STONELEIGH
The second
International HISTORIC MOTORSPORT Show 2005
We went last year and it was good so we went again
this year and it was great. The weather forecast was so bad we contemplated
giving up the whole idea but actually had the best run down the M6 in years.
There is ample space at Stoneleigh and parking is not a problem but what sets
this show apart is that there are lots of engineering stands showing off some
of the prodigious skills available in this country. There were crankshafts,
pistons, blocks etc either brand new or
restored to working order from a lump of scrap. There were cars with their
clothes off so we could really see what goes into some of the priceless shiny
autos that we tend to wander past at other shows with a blasé expression on our
faces. There were motorbikes in various stages of undress and engines - like
the V8 Kieft that I had certainly never seen before. There was a dearth of
scantily clad eye candy but then the
weather wasn’t conducive and perhaps it’s all the better for not being that
kind of show.
It wasn’t all aimed at oily fingered anoraks. There
were smart stands selling or just promoting all sorts of things vaguely motor
related from some form of snake oil that performs miracles to seriously
expensive leather clothing aimed at the sort of worryingly high maintenance
women that some people seem to associate with old cars. But walk through the
glitz and into the area of cheaper stands housing the extensive auto jumble and
there were all sorts of things to appeal to a frugal Northerner - even a stand
selling second-hand leather jackets. Brilliant and the difficult to acquire
sweat stained look that jean manufacturers like to charge extra for was thrown
in for nothing along with the odd Castrol R stain.
Having spent a very happy but
exhausting day at the show, we wandered across to the H&H auction where we
kicked tyres and gossiped whilst sipping a glass of something red before
returning to the pub and having a pretty good dinner. I have not been to Rétromobile
but a few people said Stoneleigh was better and I reckon if you were bored
there then you have probably lost the plot. I had intended to just go on the
Friday but ended up paying again and going in on Saturday morning as well. I
had spent too long talking to people to see everything. It is certainly in my
diary for next year - unless of course they ban it like hunting.
(Statistics: Total attendance 20,882 over 3 days, 476
exhibitors, H&H Auction sales £1.5
million. Ed)
J.K.R.