classic and competition car

Classic & Competition Car November 2011

Competition CarClassic &

Issue 14November 2011

British GT Finals Silverstone HSCC Championship Finals Silverstone

SpaClassic


News Page 4 Spa Classic 6 Hrs 14 Transatlantic PrototypeChallenge 19

Archive Picture 21BTCC FinalsSilverstone 22 GT Cup Spa 25

Race at Spa 29Ramblings from

Rugby 31 GT Cup Snetterton 33

Bonded Warehouse,Stourbridge 36

British GT Finals 39 HSCC Finals 42

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Classic & Competition car is published bysimonwrightphotos.com,High View Drive, Kingswinford,West Midlands, England.

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Regular ContributorsSimon WrightJanet WrightPete AustinMick Herring

All content is copyrightclassicandcompetitioncar.com unless otherwisestated. All photographs are copyright the originalphotographer and may not be used for commercialpurposes unless by prior approval of the originalcopyright holder.We try to ensure accurate and truthful reportingbut if you spot an error, please let us know and wewill correct as required.We do not organise any events which arementioned and are not responsible if the event iscancelled, so please contact the event organiserbefore making a long trip.

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Front CoverBarry Cannell RGS Atalanta at the Spa Classic© Mick Herring.

Glynn wants championship and Westbrook's 2ndplace © Mick Herring.

James Buckton spins his Elden Mk8 at Luffieldduring the HSCC Finals weekend © SimonWright.

Simon WrightEditor/Photographer

Editorial

Well the racingseason is all but overand we are crowningthe 2011 champions. Iwould like tocongratulate localdriver Matt Neal forwinning his thirdBritish Touring CarChampionship after athrilling and at times fraught season.

We now move in doors for various exhibitionsand shows, the first being the Classic MotorShow at the NEC. This show seems to getbigger and better every year. After Christmasit’s time for the Autosport show also at theNEC and then it will be time for Race Retro atStoneleigh, so plenty to look forward to duringthe dark winter months.

The winter is also a time for teams to preparetheir cars for next season. Why not let usknow your plans for 2012 if you are acompetitor and we might give you a mention.

We hope you enjoy this issue and would loveto hear your opinions, so why not drop us ane-mail at [email protected] or sayhello if you see us at a race meeting.

Historic Saloon car racing gives tight,close action without contact or painttrading (On most occasions) with carslike your Dad used to drive.

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News

Matt NealChampion

Stourbridge born Matt Nealclinched his third BritishTouring Car Championshipat Silverstone on the 16thOctober, just beating hisHonda team mate GordonShedden by eight pointsafter a thirty race season.Matt is the first three timechampion since AndyRouse clinched his thirdtitle in 1984. At 45 yearsold, Matt also became theoldest British Touring CarChampion. His previouschampionship wins were in2005 and 2006.

Ray Mallock drives fathers race car.Chevrolet World Touring Car team Manager Ray Mallock returned to the drivers seat atthe HSCC Championship Finals meeting at Silverstone, driving a car his father had built51 years ago. The Mallock U2 Mk2 was built by Arthur Mallock in 1960 for FormulaJunior racing. This car was last raced by Arthur in 1980 before being sold to AmericanJohn Streets who had kept the car for thirty years. Ray brought the car back from

America and rebuilt itto the originalspecification, includingdrum brakes on allwheels.

In his first race in thecar, Ray finished firstof the front enginedFormula Junior cars in9th place overall,winning class B2

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At Silverstone on the 22nd of October 2011, you were spoilt for choice. On theNational circuit the Historic Sports Car Club (HSCC) were holding their ChampionshipFinals race meeting, while at the same time the British Racing and Sports Car Club(BRSCC) were holding a race meeting on the new International circuit using the Wingpit complex. It was possible for spectators at Becketts to catch a glimpse of bothmeetings at the same time. Both meeting ran successfully, the only slight problem wasthat competitors at the BRSCC meeting caught sight of a Red flag from the HSCCmeeting during practice, but a screen was set up to prevent further distractions fromthe other circuit marshal post. Competitors at the BRSCC meeting enjoyed the newlayout of the International circuit which uses the Grand Prix circuit up to the loop fromthe start line, then cuts across to join the Hanger straight at the exit of Becketts..

Caterhams in action at the BRSCC meeting on the International circcuit.....

Silverstone holds 2 meetings the same day

At the same time as HSCC Roadsports action on the National circuit


Race Retro Chosenmarques.

The Race Retro show at Stoneleigh Parkon the 24-26th February, will celebratePorsche and Honda in 2012.

Porsche have a long and varied history inmotorsport which will be represented withvarious static displays in the exhibition hallsand with live action on the Rally stage. Itwill be thirty years since the introduction of

the Group C Porsche 956 and there will be a display in Hall 2 to celebrate thisphenomenal sports racing car, which along with its successor the 962 won mostmajor sports car races in the 1980’s and 90’s.

In the motor bike world, few can match the Honda legacy. The show will celebratethirty years of the Honda Racing Corporation in Hall 3 with a variety of displays andmany Honda celebrities should be appearing over the weekend.

For further information on Race Retro visit www.raceretro.com

2012 FIA World Endurance ChampionshipThe inaugural FIA World Endurance Championship will impose more restricteddiesel engines in LMP1 cars for 2012 to try to level the performance with the petrolpowered sports cars. The FIA and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest are aiming toreduce the power of the diesel cars by around 7%. This follows on from the changesallowed for petrol cars to loose 10 Kg of weight and increase the size of their airrestrictors which were introduced before the 2011 Le Mans race.Diesel powered cars will have a reduced diameter air restrictor and reducedpressure on the supercharger systems by up to 200 millibars. The fuel tank will alsobe reduced in size by5 litres.In an effort to reducehigh speed accidentssimilar to those thathave taken place thisyear, the FIA hasmade the shark findesign mandatory onall LMP1, LMP2 andFLM cars, along withmandatory openingsabove the front andrear wheels to reducepressure and aerodynamic lift. Rear view mirrors will also increase in size except onLMP1 cars, and the vehicle must have a night mode rear viewing system.

