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CONTENTS
VSCC Somerset Tour
October 11th 2026
Cider country from the seat of an historic car
In 1820, John Keats described autumn as the ‘Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’; for the historic motoring community, the season also includes rallies, trials and tours. The Vintage Sports-Car Club run non-competitive tours all year round, but the Somerset event coincides with the west county harvest of ‘mellow fruitfulness’ as apple orchards yield their crop for cider-making. Keats implores the reader to spend some time by a cider press, so it was appropriate that the event had its start and finish at Sheppy’s Cider Farm close to Taunton. Post-war classics are included, bringing together a great mix of cars, from a 1912 Delahaye Type 38 to a Jaguar XK120 and a rare Healey Silverstone to tackle the 65-mile route. Forgoing any apple-based refreshments, the morning-leg headed north to Exmore with its fabulous views and across the Bessom Bridge from which it was possible to see how much the drought has affected the country with only a dribble left in Wimbleball Lake. The Victorian-era Bessom Bridge’s stone arch was exposed for the first time in decades, straddling a small trickle of water at the valley bottom, a stark reminder of the situation. The tour pressed on to Exford for lunch where the Crown Hotel hosted the stop. After lunch, a run across the Brendon Hills first through Wheddon and then Ralegh’s Cross took participants back toward Milverton and Wiviliscome before returning to Sheppy’s Cider in time for tea!
The performance of the Delahaye Type 38 was impressive, tackling steep climbs and descents with equal confidence, especially as this was the car’s first event, and it had been driven up from Cornwall the day before! More continental interest came with a pair of Bugatti Type 40s, both 1.5-litre, one supercharged, comfortable and reliable conveyances for touring. Another rarity was a delightful OM 665S from 1926, almost at the end of the original incarnation of Officinie Meccaniche, a locomotive building concern based in Brescia. The company carried on in the same place until finally folding in 1934. The 665 was modified by London-based concessionaires Rawlences into right-hand drive, duel ignition, 2 plugs for each of its 6 cylinders and a ENV 4 speed gear box, a confection that delivered a quick car for the period with the sports models capable of 75mph. A pair of Bentleys, a 4.5 from 1926 and a lovely 3-litre from two years earlier, gobbled up the Somerset slopes with ease, as did an Alvis Speed 20 from 1933. Illustrations of how capable these vintage and just post-vintage British sports touring cars were.
Examples of Riley and Wolseley MG, Riley, Austin 7s and Morris cars added to the range of machinery at the lower end of capacity, all seemed to cope well with the terrain and painted a rich picture of British roads in the 1930s and ‘40s. Having no problems was a racy-looking 1100cc Lagonda Rapier, the flying-helmet attired crew looked set for a 1930s Millia Miglia! Not enjoying an easy a run was a pretty-looking Ford Model Y Special. After proving somewhat reluctant to start at Sheppy’s, then developed a drinking habit as the day progressed, water that is, not cider! A pair of stylish British saloons that straddled the war years swished along Somerset’s lanes, an MG VA from 1938 with its rakish low roofline and a Jowett Javlin from 1952 in an unusual and striking gold livery.
A great way to enter the late season of historic motoring this year and see interesting cars that may not appear in competition.
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Prescott Engineering and Innovation Festival
October 3rd and 4th 2026
The Bugatti Owners Club introduced a new initiative to conclude their 2026 hillclimb season incorporating finals for Fassi and New Barn Championships into the inaugural Engineering and Innovation Festival.
Invited organisations had stands in the paddock representing the world of engineering including education as well as preparation companies. Supporting the discussion was a number of formal talks by companies such as Moog Engineering, who introduced the idea of aerospace hydraulic principles being applied to motor sport, and Tim Dutton opening up the world of Bugatti pre-war engineering. The festival ethos fits well with the Bugatti Trust and Education Centre’s outreach programme that includes support for STEM education and in a very practical way, the popular Formula Student completion. Representative teams from the latter from a number of UK universities showed their race-car designs that are part of the challenge, and these were demonstrated on the hill between runs.
On the hill the action was all about cliff-hanger in the handicap New Barn and Fassi Championships and who would be crowned at the end of the day. The Fassi lead was with MGB GT man Graham Hill (no relation!) who was not present due to the TV dog-grooming personality competing in Strictly Come Dancing! Paul Hogan with his rapid Triumph TR3S was numerically the only challenger; despite his best efforts Hogan remained in 2nd at the close of play. However, the TR man was still in contention for the New Barn laurels from Christopher Heritage with his somewhat sinister-looking black DAX Rush and Honda Type R racer Andrew Till.
Invited clubs brought Morgans, Aston Martins, Triumph TRs and Allards to the end-of-term party with spirited class-winning runs from Mike Meredith, Morgan Plus 8, Peter House, Aston Martin Vantage GT4, Matthew Waltham TR5 and Mark Brett with the pre-war Ballamy LMB Ford V8 Special. Joined in class with the Ballamy was another Brooklands car David Pryke’s Batten Ford V8 Special that raced with success in Weybridge in the later 1930s.
A good class from the 500 Owners Club saw Frazer Deane capture the win with his Cooper Mk9; a dramatic exit by Alistair Dent came when his Cooper Mk5 came to a halt on Pardon Hairpin as the engine abruptly cut. Dent began to slowly roll the car back for a turn-around but leapt out and ran down the track as he realised the Cooper was on fire! Happily no harm to the driver or lasting damage to the car thanks to marshals’ rapid response, the flames extinguished in short order; the term ‘Hot Seat’ has acquired a new meaning in the Dent house!
The National Historic Speed Championship class win went by quite a margin to Andrew Webber with the interesting Lotus Europa 47D/26R. Other cars of note were the early Lotus 7S2 share-driven by Andrew May and Greville Dare from 1961; launched in 1960, the S2 was more refined as a road car and went on to be the 7s biggest selling variant.
The 1973 SAAB 96 V4 of Iain Graham was an upgrade from the previous 2-stroke to the Ford 3-litre V4 but retaining the freewheel system SAAB were well-known for. The model gained rally success with Stig Blomqvist, who won the Swedish Rally in 1972 and ‘73, the latter a neat connection to Graham’s car, which had proved competitive on the hill working down into the 57s during the day.
