Get your classic car out for breakfast this weekend

CLASSIC CAR owners will be showing off their vehicles at the first of a series of 2016 breakfast meetings in the Lancashire village of Wrightington this Sunday (3 April).

The meets at the Corner House pub – which follow the success of similar events last year - take place between 9am and 11.30am on the first weekend of each month. The pub's also hosted a New Year's Day meeting - pictured above - which attracted more than 100 classic car owners.

All the events will raise money for good causes.

Cholmondeley Power and Speed: A cool new name and more features for Cheshire motoring spectacular

CHOLMONDELEY Power and Speed. It might sound like the world’s poshest brand of energy drink but it’s actually a vow to bring three days of high octane fun right here to the North West.

Chances are you’ll already know it by its not that dissimilarly named predecessor, the Cholmondeley Pageant of Power. It’s long been a good idea; give the grounds of a stately pile in deepest Cheshire over to some car nuts for three days, flood the grounds with every Jaguar XJ220, Noble M600 and Ariel Atom you can find and see what happens.

For the past eight years the Pageant of Power’s managed to win over folk who don’t normally go to car shows. Don’t me get me wrong, I love wandering around parks looking at rows of Ford Anglias but I fully understand if it’s not your thing. Cholmondeley, on the other hand, offers you the chance to see Ferraris being raced against the clock and to hear the anarchic growl of Group B rally cars being driven in anger. It’s got a thrill factor that pulls in people with even the faintest interest in cars.

Yet – even as one of the event’s biggest fans – I’ll freely admit the same thing every year was beginning to feel a bit staid, which is why I’m glad the people behind it are vowing it’s not just a case of Opal Fruits being rebranded as Starburst.

For starters all the car clubs, who for years have been relegated to the edge of the public car park, an eternity away from all the exciting stuff, are being moved somewhere visitors will actually find them. That’s great news because they always bring along scores of wonderful cars – think TVRs, Audi Quattros and Nissan Skylines – and now you won’t have to walk miles out of your way to see them.

The renamed event also has more in the way of tie-ups with car manufacturers – including the chance to drive some of them for yourself on the opening day – as well as a renewed focus on having lots of supercars being put through their paces at this year’s event. It’s also telling that while the organisers could have picked somewhere in the North West to announce everything, they did it in London instead. Yes, that London, all the way down there in the South. The new Cholmondeley will be so good that people ‘daahn saaf’ will want to join us!

The one thing I’m keeping my fingers crossed for is Cholmondeley resisting the rather obvious path of becoming the North’s answer to the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Having been to both I actually prefer what we’ve got because it’s friendlier, less corporate and – crucially – you see cars rather than the back of people’s heads. Whatever happens, make a date for June 10-12.

Just when I was going to give Cholmondeley a miss this year because I’ve seen it all before they go and shake things up a bit. Even if it does sound like a posh energy drink.

This Southport motoring event is one you won't want to miss

SOUTHPORT is finally getting its moment in the motoring spotlight.

Anyone up on their local history will know the town actually does pretty well on automotive heritage – and that Red Rum isn’t the only sort of horsepower our part of the world can be proud of. A century ago we were building Vulcan cars here, followed by Corgi scooters well into the 1950s, and when the beach wasn’t being used to hone future Grand National winners it was being used as a race circuit for blokes in Minis and Hillman Imps. We’re also home to the oldest Morgan dealership in the world (which has been selling Malvern’s finest since 1926) and just up the road in Banks there’s a chap who’s made more than 400 re-creations of the Lotus Europa.

Yet our finest automotive hour has been all but forgotten. Five years ago I remember writing for The Champion that the day Sir Henry Segrave set the world land speed record right here in the North West – March 16, 1926 – was marked only by the name of the town’s branch of JD Wetherspoon. The resort’s stint as the fastest place on earth had been all but forgotten - until now.

Organisers The Atkinson and Aintree Circuit Club – the people behind the Ormskirk MotorFest – have vowed to mark the 90th anniversary in style. I’ve seen the plans for the event and it’s exciting stuff; they could have parked some classic cars outside The Atkinson and left it at that, but they haven’t. They’re planning an entire week of events, topped off by a re-creation of the actual run on 16 March using a Sunbeam Tiger (the V12-engined vintage monster, not the 1960s roadster) just like Sir Henry did.

