Sunday, 16 September 2007 01:19

VSCC Prescott 4th & 5th August 2007

Written by  Carol Corliss
Tradition was almost broken this year, the much loved weekend in the heart of the Cotswolds came within a whisker of being cancelled.  The serious flooding that had so decimated this area of the country had left farmland waterlogged and widespread damage to property.  One of the worst aspects was a lack of water over wide areas.  This included the villages around Prescott.  It was not until a few days before when a few days of dry weather gave the ground chance to recover, that the Club decided to go ahead with the meeting.
The VSCC meetings have always been remarkably free of such incidences but I was told by a reliable source that there had been an unusual amount of thefts this season at the venue and at least one other reported on this meeting.  Years ago, a team of thieves targeted Pebble Beach and thoroughly cleaned up. I suppose that we are so accustomed having such a decent crowd at our events we become complacent.  I am sure that Members and enthusiasts are as trustworthy as ever but we cannot control who decides to attend and for what reasons.  On the brighter side, I left my handbag unattended and forgotten for over 2 hours during the weekend and it was untouched when I belatedly missed and went to recover it.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                The now traditional line up of Vauxhalls were above the central paddock again, some competing and some having taken part in the scenic run which precedes the meeting. It was good to see young Tim Hardman (See the picture taken in better times) gingerly picking his way around the paddock after his very nasty spill at Cadwell in the B & Q Austin special.  He asked me to pass on his gratitude to Club staff and fellow competitors for their help and support during his hospital stay and subsequent convalescence.  The experience has not put him off wanting to get back on the circuits, he is already putting the car right for when he is able to take the wheel again.  Aah the resilience of the young!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             One very familiar and welcome face around was Ronald (Steady) Barker who was driving the first competing car of the day, the Peugeot Quadrilette of Lord Raglan, up the hill.  There was a last minute dash round the paddock to borrow an eligible crash helmet for him and then he was able to go for a practice run.  The older ones of us (That includes us) will have fond memories of “Steady” at the wheel of his long time owned Napier which he parted with some years ago. There were one or two mishaps over the weekend. Graham Carr went off at Pardon in the AC/GN Special and was thankfully not seriously hurt. The car was a different matter though and some heroic work by his local repair man had the car running for the following week, a seemingly impossible task in view of the type of damage.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        The Bugatti Trust had a very nice display of vehicles outside their H.Q., building for the weekend, they are always worth a little time to study. The fastest time of the day went to James Baxter in the Single Seater 1934 Frazer Nash (Third year on the trot) with Mac Hulbert in ERA R4D giving him a good run for his money.   Amongst the footage of the event are shots of;  “Steady” Barker on the Peugeot;  Donald Day in R14B ERA laying down smoking rubber; Nick Ridley in the Theophile Schneider; Roland Duce in his delightful Prince Henry Vauxhall and many more good shots of competitors on the hill.
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