The Vintage Sports Car Club of Australia

 Winton and the Voiturette Rally 2011

Photos by Tim Shellshear

 Winton, 28^th & 29^th May 2011

 It was a frosty clear night.  Suddenly, down the valley the sound of a steam whistle cut through the still air.  John Lackey, Wayne Rowe and I hurried to the end of the verandah attached to John’s Springwood cottage to see the spectral sight of a steam train roaring up the line, clouds of smoke billowing into the night air and the lighted carriages providing a small glimpse into a bygone era.   An omen we thought, of the forthcoming 35^th Historic Winton weekend.

  A feature of the weekend’s activities was a display of voiturettes in the competition paddock, 90 years of Salmson and Amilcar vehicles.  Accordingly, John Lackey was taking two Amilcars as well as his MG TA Tomlinson Special. The Jaguar ‘E’ type was also being celebrated, as it is 50 years since this iconic vehicle was launched onto the world.

Some 30 odd Amilcars (including various Amilcar based specials) together with 6 Salmsons, a Le Zebre, a Chenard-Senechal  and a 1913 Bedelia formed the voiturette display.  Quite possibly, the largest gathering of Amilcars in recent years.

 For those who have not experienced the Winton Historics, a unique aspect is the melding of motorcycle and sidecar racing events.  This makes for a special atmosphere of noise and smells…perhaps sweat soaked leathers was a contributory factor. I’d quite forgotten the sometimes elegant bowing and scraping of the sidecar riders as the vehicles scurried through the bends at breakneck speed.  I don’t know if someone had managed to acquire some Castrol R, but the pits were redolent with its nostalgic odour.

 The lousy weather in Sydney was not experienced in Winton.  Each day was perfect, clear and sunny with just a hint of winter.

The racing was electrifying, but to me a highlight was the array of interesting and rare machinery in the pits and the Shannons’ Classic display area.  Noteworthy, were a Stutz Bearcat, vintage Vauxhalls, a vintage Sunbeam with a 14.7 litre V12 Maori aircraft engine, and a vintage Talbot with a 10 litre Hall Scott aircraft engine.  Heady stuff!

 VSCCA members who entered in the meeting were John Rudd in his 1923/24 Amilcar CGS, and John Lackey in the MG TA, and Rees McKay in his Riley special.  John’s Amilcar CGSs is not registered and was displayed in a skeletal beech framed body built by Bob Winley.  This vehicle was the subject of much admiration during the weekend due the quality of the workmanship. The other Lackey Amilcar (1924 CGS special) is owned by John’s son Sam.  Both vehicles participated in the Sunday parade lap, as did Tim Shellshear in his Jaguar ‘E’ type, John Rudd in his CGS, Bruce Smeaton in his 1923 C4 and Colin Maginnity in his 1927 C4, together of course with other voiturettes and historic vehicles.

Second DIY Voiturette Rally 31^st May to 2^nd June 2011 Lake Hume NSW.

 What do you do when you have a large gathering of captive voiturette owners in one spot?  Why, arrange a rally. And, that’s just what Bruce and Mary Smeaton did. And, what’s the collective word for a group of voiturette owners….a ‘volume’ springs to mind, or a ‘rasp’ ?

 The accommodation venue was the Lake Hume Resort, situated 15 k east of Albury and on the lake’s edge. Some 23 voiturette owners and their spouses/partners/friends participated, from WA, SA, VIC and QLD!

 Bruce had arranged two days touring, each day over great roads with stunning scenery.  Tuesday to Old Tallangatta, where lunch had been arranged at Winnaroo B&B, and on Wednesday to Yackandandah, an old gold mining town. 

At Yackandandah the display of vehicles attracted the attention of a local TV station.  Views of the vehicles and interviews with drivers and on-lookers were shown on evening television.

 With some minor exceptions, most vehicles travelled well over the well sealed roads.  Some ingenuity was displayed however over lunch on Tuesday, where a head gasket problem was resolved with the assistance of (amongst other things) several on-lookers, a rotary burr and a battery drill.

 Evening meals were arranged at the resort.  Tuesday evening’s entertainment was the Jacques Tati’s French classic, Monsieur Hulot’s holiday.

A well organised rally, and Bruce and Mary are to be congratulated for their arrangements and hard work.