1956 Aston Martin DB3S

This is a photograph that i took in the paddock at the British Empire Trophy Race meeting at Oulton Park in April 1958.

It's the 1956 Aston Martin DB3S of John Dalton which is chassis #DB3S/10, the last of the team cars to be built, and has the 2,992cc 6-cylinder inline Lagonda engine.

1955 Aston Martin DB3S

This car competed in the 1950s Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 2000.

It’s the 1955 Aston Martin DB3S of USA driver John Romano  and has the 6-cylinder inline 2,922cc Lagonda engine. It is chassis DB3S/113, a customer car which was originally supplied as a fixed head coupé. The original body was retained after it was rebuilt as an open car.

1957 Lotus Eleven

These three cars all took part in the 1950s Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1999.

The number 34 is John Gray's 1957 Lotus Eleven, about 270 of which were built by the Lotus Company between 1956 and 1958. The Lotus Eleven was built with a variety of engines of different sizes from 750cc to 1500cc, and the programme of the event shows John Gray's car to have a 1,460cc engine. Number 60 is 1959 Aston Martin DBR1, chassis DBR1/4, of Simon Draper with the 6-cylinder inline 2,992cc engine and number 61 is the 1956 Aston Martin DB3S of John Romano which should also have the Lagonda 2,992cc engine, though the programme of the event says that the engine size is 2,800cc. It appears to be chassis DB3S/113.

1956 Aston Martin DB3S

I took this photograph at Luffield corner during the 1950s Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

Leading is the 1956 Aston Martin DB3S of Tony Smith followed by Adrian Hall's 1955 Lotus Mk X. The car on the right looks like it may be the Lola Mk1 of Irvine Laidlaw.

1954 Aston Martin DB3S

I took this photograph in the paddock at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1970.

It's a 1954 Aston Martin DB3S, registration number 63 EMU which is chassis DB3S/7, one of the Aston Martin Works Cars. In 1970 this car was owned by Patrick Lindsay who drove his ERA R5B 'Remus' at this meeting.

Aston Martin DB3S

This is a photograph I took at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1994.

It's three of the Aston Martin DB3S cars that competed in the Classic Car Sports Car Race and all have the 6-cylinder inline 2,922cc Lagonda engine.  Number 29 is the 1955 car of Hubert Fabri, one of the DB3S customer cars, chassis DB3S/102, and was originally one of three cars provided for Australian Tony Gaze's Kangaroo Stable. Next to it is the car driven by Sally Mason-Styrron in the race which is chassis DB3S/9, a 1956 Works car raced by the Aston Martin team in 1956 and 1957. At the end of the 1957 it was sold to Australian David McKay. The red car on the right is Valentine Lindsay's 1955 customer car, chassis DB3S/110.

 

1955 Aston Martin DB3S

I took this photograph in the paddock at the British Empire Trophy meeting at Oulton Park in April 1956.

It's the 1955 Aston Martin DB3S of Berwyn Baxter, chassis DB3S/101, and has the 6-cylinder inline 2,992cc Lagonda engine.

1954 Aston Martin DB3S

This car took part in the HGPCA Sports Car Race at the Christie's International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1992.

It's Simon Draper's 1954 Aston Martin DB3S, chassis DB3S/7. This car has the straight-6 Lagonda 2,992cc engine and was originally built with a coupe body as part of the works Aston Martin sports car team. Peter Collins and Prince Bira shared the driving in this car in the 1954 Le Mans 24 hour race, but it was severely damaged in an accident after 13 hours when being driven by Prince Bira, who escaped with cuts and bruises. The car was rebuilt for the start of the 1955 season with an open body and for 1956 received the new nose, as seen above, then was sold off by the works at the end of that season. A note in the programme of the event says:

'There are two DB3S Aston Martins in the field. Simon Draper's is one of the very successful works cars, winner of the 1955 Goodwood Nine Hours race and a string of lesser events, and has been raced more or less regularly ever since.'

1959 Lister Jaguar Knobbly

I took this photograph of two cars leaving the paddock for the qualifying session for the Louis Vuitton '50s Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1995.

Number 33 is the 1959 Lister Jaguar Knobbly of renowned Mexican collector Eduardo Baptista, though listed in the programme of the event as his 1955 Aston Martin DB3S. The following car is the 1955 Aston Martin DB3S of David Bennett.

1956 Aston Martin DB3S

This car was part of a display at the Christie's International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1992.

It's a 1956 Aston Martin DB3S with a 6-cylinder inline 2,992cc Lagonda engine, and although it bears the number 8 it did not take part in any of the races at that meeting. It looks identical to the car that finished second in the 1956 Le Mans 24 Hour Race driven by Stirling Moss and Peter Collins (even having the same racing number), but I've not been able to confirm that it's that actual car.

Classic Car Sports Car Race - Silverstone 1994

I took this photograph at Luffield Corner during the Classic Car Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1994.

Leading is Valentine Lindsay in his 1955 Aston Martin DB3S (DB3S/110) followed by Stirling Moss in his Lola Mk1 and Wessel von Loringhoven in his 1959 Porsche 718 RSK. On the right-hand side is Katharina Schmidt in her 1955 Cooper T40 Bobtail, the car with which Jack Brabham made his Grand Prix debut in the 1955 British Grand Prix.

1955 Aston Martin DB3S

This car took part in one of the races at the Aston Martin Owners Club's Autumn Historic Car Races meeting at Oulton Park in September 1992.

