Eligibility of 500’s

May I take this opportunity to reply to the correspondence following my letter which you published in your August issue. It seems that I shall now be able to trace the history of my car with much greater accuracy. The letter published in the September issue, from Malaysian resident, Mr. M. Evans, reveals his considerable knowledge of racing in the Far East, and contains information about the Chan brothers, which has already shed some light on what little history I have of my car. As such MOTOR SPORT has already performed an invaluable function, and I would be grateful if you could pass on my full address to Mr. Evans in the hope that I may contact him direct.

With reference to Mr. R. C. Bergel’s letter, be seems to have taken my comments as a direct criticism of the VSCC’s racing policies. This was certainly not my intention, as I have every respect for the VSCC. As Mr. Bergel points out, they are race organisers in their own right, and are fully justified in making what rules they like. They have always maintained a “front engine only” policy, and to their credit, have stuck to it without exception. However, one can’t help feeling that their “strength of conviction” would be severely strained in the event of one of the Auto Unions falling into “the right hands”. I must also say that I cannot accept that the VSCC’s policies are entirely and solely in the interests of competitive racing. Surely, a rear-engined 500 c.c. Formula racing car, or for that matter a post vintage Morgan 3-wheeler (both of which are ineligible for VSCC racing), does not poses serious threat to a 1959 Formula One Ferrari Dino!

As far as I am concerned those points are neither here nor there, as my discontent does not necessarily lie with the VSCC. What I do find disappointing, is that despite having the best and most comprehensive historic racing scene of the whole world in this country, and despite having the most organisations whose sole purpose is supposed to be to promote historic racing, I still cannot race my Cooper-JAP.

As Mr. Chiyrall points out in his letter, I am just an enthusiast who owns an ongmal piece of racing heritage and wants to enjoy himself by actually racing it, and because I’m British I can’t. I’m afraid that if this situation persists, I too will have no option but to “rebuild” a replica historic GP car as well. Towcester, Northants D. ANDREWS