August 2013 V6 Debden Autosolo 7th July 2013 Ne N s w f s o r f o t r h t o h s o e s t e h t a h t a d t o do

August 2013 V6 www.ecmc.co.uk © Vincent F Hunt Debden Autosolo 7th July 2013 1 1 New Nsew fosr ftohrotsheotsheathdaot do August 2013 V6 www.ec...
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© Vincent F Hunt

Debden Autosolo 7th July 2013 1

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EC M C Competition News

We need your articles- please write in- [email protected]. All photos © V.F. Hunt with the exception of contributed photographs as marked and club archive photographs as kindly provided by Leigh Travail. Authors of individual articles have reserved their copyright and should be asked before re- using their material. Magazine © ECMC Ltd but issued with a general presumption of free circulation. Hard copies of this magazine are available to members, but there will be an additional charge (to be determined by the committee).

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Eastern Counties Motor Club President:

R J Smith- [email protected]

Vice Presidents Chairman Secretary

G Morley, B Baker, F Porter Peter Thomson- [email protected] Bernard Baker- 5 Dales Court, Dales Road, Ipswich IP1 4JR- 01473463 444

Competition Secretary Tony Burchnall- [email protected] 01473- 652262

Treasurer Committee Members

Currently vacant and thank you for all your hard work in the role Joyce Shaun Brame (and web master) [email protected] Vincent Hunt (and magazine editor) [email protected] 07970- 659846

A Bit of History The (East Anglian Motor) Club was formed on 23rd January 1950. The name was changed to the Eastern Counties Motor Club on 25th January 1950. The founder members, in alphabetical order, were:

C.M.S. Bunny Abbott L.J. Slim Coe Bill Last Richard Sage P. Thompson

Jack Abbott Jack Digby Howard (Hugh) Murland Dennis W. Smith J. Wellens

Bill Bloss C. Neville Horton Peter T. Nash J. Stonehouse

John Brown Eric Kinnell R.M. Poole E. Thompson

Bunny Abbott was the first Chairman, Hugh Murland and Dennis Smith the joint Secretaries. Sir Charles Bunbury BT, accepted the post of President in May 1950.

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Editorial It is August and autumn draws near. Many crops are harvested and manure is being spread on the land and possibly elsewhere. The Debden Autosolo on the 7th July was a great success and excitingly you can watch the Spitfire on the front cover here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sudopyYs0nE&feature=youtu.be This is in the Club’s new You Tube shop window, which I set up and loaded the videos to; and Shaun very kindly made beautiful and competent (thank you Shaun). So if you have any videos of club events to upload we have the technology. The shop window is here:http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjCZ47nzD3oK69qv7rGlhzg The heat on the airfield was lethal, and as an individual who had to take refuge in the shade I have to pay due homage to Bernard who stood and marshalled in direct sunlight for circa 7 hours. In fact if you look carefully 16 seconds into the video above you can see our esteemed secretary at work. We very nearly won the Petanque Night on the 7th August in lovely Horringer but WSMC resorted to playing a ringer in the final by substituting the individual who had played in the earlier rounds by a late comer. I don’t know who that old Suffolk boy was, but he should have been in Bomber Command, and since he displaced moi from victory I have taken this rather personally and will reserve the right to engineer a suitable “substitution” at some point in the future (!) I returned to circuit racing on the 13th July which was initially an humiliating and then ultimately exhilarating experience. The circuit had been entirely taken over by the Grand Prix Karting community and so parking on lovely grass and using the pop up tent was not an option (a joke has been selfedited here). Sleeping in the tow car was not comfortable on the Friday night and on the Saturday I felt so old and so slow on the “technical” Snetterton 300 circuit. Practice times were indeed slow. However there was life in the old dog yet as in crippling heat whilst everyone else was slower than practice in the race I was 2 seconds a lap faster! And in fact I made up 5 places. This was in fact due to the five cars in front of me breaking down. So obviously the 3

