Classic & Sports Car - December 2015 UK

142 Classic& SportsCarDecember 2015

S

pahaslongbeena favouritewith

Britishfanswhoarekeento visita

continentalGrandPrix.Thanks

to modernautoroutes, theBelgian

circuitis nowlittlemorethana

three-orfour-hourblastfrom

Calais,butin 1962it wasa much

biggerdealfor20-year-oldJohnDryhurst– and

thatwasbeforehedecidedtocomebackthe

scenicroute,viaLeMans.

“Itwasmyfirsttripaboard,”herecalls.“Dad

hada shopin theWest Midlands,andwe’djust

gota Minivan– it wasa choicebetweenthat

andanAustinA35. WewentfortheMini,and

endedupwithanorangeone– registration 214

CEA.I seemto rememberthatthechoicewas

betweenthatanda greenone.Theorangewas

certainlynoticeable...”

Dryhurstwasa fanof StirlingMoss,whoat

thatpointwasstillrecoveringfromtheinjuries

A Miniadventurein 1962inspiredJohn

Dryhurstto visitotherracemeetings

closerto home.JamesPagehearshis

storyanddelves intohis scrapbook

PHOTOGRAPHYJOHNDRYHURST

SWINGING

SIXTIES

IN FOCUS

Above: theSilverstone

paddockat’63GrandPrix

meeting,withJackSears’

Galaxieintheforeground

andCooper’s FormulaOne

transporterbehind.Right:

theatmosphericpostcard

thatDryhurstsentbackto

theUKfromSpain 1962