Diesel powered works Audi R18 TDi

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BTCC Ace Shedden races in British GTBritish Touring Car Championship runner-up Gordon Shedden from Fife in Scotlandtried his hand again at the British GT Championship for the final round at Silverstoneon the 8th October 2011. He was deputising for Allan Simonsen, sharing a Ferrari

458 Italia GT3 with Hector Lester, thepair finished in 11th place overall after early problems for Lester delayed the car.

© Mick Herring

BTCC Vauxhall Insignia debut at SilverstoneJohn Thorne was dueto debut the NGTCVauxhall Insignia at thefinal round of theBritish Touring CarChampionship atSilverstone.Unfortunately theThorney Motorsportprepared car was notready in time and spentall of Saturday beingworked on in the pits.The car did do theparade lap before thefirst BTCC race onSunday and lookedresplendent in its Black

Batman colour scheme. The Insignia is powered by the TOCA turbocharged engine,but the team hope to develop their own Vauxhall unit for 2012 based on the InsigniaSRI road car engine. The team have started working on another two NGTC Insigniasfor 2012 which they hope to supply to customer teams either as rolling chassis orcomplete cars. The project has already generated a lot of interest.

© Janet Wright

Shedden plays catch up after Hector's early trouble

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Lola have begun to manufacture suspensionuprights for the Lola T210, T212 and T290 toreplenish spares for the many teams that are stillcompeting with these cars in Histroic racing aroundthe World. For more information, contact Lola direct.

British racing driver Dan Wheldon, 33, was tragically killed in a multi car crash at theLas Vegas Motor Speedway on the 16th October 2011. Starting from the rear of thefield as part of a $5 million challenge, he was one of the last cars to get involved inthe accident, with no where to go as cars were spinning out of control all over thecircuit.

2005 IndyCar Series champion and twice winner of the Indianapolis 500 includingthis year 2011, Dan’s career in America had been very successful. In his early careerin England he had been a great rival to Jenson Button, but moved to America earlyon in 1999, as it was costing too much to compete in Europe.

He competed in various categories of American racing before moving to the IndyCar Series in 2002. In his ten year Indycar career, Dan achieved 16 wins, includingthe Series title in 2005 and Indy 500 victories in 2005 and 2011.

To his family and friends we offer our sincere condolences.

The following weekend Moto GP rider Marco Simoncelli was killed in an accident atthe Malaysian Grand Prix. We would also offer our condolences to his family andfriends.

Dan Wheldon22nd June 1978-16th October 2011


Rare Brahma races at SilverstoneAt the recent HSCC Championship Finals meeting, an unusual carwas spotted on track in the hands of Richard Piper. The 1966Brahma B2 was built by John Sharrigan and engineer PaulFitzgerald in America. They built only 2 cars, the first was a clone ofthe Peter Revson Lotus 23B. The second car, the B2, was purposebuilt to take part in the under 2 litre class of the inaugural Can-Am

championship in 1966.The design was a ladder type chassis stressed with metal panels and semi-monocoquesidepods to house the fuel tanks. With four wheel independent suspension to improvehandling, the car was initially powered by a 2 litre Fiat Abarth engine and a VWtransaxle, covered with a unique designed, light weight fibreglass body designed bySikorsky design engineer Neil Chivaroli for improved aerodynamics. Fully fuelled, the

car onlyweighed960 lbs.Unfortunately theprojectnever got toshow its fullpotential asthe seriesorganisers

decided to scrap the equal points system for the under and over 2 litre classes in theCan-Am championship after George Follmer’s amazing performances in his Lotus-Porsche hybrid during the 1966 season.Brahma decided to switch to the SCCA’s B-Sport National sports car championship andreconfigured the car for the different regulations.One of the fuel tanks went to save weight, andthe engine was swapped for a Ford BDA 2 litrepowerplant fitted with a Hewland transaxle. Inthis form the car achieved success over the nextfew seasons taking John Sharrigan to the 1972SCCA National Championship B-Sport title. Ithad also proved to be a giant killer in that period,

finishing2nd overall at Mid-Ohio and Watkins Glen duringthe 1969 season, beating most of the over 2 litrecars in those races.The car has been extensively restored sincethose days and the 2 litre engine has beenreplaced by a 1600cc unit. Richard Piperqualified a magnificent 4th behind GrahamDodd’s Ginetta G16 and the Chevron B8’s ofNick Fleming and Steve Hodges and brought thecar home in 5th place overall, winning his class.

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

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Ginetta have recently launched their new G60 model, a stripped down, pure drivingexperience mid engined sports car. All modern driving aids have been removed. No

Traction control, servo brakes, powerassisted steering or ABS are fitted tothe vehicle. The carbon fibre shellfitted to a stiff tubular chassis allowsmaximum performance to beobtained from the 310 bhp producedby the 3.7 litre engine. The kerbweight is just 1080 Kg, giving a powerto weight ratio of 305.6 bhp/tonnewhich produces a top speed of 165miles per hour and a 0-60 mph timeof 4.9 seconds. Modern comforts forthe driver have not been forgotten.

Air conditioning, heated windscreen, bluetooth and wireless connectivity,Immobiliser,and a 7”touchscreenwithSatellitenavigationare includedin the ‘from£68,000 OnThe Roadprice’.

New Ginetta G60 unveiledat Silverstone.

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Mini BritanniaBy Simon Wright.

