The Motor Sport Month - Historic News
Tambay stars in Spa rally
Former Grand Prix winner Patrick Tambay contested his second rally ever when he drove a Porsche 911 in the Boucles de Spa.
Although he competed on the Paris-Dakar Rally Raid eight times, his only previous all-out rally was the 1973 Monte Carlo. “That was totally different to this,” said Tambay, after finishing 23rd from nearly 200 starters. “This event is to rallying what the Goodwood Revival is to racing. It’s unreal.”
Tambay was encouraged to do the rally by his son. “I was set up by Denis Giraudet and my son Adrien. Denis was the co-driver for Adrien in the 2011 Monte Carlo Rally and they wanted to get me back into action. I haven’t had a licence or done any competition for two years.”
*
Bristol power now available
50 years after production ceased, the Bristol race engine is available once more after INTRacing commissioned the casting of new blocks for the unit that is used in period single-seaters and sports cars.
Preparation ace and racer Ian Nuthall can now supply 2-litre and 2.2-litre engine blocks and heads for the popular engine of the 1950s. Until now, the replacement of major components has not been an option.
“This development will allow us to support owners in the years ahead,” said Nuthall.
*
‘Mini Moreno’ keen to race on
Former Grand Prix racer Roberto Moreno says he wants to do more historic racing after making a comeback in a Mini Cooper S at Oulton Park.
The Brazilian, who first made his name in Formula Ford in Britain at the end of the 1970s, accepted an invitation to share the car of Masters founder Ron Maydon in a two-driver Pre66 saloon car race and battled for the class lead with Mini expert Nick Swift before being forced out by engine problems.
“I wanted to do some driving and also find some work in different areas of the sport because I have a lot of spare time,” said Moreno, who currently coaches countryman Lucas Foresti in British Formula 3.
“So I went to see the Masters test at Goodwood,” he said. “Initially I wanted to see if I could help somebody who wanted their car set up or if I could do a little coaching with someone.
“As soon as I met Ron Maydon, he said: ‘come and drive my Mini with me at Oulton Park.’ I couldn’t resist the opportunity to drive there again. The last time I drove there was in a Formula 3 car in 1982.
“You can have fun in historic racing and the people here are seriously competitive. If you think historic racing is for old people that just want to drive around, you are wrong. I found that I had to raise my game after testing. I’d like to do some more, because the adrenaline got in my blood and I liked it.”
*
F3 returns to Cadwell Park
Cadwell Park will join other major UK tracks in having a dedicated historic festival each year with an event that will celebrate the history of Formula 3. The inaugural Wolds Trophy Meeting will run over the Easter weekend (April 24/25).
The Lincolnshire track hosted British F3 Championship rounds until the early 1980s, but after Ayrton Senna da Silva had a big accident there in 1983 contemporary F3 never returned.
The new HSCC event will celebrate four generations of F3 cars as well as Formula Junior. The 500cc cars, the first category to race at Cadwell in 1953, will share the event with 1000cc, 1600cc and 2000cc evolutions of the class.
“It’s a fantastic driver’s circuit, oozing with character, and an exhilarating place to drive an F3 car,” said circuit owner and former F3 racer Jonathan Palmer.
*
Can-Am Lola back on track
The rare Lola T310 Can-Am car will race in Europe for the first time this season when German Peter Schleifer competes in the new Canadian American Challenge Cup.
The 8.8-litre, 830bhp, 17ft-long monster spent its life in the US where it was raced in period by David Hobbs.
The series will span the entire Can-Am era from 1966 through to 1974 and will feature at least four races in Europe. Organisers are hoping to add a UK race to the schedule.
*
Talbot celebration for VSCC
The 80th anniversary of the Talbot 105 will be celebrated at the VSCC’s Spring Start meeting at Silverstone on Saturday April 23.
The VSCC and the Talbot Owners’ Club are organising a display of the 3-litre cars in the pit garages and plan to tell the story of the Talbot 105, manufactured from 1931-37, with a number of significant cars.
At the same event will be the prototype Lotus 16, now fully rebuilt to 1958 specification by current owner Eddie McGuire. Raced by Cliff Allison and Graham Hill in period, the car has been restored by Nicholas Finburgh Ltd.
*
American series adds GT class
Legends of Motorsport, the series of US classic race meetings set up by Bobby Rahal, has added a new class for recent GT cars.
GT 2000 will accept GT cars from 2000 to date, and Rahal hopes to attract cars from manufacturers like Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini to the opening event at Barber Motorsports Park on May 22.
“In speaking with racers last season, we heard several requests for a category of this calibre,” said Rahal.
Meanwhile the rules for the Legends GTP/Group C class have been revised to include GTP cars from 1994 to the present day.