Malcolm McKay reports on the revival of a hugely popular classic car run that was halted by foot and mouth disease in 2001
October 14 is the date, the entry fee is a very reasonable £100 and anyone with a roadworthy car more than 20 years old can take part: Telegraph Motoring will be out in force.
If the idea sounds familiar it’s because it’s not new: the Norwich Union RAC Classic Run first took place in 1986, and I was there, aged 23, at the wheel of my 1959 Rochdale GT. Classic car rallies were almost unknown then and owners flocked to take part in this brilliant concept - one full day, starting at scenic or historic locations around the country and converging on Silverstone, where you could enjoy free use of the grand prix circuit.
We started from the Royal Victoria Park in Bath, in front of the stunning Palladian Royal Crescent, where scrutineers checked that the car was roadworthy. We looked in awe at the other cars lined up: Fraser Nash Sebring, AC Cobra, Borgward, TRs, Austin-Healeys, MGs, vintage Bentleys - one of the joys of the Norwich Union Run was the astonishing mix of cars from the Edwardian era right through to (then) 1966.
A simple road book, giving the whole route in easy-to-read “Tulip” diagrams, guided us towards our first stop at the Castle Combe race circuit. A brilliant feature of the run was its ability to take you on charming country lanes and through picturesque villages, skirting major conurbations as if they weren’t there. Another key feature was the inclusion of visits en route to places of interest, including some not normally open to the public such as secret test tracks or forgotten stately homes.
After a hearty breakfast in the café at Castle Combe we had great fun driving around this fast airfield circuit (it didn’t have chicanes then) before heading back out on the route towards Prescott hillclimb. Deep in the Gloucestershire countryside, this former driveway to a country house is home to the Bugatti Trust, so it houses a fascinating museum as well as a good café and another excuse for a blast, up the challenging hill with its hairpin bends and awkward cambers. A stately home visit came next, where those of a more leisurely disposition could enjoy a tour of the house and grounds while we youngsters had a quick look and a sandwich before pressing on to Silverstone.
Getting my little Ford Pop-based Special, with its Aquaplane-tuned 1,172cc sidevalve engine, out on the GP circuit was a dream of a lifetime - especially as I had a rare chance to compare its performance with that of a contemporary rival, an Austin-Healey “Frogeye” Sprite. The Sprite was 100 yards ahead as we joined the circuit but half way round we overtook it, providing great excitement for the young Rochdale crew.
The idea of this one-day run was inspired. It was such a feat of organisation that only the Motor Sports Association (MSA), the governing body for all motorsport in the UK, could have run it. It captured the imagination of the classic car scene and by the time I joined the staff of Classic Cars magazine in 1989, it was hugely oversubscribed, with thousands applying for the 1,000 places available. With my then editor, now Telegraph Motoring correspondent Tony Dron, I joined the MSA team for a day to help with the thankless task of whittling entries down.
Eventually the MSA found the resources to increase the number of routes and allow more cars, making it the world’s largest moving motoring event and reaching a peak of 1,600 cars in 1996 - although by then entries were beginning to decline as other classic runs joined the calendar. When Norwich Union stepped down from sponsorship after 13 years, fellow insurer AXA stepped in, but the foot-and-mouth crisis of 2001 forced the cancellation of the event - until now.
With Norwich Union signed up for the next three years and a determination to run the event in 2007, the MSA has put together five routes, starting from Norwich, Bath, Epsom, York and Silverstone, and the ability to take up to 180 cars on each. The smaller scale of the relaunch is because of the short notice - numbers can be increased in 2008 - but the great value and appeal of the event could well make it as popular this year as it was in its heyday. After all, where else can you spend a day driving down beautiful country lanes in the company of classic cars of every make, model and decade, sharing stately home visits and race circuit blasts, enjoying your old motor with all the family? My older children grew up with the run and were coping happily with the road book navigation from the age of six, loving every minute. The family appeal of the event is one of its greatest strengths.
Another part of the appeal was seeing what new cars were joining the party each year - and with the minimum age still pegged at 20 years, there will be plenty of “modern classics” taking part in 2007 that never could before. It’s amazing to think that just eligible will be the oldest versions of the Alfa 75, BMW Z1, Jaguar XJ40, Ford Sierra RS Cosworth, Isuzu Piazza, Lancia Delta integrale, Lotus Esprit Turbo, TVR S, Volvo 480 and Citroën AX. Next year will be the year of the Ferrari F40 and in 2009 the first Mazda MX-5s. And why not? The event offers an all-embracing welcome to the whole panoply of historic cars.
# To be sure of a place register now at www.msaclassic.co.uk or phone 01753 765100. If you don’t have a car, get along to Silverstone on October 14 and enjoy the spectacle, or watch the cars en route.