Automotive Lovers

This year, the MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) celebrates its 60th anniversary. The last event took place at Thruxton on the weekend of the 19th-20th of May, and our director Jude went along to take in some of the action! Thruxton held its first BTCC race back in 1968, and with 11 corners over 2.36 miles, this track sees the highest average speed of any circuit visited by the BTCC. 2018 saw new records set for the circuit, with Matt Neal setting a new fastest qualifying lap with a time of 1min 15.612s (112.17mph), and Tom Ingram setting a new fastest race lap with a time of 1min 17.060s (110.06mph) – beating Yvan Muller's 2002 longest standing lap record recorded on the BTCC calendar.  Mac Tools with Ciceley Motorsport's Adam Morgan moved to the summit of the BTCC standings with victory in the final race in front of a record crowd, following on from points scoring finishes in the first two bouts in Hampshire.  Matt Neal claimed the early br...

A little change of pace now, as today's blog is all about motorcycles.  Of course, we love all things motorcycle related here at Veloce – a number of the Velocisti regularly ride their bikes into work – so road safety is paramount to us. Sadly, a large number of motorcycle riders around the globe are involved in serious accidents annually, and with the weather getting warmer, it's even more crucial that we all THINK BIKE whilst out on the roads. Locally, Dorset Police have launched a new campaign in order to encourage motorists to THINK BIKE on a more regular basis. This has involved putting up posters in 'hot spot' areas around the county where serious collisions have occurred involving motorcycle users. It is hoped that these signs will highlight that road users need to pay more attention to motorcycle users. You can see these posters on the following roads: B3059 Somerford Road, Christchurch A354 Weymouth Way A354 Portland Beach Road B3073 Christchurch R...

Porsche news always grabs our attention here at Veloce, as you know how much we love the marque, but this news story got our attention for a different reason than normal ...  It has been announced that Porsche will axe all diesel engine options from its range of cars with immediate effect, with the reason behind the decision being a "cultural shift" by the brand's customers which caused the demand for diesel models to fall. Instead, the marque is switching its attention to petrol and hybrid models.  The decision was made the same week that Germany's top court ruled that cities have the right to ban diesel motors in an effort to improve air quality levels. The cities of Stuttgart – home of Porsche  – and Leipzig had wanted to stop older diesel vehicles entering the city limits, and now this can be possible. Similar proposals are being discussed by governments around the world, in order to reduce pollution in major cities.  Last year, bosses at Porsche said that they w...

Who doesn't love a classic car? Drive-It Day 2018 is taking place this Sunday, April 22nd, and although many of the popular events to celebrate the day have sold out, there are plenty of ways to participate. Drive-It Day takes place every year to help raise awareness of the classic vehicle movement in the UK and encourages classic vehicle owners to show off their classics as much as possible. Organised by the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC), Drive-It Day celebrates the UK's rich transport heritage. Now into its 13th year, Drive-It Day commemorates The Thousand Mile Trial, which took place on April 23rd, 1900. Organised by the Automobile Club, a gathering of 65 cars embarked on a highly ambitious voyage around the country. Starting in London, the Trial went through Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Derby, Kendal, Carlisle, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, and back to London. Events around the country Drive your classic to the British Motor ...

MG has always played a prominent role in British social history, and its cars have always been enthusiastically praised. A home-grown concept, MG became internationally successful, largely due to the uniqueness of the factory; a family unit that supported innovation, race craft, had a talented design team, and provided opportunities for it's employees. The success of the factory propelled the small market town of Abingdon, in Oxfordshire, onto the global map, and made MG into an international brand that has survived almost a century of change.  We have a number of books on MG at Abingdon, such as MG's Abingdon Factory  and Don Hayter's MGB Story , but the real stand out has to be our newest book MG, Made in Abingdon . An active volunteer of Abingdon County Hall Museum, author Bob Frampton has collected the memories of many of the men and women who worked at Abingdon, to provide an intimate and unique account of what it was like to work ...

It's been quite a while since we last heard from Oliver, author of,  A Life in Car Design . However, Oliver has still been vigilant in keeping track of all he does, so let's catch up with him ...  2 December – Find speedreaders.info (USA) online review, which is very positive. 4 December – The Jaguar ex-Apprentice newsletter arrives. They have done me proud under 'Things to put on your Christmas list.' Many thanks Mr Benton. 5 December – Travel to Old Sudbury, Gloucestershire and give a talk on the book to Club Lotus Avon at The Bull, in Hinton. The venue was full to capacity, plus a couple of standing audience. Sign at least six books, and a very good pub! My thanks to Rob Ford for organising it. 11 December – Doug Weal of North Yorkshire Lotus Owners Club contacts me regarding giving a talk for them next March or April. He says there would be a wide-based audience, so I suggest adding a TVR slide to the presentation. Meet Andrew Walmsley at Barnham Broom Bell and...

If you're a lover of classic, vintage, or retro cars, The Classic Car Boot Sale is probably already on your radar. A great place to celebrate music, food, fashion, design, and, of course, vehicles, this year's first dates have been announced … The first Classic Car Boot Sale of 2018 falls over the weekend of 28th & 29th April, at King's Cross, London, and if you're in the area, we recommend a visit. Car and bike lovers are well catered for, of course, with a truly outstanding selection of vehicles, all driven to the event by the owners, who are more than happy to chat. But this is no ordinary car boot. You'll certainly find a wealth of traders, selling everything from vintage clothing and accessories, to homewares, collectibles, and vinyl, but you can also grab yourself a classic vehicle. If your budget doesn't stretch to vehicles, then you can browse the stalls, enjoy some of the finest street food in London, or simply enjoy the DJs playing vi...