1928/31 Austin 7

This car competed in a handicap race at the Vintage Sports Car Club’s Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1981.

It’s a 1928/31 Austin 7 and the only information about it in the programme of the event is that it was entered by D.K.Ulph and had a 750cc supercharged engine.

1952 Connaught A-Type

This was one of the competitors in the Allcomers Scratch Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1981.

It's Gerry Walton's 1952 Connaught A-Type with a 1,960cc engine based on the Lea Francis 4-cylinder 1,767cc unit, and is chassis A8. Ten Connaught A-Types were built and A8 is one of only two that  featured a Hilborn-Travers fuel injection system instead of the Amal carburettors that were fitted to the other eight cars. It was mainly driven in period as a works car by John Coombes, Stirling Moss and Prince Bira. A later owner, Mike Young, sold the 2 litre engine and installed a 2½ litre HWM-Alta engine in 1955 to take part in Formula One racing and later took the car to South Africa. Phil Bowker subsequently bought the car and Gerry Walton sourced the Lotus 10 with the original engine which was reunited with A8. Gerry Walton acquired the car in the late 1960s and fully restored it to its 1953 state, competing with it until 1988.

1951 Cooper Mk V

This was one of the competitors in the Scratch Race for 500cc Racing Cars at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1981.

It's the 1951 Cooper Mk V of R.F.H.Wright with a 4998cc engine. After the Second World War motor racing in the UK was slow to re-start, partly because of petrol rationing and the cost of running a suitable car. Home-built ‘specials’ powered by 500cc motorcycle were created to provide a reasonably cheap way means of getting involved in the sport. John Cooper and Eric Brandon, with the assistance of John’s father Charles, decided in 1946 to build two cars, and in 1947 in the second post-war race meeting to be held Eric Brandon won the first race to feature 500cc cars. In 1950 this 500cc class of racing was adopted by the FIA as a new Formula 3, and John and Charles Cooper went on to build a series of these 500cc cars, eventually graduating to Formula 2, then Formula 1 culminating in Jack Brabham winning the World Drivers’ Championship in 1959 and 1960 in the 2½ litre Cooper Climax. There's a 500 Owners Association for all 500cc Formula Three enthusiasts, with lots of information about the different marques that took part.

1929 Napier Bentley

This is a photograph that I took at Lodge Corner at the Vintage Sports Car Club’s meeting at Oulton Park in June 1981.

It's Peter Morley in the 1929 Bentley Napier, a vehicle that he and David Llewellyn created 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.

1953 Connaught A-Type

This is a photograph that I took at Lodge Corner in the Cheshire Building Society Allcomers Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1981.

It's the 1953 Connaught A-Type of Alan Cottam, chassis AL10, which has a 4-cylinder inline engine based on the 1,767cc Lea Francis engine with the capacity increased to 1,960cc in line with the then current Formula 2 regulations.

1950 Talbot Lago T26 GS

I took this photograph at Lodge Corner during the Cheshire Building Society Allcomers Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club’s Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1981.

It’s Richard Pilkington in his 1950 4,482cc 6-cylinder inline Talbot Lago T26 GS with the offset driving position which meant it could compete in Grand Prix or Sports Car races. It's chassis #110057 and is the car with which Louis Rosier and Juan Manuel Fangio took part in the 1951 Le Mans 24 Hour race, retiring after 9 hours. It was then given an all-enveloping sports car body and ended up in the hands of Georges Grignard in 1953, but after an accident at Montlhéry in 1954 in which his co-driver Guy Mairesse was killed, Grignard locked the wrecked car away in his garage. Richard Pilkington bought the wreckage in 1958 and after racing the car in its sports car form for some years he eventually restored it to its original cycle-wing body form, racing it at historic race meetings in both sports car and vintage GP races.

1950 Talbot Lago T26 GS

This car took part in the Cheshire Building Society Allcomers Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club’s Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1981.

It’s Richard Pilkington's 1950 4,482cc straight-6 Talbot Lago T26 GS with the offset driving position which meant it could compete in Grand Prix or Sports Car races. It's chassis #110057 and is the car with which Louis Rosier and Juan Manuel Fangio took part in the 1951 Le Mans 24 Hour race, retiring after 9 hours. It was then given an all-enveloping sports car body and ended up in the hands of Georges Grignard in 1953, but after an accident at Montlhéry in 1954 in which his co-driver Guy Mairesse was killed, Grignard locked the wrecked car away in his garage. Richard Pilkington bought the wreckage in 1958 and after racing the car in its sports car form for some years he eventually restored it to its original cycle-wing body form, racing it at historic race meetings in both sports car and vintage GP races.

