VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE FOR VINTAGE RACING AND SPORTS-CAR CLUB’S POMEROY TROPHY
A Vauxhall Zafira going side-by-side through Copse with an Armstrong Siddeley brewery vehicle is something almost unimaginable but it is all part of the fun at the Vintage Sports-Car Club’s Pomeroy Trophy.
The season opener comprised of a series of tests devised by Laurence Pomeroy to remember the work of his late father, an early pioneer of car design and engineering. He had also (later) devised a formula to compare race cars of different eras, accounting for age, power, weight, and build-type, so as to predict how a car of ‘then’ might perform now.
At Silverstone, drivers were put through a series of challenges; a timed slalom, straightline acceleration, braking, and then a 40-minute session on the Grand Prix circuit (with the task of completing a set number of laps according to their car’s age and specification). The objective being to find the best overall touring car, comparing machinery that might not ordinarily have competed against each other.
Penalties would also be applied for those failing to adhere to strict rules (such as hitting cones, not stopping within the marked zone, spinning or, heaven forbid, going too fast during the laps test). Oh, and the mandatory requirement for any touring car to be able to safely accommodate two sizeable pieces of luggage, something that Tony Hilder had not had to consider when creating the first generation of road-racing McLarens in the 1960s.
The long line in the queue for scrutineering was a marvel of over 100 years of automotive engineering. From the remarkable pre-First World War 12-litre Vauxhall of Tony Lees to a beautiful 1954 Alfa Romeo Zagato Coupe; and from Martin Short’s bulging Yaris GR to… that Zafira. With Pomeroy’s formula applied, and the handicappers’ adjustments made, each of these, in theory, stood just as much chance as the other in claiming the silverware, so long as they performed as their designers had intended.
The slalom and brake tests gave hints as to those who understood the competition, and those who were purely here for fun. This became ever more evident during the timed lap tests (split into three groups for safety reasons), when the hard and fast couldn’t resist the temptation of an extended play time.
The centenarians (Lees’ Vauxhall, James Baxter’s Romano, and Ian Balmforth’s Hudson) all showed might and courage. Patrick Blakeney Edwards’ BMW CSL lapped furiously, Dougal Cawley’s Lexus and the Siddeley Sapphire were testaments to soft-springing, while John Felstead’s Impreza was quick off the line and agile. But Short’s Yaris GR pointed to a great future among cars of the past. It might not be crowned here (we didn’t have the adjusted results as we went to press), but one day it’s going to be just as coveted as that magnificent Alfa.