1928 Bugatti Type 35B

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 1965.

It’s the 1928 Bugatti Type 35B of John Horton and has a 2,261cc supercharged 8-cylinder inline engine. The Type 35 was the most successful of the pre-war Bugattis and about 37 examples of the Type 35B were produced in the mid to late 1920s.

1930 Bugatti Type 35B

This is a photograph I took in the paddock at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1969.

It's Neil Corner in his 1930 Bugatti Type 35B which he drove in the Vintage Trophy Memorial Race that day. Poking its nose out behind the Bugatti is a 1967 Maserati Mistral Spyder.

1927 Bugatti Type 35B

I took this photograph on the approach to Lodge Corner during the Vintage Memorial Trophy race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in August 1992.

It's Julian Mazjub in his 1927 Bugatti Type 35B which has the 8-cylinder inline 2,262cc engine. The Type 35 was the most successful of the pre-war Bugattis and about 35 examples of the Type 35B were produced in the middle and late 1920s.

Williams Trophy Race

I took this photograph at Redgate corner on the first lap of the Williams Trophy Race at the VSCC's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in June 2008. The race celebrates the win of Grover Williams in the first Monaco Grand Prix in 1929 and the trophy that he won in that race is in the custody of the Bugatti Trust, and is given to the winner of this race to hold for one year.

Leading is the 1932 Bugatti T51 of  Charles Dean and close behind him the 1926 Bugatti T35B of Mike Preston. The light blue car in the centre of the picture is the 1928 Bugatti T35B of Brandon Smith-Hilliard with the 1927 Lea-Francis Hyper of Miss E Brewster, driven by Jeremy Brewster, coming round on the outside. The red car on the left of the picture is the 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C Monza of Graham Burrows being driven by Chris Mann, and almost alongside him is the 1931 Bugatti T51 of Stephen Shoosmith.

Bugatti T35B

I took the photograph of this car in the paddock being prepared to participate in the Williams Trophy for Pre-1934 Grand Prix Cars at the VSCC's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in May 2011. The race celebrates the win of Grover Williams in the first Monaco Grand Prix in 1929 and the trophy that he won in that race is in the custody of the Bugatti Trust, and is given to the winner of this race to hold for one year.

The car is the 1925 Bugatti Type 35B of Chris Hudson and has a supercharged 2,262cc straight-8 engine. It was driven in the race by Michael Hudson.

On 9 December 2015 I showed three photographs of this car being unloaded from its transporter earlier that day.

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.

Bugatti Type 35B

This car took part in a Ten Lap Scratch Race in Memory of Sir Henry Seagrave at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton Park in August 1996.

It's the 1925 2,262cc supercharged 8-cylinder inline Bugatti Type 35B of B.C.Moore, driven in the race by John Ward. The Type 35 was the most successful of the pre-war Bugattis and 45 examples of the Type 35B were produced in the middle and late 1920s.

Maserati A6GCM

On 15 January 2018 I showed a photograph of a Maserati A6GCM in a pit garage at the HGPCA's International Historic Grand Prix meeting at Donington Park in May 2004. Here's a photograph of the car during the HGPCA Race for Pre-1961 Grand Prix Cars at that meeting.

This photograph was taken at McLeans Corner and David Bennett in the 1953/4 Maserati A6GCM is leading the 1927 Bugatti Type 35B of Ian Landy ahead of the 1946 Cisitalia D46 of Richard Pilkington with Dick Smith's 1932 Frazer Nash Nürburg bringing up the rear.

Talbot Lago T26C

This car took part in the Cheshire Building Society Allcomers race at the VSCC's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1982.

It's Chris Mann's 1950 4½ litre Talbot Lago T26C. These cars competed in the World Championship for Drivers in its first two years, 1950 and 1951, but the cars were generally outclassed by the 1½ litre supercharged Alfa Romeos. The blue car behind the Talbot is Hamish Moffatt's 1926 Bugatti T35B.

Here's Chris Mann during the race at Knickerbrook corner.

Bugatti Type 35B

Here's a car competing in a 4-lap handicap race at the VSCC's meeting at Oulton Park in June 2006.

