Frazer Nash Centenary: The Chain Gang comes of age

 

The Frazer Nash Car Club celebrated its centenary of their cars in August with a fortnight of celebrations, including an Irish international race, rally and summer ball.

 

Captain Archie Frazer-Nash started manufacturing sports cars in Kingston-on-Thames in 1922. The cars were lightweight and incorporated the unique chain drive transmission developed in conjunction with Ron Godfrey from his previous GN car business. Fast Tourer and Super Sports were the first Frazer Nash models, utilising Plus Power and Anzani engines; later cars used Meadows, Blackburn, Gough and BMW/Bristol engines.

 

The Frazer Nash CC was always an active motorsports club, and in 1947 a group of eleven FNCC owners were keen to resume racing after the wartime prohibition.  A disused military airfield was spotted, they created a temporary track and secretly held their own event. A sheep wandering onto the track brought a premature end to the racing, and unfortunately, the sheep. This race became known as The Mutton Grand Prix, and the location later became more famously Silverstone. 

 

Fifty or so Nashes & GNs arrived in Dublin in mid-August, all set for a weekend of Nash racing at Mondello Park Circuit. Kicked off with a superb day’s driving in the Wicklow mountains affording us some spectacular views of moorland and lakes, we enjoyed a pub lunch at the top, then on to a wonderful garden party brilliantly organised by our FN hosts Eric and Jennifer Kavanagh.

 

On to Mondello, the Freddie Giles Memorial Trophy was won by Patrick Blakeney-Edwards, and the second FN grid, the Bolzano Trophy, won by Mark Walker. We were honoured to be the invited grid for the first re-run of the Irish International Grand Prix since 1931, with PB-E once again victorious.  Tom Thornton won the Dublin Grand Prix, for the slower cars. Jo Blakeney-Edwards summed up, ‘It was a fabulous weekend of socializing and racing, spanning all age groups, and a great privilege to be invited to take part in the Irish International Grand Prix. We couldn’t have been made more welcome by our Irish hosts.’

 

The cars returned to England to take part in The Stanley Cup. Two and a half days of road rally around rural Leicestershire, including castles, special stage competitions, time trials, and even pole dances.  25 three-car Nash teams went head-to-head with intense rivalry. The winning team was Mathew/Becky Parkin, Richard/Will Marsh, Richard/Louise Baxter, all in standard road going cars. What better testament to Archie F-N that, during our Centenary celebrations, three original cars can still more than hold their own in competition. Teamed up with Dorinda Thirlby, Club Patron and competitor Jan Giles ‘Loved the brilliant combination of hard motoring, seriously fun tests and spot on organisation.’ David Knight, Stanley Cup organiser commented, ‘Hard work, yes, amply repaid by the grins on competitors’ faces as they finished.’  

 

The climax of the celebrations was the Centenary ball arranged by Jono Fenning and held at Stonehurst Family Farm and Motor Museum in Mountsorrel. This beautiful venue, which is the home of Frazer Nash CC members Tom and John Duffin, provided a wonderful location for a motoring event.  Michelin-starred chef John Duffin, of ‘John’s House’ fame, created a fantastic meal for 250 guests who delighted in the food, every ingredient of which was grown on the farm. John Duffin said, ‘It was a wonderful to see the pleasure on our friends' and guests' faces as they enjoyed each other’s company and the food my team of chefs prepared for them.’ The party lasted well into the small hours of the night and was enjoyed by Frazer Nash CC members with the customary gusto associated with the Chain Gang.

 

To round off the celebrations some cars competed at the VSCC Mallory Park race meeting on the Sunday.  PB-E won both the vintage and pre-war races, Jo B-E won 2nd sports car in the Vintage race, and Jim Edwards gave a good performance in Spider (one of the oldest competing cars in the club, only the car’s second circuit race in its long sprint and hill-climb history). Spider lasted the whole race despite an unscheduled collision with a waste dumper earlier in the day which required some paddock cold-forging of the drag link.  Jim stated, ‘We are so lucky to have friends that can facilitate us having so much fun with our GN’s, Nash’s and mates! Great job everyone!’

 

Summing up the whole centenary fortnight, club captain Dougal Cawley commented, ‘It has been amazing to be amongst such wonderful people and wonderful machinery, competing in such a variety of different competitive events. The truly Irish welcome we received at the Mondello Park Historic Festival was fabulous. It’s not just about the Guinness! To then spend the next week at and around Stonehurst Farm doing the Stanley Cup, topped off with a ball, then racing with the VSCC at Mallory Park, says something about the Frazer Nash car and the colourful people it attracts. Viva Frazer Nash!’

 

Parker/Pryke