Reports | Classic car reports from Retro-Speed magazine

RETROMOBILE 2012

2012 Paris Retromobile, Porte de Versailles, 1-5 February Click to view the gallerySuperb, brilliant, wonderful. All these superlatives and more can easily be applied to this year’s Retromobile in Paris. No-one I spoke to demurred from this point of view and it was easy to see why, reports Peter Collins. From the glitz and sheer presence of the big dealer players’ stands – F...

NORTH WEST STAGES 2012

Legend Fires North West Stages 3-4 February Click to view gallery Not since the 1993 Lombard RAC Rally, have I ever been subjected to such Arctic conditions on a rally and being turned into an ice cube due to the rainwater freezing on my equipment and clothing, as when I attended this year’s Legend Fires North West Stages on the Fylde coast, reports Lawrence Clift.In fact two of the Fl...

MOTOR RACING LEGENDS 2011 AWARDS

Historic motor racing winners The 2011 Motor Racing Legends Awards Dinner took place on Wednesday 25 January at the Royal Automobile Club amidst a glittering array of trophies and motorsport stars, including Sir Stirling and Lady Moss.As it was Burns Night, Duncan Wiltshire of Motor Racing Legends made special mention of the many Scottish visitors among the guests, when he took to the rostrum...

NEIL CUNNINGHAM AT SWANSEA MOTOR CLUB

Neil Cunningham enthralls Swansea Motor Club Words and image from Ken DaviesA question often asked at this time of year – what do racing drivers do in the UK in winter? Well a large number give of their valuable downtime freely and entertain with talks to motor clubs, offering members an insight into the glamorous world of international motor racing On Wednesday 25 January GT, saloon and his...

LONDON - CAPE TOWN RALLY FINAL RESULTS

Day 29 and Final Results of the London to Cape Town Rally After surviving a last-minute scare when they ran out of petrol, Steve Blunt and Bob Duck in their non-turbocharged Subaru Impreza have won the London to Cape Town Rally by the rather thin margin of 38 seconds from a somewhat peeved Andy Actman and Andy Elcomb who had led the event for 17 of the last 19 days.First ‘classic’ acro...

LONDON - CAPE TOWN RALLY 2012

2012 London to Cape Town World Cup Rally Three days to go and the 14,000km London to Cape Town Rally is suddenly reduced to no more than a five-minute sprint for the line.Realistically, only two drivers have a chance of arriving first, Andy Actman or Steve Blunt, split tonight by no more than a few seconds. But in this race, everyone of the 40 odd crews who reach the chequered flag will be a ...

AUTOSPORT INTERNATIONAL 2012

Autosport International races ahead Click to view gallery Retro-Speed highlight of the 2012 Autosport International – The Racing Car Show, 12-15 January, was the Senna Tribute display, which included the McLaren MP 4/4, McLaren MP 4/8, Toleman TG 183B and the Lotus Honda 99T that Senna used to win the 1987 Monaco GP. But running close was the mouth-watering display of cars entered...

THE MAGIC OF MOTORING'S 2012 FIRST RUN

Red Bull F1 HQ start for charity run This year’s new start point for the second running of the Magic of Motoring Charity Classic and Vintage Car Run on New Year’s Day proved to be a big hit with both drivers and supporters. Large crowds gathered at Red Bull's Formula 1 headquarters in Milton Keynes to watch the start of The First Run.The event was once again supported by Shell, Porsche...

2012 CARPETBAGGER RALLY DECISION UNFAIR

Postponement unfair decision Road rallying has been a part of grass roots motor sport in the UK since time immemorial. Events take place every weekend, organised by responsible motor clubs and sanctioned by the MSA, and because they are held during the hours of darkness and on little-used country lanes other road users are not inconvenienced.Motor clubs also go to great lengths to communicate with...

BHRC SPIRIT OF CLUBMEN WINNERS

The Holton Homes ‘Spirit of Clubmen’ Awards The three winners of the Holton Homes 'Spirit of Clubmen' Awards within the Kololi Beach Club MSA British Historic Rally Championship have been announced, reports Paul Lawrence. John Moxon, David Kirby and Will Rowlands will all receive a fully paid entry fee for a round of the 2012 championship thanks to the support of Holton Homes, the comp...

NEW YEARS DAY CLASSIC GATHERINGS

Team Retro-Speed reports Brooklands, The Phoenix and The First RunEditor-in-Chief at Brooklands New Year’s Day GatheringHundreds of enthusiasts braved the mediocre British weather and arrived at Brooklands, the ‘home’ of British motor racing, in their classic cars on New Year’s Day. In fact, so many were the cars they overflowed across the Banking. During the past twelve mo...

RETRO-SPEED'S YEAR 2011

Retro-Speed’s Year 2011 I believe that at this time of the year it’s customary in the magazine business to look back over the previous twelve months, review internal significant events and even thank a few people. So let’s do it.Firstly, and it may not show, but to appease our critics, Retro-Speed significantly de-cluttered its home page by modernising its masthead, th...

CTCRC HAS NEW SPONSOR FOR 2012

Classic surprise from sponsor with sticky fingers Report and image from Kerry Dunlop.Some racing drivers are renowned for celebrating success by performing ‘doughnuts’ as they spin their high-powered cars amid a cloud of tyre smoke. Now one of the Classic Touring Car Racing Club members is going the extra mile – he wants to buy the doughnuts! John Wright, who races a Ford Escort ...

H&H CLASSIC CAR AUCTION RESULTS

H&H finishes on a high despite the weather Buxton’s first snow and ice of the winter failed to dampen spirits at H&H’s last 2011 sale on 9 December and the Cheshire-based company finished the year on a high note.The auction’s feature car was the 1951 ex-Walter Grant-Norton Jaguar XK120 Roadster, ‘PPE 101’, and it did not disappoint. A veteran of the...

THE MOTOR SPORTS ASSOCIATION RALLY REVIEW REPORT

The MSA’s Rally Review Report published The Stage Rally Review Report is an honest attempt by the UK stage rally management committee, i.e. the MSA (Motor Sports Association) to fully understand the pressures currently endured by organisers and competitors and to establish a list of revised guidelines to help make the sport less obstructive and more user friendly.In the end the declared stat...

VSCC 2011 CHAMPIONSHIP WINNER

Cawley clinches VSCC championships Chain-gang GN racer, Dougal Cawley entered an amazing 15 races with the Vintage Sports-Car Club this year, winning seven of them, elevating him to overall success in the Clubs two prestigious racing Championships, reports Gillian Carr.The Motor Sport Brooklands Trophy (supported by Motor Sport Magazine) is a registered MSA Championship for competitors racin...

2011 WINTER CHALLENGE

Happy to finish says Editor-in-Chief. Click to view gallery The fourteen hundred kilometre slog back from Monaco to rural Worcestershire gives one ample opportunity to reflect on what was, without any doubt, a week of well organised historic rallying. Seventy-three cars started the 18th Classic Winter Challenge to Monte Carlo and all but eight made it to the finish line. That mea...

GRIZEDALE STAGES 2011

2011 Grizedale Stages 26-27 November Click to view galleryWith the cancellation of last year’s event due to the heavy snow fall, the crews eagerly lined up in the dark for the first special stage of the Furness District Motor Club’s 2011 Coppermines Grizedale Stages. This will sort the men from the boys! thought Lawrence Clift.Mitsubishi Evo pilot, and eventual winners, David Wri...

2011 WINTER CHALLENGE

2011 Winter Challenge 20-24 November - Leg 3 Only one word to describe day three of the 2011 Winter Challenge ….. Fabulous. A full nine hours of mountain driving against the clock. And then a supper break before the four-hour unbelievably fast and furious night section.The day began badly for one particular Porsche driver when trapped fuel ignited and created a fire. Surprisingly, ther...

2011 ROGER ALBERT CLARK RALLY

Steve Perez says Roger Albert Clark is best rally of the year Steve Perez considers the Roger Albert Clark Rally, this year’s event to be held on 2-5 December, to be the best rally of the year and will fly straight back from the East African Safari Classic Rally to maintain his 100 per cent record of starting each of the eight editions of the Roger Albert Clark, reports Paul LawrencePerez an...

2011 WINTER CHALLENGE

2011 Winter Challenge 20-24 November – Leg 2 When Jan Ebus and co-driver Jan Berkhof lined up this morning at Beaune as the leading crew after the first 36 hours of the 2011 Winter Challenge, they must have been very happy that at last fog had given way to sunshine. But this is an event where positions change place sometimes every two or three hours. As the tired crews arrived in Aix-le...

HSCC IS 2011 CLUB OF THE YEAR

HSCC wins prestigious ‘Club of the Year’ award The Historic Sports Car Club has been voted ‘Club of the Year’ at the first International Historic Motoring Awards held at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel in central London last week (16 November) reports David Addision.The Awards ceremony drew a star-studded audience from across the historic motor sport and motoring industry,...

2011 WINTER CHALLENGE

2011 Winter Challenge 20-24 November - Leg 2 The five-day 18th Winter Challenge to Monte Carlo, organised by the Classic Rally Organisation, got under way yesterday, Sunday, with 73 crews setting off in their classic cars from Chester in the UK and Noordwijk in Holland.The opening 29-hour leg that led the cars on a tortuous journey through northern France, and on to the overnight halt in...

2011 WINTER CHALLENGE

18th Winter Challenge 20-24 November - Chester Car number 11, the Retro-Speed Lancia Fulvia HF, is now safely tucked away in the Queen Hotel car park in Chester prior to the start of the International Winter Challenge to Monte Carlo, organised by the Classic Rally Association. We leave at 09:06 tomorrow (Sunday) and follow a back road route cross country and down south. Then it's across the C...

FOOTMAN JAMES CLASSIC MOTOR SHOW 2011

Large, well-attended but expensive was the view of Dave and Joan Williamson The 2011 Footman James Classic Motor Show, held over the weekend of 12-14 November, was certainly large and well-attended despite the high entry fee and £8 car parking charge.Many of the car clubs had made considerable efforts to display their vehicles and there was quite a good response from the commercial com...

2011 WRC WALES RALLY GB NATIONAL DAY ONE

2011 WRC Wales Rally GB National – 11 November Although the day started dry, by the time the cars competing on the WRC Wales Rally GB National category reached the final 21.34km Dyfnant stage, the weather had turned decidedly murky with low lying cloud and drizzle. In fact, a typical day out in the Welsh forest.Last year’s winner, Nigel Griffiths, pushed hard but could not match the 'f...

MOTORSPORT UK 2011: THE NATIONAL MOTORSPORT SHOW

MotorSport UK 2011 Click to view galleryThe National Motorsport Show, in association with Go Motorsport and supported by TrackDriver, took place on 5-6 November.The message from Martin Capenhurst, organiser of the inaugural MotorSport UK show at Coventry’s super modern Ricoh Arena last weekend, was clear: “We are here this weekend to break down barriers and attract more young people in...

2011 SILVERSTONE AUCTIONS WALTER HAYES SALE

The Walter Hayes Sale Silverstone Auctions reports their final sale of the year, The Walter Hayes Sale, was a great success. The auction on Friday, 4 November included a diverse range of classic cars, modern sports cars and championship-winning competition cars, of which 62 per cent of the lots were sold, realising more than £1,400,000One of the highlights of the auction and the most expensi...

