Race Retro, Stoneleigh Park 2013

Another huge Race Retro Show at Stoneleigh Park again this year. There is so much to see and do at this show I always enjoy covering this show. From rare racing bikes through to super rare racing cars and anything in between Race Retro seems to cover all bases. I always find myself in the smaller hall which contains all the bikes and stock cars. I think this is down to the wider variety compared to the larger hall that is mainly full of top end historic cars. For more on the show itself please visit the website:

www.raceretro.com

1960 Bond Formula Junior

(ink & watercolour)

Designed by Lawrence Bond better known for the Bond micro car this was the first racing car to utilise a monocoque chassis. It's powered by a 1098cc Ford 105e engine. Only 2 remain in existence, so I definitely couldn't pass this opportunity on.

The Car is now run by Andrew Tart Motor Engineering, to see more of the car and other vehicles in Andrews garage please visit the following website:

www.andrewtartmotorengineering.com

1952 Manx Sidecar Outfit

(ink sketch)

Whilst sketching this outfit I met (for the second time) the infamous Stan Dibben, a man who has not only ridden sidecar outfits in the TT but has been a test rider for Norton. In 1949 he assisted the development of the infamous featherbeds and also competed in the Manx Grand Prix on a 350 Manx which he built himself. He also built the first ever Dominator racer and went on to race it in 1952. So who was I to argue when Stan pointed out that this outfit was not 1952 as the streamlining on the front was not used until the mid to late 50s. To read more about Stan go to the following link:

Stan Dibben Info

Or even better read his biography such a great read the film editor at Saatchi and Saatchi made a short film about him after reading it:

Hold On by Stan Dibben

1971 500cc 4 Valve Velocette

(ink & watercolour)

Built by Eric Stanbra to compete against water cooled Japanese 2 strokes. This is a very unique build based around a Jim Lee frame it uses a huge amount of bespoke parts. The bike has been continually raced and still retains all the original parts making this an extremely reliable machine. In 1978 at the Shell Sport 500cc Championships at Donnington the bike finished 12th against a top class field including 12 RG500's, 4 TZ500's 4 Spartons and only one other 4 stroke.