The Ormskirk MotorFest was proper classic car fun

APOLOGIES if I brushed past you in Ormskirk the other day in the mad rush to make it to my car on time.

My MG was booked in for three glorious laps of Ormskirk MotorFest glory, and I was about 30 seconds from missing out. Regular readers will know I’ve been an avid supporter of West Lancashire’s motorsport-themed spectacular since its inception – it is, after all, the best possible use for Ormskirk’s one-way system – and that my trusty old MGB GT has for years joined scores of other classic cars in the event’s street parades.

What you probably won’t know, however, is that while the old girl made its usual appearance at last year’s event it was actually too poorly to take part in the parades, thanks to an unfortunate incident involving a sprint circuit, historic race ace Barrie ‘Whizzo’ Williams and a slightly misguided attempt by my colleagues to mend a misfire which went horribly wrong. Having decided that West Lancashire’s petrolheads would prefer not to hear an MG which sounded like an East European tractor, I pulled my classic car out of the parades altogether. That’s the joy of classic car ownership for you!

This year, however, I decided it’d be a crime not to get the MG, with all its rattly bits mended, into the parades around Ormskirk’s one-mile circuit. The only problem was that I somehow had to photograph the parades AND take part in them, which was why as the last of the bubble cars tootled up from Coronation Park towards the Parish Church I was nudging my way through the crowds in the opposite direction, eager to get from my photography spot to the MG in record time. With just seconds to go before the classic car parade eased onto Park Road, I got my pride and joy fired up.

It was great not only to be involved in the most exciting aspect of the MotorFest once again, but also to see how the event’s evolved from that single, full-throttle spark of an idea back in 2010.

The most welcome change was the hugely increased emphasis on safety, with barriers installed right the way along Park Road – there’s never been an accident in the parades, but from the perspective of a driver cruising past thousands of spectators it’s good to know the fans have got some added protection!

The event’s still got its uniquely egalitarian atmosphere, where anyone can come and watch an F1 car charge past the bus station and pay nothing for the privelige, but the addition of the autotests, the car club displays and the emphasis on organisation have helped it mature into something with a slicker, more mature feel. It’s also, given the Government’s decision to legalise what are effectively road racing events on closed public roads, a prime example of the spending power petrolheads bring to town centres when they flock their in their thousands for a car show.

Count me in for next year.

Check out the 3 September issue of Classic Car Weekly for David's full report on this year's Ormskirk MotorFest

Read more »

Life On Cars is five years old!

 

IT'S great to reflect that Life On Cars is now five years old* and - by some stroke of luck - is still going from strength to strength.

Since its humble beginings with a broken-down Mini back in 2009 there have been hundreds of show reviews, test drives, comment pieces and features - and, of course, it's still a regular fixture each week in the pages of The Champion newspaper.

In an idea not-at-all-inspired by Chris Evans' seven-themed displays at the CarFest events, I've decided the best way to mark the anniversary is by looking back at five of the best 'fives' from five years of Life On Cars.

Click on each to find out more about each of these memorable motoring moments...

Five.... unforgettable drives

1) Blackpool Illuminations in a Mini
2) The Buttertubs Pass in Suzuki Swift Sport
3) The New Forest in a Jaguar XK150 (pictured)
4) Derbyshire Dales in a Lotus Evora S
5) North Wales in a Mazda MX-5

Five.... shows you won’t want to miss

1) Lydiate Classic Car Show
2) Cholmondely Pageant of Power
3) Lakes Charity Classic Car Show
4) Goodwood Revival
5) Ormskirk MotorFest

Five.... fantastic Life On Cars moments

1) Raising much-needed cash for charity (pictured)
2) Seeing Life On Cars printed in a national motoring publication
3) Winning a national award
4) Landing a job at Classic Car Weekly
5) Getting printed in The Champion

Five.... moments we’d rather forget

1) Taking an MGB at Curborough - and not doing it much good (pictured)
2) The Volkswagen XL1 being accidentally referred to as a Vauxhall in print
3) Selling the Mini and the Renault 5 within a week of each other
4) The Mondeo’s premature demise
5) Spinning my first MX-5

Five.... greatest cars we’ve tested

1) Ford Fiesta (2009)
2) Honda CR-Z (2010)
3) Citroen DS3 Racing (2011)
4) Morgan Threewheeler (2012, pictured)
5) Suzuki SC100 (2013)

For all these reviews, plus dozens of other road tests, visit the Fire Up The... section.