2011 AUTUMN LEAVES SCENIC TOUR

Autumn Leaves 2011 Click to view galleryThe 2011 Autumn Leaves Scenic Tour took place in perfect weather on 6 November and the route saw the best of scenery in the Wye Valley and Forest of Dean.The autumn colours meant that the event lived up to its name and a control at Tintern Station was perfect timing for a tea stop.A wide variety of classic cars made up the 56-car entry and all particip...

2011 HISTORIC FI JARAMA REPORT

2011 Historic Formula One Championship, Jarama 28-30 October. Report from Jon Bunston.Delane reigns in SpainMaximum points from two class wins coupled with a remarkable third place overall ensured that John Delane will be the FIA Historic Formula One Champion for 2011. The enthusiastic American, who has annually competed in every HFO event, has amassed enough points to ensure that he rightly gains...

MOTOR RACING LEGENDS AT 2011 ALGARVE HISTORIC FESTIVAL

Charis Whitcombe reports on Motor Racing Legends’ three races during the 2011 Algarve Historic Festival 21-23 October.JD Classics Challenge The second round of the JD Classics Challenge saw 18 historic touring cars from 1972-85 (Groups 1, 2 and A) take the rolling start for the one-hour race at the Algarve circuit on Saturday 22 October, including nine Portuguese entries.On pole position by ...

H&H CLASSIC CAR AUCTION RESULTS

Aston Martin DB6 makes double the estimate Following its record-breaking Duxford auction H&H achieved a rewarding 73 per cent at its spiritual home of Buxton in Derbyshire on 19 October 2011.Aston Martin DB6 prices are escalating and it was a Metallic Red 1967 example that topped this sale. Despite most aspects of the car being described as no better than fair by the vendor, it was knock...

2011 HISTORIC FI PORTIMAO REPORT

2011 Historic Formula One Championship, Portimao 21-23 October. Report form Jon Bunston. Japanese youngster takes HFO Portimao victory The Algarve Historic Festival attracted over 300 classic cars including a representative entry of 15 Historic Formula One cars for the penultimate event in this season’s calendar. The entry included the P34 six-wheel Tyrrell of Roger Wills, the i...

TEAM RETRO-SPEED RACE REPORTS

Team Retro-Speed race reportsAndy Harrison and his Austin Mini Cooper S had a very satisfying end to the 2011 season at the HSCC Silverstone Finals Meeting held on Saturday, 22 October. He reports having had a had a great race considering the Mini was racing with a lower powered engine. Qualifying 28th out of 41 Andy raced up to 19th overall and 2nd in class. The race was red flagged 5 laps from t...

2011 IRDC DRIVER PERFORMANCE AWARD

IRDC Driver Performance AwardMSA Dulux Trade British Rally Championship 2011 Final Results Despite the cancellation of the seventh round of the BRC championship, the Isle of Man International Rally, two factors have helped make the final results of this season’s IRDC Driver Performance award unusual, reports Ken Davies.For the first time since its inception the winner has won the award previ...

CLAN CRUSADER WINS AT HISTORACING FESTIVAL

Clan Crusader wins Class in European Maxi-1000 Series Belgian, Michel Chapel, has completed the 2011 season of the European Maxi-1000 series in his Clan Crusader. The series, involving races across the continent, included Le Mans and Spa. During the HistoRacing Festival 15/16 October at the Nimes circuit, Ledenon, Michel was confirmed as the 1000cc class winner in his 998cc Clan Crusader. Addition...

INAUGURAL MINI BRITANNIA 2011

The Inaugural Mini Britannia 14 October 2011 Report from Editor-in-Chief. Click to view images. Early on Friday morning a small but exclusive group of cars set off from Llandudno to cover a route across north Wales, taking in Anglesey Race Circuit and a series of special stages which included the Great Orme drive. Those entered in the Regularity category also enjoyed a series of indepen...

9TH RALLYLEGEND SAN MARINO 2011 REPORT

Rallies Editor, Lawrence Clift could not resist the 2011 Rallylegend in San Marino 6-9 October. Click to view Lawrence's images or video clip. This year’s pilgrimage to San Marino for the 9th running of Rallylegend has now been and gone and I’m left with over 2,500 images to sort through …. dusty camera equipment but more importantly, some fantastic memories once again.Harr...

LES DIX MILLE TOURS DU CASTELLET 2011 REPORT

The 2011 Dix Mille Tours du Castellet 7-9 October saw the best of Classic Endurance Racing. This is the second edition of the event organised by Peter Auto and has become the ‘classic’ meeting of the South of France attracting some 10,000 spectators during the weekend, and in addition to the six grids, 600 club cars took to the extremely demanding Paul Ricard HTTT circuit.Classic Endur...

LOUGHBOROUGH CAR CLUB LAUNCHES EASYLARITY RALLY

Easylarity win for Clan Loughborough Car Club’s inaugural Easylarity Rally held on Sunday 9 October was won by the Clan Crusader crew of Chris Valentine and Chris ThorleyThe Metric Services-supported event, held in the Vale of Belvoir, saw a full entry tackle daylight regularity sections interspersed with grass autotests. Valentine and Thorley took the honours in the Autotest category and a ...

CTCRC ROCKINGHAM 2011 REPORT

Real Racing at Rockingham As anticipated the final rounds of the Classic Touring Car Racing Club’s championships produced plenty of fast but fair racing at Rockingham on Sunday, 2 October as every driver was keen to finish the season on a high note reports Kerry Dunlop. The Sub Zero: Wolf Classic Thunder Championship/Pro Driver BOSS event was a typical example, with close racing all the way....

2011 MASTERS HISTORIC RACING REPORT

Masters Historic Racing Champions A number of Masters Historic Racing competitors are celebrating becoming the first-ever champions in the organisation’s history after the championship-deciders at Spa-Francorchamps reports David Addison. Click to view GalleryThe 2011 season marked Masters’ first year with recognised championship status and ran points-scoring competitions for GP Masters...

COLIN MCRAE HISTORIC STAGES 2011 REPORT

As well as being the top championship contenders to finish the Colin McRae Historic Forest Stages on Saturday 1 October, David Stokes and Guy Weaver also sealed the championship crown on the final round of the Dunlop/WONAGO MSA British Historic Rally Championship reports Peter Scherer.Stokes/Weaver always topped category two in their Ford Escort Mk1, while the Porsche 911 of Jimmy McRae and Paulin...

TRIBUTE TO BILL BODDY BROOKLANDS REPORT

Bill Boddy Tribute Day, Brooklands. Click to view images Saturday, 1 October 2011 saw a very special gathering of cars and personalities, drawn together as a tribute to one of Britain’s finest motoring writers whose spiritual home was Brooklands. As a young boy, William ‘Bill’ Boddy had already discovered motor racing at the ‘track’ and by his early teens was co...

MOTOR RACING LEGENDS SPA SIX HOURS REPORT

Charis Whitcombe reports on Motor Racing Legends at the 2011 Spa Six Hours 24/25 September Saturday’s Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy race at the Spa Six Hours Meeting was won from pole by the white D-type of Carlos Monteverde and Gary Pearson, although the early laps suggested the outcome could be very different. From the start, Monteverde fought tooth-and-nail to keep Simon Hadfield,...

AROSA CLASSICCAR HILL CLIMB 2011

1917 car charges up hill Hans Bromwich has reported that the Arosa ClassicCar International Hill Climb has just completed its seventh edition 8-11 September. Click to view Hans' images This classic car Alpine hill climb in Switzerland attracts cars and spectators from across Europe and saw 14 entries from the UK. There were three categories this year: Regularity; Race/Competition; and Museum-Class...

SPA SIX HOURS MASTERS 2011 UPDATE

Bumper grids for Masters Historic racing at Spa-FrancorchampsMassive entries for the Masters Historic Racing classes at the Spa Six Hours meeting this weekend, 23-25 September, are set to provide thrilling racing, reports David Addison.Five Masters grids qualified today, Friday, with the highlight being a superb entry of GP Masters Historic Formula 1 cars. Headed by Steve Hartley’s Arrows A4...

TEAM RETRO-SPEED AT 2011 GOODWOOD REVIVAL

Team Retro-Speed's Andy Harrison reports on his Goodwood Revival Having done all relevant test days we received a decline phone call in June so got on with other events instead. Then out of the blue, Thursday week before Goodwood, Rauno Aaltonen wanted a Mini to race and would we like to race? ….. wow Yes, Yes, Yes! So a mad panic rebuild with our lower power engine was carried out, w...

RALLYDAY 2011 CASTLE COMBE

Rallyday, Saturday 17 September, was not what Dave and Joan Williamson had expected Taking up an invitation to display our ex-works rally Clan Crusader on the Historic Rally Car Register (HRCR) stand, we were well placed to assess Rallyday on this, our first visit.Considered impressions were that it provided a very commercial showcase for modern rallying which, with its huge budgets and near ...

CIRCUIT DES REMPARTS D'ANGOULEME 2011 REPORT

2011 Circuit des Remparts 16-18 September. Click to view imagesIt must have made a wonderful driving holiday during the 1950s. Hour-upon-hour of deserted, arrow straight, tree-lined roads leading to a stop-over somewhere in the Loire valley before arriving in the hill top town of Angouleme, near Cognac, for the Circuit des Remparts race meeting.Sadly, after the terrible crash at Le Mans in 1955, m...

CER 2011 SILVERSTONE REPORT

Local boy wins big race Report from Peter Collins. Click to view images Martin O’Connell, the experienced historic Chevron driver, won the Classic Endurance Racing (CER) event at Silverstone on Saturday 10 September.CER is a short, but prestigious, set of events that go together to create an overall championship at the end of the year. The races take place, appropriately, alongside...

2011 HISTORIC F1 NURBURGRING REPORT

2011 Historic Formula One Championship, Nurburgring 9-11 September. Report from Jon Bunston. ‘Brett Lunger’ wins wet Eirfelrennen The latest racing nostalgia film being shot by Ron Howard called for ‘Brett Lunger’ to drive a Surtees TS16 as car 18 carrying Campari livery to match the story line loosely based on the 1976 Grand Prix season dominated by the Hunt/Lauda ri...

HISTORIC TOUR OF FLANDERS 2011 REPORT

David Stokes and Guy Weaver underlined their bid to retain the Dunlop/Wonago MSA British Historic Rally Championship title with an emphatic victory on round six on the asphalt roads of Belgium during the Historic Tour of Flanders 9/10 September reports Paul Lawrence.Once Chris Browne and Liz Jordan went out after a superb start, Stokes/Weaver were untroubled, while their major title rival Rikki Pr...

ORMSKIRK MOTORFEST 2011

Ormskirk MotorFest a Massive Success The inaugural MotorFest, which took place in the West Lancashire market town of Ormskirk on Bank Holiday Sunday, 28 September, attracted around 10,000 spectators to the town's streets and Coronation Park. Star celebrity was 8-times World Motorcycle Champion Phil Read and commentary was provided by legendary motor sport authority, historian and author Neville Ha...

CTCRC CADWELL PARK REPORT

Close Racing at CadwellAll of the Classic Touring Car Racing Club’s events provided plenty of action and close racing during the Club’s penultimate 2011 meeting at Cadwell Park on Saturday 3 September, reports Kerry Dunlop. Click to view Kerry's images David Howard survived a bizarre moment to come back and win the first race for the Autoglym Post Historic and the Hammerite Group One T...

