NEWS
Vintage ‘Cognac’ helps VSCC get quickly up to speed at Curborough this May Bank Holiday Weekend
Wednesday 06 May 2015
The Club’s 2015 Speed Season got off to a flying start this past weekend with the ever-popular Curborough Speed Trials on Sunday 3 May.
Provisional Results are now available to download from the Curborough Event Page (CLICK HERE), where you can also view photos from the day in the gallery.
Anticipation for the first VSCC Speed Event of the season was at an all-time high following an unprecedented number of entries received. Such is the popularity of this most well-loved Club event, traditionally hosted by Julian Ghosh and his fellow VSCC Midlands section team, it was unfortunate that we had to disappoint almost fifty budding entrants prior to the day. It should be noted the wonderful numbers of those turned away that still turned up to support the day by marshalling – a true sign of the great spirit within the VSCC.
What remained was another fantastic capacity line-up of Pre-war machinery across the day’s class structure for Racing and Sports-Cars, from the stunning ten-strong entry of the Edwardian Class through to a host of celebrated Vintage and Post-Vintage Racers and almost every marque imaginable in between.
Heavy rain showers through the early morning had the Competitors facing a challenging day ahead whilst the usual strong turnout of spectators was also in doubt. The first Practice Runs certainly attested to the theory with all forced to take a cautionary approach on an obviously slippery surface. However, as Michael Fish and his colleagues had forecast, the rain soon passed and the combination of sunshine and strong breeze quickly got to work. As the track continued to dry through to the Lunch Break, so did the Spectators begin to arrive, many in their Pre-war cars and the compact venue was soon filled with enthusiasts all enjoying a now warm early summer’s day.
The Afternoon’s Competitive Runs almost belied the friendly atmosphere of the Paddock, with close-fought competition throughout the classes. Enjoying her first season sharing the Frazer Nash Super Sports with husband Simon, Jo Blakeney-Edwards met high expectations as she narrowly beat out the Riley TT Sprite of Andy Bush for Class victory, whilst apprentice Alistair bested the master Alastair as the Pughs once again shared the sleek Frazer Nash/BMW 328. Greg Lerigo and his Riley Special ‘Shifty’ gave a dominant performance to score a Class win amongst the Special Sports-Cars, followed by a half dozen separated by just half a second with Jeffrey Edwards the pick of the larger capacity standings, ahead of a ‘Chain-Gang’ tussle between the AC/GN Beetle of Jon Mellor and respective Frazer Nash Super Sports of Chris and Peter Batty, and Paul Bullett.
The Edwardian area of the Paddock proved a real hit with onlookers throughout the day, and the performance on track certainly matched the static display too. Unsurprisingly, Mark Walker’s mighty Darracq took the spoils, his exuberant style in the 110-year old machine wowing the crowds once more ahead of the smooth but swift runs of Geoff Smith’s aero-engined ‘Pic-Pic’. A debut showing for Richard Scaldwell’s wonderfully finished De Dietrich was another fabulous bonus.
Despite his heroic efforts testing the ‘grip’ limits of the tyres on his historic GN-based ‘Wasp’, Winston Teague was unable to displace Carl Gray from top spot in the Under 1100cc Racing Car standings, as he continued to establish the Hardy Special’s dominance at Curborough. Perhaps the would-be performance of the day came from Charlie Martin in the next Class – continuing where he left off last year, the youngster demonstrated his expert control of the unique Morgan ‘RIP’ Special, perfectly sliding the Vintage machine to a consecutive Vintage Class Record of 37.76 sec and ahead of the revered ERA R12C of Terry Crabb.
If there were a better showing, it came from Tony Lees in the famous AC/GN Cognac, the car still a record holder at Curborough in the hands of Freddie Giles. A longer than planned restoration to fix a number of issues meant it had been some months since last out competing so it was great to see the car back at the venue, where it had competed in the very first VSCC Sprint in 1964, albeit as a Sports-Car then. Although ultimately a shade outside Giles’s 1997 Class Record, Tony’s 37.52 sec was enough to give him ‘FTD’ and the Curborough Trophy, a mere 0.02 sec ahead of Ian Baxter’s newly restored Alta 61 I.S., enjoying only its second outing.
Recording the day’s only other sub-38 second run, Tom Walker was victor amongst the large capacity Racers in the Amilcar-Hispano and is sure to enjoy a season-long battle with the Frazer Nash Norris Special of Julian Grimwade, only a further two tenths behind this time.
With a whole host of outstanding performances and debuts throughout the entry, the Club extends its congratulations to all for their part in a superb day’s motorsport. Our thanks go to Julian Ghosh, Jim Adams and the rest of the organising team, as well as Chief Marshal, Roger Still and the many volunteers who gave up their time to help run the day. As always, our events would not take place without their loyalty and dedication.