*Or rather it was five years old last week, but I might have been away on holiday on the big day. Oops!

Read more »

David Cameron has given great street racing events the green light

IMAGINE the sight of a Jaguar D-type doing battle with a Ferrari 250 TR, or perhaps a pair of Caterhams ducking and diving as they fight for the perfect line through a tight corner.

It’s an entertaining enough prospect to make you book a ticket for Brands Hatch or Silverstone, but what about watching some proper, full-throttle action on, say, Ormskirk’s one-way system? Well, thanks to the concerted efforts of some racing buffs and a largely unexpected move by the Prime Minister, it’s not as far-fetched as you might think.

Last Friday, seemingly out of nowhere, David Cameron announced he was going to give local authorities the green light to close off public roads for motorsport events. In other words, the powers-that-be are free to close off your nearest high street, suspend the normal speed limits for an afternoon, and stage races – or time trials or sprints, for that matter – for your entertainment.

Personally, I think it’s a corking idea. Having long been involved with West Lancashire’s efforts to re-enact the street racing glamour of Monaco, the Ormskirk MotorFest, I’ve asked for years why the road closures can’t be used for something a bit more dramatic than parades of old cars and motorbikes. The local authorities liked the idea.

The event organisers seemed up for it. The petrolhead public – who were already sold on the idea of seeing a 1978 Saudia-Williams F1 car tootling past the parish church – were all in favour. Yet, thanks to an obscure clause in a bit of legislation passed more than 25 years ago, shutting off a road and using it for racing was very much against the law.

That’s why a display of sports cars in Ormskirk town centre last Saturday to promote this year’s MotorFest couldn’t have been more perfectly timed. By sheer coincidence, the team behind one of the few shows in the country which actually puts racing cars on real roads were showing off cars to the town’s shoppers, the day after the Prime Minister effectively gave them permission to up the stakes.

Mike Ashcroft, chairman of event organisers Aintree Circuit Club, told me: "The announcement is excellent news, because that aspect of the law has been the single biggest stumbling block for events like the MotorFest, which is now attracting more than 30,000 people into Ormskirk every year.

"The event brings so much money into the town centre, and hopefully this change will give other local councils the confidence to host their own events in other parts of the country. I think there could definitely be an Ormskirk MotorFest with a more competitive element in the future, as long as there the people in place to organise it."

By all means don’t hold your breath; there won’t be any flat-out, fully-fledged racing battles on Ormskirk’s one-way system at this year’s event, but it’s great to know Ormskirk – or a street near you – could play host to some Monaco-esque motorsport magic in years to come. I’m really looking forward to it.

Read more »

New classic car show planned for Southport

CLASSIC car owners in and around Southport are being urged to get involved with a new charity event being held in the resort next month.

The event, which is being held at the newly-refurbished Kings Gardens near the Promenade, will take place on Saturday, 23 August and raise funds to help treat Merseyside residents with neurological disorders.

It’s free for owners of classic car and motorbikes to show off their prized vehicles, but anyone keen to get involved must request an application form by sending an email to info@lot21.co.uk.

Read more »

Classic cars give sneak preview of Ormskirk MotorFest

ORMSKIRK'S shoppers were treated to the striking sight of more than a dozen sports cars taking over the town's market yesterday as part of efforts to promote a celebration of motorsport next month.

