1962 Lotus 24

I took this photograph on the approach to Waterway corner at Aintree during the Friday practice session for the British Grand Prix in July 1962.

It's Innes Ireland in the UDT Laystall Racing Team's 1962 Lotus 24. The Lotus 24 was a spaceframe car offered to customers instead of the monocoque Lotus 25 used by the Lotus works team, and was powered by the Coventry Climax FWMV 1,496cc V8 engine. Innes Ireland qualified the car in third position on the grid, but because of some wear in the gearbox it was rebuilt overnight by the mechanics. During the warming-up lap before the race one of the selector forks in the gearbox broke and the mechanics quickly removed the top to remove the broken parts before the start leaving Innes Ireland with no second or third gear. When the flag fell he couldn't find any gear and sat on the grid as all the other cars dodged round him and went on their way. The car was then wheeled to the pits and the mechanics spent several laps getting the gearbox to work, Innes Ireland starting the race on lap 10 with only 1st, 4th and 5th gears but he soldiered round to finish in 16th and last place 14 laps behind the winner, Jim Clark.

Triumph TR4 and TR4A

I took the photographs of these two cars at the Aston Martin Owners Club meeting at Oulton Park in May 2015 where they both took part in the Equipe GTS race.

This is the 1962 Triumph TR4 of Nick Mountford

This is the 1967 Triumph TR4A of Richard McKoen

The Triumph TR4 was introduced in 1961 as a replacement for the Triumph TR3 with a body designed by Giovanni Michelotti that was the first major body change for Triumph since the TR2 was introduced in 1953, although the TR4's chassis was based on that of the earlier TR cars. The TR4 was replaced by the TR4A in 1965 and that car continued in production until 1967. Outwardly almost identical, the major difference in the two cars was the TR4A's independent rear suspension. Both cars had the 4-cylinder inline Standard Vanguard engine that had been fitted to the TR2 and TR3, with the capacity increased from 1,991cc to 2,138cc.

This is Nick Mountford in the TR4 at Old Hall Corner during the morning qualifying session for the race.....

.....and here is Richard McKoen during the same qualifying session, followed by the 1963 MGB of Graham Bates and the 1964 MGB of Harvey Stanley.

Friday's Ferrari

I photographed this car in the paddock at the Silverstone Historic Tribute meeting of June 2004, though it doesn't appear to have taken part in any of the races at that meeting.

It's David Piper's 1965 Ferrari 365 P2, #0836, originally built as a 330 P2 with a 3,967cc V12 engine, but converted to 365 P2 specifications with a 4,390cc V12 engine before it was acquired by David Piper in late 1965. This Silverstone meeting included a race for the 'European Sports Prototype Trophy Organised by Group4Racing' for which this car would have been eligible, but it is not listed in the programme of the event nor the table of results.

1935 Alfa Romeo Bimotore

I took this photograph at the Donington Park Museum in March 1996.

It's a 1935 Alfa Romeo Bimotore, one of two cars that were built when the Alfa Romeo competition affairs were run by the Scuderia Ferrari team and it was an attempt to challenge the German Mercedes Benz and Auto Union cars that were dominating the sport at that time. It has two engines, one at the front and one at the rear, and it was conceived by Enzo Ferrari and his development engineer Luigi Bazzi. The chassis was effectively a lengthened Alfa Romeo P3 chassis with an 8-cylinder inline engine at each end, those for one of the cars being 2,905cc and the other 3,165cc. The cars were first entered in the 1935 Tripoli Grand Prix, the 6.3 litre car being driven by Tazio Nuvolari and the 5.8 litre one by Louis Chiron. The cars proved to be fast, but the weight of the cars and the power of the engines took its toll on the tyres though Nuvolari managed to finish in fourth place behind 2 Mercedes Benz and an Auto Union despite having to make 13 stops for tyre changes. Louis Chiron drove a more conservative race making far less tyre changes and finished in fifth place. The project was abandoned before the end of that season and the larger engined car was dismantled, but the 5.8 litre car was sold to British driver Austin Dobson and it is that car that ended up in the Donington Museum.

