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The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

Jonathan Sharp

And How! Goodwood Members Meeting

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Letters and photos from Jonathan Sharp on the occasion of the Goodwood Members Meeting

Tuesday March 13

Pete,
The Goodwood 76th Members meeting is taking place this coming weekend. I have purchased a weekend ticket and hopefully will be attending.

I have just seen the entry list and it is very good. The big problem will probably be the weather. Whilst the past few days have been a bit more spring like by the weekend the temps are dropping to only a few degrees above zero and we may even get snow!

So assuming I am able to attend, and it is of interest, can I have a slot in VeloceToday.com for the 27th March? [Read more…] about And How! Goodwood Members Meeting

Sharp’s Retromobile Part 1 Alfa to Ferrari

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Text and photos by Jonathan Sharp

“I wonder what car the hotel will have borrowed for display in its lobby?” said my pal to me as we sped across Northern France on the Eurostar train whilst looking out of the window at the snow. Last year they displayed a Ferrari Dino; the year before it was a London to Brighton style Veteran car. This year their choice was a Morris Minor saloon in Trafalgar blue with non-original front seats. That was to be the only disappointment of the show. We spent most of the weekend at the show and I know for sure that we must have missed things, or only glanced at them meaning to return to them having been distracted by yet another gem or rarity that demanded our attention more urgently. I hope the following shots give you a taste of what was on offer. We have divided up the sixty plus images to save your scroller. A to Ferrari here, Fiat to Renault in Part 2.

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London to Brighton, 2017

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Story and Photos by Jonathan Sharp

From a total of 450 entries submitted for this year’s Royal Automobile Club/Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran car run, 49% were of French manufacture. Starting from Hyde Park at 7:02 am (sunrise) 405 cars headed off to Brighton to celebrate the 121st Anniversary run of the passing of the light locomotives on the highway act of 1896. This act of Parliament raised the speed limit for light locomotives weighing less than 3 tons from 4 to 14 mph, and also abolished the requirement for the vehicle to be proceeded by a person on foot carrying a red flag. [Read more…] about London to Brighton, 2017

London to Brighton, Drivers

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Photos by Jonathan Sharp

Fat chance you’ll ever get to see Lewis Hamilton’s face while racing, but at Brighton, they do things the old way. Thank goodness and may it last forever. The first set of images below are blow ups; scroll down to see full size images of the car and drivers. Ed.

For a more complete coverage of this year’s 450 entry Brighton Run, click here.

[Read more…] about London to Brighton, Drivers

Hampton Court Palace Concours, September 1-3

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For this particular Concours coverage, we asked photographer Jonathan Sharp if he could send two or three photos of our favorites, so we might present a different view of each car. He concurred so here they are, even the D-Jags! Please note that some got more than two chances to be beautiful. And, if you want to see the images in large hi res format, simply click on the photo.- Editor [Read more…] about Hampton Court Palace Concours, September 1-3

Jonathan Sharp at Silverstone

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Quiet a contrast to the front running Listers and Jaguar D Types is Brian Palmer’s 1963 Lotus XI.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

Looking at the sparsely-seated grandstands in some of the shots below, you would think the Silverstone Classic was nearly empty, believe me it was not. Over the three day weekend (July 28-30) over 100,000, people trod on these hallowed grounds. There is so much so see and do the races, all 22 of them, can become just another attraction to be enjoyed.

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Heveningham Hall Concours of Elegance

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Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

It’s lunch time on the Sunday and I am sitting on a straw bail near the lake on the Heveningham Hall Estate deep in the heart of Suffolk. In front of me is a small display ring where several retriever dogs are being put through the paces, each dog happily diving into the water reeds to retrieve the object thrown for them. An inshore F1 racing power boat is giving high speed rides on the lake, its four stroke engine making an impressive noise which can probably be heard several miles away. To my right is a display of vintage tractors and to my left in the big parade ring several Shire Horses with carts are being displayed to the crowd. Above my head a MK9 Spitfire is engaging in a mock dog fight with an ME109 (Actually its an Hispano Buchan but its close enough) and lined up on the immaculate terraced lawn of Heveningham Hall directly behind me are 50 of the worlds rarest cars. Behind the terraces and close to the orangery is a small collection of classic 1930s aeroplanes that have entered into the new Aviation concours. They are lined up by the trees at one end of a small grass airstrip and at the other end of the strip are parked several dozen visiting aircraft. [Read more…] about Heveningham Hall Concours of Elegance

Brooklands Museum Double Twelve Trackside

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The Naper Railton belongs to the Brooklands Museum.

Photos by Jonathan Sharp

Jonathan Sharp again hit the road on June 17th for the VSCC/Brooklands Museum Double Twelve Motorsport Festival. And this time it was truly a special event as it was the 110th anniversary of the opening of the famous track in 1907. In addition, Lord March cut the ribbon to open the restored Main Straight, previously blocked by WWII structure. The re-enactment of the opening parade of 17th June 1907 was led by David Ayre’s 40HP Itala – the same model as was used by Ethel Locke King to lead the original parade.

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Brooklands Double Twelve: In the Paddock

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P-3 in the paddock.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

VSCC/Brooklands Double Twelve programme took place the weekend of June 17-18 2017. Everyone is familiar with the Le Mans 24 hour race, first run in 1923. Less well-known is the British equivalent, the Brooklands Double Twelve race. Vintage Alfa Romeo fans may recall the event, however, as the first running of the Double Twelve was in 1929, the winner being Giulio Ramponi driving a 1500cc Alfa Romeo at an average speed of 76 mph.

So why was it called the Double Twelve, rather than the Brooklands 24 hour race? In an effort to appease the local residents of nearby Weybridge, nighttime racing was banned at Brooklands, so the race was run in two 12 hour heats on consecutive days. [Read more…] about Brooklands Double Twelve: In the Paddock

London City Concours 2017

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This 2006 Maserati MC12 Strada version was an entrant in the Evolution of the Supercar part 2 class.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

For fans of old cars, the number of events one could attend increases year every year. A new event for 2017 was the City Concours which was held on the Cricket pitch of the Honorable Artillery Company right in heart of the financial district of the City of London, on June 8-9.
[Read more…] about London City Concours 2017

Silverstone Formula Vintage, April 22-23

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Formula Vintage – Round 1 – Silverstone
National Circuit, Saturday 22 & Sunday 23 April 2017

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

The well-established ‘Spring Start’ season opener was a spectacular two-day feature at Silverstone, with the celebrated Pre-war and Historic content taking center stage across the weekend’s program. [Read more…] about Silverstone Formula Vintage, April 22-23

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