ALFAHOLICS 3RD TRACK DAY CASTLE COMBE 17TH APRIL FOR CLASSIC ALFA ROMEO CARS
Following heavy overnight rain which made the track slippery for the first hour of the morning, Alfaholics was blessed with another wonderful dry day for their increasingly popular classic Alfa Romeo track day.
The event was fully pre-booked with all 48 cars arriving and sixty nine drivers signed in to enjoy almost unlimited track time. With 12 cars allowed out at any one time and sessions run in 15 minute slots, there was never more than a short wait to allow brakes to cool off and oil pressure to re-appear before returning to the track once more!
Clerk of the Course, Andrew Banks, began the day at 08.45 hours with a briefing in the Howard Strawford Centre, illustrating the key features of the circuit, explaining overtaking procedure and highlighting the need for safety at all times.
ANDREW BANKS IN HIS 3.0 GTV
The track then opened at 9 o\’clock, with Andrew and Maxim Banks taking all drivers on familiarisation laps in order to show braking, turn in and clipping point cones and demonstrate how the circuit should be driven ideally! They were then kept busy instructing in fifteen minute sessions throughout the day.
\”WHATS THAT YOU SAY?!?!\” – TIM BUTTKUS GETS UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH HIS INSTRUCTOR MAXIM BANKS!
The 101 representation comprised Giulia Spider, Giulietta Sprint, Giulietta Sprint Veloce and James Wiseman\’s superb SZ; all under the watchful eye of Chris Robinson! Jonathan Eddy came once again with his lovely black \’57 Sprint with 2 litre engine.
The 105 contingent of nearly 40 cars boasted just about every model, including 1300 and 1600 GTA, but with the obvious exception of a 1750/2000 Berlina. Is this now the rarest 105 model I wonder? My 1600 GTA Stradale was given a major work out by Andrew and Maxim, as well as by impressionist and satirist Rory Bremner, ex Lotus Sunbeam rally man and Evo Integrale track day fanatic Terry Johns, as well as Tim Farr, who was on track for the very first time since racing a Mini in the mid-sixties!
ANDREW INSTRUCTING RORY BREMNER IN THE RICHARD BANKS GTA
Steve Rogers brought his superb ex David Black 1300GTA Junior all the way from Yorkshire and which he shared with retired Alfa Romeo racer and engine guru Jim Evans.
Farthest distance travelled was undoubtedly Sebastian Bachem in his 2 litre GTJ all the way from Germany, whilst Claude Taffourneau in his 1600GTJ made the journey from Paris; all adding to the great occasion our track day has become.
During the lunch hour, all spectators with Alfa Romeos of any age were able to do 4 brisk laps of the circuit behind Andrew Banks\’ 3 litre GTV and it was nice to see Philip
Joice\’s red Alfa GTC, top down, (with Alfaholics GTA replica wheels and fast road suspension pack!) joining in the fun.
Bob Dove brought his family along for the day and spent much of it sorting out mechanical glitches and discussing things technical.
Our thanks to the staff of Castle Combe who handled the day in a most efficient manner and to Ken Carrington (Tel: 01245 473129 email: [email protected]) and Jim Gaisford (Tel: 01225 743400) who took superb photographs of all cars on the circuit.
Book up early for April next year and be assured of a place. Date to be announced in due course.
Thank you to everyone who supported us.
Richard Banks
Here are some new photos!
Richard Banks visits South Africa
During a recent trip to South Africa, I was able to spend a great evening with Rodney Sachs, his delightful wife Zandie and some friends, at their home in Johannesburg.
Rodney and Zandie hosting a barbeque!
Having supplied parts to Rodney for the 2000GTV he built and drove so successfully on the first classic East African Safari Rally, I was keen to see the Mark2 version being readied for this year\’s event.
Rodney competing on the 2003 Classic East African Safari Rally
No increase in power, but a definite increase in strengthening bars, together with double coil over front suspension. Definitely a car being built to do one job!
Double coil-over front suspension being adapted!
Not surprising, as Rodney\’s association with the Safari Rally goes back to the early sixties, including preparation and servicing of the winning Cortina GT in 1964, whilst
working for the Kenyan Ford agents.
A short stint followed in South Africa, preparing Basil Van Rooyan\’s GTAm before returning to Kenya in 1968 and Alfa agents, \’Touring and Sports Cars\’ where he ran the workshop and competitions department; winning numerous Kenya race, rally and autocross championships with Giulia Super, 1600 and 2000GTV, 2000 Berlina and Alfetta.
Over the years, Rodney has also driven factory \’chase\’ cars on the East African Safari Rally for Ford, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Porsche and Mercedes Benz! Now I know why he has to compete in this amazing challenge and, more importantly, in a self-prepared Alfa Romeo.
Car prepared on spit
Interior a maze of strengthening for the most gruelling rally event!
Richard Banks
Extra Trackday Photos
Dobson Jr. drives Dobson Snr. in their track & hillclimb GTV
The Merrell brothers lead John Symes in Richard\’s 2 litre GTA Replica… nice clipping point!
Adam Pleeth driving his father Ian\’s 2 litre GTA Replica
Max Banks took many people out for hot laps in his Alfaholics GTA Replica. Here leading Richard Merrell\’s brother. GTA Replicas were plentiful this year!
Chris Clarke hangs onto his lovely Sprint/hillclimb spec 1600 GTJ!
Darren Wiles and Steve Norton in Darren\’s lovely GTA Replica that Steve built
Andrew Banks taking a lucky young lady out for a few hot laps in his 3.0 GTV!
Bianco prepared cars were plentiful, as ever, this year! Here Glen Hurley drives the Sud and 33
Dave Tyson, loyal Alfaholics trackday goer, year in year out, in his beautiful grey 1600 Sprint GT
Alfaholics 4th Annual Trackday – 2005
They say that the sun always shines on the righteous! So, for the fourth year running Alfaholics were blessed with sunshine and fine weather for their annual spring track day at Castle Combe.
Bookings had started coming in before Christmas and the 54 places were filled two weeks before the event, which was being run to the previous year\’s format of 12 cars at a time on track in 15 minute sessions.
Richard Merrell organised a spirited get together the night before at the Salutation Inn, close to the circuit. An enthusiastic crowd of 20 people turned up, including Sussex based Alfa Specialists Ian Ellis and Alex Jupe, with Max and Diana Banks representing the organisers. John Dobson and his son brought their track/hillclimb GTV all the way from Yorkshire and David Stroud his modified Sprint GT from London, to share with Ian Ellis.
Paddock shot during morning sessions
Despite Castle Combe forgetting the key to the Howard Strawford Centre, signing on was well underway in the Tavern Restaurant by 8.15 on Saturday morning, with Clerk of the Course, Andrew Banks, giving his comprehensive drivers\’ briefing at 9.40am in race control. Thus, familiarisation laps with Andrew and Max Banks for those unaccustomed to the circuit began at 9.55, whilst the old hands were soon on track after Castle Combe\’s strict noise tests. Andrew and Max were then kept busy instructing throughout the day.
