By Rick Young (stox@ican.net)
PHOTOS:
PIC 1 Carla Paints the stock car
PIC 2 The Brafield pits (1984)
PIC 3 Carla helps out
PIC 4 The BriSCA F1 of Harry Smith # 100 in the Brafield pits (1984)
PIC 5 The BriSCA F1 of John Cayzer # 495 in the Brafield pits (1984)
PIC 6 One of my rare Brafield outings of 1984
PIC 7 Malc Locke the 1984 BriSCA F2 World Champion
PIC 8 Willie Elliott # 11 (USA rep in the 1884 BriSCA F1 World Final)
PIC 9 Harry V/D Spuij # SA2 ( South African rep in the 1984 BriSCA F1 World Final)
PIC 10 Dave Evans # 3P ( New Zealand rep in the 1984 BriSCA F1 World Final)
PIC 11 Jim Brown # 40 (USA rep in the 1984 BriSCA F1 World Final)
PIC 12 Friedhelm Welters # 8 at the Long Track World Final, Baarlo 1984
PIC 13 Baarlo Autospeedway 1984
PIC 14 Rien Rutgens # 15 in Victory Lane at Baarlo 1984
PIC 15 The BL Princess formerly owned by my dad.
PIC 16 Truck Racing at the Donnington Circuit 1984
PIC 17 Truck Racing at the Donnington Circuit 1984
First to recap from 1983. I was living in Maidford, Northamptonshire, (UK) and by October 2nd the re-building of my BriSCA F1 was completed. Along with my old friend Brian Bedford # 209 , we both raced at the VSCA ( Veteran Stock Car Association) sponsored event at our local Brafield Stadium. Things out on the track had changed a lot during my three year lay-off and it was obvious that my outings, would only be for fun , and I'd be there just to 'make the number up'.
1984
My track visits started early in 1984 with a trip to the New Years Day races at Long Eaton. Under wet and soggy conditions Keith Riley # 328 was the final winner.
From March onwards it was 'business as usual' attending my local tracks of Coventry, Leicester and Brafield. Every now and then, when I felt the inclination, I'd take the stock car along to Brafield, to join in the fun. During the winter months, the only changes made to the car were the cutting of side windows in the sheet metal bodywork, and the construction of a stronger rear bumper ( I figured I was going to be hit more often ! )
At the beginning of August ( 4/5 ) Brafield were hosting the European Championship for BriSCA F1, which was televised by London Weekend Television for their weekly 'World of Sport' program. As a novelty race, (which I guess, was staged specially for the cameras) , 'double decker buses ' were added to the show. About half a dozen ex London Transport buses took to the quarter mile oval.
The big race for stock cars turned out to be great viewing too, with a conclusion that could not have been better, if it was stage managed. Harry Smith # 100 , a flamboyant northern driver, sadly no longer with us, looked unbeatable that weekend. He was out at the front leading the pack, until five laps to go, when John Cayzer # 495 arrived on his tail. The two of them dueled for the remaining laps with Smith slightly ahead as they powered towards the last bend. Cayzer chose this moment to make his move, and with his foot to the floor, he gave Smith a hefty hit on the back bumper, sending him wide and close to the fence. Cayzer nipped past to grab the checkers, while Smith floundered, before recovering and claiming second. It was great stuff , a perfect example of how to use the bumper, and probably one of the best televised UK stock car races ever seen. I was there that day, so I'd set up my VHS recorder at home to tape it. I still have it in my collection to this day !
The 1984 BriSCA F2 World Final was held in Scotland at the Newtongrange Stadium ( 8/9 Sept) and was won by long distance traveler, Malc Locke # 598 from Dorset in southern England. The Superstox World Final was held at the Tilburg track in the Netherlands where Anthony VD Oetelaar retained his 'gold-top'. I didn't attend either of these events.
The BriSCA F1 World Final was held at Belle Vue, Manchester ( Sept 15 ) and the impressive line-up included representatives from New Zealand ( Dave Evans, Brian Anderson) , South Africa ( Harry V/D Spuij) , Netherlands ( Rien Rutgens, Pete Keyzer, Leon Cox, Cees Soeters) , USA ( Jim Brown, Willie Elliott) and of course all the top UK guys. When the checkers fell, once again it was Rochdale's Stuart Smith # 391 who was there to claim his fifth World Final title.