The BOC All Comers Handicap saloon and sports-car classes went on scratch to Daniel Friel with the Honda Civic Type R and the thunderous McLaren M12 of Alex Risk respectively. The race-car class had the broadest mix of machinery; Mike Luck’s millennium-built Clubman’s spec. Dart 1800 was at the sharp end securing BTD with a 43.18. Some Historic 750 design came with the 1971 Phoenix of Mike Hawk while from the 1960s Andrew MacDonald’s Beck MG Special was a confection of MGB parts clothed with pre-war race-car aesthetics in mind. The oldest car in class was Christopher Tabor’s Riley Dobbs which was a formidable Brooklands and Donnington machine in period, looking very racy with its offset body due to constructor Hector Dobbs adapting old Riley sports car chassis. A Blue Diamond man through and through, he gained a works 6-cylinder engine as used in ERAs but un-blown; his design ethos was more related to lightness and good handling than out-and-out power. Dobb’s thinking was that high-level tuning and engine development could lead to unreliability.
While all home championships were winding up for the year, the BOC Rally Car Speed Championship has one more outing on November 7th with a day focusing on rallying including night-time runs. Mark Maynard got the best of a pair of Subarus, a Mini Cooper, Renault Alpine A110 and a VW Golf GTI with his well-developed Hillman Imp posting two runs in the 52s.
A interesting weekend mix of competition with a view into the backroom of development and engineering evolution in motor sport.
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VSCC Prescott Long Course September 26th 2026
Bugatti Wins on Home Turf, Riley wins the Speed Championship
A near perfect day for hillclimbing welcomed the Vintage Sports-Car Club to Prescott for the Speed Championship final. A capacity entry delivered the full VSCC spectrum, from Austin 7s in their many guises, high-rise Edwardians, racing cars that included pre- and post-war and some thunderous multi-litre beasts such as Tom Walker’s Amilcar Hispano Special. The short course used for August’s Vintage Prescott is demanding and technical but the Long Course offers a few hundred meters more with a longer run in to Ettores and then Pardon Hairpins, sharpening racer’s focus even more.
Practice was dispensed within time for a lunch-time perusal of the paddock, time to admire the group of Alvis that gathered in the Orchard, and carry out a check on who broke what during the morning action!
The first sports-car classes rattled through with wins for Austin 7 Ulster Rep. man Dan Gregory and Nigel Dowding with his rapid Riley Brooklands. Simon Thorpe with another Riley Brooklands came to the event leading the Speed Championship by 7 points. His closest rivals did not enter, so with a good performance 3rd in class, Thorpe will be the 2026 Champion. Tony Wood got his Frazer Nash Super Sports to the top in a class 3 winning 58.51 seconds, still some 3 seconds off the record set in 2017 by Ed Williams in his Super Sports. Class 4 went with some margin to Vijay Mallya in his BMW 328 while Marina Pemberton-White enjoyed a similar advantage in class 5 with her Talbot 95/105.
Mark Brett used the Ballamy Special’s V8 power and good handling to be the best of only two Class 6 runners under 60 seconds. A competitive group with father and son Terry and James Crabb share-driving the family Alfa Romeo 6C/8C Monza. The latter edged out his dad by 3 seconds or so, dipping under the magic 60 as he went. Dinner that night may have been interesting in the Crabb household!
The Edwardian Class went to Pino Lombardi, who ducked under 70 seconds on his first run with the Luxor but could not beat that mark second time up. Vijay Mallya was back on the hill with the racy-looking Hudson Super Six. Climbing toward Pardon with some speed, each time dramatically locking one rear brake producing a long smoky slide in to the hairpin. A tense moment for Pardon marshals and probably in the driving seat!
The classes changed after the Edwardians from Standard and Modified to Special Sports Cars and Saloons. Mark Chandler started the winning-ball rolling in Class 8 with his Riley Brooklands Replica dipping just under 62 seconds and that reset the record as well. Class 9 was taken by some more blue-diamond motivation with a hard-fought win by David Pryke with the Morgan/Riley; Club President Paul Mullins took his MG N Type Special to the top of Class 10 by quite a margin. Big-engined sports-cars in Class 11 had a three-way fight between Bentley, Riley and Alvis, with the Riley Big 4 Special of Justin Hart on the money by a second or so. Steve Allen’s Bentley 4.5 has an interesting post-war history, being the first car to win the Birkett 6 Hour Relay in 1951. The Bentley was a regular at Prescott in the 1950s, and Allen has a photograph of the car climbing toward Pardon in 1959. The final sports-car and GT-invited post-war class had a rapid Aston Martin DB 2/4 which won with Tim Stamper at the wheel. Martyn Halliday made his VSCC Prescott debut with a rare early Lotus 6 that looked the period part as flashes of light bounced off the aluminium body as it shot through the Esses.
A big class of pre-1941 racing cars entertained with the somewhat precarious-looking Elfe cycle-car regularly dangling a wheel in the air! Carl Grey made an uncharacteristic mistake on his first run, ending up with a visit to the Pardon Hairpin gravel trap. With just a single climb to win the class, Grey was back to his usual smooth precision, posting a 53.98 that knocked Jon Giles Salome’s record from 2024. Michael James looked uncatchable in Class 14 with the Riley Cotton Special pulling a couple of seconds out of Oliver Cox with his Riley Special. Cox seemed to be having mechanical issues while also suffering quite a lot of under-steer on hairpins. Also in contention was Tom Hardman with ERA AJM1, he got close but did not present for his second run. Class 15 looked to be a straight fight between Baxter with the Riley/ERA TT Sprite and Bugatti Type 51 racer Ed Burgess. The former was not on his usual consistent form with a ragged first practice, while the latter looked very confident, working times down with each climb. Both put in flyers on their final runs, but the Bugatti had it by a whisker over a second. The decade-old vintage class record was Burgess’s as well; he was obviously jubilant when taking the Type 51 on a victory run, receiving well-deserved applause from the crowd. Final unlimited race-car class went to the Amilcar/Hispano of Tom Walker. Final climbs of the day came from pre-1966 race cars with Alan Harrison’s Cooper T56 and Ewen Cameron- Eveleigh’s Cooper/JAP Mk 8 receiving the respective laurels.