That means it’ll be the second land speed record re-enactment in a year, following the return of Sir Malcolm Campbell’s Blue Bird to Pendine Sands in Wales. To have something like that happen right on my doorstep is hugely exciting, which is why I can’t wait to see this event getting off the ground and witnessing a 1920s racer capable of more than 150mph fire into action on the very beach it wowed the world.

The event’s called The Southport Festival of Speed and I’m sure there’ll be plenty more on it The Champion in the coming weeks. See you there!

New classic car show for Lancashire in 2016

CLASSIC car owners across the North West are being encouraged to get their entries in for a new show being held in May.

Mawdeseley Cricket Club has teamed up with car clubs based in the county to put together the new Mawdesley Classic Car and Motorbike Show, being held at the cricket club's ground on Bank Holiday Monday, 30 May. The show takes place between 1pm and 4pm, and is free for classic owners to enter. There's also a classic car run through the Lancashire countryside immediately before the show, which starts at 9.30am and costs £10 to enter.

To download an entry form head to Mawdesley Cricket Club's website. All the funds raised by the show will go towards the club paying for its newly-installed pavilion.

New venue for Lancashire classic car New Year show

A NEW YEAR treat for classic car fans in Lancashire has been relocated to a new venue.

Traditionally the January 1 show for owners of older cars took place at Briars Hall in Lathom, but it’s now going to take place from 10.30am onwards at the Corner House pub in nearby Wrightington.

The pub’s other monthly meetings for classic car owners have been suspended for the winter until 6 March next year.

You love the NEC Classic Motor Show - here are some other great classic car shows you won't want to miss

LAST weekend I joined 68,000 of you in getting up at the crack of dawn so they can join a traffic jam just outside Birmingham. It was worth it – the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show is one of those automotive pilgrimages everyone should do at least once.

Even petrolheads I know who think anything south of Crewe is ‘a bit far’ will happily head down the M6 to see 3000 classic cars – whether it’s an Austin Maestro van or an Aston Martin Vanquish that floats your boat, chances are you’ll have found it in Birmingham’s halls of automotive dreams.

It’s also the place where you can see Mike Brewer and Edd China finish a three-day resto miraculously close to kicking-out time on the final day and where just about every spare part imaginable will be at the bottom of a box on an autojumble stand.

It’s great fun – but it’s also where most petrolheads’ idea of a weekend outing stops.

The NEC show is great despite having to visit Birmingham on a dreary weekend. Auto Retro, on the other hand, is an excuse to persuade the other half to catch some winter sun in Barcelona – and it’s only a budget flight away from Liverpool or Manchester. If you’re staying overnight Barcelona’s hotels cost roughly the same as Birmingham’s – and whichever way you cut it, you’re more likely to persuade your other half with Gaudi’s basilica than the Bullring shopping centre.

It’s the same story with Germany. I love the Silverstone Classic, but book your plane tickets now on the cheap and you could just easily go to the Nürburgring in the height of summer for the AVD Oldtimer Grand Prix. Forget the language barrier – it’s worth going just to see all those BMW M1s and Porsche 911s going to war on the world’s scariest race track.

Then there’s the Irish National Classic Car Show in Dublin next March – a whole day of motoring fun and an evening of knocking back pints of Guiness, less than an hour from John Lennon airport – or the AutoMotoRetro show in the shadow of the old Fiat factory in Turin. Then there’s the behemoth that is the Essen show next April – if you think your feet get a bit tired after a day after tramping around the NEC then you’ll have no idea just how enormous Europe’s biggest classic car show is. You could spend weeks wandering around in there!

The NEC is great and as a show it belongs to 'us' - the classic car nuts. But just remember there are so many other shows just waiting to be discovered, and they’re only a cheap flight away.

Adios, amigo. See you in Barcelona!

Read more about the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show in today's issue of Classic Car Weekly

It's your last chance to enter this year's Ormskirk MotorFest

THE organisers of this year's Ormskirk MotorFest have hit their target of bringing 350 classic cars and bikes to West Lancashire next month - but that means you'll have to hurry if you want to enter your pride and joy.

Aintree Circuit Club said it had reached its goal for the 30 August event, and will be closing entries tomorrow (25 July). It's free to take part, although entering the event's new Concours D'Elegance contest is £10 per vehicle.

