As both of the resident motorsport practitioners on ViaRETRO’s International desk were otherwise engaged, it fell upon my medium-width shoulders to make the trek last weekend up to Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire (previously known as Wawrykshire when I was in power) to spend a day at this year’s Race Retro event. Now my knowledge of racing cars, and especially rally cars, is as a shallow puddle compared to the Lake Baikal-like depths of detail and yes, nerdiness, that Dave and Anders can muster, so now that your expectations have been managed, dear reader, let me tell you about my day out.
Stoneleigh Park is about a 90-minute drive north for me, and following two consecutive weekends when the UK had been battered by storms going by the names of Ciara and, ahem, Dennis, it was a relief to drive up to the venue through more typical February conditions of only moderate showers and a gusting wind, with intermittent sunshine, conditions which repeated themselves throughout the day. I was concerned that the outdoor part of the event – which really sets it apart from all the usual winter shows – was going to prove more challenging than usual, and as it turned out, the rally circuit had to be amended as the grass areas were too sodden and would have been churned up in no time. Nevertheless, it proved more than difficult enough for some…
Billing itself as “Europe’s No. 1 Historic Motorsport Show” (which I would argue is somewhat cheeky when you consider the likes of the Goodwood Revival and Silverstone Classic in the UK alone, never mind events such as the Le Mans Classic – I guess it depends on how you interpret “show”), Race Retro takes a look back at motor racing in some of its many and varied forms – through Formula 1, sportscar racing, rallying, hill-climbing, go-karting and more – and it does so not just with halls of static displays, but by recreating the excitement of World Championship Rallying on not one, but this year two special rally stages, the second being one for paying punters to experience being hurled around in a rally car at speed – I don’t know if sick bags were provided.
Anticipating a great deal to take in, I made sure I arrived on the nose at opening time to give myself a chance to check out the exhibition halls as well as the live stages and Silverstone Auctions, which were held across two days, offering a combination of road and motorsport classics.
Visitors were greeted outside by a row of rally classics which could be hired and driven by the public, and inside by the 1965 FoMoCo Blue Demo Cobra which won all fourteen of last year’s HSCC Historic Road Sports Championship.
Once inside, first item on the agenda was to get hold of a trackside tabard, which I eventually secured despite overwhelming demand – the event is clearly popular with press. Once I’d acquired my stylish hi-vis vest, I had a little time for an initial stroll around the halls before venturing outside.
I have to be honest here – while there were some superb exhibits, overall there was less than I had expected. One entire hall – and sections of the others – given over to people flogging old bits and pieces, and various paraphernalia seemed disproportionate when there were only four not huge halls; purely my subjective opinion, of course. While I’m being a little critical, the historic aspect of the show doesn’t actually go back all that far either (a mere 70 years…), with the focus largely on the 1960’s onwards, with a few exceptions.
Nevertheless, there were some fabulous racing machines to gaze upon – a 1960 BRM P48 as driven by Graham Hill, Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari F310 from 1996/7, a lovely Lotus 24 that Jack Brabham had competed in in 1962, and the 1980 World Championship winning Williams FW07B as well as a gorgeous 1953 Aston Martin DB3S Special among others.
There was a superb display from the Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club paying tribute to Norman Dewis, the former Jaguar development and race driver between 1952 and 1985. It’s not often that the oldest surviving E-Type and a genuine 1953 Jaguar C-type are overshadowed but having the unique and utterly beautiful XJ13 prototype on the stand was a real coup for the club and the show. Stunning from every angle, the XJ13 is one of motorsport’s great “might have beens”.
The beauty of the XJ13 was a sharp contrast to the Frankenstein creation of the RAM 365 – a Porsche Boxster rebodied in the style of a Porsche 356. Both are good-looking cars in their own right – cross-breeding them does not make for an improvement.
