In Brief, August 2010
• After 12 years out of racing, Mike Freeman, 67, will return to drive a Brabham BT14 in the Classic Racing Car Championship. The Gloucestershire driver, who raced Ford Escort Mexicos in the early 1970s, won a European historic title in a BT14 in 1987.
• The Association of Scottish Motoring Writers has awarded Ian Forrest, chief instructor at Knockhill, the Jim Clark Memorial Award for 2010. Ian began racing in 1971 and has won many Scottish titles as well as contesting the British Touring Car Championship.
• To celebrate the event’s 10th anniversary, the 2010 Rally of the Tests will be longer than usual with three days of competition in Ireland before transferring to Wales and England for another three days. The rally will start near Dublin on November 15 and finish at Blackpool on the Sunday.
• After a decade out of racing, the Lotus 59 1-litre F3 car driven by Bev Bond in 1969 has returned to competition with Jim Chapman. The Lotus, in period Gold Leaf colours, was previously part of James Wigmore’s collection. “It’s a time warp. The 1-litre F3 cars are gorgeous and I’ve always wanted to race one,” said Chapman.
• Cornwall-based Bob Pepper is building a replica of the 1969 6-litre Group 2 Ford Mustang that Allan Moffat raced in Australia. The Trans-Am Mustang scored 101 wins from 157 starts with Moffat over six seasons from 1969.
• The E-type Challenge will feature a race at the 39th running of the Nürburgring Oldtimer GP in August. The series has other dates confirmed at the Brands Hatch Superprix, Silverstone Classic and the Oulton Park Gold Cup.
• The Crystal Palace sprint, the first motor sport event at the venue for a decade, is likely to be repeated in 2011. Sevenoaks and District Motor Club ran two days of competition and reported a favourable response from the local authorities.
• Simo Lampinen and John Davenport were reunited with their 1968 RAC Rally-winning Saab 96 at the Chatsworth Rally Show. Modern and classic cars thrilled crowds at the Derbyshire event, 411 attended by WRC stars Jari-Matti Latvala and Henning Solberg.