A super day of competition to wrap up the 2026 VSCC Speed Season.
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Goodwood Revival 2026
Racing through history in Sussex
It is an impossible task to do justice to the Goodwood Revival with just one story. The 3-day event has grown in to a fact-based yet fictional screenplay presenting multiple acts, any one of which would be absorbing enough. We have decided to expand the coverage over the next few weeks with Revival in Detail features, some historical context, some purely visual, because visual is a very large part of the Revival’s sensory experience.
We are opening our account of the Revival 2026 with the middle and both ends of it! Friday tea-time’s St Mary’s Trophy race part 1 for touring cars that raced between 1960 and ’66 began the weekend’s action.
As expected, a packed grid with pro. drivers produced fast and close racing as Minis, Jaguars, BMW 2002, Lotus Cortinas, and Alfa Romeo Sprint GTAs did their best to overcome the heavy metal. Darren Turner was peddling Duncan Pittaway’s 5.3-litre Plymouth Barracuda that seemed small compared to a trio of Ford Galaxie 500s at 7 litres! The win on aggregate over the 2 pro/am races went to Romain Dumas and Bill Shepherd with the latter’s Galaxie. There is no substitute for litres, some say, and the pair loved the power. However, that brings forth blessings and curses; both drivers would have liked the brakes and tyre grip to last longer!
There were four single-seat races covering pre- and post-war cars up to the Glover Trophy for the 1.5 era from 1963 -1966. A thrilling battle ensued between pole sitter Lukas Halusa with a Brabham BT7, Stuart Hall with his Lotus 21, and Joe Colosacco’s stunning Ferrari 1512. Although only 8th in practice and not shining during early laps, the latter used his V12 power when it counted and took the lead on lap 8, holding position to the flag with Hall 2nd less than a second behind.
Three longer 2-driver sports-car and GT races concluded each day’s action. The Revival flagship race ran its 2-driver 60-minute race as the climax of the weekend on Sunday afternoon. After a busy three days in a variety of cars, Lukas Halusa was joined by Andre Lotterer in the Halusa-family-owned 1961 Jaguar E Type ‘Lightweight’ that has Goodwood history in period. The pair setting about beating a hoard of Cobras and a TVR Griffith despite the dry conditions offering maximum power down advantage to the latter and denying the Jaguar its wet handling advantage, just! Having left the grid position of 8th, the Jaguar crossed the line a mere 1.010 seconds ahead of Mike Whitaker and Dario Franchitti’s TVR Griffith 400 after 60 minutes of racing.
The event closed with a celebration party with cake and champagne on the grid beginning within minutes of the last TT car crossing the line. The overarching theme of this year’s Revival was La Dolce Vita; it certainly felt as if the good life had been lived over the 3 days!
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VSCC Mallory Park
Vintage Sports-Car Club signs off on this year’s track season
The VSCC Mallory Park finale delivered 9 races for pre- and post-war cars with plenty of action. The Mallory headline act is traditionally the Dick Baddily and Edwardian Trophies for cars built before 1919 with the exception of a couple of early 1920s GNs. Automobile and aeroplane engines are all part of the Edwardian scene; the latter reflects the glut of multiple-litre motors available after WW1 that were re-employed on the ground for racing cars, especially at Brooklands. Another traditional influence from Brooklands was the application of a handicap system of credit laps to level the field. On the road Gillan Carr with the Abbott Detroit led lap 1; from lap 2 Ben Collings assumed the front with his Mercedes 120 charging around Mallory leading to the flag. Collings set the fastest lap of 1.10.342 and 69mph with the 1907 car. The handicap element makes the pundit job something of a lottery until the flag falls for the winner, this time for Christopher Crook and his 1918 Dodge with a best time on his final tour at 1.24.993 57.18 mph. Another couple of laps and the man on the move Rob Hubbard with a 1913 Vauxhall 30/98 would have overhauled Crook for the win. He had been gaining on the Dodge by some 12 seconds a lap and was only 11 adrift as he crossed the line 2nd.
The race card included Austin 7 and MG MMM one marque racing that saw the highly developed single-seat Austin Specials of Christian Pederson and Richard Carter engage in a strong fight to the flag with the former 0.693 adrift but almost 40 seconds in front of 3rd place after 15 laps. The MG’s were no less fierce at the sharp end, James Painter took Kayne Special into the lead off of pole and led to the end with Roland Wettstien and the ex. Reg Parnell K3 single monoposto and Steve McEvoy’s NA giving a close chase.
Fans of pre-war sports-cars were entertained by the well-supported Owner, Driver Mechanic contest for the Mallory Mug. Spectators enjoyed the opportunity to mingle with the cars and drivers during a lunch-break grid walk; the leisurely perambulations were no indication of the intense battle for the win that would ensue as soon as the flag dropped. Simon Blakeny Edwards got the edge on lap 1 with his Frazer Nash Super Sports but under pressure from Rob Beebee who got his Frazer Nash TT Rep ahead on lap 4 when the leader retired. Only a brief moment of glory for Beebee and the car fell sick 2 laps later and a charging Sue Darbyshire took over with her Morgan Super Aero. After a frantic 4 laps under pressure from Frazer Nash Super Sports man Rufus Flann, Darbyshire yielded with Flann the winner. Their pace had been quick enough to lap the whole field!
More winning Nash action came from the Boulogne Trophy for Vintage Race Cars, this year including later machinery as well. While Nash racers Patrick Blakeney Edwards and Rob Beebee slugged in out with their Super Sports and TT Rep respectively with P.B-E taking the win, again with the first 2 lapping the field. John Polson debuted his Talbot 105 AV recreation of Brian Lewis’s car that raced in the 1931 500-mile race at Brooklands and W. M. Couper’s that took 2nd in the Easter Long Handicap in 1937. More vintage cars came to the line for a dedicated specials race and a handicap, both adding some of that traditional VSCC flavour.
The fastest race of the day would be the Pre-’66 Allcomers that had little and large with a hoard of Formula Juniors and Fred Harper’s Kurtis Indy Roadster that unfortunately fell by the wayside on lap 1 from 3rd on the grid. That left a titanic F.J scrape between John Milicevic with a Cooper T59 and Rufus Flann Lots 22. The lead went back and forth as the pair went nose to tail circulating in the 51 seconds a laps, some 91 mph to complete 23 laps in 20 minutes. Milicevic seemed to have position when on lap 17 a fumble around back markers let Flann through with enough advantage to carry the Lotus to the win.