Beauty and the Beast…
The stars of the show though were undoubtedly the rally cars, and it’s here that Race Retro really excels. The previous weeks of poor weather had forced the organisers to make the rally circuit a little more user-friendly, but there were plenty of drivers caught out on various corners of the circuit, resulting in disintegrating hay bales and a few excursions off track.
With over 140 cars ranging from relatively modest Group A, N and Historic cars to the mighty – and short-lived – Group B monsters there was plenty of slipping and sliding around the combined tarmac and gravel sections, and a fair amount of turbo popping. It was quite a surprise to see a pair of yellow Ferrari 308GTB’s being thrown around, as I’ve never considered any Ferrari to be suitable for rallying, but there they were. A gaggle of Peugeot 205GTI’s, Manta 400’s, Sunbeam Lotuses and various Escorts, Clio’s, Mini’s and others were being driven around with some gusto, making for a very entertaining – if at times damp and chilly – couple of hours. I particularly enjoyed watching the old historic cars – the Morris 1800S , Volvo 123GT and Maxi 1750 from the Marathon class, as well as the trio of Mini Cooper S’s, but the highlight for me was the display put on by the Triumph 2500 Mk2 driven by Lee Sellars and the white and blue BMW 2002ti piloted by Terry Cree. These two chased each other round the circuit for a good few laps, and though there was no overtaking, there was definitely an element of competition between the two of them – hugely enjoyable.
This element of the show makes the event, getting the chance to watch these cars being hustled around at close quarters and to check them out in the parc fermé area was a thrill, even for a non-rally enthusiast like me. Wheels were lifted, tails were slid, opposite lock was frequently engaged – there was a lot of skill on display, including a run by former World Champion Didier Auriol in a Ford Sierra Cosworth.
Didier Auriol showing how it used to be done
Back in the warmth of one of the exhibition halls, I spent a little while checking out the Silverstone Auction lots, the first tranche of which – the competition cars – had been auctioned on the previous day, with perhaps the star lot being the ex-Duncan Hamilton 1950 Jaguar XK120 Competition Roadster, with an estimate: £400,000 – £500,000; unfortunately, it didn’t sell.
Among a number of interesting road-going classics on offer on the Saturday – road-going but with (mostly) a performance or sporting bent – the car that really caught my eye was the 1992 Lancia Hyena Zagato, the ninth of just 24 built and with a mere 9,500kms under its wheels. Its metallic green paintwork made it look like nothing more than a fluorescent frog, but this was still quite a car. Effectively Zagato’s vision of an Integrale Coupé, its styling is typical Zagato love it or hate it – I’m not keen – and it went for £168,750 against an estimate of £150-170,000.
However, with 35 of 69 lots on offer unsold on the day, I should imagine that Silverstone Auctions were disappointed – some beautiful cars failed to sell, including a gorgeous 1960 Silver Grey Mercedes-Benz 190SL, a fine 1965 Ferrari 330GT, one of only 44 RHD built, and a pair of very desirable Porsche 356’s. They did do a little better with the competition cars, though, selling 24 of 37 lots, or 65%. Perhaps this was just the wrong event for a classic car – as opposed to competition car – auction?
As usual at such an event, there were a few pleasant surprises to be found parked here and there – the red ’82 Alfasud 1.5ti and metallic blue 1994 Lancia Delta Integrale HF were a delight, but the black 1934 Lagaonda 4 1/2 -litre…..gorgeous...
So if I were to sum up the day – a little underwhelmed by the exhibits (with some very honourable exceptions) but enthralled by the live rally stages. One or two people I spoke with felt the event was smaller than in previous years; this was my first Race Retro so I can’t personally comment, but I do think they need to make a decision to either focus the entire thing on rallying, by far its greatest strength, or find a way to broaden the scope generally – more cars and fewer spare parts would be a start, or at least, more cars.
Nevertheless, it was still a very good day out, mainly thanks to the rally stage (and despite the variable weather). Below is an extensive gallery from the day – enjoy!
