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The First LAC Coast to Coast.
The First Coast to Coast!
As Mike Wood will tell you anytime this month we were due to run our 28th Coast to Coast Classic Car Run. Mike ran the Lancashire Automobile Club’s first Classic Car Run from Blackpool to Scarborough but that’s not the whole story!
Long before Mike’s run for Classic Cars, in 1991, the Club ran a run not for Classic Cars but for Kit Cars from Blackpool to Scarborough. The run was thought up by Anthony and Carolyn Taylor after a discussion with Chris Lee.
At the time Chris was involved with a life assurance society, the Scottish Legal, who had sponsored the LAC Doninigton Sprint as well as Chris’s XR3i which he had competed in the club’s sprint championship. The Directors of Scottish Legal wanted an event to give publicity to their annual conference to be held in Scarborough. The previous year the conference had been held in Blackpool so running an event from Blackpool to Scarborough made sense.
The only stipulations were that the event had to be held on the Saturday to meet the conference timetable, when most of the conference delegates should have arrived and before the conference started formally, and that the finish be at the Scarborough Spa where the conference was to be held.
This all tied in with Anthony and Carolyn’s involvement with Kit cars and their contacts locally garnered via their own Aristocat Jaguar 120 evocation.
So Chris got on with designing a route and venues along the way which had to have a reasonably timed start in Blckpool, a lunch halt and an arrival time in Scarborough to meet the Directors time constraints.
We had a good relationship with the then manager of the Norbreck Castle Hotel so that was the start venue in Blackpool and the finish was arranged at the Scarborough Spa with adequate parking reserved. Carolyn arranged a lunch halt at the Devonshire Arms at Bolton Abbey so all that was needed was to link the three up with a mileage to ensure a finish at Scarborough on time.
So at 09.00 in the morning a fine array of Kit cars lined up at The Norbreck Castle Hotel Blackpool ready for their journey over to Yorkshire. The cars ranged from a 602cc 2 cylinder Lomax 3 wheeler to the mighty 4.2 litre 6 cylinder Aristocat. Quite a difference in performance and capabilities!
Following a briefing from Anthony Taylor the cavalcade set off in bright sunshine for the lunch halt at The Devonshire Arms using mainly B roads and the A59.
By the time they reached the Devonshire Arms the weather had closed in and there had been some rain so it was hoods up for the second leg to Scarborough.
The route then went over Blubberhouses towards Harrogate then north past Ripon and on to Thirsk before the cars tackled Sutton Bank. For those who don’t know Sutton Bank it is The A170 runs up the bank with a maximum gradient of 1 in 4 (25%), and includes a hairpin bend just to add to the challenge. Vehicles have to keep in low gear whilst travelling up or down the bank, and it is considered so bad that caravans are banned from this length of the A170.
After completing the climb, the cars stopped for a bit of a breather at the top of Sutton Bank and enjoyed the views before pressing on to Scarborough.
Then out on the A170 through Helmsley and Pickering then on to Scarborough. The weather was now light drizzle but the crews of the cars were in fine spirits as we were met be the Directors and civic dignitaries at the Spa.
OK so it wasn’t a ‘Classic Car Run’ but it laid the foundation of many runs to come which used the Norbreck Castle for a starting point and finished at the Spa in Scarborough. Over the years things changed and we sought places new to start and finish to give a choice of new and more interesting routes.
One thing is certain at no point on that did we realise that Mike would pick up that mantle and organise an event which has now gone on for 27 years and after a break this year will be back in 2021.
Many thanks to all who organised and took part in the event.
Just another road in Upstate New York – the story of Watkins Glen
Manchester to Blackpool Virtual Concours
Longridge Motor Racing Circuit – LAC Sprints
It struck me that whilst many LAC members would know the general layout at Longridge for motor racing the sprint layout as used by both Longton and District Motor Club and Lancashire Automobile Club may be unfamiliar to them.