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August 2013 V6 www.ecmc.co.uk mechanical telepathy was working. In the second race on Sunday I was much faster and in fact overtook somebody after a long dice and drove away from him by a margin of over 4 seconds a lap. My beloved MGB was reliable throughout the weekend and only refused to start in the parc ferme after the second race due to fuel vaporisation. So there’s a tribute to some good preparation by Mutimer’s and DLF. It was also due to the driver finally engaging brain, as with the inlet and exhaust manifolds so close together the lesson painfully learnt at the FORC demonstration of not running the car for more than the minimum was successfully applied; and generally the dreaded vaporisation kept at bay. And all tribute to the archaic and heavy BMC starter motor which despite the high compression did the job. I had fantasised about a high torque light weight American starter but there wasn’t the budget. And on the subject of budget that is it for this year, which is frustrating. However, I can put the car away with a fresh engine which hasn’t blown up so next year may bring (who knows) more racing.

A word from Ken Cotterell

Dear Vincent Thank you for your letter (no ref. and undated) concerning the mag distribution. My e-mail address should be around there somewhere as I get mail from Leigh, etc. But am pleased to furnish again herewith” The colour version is a great improvement, although I know only a few members now Having joined the club 60 years ago, and I have a life membership card No. 2. All the best, Ken.

Debden results (ably compiled by Shaun)

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Details

From the ECMC web site

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August 2013 V6 www.ecmc.co.uk Round 4 of the Anglian Autosolo Challenge is being run by Cambridge Car Club on Saturday 7th September at a new venue of Alconbury airfield. The entry form can be downloaded from the website here.

Forthcoming Events Table- courtesy of West Suffolk Motor Club Forthcoming Events 7th September Autosolo / Autotest Alconbury Cambridge Car Club http://www.cambridgecarclub.co.uk/ 15th September Tester Trial Event at Kensworth Falcon Motor Club Regs: http://www.falconmotorclub.com/media/Testing%20Trial%20Regs%202013.p df 13th October The Brickhill Trial at Great Brickhill Falcon Motor Club

20th October Ivinghoe Trial Falcon Motor Club Entry form: http://www.wsmc.co.uk/upload/FMC_Iving_Regs.pdf

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27th October Autosolo / Autotest Debden Autosolo Eastern Counties Motor Club ecmc.co.uk http://www.ecmc.co.uk/site/

3rd November The Guy Fawkes Trial at Kensworth Falcon Motor Club

WSMC Google Calendar of events https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=wsmotorclub%40gmail.com&ct z=Europe/London

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Le Column de Leigh

This Jensen CV8 was supplied new through Botwood's of Ipswich to E.C.M.C member Paul Moyes, does anyone remember the car?

In the 1952 Felixstowe Rally there was a Morgan driver called Dan Hastings, an American stationed at Lakenheath, he disappeared off the scene not long after. I have managed to ascertain that he returned to Delaware where he helped start a local car club, I have now exchanged emails with two of the members, Duke Wilford and George Alderman. Dan Hastings died some time ago but there are still members that remember him. I have sent these two gentlemen the ECMC newsletters which they will forward to those that knew Dan, here is their website; the two clubs are very similar. http://www.brandywinemotorsportclub.org/history/ 8

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During the E.C.M.C Reunion at Seckford in 2010 there was a video showing cine film of early club meetings playing at the back of the room. Does anyone know the whereabouts of this video? Should you have a bit of spare time it's worth checking out the photo archives of the Cambridge Car Club. I spotted four E.C.M.C members but surely some of our more senior members can better that! Log on to .. www.cambridgecarclub.co.uk/Cambridge-50-Car-Clubphotos.php?pageType=folder&currDir=.&startFrom=1 OH DEAR! In the last issue I asked for some information on the Lotus that in the fifties belonged to a Mr. E.B. Brooks of Ludham. This was of course a Lotus 6 and not as stated an Eleven. For someone who has spent their life living on the site of a Roman Villa you would think that I had a better understanding of Roman numerals.

