Friday's Ferrari

This car contested the HSCC 70s Road Sports race at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2018.

It's John Dickson's 1976 Ferrari 308 GTB

The Ferrari 308 GTB was produced between 1975 and 1985 - it replaced the Dino 246 GT and was succeeded by the 328 GTB

The 308 GTB has a 2,926cc V8 engine with twin overhead camshafts per bank and two valves per cylinder.

Jaguar XK140

I photographed this car in the paddock at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2005.

It's the 3,442cc 1955 Jaguar XK140 of Trevor Groom and it competed in the Vredestein JEC Jaguar XK Championship Race at this meeting.

On 22 May 2018 I showed a photograph of another of Trevor Groom's Jaguar XK140s, taken in the scrutineering bay at the Gold Cup meeting of 2002 at Oulton Park

Lola T70 Spyder

This car took part in the Pre-1972 Le Mans Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

It's the Lola T70 Spyder of Colin Parry-Williams which appears to be the ex-Mecom car, chassis SL70/13, and which the programme of the event says is a 1966 car and has a 5,000cc engine. On 7 August 2017 I showed a photograph of this car that I'd taken at Silverstone in 2001 where it had a 5,700cc Chevrolet engine and was said to be a 1965 car.

Maserati 4CS

Maserati was the featured marque at the VSCC's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2005, and this is one of the Maseratis that took part in the Celebration Maserati Invitation Race.

It's the 1935 Maserati 4CS of Adam Painter. chassis #1126, which was one of five built between 1932 and 1936, originally with a 4-cylinder 1,100cc engine, but according to the programme of the event now with a 1,496cc supercharged unit.

ERA R3A

This car competed in the Hawthorn Memorial and Spanish Trophy Race at the VSCC's meeting at Oulton Park in May 2005.

It's the 2-litre supercharged 1934 ERA R3A of Rodney Smith, and was driven in the race by Mark Gillies.

Here's Mark Gillies during the race going underneath the footbridge at Clay Hill.

On 21 August 2013 I showed photographs of Mark Gillies and R3A at Donington Park in 2008.

Veritas Meteor

I photographed this car in a pit garage at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1997.

It's the 1950 Veritas Meteor of Michael Rudnig that took part in the Magneti Marelli UK Race for Pre-1952 Grand Prix Cars. The car was intended to be powered by an engine derived from the pre-war 6-cylinder BMW 328, but when that engine proved ineffective Veritas designed their own 2-litre 6-cylinder inline engine which was produced in the Heinkel factory at Stuttgart.

On 3 November 2015 I showed another photograph of the car at this meeting, and on 19 September 2017 I showed a photograph of the same car at the Coys meeting at Silverstone in July 2000. In today's photograph, as in the previous two, Stanley Mann's Bentley Jackson Special, 'Old Mother Gun', is in close attendance.

Renault 4CV

This car was displayed on the Renault Owners Club's stand at the Northern Classic Car Show at the Belle Vue Exhibition Halls, Manchester in September 1986.

It's a 748cc 1955 Renault 4CV, and a note in the brochure of the show said this about it:

The Renault 4CV - built beween 1947 and 1961. This car offered people cheap motoring in a 4-seater, 4-door, rear engine saloon and proved to be a rugged reliable car to many. The car on show, PGD 444 is a 1955 Grandlux example.

Most of the Renault 4CVs were built in the Renault factory at Billancourt on the outskirts of Paris, but some were also produced in the British Renault factory at Acton, and this is possibly one of those cars. The 4CV was marketed as the Renault 750 in Britain.

I've shown photographs of the Renault 4CV twice before, on 21 June 2015 and 10 November 2016.

Friday's Ferrari

When Alfa Romeo withdrew from racing after the 1951 season and BRM were seemingly unable to turn their car into a serious contender Ferrari were left as the only team capable of contesting World Championship races in 1952 under the 1½ litre supercharged/4½ litre unsupercharged formula. It was decided, therefore, to run the Championship in 1952 (and 1953) for 2 litre Formula 2 cars. The car pictured here is the 2 litre Ferrari 500 (chassis #05) that Alberto Ascari campaigned in both those seasons, winning six of the eight races in 1952 and five of the nine races in 1953. In both years the Indianapolis 500 race was included in the World Championship, but the specialist nature of that race meant that it wasn't contested by the European racing teams. Ascari's run of success included (if the Indianapolis race is excluded) nine consecutive victories spanning the two years.

