1934 Bugatti Type 35

This is a photograph that I took at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 2000.

It's the 1924 Bugatti Type 35 of Richard Wills. The Type 35 had a 1,991cc straight-8 engine and was the most successful racing car of its era.

1961 Cooper T53 and 1958 Lola Mk I Prototype

These cars took part in two of the races at the Vintage Sports Car Club's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2005.

On the left is the 1961 Cooper T53 of Chris Bullimore with a Coventry Climax FPF 1,500cc engine which competed in the HGPCA Pre-66 Grand Prix Cars race. Jack Brabham had won the Drivers' World Championship in 1960 with a Cooper T53 in the last year of the 2½ litre Formula, and in 1961 the Cooper works team fielded the similar, but lighter T55. The T53 continued to be used in 1961, with a 1½ litre engine, by private entrants and this car, chassis #F1-15-61 went to Hap Sharp in the USA who drove it in the USA Grand Prix in 1961 and 1962. The car on the right is the 1958 Lola Mk1 Prototype of Richard Wills that had recently been restored by Hall & Hall and which competed in the 1950s Drum-Braked Sports Racing Cars race. It was the first Lola to be built, originally powered by a Coventry Climax 4-cylinder 1,098cc FWA engine to compete in the 1,100cc sports car category, and finished in second place in its second race driven by its builder Eric Broadley. It had great success in the hands of Eric Broadley and Peter Gammon, and as orders for the car increased Eric Broadley retired from racing in 1959 to handle the production of the car. Early models, like this prototype, had an aluminium body with the later ones being fashioned in fibre glass, and around forty examples of the Mk1 were built. Richard Wills' car now has the 1,216cc version of the Coventry Climax FWA engine, rounded to 1,220cc in the programme of this meeting. 

1950s Drum-Braked Sports Racing Cars

This is a photograph I took at McLeans Corner during the 1950s Drum-Braked Sports Racing Cars race at the VSCC's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2005.

Leading is Marshall Bailey in his 1956 Cooper T39 Bobtail followed by the 1955 Maserati 300S of Rodney Smith (#3060) being driven by Mark Gillies. Closely behind Mark Gillies is the 1954 HWM Jaguar of Michael Steele and the car at the rear is the 1958 Lola Mk1 prototype of Richard Wills.

Lola Mk1 Prototype

This car took part in the 2¼ hour long Historic Motor Racing News Gentlemen Drivers race at the VSCC's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Donington Park in May 2001.

It's the 1958 Lola Mk1 Prototype, driven in the race by Robert Hall and Richard Wills. Around 40 examples of the Mk1 were built between 1958 and 1962, originally with a 1,098cc Coventry Climax FWA engine, though this car has a 1,220cc unit according to the programme of the event. In the mid 1990s the car underwent an extensive overhaul by Hall & Hall, and on 18 September 2017 I showed a photograph taken in 2005 which shows how it looked afterwards.

HWM Jaguar

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

It's one of three HWM Jaguars entered in the race, the 1955 car (1953 according to the programme of the event) of Richard Wills. It has the 3,442cc straight-6 Jaguar engine that powered the Jaguar XK models, and also the C-Type and D-Type. In 2003 it was offered for auction by Bonhams.

I've shown photographs of HWM Jaguars previously, most recently on 2 January 2018.

Lola Mk1 Prototype

This car took part in the 1950s Drum-Braked Sports Racing Cars race at the VSCC's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2005.

It's the 1958 Lola Mk1 Prototype of Richard Wills which had recently been restored by Hall & Hall. Originally powered by a Coventry Climax 4-cylinder 1,098cc FWA engine, the programme at this Donington Park event showed its engine then to have a capacity of 1,220cc.