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False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race

False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race

False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race

False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race

False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race

False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race

False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race

False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race

False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race

False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race

False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race

False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race

False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race

False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race

False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race

False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race

False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race

  • False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race
  • False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race
  • False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race
  • False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race
  • False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race
  • False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race
  • False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race
  • False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race
  • False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race
  • False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race
  • False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race
  • False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race
  • False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race
  • False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race
  • False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race
  • False starts and fine cars: the Longstone Long Car Race
Longstone Tyres' Long Car Race marked the end of the VSCC racing calendar – and what a finale it proved to be. At the end of a varied day of racing at Mallory Park, twelve long cars gathered in the assembly area in anticipation of an exciting forty-minute, two-driver race.
 
 
After what was deemed to be a false start, incurring a ten-second penalty, Jim Edwards in the Cawley family's Model A Ford Roadster looked set for a keenly fought race, knowing that the Andrews Model A was also very much in contention. Two Delage DIS models set off with their drivers eyeing one another and ready for battle, but the Wiseman Delage ultimately had the edge over the Cawley car. The latter's second driver, Dave Yorkstone, had driven it for the first time only that day, making the result particularly impressive under the circumstances.
 
 
The sight of two Rolls-Royces racing together was an unusual thrill. Becky Smith joined Nick Hildyard in his Rolls-Royce Twenty, while Pete Batty shared his Silver Ghost with Jack Harvey. The Twenty certainly had the legs of the Ghost, although both looked resplendent as they wafted around the circuit.
 
Two Vauxhalls, a 23/60 and an E-type, also lined up at the start, but the Duffins' 23/60 unfortunately lost a tyre after four laps, putting them out of the running early on. The driver changes proved another entertaining part of the race, with some less-than-nimble competitors attempting to leave their cars at speed, often resulting in rather undignified dismounts.
 
 
After forty minutes, with some cars having completed as many as 29 laps, the chequered flag fell for the very rapid Humphries team in the Derby Bentley. Luke Roberts finished second in his Bianchi, co-driven by Gillian Carr, while Tim Wadsworth took third place in his Lagonda Tourer.
 
 
In true Longstone Long Car Race tradition, however, the first three cars across the line were subsequently disqualified in the paddock for trying too hard. Half-drunk magnums of Champagne were instead awarded to those finishing fourth, fifth and sixth. Pete Batty also won the concours award for the longest car, while the Duffins claimed the prize for the tallest.
 
 
All recipients of a half-magnum were obliged to share their Champagne with everyone else in the pits, including marshals and spectators. A wonderfully animated debrief, with the race relived from every possible perspective, left everyone grinning after yet another successful Longstone Long Car Race. Look out next year for the Longstone Light Car Race: another exceedingly enjoyable, two-driver spectacle in which speed will once again be entirely beside the point.
 
Words and photos: Liz Cawley
 
Published:
Thursday September 10th, 2026

Comments

ivo
11 September, 09:04
I wonder what the result of the little Fords was?

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Ik vraag me af wat het resultaat van de Fordjes was ?
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