Cars queuing up for the next session
Morning track sessions lasted until the lunch break at 12.30, when 4 brisk parade laps behind Andrew Banks in his modern 3 litre GTV were enjoyed by more than 30 Alfas of all ages (and one Fiat!), not participating in the track day proper. This momentarily reduced the number of cars in the paddock, which mid-morning had been counted at more than 140. The central paddock area certainly resembled a full-on race day!
Turn out of Giuliettas was small but classy! Paul Featherstone brought his lovely Sprint, David Karat his elegant Spider and James Wiseman was enjoying his wonderful SZ with Chris Robinson. Register Chairman, John Williams, chose a 105 in the form of Yushen Ng\’s Giulia Super! Other Supers included those of regulars Andrew and William Jackson and Mark Nicholson of Italian race Services, whilst the lone Berlina, driven most spiritedly by Mark Warrington looked fantastic.
Mark Nicholson\’s Giulia Super
Mark Warrington\’s Berlina
A small number of S2 and S3 Spiders appeared topless, as one would expect, but most popular was the Bertone Coupé with 24 examples, representing most models: Sprint GT, GTA, GTJ, 1750 and 2000 GTV, not to mention the rapid GTA replicas of Richard Merrell, Ian Pleeth and Max Banks.
2000 Spider Veloce of Alice Cooper
The 3 GTA Replicas slither through Bobbies chicane, Ian Pleeth (silver car) leads Richard Merrell (MPR 25H) & Max Banks (SBP 699E)
Ian Ellis driving David Stroud\’s Sprint GT that he looks after
John Norrington and Chris Snowdon drove their well known GTV6, Mark Oldfield his Alfetta GTV 2000 and Peter Dewe his lovely early Sud Sprint. Harry and Gary from Bianco Autodevelopments brought a variety of cars (Sud, 33 and GTJ) for long time regulars Rebecca Draper, Glen Hurley and John Symes. Numbers were completed by five red 75s and a pair of SZs.
John Norrington in the GTV6
John Symes compares racers notes with Max Banks
The atmosphere, as usual, was relaxed and friendly throughout the day and once again all cars left for home unscathed.
Alfaholics would like to thank all the participants for making the day so successful and to the many who have contacted us since. We look forward to seeing you all next year with the possibility of a second venue!
In the meantime, \’tracksters\’ can relive their exploits through the superb photographs taken of all the cars both in the morning and afternoon sessions by: Ken Carrington (Club photographer) Tel: 01245 473129 and Jim Gaisford (track photographer) tel: 01225 743400.
Alfas @ Goodwood Festival of Speed 2005
I had a fabulous day at Goodwood and managed to see many clients, including several who were preparing or driving cars that had been invited to take part in the hillclimb.
Here are photos of the Alfas in the paddocks at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on Saturday 25th June 2005.
1964 Giulia TZ1 in the Style et Lux Enclosure
1938 6c 2300 Touring Coupe in the Style et Lux Enclosure
Disco Volante Coupe & Spider
Sportiva
Tipo 33/2 Daytona
1967 Tipo 33/2 \’Periscopica\’
1975 Tipo 33 TT 12 World Championship winning car
Speaks for itself!
P2
New Brera on the Alfa stand – Stunning!
The Alfaholics GTA Replica goes to the Nurburgring Nordschleife
I was recently invited to join a group on a European tour to the infamous Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit deep in the Eiffel mountains. The chosen weekend of the 8th – 10th July was one of only a handful of weekends during the year when the circuit was open to the public all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday. My choice of car was either my newly aquired modern Alfa Romeo 2.0 GTV or my recently built Alfaholics GTA Replica trackday car… needless to say the GTA Replica was chosen – it was dreaming of trips like this that kept me in the workshops late at night finishing it!
The trip could not have come at a better time, as only 5 days prior to departure Alfaholics’ prototype 4–pot aluminium caliper, vented disc conversion kit for 105 series Alfas arrived at the Alfaholics office. The Nordshleife, renowned as the proving ground for all major car manufacturers, was to be the ultimate testing ground for the Alfaholics 4-pot brake kit, as well as a few other suspension geometry tricks I had up my sleeve!
Alfaholics 4-Pot brake kit
We docked at Boulogne at 2pm. Whilst the majority of the group had given up on the idea of rushing through Europe to get to the Nordschleife before the track closed at 7pm, I was determined to get at least 1 lap in, as was my brother Andrew in his Alfa Romeo 3.0 24v GTV. We belted through France and, after a tortuous journey round the Brussels ring road in torrential rain, with 1 minute of track time remaining, in true film style, the brace of Alfas squealed into the paddock! Andrew just managed to beat the barriers, but by the time I had my chance to buy a ticket and get strapped into the Alfaholics GTA Replica, the barriers had shut! Such frustration after such a determined drive! Nevertheless, the track looked damp and greasy and we had a whole weekend of expected great weather to play. Once Andrew returned from reportedly hazardous track conditions we disappeared back to the hotel for some fine German lager! The rest of the group arrived in small groups throughout the evening with prize for the wettest crew being Matt & Pete in their open top MK kit car with no windscreen!
Brussels Ring Road & Matt arriving late and wet in the MK
Saturday dawned with the sun partially hidden behind a mist over forest (the same type you get with early morning starts racing at Spa in Belgium) – you know its going to be a hot day! After a very German breakfast of cold meats and cheese, we arrived early and set up camp in the corner of the top paddock.
As we queued for lap tickets at the automated ticket machine, serious hardware began arriving; Caterham Superlight R500s, Porsche 911 GT3s, a Noble M12 GTO 400 (driven by Autocar test driver Chris Harris), an Ultima GTR, an 800bhp Toyota Supra and hoards of superbikes from all over Europe.
Serious machinery in the Paddock!
The 2 Alfas lined up at the front of the ever growing queue of cars anxiously waiting for the circuit to open. The gates opened, the ticket machine was fed and we were off into the depths of the Eiffel mountains on the most notorious circuit in the world! Nothing can quite prepare you for the Ring in real life, no matter how many Playstation laps you have done! The gradient changes are out of this world, as are some of the cambers, and the passengers report some breathtaking views (not that I had much time to take them in!). This is a truly 3 dimensional circuit!
My Playstation experience helped me with the circuit lay out and aided me to complete a brisk first lap under 10 minutes, only overtaken by 2 local 911s. Back in the paddock everyone returned from a thoroughly enjoyable first lap, the majority of us being Ring virgins!
It was clear the Alfaholics GTA Replica was going to be fantastically fast with more circuit knowledge. Its direction change was sublime with the increased camber I set just prior to the trip, the brakes were taking it in their stride and the car was a joy to play with on the throttle in corners.