The car was in the museum at Donington Park for many years, and I took this photograph of it in March 1996. Sadly the museum closed on 5 November this year as Motor Sport Vision, who now run the circuit, say that it 'does not fit their business plan'.

Cooper T56

This was one of the competitors in the Millers Oils/AMOC Historic Formula Junior race at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulon Park in August 2004.

It's the 1961 Cooper T56 car of Peter Jackson, and is pictured here at Lodge Corner during the race. The Cooper T56 was the second Formula Junior car produced by Cooper and was originally provided with a 994cc BMC engine. This particular car is chassis FJ/21/61 and was originally a Cooper works car, but was later sold to French driver Robert Bouharde, whose livery it still bears, and was later fitted with a 1,098cc Ford Cosworth engine.

Argyll Flying Fifteen

I took these photographs at the National Museum of Scotland during a recent holiday in Edinburgh.

It's a 1910 Argyll Flying Fifteen

This placard at the side of the car provided little information about it, and I've not been able to find any further details.

Talbot Lago T26 Décalée

This car took part in the HGPCA Pre '52 GP Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in August 1996.

It's the 1939 Talbot Lago T26 Décolée of Robs Lamplough, the 'Décolée' referrring to the offset drive train, but could also apply to the offset driving position. The car is powered by a six-cylinder 4½ litre unsupercharged engine and was originally designed to take on the pre-war Silver Arrows of Auto Union and Mercedes Benz, but lacked the power to do so.

Lotus 32B

This car competed in the Tasman & Intercontinental class of the HGPCA Pre '66 Grand Prix Cars race at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2003.

It's the 2½ litre 1965 Lotus 32B of Malcolm Ricketts. This car was a one-off derived from the 1 litre Lotus 32 that had been designed for Formula 2 racing in 1964, and was driven by Jim Clark in the 1965 New Zealand/Australia Tasman Series winning four out of the seven races and the Series Championship. It's pictured here at Lodge Corner during the Oulton Park race.

Maserati A6GCS

This car competed in rounds of the Shell Ferrari Maserati Historic Challenge series at the VSCC's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2004.

It's the 1955 Maserati A6GCS of Lukas Hüni, with a 1,978cc straight-6 engine designed by Gioacchino Columbo and the body by Carrozzeria Fantuzzi, chassis #2093.

On 16 April 2018 I showed a photograph of this car that I'd taken at Donington Park in 2003.

Leyland Comet 90

This was one of the entrants in the Greater Manchester Transport Society's Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally in Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1995.

Not listed in the programme of the event it's a 1953 Leyland Comet 90, a first generation model which was produced from 1947 till 1956. In 1950 the diesel engine in these vehicles was updated to the new 5.8 litre Leyland unit, but according to the DVLA record FPR 593 now has a 2,395cc diesel engine.

Friday's Ferrari

This car was driven by Robs Lamplough and Enrico Guggiari in the Coys of Kensington GT Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1995.

It's Robs Lamplough's 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, chassis #3445GT, and was once owned by Sweden's Ulf Norinder, hence the Swedish colours of blue and yellow. It has the Ferrari 250 2,953cc V12 engine with single overhead camshafts on each bank and 6 Weber carburettors.

On 20 June 2014 I showed a photograph of this car at the Coys Silverstone meeting in 1994.

Aston Martin DB3S

Yesterday I showed a photograph of a Brabham BT4 being driven by Frank Sytner at Donington Park. Here's a photograph of another of Frank Sytner's cars, with which he competed in the Coys Race for Pre-1959 Drum Brake Sports Cars at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2002.

It's a 1955 Aston Martin DB3S, one of the customer cars, and is chassis DB3S/116. The DB3S was built with a Lagonda 2,992cc straight-6 engine, but according to the programme of this event this car then had a 2,800cc unit. The original owner of this car was the Rank Organisation who bought the car when making the film 'Checkpoint'.

This is Frank Sytner at Lodge Corner during the race.

Brabham BT4

Here are three cars approaching McLean's Corner in the HGPCA Race for Pre-1966 Grand Prix Cars at the Historic Grand Prix Cars Association's International Historic Grand Prix Meeting at Donington Park in May 2004.