When Tour Britannia moved from its usual September date to June for 2011, it left a gapfor competitors towards the end of the year. The organisers thought that it might be agood idea to stage a mini Tour Britannia in an effort to attract new competitors, with a oneday event , giving a flavour of the full event. The North Wales section of last years Tourgave a wide variety of stages in a compact area and was used as a basis for Mini TourBritannia. The Great Orme stage and the fantastic Anglesey circuit were used again,along with several new stages which drew enough interest for several top existing teamsfrom the regular Tours to take part.Regular Tour competitor Howard Redhouse with Philip Walker in a Porsche 911 3.0 RStook the overall honors to win from another Porsche 911 RSR of another Tour regularsMike Smith and Ian Ashley. Third place went to the AC Cobra of Mark Freeman and MikeEllis. The Targa class for more modern cars was won by John and Duncan Freeman intheir Mazda MX5 Mk3.The Regularity section, which run the course to set target times, was won by Steve andTony Graham driving a Lancia Fulvia, while Tour Britannia organiser Fred Gallagher andBarry Green finished 2nd in a Porsche 356 and Michael Hanson and John Hartley tookthird place behind the wheel of a Porsche 928.

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The dramatic end to Louise Richardson's season in the first of the Ginetta GT Supercup races atBecketts, Silverstone during the BTCC Final


All photos by Mick Herring.

Mention the name McLaren and most people will think of the World Championshipwinning Grand Prix team with the likes of Prost, Senna, Hunt, Hakkinen, Hamilton andButton. But McLaren have also been a very successful sports car manufacturer,dominating the Can-Am championship back

in the 1970’s and taking a Le Mans 24 Hoursvictory in 1995. Now they are returning toSports car racing with the new McLaren MP4-12C GT3, which made its racing debut at

the Spa round of the BritishGT championship in earlyJuly. Priced at £310,000 forthe racing version, demandhas already outstrippedsupply and all models arenow sold for racing in the2012 season. McLarenintend to limit production, sothat they can provide supportfor the teams racing the newcar.

At the recent Spa Classicmeeting in Belgium, therewere various McLaren sports

cars racing, showing the fine heritage of this side to the McLaren racing legend.

Glaesel-Kelleners McLaren F1GTR 1st at Spa

Menacing M8F Michiel Campagne 3rd

McLaren the sports car builders.

Quaife running 2nd early on in the McLaren MP4-C12 GT3 at Silverstone Blancpain race. Finished 19th overall

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

H Read McLaren M8C Did not start at Spa


McLarenM6 GT.

Also seen at the Spaclassic was a rareMcLaren M6 GT whichtook part in the MastersSports Car race. Drivenby P Schleifer, the carqualified in 14th placeoverall but wasunclassified as it failedto complete 75% of the

race distance, though it did set the fastest lap time of its class in a time of 2 minutes 42.028seconds at an average speed of 155.618 kilometres per hour.

The M6 GT was originally developed by Bruce McLaren as a road going sports car basedon the McLaren M6 Can-Am car. It was planned to race in Group 4 GT races in 1969, butthe FIA introduced a new rule saying that for homologation, 50 examples of the car had tobe completed before it would de allowed to compete. McLaren were planning to sell the caras a rolling chassis, allowing owners to decide on what engine they fitted to power thevehicle. With the new 50 build rule, the project was shelved. The prototype was used as aroad car by Bruce McLaren until the time of his death. The prototype was the only M6 GTbuilt by the McLaren factory. Three others were built by Trojan-Lambretta who werecontracted to build McLaren customer cars. One of these three was bought by DavidProphet who raced it regularly. There are some Replica M6 GT cars available, built to theoriginal specification and with genuine chassis plates but these can be identified becausethey are called M6 GTR with the R standing for Replica.

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McLaren M6 GT driven by P Schleifer in the Masters Sports Car Race at Spa

Preservationist of the Year AwardBy Pete Austin

Historic racing stalwart Mark Walker has won the prestigious 2011 Transport TrustPreservationist of the Year Award for the restoration of his 1905 Darracq 200hp. Thepresentation was made by HRH Prince Michael of Kent at an awards ceremony in

Trinity House, London.Being a regular competitor inVSCC events Mark has competedin the car at venues such as Cur-borough (shown here), Silver-stone and Prescott in addition todemonstrating it at the Good-wood Festival of Speed in 2010.Mark’s enthusiastic driving styleis always welcomed by specta-tors and his cars (which also in-clude the ‘Thunderbug’ and aGrand Prix Panhard) are invaria-bly driven to these events on theroad. A real enthusiast.Mark Walker - 1905 Darracq 200hp

© Pete Austin


By Mick HerringIf the Spa Classic 6hr needed a lure to attract spectators or come to that,photographers, the sight and sound of at least seven Ford GT40s howling their gloriousengine note as they charge away from the La Source hairpin would be enough but thenadd in the sheer variety contained in the grid of more than one hundred starters, lap of 7kilometres and you have one race that encompasses every expectation.English cars (and drivers) are always well represented, in the shape of the Jaguar EType, Lotus Elan, MGB, Marcos, Healey 3000, Aston Martin, Mini Cooper S, Morgan,TVR Griffith/Grantura.Porsche 911s and a904 took on these andthe might of theAnglo-American ACCobra, the All-American FordMustang, Falcon andChevrolet Corvette.With the race startingin beautiful sunshineand finishing at22.00(local time) itwould not be without acontroversial incidentthough, when thesafety car stopped atthe top of Raidillon.

Spa Classic 6hrSeptember 24th‏

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Only 6 Hours to go.

Slidey Squealey


With cars stillat high speedas they cameto the incidentunsightedthere wereinstances ofstationary carsbeing shuntedfrom behind,which wouldsee severaleliminated onthe spot,including theleading JaguarE TypeLightweight ofJon/JasonMinshaw/Martin

Stretton.When racing resumed the GT40 of Roger Wills/Joe Twyman would establish a leadand the fastest lap of the race 2minute 46.948 secs on lap 20, sadly it's race wouldend 15 laps later with a broken gearbox.Philip Walker's ultra-rare GT40 Roadster would also exit the race from a strong 4thposition when the gearbox external selector broke, the position that the car waspushed into precluded it from being able to rejoin and limp back for repairs.It is interesting to see the remarkable body/chassis differences between this earlyprototypeRoadsterand whatwouldbecomethe"production" GT40.Throughthe race,the GT40of LeoVoyazides/SimonHadfieldbuilt acommanding leaduntil a longdelay at

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Deenik/Waaijenberg Ford Falcon 10th

Hart-Hugenholz Cobra 7th.