Club chairman Mike Ashcroft said:"We will shortly be closing for Entries as we have now reached 350 vehicles, which is our target for this year.

"Late entries from racing type machinery may be accepted and also for the Concours d’Elegance, which you can enter online too."

Previous entries at the MotorFest, which has taken place in Ormskirk town centre since 2011, have included a BRM P261 Formula One car, a Ferrari Enzo originally owned by Rod Stewart, and the McLaren MP4-12C. The event includes displays in the town centre and Coronation Park, plus parades on the town's one-way system.

If you want to enter go to the event website and fill in the online form with your vehicle details.

Get your entries in for the 2015 Ormskirk MotorFest!

CLASSIC CAR owners have until the end of the month to get their entries in for this year’s Ormskirk MotorFest.

This year’s event takes place on Sunday, August 30 and includes a new Concours D’Elegance competition which rewards owners for cleanly presented cars. The MotorFest takes place in Ormskirk town centre and Coronation Park.

For more information and to get your classic car entered go to the event's website.

Transatlantic 175 set the template for Liverpool car shows

AT LAST. After what feels like an eternity, Liverpool’s had a proper car show we could all enjoy!

I know that Transatlantic 175 – as a celebration of Merseyside’s maritime, rather than motoring, heritage – encompassed a weekend of events focusing on lots of things other than old cars. If you’d wandered down to the waterfront over the weekend, you’d have been greeted with music, vintage fashion and – rather more impressively – the imposing sight of the Queen Mary 2 looming over Liverpool’s waterfront.

But for me (and it seems, a couple of thousand others) the real highlight was seeing 200-odd cars, ranging from Austin Sevens to Aston Martin DB5s, dotted around in front of the Three Graces. Not only was it a wonderful sight to behold, but something long overdue.

For years, it’s been accepted wisdom that car shows are seas of Sunbeam Rapiers and folding chairs held in the grounds of stately homes and on village greens. Events like the ones at Tatton Park, Cholmondeley and – on a smaller scale, last weekend’s Lydiate show – are great are pulling in some very diverse old cars and the band of merry enthusiasts who support them (I should know – I’m one of them).

But big car events held in town and city centres have a different pull altogether – the power to draw huge throngs of car nuts onto the high streets. It’s the sort of thing that’d make Mary Portas don a set of driving goggles and hop into a vintage Bentley – thousands of people who love cars going to look at Astons and Ferraris, and then spending their hard-earned cash in the nearby shops afterwards.

The Manchester Classic Car Show, now in its third year, brings more than 9000 car nuts within a stone’s throw of the Trafford Centre. Bradford’s annual event – held in front of its Grade I-listed city hall – is a bustling event now in its tenth year. That’s before I get to the Regent Street Motor Show and how it conveniently gets thousands of shoppers onto the London thoroughfare just before Christmas. There was only one question I heard all the classic car owners asking at the Pier Head over the weekend. When’s it all happening again?

Transatlantic 175 set a template for something the powers-that-be should have done ages ago. Liverpool is a wonderful venue with a lot of car-making heritage – let’s have more of this sort of thing!

For more pictures from Transatlantic 175 see the 8 July 2015 issue of Classic Car Weekly

In praise of proper, traditional car shows

WE LIVE in troubled times, if the seemingly constant threats of Greek financial meltdown, terrorist attacks and Katie Hopkins turning to Twitter are anything to go by. That’s why I’m glad there’s usually a car show somewhere nearby to escape the mayhem!

Regular readers will already know I’m a bit of a car show junkie – whether it’s a breakfast meet at a pub down the road or a continental juggernaut of a show like the huge indoor shows at Paris or Essen, I’ll happily wear my shoes out wandering around. Car shows are a petrolhead staple and they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but the ones I enjoy most of all are the ones are the quintessentially British ones where sea of Triumph Spitfires and MG Midgets is broken only by the burger bars and the fairground rides.

That’s probably why I thoroughly enjoyed wandering around the Riverside Steam and Vintage Rally, a stone’s throw from Tarleton, the other day.

Not only is it all for a good cause – since the event’s inception in 2009, it’s raised more than £200,000 for charities right here in the North West – but it’s also refreshing to look around a show that’s down-to-Earth, free of gimmicks and affordable to enter.

