Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Rick]

RACE RETRO 2018 CELEBRATES THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF FORMULA 1’S GROUND-EFFECTS ERA.

Race Retro, the international historic motor sport show, will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Formula 1’s ground-effects era in the Motor Sport Hall of Fame Live at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, from February 23-25 2018.

Although the use of aerodynamic influence can be traced back more than a century in motor racing – Gustave Eiffel of Parisian tower fame had a wind tunnel that Peugeot used to help shape its Grand Prix cars in the 1910s – it was Colin Chapman of Team Lotus who first capitalised fully on the notion of the racing car as an inverted wing, pressed to the track by the air that passed over its bodywork’s contours.

Chapman’s landmark design was the Lotus 79, introduced early during the 1978 season. Mario Andretti gave the car a winning debut in the Belgian Grand Prix and scored four further victories on his way to winning that season’s world title.

Building on Chapman’s initiative, Williams took the concept a stage further with the Patrick Head-inspired FW07, which gave the team its maiden F1 success in the 1979 British Grand Prix and carried Australian Alan Jones to the world championship in 1980. The organisers of Race Retro’s Motor Sport Hall of Fame Live will have an FW07 on display, from the Williams Heritage collection, and it is hoped that a 79 will also be present.

Event Director Lee Masters said: “The ground-effect philosophy filtered down from the top of the sport and the 2018 Hall of Fame Live display will showcase a stunning range of cars that symbolises one of the most innovative periods in racing history.”

The Motor Sport Hall of Fame Live will also include other racing and rally cars, with a number of key milestones celebrated and tributes paid to attendant special guests, many of whom will be interviewed on the Motor Sport Live stage. Introduced to Race Retro last year, this was the biggest talking point of a show that is now owned by Clarion Events.

Race Retro will also welcome motor sport industry race series, rally organisers, and traders, with more than 85 specialists already committed. These include Classic and Sports Car Club, Equipe Classic Racing, MG Car Club, HERO Events, Classic World Racing, Historic Sports Car Club, Millers Oils, and the Vintage Sports-Car Club.

Tickets are now on sale for Race Retro, held from February 23-25 2018 at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, with free parking for all visitors.
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[Rick]

RACING LEGEND AND HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE BRIAN REDMAN TO MAKE RACE RETRO DEBUT.

Racing legend Brian Redman, the most recent racing driver to be inducted into the Motor Sport Hall of Fame, will make his debut at Europe’s number one historic motorsport event as Race Retro returns to Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, from February 23-25, 2018.

Excelling in sports cars and Formula 5000, Lancashire-born Brian raced a supercharged Morris Minor Traveller at Rufforth in 1959. It was six years before his career gained momentum when almost unbeatable in Charles Bridges’ lightweight Jaguar E-type during 1965.

When he moved into sports cars, Brian was first found behind the wheel of the Lola T70 moving onto the Ford GT40, which he drove in the 1967 Le Mans 24 Hours. Brian also raced in Formula 2 in the Lola T100-Ford and he ended 1967 by winning the non-championship Kyalami Nine Hours with Wyer’s Mirage M1-Ford and Jacky Ickx.

Brian made his GP debut in South Africa with a works Cooper T81-Maserati and he finished third next time out in Spain, now driving a BRM-powered T86B.

During his career, Brian had a brief spell in the Ferrari F2 before enjoying spectacular success in the works Porsche 908 with co-driver Jo Siffert. They won five times to help clinch a first World Sportscar Championship for the Stuttgart marque. He drove Wyer’s Porsche 917K during 1970 and success included victories in the Daytona 24 Hours and Targa Florio.

Redman won almost every major sports car race during his career except for the Le Mans 24 Hours. F1 was only ever a sideline for he had forged a new and successful career in North American F5000.

He raced Sid Taylor’s McLaren-Chevrolet in the European Championship from 1971 before joining Haas-Hall Racing across the Atlantic. He won the North American title for three successive seasons from 1974 to 1976 with the team’s Lola-Chevrolets. Brian joined Cooke-Woods Racing in 1981 and won the Daytona 24 Hours for a second time on the way to being crowned as IMSA GTP Champion.

Redman joined the Group 44 Jaguar team in 1984 and was part of the line-up as the marque returned to Le Mans. Similarly, he was with Aston Martin in 1989 when it too raced again at the Circuit de la Sarthe in what was Redman’s last full season.

No longer pursuing a fulltime racing career, he ran Redman-Bright Engineering in Formula 3000 during 1997 and 1998 and is now a promoter of historic events from his home in Florida. His autobiography Daring Drivers, Deadly Tracks was publishing in 2016.

The Motor Sport Hall of Fame Live will also welcome other racing and rally guests as well as hosting showstopping displays of iconic cars including a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the ground-effects era.
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[Rick]

RALLY LEGEND MIKI BIASION BACK BEHIND THE WHEEL AT RACE RETRO TO MARK WRC ANNIVERSARY.

Rally legend Miki Biasion will be back behind the wheel at Race Retro, powered by Motor Sport, when it comes to Stoneleigh Park from 23-25 February, to mark 30 years since his first World Rally Championship title in 1988.

Rally fans will get the thrill of a lifetime when they see this former champion, best known for his career with Lancia, in action on the Live Rally Stage with the crews from Rallying with Group B on the Saturday and Sunday.

Biasion came to prominence in the early 1980s, winning both the Italian and European Rally Championships in 1983, driving a Lancia 037.

He began competing in 1979, in an Opel Kadett GT/E. Miki was later drafted in to play a key role for the works Lancia World Rally Championship team in the mid-1980s as the squad sought to regroup after previous star driver Henri Toivonen's fatal crash. Miki went on to dominate early Group A rallying, taking the world championship in the years 1988 and 1989.

