VeloceToday.com

The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

Jonathan Sharp

VSCC at Brooklands, 2018

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Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
From the Archives, June 2018

The Brooklands museum complex is like a nostalgic oasis surrounded by modern glass fronted corporate head offices and a Tesco’s supermarket. However once you have entered into the site the years simply drop away. Whether it’s just the 1930s music playing over the PA system, or the restored buildings, one feels (if you use a bit of imagination) that you are back in the 1920s. The feeling of nostalgia increases 10-fold when the VSCC (Veteran Sports Car Club) have an event there. [Read more…] about VSCC at Brooklands, 2018

St. James Concours and the RM Auction

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B20s for sale.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

I only popped into the RM/Sotheby’s London auction just to have a quick look around and perhaps grab a coffee. It was never in my remit to take any photographs of the auction; my visit to London was just to cover the St James’s concours adjacent to the auction but you know what us photographers are like!

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And How! Ernie, Hugues and Jonathan

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Photo by Hugues Vanhoolandt.

This week And How gives us a glimpse of Ol’ Yeller II at Goodwood on parade while E.T. Nagamatsu, ever the ambassador, meets the women who did such a wonderful job singing the classic tunes of the war years. Then Hugues Vanhoolandt captures some of the ambiance that surrounds the Goodwood Revival, and Jonathan Sharp focuses on a special OSCA shown at the Hampton Concours.

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A Prescott Primer

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Bugattis enjoy a rare moment of sun. David Hand’s 1925 T39 sits next to the 1924 Brescia T13 of Charles Knill-Jones.

By Jonathan Sharp
From the VeloceToday Archives, 2012

The Cotswolds: bucolic golden-hued thatched cottages, rolling farm land, wheat fields swaying in a warm summer breeze, antique shops, old English country inns selling fine English ales. All this and more, for it is also the home of the Bugatti Owners Club of Great Britain and the famous Prescott Hill climb.

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Classic Aircraft at Goodwood

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Hurricane

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

If you have been with us for the past few years and have read my ramblings you are probably already aware of my love for old cars and historic racing. Well I have also inherited my father’s love of old aeroplanes, so the Goodwood Revival each year is a double whammy for me. Not just fantastic and rare old racing cars, but fantastic and rare old aeroplanes courtesy of the annual Freddy March Spirit of Aviation Concours for Aeroplanes built before 1966 held as part of the Revival meeting. [Read more…] about Classic Aircraft at Goodwood

London Concours and Lord Hesketh

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Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

If only I had been able to record this! The key speaker at the London Concours for me had to be Lord Alexander Hesketh, the founder of Hesketh Racing. Lord Hesketh appeared at the show as part of the launch of the book Superbears, The story of Hesketh Racing. The new book can be ordered at

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And How!

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Peter Collins on his winning way in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in July 1958. Photo: Grand Prix Library/Graham Gauld

Peter Collins Celebration begins June 10 in Worcester, UK

This year marks the 65th anniversary of the death of British racing driver Peter Collins in an accident during the 1958 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring.

Collins was at the peak of his racing career and was a member of the Scuderia Ferrari team alongside his great friend Mike Hawthorn who was to go on to become Britain’s first Formula 1 Grand Prix World Champion. He was killed just two weeks after his famous victory in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone that year. [Read more…] about And How!

Museum Enzo Ferrari, Circa 2014

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The Alfa Bimotore is on display in a quiet, beautiful, chapel-like setting.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

From the VeloceToday archives, November 2014

Nestling, as if being protected, in the curve of the new display hall is the original workshop of Enzo Ferrari’s father Alfredo. A long and narrow building lit by many large arch shaped windows. The building was built during the latter half of the 19th century and would not have benefited from electric lighting, hence the many windows. At the far end of the hall, roughly where the “Enzo” is now displayed, was, along with the machine tools that Alfredo used to shape metal, a stable which housed the horses used to draw the sulkies (2 wheeled trotting rig) and carts of the time.

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Goodwood 2022 Pit and Paddock

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Ferrari’s Alfa Beater

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

Like many of us, I watched the various races streamed from Goodwood this year (favorite was the St. Mary’s Trophy). Obviously, nothing can beat the video coverage of Goodwood. At the same time I processed hundred of Jonathan’s still photos from Goodwood and prepared them for VeloceToday. Jonathan’s photos add a great deal to Goodwood coverage, aiding and abetting the video coverage, providing a depth and ambiance lacking in the brevity of video. We also hope that our readers are enlarging their screens to as much as 200 percent to better appreciate the many still photos; look large and linger long. –Ed.

I said to myself before the event “try not to take quite so many photos.” It is not the taking, it is the sorting that takes so much time. Anyway, Thursday afternoon at the cricket match, with reasonable control of my trigger finger, I took only about 88 shots, which is just about manageable. Friday morning early at the circuit I reminded myself to just shoot what you can use, stick to the French and Italian stuff! But it is just so photogenic that by 8.30am any chance of sticking to the script had gone out of the window. By close of play Sunday night a total of 3260 photos were taken!

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Goodwood: Italians on Track

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The Tazio Ottis/Manuel Elicabe 1955 Ferrari 750 Monza races into the sunset, Freddie March Memorial Trophy race.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

It’s Revival time; get out the tweed jacket and wear a tie and look like someone from the 1960s or earlier. But this year the tie was black and came with a matching arm band. The flags (Union Jacks) all around the circuit were all perfectly set at half-mast and the staff and Marshalls wore black armbands. The show went on but with all due respect being shown for the Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, and the Duke of Richmond giving a brief eulogy on the grid each day accompanied by a short film followed by a minute’s silence during which you really could have heard a pin drop.

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Hampton Court Concours Classic Cameo #5

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Entered by Jonathan Segal, Maserati A6G Zagato chassis 2186 was completed on the 31st October 1956 and is the last of the 21 Zagato Berlinettas built. Order by Charlies Rezzaghi of Mille Miglia Motors Inc of San Francisco, upon delivery the Maserati was featured in the May 1957 issue of Motor Trend.

Photos by Jonathan Sharp, September 1-3 2022
Captions by Hampton Court Concours of Elegance
Add-on by Pete Vack

By 1959 the car was owned by Frank Faine who entered the Maserati in a sports car race at Pomona after which the car was sold to Frank Jay Hoke from Tucson who competed in it at various race meetings across the USA.

[Read more…] about Hampton Court Concours Classic Cameo #5

Italian Cars at Salon Privé Concours d’Elégance

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From class one of the Ferrari 75th celebration and best in show winner, 1956 250 Tdf Zagato chassis 0515GT.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
Captions from the Judge’s Handbook

The vehicles entered into Salon Privé (August 30-September 2) now in its 17th edition, seem to get better and better each year, for which Andrew and David Bagley together with their selection committee are to be congratulated. With so many fine automobiles to show you, (and I have not included absolutely all of them), I thought it best to feature the Italian automobiles in a separate piece.

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