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the fuel station(a traditional petrol pump station in the paddock) saw them go a lapdown to eventual winners Christian Glaesel/Ralf Kelleners' GT40, a deficit that SimonHadfield would reduce significantly as the race drew to it's night time finish.

Results:-1st Glaesel/Kelleners Ford GT402nd Voyazides/Hadfield Ford GT403rd Chris Scragg/Dave Coyne/Mark Wright Jaguar E Type4th John Shipman/Mark Hales/Nigel Reuben TVR Griffith 4005th Alexander Weavers/J-P Batenburgh/P Van Hoepen Kirkham Cobra6th Gavin Henderson/Ted Williams/Joe Macari Ford GT407th David Hart/Hans Hugenholtz Shelby Cobra8th Sandy Watson/Martin O'Connell/Andy Yool Jaguar E Type9th John/Chris Clark/Alasdair McCaig Jaguar E Type Lightweight 10th Bart-JanDeenik/Dirk Waaijenberg Ford Falcon Sprint11th Keith Ahlers/Billy Bellinger/Nils Christians Morgan Plus 8

© Mick Herring

Winners Glaesel-Kelleners dip under 8th place E type at La Source

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Clark-Clark- McCaig E type 9th


Top to Bottom

J Biekens Ferrari 156Sharknose.

Frank Lyons McLarenM26

Chase-Gardener/AllenAlfa Romeo GiullettaZS

Lindsay/Ivey Porsche906 Carrera 6

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Top to Bottom

Vogele/Green Ferrari 330 GTO

Voyazides/Glaesel/Williams Ford GT40

TVR Griffiths Shipman/Hales/Rueben4th, McInerney/McInerney/Griffiths 39th

50 Hall/Blakeney-Edwards Jaguar EType dives inside 38 Lightweight E-Typeof Hall/Newall at La Source

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© Mick Herring


Trans-Atlantic Prototype Challenge Spa24th September‏

By Mick Herring.The Trans-Atlantic Prototype Challenge race at Spa brought together a varied selectionof exciting sports cars from different eras, from the 60s to the 90s.The golden age of Group C was flanked by the thundering 800+ horsepower CanAm

cars from the 60s and early 70stogether with World Sportscar Masters

and the later Le Mans McLarenF1GTR.

Peter Schleifer Lola T310 Eau Rouge 5th

Winner Glaesel/Kelleners McLaren F1 GTR leadsthrough Eau Rouge

T Dozin Spice SE88C© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring


Characterised by their slab-sides, huge rear wings andunequal length fuel injectiontrumpets atop their monster8.3 to 8.8 litre engines,CanAm cars may lack agilitybut would certainly have theopportunity to flex theirconsiderable muscles up thelong Kemmel Straight literallyshaking the ground in theirwake.They would all have to givebest though to the newest caron the grid, the 1997 McLaren

F1GTR of ChristianGlaesel/RolfKelleners ahead ofthe pair of McLarenM8Fs driven by PeterHoffman (luridpurple) and MichielCampagne(menacing black).W.S.M honours wereupheld by SteveTandy's Lola T70Mk3b in fourth withPeter Schleifer'sCanAm Lola T310

fifth.Roger Wills broughthis 1991 Group CCourage C26Ssixth.This was aninteresting race andfielded quite a fewcars not seen veryoften including theDe Tomaso Panteraand the moreregularly racedSpice SE88C, LolaT292 and T212.

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P Boel De Tomaso Pantera GR4

Peter Hoffman Can-Am McLaren M8F Eau Rouge 2nd

Carlos Monteverdi Lola T292

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By Pete Austin'In the 60s and 70s one of my heroes was Ronnie Peterson and I followed his careerfrom his F3 days through to Formula 1. This image shows Ronnie in the unlovedMarch 721X in the 1972 Race of Champions at Brands Hatch. He was quick inwhatever he drove but wasn't the best test driver, tending to drive around any problem.The concept of the Robin Herd designed car was to place as much weight as possiblebetween the wheelbase thus reducing the polar inertia. To this end the gear clusterwas placed ahead of the rear axle line. The car only qualified 8th and finished a distant12th in the race itself. When Niki Lauda tested the car he identified its seriousshortcomings and by the 1972 French Grand Prix it had been superseded by the721G. In this shot Peterson is shown leading Howden Ganley in his BRM P160B.

Archive Photo

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The British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) arrived at Silverstone for their finalthree races with five drivers still mathematically in with a chance of taking the title.Honda drivers Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden, Chevrolet driver Jason Plato, Forddriver Mat Jackson and Vauxhall driver James Nash were all still able to take thechampionship. Jackson and Nash were also both fighting for the Independent DriversTitle with Nash ahead by 17 points. The Airwaves Ford Focus team of Jackson boughtin James Thompson in a third car to try to help their man, while in practice the twoChevrolets of Plato andMacDowall plus the privateerChevrolet of Paul O’Neill ran as atrain with Plato at the rear, in aneffort to improve their gridpositions.