The VSCC will always find ways to amuse and the final race of the year was the Longstone Tyres Long Car Race in duration, 40 minutes, 2 drivers, and dimension. This included marques such as Delage with a brace of DIS, Vauxhall E Type and 23/60, a plethora of Ford Model As and Bentley Perhaps the only time Rolls Royce has appeared on a grid since the early days of Brooklands when some owners took part in time trials and distance records. Nicholas Hildyard and Rebecca Smith proved fastest with their Twenty Model while Jack Harvey and Peter Batty’s Ghost whispered along as the slowest entrant, ending up last 6 laps down. Competition was a principle that the company frowned upon and would shun customers who indulged in such vehicular abuse! It was clear that the pole-sitting Bentley Derby of Mark and Matthew Humphries would be the car to beat, off the start it was several car-lengths ahead by Gerard’s Bend, and lapping began after just 2 tours! The only challenge to the Bentley came from Luke Roberts and Gillian Carr with the 1906 Bianchi that was 2nd after 40 minutes on the same lap as the Bentley 54 seconds behind. Thus concluded a great Clubby day to close the 2026 racing season.
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BRITISH GRAND PRIX 100
Brooklands celebrates the inaugural British Grand Prix held at the venue in 1926
The UK was some 20 years behind the racing world when Brooklands hosted the first RAC British Grand Prix in August 1926. 100 years and a day later the Surrey venue celebrated that century of top-level competition with one of the largest gatherings of grand prix machinery even seen. On display around the venue, and in demonstration on Brooklands start/finish straight and the Mercedes World test track next door, were 120 cars that encompassed Grand Prix racing’s development.
Special guests supported the celebration such as Damon Hill who re-acquainted himself with his 1996 championship-winning Williams FW18. David Brabham, whose father Sir Jack was born the same year as Britain’s inaugural G.P, replaced the legendary Brooklands time keeper and race starter ‘Ebby’ Ebblewhite, as flag-man for an emotive recreation of the1926 grid. Nine cars lined up on the Members Banking ready for the off. In the line up were a pair of Delage 15-S-8’s of the type used by Robert Senechal and Louis Wagner to win the that first race; Bugatti was represented with a T37 and 35 acknowledging Malcolm Campbell’s 2nd place with a Type 39. The Aston Martin based Halford Special that did not quite make the finish 100 years ago lined up next to the Delages and was still in action 10 decades later on the Mercedes track. The Thomas ‘Flat-iron’ Special that was conceived and constructed at Brooklands by J. G. Parry Thomas was enjoying its public Brooklands debut. Sitting between the pair of Bugattis, this startling low-slung racer looked light years in advance of the up-right Moleshiem cars, it’s stance an indication of Parry Thomas mechanical ingenuity. A pair of ‘Flat-irons’ was entered for the ‘26 G.P. only to withdraw just prior to the race due to gearbox issues. Custodian Geraint Owen has been on a 12-year restoration mission to get the car onto the grid all be it 100 years late! Another car in the line-up to ‘postpone’ its grand prix debut was the front wheel drive 8 cylinder blown Alvis. Down to run in the hands of Maurice Harvey it suffered mechanical maladies and had to withdraw but took the 1927 G.P. start.
To give a flavour of the race a set of three chicanes were placed at the top start/finish as they were for the 1926 G.P and appropriate cars were set off in pairs to ‘race’ through them. Also part of centenary, a replica of the bridge constructed specially for the first G.P. that crossed the track from the Club House paddock to the Test Hill was in place. Cars heading for the race-start action passed though a pair of arches that in 1926 the field shot through at race speed! Banners on the bridge proclaimed Delage’s grand prix success in France and Spain, something of a prophesy for the 1926 British race!
More opportunity to see famous grand prix cars at speed was available on the Mercedes World Test Track. Demonstrating the early days of grand prix racing the 1908 Austin made some surprisingly brisk laps along and a stunning pair of Grand Prix Sunbeam’s including the 1922 Strasbourg car driven by Henry Segrave all added to the atmosphere. More Wolverhampton excitement came with the first public outing together for 50 years of land speed and Brooklands circuit cars Sunbeam Tiger and Tigress; Segrave took the former over 153mph in March of 1926 on Southport Sands.
Bringing the grand prix story post-war and then into the modern era, Alfa Romeo’s dominance of the early F1 scene was portrayed by a 159/9 ‘Alfetta’, the rear engined evolution of the late 1950s and ‘60s with Coopers T43 and T53, a BRM V16 continuation, BRM 261 and a pair of replica Ferrari 156s. led to 1970s G.P. Into the ‘70s with Tyrrels, McLarens and Surtees DFV engined cars. To illustrate the modern era a McLaren MP4/6 V12 howled its way around the track matching only the V16 BRM for aural stimulation!
After that slow start the UK has become the center of the grand prix world through innovative quality engineering, hosting more teams, constructors and GP winners than any other country, the Brooklands event celebrated much more than that one day in 1926.
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Vintage Prescott
Vintage Sports-Car Club enjoy a weekend on the historic short course
Once a year Prescott turns the clock back to it’s origins with a weekend dedicated to the Vintage Sports-Car Club who run their event up the 880 yard ‘short course’ as they have from the Club’s first meeting in 1938. The weekend is now considered to be one of the largest gatherings of pre-war cars in the country with some 275 in competition augmented by a dazzling collection of spectator cars filling the Orchard car park.
A number of special features added much interest including the first post restoration public appearance of the 1926 Thomas ‘Flat-iron’ Special. Designed and built by land-speed man John Godfrey Parry Thomas who set records with BABS on Pendine Sands in the early 1920s. The ‘Flat-iron’ was conceived to fit grand prix rules of the period that set a 1500cc limit; a pair were entered for the inaugural British Grand Prix at Brooklands in 1926, one blown the other not, sadly neither started. The car was technically innovative, its low body line and reduced frontal area showing aerodynamic consideration must have startled onlookers given that most cars of the period were somewhat high-rise and bluff! The engine had a single camshaft and valve springs in leaf form with a provision for the use of desmodromic valve actuation in later development. Originally fitted with a blown 1500cc engine with which Parry Thomas achieved 1 Hour 1500cc class record-breaking success. Drop gears facilitated a low set drive chain helping the car to adopt it’s unique stance; the gearbox had a shift pattern that facilitated fast race-pace changes.