A week after Belle Vue, I joined the 'BriSCA F1 Traveling Road Show' that moved over to Baarlo in the Netherlands for the Long Track World Final ( 22/23 Sept). Saturdays preliminary heats saw Friedhelm Welters # 8 in a class of his own and he looked like an easy 'bet' for Sunday's big race.
Stuart Smith must have realized this too, because before the first lap was over, Welters was pushed hard into the armco ( crash barrier) where he rolled over and on to his side. The race came under red flag conditions while the # 8 car was put back on 'all-fours'. On the restart Leon Cox took the lead, but was soon passed by eventual winner Rien Rutgens who grabbed his third Long Track victory in a row.
While I was at Baarlo, a sad event was happening back in the UK. September 22 turned out to be the last time ever for racing at the Blackbird Rd track at Leicester. The land had been bought by a building company and the construction of a housing development was about to begin. Mick Noden # 306 won the historic last ever BriSCA F1 final.
Our modes of transport at this time were still the 'old faithful' Austin A60 Camebridge and the 'tatty' looking Morris Marina that I used as a run about. The Marina had a good engine but the bodywork was in desperate need of TLC, so when the transmission decided to quit, that was the end of the road. I swung a deal with a wreckers yard in Dunstable where I exchanged the Marina for a set of Morris LD axles ( they were the light truck axles that I used on the stock car) . A second car was needed, so we acquired my Dad's BL Princess . We didn't keep it for long, and within a few months I traded it for a 4-2 litre Jaguar XJ6.
I was still employed in Milton Keynes on contract to the UK's leading freezer food company, where I was working alongside 'company' drivers, doing the exact same job, but getting payed a lot less. Obviously I wanted to make the transition, but there was a 'gentlemen's agreement' in place where the company didn't hire ( poach) the contracted drivers. I liked the work I was doing , so planned to look elsewhere for a job, (temporarily) , so I'd be in a position to re-apply. In order to do this I needed to live nearer to Milton Keynes, so our house in Maidford was put on the market. Before the Autumn/Fall of 1984, we had moved to Hartwell , Northamptonshire, not far from the Brafield Stadium and only fifteen minutes from Milton Keynes. Soon after the move I found an 'alternative' job, and handed in my notice. I no longer worked for the contractor so within a few days, I was eligible to apply as a company driver. I was accepted straight away , so never needed to take up the 'alternative' job. My first truck with the company was a Swedish built SCANIA.
In 2008 , after more than 30 years of trucking, where I've driven nearly 30 different makes of 'the world's' trucks, SCANIA still rate as my 'Number One'
While I'd been a contract driver, I was buying my diesel from SHELL outlets and had become a member of the SHELL DIESEL DRIVERS CLUB. I received the club magazine and was lucky enough to win a competition they were running. The prize was a day out at the races ! SHELL were one of the sponsors at the MULTIPART TRUCK GRAND PRIX held at the Donnington Park Circuit in Derbyshire ( 29/30 SEPT) and my family and I , were going to be their guests.
Don't be confused, this was a race for 'real' trucks, not the little pick-up's that are common around the race tracks these days. Donnington Park , close to Long Eaton, had quite a checkered history, and it was a track I'd never visited before so I was really looking forward to it.
On arrival we were greeted by the 'top brass' of SHELL and were welcomed in to their courtesy 'double decker' bus. The top deck was converted into a restaurant where a meal was layed out for us. Following the food we were introduced to some of the drivers taking part, and issued with our seats in the grandstand.
The racing was split into three classes, up to 300 HP, 300 to 350 HP, and over 350 HP. The drivers had come from all over Europe and included a few names I was familiar with. In the 300 to 350 HP class, former World Motor Cycle Racing Champion Barry Sheene was driving a DAF 3300. Other trucks programmed for this class , were Leyland, Scammel, ERF, Ford Transcontinental, Mercedes, Volvo, Fiat, MAN, SCANIA and Renault. The over 350 HP class included two big names from the oval racing world. Hot Rod driver Paul Grimer was racing a DAF and former SCOTA/FISCA F1 Stock Car World Champion Ian Ireland was in a Volvo. Making things interesting in this class were two Hanomag-Henschel's, a couple of Magirus Deutz's and a Foden.
It was a really enjoyable day and a great experience.
1985 to follow...
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