Friends' Gallery Picture of the Month - April 2025

[Mike Costigan]

Here we have a scene at the 1961 750MC Inter-Centre Driving Test meeting at Chateau Impney. VF 4876 began life as a 1928 RF fabric saloon; by the late 1940s it was resting in a Midlands scrapyard. Resurrected as the special we see here, driven by Tony Poole, it survives on the A7CA chassis list as a 'boat-tailed tourer' - this description could be of a replica PA 2-seater, or it could be that of a pointed-tail special. Anyone know it?

Photo submitted by Robin Boyce.

   

[dheywood]

14th May 1961 was a grand day out. ‘Please come, and bring the family’ said the advertisements, and the spectators came in large numbers, according to the report in the 750 Bulletin.
The Inter-Centre Driving Tests were the ‘garage and pylon’ type, with each Centre running a relay team. Most of the competing cars were Austin Sevens. The event took place on grass, which ensured that more powerful cars had little advantage.
In the display area there were some big early Austins from the pre-Seven era. They were provided for the  day by the Austin company, and two of them were driven from Longbridge, ten miles away. Grasshopper COA 118 was there, and some single-seaters including a Bill Williams special, the pale blue works side-valve, and the ex-Gordon Brettell car.
There was a ‘sprint’ along part of the hill-climb course, and the sound of the supercharged Brettell car was a delight to the ears. The day concluded with a chariot race, with paired A7 saloons pulling disintegrating wooden chariots. Yes, such things were allowed.
Just one difficulty marred the event. Elderly people leaving the hotel for a gentle walk in the grounds were shocked to see noisy machines racing out from behind the shrubbery. The combination of a luxury hotel with a motor sport venue was not an easy one.

[Terry McGrath]

Driver Tony Poole was a popular and active member of the Midland 750 Club who worked for Rover.  He lived in Moseley and sadly died fairly young.