1930 Avon Alvis Special

This car competed in two Short Handicap races at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton Park in May 2019.

It's the 1930 Avon Alvis Special of Alan Harpley and is based on an Avon Standard Special which had an Avon body on a Standard Nine chassis. Alan Harpley's car has a 1,842cc Alvis engine in place of the usual Standard engine, and narrower bodywork.

1959 AEC Reliance

This is one of the vehicles entered in the Greater Manchester Transport Society's Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally at Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1996.

It's a 1959 AEC Reliance with Plaxton Panorama bodywork, and the programme of the event said this about it:

'AEC Reliance, Plaxton Panorama, 1959                                                           129 DPT

Entered by            P. Salmon, Chapelthorpe, Wakefield

The vehicle was purchased new by E. Howe (Spennymore), a founder member of the OK Motor Group. Withdrawn from service in 1979. It was acquired for preservation in 1982.'

Several engines were available for the Reliance, and the DVLA record says that 129 DPT has the 7,790cc AEC AH470 diesel engine.

Two Coopers

This photograph was taken at Donington Park at the SeeRed meeting in September 2005.

On the left is the 1958 Cooper T45 of Bill Kirkpatrick that competed in the Ron Flockhart Memorial Trophy race. The Cooper T45 was derived from the T43 of 1957 that had competed in Grand Prix racing in that year with a 2 litre Coventry Climax engine, but in 1958 the T45 was on equal standing with the other Formula One teams with a 2½ litre unit. Rob Walker's rear-engined 2½ litre Cooper Climax T45 was good enough to win the first two races of the season, the Argentine Grand Prix (Stirling Moss) and the Monaco Grand Prix (Maurice Trintignant), and although Mike Hawthorn with his Ferrari 246 Dino won the World Drivers' Championship that was the last one to be won by a front-engined car. Bill Kirkpatrick's car at Donington Park had a 1,960cc engine. The car next to it is Brian Joliffe's 1955 Cooper T39 Bobtail with a 1,460cc Coventry Climax FWB engine. The T39 was raced in the popular 1½ litre class in sports car races in the mid-1950s, competing against the Lotus Eleven, Maserati 150S, Porsche 550 and others.

Friday's Ferrari

I took this photograph in the paddock at Silverstone at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting in July 1997.

These four cars, all Ferrari 250 GTOs, took part in the Coys of Kensington Ferrari GT Race. All four cars have the 2,953cc Tipo 168/62 Gioacchino Colombo designed V12 engine, the two cars on the left being 1962 cars, and the two on the right 1963. The first car on the left is that of Paul Pappalardo, chassis #5111GT, and originally supplied to French driver Jean Guichet who used it to win the Tour de France in 1963. The next car is chassis #4713GT, one of Anthony Wang's cars, which was driven in the race by Louis Sellyei and is unusual in that it has a Pinin Farina 330 LM body. It was originally owned by Luigi Chinetti and its first major race was the 1963 Le Mans 24 Hour race where it was driven to sixth place overall by David Piper and Masten Gregory. The third car is another of Anthony Wang's cars, chassis #3769GT, and he drove this one in the race himself. This car's first owner was Fernand Tavano, and he and André Simon gave this car its first major outing in the 1962 Le Mans 24 Hour race but failed to finish. The last car is the 1962 car of Peter Sachs, chassis #4091GT, which started off with the 1962 GTO bodywork but was re-bodied in December 1963 with a 1964 style body. It was first owned by Sergio Bettoja, but does not appear to have taken part in any major events until it was entered in the 1964 Tour de France where it was driven by Ludivico Scarfiotti and Giampiero Biscaldi. It failed to finish the event.

1979 De Tomaso Longchamp

This was one of the exhibits on the De Tomaso Drivers Club's stand at the Northern Classic Car Show on the G-Mex Exhibition Centre in Manchester in August 1991.

It's a 1979 De Tomaso Longchamp, one of about 410 produced between 1972 and 1986. The Longchamp was powered by the same 351 cu in (5.8 litres) American-built Ford Cleveland V8 engine that was used in the De Tomaso Pantera.

1975 March 75S

This car contested the HSCC Pre'80 Endurance Challenge race at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2018.

It's Kevin Cooke's 1975 March 75S, seen here being prepared in the pit garage before the race. Originally intended to replace the unsuccessful March 74S in the European 2-litre Sports Car Championship this completely redesigned car was only able to compete in support races as the European Championship series ended after 1974. The car has a 2-litre BMW M12 engine..

Here's Kevin Cooke at Lodge Corner during the Saturday morning qualifying session.

1967 McLaren M1C Chevrolet

I photographed this car on the straight between Priory and Brooklands corners during a practice session for the AT & T Istel Steigenberger Supersports Cup race at the Christie's International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1992.

It's Wido Roessler driving the Derichs Rennwagen 1967 McLaren M1C, chassis M1C-40-11, with a small-block Chevrolet 4,992cc V8 engine. The M1C was a customer car built to compete in the CanAm series in Canada and the USA, and M1C-40-11 was originally supplied to Carl Haas. It later passed to Ralph Treischman and then Jim Phillips before spending 14 years in Harrah's Museum then coming back to the UK.