1963 ATS Tipo 100

This car took part in the John Cooper Trophy Race for Pre 1966 Grand Prix and Tasman Cars at the Silverstone Historic Festival meeting of August 2001.

It's the 1963 ATS 100 GP, entered for the race by Philip Walker and driven by Andrew Wolfe. The car and its 1,495cc V8 engine were designed by former Ferrari chief engineer Carlo Chiti and was the only F1 car produced by ATS. Phil Hill and Giancarlo Baghetti were the drivers, and the cars only started in five Grand Prix races (all in 1963), both cars retiring in the Belgian, Netherlands, USA and Mexican races, and finishing in eleventh and fifteenth places respectively in the Italian Grand Prix. Carlo Chiti was involved is designing the 1961 Ferrari Dino 156 that had won the World Championship for Phil Hill that year, but he and several other personnel had walked out of Ferrari in October 1961 due to a disagreement with Enzo Ferrari and later formed the ATS racing team.

1953 Cooper Bristol MkII

This was one of the competitors in the Cheshire Building Society Allcomers Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1982.

It's the 1953 Cooper Bristol MkII of H S Clifford and the photograph was taken at the exit of Foster's Corner on the short circuit at Oulton Park, which is just before Knickerbrook. The car has a 1971cc 6-cylinder inline Bristol engine that was derived from the pre-war BMW 328 unit. Father and son Charles & John Cooper had started the Cooper Car Company in 1946, and at first specialised in building cars for the new 500cc class of racing that British enthusiasts had started as a simple and economical way to go motor racing after the war. This developed into the International Formula 3 class in 1950, and Cooper then ventured into the Formula 2 class by putting a 1,100cc JAP engine into one of these cars, way below the 2 litre limit allowed, but even with the lack of power the car was still reasonably competitive because of its light weight. When the World Championship was run under Formula 2 regulations in 1952 because of a dearth of the larger-engined Formula 1 cars Cooper decided to design a car to compete at that level. The 1,971 Bristol engine was chosen, but the Cooper Bristol MkI (later designated the T20) could not really compete with the Ferraris and Maseratis in World Championship races and was much more successful in minor British events. In 1953 the MkII (later T23) car was introduced, having a tubular frame chassis instead of the box section frame of the earlier car and the drive train was altered to lower the driver's seat. Although a better car it wasn't much more successful than the MkI, and the following season when the new 2½ litre Formula 1 regulations came into force the car was rendered obsolete. They still soldiered on for a few years, mainly in minor British events, and then became regulars in the historic racing scene, where they're still to be seen to this day.

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.

Friday's Ferrari

The Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1997 featured a Ferrari display in the paddock which included the car pictured below.

It's a 1952 Ferrari 340 Mexico which at that time was owned by Carlos Monteverde and is chassis #0226AT. The car is powered by a 4,102cc V12 engine designed by Aurelio Lampredi and the body designed by Giovanni Michelotti for Carrozzeria Vignale. Only four of these cars were produced, three Berlinattas and one Spyder, and they were built specifically to take part in the Carrera Panamericana race from the south of Mexico near the border with Guatemala to the north of the country near the border with Texas. In the end the Spyder which was entered for the American Bill Spear did not start in the race but the three Berlinettas did. The car above was driven by Alberto Ascari and Giuseppe Scotuzzi and retired after an accident in the early stages of the race. One of the other cars, driven by Luigi Villoresi and Franco Cornacchia, also failed to  finish, but the third Berlinetta, driven by Luigi Chinetti and Jean Lucas, finished the race in third place.

1928 Austin Seven

This was one of the entrants in the Lancashire Automobile Club's Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1986.

It's the 1928 Austin Seven of L N Gabbott and is pictured just after the start of the run turning from Victoria Street onto Chapel Street, the A56, to start its journey. The car is listed on the Austin Seven Club's Register and this tells me that it was first registered on 13 June 1928, the chassis number is 63103, the engine number is 50997 and it is an AD Tourer. The programme of the event said this about it:

1928  Austin Seven                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Reg: YW 6916  4 cylinder  747 cc                                                                                                                                                                                    (L.N.Gabbott, Sale, Cheshire)

Rebuilt from bits 15 years ago, has covered 15,000 miles since then, and won the Cheshire Vintage Enthusiasts' Club mileage award for completing 7,500 trouble-free miles in six months. This is its second Manchester to Blackpool Run. Since last year it has also joined the ranks of television car-stars, having appeared in the recent BBC series on the life of Miss Bluebell.

1926 Bugatti Type 37

This car competed in the Richard Seaman Memorial Vintage Trophy Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton Park in June 1981.

It's the 1926 Bugatti Type 37 of Wolf Zeuner, one of 290 cars built between 1926 and 1930. The Type 37 has a 4-cylinder inline 1,496cc engine and Wolf Zeuner's car has the unsupercharged version of that engine, as do about about three-quarters of the Type 37s built. The photograph was taken at Foster's corner, just before Knickerbrook on the Oulton Park short circuit.

Northern Wheatear?

During the Vintage Sports Car Club's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2005 I trekked round from the paddock to watch some of the racing on the furthermost part of the circuit at McLean's Corner. During a break in the racing I took this photograph of a little bird that landed on the wall behind me which separates the Donington Park circuit from East Midlands airport, the end of the runway being about ½ mile away.

I couldn't identify it at the time, but it seems to me to be a Northern Wheatear. No doubt someone with better ornithological knowledge than me could verify that or correct me.