- PIC 1 The Bill West # 39 car vaults the fence at Bristol
- PIC 2 Bill West # 39 ( centre) admires his handy-work at Bristol
- PIC 3 Lionel Shaw # 362 in Chris Pickups Jaguar powered , triumph GT6 bodied car
- PIC 4 1979 BriSCA F1 World Champion, Frankie Wainman # 212 with his 'gold roof'
- PIC 5 Dutchman John VT Veer # 16 at Brafield
- PIC 6 John VT Veer in trouble at Brafield
- PIC 7 The Ray Scriven owned car of Texan Frank Zett # 420
- PIC 8 My BriSCA F1 on a truck after being sold to the Abraham Bros
- PIC 9 Another shot of my F1 on the Abraham Bros truck.
- PIC 10 My Austin 3 Litre and caravan on a Dutch campsite in December 69
- PIC 11 A billboard advertizing the December 9 Baarlo meeting
- PIC 12 The imaculate Ford Thunderbird NACO Pace Car at Baarlo
- PIC 13 The # 104 F1 Stock car of Lambert Keulen on his transporter truck at Baarlo
- PIC 14 The # 217 F1 of George Kroonder at Baarlo
- PIC 15 Rien Rutgens # 15 in Victory Lane at Baarlo.
Just to recap, My �RETRO' reports are now up to 1979, which was the Silver Jubilee year of UK stock car racing . I started the year , racing my ex Roger Gunnell ('390' cu in Ford Thunderbird powered) BriSCA F1 stock car, then after a few disillusioned outings had put it up for sale with ideas in my head about moving to the Netherlands. My last report ( # 15) brought us up to the end of August 1979, where I'd just returned to the UK from a European racing vacation with my buddies Nigel Harradine and Martin Budgell. We'd seen Superstox at the Kaldernkirchen track in Germany and the F1 Stock Car Long Track World Final at the Baarlo Auto Speedway ( Netherlands). If you missed any of the previous fifteen RICK @ the RACES (RETRO) reports and would like them sent, please let me know (stox@ican.net), as I have them saved.
RICK @ the RACES (RETRO # 16)
The final part of 1979
After returning from the Netherlands ( Aug 13) I carried on visiting my usual haunts of Leicester, Brafield, Sheffield, Rochdale and Bristol ( the Mendips Raceway) in the role of spectator, to watch my preferred diet of BriSCA F1 Stock Cars. At Bristol I was pleased to see that one of my photos had appeared in the race day program. ( this must have been my first racing photo to be published) . Earlier in the year one of my Beds & Herts buddies, Bill West # 39 from Luton, was involved in a spectaular crash where his car vaulted the safety fence, and I was there with my Kodak Instamatic to capture it. The Beds and Herts Club was now in it's 'final days' and it was around this time that it eventually folded.
A few of the original 'B&H' F1 drivers were still active including Chris Pickup # 50 and Glyn Pursey # 175 . A new addition to the clan was Lionel Shaw # 362, from Luton who was driving Chris's old Triumph GT6 Spitfire bodied car.
On Sept 9 the BriSCA F2 World Final was held at the Newton Abbott Racecourse in Devon, and was won for the third time by Dave Brown # 583 of Looe (Cornwall). I chose to miss this one and instead went to a regular BriSCA F1 meeting at Rochdale.
Unknowingly at the time, on Sept 22 , I attended what was to be a very historic event at the Harringay Stadium in North London. This famous old track which I'd visited regularly since the 1960's , was located on prime development land and by now, it was living on 'borrowed time'. Already much of the site was starting to look neglected and we all knew it was just a matter of time before it would succumb. This date turned out to be the last ever meeting for BriSCA F1 stock cars and sadly not long after , it was demolished to make way for a giant retail outlet. The meeting final that night was won by Richie Ahern # 18.
The BriSCA F1 World Final this year was being held at the White City Stadium in Manchester (29 Sept) , and of course I was there to see Frankie Wainman # 212 win the 'gold'. There were six overseas entrants which included Harry Van der Spuij from South Africa, with Jim Hopkinson, Larry Burton and Gene Welch representing the USA. They were racers from the All American Speedway, at Roseville, near Scaramento, California, and like Van Der Spuij were using loaned cars. Completing the line up of foreigners were, Rien Rutgens and John VT Veer from the Netherlands who brought their own cars.
The day after White City, I, like many other race fans drove two and a half hours back down the M6 / M1 for the following days races at Brafield. Both Dutch of the drivers that had been racing the night before were there too.
While on the subject of overseas drivers, I must mention a USA driver that made his debut during the 1979 season. Frank Zett # 420, who used one of Ray Scrivens # 110 cars. Ray , from Fairford in Gloucestershire lived close to the USAF Air Base where Frank was stationed. According to race day programs , Frank was from Austin, Texas . ( In Sept 2007 , I visited my daughter who lives in Austin , and prior to the trip I tracked down Frank's address with an intention of trying to meet up. I found out he now lives in Abilene, unfortunately some distance away, so never pursued the plan )
From the World Final onwards to the end of the regular season ( Long Eaton Nov 10) I attended weekly races where ever the BriSCA F1's were appearing as well as a few Spedeworth events. The FISCA/SCOTA F1 Stock Cars that had raced on their circuits were in their final days, as plans were afoot for a new smaller and less powerful class for the coming year to be named FORMULA 80. They were similar to a type of stock car that had been introduced in the North of England , called Hot Stox, which were lighter than F1's , and used Rover V8 engines.
I can't remember exactly when, but it was about this time that I sold my stock car. It was bought by two brothers, Dave and Paul Abraham from Gt Barford ( Bedfordshire). Neither of them had raced before and were to make their debut in the coming season. They went under the nick-name of the �Big Abe's�.
As mentioned before, I had ideas about moving to the Netherlands, and on my previous trips had found out that the big British RAF base that was located at Bruggen just outside Roermond hired civilian truck drivers. I made inquiries and was told to come in an fill out an application form. There was a race meeting at Baarlo on December 9, so I thought this would be an ideal opportunity. It was the wrong time of the year to be under canvass , so instead of taking my tent, I borrowed an old caravan/travel-trailer that belonged to my mum and dad and towed it behind my Austin 3 Litre.
This was another of my solo trips and because my regular camp site at Roermond was closed for the season I had to find an alternative site to stay. The job application form was filled in at RAF Bruggen and then I took full advantage of my NACO season pass and attended the races at Baarlo. As usual all the NACO divisions were there and the headline F1 Stock Car final was won by Rien Rutjens.
On my return to the UK, the season was not done yet, as group of us made the usual trip to the North of England for the Christmas meetings.
For some reason the Belle Vue track was not available for it's annual Boxing Day extravaganza and the fixture was moved across Manchester to the White City Stadium. After stopping over night in a city hotel we all traveled across the Penine Mountains ( hills) to the Owlerton Stadium at Sheffield for the second of the festive double.(27 Dec).
My 1979 racing calender finally came to end a few days later at my local Brafield Stadium (Northamptonshire) where a rare meeting for BriSCA F1's was held on Dec 30.