Alfaholics GTA Replica was a joy to play with on the throttle in corners
As the day passed and the laps went by, the Alfa was starting to fly round, Lotus Elises and Porsche Boxsters becoming regular prey! The Ring is a circuit where you must not forget to keep something in hand. This was brought to our sharp attention when the circuit was suddenly shut at lunchtime. 1 BMW had hit a deer crossing the track, and a Honda Civic Type-R went off through Fuchsrohre, clearing the Armco completely and landing in the depths of the forest! 90 minutes later the track was reopened and was immediately full with cars and bikes wanting to catch up on lost time. My last lap of the day was the most mind bending from a spectator point of view. I was overtaken by 4 bikes at different points of the circuit: all German, all black bikes, all in black leathers with black helmets and boots and with the obligatory titanium knee sliders! As I headed through the flat out dip on the way to Schwedenkreuz pulling 132mph in the Alfaholics GTA Replica I was passed as if I were standing still by the first bike (pulling at least 170mph) and with barely a lift he dropped the bike onto its side through the left hander, kneeslider sparking away! What a sight!
Track shots of the Alfaholics GTA Replica on the Nordschleife – the bottom shot is the famous banked Karussel
The little Alfaholics GTA Replica attracted quite a bit of attention in the paddock. A local German couple came over to chat. It turned out he raced a 1300 GTA in the 70s! By the end of the day I had completed 6 laps, which, although doesn’t sound like much, is 78 miles and nearly an hour of track time! We headed back to the hotel to recount our stories from the day over more than several beers.
Bitte ein Bit! Bitburger was the local beer of choice!
Sunday started with even better weather than Saturday and with a 9pm ferry to catch, we got to the circuit early to get in as many laps as possible.
After a night to think about the circuit, the little Alfa was really flying on Sunday, some Porsche 911s were becoming prey too now! The risks of the circuit were brought to the fore again as I flew over a blind crest at over 100mph to find a crashed Mitsubishi Evo XI on the side of the track but worse was the panicking passenger running down the racing line towards the blind crest: some quick thinking avoided imminent impact!
The famous former Ring record holder Sabine Schmitz was taking people for 175 Euro 1 lap thrills in her BMW M5, smoking the rear tyres though every corner. We tried to get a lap, but unsurprisingly she was booked up all weekend!
Sabine thrills in the M5 Ring-Taxi
Time really does fly when you are having fun, no sooner had we arrived than we were packing to leave. The trip back through Europe gave me time to recollect my time at the Ring, the trip, the experience and most of all the car.
The circuit is amazing, any trackday enthusiast/racer must go for the experience, its out of this world! If you want to book a lap in the Ring taxi, do so months in advance to avoid disappointment.
The Alfaholics GTA Replica travelled 1500 miles in 3 days and never missed a beat. The 4-pot vented brake kit dealt with the abuse impeccably and came home like new; no fade, monstrous power and great pedal feel all weekend (standard brakes would never have lasted the abuse). The suspension geometry tweaks also proved fantastic. The ride quality on the motorways and the main roads was superb, it travelled through Europe so effortlessly, giving us such comfort. Then once on track the body control and balanced could not have been better, absolutely sublime, with eye watering direction change.
This car, with these suspension specifications and setting makes for the ultimate fast road/trackday Alfa Romeo 105 toy. Of course all the parts on this car that make it so good, are available to buy from Alfaholics and full suspension set up advice is available to all Alfaholics Handling Kit customers.
The 4-pot aluminium caliper, vented disc conversion kit is in production at this minute and will be available in 3 weeks time (beginning of August). There will be 2 options, a road/trackday kit with dust seals on the pistons and a race kit without dust seals.
Photos courtesy of Steve Lemmon, Gary Owen & nurburgring.be
Alfaholics 5th Spring Castle Combe Trackday 2006 – Report!
For the 5th spring Alfaholics Trackday there was one major change to the ever popular format. This year, the trackday was purely for 105 series Alfa Romeos. Having previously accepted bookings for 101s, Alfettas and 75s, we found ourselves turning away customers with their 105 series cars. As a result we felt that for 2006, it was finally time to make it purely for 105s, which is of course our passion!
An extra twist for 2006 was the group booking of 14 Norwegian customers who came over in 8 cars, signing up through the excellent Norwegian magazine Carburetti. The Carburetti crew was coming across to write articles for their magazine on the Alfaholics company, as well as Richard Banks’ 1600 GTA & GTC, and Max’s GTA Replica, not forgetting the trackday itself! Initially I had underestimated the distance of their trip to come and visit, thinking that a 15hr ferry to Newcastle and the resultant seven hour drive down to Bristol was the total of their expedition. However, after a conversation with Carburetti editor Christer Lundem, it transpired that they had to drive for at least 6hours through the snow in Norway, on winter tyres just to reach the ferry! A quick pit stop was then required to change!
This meant that the Alfaholics trackday had turned more into a long weekend, and due to its huge success, a format that is likely to be repeated next year! The group successfully arrived in Bristol on Thursday evening, a mandatory Italian restaurant followed with more than a few bottles of wine and an ‘early’ night! After herding the 8 Norwegian cars right through the centre of Bristol out over the famous Brunel Clifton Suspension Bridge, friday encompassed a trip down to visit Alfaholics in Devon and some fast back road driving on Exmoor. This gave the photographers some breath-taking scenery to shoot for the magazine front cover!
Saturday proved to be a great success. The 105 only formulae was, without exception, hugely successful. The paddock was still a hive of activity all day, the proof of which was the Tavern Restaurant serving some 300 meals that day! Again the sun shone throughout and once some early damp patches had disappeared, the track conditions remained superb.
After initial familiarisation laps for those who were new to the circuit, the track was opened up to the full fifty one 105 series Alfa Romeos for the day!
The lunch break provided an opportunity for any Alfa drivers who had not signed up for the trackday, but who were attending as spectators, to try the circuit for 8 parade laps. This also gave some great photo opportunities (see below)!
The Alfaholics 2.0 Sprint GT Racer was fitted with a passenger seat over the winter. Along with Max’s Twin Spark GTA Replica, the two cars became the ‘Combe Taxis’ for the day, offering high speed exhilarating passenger rides for a large number of people!
For the Norwegian group a night out sampling Bristol’s vibrant night life in the superb ‘Luna’ private members bar ensued, before the drive back to Newcastle on Sunday and a choppy ferry ride home on Monday. Phew!!
Max Banks
Photos of all cars are available from John Gaisford – 01225 743400 (just provide a car registration number!)
Friday’s fast back road driving on Exmoor for Norwegian visitors – stopping for a break and some photographs amongst the breathtaking scenery!
