DOWN THE PUB
All-rounder in historics Age: 55 Lives: Newmarket
He’s raced a lot of modern cars “I was born in Belfast but I’ve been over here for 35 years. I did some racing in Ireland when I could afford it. Since I came to England I’ve done Formula Ford, Formula Ford 2000, ARP Formula 3, which I won in 1996, and then National Saloons and into historics as we get older.”
He tried his hand at historics “My first time in historics was 1997. The guy who lived in the next village to us, John Ruston, had a Talbot that he wanted to run at the Coys Meeting at Silverstone. Initially my thought was ‘no, I don’t drive old cars’. But I had a free weekend and went along and by a fluke of chance we won the race. That was good fun so we decided to do a bit more.”
They prepare race cars “Twenty years later I’m still involved with John and Talbots. Pace Products is my business and we do restorations, race preparation and rebuilds from pre-war cars right through. We specialise in the Talbot team cars and I’ve known Talbots all my life. My grandfather and my father both had Talbots, so there is a connection.”
He races extensively “In the workshops we’ve got Abarths, Chevrons, Elvas, Lotuses and a great mixture. Then I get to race some of them as well. As long as you stay near the front and have a chance of winning, it’s enjoyable.”
He also does vintage rallies “In April we did the Flying Scotsman rally for vintage cars and won it for the third time in six years. It’s totally different to racing but still very competitive and very intense. You are on it all the time with no relent. Driving over the Yorkshire Moors in open cars with only aero screens in pouring rain all day you do start to think ‘why?’”
He took the Alta rallying “We did it in the 1939 Alta this time and no one has ever rallied an Alta before. We’d won it in the Talbots, so this was a new challenge and it didn’t miss a beat. But we punctured the fuel tank and ripped a wing off because there isn’t much ground clearance. This year we’re going for a third win in the Talbot on the Alpine Trial in September. We’re also racing the Alta this season and finished third in the Mad Jack race at Donington.”