VSCC 1982 Finale at Cadwell Park

VSCC 1982 Finale at Cadwell Park

THE LAST race meeting of the year for the VSCC took place at the attractive Cadwell Park circuit in Lincolnshire on August 29th, in pleasant weather, before a sprinkling of spectators. This was probably the last VSCC meeting to be held over the present circuit as the lap distance will have been reduced before 1983. Practice had to be stopped for a time when Adrian Liddell got into difficulties at “the Mountain” and his dazzle-painted Straker Squire rolled gently onto its near-side, decanting its driver, who was in consequence hospitalised for a few days. During the racing Sir Venables-Llewellyn had another accident, his ERA leaving the road, but he was “walking wounded”.

To warm things up, the action began with the 8-lap Spero & Voiturette Trophies Race, for cars of under 1,100 cc. Freddie Giles had opted to wear trendy “windmill” headgear above his crash hat, which fell off as the Morgan/GN got into its flat-sounding stride. Freddie drew more attention to himself by stalling the JAP engine on the grid but the belated start did not stop him from taking the lead from lap two, to win comfortably from Barbet’s Riley, with Ulph’s Austin a distant third. Hornby’s Austin was in dire trouble, spending most of the race at the trackside, but Butler’s P-type MG fought a well-balanced duel with Crow’s Lagonda Rapier. Walker’s Austin 7 won the Voiturette Trophy and Poster’s Montlhery MG won on handicap. A 5-lap Handicap came next, described in the programme as a scratch race to confuse the uninitiated, and a very exciting finish it produced, as Summerfield’s Avon-Bentley caught Sevier’s Sunbeam Speed 20 and Lake’s N-type MG Magnettc, which had been running in close company from the third lap, by using the grass on the outside of the road to overtake them both on the run home out of Barn Corner. Lake’s slipstreaming of the road-equipped Sunbeam did not quite pay off, but he was a very good third. In the similar race, but for chain-driven can, Leigh’s TT Replica Frazer Nash took the lead after three laps, to win from D. B. Smith’s TT Rep with the length of the home straight in hand, and a third TT Rep., conducted by Hopkins, third. Mrs. Hall was handicapped in her Frazer Nash Falcon not only by keeping the screen erect but by a sticking hand-brake at the start.

The Williams Monaco Trophy Race had been keenly anticipated but unfortunately many of the Bugatti entries, to which this race specially applies, seem to have worn themselves out at the Bourne happenings of the previous day, and the field was reduced to eight starters, or to seven since Majzub’s Type 35B was in trouble before the flag fell. Martin Dean in his Type 51 shared the front row of the grid with Felton’s 8C Alfa Romeo, which was using 16″ rear tyres, justifiably under VSCC regs., and was widely tipped to win, especially as Dean’s Buptti was without third gear. He contrived to use lead Felton off the grid, after which it was Alfa Romeo all the way, Duly’s attractive Monza Alfa Romeo passing the Bugatti into second place at half-distance, after five laps. Rodney had merely to tour round to win very easily, at 65.91 m.p.h.; he decently refrained from letting Duly close up for a side-by-side Alfa victory, Duly being 7.7 sec. in arrears at the finish. Bernard Kain, trying very hard in his TyPe 35B, got third place for a Bugatti, with Lord Raglan’s Type 51 going well behind him, in its first race, with His Lordship pumping up pressure in the fuel tank, followed by Marks’ Type 51, which had lapped Barrie Price’s Type 35 by lap six. Felton’s best lap was at 67.9 m.p.h. Hamish Moffatt was absent, having been involved in a nasty road accident while driving his Ferrari, and the Halford Special, Symons’ Aston-Martin GP, Horton’s 350, Howell’s 16-cylinder Type 45 (which we understand is being tidied up) and the Monza Alfa of Griswold were other non-arrivals, so this unlucky race rather fizzled out before it had started, nor was the following 4-lap Scratch race very enlivening, being a processional displeY by A. Smith’s K3 MG Magnette, Dods’ AC Special and Evans’ Lagonda Rapier, who finished in that order. The 10-lap Scratch for Vintage Racing Cars promised better but, in fact, Tim Llewellyn had it well buttoned-up, the 3/8-litre Bentley pulling out a vast lead on Foottit in the AC/GN, to win by 14.6 sec., with Dick Smith trailing in third place in his Super Sports Frazer Nash; Howell in the blown 3-litre Sunbeam and President Tom Threlfall in his latest acquisition, the slim, dirt-track McDowell Special from the USA, were unable to catch him. Di Threlfall neatly disposed of Tony Jones in the Carson Vauxhall Speeil after they had run together for a while. Here It should be mentioned that Tom’s car has a Ford 3,-litre Model-A eniine endowed with an overhead-valve head, for use in races at American County Fairs of the nineteen-twenties (its dating