Leading is Frank Sytner in his 2½ litre 1963 Brabham BT4, chassis #IC-2-62, a car that was derived from the BT3 F1 car and intended for Tasman Formula Racing. The following car is the 2½ litre 1960 Lotus 18 of Michael Schryver and the third car, as far as I can make out, is the 1½ litre 1961 LDS Mk2 of Julian Wakeley.

On 27 December 2016 I showed a photograph of the Brabham BT4 in the paddock at Donington Park in May 2001.

Chrysler 77

This car took part in the Lancashire Automobile Club's Manchester to Blackpool veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1991, and is pictured here on the Exchange Station car park in Manchester prior to the start.

It's a 1929 Chrysler 77 Roadster but the programme of the event had very little information about the vehicle:

1929 Chrysler 77

Reg: AGX 107   6 cylinder   25.8 hp

(S.L.Baxter, Linthwaite, Huddersfield)

The Chrysler 77 apparently had a 268 cu in (about 4,392cc) L-head inline 6 cylinder engine producing 93 bhp. The DVLA record for this car says that the engine capacity is 2,655cc (about 162 cu in), and it also says that it's a 1933 model.

Lancia Aurelia B20

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

It's a 1958 Lancia Aurelia B20, one of the 18,201 made between 1950 and 1958. This car has a 2½ litre engine, the largest of the four V6 engines that were available for this model.

I've featured the Lancia Aurelia B20 three times previously, on 11 August 2014, 20 May 2015 and 9 July 2017.

Armistice Day

IN FLANDERS FIELDS

In Flanders' fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders' fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high,
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders' Fields.

This poem was written by a Canadian doctor, Lt Col John McCrae in 1915 shortly after a friend was killed in Ypres, and it was inspired by the sight of thousands of poppies flourishing amidst all the destruction and chaos of the battlefield. The poem inspired an American academic, Moina Michael, to make and sell red silk poppies, some of which were brought to England by a French woman, Anna Guérin. The British Legion (now the Royal British Legion) was formed in 1921 and bought 9 million of these poppies and sold them on 11 November that year, the proceeds being used to help WW1 veterans. The idea mushroomed from there and today millions of pounds are raised each year by the Royal British Legion for veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants.

Today, 11 November 2018, marks the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day in 1918 which brought an end to the First World War. Four years ago, between 17 July and 11 November 2014, to commemorate the start of that War in 1914 the moat at the Tower of London was gradually filled with a total of 888,248 ceramic poppies, each one representing a British or Colonial soldier who died in the First World War. Since then two segments of the display, the 'Weeping Window' and the 'Wave' have been taken on tours of various places in the United Kingdom, and from 8 September to 25 November 2018 the 'Wave' was scheduled to be displayed at the Imperial War Museum North in Trafford, Manchester, adjacent to Salford Quays.

This is a photograph I took of the 'Wave' outside the Imperial War Museum North. 

When you go home

tell them of us

and say

"For your tomorrow,

   we gave our today."

Lotus 51B

This was one of the entrants in the HSCC Historic Formula Ford race at the Historic Sports Car Club's Summer Race Meeting at Oulton Park in July 1992.

It's Paul Stringer's 1968 Lotus 51B designed to run in the Formula Ford class of racing. Formula Ford was a first step onto the motor racing ladder, using a mildly tuned 1600cc Ford Cortina GT engine and ordinary road tyres that would prove less expensive than the existing Formula Junior and Formula 3 classes. About 218 of the cars were produced and this one is chassis #51B/FF/139.

Friday's Ferrari

I took this photograph from a pit garage during a practice session for a Shell Historic Ferrari Maserati Challenge race at the VSCC's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Donington Park in June 2003.

It's Dutchman Frederico Kroymans' 2,953cc V12 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO, and is chassis #4757GT.

The car appears in the pit lane in the background of one of the photographs I'd taken at this meeting that I showed on 23 August 2013.

Vanwall

I took this photograph during practice day for the British Grand Prix at Aintree in July 1959.

