- Refuge Of The Roads

21-02-2021

It's got to be an improvement on 2020 , right ?

Like the picture? I have always loved the breed of small Italian sports cars (often called 'Etceterinis ') which bloomed in the Sixties . This gorgeous little machine is a Moretti Sportiva and , despite looking like a Ferrari Dino's kid sister , it's actually powered by a Fiat 850 e…

27-05-2020

Ben Clarke

Hi Ben - thanks for your kind comments, and I am delighted you enjoyed the read. As I emphasised in the preface , DRIVEN is meant to reflect my own , strongly held views( some of which are tongue in cheek ) and I'd be bloody horrified if every reader agreed with my every word . But the s…

21-03-2020

Strange new world

This time next week I should have been at the Goodwood Members' Meeting , and two weeks later at CSCC Cadwell . But that isn't going to happen , and I doubt if much. or indeed any , live motorsport wil take place in 2020 . That isn't remotely important in the ghastly circumstances we currently fin…

29-10-2019

Signed copies update

I now have a supply of copies from Veloce so can provide signed copies for anyone wanting a copy for Christmas . Or Hallow'en ., or even Hallow 'en 'en ! …

28-10-2019

CSCC 2

... To anyone wanting to get in touch ,it is best to leave messsages in the visitors' book, . . I will now see if Motor Sport will ever get round to reviewing Driven …

28-10-2019

CSCC and signed copies

My last meeting of the CSCC season this weekend at Donington. Soaking wet and cold on Saturday , crisp and bright yesterday. Keep an eye on the CSCC website for my report in the next 7-10 days. I was pleased to deliver a copy of 'Driven' to Chris G at the circuit. A new review on Driven in…

22-10-2019

Reviews and contacting me

Some good reviews coming in - check out the one on speedreaders.info for an insight from the USA website into what the book's all about. Some readers have already asked for signed copies. If you would like one, or just want to contact me , please leave your phone or email details on t…

02-08-2019

Two years and seven months ....

...after sitting down at 9 am on 1 January 2017 with an empty Word document on screen , the book is published today. Cripes . I hope readers enjoy the read as much as I enjoyed the write and, if you do have somenthing to say about the book , then do leave a comment in the guestbook. If you need a reply , plea…

02-06-2019

I get around

The Classic Sports Car Club has retained me for another season as a writer in residence for their race meetings. Very kindly , they let me witter on for 5000 words or so about the cars and people at their weekend race meetings.My CSCC season started at Silverstone last month where I indulged…

02-06-2019

I get around

The Classic Sports Car Club has retained me for another season as a writer in residence for their race meetings. Very kindly , they let me witter on for 5000 words or so about the cars and people at their weekend race meetings.My CSCC season started at Silverstone last month where I indulged…

17-04-2019

A perfect antidote to Brexit insanity - The Goodwood Members' Meeting 2019

Thanks to Rob Horton for the wonderul 250GTO picture , with His Grace's daffodils in the foreground . Book ? On track for 1 July - and you can pre-order at Veloce or Amazon now . Go on, you know it makes sense - and I need the royalties ...... …

18-12-2018

The countdown begins ...

The new title is DRIVEN - an elegy to Cars , Roads and Motor Sport and you can see the cover picture on the home page. If you click on the link you can see the Amazon page and you can find out more on www.veloce.co.uk . I'm writing this on 18 December 2018 , meaning there are only six shopping days to Chr…

30-09-2018

Update - September

The book will be published either later this year, or early in 2019 , by Veloce . It will almost certainly have a new title as ,although Refuge of The Roads ticked my boxes , it may not tick everybody else's . So expect something a little snappier - the new title is a work in progress but I will ann…

23-07-2018

It's going to be published !

Good news ...Veloce Publishing will be publishing RoR . Watch this space for more details . I rather enjoyed drinking a glass of champagne at the Silverstone Classic last weekend in celebration .A reassuringly expensive £24 for two glasses. Bloody hell ..... …

01-04-2018

BOOK NEWS

May the church bells ring out - I have only finished the book ! It has taken me 15 months to write , I've driven 5000 miles to and from events and I've spent at least 600 hours typing and editing . I've done 50 or more interviews with everybody from a Le Mans winner , dragster racer…

01-04-2018

The Beast of Goodwood and a Brouhaha at Barford.

You may have noticed that it has been a long winter and , just as the daffodils were coming into bloom at Goodwood , the notorious Beast From The East made an unwelcome return and gatecrashed the 76th Members' Meeting . This resulted in my spending the coldest days I have ever endured at a ra…

31-12-2017

In the bleak midwinter....

