Great race, with the wonderful Brian Jones in commentary. This race was also filmed by the BBC for TV Drama series "Driving Ambition" - but the drama near the end of the race was not quite what Auntie Beeb had in mind...
Thanks for posting it's great to see the Vauxhalls out anywhere ! I still have some Wendy Wools stickers in my collection of car bits .There were some really nice cars out there then and hopefully I will see you racing the Firenza when covid is beaten, (Cadwell would be nice) . Did you ever go to Croft racing ? ...it is my nearest circuit and used to go there lots of times. Your newly restored Firenza looks and sounds awesome. Keep your videos and updates coming.
Hi Tony. What a disappointing ending to what was a great race. Do you think a challenge for the win was on the cards, and what was the smoke we occasionally saw coming from the car? I couldn't quite make out from the commentary. Thanks.
Yes, it was a shame, but I don't think there was much hope of catching Pete Baldwin that day! The smoke was unexpected - but the Panhard Rod mounting point in the chassis had cracked and was allowing the axle to move laterally so the tyres started to rub the inner arches!
@@Firenzaman Thanks for the reply. As it turned out, that was the least of your worries/repairs after the prang. Did you need a new shell after that or was it relatively easy to fix front end damage? It looked like suspension damage too, but wasn't that easy to tell from the video.
@Gary L I was lucky - only minor bodywork damage. The problem was that the BBC had privately hired the circuit for the following day (Monday) and had arranged for all the race competitors to return to the circuit the following afternoon to help complete the filming of the fictitious "finale" to fit the script / storyline. Very fortunately one of the owners of my local Vauxhall dealership (Frosts of Shoreham) was at this event as one of my guests, and when he heard of the Beeb's predicament he mobilised his body shop staff, and they worked on the car in their Shoreham workshop overnight (yes, Sunday night!!) and we returned to the circuit by midday Monday, all looking pristine and ready to follow the filming schedule.
@@Firenzaman That's incredible and what a fantastic recovery, thanks to Frosts! I bet you couldn't believe your luck. both bad and then good that day. I never did see the tv show, though I was heavily into the Firenza back then - I still watch some of the DTV videos with Gerry Marshall as they give me a great nostalgia hit, especially the backing music which I associate purely with the cars now. On a side note, do you remember Graham Sprowel, the parts guy of the DSG?