It's the 1955 Aston Martin DB3S of Tony Smith and has the 2,922cc 6-cylinder inline Lagonda engine designed by W O Bentley who moved to Lagonda after his Bentley car company had been taken over by Rolls Royce. This is one of Aston Martin's DB3S customer cars and is chassis DB3S/103, one of three cars originally acquired by the Kangaroo Stable, a group of Australian drivers who came to England in 1955 to race in Europe. The Kangaroo Stable was set up by Tony Gaze, an ex-World War 2 fighter pilot, and included David McKay, Tom Sulman and Jack Brabham. Sports car racing was much restricted in Europe after the Le Mans tragedy in 1955 and the Kangaroo Stable disbanded towards the end of the year. DB3S/103 went to Australia and passed through various hands before returning to the UK and being acquired by Frank Sytner in the mid-1980s, then to Tony Smith in 1991.

Here's Tony Smith at Lodge Corner during the race.

1955 Aston Martin DB3S

I photographed this car in the paddock at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1999, but it didn't take part in any of the races at this meeting.

It's a 1955 Aston Martin DB3S with the 6-cylinder inline 2,992cc engine, one of the customer cars, and is chassis DB3S/108. It was originally painted in the American white and blue colours and delivered to S.H.Arnolt - the 'Wacky' Arnolt of Arnolt Bristol fame, but soon found its way into the hands of Denis Barthel who had the colour changed to British Racing Green. The car then passed through various owners including Victor Gauntlett, who later became owner of the Aston Martin Company.

1956 Aston Martin DB3S

This car took part in the Twelve Lap 1950's Sports Car Race at the VSCC's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies Meeting at Oulton Park in June 1993.

It's the 1956 Aston Martin DB3S of Tony Smith and is chassis #DB3S/10, the last of the team cars to be built and has the 2,992cc 6-cylinder inline Lagonda engine. In 1956 it was driven to fifth place in the GP de Rouen by Roy Salvadori and driven by Peter Walker and Roy Salvadori in the Le Mans 24 Hour race but failed to finish. In 1957 the car finished in third place in the British Empire Trophy race at Oulton Park driven by Noël Cunningham-Reid, and that was its final outing for the Aston Martin team. Peter Whitehead entered the car in the 1957 1000km race at the Nürburgring and finished in ninth place, and the following season the car was acquired by John Dalton.

1955 Aston Martin DB3S

This car competed in the 1950s Sports Racing Cars race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in June 2008.

It's the 1955 Aston Martin DB3S of Hubert Fabri with the 6-cylinder inline 2,922cc Lagonda engine and body designed by Frank Feely. It's one of the DB3S customer cars, chassis DB3S/102, and was originally one of three cars provided for Australian Tony Gaze's Kangaroo Stable. Behind the Aston Martin is Benjamin Eastick's Jaguar D-Type, looking like a 1955 car but apparently created from D-Type parts in the 1970s and has chassis number XKD 133.

Aston Martin DB3S

This car took part in the 'Pre-War Sports Cars with Feltham Aston Martins' race at the Aston Martin Owners Club's meeting at Oulton Park in September 1992.

It's Simon Draper at Lodge Corner in his 1954 Aston Martin DB3S, chassis DB3S/7. This car has the straight-6 Lagonda 2,992cc engine and was originally built with a coupe body as part of the works Aston Martin sports car team. Peter Collins and Prince Bira shared the driving in this car in the 1954 Le Mans 24 hour race, but it was severely damaged in an accident after 13 hours when being driven by Prince Bira, who escaped with cuts and bruises. The car was rebuilt for the start of the 1955 season with an open body and for 1956 received the new nose, as seen above, then was sold off by the works at the end of that season.

Aston Martin DB3S

This car took part in two races at the Aston Martin Owners Club's Autumn Historic Car Races meeting at Oulton Park in September 1993.

It's a 2,992cc straight-6 1954 Aston Martin DB3S, chassis DB3S/7, which originally had a coupe body. After an accident in the 1954 Le Mans 24 Hour race it was rebuilt with an open body and remained part of the Aston Martin works team for the 1955 and 1956 seasons, the nose being rebuilt as seen here before the start of the 1956 season. It was driven at this meeting by Simon Draper.

Here's Simon Draper at Foulstons chicane during the first of his races.

On 9 February 2015 I showed a photograph showing the four cars of the Aston Martin team, including DB3S/7, at the Daily Herald International Trophy meeting at Oulton Park in 1956.

Aston Martin DB3S

This car took part in the 1950s Sports Racing Cars race at the VSCC's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in June 2008.

It's the 1955 Aston Martin DB3S of Hubert Fabri, an ex-Kangaroo Stable car and chassis DB3S/102. Designed by Willie Watson with body by Frank Feely it has the 2,922cc straight-6 Lagonda engine.

I've shown photographs of this car three times before, on 19 December 2012, 23 February 2016 and 22 August 2017.

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.

Aston Martin DB3S

This car competed in the Historic Motor Racing News Gentlemen Drivers GT and Sports Endurance Race at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2005.

It's a 1956 Aston Martin DB3S, driven in the 90 minute long race by David Bennett and Ted Rollason. It's the last of the works cars, chassis #DB3S/10, and has the usual 2,992cc straight-six Lagonda engine. After being raced by the Aston Martin Team in 1956 and 1957 it passed into the hands of John Dalton for two years, then had various owners including Tony Smith, manager of Pink Floyd and other bands.