Monza Lister Jaguar

The Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1999 included The Maserati UK Race for Pre-1961 Grand Prix Cars, and the programme of the event had this to say about the car pictured below:

'Brian Lister made his name building sports racing cars in Cambridge, several of which will be out in the BRDC '50s events, but his one-off offset single-seater, built for Ecurie Ecosse to run in the Race of Two Worlds at Monza, is out with Ric Weiland driving.'

The Race of Two Worlds was conceived as an annual exhibition event to be run on the banked oval at Monza and contested by two teams of cars from the USA (USAC cars as in the Indianapolis 500 race) and from Europe (F1 World Championship cars). Because of safety concerns and costs (and a lack of enthusiasm amongst the European F1 teams) the event only lasted for two years, 1957 and 1958, being won by the American cars on both occasions. Ecurie Ecosse entered a team of three Jaguar D-types in the 1957 race, and in 1958 two Jaguar D-types and this single seat Lister Jaguar built especially for the race and consequently known as the Lister Jaguar Monzanapolis. The aluminium body of the car was unpainted for the race, but at some time since then was painted this Ecurie Ecosse blue. It has more recently been returned to the original unpainted finish. Behind the Lister is the 1953 Cooper Bristol MkII of Oliver Robinson and Roddy MacPherson.

Friday's Ferrari

This car took part in races for the Shell Ferrari Maserati Historic Challenge at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2004.

It's the 1966 Ferrari 412P of Harry Leventis, driven at Donington Park by Peter Hardman. The car is serial number 0844 and although being shown as a 412P in the programme of the event it has a rather chequered history. According to its barchetta.cc record it started off life as a Ferrari 330 P3 before being converted to a 412P in 1967, and later that year into a CanAm Spyder Group 7 car. Sometime in 1997/98 it was converted back to 330 P3 Berlinetta specifications and there's no note of any further modifications. These are the official Ferrari overviews of the 412P and the 330 P3.

Guernsey, April 2016

Back in Guernsey last week to see our grandchildren again and to spend some time looking after them. Here are some of the photographs I took during our stay.

Here's Eliza at the wheel of one of the cars in the garden. She usually laughs and smiles a lot, but obviously takes her driving very seriously.

Edward and Eliza at the sandpit. I think more of the sand ends up on the ground than back in the pit.

Eliza being her usual self.

On the Wednesday morning we walked through Saumarez Park where there was this colourful display of flowers.

Back to Saumarez Park on the Thursday with our grandchildren and their daddy. Here's Edward on his scooter.....

.....and here feeding the ducks.

Edward in the playground which has recently been subject to a lengthy and expensive upgrade.

Part of the upgrade was the building of a 95ft long pirate ship, and here's Eliza exploring the results.

Children can share this particular swing, but neither Edward nor Eliza seem to be too sure about it.

Edward tried this climbing frame, but he's probably not big enough yet to be able to use it with confidence. And he's probably not wearing the ideal footwear either.

We paid a visit to the Shipwreck Museum at Fort Gray (known locally as the 'Cup and Saucer') on the Friday, but the day had started off very misty and when we arrived there we could barely see it from the road. It hadn't improved all that much when we finally left.

In the garden again on the Saturday, and Eric the cat had found a baby slow worm which we had to rescue from him.

Eliza in one of the cars again - what she was shouting at I don't know.

On the Sunday morning we visited the Bluebell Woods on the south-east of the island.

The woods are quite extensive and cover the cliffs on this part of the island, so some of the paths involve steep climbs. But as it's on the coast you can turn a corner and see wonderful views across Soldiers' Bay.

We came home on the Sunday afternoon, and our grandchildren came to the airport to see us off. Edward lent a hand with the cases.

Alfa Romeo P3

This car took part in one of the races at the VSCC's Boulogne and Hawthorn Trophies Race Meeting at Oulton Park in May 2005.

It's Roger Saul's 1934 Alfa Romeo P3. It was with an Alfa Romeo P3 that Tazio Nuvolari had what was probably his finest victory, in the 1935 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring when he beat the teams of 4 Mercedes-Benz W25s and 4 Auto Union B types to win by over 2 minutes.

