VSCC 1st Silverstone

The Vintage SCC’s first Silverstone Race Meeting of this year, on April 19th, had both sad and happy connotations. Sad because it remembered the Hon Patrick Lindsay, one of the Club’s outstanding and most popular racing drivers, happy because it recognised the 50th year in which Cecil Glutton, CBE, has been racing the 1908 GP Itala, that 12-litre giant. in VSCC events. The tributes to Lindsay took the form of a splendid fly-past by a Supermarine Spitfire. Rolls-Royce of Derby’s own Gryphon-engined example, the naming of the Pre-War Historic Race after him, and the appearance in two races at the wheel of Patrick’s favourite racing car, the ERA “Remus”, of his son Ludovic and his entry of the ERA-Delage for Patrick’s friend Neil Corner to drive. Sam Glutton, helped by Jack Williamson, drove a lap of honour in the venerable Itala, and also raced effectively (reminder that the initials OAP are a nonsense!) in the race named after it, while Glutton also drove his “Chain Gang” Frazer Nash into third place in another race. Happy, too, was the entry, a record 222 cars, while the rain that had been forecast kept aft until the very last event of a crowded afternoon.

Opening race, after the 40 minute High Speed Trial, was the Fox & Nicholl Trophy Race for sports-cars, difficult to follow due to credit laps, but resulting in a smooth-running win tor Baddiley’s slab-tank Alvis Speed-20, from Fox’s Type 135 Delahaye and Hines LG45 Lagonda. The 10-lap Itala & Lanchester Trophies Race for pre-war cars was a fine victory of Bob Roberts in his rebuilt V12 4-litre Sunbeam “Tiger’ chased relentlessly by Nick Mason in his 351 Bugatti who crossed the line a second in arrears, with Candy’s ex-lan Preston 35B Bugatti third. Bob put in a most creditable fastest lap, at 80.85 mph. Nigel Arnold-Forster had the tricky aero-engined Bequet-Delage going well, his fourth place winning him the Lanchester Trophy, the 12-litre car lapping at 76.47 mph, ahead of Toni Threllall’s McDowell-Ford. while Farquhar, rumoured lobe using the Dixon four-carburettor layout on the Brooklands Riley, held off Ghosh’s TT Vauxhall. Stretton gave his usual spirited display of Frazer Nash cornering, eventually taking to the Woodcote grass.

In the Patrick Lindsay Historic 10-lap Scratch Race David Black led all the way in his remarkably quick 1934 Tipo B Alfa Romeo, with Felton’s shall we say not quite so original P3 in second place, and Thwaites going extremely well in third place in Brierley’s ERA R6B. Corner was fourth in the ERA-Dotage and Ludovic Lindsay fifth in the ERA R5B “Remus”, so the Lindsay part of the race was ably upheld. Lindsay’s son having had experience in other forms of racing and having practised extensively in “Remus”, incidentally. Black lapped at 88.79 mph. Llewellyn took the vintage class in the big blue Bentley from the courageous Morley in the 24-litre Napier-Bentley, the 8.3-litre car lapping at 82.34 mph.

Heimann’s T51 Bugatti suffered from furious rear-axle tramp perhaps brought on by hurried gear shifting into Woodcote, in his first race, Dron’s 8CM Maserati was said to have lost fuel pressure three laps from the finish of his first appearance, and Jeremy Collings drove his rebuilt all-white supercharged McEvoy Star in two races.

Neil Corner drove a very fast, impeccable, race in the 1960 3-litre Dino Ferrari, lapping the backmarkers very early on. to win the 10-lap Allcomers’ Scratch Race by no less than 38 1/2 sec from Black in the monoposto Alfa Romeo, which rather incredibly took second place from Mason’s 250F Maserati, which is quarter-of-a century younger but was 2.1 sec behind at the finish. Corner did fastest lap, at 96_16 mph, beating his own former record by 0.48 mph; Black now lapped at 89.2 mph. also a new record, and the Connaughts of Harper and Charles held oft Weiland in the Lister-Jaguar. The Connaught of de Cadenet apparently shed a core-plug The winners of the five-lap handicaps are shown below. — W.B.