1931 Alfa Romeo 8C Monza

This is a photograph I took at Lodge Corner during the Richard Seaman Memorial Historic Trophy Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton park in June 1981.

It's Rodney Felton in his 1931 Alfa Romeo 8C Monza which has an 8-cylinder inline 2,557cc supercharged engine.

1959 Lotus 16

I took this photo at Lodge Corner in the Cheshire Building Society's Allcomers' Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in Jun 1981.

It’s Bruce Halford in his 1959 Lotus 16 which has a 2,495cc straight-4 Coventry Climax FPF engine. Bruce Halford raced in Formula One from 1956 to 1960, firstly with a Maserati 250F, then a Lotus 16 in 1959 and with Cooper T45 and T51 in 1960. In the mid-1970s he bought this Lotus 16 and competed at Historic meetings himself for several years. The Lotus 16 was raced by Team Lotus, and private entrants, from 1958 to 1960 with little success in World Championship races. Colin Chapman had to wait until the Monaco Grand Prix of 1960 for his first Lotus victory, achieved by Stirling Moss in Rob Walker's Lotus 18.

1957 Maserati 250F

This is a photograph I took at Lodge Corner during the Cheshire Building Society's Allcomers' Race at the VSCC's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies Meeting at Oulton Park in June 1981.

It's Willie Green driving A P Bamford's 1957 Maserati 250F which is chassis #2534, a car that was supplied new to the American Temple Buell team in September 1958. This car was acquired by Anthony Bamford in 1972, and after restoration was raced in historic events by Willie Green. The car has the usual 6-cylinder inline 2,491cc Maserati 250F engine.

1953 Cooper Bristol MkII

This car competed in the Cheshire Building Society Allcomers' Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton Park in June 1981.

It’s the 1953 Cooper Bristol MkII of David Vine. The Cooper Bristol had a 1971cc 6-cylinder inline Bristol engine that was derived from the pre-war BMW 328 unit. Father and son Charles & John Cooper had started the Cooper Car Company in 1946, and at first specialised in building cars for the new 500cc class of racing that British enthusiasts had started as a simple and economical way to go motor racing after the war. This developed into the International Formula 3 class in 1950, and Cooper then ventured into the Formula 2 class by putting a 1,100cc JAP engine into one of these cars, way below the 2 litre limit allowed, but even with the lack of power the car was still reasonably competitive because of its light weight. When the World Championship was run under Formula 2 regulations in 1952 because of a dearth of the larger-engined Formula 1 cars Cooper decided to design a car to compete at that level. The 1,971cc Bristol engine was chosen, but the Cooper Bristol MkI (later designated the T20) could not really compete with the Ferraris and Maseratis in World Championship races and was much more successful in minor British events. In 1953 the MkII (later T23) car was introduced, having a tubular frame chassis instead of the box section frame of the earlier car and the drive train was altered to lower the driver's seat. Although a better car it wasn't much more successful than the MkI, and the following season when the new 2½ litre Formula 1 regulations came into force the car was rendered obsolete. They still soldiered on for a few years, mainly in minor British events, and then became regulars in the historic racing scene, where they're still to be seen to this day.

Here's the car at Lodge Corner during the race.

1929 Lancia Dilambda

This is one of the cars that took part in the Lancashire Automobile Club's Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1981 and is pictured before the start of the Run.

It's a 1929 Lancia Dilambda which was produced from 1928 to 1935 and has a 3,958cc V8 engine, but I no longer have the programme of the event so have no further information about this car.

1955 Maserati 250F

I took this photograph at Lodge Corner during the Cheshire Building Society Allcomers' Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies Meeting at Oulton Park in June 1981.

