1965 TVR 1800S

This was one of the competitors in the Equipe GTS Series race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in May 2011.

It's the 1965 TVR 1800S of Mark Ashworth and has a 4-cylinder inline 1,798cc BMC B-series engine. The 1800S was a development of the TVR Grantura Mark III and approximately 128 were built between 1965 and 1967.

MGB Roadster

I took this photograph at Foulstons chicane during the MG Cockshoot Cup Championship Race at the Jaguar Drivers' Club's Cheshire Cats' Trophy Meeting at Oulton Park in April 1987.

Leading is the MGB Roadster of Mark Ashworth followed by the MG Midget of Ashley Jacques and the Austin Healey Sprite of Rick Frisk. The programme of the event doesn't show the year of manufacture of any of the cars.

Coppice Corner, Donington Park

I took this photograph from McLean's Corner looking toward Coppice Corner during an 'Equipe' GTS Series race at the VSCC's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in May 2011.

Just about to round Coppice Corner is the 1964 MGB of Peter Bolderson and the red car at the bottom of the rise is the 1965 TVR 1800S of Mark Ashworth. The number 33 car is the 1961 Sunbeam Alpine of Keith Hampson with the 1954 Austin Healey 100M of James Wilmot-Smith slightly behind and to his right. Bringing up the rear is the 1965 MGB of Graeme Forrester.

Rolls Royce Marina

The SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2006 featured a one hour Sports Racing masters race for sports cars of the 1960-65 period. One of the cars entered was shown in the programme as a Rolls Royce Marina, although I confess that I don't remember hearing of this car in the 1960s. It was apparently a tubular spaceframe chassis with Formula 1 Cooper suspension units at front and rear and a 6.25 litre Rolls Royce marine engine converted to dry-sump lubrication, although the programme shows the capacity of the car as 6.75 litres. Apparently the car wasn't successful in the 1960s and doesn't appear to have had any better luck since. It was driven in the Donington Park race by Simon and Mark Ashworth.

This link to a Bonhams auction in 2005 gives some information about the car. There's apparently no connection with the Morris Marina car of the 1970s - the 'Marina' in the name of this car being merely a reference to the 'marine' engine.