Does any of the readers have a flickr account, and if so would they be so kind as to put a confused lady out of her misery. Having posted this- (she has a good eye) she asked other account holders who the driver was and what type of car it 9

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August 2013 V6 www.ecmc.co.uk is. All sorts of well- meaning chaps suggested various names but none were correct. Actually; this all ties in rather neatly with the other articles, please would someone inform her it is Ken Laverton in his Lotus VI at Snetterton. Whilst no signature can be seen on the painting it is inconceivable that Ken was not friends with Cavendish Morton, so unless anyone knows better; my guess is he was the artist. To contact the owner go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/etchingsplus/7327173136/

© R.W. Pearce

Here is a nice shot taken in the paddock at Snetterton during the West Essex Car Club meeting of 27th June 1953. Taken by R.W. Pearce it shows E.C.M.C members Don Moore's M.G (52) and Bert Gosling's Austin Buckler (48). In the background there are two petrol tankers; one Shell / B.P the other Esso. The white double decker bus was a permanent fixture at the circuit back then, this was the Chief Paddock Marshall's office, the strange looking awning on the side appeared on race days.

The photograph below shows Bert Westwood on the RAC Rally in 1938.

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© Motor Sport

© John ScottDavies collection

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August 2013 V6 www.ecmc.co.uk Having enquired about Harley Deschamp and his Lotus VI; Charles Helps of the Lotus Register kindly sent me this cutting.

Many of the club's more senior members have fond memories of Ken Laverton; and here are a few more (below).

© ECMC Ltd

His first Lotus VI............

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© ECMC Ltd

Insert and this is his second going on its holiday.

© National Motoring Museum

Finally this picture taken by Michael Ware shows Ken in his Turner.

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© ECMC Ltd

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© ECMC Ltd

Ken in his pre war Fiat Balilla, he raced this from 1951.

© Robin Barlow

The word is getting around and as a result I was kindly sent this by an ex Cambridge 50 Car Club member Robin "Tubs" Barlow. It shows Frank Prior Autocrossing his special built by Cambridge member Bertie Sayers. Old Anglia Television footage of Bert Westwood can be viewed on www.eafa.org.uk/catalogue/214131 Can anyone name any of the other competitors? ============================================================= ======= 15

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Whilst I am in in an arty mood; here are a couple of paintings by Andrew Kitson. Andrew is a wealth of information about the early days of Snetterton and can often be seen at the circuit viewing the action through the lens of his camera.

“The

Remarkable Archie Scott Brown”. Archie winning the Stanley Sears Trophy in his Lister-Jaguar on May 19th 1957, here he is leading Peter Whiteheads Aston Martin and Peter Blond's D-Type Jaguar through the Esses at Snetterton. If you want a print of this check out Andrew's website for availability. However a better option is to commission a painting of either your own car or your favourite driver, you will be surprised how little an original piece costs.

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Peerless and Hylander besides Archie Scott Brown's memorial at Snetterton, commissioned by Richard Hopgood who owns both cars. Cavendish Morton RI, Hon. ROI. Born in Edinburgh in 1911 Cavendish Morton is recognised as one of the 20th centuries finest landscape artists. However it is not my intention to eulogise over brush strokes and light tone, this I will leave to those better qualified, my interest with the artist is with motor sport. With an ability to see beauty in technology Cavendish Morton was a regular contributor of Sphere magazine, he would paint his interpretation of how the future would shape up. At Snetterton he would often be seen with a sketch pad in his hand, but his involvement with the sport was deeper than just sketching racing scenes; he also styled the cars. It started in the mid 1950’s when Cavendish; who lived in Eye (he twice held the office of Mayor) was at a dinner party when he was introduced to John Ogier who owned Buxted Chicken, having seen the artist’s work in the Sphere; Ogier asked him if he would style a Jaguar based racing car he was having built in Cambridgeshire by John Tojeiro (it was Tojeiro who built the original AC Ace that later became the legendary and much imitated Cobra). In turn this led to Cavendish doing the three quarter view drawings for Brian Lister’s new racing car he was designing for Archie Scott-Brown. In 1959 Cavendish also had the sad task of doing the artwork for the memorial at Snetterton for Archie; who had been killed racing at Spa the previous May. In July 2006 the memorial was rededicated by Brian Lister and Jack Sears; having been moved from its old position to the new scrutineering bay.

