Brand Events Classic Drive in Weekend, Bicester Quenches the Classic Drought
The 'Classic Quenching' of the month of September 2020 for all of us that are suffering the Classic Event drought due to this pandemic, has to have been the Bicester Classic Drive In Weekend held over three days from 18th-20th September. The weather was kind, the organisation was excellent and the content was great with drive in movies, trade stands, over 25 car clubs, track demonstrations and a Bonhams MPH auction.
TR Register members had been invited along and well represented the marque with the usual cross section of cars across all derivatives and a prime location right at the front of the club area. There was even a special car park for the general public arriving in interesting cars and the area proved a similar draw to the “over the road show” at the Goodwood Revival.
On the track demonstrations the drivers didn’t hold back at all with over 40 cars, covering race, rally and touring car legends showing what they were capable of on a track created especially for the weekend. The paddock was open to the public and the vehicles spanned over 80 years from the 1910 Pope Toledo through to the 1993 F1 Cosworth powered Benetton 193B raced by Schumacher and Patrese. To give a sense of the quality of the cars paraded read, 1955 Maserati 250F, 1930 Bugatti Type 35B, 1983 Lancia 037 Group B and 1997 Colin McRae WRC Subaru Impreza to name but a few.
In the Bonham’s Auction there was the usual eclectic mix of vehicles, so if the 1958 Leyland Super Comet Road Tanker at £19k was a bridge too far to take home, there was a 64 TR4 that passed through at £23k and an imported 73 TR6 at £13k for those looking for something more familiar, with both vehicles well presented.
It wasn’t as busy as expected with a number of people staying away in the current climate. As well as the club stands (of which there were a number of notable absentees), there was a range of trade stands, the Bonham's Auction, and a nice addition of the drive-in cinema as well as the aforementioned track sessions which took part during the day. Visitors could also walk through to the business side of Bicester Heritage Centre, where a number of the classic related businesses were open for visitors to view their very impressive vehicles and skills.
A BIG Thanks to Phil Dryden & Aidan Coles for the write up and photos.