Aintree Circuit Club brought the cars and motorbikes to the centre of the historic market town not only to promote National Motorsport Week but also to promote this year's Ormskirk MotorFest, which takes place on 24 August and has already attracted more than 300 entrants.

Mike Ashcroft, the club's chairman, said: "Not only have we got hundreds of entrants, but we've also got a substantial car club presence this year, so West Lancashire Borough Council has very kindly allocated us the field to the rear of Coronation Park to give space to these clubs, some of which are bringing between 10 and 15 vehicles each.

"There are a lot of new things happening at this year's event, including changes to the parades from little batches of vehicles to larger parades which go around the town centre more times than in previous years.

The cars on show included a 1992 Ferrari 348, a 1973 Triumph Stag and a 1970 Ford Mustang, which aimed to give shoppers at the town's market a taste of the machines which will be on show at next month's event.

To find out more go to the Ormskirk MotorFest website.

Read more »

How to organise the perfect car show

IN PRETTY much the same way plenty of my pals like to shout instructions at Liverpool players even though they’re no good at the game themselves, I’m guilty of being that guy who reviews car shows even though I’ve never actually organised one.

It’s that time of year when every stately home, village green, municipal park and playing field seems to host its own car show. Thanks partly to my day job and partly due to being a glutton for punishment, I’ve spent pretty much every weekend, for as long as I can remember, wandering around them. Yet the only constant – apart from them featuring displays of cars, obviously - is the incredible amount of effort the organisers put into getting them off the ground. Passing comment on where they could do better is a bit like you telling Roy Hodgson how he could have got England’s boys to have done better in Brazil, surely?

But when you spend every single weekend wandering around classic car shows (and last year, a bit embarrassingly, I ended up at more than 40 of them) you soon get an idea of what works and what doesn’t. You end up wondering how the rather obvious opportunity for a striking car display right in front of the stately home somehow got missed, why all the ropey cheeseburgers from the mobile catering vans always seem to cost £5.50, and whether the people in charge forgot to invite anyone other than Austin Cambridge and Morris Minor owners. 

That’s why I found it so refreshing to wander around what I reckon was the perfect car event. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Lakes Charity Classic Car Show, held last weekend on a playing field in Grasmere.

I’ll skip past the postcard-perfect Lake District venue – if Wordsworth did car shows, this is what they’d look like – because just about everything else about the show was spot on. Every single car, bike and tractor, with the notable exception of a few last-minute entries, was carefully catalogued in a programme that didn’t cost a million pounds to buy, and what you did have to pay went straight to charity. The organisers couldn’t have been more helpful, the grub was sensibly priced, hastily-arranged ‘entertainment’ from long-forgotten rock bands was pleasingly absent and there was a great, friendly atmosphere.

Most importantly, however, they’d got the most important bit – the cars – right too. It was utterly refreshing to be able to check out some intriguingly and fantastically rare old cars, like one chap’s 1952 Marauder Sports, before wandering all of ten yards and debating whether the Ford Probe is old enough to considered a classic yet.

Getting a car show just right is a tricky old thing to do and I reckon the closest thing we’ve got on our doorstep is the (equally charity-orientated) Lydiate Classic Car Show. Roll on Sunday!

Read more »

Don't miss out on the Lydiate Classic Car Show

CLASSIC car fans are being urged to help raise cash for charity by heading to a show in Lydiate next month.

The team behind the Lydiate Classic Car Show said this year’s event will take place at the parish hall between 10am and 4pm on Sunday, July 6. The bustling one-day event, which helps to raise much-needed funds for Cancer Research UK, attracts scores of classic cars from across the North West.

Ben Spears, one of the event's organisers, told Life On Cars: "It's the largest charity car show in the Merseyside and West Lancashire area, it has the cheapest entrance fee, and it's got a great atmosphere because there's no competition or snobbery, just lots of likeminded enthusiasts looking at each others' cars.