The battle was to be fought outover the tight 1.6 mile Nationalcircuit at Silverstone. Matt Neal inthe Honda claimed Pole positionby just 0.035 seconds from MatJackson in the Ford Focus withGordon Shedden third andJames Nash fourth on the fastSilverstone track that favoured

BTCC Finals, SilverstoneBy Simon & Janet Wright

© Simon Wright

Matt Neal won the first race at Silverstone in his Honda Civic and with a 2nd and 8th in the othertwo races, he clinched the Championship

Former Champion James Thompson drove a third AirwavesFord Focus to try and help Mat Jacksons title bid

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the Turbocharged cars. Jason Plato only managed seventh place for the fourth row ofthe grid. The start of the first race was as explosive as ever. While the front half of thegrid raced off towards Copse corner, all hell broke loose at the back half of the grid.Rob Austin in the Audi tried to squeeze between the pit wall and a Ford Focus, clippedthe wall and shot diagonally across the grid, hitting the rear side of Ollie Jackson’sVauxhall Vectra and spinning him right round in the middle of the pack. In the middle ofthe action, Tony Gilham tried to avoid the accident and went off at high speed in hisBMW 320Si and hit the barriers hard with the side of his car. Both retired on the spot.Neal made the most of pole and led all the way round the first lap to the Safety Car.Jackson, Shedden and Nash filled the next three places, while Tom Chilton made agood start to grab 5th after Jason Plato ran wide at Copse and had to settle for 6th aftermaking a good start. Former double champion James Thompson was clipped by Austin

as he tried tosqueezethrough on thestart and calledin the pits atthe end of thefirst lap with abroken frontdamper. Therace restartedon lap 5 withtwenty laps torun. Neal,Jackson andSheddenmanaged toopen up aslight gap to

the rest of the field. On lap 11 Plato got a front left puncture just after passing the pitentrance and was effectively out of the race though he did make it back to the pits tocontinue to circulate after a tyre change. Meanwhile Jackson continued to pressureNeal at the front. Tom Chilton got a drive through for using the run off area at Copsemore than 5 times, and Plato had to make another pit stop turning the first race into atest session for the other two races. With two laps to go Jackson got a puncture on hisright front tyre which allowed Shedden through into second place. This put Jackson outof the championship chase. Neal and Shedden made it a Honda 1-2 in the first race

with James Nash third.

Neal didn’t make a great start from Pole in thesecond race, getting wheel spin which allowedShedden through into the lead with Ford Focusof Tom Onslow-Cole diving up the inside ofNeal into Copse and a slight touch on the rearof Neal’s Honda by James Nash gave Neal aslight wobble through Copse running very wideoff track and dropping back to third place. Asthe pack rounded Brooklands on the first lap,

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Chevrolet tried everything to keep Plato in contention for the Title including this trainin Qualifying.

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Martin Byford powersides his VW Golfthrough Brooklands

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Chilton got out ofshape in the middle,sliding first one waythen the other makingcontact with variouscars as he wassideways in the middleof the pack all the waybetween Brooklandscorner and Luffield. He

damaged Frank Wrathall’spassenger door which flew

open as he rounded Luffield in the Toyota Avensis. Plato started near the back of thefield and was having to fight his way through traffic. On the fourth lap Onslow-Coleran wide into Brooklands, allowing Neal back into second place behind his team mate.On lap 14 Nick Foster had a huge accident at Woodcote where he spun coming on tothe start straight and James Thompson could not avoid him, hitting the front anddestroying the front end of the BMW leaving a large amount of debris on track. Thisbrought out the Safety car while the wreckage was cleared from the circuit. The fieldwas released with eight laps to go as the race was extended to 25 laps from theoriginal 22 due to the Safety car period. Shedden was pressured by his team mate allthe way to the flag, but Shedden won from Neal, still giving both drivers a chance oftaking the championship. Platofinished 7th and was out of therunning for the title.

With the top ten grid for the thirdrace being drawn, MacDowallgot Pole position from Chiltonand Plato while Neal andShedden started eighth andninth. MacDowall made a slowstart allowing Chilton into thelead with Plato diving through tosecond place. Neal got theadvantage over Shedden and asthey approached Brooklands forthe first time Neal was trying forseventh place with Shedden right behind him. The order remained static until lap 17when Rob Austin in the Audi managed to split the two Honda’s giving Matt Neal a littlebreathing space until on the next lap Austin also took Neal. On the penultimate lap ofthe race, Austin decided to try down the inside of Onslow-Cole at Luffield, tapping theback of the Focus and pushing it a little wide allowing Austin up to sixth place.

With the sun setting over Silverstone, Chilton took the last race victory from Plato butMatt Neal clinched his third championship by finishing in eighth place, On the last lapWrathall dived up the inside of Shedden at Luffield, snatching ninth place on the lastcorner but tenth place still allowed Shedden to finish runner up in the championshipwith Plato third.

Tom Chilton won the third and final race of the series in his Ford Focus

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Griffin Ford Focus leads the BMW pair of Foster and Collard


Like a Busman's holiday I found myself back at Spa for the two GT Cup racesspread over the weekend and less than a week after the Spa Classic meeting.And for the second week running the micro-climate of the beautiful Ardennes circuitwould remain hot and sunny.Unfortunately for Danny Winstanley, Friday would see the engine seize on thebright green TVR Sagaris.A similar fate would befall Tom Andrew when the timing chain on his Morgan'sBMW engine snapped with the inevitable valve/piston contact.Being in with a fighting chance of taking the championship, many suggestions and

attempts were made tobroker deals wherebyTom could rent-a-car forthe weekend.The third deal was theone that materialisedwith a fantastic sportinggesture by a rival, whichsaw Tom borrow/hireFrancis Galashan'sspare Porsche.Never having driven aPorsche before, heacquitted himself well

with the different handling characteristics of the two cars.

Andy Ruhan puncture put him backto 5th

GT Cup - SpaBy Mick Herring

Barclay Dougal BMW E46 through Eau Rouge

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A last minuteconfirmation thatthe big yellowTVR Cerbera ofMichaelSaunders wason it's way threwthe free practiceform book timesupside downahead of the two40 minute races,as opposed tothe usual 2 x 25minute UK races.Race 1 saw a determined Andy Ruhan get away chased by Michael Saunders untilRuhan's Porsche slowed with a puncture, a pit visit would see him rejoin in a distant

twelfth.Saunders had a ten secondlead over Simon Blanckley'sPorsche at halfway but thenbegan to slow with thePorsche overtaking him.Blanckley maintained theadvantage and headed to theline with 5 seconds remainingon the clock, another lap (ortwo as it transpired)remaining.

