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| Marcel Léyat's' Hélica' aerocar of 1921 in full glory - what an object! There's another example in the excellent Musée des Arts et Metiers in central Paris. |
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| The smoky end of Frank Chatokhine's '38 Triumph Speed Twin |
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| 1921 Hélica, 1925 Excelsior Super X racer, and 1926 Motosacoche 804 Sport, amazingly sharing a single track, but there's plenty of room... |
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| Cars as full of character as an antique bike, and surely as much trouble to keep in good running order! |
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| A bored ambulance crew is an excellent sign that riders kept matters under control... |
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| The Amilcar/Hispano-Suiza aero-engine mashup... |
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| ...and the pilot's view of the beast. |
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| A Dixieland jazz band kept things light |
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| A series of tented workshops from Yesterday's, the Hockenheim Museum, the Brooklands Museum, and several private owners corralled a wide variety of machines in a small space; visible here are Indian, Douglas, Peugeto, and Werner - the products of four countries, all pre-WW1. |
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| No, not a racer, but a rare and wonderful beast, the 1924 BSA 770cc v-twin |
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| Red, white, and blue...the French flag represented in the engine bay of a Bugatti type 35 straight-8 racer |
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| One could get lost in the sensuous landscape of a Bugatti Type 59's front suspension - leaf springs, dampers, and axle... |
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| ...with cable-operated brakes of enormous size. |
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| The crowd mostly kept to the balcony over the starting grid, and avoided the grandstands; the better to smell the Castrol R! |
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| The 1902 Clément-Gladiator, which was also produced under license in the USA |
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| No excuses here: I have one too, and this example looks great. Compared to a 1902 Indian, it's a moped, but this is what motorcycling looked like at the turn of the Century. And the Indian would have set me back several zeros more than a Clément! |
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| A 1928 Norton CS1 racer, with Walter Moore-designed 'cricket bat' engine. |
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| Cyclecars! A 1921 Tamplin Cyclecar to be exact - with seating a cozy one-two inline, and the body made from plywood soaked in resin to make it waterproof. It's a unibody, with direct chain drive to the left rear wheel only (no need for a differential!). Over a thousand Tamplins were produced. |
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| Lots of vintage bicycles in use, which expedited transversing the grounds. Especially nice in period dress |
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| The hot rods confer - Dimitri Coste and Frank Chatokhine |
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| The Hockenheim Museum's immaculate 1928 Douglas SW5 road racer. |
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| This early Bugatti bears the maker's signature on the cambox! A nice touch; as Ettore was raised in a family of artists, it's understandable he'd sign his creations |
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| The VRM staff, always helpful, generally smiling. Lots of work to do, but what an office! |
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| The owner reckoned this might be the first Peugeot v-twin ever sold, the ex-Paris Show 1905 machine |
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| Frank |
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| Well bashed aluminum bodywork on this GN, the twin-carb 'Piglet Special', with plenty of louvres to keep the air-cooled engine cool. A fantastic sight to watch sliding around the corners |
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| Jean-Luc Gaignard in his 1920 Silver Hawk 1480cc OHC racer; he brought motorcycles too! |
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| Period correct gents... |
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| ...and ladies! |
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| A rare Gnome-Rhone with pressed-steel frame and forks. |
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| I captured this gent in 2013; the car has been in one family since new, and no doubt these youngsters will inherit it |
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| Big smiles in a big 'teens Mercedes GP racer |
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| 1913 Henderson on the track - the magnificent American 4-cylinder, this is the short-chassis second version. |
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| Jonathan Rishton, editor of The Automobile (to which I occasionally contribute), peers out the back of the 'works' Ford Vedette van |
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| 'Cally' Callamon looking distinguished in his everyday attire. A well-known exponent of high-wheeler bicycles, who's done the full length of Britain on one |
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| Even the kids get a race course - with vintage pedal-cars. |
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| Ultra-rare beast; the OHC Koehler-Escoffier GP 350cc of 1934, a big improvement over their late '20s OHC racers, as it has a proper oil pump and positive oiling for the camshaft, rather than the total-loss feed prior. Cams need lots of oil! |
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| Laurence Chatokhine with a lovely vintage Peugeot in full Deco decor. |
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| Rackety old open-wheelers crowding the grid. Just fabulous. |
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| The technically advanced work of Nougier, here with a gear-driven DOHC head added to a Magnat-Debon |
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| The 1928 La Mondial with full pressed-steel chassis and JAP engine. A very rare machine, with a cool half-round gas tank - very Deco indeed. Note the doubled-up front brakes. |
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| Lining up for the Morgan/Salmson 3-wheel races |
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| Nice ad placement! The command center of the track |
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| A shot of the 500cc DOHC Magnat-Debon with the full Nougier treatment, originally modified in 1936. Francois-Marie Dumas has recently written a full account of the Nougier enterprise from 1932-72; worth investigating, as their DOHC 4-cylinder racer of the 1950s is serious stuff. |
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| Oliver Way and his Austin aero-engine racer |
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| Paterfamilias of the Coste clan |
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| Sebastien Chirpaz, proprietor of A Piece of Chic silk scarves, some of which adorn my neck! |
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| I love two wheels, but four wheels like this look like fun too |
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| A very early Rochet motorcycle, looking very original |
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| A better view of Jean-Luc Gaignard's Silver Hawk racer, with the banking behind, looking like a wall |
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| A rare 1932 Styl'son R12 250cc with Blackburne engine |
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| How the racing across his back must haunt his dreams... |
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| A gorgeous seafoam green Terrot |
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| And another Terrot, with an engine of their own make |
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| Pavel Malanik's 1909 Torpedo recreation, with 1640cc fan-4, which sounded amazing on the track |
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| Ready for the staging area |
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| DOHC Amilcar with supercharger replaced by a pair of carbs! Less trouble in actual use? |
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| Not a men's club; Gillian Carr on an early 60s Velocette Venom |
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| Thanks for the party Vincent! You're the man! |