"It's an old school show for true petrol heads, and every car and owner and visitor is a winner for supporting a great cause."

The show which costs £2 to attend and has room for 200 cars, is open to all makes and model of classic car and motorbike.

All funds raised by the event will go towards helping Cancer Research UK - so far, the show has aready raised more than £10,000 for the charity. If you're interested in getting involved, send an email to classiccar@cheerful.com

Read more »

Tatton Park gets set for classic car spectacular

CAR lovers from across the North West will be converging on a stately home in Cheshire for one of the region’s biggest car shows next weekend.

The Classic and Performance Car Spectacular, which takes place at Tatton Park, is set to attract more than 2,000 classic cars, and this year features a special celebration of Triumph’s sports cars, particularly the TR7 and TR8 models.

The show, which is now is in its 28th year, will feature displays from more than 90 car clubs and individual entrants, and a well-established autojumble will give showgoers the chance to pick up a bargain from hundreds of parts and accessories on offer.

For more information about the show, which takes place on 31 May and 1 June, visit www.cheshireautopromotions.co.uk

Read more »

Liverpool car show axed

A new classic car show set to take place later this month has been axed.

The Liverpool Motor Show was set to attract a wide variety of classics and modern sports cars to Croxteth Hall Park on 25 May, but organisers Aintree Circuit Club said the event had been cancelled due to operational difficulties.

The afternoon event was due to feature a mix of the latest supercars, an extensive display of classic cars and a showing of historic fire engines among its attractions, and would have raised funds for the Woodlands Hospice Charitable Trust.



The club is now continuing with efforts to organise its flagship event, the Ormskirk Motorfest, which takes place on 24 August.

Read more »

New classic car show for Liverpool

PETROLHEADS are being urged to back a new charity car show taking place in Liverpool later this Spring.

The Woodlands Hospice Liverpool Motor Show, which takes place on 25 May, will feature more than 60 of the latest models, and displays of classic cars.

The show be held at Croxteth Hall Park (Croxteth Hall Lane, Liverpool L12 0HB) on 25^th May 2014 from 12noon to approximately 5pm. Any proceeds from the event, which is free to enter, will go towards helping the Woodlands Hospice Charitable Trust.

For more information about the show call Neil on 0151 529 2640.

Read more »

It's okay to be an anorak. Just not one who likes cars

THE press guru for the London to Brighton Veteran Run gave me a reflective glimpse.

He’d just regaled me with an impressive list of details about a 1903 De Dion Bouton, who owned it and what stage it was at in the world’s oldest motoring event, but it came with an observation.

“You just can’t be an anorak in this day and age.”

Au contraire, as Del Boy might say, and here’s why. I’ve long reckoned that it’s perfectly acceptable to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of something – in fact, it’ll even impress your mates – but it’s got to be the right subject. Unfortunately, that subject isn’t cars.

Anyone who remembers going to school with me will recall I was (and still am) a relentless automotive anorak. Even at the tender age of ten, I could bore my classmates rigid with the differences between a Land Rover Series I and a Series II, before cheering them up with some amusing anecdotes about how TVR employed the managing director’s dog as one of their chief stylists. If you’ve ever wondered why the Chimaera’s indicator surrounds have a touch of Pedigree Chum about them, that’s why.

Luckily, I’ve grown up among a nationwide fraternity of car nuts, and every weekend thousands of us, up and down the land, get together and talk shop. In the case of the Blackpool Classic Car Show, which I went to the other weekend, it was genuinely uplifting to trade facts and banter with hundreds of other enthusiasts.

But the truth about anoraks only hit me as I was leaving Blackpool, and encountered not hundreds, but thousands of people who took their anorak-ness to such levels that they wore white and blue shirts to commemorate it. Their passion was something called Blackburn Rovers.

All of these people, and their counterparts across the country, are anoraks. They can, to a lesser or greater extent, share with you an encyclopaedic knowledge of who a group of sportsmen are, who their opponents are, and how much they’re likely to be worth during a fevered period of activity known only to me as “the transfer window”.