Castle Combe Paddock filling up quickly Saturday morning
Barry Coupe’s 1750 GTV leads Dave Tyson’s 1600 Sprint GT
The Alfaholics 2.0 Sprint GT Racer acted as the Castle Combe taxi all day, giving high speed passenger rides to many clients! Here Frode Myhr gets a quick adrenaline rush!
Nigel Ashley’s 70’s Road Sports 1600 GTJ leads Chris Clarke, Robin Howe and John Bruce
Black & White Garage’s beautifully prepared 70’s Road Sports 1600GTJ
Duncan White’s 1600 GTJ, Stian Schjelderup’s 1600 Sprint GTV, Duncan Stewart’s 2000 GTV and Frode Myhr’s Giulia Nuova Super
Thomas Higgins’ lovely 1750 GTV chases a brace of 2000 GTVs down into Camp Corner
Plenty of foreign cars attended the trackday, here Arnoud van Leeuwen’s Dutch 1300 GTJ leads one of the many GTA Replicas to seen on the day!
Robin Howe’s Longtail Spider disappears through Old Paddock
Max takes Carburetti’s Jon Even out in the Alfaholics GTA Replica followed closely by Norwegian Fred Arve Monsen’s beautiful GT Junior trackday car
Spiders were again plentiful this year, here Jim Spackman follows John Bruce who had come all the way from Scotland for the day!
Always lovely to see a Monty being driven in anger at the Alfaholics Trackday – Ian Pickering’s Montreal leading Barry Coupe’s 1750 GTV
The lunchtime parade gave an unmissable opportunity to get such a broad range of Alfa Romeos together!
Duncan Stewart’s 2000 GTV clinges on to Richard Merrell’s flying GTA Replica and Nigel Ashley’s 70’s Road Sports 1600 GTJ
Norwegian Hans Rune Horne’s superb s3 Spider enjoying himself as he exits the first chicane
Norwegian Frode Myhr’s lovely trackday/rally spec Nuova Super was flying all day!
Many ‘smiles’ per hour for Thomas Higgins in his perfect 1750 GTV!
“First i want to say thank you for a great weekend Max, it was a great day at the track, impressive driving in your race car of course!!!!, but it was also very fun when we drive at small roads on Friday, your car runs weary well Max!” Fred Arve Monsen
“Just to let you know that I really enjoyed the day at CC and am sure I’ll be back next year.” Duncan White
“Thank you all once again for an excellent visit at your place. This will be something to remember for a long time for all of us.” Geir Langlo
“The day was excellent and the perfect introduction for me to trackdays – well done to the Alfaholics team. What a great sight it was seeing all those old Alfas and I certainly look forward to your future events.” Bradley Wallace
“Thanks yourself for a great and inspiring weekend, and of course for your hospitality. Both friday at your garage and in the beautiful hills and the saturday trackday were both fantastic!” Stian Schjelderup
“Another wonderful day at Castle Combe – much enjoyed by all. Very many thanks to all of you.” Andrew Jackson
UK National Alfa Day 2006
Boughton House
Richard Morris collects 1st place Trophy for the best 105 series and the Malcolm Morris award for the best Bertone Coupe. Car restored by Richard Banks of Alfaholics
The Alfaholics stand was a hive of activity all day, especially for the members of the Dutch Alfa Club who had come over to England for the weekend. They were able to see the quality of our products first hand which they had seen on our website.
Alfaholics display of stainless steel sports exhausts available for both 105 series and modern 916 series GTV
Alfas on display at Boughton House
Max\’s Alfaholics GTA Replica was a huge source of interest all day!
Lovely early Sud Sprint and 1750 Berlina, 2 very rare cars now in the UK
Max visits Goodwood Festival of Speed 2006
This year\’s Goodwood Festival of Speed was a spectacular event! Saturday was busier than I can ever remember in terms of vistors and even the wet start to Sunday did not deter huge floods of people from arriving! It was easy to see why, a huge star studded line up with names such as Rene Arnoux, Nino Vaccarella, Vic Elford, Richard Petty, Jochen Mass, Parnelli Jones, Jackie Stewart, Jenson Button & Mika Hakkinen to name but a few topping the bill, it was going to be a Festival to rememeber!
The rally event held in the woods of the Goodwood Estate was excellent, after only 5 minutes walking through the rally paddock, I bumped into Norwegian rally superstar Petter Solberg being interviewed by Roger Clark\’s ex-navigator Tony Mason. The World Rally cars put on a very impressive display in the forest with blistering speed and agility. Next out were the historic rally cars and it was immediately apparent how far rallying has come over the last 50 years!
Petter Solberg interview and WRC cars putting on a very impressive show!
Beautiful Lancia Stratos & Lancia 037 Group B Rally Special
Sideways ex- Ari Vatanen Mk2 Ford Escort
Ultra rare Porsche 959 Paris-Dakar driven by Jacky Ickx
The Formula 1 boys were back in force, all determined to out do the next team with bigger tyre smoking burn-outs and doughnuts for the crowds, the ultimate had to be Jenson Button in his BAR-Honda F1 car! Unfortunately due to the massive popularity of this \’competition\’, trying to get a good glimpse let alone a good photo is hard enough… fortunately the sound of V10 & V8 F1 cars shredding rubber at 18,000 rpm 50 meters from your ear is also quite impressive!
Nico Rosberg starts his Saturday morning burnout in front of Goodwood House
Alfa brought across the stunning 8C Spider concept car which was displayed in the Super Car Paddock all weekend. I managed to pin down the FIAT representative who was looking after and driving the 8C and quizzed him on the car and its bespoke carbon-kevlar chassis tub. It truely is a stunningly beautiful car, photos don\’t really do it full justice. I asked him what the future for the car was, suggesting whether like so many lovely Alfa prototypes it would not make it into production! He said that this was definately not the case with the 8C Spider and that it was guaranteed for production! Is this a scoop, who knows?!
Alfa Romeo 8C Spider in the Supercar Paddock
The Supercar Paddock was home to an amazing aray of the world\’s most expensive and most exclusive road cars, including the most ultimate work of art on 4 wheels, the Pagani Zonda F and the hugely powerful yet ultra refined and beautiful Bugatti Veyron!
Beautiful display of a variety of Lamborghini Miura\’s on the \’Cartier Style et Luxe\’ enclosure, including the latest Lamborghini Miura concept car
Renault had a huge display at Goodwood, here a rare opportunity to see a 2006 Renault F1 car with its wheels off – the sophistication of the aerodynamics is truely breathtaking! Note bottom wishbone has no inner pivot point, relying purely on the designed flex in the carbon fibre to allow wishbone deflection!
