W
e have been attending the
Historic Motorsport Show at
Stoneleigh one way or
another since the very first
event back in 2005, and we
have always enjoyed the rich mix of race and
rally cars, as well as meeting genuine
motorsport enthusiasts.
This year was no exception, as Walkers
Garage had generously lent us a stunning
437hp Lancia Delta integrale hillclimb car to
dress the Auto Italia stand with. The Delta is
a new build featuring many Group A tweaks
and mods, as well as a six-speed sequential
gearbox. Keep your eyes peeled – we will be
featuring this superb Delta very soon.
Out and about around the show, there was
not perhaps as much Italian machinery as in
previous years, but we did admire a stunning
Alfa Giulia SS, Montreal and 156 Supertouring,
as well as Kevin Jones’s ex-Patrese Alfa F1
car. There was also a grand selection of Hawk
Stratos replicas.
as the Andy ‘Ace’ Harrison-driven Morris 1800
Landcrab, which just got louder as the
weekend progressed, and a very nicely BGM
Sport-prepared Renault 5 Turbo which was
just about sideways everywhere being thrown
around by the very talented Jess Watts.
Noisiest Italian on stage was, as ever, Tony
Worswick in the bellowing yellow Ferrari 308
GTB. He was joined by another yellow 308,
albeit more cautiously driven by Michael
Lester. An Olio Fiat-liveried 131 Abarth
Stradale came out briefly but broke down
almost immediately. A lovely blue Lancia
Fulvia really looked the part and was well
driven. The most unlikely ‘rally’ car on the
stage was a V6 Alfa 155 Time Attack car. It
sounded great but sat far too low and
eventually lost its entire rear bumper.
Attendance over the weekend was up on
the previous year at 24,212, which is a good
sign indeed and shows that Race Retro is still
a relevant weekend to catch up with like-
minded motorsport fans early in the year.I’ll have to admit that the show this year
seemed to have lost some of its identity,
with little in the way of branding or signage.
The Stoneleigh venue is a bit of a mess of a
site anyway but running two stages almost
side by side with poor viewing areas added to
the disjointed layout.
At least the sun was out, though, and there
were a few choice Italian rally cars to get
close to. Notable for Italian car fans was Mark
Barnes who brought along not just one works
Abarth, but two: namely the UK’s only
genuine Fiat Abarth Cinquecento Trofeo, plus
his stunning Abarth 500 R3T.
The Cinquecento Trofeo proved to be an
absolute blast to drive and the 500 R3T
looked and sounded rapid – until after a few
stages, when sheared wheel studs left the
car stranded and without a front wheel. This
theme was repeated by several other cars
over the weekend!
The show was not all about MK1 and MK2
Escorts, with some more unusual cars such