RAC and CC in Fourtrak trip double-header

As with last year’s Mentor outing it was a two-events trip for the Fourtrak, kicking off with the Royal Automobile Club’s Autumn Drive-In, followed by dropping in the Castle Combe Historic Weekend.

An early start from Buckinghamshire meant the Fourtrak bagged a reasonably decent place on the hallowed Woodcote Park turf, it helping make up an eclectic mix of cars that ranged from a ‘Cricklewood’ Bentley to a late Sierra GL five-door – and all points in between. Good conversation with fellow enthusiasts is always welcome, the only downside being cars had to be away by 11am.

But that meant plenty of time to get to Castle Combe. Yet once again National Highways (or whatever it’s called this week) and its lazy approach to getting the job done meant the initial part of the journey, from Epsom to Reading, took 90 minutes. Not good, not good at all.

Luckily the frustration that roads quango had created was dispelled by at the Wiltshire circuit: The Castle Combe Historic was in weekend form for the first time, and a decent racecard meant racing was what people had come to see, not the preening and dandifying posing that’s sadly all too evident at a certain other event held at another circuit a matter of weeks before.

The ‘Combe’ always provides great racing, none moreso than the Mini Miglias, where the pint-sized tarmac terrors surely had vacuum burns on their bodywork, such was the closeness of the racing.

We left with a feeling that historic motor sport is still lively, still vibrant and still certainly worth watching. And you don’t need a tacky ‘in-period’ dress taste either to enjoy what events like this offer.