It’s also absolutely fine to share every known fact about Britain’s biggest passion with your friends – whether they’re interested in it or not – in the pub, particularly if it’s one which insists on having Sky Sports News on in the background.

My point to my veteran car guru friend, a week later, was a simple one. It’s fine to be an anorak. It just helps if your specialist subject is football.

Read more »

Woodvale Rally 2014 date and venue confirmed

The Woodvale Rally will be held away from its traditional airfield home for the third time in a row when next year's event takes place, the event's organisers have confirmed this week.

While the event has been confirmed for June 21 and 22 next year, organisers said that the event would once again be held at Victoria Park in Southport, after the organisers said that the event's traditional home of RAF Woodvale, near Formby, was linked to asbestos contamination.

In a new development car clubs have been dealt a fresh blow, with the organisers ruling out all but a few car club displays due to Victoria Park being a much smaller venue.

Car club secretary, Charles Scott, said in a message to car clubs which normally attend the event: "Woodvale Rally cannot return to Woodvale airfield for the foreseeable future due to asbestos contamination. For the past two years we have held an event in Southport at Victoria park which is the home of Southport Flower Show and other events. Because the flower show has precedence we cannot use the park in July or August. There is no other suitable location in our area. In 2014 we will hold 'Woodvale Rally at Victoria Park' on the 21st and 22nd June.

 "The format is similar to previous rallies, but the much reduced space means that we cannot accommodate car clubs. The 2014 rally is well advanced in the planning stage and there could be space for one or two large clubs with interesting vehicles. Overnight camping may be possible as part of a display if unobtrusive, but there will be camping pitches available on site at £40 for the weekend. It may be possible for a club to attend on Saturday or Sunday only, depending on demand."

Individual classic car entries are being encouraged, however, and are being urged to get in touch with the event's organisers.

After asbestos was discovered at the airfield in 2012 the event was relocated to Victoria Park, despite ongoing controversy about whether the airfield can safely stage the event. This year's event was renamed the Woodvale Transport Festival, and offered visitors lower admission prices than the Woodvale Rally had in previous years.

The Woodvale Rally has been held annually since 1971, and attracts visitors across the north west and further afield due to its mix of classic vehicle exhibitions and model aircraft displays among other attractions.

Read more »

Why The Goodwood Revival is a motoring event every petrolhead should visit

THIS week I’ve managed to achieve something entirely new. I’ve been complimented by some Belgians, and it’s all thanks to a borrowed hat and a jacket bought in a charity shop in Southport.

Our continental chums had pulled up at something called the Goodwood Revival in an assortment of old Austin-Healey and Porsche sports cars, dressed like extras from Goodnight Sweetheart. They took a fleeting glimpse at the riot of tweed, smiled knowingly, and one of them, who’d just emerged from the cabin of a Jaguar XK120, said it all. “Fantastic outfit”!

The Belgians, the Dutch and the Swiss – and, to be fair, most of the English too if the nearby traffic jams were anything to go by – had all made a beeline for this corner of the deepest Sussex countryside. I reckon quite a few petrolheads in Sefton and West Lancashire did too, to check out what has to be the highlight of my motoring year to date.

The Goodwood Revival is one of those things you have to do at least once, because it’s quite unlike any event I’ve ever been to. To badly paraphrase an office cliché, you don’t have to wear period costume to go, but it helps. The whole weekend is designed to wind the clock back to about 1966, to a time when people would tune into the wireless on their Ford Anglia to catch the latest Cliff Richard record.

It’s marvellously silly, of course, but when you’re battling through a crowd of hippies, Teddy Boys and RAF airmen fresh from the Battle of Britain in a bid to get a glimpse of an E-type Jaguar, you really wouldn’t be In The Mood if you’d turned up in a GAP t-shirt and a pair of Levis.