Sadly development stopped in 1927 when Parry Thomas was killed on a record run with BABS. Current custodian Dr Geraint Owen, whp restored the ‘Flat-iron’ over a 12-year period, took the car for an up-hill jaunt during Saturday lunch break; unfortunately a valve spring broke relegating the car to be a popular but static paddock attraction.
An exiting gathering of pre-war Alfa Romeos saw 15 in competition with that number matched with a static display in the Orchard. Reckoned to be most seen together for 40 years, the gathering drew much attention. Models on the hill included 6C 1750 Grand Sport including a pair of Zagato bodied examples, and Monza 8C. Best time from the Alfa entry came from Harry Wessall in the ex Phillippe Etancelin 1930 8C Monza that took 4 grand prix wins in his hands in 1933. We will expand this story with a dedicated gallery, so follow the finger!
Despite the good track conditions suggesting potential record challenges only two marks fell. Riley Brooklands Replica man Mark Chandler knocked Geraint Owen’s 31 year old Morris Jap record for 1100cc special sports-car by just 0.01! Theo Hunt took a nibble at the up to 1500cc special sports-car record with his rapid Frazer Nash TT Rep. This came with a skilful demonstration of Nashery, on 3 wheels at Rolt, understeer into oversteer at Semi Circle!
A substantial class for Edwardian cars held as much sloth as speed. At the latter end James Collins with the Hudson Super 6 set a pair of identical times on his competition runs that were only slightly off his practice pace!; enough to duck under the thunderous Mercedes 120 of Ben Collings by a second or so. At the opposite end of the Edwardian performance chart was Jonathan Ward with a 1903 Hochkiss T Type who just managed a sub 100-second final run. A striking machine with a distinctive round radiator, a style adopted by other continental marques believed to indicate a manufacturing history in steam boiler making!
Brisk competition in the racing car classes saw Ben Fiddler take the overall BTD with ERA R4D from Nic Topliss, ERA R4A, and Ian Baxterm, Alta 61 I.S, all three in the 42s completing a big weekend for the pre-war scene.
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BRDC CLASSIC 2026
Back to the future for Silverstone's historic racing weekend
The inaugural 3-day BRDC Classic that from this year replaces the Silverstone Festival looked to its 1990s Christies/Coys Festival roots with a more focused return to historic racing. A package of grids from Motor Sport Legends with some additions from the Historic Sports-Car Club and Historic Racing Drivers Club included Pre-War Sports-Cars to 1980s Grand Prix Icons, GT2/3 and LMP cars from the mid 2000's and a strong turnout of touring cars. Nine double headers and three standalone races gave spectators ample opportunity to follow their favourite grids around the full G.P circuit while allowing time to enjoy a perusal of the mass gathering of car clubs on the infield.
All grids were in action during Friday’s qualifying day with the RAC Woodcote and Stirling Moss Trophy field having an extra busy day as they opened the weekend’s competition as well with the first of two 40-minute encounters. A Lotus/Lister sharp end turned into an epic dice between David and Oliver Hart sharing their Lister Costin and a pair of Lotus-15s from Oliver Bryant and Johnny Mowlem and Bonamy Grimes. The latter squeezed the win by less than half a second Bryant. Race 2 was the battle rejoined where Mowlem and Grimes turned the previous close run into a substantial winning gap again from Bryant.
Day 2 kicked off with an enormous Formula Junior grid that was quality racing as well a quality on-track victory for Merlyn Mk5/7 man Callum Grant; Sunday's return match saw Grant on the top step again. Saturday’s solo race feature was a 60-minute race for 1960s/70s 2-litre sports prototypes. The evocative of the category where cost and reliability was important consisted of iconic marques from the period such as Lola and Chevron. While Jan Magnusen and Chris Ward were the front-runners leading from pole for 26 out of 28 laps with their Lola T292, Alex Brundle and Sir Chris Hoy in a similar car chased them hard to be 2nd and the only car not lapped. G.P Icons saw some of the closest racing as front-runners Michael Lyons and Lukas Halusa took their Hesketh 308E and Brabham BT49 respectively to the limit with Halusa taking a hard-earned win on both days. Regular victor Lyons admitted he had squeezed all he could from the Hesketh and did not have an answer to the Brabham man’s performance.
Sunday’s action began with HRDC Top Hat qualifying for their feature race late afternoon. The HSCC Derek Bell Trophy opened competition. The championship caters for powerful single-seaters from the 1970s up to 1984 and encompasses a wide range of international championship cars such as F5000 and Atlantic, F1, 2 and 3. New for this year Buick-V6-engined cars up to 1994 that ran in the American Racing and Indy Lights series are included. Saturday’s race was a March affair at the front with Alex Kapadia leading with his 762 until Martin Stretton shot by almost in sight of the flag with his 742 to win by a few 100s. Sunday saw Stretton’s challenge fall away, allowing Kapadia to top the podium while Christian Pittard picked up the pieces in 2nd with his F5000 Chevron B28. The chalk and cheese menu continued with the 2nd contest for the Pre-War Sports that was a second walk-away by Alvis Firefly Special racer Rudi Friedrics, stalked in both sessions by the Beebee father and son equipe in their very historic Frazer Nash Supersports. Delivering the speed and spectacle of long-distance racing were both the GT3 Legends, one win apiece for Aston Martin V12 Vantage racers Jonathan Mitchell and Graham Davidson, and Endurance Icons, double win for Keith Frieser with a Zytec 09S.
The HRDC Top Hat Touring Cars provided the final feature race of the 2026 Classic with a huge 44-car grid. A seven-place Ford Mustang lock out at the top end after qualifying was converted into a five-place results grab by the pony car contingent; 1st place Sam Tordoff led the stampede with a 15-second advantage over 2nd place Mike Whitaker after 45 minutes of racing.
