It’s that time of year when the incredible work carried out by classic car clubs and their members throughout the past 12 months is recognised: the Classic & Sports Car Club Awards sponsored by Lancaster Insurance, which took place on 10 November at the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show.
This year’s judging was more difficult than ever before thanks to a terrifically strong and diverse set of entries covering all segments of the classic car world, from multi-million pound Bugatti racers through to humble Morris Minors. While your cars may differ, you share a drive to preserve history for future generations, broaden the appeal of our hobby, and adapt to an ever-changing, increasingly technology focused world – all qualities reflected in this year’s winners.
A packed event calendar made selecting the Best Club Run/Rally winner difficult, with the TVR Car Club’s Back Home, New Home tour and the Sunbeam Tiger Owners’ Club’s 1700-mile California tour both capturing the judges’ imagination, but the overall winner was the Figaro Owners’ Club for its Yorkshire Dales Figaro Rally. Jane Ellison-Bates co-ordinated the impressive effort, for which some of the 59 cars taking part had travelled from the continent.
Any disappointment felt by the TVR Car Club was short-lived, with the organisation picking up the much-coveted Club of the Year award thanks to a series of brilliant events celebrating the marque’s 70th anniversary. The standout events included the club’s tour from the firm’s old home in Blackpool to its new factory in Wales, as well as a record turnout for its Pre 80s Gathering at Donington.
2017 was also marked by a number of fantastic club initiatives, many of which focused on safeguarding the future of our classics. The members of ado.16.info launched a crowd-funding scheme in order to purchase a bodyshell and other panels so that they can have other panels remanufactured, but the award ultimately went to the Ginetta Owners’ Club. Moulds thought to have been long since destroyed were saved by the club, allowing for the remanufacture of panels.
Club Personality of the Year came as little surprise to those who had spent the day wandering the show halls. The Rover Sports Register chairman Mike Maher would surely have spoken to many of them, with a rare Marauder 100 with Goodwood race history proving a massive draw throughout the weekend. It was Maher’s efforts to bring together the largest gathering of the make – as chairman of the Joint Rover Clubs committee – to celebrate 50 years of the Solihull V8 at Roverfest that won him the award.
This year marked the introduction of a new award, honouring a club member who has made an outstanding contribution to the hobby. The inaugural Lifetime Achievement award went to Derek Pollock MBE of Club Triumph. Pollack bought his Triumph TR4 new back in 1963, and just three years later helped to launch the Round Britain Reliability Run, which has since raised more than £600,000 for charity.
The judges also spent the day exploring the show halls, seeking out the best club stands and cars for awards decided at the event. Of the thousands of cars on display, the prestigious Car of the Show went to Bernard Holmes’ magnificent 1913 De Dion-Bouton Type EF Open Tourer. The colossus is one of just a handful of survivors of the model powered by the world’s first production V8 engine.
The Best Large Stand award went to the Bugatti Owners’ Club which, together with the Bugatti Trust, gathered an incredible selection of pre-war Grand Prix machinery in Hall 1.
Best Medium Stand went to the Vanden Plas Owners’ Club, with Best Small Stand going to The Frisky Register for an eye-catching display of the quirky microcars on a stand manned by 88-year-old Keith Peckmore, who designed the cars, and John Meadows, son of the founder of the firm that built the engines that powered them.
A dazzling assortment of Lancias arranged by the Lancia Motor Club, Beta Boyz and Monte-Carlo Consortium scooped the Most Interesting Selection of Cars award, while the Best Themed Stand went to the Morris Minor Owners’ Club, which embraced the show’s Family Ties theme with a charming ‘Hatches, Matches and Dispatches’ tableau – including newlyweds, a district nurse and a hearse.
