London Rally For Heroes

A Classic Day Out.

For the last couple of years now, the New Years Day gathering at Brooklands Museum in Surrey has been a firm fixture on the calendar for those with a penchant for the sweet tang of Castrol R.

This year saw the biggest turn-out yet as hundreds of fans of classics - old & in the making - headed down to Weybridge to blow away the festive cobwebs in the presence of some remarkable metal.

Back in the heady, pre-war years Brooklands' famous slogan was 'The Right Crowd and No Crowding' and, whilst the sights and sounds might have changed more than a little in the 70-odd years since the likes of Sirs Malcolm Campbell & Henry Seagrave thundered round the daunting circuit, they would certainly recognise the enthusiasm for all things automotive evident in the audience gathered on this sunny New Years Day.

Last year, alas, the weather gods saw fit to rain on Brooklands' parade which took its toll on numbers, but this year was very different - the blue skies and Winter sun acting as a superb backdrop to the wide gamut of auto & aero-related exhibits assembled at this uniquely-historic venue.

The majority of cars on site dated back to before 1973 but there were a goodly number of cars judged to be modern classics or if not, certainly classics in the making - one very well-presented example being an immaculate late 70s Mark 2 Ford Escort, replete with period gallons-litres-gallons conversion chart displayed proudly in the rear window nearest the filler cap..

Amidst all the usual suspects - the serried rows of beautifully-preserved & painstakingly-restored Triumph TR4/5/6s and lithe Jaguar E-Types, nestled the more mundane yet equally-engaging & cherished Morris Marinas & Ford Cortinas  - cars which once were so ubiquitous as to blend into the background but now conspicuous due to their scarcity and, arguably, thinner on the ground now than the preserved exotica arranged alongside them on the famous banking.

And those with a taste for the more exotic weren't to be disappointed as pedigree examples - old & new - from the stables of Bentley, Rolls-Royce & Ferrari jostled for the affections of the automotive faithful.

Alfa Romeo is a name synonymous with beauty & poise (the more unkind amongst us might also suggest such alternatives as 'unreliable' and 'fragile' - we couldn't possibly comment..) and as well as the achingly-pretty chrome-laden GTVs, Spiders & Montreals present in the paddock there lurked an equally-attractive yet more modern interpretation of what constitutes beauty & poise in the 21st Century for Alfa Romeo; the jaw-droppingly stunning, limited-edition only Alfa 8C Competizione.

The fact that only 500 of the things were made for worldwide consumption rendered this car one of the rarer items on display at Brooklands and consequently it received more that its fair share of attention from congnoscenti and those who recognise beauty alike.

And, were you to suspect that the 8C was just another Brera (all mouth, yet without the cojones to back up the matinee idol looks) we can assure you dear reader that this thing goes as well as it looks.

A couple of years ago I was fortunate enough to find myself in the passenger seat of none other than Nick Mason's personal copy as it was hurtled up Goodwood Hill by a very handy racing driver by the name of James Wood and it went every bit as fast as it looked.

Brooklands is such an evocative place. Everywhere you turn there's history, whether it be in the sheds where Sir Malcolm Campbell fettled his record-breaking Bluebirds or upon the towering banked circuit where brave men and women diced for the lead and risked their lives on a race by race basis and it's surely a fitting place in which to celebrate the sheer diversity of the motor car on days like this.

You'd do much worse than to pencil this one into your diary for 2014...

Dave Wakefield

Auto Italia at Brooklands Museum - May 1st 2010

An annual fixture on the automotive show scene, Auto Italia is a major draw for all those with Agip coursing through their veins.

Alex Henry made his annual pilgrimage to Brooklands to take in the sights, sounds and smells.

This year’s Auto Italia at Brooklands was not blessed with such wonderful weather as last year’s event, which saw record attendance, but this did not stop the show from being another memorable one.

Despite leaden skies, another huge turnout of the nation’s Italian car collection made its way to the historic circuit, where it was greeted by an equally impressive gathering of car fans. The threatened rain did not last for long and a mouth-watering selection of cars helped to brighten up the periods where the sun hid behind clouds.

