Monte Carlo or bust

The Monte Carlo Rallye is in the news currently with the official and Historic versions of the event having recently take, or are taking place as I publish this.
As is my wont, I often Google subjects when they are in the news to see what I can find out about them. Historical tidbits and what have you, something that I might be able to drop into a conversation to either impress or bore someone (there are times when one or the other can be desirable). My Google search for the Monte revealed this nice set of stamps, commemorating the 27th running of the Rallye in 1958. The stamps had been sold but they are still rather nice to look at and I decided to investigate the 1958 running of the Monte Carlo Rallye. As it happens, my research revealed some interesting facts and stories.

The race had not been run the previous year due to the Suez Canal crisis in Egypt. Fuel shortages meant that fuel coupons could not be issued to the competitors. This meant the 1958 running was eagerly anticipated in the Rallye world, and a large field entered. This year also featured an important change in the running of the event. Prior to 1957 a feature of the last day of the rally was a range of automotive tests (a gymkhana) run on the waterfront in Monaco. This year that feature was dropped so that speed and timing alone would decide the victor.

The winners were Guy Monraisse and Jacques Feret in their Renault Alpine, from A. Gacon and L. Borsa in their Alfa Romeo Giulietta. Monraisse and Feret were privateers with no works backing, so their win was a remarkable achievement, even more so when you consider there was an exceptional snowfall on the first night of the rallye which meant that many drivers crashed out or abandoned. 

How bad was this snow? Only one car made it from Paris through to Monte Carlo on the concentration run. English Rally driving great Pat Moss' brush with the 1958 Monte was described in her biography "Harnessing Horsepower." This years Rallye was the first in which studded tyres were allowed to be used. Clearly this didn't help many of the entrants.

The two victors, being residents of the area of the rally, used their local knowledge of the roads to good effect in their victory. In one final twist the pairing didn't run as a conventional driver/navigator pairing but shared the duties equally. To prove the win wasn't a fluke, later in the year they also went on to win the Tour de Corse (Corsica Rally) in the same car which was later presented to Prince Ranier and now resides in the Monte Carlo "Top Cars" museum. 

There you go, a little Monte Carlo Rally history lesson just from a set of stamps.

Larking about.

Ever since I bought FG the MGB, my 1976 MGB roadster (the most beautiful rubber bumpered MGB in Minnesota) I've been after a collector car from 1963, the year I was born. It's been a long search. For British sports cars, the early sixties are prime years. The E-type Jag was introduced in 1962, the MG Midget in 1961 and the MGB itself in 1963. Add to that British Classics like the Bug Eye Sprite the Austin Healey and great Triumphs like the TR3 and TR4. It doesn't take a genius to realize that prices on these cars are at a premium and as a consequence out of my budget.

So I looked around for anything from 1963. Saab, Citroen, Renault, Volvo. Nothing. Well nothing that fit the budgetary requirements. After a while, a few 1963 American cars started to appear. Fords, Chevys, Caddys. All huge dreadnoughts of a car that would struggle to fit in our garage. So they were  out. Then a few vehicles I wasn't really aware of. An AMC Rambler caught my eye for a while until I took a closer look. It wasn't as good as the pictures made out. Then I saw this...

A 1963 Studebaker Cruiser. I knew the name Studebaker of course. Some of the most exciting and striking automotive designs of the 50's and 60's came out of South Bend, Indiana. The 1950 Champion Starlight Coupe being the most obvious example. I didn't know what a Cruiser was though. It was the top of the range of the Lark models. So much so that it didn't even carry the Lark name. It was just the "Cruiser". It was marketed as a more compact rival to the bigger limousines of the "big three" makers. Studebaker even coined the term "Limousette" to describe it.
I was captivated by the design, that Mercedes-esque grille and all those curves around the grille, headlights and chrome bumpers. So, my wife Lorrie and I decided to go and take a look at it. It didn't disappoint. The car is a stalled restoration project that hadn't run in some 20 years. But that body is sound, very sound. The paintwork is a joy to behold.
One word. Patina. The colour is known in Studebaker circles as Rosemist. It's officially a Purple. A Brownish Purple. But research seems to suggest that back in the day finishing a cars paint job with a clear lacquer was not done, so the shiny grayish purple has faded to a satin lavender grey. It's a brilliant looking finish that I love. It has to be kept like this. 

Needless to say we both fell in love with the car. So the price was agreed on and a few days later a friend and I made the trip from Princeton to Le Sueur, MN with a trailer to collect it.

The car hadn't been run in some 20 years and the fuel tank smelled like paint thinners so it was a good idea not to drive it. Right now, the car resides in a workshop, being cleaned up to get the motor running after 20 years of neglect.

Now research has begun to reveal the rallye history of Studebaker. The makers achieved great success in the Mobil Economy Run of the 50's and 60's. The successes of Studebaker and AMC cars in this event caused their vehicles to be put in a new, separate class because the big three automakers couldn't even come close to the figures (up to 25 mpg) recorded by these cars. 

