Classic Car PR – In Classic Car PR news, William Medcalf Vintage Bentley has enjoyed a glorious July, with strong performances in a number of gruelling and famous races, and high profile appearances.
The Peking to Paris event was arguably the biggest event of the summer so far, with the momentous rally only taking place every three years and running from 12 June to 17 July this year. While a William Medcalf car missed out on the overall top spot, there was notable success for the Bill Cleyndert and Jacqui Norman Bentley Supersports continuation car, which took victory in the European Cup despite it looking like they might not even make it beyond the third day.
They suffered a problem with failed wheel bearing in China but were rescued thanks to a 15,000-mile rescue mission from William Medcalf. William flew out to meet them in Mongolia with the £87 part that the car needed and carried out a repair in the Mongolian desert before sending the car back on its way. The pair then went on to finish the European leg of the epic trip more than seven minutes ahead of their nearest rivals.
The Bentley 4 ½ Litre of Keith and Norah Ashworth and the Bentley Le Mans of Marco Rollinger and Marianne Hengesch also put in strong performances, finishing second and third in their class respectively.
Another notable racing success came at Le Mans Classic, where the William Medcalf team took a historic car back to the famous race for the first time in 91 years. The Number 10 car was the first official Bentley team car when it took part in the 24 hours race in 1925, sadly not making it further than 19 laps. A last minute change to the rules meant that all cars had to run with their roof up. This threw the team’s economy calculations out and the car ran out of fuel earlier than expected.
The car’s return to the Le Mans Classic from 8-10 July was a momentous occasion, and it enjoyed more success than its last trip to the famous French track, taking an indexed sixth place out of 64 cars in its class, reaching a top speed of 91mph down the Mulsanne Straight in the process.
The celebrations continued as the car was given a hero’s welcome in London at the oldest Bentley dealership in the UK, Jack Barclay Bentley in Mayfair. The Number 10 car was joined by 18 other vintage Bentleys, which paraded around Berkeley Square on 11 July while they were cheered on by a host of friends, family and fans.
William Medcalf Vintage Bentley prepared cars also put in a strong set of performances at the 1000 Mile Trial from 11-16 July. The standout result came from Christian Hore and Ben Cussons, who were in a Bentley 4 ½ Litre Short Chassis that was bought from William Medcalf, and the pair managed a second place finish in their class. The car was also prepared by William and the team, and was even delivered to the start line for the beginning of the event.
Graham Goodwin and Marina Goodwin, who finished third in the same class in their Bentley Supersports, joined Christian and Ben on the event. The final Medcalf car on the event was a Bentley 4 ½ Litre, driven by Katarina Kyvalova and Knud Sassmannshausen.
Another Medcalf car took pride of place in one of London’s most famous automotive locations – the RAC club on Pall Mall. The 1936 Bentley Pacey-Hassan, maintained by William Medcalf Vintage Bentley, is the epitome of that rare breed of fast, powerful racing Bentleys that dominated the races of their era.
This car is particularly special as it brought together two of the foremost names from its day. Bentley racer and owner Bill Pacey borrowed the services of Walter ‘Wally’ Hassan from Bentley Boy and fellow driver Woolf Bernato to create a 4 ½ litre racer to the very latest standards. It continues to race today, and competed at the 2016 Benjafield’s Goodwood Sprint before heading to the RAC club.
The William Medcalf Vintage Bentley prepared cars put in a strong set of performances at the Paris to Vienna Rally from 13-18 June, putting in a late dash to secure the Team Award on the final day thanks to a pair of strong individual finishes.
The cars were a 1928 3/4.5-litre driven by Andrew Bailey and Philippa Spiller and a 1930 4.5-litre David and Julia Little who took second and third in their class respectively, and helped their team ‘Weally Old’ take the Team Award with a dramatic final day’s performance. On the penultimate day of the rally, the team was running in fourth place, but their superior consistency and strong reliability meant they overtook all of their rivals on the last day to move up into top spot. This also saw them take second and third place in their class, making it a successful event all round.
William Medcalf said: “This summer has been varied and exciting for all of us at William Medcalf Vintage Bentley, with barely a day going by without one of our cars taking part in an epic cross-continent rally, or taking centre stage at a glamorous London location.
This is by no means it as far as we are concerned this year, and we are already looking forward to lots more later in 2016 and into next year, with Goodwood Revival, the Alpine Trial and the Rally of the Incas all to come.”
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