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Sherborne Castle Classic and Supercars Show 2019
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Riviera Guy



Joined: 12 Aug 2018
Posts: 18

PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 12:10 am    Post subject: Sherborne Castle Classic and Supercars Show 2019 Reply with quote

This show was held on Sunday 21st July 2019 on the lawns in front of the magnificent Sherborne Castle in Dorset – an absolute stunning location to display a mouth watering collection of cars covering every petrol heads interest

The show, now in its 16th year, has continued to grow over the years – this year, around 2000 cars were on display – which attracted a big crowd of spectators - great news for the local charities that benefit. The Show is organised by the combined efforts of 3 Rotary Clubs assisted by sponsors including Lancaster Insurance. Last years show raised £42,850 with donations going to 19 local charities.

This years celebrity guest was five times Le Mans winner and Porsche Ambassador Derek Bell.

Derek competed for 40 years and established himself as one of the greatest sports car racers of all time – in addition to 5 Le Mans wins, he also won the Daytona 24 Hours 3 times and was World Sportscar Champion twice in 1985 and 1986. The majority of Derek’s success came at the wheel of products from Porsche – and there was a Porsche 917K, Porsche 962 and Porsche 911 on display in the Porsche Marquee.

For those that have been lucky enough to meet Derek, you will know what an absolute gentleman he is – utterly charming.

When I chatted with him he reflected back on the fact that he was never able to establish himself in F1 – a disappointment to him. His best result, and only F1 point, was a sixth place finish in the 1970 American Grand Prix at Watkins Glen driving a Surtees TS7. This was a race where he qualified just a tenth of a second off of Jackie Stewart – as he said “I could not have been that bad!” It was really a case of not being in the right place at the right time and being offered the best drives. He undoubtedly had the speed to possibly have been a F1 World Champion. He also raced in F1 for Ferrari in 1968 and Bruce McLaren in 1969.

However, it was to be sports cars where he established himself as one of the all time greats. After many seasons, through the 70’s, driving initially for Ferrari, and then on to Mirage and Renault Alpine chassis, in the early 80’s he was signed as a works driver for the Rothmans Porsche Team. Initially paired up with the great Jacky Ickx, and then the equally great Hans-Joachim Stuck, the success came season after season throughout the 80’s with race wins and titles.

Derek continued in endurance racing until his retirement in 1996. However he could not repeat the success that he enjoyed with the iconic Rothmans Porsches.

Another sobering reflection that Derek shared with me was how in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, death was not far away for race drivers. We have become used to seeing drivers walk away from horrendous looking crashes in the carbon fibre era. The cars that Derek raced were made of aluminium and pop riveted together. A close look at the 917K and 962 on display show how prone the driver was...his feet ahead of the front axle line. These are cars that were hitting speeds of 220 mph – 240mph on the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans! Derek mentioned that in one season he started as the teams fourth driver....he finished the season as the number one....sadly elevated to that position not just by virtue of his skill and speed, but by the death’s of his team mates.

Rather fittingly as Derek Bell was the special guest, the celebrated marque this year was Porsche, and the Porsche Centre Bournemouth were co-sponsors of the event. There was a massive collection of Porsches on display with all models represented. There was even a Porsche tractor on display to prove that Porsche was not always about speed!

There were also large collections of Ferrari, Lamborghini and Aston Martin’s. Wherever you looked, there was a car that needed closer inspection. Many car clubs were in attendance as well as trade stands and not forgetting an auto jumble.

Whatever your interest – supercars, American muscle, custom, fast Ford’s, motor sport, bikes.....they were all on display.

Covering motorsport, there was an interesting display of historic rally cars. From the circuit, there was a 1993 F1 Benetton Ford B193 that was driven by Michael Schumacher and Riccardo Patrese (Patrese’s signature is on the cockpit cover). A complete contrast being the 2010 Ford NASCAR – this was fired up to demonstrate just how loud these cars are.....imagine the sound from a grid of 30 plus of these monsters – they are very, very loud!

During the day, various groups of cars were driven down the main driveway in front of the castle with the drivers being briefly interviewed about their cars. The Lamborghini’s had been on a tour, and ended their drive by arriving at the event and then parking up. They must have made an impressive sight, in convoy, around the roads of Dorset.

One of the most interesting and rare cars on display was a highly modified Honda NSX. The owner advised that his was one of only 40 cars and probably the only one in the UK. The cars were built for the JGTC - the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship – in the late nineties. It took him 2 years to import his example to the UK and it is now fully road legal. Just awesome!

A rare sight amongst the many cars on display was the Polaris Slingshot – an American three wheeler with the single wheel at the rear – a modern take on the Morgan three wheeler. Unlike the Morgan, which is very small and low to the ground, with its motor bike derived engine at the front, the Slingshot looks tall and perhaps a little unstable. Powered by a GM Ecotec LE9 2.4 litre DOHC engine mated to a 5 speed manual gear box. It makes for a very strange sight!

In addition to the cars officially on display, of course, many of the people attending the show as spectators were driving some awesome cars too.....so there was even more to see in the car parks!

For a selection of pics from the event, please visit my Flickr album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/riviera_guy/albums/72157709882088707

For a video from the event, please visit my YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/Kzu5MmqMnOg
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