It's Richard Longes at Britten's chicane in his 1927 2.3 litre supercharged Bugatti Type 35B. The 35B was the final version of the Type 35, which was the most successful of Ettore Bugatti's cars.

Bugatti Type 35B

I photographed this car at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2004.

It's Mike Preston's Bugatti, a replica of a Type 35B created from a Type 37 in 1995/96. The Type 37 used the chassis and body of the Type 35, but with a straight-4 engine of 1.5 litres instead of the 2.3 litre straight-8 engine of the Type 35B.

Bugatti T35B

I like to walk round the paddock early in the morning at race meetings watching as the various competitors arrive and unload their vehicles, and here is one I photographed at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in May 2011.

It's Chris Hudson's 1925 Bugatti Type 35B..........

..........which competed in that afternoon's Williams Trophy Race for Pre-1934 Grand Prix Cars..........

..........in which it was driven by Michael Hudson.

Bugatti 35B

Mike Preston's 1926 Bugatti Type 35B photographed at the Hawthorn Memorial Trophies race meeting at Oulton Park in June 2008. I always have difficulties in identifying the different Bugattis, particularly the Type 35 models, but this Wikipedia article tells you how they differ.

All the Type 35 models have the straight-8 engine and that of the 35B is of 2.3 litres capacity and is supercharged.

Here's the car during the Boulogne Trophy race just starting the run up Clay Hill after Knickerbrook Corner.

The car is apparently a replica, that is to say a replica 35B not a replica Bugatti, and a forum on www.bugattibuilder.com said this about the car in 2009:

'PRESTON, Michael S.P. A Cheltenham, UK, optician and computer software specialist who, at the latest count, owned three Bugattis who joined the UK BOC in June, 1995. The car he has used most latterly is an immaculate fully road equipped emerald blue type 35B (SV 4798). According to the BBR (p.65) the car is probably based on a type 37 (37165) which was imported from Argentina in the early nineties and was rebuilt to 35B specifications by Ivan Dutton Ltd in 1995/6. The car which was owned by George Minden for most of the nineties was issued with the no. BC 080 in April 1994. He has recently taken to running the car in stripped form in racing car events and achieved second place in the 2005 Williams Trophy race run at Cadwell Park behind Geraint Owen also driving a 35B. His most recent success was a Second Class award in the 2006 VSCC Pomeroy Trophy event.'

More Bugattis at Donington Park

More photographs of Bugattis at Donington Park, this time from the SeeRed meeting in September 2005.

1931 Bugatti Type 51

Bonhams auctioneers brought along a few cars and this one is a 1928 Bugatti Type 35B

Another Bonhams Bugatti, this one described as a 1935 Type 59/50B

This is a 1934 Bugatti Type 59

And this last one is a 1939 Bugatti Type 59 recreation

Bugattis at Donington Park

The second race at the SeeRed Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Donington Park on 21st May 2011 was the 'Williams Trophy Race for Pre-1934 Grand Prix Cars'. Taking part in this race were several Bugattis and below are photographs of five of the cars taken at McLeans Corner.

Duncan Pittaway in a 1925 Type 35

Bruce Stops in a 1928 Type 35

Stephen Shoosmith in a 1931 Type 51

David Hands in a 1925 Type 39

John Horton in a 1930 Type 35B

Bugatti Type 35B

There are quite a few visitors from France to my blog and especially for them here are are photographs of two Bugatti Type 35Bs which were taken at Oulton Park at the Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meetings of 1982 and 1987. The Type 35 with its different variations was the most successful of the Bugatti racing models and the 35B was the final version of the series which you can read about here.

This is Hamish Moffatt in his 1926 Type 35B at Lodge Corner in the Richard Seaman Memorial Vintage Trophy race in June 1982.

This is Terry Cardy's 1929 Type 35B in the paddock (above) and at Lodge Corner (below) in the Vintage Trophy race in July 1987.

Just as Ferraris are predominantly  finished in Italian racing red, so Bugattis tend to be mostly seen in French racing blue.