manchester, in August 1994.

It's a 1959 Cadillac Coupe de Ville which was on the trade stand of James Barry Clark. The show's brochure says this about the car:

'The green and white 1959 has been restored by myself. I purchased it from a scrapyard in South Carolina in 1991 and began the work in 1992. The 1959 Cadillac has the largest tail fins of any American car and is considered to be the ultimate in fins  and chrome of that period. It is powered by a V8 engine, 3 speed auto box, power windows, power seats. Some models had cruise control side lights that double as spot lights as fitted to this particular car.'

Bugatti T35B

I like to walk round the paddock early in the morning at race meetings watching as the various competitors arrive and unload their vehicles, and here is one I photographed at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in May 2011.

It's Chris Hudson's 1925 Bugatti Type 35B..........

..........which competed in that afternoon's Williams Trophy Race for Pre-1934 Grand Prix Cars..........

..........in which it was driven by Michael Hudson.

Jaguar D-type

I photographed this car at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1994.

It's a Jaguar D-type, one of ten that took part in the 'Classic Car' Sports Car Race at the meeting. It was entered by Groveair Ltd and driven in the race by David Pennell.