Bugattis line up for Prescott, home of the Bugatti Owner's Club. George Davidson all the way from Kentucky heads the queue in his 1930 T35B. Photo by Jonathan Sharp.
Text by Jonathan Sharp, Photos by Jonathan Sharp and Roy P. Smith
Just back from a long day (June 2) at the Bugatti Owners Club’s Prescott Hill climb for their La Vie en Bleu event where there were 32 Bugatti’s entered. The annual International Bugatti rally was being held in the UK at that time with Prescott being one of the ports of call. A very impressive lineup they made, especially Jim Hulls Type 57 SC Electron reconstruction which he had brought from California.
Prescott is all about atmosphere. The location is as it must have felt in the 1930s, and to add to the atmosphere this year the local Steam Preservation railway was running great steam-driven trains. The sounds of the various Bugattis, blown and unblown, were mixed in with the sound of steam whistles and chuffing trains that enhanced the nostalgia.
As usual the French make car clubs put on a fantastic display. A rare favorite was the Peugeot 504 Pininfarina Coupe, just imported from the South of France. It had been owned by the proprietor of a Peugeot garage who had used the car during the summer, but had kept it in a heated garage in the winter. Its new custodian was justifiably proud of it. At various times during the day the works Bugatti test driver powered the 1200 BHP Veyron Vittesse up the hill and one lucky ticket winner got a ride up the hill with him at the end of the day.
Also demonstrated was the 1990 Benetton B190 F1 of John Reaks. This car was driven to victory at Suzuka, Japan in 1990 by Nelson Piquet. The first time I saw the car in the paddock after one of its runs it was without a nose cone. I understandably thought it had been involved in an accident but no, the cars mechanics had to remove the nose cone and then man- handle the car at the top of the hill to allow it to return to the paddock using the return road. Such dedication just to allow the spectators the chance to witness a 650 BHP Grand Prix car being driven up the hill in anger is worthy of praise. I do think it was a bit of a handful around the wonderfully named ‘Pardon Bend’ though.
Gordini author Roy Smith was there too, and caught the magic of Prescott. Photo by Roy P. Smith
Pure elegance: Bugatti Type 55 chassis 55221. Le Mans car of 1932, rebodied in 1933 by Figoni in 1933 besides the Bugatti Trust Library. Sharp photo.
Prescott has taken on the circus-like surroundings made famous by Goodwood. Jury is still out on that. Smith photo.
Circus or not, racing is still dangerous. Prescott nearly had a tragedy on its hands when Edmund Burgess lost his T13 Brescia coming into the esse's. Luckily he walked into the ambulance. The T13 had buckled front wheels and a serious misshapen steering wheel. Sharp photo.