1964 Gordon Keeble

 This was one of the cars on display at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2018.

It's a 1964 Gordon Keeble, one of 100 cars that were built by the Gordon Keeble company between 1964 and 1967. The cars were built with a 327 cu in (5,355cc) Chevrolet V8 engine and a glass fibre body made by Williams and Pritchard Limited, and this car is chassis 027. There's a Gordon Keeble Owners Club, and lots of information about the cars can be found on their website.

Tony Brooks

The Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 2000 celebrated 50 years of the Formula One World Drivers' Championship with the first race on 13 May 1950 at Silverstone. There was a display in the paddock of many of the cars that competed during those 50 years, some of which took part in track demonstrations during the weekend of the meeting. I took this photograph in the marquee in the paddock that housed the cars.

It's Tony Brooks sitting in the Connaught B Type, possibly reminiscing about his win in the Syracuse Grand Prix in 1955 in one of these cars. The car he is sitting in is chassis B4, originally owned and raced by Rob Walker's racing team and owned in 2000 by, I think, Tony Smith. The car in which Tony Brooks won the Syracuse Grand Prix was chassis B1, and like all the Connaught B Types had a 4-cylinder inline 2,470cc Alta engine. The photograph below shows Tony Brooks leaving the pit lane in the car on one of the demonstration runs.

1929 Napier Bentley

This car competed in the Brooklands and Goddard Trophies race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Hawthorn Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 2008.

It's the 1929 Napier Bentley of Christopher Williams and this is probably an early morning shot as it bears the number 193, presumably from a previous meeting, as it was number 70 at this meeting.

The Napier-Bentley was created by Peter Morley and David Llewellyn in 1968 using a 24 litre Napier Sea Lion engine which has a 'W' configuration - two banks of four cylinders in a 'V' with a third upright bank between them. The car was originally built on a Sunbeam chassis but after an accident was rebuilt using the chassis of a 1929 8 litre Bentley.

Here's Christopher Williams at Britten's chicane during the race

Maserati 250F

The Vintage Sports Car Club's  SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2005 featured the Maserati marque and in particular the Maserati 250F, and this is a photograph I took in the paddock of a row of these cars on display prior to the start of the racing.

Nearest the camera, car number 188 is one of Cameron Millar's recreations, #CM2. I can't identify the next car, but number 226 beyond that is #2520, then number 269 which is #2530. The next car with the blue nose band is the V12 engined car #2531, and beyond that you can just see the yellow nose band of what was then the Donington Museum's #2515.

Royal Jordanian AIr Force Historic Flight

I took these photographs at the Royal Air Forces Association's Woodford Air Show in June 1995. They are two aircraft of the Royal Jordanian Air Force Historic Flight, a De Havilland Vampire and a Hawker Hunter.

De Havilland Vampire

Hawker Hunter

De Havilland Vampire

The brochure of the event said this about the aircraft:

Representing Jordan we have aircraft from the Royal Jordanian Air Force Historic Flight which has only been formed since 1994, using aircraft of the types used in the past, such as the Hunter and Vampire. The flight now operates two Vampires, a single seat FB6 and a two seat T55 - both of which were previously operated by the Swiss Air Force. They are now painted in the camouflage of the period and the falcon markings of No.2 Squadron. The Hunter was on the British register as G-BOOM and is a two seat T7 variant. It carries the markings of one of the first Hunters to enter service with the RJAF in 1958, with No.1 Squadron based at Mafraq.

Friday's Ferrari

This car took part in the Coys of Kensington Pre-1964 GT Car Race at the Coys international Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1999.

