Motor Sports Racing Bography
The boom in historic racing over the past 20 years has boosted not just ticket sales, but also the value and interest in the cars themselves. Rich guys have moved in, to the benefit of auction houses, owners, repair and race-preparation businesses and the press.
Feeding that interest and simultaneously creating it are the track tests of premier-cru classic racers. In a way they are the apogee of mutual benefit; selling issues, stoking the famously knowledgeable British fans, stroking the owners’ vanity and fixing their cars in the Pantheon of desirability, authenticity and value. And the journalists get to earn a crust doing a job that most people would pay to do.
“All exposure provides a public platform for a car,” says distinguished motoring historian Doug Nye. “A road or track test from a respected journalist will add to its stature. It might not add much to the value, but it will keep the car in the public eye and if it is for sale, it adds to the confidence of the would-be buyer.”
It was with just such a bag of miscellaneous hopes and motives that a small party assembled at Cadwell Park circuit in Lincolnshire on the morning of April 22, 2009. David Piper (then aged 78), former-Formula One and ex-works Porsche driver, owned two Porsche 917 sports racing cars, one an original worth upwards of £6 million, the other a replica, built by the right people with the right bits and worth about £1.25 million. It was the latter which Mark Hales, race driver, journalist and Telegraph Motoring contributor, had persuaded Piper to lend him to track test against a Ferrari 512S belonging to Nick Mason, renowned car collector and musician.
Motor Sports Racing
Motor Sports Racing
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Motor Sports Racing
Motor Sports Racing
Motor Sports Racing
Motor Sports Racing
Motor Sports Racing
Motor Sports Racing
Motor Sports Racing
Motor Sports Racing
Motor Sports Racing
Motor Sports Racing
Motor Sports Racing
Motor Sports Racing
Motor Sports Racing
Motor Sports Racing
Motor Sports Racing
Motor Sports Racing
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