There were plenty of Alfa\’s on display all weekend, most being demonstrated up the hillclimb by the original Autodelta heros such as Arturo Merzario, Nino Vacarella and Marco Cajani, here is a selection of the Alfa\’s on show:-
Ultra rare 1924 RL Targa Florio of Contessa Francisca Lurani
1922 Alfa Romeo P2 once driven by Antonio Ascari
Stunning 1932 Tipo B Monoposto ex- Nuvolari
Alfa Romeo 308 C, this car was originally built with a V16 engine but was converted back to original 308 spec before being sold to South America where it won the 1947 Brazilian GP
Legendary Alfetta 159
The Museo Storico\’s TZ2
Beautiful Tipo 33 Stradale; such a pretty car, clearly the inspiration for the modern 8C Spider!
Tipo 33/3 of Bobby Bell, long time friend of Richard Banks of Alfaholics and the Museo Storico\’s Tipo 33 TT12
Following the huge success of last summer’s trip to the Nordschleife, I spent much of last winter dreaming of being back in the magnificent amphitheatre of the Eiffel mountains, queuing up at the ‘toll booth’ barrier for one more lap. Oh what I would have done just to do one more lap! Having fallen in love with the circuit so much, and truly now understanding exactly what I had built the GTA Replica for, the wet Devon winter gave me a chance to upgrade the car further to make it better suited for ‘Ring Work’. The car needed to be more trackday focused, but still remaining perfectly usable on the road, not only to drive out to the Ring, but also to take to events such as Goodwood, as well as other driving weekends into the Welsh mountains and the like.
The Alfa ZF differential had served the car well last year, but by the end of the year was starting to feel weak as the increased lock up from adding extra slip plates had worn down from heavy track use. I built up a 4.3 1750 Berlina diff that we fortunately had, enabling me to use one of our new trackday Gripper LSD units that we exclusively offer along with smaller, lighter 1750 halfshafts, thus improving acceleration response and reducing unsprung weight.
A new twinspark engine was built. Staying with the superb tried and tested mapped ignition system and 45mm carburettors that gave the engine bay such a beautiful blend of modern and old, but now with 17bhp more and an extra 15 lb/ft of torque. This gives figures of 199bhp and 162 lb/ft! These engines are available at special request to clients who really want the very best engine money can buy.
The standard F&S clutch had worked well last year, but the torque of the new engine made the clutch start to feel weak and the new engine deserved to be more responsive than the heavy clutch would allow. Thus one of our new-production, race paddle clutch kits, with flat flywheel was fitted. Instantly the new engine felt like yet another one! So responsive and willing to rev, down changes could now be made in half the time, as the response of the engine to heel-toeing was instant.
High speed testing the car (140mph!) proved that a doughnut doesn’t really appreciate such centrifugal forces. With the speedo reading well off the clock at over 150mph (the GPS box giving the real speed) its no wonder the doughnut had problems staying round, even with a GTA cage fitted! Thus the car was upgraded to the same system developed several years back for our race 2.0 Sprint GT. A solid aluminium ring for the gearbox, mated to a UJ on the front of the propshaft. The vibration problems were instantly solved and response of acceleration to throttle inputs was vastly improved – no longer waiting for the doughnut to wind up. This upgrade is being productionised as I write and will be available in the coming weeks from our race transmission page.
With all these upgrades on the Alfaholics GTA Replica, the car feels so tight and purposeful now. Road trips to the Alfaholics trackday, Goodwood Festival of Speed and numerous ‘weekends away’ proved the car still to be very road-able, still easy to live with. Track work at the Alfaholics Castle Combe Trackday showed the car to be extremely potent, with serious potential for very fast laps at the Ring!
This year, our group had a much stronger Alfa tone to it. Alongside my GTA Replica, Alfaholics clients James Wheeler came with his trackday/race prepared Black & White Garage 1600 GT Junior, Howard Twine with his lovely 147 GTA 3.2 V6 and friend and client Peter Mullineux with his 2.0 T/S 155. Also in the group, my brother Andrew, who caught the Ring bug so badly last year with his 3.0 V6 GTV, he thought he had better go out and buy a proper Ring machine – a Caterham Superlight R400! Yes the Ring bug exists and is very contagious… we all have severe strains that we cannot cure, for life!
Due to the chosen weekend being the start of school summer holidays, and the forecast of a baking hot weekend, we decided a very early ferry would be essential. This would ensure our being at the circuit for the 2:30pm Friday opening, whilst avoiding last year’s dreaded Brussels Ring Road rush hour chaos. At Dover, it seemed that fellow Ring-goers were of similar opinion, as we lined up behind a Ferrari 360 and a Lamborghini Gallardo making their annual pilgrimage. The run through Europe was easy this year, aided by beautiful weather, and before we new it, we were winding our way through the Eiffel mountains and on to Nürburg.
Convoy heading through Europe and up into the Eiffel mountains
The paddock was full of cars when we arrived, star attraction being the new Koenigsegg CCX that had been brought by the factory from Sweden for final high speed stability testing and to set a time, before being released to the public. It really is a beautiful machine in the flesh with such presence and those funky opening doors! Yes the Ring really is THE proving ground for all cars, including supercars. Data we have collected there with my GTA Replica has been invaluable in refining suspension, braking and drivetrain parts allowing us to develop and offer you, our clients, the best proven products you can buy!
Factory Koenigsegg CCX on final high speed stability trials and timed run – such a beautiful machine, must have the funkiest doors in production!
Friday afternoon passed like a flash and after 2 initial sighting laps to get myself back into the huge 170 corner challenge, the GTA Replica was soon lapping very efficiently, already overtaking Lotus Elises, Porsche Boxsters and BMW M3s!
Alfaholics GTA Replica heads out for some early laps
Ready for it?! Andrew Banks\’ Caterham Superlight R400 was a popular choice for passengers!
Back at the hotel for dinner, one look at the menu reminded me that Schnitzels (breaded pork fillets) are virtually all that is served in the Eiffel region! Jaeger Schnitzels were accompanied by many fine German lagers whilst chatting intensely about first day Ring experiences. Saturday morning was a severe 06:30 local time (05:30 GMT) start, especially after the 20 hour marathon that was Friday! Given the predicted heat that would build during the day, this would be essential to ensure plenty of early laps, permitting us a lunch time siesta!
Saturday morning passed typically quickly, with the GTA Replica racking up plenty of laps giving high speed passenger rides to many people. As I became more confident with the circuit, it allowed me to put on a show for the crowds watching all round the circuit, the GTA Replica being tempted to hang the tail out into corners with some late trail braking, then being held out with the mighty torque of the new engine! The superb balance of the suspension and chassis gave huge confidence, allowing more and more entry speed to be taken into corners, with 100% faith that the car would soak it up, even if very sideways, it was simply NEVER going to get out of hand! One thing every new passenger always said at the end of the lap was “Christ, the handling is unbelievable… it just takes everything you throw at it… what superb balance… what a hoot etc, etc…” The trackday/mild race blue suspension pack with 2 ¼” front spring upgrade really has been perfected, with very good road ride quality to get you to and from the circuit, combined with ultimate circuit balance. The huge advanced knowledge we have obtained from trips like this perfecting camber, castor, toe and ride attitude settings, ensures that the Alfaholics Mild Race Blue Spring kit really is the ultimate kit for hardened trackday fans and ‘Road Sports/Production’ racers!