being 1930 in fact), considering which, it didn’t go too badly. If some of the races up to this point had been processional, Foster absolutely ran away with the next event, which was a 4-lap Handicap, his beautiful Montlhery MG Midget crossing the finishing-line with no-one else anywhere near him. When the next man finished, it proved to be Dunn, driving Lake’s N-type MG Magnette, but at least Spencer’s 12/50 Alvis and Brownridge’s Wolseley Hornet Special made a tight finish of it for third and fourth places. Warden was racing his 9/20 Humber tourer, on a “limit” start, but so was Furrow’s tuned 14140 Humber Special, which seemed an unfair handicap for the smaller car. (A random thought is that in driving to Cadwell we had paused in Beeston, Notts., to photograph the one-time Beeston-Humber factory.)

When it was time for the 10-lap Pre-War Racing Cars’ Scratch race it was thought that at last some excitement must result. There should, in fact, have been a battle) almighty between Donald Day in ERA R14B and Martin Morris in RUB. Alas, after jumping forward a foot or an before the flag fell, Day stalled the ERA’s engine, leaving Martin Morris with little to do to win convincingly, in his very fast, neat style. True, Donald treated us to a fine “burn-up”, in a car he knows so well. He was push-started, but was seventh at the end of lap 2, fifth by lap 3, third behind Willie Green in Margulies’ R1A by lap 4, almost level with Colbourne’s 6C Maserati, and in second place at half-distance. But Martin kept a very decent way ahead, 53 sec. in fact at the finish. He was the winner at 71.32 m.p.h., Day second, the length of the straight behind, Green third, the same distance away, followed in by Colbourne, Marsh in RIB, Spoil. in R8C and Felton in his Alfa and the rest. It was in this race that Sir John Venables-Llewellyn run off the road and bent R4A but was able to walk to the first-aid centre. Two more 5-lap Handicaps remained, the first vi.a by Brownridge in the Wolseley Hornet Special from Lake’s MG Magnette and Sam Clutton in his “Chain Gang. Nash, the last by Guy Smith in his more powerful Frazer Nash, from A. G. Smith’s Frazer Nash and Lees’ Riley Sim), Incidents in a long afternoon included Dick Smith finding his fast Frazer Nash stuck in second speed, and later having the exhaust pipe callaPse and later still the clutch pedal break off, Which he threw out of the car, and Briscoe

spinning his GN-Ford in the Nash Handicap. Donald Day had handsomely increased his invincible lead in the 1982 MOTOR SPORT Brooklands Memorial Trophy Contest and was duly presented with the silver cup and the lolly by Winifred Boddy, second place being stir between Rodney Felton and Tim Llewellyn. This was rather nice, because RI4B was driven at Brooklands before the war by Johnnie Wakefield, and today Donald Day drives it very fast and with consummate skill. — W.B. Rolutts

“r. FignerPlraTc!.:ineo1, 65.91 m.1.1.

2. K. Duly (Alfa Romeo). 3. B. B. D. Kain (Bogota

r11.1r tretellyerjlientley, 88A4 m.p.h.

2. 5.5. Footitt (ACIGN).

3. R. J. 8 Smith (Frazer Nosh).

11’en.H. tirgir7i’l feal, 71.32 m.p.h.

2 D. H. Day (ERA). 3. W. Green (ERA).

PG”.*GTIre7tgoRrraensiGNI, 59.27 m.p.h. otia5PntrIgG!le,4!.04 (mei, tir roasntefirTfg.G), 54.80 m.p.h. First 8.1ap Handicap:

B. Summerfield (Avon-Bentleyl, 53.19 m.p.h. Second 5-lop Handicap:

Leigh (Frazer Nash), 55.72 m.p.h. 7.1.1nirfolTyni.i’iedngtMlseley Hornet), 53.42 m.p.h.

).s7,,,V,7,.2:,7`1,,kat;. 68.08 m.P.h.

V.Tal,,PIER11773′.7:1-n7r.”1. 1982 MOTOR SPORT Brookloods Momorial Trophy Contest:

1. D. H. Day (ERA), 109 ponts. Trophy and f150.

-.).T.,coiiir-;:vizi,r,’,(oiromagir. each. f87.50 each. The Race Trophy was won by Sevier (Sunbeam) of the SDP

Recoster.