....it's still possible to find some motor sport to enjoy. With extraordinary timing the Mallory Park Plum Pudding Boxing Day race meeting escaped Christmas Day's heavy rain and the 27th's Snowmageddon . It might have been cold , but the low winter sun shone all day , if not stro…

13-11-2017

VSCC Lakeland Trial - Thyme waits for no man

Honister Pass, bright morning sun , a hundred vintage cars being ragged up a mountain by a friendly bunch of quirkly enthusiasts and the smell of bacon, petrol and hot oil . There are worse ways to start a day. I finished it with rather less style by having a general anaesthetic at James Cook hospita…

10-11-2017

Summer is over and we are not yet saved

It's Autumn and a doomy biblical quote seems appropriate. It's the off season for most motor sport, especially the tarmac roundy round stuff, but I did take in the so called Rallycross Grand Prix at Croft the other week and nearly wished I hadn't. I have seen some fabulous rallycross events …

27-09-2017

Autograss - Thornborough

Autograss is often termed motor sport's best kept secret but it doesn't deserve to be as it is one of the most spectacular sights in the sport .The low powered classes might not be fast but the racing can be furious and Class 7 ? Insanely, stupidly quick and one of the most exciting things I hav…

10-09-2017

Time Attack

My plans to experience banger racing were postponed -maybe later in the Autumn? . But I did double the average age by turning up to the Petrol and Pistons (or is it the other way round? ) Time Attack meeting at Croft .Where I saw more JDM (Japanese Domestic Market, do try to keep up ) stickers and…

17-08-2017

Milestone passed . And a new experience this sunday ....

I am taking August off from the book . Partly because ..ahem ...' I'm worth it ' but also because I have now written 103,538 words (oh yes , I'm counting ) since 1 January . Back to "work" next month ,and I'm intending to see Time Attack at Croft (if they'll…

08-08-2017

Croft Nostalgia Meeting

It might have been cold , sometimes damp , and the entry might have been thin in parts but the HSCC race weekend was still probably the best of the year at Croft. This may be due to the fact that, unusually for Croft, the drivers were outnumbered by the spectators. Good to see a …

31-07-2017

Silverstone Classic

Three days, 1200 racing cars , a couple of thousand road cars on display and and English summer of sun , wind and rain. Highlights? Watching a Lotus Elan 26R thrash Cobras and TVRs in a wet race on Saturday night, hearing forty DFV engined F1 cars spear through Becketts ; marvelling at the Kardash…

24-07-2017

Shelsley Walsh Classic Nostalgia

A first trip to the self styled oldest motor sport venue anywhere , ever, official . On my arrival I mistakenly thought I'd arrived at the pink corduroy trouser wearers' annual convention but , dodgy trousering apart, I had the best of times . I even met the man who was driving a Cobra 260…

14-07-2017

Gallery

I've uploaded some more pictures - most are mine but others have been sent to me to be used in articles I 've written. Trouble is, I don't always know who sent me the pics and if I have used one of yours , do let me know , and I will acknowledge your copyright or , if you're …

12-07-2017

Donington Park Lotus Seven 60th birthday celebrations

My car's desigh is only four years older than its owner. and I am ancient, as old as Nelson Piquet . My R400 gets quicker but I just get slower, too much fugit and not enough tempus innit ... Last weekend saw hundreds of Sevens converge on Donington Park from all over Euro…

26-06-2017

Heavy Metal Thunder

Drag race sceptic are you ? Think that there's no skill , let alone spectacle , in racing in a straight line for only a quarter of a mile ? Think that it's just another crass American import , all style and no substance ? Think that the Goodwood Revival is the best show in town…

19-06-2017

Cadwell Park Wolds Trophy

A near perfect weekend of racing at the UK's best circuit. From 1 Litre Formula 3 via Mustangs and Cortinas to a full grid of Formula Ford 1600 racers , the Historic Sports Car Club demonstrated once again that there's so much more to this sport than watching F1 and Touring Cars on t…

11-06-2017

Muddy Waters

I'm guilty of having been a bit sniffy about the BTCC before - is it so popular because it's on TV or is it on TV because it's so popular? The jury's still out on that one but after watching yesterday's soaking qualifying and practice at Croft I 'll admit that these guys certainly don&…

08-06-2017

Better get this blogging thing started ......

Belatedly , an update for regular readers .It’s early June , I started writing Refuge of the Roads on 1 January 2017 and today I passed the 80,000 word mark . That doesn’t mean I am anywhere near finishing as not only do I have a lot more events to go to and write about , I still have anothe…

17-02-2017

Why write a book?

WHY Why write a book at all ? Sounds like a simple question, I know, but the answer is complicated. The first reason is that if you enjoy writing, if you love playing with words as much as I do, if you have views and memories to share, then nothing comes close to the satisfaction of writing a book. We now …