Alfaholics GTA Replica really getting into the groove
Max & Andrew Banks grap some shade and water in the roasting 36 degree heat!
Saturday disappeared before we knew it and it was back to the Schnitzels and lager! With the weekend slipping away we knew we just had another morning of action, before the return journey and impending reality check of Monday morning office work! Andrew and I got to chatting about our cars and the trip so far. He was complaining of understeer from the Caterham hampering turn-in speed. We discussed some options and made a plan of action to dial it out for Sunday morning, “still though” he said, “no one has got near me on the circuit”! It got me thinking; no one had got near me either! Not a single car and only a handful of local bikes had overtaken the GTA Replica as well! On the hit list were many Boxsters, 911s, including a 650 BHP 997 Turbo, Elises, M3s, Exiges, you name it and we had overtaken it! Most cars became prey in the twisty sections where they could not match the lightweight balance and poise of the Alfa, but even M3s and 997 Carreras were not pulling away on the straights, allowing them to be overtaken in the next batch of switchback, cresting corners aided by the awesome power of the Alfaholics 4-pot brakes! A quick power to weight ratio check puts the Alfa in at 229 bhp/tonne, with an E46 M3 only managing 219 bhp/tonne and a 997 Carrera, 234 bhp/tonne. No wonder the Alfa was going so well!
Alfa and Caterham now both really flying!
The Caterham quite literally flying!
Another early start on Sunday! Adjustments made to both the rollbars on the Caterham provided a short term solution to the handling imbalance (once back in the UK spring rate changes would be made to change the balance of the Caterham from under to oversteer, the proper way to make such changes to handling balance).
Journey up to the Ring for the last time for another year!
Max instructs Howard\’s wife Tonia in his 147 GTA 3.2 V6, baptism of fire chosing the Ring for her first track experience – brave lady!
It was nearly the end of the weekend. Just and Andrew and I were about to go out for our last laps, the sirens sounded and the circuit was closed! Disaster! We had 45 minutes before having to leave to make our ferry home in time! As the clock ticked, everyone waited, many Brits were in the same position as us, 1 lap left on our tickets, a burning desire to do 1 more lap, but a closed circuit and an impending ferry to catch! In true Mission Impossible last minute style I saw Sabine herding her passengers into the Ring Taxi – the circuit must be about to open. Already helmeted up, we jump in the Alfa and head for the barriers. Just as we roll up, the sirens sound to re-open the track, only a handful of cars in front, looks like no one was going to overtake us all weekend, yes! As we pour out onto the track a BMW M3 CSL drives past me on the main straight, oh dear red rag to a bull, only 1 mission for this lap and it doesn’t need explaining! The first complex allowed me to close up a bit on the considerable gap he pulled out on the straight, but then the next run up to Schwedenkreuz allowed him to pull away again, even with the GTA Replica pulling a mighty 132mph on that stretch! I was starting to question our ability to catch him again, when we came up on the reason for the closure, a huge trail of antifreeze for around 2 miles on the racing line, freshly cement dusted! Having such confidence in the Alfa, I managed to reel the M3 in and by Bergwerk we were all over him as he kicked cement dust all over the front of the Alfa. By the time we got through Wippermann and Brünnchen he accepted his impending doom to a car 39 years his senior and gave me room to squeeze pass, but I have to say not very politely! Down the home straight we back off grinning ear to ear. What a way to end the trip, a seriously fast lap, and not for the first time this summer, Italy gets the better of Germany!
Sabine gets in her famous Ring Taxi for some high speed passenger thrills!
No shortage of exotica on or off track all weekend!
Next year we are going to find another weekend when the circuit is open to the public all weekend; Friday afternoon, and the whole of Saturday and Sunday. We will invite a group of clients to come out with us from England, and any European clients who wish to meet us at the Ring are welcome too! This is an open invitiation, so any of you keen to join, just drop me an e-mail and I will let you know the chosen weekend once the dates come out at the beginning of the year. It really would be fantastic to have a big group of 105s together at the Ring! Once a date is set I will also put a homepage news flash on our website!
The drive home to England passed by quickly, aided by a a bloodstream still full of adrenaline!
Bo Johansson & Robert Petersson
Bo Johansson is a long time enthusiast and Alfa freak! When I started racing (my first race car was a Mod-Sports Frogeye Sprite) he was often Clerk of the Course and using his Giulietta Spider as Course Car, at the Falkenberg track, some 90 kilometres south of Gothenberg. Bo has been a power generation engineer all his life and at that time he was part of a team building the Ringhals nuclear power plant in that region.
Bo Johansson at the Alfaholics Trackday 2007
All this time his home base was Finspong, 200 kilometres southwest of Stockholm, and that’s were he’s still active as an engineer at Siemens. Today he, together with the garage cat Enzo, resides in an old Baptist church that he has turned into both living quarters and workshop.
We met again in 1986 when I had the pleasure to award him top honours in the Concours d’Elegance at the “Sportcar Show” at Mantorp. Automobil, the magazine I worked for then, were main sponsors and the Alfa Montreal he restored was outstanding.
Bo’s price was a week in Italy courtesy of Lancia, and when that trip took place in the spring 1987 I was picked as Bo’s travel partner to take care of everything. We had the most wonderful time, visiting Alfa, Lancia, and Ferrari. We were introduced to Grappa by Ing. Pleterski at Lancia, and to Lambrusco and Tiramisu by Mr De-Franchi at Ferrari. We even caught a ride to Florence and back with a Ferrari test driver sorting out a troublesome Ferrari 412… No wonder we became friends!
Soon after that, I got word of the wreck of a 1300 GTA race car in a warehouse outside Stockholm. It was banged up but almost complete, Bo bought it for next to nothing. It had been raced in Holland, and you can see it before and after restoration in the “Allegerita” book. Working on the GTA made him one of Sweden’s leading experts on GTA’s, and when it was finished he helped restore one of the TOPCON 1300 GTA race cars. Today both his own, and the TOPCON car are in Japan.
In the midst of that we got together again and he helped me build and race a very successful 2000 GTV “GTAm look-a-like”. We were overall Swedish Champions in the 1965-72 Saloon Class 1998 & 1999, beating BDA Escorts, 3-litre Capris, etc. At the same I bought an ex- Autodelta 1600 GTA and Bo helped me sort it out. But in the end we decided not to race it, sold it to Gothenburg and got an FIA, race- ready, 1600 Sprint in part exchange. We ran that with moderate success for a couple of years, but after the 2000 GTV it felt plain slow!