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August 2013 V6 www.ecmc.co.uk A major change was taking place in sports car racing, the engines were being placed behind the drivers, one of the first mid engined GTs was built by Tojeiro and styled by Cavendish to compete in the 1962 season with the Scottish based team Ecurie Ecosse. Originally driven by Jackie Steward one of the cars was almost destroyed at Brands Hatch in 1966, ironically it was totally restored by Bryan Wingfield in his workshop on Eye Airfield in 2002. Cavendish was also involved with styling two road going cars but the Britannia GT and Berkeley Bandit failed as both proved too expensive compared to potential rivals Jaguar and Lotus. Now living on the Isle of Wight; due to failing eyesight Cavendish Morton paints no more, his last work was over ten years ago, he now gives time to his other passion; listening to classical music. Acknowledgements: Graham Gould: John Tojeiro And His Cars. (Havelock Publishing) Robert Edwards: Archie And The Listers (Patrick Stevens Ltd) Brian Lister To view more of Cavendish's work go to.. www.islandfinearts.com/artists/26/cavendish-morton-ri-hon-roi

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© ECMC Ltd

The car on the cover of the E.C.M.C's 1955 National race meetings looks familiar, take a close look at the artist's signature.

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The Tojeiro Jaguar that started it all and Cavendish Morton's impression of how he thought Brian Lister's new car would look.

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www.ecmc.co.uk © Quilter House Collection

The owner of Snetterton Circuit Jonathan Palmer, a very thoughtful Brian Lister and "Gentleman" Jack Sears at the re-dedication of Archie Scott Brown's memorial in 2006.

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© Quilter House Collection

© Quilter House Collection

Photo 1..Jackie Stewart at Brands Hatch in the mid engined Tojeiro GT. 22

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August 2013 V6 www.ecmc.co.uk Photo 2.. The same car being tested at Snetterton following a complete rebuild by Brian Wingfield.

© Coys Ltd

Photo 1.. The ill-fated Britannia GT (photograph courtesy of Coys Limited) Photo 2.. and the Berkeley Bandit, both cars proved too expensive to produce. 23

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© ECMC Ltd

Vince The photograph of Donald Morley's 'Big Healey' BRX 852B brought back memories. Mike Elmer and I went to Abingdon, by train, to the BMC Competitions Department to bring the car back to Akesters. After a tour of the department and lunch. the Healey was brought to us, I knew immediately it was Donald's car, and not a replica bearing the same number number plate because behind the pilots seat was Donald's familiar trilby! It was an interesting journey back to Ipswich, in the wet. Mikes arms were stiff for several days afterwards. I felt very privileged to have had that experience. Don Wright

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Via Norman Reynolds (FORC) I managed to contact Paul Woolmer at the Healey Club, he has kindly let us have a couple of resent photos of BRX to use. F

Paul comments as below:-

Hello Leigh, Thank you for the contact & copy of your newsletter. I will pass it on to the current owner. Attached are a couple of pictures of BRX taken only a few years ago when she was in the ownership of one of our customers & still working quite hard... Two great shots of a really great Healey….. Not many of the genuine exworks 3000’s are used much at all these days, let alone as hard as this. Coincidentally I am lucky enough to be taking another customer’s ex works (and ex-Morley twins) 3000 to the Festival of Speed again this year to run on the Forrest Rally Stage. ARX 92B was a 1964 works team car which was reprepared for the 1967 RAC Rally which was cancelled due to Foot & Mouth. The car is totally original, even the paint work….. Having sat in a private collection in Norfolk for almost 40 years. Attached are a couple of pictures from previous years.

