During the final days running up to the 2015 Brighton Speed Trials, you would have noticed adverts posted round Brighton advertising the fact Freddie Hunt, the son of the late James Hunt, would be competing in the Trials. A great selling point for sure. As a humble competitor I was oblivious of this until I fell upon the paparazzi in the paddock.
The Brighton Speed Trials, which started in 1905, involves a straight line dash along Madeira Drive along the seafront. Today, it is a standing quarter mile timed run, which is a useful distance as often these times are quoted for a vehicle, enabling competitors a time to compare against. It is always a thrilling day for spectators and competitors alike.
It was good to see the son of the late James Hunt competing at the Brighton Speed Trials, and when I come to compete in my Morgan I found I would run just behind Freddie Hunt in his sped up MG Midget. I have always liked these little cars and he certainly was quick off the line and showed a clear set of heels to all the Midgets in his class. When I saw him climb out of his car with his long blonde hair and warm smile, I had to take a second look – I thought I was pulled up behind James Hunt. Freddie is a really nice guy; we were fortunate to see him at the Trials since the following weekend he was off to California for a sports car race. At Brighton, Freddie was racing for The Apprentice Racing Team (TART) racing to support them in their aims of raising money for training future apprentice race engineers – a great cause (www.tartracing.com).
There were plenty of camera crews interviewing Freddie after his runs, and there were also news bulletins on Southern ITV, on Breakfast television, and for the evening slots. As for me, I ended up in an interview for Xcar video channel alongside Darryl Sleath. You may probably find me on YouTube, somewhere. Darryl was running the Aero Racing prepared Morgan three wheeler. This vehicle had a load of torque and was quite a blast down Madeira Drive – a return to the early days of the Brighton Speed Trials when HFS Morgan entered in a very early three wheeler, although HFS did not compete on the day. It was good to meet you Darryl.
The timed runs in the morning were wet and somewhat hairy – with a slight jump out at the start and a larger one halfway down as one changed up. Good experience they tell me. Nevertheless, as it warmed up later, another great day of motorsport was had by all – long may The Trials continue.
