So after a long hibernation our season kicked off in its usual manner with the VSCC‛s Spring Start meeting at Silverstone.

The event started with the 30 Min regularity in which a number of clients and friends were competing. Rachel Singer upheld her tradition of racing cars she only learnt to drive on the way to the circuit and this year went one better. This year, she would learn how to drive the car on route to the circuit on only 3 wheels and while it was on fire! Thankfully the flames under her right knee that had sprung forth from the little Aero Morgan were small and we managed to douse them quickly. Still, it was a most auspicious start to our racing season.

Following the regularity, our next big race of the day was the Fox & Nichol trophy in which a small horde of Bentleys were entered including myself and Nigel Ormond-Smith both in 3/4½s, Adam Singer in the 3/8 Special and Martin Overington in his Blower. The first few laps saw me fighting with a Derby Bentley, Bugatti 35B and the HRG that pushed us off the podium at Spa the year before. By the end of the 3rd lap I had fought clear of the pack and was trying to reel in front man Jonathan Cobb. Despite my most valiant efforts Cobb proved to be too quick and I finished second; a result that pleased both me and the most important spectator of the day, my 5 year old son.

Next the Singer familys Bentley 3/8 special was once again in the GP Itala & Lancaster trophy race with Stu behind the wheel. He had qualified well and the first few laps seemed to be promising a good result until a heat related misfire dashed our hopes and Stu dropped back to 7th. At this point I must offer congratulations to the scruffy bowler hat wearing peoples’ favourite who took the honours for the second year on the trot; Mr Chris Williams.

 

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The VSCC Donington Team Relay Race is one of my favourite races of the year, the mayhem in the pits is entertaining, the camaraderie with team mates is bonding and inexplicably winning on handicap last year was priceless! This year we had a quick team and I had produced a personal best lap time of 1:38 to be on the second row of the grid. As such it was nothing less then devastating when my cardon shaft let go 28min into the race leaving me walking back to the pits head and helmet in hands. To make the situation worse I was of course sharing the car with Stu and it was also to be used the next day in the Motor Racing Legends Pre-War Sports Car race; but alas no longer.

Our team was now down to 2 drivers leaving only Nigel Ormond-Smith and Martin Overington to complete the remaining hour and a half. It was during this time that Martin showed the true definition of getting a car sideways. Doing this in a Nash is expected and great fun; doing this in a two tonne Blower Bentley is not just utter lunacy but downright impressive. Lap after lap he exited the chicane onto the pit straight sideways, and lap after lap we all expected it to go horribly wrong......but it never did, a major testament to his skill & courage.

Copy & paste this address into your browser for a video clip

http://www.benjafieldsracingclub.co.uk/cms/news/3-site-updates/80-martin-overington-sideways-to-the-finish-in-a-blower-donington-seered-2008.html

The other Benjafield team put in a strong performance and all managed to make it through their stints without major mishap. Sadly however the Gods of the handicap system were not on our side and this year we finished mid table.

 

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Having done this event for the first time 2 years ago and knowing full well that this was going to be the jewel in 2008s racing crown it was not without apprehension or high hopes that we arrived at La Sarthe for the 2008 Le Mans Classic.

Last time round we were a late entry, pushed through after the closing date by Bentley Motors who were a primary sponsor; we were there not knowing what to expect, unprepared and mainly there just for the experience & bragging rights of racing on this hallowed circuit. This time it was different, we had been mentally preparing since 2006, we had rebuilt the cars over the winter, knew roughly what to expect from the officious French scrutineers and after being first Bentley home last in 2006 we wanted the best result we could get.

Things however had not gotten off to a good start by the time we left the workshop as despite putting in HTPs for all the cars at the same time one set hadn‛t arrived. Still the entry had been accepted, we were in the programme and so we went, nervous that one car may not even make it past those infamous French scrutineers.

