Historic racing news

TT stars set for Goodwood

McGuinness and Dunlop face Revival showdown | By Paul Lawrence

Two of the biggest stars of motorcycle road racing, John McGuinness and Michael Dunlop, will go head-to-head in the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy at the Goodwood Revival. It promises to be one of the highlights of the September 11-13 event.

McGuinness and Dunlop, who have 36 Isle of Man TT wins between them, will race 1950s Manx Nortons as they make their race debuts on the Sussex track. McGuinness has been a popular participant at Goodwood’s Festival of Speed over recent years.

Morecambe-based McGuinness, 44, made his TT debut in 1996 and competed alongside Michael’s uncle Joey, who remains the most successful TT rider of all time with 26 wins. McGuinness took his first Isle of Man win in the 1999 Lightweight TT and has won on the daunting track a further 22 times in a 20-year TT career.

Northern Irishman Dunlop, 27, made his first TT appearance in 2007 and currently lies sixth in the list of all-time TT winners on 13.

He dominated the Mountain Course in 2013 and 2014, winning eight out of 11 races he contested. He lost his father Robert and his uncle Joey to motorbike racing accidents.

Brabham’s Combe date

Former Grand Prix driver and Le Mans winner David Brabham will be the star guest at this year’s Castle Combe Autumn Classic on Saturday October 1. Brabham will either demonstrate a car or race at the event.

New on the line-up for 2016 will be an HRDC ‘Coys Trophy BTCC Celebration’ race for cars from the British Touring Car Championship between 1958 and 1966.

Among the anniversaries being celebrated is 70 years of the Cooper Car Company and a range of Coopers will be on both show and track. The ‘dream garage’ central display will include Duncan Pittaway’s Bugatti T35 and Nick Mason’s Ferrari 250GTO.

Win for the Washingtons 

A total of 98 crews from 107 starters reached the finish of the Peking to Paris Motor Challenge after more than a month of competition, when the great motoring adventure finished in France.

Bruce and Harry Washington from New Zealand won the overall prize for the Vintageants in their 1929 Chrysler 75 Roadster (top right), while Mark Pickering and Dave Boddy from Australia won the Classic category in their 1973 Datsun 240Z.

“Each country was like its own rally,” said Harry Washington. “Once you crossed the border, you never knew what you were going to get. I’d go back and do it all again tomorrow.”

Röhrl ‘christens’ rare Audi

Thirty years after the project was abandoned, the unique Audi Group S prototype ran for the first time in public on the Eifel Rallye Festival.

As part of a record-breaking field of 60 Group B and Group S cars, the mid-engined Audi completed more miles on the demonstration than it had in the 30 years since the project was abandoned.

Double world rally champion Walter Röhrl drove the car and said: “It was terrific to be able to drive this unique prototype at its global premiere.”

Group S was the planned replacement for Group B rally regulations, with power limited to 300bhp and a requirement for only 10 examples to be built. Following serious accidents in 1986, however, Group B was banned and Group S was shelved in favour of the more standard Group A.

Neil Cunningham tribute

Former touring car racer Karl Jones made a return to racing at the Silverstone Classic, in memory of Neil Cunningham.

Jones and Ben Eastick honoured the memory of their friend by sharing Eastick’s Jaguar D-type in the Woodcote Trophy. They finished 14th overall, despite an engine change after qualifying, as Jones raced the D-type for the first time. Cunningham raced the D-type with Eastick before being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease.

“I thought of Neil many times during the weekend and how happy he was when racing this car,” said Jones. “I’m thankful to Ben for making it happen.”

Bell shines in Styria

Derek Bell was a star of the Ennstal Classic in Austria last month, when he drove a 1929 Bentley in an event that takes in three days of mountain motoring in Styria. Bell, now 75, drove the 4½-litre ‘blower’ Bentley in the Racecar Trophy element of the event and was up against Dieter Quester (BMW 328) and Mauro Forghieri (Ferrari 250GT).

Merlyn back after 55 years

A Merlyn Mk2 front-engined Formula Junior raced for the first time since 1961, when John Sykes took a double class win at the Croft Nostalgia Festival. Now owned by Merlyn enthusiast Sykes, the car was destined for the US but the order was cancelled and the chassis sat in storage at Merlyn’s Colchester base for half a century until Sykes bought it and commissioned the firm to restore the car.

Tarling takes historic bow 

Modern single-seater racer Richard Tarling made an impressive historic Grand Prix debut at the Silverstone Classic, with a class win and 10th overall in the one-off South African-built Assegai. Points failure in the second race denied him an overall podium. Current owner John Carpenter  offered Tarling the chance to race the 1962 car.