finds that the Nürburgring sends him to sleep
One of my great disappointments of 2020 was the cancellation of the traditional classic car events, Goodwood Speedweek notwithstanding. I’ve attended the majority of the Goodwood events in recent years, firstly as a competitor and more recently as a spectator, and I do enjoy driving up the hill in something nostalgic that Goodwood finds for me from time to time. It’s also a great opportunity to meet up with old friends and rivals, and remind each other of the good times we used to have! Another bonus is to experience cars that I have never driven before.
My love of classics was kindled when I was working as Secretary and Director of the BRDC at Silverstone. The Silverstone Classic, or Historic Festival as it was then called, was started by the previous board of directors; I took over responsibility when I became Secretary and was heavily involved with it for many years.
We would invite many past Grand Prix drivers and match them up with cars they had raced in period, and in many cases not seen for years. It was a particular pleasure and honour for me to meet and socialise with the likes of Carroll Shelby, Roy Salvadori, Froilan Gonzalez, Clay Regazzoni, Jean-pierre Beltoise, Jack Brabham and our own late, great Stirling Moss, who was a big supporter of Silverstone and the BRDC. I don’t think I ever saw him not wearing a BRDC Members’ badge, whether in his driving overalls or regular clothes. To see Shelby and Salvadori, together in their Le-mans winning Aston Martin, was a particular thrill not just for me but the spectators too.
Most of the cars that take part in these classic events were and still are extremely valuable and it always surprised me how hard the owners race them. I was personally delighted to be able to drive cars that I had raced in period and not seen since – although my active career did not go as far back as many of theirs did – and of course to drive and experience cars from a different era. It was also a good excuse to visit overseas events, such as the Oldtimer Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, which brought back some great memories for me. I competed in over 40 races there in 20 years and can recall most of them.
My first race at the ’Ring was in 1964 in the works Mini Cooper team. I went over to Germany a few days early to learn the circuit and was shown the way round by John Aley. John had been racing Minis from the start and had developed a range of safety equipment, notably roll bars. In those days there were no guard rails or barriers and I learnt the Nordschleife by John pointing out where various drivers had gone off the road into the bushes and trees. It wasn’t long before the safety crusade kicked in and all 14.2 miles of the track were lined with Armco barriers. It remains my favorite circuit and, if I am having difficulty getting to sleep at night, I imagine I’m driving it. I don’t think I have ever managed to reach the halfway point before falling fast asleep.