MOTOR RACING LEGENDS OULTON PARK REPORT

Motor Racing Legends at Oulton Park, 29 August 2011Charis Whitcombe reports on Motor Racing Legends two races at the 2011 Oulton Park Gold Cup.Although John Ure and Patrick Blakeney-Edwards dominated the Royal Automobile Woodcote Trophy race with their Cooper T24/25, they did not start from pole – that had been secured by Barrie ‘Whizzo’ Williams driving Dick Skipworth’s Ja...

HSCC E-TYPE CHALLENGE 2011 OULTON PARK REPORT

Jason Minshaw and Martin O’Connell take E-type wins Jason Minshaw and Martin O’Connell shared the victories in two fabulous E-type Challenge races at the HSCC’s Oulton Park Gold Cup meeting 28/29 August reports David Addison.The victories for Minshaw and Stretton made it five winners in eight races in the E-type Challenge season and came after two enthralling races left the resul...

HSCC MARTINI TROPHY 2011 OULTON PARK REPORT

Burton does the double Martini at Oulton Park John Burton made it four wins from six races in the Martini Trophy when the series switched to Oulton Park for the HSCC’s Gold Cup meeting 28/29 August. Report and image from David Addison Created by the Historic Sports Car Club, the Martini Trophy is for the 2-litre sports-racing cars of the 1970s and has a four-event schedule in 2011. The Oulto...

IRDC DRIVER PERFORMANCE AWARD 2011

The IRDC Driver Improvement Scheme is an innovative tried-and-tested method of showing the greatest percentage improvement in stage-times for drivers taking part in the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship. The scheme is facilitated and results calculated after each round of the championship by Tim Hobb’s; international rally co-driver and an acknowledged authority on international ral...

2011 OULTON PARK GOLD CUP HISTORIC TOURING CARS

2011 Oulton Park Gold Cup – Historic Touring Cars race Sunday (29 August) After twenty minutes of hectic action Mark Jones in his Ford Lotus Cortina won the HSCC ByBox Historic Touring Car race by the wide margin of 10.1 seconds from Tim Davies in a similar car. Amazingly, Andy Jones in the little Singer Chamois was third ahead of Steve Shuttleworth in another Lotus Cortina. Fifth and some 4...

2011 OULTON PARK GOLD CUP

2011 Oulton Park Gold Cup 28/29 August At Oulton Park there is a curfew on Sundays until midday so at the moment it doesn't matter that rain is falling hard, most competitors are either making last minute adjustments under cover or tucking in to a full English breakfast at the Chequers Restaurant. The forecast for later is sunshine.The most exciting race today will be the 30-minute Jaguar E-type C...

COTSWOLD ECONOMY DRIVE 2011

Joan Williamson saves fuel on the Cotswold Economy Drive 2011 The Retro-Speed team of Lin and Peter Baker plus willing helpers scored another triumph with the thirteenth running of this event (nothing unlucky about this number!) on the weekend of 20/21 August. The weather held out and the route, as ever, was cleverly devised to show off some of the best minor roads in the Cotswolds and surrou...

TODDS LEAP ULSTER HISTORIC RALLY 2011 REPORT

Tomas Davies and Eurig Davies were the toast of Ulster after a superb category three victory on round five of the Dunlop/Wonago MSA British Historic Rally Championship, the Todd’s Leap Ulster Historic Rally held during 19/20 August, reports Paul Lawrence.The Welsh crew overcame some fierce challenges on their way to a first BHRC victory as the Ulster Rally again delivered stunning stages and...

CTCRC THRUXTON MEETING

Classic Thriller at Thruxton The Classic Touring Car Racing Club served up some of the best racing seen during the annual BARC/CSMA Club Big Weekend meeting at Thruxton on 13/14 August 2011. Report from Kerry DunlopThe opening race which combined the Autoglym Post Historic and the Hammerite Group One Touring Car Championships was a perfect example; a real thriller. Jim McLoughlin and his smart Cap...

HSCC E-TYPE CHALLENGE 2011

Pearson scores E-type Challenge double in Germany Gary Pearson became the third race winner in the E-type Challenge when he scored a double win in testing conditions during the AvD-Oldtimer-Grand-Prix at the Nurburgring 13/14 August. Report and image from David Addison. The E-type Challenge, celebrating 50 years of the Jaguar E-type, moved to the Nurburgring with a strong UK entry plus ...

HERO SUMMER TRIAL 2011

HERO Summer Trial 2011. Report from Grant Rowley, images by Francesco Rastrelli.Record entries, including a 1966 Aston Martin DB6 once owned by Sir Paul McCartney, collaboration with The Panerai British Classic Week, raising money for the Royal Navy & Royal Marines Charity and driving within the Goodwood Estate made for a thrilling three days of action for the Historic Endurance Rallying Organ...

CTCRC 2011 PEMBREY RACE MEETING

Pushing For The Podium at Pembrey reports Kerry Dunlop. Click to view Kerry's imagesPembrey’s fast, flowing layout produced some superb racing with close finishes in all of the Classic Touring Car Racing Club’s championships at the BARC National meeting on 30-31 July.The Sub Zero: Wolf Classic Thunder Championship rounds were the closest of all. Current champion Keith Butcher boun...

HARRY FLATTERS HISTORIC RALLY 2011 REPORT

David Stokes and Guy Weaver claimed victory on the SGC Printing Harry Flatters Historic Rally on Sunday 31 July, but only after a day-long fight with Connor Corkill and Mark Perryman was resolved on the final stage as Stokes took a five-second winning margin, reports Paul Lawrence.The annual thrash over the daunting Epynt ranges in Mid-Wales was the opening round of the Water End Asphalt Cup, a su...

HSCC E-TYPE CHALLENGE 2011

Minshaw in E-type double at Silverstone Jon Minshaw was peerless in races three and four of the E-type Challenge when a record grid of 52 cars competed on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit during the Silverstone Classic (23-24 July). Image and report from David Addison.The second race weekend for the E-type Challenge was a key element of the 50th anniversary celebrations for the model. With ...

SILVERSTONE CLASSIC 2011 FINAL DAY

The 2011 Silverstone Classic drew to a close today (24 July) following a second consecutive day of exhilarating racing on track, plus non-stop automotive-themed displays and activities, and top-class music acts.It was the biggest and best Classic yet with more race and road cars in action and on display than at any other time in the world-famous event’s history. Retail malls, many with a nos...

SILVERSTONE CLASSIC 2011 DAY ONE

SILVERSTONE CLASSIC 2011 DAY ONEThe 2011 Silverstone Classic’s opening race day, Saturday 23 July, attracted huge grids which included historic single-seaters, GT, sports-racing, touring, and Group C cars. Click to view Retro-Speed's images.During the Celebrity Challenge, in which a group of famous names took to the track in identical Morgan sports cars, there was drama when footballer Luthe...

H&H CLASSIC CAR AUCTION RESULTS

British classics steal the show and H&H’s latest Buxton sale This week’s (20 July 2011) H&H’s top performer was a Blood Orange-coloured AC Cobra MkIV which made well over top estimate at £81,400. A left-hand drive example from 1986, it had originally been equipped with a 200bhp 302 cu in V8 mated to an automatic gearbox. However, it now sports a very different Perfo...

CHOLMONDELEY PAGEANT OF POWER 2011

THIS YEAR'S Cholmondeley Pageant of Power (15-17 July) saw the introduction of the rally stage where the Grp B RS200s and Audi Quattros, amongst others, were able to unleash their power and gave the spectators an awesome display of speed and noise, a taste of things that were to come! Still in its infancy, there are plans for a better rally stage for next year’s event, reports Lawrence Clift...

SWANSEA BAY HISTORIC RALLY 2011 REPORT

Round five of the Water End Properties Gravel Cup ran on the Pro-Art (Signs) Swansea Bay Historic Rally (Saturday 16 July) and delivered a debut overall victory for Richard Lane and Frank Richer in their Ford Escort Mk2. Report and image from Simon Marks.This was a new event to the Championship and, after a start at the Liberty Stadium, took in stages in Rheola and Walters forming legs one an...

FESTIVAL OF SPEED 2011 AND THE GOMW

Sarah Bradley reports on the Guild of Motoring Writers members who played an active role in this year's record-breaking Goodwood Festival of Speed (1-3 July). Whether it was behind the scenes or behind the wheel, the result was many column inches of copy both in print and on-line - proving that the legendary event is as much about work as it is play for the GoMW's respected automotive journalists....

CENTRO STORICO FIAT

Following on from the 2011 Vernasco Silver Flag Hillclimb, European Editor Peter Collins reports on a visit to the Centro Storico Fiat (Fiat Historical Centre). Click to view his descriptive images.To commemorate the 150th anniversary of Italian unification the Centro Storico Fiat has opened its doors to the public for a limited period, ending in November 2011. This is a rare opportunity to view I...

HSCC MARTINI TROPHY 2011

Burton takes a double Martini at Brands Hatch David Addison reports that John Burton was the toast of the Martini Trophy at Brands Hatch during the weekend of 2/3 July when he scored a superb double victory on the fantastic Grand Prix circuit during the HSCC Historic Superprix.Created by the Historic Sports Car Club, the Martini Trophy is for 2-litre sports-racing cars of the 1970s and has a four-...

HSCC E-TYPE CHALLENGE 2011

Dodd and Minshaw share the E-Type wins at Brands HatchGraeme Dodd and Jon Minshaw were the stars at Brands Hatch (2/3 July) when the opening two races for the E-Type Challenge ran on the Grand Prix circuit during the HSCC Historic Superprix reports David Addison.The pair of races, featuring a fabulous 34-car field, got the E-Type Challenge off to a tremendous start as the race series marks the 50t...

BONHAMS GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED 2011

European Editor Peter Collins looks in on the Bonhams sale at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 1 July. Click to view his descriptive images report on a few of his favourites.For full results go to www.bonhams.com...

2011 HISTORIC FI BRANDS HATCH REPORT

2011 Historic Formula One Championship, Brands Hatch. Report from Jon Bunston, images courtesy Historic Racing Photography Win On Brands Debut For Young Japanese Star Yamauchi Hideki Yamauchi won the FIA Historic Formula One race at Brands Hatch over the weekend (1-3 July) driving a March 761 from John Wilson’s Tyrrell 011 and Richard Eyre’s Williams FW08. Peter Wuensch finished s...

THE CLAN CRUSADER CELEBRATES 40 YEARS

Chairman of the Clan Owners Club, Dave Williamson reports on the marque's 40th celebrations.2011 sees the 40th Anniversary of the Clan Crusader (first production car – 1971). During the weekend of the 2/3 July, 46 Clans gathered in Washington, Tyne & Wear, the birthplace of the Clan Crusader. The 40th anniversary celebrations included visits to local attractions such as Washington Old Ha...

HSCC 2011 HISTORIC F2 BRANDS REPORT

Stretton takes Historic Formula 2 double at Brands Hatch Martin Stretton bagged a mighty double win as the Historic Formula 2 Championship switched to the fabulous Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit over the weekend (2/3 July) as one of the major attractions at the HSCC Historic Superprix reports David AddisonA superb 29-car field gathered for the fourth weekend of Historic F2 racing in the series ma...

GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED 2011 REPORT

2011 Goodwood Festival of Speed 1-3 July. Click to view images The Goodwood Festival of Speed, first run as a timed hill climb in 1993 to attract motor sport enthusiasts back to the Sussex estate, continues to be a sell out event. And, despite a relatively short life, its ranking as a British institution has accelerated faster than the Red Bull and McLaren F1 racing cars that storm up the narrow t...