Michael Saunders TVR Cebera runs from Ruhan before tyre blow out

Race start rest of the field in attendance

Simon Blanckley, too many chequred flags cost victory

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© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring


Blanckley took thechequered flag but insteadof pulling off next timeround, he took thechequered flag again, thusearning a thirty secondpenalty, handing thevictory to the TVR andbeing classified aneventual fourth behindSaunders, David Tomlin(Ferrari 430), FrancisGalashan (Porsche 996GT3) with the recovering Andy Ruhan in fifth.Sixth place overall was enough for the consistent Barclay Dougal(BMW E46) tosecure the group 3 title.Race 2 would see success ballast added to Saunders, David Tomlin And SimonBlanckley in group 1, Galashan, Andrew and Paul Cope(Venturi 400GTR) in group2, Barclay Dougal and Robert Koenig(Porsche 996GT3) in group 3.Despite the weight penalty, Saunders outdragged Ruhan's Porsche into La Sourceon lap 1 with several positions being exchanged as the race progressed.The most remarkable of which was David Tomlin coming from last to seventh by lap2.

Patrick Charlton Lotus Exige 6th

Simon Blanckley 1st and 4th

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring


Saunders wasunderincreasingpressure fromRuhan butmaintained hislead as the twomoved awayfrom the rest ofthe field.Whilst the frontwas fairlystatic, a fiveway midfieldbattle betweenRupert MartinFerrari 430),BarclayDougal(BMWE46), Tom

Andrew(hired Porsche), Patrick Charlton(Lotus Exige) and Sean Winder(Ferrari)provided considerable entertainment.

After opening a near 4 secondgap the TVR suffered a race-ending blow out on thepenultimate lap, leaving AndyRuhan to coast home ahead of

Simon Blanckley, Michael Symons(BMW E46,happy to be back in the hunt after a broken clutchin race1) third, Galashan fourth, Andrew, fifth andPatrick Charlton sixth.With one round (two races) at Snettertonremaining there were still some positions to beconsolidated.

Tom Andrew before it broke

Unfamiliar Porsche Tom Andrew 8th

Danny Winstnley TVR engine siezureimminent

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring


Race at Spa - One Hour Challenge.Photographs by Mick Herring

Top to Bottom

Graham WaldenRV8 Tuscan

locks up La Source

Dom MooneySebring Sprite

lifts a wheel

David TomlinFerrari 308 GTB

entering La Source

Andrew BentleyLotus Elise 111R

on the old pit straight

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring © Mick Herring

© Mick Herring


Top to Bottom

Old pit straight Lotus 340R

Andy Race TVR Rv8 Tuscan

Tuscan AJP - Sprite DomMooney

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© M

ick

Her

ring


L.C.G.M. Le Champion…………….born of another era

Being a member of the local history group in my village (Clifton Upon Dunsmorenear Rugby) I was interested to learn a few years ago that a Brooklands racing driv-er lived just around the corner from my house. Having an interest in the history ofmotor sport I then decided to do some research on his life with a view to producing abook.

Born in London in 1895 his full name was Loftus Claude Gerald Moller Le Champion(hereafter referred to as L.C.G.M.) although I have often seen him referred to mis-takenly as ‘Le Mesurier’. His mother, Caroline, died at the young age of 21 in tragiccircumstances when he was only 16 months old. His father, Loftus Charles deLauney Moller Le Champion, remarried in 1908 to Geraldine and although the mar-riage ended in 1915, L.C.G.M. lived for the most of the rest of his life with his step-mother.

L.C.G.M. gained his flying licence in 1916 at Hendon and although his military ca-reer was undistinguished, mainly due to ill health, he would continue his passion forflying when he stopped racing in 1926.

He started taking part in local motorbike and car trials in 1920 and first raced atBrooklands in 1922. He raced a variety of cars including Schneider, Wolseley andGN but was perhaps most well known for owning and racing a couple of the hugeaero engined giants of the time. He was most successful in the ex Ernest Eldridge20.5 litre Isotta-Maybach with which he won a number of races at Brooklands andother speed events. He then acquired, again from Eldridge, the 21.7 litre FIAT Me-phistopheles although he had less success with this car. This car is still in existenceand is often demonstrated by the Fiat museum albeit in its original red livery ratherthan the green colour that L.C.G.M. painted it. In addition to Eldridge, LeChampion’s fellow competitors at this time were the likes of the Zborowskis, Camp-bell etc. Photographs indicate that he wasn’t the most robust of people so it is amaz-ing that he could handle these heavy cars so well.

Although he had finished racing by the 1930s he continued his interest in aircraft (heowned several in his lifetime) and even did a bit of writing. His book ‘Foretold – Sto-ries of Modern Second-Sight’ was written under the pseudonym ‘Streamline’.

Ramblings fromRugbyby Pete Austin


He died at his home in Clifton Upon Dunsmore in 1938 aged only 43. Part of thecause being an addiction to morphine and cocaine. A sad end to an interesting char-acter and a life lived to the full. He was outlived by his stepmother who passed awayat the age of 89 in the same house.

I am indebted to Tony Hutchings from the Brooklands Society for permission to pub-lish the photograph and to Clive Roberts who is researching the history of the FIATMephistopheles.

Le Champion with the Isotta at Brooklands - Photo courtesy Brooklands Society

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Final Round GT Cup Snetterton 16th October‏

By Mick Herring

With only the 2011 GT Cup Group 3 title having already been decided at Spa afortnight earlier, victory in the top two groups was still to be established at a brightand warm Sunday at Snetterton.In truth, Porsche 997 GT3 driver Andy Ruhan only needed to finish ahead of DavidTomlin's Ferrari 430 to lift Group 1 and thus the overall title but like all GT Cupcompetitors, he came to the final round determined to make a race (or two) of it.With his Morgan Aero 8's BMW engine repaired since Spa, Tom Andrew wouldsecure theGroup 2 title inrace 1, abroken clutchwould precludestarting race 2but he haddone enough towin.The points Tomgained at Spain the FrancisGalashan'sspare Porschewere bufferenough to denyhis generous,sporting benefactor the Group 2 title.

