Under a beautiful, blue May sky, the fifth annual Moss Motors British Extravaganza attracted record numbers of competition and show cars to Buttonwillow Raceway in the San Joaquin Valley of central California. Organized by VARA, and sponsored by Moss Motors in association with Chrysler Corporation and Title West Mortgage, the event has continually proved to…
Coordinating a club event with a National Park site, especially one as busy with filming and other events as Paramount Ranch is, can be challenging, but on April 12th, it all worked out. The weather couldn’t have been more ideal – cool morning temperatures under beautiful sunny skies. Nineteen cars with 30 people met at…
I had my first glimpse of a Sprite during the winter of 1958. John Thornley, MG factory boss and BMC Competition Department instigator, heard that I was writing “Modified Motoring,” a tuning book on the A series Austin A35 and Morris Minor. He invited me to an early showing of the Bugeye so that I…
Denise McCluggage definitely fits into the latter category. She was a legendary racer who competed against Phil Hill, Stirling Moss, Dan Gurney, Carroll Shelby and Juan Manuel Fangio. She won the GT class at Sebring running a Ferrari 250, won the Copa de Damas at the Grand Prix of Venezuela and the sedan class at the…
The classified add read: “FOR SALE: ’61 Sprite, partially race-prepared, Engine rebuilt – $300. SW 4-1622 days till 7:00 pm.” We drove to Tom’s ABC Auto Service and there it was, a Cherry Red, H Production Bugeye Sprite with roll-bar, open exhaust, no windshield or front bumper. Too boot, it was a “Sebring Sprite” with…
A World Champion gets his first Healey ride. A dark sky, rain threatening; early Sunday morning 18 June, 2000, at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, site of the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, Canada. “Follow the course marshal’s instructions and DON’T SCREW UP! We’ll be in front of tens of thousands of people and…
I had no idea that the young girls of the post-World War II era dreamed of becoming race car drivers. Certainly a pony might appear in their hopeful plans for the future, and many of them took part very successfully in show jumping and cross-country events—Pat Moss included. But driving ambitions came as naturally to many…
At the end of August 1961, John Whitmore had been racing in Denmark at the Roskilde Ring, doing battle with the work’s Saabs. He and Eoin Young then hurried down motorways to arrive in Germany at Adenau, performing a handbrake turn in the car park to celebrate a non-stop marathon. John and I were to…
Forget the Sound of Music. On the first weekend of August, the hills near Flintstone, Maryland were alive with the sound of competition cars on a 1.2-mile, nine turn, rural road up Polish Mountain. Fred and Barney must love the deep-throated sound of the Yamaha-powered D Sports Racers, the Mustangs and Camaros, Mazdas and even…
Notwithstanding its participation in the ill-fated race at Le Mans in 1955, NOJ 393 has an unparalleled provenance among Healey competition cars. It was constructed in 1953 as one of four Special Test Cars for use by the factory racing team and is one of only two that were later converted to 100S specification. NOJ…