It's the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO of Harry Leventis, chassis 3505GT, originally built for the British UDT Laystall team, and still bearing their pale green colours, the car was intended to be driven by Stirling Moss, but his career ending accident at Goodwood in April 1962 meant that he never actually got to drive the car in competition. Innes Ireland took his place and won the Tourist Trophy race at Goodwood in August 1992. The car has, of course, the Gioacchino Colombo designed 2,953cc V12 tipo 168 engine. At this Silverstone meeting the driving was shared by Stirling Moss and Tony Dron. 

1978 Surtees TS20

This was one of the contestants in the Derek Bell Trophy race at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2008.

It's the 1978 Surtees TS20 of Jeremy Smith and is seen here at Lodge Corner during the race. This is chassis TS20/01, the car that was driven in the 1978 season by Vittorio Brambilla whose best result with this car was a seventh place in the Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama. The TS20 had the 2,993cc V8 Ford Cosworth DFV engine and competed in the Formula 1 class of this Formula Libre race at Oulton Park, though the programme of the event strangely says that it had a 2 litre engine.

1953 Kurtis 500S

This car competed in the 1950s Sports Racing Cars race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in May 2011.

It's the 1953 Kurtis 500S of Geraint Owen which is chassis KK45 and has a 331 cu in (5,424cc) Chrysler V8 engine.

Frank Kurtis is best known for the Indianapolis 500 race winners of the 1950s, but he also built the Kurtis roadsters that were basically Indianapolis 500 cars with a two seater body. These were very successful in the USA, particularly on the winding circuits of the West Coast where they frequently beat the more sophisticated imported European cars.

1938 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 B Mille Miglia Spyder

I took this photograph in the paddock at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

After the class winning success with a berlinetta bodied 6C 2300B at the Mille Miglia in 1937, Carrozzeria Touring created a new Spyder bodied machine the following year for Count Giovanni Lurani's Scuderia Ambrosiana. The construction of this car, using the very first Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 B Mille Miglia chassis, 815001, and a 2,309cc 6-cylinder inline engine, was overseen by Alfa Romeo's chief engineer Vittorio Jano. It was entered in the Sport Nazionale category of the Italian Championship by Scuderia Ambrosiana to be driven by Franco Cortese who dominated and won the championship by scoring seven victories out of the eight races in which he competed. The car was also entered in the 1938 Mille Miglia race where Cortese added another class win to the 6C 2300 tally, and finished in ninth place in the overall classification. It competed in various other races in 1938, 1939 and 1940, then after the war it was rebodied by Pinin Farina and after a spell in Egypt it was acquired by Squadron Leader Peter Piper who brought the car to England, where he competed with it, and where it got the registration number VNO 323. In the 1970s the then owner John Coombs had a new body constructed following the original Touring design.

1916 Willys Overland Tourer

This car took part in the Lancashire Automobile Club's annual Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1991, and is pictured in the Exchange Station car park before the start of the Run.

It's a 1916 Willys Overland Tourer, and the only information about it in the programme of the event is that it had a 4-cylinder 35hp engine and was entered by Dr M F Rudge of Ashton-in-Makerfield. The Overland Automobile Company was founded in 1903 by Claude Cox in Terre Haute, Indiana, and in 1905 moved to Indianapolis. In 1908 the Company was bought by John Willys and it was renamed the Willys-Overland Motor Company.

1936 ERA R7B

I took this photograph at Britten's chicane during a short Scratch Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Boulogne and Hawthorn Trophies Race Meeting at Oulton Park in June 2006.

The leading car is the 1936 ERA R7B of Paul Mullins which has the 6-cylinder inline supercharged 1,980cc ERA engine. This car was originally built for Arthur Dobson with the 1,488cc engine and was owned by Paul Mullins from 2002 to 2014. The following car is the 1937 Riley Falcon Special of Robert Cobden which has a 4-cylinder inline supercharged 1,496cc engine.

1939 Talbot Lago T150C

This car competed in the Redgate Mug Race for Standard & Modified Pre-war Sports Cars at the Vintage Sports Car Club's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in May 2011.

