The Bourne Supremacy (Sorry)

A few weeks ago I head about an event coming up later this year on the Marshal's thread on Ten Tenth's. More details are now coming out, so I wanted to share it, as it sounds like an absolutely fantastic day. The town of Bourne in Lincolnshire will be inviting motorsport fans to line the streets on Sunday 7th October for a celebration of its historic association with Formula 1. The day will involve static displays and a parade through the town's streets featuring classic Grand Prix machinery.

For such a small town, Bourne really does have quite a remarkable pedigree in Grand Prix racing (and in wider motorsports). The historic ERA and BRM teams were both based in the town - usually in workshops owned by local resident, entrepreneur and racer Raymond Mays, who played a leading role in both teams. The involvement of Bourne in motorsport continues today, with the Pilbeam Racing Designs company, founded by ex-BRM designer Mike Pilbeam*, still based in the town.

Bourne has held an F1 demonstration in 1999 to mark the 100th anniversary of Raymond Mays' birth.This year's event will commemorate 50 year's since BRM's 1 and only World Championship winning season, when Graham Hill brought home the driver's title, while the team brought the Constructor's Championship home to Bourne. To mark this achievement the event will be aiming to bring as many classic GP cars from the 1962 F1 season to the streets, with BRM, Lotus and Lola cars on show. In addition there will be a wide range of cars on display from BRM's history, and a general 60's theme to the day.


As soon as I heard about the event I threw my hat in for marshalling duties, and its one of the events I'm looking forward to most this year already. Just in case you were in any doubt as to whether you should attend, have a look (or rather, have a listen!) to the video here, and tell me you don't think its a great idea!

You can find out more about the plans for BRM day at the following links:
BRM day website
BRM Day on Twitter
BRM Day on Facebook


*Father of Ciaran Pilbeam, Mark Webber's race engineer at Red Bull.

(Picture credit - Raymond Mays Memorial)

Eastwood Stages, Mallory Park

The BMMC held their annual marshal training days at Donington Park last weekend, Iand since attending I've been looking forward to getting back out on the banks again this year. I only did two events last year, but caught the bug, and getting the orange overalls out on Sunday got me in the mood for the year to come. This despite me busting the zip open on them trying to squeeze my carcass in after lunch!

It's a while until the circuit racing season starts, but this weekend I'll be marshaling on my first rally, the Eastwood Stages at Mallory Park. I've been to the rallies in Sherwood Forest a few times but never to a single venue rally, so I'm quite excited about getting down there and getting involved. Thankfully rally marshaling doesn't need the orange overalls either so I have some time to get the zip fixed (my pride will take longer to heal)! With this being a single-venue rally, there should also be more chances to be involved on the stages - without dragging myself across half of England to keep up!

The event has over 40 cars confirmed, including classic Escorts (it wouldn't be a rally without classic Escorts), Evos, Imprezas, and an RS2000. But most exciting for me is the Metro 6R4 taking part, which is the hot favorite to take the victory. I've seen static 6R4s at displays before, but never seen one of the snarling little beasts in action before, relying on You Tube video like the one here.

Who could possibly pass up the chance to see one of these tearing up the tarmac?!

The Eastwood Stages is open to punters, with the first car off at 9.30. Its only £5 per car entry - so fill a car up and its only a quid each. You really can't say fairer than that! If you've never been to Mallory Park I can wholeheartedly recommend it. The place is the very definition of small but perfectly formed, with a great view of a large proportion of the track from most of the banks. The cafe is open and the paddock is free to access.