23rd May 2010
It was late May and in finding ourselves with an unusually quiet weekend, my partner Chris & I decided to head along to the nearby Knockhill Racing Circuit and attend the annual Motorfair event. This is a motoring meet which showcases the latest offerings from a wide variety of car manufacturers whilst also hosting some interesting vehicles upon the famous 1.3 mile Scottish circuit.
We arrived at Knockhill halfway through the day. As we bought our tickets at the gate, an attempt to lower the unofficial Knockhill lap record was underway. An Arrows F1 car thundered round the circuit as we found ourselves a suitable spot near Duffus Dip to view what was going on. The high-pitch of the Arrows F1 engine seemed to echo out everywhere, ringing out amidst the hills and fields that surround the circuit. Another lap began and as the Arrows car came down the straight, I got my first glimpse of the bright orange paintwork as the record-attempt sped by. On television F1 cars are loud. As they pass by on a circuit, they are even louder. The wall of noise was just spectacular. The laps began to quicken in pace and it seemed likely that the lap record was shortly going to be broken. However, with only a couple of laps of the attempt remaining, the F1 engine let go and the Arrows car had to reluctantly retire to the pits with a considerable proportion of the engine missing. It was a frustrating finish for both spectators and the driver.
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The Arrows team competed in Formula 1 between 1978-2002. British drivers for Arrows F1 have included Brian Henton, Derek Warwick, Eddie Cheever, Martin Donnelly & Damon Hill. Photograph: Rob Blank. |
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After several laps of the Knockhill circuit, the Arrows F1 car needs some attention. Unfortunately, this car would eventually have to pull out from the event and ditch its lap record attempt due to engine problems. |
However, the crowd’s disappointment didn’t last long. Soon enough, all eyes were looking skywards as a display by Abarth Air began. A single red plane with a bright white underside flew in and over the racetrack, a long plume of white condensation trailing behind. The plane then turned upwards and did a loop-the-loop above everyone, the condensation highlighting the plane’s trail perfectly against the bright blue sky. The plane started to fly straight up into the sky - climbing and climbing, performing a series of turns as it did so. The speed of the ascents and descents just blew me away. I just couldn’t think how the pilot could take the forces going on inside the aircraft. The loop-the-loops continued on, growing in size and drama. It was amazing. Then the plane started to perform a dramatic, twisting fall back down towards the circuit. The pilot stalled the plane and then recovered, stalled and recovered again, over and over. I’d never seen anything like it and I just loved it, fully admiring the skill needed to make it all look like it was happening by accident. As the plane got lower, it pulled itself back into another loop-the-loop before flying once more over the circuit and out in the direction from whence it had came. We clapped and clapped and I really hoped that our appreciation could be heard from above.
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The Abarth display was thrilling to watch - one of the best things I’ve ever seen! |
The unfortunate demise of the F1 car had now allowed an array of supercars and their drivers onto the tarmac to test their skills around Knockhill’s tricky corners. I spotted a Noble, some Ferraris and Lamborghinis, a Nissan Skyline and a Morgan going round. All of the cars gleamed and looked like they were handling well. For a while, we watched these cars go round but as the session seemed to be quite lengthy we eventually headed into the paddocks to see what was on display off-track.
Many manufacturers proudly displayed their latest models out in the circuit grounds, some also happily showing off their motorsport credentials. Kris Meeke’s IRC rally-prepared 207 sat rather noticeably amongst Peugeot’s offerings. Complete with full Union Jack paintwork, it looked fantastic albeit a little out of place.
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Kris Meeke’s IRC rally-prepared Peugeot 207 on display at the Knockhill Motorfair |
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Kris Meeke & his Peugeot 207 in action at the Festival of Speed, Goodwood Special thanks to Ian for use of this photograph - see further motoring pics from Ian at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ians200707/ |
Other manufacturers had opted for a hint of nostalgia. Honda had brought one of my favourite classics along – an immaculate S800 Coupe. Fawn-coloured and perfect in every way, I stopped to enjoy this car for quite some time. The Honda personnel came over to quiz our curiosity. If we liked this, perhaps we might like to test-drive the new Civic? Chris & I politely declined their offer, stating that whilst we adored the wonderful lines and general look of the new Civic, nothing could beat a good S600 or S800. I was smitten and struggled to find the motivation for moving onto other stands.
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One of my favorite classics, the Honda S800 Coupe. |
However, suitable distraction soon came along in the form of some classics displaying at the other end of the paddock. On route, I took a few up-close shots of a parked Lotus and Audi. Around twenty classic cars were parked in Paddock 2, the same site where only a few months before Henry & I had driven together for the first time. A blue Volvo Amazon caught my eye and inside, the Amazon’s speedometer surprised me with being long and horizontal rather than round. I also found a Hillman Imp and an Austin 1100 parked together, a bright red TR3 and a similarly red Triumph TR4.
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A Lotus headlamp up-close |
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I liked the combined intricacies of the Audi headlamp and the reflected clouds |
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Triumph TR3 |
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Volvo Amazon - another one of my favourite classics in a nice cornflower blue |
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Inside the Volvo Amazon - I love the straight-line speedometer |
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A Hillman Imp & an Austin 1100 sat together. The Austin is famed for getting a 'damn good thrashing' with a tree branch in Fawlty Towers. This particular 1100 seems to be having a slightly easier day. |
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We've all been there haven't we? |
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Triumph TR4 - I pick up a registration form for the Thistle Rallye from under one of this car's wipers |
Tucked under one of the TR4’s window wipers were a handful of leaflets which seemed to be advertising a rally. I gently lifted the wiper up and carefully took one of the leaflets from the TR4. The leaflet was advertising a classic rally, coming up in only a few weeks time. Promising a route spanning across four Scottish districts and open to non-rally prepared classics, it sounded like great fun. Immediately I thought of Henry and read out the details to Chris. Chris agreed that it sounded as if it would be open to our very own classic car. Now that I was working my way through my driving lessons, driving Henry by myself on the road was my principal aim. However, when I pictured driving Henry myself, I pictured both of us driving along amongst many modern cars. The idea of travelling with Henry alongside several other classic cars for many, many miles suddenly seemed even more appealing. Chris & I agreed to e-mail some enquiries to the organizers that night and I went to sleep that night hopeful that Henry might be allowed to compete.
See this Henry & I feature on the Standard Motor Club website:
(Link to be posted shortly!)
See the photographs which accompany this Henry & I article:
Living in Scotland as a Standard car owner? There is a local group for Standard car owners & Standard car enthusiasts in Scotland. See this page for more info:
See more from Abarth Air here:
“The Impossible Dream” by Honda. I looked forward to advert breaks when this advert was played on television. It’s quite simply marvellous!
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