So, with that car now sold to Oystein Hagfors in Norway, Bo is completing an accurate Replica GTAm that I will race. We hope to do a shakedown later this year…
Robert Petersson, Editor Auto Motor & Sport Sweden
Robert Petersson’s ex-Autodelta 1600 GTA that he and Bo restored
Robert Petersson racing his Bo Johansson prepared 2000 GTV ‘GTAm lookalike’ – Swedish Champions 1998 & 1999
Bo Johansson’s workshop, Robert’s 2000 GTV racer sandwiched between 1600 GTA and Ford Special, infamous TopCon 1300 GTA bonnet hangs on the wall!
Alfaholics Castle Combe Spring Trackday April 2007
The Alfaholics Trackday Weekend 2007 was once again hugely successful, drawing clients from around the world to both watch as well as take part. Bookings came in thick and fast for the weekend and we were fully booked 3 weeks beforehand.
Earlier in the year I received a call from Robert Petersson, editor of the Swedish magazine ‘Auto Motor & Sport’. Robert was keen to come over and get a flavour of the Alfaholics weekend and write articles about the company, as well as road and track test our cars; specifically Max’s GTA Replica and anything else he could get his hands on! Robert came over on Thursday and brought with him Bo Johansson, a considerable GTA expert, both keen to visit Alfaholics and see the race products, as well as the cars and discuss the build project of Robert’s GTAm.
On Friday they came to Alfaholics for a full day of Alfas; hours of discussing race car build and setup, plenty of driving in the stunning scenery of Exmoor and lots of photography work for the magazine.
Robert Petersson editor of Auto Motor & Sport, Sweden tests Richard’s Giulia GTC and Max’s Alfaholics GTA Replica
At the end of the day we travelled back to Bristol to stay once again, as last year, at the excellent Novotel and meet up with the rest of the international contingent. Patrick Franken drove his beautiful Grigio Indaco 2.0 Giulia Ti from Holland with his partner Hannie. Hans ten Hagen had signed up but unfortunately was unable to ready his step-front in time. Nevertheless, he still took the opportunity of coming over from Holland, with fellow step-front GT owner Freek Veldhuizen, to enjoy the weekend. He took the opportunity of filling his estate car with performance parts and later got to experience all these parts in action on the circuit, as passenger in our GTA Replica! William le Bourgeois brought his ex-Dutch Trofeo Sprint GT race car from Jersey. The Scottish contingent of Richard Merrell with his ultra rapid GTA Replica and John Bruce with his S4 Spider who make the pilgrimage annually were also staying in the hotel, as was Arnoud van Leeuwen who had collected from Alfaholics that very day, his step-front GT Junior with new Alfaholics 198bhp Twin Spark engine! Malcolm Whitehouse drove his exquisite 2000 GTV all the way from Switzerland for the weekend, a great effort! Dinner at the local Italian restaurant on Friday night was superb and a very lively event to boot! It really is wonderful getting such a group together socially, all with the overriding ‘105 addiction’!
Saturday 7:15am, the international convoy groups outside the Novotel prior to heading up to Combe. Arnoud van Leeuwen’s freshly completed Alfaholics Twin Sparked GT Junior lines up behind Max’s GTA Replica
Saturday morning broke early with the sun quickly piercing the sky. It looked like once again we would be blessed with great weather. As it turned out, it was destined to be the hottest day of the year in the UK! The paddock was soon awash with barking 105’s all raring to get on track. With 55 cars signed in and 75 drivers, the strength and popularity of this day as the 105 enthusiasts day out was only too obvious. It was great to see so many people crawling round each other’s cars and jumping on board for some laps. Everyone was keen to see what spec people were running in their 105s; everyone so enthusiastic – the atmosphere all day was electric!
Cars eagerly awaiting the circuit to open at 9:00am. William Inch and Pete Thornton’s newly purchased Belgian Sprint GTV trackday car head the field!
People hitched rides in each other’s cars all day. Hans ten Hagen grabs a lift with Arnoud van Leeuwen in his 198bhp Alfaholics Twin Spark engined GT Junior. Below Patrick Franken takes Arnoud out in his Grigio Indaco 2.0 Giulia Ti
Again there was a superb range of 105’s, a great mix of standard road cars, a wide variety of fast road & trackday cars, both early and late GT models, and a handful of full race cars, including our freshly rebuilt and re-liveried 2.0 Sprint GT racer fitted with a fresh, snarling full race Twin Spark motor and the 2 litre HSCC Road Sports cars of John Dobson, Dave Erwin & James Nairn.
Dave Erwin leads Mike Marshall and John Dobson through Camp Corner
Steve Rogers’ 1300 GTA enters the Avon Rise/Quarry Corner complex, chased by Chris Clarke in his 2.0 GT Junior, Steve Rogers’ GTA Replica and Darren Wiles’ GTA Replica
The day ran smoothly and efficiently with a huge amount of tracktime. There were never more than 12 cars in the queue so no one had to wait more than 12 minutes before getting on track. It was superb to see so many regulars, as well as an encouraging number of clients new to trackdays ‘dipping their toe in the water’, all thoroughly enjoying themselves and doubtlessly returning for more action next year! The paddock was also full of enthusiasts in a wide variety of classic and modern Alfas, who had come along to spectate, soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the lunchtime parade laps.
Classic Cars Magazine were present, writing and shooting a 5 page article on Max’s Alfaholics GTA Replica, the lunchtime parade gave them the perfect opportunity to do some chase photography with a group of 105’s as well as some slow tripod panning photography Lower photo courtesy of www.lyndonmcneill.com
Seb Greenwood in the Maserati Quattroporte Evolution Course Car
It was good to meet New Zealander Bob Deeming who was keen to come and meet us after years of conducting business over the phone! We discussed full race suspension packages and engines for his Sprint GT race project as well as various upgrades for his 1300 GTA widebody. Having a passenger seat specially fitted in our race car gave him the opportunity of experiencing all the parts in action as a package; an exhilarating passenger ride! American client Sergio Olivares was in the UK that week so made the effort to come down and see how 105s are enjoyed UK style!
Swede Bo Johansson inspects the Alfaholics Giulia GTC in the foreground, whilst New Zealander Bob Deeming discusses 105 race car setup with Richard Banks behind. Bob then straps in the passenger seat of the Alfaholics Racer for some hot laps with Max Banks
Alas the day flashed by in an instant as usual and at 5pm the circuit closed. Our international contingent and regulars headed for ‘après-track’ at the superb Salutation Inn close to the circuit. Excellent food and beer! Then we all headed back to Bristol and the hotel for a quick pit-stop to freshen up before heading out to a private members bar in Clifton. Needless to say, there were plenty of enthusiastic tales of memorable track experiences from the day as well as much appreciation for the whole long weekend holiday, everyone had thoroughly enjoyed themselves! A great weekend for 105 enthusiasts from all over the world!