The event-closing race saw the HSCC Historic Road Sports take their 2nd run after Richard Plant got his Morgan Plus 8 home first on Saturday. Gary Lapidus took a commanding win with his Chevrolet Corvette Stingray by some 30 seconds from Samuele Narciso’s Lotus Eclat to bring the flag down on a successful first BRDC Classic.
In addition to this report and gallery that gives a flavour of the event, we have broadened our view of the BRDC Classic with additional images and comment. If you would like to find out more about this event, please ‘follow the finger’.
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GN & FRAZER NASH CELEBRATED AT SHELSLEY
Vintage Sports-Car Club Shelsley Walsh July 5th 2026
As much a spiritual home for pre-war cars as Brooklands and Donington, Shelsley Walsh hosted its annual Vintage Meeting where the Vintage Sports-Car Club delivered a capacity entry especially from GN and Frazer Nash cars. For more that 100 years, the name Frazer Nash has been in the Shelsley commentary since Archie Frazer Nash first competed in a GN. Chain drive cars with a range of engines climbed the hill to numerous BTD and records since. Perhaps the most iconic chain gang personality after A.FN is Basil Davenport, who created the most devastating of the GN-based specials of Shelsley’s early years, Spider. Year 2026 celebrates the centenary of Davenport’s first of 7 consecutive BTDs including 4 records. Spider’s current custodian Jim Edwards was in action along with fellow ‘insects’ from the 1920s, including WASP campaigned by Winston Teague and Jonathan Wiseman with Gnat creating a reunion that evokes the period. Also looking resplendent in adjacent pit garages was a pair of Alvis-engined Nash-based confections originally built by ace special builders the Norris’s brothers. Robin Harcourt Smith’s 3500cc is a past Shelsley record holder while Andrew Wilson’s blown 1482cc car is a regular contender in the up-to-1500cc class.
Many famous Nashs with Shelsley history were back on the hill. Robert Beebee with the ex. Roy Eccles TT Rep. that was a venue regular in the 1930s took a class win. ‘Patience’, originally developed by John Clark through the 1930s, was driven by Matilda Jones whose family have tended to and competed with this car for decades. The Ulster-based Nurberg, owned for many years by Dick Smith, has a Corsica 2-seater body with a Meadows engine constructed for the 1932 German GP where Frazer Nash hero A.F.P Fane drove it. Smith’s son Adam proved age had clearly not dimmed the Nurberg’s performance as he made class 2nd on a matched time with brother Andrew with the family Supersports on 38.04.
Fane was so successful that he became works driver climaxing in 1937 by knocking the famed Raymond Mays’ name off the 1500cc record with the blown 1500cc Gough powered monoposto. Well-known chain ganger Patrick Blakeney Edwards with the Fane type works car set out to chip the latter’s ’37 record of 38.77. A Herculean effort saw P.BE on 35.97 to achieve his ambition and set BTD, an appropriate conclusion to a celebratory day of dogs and cogs.
Notable other entries both in the up-to-3000cc class included Sean Danaher’s delectable Maserati 6CM providing a view of 1930s international circuit racing and class winner Christopher Tabor’s offset Brooklands racer, Riley Dobbs, driven in the 1930s by Hector Dobbs.
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PRESCOTT HISTORIQUE
Bugatti Owners Club Prescott Historique Hillclimb May 23rd 2026
Competition cars representing nine decades of motoring came together for two fine days over the end of May bank holiday weekend for the Bugatti Owners Club’s well-established heritage meeting.
Day one saw a 14 strong Clubmans Register class lead the way on times with Samuel Nicholson climbing his 1700cc Mallock Mk20 quickest overall. The class was super popular on the hills in the 1970s as technical specification limitations kept costs down while still a big deal on the circuits. Clubmans spec competition on the hills had waned until a resurgence of interest at Historique 2025 brought cars back to the slopes. Diminutive racers from the 500 Owners Club showed how budget competition from the 1940s and 50s with single and twin cylinder engines could still thrill the crowd. True Brit sports-cars offered a different view of club motor sport with Healey, Triumph and Lotus enjoying single marque classes; the latter from the Paul Matty Lotus Championship joined also by a glamorous class of Lotus racing cars. Second day glam came with the addition of the Williams Monaco Trophy class that entertained 12 1920s/‘30s Bugattis, Alfa Romeo and Frazer Nash cars. The class remembers the trophy that was awarded to Grover Williams for his Bugatti Type 35 win at the first Monaco Grand Prix in 1929 and is now competed for in a VSCC organised circuit race by drivers in suitable 2-seater racing cars. Bugatti Type 51 racer Ed Burgess was quickest in the Williams class while Mallock man Samuel Nicholson continued his form from the previous day to take the overall win for day two.
Over the two days spectators were entertained by Mark Davies’ McLaren M10B F5000 demonstration runs; four-time British Hillclimb champion Roy Lane used the car in the early 1970s. Powered by a 5.5 litre Chevrolet V8 that delivered a thunderous reverberating roar around the valley was a fitting tribute to Lane who died in 2009. He set numerous BTD’s at Prescott in a 33-year hillclimb career, his last win at the venue and final British championship year was 1996. He was also a regular instructor with Prescott’s driving school.
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WISCOMBE PARK
The Vintage Sports-Car Club Wiscombe Park Hillclimb May 10th 2026
The Vintage Sports-Car Club Speed Championship enjoyed back-to-back weekend rounds at very different venues, from the open spaces of Curborough Sprint Course to the rolling parkland and wooded valley of Wiscombe park in Devon. Ian Baxter supplied the continuity by setting another BTD with the Alta 61 I.S despite a drift on to the dirt and a wheel-spinning scrabble over the finish line on his best run! Keeping in touch with the Alta’s times, Robin Harcourt Smith with the Frazer Nash Alvis Norris Special looked a likely challenger; a breathtaking but well-held sideways moment just before the line at Martini on his final run pushed him down the order.
Edwardian cars are a popular feature of VSCC events with a range of engineering solutions seen in the early days of motoring and competition including the use of aeroplane engines for ground level propulsion! To prove the point, Archie Bullett had a firm grasp of the 9-litre Piccard Pictet Sturtevant-Aero-engined special to win the class, while Duncan Cartwright had a more conventional automobile set up with his Sunbeam 12/16. Ian Seymour Smith’s dramatic lofty pencil-thin Mitchell Board Racer gave a flavour of the pre-World-War-2 racing scene on the other side of the pond where wooden ovals ran for most motorcycles but also cars along side venues such as Indianapolis Speedway. The longest time of the day also came from the Edwardian class and the oldest competing car, Tim Harrison’s De Dion Bouton Type DE Course from 1913.