Greater success was accorded to the Studebaker Lark winning the Shell 4000 rally outright in 1961 and 1962. 

So there you go, quite by accident I've ended up buying a car with a Rallye heritage. Quite the bonus. So perhaps once it's running we'll end up turning up to a road rallye in the car. Perhaps having been inspired by the whole experience of the Goodwood revival we will turn up to road rallies in a 1963 car wearing 1960's clothing, using 1960's navigation equipment. Who knows? 

Goodwood Revival 2014

I'm going to step away from Road Rally for this next post and cover something I did on my holidays. I'm sure you won't mind, given the subject matter.

Most of us who know classic British cars and love motor racing know about the Goodwood Revival. A three day celebration of motor racing set in the delightful scenery of the Sussex downs at the world famous Goodwood circuit.

I've wanted to go to this event for a few years and having put a lot of overtime in at work for quite some time I decided to treat my wife and I to a couple of days there as a part of our 2014 trip back home. 

Right from the outset you are made aware this is something special. When you receive your tickets, you find they are printed in a facsimile style of race tickets from the 1940's to 1960's and are presented in a information packet/wallet that that looks like it is at least 40 years old complete with wear and scuff marks on the cover.

Our tickets with wallet and race programme

Revival always sells out so you should get your tickets early. Ours had been sat in the house, teasing us for a good six months before we left for the UK.

What makes the Revival unique is that nearly everyone who attends makes an effort to dress in period costume, (period being defined as 1948-1966 when Goodwood was originally open) and when I say nearly everyone I mean over 90% of attendees make an effort. Whether they have an outfit of genuine vintage clothing or have just bought a pair of white overalls and smeared some black make up on their faces to attend as a period race mechanic, they have a go. I looked at a few books of the era in question and my wife and I made several visits to thrift stores and trawled eBay looking for clothing that might pass muster. We also have a friend in a historical society in Wisconsin who kindly looked out some suitable items of clothing for us.

Here we are trying to evoke some colourful 1960's style

I left it a bit late to book a room in the area and so we ended up in Portsmouth, about 20 miles away. That was OK, but it would have been nicer to have been a bit closer so we didn't have to fight the race day traffic on the way home. But I wasn't the only one in this situation as also parked up at our hotel when we arrived was a D-type Jaguar and an AC Cobra.

With tickets, clothing, and accommodation sorted we were ready to go.

Come the morning of the event we decided to get there early as we had no idea what things would be like, and we made the decision to be there when the gates opened at 7:30am with the first race about 10:00. 

So here we are, we have made it. Saturday morning and we've just got out of our car at the circuit car park (it's a car park not a parking lot, we are in England don't forget) and the first thing we hear is the sound of a military brass band wafting through the air. Then as we pass through the main gate there they are.

The Royal Marine band

A Royal Marine military band greeting you. But are they a Royal Marine band? Perhaps they are a local brass band dressed up. That Policeman, is he a real policeman dressed in period clothing, or is he a civilian and that is his outfit for the event?

Are these real policemen?

It's overwhelming, it really is. You are surrounded by people dressed from the 1940's to the 60's. All of a sudden you don't know what year it is. You cannot help but smile or laugh to yourself. 

Everyone is in on this, staff, traders, everybody. Go and have a cup of coffee in a 1950's coffee bar. Go and do some shopping in a 1960's Tesco supermarket, you can even buy chocolates and other confections (even beer) in period packaging.

A black and white shot of the start line. What year is this?

 Seeing the race track for the first time took my breath away too. The start straight lined with its immaculately white painted structures, control tower, pit boxes, and grandstands,  with flags fluttering in the breeze. Mintex, Girling, Champion, all the correct names and logos for the period.

Behind the pit boxes and stands are the pits themselves. The cars. Ferrari, BRM, Lotus, Maserati, Allard, Connaught and those are just the single seat open cockpit formula race cars. The names of the saloon cars there are just as legendary, Alfa Romeo, Jaguar, Mercedes Benz, Warwick... (I'd never heard of that one either). Another surprise was a Russian car. A Gaz, it didn't set the track alight in its races but it just goes to show they were racing most any type of car.

Old Mercedes at speed.

What of the races? This is what we came for. 

At this three day celebration the first day is mostly given over to practice, with just one race. A 90 minute event that races into the twilight. The famed Goodwood 9 hour race used to run into the dark, this race evokes some of that history.

Saturday and Sunday are both full days of racing. Each race is devoted to a different class of car and a different time period in the history of the Goodwood circuit ("in the spirit of the period" is a popular phrase used to describe the races). From 1930's single seat cars to 1960's saloons and sports cars, each take their turns. The races are timed, not run over a number of laps which keeps everything on schedule. The race lengths vary depending on the car, some single seater races are just 20 minutes long. The saloons can go up to an hour with a driver change in the middle of them. The confined spaces of the old pit lane makes this very entertaining and can even turn the race standings on its head. Thinking back, I still don't know how they managed to find the space to fit the big American cars like Ford Falcons and Plymouth Barracudas two abreast in there.

