Talk curve - Historic motorsport insight

Author

admin

Browse pages
Current page

1

Current page

2

Current page

3

Current page

4

Current page

5

Current page

6

Current page

7

Current page

8

Current page

9

Current page

10

Current page

11

Current page

12

Current page

13

Current page

14

Current page

15

Current page

16

Current page

17

Current page

18

Current page

19

Current page

20

Current page

21

Current page

22

Current page

23

Current page

24

Current page

25

Current page

26

Current page

27

Current page

28

Current page

29

Current page

30

Current page

31

Current page

32

Current page

33

Current page

34

Current page

35

Current page

36

Current page

37

Current page

38

Current page

39

Current page

40

Current page

41

Current page

42

Current page

43

Current page

44

Current page

45

Current page

46

Current page

47

Current page

48

Current page

49

Current page

50

Current page

51

Current page

52

Current page

53

Current page

54

Current page

55

Current page

56

Current page

57

Current page

58

Current page

59

Current page

60

Current page

61

Current page

62

Current page

63

Current page

64

Current page

65

Current page

66

Current page

67

Current page

68

Current page

69

Current page

70

Current page

71

Current page

72

Current page

73

Current page

74

Current page

75

Current page

76

Current page

77

Current page

78

Current page

79

Current page

80

Current page

81

Current page

82

Current page

83

Current page

84

Current page

85

Current page

86

Current page

87

Current page

88

Current page

89

Current page

90

Current page

91

Current page

92

Current page

93

Current page

94

Current page

95

Current page

96

Current page

97

Current page

98

Current page

99

Current page

100

Current page

101

Current page

102

Current page

103

Current page

104

Current page

105

Current page

106

Current page

107

Current page

108

Current page

109

Current page

110

Current page

111

Current page

112

Current page

113

Current page

114

Current page

115

Current page

116

Current page

117

Current page

118

Current page

119

Current page

120

Current page

121

Current page

122

Treading his own path

With a passion for e-war cars and considerable bravado behind the wheel, Julian Majzub has become one of the VSCC’s outstanding racers

Best known in recent times for winning regularly in the Bentley Pacey-Hassan, Julian Majzub’s life is entwined with racing. Of Iranian nationality but resident in Britain, he is a long-serving VSCC director as well as owner of a period tyre manufacturing business.

His love of all things mechanical goes way back. “My dad built me a car when I was seven. I had a Dinky model of a 1912 Mercer Raceabout and he made me a petrol-engined one,” recalls Julian. “My dad was very hands-on and I was always helping him.”

Fuad Majzub was a successful businessman and car enthusiast, splitting his time between Tehran and England. In the early 1970s he sent his son to school in England. At about the same time he bought the Pacey-Hassan from Peter Morley, who wanted to trade up to the Napier-Bentley. The successful ex-Brooklands racer was a one-off built by Wally Hassan for EW Pacey. Created in 1936, it won the BRDC Gold Star and finished second in the 500 Mile race at Brooklands.

The car survived the war hidden with the earlier Barnato-Hassan racer. After buying it in 1974, Fuad got to know Hassan well and they worked together on the car.

Julian, meanwhile, started competing as soon as he had a driving licence: “I just took a car out of the garage and went!” Veteran VSCC official Tony Bird, a family friend, was detailed to keep an eye on Julian while his father was back in Iran.

Majzub Jnr has been racing ever since, frequently in pre-war single-seaters, but the family collection of cars is far wider. “I’ve raced a Porsche 906 and a Brabham BT30, but the 1920s era in a powerful car is the most exciting! Although I haven’t tried everything yet.” He expects to sample a post-war sportsracer this season, most likely a front-engined Chevy car: “I have always fancied a Lister-Chevrolet…”

Despite all the success he has enjoyed with the Pacey-Hassan, Majzub rates his Bugatti T35B as probably his all-time favourite, with a win at Monaco being a highlight.

With the Bugatti out of action following an accident, the Pacey-Hassan was pressed into service four years ago after being on loan to Tim Llewellyn, among others: “I borrowed it back and have won just about everything in the last three years. It’s back on 21-inch wheels, which is how it should be.”

Inevitably, the Pacey competes on the Blockley tyres that Majzub has created for period cars. It’s a topic close to Majzub’s heart, and he is proud of Blockley’s achievements in the past five years. “We’re making tyres up to C and D-type Jaguars now and we really start from the 1920s. I have an engineering background and wanted tyres that look absolutely right and work well.”

The Pacey-Hassan is currently being rebuilt for the new season and should be ready to challenge for a fourth consecutive Itala Trophy victory at the VSCC Silverstone opener. Meanwhile the Bugatti is nearing completion and should be in action at the Klausenrennen in Switzerland in May.

“The Bentley is a lot of fun. I can’t believe how well it handles. But the racing is only part of the whole thing. I like the heritage side, and it all really ends for me in the 1960s. My earliest car is from 1895.

“You only live once, so you’ve got to do the things you want to do!” Ill