1953 Cooper Bristol T23

These cars took part in two of the races at the Christie's International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1992.

Car number 30 competed in the Corporate Jets Historic Grand Prix Car Race and is Oliver Robinson’s 1953 Cooper Bristol MkII which has a 1971cc 6-cylinder inline Bristol engine that was derived from the pre-war BMW 328 unit. Car number 29 next to it is Belgian driver Jan Heuten’s 1960 Cooper T43 with a 4-cylinder inline 1,960cc Coventry Climax engine, and is possibly chassis F2-14-57. This was one of the competitors in the Historic Grand Prix Cars Association Pre '65 Grand Prix Car Race.

1958 Cooper T43

This car competed in the HGPCA race for Pre-1966 Rear-Engined Grand Prix Cars at the VSCCs meeting at Donington Park in May 2001.

It's the 1958 Cooper T43 of Tania Pilkington and has a 1,960cc Coventry Climax FPF engine. The car was designed for the 1957 Formula One season, but also competed in Formula Two races with the smaller 1,475cc engine. The T43 gave the Cooper Car Company its first Grand Prix victory when Stirling Moss won the 1958 Argentine Grand Prix in Rob Walker's car. Tania Pilkington's car is chassis #F2-24-57, which was originally supplied to Tommy Sopwith.

Craner Curves, Donington Park

This is a photograph taken at the Craner Curves during the first lap of the Ron Flockhart Memorial Trophy Race at the VSCC's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2004.

Leading is Andrew Smith in his 2 litre 1957 Cooper T43 followed by two more Coopers, the 2 litre 1958 T45 of Anthony Ditheridge and the 2 litre 1957 T43 of Tania Pilkington. The two cars behind them are the 3.8 litre 1958 Lister Jaguar Monza of Rod Jolley and Alexander Boswell's 3 litre 1952 Ferrari 625A. Following them is a group consisting of B Type and A Type Connaughts, a Cooper Bristol and another Cooper T45. Bringing up the rear are the 4.2 litre 1957 Kurtis Offenhauser KK500G of Stuart Harper and the 2 litre 1953 Cooper Bristol T23 of David White.

Cooper T43

I took this photograph in the paddock at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Donington Park in June 2003.

The car would have competed in the Flockhart Trophy Race, but there's no number 223 listed in the programme of the event in that race, nor in any of the races at that meeting. It looks like the 2 litre 1957 Cooper T43 of Tania Pilkington, which did take part in that race but was supposed to be number 117. If it is Tania Pilkington's car it's chassis #F2-24-57. Car number 6 behind the Cooper is the 1,071cc 1960 BMC MkI of Grant Wilson that was entered in the Front-Engined Formula Junior Cars race.

The Flockhart Trophy Race

I took this photograph at Redgate corner on the first lap of the Flockhart Trophy Race at Donington Park at the VSCC's SeeRed meeting in June 2008.

Leading is Philip Walker in his 1959 2½ litre Lotus 16 from the 1957 2 litre Cooper T43 of Andrew Smith. Behind them is the 1958 3.8 litre Lister Jaguar Monza of Rod Jolley, and at the rear is Hubert Fabri's 1957 3 litre Aston Martin DBR4 just behind Ian Nuthall's 1952 2 litre Alta F2.

Maserati A6GCM

A few days ago I showed some photographs of the Maserati 250F V12 which I had taken at Donington Park in 2005. Here are some photographs of its predecessor which I took at the VSCC Boulogne and Hawthorn Trophies Race Meeting at Oulton Park in June 2006.

It's a 1953 Maserati A6GCM, a development of the original A6GCM which was introduced in 1951 to compete in Formula 2 races. When Alfa Romeo pulled out of racing after the 1951 season leaving Ferrari as the only credible Formula 1 team the FIA decided to abandon the 4½ litre Formula 1 for the 1952 World Championship for Drivers in favour of the 2 litre Formula 2 cars, and Maserati produced this uprated version of the A6GCM to compete in the 1953 season's races. The car made its debut at the non-championship Naples Grand Prix in the hands of Juan Manuel Fangio and José Froilán Gonzáles.

This car is finished in the Siamese racing colours of Prince Bira who had owned A6GCM serial number 2044, which was apparently converted to a 250F in 1954. This is possibly that car as it is shown in the programme of the Oulton Park meeting as having a 2½ litre engine, although it's listed as an A6GCM.

Here's the owner, David Bennett, at Britten's chicane during the race leading Richard Last in a 1933/38 MG Parnell K3, Harvey Sykes in a 1957 Cooper T43 and Peter Mann in a 1952 Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica.