SEE RED - VSCC Donington - May 2008


The VSCC has been to some lengths over the past couple of years to promote their See Red meeting at Donington.  This year it was called Silver Speed Kings which was a bit confusing; however, as there was no publicity for the event it probably will not have been noticed.  Last year Donington circuit was sold to an American consortium and all race arrangements changed, meaning that the VSCC no longer received the gate money and therefore there was no point in them spending money advertising the event.  Perhaps as a result, there were limited public and the entire meeting had a lacklustre feel about it.  One magazine wrote a long feature on the event which consisted of details of the Mercedes W154 which Tony Dron drove on quite a few demonstration laps, no mention of anything else. 

The main displays in the paddock came from Equipe GTS which was mainly MGAs and MGBs (very VSCC), Formula Juniors and a bevy of Bentleys. 

There seemed to be some confusion with the official timing as several people were docked a lap, others were given incorrect times and in the F Junior practice it was noted that 8 cars were not seen – Invicta, Talbot Lago, Bentley, Alfa Romeo Monza, Moorland, Taraschi and Lola! (Presumably the time keeper did not know the difference between these cars and F. Junior!)  









The HGPCA had their Red Truck available for coffee and tea but sent out a notice saying that you were only welcome for buffet lunch if you were entered in their pre-66 race, HGPCA entrants in the pre-61 race were not welcome.  This caused quite a bit of disquiet and was later rescinded but the information was not passed round and few of the pre-61 people appeared.  That said, it was amazing how many people attended the lunch and noticeable that one ‘associate’ member appeared to collect numerous plates of food which went to a nearby camper. The word ‘cheating’ comes to mind.  It was interesting to note that when it was announced in the Motor Racing Legends marquee that only people who had a ticket could have lunch, the crowd thinned considerably! 

The weather and racing were mixed, one of the more enjoyable events being the occasionally chaotic Pre-war Sportscar Team race and Motor Racing Legends. 




11 Edwardians brought nostalgia and the 3-wheel Morgans brought incredulity, the moderns put on a good show but was it the right event for them?  Otherwise everything was much as normal apart from the total lack of pizzazz which was sad as there were 359 cars entered.

P.P.