At his peak, Biasion was notching victories in almost three quarters of all events he entered. He also was only the second driver to successfully defend his title (after Juha Kankkunen) and the third one to win two titles (after Kankkunen and Walter Röhrl).

A move to Ford in 1992 made Biasion the highest-paid driver of his day but he didn’t achieve the same success of his time at Lancia. He did, however, win the World Truck Championship in 1998 and 1999 driving an Iveco.

Race Retro Show Director Lee Masters said: “We are thrilled to have Miki Biasion with us for this year’s show, especially on our Live Rally Stage. It’s an amazing opportunity for fans to see one of the greats in action once again.”

As well as driving, Biasion will also appear on the Motor Sport Live Stage to talk about his career highlights along with Hall of Fame inductee Brian Redman, and other special guests.

The Motor Sport Hall of Fame Live will also welcome other racing and rally guests as well as hosting showstopping displays of iconic cars including a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the ground-effects era.
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[Rick]

Hi all,

Plenty of photos taken today, this was one of the more memorable displays I saw before the crowds descended. More photos to follow ....



RJ
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[MikeEdwards]

I'm going down to this tomorrow, with a couple of mates and a list for the autojumble.

[Rick]

[Rick]

Ok a few photos from Friday, there were no rally car demos on Friday (they took place over the weekend only) so most of the photos were taken in the halls, prior to the crowds descending (which they did later).

Pre-war attractions were thin on the ground, but this is probably a trend that relates to many other shows also.






























































































RJ
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[Rick]

Post-event PR:

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LEGENDARY RACERS, RALLY CHAMPS AND RECORD CROWDS AT RACE RETRO 2018.

Legendary racing drivers, World Rally Champions and record crowds gathered at this year’s Race Retro, powered by Motor Sport, with 23,100 attendees over the three-days, a ten-per-cent increase on 2017.

Hall of Fame inductee Brian Redman was amongst the many guests at Stoneleigh Park, along with rally driver Miki Biasion, who was celebrating 30 years since his first WRC win. Both shared stories from their careers and signed hundreds of autographs for adoring fans.

Flying in from the USA especially for the show, Brian said: “Considering I haven’t raced in the UK for decades, the response has been amazing, and it’s been a pleasure to meet so many enthusiasts. Thank you so much for an incredible weekend.”

Steve Parrish, former motorcycle and truck racer turned pundit, celebrated his 65th birthday on Saturday at the show with two of his own racing Suzuki bikes on display in the Motor Sport Hall of Fame. Steve was joined by triple British Touring Cars Champion Matt Neal who made his Race Retro debut.

Other famous motoring names attending included Jimmy and Alister McRae, Jaguar test driver Norman Dewis, Rosemary Smith, Bron Burrell, and Tony Mason.

The Motor Sport Hall of Fame Live once again brought together a mix of rarely seen racing and rally cars including the McLaren M14a, Dan Gurney’s last Formula One car, and a tribute to 40 years of ground effects with a display including the Lotus 79, Williams FW07, a Porsche 956, and a freshly restored Chevron B48 that had not been seen for over 30 years.

There was also tributes to 30 years of Jaguar’s success at Le Mans with the winning XKR9, and four cars from Prodrive to encapsulate the career of Hall of Fame inductee David Richards.

From rallying, the Miki Biasion inspired line-up including the Lancia 037, Ford Sierra Sapphire Cosworth and Lancia Delta Intergrale he drove in period. Miki also got back behind the wheel of the Sapphire on the Live Rally Stage as well as a beautifully restored Lancia Fulvia that stepped in when the Delta had mechanical issues.

Rallying with Group B delivered ‘the best rally stage ever’ at Race Retro according to former rally champion Russell Brookes as around 80 cars, including over 20 from the Group B era, provided spectators with thrill after thrill on the bespoke stage, which had a new layout for 2018 which allowed more cars to run at the same time.

Back in the halls, Silverstone Auctions had two sales over the weekend with the Competition Car Sale securing a 62% sales rate, with a total of £891,945 including premium. The Classic Car Sale achieved a 70% sales rate and total sales of £2,690,029 including premium, giving a combined figure of 67.3% sales rate and £3,581,974 total sales.

Highlights of the Competition Car Sale included the 1990 BTCC winning Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 'Group A' which saw the hammer down at £182,250, and the ex-Colin McRae 1999 Ford Focus WRC Rally Car selling at £126,500, proving that ‘fast Fords’ are still in high demand.

In the Classic Car Sale, the ‘Bullitt’ spec 1969 Dodge Charger that was previously owned by Bruce Willis and Jay Kay sold for £94,500, while the rare manual 1997 Aston Martin V8 Vantage V550 formerly owned by Sir Elton John sold at whopping £219,375.

Visitors voted Jim Angliss’ modified 1967 Ford Anglia 105E as the winner of this year’s Pride of the Paddock award, with Mike Mayfield’s 1986 Lada Samara a close second. In the Retro & Café Racer competition, last year’s runner up Ken Perch took the win with his 1962 Honda CB92 with Steve Taylor’s 1963 BSA Rocket Goldstar café racer in second place.

Lee Masters, Show Director of Race Retro said: “After the response to last year’s event under the new ownership of Clarion Events, we wanted visitors and exhibitors to see yet another step change for Race Retro, showing our commitment to the industry and firmly securing our position as Europe’s number one historic motorsport season opener.”

The next Race Retro will be held on 22-24 February 2019.
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