Here's Roger Saul at Britten's chicane during his race.

Fiat Dino

This car was in the middle of a row of Ferraris in the paddock at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

It's a Fiat Dino Spider, a car produced by Fiat in 1966 using the Ferrari 2 litre V6 engine because Ferrari needed to produce the engine in sufficient numbers in a production car so that it could be homologated for use in Formula 2 racing. Ferrari later used this 2 litre engine, and the larger 2.4 litre one in the Dino 206 and 246 cars, which eventually became the Ferrari Dino 206 and 246.

By the Power of Grayskull!

I see this car quite frequently, and the registration number always reminds me, for some reason, of 'He-Man and the Masters of the Universe', or maybe ThunderCats.

Lola T70 Spyder

Here's a car that took part in the 1 hour long Sports Racing Masters race at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2006.

It's the 5.7 litre Chevrolet-engined 1964 Lola T70 Spyder shared by Chris Chiles jnr and Paul Ingram. Developed for Can-Am racing, the Lola T70 won the first series in 1966 in the hands of John Surtees.

Here's the car at Redgate corner during the race leading the 1963 Cooper Monaco T49 of Ted Williams & Chris Clarkson.

Alta F2

This car took part in the HGPCA pre 1961 Front Engined Grand Prix Cars race at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2004.

It's the 1952 Alta F2 of Martin Grant-Peterkin, driven in the race by Ian Nuthall. Although there are cosmetic differences it seems to be the same car that I featured on 21 January 2016, showing it at the Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in July 1987.

Friday's Ferrari

This is another photograph of the Robs Lamplough Ferrari 250 GTO at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1994 that I showed on 20 June 2014. It's serial number 3445GT and was originally owned by Luciano Conti of Bologna. It later passed to Ulf Norinder of Sweden, which is when it received its Swedish racing colours of blue and yellow.

BRM P25

This is a photograph taken in the paddock during practice for the BARC 200 race at Aintree in April 1958.

It's the BRM P25 of Jean Behra, who started in pole position but retired on lap 28 of the 67 lap race with brake problems. The race was won by Stirling Moss in Rob Walker's Cooper-Climax T45.

ERA

This car was one of the competitors in the VSCC Historic Seaman Trophy race at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2005.

This is Paul Mullins' 1936 ERA R7B and was one of ten ERAs taking part in this race. The car was painted white and with a chrome plated radiator when it was built for Arthur Dobson, but at one point in its history it was painted red.

Reliant Sabre

This car competed 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 the 1965 Reliant Sabre Six of John Leslie. The original Reliant Sabres had the four-cylinder 1,703cc Ford Consul engine, but the Sabre Six had the six-cylinder 2,553cc engine of the 1962 Ford Zephyr II.

Jaguar XJR-6

This car took part in the 2 hour long British Empire Trophy Race for Group C Endurance Cars at the Silverstone Historic Festival meeting in August 2001.

It's the 1985 Jaguar XJR-6 of David Coplowe, who shared the driving in the race with Martin Stretton. Three of these 6.2 litre V12 engined cars in Silk Cut livery were entered in the 1986 Le Mans 24 Hour race by Jaguar in relationship with Tom Walkinshaw, but none of the cars managed to finish. The Jaguar/Tom Walkinshaw combination finally managed to win the Le Mans race in 1988.

Morris Oxford

I photographed this car on the Exchange Station car park at the start of the Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in May 1992.

The programme of the event unfortunately only gives the basic ownership details:

76   1926 Morris Oxford Cabriolet
       David H Bond, Over Hulton, Bolton

There's a bit of information about the 1926 Morris Oxford, however, commonly known as the 'Bullnose', on this record in the Morris Register.

Matchless G50

The programme of the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2004 says this:

Four wheels good... but two wheels just as good

FAST FLOWING CURVES IDEAL FOR HISTORIC MOTORCYCLES

It's not just historic race cars at Donington this weekend. SeeRed is privileged to host round five of the 2004 Lansdowne Classic Series for classic motorcycles - a race series dedicated to preserving the sights and sounds of 1950s and '60s grand prix motorcycle racing.

