Randy Lewis

The first thing to do after clearing customs........get some money!

 

The second thing to do after getting some money........get some food!

 

I hope the Hertz Rental Car people don't notice the white Ford is missing!

 

The U.K. tracks have some unusual racing classes.  This race team is getting ready for the "caravan" races.

 

This is the Junior Mini-Stox class for young drivers.

 

Several classes race in a clockwise direction which is opposite of U.S. oval racing.

 

Colin Herridge is a very famous U.K. trackchaser.  Here he is pictured (center) with the #1 trackchaser living west of the Mississippi and the National Speedway Directory's Allan Brown.

 

Gasoline (petrol) is sold by the liter in the U.K.   So you think gas is getting expensive in the United States?  Here we paid 82 pence a liter.  That's about a $1.54 U.S. per liter.  There are 3.78 liters to a U.S. gallon.  That comes to about $5.82 per U.S. gallon.  Wow!

 

U.K. tracks have some unusual track signs.

 

Turn four of this banger event at Mildenhall is a bit congested.

 

You can get close to the action in the U.K.

 

During this banger event there was so much mayhem at every part of the track it was difficult to see it all.

 

The Silverstone Race Circuit, home to Formula 1 events, is one of the most famous racing venues in all of the United Kingdom.

 

Doesn't this look just like a foreign country border check you would see in some spy movie.  Actually, it's simply the entrance to the Silverstone Race Circuit.  To add some intrique to the occasion, I did pass some counterfeit British currency here and lived to tell you about it.

 

Today's feature group at Silverstone focused on Jaguar racing.

 

It was a cold, raw and rainy day at Silverstone.  This British racing fan warms his hands over his portable stove while he waits for the water to boil for his afternoon tea.

 

We saw a lot of Jaguars today at Silverstone.

 

One of the main benefits of today's lunch was to get in out of the cold.  Allan and I enjoyed our lunch break from the outside elements.

 

We had the chance to explore the historic Silverstone Race Circuit from all angles.

 

The motorway (interstate) welcome breaks (rest areas) are great.  Here I get to play a slot machine while we take a break.  The welcome breaks are full of restaurants, gift shops, game rooms, etc.

 

Of course, if you need to take another kind of break, the welcome area can handle that as well.

 

More unusual track entrance signs.

 

U.K. tracks seem to put more focus on their entrance signs than their toilet facilities.

 

These crude "box seats" make you stand but do allow you a break from the elements.

 

These are "saloon" car races.  This class is one of my favorites.  They are fast and they lean on each other really hard.

 

This is the saloon car class.

 

Just think.....on one glorius afternoon a long time ago, these cars were brand new, sitting in someone's driveway and being shown off to all the neighbors.

 

The high dollar U.K. race teams has some very creative and unusual haulers.

 

This is Frankie Wainman Jr.  He's the "Steve Kinser" of U.K. racing and one of my favorites.  This is his Formula 1 stock car.  He is forced to start near the back of every feature event and almost always is near the front or winning at the end of the race.  I am surprised that U.K. race purses are so low relative to what I think are high spectator admission prices.

 

This is formula 1 stock car action.

 

We stayed in the town of Hull.  As you can see, there's not much action on a Sunday morning.

 

This is an autograss racecar.  I drove in this class back in 2000 at the Hilltop Raceway in Tirley, England.

 

All cars start at the same time in Autograss racing shown here at Hunmanby Raceway.

 

The great thing about autograss racing is a ton of racecars show up.

 

 

 

Facilities can be a little crude at some racetracks.

 

It could happen!

 

I couldn't decide between the Kebab and the Jacket Potatoes.

 

The driver is also the webmaster for Blyton Raceway.  He told me his racecar was Russian made.

 

One question.  How did these folks get to their seats?

 

I treated Allan to an ice cream sundae.  I had the raspberry and he had the chocolate sundae.

 

We met up with some English trackchasers at Sheffield Stadium.  Left to right, Tony, Spike Rixon, Mark Kelly, Randy and Allan.

 

Sheffield Stadium is also home to dog racing.  Dog racing facilities are much nicer than U.K. auto racing only tracks.  You can watch the races from an glass enclosed area with a bar and restaurant to enjoy.

 

Following the Sheffield races, Allan and I had dinner at a traditional English pub.

 

Allan handled the role of trip navigator very well.  Each night he would study road maps for the next day's trip.

 

The tranquil setting our our English B&B motel.

 

Buses are a very popular form of racecar hauler for the better funded teams.

 

Not everyone can afford one of the deluxe racecar haulers.

 

 

 

Here's a car sponsered by my former employer during my college years.

 

How do you think a three wheeled racecar would handle?

 

The track at Brampton was probably the most "down home" track we saw during the trip.