Motor Racing legend
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Woodcote Trophy at Spa: Day of the D-types
Meanwhile, Sir Stirling Moss and his co-driver Roger Earl were once again plagued with the gearbox problems which have been afflicting the Osca FS372 all season. So, on Friday night after Qualifying saw them a lowly 36th on the grid, Moss and Earl sat in a Belgian bar and devised a strategy of how to drive round the gearbox problem… and it worked. The pairing moved rapidly up the field during the race, to finish 29th overall and second in class. |
As ever, the Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy race saw a fantastic turnout of pre-1956 sportscars, with 40 starters ranging from Jaguar D-type and C-type, through Ferrari 750 Monza to the little red Osca of Sir Stirling Moss. What looked like a win from pole for Ben Eastick’s D-type was scuppered by an overlong pit-stop, which plunged Eastick from a comfortable lead to more than 20 seconds behind the Maserati 250SI of Marc Devis – a gap he couldn’t quite close, despite a display of fast and furious driving.
Third place, meanwhile, was magnificently and unexpectedly taken by the famous, white, ex-Jim Clark Jaguar D-type of Carlos Monteverde and Gary Pearson. This car – recently purchased by Monteverde and, prior to the race, unreadied and virtually untested – was a last-minute replacement for Monteverde’s Ferrari Testa Rossa. Damaged at Donington, the Ferrari couldn’t be repaired in time for Spa so the D-type took its place… and pulled off an outstanding result. In fourth place was the Lotus X of Adrian Hall and Nick Adams.