As my mission there was to help get a hot report on all the action into the latest edition of Classic Car Weekly, I went overboard with the 1950s Fleet Street look, and brought along a tweed jacket which I’d bought from a charity shop in Southport the previous weekend. Combined with an equally tweed hat I’d borrowed off a mate, I actually felt like I’d wandered through the gates and back in time fifty years.

In fact, the retro attire helped me grant me an audience with perhaps the best known car of the Sixties – the very same Aston Martin DB5 used by Daniel Craig in Skyfall! I know Goodwood is miles away and the idea of going to a car show in fancy dress might sound ridiculous, but it’s worth it for the spectacle of seeing no less than 27 Ford GT40s in a row while a Supermarine Spitfire thunders overhead. I cannot recommend donning the tweed and going to Goodwood highly enough.

As Harold Macmillan might have put it, you never had it so good.

Read this week's edition of Classic Car Weekly for a full report on all the highlights and racing action from the Goodwood Revival

Read more »

2013 Ormskirk MotorFest proves a spectacular petrolhead success

WHAT do a Le Mans-winning Bentley, some thundering stock racers and a brigade of cute old bubble cars have in common?

 If, like me, you were one of the thousands of petrolheads to pay a visit to Ormskirk last weekend then you’ll already know the answer, because all three – and about 300 other cars and bikes besides – were the stars of a free-for-all motorsport spectacular which managed to get the town’s one-way system echoing to a spot of V8 thunder.

This year’s Ormskirk MotorFest, thanks partly to a welcome helping of scorching sunshine, has managed what I was suspecting to be impossible; attracting even more visitors to Ormskirk than the previous two.

With my slightly sick-sounding MG having only limped to the show’s static displays this year (it’s in need of a bit of classic car TLC) I gave going out in the parade a miss this year, but that meant I could really revel in looking around some of the stunning machinery on show. Sure, there was the very Bentley which stormed to victory at Le Mans a decade ago taking pride of place by the clock tower, but it only took a little extra digging to discover some equally eyeball-grabbing cars with some fantastic stories behind them – take, for instance, the 1948 Allard which just happens to be the exact same car the company showed off at the London Motor Show in Earls Court 65 years ago.

A car that’s now cherished by a car lover in Holmeswood, which brings me to the heart of what I love about the Ormskirk MotorFest – that almost all of the cars and bikes are from Sefton, West Lancashire, and the immediate surrounding area. Ormskirk on the August Bank Holiday Sunday has, a result, become an opportunity for thousands of you to find just how much passion there is for motoring in this part of the world.

It was a treat to see the flotilla of 1950s bubble cars being followed up the hill towards the parish church by a succession of Jags, Astons and Bentleys, but it was even more of a joy to see the crowds which had turned out to see them. When Wilf Blundell’s old stock car racer fired into life, the atmosphere tingled with excitement.

In an age where I’ve seen people happily pulling in excess of £50 out of their pockets to pay for a car show ticket, there’s something wonderfully egalitarian about thousands of people packing into Ormskirk, free of charge, to see some beautiful cars strutting their stuff on the town’s streets.

I’ll redouble my efforts to get the MG mended for next year’s event!

Read more »

The Nürburgring is paradise for petrolheads

AS I SIPPED on a cold Weissbeer and clocked the sight of dozens of classic cars lining the street I came to a conclusion. I had discovered Disneyland for cars.

Imagine taking a beautiful swathe of heavily-forested German countryside and carving a racetrack through it so large that entire villages nestle within it. Then populate the entire area with lovely people, almost of all whom speak perfect English, and brim the tanks in every bar until they’re almost overflowing with frothy, continental beer. Finally, organise a big party and invite pretty much everyone in the whole of Europe with an even vaguely nice car to bring it over and have a blast. That’s pretty much why the Nürburgring is the ultimate petrolhead pilgrimage. It really is a theme park dedicated entirely to burning rubber and revving engines.