The star of the meeting was Vijay Mallya’s Sunbeam Tiger with its 4-litre V12 engine. British racing hero Henry Seagrave used the Sunbeam 100 years ago on Southport Sands to set a land speed record at 155.33mph. Known in the period as ‘Ladybird’ due to the bright red colour, it is still the smallest-capacity engine to have set a land speed mark.
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CURBOROUGH SPEED TRIAL
VSCC Speed Season Opens at Curborough May 3rd 2026
The Vintage Sports-Car Club loves a tradition or two, such as kicking off its Speed Championship of sprints and hillclimbs at the figure-of-eight course close to Litchfield.
A low key ‘clubby’ atmosphere that feels very pre-war, suiting the 100-or-so pre-1940 cars with an invitation class of post-war sports and racing machines very well. The track rewards a smooth approach working into quicker times; it resembles a flat hillclimb and as such is a less daunting venue than some to come! The racer to beat was Ian Baxter with the very fast if occasionally fragile Alta 61 IS. Forecasts were correct as Baxter set the BTD target with his first run at 36.32 seconds. Closest challenges came from Alta double driver Paul Richardson who used to share Donald Day’s ERA R14B, and Robin Harcourt Smith with the Frazer Nash Alvis Norris Special, both in the 38s. Theo Hunt slid the Frazer Nash TT rep. to 1st Vintage and BTD for Young Drivers under 30, while Winston Teague took the Vintage Crown with Jack Moor’s Shelsley Special WASP. This included some dramatic angles at the hairpin and much arm flailing to get the 1920s single-seater back on the straight if not narrow. Teague had enjoyed some birthday cake at lunch break so the win was definitely the icing and probably a candle or two on top! The less frantic sports-car classes were no less entertaining; William Marsh was some 8 seconds faster in his class that his class-mates and Simon Thorpe is beginning to regularly top the times with his pretty Riley Brooklands. This was the first event for the new VSCC president Paul Mullins, a regular competition in MGs especially, but also with ERA R7B in the past.
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DIFFEY BROTHERS
The Vintage Sports-Car Club Diffey Brothers Wessex Trial April 26th 2026
While not part of the Vintage Sports-Car Club trials championship, the Somerset-based event offered plenty of challenges and the chance for early pre-war trials cars to join the 1920s/30s machinery. Almost 50 cars set off at minute intervals from Mendip Shooting Ground near the city of Wells to follow a zig-zag route across the county to Cheddar and Shipham and back to a group of sections south of Wells.
The earliest cars were Robert Francom’s 1913 Talbot 25/50 and Rebecca Wiseman’s V twin GN special that straddled the Talbot’s timeline with some bits from 1910 and others from 1920! The entry had a good number of Austin 7s, Ulsters, Chummys, Gordon England and a Cambridge Special, all variations on the Longbridge theme joining a host of 7 trials specials. Predictably they scored well, the top 3 pre-war crews, two Austin’s and an MG M Type, tying on points in the short wheel base classes. Best of the Long Wheel Base cars was Jessica Scudamore, who drove a Ford Model A Phaeton with skill, determination and a rhythmical bouncing crew to go 9 points clear in her class. The Modified and Specials class went by a much closer margin to Joseph Stollery’s powerful Riley. The outright winner Jonathan Layzell claimed the Diffey Cup with his Dellow Mk1 despite tying on points with Eric Wall with a similar car, as the tie-break test swung the decision to the former.
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PRESCOTT
BRITISH HILLCLIMB CHAMPIONSHIP
British Hill climb Championship Prescott April 25th 2026
Prescott hosted the opening 2 rounds of the 2026 British Hillclimb Championship supported by the Midland and New Barn Cars MOT championships. Also on the card was a range of historic and classic classes that delivered a rich and varied programme over 2 days of practice and competition.
Defending his number 1 status, Matthew Ryder had strong competition from both Will Hall and 4 time champ Wallace Menzis as soon as the lights went green, all three using Gould GR59s. Ryder nailed the first round with setting the target at 35.29; Hall sniffed the bait and took round 2 and BTD by just 100th of a second. Constructors David and Sean Gould entered their historic Gould 84G, the car that began the marque’s hillclimb attack back in 1984. Still producing respectable times more than 4 decades after conception, unfortunately Sean exited the action on Sunday with a collapsed rear hub that bounced the car into the air and the barrier in the Esses. New entrant for 2026 Antipodean champion Dean Tighe brought his Star-Wars-wrapped 1380cc Empire Wraith from Australia to a first-round Prescott run-off of 11th.
Historic single-seaters deliver a special kind of drama, Andy Tippetts’ 3.5-litre Brabham BT30X made all the right noises and produced the best climb in the pre ’71 racing class. The pre-1990 tin-top classes gave Simon Braithwaite a chance to run his delightful Ford Escort RS1600 that is a re-creation of the car Russell Brooks destroyed on the Daily Mail RAC in 1971. Not just a good-looking machine but also very effective as Braithwaite lowered his 2023 class record by 0.22. Porsche 911 man Rodney Eyles lowered the Road Cars Series Production class mark convincingly by over a second. The capacity entry shows the speed scene is in an exciting and vibrant place.
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SILVERSTONE
The Vintage Sports-Car Club Spring Start Silverstone, April 11th 2026.
The vintage Sports-Car Club delivered an array of ancient and slightly more modern racing machinery with their season opener. Club tradition sees a 30-minute high-speed trail with target laps and a mandatory plug change begin the programme. Another capacity grid of pre-war sports cars from the Owner Driver Mechanic series raced for the Fox & Nicholl Trophy; early leader Rob Beebee in a Frazer Nash TT Rep. clinched the deal by 2 seconds with the menacing black Talbot Lago T23 looming in his mirrors in 2nd.
