Stoneleigh Park, May 2007
Report from Tony Tucker

After weeks of uninterrupted sunny weekend weather, it was frustrating that the May Bank Holiday weekend was dull and, at times, wet. We were, however, fortunate that Sunday had no rain, so hoods were down all day, although Monday morning saw a steady drizzle that restricted the number of visitors to our display until later in the day.

The Speedsters and Spyders Club was again represented by some outstanding cars, this year's "Best in Show" going to Leslie Bennett, who, disappointed at not winning in the past, went to the extreme length of having a Volvo driver smash his car in France on the way to Le Mans, in order to get a rebuild on the insurance and thus ensure 1st place in the show!

  click on any pic to enlarge  

Numbers of club cars, although above 20 on Sunday, were down on recent record levels, for a variety of reasons. Rob Jones' Intermeccanica awaits completion, Martin Burge's car developed a fault on the eve of the show, the Dutch contingent were not in attendance this year and others are "between cars" or were on holiday. But we did have two PGO Speedsters joining our Club cars this year.

The loyal Udo made his usual annual pilgrimage from Germany to be with us in his famous Speedster (for the benefit of new members, or those not in-the-know, Udo made his own mould in the 1970s and built the entire car himself, before anyone had heard of the term "Speedster replica").

In addition to the hardy on-site campers, about a dozen members stayed overnight in the Old Mill at Baginton and sank a considerable number of drinks after a meal together on Sunday evening!

In the halls at the Stoneleigh Park arena could be found the usual number of bargains in the way of parts and accessories, but the number of Speedsters was noticeably at an all-time low. Chesil were, of course, not present, but neither were Intermeccanica, who made such a strong impression on their debut last year; and Pilgrim, whilst showing several of their other cars, did not have a Speedster on display - not even the stretched 4-seater (did I hear someone say, "thank goodness!" )

It was left to new club member Terry Watson, as agent for Thruxton Sportscars, to show his Beck to the public as the only Speedster in the halls. This turned out to be a nice car, with exceptionally good shut lines and a first class chassis, but yet to gain SVA approval and appear on the roads in this country.

Given the amount of interest in cars in the Club display (and the offers made for some of them), it is quite remarkable that there is such a current gap in the market for factory-built and kit Speedsters. Any company that's properly run and can produce a decent quality, SVA'd car at a sensible price and readily available would seem to have a great opportunity. Too much to ask?

Monday at Stoneleigh was a slight anti-climax because of the morning rain. By the time it had cleared and the sun returned, the show was starting to wind down. Nonetheless, the Club members who stayed to the end had plenty to see and talk about and we'll hope for the usual stunning weather at Castle Combe!

In the meantime, there's a good show at Stonor Park near Henley-on-Thames on Sunday 3rd June (NOT Sunday 2nd June, which those with a calendar or access to the internet will have realised was a misprint in the magazine and website!). We meet outside the Crown in neighbouring Pishill at 8.30 am. It's always great weather and a great location, so see you there!

Tony

back to coming events index

back to home page