“It gives me great pleasure to see the re-launch of the HRSR website and I hope it helps to maintain the HRSR, as a racing series, into the future. I understand that the HSCC is, in effect, re-launching the Historic Racing Saloons. If the ‘originals’ can assist the HSCC and HRSR effort, it can only be a good thing – best of luck.
It’s now some 25 years since my last circuit race, but in some ways it seems like yesterday. At the recent HRSR lunch, around three dozen ‘old’ HRSR drivers turned up and it reminded me how much fun we had years ago and what great memories were made.
Glen Maskell, the original HRSR Chairman, always exuded great enthusiasm for the series and , under his leadership, a hard core of racers was established. Sadly Glen is no longer with us but Bob Sherring, Phil Wight and myself are still standing.
My racing journey that finished when competing with the HRSR, started back in 1972, at the age of twenty three. One day I saw an advert in Autosport, for a Fiat 600 sprint and hillclimb car complete with Lotus twin cam engine. It certainly looked the part and was a fraction of a factory produced Abarth racer. I fell in love with that mean looking and over engined little Fiat and agreed to buy it subject to finding the money. I recall ringing the Bank Manager who was happy to lend me the requisite £700.00. This was the start of many years of borrowing money from the bank in order to finance my motor racing.
David Render who sold me the Fiat Lotus made it crystal clear that it was a sprint and hillclimb car and not a circuit racer. Did I take his advice – did I hell. So after three successful sprints I wanted to go track racing, which in those days, just meant entering a race.
Since I liked Snetterton, I entered a Special Saloon event and practiced well, landing up on the third row of the grid, but the Lotus engine would not fire up on the starting grid and when the flag dropped the Mini who was behind me didn’t realise and he hit me hard on the nearside wing and that was the end of my first race. I still don’t like Minis!!
By the late 70’s, the little Fiat became uncompetitive so the Fiat –Lotus became a Fiat Abarth complete with one litre engine and five speed gearbox. I now had a car that whilst lacking the brute horsepower of the Fiat-Lotus, was more inclined to go round bends with an LSD and better weight distribution. I competed in Italian marquee events and in Germany where Abarths were abundant. Beating the local heroes was always gratifying and I had some great weekends at the Nurburgring involving copious amounts of beer and some super racing.
I had a Fiat Abarth from the 1960’s that needed a UK race series when I read about the proposed formation of the HRSR under the wing of the BRSCC. One phone call to Glen and off we went.
The HRSR suited me and, as it turned out, many other owner drivers, who wanted to race a particular marquee and develop it within a ‘period’ set of rules. Some divers were Anglia nuts with Glen leading the charge. Bob favoured a Ford Galaxie and Phil a Lotus Cortina. All mixing it with Jaguars, BMWs, Austin A40s, Hillman Imps, Cortina GTs, Renault Dauphines etc etc.
When I stopped circuit racing in 1996, I entered my Fiat Abarth 1000 in HRSR events for Phil Wight. There were/are very few people that I would entrust a car to but Phil was one of them. He respected the car whilst being fast and competitive. I think he enjoyed driving the Abarth and I enjoyed being involved and only concentrating on the engineering and preparation. It was good while it lasted (four races I believe). Unfortunately on the last lap of a race at Silverstone, the engine let go spectacularly due to a broken crank. That sadly, signalled the end of my experience as being an entrant. Thereafter, I went hill climbing around Europe.
Looking back, I can recall many incidents and accidents, over many season, I will put pen to paper again in the near future, withy anecdotes of HRSR times gone by.”