DRIVE-IT DAY BROOKLANDS, WEYBRIDGE, SURREY. 21 APRIL
Brooklands’ established Drive It Day event brought hundreds of classics cars to the venue, parked amid the historic sites of the pre-war racing circuit.
Brooklands’ established Drive It Day event brought hundreds of classics cars to the venue, parked amid the historic sites of the pre-war racing circuit. Mother and son Wendy and Jason Florio from Chobham and their 1911 Model T. Matt Smith from Fleet with the '68 Sunbeam Alpine he’s owned for four years. Martin De Little brought his 101-year-old 1923 Delage DI to Brooklands.
Brooklands is always a popular destination for enthusiasts, even when it’s not Drive-It Day. So it was no wonder that hundreds of vehicles turned up, with the opportunity to park amid the famous buildings. While the cars were scattered throughout the site, most of the machines were lined up along the Finishing Straight, with one of Brooklands’ most famous locations – the Members’ Banking of the old circuit – as a superb backdrop.
As is usual for Brooklands, there were plenty of vintage cars in attendance but the biggest presence of them all was that of post-war Triumphs as several local groups of the TR Register combined to hold a joint meeting, with their members bringing their British sports cars out in force.
This was attendee, Nick Butcher's first Drive-It Day at Brooklands – he came with his 1969 Crayford Ford Cortina convertible – but it certainly won’t be his last. ‘There are a lot of really interesting cars here,’ he said. ‘There are also a lot of vehicles that you just don’t see at a lot of Drive-It Day gatherings, such as Ford Model Ts. That helps to make it that bit more special. I’ve really enjoyed today – I'll definitely be back next year.’
Peter Thorpe of Kent has re-built his 1956 Austin-Healey 100-6's later engine. Michael and Fiona Ryan have had their 1939 Triumph Dolomite for five years. Readers Shaun and Nicola Andrew's 1983 Ford Capri 2.8i is mainly original. Barry Fitzmaurice of Guildford, son William and his 1966 A-H 3000 MkIII. Ian Dixon-Potter of West London believes that his 1971 BMW 2800, which he has owned for a year, might be the only one in the country. Richard Skinner's 1971 Silver Shadow has had a bare metal re-spray. Trevor Dibb's 1970 Mercedes 280 SE did a 400-mile round-trip from Plymouth. David Dinning of Shepperton has modified his 1959 Ford Popular somewhat; it now has a very prominent supercharged 3.2-litre Essex V6. Grahame Baker's 1973 Citroën DS23 Pallas EFi has rare factory aircon. Having driven his 1978 Maserati Khamsin to Switzerland last year, the trip from its Weybridge home to Brooklands was no problem whatsoever for Richard Jarvis. Andrew and Lydia Pickering brought their 1954 Riley RME from