We now look forward to the first VSCC Hill Climb of the season at Wiscombe Park this coming weekend on Sunday 10 May (CLICK HERE).
Anticipation for the first VSCC Speed Event of the season was at an all-time high following an unprecedented number of entries received. Such is the popularity of this most well-loved Club event, traditionally hosted by Julian Ghosh and his fellow VSCC Midlands section team, it was unfortunate that we had to disappoint almost fifty budding entrants prior to the day. It should be noted the wonderful numbers of those turned away that still turned up to support the day by marshalling – a true sign of the great spirit within the VSCC.
What remained was another fantastic capacity line-up of Pre-war machinery across the day’s class structure for Racing and Sports-Cars, from the stunning ten-strong entry of the Edwardian Class through to a host of celebrated Vintage and Post-Vintage Racers and almost every marque imaginable in between.
Heavy rain showers through the early morning had the Competitors facing a challenging day ahead whilst the usual strong turnout of spectators was also in doubt. The first Practice Runs certainly attested to the theory with all forced to take a cautionary approach on an obviously slippery surface. However, as Michael Fish and his colleagues had forecast, the rain soon passed and the combination of sunshine and strong breeze quickly got to work. As the track continued to dry through to the Lunch Break, so did the Spectators begin to arrive, many in their Pre-war cars and the compact venue was soon filled with enthusiasts all enjoying a now warm early summer’s day.
The Afternoon’s Competitive Runs almost belied the friendly atmosphere of the Paddock, with close-fought competition throughout the classes. Enjoying her first season sharing the Frazer Nash Super Sports with husband Simon, Jo Blakeney-Edwards met high expectations as she narrowly beat out the Riley TT Sprite of Andy Bush for Class victory, whilst apprentice Alistair bested the master Alastair as the Pughs once again shared the sleek Frazer Nash/BMW 328. Greg Lerigo and his Riley Special ‘Shifty’ gave a dominant performance to score a Class win amongst the Special Sports-Cars, followed by a half dozen separated by just half a second with Jeffrey Edwards the pick of the larger capacity standings, ahead of a ‘Chain-Gang’ tussle between the AC/GN Beetle of Jon Mellor and respective Frazer Nash Super Sports of Chris and Peter Batty, and Paul Bullett.
The Edwardian area of the Paddock proved a real hit with onlookers throughout the day, and the performance on track certainly matched the static display too. Unsurprisingly, Mark Walker’s mighty Darracq took the spoils, his exuberant style in the 110-year old machine wowing the crowds once more ahead of the smooth but swift runs of Geoff Smith’s aero-engined ‘Pic-Pic’. A debut showing for Richard Scaldwell’s wonderfully finished De Dietrich was another fabulous bonus.
Despite his heroic efforts testing the ‘grip’ limits of the tyres on his historic GN-based ‘Wasp’, Winston Teague was unable to displace Carl Gray from top spot in the Under 1100cc Racing Car standings, as he continued to establish the Hardy Special’s dominance at Curborough. Perhaps the would-be performance of the day came from Charlie Martin in the next Class – continuing where he left off last year, the youngster demonstrated his expert control of the unique Morgan ‘RIP’ Special, perfectly sliding the Vintage machine to a consecutive Vintage Class Record of 37.76 sec and ahead of the revered ERA R12C of Terry Crabb.
If there were a better showing, it came from Tony Lees in the famous AC/GN Cognac, the car still a record holder at Curborough in the hands of Freddie Giles. A longer than planned restoration to fix a number of issues meant it had been some months since last out competing so it was great to see the car back at the venue, where it had competed in the very first VSCC Sprint in 1964, albeit as a Sports-Car then. Although ultimately a shade outside Giles’s 1997 Class Record, Tony’s 37.52 sec was enough to give him ‘FTD’ and the Curborough Trophy, a mere 0.02 sec ahead of Ian Baxter’s newly restored Alta 61 I.S., enjoying only its second outing.
Recording the day’s only other sub-38 second run, Tom Walker was victor amongst the large capacity Racers in the Amilcar-Hispano and is sure to enjoy a season-long battle with the Frazer Nash Norris Special of Julian Grimwade, only a further two tenths behind this time.
With a whole host of outstanding performances and debuts throughout the entry, the Club extends its congratulations to all for their part in a superb day’s motorsport. Our thanks go to Julian Ghosh, Jim Adams and the rest of the organising team, as well as Chief Marshal, Roger Still and the many volunteers who gave up their time to help run the day. As always, our events would not take place without their loyalty and dedication.
We now look forward to the first VSCC Hill Climb of the season at Wiscombe Park this coming weekend on Sunday 10 May (CLICK HERE).