Every single one of the races was good, entertaining, exciting stuff. These car owners really know how to push their cars to the limit. Some of the cars may be over 60 years old but they really do race them. Crashes are not unknown, we watched a 1930's Alfa Romeo and Parnell MG dice together in front of us coming out of the chicane onto the start straight, the outcome of which was a broken front axle for the MG and the Alfa ended up upside down.

Aftermath of the dicing between the Alfa and the MG

Neither driver was hurt. We saw an AC Cobra over cook it at Madgwick corner and crumple the back end and then spin around to crumple the front end too just for good measure. 

Without a doubt the best race of the weekend was Saturdays St. Mary's Trophy. A race for saloon cars from the 1960's in which a couple of Jaguars, Austin A40 Farinas and an Alfa Romeo Guilietta battled cleanly between themselves for all of the 25 minute race. We watched transfixed as the cars passed us and on the large TV screen in front of us.  Who won wasn't important what really stood out was the effusive praise each driver had for each other during the finish line interviews. 

"This is what Historic racing is all about." Said ex-formula one driver Emanuelli Pirro. If that's the case then I want more.

Action in the St. Marys Trophy

Let's not forget that there was also a couple of races for 1950's motorcycles. If the look of the bikes compared to modern day ones wasn't odd enough these races saw both a Le Mans start and a rider change at half distance!

Saturday saw a tribute to the legendary Scottish driver Sir Jackie Stewart. A parade of almost every car that he had raced in his long, illustrious career. It was quite something to see those cars parade around the track I can tell you. On this day Sir Jackie led the parade in his Formula One world championship winning Tyrell 006. Quite emotional.

Jackie Stewart at the wheel of his Tyrell T006 

But nothing like as emotional as what occurred on the Sunday. A special celebration of the wartime airbase RAF Westhampnett, whose perimeter track formed the basis of the Goodwood motor circuit. Over 100 wartime military vehicles of all types paraded around the circuit, and taking centre stage were 23 jeeps, each one with a D-Day veteran on board as a passenger. They circled the track to rapturous applause and then to cap it all the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight passed over with the visiting Canadian Avro Lancaster. Two Lancasters, Spitfires and a Hurricane and 23 veterans. There was hardly a dry eye in the house.

The stars come out in force for Revival too. Whether they were drivers or TV stars with a passion for cars. In addition to Messrs. Stewart and Pirro already name-checked were legends Sir Stirling Moss and John Surtees. Race drivers, Mark Weber, Tiff Needell and Paul Stewart, all of whom have been at the wheel of a Formula One race car in their time. From the world of entertainment Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) was at the wheel of one of his cars, as was Nick Mason of Pink Floyd and Geri Haliwell, one time Spice Girl was seen there too.

Two days of this just left us wanting more, and we were both very sad to be leaving at the end of the final race on Sunday.

As we sadly walked out of the circuit after the final race we took a look at what is known as "over the road", where there are even more traders and a big top with live entertainment. Then behind that was the real goldmine. The car park for classic cars. Yes the festival was over, yes, the cars were leaving but I have never seen so many classics in one place. I must have counted 20 E-types, another half a dozen XK Jaguars. As well as your MG's Triumphs, Rovers, Jowetts and more. Classics as far as the eye could see. Two days and we hadn't had a chance to check all this out! 

The memories are many from attending the Revival. Here's a few personal favourites.

There's a couple of sounds I won't forget. That's the sound of the Lancia Ferrari in the Richmond trophy race on Sunday morning, and the sound of the BRM V16 engined car as it circulated on its demonstration laps.

There were a few cars that will stick in my mind too. The Marcos Xylon in the Jackie Stewart tribute parade and the Lotus 11 GT Breadvan in the RAC TT race are a couple of unusually shaped cars, and I really did like the Warwick GT350 even though I'd never heard of one before then.

Marcos Xylon

Lotus 11GT Breadvan

Warwick GT 350

Saturdays St. Mary's Trophy race was utterly brilliant and I hope I can find a recording of the entire race on YouTube or some such place soon.

Even as I read this through I realize there is so much I'm forgetting. The Mods and Rockers on their scooters and motorbikes parading the circuit along with some period police cars. The Canberra and Hawker Hunters fly past. The kiddies Pedal car races. I'm sure there's more.

So, for all of you who say "I'd really love to go to the Revival" or "It's on my bucket list" or something similar. Just go and do it, and to help things along, here's Ian's handy dandy pointers to help you prepare.

1. Book early and go for as many days as possible (all three if you can) You can use day one to check    out the exhibits, before spending the other days trackside.

2. Book your accommodation just as early and find a hotel as close as you can to the circuit. Though they do have a very neat traffic management system at the circuit, once you get on the main roads traffic can slow right down and travel can be very slow.

3. You must make some kind of effort to dress up, you'll enjoy things even more if you look like everyone else.

4. Visit the Goodwood road and racing website (www.grrc.goodwood.com) it is packed full of helpful tidbits of information to help you make the most of your visit. 

Revival is something you won't forget.