Class 1. Standard and Modified Road Cars up to 1,500 c.c.

Class Records to 1998
Vintage and General: S. Roberts, Frazer Nash 17.70 secs (1996)

Class 2. Standard and Modified Road Cars.
1,500 c.c. and over, unsupercharged.

Class Records to 1998
Vintage: B. Sudjic, Bugatti 19.93 secs (1996)
General: I. Polson, Delahaye 16.89 secs (1997)

Class 3. Special and Hybrid Road Cars
and all supercharged cars up to 1,500 c.c.

Class Records to 1998
Vintage: J. Gill, Lea Francis 18.35 secs (1997)
General: T. Watson, Riley 15.45 secs (1997)

Class 4. Special and Hybrid Road Cars
and all supercharged cars 1,500 c.c. and over.

Class Records to 1998
Vintage: A. Peacop, DH Riley 15.80 secs (1997)
General: A. Sparrowhawk, Alvis 15.58 secs (1997)

Class 5. Pre 1941 Racing Cars
up to 1,000 c.c.

Class Records to 1998
Vintage: J.E. Diffey, Austin 17.94secs (1997)
General: M. Dowlet, M.G. 15.68secs (1997)

Class 6. Pre 1941 Racing Cars
1,001 c.c. to 1,500 c.c.

Class Records to 1998
Vintage: R. Graves, Amilcar 16.36secs (1997)
General: J. Gunn, M.G. 15.79secs (1997)

Class 7. Racing Cars 1,101 to 1,500 c.c.
& Calss 10 - Aero-engined cars, all capacities.

Class Records to 1996
Vintage: J. Hulbert, Alvis 14.78 secs (1996)
General: M. redmond, Alta, 13.27 secs (1997)
Class 10 record: P. Morley, Bentley Napier 13.73 secs (1997)

Class 9. Edwardian Cars & earlier, all capacities.

Class Record: M. Lemon, Vauxhall, 20.48 secs. (1996)

One wet winter Sunday afternoon in 1995 I sat with Dudley Gahagan in his living room discussing, as we laid waste a bottle of whisky, which might be preferable, to be a conformist amongst rebels or a rebel amongst conformists. We concluded that neither was an option. Dudley being unlikely to change his m.o. after so many years as a Brooklands Society man; ergo the definitive rebel amongst rebels.

These thoughts in mind, I recc'ed the paddock on a benign Sunday morning absorbing the scents, sights and sounds which only a relaxed V.S.C.C. Brooklands Sprint embodies. I suppose if you scratched hard enough, you might expose a conformist amongst V.S.C.C. sprinters but you would need a well tempered and finely honed instrument, the diversity, ingenuity and standard of preparation of the machinery proving the enthusiasm which these men - and women - have for their sport and their prized cars and bikes.

Johnty Williamson had not entered the revered ex John Cobb and Kay Petre 10˝ litre Delage, a disappointment offset however, by a programme listing many more cars than last year’s.

For Class 7 men there was the grunt of the Bentley Napier loping up the course to reach a terminal velocity of 111 m.p.h. For men of the cloth, Bob Burrell’s divine Bentley/Royce.   For a parched Seaman, Alan Burnard’s re-created 1˝ litre Delage - drink it all in but the thirst persists. For men of history, Louis Zborowski’s Green Pea Aston Martin. For men of letters Donald Day’s E.R.A. R14B.

And for the ladies men?

Well, there were ladies in Austins. Recently-clutched journalist Claire Furnell, Nicola Wilcox who we see at Reunions and Charlotte Lambert who disappointingly had delegated the driving to - a man of all things! Girl Power vindicated. There were others as well! But the high spot for me was to be introduced, by our new V.P. Tom Delaney, to his grand daughter Lucy Delaney co-pedalling that famous LeaF.

Too many cars and not enough space to show them all (in the Newsletter - but of course you can see most of them here on the web site by clicking on the buttons above), too many girls and not enough time (to talk to them all). Bliss. Well good fun anyway.

And the lunchtime queue for the café stretched out through the front door of the clubhouse. Does the Brooklands Society pull in museum visitors? Res ipse loquitor.

RHT October 1998

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