Your personal racing biographies

[grantp]

Originally Posted by oneofapair

As an enthusiastic motor racing yoof I started an apprenticeship at Laystall Engineering in London, in there engine shop getting involved with all things balancing, head work and relavant machining.

Hmm, used to pop into Laystall (London) quite regularly for a year or so back in the 70s - 73/74 mainly as I recall. Lots of ventilated brake disks to be balanced.

As a result of contacts made I was able to get the major components for my Escort 1300 GT engine rebuild balanced for not too much cost (Can't recall how little though ...). Wonderfully smooth unit when finished though possibly helped by a heavier than GT but lighter than non-GT flywheel.

Sorry for the OT aside. Back to the bio's ....

[Mike Wroe]

As a relative newcomer to historic racing I'll keep my bio short but here goes:-

Like most people I got my interest from my father who was a mechanical engineer and would have loved to play him self but never had the money, as a schoolboy he cycled from Dinnington (Nr Worksop, Notts) down to Donington to see the Silver Arrows before the war and then on another occasion cycled to Shellsey Walsh to watch a hillclimb! I had a brief fling at rallycross in my early 20s but being pitched into a corner to corner roll at Aintree killed the car and my motorsport career so I settled down to the boring things like building a house & getting married but still kept the interest up and held on to my beloved Lotus Elan which I still own. Anyway after an expensive divorce and losing the house and having to buy another one I went to Goodwood on the day after my 50th birthday and decided you only live once so have a go. After talking to Tony Thompson decided Sports GTs were the way to go so jumped in at the deep end and bought the Mongoose - at this time I hadn't even done a track day. Got the cat checked over at Cambridge Motorsport where I met Terry and was told I needed my head examined starting racing in a Griffith.
Got my licence and headed off to my first race at Snetterton with the HSCC which was a 40 minute pit stop race managed somehow to work my way up to 8th overall before I lost it at Corrum and clobered the marshalls post (maybe 4 year old rock hard Dunlops were not such a good idea even if they still had plenty of tread left) On returning the car to Cambridge for repair was persuaded that I might be better of learning in an MGB so bought an MGOC car and raced that as well (I'm very pig headed).
Had a great season with the Griff culminating in a terrific scrap with Neil Howe at the Oulton Park Gold Cup and a 2nd place on Handicap with the Grannies in the Birkett & a lousy one with the MGB. Consequence I dispensed with the MGB and bought a Marcos 1800GT road/hillclimb car to convert into a racer which I raced with the CSCC, the Griff being semi mothballed until I got more experience as sanity had finally dawned. Along the way I aquired a hot hatch Citroen Saxo to race in CSCC tintops & a MGZR to race with the MGOC both now gone to new homes. I had a big shunt in the Marcos at Shell hairpin at Oulton when a front brake pipe split so bought a Honda CRX for £1500 so I could keep racing whilst I rebuilt the Marcos and finished 2nd overall in the CSCC TinTops series with it in 2007. Didn't race at all in 2008 due to various reasons but returned to the tracks with the Marcos this year until I got hit very hard from behind at Donington reducing the back of the car to matchwood so I now have another major rebuild project on my hands.
My most enjoyable races have both been at Oulton, the Gold Cup race mentined before where we swapped places several times a lap and again this year in the Marcos where the car jumped out of gear on the line (purely driver error) and I had to fight my way back through the pack to finish 3rd.
Favourite circuits are any in the UK with Park in the name and Brands GP.

Sorry thats gone on a bit longer than intended.

[simon drabble]

I cannot believe Terry and Peter have nothing to add to this thread by way of personal anecdote..... you two are normally hard to keep away from a thread!!!!!!!!!!!! ;o)

[wolf sun]

Originally Posted by simon drabble

I cannot believe Terry and Peter have nothing to add to this thread by way of personal anecdote.....

Indeed. And John Ruston's been around for a while too, hasn't he...

[wolf sun]

And thanks Mike Wroe for your write-up, too!

[terence]

As already said,not interesting enough Simon.
Mike,dont forget the Griffith Thread,John T would love to hear about it.