MOTOR RACING LEGENDS DIJON REPORT

Motor Racing Legends at the Grand Prix de l'Age d'Or Charis Whitcombe reports on Motor Racing Legends at Dijon, 25/26 June 2011. Images courtesy of e.sawyer@ntlworld.com The Grand Prix de l’Age d’Or in Dijon during the final weekend in June offered mixed weather and mixed fortunes for two top quality historic grids from Motor Racing Legends: the Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy an...

RM AUCTIONS 2011 SALON PRIVE RESULTS

RM Auctions' 2011 Salon Prive sale 23 June European Editor Peter Collins looks in on the Salon Prive sale at Syon House, London. Click to view his descriptive images report.

BROOKLANDS DOUBLE TWELVE 2011 REPORT

The motoring world turned to Brooklands over the weekend of 18/19 June for the largest motoring event there since 1939 reports Paul Stewart. Brooklands Museum proved once again that it is anything but a museum in the traditional sense as they staged their annual Brooklands Double Twelve Motorsport Festival.With the VSCC as co-organisers, the competition element was stepped up this year with the Te...

2011 PRESCOTT SPEED HILL CLIMB REPORT

2011 Prescott Speed Hill Climb. Click to view images The 2011 Prescott Mid-Summer Speed Fest, run over the weekend 25/26 June and incorporating both the TTC Group Midland Hill Climb Championship and the Paul Matty Classic Championship, took place in glorious weather conditions. Perhaps too glorious, as the perfect driving conditions encouraged drivers to risk all in an attempt to secure new record...

19TH YPRES HISTORIC RALLY

2011 Ypres Historic Rally 24/25 June. Click to view images. Ypres, the third largest town in Belgium, is also known as ‘Leper’ or ‘Wipers’ to those with distant army connections. The large centre square, dominated by the reconstructed Cloth Hall, lies just a few hundred yards from the imposing Menin Gate, where every evening at dusk the Last Post rings out as a lasting remi...

YPRES HISTORIC RALLY 2011

2011 Ypres Historic Rally 24/25 June After three evening stages, and with dry weather on day one, Didier Vanwijnsberghe leads Paul Lietaer by just 0.10 of a second, leaving a full day tomorrow in which to find a winner. Stefaan Stouf is in third place and leading his class.Meanwhile, the Escort RS 1800 of Irishman Frank Cunningham picked up four minutes of road penalties after running out of petro...

CTCRC AUTOGLYM CLASSIC FESTIVAL 2011

Entertaining Festival at Mallory reports Kerry Dunlop. Click to view Kerry's images The Classic Touring Car Racing Club’s Autoglym Classic Festival held at Mallory Park over the weekend (June 18/19) provided some superb entertainment with events for the Alfa Romeo Owners Club and the Bonhams British Historic Grand Prix Championship for classic motorcycles, as well as the Club’s ow...

LE MANS LEGEND 2011 REPORT

Charis Whitcombe reports on the exciting 2011 Le Mans Legend race. Images courtesy Motor Racing Legends As 10 o’clock approached on the Saturday morning (11 June) of the 2011 Le Mans 24 Hours, any spectator who merely expected to see a gentle parade of fabulous old cars in the Le Mans Legend event was in for a big surprise. A full grid of 61 cars lined up for the 45-minute race put on by Mot...

H&H CLASSIC CAR AUCTION 8 JUNE 2011

A Vintage Result - 1923 Bentley 3 Litre out-performs all in latest H&H sale The market remained strong at the most recent collectors’ car sale from H&H (Buxton) where a number of impressive individual prices were achieved.As expected, the top performer was a 1923 Bentley 3 Litre ‘TT Replica’. Formerly the property of Ecurie Ecosse patron Hugh McCaig, chassis 331 was origi...

VSCC CADWELL PARK 2011 REPORT

The VSCC’s Vintage Sports Car Festival, Cadwell Park 11 June. Editor-in-Chief enjoys his day of vintage racing. Click to view images While Audi and Peugeot were making ready for their twenty-hour hour battle at Le Mans for world supremacy another, altogether more gentlemanly-style of racing, was taking place between members of the Vintage Sports-Car Club at Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire....

2011 HISTORIC F1 MONZA REPORT

2011 Historic Formula One Championship, Monza 3-5 June. Report from Jon Bunston. Click to view images galleryD'Aubreby in the Groove as Collins' slick trick slips Frenchman Patrick D’Aubreby took a well judged Monza win on a wet but drying track after pole-man Steve Hartley exited from the lead with a flat, and a bold move by Dan Collins to start on slicks ever so nearly paid off....

BHRC 2011 SEVERN VALLEY STAGES RALLY

BHRC 2011 Severn Valley Stages Rally. Report and image from Paul LawrenceRound four of the Dunlop/Wonago MSA British Historic Rally Championship, the Severn Valley Stages (Saturday 4 June), delivered the closest finish in the history of the championship as Will Onions and Dave Williams pipped Julian Reynolds and Ian Oakey by just three-tenths of a second in the battle for Category three.Chris Brow...

SEVERN VALLEY STAGES RESULTS ROUNDUP / IMAGES

2011 Severn Valley Stages 4 June. Click to view images galleryCategory One HistoricGraham Waite/Gill Cotton Volvo AmazonSimon Wallis/Graham Wride Lotus CortinaRikki Proffitt/John Stanger-Leathes Porsche 911Gwilym Roberts/Debby Myers Cortina LotusPaul Mankin/Peter Scott Lotus CortinaCategory Two Post HistoricChris Browne/Liz Jordan Ford Escort RS 1600Peter Smith/Russ Lanthorne Ford...

2011 SPA CLASSIC REPORT DAY TWO

2011 Spa Classic 27-29 May Click to view images After a day of continuous sunshine on Saturday, Spa Francorchamps was back to its mischievous self on Sunday morning, with dark swirling clouds sweeping in low and fast across the Ardennes forest. How many drivers, I wonder, since 1922, have approached this famous circuit while at the same time offering up a small prayer?The original circ...

2011 SPA CLASSIC REPORT DAY ONE

2011 Spa Classic 27-29 MayGood news is the weather ..... dry with sunny periods. There were just two races today: the 45-minute Trofeo Nastro Rosso race for Italian cars which took place this morning (Saturday); and the epic two hour 'Sixties' endurance race for GT cars that began at 16.00hr.In the Trofeo race it was the Iso Rivolta of Alberto Francioni that took the lead but already the car ...

SPA CLASSIC 2011

The 2011 Spa Classic got under way this morning (Saturday 28 May) with the 45-minute Trofeo Nastro Rosso race for Italian cars. Belgian, Vincent Gaye led the Italian field home in his Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta. 1st Car 55 Ferrari 250 GT Vincent Gaye 2nd Car 84 Iso Rivolta A3C Alberto Francioni 3rd Car 69 Ferrari 275 GTB Dennis Singleton ...

CONCORSO D'ELEGANZA VILLA D'ESTE 2011

The weekend of 22/23 May saw the town of Cernobbio on the banks of Lake Como play host to one of the world’s most elegant shows: Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. Click to view images The Concorso brought together a selection of the very best classic models and new concept cars, and for the first time the cars were joined by motorcycles competing for class and overall victo...

2011 VSCC SEERED DONINGTON

The 2011 VSCC SeeRed Race Meeting, Donington 21-22 May. Click to view Peter Collins' descriptive images report.The SeeRed Race Meeting, organised by The Vintage Sports-Car Club, brought the best vintage and historic cars to Donington over the weekend. Spectators were captivated by a 17-race programme which included Pre-war Sports-Cars, Vintage and Historic (Pre-1961) Grand Prix Cars, 195...

HISTORIC F1 2011 RED BULL RING REPORT

2011 Historic Formula One Championship, Red Bull Ring 13-15 May. Report and images from Jon BunstonRed Bull tastes doubly sweet for Bobby Verdon-Roe in Historic Formula One AustriaTwo convincing victories gained a maximum points haul for Bobby Verdon-Roe as the Portugal-based Brit steered his McLaren MP4 to victory in rounds 2 and 3 of the FIA Historic Formula One Championship at the spectacular '...

CTCRC 2011 BRANDS HATCH

CTCRC 2011 Brands Hatch race meeting 14/15 MayThe Classic Touring Car Racing Club staged some cracking racing at Brands Hatch over the weekend during the BARC National Championship meeting, reports Kerry Dunlop.Saturday’s highlight was a tense duel for the lead in the SVG Motorsport Pre 93 Saloon Championship between series newcomer Colin Tester (Ford Sierra-Cosworth) and Jack Stanford, let ...

THE HSCC MARTINI TROPHY 2011 SILVERSTONE

David Addison reports from Silverstone where Lovett takes double win in Martini Trophy The Martini Trophy got off to a great start at Silverstone (14/15 May) with Ed Lovett taking a pair of victories during the HSCC International Trophy meeting on the Grand Prix circuit.Created by the Historic Sports Car Club, the Martini Trophy is for the 2-litre sports-racing cars of the 1970s and has a fou...

THE RALLY SHOW CORNBURY 2011

The 2011 Rally Show Cornbury 14/15 May 2011 Click to view images gallery or video clips As I was leaving Cornbury I bumped into event director Malcolm Neill, the man responsible for The Rally Show 2011. He looked faintly knackered but behind the smile I detected a sense of modest satisfaction. “Yes,” he admitted, “figures were down on Chatsworth and I thought having th...

VINTAGE REVIVAL MONTLHERY 2011

2011 Vintage Revival Montlhery 7/8 May. Click to view images galleryI thought it would be easy. Leave home at 09:00hr for the three-hour journey south to Dover, catch the 13:20hr P&O sailing, followed by another three hours of Autoroute across France to Montlhery, just twenty kilometres south of Paris. Even though it was breakfast time I was already planning dinner.Under a clear blue sky...

2011 BLUEBELL RUN

Retro-Speed’s Joan Williamson navigates Dave and their Clan Crusader through the bluebells. Click to view images The 2011 Bluebell Run on Saturday, 7 May was another success story from the experienced Ross and District Motor Sports Club team of Stuart Harrold and Matt and Will Rogers. The run started from the Dean Heritage Centre near Soudley in the Forest of Dean and finished at the Chase H...

GREYSTONE MANSION CONCOURS D'ELEGANCE

Livin’ Large in Beverly HillsBob Segui takes his Nash Healey Le Mans Coupe to Beverly Hills. Click to view Bob's images Where can you go to enjoy 150 world-class vintage automobiles and motorcycles on display, gourmet food, beverages and adult libations, seminars by automotive industry experts ……… the Greystone Mansion Concours d’Elegance, Beverly Hills.On 1 May I ...

BHRC 2011 PIRELLI HISTORIC RALLY

BHRC 2011 Pirelli Historic Rally. Report and image from Paul LawrenceJulian Reynolds and Ian Oakey were well on their way to a second win of the season as the Dunlop Wonago MSA British Historic Rally Championship moved out of Wales for the first time this season for round three, the Carlisle-based Pirelli Historic Rally (Saturday 30 April).Having built up a 28-second lead, an electrical failure pu...

HSCC 2011 HISTORIC F2 REPORT

For the second time this season Matthew Watts and Martin Stretton shared the victories as the Historic Formula 2 Championship starred at the Donington Historic Festival over the weekend (30 April/1 May), reports David Addison.From a fabulous 32-car entry, Watts (March 772) and Stretton (March 742) were again the class of the field to take a win apiece, while Andrew Smith (March 79B) drove superbly...

