Every winter rebuilt has as its target what has always been
known in vintage circles as "April Silverstone" Which,
as it happens, has been known occasionally to fall in May at
times. This year many things had changed, but not the month.
The V.S.C.C., had joined forces with the B.R.D.C., to promote
this two day meeting which included two rounds of the B.R.D.C.,
Historic Sports Car Championship along with events for Formula
Ford, Formula Junior and Historic Touring Cars. This would appear
to be a determined effort to broaden the appeal of Vintage/Historic
racing and it certainly did bring some fresh blood (Not literally,
I hasten to add) onto the scene.
One good innovation of the meeting was that Members of the
V.S.C.C., were able to gain parking access to the infield which
makes for a much more enjoyable day. Another break from tradition
was that the B.R.D.C., opened the doors of their splendid club
house to V.S.C.C., Members. A great honour since very few enthusiasts
ever have access there and normally only as invited guests of
a specific Member. I am sure that curiosity would have motivated
many folk to go there.
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A 65 mile freezing and at times wet drive over to Silverstone
did not start the day off well but the rain petered out well
before I approached the circuit and although it remained cold,
it did stay dry all weekend. A hot cup of coffee soon started
the blood circulating again and at that point one realises that
there are other lunatics around too, turning up just as frozen
and looking deliriously happy just to be there (Or is it sheer
relief at having arrived in one piece). A preliminary exploration
of the paddock seemed in order then, so off I sauntered. About
2 hours later I had covered about 200 yards. Just about everyone
I ever knew seemed bent on passing the time of day and discussing
the state of the world. As it happened most folk that stopped
asked me if I had seen the "New" Alfa 1750 further
up the paddock so naturally I headed in that direction. Sure
enough there was a splendid Zagato
bodied blown Alfa and what is more, being driven by a lady.
Julia de Baldanza was making her competition debut in the car,
taking part in the 30 minute High Speed Trial. A sensible way
to start ones racing, it is a trial rather than a race with
a certain number of laps that must be completed within the half
hour. An Argentinian of Spanish descent, Julia is married to
an Italian and has two sons at University. She is totally enthusiastic
and also runs a T35b
Bugatti. Julia did complete her required laps and is now
contemplating on where she goes from here.
 One
rarely seen car was parked up nearby. Julian
Majzub had brought his SSK Mercedes out for the day and
very impressive it looked too. The bodywork is factory made
and very, very original. One very useful accessory that goes
with the car is a German WW1 helmet complete with spike which
Julian obliged us by donning for a quick photo. Great to see
the car out.
One person that I not seen for some time and was delighted
to reacquaint with was Norman Dewis, for many years the Jaguar
test driver. He did in fact compete for them on occasions. Perhaps
the most memorable one was at Le Mans in 1955 partnering Don
Beauman in the fateful race when the accident by the pit lane
took such a dreadful toll. Norman's race came to an abrupt end
when Don put the car into the sand but of course Jaguar did
go on to win with another 'D' type with Hawthorn & Bueb
at the wheel.
 Another
fabulous adornment to the paddock area was the 1908
6 cylinder racing Napier. The mighty engine is 8,650cc.
They were of course, in their day, at the forefront of racing
and this would be a wondrous machine for Edwardian racing. It
did look very original and as such it would be a pity for anyone
to over restore it. However since it is in the Bonhams sale
at Hendon next week then a lot will depend upon who buys it.
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Gerry Marshall
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The very popular Gerry Marshall, saloon car driver extraordinary,
showed up on the Sunday. He was hobbling on crutches but cheerful
as ever despite this. He has had a spell of ill health but nevertheless
hopes to get some driving in somehow before the end of this season.
Last year he drove a Mustang in the European Touring Car Championships
to good effect and was at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in his
best known mount, Baby Bertha - The indecently fast Holden engined
Vauxhall Firenza in which he made such a name for himself in the
70's.
One topic of conversation that was repeated constantly to me
over the weekend was the dreadful state of catering in the Paddock
Diner and I did in fact go to see for myself on the Saturday.
In all the years since the old cafeteria first opened on that
site I have never seen such a pickle. This was a fairly big meeting
and there were 3 visible staff, one serving behind the food counter,
one taking money and the other trying to cope with refilling coffee
machines, clearing tables and renewing cutlery etc. The queue
of people were waiting for well over 30 minutes to be served.
The food selection was limited to breakfast items + chips and
the overworked and inadequately equipped staff were being subjected
to the quite justifiably dissatisfied customers' irritation. However,
it is most unfair to vent ones annoyance upon the people on the
front line. I did ask where the Manager was but no one appeared
to know. Probably hiding if he/she had any sense. The tables were
overflowing with debris and all in all a very dismal place to
be. Even worse, the Paddock Bar was closed. Now as we all know,
drivers have to abstain from the nectar until after their event
and they usually break records in sprinting to the bar as soon
as they've hopped out of the car. Shock, horror - No beer. Not
a happy bunch the drivers with this situation to contend with.
Sorry Silverstone, not good enough for Britain's premier race
circuit.
Immediately after the Grand Prix this year the not long constructed
pit lane is to be ripped apart once again (That will make life
interesting at our September meeting!) No doubt next Spring we'll
see what sprouts up in place of the current structures. Talking
of new structures, the new road system looks awfully incomplete
considering that we are only 3 months away from hundreds of thousands
of fans flocking to the circuit for the Grand Prix. Am I being
pessimistic or is the road construction more advanced than it
looked to me?
This was an enjoyable meeting, there appeared to be a reasonable
amount of spectators on the Saturday but with a reduced number
on the Sunday which was a pity since there was good racing on
both days.
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Julian Bronson
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Highlights of the weekend's racing were the Patrick Lindsay Memorial
Race which saw a good field of ERAs battling for supremacy against
a variety of other potent machines including the Type 51 Bugatti
of Dean which is very fast and quite capable of winning. However
John Ure saw off the rest of the field to come home first. One
very interesting situation arose when Tim Llewellyn did a swop
of drives with Julian Bronson. The 3/8 litre Bentley was exchanged
for the Riley "Blue Streak" Julian obviously got the
better of the deal since he won. The Amschel Rothschild Trophy
Race provided an exciting mixture of front and rear engined G.P.,
cars, illustrating perfectly how the diminutive monocoque rear
engined cars eclipsed the likes of 250F Maseratis in such a short
space of time.
 The
historic sports cars were as exciting as ever to watch and made
excellent spectator viewing but perhaps the most thrilling race
to watch was the battle going on way down the field in the historic
touring car race when Diffy
in the Sunbeam Rapier was mixing it for lap after lap with
the Renault
Dauphine of Smith-Fitchett. Only when Diffey slowed a little
on the last lap did the Renault go ahead and take the chequered
flag . This held the spectators' attention much more than anything
going on with the leaders.
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