BRM drive gets back on track
David heads to Blyton Park for a rather special gathering
The peaceful morning in rural Lincolnshire was shattered by the sound of a V8 racing car engine being started up, signalling the start of the 2018 BRM Association Track Day at Blyton Park circuit near Gainsborough.
It wasn’t possible to hold the event last year for various reasons, so this was a very welcome return as a varied selection of racing cars, from the 1950s to more recent times, were put through their paces on the 1.6-mile anti-clockwise outer circuit.
As in previous years, members of theBRM.co.uk were invited to bring along their Rover 200 BRM LE production cars for display; seven owners made the trip this year, and five accepted the kind invitation for lunchtime laps while the racing car drivers had their break.
This was the third time that V844 RBK had taken part in this treat, and both it and the driver are getting used to the circuit’s tight curves and challenging chicanes.
Ginetta has owned Blyton Park circuit since the BRMs last participated there, but Richard Usher, who built the circuit eight years ago, is still very much in charge and led our procession around in a Ginetta G40.
Colin Young and Paul Thompson had brought notes from their mums as to why they couldn’t bring their cars along, but father and son pair, Peter and Matthew Ulyatt, plus Bonnie Evans, made their Blyton Park debut in recently acquired Brooklands Green machines.
Everyone clearly enjoyed having the freedom of the track and I must say that RBK handled the lines perfectly, but it was soon time to hand the circuit back to the racing cars for an afternoon of nostalgic thrills.
It was great to chat with surviving members of the BRM works team, and the appearance of Howden Ganley – who drove for BRM in 1971 and 1972 – was a special treat; he happily posed by a V12 1972-liveried Marlboro BRM P160 that he’d piloted back in the day.
Driving home through the crowded streets of Lincoln brought everything back to boring normality, but those few laps of freedom were well worth waiting for – fingers crossed for a return in 2019.