DONINGTON HISTORIC FESTIVAL 2011

The 2011 Donington Historic Festival 30 April/1May. Click to view day one images or images from day two. Donington is now firmly back on the map after staging a magnificent Bank Holiday weekend of classic motorsport. The weather was perfect and on both days large crowds were treated to a full and exciting programme where large grids and close racing (sometimes, too close) provided ...

PRESCOTT SPEED HILL CLIMB

Prescott Speed Hill Climb Click to view images gallery Prescott saw the opening two rounds of the 2011 Nicholson McLaren British Hill Climb Championship over the Bank Holiday weekend 30 April/1 May.Although weather conditions, apart from a strong breeze, were nigh on perfect, Scott Moran failed yet again to beat his all-time record at Prescott yesterday. The time of 36.99 seconds being 0.64 ...

PIRELLI INTERNATIONAL RALLY 2011

The dust has now quite literally died down within the Kielder Forest complex, but there were intriguing battles within the historic categories of the Pirelli International Rally on Saturday (30 April). Click to view Lawrence Clift's imagesWith a win apiece so far this season the Escorts of Reynolds and Elliott in category 3 started where they had left off in Wale, with Reynolds taking an ear...

HSCC WOLDS TROPHY MEETING CADWELL PARK

The inaugural HSCC Wolds Trophy Meeting Cadwell Park 24/25 April 2011. Click to view images The Easter Sunday sunshine saw the Lincolnshire Wolds in all its glory, with Cadwell Park easily living up to its reputation of being a ‘mini’ Nuburgring, whilst spectators were entertained to an exciting afternoon of thrills and spills with the closest of racing providing endless incidents and ...

VSCC SPRING START SILVERSTONE 2011

2011 VSCC Spring Start Silverstone 23 April. Click to view imagesSuch is tradition one feels the last car left running in the world will be pre-1931 and owned by a VSCC member. In the meantime The Vintage and Sports-Car Club returned on Saturday, 23 April to a Silverstone it has frequented since 1949 and at 11:45 precisely the VSCC 2011 ‘Spring Start’ The GP Itala and Lanchester ...

CTCRC 2011 SNETTERTON MEETING

CTCRC 2011 Snetterton race meeting 16-17 April The Classic Touring Car Racing Club switched into overdrive at the weekend with spectacular racing from each of its six series on Snetterton’s new 300 circuit, reports Kerry Dunlop. Click to view Kerry's imagesThe Thermex Classic & Historic Touring Car Championship race set the tone on Saturday with a thrilling tussle for the lead betw...

HSCC 2011 HISTORIC F2 REPORT

British racers Martin Stretton and Matthew Watts shared the victories as the Historic Sports Car Club’s 2011 Historic Formula 2 Championship started at Hockenheim in Germany over the weekend 16-17 April, reports David Addison - image from Jon Bunston Stretton won the opener in his March 742, while Watts won the second race in his March 772 as Darwin Smith, also in a March 722 impressed ...

HISTORIC F1 2011 HOCKENHEIM REPORT

2011 Historic Formula One Championship opening round from Hockenheim 15-17 April. Report and image from Jon Bunston Verdon-Roe mimics Lewis for McLaren F1 victory at HockenheimOn the same afternoon that McLaren took victory in China, the marque was collecting another Formula One trophy as the glorious MP4 of Bobby Verdon-Roe stormed away from the field to win the FIA Historic Formul...

2011 HOCKENHEIM HISTORIC F2 RESULTS SUMMARY

2011 Hockenheim Historic 15-17 April In the first race for Historic Formula 2 cars, Martin Stretton in his March 742 led the March 772 of Matthew Watts across the line by some 14.67 seconds. Smith Darwin took third place, a further 38.67 seconds in arrears also in a March, with the Ralt RT1 of Hans Peter in fourth. In fifth place and adrift of the leader by more than 90 seconds was Bo Warmenius fr...

H&H FIRST 2011 SALE

H&H reports British classics set the pace at their first 2011 sale held on 13 April. The well attended first sale of the season at H&H’s spiritual home in Buxton, Derbyshire, should arguably have been accompanied by waved Union Jacks and the strains of Rule Britannia – such were the notable prices achieved for a string of British classics. Topping the results was a charmingly p...

CATALUNYA CLASSIC REVIVAL 2011 DAY TWO

David Addison reports on The Masters at the Catalunya Classic Revival on day two, Sunday 10 AprilVoyazides/Hadfield take triple wins in Spanish sunshineLeo Voyazides and Simon Hadfield teamed up to win three races on day two of the inaugural Catalunya Classic Festival at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona.Their first win came in the Pre-66 Touring Car race after they saw off opposition from the s...

2011 LA JOLLA MOTOR CAR CLASSIC

Retro-Speed’s Bob Segui reports from San Diego. Click to view images gallery On the 3 April I had the privilege of showing my 1953 Nash Healey Le Mans Coupe at the 7th Annual La Jolla Motor Car Classic. This two-day event raises funds for the La Jolla Historical Society and the Monarch School, helping them provide an education for children who might not otherwise be given the opportunit...

2011 TAITH CYMRU SCENIC TOUR

2011 Taith Cymru scenic tour 10 AprilJoan reaches for the brake on the Welsh mountains reports Dave Williamson For a scenic tour, this one had it all – from the hospitable breakfast and evening meal at the Alice Springs Golf Club near Usk, to the perfect spring weather and a spectacular 145-mile route. An event to remember for all the right reasons. Routine start facilities furnished us...

HRDC 2011 BRANDS HATCH REPORT

2011 HRDC Brands Hatch 9 April What better place to launch a new classic race series than Brands Hatch. Throw in a hot and sunny day and the organiser, in this case Julius Thurgood, had to be on a winner.FIRST UP was the HRDC (Historic Racing Drivers Club) thirty-minute race, Grand Touring Greats around the 1.2 mile Indy Circuit. Twenty-four cars started, led by the indecently quick Mini...

MASTERS AT CATALUNYA CLASSIC REVIVAL 2011

David Addison reports on The Masters from the Catalunya Classic Revival on day one, Saturday 9 AprilDouble win for GlaeselUnder bright blue skies and in front of a bumper crowd, Christian Glaesel took a double win at the Circuit de Catalunya. The German driver scored his first win in the GP Masters race beating team-mate Joaquin Folch, both in Brabham BT49s. His second win came in the following ra...

GET IT SIDEWAYS STAGES RALLY 2011

2011 Get it Sideways Stages Rally 9 April. Click to view images gallery This was a perfect example of why club motorsport is so appealing, thanks to organisers Cheltenham Motor Club. And for once, this was an event not high-jacked by Mk2 Escorts, in fact, one could almost complain there were too many Minis.The winning crew, Andy Gwynne and Holly Robinson in their two-wheel drive Citroen Saxo...

2011 BROOKLANDS MINI DAY

2011 Brooklands Mini Day 27 MarchPaul Stewart’s report and images The spring weather was exceptionally kind for the annual Mini Day at Brooklands, which saw a fantastic turn out of cars and visitors. 2011 marks the 50th anniversary of the Mini Cooper, Mini Pickup, Riley Elf and Wolsey Hornet variants of the basic Mini theme, and in recognition vehicles were displayed in around the Paddock, i...

CTCRC OULTON PARK

CTCRC OULTON PARKKerry Dunlop reports on the CTCRC meeting Oulton Park 26 March. Click to view Kerry's images The Classic Touring Car Racing Club’s first meeting of the season was a resounding success with six entertaining championship rounds run off in record time at the picturesque Oulton Park Island circuit.All the races were great to watch, but the closest by far was the SVG ...

NATIONAL AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM TURIN

European Editor Peter Collins sees the re-opening of the Museo Nazionale Dell'Automobile. Click to view his descriptive images galleryItaly's National Automobile Museum opened its doors on 20 March 2011 following a major make-over. Taking four years and 8 million euros to rebuild the museum will now be known as the Museo Agnelli, previously fondly called the Biscaretti.The new interior ...

HSCC DONINGTON PARK SEASON OPENER 2011

HSCC Donington Park 'Season Opener' 20 March 2011 Click to view images gallery soonDonington Park, which for the past two years has been living in the doldrums, came alive again today thanks to the the Historic Sports Car Club which, once again, organised an eight-race programme that produced two things: entertainment, and value for money.Race One was for the 70s Road Sport Champio...

HSCC SEASON OPENER DONINGTON 2011 QUALIFYING

HSCC’s Donington ‘Season Opener’ 20 March Grahame White, the Historic Sports Car Club Race Director, opened the season by welcoming all championship contenders, especially newcomers to the series, who received a round of applause from the experts. Following a short delay the HSCC saw a dry start for practice, where the following drivers qualified to lead the g...

HRDC PRESS DAY SILVERSTONE

HRDC Press Day Silverstone 19 March 2011Julius Thurgood, founder of the HRDC, or to give it its full title the Historic Racing Drivers Club, must have friends in high places because at the Porsche Experience Centre, Silverstone today, the sun shone brightly while he announced his 2011 event programme to the assembled press. And what a clever choice of venue. First class German hospitality, combine...

2011 MASTERS OULTON PARK REPORT

Masters Raceday Oulton Park 12 March. Click to view images gallery Oulton Park is a great circuit that has yet to be spoilt with run off areas the size of Brighton Beach and, as such, suits historic motor sport down to the ground. Drivers enjoy it as do spectators, who have the freedom to wander and watch almost at will. But it has to be said, today’s racing was boring. Maybe it&r...

MASTERS SERIES OULTON PARK 2011

The Masters Raceday Oulton Park 12 March12:00 Qualifying It’s not raining yet at Oulton Park but it’s forecast for around three o’clock this afternoon which should co-incide nicely with the Knickerbrook Trophy for World Sportscar Masters. However, our main interest lies with friends of Retro-Speed, Andy Harrison and Tony Jardine, who are competing together in the Pre-1966 Touring...

TOUR OF CHESHIRE RESULTS 2011

2011 Tour of Cheshire 5 March For the second year running the Tour of Cheshire, organised by the Knutsford and District Motor Club, was won by Howard Warren and Cath Woodman in their white Porsche 911. But they were only two seconds ahead of the Mike and Mathew Volkes Hillman Imp. Martin Neal/Andy Gibson (Austin Healey Sprite) beat the TR4 of Roger Bricknell/Ryan Pickering while John Ruddock/...

81st INTERNATIONAL GENEVA MOTOR SHOW

81st International Geneva Motor Show 3-13 March 2011 Click to view images gallery The world is in the grip of an energy crisis with oil prices zooming ever higher. Manufacturing and profits are down. Unemployment continues, yet here at the 81st International Motor Show in Geneva, it doesn’t seem to matter, any bad news is conveniently swept under the deep cut carpet. The man from...

2011 MID WALES HISTORIC STAGES

2011 Rally Marketing Mid Wales Historic Stages Report and images from Paul Lawrence A winning margin of just one second over some of the finest gravel stages in Britain got the Dunlop/WONAGO MSA British Historic Rally Championship off to a superb start on the Rally Marketing Mid Wales Historic Stages on 6 March.While Julian Reynolds/Ian Oakey pipped Nick Elliott/Chris Brooks in categor...

MALCOLM WILSON RALLY 2011 REPORT

Rally Editor, Lawrence Clift reports from the Lake District on the 2011 Malcolm Wilson Rally 5 March. Click to view Lawrence's images A cold and overcast morning greeted the drivers as they headed out of M Sport’s HQ at Dovenby Hall, the base for the Ford WRC team, to the ceremonial start on the High Street at Cockermouth, the scene of devastation some sixteen mont...

