All my life, I have been interested in motorsport. In my early twenties I autocrossed a Ford Anglia, raced Austin Healey Sprites in Hillclimbs  and had a real desire to follow in my father’s footsteps and compete in single seater racing cars in sprints and hillclimbs.

In the 1990s, I had the opportunity to re-kindle my motorsport passion, and I and my girlfriend designed and built a single seater hillclimb car for competition purposes. The project took 18 months of hard slog, dedicating weekends, evenings, and holidays to building this car, but  finally it was ready for scrutineering at Prescott, and the “Triumph Special” came to be born.

It was born as a Triumph GT6, but I had to make my own chassis, fit a 2 ½ litre straight 6, and cobble together a body resembling a 1950s racing car. Twenty years later, the car is still going strong. It took Yve (originally my girlfriend, now my wife) to a championship win in the classic racing car class in Hillclimbs with me coming second. Each year it seems to get modified still further, and with a Reliant Scimitar back axle, welded diff, bespoke front suspension and fifteen inch wheels, the only “Triumph” parts left are the engine, gearbox and front uprights. The car is much admired by the unknowing public who don’t have to drive it. It really is a bit of a handful to drive as it rarely points in the right direction. We both love the car to bits.

Twenty years ago, I thought of trying circuits, and bought a 1983  Royale RP 33 Formula Ford. I raced the car with the Monoposto Racing Club for a couple of years, thoroughly enjoying learning the circuits and using up all my modest savings. I then put the car into “Sprint” format, with wings, wider tyres and an uprated engine and both Yve and I raced the car in hillclimbs. This time I won the classic championship with Yve coming second. We had some good years with the car, but the old Triumph was calling me so we put her into service again and the Royale was sold.

Just like my father, I always have ambitious plans for the future. I have a 105E Anglia sitting in the garage for preparing for historic circuit meetings. It’s a shame it’s been waiting for 20years! I circuit raced an MG ZS for 4 years, but when I changed to a MX5, I knew I’d finally got the right car. Now in its 3rd year of competition, I’m getting faster as I learn about the car and the circuits.

The photos on this page are also in the Gallery with more description