It's David Kergon driving the Maserati 250F that he co-owned with Peter Martin. It's indistinguishable from a 1950s Maserati 250F, but it's one of 12 replicas built by Cameron Millar and this one has the chassis number CM2. Cameron Millar acquired a genuine Maserati 250F in 1964 (originally 2501, later renumbered 2523) which he kept and raced for 8 years. In this time he purchased all the remaining cars and spare parts belonging to the Scuderia Centro Sud who had competed with the 250F in the 1950s, and also the chassis jigs from the Maserati factory. He then set about creating this series of replicas, using as far as possible genuine period parts, which are so well crafted that the FIA has allowed them to race alongside the genuine Maserati 250F and its contemporaries in competitive historic racing events.

1936 ERA R12B

I took this photograph at Lodge Corner during the Richard Seaman Memorial Historic Trophy Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton Park in June 1981.

It's the 1936 ERA R12B of Bill Morris, previously one of the White Mouse stable's trio of ERAs driven by Prince Bira, where it was given the name 'Hanuman'. It was originally built with a 2 litre engine as a B-type car, but in 1937 it was rebuilt to C-type specifications, thus becoming R12C, and given a 1½ litre engine. In 1939 the car was badly damaged in a crash during practice at Reims and was rebuilt with a B-type frame, reverting to being R12B and the name changing to 'Hanuman II'. After passing through various hands after the Second World War it came to Bill Morris. Bill Morris had managed to acquire the rest of the wreckage left over from the 1939 crash and using the damaged chassis frame rebuilt the car to its 1939 C-type specifications by 1982. That car was now R12C, as if the 1939 accident had never happened, and was given the original car's name of 'Hanuman'.

1899 Bassett Phaeton

I took this photograph at the Lancashire Automobile Club's annual Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in May 1981.

I made a note at the time that it was an 1899 Bassett Phaeton, but I no longer have the programme of the event and have no further information about the car or the owner.

1953 Connaught A-Type

I photographed this car at Lodge Corner in the Cheshire Building Society Allcomers Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1981.

It's the 1953 Connaught A-Type of Alan Cottam, chassis AL10, which has a 4-cylinder inline engine based on the 1,767cc Lea Francis engine with the capacity increased to 1,960cc in line with the then current Formula 2 regulations.

1934 Frazer Nash

This car competed in the Historic Trophy Race at the VSCC's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1981.

It's Guy Smith's 1934 Frazer Nash about which the programme of the event says: 'Guy Smith's smart single seater Frazer Nash has a Speed 25 Alvis engine.' This 6-cylinder inline 3,571cc engine was fitted by the brothers Frank and Jack Norris in 1937.

1914 TT Humber

This was one of the competitors in the Richard Seaman Memorial Vintage Trophy Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton Park in June 1981.

It's Kenneth Neve's 1914 TT Humber, the only survivor of the three Humbers that took part in the Tourist Trophy race in the Isle of Man in that year and it has a 4-cylinder inline 3,295cc engine. It's pictured at Lodge Corner during the race and a note in the programme of the event says this about the owner:

'Finally Kenneth Neve, who lives near Northwich and is a pre-war VSCC member and a Past President, drives his 1914 twin overhead camshaft TT Humber, the star with its owner of a recent BBC Manchester television film called "To Oulton with Love".'

1918 Straker Squire

This was one of the competitors in the Richard Seaman Memorial Vintage Trophy race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton Park in June 1981.

It's Adrian Liddell at Lodge Corner in his 1918 Straker Squire which has a 6-cylinder inline 3,921cc engine and was raced at Brooklands by Bertie Kensington Moir. A note in the programme says this about the car:

'There is absolutely no excuse (presuming it starts, of course) for not noticing Adrian Liddel's 1918 Straker Squire, for this ex-Brooklands car has been painted with black and white dazzle paint, such as it wore at Brooklands, surely supplied to Adrian by the same firm which made the blue and green Gordon tartan paint applied to the Arrol-Johnston cars which took part in the 1912 Coupe de l'Auto race at Dieppe.'

1926 Bugatti Type 35B

I took this photograph at Lodge Corner during the Richard Seaman Memorial Vintage Trophy Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton Park in June 1981.

It's Hamish Moffatt in Frank Wall's 1926 Bugatti Type 35B and has the 8-cylinder inline 2,262cc supercharged engine. A note in the programme of the event says this about the car:

'Last year's winner, Hamish Moffatt, again drives Frank Wall's Type 35B Bugatti, which was fitted with a single seater body after the last war by Peter Stubberfield who was very successful with it in hill climbs.'