A colleague and I were there – via a ferry trip to Rotterdam and a blast across Holland in an MGB that’s considerable shinier than mine – to cover something called the AVD Oldtimer Grand Prix, which sounds a bit tally-ho but is in fact three days of watching BMW M1s, Jaguar E-Types and even old Lotus F1 cars screaming around the home of the German Grand Prix.

The Nürburgring complex really is like AutoDisney, with a tacky gift shop to match – I resisted the urge to blow 40 Euros on a toaster which burns the outline of the Nürburgring onto your freshly heated bread – but in truth it was the party atmosphere in the villages within ‘Ring country which make it worth the visit.

Swiss-registered Ferraris, French Alpine A310s and more German-registered 911s than I’ve ever seen parked up right alongside the MG, which was flying the flag for British car fans – and almost everyone wanted to enjoy a chinwag, and to hell with the language barrier. As the sun set over the 15th-century timbered buildings in the centre of Adenau and the evening light highlighted the soft curves on a hundred sports cars, I realised I’d found an absolute gem of a place.

In fact, my only real regret was not being able to experience AutoDisney’s answer to Space Mountain, Oblivion and The Pepsi Max Big One rolled into one; the fearsome Nordschleife, which with 79 corners over no less than 13 miles is the longest (and possibly scariest) racetrack anywhere in the world. A scary racetrack which pretty much anyone, for the sake of 20 Euros, can drive around!

There’s always a next time, of course, but even though I’ve yet to sample its biggest attraction I can safely say the cars and the feelgood vibe alone should put the Nürburgring on any car lover’s list of holiday destinations.

Read more »

Ormskirk MotorFest ready to rev up for 2013 event

Some of the world’s most exciting cars and motorbikes will be taking to the streets at a full-throttle spectacular in West Lancashire this weekend.

A total of 300 vehicles have been entered into this year’s Ormskirk MotorFest, with some of the big draws including the Bentley Speed Eight which won Le Mans a decade ago. The day-long event, which encompasses static displays in Ormskirk’s Coronation Park and town centre and parades on the one-way system, takes place this Sunday (August 25).

Alongside the event's traditional draws, including displays in both the town centre and Coronation Park, will be an autosolo event, which revs into action at 11.30am in the car park of the town's Park Pool facility.

Then, of course, there's the series of spectacular street parades, with scores of stunning cars and bikes showing off what they can do on the town's one-way system, including one of the biggest moving displays of bubble cars anywhere in the country.

With so much on offer and admission being completely free of charge, it should prove to be an unmissable event for motoring enthusiasts from across the North West.

 For more information visit the event’s Facebook page or go to www.ormskirkmotorfest.com

Read more »

EXCLUSIVE: Drifting comes to Liverpool

A SPECTACULAR battle between two drifting supremos will take place in the heart of Liverpool later this month.

Life On Cars understands that TV production company Shine Films will be bringing two of the world's most sideways drivers, former British Champion, Steve Baggsy and the Japanese founder of the sport Keichii, known as the ‘Drift King’ (pictured above) to the Merseyside city to film a drifting sequence for a forthcoming documentary.

The sequence, which a source at the company said will be "quite a spectacular event for the motorsport fan", will be shot at the Pier Head between 6pm and 9pm on the evening of Tuesday, August 20. It is not the first time the city has been used for high-octane filming, with the makers of Fast and Furious Six using it to film a chase sequence.

The finished documentary is expected to be broadcast this December.

Read more »

Le Mans Bentley racer confirmed for Ormskirk MotorFest

A 217MPH Bentley which raced to victory at Le Mans has just been confirmed as one of the stars of this month's Ormskirk MotorFest.

Aintree Circuit Club, which organises the annual motorsport-themed spectacular, said today the Bentley Speed 8 GT racing car, which competed in the 24 hour race in 2003, will take part in this year's event in the West Lancashire market town on August 25.

