Just out of curiosity, does anybody remember a ridiculously quick Hillman Avenger Tiger raced by Ron Field, an amateur from I think St Albans, in the first year or two of the BRSCC Road Saloon Championship in the mid 80s? It was orange with a black bonnet as I remember. He used to leave all the Golf GTIs, Nova GTEs etc for dead. Was this car one of the ex works Bernard Unett machines converted back to road spec? What happened to the car and driver?

Think he was still racing it into the early 90's?

Recently modelled in 1/43 by Corgi, so I wonder if the car is still around?


https://www.motoringminiatures.co.uk/shop/p...04_1__03893.jpg

As an aside, I believe your site's data on Unett's participation in "marathons" is slightly confused. It was the 1970 London Mexico World Cup Rally in which he was a late 3rd man substitute in a privately entered/works prepared Hunter that was crashed in Yugoslavia, not the 1968 London Sydney.

An action photo of the great man, taken by my mate when we were about 12, on his Kodak or brownie whatever.Thnaks to Robert for permission to show

As posted on the Brands Hatch thread,

Were you up in the main Granstand Alan?

No. I wasn't even there!

A couple more for sterling..
Motor Show Trophy meeting 1970. Nick May in Willie Kay's Escort (33) dices with Terry Drury's similar car...


...before it ends in tears for Drury. May recovered to finish fourth while Terry ended his race on the barriers.

Photos: Tim Blackburn

Fantastic photos Alan! The Escorts dicing at Druids

Sorry, sterling, I omitted to give Tim Blackburn due credit for these shots.

The array of autumnal colours was always a feast for the eyes at this meeting, MN used to feature a colour photo on the front page, usually of the winning car (Gardner in 1968 seems to ring a bell) in the Kent sunshine. This meeting was so often held in glorious sunshine, when summer meetings were held in more typical weather The photo of Alan/Tim's of the Bernard White Ferrari at the '66 GP reminded me that the weather was non too good for the '66 GP, it looks more like winter in the photo, especially with the lone spectator wrapped up in a thick coat!

Now those really were the days !!

Somewhere in that crowd is little old me



For some reason I had the driver down as Terry Croker?

What a great photo! It perfectly sums up that era for me, the cars, the circuit, the racing... Happy days!

Small world, ain't it, Alan?
According to Frank de Jong's excellent site, Terry Croker wasn't entered.

Glad you all like Tim's shot.

I hope the bloke in the Dinner Jacket managed to get out of the way.

Eat you hearts out guys, just look at the spectator viewing (and the numbers of them....) back then, if you venture to Brands now, you have to choose your spot carefully to ensure that you are not looking through mesh fencing! The closeness of the banks to the track as well, I was at druids recently, and had trouble imagining just how close we used to stand, now, binoculars are almost required (exageration ) to watch cars that used to be an armlengths away. That is progress I guess, and the racing gets more expensive, punters drift away, so they increase prices.........

Fantastic photo Alan, did you have your bicycle clips on perchance?

I remember the massive shower of earth that smacked us in the face when he hit the bank but have no memory of the guy in the suit flying through the air

I had my dads little Brownie camera in my pocket and and took that photo which was the last one on the roll. There was a bit of fuss as the drivers door was wedged against the marshals hut and he had to climb out of the passenger side. It looks a lot worse than it was

The crowds were big in those days but it was cheap. I had to travel to Brands by train from Stevenage to London, Underground to Waterloo, Train to Swanley and then a bus to Brands. Of course I then had to do the same thing again to get home, but it was possible to do it on a couple of weeks paper round money - Tell the kids of today that and...........

Blimey 39 years ago!

I think I would trust Frank's research than a 15 year olds scribble on the back of an old photo.

Thanks to Tim and yourself for these great pictures. Some good, if not muddy, memories there

A very special saloon driver



Photo courtesy of mate Robert B, in France.

Same position as the earlier photo, but it looks as if he is just about to apply a touch of opposite lock




Photo courtesy of Robert B, in France.

fearsome machine, anyone remember this???




Photo courtesy of Robert B. in France.

Jackie Oliver's DR Fabrications Mustang - Oulton Park Gold Cup 1967

That was a fabulous car, great photo Alan. I always remembered it as orange, but Andy Kitson said that it was blue, it shows how memories play up with age

I have photos of the car at Brands - and it was white ! The people leaning against the car are Brian Ham of Firestone, and the entrant Ken Baker.

Peter Darley
Jim Clark - Life at Team Lotus
1965: Jim Clark and Team Lotus . The UK Races

It was white with red stripes, but in '66, Jack Oliver also raced a pale blue one with dark blue stripes. The John Ewer '68 car was orange Sterl, which was the Oliver car from '67 repainted?
As seen on Simon's site:
http://simonlewis.com/oscart/product_info....products_id=536

Thanks for clarifying Andy, I remember the Ewer car, the trouble is, they all start to blend into one another

So was it Ken Baker in his own Mustang in an earlier year which was a dirty maroon colour, like Jack Oliver's Red Rooster 26R? I am sure I recall him in one of the DPK reg cars.
Roger Lund

The programme has the Mustang down as being white with red stripes - my recollection was that it was very pale blue with dark blue stripes. Only goes to show that memories can be unreliable.