The featured picture is a painting of me coming out of Quarry Bend into Paddock Bend – I seem to have lost the original.
The picture, below, shows the layout of the sprint layout and I thought you might be intersted to have a competitive run round with me.
The paddock is situated along the cliff top at the bottom of the picture. We run down a gentle slope to a collect area by the Start Line (shown red).
As cars depart we slowly move forward to the start line – not to close to the car in front as they kick up stones as they warm their tyres!
Now the marshals call us forward to the start line and carefully align us with the timing beams. The traffic lights flicker red, amber as they rock the car gentley back and forward. It is a down hill start so the car tends to creep forward.
Once the traffic lights are a steady amber we await the green. A car already on the circuit flashes past on our right. Once he reaches Weighbridge corner the lights will go green and we can start in out own time.
The lights go green and we sprint away onto Rock Straight – the quarry wall looms above us to our left.
All to soon we reach Weighbridge Corner a tight right hander. JUst in view to our left tucked behind the barriers is the tow truck and ambulance.
We are now on the short straight after Weighbridge the grid markings for the race start flash past beneath us. In the Esses we pass through the timing beams for the first time.
The Esses is tricky to get right as the exit determines our positioning into Quarry Bend. Get this wrong and the hump on the inside of the corner will spin you round and send us into the barriers which are all to close on our left.
With the line just right we enter Quarry this is the start of a climb which continues into Paddock Bend. Paddock is easy to get right but gmake a mess of it and our speed along Rock Straight will be compromised ruinig our time.
As we leave Paddock Bend the trck drops and as we go over the rise the steering goes light. More than one car has lost it here but we are OK. Back on Rock Straight we are more confident both tyres and brakes are wrmed up and we leave bracking for Weightbridge a littel later and carry more speed. As a result we clip the dirt on the outside of the corner as we exit. It is not simply a matter of going flat out to cross the finish line at the entrance to ther Esses. The marshals on the very end of the pit wall on out right (just where the pit exit for the race meetings is located) wave a chequred flag. Our run is over.
We cotinue into Quarry and exit to our left just before Paddock Bend to return to the paddock.
By the way this layout meant that the timing crew could get a time for a flying lap picking up the car as it past the timing lights at the finish the first time the car passed and then again when it finished it’s run. This is why Kim Mathers time in his BRM at a Longton meeting qualified for many years as the fastest lap of Longridge and remained tied with two others who set their laps at race meetings when the circuit closed.
Latest from Motorsport UK regarding Corona Virus – 27th May
Looks like the first steps towards opening up motorsport. On reading the small print I don’t believe it applies to our kind of event, Touring Assemblies, but it does indicate things are moving in the right direction.
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British and European Grand Prix May 13th 1950 – Film
Three really great videos for you to enjoy.
If you are into motor racing, Minis or want to know more about John Cooper here are three videos (two with the same title but different!) for you to savoir.
St Georges Day Event
We thought that with this Sunday being Drive it Day you may wish to relive the 2019 event.
This link takes you to the route information book from last years event which let’s you know where the event went to and places of interest along the way. St Georges Day 2019 Route Information
These are a few pictures from the event.
Starting with your bacon butties from ‘the girls’.
Then waved away by our offical starter – Noah
Then onto Heskin Hall for some refreshments.
Then up over Rivington and the Anglezarke Reservoirs
To return via Wiswell to Blackburn Northern Sports
Where a woderful buffet, courtesy of the Club, awaited the entrants
Not forgetting memories of a wonderful day!
Many thanks to Mike Wood and Nigel Bentley for the pictures.
The Launch of the Austin 8
As part of the launch of the Austin 8, in 1938, this publicity film was produced.
This type of film was not unusual at the time and the idea was to present the car by setting a target – in this case to climb 25,000 feet in a day. The area chosen was the Lake District and the film is worth viewing for the scenery and a glimpse of life (and roads) pre war.
Please click on the link below and enjoy.