Mike Ashcroft, the club's chairman, told Life On Cars: "We are absolutely delighted that Bentley Motors have agreed to bring their priceless Le Mans winning Speed 8 racing car to MotorFest. This car won the world's most famous race in 2003 and is maintained in full running order at Bentley's motorsport HQ at the Crewe factory.

"This is a fantastic opportunity to see this fantastic engineering masterpiece in the flesh! The car will be on display throughout the event in the Moor Street race paddock."

In previous years the event has played host to the likes of the Ferrari Enzo and the McLaren MP4-12C, as well as allowing thousands of petrolheads to see Grand Prix cars taking to the town's one way system.

The Ormskirk MotorFest takes place in and around Ormskirk town centre from 11am on Sunday, August 25. To find out more visit the official website.

Read more »

Lydiate Classic Car Show nails the feelgood vibe

THERE was a back-to-basics vibe about last weekend’s Lydiate Classic Car Show which I couldn’t help but love.

If you were there – and chances are that, if you’re a petrolhead in this part of the world, you were – you’ll know what I’m on about, but if you weren’t then you missed a treat. For the past six summers there’s been a gathering of all things automotive and vaguely old in a field behind the parish hall, but it’s got better and better to the point where I reckon it’s blossomed into a bit of a gem in the classic car nut calendar.

Sure, there was the usual brigade of Triumphs, MGs and Healey Sprites lapping up the summer sunshine (including a slightly shabby MGB GT owned by a certain Champion contributor) but this year’s show in particular really did have something for everyone, with everything from 1930s Rolls-Royces to 1950s bubble cars to the two-stroke clatter of a procession of Vespa and Lambretta scooters.

In fact, my favourite car of the show by far was a 1955 Land Rover – I’ve got a soft spot for old Series Ones – which had a used ‘n’ abused look which lent it a nostalgic patina in a sea of glinting chrome and polished paintwork. Everyone I spoke to at last Sunday’s show came up with the same verdict – that it was a cracker, even if you discount the sizzling sunshine which has left my face and arms a painful shade of Parcelforce red.

Lydiate’s show is, in the simplest terms, a field with some old cars and a couple of stalls thrown it, but it’s the atmosphere which makes it such an appealing event. By keeping it simple, the organisers have nailed something even far bigger shows sometimes struggle with. A feelgood vibe.

The best thing, though, was that the £2 entry fee wasn’t going to brim someone’s pocket – every single penny went to Cancer Research UK, including the sponsorship money provided by Maghull firm P & G Motor Factors, who stepped in at the last minute to provide the volunteers with a bit of a funding boost. The hi-vis jacketed volunteers running around herding Ford Zodiacs into makeshift parking spaces really were volunteers too – doing it because they loved it – and my hat goes off to them for it.

I love giving a few quid to the charity as much as the next chap but I reckon taking my MG to a classic car show is far more fun than running a marathon or sitting in a bathtub brimmed with beans.

For more pictures and a full report from the Lydiate Classic Car Show check out next week's edition of Classic Car Weekly, published on Wednesday, July 17.

Read more »

Lydiate Classic Car Show takes place this weekend!

ANYONE who loves their classic cars and bikes will love a celebration of all things motoring being held for a very good cause in Lydiate this weekend.

The Lydiate Classic Car Show, which takes place at Lydiate Parish Hall this Sunday (July 7) will see dozens of enthusiasts from across Merseyside, West Lancashire and further afield show off their vehicles to help raise much-needed funds for Cancer Research UK.

Among the show's classic car entrants will be the Life On Cars MGB GT - fresh from its latest appearance in Classic Car Weekly - and visitors can check out dozens of classic saloons, sports cars, coupes and plenty more at the Merseyside venue, opposite the Scotch Piper pub.

The show, which takes place between 10am and 4pm, costs £2 to attend, with proceeds going to Cancer Research UK. For more information visit the event's Facebook group.

Read more »