I remember Ken Baker racing a fastback Mustang (the dirty red one) in club races at Brands etc but I didn't realise until I read this that he also owned the Oliver car as well (which is of course a "notchback version"). The blue car was Roy Pierpoints' from 1965 BSCC which had been repainted halfway through the season and I am sure the Oliver car had blue stripes on white as Alans' photo shows.

Glyn

A few more of Tim Blackburn's photos


1970 Tourist Trophy - Frank Gardner's Boss Mustang

Tony Lanfranchi (Fraser Imp) leans on Briam Newton's Cortina. Motor Show 200 1967

John Rhodes tries to frighten the Anglia driver out of his wits. Motor Show 200 1967

Identities please, of these two Mini Cooper drivers. No 27 looks like a British Vita car, but I've been unable to trace them via Frank de Jong's site.

Now that is what I call doorhandling

Tim and I must have been rubbing shoulders! Fantastic shot, I bet Big Tone was passing Newton as well, I remember that he was quite a "steady" driver and the Imps could punch well above their weight, great days, brilliant photo

Apologies for posting a bit of instant Nostalgia (last saloon-car race on this track); this was earlier today at VSCC See Red at 70, Donington. The racing was pretty much what I remember from way back; the transporter and motor-home paddock was certainly not.

I have programmes for other Motor Show 200 years, but not '67. The gap in the numbers is interesting, perhaps 53 was an end of season entry, as 27 is shown on the Silverstone grid on the Ratcliffe website for '67, - numbers allocated for the championship year-and the 53 car seems to be on steel wheels.
Roger Lund

#53 was used by Gordon Spice in March, that's the only 1967 reference I have - but in that race the numbering was completely different.

Are we sure that's a 1967 Motor Show 200 photo? First of all, I thought that even the relatively subtle amount of trade advertising evident on these cars was allowed only from 1968 onwards; also, it looks more like Silverstone than Brands. Might be wrong on either or both counts, though!

Ratcliffe used to have a BVRT diagonally split 2 colour rectangle on each front wing. BTW I thought it looked like Copse
RL

No chaps, it's definitely Silverstone. The Motor Show heading refers to the top photos. Apologies for confusion

Has to be 68 onwards because of advertising on cars. The far car looks very low spec for then though.

Googling Harry Ratcliffe gives this, inter alia,
http://mk1-performance-conversions.co.uk/vita_history.htm
which shows car 27 with Handley at the wheel , but suggests 1968, but the main BVRT site. gives an overhead grid shot scrolling halfway down the 1967 galleries link
http://www.mountgreen.co.uk/gallery/Vita_D_1967.html
Roger Lund

Thanks for your research, Roger. However, the Silverstone grid shot shows a white no 27 on black roundel, and the John Handley shot on the first site shows a plain no 27 with no roundel, so I fear we are no closer to pinpointing the event.

Alan, I know, but I just like to bring the exploits and talents of Harry to a larger audience. Sorry.....
RL

Fair enough reason, Roger

No 53 is Mac Ross in the conspicuous gold coloured car that he'd been campaigned for several years by this time and I'd hazard a guess at 69/70, he's on the entry list for the 1969 Daily Express Trophy at Silverstone and then again the International Trophy early 1970, can't tell you which race it is or who's piloting No.27 though ! PS I see Harry Ratcliffe now and again, I'll forward your comments.

Thanks for the positive ID of Mac Ross. You don't have his race number for the 1970 International Trophy, do you?

Sorry Alan I don't , there's a few snaps of the event here .....
http://www.mikehaywardcollection.co.uk/gal...?g2_itemId=6493

Mac Ross's 'BMR 10' was also captured by snapper Eddie Whitham at Mallory in 1965 which you may have a copy of ?

Pete

Yes the Ex-Ron Field Avenger Tiger is still alive and is waiting a full restoration to the spec when Ron last raced it in the Budget rent-a-car Championship.

Thanks for the update. It is good to know that the car is still going strong. Unfortunately I won't be able to see it live as I am now in China. Will Ron Field still drive or somebody else? It would be nice to know what he is doing now because he and the rest of the road saloon competitors were always a highligh tof any club meeting in the 80s. Some fine drivers at the front and the midfield bunch always kept marshals like me busy.

No probs, I'm over the moon that someone out side our car club (www.asoc.co.uk) can remember it

When Ron Field visited us a few years ago, he did say that he would love to have a drive in the 'old girl' again. So hopefuly I can make that happen when the car is finished, if not it will be me, but some how I don't think I'll be able to pedal it as fast as Ron did