There's a maximum capacity grid this weekend and among the riders will be several who actually raced in period. Authenticity extends to having push-starts, unfaired machines - unless originally fitted - and encouraging riders to wear black leathers.

The line-up also features many of the top riders in historic motorcycle racing, with a promise of nail-bitingly close competition for both the 350cc and the 500cc class titles.

The Lansdowne series is organised by Richard Thirkell, who warmly welcomes you to the motorcycle paddock for a closer look.

This is the first corner, Redgate, on the first lap of the race. leading on number 9 is Tim Jackson on what is described in the programme as a 500cc 1960 Norton Matchless G50. The machine on the extreme right is the eventual winner, Glen English, on a 500cc 1961 Matchless G50.

This is the winning bike in the paddock after the race sporting the victor's laurel wreath.

Friday's Ferrari

This car took part in the Cottage Furniture Inter-marque Championship Race at the Aston Martin Owners Club's Autumn Historic Car Races meeting at Oulton Park in September 1992.

It's Michael Millard's car and is described in the programme of the event as a 1982 Ferrari Boxer. It's a Ferrari 512 BB, of which 929 were built between 1976 and 1981, or a Ferrari 512 BBi, of which 1007 were made between 1981 and 1984. If the date in the programme is correct then it should be a 512 BBi. Four Competizione cars were built, but their barchetta.cc record doesn't show that it was one of those cars. Interestingly, the programme shows its registration number to be J7648 which is a Jersey registration, although Michael Millard's home town is shown as Birmingham.

Lotus Mk VIII?

I photographed this car amongst the Historic Lotus Register vehicles at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1997.

It appeared to be a Lotus Mk VIII of the mid-1950s and I had labelled it as such, but since deciding to show this photograph I've been trying to find out more about the car. According to Bill Vincent of the Historic Lotus Register nine Lotus Mk VIIIs were built, but 624 BMG was scrapped in 1972 and no longer exists. After much rooting around I've come across a reference in an online Autosport forum that this 'Lotus Mk VIII' was recreated by Graham Capel of the Historic Lotus Register from the remains of a Dutton. If it's an accurate recreation it should have a 1350cc MG XPAG engine.

Tesla

This is another one of those 'only one I've ever seen' vehicles that I photographed at Salford Quays a couple of months ago.

It's a Tesla electric car, and you'll notice that it's plugged into one of the charging points that have been installed around the Greater Manchester area.

It's part of the Greater Manchester Electric Vehicle Scheme, and you can pay for the electricity via a GMEV access card, or pay by phone when you get to a charging bay. The car is a Tesla Model S and you can read about it here.

Lister Jaguar

This is a photograph I took at the Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Donington Park in May 2001.

Neither car is listed in the programme of the event and car number 6 in the race in which these cars could have competed was a Lotus Eleven. The car on the right is a Lister Jaguar of 1958, or possibly one of the Lister Knobbly continuation cars. The car on the left is the 1959 car that Frank Costin designed with an aerodynamic body round a Chevrolet Corvette engine for Brian Lister. It was intended for the Chevrolet power plant, but some of the cars were fitted with the Jaguar engine.

Lamborghini Miura

I took this photograph in the paddock at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in August 1996.

It's two Lamborghini Miuras in the part of the paddock set aside for the Lamborghini Owners Club. You can see behind them part of the circuit that runs between Copse corner and Maggotts. The miura is a breed of Spanish fighting bull, and a fighting bull is, of course, the badge of the Lamborghini.

TT Sunbeam

This car took part in the Concours event at the VSCC's race meeting at Oulton Park in August 1996, a meeting which was, appropriately, 'dedicated to the memory of Sir Henry Seagrave' who drove one of these cars in the 1922 Tourist Trophy race.

