Classic car tour runs despite rain

ABOUT 100 classic and sports cars took part in a car show in Nuffield.

Despite rain, motoring enthusiasts travelled to Timbers Farm for the 14th annual Stoke Row and Nuffield Motorsport Day.

Fifty-one of the exhibitors also took part in the Maharajah’s Tour organised by the Craven Motor Club.

After enjoying bacon butties from the Cherry Tree Inn, the drivers left from Stoke Row village green at 9am for a 60-mile countryside route.

Due to the wet weather, the drivers experienced some difficult conditions along the way, including areas of deep water.

The tour ended at the showground in Nuffield, where the drivers were cheered by spectators before being interviewed over loudspeaker by event founder Iain Rowley.

Organiser Georg Bleimschein said: “Unfortunately, heavy rain before the event deterred a lot of visitors and despite some sunny spells during the afternoon, it was not as well attended as we had hoped.

“This is quite understandable as many of the Maharajah’s Tour and exhibition cars are open, so not ideal in rainy conditions.”

Pete Wickham, from Sonning Common, travelled to the sports ground after watching the tour cars leave Stoke Row.

He said: “There weren’t as many car as normal, unfortunately. I think the weather put quite a few people off, which I can understand because the cars are worth a lot of money and they take a lot of cleaning.

“Once you get them dirty it’s a hell of a job to clean them. It’s not like your normal car that you take through the car wash.” Will Munday, from Wallingford, said the weather put him off bringing his own sports car.

“So I’m just here to support it,” he said. “It’s a good local event and there’s entry by donation, which is brilliant and you can give as much as you want.”

Mechanic Peter Yates, from Goring Heath, was showing his 18-month-old daughter Iris an 1959 Alexis HF1 junior racing car, which he had worked on.

He said: “Its nickname is the Carrot. If you talk to anyone in Formula Junior about the Carrot they will know it.

“The owner has had it for
20-odd years. It has got a continuous racing history — I think he has done around 600 races with it.

“It’s an older British make and they didn’t make a terribly large number of cars. I think they went bust in the Sixties or Seventies. They specialised in small single-seaters and small-capacity sports cars.

“I was involved in a gentle winter refresh — checking the steering suspension, checking the engine over and a little bit of bodywork on the back as it always gets damaged every year in the same place.”

Mr Yates said that even at her young age, Iris shared his passion for cars.

He said: “If she can sit on it or in it and it moves, she loves it.

“At the moment she loves bicycles but I’m hoping to steer her more towards cars and motorbikes.”

Maya Kino-Wylam, nine, from Woodcote, was with her father Matt and taking pictures of the cars for his Instagram page.

She said: “The cars are quite hard to photograph. I just enjoy finding ways you can make things look different and how unique everything is through a camera rather than the naked eye.

“I usually photograph nature. The other day I found a snail climbing up a wall in my garden and I had to take a photo because it was ridiculously big.”

Andrew Ackerman, from Stoke Row, completed the Maharajah’s Tour in his 1932 Austin 7RN.

He said: “It was a retirement project. I have a very small garage, so I had to have something very small and it’s 9ft 6in long so 6in shorter than a Mini and quite a bit narrower.

“It’s not used to getting so mucky and I might have to wash it.”

Tricia Shiel, from London, took part in tour in her 1957 Porsche 356 A Cabriolet with the roof up.

She said: “We’ve been doing it every year but this is the first year it has rained.”

Mr Bleimschein thanked Silverstone Marshalls and John Barrett for marshalling the event and the visitors for their
donations.

The event raised £1,500 for a number of causes including the Thames Valley Air Ambulance Trust, Nuffield Community Project, Friends of Nuffield Church, the Ways and Means Trust in Peppard and the Stoke Row Sports and Leisure Club.

Around £1,000 was raised by Stoke Row Primary School with a stall selling bacon butties, burgers, sandwiches, ice creams, cakes and tea and coffee.

There was also entertainment for children including hook a duck, an arts and crafts table, memorabilia and book stand and a bar run by Pete Olley.

Suzanne Mirkovic, who was helping to run the school’s stall, said: “All the parents baked and donated to make this possible.

“There is a really strong sense of community at the school and everyone helps out.”

Parent Jennie Page said the proceeds would go towards new equipment for the school including new goals for its artificial pitch.