When event patron Peter Ricketts was asked what he had done in a previous life to bring so much precipitation down upon the Cholmondeley Pageant of Power yet again, he replied that he was certain “it couldn’t have been that bad!”
As squishy underfoot as it got on Friday and Saturday, the sun on Sunday attracted a large crowd, so some 50,000 visitors witnessed a weekend feast of activity on land, on the water and in the air. The spectators had much to choose from as both modern and historic cars and bikes ventured onto the track, along with 20 of the fastest “supercars” anywhere.
There were a dozen classes for Supercars, Cobras (on their 50th anniversary), pre-war classics, sports and sports racers pre- and post-1965, rally and touring cars, post-war GP cars and single-seaters, as well as motorbikes, three-wheelers and sidecars and SuperMoto bikes.
In defiance of the conditions, Scott Mansell set a new course record for cars with his Caterham, 61.89 seconds on the 1.2-mile circuit on the magnificent Cheshire estate, a very narrow track with two fast straights and some daunting, tree-lined corners, as well as a chance to “get air” over two bridges.
Justin Law took the Cobra class by a large margin after one of the Cobras suffered serious damage in a crash on Saturday. Chris Williams took a welcome win in the pre-war class in a Napier-Bentley, a class that included fabulous cars from the Sinsheim Museum in Germany, one of which was a VW Schwimmwagen that also performed in the lake! Andy Bradshaw displayed top form in his Lotus 30 among the earlier Sports and Sports Racing cars, while Mansell’s Caterham beat Justin Law in a Martini-liveried Jaguar in the group for later sports racers.
There was an interesting range of machines in the Post-war Grand Prix class, from a Lotus 102-Lamborghini and Williams FW06 to a Lotus 18 and yours truly in the recreation of the 1954 Mercedes W196 Streamliner. In fact Malcolm Ricketts in his Lotus 18 and the Streamliner led the class briefly in the wet stages when the more potent cars took it easy or didn’t venture out onto the track! Andrew Morris blasted the Lotus 102 to a class win on Sunday in the dry, followed by Andy Willis in the BRM P126, and Rick Hall in the BRM P153.
This year’s running was accompanied by a great evening concert and an amazing fireworks display, as well as many, many demonstration runs by special vehicles and lots of activity overhead and on the water. Next year the date returns to July in hopes of avoiding the horrid English rain!
By Ed McDonough