It's a 1939 Talbot Lago T150C and was driven at this meeting by the owner, John Guyatt. The only other detail about the car in the programme of the event is that it had a 4 litre engine. The Talbot company had gone into receivership in the 1930s during the Great Depression and Antonio Lago, who had been appointed managing  director, bought the company from the receiver in 1936 and renamed it Talbot-Lago. The engines developed by the company for its sporting models were 6-cylinder inline 2,996cc and 3,996cc units, the T150C being powered by the larger of these engines.

Friday's Ferrari

This was one of the cars on view at the Ferrari Racing Days meeting at Silverstone in September 2017

This is a 1996 Ferrari F355 Berlinetta, one of 4,871 cars produced between 1994 and 1999. It has a 3,496cc V8 engine with twin overhead camshafts on each bank of cylinders and 5 valves per cylinder. The F355 replaced the Ferrari 348, and was itself replaced by the Ferrari 360. From 1997 the F355 became the first-ever road car to have the paddle operated F1 style gearbox transmission system.

1970 Leyland Tiger Cub

This vehicle took part in the Greater Manchester Transport Society's Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally at Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1996, though it isn't listed in the programme of the event.

It's a 1970 Leyland Tiger Cub, apparently the last one built, which was operated by the John Fishwick and Company of Leyland, Lancs from new. The 44 seat body was built by local body-builders W H Fowler, a company owned by Fishwicks. In 1978 the vehicle went to Phillips Motor Services of Holywell until 1984, when it was acquired by Eagles and Crawford of Gwernymynydd.

1971 Brabham BT36

This car competed in the Derek Bell Trophy race at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2005.

The Derek Bell Trophy race was a Formula Libre race encompassing several classes of car and this car ran in the Formula 2 class. It's James Murray's 1971 Brabham BT36 with a 4-cylinder inline 1,596cc Ford Cosworth engine and is chassis #BT36/11, originally owned and campaigned by Silvio Moser.

1957 Talbot Maserati

I came across this car in one of the pit garages at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1997.

It's a 1957 Talbot Maserati, one of only two cars that were built in 1956 with 2,493cc straight-6 Maserati 250F engines and entered for the Le Mans 24 Hour race that year, though neither car managed to finish the race. The cars were sold to André Dubonnet, and for the 1957 Le Mans race the cars were rebodied by Carrozzeria Campana of Modena and entered by Ecurie Dubonnet with race numbers 22 and 23. The car numbered 22 was due to be driven by Jean Blanc and Georges Burggraff but suffered mechanical problems during practice and didn't start the race. The number 23 car, due to be driven by Bruce Halford and Franco Bordoni, broke its transmission at the start and was out of the race before the leaders were round the first corner. I can find no trace of either of the cars competing in any other race. It isn't mentioned in the programme of this Silverstone event and as far as I'm aware it didn't take part in any of the races - the race it would have competed in was the Louis Vuitton 1950s Sports Car Race, and number 23 in that race was an Aston Martin DBR1. The yellow car behind this car is the 1950 Talbot Lago T26C of François d'Huart and it's possible that he was the owner of the car at that time, though I can't find any evidence that shows he was.

1982 Alfa Romeo 182

 I took this photograph at the now defunct Donington Park Museum in May 1989.

It's the Alfa Romeo 182 that was campaigned by the Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo in the 1982 season. The car had a 2,995cc V12 engine that was longitudinally mounted behind the driver, and was driven that season by Andrea de Cesaris and Bruno Giacomelli. They finished in 17th and 22nd places respectively in the World Drivers' Championship, the best result being a third place in the Monaco Grand Prix by Andrea de Cesaris.

1965 Porsche 904

This was one of the competitors in the Visage Pre '72 Le Mans Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in August 1996.