Once we had arrived and made camp it was time to take the cars to the paddock. Dont be fooled by the banality of this task, my memory told me that this was a chaotic and difficult task, and for once my memory was correct. The guards at every check point were difficult, the people milling around the middle of the roads uncaring and obtuse. We eventually made it to our paddock and were faced with the tactical scrutineering decision; do we go now when it is empty and they have time to linger? Or wait till morning when they will be under pressure? The MG that we had brought with us was an Ex-Le Mans car in its own right, it was the first MG to ever complete the 24 hour race, it came 6th overall and won its class in 1933; its HTPs had arrived in time and it flew through the scrutineering process without a hitch. Our 3/4½, despite the forms being sent off in the same envelope had no HTPs but did have VSCC buff forms & FIVA papers. After much deliberation with the scrutineer the case would have to go to the French equivalent of the clerk of the course and we would find out in the morning. A long, tense and nervous night followed.

Morning came but the answer hadnt, our scrutineer reassured us with a smile and told us that it would be aright, maybe a 1 minute penalty. That may not sound like much but it is a lot of time to make up and could put a serious dent in our aspirations. After our drivers’ briefing we were to find out the true horror of the situation. It wasnt a 1 minute penalty, it was a 3 minute penalty; and not overall, oh no, 3 minutes for each round making a 9 minute penalty over the course of the race. This dashed any hopes of finishing near the top and with some of the Bentley competition we had seen we were unlikely to be able to repeat our 1st Bentley home claim of 2 years ago. Still, they could have prevented us from taking part at all and so we were relieved that we would at least get to compete. As a side note, around two thirds of the pre-war grid had turned up without the correct paperwork so it would have been a small grid if they had denied us all our fun.

For this event there are two practice sessions, one during the day and one at night. Having raced here two years ago and after sharing the day practice I was confident that I knew the circuit well and so let Stu take the whole of the night session. A moment of youthful confidence that would result in hilarity for some......

Adam and Rach went well in the MG C-Type qualifing 2/3 down the grid and nowhere near the back which is pretty impressive considering the car’s 746cc engine. Me & Stu had put in good times and took second place for the fabled ear of corn the quaint French expression used to describe the traditional run across the track Le Mans start.

4pm arrived the next day and the cars were lined up along the pit wall. Stu found himself as the Bentley filling inside a Talbot sandwich surrounded by the Ruston 105s. The legendary Buzz Aldrin was the man to set the whole event in motion and did so in the usual continental manner. Buzz lifted the flag and Stu waited, poised for it to drop and signal him to dash across the track, leap into his car and scream off down the track. Buzz then began twirling it round his head with no sign of it ever returning to earth. Stu, still poised and ready for it to drop waited until he saw the other competitors running like crazy and so gave chase. You see in the UK the race starts when the flag is brought down where as on the continent it is when the flag is raised, a small point but one which nobody actually tells you.

The cars all tore off down the track finally unleashed upon the event for which they had been waiting for so long only to be stopped round the corner and re-gridded; though they dont really bother with the re-grid all that much. The ear of corn is a false start as its considered too dangerous to use for more than a demonstration. Two years ago I was the youngest person in this particular race and gained a lot of places during that run which is how we originally found out about the 30 second overtaking penalty, with our 9 minutes already accrued this year Stu was right to be cautious.

The race began by rolling start and the first session was underway. Stu was engaged in battle for second place with a Talbot 105 and a Lagonda but eventually saw them off and pulled ahead. Once clear he built up a good lead over the third place car which I maintained during the second half of the session. Up in first place Gareth Burnett in one of John Rustons Talbot 105s would stay ahead and lead each round to the chequered flag despite the glimmer of hope I had felt when I saw him pouring a bottle of rad-weld into his radiator moments before the ear of corn. Nigel Ormond-Smith and Neil Davis went well in their 3/4.5 and were the second quickest Bentley. Martin Overington once again showed us his unique sideways driving style which sadly proved too much for his diff which seized and put him out of the race. Our MG climbed a few places with excellent drives from both Rachel & Adam and would go on to create a unique race which to some would be the most important of the 24 hours......who would be quicker, Rachel Singer or Mags Diffey?

The night session then arrived and Mags, who originally intended not to race at night did so ensuring she was behind the wheel at the same time as Rachel. The battle ensued, leads were taken and lost as the two raced round the circuit in the enveloping darkness. The night session at Le Mans is very special and more than a little eerie. The lights on our Bentley are ineffective at best and thats with a 12 volt system, how Adam & Rachel fared in the 6 volt MG I have no idea. Apart from the pit straight and across the apexes of corners there is no lighting at all and distances become very hard to judge. We had fitted a much longer back axle ratio to our Bentley because of the long flat out sections of this circuit and we topped out at 130mph both on the Mulsanne straight and the section between Mulsanne corner and Idianapolis. We were racing against cars who were achieving maybe 60mph flat out and in the darkness with such poor lights you fly past these cars at more than double their speed praying that the bumps down the Mulsanne dont make them suddenly change course; a tense moment every time I can assure you.