The cars, with the notable exception of a Land Rover Series III formerly owned by Fred Dibnah, aren’t the real stars of the show - that honour goes to all the lovingly maintained steam traction engines and William Hunter’s hugely impressive collection of classic trucks.

However, once you’ve finished looking at all the trucks, buses, tractors and motorcycles the show there are more than enough old cars to keep anyone entertained, and I actually enjoyed the fact there wasn’t a single Lamborghini Miura or Aston Martin DB4 within a ten-mile radius. Nope, it was just yard after yard of nostalgia for the sort of cars you’d have actually seen on the nation’s roads a couple of generations ago – Cortinas, Cambridges, Heralds, and so on. Wonderful!

It’s this sort of thoroughly old school approach to car shows I never get bored of, and why I hope Riverside keeps on raising the charity cash like this for years to come. The good news if you love these old cars is that the show season’s just kicking off and there’s plenty more of this sort of thing on the way – keep an eye out for the Hundred End, Lydiate, and Tatton Park shows for more of this unashamed nostalgia.

See you there!

Read a full review of the Riverside Steam and Vintage Rally in tomorrow's issue of Classic Car Weekly

Entries now open for 2015 Ormskirk MotorFest

A NEW concours d’elegance event bringing together the finest cars from across the North West will be one of big draws of this year’s Ormskirk MotorFest.

Entries are now open for classic car and sports car owners keen to take part in the August 30 event, which brings together static displays and parades around the town’s one-way system.

Find out more about how to apply on the event's website.

Classic cars sought for Liverpool heritage festival

ENTRIES are now open for the classic car cavalcade and motoring-themed display at Liverpool’s Transatlantic 175 festival on July 5.

While the parade through the city centre is limited to 175 vehicles, the accompanying Vintage On The Docks display will be open to classic owners across Sefton and West Lancashire. Classic cars which tie in with the event's transatlantic theme - particularly US icons - are particularly sought after by the show organisers.

Go to the event's website to find out how to get your application in.

Why the Transatlantic 175 classic car cavalcade will be a celebration of Scouse motoring

HERE’S a pub quiz question to test your motoring knowledge. What does the Range Rover Evoque have in common with the Triumph TR7, the BAC Mono and the Ford Anglia?

The answer – should you wish to try this one on your petrolhead pals – is they’ve all been bolted together just down the road in Liverpool. As were the Jaguar X-Type, the Land Rover Freelander, the Ford Escort and the Triumph Toledo for that matter.

We’ve been mass-producing motors on Merseyside since the 1960s, and yet these great industrial achievements have gone uncelebrated for decades. That’s why I was delighted to learn the other day that one of the star draws of Liverpool’s Transatlantic 175 festival in July is a cavalcade through the city centre of 175 classic cars and motorbikes, accompanied by a static display of motoring’s greatest hits on the Albert Dock. I can’t wait to see how this one pans out, because Merseyside’s been overdue a really big car event for decades.

The event’s organisers told me they’re looking for cars from across the North West which are either British or American and have “great stories to tell” –prototypes, one-offs, early models, that sort of thing – for the 5 July parade through the centre. While it’s still early days and applications have only just opened for the event, I reckon it’s got the potential to be a real hit because there are so many wonderful cars being enjoyed by car nuts across the North West.

Wouldn’t it be great to see one of the first Ford Anglias ever to roll off the Halewood production line take part in that parade, followed by a couple of the Formula One cars which fans of the Ormskirk MotorFest will be familiar with? You could stretch it out beyond Liverpool’s borders too; I’d love to see a Southport-crafted Vulcan, one of the Lotus Europas lovingly built in Banks or one of Ellesmere Port’s earliest Vauxhall Vivas winding their way past Liverpool’s landmarks.

That’s before I get onto the land speed record set in Southport by Sir Henry Segrave or the fact that Aintree is about so much more than horse racing – it’s where Sir Stirling Moss became the first Englishman to win a British Grand Prix! The North West has a wonderful motoring heritage and the Transatlantic 175 festival is the perfect occasion to share that with the world.

I’m really looking forward to hearing the noise of those 175 cars and bikes starting up as they get ready for the parade. See you there!