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© Paul Woolmer

© Paul Woolmer

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© Paul Woolmer

© Paul Woolmer

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© Peter Tutthill

Could anyone add to the information I have on Charles Boulton of Evergreen Garage, Crowfield, apparently he moved there from a workshop in Ipswich. During 1954 & 1955 Boulton campaigned a privately entered second hand Connaught (A7) at National Formula 1 and Formula Libre meetings, here he would have been up against the works cars of Moss, Collins and Salvadori; as well as fellow E.C.M.C member Archie Scott Brown. For 1956 he stepped down to an 1172cc Lotus VI he also rallied a Healey (reg. DVG 807) and later an MGA. Mike Oliver who at the time worked for Connaught said “Charles Boulton was a mystery man” and I have a tendency to agree with him. Thanks to the author Peter Tutthill for the use of his photographs of Charles Boulton at Davidstow in Cornwall.

Following on from the last Newsletter I received an email from Janet Steggles who now lives in New Zealand, Janet's Father was the much missed Norman Perkins. Janet remembers Lawson Hatherwell and she says the he and his wife emigrated to Canada in the late 1950s, the two families stayed in touch for many 28

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August 2013 V6 www.ecmc.co.uk years but she does not know what became of him. Also Janet feels sure that the pub car park photograph was taken at the Royal George on Valley Road, Ipswich. Whilst on the subject of the photo, Steve Wyatt of the Fressingfield Oily Rag Club helped me identify Arthur Davey's M.G Magnette. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------© ECMC Ltd

The photo shows Arthur Davey's pre-war M.G. Magnette In the last issue Bernard touched on the on the fact that it was E.C.M.C Founder Member Laurence “Slim” Coe who persuaded Emerson Fittipaldi to come over to England to try his luck racing. In the late sixties; Slim Coe was working for Holbay and part of his job was travelling to South America to oversee the engines that Holbay had supplied for a Formula Ford race series out there. Whilst in Brazil he met Emerson and impressed with his driving put him in touch with another Holbay customer Jim Russell. Jim ran a racing school at Snetterton using Lotus Formula Ford cars, once he had seen Fittipaldi's abilities he recommended him to Colin Chapman; who on Jim's advice signed him. Emerson duly proved Slim Coe right by twice becoming Formula 1 World Champion, first with Lotus in 1972 and then McLaren in1974. As a coincidence one of the support races at this year’s British G.T Championship at Snetterton was the B.R.D.C Formula 4. This is the first season for these Ford 2 litre Duratec powered cars intended as a stepping stone to Formula 3, the brainchild of Snetterton's owner Jonathan Palmer it is a direct replacement for what was Formula Ford. One of the competitors was sixteen year old Pietro Fittipaldi, Emerson's grandson, I wonder if history will repeat 29

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August 2013 V6 www.ecmc.co.uk itself? To add to the coincidences, all the cars for this series are identical and built by a company named RFR which is headed by Ralph Firman. Jim Russell persuaded Ralph to leave his job as a mechanic in a garage in Ipswich and look after the schools racing engines. From here Ralph crossed over the A11 and began building his own Formula Ford cars on the Snetterton Industrial Estate, known as Van Diemen he went on to become one of the world’s most productive racing car manufactures. I could mention the fact that the Snetterton circuit was itself started in 1951 by three E.C.M.C members but that would be labouring the point! ________________________________________________________________ _______________ One of Billy Jacobs' Allards also received a mentioned in the Car Park article. Below is a photo of Billy standing beside a Standard 8hp that looks as if it is competing in a club Driving Test, can anyone put a name to the driver? The first photo shows Billy in another Allard, hair raising stuff