Stu and Bronson were duelling once again and came into the pits together with Bronson in the lead. I followed him out of the pit lane and knew that due to the new ratio our car had the longer legs. As soon as we got onto the Mulsanne straight I ducked behind my aeroscreen and started to edge ahead. We approached the first chicane flat-out where I proceeded to jump on the brakes brave and late only to find them less powerful than I had envisaged. I knew instantly that Id made a mistake and there was no way I would slow enough for the chicane. If I tried to turn-in would I end up going sideways into the gravel where a high centre of gravity and skinny tyres tend to dig in and roll? Only one option, aim the front of the car square at the gravel trap and bounce straight through!

It wasnt until a conversation with Bronson after the session that I found out how funny he thought this was and not only had I done it, but so had Stu, in exactly the same place! Perhaps it wasnt youthful confidence but the shared stupidity of racing drivers.

I will grudgingly admit that I was a little rattled after my trip to the pit and followed Bronson till my confidence returned. Once it did I edged past him once more only to then open a door for him at the start of the Porsche curves through which he swept past to take 2nd place on the final lap.

Following the night session people grabbed sleep where they could, some went back to the camp, some like myself and Rachel slept in the paddock on chairs and under tonneaus. Chris and Jennie Guest made a particularly impressive nest with the tonneau and blankets inside their 6.5 Litre Bentley.

The morning came and bought with it the final session of the race. With only an hour to the start we realised the MG had blown its Brooklands silencer box to pieces leaving a hole larger than my hand; it was no wonder Adams ears were ringing. A borrowed piece of steel, some lock wire and some ingenuity and all the cars were ready for the off. Adam and Rachel finished 35th out of 63 finishers, a very respectable place indeed for such a little car and maybe more importantly Mags Diffey finished 36th a mere single place behind the little MG. In 2010 there is talk of teaming Rachel & Mags in order to beat the trio of female Bugatti drivers that took the ladies’ trophy for the second time.

To the surprise of Nigel Ormond-Smith and Neil Davis they had been placed in the team that won the overall team prize and so walked away grinning with some impressive Silverware.

As for us we held 2nd throughout the morning session and that is where we finished on a straight scratch basis, sadly though there was still that 9 minute penalty to factor in. After the penalty we ended up 7th overall and were once again the first Bentley home by a clear margin, a result with which we were delighted. This was without doubt the finest racing weekend that I have ever experienced and to all those who havent experienced it, you most definitely should.

 

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The Silverstone Classic is the only chance we get to drive on the full Historic Grand Prix circuit & the largest UK race event of the year making this a fantastic festival as a competitor. This race was also to be my first in a Frazer Nash, a car which I have wanted to drive for a considerable length of time after watching the likes of Patrick Blakney-Edwards flinging his sideways through bends.

We had the usual crowd at the event with Martin Overington & entourage, Nigel Ormond-Smith, Chris Guest, Stanley Mann, Philip Strickland et al all flying the Benjafields flag.

Practice went smoothly, well almost smoothly. Either me or Stu had managed to make the back axle of the Nash move sideways in the car by about ¾” though this was soon rectified with some gentle persuasion.

Nigel Ormond-Smith put on a good show in his newly acquired 3/4½ though the race was dominated by Peter Neumark\\\'s Alfa Monza with a magnificently well driven Frazer Nash hot on it‛s heals.

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The Spa 6 hour meeting was a fantastic end to our season this year with perfect blue skies at, if not the best, then certainly one of the best circuits in Europe.

Myself & Stuart were taking part in the Motor Racing Legends Pre-War sports car race in our 3/4.5 Bentley and had the pleasure of competing alongside a number of clients, one of whom was kind enough to allow this lucky man to finish the last 20min in the fantastic 3L blower! The race was a fantastic affair with some hard fought battles and our eventual result was pleasing, taking 3rd in class and 4th place overall being beaten only be 2 Alfa Monza, no disgrace there, and a very quick HRG.

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