It's a 1921 TT Sunbeam and it was entered in the concours event by R K Taylor. Although built in 1921 there was no Tourist Trophy race in that year, and the car gained its 'TT' identification by winning the 1922 TT race on the Isle of Man Mountain Circuit in the hands of Jean Chassagne and his riding mechanic Robert Laly.

Leyland Tiger

This is one of the vehicles taking part in the Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally at Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1998.

It's a 1952 Leyland Tiger PS2/12A, and the programme of the event said this about it:

Leyland Tiger PS2/12A /Roe 1952                                                                                                              EHL 344

Entered by               Barry Rennison, Pudsey, West Yorkshire

New to West Riding Automobile Co.  A fine example of  one of the last  half cab single deck buses  built for

the home market. In its later life it was used as a towing vehicle at the company's Selby depot until it was

bought for preservation in 1972. Last year's class winner.

Friday's Ferrari

I took this photograph at the HGPCA's Donington International Historic Grand Prix meeting at Donington Park in May 2004.

It's David Cottingham's 2-litre 1957 Ferrari 500 TRC, serial number 0682MDTR, which I have featured several times previously. The car immediately behind it is Christopher Keen's 1954 Kurtis 500, and the car on the trailer in the background is the Austin Healey 3000 MkI that Chris Clarkson and Ted Williams shared in the Gentleman Drivers GT and Sports Endurance Race.

Austin Healey Le Mans Sprite

The Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1995 included the Donald Healey Memorial Race and the car pictured below was one of the participants in this race.

It's Denis Welch's 1965 Austin Healey Le Mans Sprite (though he didn't drive the car in the race - it's shown in the programme of the event as 'driver to be nominated'). Austin Healey had entered Sprites in the Le Mans 24 Hour race throughout the 1960s, usually the Sebring version. In 1965 extensive wind-tunnel testing resulted in a new aluminium body with a truncated 'Kamm' tail which was found to bring far better performance on the long straights. Two cars were entered at Le Mans, the car above retiring late in the race but the other one finished in 12th place, winning the Prototype 1.3 litre class.

Marcos Luton Gullwing

This car competed in the HSCC Historic Road Sports race at the HSCC's Summer Race Meeting at Oulton Park in July 1995.

It's Peter Bremner's 1962 Marcos Luton Gullwing GT, with a 1198cc Ford engine. Behind it is Colin Sharp's 1966 Triumph TR4A.

Cisitalia 360 GP Car

This is one of the cars that was in the Donington Park museum when I visited in May 1989.

It's the Ferdinand Porsche designed Cisitalia 360 Grand Prix car of 1948-49 which was in the Donington Park museum for several years - the board in front of the car reads:

1949-49 - 1½ litre

supercharged

4 wheel drive

Cisitalia

Porsche 360

One of the Collection's most

prized

exhibits

Only two of the Cisitalia 360 cars were built and the Donington car was purchased about 6 years ago by Porsche who had already obtained the other car from Argentina where it had been taken by Piero Dusio, who had been the owner of Cisitalia. Both cars are now in the Porsche museum and this file by Martin Schroeder of Porsche details the history of the cars.

Delage D8S

Here's a photograph I took at the Northern Classic Car Show at the G-Mex Exhibition Centre, Manchester in August 1992.

It's a 1932 Delage D8S with coachwork by De Villars, but I don't know which stand it was on at the show, and the brochure of the event doesn't mention it.

Alfa Romeo 158

I've mentioned previously, on 30 October 2015 and 8 February 2016, the display at the Coys International Historic Tribute meeting at Silverstone in July 1994 featuring a tribute to Juan Manuel Fangio and his 5 World Championship wins. Here's another of the cars in that display, the one that gave him his first World Championship.

It's a 1950 Alfa Romeo 158, and to be strictly accurate the car with which he won his first title in 1951 was an Alfa Romeo 159.

The 1950 World Championship was won by his team-mate Giuseppe Farina in the 158.

After the 1951 season Alfa Romeo withdrew from racing, and the dearth of competitive Formula 1 cars saw the World Championship contested by Formula 2 cars for the next 2 seasons - the World Champion in both 1952 and 1953 being Alberto Ascari with the Ferrari 500.