© ECMC Ltd

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© ECMC Ltd

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Le Column de Bernard

© Vincent F Hunt

Who is a lucky boy, then ? The real Postman drops off an interesting parcel so works grinds to a halt. Inside is a wonderful present. Peter Sainty has just sent me a signed copy of the fourth edition of ‘An Artist at the Game ‘which is a book dedicated to racing driver Bill Smith. Peter started work on this project several years ago – 1997 I now discover - but cannot for one minute have imagined where it would all lead. The first edition was very much a ‘home made’ effort, and that is not meant with the slightest disparagement because the effort part of 32

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August 2013 V6 www.ecmc.co.uk the equation was immense. Now the fourth edition is so professional it is awe inspiring to realise just how ‘Topsy’ has grown The unique – in modern retailing the USP – thing about this book is that it combines the results, stats, and technical data beloved of the best anoraks, while at the same time having a family friendly tone recording life and relationships in a type of England we think no longer exists. Page 9 is the one I think stands out. It comprises solely a picture of Bill and the caption W. T. (Bill) Smith. No dates! It is almost as though we are to feel that Bill is still here with his fellow drivers, marshals and organisers in Eastern Counties Motor Club. Thank you, Peter. The archive and I are deeply indebted to you and you should be immensely proud. Bernard G. Baker -----------------------An Artist at the Game, a personal memorial to Bill Smith, by Peter Sainty. ISBN 978-0-9556933-4-2 and ID 10717364 www.lulu.com ---------------------------------------Don’t believe all you read in the papers!! Somewhere recently I saw a chart with the survival rates for some of the most popular motor cars. The production run of the Rover S D 1 (not S D eye) was 303345 units and the chart said that less than one in a thousand still survive. That makes it less than 300 still about. Guess who has three of them!! Can’t be true, can it? ----------------------------------------Debden July 2013 Sixty miles to get to a ‘home’ fixture says it all about the dearth of Autosolo and Autotest venues east of Bury St. Edmunds. Having said that, Debden is well worth the trip as the wide open tarmac is in good condition and the test options almost limitless. Clerk of the Course, Ian Rowles, used his Autotest experience to put out three all forward routes with the paddock area centrally placed so you did not need to watch out for traffic running alongside a test site. The SCCoN crew got the event under way with an easy ‘up the wiggle woggle, down the wiggle woggle ‘. The cars then moved on to test 2 with a more visually complex diagram for the Cambridge team to keep an eye out. Yours truly found a spot midway down the WSMC / ECMC operated Test 3 which what passed for shade from the oppressive sun while 33

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August 2013 V6 www.ecmc.co.uk John Boot and Keith Wallidge set up a very nice gazebo between the start and finish bays to give them a bit of shelter.

Bernie and Roy

© Vincent F Hunt

The test had three full 450 degree spins at the top and the first run by the BMW driver saw clouds of white tyre smoke. Perhaps he got the message about having 17 more tests in front of him, for he was far more discrete with the right hand pedal from then on. Shame!! One or two people took to making a very simple route even easier but otherwise Allan Jones only got to use his radio when a ‘lady plus dog’ suddenly appeared alongside the test. When it comes down to ‘lady plus dog’ being a highlight of the day, you can see where we are coming from!! Why can’t someone organise an aircraft to land or a hot air balloon to collapse out of the sky - probably not an option as it was so hot the balloon would have gone up rather than down in any case!! Our afternoon test needed a bit of adjustment to a block of left hand down turns just to keep things safe – perhaps we should have tried to encourage a roller or two for a bit of excitement.

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© Vincent F. Hunt

So to the awards and an Overall win for Stephen Watts in the Autosolo. Richard Nel took the Autotest, as I gather John Peterson did something silly right at the crucial moment. Lizzie Nel had a ‘good day at the office’ with a win in the Production Car Autotest so she will, no doubt, be putting her skills to good use for some years to come. Thanks to all the drivers who said thanks to the marshals. Yes, it ain’t half hot, Mum.