THE DESERT CLASSIC CONCOURS D'ELEGANCE

Classic Cars and a Tribute in the Desert Report and images from Bob Segui. Click to view the gallery During the weekend of 25-27 February 2011 The La Quinta Resort & Club in La Quinta, California played host to The Desert Classic Concours d’Elegance. Heralded as: ‘One of the top ten Classic Car Shows in the World’ by Der Spiegel, this three-day motor sport event started...

2011 RIPONIAN STAGES RALLY RESULTS

Retro-Speed's Rally Editor, Lawrence Clift in the Yorkshire forests for the Riponian Stages Rally 20 February 2011. Click to view images galleryWinter returned with a vengeance to the Yorkshire forests, just in time for this year’s Riponian Stages! With the Rally HQ held in the Thirsk Rural Business Centre, the crews ventured out into the forests east of Thirsk which consisted 2 l...

VSCC EXMOOR FRINGE TRIAL 2011

The Vintage Sports-Car Club celebrated their 20th anniversary Exmoor Fringe Trial on Saturday 19 February. Mike Archer was there to capture all the action. Click to view his descriptive images report.

MASTERS HISTORIC RACING 2011 TRACK DAYS

Masters Historic Racing took to the Goodwood Circuit 18-19 February. This is an opportunity for all championship contenders to put cars through their paces ready for the coming season. Our European Editor Peter Collins attended Friday's damp and cold session. Click to view his descriptive images report....

2011 LEGEND BOUCLES DE SPA DAY ONE UPDATE

2011 Boucles de Spa 18 February - Click to view images It was one of those nights. Thousands of fans, in their element, enjoying the sound of two hundred historic rally cars stretched to the limit. One stage, 12kms of tarmac run twice through the hinterland of Spa. Three hours of classic bliss. Even in the pitch black you could tell what car was coming next on engine sound alone, from the fl...

14TH NORTH WEST STAGES REPORT

Retro-Speed's Rally Editor goes to the North West Stages 4-5 February 2011. Click to view the imagesThe 14th North West Stages rally, held in and around Blackpool and the Fylde Coast area, always attracts a plethora of ex-works cars and this year was no exception with cars from Peugeot, Proton Hyundai, Nissan and Subaru being put through their paces. The crews were to face 24 stages, 5 venue...

ARTCURIAL AUCTION SALON RETROMOBILE 2011

Retro-Speed's European Editor looks in on the Artcurial auction at Salon Retromobile Paris 4 February 2011. Click to view the images.The Lancia 037 Stradale was a staggering Euro 222K against top estimate of Euro 150K (which I thought high enough). Nothing beats the Geo Ham original 1930s print that was top estimate Euro 30K and eventually went for Euro 145,359! Another was Euro 70K against a...

RALLYE MONTE-CARLO HISTORIQUE 2011 RESULTS

14th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique 26 January - 2 February 2011 Results. Click to view the image galleries.Seventy-nine of the 328 eight cars that started the 14th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique 2011 failed to make the finish in Monaco which just shows how-tough-a-seven-days this has been. Good news is the lovely red and white Mini Cooper S crewed by Peter Barker and Willy Cave, possibly the ...

THE WINTER TRIAL 2011 RESULTS

Results of the 2011 Winter Trial 23-28 January It seems everybody had last minute dramas on this difficult rally, with even the eventual winners (for the second year running) losing time in the snow and having to change their trip meter, so well done to Gijs van Lennep and Iain Tullie.Meanwhile, Jayne Wignall and Peter Rushforth were unlucky not to improve on fifth, whilst madman Eliot Dale ...

RED KITE HISTORIC STAGES 2011 RESULTS

Results of the Amman & District Motor Club's Red Kite Historic Stages 23 January Click on image to enlargeFor more information and full results go to: www.redkitestages.co.uk

HRCR OPEN DAY GAYDON 2011

HRCR Open Day Gaydon 2011 Click to view image gallery The HRCR Open Day 15 January at Gaydon. This annual show-case for the Club gets bigger and better every year.The Historic Rally Car Register, better known today as the HRCR, has always played an important, behind the scenes, role in the continued success of British historic rallying. During those early days it was the HRCR who set t...

NEW YEAR'S DAY CHARITY CLASSIC CAR RUN 2011

New Year's Day Charity Classic Car Run 2011 Click to view the gallery The inaugural Magic of Motoring Charity Classic Car Run, supported by classic Porsche specialist Export 56, was a big success. The fifty crews enjoyed a relaxed and very social start to the new year while £2,000 was raised for The Friends of the Walnuts who run a special school for autistic spectrum d...

BONHAMS DECEMBER AUCTION OF CLASSIC CARS

Peter Collins reports on Bonhams December auction of classic cars This year Bonhams forsook its usual spot at London’s Olympia for a sale situated at Mercedes Benz World’s premises at Brooklands on 6 December 2010 and it was touch and go whether the appalling weather of the previous week would have any significant effect.It seems not, as many results were well up on estimates, especial...

LE JOG 2010 DAY 3 REPORT

Le Jog 2010 Day 3 Report - Monday 6 December 15:00hrCompetitors on Le Jog survived the difficult section through Wales on Saturday night and although yesterday’s conditions across the Peak District were very tricky most enjoyed a varied selection of tests and regularities under a clear blue sky.Five crews still have the possibility of a ‘Gold’ medal. However, this lunch...

ROGER ALBERT CLARK RALLY 2010 RESULTS

2010 Roger Albert Clark Rally 26-29 November. Click to view Images Suddenly, after four days of exhaustive competition held under the most arduous of conditions, the 2010 Roger Albert Clark Rally is over, with victory going to the Belgian crew of Stefaan Stouf/Joris Erard in their Ford Escort RS 1600. Sadly, after continually closing on the leaders and reducing the gap on day three to ...

ROGER ALBERT CLARK RALLY 2010

Scarborough, North Yorkshire - Saturday 27 November 08:00 Never underestimate rally organisers. Yesterday all the stages on the 2010 Roger Albert Clark Rally ran to schedule although Dalby was shortened and spectator access was limited.And the fresh falls of snow overnight on the moors have made driving very interesting, to say the least. However, Steve Higgins on behalf of the organisers ass...

WALES RALLY GB NATIONAL 2010

Wales Rally GB National 13/14 November 2010. Click to view Wales Rally GB National images and WRC Wales Rally GB images We make no excuse for covering a modern rally. After all Rally Wales GB is the country’s premier event and is steeped in history. Not long ago, as the RAC Rally of Great Britain it was the biggest single spectator draw in the country with ...

CLASSIC CAR TOURS

Dave and Joan Williamson enjoy a classic car tour in their Clan Crusader. Autumn Leaves Scenic Tour - 7 November 2010.Jointly organised by the Historic Rally Car Register and Ross and District Motor Sports Club the event attracted 47 entries with a wide variety of classics taking part. Signing-on was at the Angel public house in the picturesque village of Grosmont, where coffee and bacon butties h...

MASTERS TOP HAT SERIES

The final meeting of the 2010 Masters Top Hat Series took place at a dry and sunny Mallory Park on Sunday 24 October and, although some grids were sparsely populated, spectators were treated to an exciting afternoon of ‘classic’ saloon and sports car racing. Click to view the galleryThe first of the 45-minute races, The Cloth Cap including the XK Challenge, was a walkover for the...

THROCKMORTON CHALLENGE

HERO's inaugural Throckmorton Challenge 16 October 2010. Click to view the gallery After a day of special tests and regularities eight crews finished with gold medals, perhaps a few more than the organisers had intended. They included Trina Harley/Tracy Warner in the Alvis 12/60 and Bernard Northmore/Duncan Stonier, Austin Healey. First overall was Graham Walker in the nimble Lotus Elan, ab...

RALLYLEGEND SAN MARINO

European Editor, Peter Collins, at the best rallying spectacular in the world- Rallylegend 7-9 October 2010. The eighth running of the Rallylegend event in the Republic of San Marino was won by Didier Auriol in a Grifone run Toyota Celica ST 205. Despite not feeling well his driving was as spectacular as could be wished for and the event was, once again, a close example of ‘golden...

HSCC SILVERSTONE FINALS

The Historic Sports Car Club held its final race meeting at Silverstone, Saturday 9 October 2010. Click to view gallery (i) and (ii)After a promise of late sunshine and twenty degrees Silverstone rebelled, went into a sulk and instead delivered a day of miserable damp drizzle. And with seven out of nine championship already decided it would be fair to say that, apart from the exciting Guards...

PRESCOTT AUTUMN CLASSIC MEETING

Prescott's 2010 season concluded with their Autumn Classic Meeting 2/3 October. Click to view the GalleryWatching the Pilbeam of Steve Hemingway swerve off the track and turn over just after the hill start served as a timely reminder that motor sport, even at this relatively tame level, can still spring unwanted surprises. As it states clearly on page three of the programme in big red l...

JAGUAR WINS SPA SIX HOURS

Spa Six Hours 24-26 September 2010. Click to view the GalleryWill it or won't it rain? Your guess was as good as mine. In the end, not only did it rain but it poured for the final ninety minutes of the race.Everyone was relieved when car No 9, the E-Type Jaguar of Minshaw/Stretton/Minshaw, crossed the line 1min 16 sec ahead of Leo Voyazides and Simon Hadfield in the No 8 Ford GT40. One lap b...

TRACKROD HISTORIC CUP

David Stokes and Guy Weaver were confirmed as Dunlop/WONAGO.com MSA British Historic Rally Champions during a dramatic final round in the classic Yorkshire forests on Saturday, 25 September 2010 reports Paul Lawrence. The Escort Mk1 crew claimed maximum points to see off the challenge from the Sunbeam Tiger of Jonathan Gale/James Whitaker as the other title contender, the Porsche 911 of Dessie Nut...

SPA SIX HOURS

Spa Six Hours 25 September 2010The Ford GT40 of Leo Voyazides and Simon Hadfield starts from pole in the Spa 6 Hour Endurance Race at 16.00hr today with the similiar car of Richard Meins and Chris Lillingstone-Price breathing down their neck less than 0.4 of a kilometer behind. Potential winning combination of Jon/Jason Minshaw and Martin Stretton will have ther work cut out in the rapid Jagu...

THE MOUNTAIN CHALLENGE

A new event with a novel concept that worked well reports Tony Davies The Classic Rally Association continued its development of new ideas with the inaugural ‘Mountain Challenge’ from 12-18 September 2010. The end-of-event prize-giving, held over lunch in Monte Carlo’s Café de Paris in Casino Square, was a fitting end to this brave new venture. A ‘Scat...

CIRCUIT DES REMPARTS D'ANGOULEME 2010 REPORT

The Circuit des Remparts d'Angouleme 17-19 September 2010. Click to view Gallery (i) and (ii)Once a year the City of Angouleme in south west France revisits the past by presenting one of the most exciting ‘classic’ car weekends in the country. First comes the extravagant Rallye International de Charente, followed next day by a series of races around the closed city streets known ...

TOUR BRITANNIA

Tour Britannia 7-9 September 2010. Click to view Gallery (i) (ii) and (iii)When the bright red Lancia 037 screamed into view I knew the organisers of the three-day Tour Britannia meant business. I was perched 600ft up on the three-mile Great Orme special stage enjoying the sun and admiring the sea view when I heard it approaching. Alas, in the briefest of moments the car had double-declutche...