It's the 'T' car driven in practice by Vanwall driver Tony Brooks. After fielding a full team in every race in the 1958 season Vanwall won the inaugural World Constructors' Championship, Stirling Moss narrowly finished in second place behind Mike Hawthorn in the World Drivers' Championship and Tony Brooks finished in third place. Tony Vandervell's health had been failing and the death of Stuart Lewis-Evans in the last race of that season in Morocco dealt a blow to the team from which they never recovered. The British Grand Prix was the only race they contested in 1959, and the only reason that the now Ferrari team driver Tony Brooks was able to drive the car was that Ferrari didn't compete in this race, giving the reason that strikes in Italy meant they weren't able to get their cars to Aintree. Tony Brooks was released from his Ferrari contract for this race, allowing him to drive the Vanwall, but he retired after 13 laps with ignition problems. Vanwall's last World Championship race, and the only one they contested in 1960, was the French Grand Prix at Reims where Tony Brooks lasted only 7 laps before retiring.

BRM P126

The Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1993 included a display of cars celebrating British Racing Green, and this is one of the cars included in that display.

It's a 1968 BRM P126, a car that was raced by BRM in the 1968 F1 season and had a 2,998cc V12 engine. Richard Attwood was one of the BRM team drivers that season, and he drove the car in the track display at this Silverstone meeting.

Allard J2X

This car took part in the Sportscar v Saloon Challenge Race at the Aston Martin Owners Club's meeting at Oulton Park in May 2002.

It's Josh Sadler's 1952 Allard J2X Cadillac, which the programme of the event says has a 6,092cc engine - about 372 cu in. I can't find a Cadillac engine corresponding to that size - the early 1950s V8 engine was 331 cu in (5,424cc) while the late 1950s unit was 365 cu in (5,981cc).

On 26 January 2015 I showed a photograph of an Allard J2X Le Mans taken at Oulton Park in 2008 which had all-enveloping bodywork to comply with Le Mans FIA regulations.

Benetton B190

In October 1992 we were going out one day in the car to Glossop and passed a garage and car showroom in Brookfield, just outside Glossop. When I saw this car in the showroom window I just had to stop and investigate.

It's a 1990 Benetton B190, as driven by Nelson Piquet, Alessandro Nannini and (for two races) Roberto Moreno in the 1990 Formula 1 World Championship season.

Nelson Piquet finished in third place in the World Drivers' Championship, thanks to wins in the final two races of the season in Japan and Australia. Alessandro Nannini finished in eighth place in the Championship despite not racing in the last two races after a serious injury in a helicopter crash that ended his driving career. Roberto Moreno took over the car for those two races and managed to take second place to Nelson Piquet in Japan.

The Benetton B190 had a 3,498cc Cosworth Ford HBA4 V8 engine and it helped Benetton to third place in the World Constructors' Championship.

Bugatti Type 35B

I photographed this car at the Vintage Sports Car Club's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2007.

It's a 1928 Bugatti Type 35B with a supercharged 2,262cc straight-8 engine and was apparently at that time one of the exhibits at the Bugatti Trust museum at Prescott. On its first competitive outing in May 1928 the car won the Targa Florio on the Madonie circuit with Albert Divo at the wheel.

Porsche 962C

This car was on display in the paddock at the Christie's International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1992.

It's the 1990 Porsche 962C which had finished in 12th place just a month earlier at the 1992 Le Mans 24 Hour Race, entered by ADA Engineering and driven by Derek Bell, Justin Bell and Tiff Needell. It's chassis #RLR-202 and is powered by the Porsche 3 litre twin-turbocharged Flat-6 engine.

Friday's Ferrari

This is one of three Ferraris that took part in the GT Challenge Race at the Aston Martin Owners Club's meeting at Oulton Park in May 2018.

It's the 1999 Ferrari 360, driven in the 50 minute long race by Matthew Wilton and John Cowan. Both the other Ferraris were Ferrari 430 Challenge models.

Here's the car at Druids Corner during the morning qualifying session. The Ferrari 360 has a 3,586cc V8 engine with twin overhead camshafts on each bank and five valves per cylinder.

This photograph was taken during the race at the exit of Britten's chicane.

Little and Large

I took this photograph at Lodge Corner during the Historic Racing Saloons Championship Race at the HSCC's Historic Race Meeting at Oulton Park in June 2001.

Number 88 is the 1,293cc 1966 Morris Cooper S of Norman Grimshaw, and number 8 is the 4,727cc 1965 Ford Mustang of Peter Hallford. I don't know who's overtaking who here - the Minis had a reputation for lagging behind the larger engined cars on the straights then overtaking them when they got to the corners.