Gordon Allen is something of an engineering adventurer. His various achievements over the years in the pursuit of engineering enjoyment and motor sport pleasure include designing and constructing a two-cylinder, twin-overhead camshaft racing motorcycle engine, constructing upon Mini gearboxes two four-cylinder, 1.5-litre alloy block engines fitted with adapted Jaguar twin-cam cylinder heads and...
Few were in Ivy's league
Forty summers ago, Britain lost one of its greatest exponents of two- and four-wheel motor sport. If Billy Ivy hadn’t been killed in practice for the 1969 East German motorcycle Grand Prix, he might have gone on to match John Surtees’ unique achievement of winning World Championships both in cars and on motorcycles.
Ivy won the 1967 125cc world title and quit bikes at the...
How it Began
The annual London-Brighton Run for veteran (pre-1905) cars has become one of motoring's biggest and most popular fixtures, attracting a big entry and an enormous concourse of spectators every November. It has its origins in the Emancipation Run of 1896, staged to celebrate a new Act towards greater freedom to use horseless-carriages on British roads, and as a demonstration (that was...
With Ford-based engines revving to 11,000 r.p.m. and wheel to wheel dicing to the chequered flag the old 1-litre Formula Three came to an end. For 1971 the governing body of motor racing had conceived a new formula which allowed engines of up to 1,600 c.c. but with a restrictor on the atmospheric side of the induction. In effect it was a throttling device but quite a lot of people thought that...
Orwell's big bangers at Brands -- HSCC Superprix: Brands Hatch, July 23/24
The only UK appearance of the year for the Orwell Supersports Cup is one of the features of the annual HSCC Superprix at Brands Hatch on July 23/24. As ever, crammed grids will pack the Kent track as historic racers get the chance to let rip on the glorious Grand Prix circuit.
It's a weekend with a real 'big-banger' theme...
A Hard-Fought Battle
CEFALU, SICILY, May 3rd
THE PORSCHE factory has won the Targa Florio for the last five years as well as five times before that, but not consecutively, and to many people that would be sufficient, but not for Porsche. This time they came not only to win hut to pulverise any opposition that might appear and the whole weight of the racing department was thrown into the attack....