2025 Longstone Light Car race in the rain: madness unleashed

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Rain, slippery corners, and a collection of the most eccentric rolling heritage you could imagine: from Austin Chummies to a Trojan, a Bédélia, GN’s, and a Peugeot Quadricycle. Add a few delightfully mad drivers and you get what the participants themselves call: the best event of the year.
Anyone who thinks racing pre-war light cars is a sedate affair should have been there on August 30th at Mallory Park.

The driving force behind this spectacle is Dougal Cawley, the flamboyant owner of Longstone Tyres. For years a 'specialist in rubber equipment for the discerning gentleman', but above all a man who lives for fun and passion in historic motorsport. “Back when I was a kid at VSCC events, you saw absolutely everything on track. All makes, all types. I wanted to bring that feeling back,” says Dougal with a twinkle in his eye. And so he sponsors this event, which is all about variety, friendship, and above all, plenty of fun. ‘Just a bunch of mates having fun,’ he sums it up.

Thirty cars were on the list, but 34 showed up at the start. One Amilcar was disqualified simply for being too fast, and three others gave up before they properly got going. The rain made it even more fun: cars drifted and slid as if in a Hollywood movie. Even cars that normally just go straight suddenly went sideways.
Dougal grins as he pulls out his phone: “Look, here’s a Chummy sideways through the corner. And there: me, with a Peugeot Quadricycle on two wheels, at a dizzying 25 mph!”

On the results, Dougal is less certain. “The first three were far too fanatical, so we disqualified them. In the end the winner was… let me think… oh yes, a Sénéchal! How often do you see one of those on a circuit, let alone as the winner?” The winner took home a magnum of champagne – or rather: shared it. The bottle was already open and half empty by the time it was handed over.

Besides the race prizes there were also the now-famous concours cups: First Breakdown & Best Breakdown. The latter went to the Bédélia. Dougal bursts out laughing: “Because it went for quantity. It broke down so often that I managed to overtake it three times with a bloody Chummy!”

And with that, the essence of this event is perfectly captured. Dougal: “It’s nothing more than friends having fun together – but with the most incredible cars you could possibly imagine.”

Text by Laurens Klein, Photos by Steve Welsh

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