Don't miss out on tomorrow's Mini Fair

MINI fans won't want to miss out on this year's Mini Fair, which gets underway at the Staffordshire County Showground tomorrow (25 January).

Not only are there scores of the Alec Issigonis-designed classics to check out, but one of the event's long-running traditions - the chance to win a Mini in a £1 raffle - is back. This year, show organiser the British Mini Club is giving away a 1988 Mini City, worth £4,500.


The show opens at 9.30am. To find out more, visit the event website.

New classic car show in Preston today

CLASSIC CAR owners in Lancashire might want to head to this new event, which takes place near Preston today.

The 10am-4pm event takes place at the Smiths Arms in Lea Town, and is open to all classic vehicles, and if it's a success more gatherings are on the cards at the pub later this summer.

For more information call John Deuce on 01772 760555.

Don't miss tomorrow's Wirral to Llandudno Mini Run

ONE of my favourite motoring events - the Wirral to Llandudno Mini Run - gets underway tomorrow morning (11 January, 2015).

It's not only a great opportunity to blow off the festive cobwebs, but you get to see scores of classic Minis from right across Wales, the north of England and the Midlands being enjoyed in and around the picturesque resort of Llandudno.

The run takes more than 100 Minis from Bromborough on the Wirral to Rhos-on-Sea, the Great Orme and into Llandudno, but the best place to see them is on Llandudno's promenade from 11am. The display is held on the town's seafront until 3pm.

If you've never been, these pictures from the event in previous years will give you an idea what to expect...

 

For more information have a look at the event's website.

New classic car gatherings planned for the North West

CLASSIC CAR owners from across the North West are being invited to a new series of monthly meets which begin this spring.

The meetings will be held on the Sunday morning of every month between 9am and 11.30am at the Corner House, a pub and restaurant in Wrightington.

The events are being organised by David Morgan, who is also involved in the long-running New Year classic car meet at Briars Hall in nearby Lathom. Clubs and individual classic owners alike are encouraged to bring their cars along to the inaugural event, which takes place on 1 March (EDIT: incorrect date published on event flyer).

For more information email info@cornerhousewrightington.co.uk or call 01257 451400.

 Click on either of the images to enlarge them for more details

Top ten: Life On Cars motoring moments of 2014

IT’S NOT often you get to compare a Ferrari F355 with a Peugeot 306 diesel snapped up for less than the price of a shirt.

Yet both managed the same trick – leaving a big impression on me in a year packed with great motoring moments.The tricky bit hasn’t been picking out the highlights, but working out which ones to leave out. Here are the ten I remember most fondly:

Discovering driving heaven is an MG TD…

 …or a 1954 MG TD Midget MkII, if we’re being precise about the draughty, exposed two-seater I drove on that bitterly cold day back in February for a Classic Car Weekly road test.

I remember spending most of that morning with a runny nose, numb fingers and shivering limbs but I was stunned by how sublime the steering and handling was this 60-year-old car.

It was not only more enjoyable to drive than my own old MG, a 1972 MGB GT, but it made me smile more than a Ferrari F355 did. That’s how big an impression it left on me.

Doing a lap of Fiat's rooftop test track (even if it was only on foot)

 The banking on top of the former Lingotto factory in Turin isn’t just where Fiat used to shake down its newly-built cars; anyone who knows their car films will instantly recognise it from the chase sequence in The Italian Job.

Normally, it’s off-limits to the public, but because I ended up staying in a hotel on the same complex I had the huge privilege of being allowed to go up and have a wander around this wonderful slice of automotive folklore.

Even if I didn’t have a Mini Cooper S to pound around the circuit, being able to walk around Fiat’s rooftop test track was an experience I’ll never forget.

Winning a national award for Life On Cars

Being named as one of the winners in the inaugural UK Blog Awards was a huge honour, and helped Life On Cars get – as I remember telling The Champion back in April – “national recognition as being one of the best motoring blogs out there”.

In true Life On Cars style, though, a motoring misadventure meant I never actually made it to the glittering awards ceremony in St Pancras. Classic Car Weekly had me exploring Rutland on the same day for its annual spring tour – highlights of which included pushing a broken-down Austin Montego out of harm’s way at Rutland Water!