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© Vincent F Hunt

Next event: September 7th at the former RAF Alconbury in the capable hands of Cambridge Car Club. Offers to help to Tony Burchnall and if you need transport say so. Be very interesting to see how a Saturday event goes in terms of entries and marshals. Given plenty of notice, I reckon most people can arrange to be off work when it comes to having fun.

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© Vincent F Hunt

This may be out of date by the time you read it, but as of 20th July there has been a major setback over the efforts to get closed roads for rallying in the U.K. The government is desperate to get the new High Speed Rail Link from London to Birmingham up and running. Both time and money are being dragged away from all sorts of other projects to get this lifeline for the economy of the country past the tens of thousands of objectors. The Motor Sports Association were so close to finalising the plans for road rallies that all those involved are feeling very frustrated. Not that they are going to give up oh! no!! The new MSA Chief Executive, Nick Bunting, has all the enthusiasm that Colin Hilton had, so those members of the Commons and Lords who are pro motor sport are being pressed to make an exception and leave the programme for rallies to go forward as intended. There is a Motor Sports Council meeting in the next few weeks and this topic will be high on the agenda. If you bump into an MP in the meantime, tell him or her just how much economic good motor sport does for the country - stats from the MSA if you want them. ================================== Joined Up Working !! ================================== Screaming Italians!! 37

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See a little note that Rally Wales is going to Llandudno in the Autumn. Memories!! Brain Savill and I were running the Results Liaison Car on the Lombard RAC Rally that was scheduled to stop in Llandudno and telephone the stage times for the previous three stages into H.Q., ( at Nottingham ?? ) But, of course, we thought we were ‘top dogs’ when it came to this job and so Brian and I used to break all the rules. Rather than phone the results in and then wait for the provisional classification, we used to have our own little manual system and update the positions (in what today they call real time) and publish our own leader board. We had already been reprimanded before for doing it, but what the heck. Adding up stage times in your head is hardly rocket science, is it? Just to add to the fun, the rally arrived on a very cold late November early morning (3 am ish I seem to remember) when the tourists had long gone and all hotels (bar one) were closed for the winter season. Brian and I had been billeted at the only hotel, and the hotel only had one landline!! We needed that to call in times. The media circus needed the same phone to get the latest news to France Germany, Spain, Italy everywhere –before their newspapers hit the streets. As if that were not enough Lancia had just taken the lead!! (according to my chart) and the paparazzi were going nuts. We told them that there were a couple of red COIN BOX kiosks on the sea front but for some reason that did not appeal to the stressed out reporters who did not have any change between them. Getting a Welsh telephone operator to fix transfer charge calls to Milan at three in the morning must have been something to behold. The inquest into the event included a discussion on what happened in Llandudno and, as I heard it later, the Area Commander, J. R., said they always use that phone for club events, so what is the problem!! If you are going to Llandudno, take a mobile just in case!

BTRDA Rallycross - no apologies, I’ve lifted this one lock stock and carbs straight from the latest BTRDA News. The Darlington and District Motor Club will organise a winter Rallycross at the Croft Circuit (Co. Durham) on Sunday 24th November. The event is being targeted towards the ‘Clubman’ competitor and the event has been titled as the BTRDA 75th Anniversary Rallycross event, to help celebrate their anniversary. “We are running the event to the old Grand Prix format” says John Rook, of the BTRDA Rallycross Committee. “All the classes will run together for the heats and finals with every competitor getting through to a final. It should produce some exciting racing. We hope to give the competitors and spectators full grids and a quick turnaround between races, despite the event being over five months away we have received 35 entries already. We are 38

