Back to school for the first time in forty years! The weather was 50/50 but I decided to go in the Marcos on the basis that that is the only thing of note vs my fellow alumni who all seem to be Company Directors, Judges or toting MBEs! Of course the car broke down just as I was coming onto the M56 to head towards Chester, overheating as I entered the slip road. Fortunately I was able to pull over on the hard shoulder without any drama. Couldn’t see any split hoses etc but added a few litres of water from my stash in the boot & then resumed my journey. Engine ran fine thereafter however the weather deities decided more water was required so it was 15-20 minutes driving through heavy rain with the top down, with all the usual treats like water coming around the windscreen & standing water in the door pulls. Heigh-ho! As is often the case when it stopped tipping down things dried off pretty quickly afterwards. I was only a few minutes late & it was an enjoyable drive overall. Slightly annoyed the passenger window wouldn’t go up, having fitted a replacement switch following the saga at Hampton Court but a strategically placed towel covered the gap & I headed into school. Even at 57 years I am still arriving late! It was an interesting tour of the school & great to catch up with some faces from way back, before jumping back into the Mantis & going home. I do like majority of the drive to Chester even though it’s mainly motorway. Not sure why!
RIP Paul
Something of a sad day today as the car was out as part of a funeral cortege for Paul Wilson, a lovely chap & Marcos owner from Alsager. Very knowledgeable & well liked within the Marcos community. There were four other Marcos as well as a few bikes as Paul got around a bit. In fact the coffin went by sidecar to the crematorium which is pretty rock ‘n’ roll. It was a nice service with a large family presence to see him off which is pretty much all we can ask for nowadays. Anyway it didn’t rain, the Mantis did not let me down & it was nice to see a few other owners who don’t normally make it out to the regular NW events. Hopefully I will see them next under happier circumstances.
Crimbo Dinner
A last Hurrah for 2025 for the Club Marcos International North West owners, at The Three Greyhounds pub in Lostock Graham. After a couple of utilitarian outings in the Mantis last two weeks due to no other family cars being available, I had kept the car primed with the hood down & cover on ready to go for this event. Unfortunately the weather gods were grumpy & light drizzle meant we attended in the Honda instead. Oh well! Still, it was nice to catch up with people & chew the fat over this year’s events, especially the CMI Rally at Snetterton.
There was some talk of attending the Luxembourg Meet next year which is encouraging. Who knows what 2026 will bring however, especially with the current Labour government’s penchant for adding taxes to… Well, everything! Fingers crossed they don’t decide that owning a classic car is a sign of affluence & target owners. Given the cost of keeping a Marcos on the road, surely we qualify for some kind of Benefit. ‘Car carers’ allowance perhaps?!
Annual pilgrimage to Concours of Elegance
It’s that time again & one those events that signal the summer is coming to an end: the Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace. Gave the car a decent wash, but there wasn’t too much to do as it was still pretty clean from the CMI rally a few weeks ago. Inevitably the wheels took as long as the rest of the car put together. Still rather annoyed at myself for curbing front nearside – only a light scuff but even so. D’oh!
Nice journey down to Hampton Wick Saturday afternoon in the sunshine, following a Matara & an LM500 (which I can see both sides of around the Matara!). The excitement started when trying to raise the passenger window when putting the hood up in the hotel car park. Absolutely zero going on in the door, so the switch was the obvious culprit. Unfortunately that proved to be very hard to extract from the console & the switch was damaged. Some bare wires were revealed but nothing conclusive. More investigation required. In the meantime I am keeping an eye on the weather forecast but sunshine all day so fingers crossed.
Once again a great turnout of Marcos cars with a splendid mix of colours, models & ages. Of course for some, the lure of a broken Marcos is too much to resist…
It was also great to see a couple of Marcos up on the podium at the show. On Saturday, Dave Chivers was up for The Club Trophy.
And on Sunday Paul Fereday’s car was voted best in show by the Classic & Sports Car magazine members.
Eventually it was time to bid farewell to the hardy bunch of Marcos owners left at Hampton Court Palace, & head north to Manchester.
