The place to be in Australia this autumn - during the weekend  9th - 11th March 2012 - was Phillip Island, Victoria.Over 500 fabulous cars were entered in 47 events, and hundreds of the most desirable cars from all over the world were there for the 2012 Festival of Motor Sport.  The Island is 140km from Melbourne, and the drive is supposed to take an hour and 30 minutes. Along the Highway I spotted an AC Cobra, a Morgan 3 wheeler, all kinds and ages of Alfa Romeo, two or three Testa Rossa, Porsche, Maserati, MG Magnette, TC-TF, TR2, Aston Martin, General Motors and Fords, a pair of XK 120, and a couple of Bugatti. It was going to be a Festival all right.Here is a glimpse of some of the competitors in the Classic tradition. 

Victoria Le Gallais - BrabhamBT15 Formula 3	Wayne Sayers - 1960 Elfin (blue)P. McKnight - Aarons Lotus (green)	Tony Osborne - 1958 Simca Spl	Thomas Benson - 1952 BMH Spl'Comic Book'  2200 cc
Monoskate - Graeme Raper	Mac Healey - Graeme Marks	Cooper Climax T 45 - ScottyTaylor	TS Special - Charlie Mitchell

more text followed by 2nd of 3 sets of frames

Dick O'Keefe - Photon (Lotus 11)	John Anderson - 1962 Cooper Butler 1496 cc	Nigel Gray - Singer Special Sports	Alfa Romeo 6C -Trevor Montgomery
Des Donnan's FN Boulogne	John Rundell - 1953 Maybach 2	Ferrari Tipo 500	Bruce Jones - Ford Zephyr Spl

 

	Michael Stupka - Citroen 11D

 

Bob Pinkerton - 1955 Peugeot Spl	Bill Prowse - 1968 Alfa Ricciardi Spyder	Kent Patrick - Bugatti 37A GP	Geoff Burton - Brabham BT 29

  Click here for more photos in Part 2

After a damp Goodwood Revival weekend before the Six Hours meeting and the memories of a very wet Six Hours weekend in 2010, I was relieved that everyone driving off to Spa-Francorchamps was treated to a totally sunny autumn weekend. It’s still hard to understand why one of the most important classic race events on the European mainland doesn’t attract more visitors. Compared to the number of people visiting Goodwood it must be a bit frustrating for the organisers as the fields of all the races are filled with an impressive number of highly interesting and well prepared cars.