Darelle Wilson Marcos 10th© Mick Herring

Jordan Witt Chevron GR8 leads on lap 2

© Mick Herring



Making his debut was Oliver "Oly" Mortimer, a double Mini Cooper Champion andPorsche GT3 Cup Challenge winner, the Scot testing the championship as aprecursor to a full challenge next year with his Porsche 997 GT3.

In spite of not havingraced on the fullSnetterton 300 circuitbefore, Race 1 was wonby Oly Mortimer by nearly11 secs from AndyRuhan, narrowly keepingJordan Witt(ChevronGR8) between himselfand title rival DavidTomlin. Francis Galashanwas fifth ahead of TomAndrew and after their

now customary battle, Rupert Martin and Sean Winder (Ferrari 430 and 360respectively) came home seventh and eighth although these positions were tradedseveral times.David Witt was ninth, although never far away from the battle in front and DarelleWilson's Marcos Mantis 10th.With 60 kg of success ballast, Race 2 was not so easy for Mortimer, with adetermined Jordan Witt out dragging the heavy Porsche and opening a good gap asthe race progressed but Mortimer managed to pass the quick Chevron to win by lessthan 2 secs, with Witt making repeated attempts to regain the lead during the finalthree laps.

New champion, Andy Ruhan was a more leisurely third, nearly 12 secs behindthe winner with Tomlin close in fourth.

David Tomlin Ferrari 430 4th

Andy Ruhan Porsche 997 GT3 streaks to GT Cup title with 3rd place

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring


Francis Galashan was fifth(his fourth Group 2 win in a row) with Rupert Martin, DavidWitt and Sean Winder spaced out behind.

A fitting end to a fine championship enjoyedin a friendly, relaxed but strongly competitiveatmosphere for which huge thanks must goto Marc Haynes and his dedicated team.

Morgan Mended for now Tom Andrew 6th

Rupert chases Galashan again 5th - 6th at the flag

First time out Oly Mortimer

L2R, Jordan, David, Galashan, Mortimer, Winder,Ruhan

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© M

ick

Her

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Many years ago the canal system was a major transportation network used acrossthe industrial Midlands. The Stourbridge canal was built between 1776 and 1779, is 8miles long, contains 20 locks and cost £38,000. It terminated almost in the centre ofthe town. Stourbridge, in the Black Country, was the home of major Glassworkswhich used the canals as a safe means of transporting their fragile goods around the

country. The original warehousewas built in 1779.

Each year there is an open day to celebrate thehistory of this building. As well as Narrow boats,Steam engines, Classic cars and lorries allconverge on the narrow cobbled road along sidethe building and canal to bring a sense of history tothe weekend. The large local crowd enjoy mingling

Stourbridge Bonded Warehouse Openweekend 15-16th October.

By Simon & Janet Wright

Local built Bean from Tipton in the Black Country

Triumph MayflowerContinued on page 38

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright


One of the more unusual carson display was a 1952 JowettJupiter built in Bradford.. Thissports convertible wasunusual in that if you wantedto access the engine, theentire front end lifted up,hinged just in front of thewindscreen. This wasobviously done to allow easyaccess to the engine formaintenance purposes, butwith the bonnet and frontwings all included in thehinged mass, it was heavy tolift and due to its size, onlyreally allowed access to thefront of the engine. Manyyears later, Triumph had a

similar lifting front end on the TriumphHerald, but that was hinged at the frontand was not therefore restricted by thewindscreen, allowing much better accessto the engine. The Jupiter model wasbuilt between 1950 to 1954 and poweredby a Jowett designed flat four pushrod1486cc engine which developedbetween 60 and 62 BHP. The body wasmade of Aluminium to help reduceweight. Only 731 Mk1 were built and afurther 94 were made of the Mk1a.

© Simon Wright

© S

imon

Wrig

ht

© S

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Wrig

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around the exhibits to remember days gone by, and marvel at locally built cars frommanufacturers that have beenconsigned to the history books.

The Midlands was the heart ofthe British motor industry andat its peak could boast dozensof firms within a 50 mile radiusof Stourbridge, including theAustin factory, where manylocals had worked at nearbyLongbridge. There were manyfine examples of Austin cars onshow, including an Austin A70Hereford, an Austin 7 saloon,and an Austin A30 plus asuperb Nash Metropolitan,which were built at the AustinFactory at Longbridge. There

were also older examples of local cars such as a Bean which was manufactured inTipton, about 8.5 miles North East of Stourbridge, and a Clyno which was built inWolverhampton, about 10 miles North of Stourbridge. In its heyday, Clyno was thethird largest British car manufacturer after Austin and Morris. Both Bean and Clynohave long since disappeared, but thanks to the hard work of dedicated enthusiasts,examples of these vehicles remain for us to enjoy today.

Austin Hereford

1928 Clyno Royal 12/28 Tourer, with an 1496 cc engine developing 11.9 HP

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright


British GT 2 hrs Finale Silverstone 8thOctober.

By Mick Herring

As the large grid assembled behind the safety car at Silverstone for the start of thefinal round of the 2011 British GT Championship, the overall victors could, still,mathematically come from several different directions at the end of the two hourrace.Several new(ish) carswould take the start,including the Ferrari 458of Hector Lester andGordon Shedden(deputising again for AllanSimonsen), the smallteam's chief, JohnBuchan quickly beginingto understand themechanics new car aheadof a concerted effort next year, although Hector would get tipped into a spin early onwhich would see them finish 11th, the car's potential shown by Shedden matchingthe pace of the leaders during his stint.Most dramatic revision was aboard the works Ginetta G55 driven by AndrewJordan/Tom Sharp, run by Martin Short's Rollcentre team, now sporting the striking,rearward facing swan-neck rear wing supports and various new aerodynamic exitson it's bodywork. Sadly mechanical woes prompted retirement.The diminutive Chevron GR8 of Jordan Witt/Anthony Reid was joined by the DavidWitt/Ray Grimes example.