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August 2013 V6 www.ecmc.co.uk getting a lot of support for the event and, hopefully, it will show how strong an event DDMC and BTRDA can run so we can look forward to doing more events next year. A whole host of local Clubman Rallycross drivers plan to take part in the event to put on a good show for the enthusiastic local crowd. Any driver who joins BTRDA from November 2013 in order to compete at the Croft event will have their membership with an expiry date of 31st December 2014 ((no need to re-join BTRDA in January 2014, you are in already)) Local driver Martin Hawkes from Stockton on Tees is looking forward to racing the Hawkesfire Peugeot 206 Super Modified at this event and hopes that the rebuilt 350 bhp engine will allow him to challenge the front cars for a podium position at his home event. The November event is an experiment to see if what DDMC has always maintained – the sport needs a healthy Clubmans series with the British Championship to aspire to - will actually work. With drivers invited from all of the two wheel drive classes in Rallycross over 60 entries are expected for this event, including several new drivers to the sport. John Rook So, you don’t need me to tell you this could be a good excuse to get a long weekend away. West Suffolk have always treasured fond memories of the time that they ran Rallycross at Snetterton. It would not surprise me to find a car or two of enthusiasts heading north, so check out the WSMC website, www.clubmansrallycross.weebly.com and www.btrda.com. Just let Andrew and Hugh Wheldon know ‘because I think the black Mini could still be at the Sudbury fruit farm. Bernard. ===================== NOT SO MUCH SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE Good to see in the Motor Sport Association summer edition of their magazine that, far from getting independence, the Scots are amalgamating their love for motor sport of all sorts by forming a new body: Scottish Motor Sports. Representatives from cars and bikes are joined by the karting fraternity, the circuit owners at Knockhill and Sport Scotland. Tom Purves, chairman of the new group, says “our challenge is to represent the collective interests of motor (car & kart) sports and motor cycle sport to those at the highest level. I am sure that the Scottish motor sport community will share our ambitions to ensure that the entire sport, including clubs and competitors, benefits from being part of a government supported initiative to create higher quality venues, better competition opportunities and stronger career development possibilities for Scottish competitors, marshals and associated individuals all the way from the grass roots to international level”. 39

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August 2013 V6

www.ecmc.co.uk

Time we dusted off the files for the Motor Sport Liaison and Access Group in East Anglia?? ===================================

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News for those that do

August 2013 V6

www.ecmc.co.uk

Eastern Counties Motor Club A Company Limited by Guarantee. Certificate of Incorporation: England, Number 510701 Founded 1950, Royal Automobile Club Motor Sport Association Ltd, Affiliation Number 48 Registered Office: 5 Dales Court, Dales Road, Ipswich, IP1 4JR President: R J Smith Vice Presidents: G Morley, B Baker, F Porter www.ecmc.co.uk

I hereby apply to become a member of the Eastern Counties Motor Club Limited and if elected, I undertake to abide by and be bound by the Memorandum and Articles of Association and Bylaws of the Club.

Surname: (block letters) ………………………………………………… (Mr/Mrs/Ms/Miss) First names: …………………………………………………………… Address: ………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………… Postcode: …………………………… Telephone, Home: …………………………………… Mobile: …………………………...... Date of birth (under 18’s only) ……./……./……….. Email: ………………………………………………………..

Minimum Ages:

Other Motor Club Memberships: …………………………. Car(s) owned: ………………………………………………. I enclose cheque/cash for £ …........ made up as follows: Full Member Husband & Wife Junior Member Family (same address)

£12 £18 £7 £25

Cheques should be made payable to Eastern Counties Motor Club Ltd. Data Protection Act: Members names and addresses are recorded on a computer for mailing purposes, no other use will be made of this data.

Signed …………………………………………………

Road Rally Navigator Stage Rally Navigator Sporting Trial Driver Production Car Trial Driver Production Car Trial Passenger Standard Car Autotest Driver Autotest Driver Car Race Minicross Sprint Driver Autocross Driver

Anything else requires a full RTA licence.

Date………/……./………..

Please forward this form, together with your remittance to:

Vincent Hunt, Sun Cottage, Victoria Mill Road, Framlingham, IP13 9EG 41

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