The pace quickened with 1950s sports and sports racing cars with the inaugural Revolution 50s race; the 15-minute race was furious at the front end as the first 3 home lapped the field. Lister Jaguar man Gary Pearson kept just over a second in hand from Stuart Morley’s Chevrolet-powered version, while 4 seconds or so behind was the Cooper Monaco of Andrew Smith. Another view of ‘50s racing came with a big grid of production sports cars, specials and some sports racing cars representing that period-of-the-club scene. Last-lap drama saw the leading Healey 100M spin into Brooklands on its own oil while AC Ace Bristol racer Adrian King who had been in 2nd place swept past the rotated Healey to win.
A pinnacle of VSCC single-seater racing are ERAs; the Itala G.P and Patrick Lindsey Trophies did not disappoint with 4 entries and the Parnell Challenger which is ERA-engined. The next generation of ERA drivers showed the future is in safe hands with Stephanie Wilton in R7B and James Topliss with R4A both making their race debuts. Mark Gillies took the win with ERA R3A, showing that ERA senior service still has a firm hand on the silverware! More monoposto action featured with the Rothchild and Robert Ashley Trophies for pre ’66 racing cars and a classic David and Goliath encounter. Ruediger Friedrichs got his 1500 cc Cooper T53 made a lightning start to be first into Copse Corner. Despite the capacity difference, Friedrichs built a convincing lead to win from Michael Gans’ later 2500 cc Cooper T79. Nick Fennel took 3rd with his lovely Lotus 25. Pre-war allcomers, scratch and handicap races were wrapped around the guest and trophy contests to make an all action race card to begin the UK historic race season for 2026.
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EXMOOR TRIAL
The Vintage Sports-Car Club Exmoor Trial February 21st 2026
Any competitor who got at least 1 point on their scorecard was a winner on the Vintage Sports-Car Club’s West Country mud plugging event based at Exford. Weather trials and tribulations on the day added more H2O to that accumulated in the weeks preceding delivering sections that looked worse than a wet Glastonbury! Ever popular with competitors, the100 plus entry included shoals (given the amount of liquification!) of Austin 7’s joined by a couple of AJSs and MGs. They battled elements and sticky topography against the long wheel base classes of thundering of Vauxhall 30/98s, Chryslers, Ford Model As and a 3-4.5 Bentley; you would be hard pressed to find a better selection of pre war cars in action in the wild! Given conditions from the get-go it looked likely that victory would fall to one of 6 Ford Model T/A specials that have evolved into devastatingly efficient trials cars over the last few years, so much so that there is now a class to support them. A welcome change from the norm came with a 1910 De Dion Bouton that despite its Veteran leanings to fragility and not much power was very effective cleaning sections that proved stoppers to many. A relief from all the power climbs came with steady pop-pop of Theo Hunt’s Trojan Utility enjoying a change from chains to belts after the Pomeroy Trophy earlier in February.
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POMEROY TROPHY
The Vintage Sports-Car Club Pomeroy Trophy Silverstone February 14th 2026
Time to dust off the FIA Le Mans spec. luggage again as the VSCC launches its track season at a chilly but bright February Silverstone with the 70th running of the Pomeroy Trophy. This competition of agility tests and speed trials established to determine the most effective touring car used to be a ‘well-known secret’ among historic racers but now attracts a top line entry and good spectator support. The Pom. entertains the widest possible selection of road-going machinery from a 1907 Mercedes 120 to a 2021 Toyota GR Yaris. More than a 100 years of sports and saloon cars tackle not just the track challenges but the Pomeroy Formula that negates out and out performance to identify the effectiveness of a car for the purpose of touring. The 2026 event saw one of the biggest entries ever with almost 150 cars running around the Silverstone GP circuit on driving tests in the morning and in three target-lapped 40-minute high-speed trials in the afternoon. The entry quantity and quality opened the potential result; however, the Trophy’s history suggested the most successful marque Frazer Nash could be in the frame again. To prove the stats a dominant performance by Andrew Smith with a Super Sports took the overall Pom. win, while fellow chain ganger Theodore Hunt was 2nd with his Frazer Nash TT Rep. securing the Densham Trophy to add more lustre to the Nash crown. The Edwardian Trophy went to Andrew Howe-Davies with his 1913 Straker-Squire. Two more pots from the VSCC trophy cupboard, the Pom. Voiturette and Gordon Spice Cup, went to the MGPA of Richard Stott and the BMW CSL driven by Patrick Blakeney Edwards respectively.
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BROOKLANDS
The Vintage Sports-Car Club Brooklands Spring Driving Tests January 8th 2026
Although it was officially the Club’s 2nd event of 2026 following the Measham rally in January, the re-titled Spring Driving Tests saw unusually warm weather for a day of vintage vehicular conundrums around Brooklands that attracted members and public in good numbers to watch the goings-on. A run up the historic test hill and along the banking to a batch of challenges on or nearby the start/finish straight made viewing action easy, with the paddock and clubhouse adjacent enabling that special VSCC Brooklands atmosphere. Light cars such as Austin 7s, Singers, Lea Francis and Frazer Nashs and other true Brit. Marques giving plenty of excitement. Standout machines such as Duncan Cartwright’s racy-looking 1913 Sunbeam 12/16 4-seat tourer, the only Edwardian out to play, and Mark Gillies’ Riley Gamecock Alpine Trial car from 1934 attracted much interest. The car has been in the Gillies family since the early ‘50s when acquired by Gillies father Barry. One of 3 Gamecocks modified with the company’s 6-cylinder engine especially for long-distance events. William Marsh made the lowest score skilfully powering his Austin 7 Ulster around the cones for a 1st class award followed by Harry College in an Austin Chummy and Martin MGTA.
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EXETER TRIAL
The Motor Cycling Club Exeter Trial January 9th/10th 2026
It may appear that there is much in the way of motoring action so soon after the festive season. Since 1910 the Motorcycling Club have set about any winter lethargy with the Exeter Trial. Some 250 motorcycles and cars explored the West Country green lanes and tracks on the coldest few days of the winter so far adding to the mechanical, physical and cerebral challenge of 12 off road sections, special tests and time controls. The event makes the dead of winter come alive for owners of road going machinery from the 1920s up to the 2000s.
Below is an image selection from 2026; we have work from the car classes from the early 1990s to date. Editors remember there are not many UK classic events at this time of year for your sports pages, so please get in touch if you require coverage or to commission for 2027.
