The Roaring Season

1966 Racing Car Show. Used to travel down by train for this, staying at Baden-Powell House in Kensington. 2016 2017 - Hope to revisit the Petersen Museum September. 2018

1979 - Richard Dodkins again 1980 2000 2004

Apologies if any of these have been seen before, but in the early days of posting, I didn't keep a check on what I had uploaded. Now I do!

1966 RCS - my favourite of all the Mini based cars. Unipower GT. 1970 - I may well have posted this before. "Spotty Smith's" TVR. 1980 Curborough. There is a double NZ connection here. Arthur Nash told me that he was distantly related to NZ's Walter Nash. Arthur built the 1300cc Mini engine that I brought to NZ that ended up in Mike Lucas's Mini. I never got the chance to run the engine at anything other than running in levels, but when Arthur rebuilt my class winning engine, (that I had bought second-hand), it had broken rings and other issues. Amazed that I had done so well with it, including the first sub 40 second run in that hotly contested up to 1300cc road modified class at Curborough.

By the time it made it into Mike's car, virtually unused, the core plugs had rusted through... Sorry Mike.

1980 - Warwick, not Peerless... 2004 2009 The only Elva Courier GT I have ever seen. Quite a nice looking car too. Good to see it being exercised on track and not just locked away in a private collection. The Courier used to be very successful in sports car racing in the days when Dad took us to Mallory Park! Chris Meek was the number 1 regular driver.

This car is well known but possibly a 1936 photograph and the only one I have seen with it carrying lights. I'm guessing at Donington. 1970 - Riley

1984 - Ralt
2009 - HWM

1975 - Mallory park - Skoda 1979 - Donington - Skoda - Mick Hill, local hero! 1980 - Cadwell Park - Skoda

One for Ken. 2012 Monaco - Trojan 2012 - Riley 2012 - Surtees 2013 - another Doretti…

1970 1971 2013

1980 - Elva 2005 Rally New Zealand 2005 - Domain Hillclimb - another great event lost, when the Auckland Council decided that a $5,000 fee was appropriate. No wonder we wallow in nostalgia. 2007

1977 - Mick Hill again 1985 - when crowds were still huge... 2002 - Don't expect me to spell it again... 2004 - I can spell SAAB

2004 - Festival of Speed 2009 - and this is just the pre 1966 car park... Goodwood Revival 2012 - Monaco of course 2014

Once again, apologies if any of these have been shown before I kept a record.

1970 1974. This Mini at Curborough is driven by someone normally better known for being behind the camera. John Colley's work has often been featured as studio shots in the better quality UK Classic Car magazines. I arrived in NZ January 1983 so this would have been one of my very first race meetings, as it wasn't long before I was part of a flag marshalling team, through the NSCC. (That is Northern Sports Car Club, not the Nottingham Sports Car Club of course.) I have this down as February 6th. I arrived in NZ January 17th, so this was probably my first time at a track I'd avidly read about in the UK motoring Press, during the Tasman series era, 20 years earlier. The crowd were often on their feet as Tony Rutherford gave it the beans, but he claims that in this shot, a shock absorber had just failed. It was obvious from the crowd reaction, that the Rotary engine was very popular here.

ERC wrote:I arrived in NZ January 1983 so this would have been one of my very first race meetings, as it wasn't long before I was part of a flag marshalling team, through the NSCC. (That is Northern Sports Car Club, not the Nottingham Sports Car Club of course.) I have this down as February 6th. I arrived in NZ January 17th, so this was probably my first time at a track I'd avidly read about in the UK motoring Press, during the Tasman series era, 20 years earlier.

That was an Auckland Car Club, Club Circuit meeting. I don't have a programme for that event but I can give you the results of the races held that day if that's any use.

Thanks Milan. I don't need the results.

Read the above though. "Entries $8 and late entries $16.00". First point is that late entries carried a 100% penalty, (totally agree with that) and secondly, an entry fee back then, albeit on the club circuit, was 1.6% of my then weekly salary, senior management, of $26,000 a year.

From memory, 2 years later, on the full Pukekohe track, I think I paid $25 for my first ever race.

Not sure what the entry fee is for next weekend at Hampton Downs, but I'm pretty sure it is somewhat higher than 1.6% of a weekly salary, or even 5%.

1985 - For spgeti? 2009 - I may have posted this before 2012 - Monaco

Again, not sure if this has been posted before. Ferrari time.

1965, Shelsey Walsh Hillclimb. Sievwright's Ferrari. Pic taken on an ancient 30 year old bellows camera - and 20 year old film! Dad was using the 35mm Leica but possibly due to his pre war restrictions of glass plates, didn't seem to take many - and I can't find them anyway. 1970 - Prescott 1977 Silverstone Grand prix 2002 FoS

2002 2012 2014 Haynes Museum National Museum, Beaulieu

Not my Elf Ray but it’s a Mk3.
The Mini Sprint is awesome.

2014 pic...nice black Chaika, make great tow car

John McKechnie wrote:2014 pic...nice black Chaika, make great tow car

Someone posted elsewhere that 'the GAZ Chaika was the most beautiful Russian car ever made'.

As they were the preferred transport of the KGB and high ranking Russian officials, one wonders if he really thought that...