brakehorsepower.net

A topic heading for those of us who are admitting to ‘getting on a bit ‘ .

Tom Delaney was a non starter at Goodwood 2006 due to unfortunately dying two days earlier at 95 years old.

Now I see that Frank Lockhart has died aged 88. He was a regular entrant at Bentley Drivers Club until very recently and must have been racing well into his mid 80s

So – a good many years until ‘retirement’.

How sad, Frank was a lovely man. He raced the single-seater Rover special and I always thought he looked just like the Viking on the Rover badge.
We saw him racing often at Snetterton and at BDC.

Should give me about thirty years at this rate!
I met Tom Delaney on a couple of occasions at Goodwood during the last few years, the last just a week after he'd rolled his Lea-Francis? . He still managed Goodwood with a smile and a bruised wrist. He must have been 93!

I nearly ran over Tom when he fell out of his car!! We were racing at Silverstone and I came across him on his side - fortunately, due to the huge power of the Mog, I wasn't going too fast and could easily pull up in time.

At an earlier BDC, Tom was leading the handicap, but on the last lap he pulled into the pits not realising that the race hadn't finished. He would have been the oldest driver ever to win a race.

The following year, or was it the year after, Tom did win the handicap and did break the record.

He and his Lea Francis will be sorely missed.

I have just heard that "Clink" Clinkard, who used to race a lovely single seater Alvis special, died last week. He was 86 and had been ill for some time although he never lost his wicked sense of humour.

Some of us used to race with him in Formula Libre races at Snetterton.

If anyone knew him and would like to go to a celebration of his life it is on 10th April at midday at his daughter's home near Sudbury. I can provide further details to anyone who would like them.

Thank you Mary – I didn’t know.

Until a couple of years ago Clink lived a couple of miles away from me in a house with a large number of garages which he rented out for a modest rent – mainly I think because he enjoyed the social interest of car enthusiasts coming and going.

His son Tony used to race a replica Cobra which sometimes mixed in with Morgan racers and Tony was killed in an accident at Cadwell a few years ago.

Do you recall if Clink or his son ever raced a TR3? If so I think it was the one I used to race in the mid 80's?

I think that Anthony, his son, may have raced one but I' m not sure.

I'll be doing it for as long as I can afford to;)

Congratulations to Rick Lloyd and Peter Horsman who won the Heritage race at Brands on Saturday. Rick is quoted on Heritage web site –

“ I took my 60th race win at Castle Combe last week and I’m 60 years old…”

Mmmm! Should we rename this site as MorganAge Concern? Certainly my lack of overtaking skills at Castle Combe would indicate that I was driving a motorised Zimmer.