After Glow Ellis-Bamford Ford GT 12th

Andrew Jordan/Tom Sharp Ginetta G55

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring


After a thrilling race in which a number of the mathematical scenarios would comeinto play, together with a twenty minute safety car period that would see several

strategies unravel andleave only forty-fiveminutes on the clockwhen it pitted, the racewas won by theBeechdean AstonMartin DBRS9 ofAndrew Howard/JonnyAdam, their secondvictory of the year inthe ageing and nowcompetition retiredAston, which also

started from pole position.The opening laps saw series returnee, Joe Osborne, in the United Autosports AudiR8 LMS romp away from his pursuers to a lead of half a minute before the safetycar was deployed to enable Paul Whight's Aston Martin to be removed after heavycontact with the tyre barriers atStowe.Joe would hand the car over to ZakBrown still in the lead but the carwould still be the highest placedAudi, in 6th at the end.With the championship still wideopen, Glynn Geddie took over theCRS Ferrari 458 from his father ineighth, fought his way through thefield to the required third and thenset about Richard Westbrook'sPorsche(shared with David

Ashburn) in secondplace. After severallaps of close racingand some contactbetween the two,Glynn backed out ofit to secure thechampionship forhimself and hisfather, Jim.Fourth place went tothe Porsche ofGregor Fisken/TimBridgman and fifth to

2nd in class behind Chris Holmes-Phil Glew good Lotus was enoughfor GT4 championship win for Clutton-Belshaw KTM X-Bow

Joe Osborne leads by half minute Zak Brown brings ithome 6th

Dramatic start, Joe on a charge already© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring


Godfrey/David Jones' Mercedes AMG SLS.The championship standings are:-GT3 and overall.= 1st Jim/Glynn Geddie Ferrari 458 Italia3rd David Ashburn Porsche= 4th Michael Lyons/Charles Bateman and Duncan Cameron/Matt Griffin Ferrari458 Italia(s)=8th Andrew Howard/Jonny Adam Aston Martin DBRS9=10th Mike Guasch/Matt Bell Audi R8LMSGT3B=1st Jon Dhillon/Aaron Scott Ferrari 430GT Cup=1st Jordan Witt/Anthony Reid Chevron GR8.Second in class today was enough to secure the GT4 title for Marcus Clutton/Peter

Oldie but goodie, Aston Martin DBRS9 of Howard/Adam wins

Godfrey/David Jones Mercedes AMG SLS 5th, Osbourne/ Brown Audi 6th

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring


Bright autumn sunshine greeted the competitors for the HSCC Finals meeting held onSilverstone’s National Circuit on Saturday, 22nd October.Ian Gray had already sewn up the Classic Racing Cars Championship in his BrabhamBT16 but was given a run for his money in the afternoons opening encounter by earlyleader, Irishman Paul McMorran in his Crossle 12F. Ian won with Paul eventuallycoming in 5th after a spin at Brooklands.

Winner onthe road,Paul Ander-son(Porsche928) wasdisqualifiedfrom the 70sRoad Sportsthrash forbeing under-weight al-

lowing the Morgans of Paul Conway and Richard Plant to finish 1st and 2nd following aminor clash at Brooklands.

HSCC Championship Finals Race Meeting,Silverstone, 22nd October 2011

By Pete AustinAdditional photos by Mick Herring, Simon & Janet Wright.

Michael Lyons - Lola T400

© P

ete

Aus

tin

© Simon WrightPlant spins at Brooklands and Conway takes 2nd place, which became a win


In the absence ofchampion JamieBrashaw, BennSimms won theClassic Formula3 race in hisMarch 803B andthen capped avery successfulweekend byclaiming the His-toric Formula Ford title by coming second in his Alexis to race winner BenjaminMitchell (Merlyn Mk20) later in the day.The TVR Griffith of Matthew Truelove was victorious in the Historic Road Sports

race while JamesDodd (Ginetta G16)led home the Chev-ron B8s of NickFleming and SteveHodges in theGuards Trophyevent. An interest-ing car in this racewas the rare Brah-ma B2 of RichardPiper.

In the Derek BellTrophy Michael Ly-ons won in his LolaT400 with fatherFrank finishing

fourth in his Gurney Eagle.Sandwiched in betweenwas the March 782 of LeeDwyer and the LolaT330/332 of Neil Glover.

The ‘ByBox’ Historic Tour-ing Car encounter waswon by Mark Jones in hisLotus Cortina following arestart after a red flagcaused by Vincent Frost’sHillman Imp parting com-

Benn Simms - Alexis Mk14 Historic Formula Ford Champion

Matthew Truelove heads for victory in Historic Road Sports

© Janet WrightFleming Chevron B8 and Dodd Ginetta G16 fight for theGuards Trophy race

© Janet Wright

© Mick Herring

© Janet Wright


pany with its rearwheel.The final race ofthe day for Formu-la Juniors was athriller with theCooper T59 ofJonMilicevic just hav-ing the edge overSam Wilson’s simi-lar car. Added in-terest in this racewas Ray Mallockbeing reunited withhis fathers 1960U2.

A sad postscript to this meeting was the sudden death of Bernard Baxter only a fewdays before from a sudden illness. His friend Paul McMorran described him as a‘mechanic extraordinaire’ and he was due to bring one of Paul’s other Crossles (the

17F driven onSaturday by EdMcDonough) tothe meeting.Stephen Pattonwho restored thecar and built itsengine broughtthe car in hisstead. Classic &Competition carextends its sym-pathies toBernard’s familyand friends.

Mike Gardiner Lotus Cortina chases Warren Briggs Mustang to finishsecond

© Mick Herring

© Simon WrightTim Barry driving a 1974 F5000 Trojan T102 in the Derek Bell Trophy

© Pete AustinThe Crossle 12F of Paul McMorran dives inside

the Crossle 17F of Ed McDonough

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