Mercifully (for some of the lower powered machinery) the runs up the infamous test hill remained dry, with a superb Iso Grifo leading the way, its massive V8 engine setting expectations for those that followed. All contenders made it to the top, with the biggest cheers from the crowd reserved for the plucky two cylinder Fiat 500s.

Another 500, this time of the modern, turbocharged variety was also piloted up the hill by Vicki Butler-Henderson of Fifth Gear fame, who was a guest of the event and her sponsor, dealer group Glyn Hopkin who had brought with them a stand and vehicles of their own.

Vicki spent much of the day signing autographs for fans in between test hill runs.

It was difficult to choose a star of the show but memorable cars included a spectacular period metallic green DeTomaso Mangusta,

an immaculate Fiat 500 convertible of 1960s vintage

and the first UK sighting of the new Ferrari 458 Italia.

As always however, there was an enormous collection of the more down to earth (and more affordable) cars that make this event such a leveller – everything from Max Power style Fiat Puntos to impossibly well-preserved 1970s and 1980s machinery that just doesn’t get seen anywhere else these days.

One of the unique features of the event at Brooklands is the setting amongst the sheds, hangars and aircraft displays of the museum, giving an opportunity for visitors to take a few minutes out of the world of wheels and tyres and spend some time in the world of wings and ash clouds, something that is included within the admission price.

The site is enormous and a great location for car spotting, people spotting and photography opportunities amongst the historic collection of aircraft and cars.

Further AutoItalia events are planned for 2010 and we hope to bring reports of these in due course.

Alex Henry - May 1st 2010

A new year & some old friends.

Well, what better way to see in the New Year than a trip to Brooklands for their annual gathering of classic and vintage cars?

UKMotorTalk's Alex Henry and Dave Wakefield braved the freezing weather and headed over to Weybridge for a cold but sunny day at the historic circuit...

Billed as the largest New Year's gathering for classics in the South East, Brooklands Museum's celebration of pre-1973 motors certainly seemed to be living up to the hyperbole.

Even as we walked onto the site a stream of mouth-watering machinery was arriving via the Campbell gate joining an already bustling collection of vehicles spread all over the famous grounds of the UK's first ever purpose-built racing circuit.

Evocative marques such as Frazer-Nash, Triumph, Alfa Romeo and Sunbeam were well represented with clubs from all over the country proudly displaying their treasured cars.

Whilst vintage and classics were the main feature on this cold but sunny Friday, moderns were well-represented too with Jaguar XKs lining the legendary banking

whilst Lamborghini Gallardos nestled alongside their somewhat more superannuated Alfa cousins..

As well as being able to dawdle through the ever-changing displays of humble and exotic metal on show, visitors could also take the opportunity to explore the museum itself which houses such iconic automotive and aviation exhibits as the recently-returned replica of the WW1 era Vickers Vimy bomber which shares hangar space with the sole remaining Brooklands-built Wellington bomber 'R for Robert' which was rescued from Loch Ness in 1985.

In the Jackson Shed, budding F1 drivers could try their luck at hurtling around a digitally-recreated Brooklands circuit in a genuine McLaren simulator whilst more junior Jenson Button wannabes could live out their racing driver fantasies in a 1991 Mclaren F1 showcar - nigh on identical to the one piloted with such success by none other than Ayrton Senna in the early 1990s.

Probably one of the biggest draws at Brooklands these days is the beautifully-restored Concorde airliner G-BDDG which stands proudly next to the Wellington hangar and offers visitors a glimpse of the now sadly historic world of the supersonic traveller. Many who'd turned up to see a wonderful collection of vehicles of yesteryear were sufficiently entranced with the delta-winged pin-up to part with another £4 for a tour of this icon of aviation glory.

Brooklands is a place with such a palpable sense of history, both in terms of its motor racing and aircraft-related heritage, and therefore a fitting venue for a well-attended event such as this. The museum hosts many other gatherings and themed events throughout the year and UKMotorTalk will be getting along to as many as possible in 2010..

http://www.brooklandsmuseum.com/

Alex Henry and Dave Wakefield.

All photos © UKMotorTalk 2010