The Brooklands Double Twelve Motorsport Festival 18/19 June

[Steve 155C]

http://www.brooklandsmuseum.com/index.php?/double12/

The Brooklands Double Twelve Motorsport Festival returns on 18th and 19th June 2011, with Brooklands Museum Trust as the official promoter and the Vintage Sports-Car Club as organiser of the competitive aspects of The Double Twelve Driving Concours and the Double Twelve Sprint. This year, the competitive element is stepped up with the action spread evenly across the whole weekend.

There will be 144 cars in total (12 in each of the 12 classes) competing in the combined Double Twelve Driving Concours competition in and around the Museum site over the weekend. In addition to the established Grand Touring, Edwardian, Veteran and historic Brooklands classes of previous Double Twelve events, there will be special classes this year for Morgan three and four wheelers; French Touring, Sports and GT cars, and a class which pits the evergreen British Mini against its Italian equivalent, the Fiat 500.

In Class C for Pre-war Touring cars, the recent Concorso d’Eleganza Villa D’Este winner of the “Coppa d’Oro” trophy, the 1942 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Bertone Coupe is an entry. Having also won its class last year at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California, it will be the first time this unique Alfa Romeo from a famous Italian collection has been shown in the UK.

In Class D for Post-war Touring cars a 1948 Delahaye 135 M Drophead Coupe has entered. This Delahaye is very rare in that it carries very unusual Italian coachwork by master Italian coachbuilders Viotti of Turin with the lovely Viotti enamel and chrome badges and a beautifully styled front grille.

Amongst the Vintage and Post-Vintage Historic Brooklands Classes are several cars that competed in the original Double Twelve, including examples from Lagonda, Talbot and Frazer Nash. In the Veteran class we have one of the earliest cars still driving regularly on the road, the tiny 1896 Henriod that won the Preservation Class trophy at the Pebble Beach Concours in 2007 and a racing Lancia Tipo 55 from 1910 that was featured at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

A great Post-war Sports class features many famous marques such as Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Jaguar, Lancia and an early Connaught.

Over the weekend, entrants in all twelve classes will take part in a series of Driving Tests using test layouts inspired by those used in the 1939 Junior Car Club Rally at Brooklands, as well as being judged against the exacting criteria of a Concours d’?legance. The Tests will take place in such thrilling and evocative environments as the Members’ Banking of the original circuit and the challenging Brooklands Test Hill. Marks awarded in the two disciplines will be added to give an overall score, ensuring that the class and overall winners will be selected from the best drivers using the best-kept vehicles.

On the Saturday, some 100 Pre-war cars will take part in the Brooklands Speed Trials organised by The Vintage Sports-Car Club on the Mercedes-Benz World circuit. This event will have a separate class structure based on factors such as age, specification and engine capacity.

On the Sunday, as the Driving Concours reaches its conclusion and the judges retire to consider their scores, the Museum will become a hive of renewed activity as a huge variety of vehicles takes part in the 2011 Test Hill Challenge. During the challenge, the steep Test Hill will be tackled by everything from a gaggle of Sinclair C5 electric tricycles to giant pre-war racing cars, from racing cyclists to teams struggling to pull a variety of interesting weights including huge aircraft wheels up the Hill for charity. To ensure that there’s fun for all the family, there will be running races up the 352ft (107m) concrete slope for children. And the action won’t just be uphill – more capable pre-war vehicles will be heading down the hill in a test of their brakes, and there will be a competitive launching of paper gliders from the summit. A wide spectrum of one-make clubs will grace the 32 acre site in Weybridge with their own stunning displays throughout the weekend.

The event opens at 10am on both days and tickets are now on sale. Specially discounted advance tickets are available from http://www.brooklandsmuseumshop.com or by calling 01932 857381. With a trade village, plenty of food and drink outlets on site and family entertainment to complement the action, there will be plenty to see and do to make this a great event for enthusiasts and families alike. Ticket prices are as follows and include entry to the Museum for the whole day:
Adult £12 (£15 on the day)
Children (5 – 16yrs) £5 (£6 on the day)
Family (2 adults & up to 3 children) £30 (£37 on the day)