[p261brm]

I am going to attempt again to post this pic.
B21 Vila Real 1972 proper racing. Good Lord John it worked!

[John Turner]

There you go! Well done!

[simon drabble]

Originally Posted by terence bower

As already said,not interesting enough Simon.
Mike,dont forget the Griffith Thread,John T would love to hear about it.

I would have thought as a professional driver this thread would have been a godsent opportunity to list your trips to the podium with a view to getting some drives next year without having to go to the expense of an advert!!

[terence]

Nice try Simon.

[John Turner]

Simon, a mischievous post, I feel! Whilst it would be good to hear from anybody about their racing 'career', however brief or irregular, it's not compulsory!

[simon drabble]

Originally Posted by John Turner

Simon, a mischievous post, I feel! Whilst it would be good to hear from anybody about their racing 'career', however brief or irregular, it's not compulsory!

busted ;o)

[terence]

Originally Posted by John Turner

Simon, a mischievous post, I feel! Whilst it would be good to hear from anybody about their racing 'career', however brief or irregular, it's not compulsory!

God,not you as well!

[Peter Mallett]

Lol,

I think there should be a thread entitled "Why on earth did you even consider taking up this passtime?"

But whilst I shan't give you any of the boring details I do feel perhaps a few people are owed some thanks from me for getting me involved and indeed for their help. And of course to satisfy Simon's thirst for knowledge.

In 1986 (?) we needed a second car and stupidly I suggested we get an MGB. One of my colleagues recommended a bloke called Barry Sidery-Smith and so we paid him a visit and after a restoration we still have the car he sold us.

But he invited us to Brands Hatch for an MGCC race meeting and from then I decided I'd like to get involved again.

I oily ragged for Barry, took pictures and generally reported stuff for Safety Fast and along the way met Malcolm Beer and a few others. So when Steve Hall (Hall's Garage Bourne) proposed a championship, I had the chance to enter and I asked Barry to source a donor car and gave it to Malcolm who prepared it for me. He was more than generous with his time and returned a car with some great safety gear including a Roll Centre cage and a Ridgard seat which was a luxury. I certainly don't think I paid him what his work was worth. We did nothing to the engine for the first year other than strip it down and put new shells and rings in it. Malcolm was even more helpful at Brands Hatch where in my first event, in qualifying, he passed me on the outside of Paddock. Afterwards he made a point of coming to see me and suggested I might go quicker if I put some air in the tyres! It worked because I finished third in class so not too shabby. Brian Jones announced me as "Peter Wallett".

So, I guess you have those three to blame for me untidying the grids at various circuits.

As far as that car was concerned, Peter Burgess produced a head for the next season and I led a championship for half of it, got a pole position and won a few times. I was sponsored by a local businessman (Spar groceries) and Q8 petroleum . Had the use of a local garage (Wingrave Garage) at weekends to prep the car, in return I ran the forecourt and had some mates, Terry Bracey-Wright and Iain Patterson who helped me out. They are now racing too.

Those two years I raced against/with some great blokes one of which had spent some time on "government holidays" but was always very helpful to me. He did have a brake light switch which he'd use if I was chasing him into a corner until I got wise to it. Another, Richard McCann who at around 22 was blindingly quick but like most of us had few pennies so stopped racing.

Oh, I had to miss the last three races of that second season because I was sent to Vietnam so my wife sold the car and made a profit. We used that money to buy a MkII Capri on my return, which sadly ended up on its roof at Park Corner when it ran out of brakes. That was April 9 1995. The car I now race, was built and debuted at Thruxton 31 May 1995, although thanks to Ken Clarke, it is somewhat more developed now.

So, without going too far into details 'cos that is really boring, that is the summary of how and why I'm on the grid now.

[simon drabble]

great read Peter thanks - so the MG1100 is just a continuation of your Abingdon fixation!!!

[wolf sun]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

Lol,

Brian Jones announced me as "Peter Wallett".

Brilliant (and don't let yourself be seen in the 'bent cars' thread).

Nice write-up, too - very much appreciated!