GUILD OF MOTORING WRITERS

Editor-in-Chief at the GOMW's inaugural ‘Bring Your Own Car Day’ 4 September 2010 Retro-Speed would like to thank the Guild and in particular Peter Burgess, Chris Mann and Sha Carter-Allison for organising this wonderful ‘day out’, roaming the Chiltern countryside.After croissants and coffee at The Firs, the ex-secret weapons establishment, now better known ...

OULTON PARK GOLD CUP

Oulton Park Gold Cup 29/30 August 2010. Click to view the Gallery On Sunday it was a straightforward win for the Jon Minshaw Jaguar; his powerful E-Type leading the forty-minute HSCC Guards Trophy Race (supported by Dunlop Tyres) from start to finish, giving the team their second victory of the weekend.Earlier in the afternoon Sir Stirling Moss enjoyed his appearance in front of the mot...

OULTON PARK GOLD CUP MEETING

Oulton Park. Sunday morning 29 AugustIt’s raining. And with little sunshine combined with heavy showers forecast we are in for an interesting afternoon. Maybe not as bad as the Nurburgring, but interesting all the same. Unlike Silverstone, Oulton Park - 2.692 miles in length, is a classic, slightly old fashioned circuit but drivers should beware, there are a series of challenging twists and ...

ULSTER HISTORIC RALLY

Round six of the Dunlop/WONAGO.com MSA British Historic Rally Championship headed to Northern Ireland for the Ulster Historic Rally (20/21 August). Category 2 victory for David Stokes/Guy Weaver and a stunning Category 3 win for Connor Corkill/Rob Fagg headlined the action. In Category 1 victory went to the Mini Cooper S of Ray Cunningham/Ross Forde, but the BHRC points contest was between Jonatha...

COTSWOLD ECONOMY DRIVE

Team Retro's Dave and Joan Williamson report on the Cotswold Economy Drive, 22nd August 2010 This is an excellent event and 37 competitors took part with only three non-finishers due to technical difficulties. For those not familiar with the concept, the idea is to estimate the fuel consumption of your car on the event – those competitors having the most accurate results gain...

AVD OLDTIMER GP NURBURGRING

38th AvD Oldtimer Grand Prix, 13-15 August 2010 Nurburgring. Click to view Gallery (i) and (ii) The Nurburgring, hidden high in Germany’s Eifel Mountains suffers a notoriously fickle climate where heavy drizzle and low cloud can move in overnight and stay for weeks, even in August. This year its torrid reputation remained true to form and, sure enough, after a day of wonderf...

RAIN AT THE RING

38. AvD Oldtimer Grand Prix Nurburgring 08:00hr Sunday (15 August) and the the organisers have just announced a start delay owing to the bad conditions. Seems that after giving us a day of unrivalled sunshine the Eifel Mountains are now seeking their revenge.Yesterday, as expected, the Brits achieved a 1-2-3 in the World Sportscar Masters with Jason Minshaw/Alec Hammond in the red Chevron B8 leadi...

NURBURGRING HISTORIC GRAND PRIX

The 38. AvD Oldtimer Grand Prix 13-15 August 2010After a never-ending string of rain storms on Friday today the weather is fine, settled and warm. Sadly, tomorrow, more heavy rain is expected to disrupt proceedings.Back to today and we have some great racing to look forward too including Historic F1 and World Sports Car Masters.What am I doing in the Press Centre! The action beckons....

VSCC AT VINTAGE PRESCOTT

Without doubt, over the weekend of 7/8 August, the Vintage Sports-Car Club raised the popularity of its annual Vintage Speed Weekend at Prescott to new heights and can be proud that it now comfortably ranks alongside the likes of Goodwood and Brooklands. Thousands camped out or just turned up on the day and paid their twenty-five quid, not to just watch the hill-climbing action but to wa...

BENTLEY DRIVERS AT SILVERSTONE

The Bentley Drivers Club, using the Silverstone ‘club’ circuit, had a good turn out for their ten-race programme on 7 August and although the weather could be best described as ‘mixed’, it provided a real challenge for the drivers and great entertainment for the spectators. The likes of Joe Singer behind the wheel of his 1923 Bentley 3 litre and the slightly mad Chris Willi...

HARRY FLATTERS HISTORIC RALLY

Paul Lawrence reports on the Waterend Asphalt Cup held on Sunday, 1 August. David Stokes/Guy Weaver took maximum points when the SGC Printing Harry Flatters Historic Rally ran as a round of the asphalt competition that is a sub-set of the Dunlop/WONAGO.com MSA British Historic Rally Championship.The challenging Epynt ranges again delivered a fine challenge on an excellent event and a good historic...

SILVERSTONE CLASSIC

Editor-in-Chief takes weekend break in Northamptonshire for the Silverstone Classic 23-25 July To begin with, I have a request: please organisers, put an end to teams racing around the crowded paddock on those infernal mini-bikes. Sooner or later someone is going to get hurt, and odds are, it’s going to be me. And at the same time, a BIG thank you for providing free media Internet conne...

LIEGE-BRESCIA-LIEGE HALF WAY

Malcolm McKay reports that Morgan and Minis lead Liege-Brescia-Liege (16-15 July) at half-way point. The revival of the historic Liege-Brescia-Liege rally, the only international rally ever run for tiny cars, has now completed five days of challenging driving and navigation through Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy and Slovenia, including the passes of Mauria, Falzarego, Pordoi and Costalunga...

FRIENDS AT LAGUNA LAKE PARK

Bob Segui meets the Europeans Every year for the past four years, the Europeans have visited the Laguna Lake Park near San Luis Obispo, California. To be precise, that would be European and British classic cars and vintage motor-cycles.The event, known as the ‘Gathering of Friends’, is hosted by the Mercedes Benz Club of America – California Central Coast Chapter. It was recognis...

CLASSICS AT SHERBORNE CASTLE

Mike Archer visists Sherborne Castle - Click to view the gallery Standing in 30 acres of countryside together with a 50-acre lake, it was the back-drop for the Classics at the Castle show on Sunday 18 July. This was also the finish venue for two classic runs: the Somerset Classic Two-Day Tour; and the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain’s Regional Tour for the Dawn of Motoring, whic...

HERO SUMMER TRIAL

Results summary of HERO's Summer Classic Reliabiltiy Trial & Tour 15-17 July. Porsche benefit after three days of special tests and regularities.Gold AwardsJames and Andrew Mann, 1936 BentleyGeorge and Margaret Melville, 1940 Alvis Speed 25Charles Colton and Matthew Warren, 1965 Porsche 911Roger Bricknell and Dennis Greenslade, 1962 Triumph TR4aPositions overall1st Charles Co...

HUMPS AND HOLLOWS AT MCC TRIAL

The Motor Cycling Club’s Testing Trial, 11 July, was set in rolling countryside at Keinton Mandeville, Somerset. The Trial consisted of a series of Tests set within the field, literally humps and hollows, with cyclists and drivers completing timed runs around several set courses, incurring penalties for hitting cones and over-running on the stop/start gates.The event was split into five clas...

ISLE OF MAN HISTORIC RALLY

Ryan Barrett/Paul McCann were the stars of the weekend as the Dunlop/WONAGO.com MSA British Historic Rally Championship headed to the Isle of Man for round five, the Isle of Man Historic Rally (9/10 July). Once again, the closed roads of the island delivered a marvellous challenge as rain and thick fog made life truly demanding for the crews. Those that reached the finish in Douglas on Saturday af...

GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2-4 July 2010Twice a year the general public are invited, at some expense I may add, to enjoy a long weekend of motor sport at Goodwood, courtesy of Lord March, beginning with the Festival of Speed which takes place within the grounds of the magnificent House itself. As usual, this year’s exhibition provided its appreciative audience with an all-action-packed combi...

HEALEYS TAKE EUGENE

Bob Segui reports on the '2010 Rendezvous' Car Show and Covered Bridge TourEach year the Austin Healey Club USA holds their annual meeting, known as “Rendezvous”. This tradition started in 1975 and is a great opportunity to get one’s Healey on the road, meet other owners and to learn more about the marque. The four-to-five-day event typically includes Tours, Rallies, Tech Session...

VERNASCA SILVER FLAG HILL CLIMB

From Monza the previous weekend our European Ed heads down to Castell'Arquato for the Silver Flag Hill Climb 11-13 June 2010. See the GalleriesThe Vernasca Silver Flag is an event based on the real thing. For many years post-war, an important round of the Italian National Hillclimb Championship was held here and it attracted all the best cars and drivers of the period – Govoni...

58TH COPPA INTEREUROPA - MONZA

Giulia Giornalista reports from Monza - Click to view the Galleries The Coppa Intereuropa (4-6 June 2010) has, in its past history, seen many memorable races and cars including the debut of the car clothed with a body designed by Alfredino Ferrari which became the forerunner of the 750 Monza cars. Talking of Ferrari, the spectators, whilst numerous in the paddock are always thin on...

MID WALES HISTORIC STAGES

Nick Elliott/Dave Price made it three wins out of four this season as the Dunlop/WONAGO.com MSA British Historic Rally Championship made its final visit of the season to Wales on Sunday 20 June for the Mid Wales Historic Stages.Rob Smith/Shaun O’Gorman challenged but their Vauxhall Chevette collected three punctures and handed second in category 3 to the Escort Mk2 of Gareth Lloyd/Ryland Jam...

PIRELLI CLASSIC MARATHON

Having officiated on some 25 Marathons, Monte and Winter Challenges as well as the Targa Espana and World Cup, the Williamsons and Brian Hugh have now amassed an extensive archive of paperwork, photographs and memories dating back to the Pirelli Marathon of 1988. Dave Williamson recalls marshalling on the 1988/89 Pirelli Marathons. Click to view Dave's imagesThat first year we were required t...

BROOKLANDS DOUBLE TWELVE

Organised by Brooklands Museum and the Vintage Sports-Car Club, the Brooklands Double Twelve Motoring Festival held on 5/6 June was a great success, with a Bugatti beating All Comers in the Double Twelve competition and a Riley sprinting to finish first on the track.A 1926 Bugatti Type 35 sold to its first owner by Brooklands personality Malcolm Campbell made a triumphant return to the birthplace ...

SEVERN VALLEY HISTORIC RALLY

Nick Elliott/Dave Price returned to the winners' circle for the second time this year, as the Dunlop/WONAGO.com MSA British Rally Championship returned to Wales on Saturday, 5 June for round three, the Severn Valley Historic Rally.Elliott in his Escort Mk2 led for most of the day but briefly lost out of Ryan Barrett/Barry Ferris in a similar car after the second stage. In category 2 David Stokes/G...

MALLORY PARK CLASSIC SPRINT

Auto 66 Club Hill Climb/Sprint series, Mallory Park 29 May Class 29 for Classic and Racing Cars pre-1973 A small but cheerful group of drivers braved a very wet and dismal Mallory Park on Saturday, 29 May where the classic and racing cars enjoyed a day of mixed fortune.The 3ltr Gilbern Genie driven by Jonathan Plowe beat Peter King in his MGB GT by 0.35sec to clock 80.22sec and...

AUSTIN HEALEYS IN CALIFORNIA

Bob Segui goes California Dreamin What do you get when you take Austin Healeys, add the great roads and scenery of Central and Southern California and five days of sunshine, you get California Healey Week. Every year the Austin Healey Association of Southern California hosts CHW, a five-day event in the Spring that showcases some of the best Healeys in Central and Southern California.The 201...

