Having spent last weekend at a world-class Concours and looking forward to a world-class historic racing festival the coming one, I spent the middle weekend at a more modest event – an appetiser, if you will, for Goodwood. And no less enjoyable for that.
Last year I went to the Castle Combe Autumn Classic for the first time and was very pleasantly surprised, so much so that I decided it should form part of my regular September classic events, which is possible because it happens to sit conveniently between the Hampton Court Concours and the Goodwood Revival.
Located just a few hundred metres from the beautiful and historic village of Castle Combe in Somerset – no new houses have been built in the village centre since c.1600! – there has been a race track there since 1950, when it opened around a former WW2 airfield, a not uncommon theme in the UK – Silverstone, Goodwood, Thruxton and Snetterton are other former WW2 airfields now used for motor racing.
At a few metres under 3km, it’s wide and fast enough to allow lots of overtaking, and historic motorsport played the major role in this weekend. There were races for a wide variety of classes, from an all-Mini category through 1960s Touring Cars, VSCC (Vintage Sports Car Club) cars from the 1920’s and 30s, and more. I went on the first day, so didn’t get to see everything, but still saw more than enough.
Perhaps the most glamorous cars competing on Saturday were a trio of shapely 1950’s sports racers, an Italian duo and a Brit – a gorgeous 1953 Alfa Romeo 6C “Disco Volante”, a 1957 Maserati 300S and a 1953 Jaguar C-type, cars that would not have looked out of place at Goodwood. It was a delight to see them, as it was to see an elegant Triumph Italia 2000, a rare creature anywhere particularly in the UK, where it was never officially on sale. Only 330 were built and it’s not a car that one would have thought a natural to take to the track. Having said that, it is based on Triumph TR3 mechanicals, and plenty TR’s are raced. The owner told me that he had all the parts required to restore the car to road-going specification and that it actually wasn’t much of a race car, but he enjoyed himself regardless, which is kind of the point.
Despite these examples of Italian loveliness, the car that got perhaps the most attention was the late, great Gerry Marshall’s all-conquering “Baby Bertha”, a 5.0-litre, 475bhp V8 fire-breathing Vauxhall Firenza, with which he won no fewer than 18 of 20 races in the 1975 Tricentrol Super Saloon Car Championship, and nine of eleven the following year. It’s an absolute beast of a car, one of those that looks fearsomely fast standing still.
Several classic weekend events include an auction these days, and this one was hosted by Dore & Rees Motoring, who had some interesting lots on offer. My favourite was a gorgeous 1961 AC Aceca in deep blue which surprisingly failed to find a buyer. Another interesting lot was a rare 1992 Renault Alpine GTA Convertible, a car I saw at Bicester last year and one of just a handful believed to have been built; it found a new home for £27,000. I have to say that for me, there’s too much going on, but if you want an Alpine with a difference, this is it.
Wandering around the outskirts of the circuit, several interesting classics brought by visitors caught my eye, such as the smart green 1972 Sunbeam Rapier H120 Fastback, of which only 23 remain on the road on the UK and the maroon AC 3000ME, one of only c.100 made. I’ve always liked the AC, and it should have been more successful, but manufacturing and development issues over several years, combined with financial difficulties combined to limit its production run.
The pistachio ’73 De Tomaso Pantera I saw at Pistonheads a few weeks ago made another appearance at Castle Combe, still looking great, this time parked alongside some US heavy metal in the imposing shapes of a 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 and a 1970 Chevy Camaro Z28.
The Autumn Classic is a fun event and excellent value for money at roughly one quarter of the price of a day at Goodwood, with good views all around the circuit and a nice informal atmosphere, though no grandstands so either sit on the grass or bring your own chair. I’ll be back next year; meanwhile, enjoy the random gallery below.
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