Richard Scaldwell GN-JAP GP SPECIAL

“It was bloody cold, particularly for anyone with hands sticking out in the wind stream, flailing at the steering wheel,” says Richard Scaldwell, one of the intrepid drivers of the vintage specials in the new Bolster Cup race. “Racing in the snow is not to be encouraged but we were very lucky to have a dry race.”

Scaldwell is used to racing exposed early cars, as his impressive drives with his 16-litre De Dietrich confirm in the SF Edge Trophy at Goodwood, but for the Bolster Cup he entered his fantastic and much-admired 1908 GN-JAP. Built around a rare 5-litre ohv, air-cooled engine and a wooden chassis, this chain-drive recreation is all about torque-to-weight ratio. Tipping the scales at just 470kg and running on narrow 19in wheels, this aero-engined masterpiece revs to just 2500rpm but still recorded 96mph down Lavant Straight.

“It’s really a hillclimb car. The throttle is very responsive and with a solid rear axle it gets very sideways but is beautifully predictable. It was a surprise to be lapped by the front four but they were going seriously quickly. There’s always a ding-dong scrap somewhere through the field: I had a great dice with Hughie and Mark Walker for 15th. But these early cars aren’t really suited to Goodwood because so many of the corners are three in one, which makes it a challenge to drift. I could make the GN quicker, but that would spoil it as a road car. It’s just perfect for our annual European adventures with friends in Edwardian racing cars.”