GOODWOOD TO CELEBRATE ITALIANS

Peter Collins at large in Sussex. View his images At Goodwood Press Day, 18 March, Lord March revealed that the theme for this July’s Festival of Speed was to be ‘Viva Veloce! – The Passion for Speed’It will concentrate on Italy’s all-consuming passion for speed with celebrations centred around car and bike manufacturers and the events in which their legend...

THE BLUEBELL RUN

Joan Williamson enjoys The Blubell Run despite the weather. Images by Colin Barratt (Frogmore Photographic)Sixty-five participants from many parts of England and Wales arrived early at the Dean Heritage Centre in the Forest of Dean to take part in the 2010 Bluebell Run on 8 May. Few complained about the grey overcast skies and light rain, preferring to admire the splendid range of classic car...

MONACO MAELSTROM

European Ed, Peter Collins, at the Grand Prix Historique de Monaco 1/2 May 2010 - Click to view the Galleries Ex-Grand Prix driver Nelson Piquet once described driving a Formula One car around the narrow and serpentine Monaco GP circuit as like trying to ride a bicycle around your dining room. Every two years the Automobile Club of Monaco supplement their annual GP with a weekend o...

INTERNATIONAL RALLY DRIVERS CLUB

Retro-Speed’s Editor-in-Chief is proud to be a member of the International Rally Drivers Club. After attending the AGM he reports that during 2009, under the leadership of Chairman Shaun Martin, membership rose twenty per cent, a new website was introduced and income still continued to cover expenses. No mean feat.This year they will also continue to provide incentives and support for young ...

ITALIAN CAR INVASION OF SURREY

Auto Italia's spring meeting, Brooklands, Saturday, 1 May Phil Ward, editor of Auto Italia magazine, sponsor of this very popular event, was seen at the end of the day with a wide smile on his face. It had been a great showcase for Italian cars and he knew it. And not only did it not rain but the sun actually came out. How lucky can you be?From seven-thirty in the morning cars began ar...

PIRELLI HISTORIC RALLY

It was a day of drama and surprises and survival in Kielder Forest on Saturday, 24 April for the second round of the Dunlop/WONAGO.com MSA British Historic Rally Championship, the Pirelli Historic Rally.Will Onions/Dave Williams (Escort) took their maiden victory in category 3, after Bulldog Rally winner Nick Elliott rolled his Escort on the third stage. In category 2 Peter Smith/Russ Langthorne (...

THREE LEGS OF MANN

Team Retro's Tony Davies reports on a runaway success for Classic Rally Association The inaugural 'Three Legs of Mann' was held on 19/20 of March. It was well organised and an overwhelming success so book your dates for a repeat in 2012!Over sixty classic cars from the UK, Ireland, Holland and France together with several local competitors entered this new event that had regularity sections,...

THE DAFFODIL RUN

Dave and Joan Williamson in search of daffodils with their Clan Crusader, with images by Colin Barratt (Frogmore Photographic)On Sunday, 21 March, twenty-seven cars took part in this scenic tour due to coincide with a proliferation of daffodils in the Forest of Dean. Together with our rally Crusader were John and Jan Slater in their Irish Clan. Since global warming seems to have missed out on the ...

RACE RETRO RAMBLINGS

Richard Thorne, long time quality purveyor of Morgan has the green light from Guillaume Le Metayer to enter a Jowett Jupiter in this year’s Le Mans Classic. Gerry Hawkridge, producer of the evocative Hawk AC and Stratos has offered Retro-Speed a day out testing down in sunny Sussex.Phil Mitchell has also offered R-S a tour of the Renault F1 factory.Nic Waller, organiser of the Dou...

MEMORIES OF THE WORLD CUP RALLY

Team Retro's Joan Williamson recalls marsalling on Classic Rally Association's 2002 World Cup Rally Click to view gallery This event provided us with fourteen days of pure adventure, as well as being highly stressful, and often tested our organisational and marshalling abilities to the limit. It started quietly enough as we made our way to Oxford and the pre-rally marshals meeting at th...

SNOW JOKERS

Malcolm McKay reports on the Tenth Winter Trial, 24 -29 January with images by Ivo Hilgenberg Ever since abandoning the conventional run to Monte Carlo years ago, Bart Rietbergen’s Winter Trial has built a reputation for being the most challenging, most fun and above all most snowy of winter events – and this year the white icing was not just on the cake, but all ...

HRCR Open Day 16 January

Editor-in-Chief takes time out to visit the Historic Rally Car Register's Open Day at Gaydon and enjoys himself. I have been a member of the Historic Rally Car Register for as long as I can remember, it was Don Pither co-founder along with Philip Young, who set me on the road to journalism by allowing me to test his road-going Lancia Stratos for the OldSTAGER magazine.They were good ti...

LE JOG Summary and Results

8 December 2009, Wick 16:40 Possibly the wettest LE JOG ever was the general opinion of the organisers, with ice and fog thrown in. Happily the finish in John o’ Groats was bathed in sunshine. Only two Gold Medals and two Bronze indicated the severity of the event while thirty competitors were classified as finishers. OVERALL POSITIONS 1st and Gold award2nd and Bronze aw...

AUSTIN HEALEYS IN AUSTRALIA

Team Retro's Joan Williamson and husband Dave visit Australia. The Australians do love their classic cars and where better to see some than at a Sunday morning meet of the Austin Healey Club (Victoria branch) at Como Park in Melbourne. Andrew Goad, a retired colleague of our son-in-law Pete, owns one and invited us along to view what turned out to be the best collection of A...

Lancias at the NEC

Our Junior Correspondent was on duty at the NEC It’s 5.30pm and the NEC is full of car horns. The Classic Car Show is over for another year. Some look relieved and others look too tired to care. The car horns stop, the breakdown begins and people make a swift exit for fear of being roped in to help. At about 10.00pm everyone has finished and all the cars h...

XS Racing team at Roger Albert Clark Rally

Paul Lawrence sees XS Racing take two class victories XS Racing secured two class wins and a 100% finishing record with its four-car team on the 2009 Roger Albert Clark Rally. All four XS crews had great runs, with Steven Smith/Patrick Walsh (Escort Mk1) taking class C3 and a giant-killing 6th overall, while Peter Smith/Russ Langthorne (Porsche 911) won class C4.Meanwhile, Andrew Sidda...

Roger Albert Clark Rally, 13-16 November

Overall Awards1 Gwyndaf EVANS/John MILLINGTON D5 Ford Escort RS1800 2 Jeremy EASSON/Alun COOK C5 Ford Escort RS1600 3 Paul GRIFFITHS/Sam COLLIS D5 Ford Escort RS1800 Award - Overall - Historic Category 1 1 Stuart ROLT/Richard POMFRET B5 Porsche 911 Award - Overall - Historic Category 2 1 Steve SMITH/Patrick WALSH C3 Ford Escort Award - Overall - Hist...

Vulcans in the Sky

Meeting up with the guys that run the ‘Vulcan to the Sky Club' reminds me that it has always been my intention to create a sister on-line magazine devoted to classic aircraft (groans from the editorial staff). And why not indeed, after all, cars and aircraft have been and will always remain emotionally and technically entwined.In my youth I was a regular visitor to the Farnborough Air Disp...

Rally of the Tests

Classic Rally Association's 2009 edition of the Rally of the Tests took place between 29th October - 1st November. For the first time in the history of classic rallying, the top four cars were all of the same make, in this case Alfa Romeo. Congratulations to the overall winners, Paul Wignall and Mark Appleton, who Retro-Speed tipped for outright victory. And well done to ...

2009 Maserati International

Each year, various Maserati clubs of Europe enjoy an international rally and meeting. Clubs take it in turn to hold these events and this year it was the turn of the UK.Around 100 Maseratis were attracted to the event based at Goodwood, coming from all over Europe, the furthest driven from southern Italy.Arriving on 1st October there was first a track day at the Goodwood race circuit with alternat...

Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship

Paul Lawrence reports on round eight: Trackrod Historic CupThe fast and dusty stages of Yorkshire played host to the eighth and final round of the Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship, the Trackrod Historic Cup (26 September). Another category one victory for Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride (Porsche 911) confirmed them as overall BHRC champions, while victory in category t...

GENEVA CLASSIC

Four years after its first edition, Geneva Classics at the Palexpo, 25-27 September, put on its most successful exhibition so far, featuring an extraordinary mixture of classic cars and aircraft. The organisers claimed a new attendance record of 25,000 for the weekend.In celebration of their winning the World Sports Car Championship in 1959 Aston Martin provide twenty-eight cars for their dis...

Moss and Mini Skirts at Goodwood

Recession, what recession? So goes the cliché but, from the moment the gates were opened at Goodwood the numbers of people flowing into the Revival made it clear that this is the most popular and successful historic race event anywhere in the world. Champagne flowed, girls displayed some wonderful clothes and, lest I forget, there was almost non-stop action on the track. Fifteen races and t...

Rallyday 2009

We all went to Castle Combe in deepest rural England. Rallyday 2009 was everything the rally enthusiast could have wished for. Static displays, trade stands selling everything from models to flameproof overalls, star name interviews and, of course, on-track demonstrations of well-known, ex works cars.The late summer sun shone down all day making it a sheer pleasure just to be out-and-about and a...

Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship

Paul Lawrence reports on round seven: Historic Tour of Flanders While several leading crews focussed on the battle for the overall title, Steven Smith and Phil Spurge had no such concerns and duly won round seven of the Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship, the Historic Tour of Flanders (11-13 September). The Porsche 911RS won category two, while Darren Moon and C...

The 1964 Liege

Exactly forty-five years ago a big red Healey 3000 driven by Rauno Aaltonen and navigated by Englishman, Tony Ambrose won the infamous Liege-Sofia-Liege Rally outright. Of ninety-seven starters just twenty-one made it to the finish and then only because the organisers extended the maximum lateness by two hours. Rallying in the sixties was not easy.In fourth place and winner of the Coupe des Dames,...

2009 Hillclimb and Sprint updates

The 14th and final round of the 2009 SBD Motorsport Sprint Championship took place during the weekend of 6 September at Mallory Park. Nick Algar (3.5 Gould - NME GR55) lowered the course record and set a new outright lap record on his way to winning the Championship. Nick had already secured the title by putting in a storming performance at Colerne the week before so he could relish...

Italian Cars at Gaydon

Those with even the shortest memories will recall how damp and dismal the Auto Italia Concours day at Stanford Hall was. So it must have been with a huge sigh of relief that long-time organiser, Phil Ward, arrived at Gaydon on 6 September to find warm and dry conditions. Even before opening time at 10.00am mouth-watering cars were arriving from all directions and by midday...

Geneva Motor Show 2009

Retro-Gnome at the best show in the world The Swiss love their cars, almost as much as they love money, and Aston Martin, Ferrari, Jaguar, Maserati, Bugatti, Lotus, Rolls Royce, Bentley, Porsche and Lamborghini know it.Switzerland was created for seriously rich people who enjoy being serious and where recession only happens to other people, like the British.Did you know, some of the bes...

Race Retro 2009

Retro-Gnome recalls Stoneleigh Park, England It’s a strange mixture. The warm and cosy hall nearest the entrance is inhabited by public school-types promoting a way of life where money and spare time is no object. Naturally they are surrounded by a mouth-watering selection of racing cars all deemed eligible for Goodwood and the Mille Miglia.Just feet away, but actually in another ...



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