Aintree and racing A35

[Pandora]

Hi folks,

I recently came across this geat shot of a A35 on 2 wheels.


A35 Seesaw by alastairbrownuk, on Flickr

I think, based on the distinctive low fence in the background that it might be at Aintree - see this photo for comparison:


Aintree circuit 1970`s by exacta2a, on Flickr

I noticed this photo, not because it is a pretty action packed shot, but rather because of the car in the background, pointing the wrong way having obviously retired from an earlier race.

From the poor detail in the photo it shares many similarities with my unidentified clubmans project, particularly the layout of the very long trailing links being very widely spaced and the apparent lines of the chassis top rails.

Julius thinks the photo may have been taken in the late '70s / early '80s at a CSCC race, but he isn't sure. I thought it looked much earlier.

Does anyone recognise the A35? I know it's a long shot, but if I can identify the event it might be possible to identify who had a DNF in the clubmans race, which might help me identify what the car in the background is, and probably confirm it isn't the one in my garage!

That, I agree, is a lot of 'Might's!

the reason I'm particularly interested is that my car was discovered in Cheshire / north Wales border area, so geographically this would tie in with Aintree.

Cheers,

Al

[Pete]

Looks like Country corner at Aintree photographed from the paddock side with Railway Straight in the background (fencing ran along side) and judging by the cage in the A35 I'd agree with the late 70's/ early 80's. The short (current) circuit was last used in 1982 for car racing unless this was a sprint which is doubtful. I'll be back there on May 31st for the track day hopefully in my new steed.

Worth contacting Geoff or John at LMC to see if they can help :

http://www.liverpoolmotorclub.com/about/contact-us/

Maybe if Colin Flynn's reading this he could pin it down ?

[Pandora]

Cheers Pete! I just put a post on the Liverpool MC face book page, but sadly it won't let me post the picture.

I did wonder about the cage, but the lack of stickers on the car and the skinny steel wheels made me think earlier rather than that?

Al

[surfblue63]

That picture was used by COYs in 2012 when they sold an A35 in their Autosport International Sale in January. Unfortunately the results don't appear to be available.

SAW 261 appears on the DVLA site

The vehicle details for SAW 261 are:
Date of Liability 09 01 1997
Date of First Registration 27 10 1958
Year of Manufacture Not Available
Cylinder Capacity (cc) 948cc
CO₂ Emissions Not Available
Fuel Type PETROL
Export Marker N
Vehicle Status Unlicensed
Vehicle Colour GREEN
Vehicle Type Approval Not Available


Also the saloon in the back ground looks like a BMW 2000 to me, first on sale in 1966. It has the silver rear panel between the rear lights, unlike the 1800 which had smaller lights and was body coloured between them.

[Pandora]

That would make sense - the pic is from Julius Thurgood's website and it was the development car for his A35 series, I think which was sold.

I should still have the catalogue kicking about, or at least it should be easy enough to get a spare copy!

[Pandora]

Having spoken with the Liverpool Motor Club, it looks like the A35 may be being driven by Tim Blackburn in race 5 at Aintree on 17/5/1980. If so, sadly, the roll continued and I'm afraid that was the end of his race for the day.........

Race 1 of the meeting was for 750MC cars, and Race 6 for F1300, so those could be possibilities, though only if the driver decided to stay on and marshall, rather then returning the car to the paddock after going of in his own race (or practice if it's a F1300 car).

If only the driver hadn't sat with his back against the car- I suspect he's obscuring the race number.

I just need to get a programme for the event and look at the F1300 race and see which cars were one offs and see if I can find out if any recorded a DNF or failed in qualifying, as I know my car wasn't a 750 car (they have 2x2" chassis legs)

All good fun, and this is the fun bit of buying old racing cars

Al

[mk1]

All good fun, and this is the fun bit of buying old racing cars

Certainly more fun than trying to get them going again!

[In the shed]

I had an A35 with a full race 1293 in it. Midget disc brakes and pretty much everything else standard.

That captures what it was like to drive. He was probably only going to the shops.

[Pandora]

yeas, he told his wife he was taking her car, but was only going to get milk and rolls.








(Even I think that was bad!)