Discovering what would happen if Carlsberg did classic car shows

Regular readers will already know I’m a car show junkie – at the last count, I’d gone to more than 50 in 2014, ranging from cosy charity events like the Lydiate Classic Car Show to European giants like Techno Classica Essen.

So you’d think my favourite would be the sun-kissed Auto Retro Barcelona or watching 20 D-types going head to head at the Goodwood Revival, right? Erm, not quite; it was the Lakes Charity Classic Car Show, which has about 200 cars and is held in a field just outside Grasmere.

There wasn’t a D-type or a celeb in sight but it had everything I look for in a show in spades; a great mix of cars, a stunning location, sensible prices and – best of all – a friendly atmosphere. Count me in for the 2015 show!

Applying the word ‘stagulent’ to just about everything

Spending quite a few occasions in 2014 driving a borrowed Triumph Stag inspired me to come up with the idea of stagulence – applying the slightly kitsch, retro qualities of this V8-hauled convertible and applying them to other objects.

So far reruns of The Persuaders!, Directors Bitter, Joanna Lumley and the entire town of Harrogate are among the things I’ve managed to describe as stagulent. Which is a shame, because I’ve always quite liked the Triumph in question.

Watching the car that started it all (briefly) resurface

I began 2014 by pondering what had actually happened to the old Life On Cars Mini. Sure enough, it reappeared a couple of months later on eBay – in worse condition than I’d originally sold it back in 2010.

Despite being flooded with nostalgic thoughts and suggestions from chums that I should buy it back, I resisted the urge to throw in a bid and let it go. Hopefully its new owner will be able to restore with the sort of money I didn’t have when I ran around in it!

Driving to the Nürburgring in my own car

This is a petrolhead pilgrimage everyone who really loves cars should do at least once, and I even though I was a bit apprehensive I even did the compulsory blast around The Green Hell in my MX-5 at the end (and no, I didn’t buy one of those sad stickers to put on my car afterwards).

Despite suffering a fairly dramatic air conditioning leak on the way – and being forced to mend it with a condom of all things – CCW colleague Murray Scullion and I had a great weekend on our assignment at the AvD Oldtimer Grand Prix. If you’re going to venture over to the continent for a show in your own car, I’d seriously consider this one.

Being in two places at the Ormskirk MotorFest at once

It was a tricky call – while I knew the job in hand was photographing the classics parading around Ormskirk for the annual MotorFest, I’d also got an invite to do a lap in the MGB. How, I’d spent the entire morning wondering, was I going to do both?

In the end, I finishing snapping my first set of cars, set the camera up, handed it to my girlfriend, and ran for it. I made it through the thousands of spectators in the nick of time, and managed to fire up the ‘B with seconds to spare before my designated slot.

It was worth it for this shot. Good times!

Rediscovering bargain basement motoring

2014 hadn’t begun on a great note when it comes to Life On Cars workhorses – looming transmission trouble had led me to sell the old Rover 214SEi and its Ford Mondeo replacement was destroyed when an errant BMW ran into the back of it.

This Peugeot 306 was the belated hero of the year, not only acting as a £750 stopgap for my girlfriend’s mother before she bought another car, but then being passed onto me as an everyday chugger for just £150.

It hasn’t been perfect but – as the first Life On Cars diesel car – I’m enjoying regularly getting upwards of 50 to the gallon. Like the £100 Renault 5 I ran years ago, I’m forgiving the 306’s imperfections because I love its bargain basement Frenchness.

Putting my foot down – in a Ferrari

I ended 2013 – having driven my first Aston Martin – wondering whether I’d get to pop my Ferrari cherry this year.

Sure enough, Classic Car Weekly needed someone to test a Ferrari F355, so my hand shot up quicker than the car itself can get to sixty! Truth be told, I barely got to scratch beneath the surface on real world roads, but on this few occasions when I really got to nail it this mid-engined supercar really was as good as everyone said it should be.

It really was utterly, utterly wonderful. New Year’s resolution for 2015 – get a go in a TVR Griffith. Here’s hoping!

Life On Cars wishes both of its readers a happy New Year

The Ormskirk MotorFest was proper classic car fun

APOLOGIES if I brushed past you in Ormskirk the other day in the mad rush to make it to my car on time.

