www.theblisspages.com - CSMA classic festival 2005
www.theblisspages.com - CSMA classic festival 2005Links: CSMA 2004 : racing : Paul Naish : trucking : air display : formula one
The day before the CSMA Classic Festival 2005 was cloudy and cold, so I was delighted to wake up on Sunday 15th May to streaming sunlight though the bedroom window. Somehow I managed to get my children up, dressed, and breakfasted in time to leave at 07.45. We arrived at Brands Hatch shortly after nine and parked near the entrance, giving us plenty of time to establish base camp, erect our chairs, and spread the blankets.
We then went off for a walk, and there was plenty to see.
The children loved the bouncy slides, trampolines and bungee runs. They enjoyed the Royal Marines Combat Display - though I had some reservations about its suitability for children.
One also mustn't forget the racing...
The morning was given over to qualifying, and we watched most of the classes. The Brands Hatch commentary was informative and - mostly - intelligible.
During the lunch break, there was diverse entertainment.
Several of the races were red-flagged due to incidents, but thankfully, nobody was seriously injured.
The Group one Touring Car Championship was particularly interesting, with a Jaguar XJS V12 successfully fending off a couple of much smaller cars.
The Formula Palmer Audi Championship races were also interesting, with these 300bhp single-seaters being allowed eight turbo-boosts during the race, encouraging overtaking.
A few days before the Festival, I received an email from Paul Naish, whose narrow escape last year in the gravel trap after Paddock was pictured on theblisspages.
I made certain to watch the Lancaster Insurance MG Owners Club Championship in association with Summit MZ. Paul started fourth on the grid, and I watched the start from the grid line. He made a good start, and over the next couple of laps, he managed to overtake several other cars. Unfortunately, there was an incident at the exit of Paddock – again – and a car ended on its roof. The red flag made an appearance, and the race was stopped, but at the end of the preceding lap, Paul was in first place, so was the well-deserved winner.
I saw Paul in the paddock later and had a chat. It certainly makes a race more exciting if you know any of the participants, though I can't guarantee that theblisspages support actually made his car go any faster.
There was an amazing truck. I don't know what was under the bonnet, but it was very impressive. See the trucking video – coming soon.
There was also a display by the Aerostars aerobatic team - their ninth consecutive appearance here. Flying six Yak aircraft, they put in a great display, the first half on which was largely ignored by the crowd, as the action on the track was too exciting. A red flag after an accident stopped the race and refocused everyone's attention to the action in the skies.
We saw the Royal Signals White Helmets motorcycle display team on their 750cc Triumphs.
We saw Big Pete in 2004, and he appeared again this year. At 16 feet high and weighing 7.5 tons, Big Pete is not so much a monster truck as a monster truck crusher!
I also saw an amazing vehicle. With a 21-litre Rolls-Royce Merlin engine and a Phantom chassis, it has taken twenty years to build, but is nearly ready to go hill climbing. I imagine it will be a bit of a handful, but it looked very impressive.
For me, the highlight of the day had to be the demonstration laps by the 1993 Formula One Ferrari F93A . The sound of its 3.5-litre V12 engine screaming away at 13,500 revs is beyond awesome. I was transported back to the early seventies and a Grand Prix I was lucky enough to watch at Brands Hatch. Although the F93A wasn't as fast as the 1997 Zigzag Benetton car at the 2004 Classic Festival, it was no slouch, and by the time it pulled into the pits, I was in my own world of explosive power, elemental noise, and excitement. See my formula one video (1.5Mb), smaller formula one video (5ooKb) and a car pages - F1 Ferrari Action review.
Windows Media Player is required to view the video.
If it isn't on your system, you can download it free from the Microsoft web site:
updated Thu 19 May '05 give feedback...
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: © Mike Bliss 2009