Four hours later I was home & dry, with the emphasis on dry! With the passenger window at half mast I will admit to being the tiniest bit apprehensive about the journey back but I never quite caught up with the rain (or it never caught up with me?). A very enjoyable weekend & worth the trek down to London & back. Next stop, the electric window…
CMI Rally 2025 Jem Marsh Memorial Race
What a great weekend at this year’s Club Maroc International annual rally! Held at the Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk across the weekend of the 9th and 10th of August in wonderful sunshine it was one of the best rallies I have attended. Much kudos to Debbie Morrison, Isobel Chivers & those others involved in over a year of planning to make the magic happen!
Pending official confirmation there were 36 Marcos cars each day, including cars from France, Poland & of course the Luxembourg Ultras.
Amongst many highlights over the weekend, perhaps the biggest were the two ‘Jem Marsh Memorial Race’ races (one on Saturday & one on Sunday) which were included in the weekend’s racing programme. Each race lasted 20 minutes & was exclusive to Marcos race cars with all drivers being ‘the real deal’ – current racing licenses required! There was an amazing variety of Marcos race cars on the track together, ranging from Cor Euser in the legendary 6.9 litre Chevvy powered ‘La Bomba’ & Warren Gilbert in the Topcats LS7 engined GT3 Mantis, through to a couple of Mini Marcos, with some 1800s thrown in for good measure.
A big shout out to the Marcos Motor Company who very kindly arranged the marquee & the sumptuous lunch on both days. In fact the catering was exceptional, with Bay and Fig Events being highly recommended.
To top it off, the Bordet brothers, French owners of the two LM600s that raced at the Le Mans 24 Hour in 1995 had trailered the cars over. I never thought to see them together again outside of the Le Mans Classic paddock, so a great opportunity to have a look round them again. Better still, due to the French racing Marcos having mechanical issues during qualifying, the owners put car Number 70 out on the track for the Saturday Jem Marsh Memorial Race. Whilst it wasn’t trying to compete during the race, it was splendid to see it out on the track (for the first time in a good few years I gather)
To close out, here’s a link to a very slick YouTube clip on the event which is well worth a watch. All credit to the content creator, AinsleyN. Nice job!
Oulton Park Gold Cup 2025
Another opportunity to meet up with the good folk who make up the North West Marcos owners. This time it was our annual outing to the Gold Cup weekend at local favourite Oulton Park circuit. Unfortunately some illness meant not everyone made it as planned, but we managed four cars & a decent spot on the hill overlooking Denton.
Next stop… The annual CMI rally down at Snetterton. Bring it on…
Further down the line
A couple of spins out in the sunshine recently. Looking ahead, we have our annual North West meet at Oulton Park circuit next weekend, at their Gold Cup event. The annual CMI rally is less than three weeks away now. Personal circumstances mean my wife & I will now be staying at the same hotel in Bury St Edmunds as many of the other Marcos owners, about 45 minutes from the Snetterton Circuit where the weekend’s racing will be happening. I am looking forward to the whole thing & hope the weather plays ball across all three days. And finally the Postie brought all the paraphernalia for this year’s Concours of Elegance in early September!
Derbyshire Road Race Circuit
Marcos did not make the cut for this weekend’s Tatton Park show, so three cars went for a drive today round the Derbyshire Road Race Circuit. An event-free meet at Lymm Truck Stop followed by a three car convoy up onto then around the circuit. Sunday Lunch at The Royal Oak in Hurford was spot on, then a nice run home. Great day out.
North West Classic Vehicles meet – Heskin Hall
A very pleasant morning at Heskin Hall, hosted by North West Classic Vehicles. Not somewhere I have been before, or indeed knew about. The parking marshals did a great job fitting in a lot of cars, & a lot of cars there were! A real mixture of old & new, Brit cars & Yank Tanks, custom & road plus a few rat rods… Excellent! Pretty good for three quid too.
‘Proper organised’. While I forgot a chair, some people remembered… Well, everything! Coffee & Hot Dogs in the sunshine.
A great shout from Debbie Morrison. Some discussion on taking the cars to Tatton Park & Oulton Park later this year. In the meantime perhaps we will do a few more local car meets.
A peak drive
A splendid (i.e. event free!) drive in the sunshine out to Winnat’s Pass & back via Snake Pass. Busy roads but beautiful scenery. We are very fortunate to have the Peak District so close. Today was all the better for having my son as a passenger & photographer (I really need to fit a dashcam).