It's the 1965 Porsche 904 of Martyn Konig which originally went to the USA where it stayed until it was acquired by Martyn Konig in 1989 and brought to the UK. It's chassis 904-096 and while in the USA the 1,966cc flat four engine was replaced by a 2 litre flat six engine as fitted to the Porsche 904/6.

VSCC Racing at Oulton Park

These cars are at Britten's Chicane taking part in a handicap race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Boulogne and Hawthorn Trophies Race Meeting at Oulton Park in May 2005.

Leading is the 1936 Riley Falcon of Leonard Lord followed by the 1928 Amilcar CGSS of Terry McGrath, with Gillian Carr in her 1935 Riley Merlin  12/4 Special bringing up the rear.

Friday's Ferrari

This is one of several Ferrari Grand Prix cars, dating from 1980 to 2002, that took part in track demonstration runs during the Vintage Sports Car Club's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2005.

It's the 1997 Ferrari F310B of Uwe Meissner, a car that was driven by Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine in the 1997 season, and is pictured here at McLeans Corner during one of the demonstration runs. The 310B was developed by Rory Byrne and Ross Brawn from the 1996 Ferrari 310 which was designed by John Barnard and has a 2,998cc V10 engine. In the 1997 season Ferrari finished second to Williams in the Constructors' Championship and Schumacher finished second in the Drivers' Championship, but his record for the season was expunged because he deliberately drove into Jacques Villeneuve's car as the Williams driver was overtaking him in the final race of the season, the European Grand Prix in Jerez. Eddie Irvine finished in seventh place in the Drivers' Championship which was won by Jacques Villeneuve. Uwe Meissner's car is chassis number 172.

The cloud behind the car isn't a sign of an engine malfunction - it's cement dust that had been laid on an oil spill left by another car.

1958 Vanwall

This car took part in the Pre '61 Grand Prix Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1995.

It's the 1958 Vanwall of Vijay Mallya and was driven in the race by John Harper. The engine for the first Vanwall in 1954 was designed by a Norton engineer, Leo Kuzmicki, and was basically four 498cc Norton motorcycle engines with a common waterjacket and cylinder head. This 2 litre engine was enlarged, first to 2,237cc and then to 2,489cc by 1955. Vijay Mallya's car is chassis VW10, the car with which Stirling Moss won the Dutch Grand Prix and Portugese Grand Prix in the 1958 season when he narrowly lost out to Mike Hawthorn in the race for the World Drivers' Championship title.

1937 Alta 2 Litre Sports

This car competed in the Bill Phillips Trophy Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Boulogne and Hawthorn Trophies Race Meeting at Oulton Park in May 2005.

It's the 1937 Alta 2 Litre Sports of John Ruston which was driven in the race by James Diffey. Geoffrey Taylor formed the Alta Car and Engineering Company and produced his first car in 1929, the name 'Alta' apparently being chosen when he read a novel which referenced the town of Alta in Alberta, Canada and the name appealed to him. He produced a number of cars in the 1930s, firstly with a twin overhead camshaft 4-cylinder inline 1,074cc engine which was later increased to 1,496cc and then 1,960cc. John Ruston's car has a supercharged 1,960cc engine and was once driven by George Abecassis and Tony Gaze.

1982 Maserati Merak

I took this photograph at the Coys International Historic Festival at Silverstone in July 1994.

It's a 1982 Maserati Merak and is chassis AM122A 655. 1,832 of these cars were produced between 1972 and 1983, approximately 300 of these being right-hand drive, and it is powered by a 2,965cc V6 engine that is an enlarged version of that designed for the Citroën SM.

1931 Bugatti Type 51

This car competed in three races, including the Richard Seaman Historic Trophy race, at the VSCC's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in May 2011.

It's Stephen Shoosmith in his 1931 Bugatti Type 51 at McLeans corner during the Williams Trophy Race for Pre-1934 Grand PrixCars. This car has a supercharged 2,262cc twin cam straight-8 engine and has the same chassis and body as the Type 35, but with a twin cam instead of a single cam engine.