Unusual car: Group 5 BMW 635 Alpina
GT and historics racer Howard Spooner plans regular outings aboard his Group 5 BMW 635 Alpina after making his debut in the car at Donington Park last weekend.
Based on the E24 6-Series, the car features a 3.5-litre turbocharged Alpina B7/2 engine with which charismatic 1970s Formula 1 driver Arturo Merzario planned a Group 5 programme with the 635. But Merzario’s project was mothballed, and it passed to Luigi Moreschi, who completed the build. Moreschi campaigned the car mainly in Italian hillclimbs but it had not run for a decade before Spooner acquired it.
BMW specialist Geoff Steel Racing has recommissioned the car, which delivers well over 400bhp through a KKK turbocharger, powered through a sequential gearbox.
“It’s quite a complicated beast,” said Spooner, “so it’ll take a bit of getting used to but it’s a lovely, stunning car. The turbo comes in like a sledgehammer hitting you on the back of the head!”
After limited testing, the car suffered a misfire and needed an overnight differential change at Donington but completed Sunday’s second Classic Thunder race. Spooner plans a varied race programme, likely to include further appearances in Classic Thunder, outings with the Classic Sports Car Club and the Belcar Historic Cup in Belgium. “Anything that wants it in and lets it in, we’ll do it,” he said.
Return after 50 years: Rousselot at Silverstone
Fifty-one years after he finished a fighting second in a thrilling 1971 British Grand Prix-supporting F3 race, driving his Ecurie Antar Filipinetti Brabham BT35, Frenchman Pierre-Francois Rousselot (74) competed at Silverstone for the second time on Saturday, co-driving Greg Audi’s Shelby Cobra to seventh in the RAC Pall Mall Cup race.
One of legions of aspiring racers trained at the famous Winfield school at Magny-Cours, the Parisian finished third in the 1971 French F3 championship and contested nine Le Mans 24 Hours between 1977-89. Winfield principal Mike Knight joined him at Silverstone.
Special Mustang: Coyne's Wood Brothers example
While Formula Fordsters contested the 51st Festival at Brands Hatch, Swift’s 1990 victor Dave Coyne (64) enjoyed taming a wild Mustang at Silverstone.
The 1987 European F3 champion and Mark Wright, of Escort RS1800/Sierra RS500 fame, have acquired the stunning car built by NASCAR legends the Wood Brothers.
Coyne is in contact with the surviving Wood Brothers, who have provided full period provenance. His ambition is to get them to Goodwood, where he tested extensively with the works Delta FF2000 team in 1980, if favoured with a Revival entry next year.
Enjoyable comeback: Goossens back to Festival
One of the drivers tackling the Festival this year was 1991 winner Marc Goossens, who says his return was “a blast” after taking a class victory in the Historic final.
The 52-year-old Belgian returned to the Brands Hatch showpiece for the first time since his victory, this time at the wheel of a Van Diemen RF80. He was knocked out in the semi-finals of the main event, but finished ninth overall and top of Class C in the Historic section of the meeting.
REPORT: Esterson wins as Festival ends in farce
“It’s been a blast – for me the main thing was coming back to the Festival after all these years,” he said. “Driving through the [paddock] tunnel the first time put a big smile on my face. You can’t explain it to people and you have to experience it again, and relive it again, because you kind of forget all the way through your career what it all meant.
“It’s not as big as it used to be but it’s still good to see a lot of familiar faces around the paddock. There are fans here from Belgium that were here 30 years ago. I can’t thank them enough for following it.”
Roberto Moreno also returned for 2022, one year after the 1980 Festival winner and ex-Formula 1 driver’s first comeback. This time he was at the wheel of modern machinery – a Graham Brunton Racing Ray GR16 – and was also knocked out in the semi-finals.
Shocking pic of the week:
