| ||||
 | ||||
| ||||
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
14.9.06
The second running of the Tour was based at the 12th Century Coombe Abbey Hotel in Binley nr. Coventry UK with an eclectic entry of 41 pre ’77 classic cars and their crews. Ably organised by Fred Gallagher (best known as Ari Vatanen’s rally co-driver) and Alec Poole (1969 British Saloon Car Champion and Nissan’s ‘90’s European Motorsports Manager) the timetable had scrutineering on Mon 4th with the competitive activity starting Tues 5th and finishing at lunchtime on Friday 9th September. The format meant that competitors were able to enjoy a 600 mile route over 3.5 days, visiting familiar race circuits – Oulton, Donington, Mallory and Cadwell Parks as well as the UK’s best known sprint venue Curborough, Loton Park hillclimb and several stately homes returning each evening for dinner!! Competitors were split into two categories with 32 entries in Competition and nine in Regularity - sadly missing was inaugural winner Ray Bellm who had intended to run a Lotus Elan but this was mitigated by the presence of former MSA Chairman John Grant in his road registered, Vin Malkie prepared Chevron B16; Shell Historic Ferrari Challenge regular Arnold Meier in his very original Competizione Daytona and son Diego in an equally rare 275GTB/C; Ferrari Classic regular Steve Tandy in his 275GTB and Julian Taylor in his 246 Dino. Other entries that caught the eye included ex-Formula 3 champion Dane Jac Nellemann in a Corvette Stingray (proving that too much power just ain’t enough!), classic car auctioneer Simon Hope in a Ford Mustang, former Group C2 driver and multiple classic tour winner John Sheldon in his Lotus Elan and ‘65 Mini 7 Champion and highly successful racer Nick Faure in what else but a Porsche RSR! Individual stage and overall results are available on www.tourbritannia.com but as Oulton Park is my local circuit, there was no better way to spend a Tuesday morning in the late summer sun! Competitors had already visited nearby Cholmondley Castle for 2 stages and as service/chase crews readied for arrival. Nick Whale (Porsche RS) and the aforementioned Faure had each won a stage. Competition class entrants would have 15 mins practice prior to an 8 lap race whilst for Regularity consistency was required over a comparable elapsed time. The Meier family’s Ferraris were superbly prepared and tendered by respected Swiss marque specialist Edi Wyss attracting much interest from the sizeable crowd – Arnold has owned his ex Sir Anthony Bamford Series 1 Comp. Daytona since ‘99 and interestingly it was the only example of 15 built that was supplied new with a street spec exhaust and no wheel arch extensions whilst his 275GTB/C joined his Meilen based stable in 2003 and has a 250LM engine with a high proportion of parts made from cast electron. Practice suggested that it would be a close race between Nick Whale,
Bruce Stapleton (Morgan +8), and Nick Faure with John Grant’s
Chevron utilising its track suitability to overall advantage. Whale
duly took the lead but lasted only three laps retiring with a broken
throttle cable (from which he would never recover in the overall standings),
whilst Diego Meier had been making good progress before losing control
and damaging the 275GTB/C heavily beyond immediate repair (he would
later return in the Regularity section in a backup 250SWB) [as you do
- Ed.]. Steve Tandy, distracted by a fellow competitor, modified his
275GTB’s bodywork against the tyres but was able to continue.
As the week progressed it became apparent that it would have been a close tussle between Bruce Stapleton, Nick Whale (who won more individual sections than anyone else) and John Sheldon. Congratulations then to Stapleton who was the overall Competition winner by 16 secs from Sheldon with Arnold and Melanie Meier finishing an excellent fifth and John Ruston and Jeremy Haylock celebrating success in Regularity. The mixture of competition and social over a reduced overall mileage was very popular and the event continues to attract a quality entry with excellent organisation – after all it’s a lot closer to home than the Classic Adelaide! As the Tour finished came the very sad news from Australia that Peter
Brock had succumbed to injuries sustained whilst competing in the Targa
West Rally nr. Perth in a Daytona Coupe. Having competed at the Goodwood
Revival in his Holden FX less than a week earlier (winning the Spirit
of Goodwood Trophy) the 9 times Bathurst 1000 and 3 times Australian
Touring Car Champion oft nicknamed Peter Perfect was justifiably a legend
well beyond the Southern Hemisphere - he will be sorely missed by the
global motor-sport community and spectators alike
Click here to return to the Ferrari Happenings page.
|