My MG was booked in for three glorious laps of Ormskirk MotorFest glory, and I was about 30 seconds from missing out. Regular readers will know I’ve been an avid supporter of West Lancashire’s motorsport-themed spectacular since its inception – it is, after all, the best possible use for Ormskirk’s one-way system – and that my trusty old MGB GT has for years joined scores of other classic cars in the event’s street parades.

What you probably won’t know, however, is that while the old girl made its usual appearance at last year’s event it was actually too poorly to take part in the parades, thanks to an unfortunate incident involving a sprint circuit, historic race ace Barrie ‘Whizzo’ Williams and a slightly misguided attempt by my colleagues to mend a misfire which went horribly wrong. Having decided that West Lancashire’s petrolheads would prefer not to hear an MG which sounded like an East European tractor, I pulled my classic car out of the parades altogether. That’s the joy of classic car ownership for you!

This year, however, I decided it’d be a crime not to get the MG, with all its rattly bits mended, into the parades around Ormskirk’s one-mile circuit. The only problem was that I somehow had to photograph the parades AND take part in them, which was why as the last of the bubble cars tootled up from Coronation Park towards the Parish Church I was nudging my way through the crowds in the opposite direction, eager to get from my photography spot to the MG in record time. With just seconds to go before the classic car parade eased onto Park Road, I got my pride and joy fired up.

It was great not only to be involved in the most exciting aspect of the MotorFest once again, but also to see how the event’s evolved from that single, full-throttle spark of an idea back in 2010.

The most welcome change was the hugely increased emphasis on safety, with barriers installed right the way along Park Road – there’s never been an accident in the parades, but from the perspective of a driver cruising past thousands of spectators it’s good to know the fans have got some added protection!

The event’s still got its uniquely egalitarian atmosphere, where anyone can come and watch an F1 car charge past the bus station and pay nothing for the privelige, but the addition of the autotests, the car club displays and the emphasis on organisation have helped it mature into something with a slicker, more mature feel. It’s also, given the Government’s decision to legalise what are effectively road racing events on closed public roads, a prime example of the spending power petrolheads bring to town centres when they flock their in their thousands for a car show.

Count me in for next year.

Check out the 3 September issue of Classic Car Weekly for David's full report on this year's Ormskirk MotorFest

Life On Cars is five years old!

 

IT'S great to reflect that Life On Cars is now five years old* and - by some stroke of luck - is still going from strength to strength.

Since its humble beginings with a broken-down Mini back in 2009 there have been hundreds of show reviews, test drives, comment pieces and features - and, of course, it's still a regular fixture each week in the pages of The Champion newspaper.

In an idea not-at-all-inspired by Chris Evans' seven-themed displays at the CarFest events, I've decided the best way to mark the anniversary is by looking back at five of the best 'fives' from five years of Life On Cars.

Click on each to find out more about each of these memorable motoring moments...

Five.... unforgettable drives

1) Blackpool Illuminations in a Mini
2) The Buttertubs Pass in Suzuki Swift Sport
3) The New Forest in a Jaguar XK150 (pictured)
4) Derbyshire Dales in a Lotus Evora S
5) North Wales in a Mazda MX-5

Five.... shows you won’t want to miss

1) Lydiate Classic Car Show
2) Cholmondely Pageant of Power
3) Lakes Charity Classic Car Show
4) Goodwood Revival
5) Ormskirk MotorFest

Five.... fantastic Life On Cars moments

1) Raising much-needed cash for charity (pictured)
2) Seeing Life On Cars printed in a national motoring publication
3) Winning a national award
4) Landing a job at Classic Car Weekly
5) Getting printed in The Champion

Five.... moments we’d rather forget

1) Taking an MGB at Curborough - and not doing it much good (pictured)
2) The Volkswagen XL1 being accidentally referred to as a Vauxhall in print
3) Selling the Mini and the Renault 5 within a week of each other
4) The Mondeo’s premature demise
5) Spinning my first MX-5

Five.... greatest cars we’ve tested

1) Ford Fiesta (2009)
2) Honda CR-Z (2010)
3) Citroen DS3 Racing (2011)
4) Morgan Threewheeler (2012, pictured)
5) Suzuki SC100 (2013)

For all these reviews, plus dozens of other road tests, visit the Fire Up The... section.


*Or rather it was five years old last week, but I might have been away on holiday on the big day. Oops!