The Warhorse: Aston Martin Ulster CMC 614's Legendary Racing History
It left Feltham as a semi-works racer in 1935, made its debut on the Mille Miglia, finished eighth at Le Mans, went back to Italy - CMC 614’s itinerary was a packed one. It still is
Le Mans 1935: Aston Martin team lined up for the start, CMC 614 nearest the camera
After I drove all the way to Winchester to view this car, Fred Blakemore told me it wasn’t really his. Yes, the car lives there, but he says he doesn’t feel that it belongs to him so much as just being on loan from Ecurie Bertelli. That’s what having a significant history does for a car. Like a stately home which is part of a nation’s heritage, the object develops a sort of public importance, which has to be respected by its current guardian.
The car? Aston Martin Ulster CMC 614. Ecurie Bertelli? The top pre-war Aston Martin specialists. Fred Blakemore? Current guardian. The link? Derrick Edwards. To anyone in the Aston Martin world, Edwards was a legendary figure. Racer, tuner and generally one of those special characters we don’t seem to produce any more, Edwards was the man behind Aston Martin specialist Morntane Engineering, which begat Ecurie Bertelli, and for over 30 years he raced, tuned, raced, lightened and just kept on racing CMC 614.
In AMOC’s Register of Members’ Cars, an exhaustive listing of individual histories, 614’s race entries go on for page after page, by far the longest in the book. Most of that was with Edwards or his partner Judy Hogg at the wheel; but frankly the car hasn’t had much rest since its first event, the 1935 Mille Miglia.