Paul Featherstone’s Giulia Super leads Jonathan Barker’s 1750 GTV through Old Paddock
Andrew Saunders, Stefan Siebert and Richard Merrell head over Avon Rise and into Quarry Corner
Malcolm Whitehouse’s Swiss 2000 GTV is followed closely by Patrick Franken’s Dutch 2.0 Giulia Ti into Quarry Corner, the international turn out for the day was superb!
James Wheeler rapid as ever in the Alfaholics spec’ed Black & White Garage 2.0 HSCC Road Sports car
Max takes Glen Waddington from Classic Cars Magazine out for some laps in his GTA Replica
Swedes Robert Petersson and Bo Johansson enjoy the Alfaholics Giulia GTC!
Andrew Banks testing the Alfaholics 2.0 Sprint GT Racer
John Dobson leads John Symes and Charles Clegg through Avon Rise, as others head into Folly past the pits
“Richard, Andrew, Max. Many thanks for organising yet another wonderful day out at Castle Combe. How you manage to fix the weather year in year out never ceases to amaze me” Dave Tyson
“Just a quick thanks from Tim Haynes and I for the fantastic day out yesterday. We both had a great time trying to wear his door handles out on the track surface. Once again, a brilliant event, well organised. Nice to see you all too! Roll on next April!” Jim Spackman
“Dear Richard and family, just a quick email to thank you for the wonderful track day on Saturday. The track is such great fun especially for us ordinary drivers. The car went all day without missing a beat. Once again well done on a fantastic day out, met some great people too!” Michael Cotton
“Hi Max, Can’t thank you enough for the fantastic weekend we had! Loved it! I had a blast unpacking all the boxes yesterday evening when I came home! …better have my car finished in time – so we can take it out on next year’s trackday ;-)” Hans ten Hagen, The Netherlands
“Hi Max, Richard, Wanted to thank you for a great day out on Saturday, very informative and the time out in the car quite a revelation, a real bonus on top of meeting you both. Looking forward to sorting out my car and getting the suspension underway, again many thanks for everything.” Bob Deeming, New Zealand
“Hi Max, Good to see you all at Combe and before/after – we had a great time. Cheers and thanks for another great track day” Richard Merrell
“Hello Max, I really enjoyed the Alfaholics track day at Castle Combe, I was lucky to be in the UK that weekend so I drove from Coventry to the track. Nice to see Alfas driven like there are supposed to, and what a nice track – I found my self dreaming of having my Alfa there and go at it!” Sergio Olivares, Dallas Texas, USA
Alfaholics 7×15 GTA Veloce Wheel Tested!
A truly momentous occasion, the first pre-production 7×15″ GTA Veloce wheels have arrived at Alfaholics, right on time! The 2 different offset types have been fitted with a range of tyre sizes and have been trial fitted for clearance on the broad range of cars that we own at Alfaholics. This includes both early and late GT as well as Spider, Giulia Super and Berlina. We are happy to report that all wheels fitted as expected with the appropriate tyres and had ample clearance! The wheels look stunning, beyond our highest expectations, they really suit the proportions of all the models so well, WOW!
A set of 6 was also delivered for us to trial on our 2.0 Sprint GT race car. Conveniently we were invited to race at Dijon Prenois, France in the French Championship for Modified 60’s & 70’s Saloon Cars on the 20-24th of June 2007, 1 week after the wheels arrived. With a new set of slicks fitted, we headed off for our race weekend which turned out to be a resounding success, firstly 2 podium finishes and secondly everyone fascinated and amazed by the looks and sheer quality of our new wheel, they really blew peoples’ minds! A full write up of this superb meeting will be on the website shortly!
So here they are, the very first photos of our Alfaholics 7×15″ GTA Veloce wheel fitted to our Alfaholics 2.0 Sprint GT race car! Enjoy!
Alfaholics Nurburgring Customer Track Weekend 26-29th July 2007
So we’ve done it, the first Alfaholics Nurburgring Nordschleife trip with our customers! This event will become fixed in the annual Alfaholics social events calendar and looks set to become THE European get together for customers and 105 enthusiasts alike!
Well, what a trip! Not only did we have a riot on track, but the social side was also absolutely fantastic, everyone getting on fabulously and there was much banter, lubricated with generous helpings of Warsteiner! It was very encouraging to see a good proportion of ladies and children on the trip, proving that as much of a boys weekend that it might be, it was also very much a weekend the whole family can enjoy.
We all met at Dover ferry port where a fabulous group of cars was collecting – all Bertone GTs. A mix of step and non-step front, including a handful of GTA Replicas, a couple of Twin Sparks and two HSCC 70s Road Sports cars made a wonderful sight at 6am. We certainly got some surprised looks as we barked our way through the ferry port, gobbling induction roar reverberating off the surrounding walls – maybe a little too much interest as security pulled over a handful of our cars including the Alfaholics service van, loaded with emergency jerry cans of fuel. We were forced to empty the jerry cans, a nice free pit stop for those unfortunate enough to be pulled over!
Safely over the English Channel and into France, we enjoyed a completely hassle free run through France, Belgium (including amazingly the dreaded Brussels ring road!) and through Germany past Cologne, deep into the heart of the Eiffel mountains where the Nurburgring is situated. So smooth was our run, that we had made it to the circuit with 15 minutes of the Thursday session still remaining. A mad rush to the bun fight at the ticket office to buy a 6 lap card on a Visa (no time to stop for cash!) and scrambling back to the cars; a few of us got out on track for a sighting lap, a little taster for what the weekend had to offer and enough to fuel some anxious chat over dinner.
Photos from the journey out to the Nurburgring for the UK members of our group
We were booked into the excellent Hotel am Tiergarten. Well known for its superb location, just 2 km from the circuit entrance and with clear views of the circuit, but, primarily as it is run by the Schmitz family, one of whom goes by the name of Sabine, queen of the Nordschleife and a BMW Ring Taxi pilot! Also, very conveniently, under the Hotel lies the equally famous Pistenklause restaurant, a shrine of signed photos and parts from damaged cars from years of Nurburgring racing. You really could spend hours studying all the artefacts on the walls, that is if weren’t for the incredible food, the specialty being prime Argentinean steak served on a hot stone for you to finish cooking to your perfection. Oh yes and the beer…! The circuit was not due to open until 5pm on Friday so there was no mad rush to get up too early with only a booking for the museum organised for late morning. We were joined on Thursday evening by some of our European customers, firstly Paul Grundy with his freshly 2-litred Sprint GTV and secondly Rodolphe Tonglet with his son Arnoud in their 2000 GTV.
The museum was interesting, if a little random in its collection of cars but featured some great Ring trivia, its history and many of its victorious drivers. After lunch a few minor works were completed, a bit of brake bleeding for Ian Williams with his ex-Michael Beattie Northern Irish Hillclimb championship winning Sprint GT and most people adding some PSI to their tyres for the impending track work. The benefits of bringing our race van as a service vehicle were clear to see as many people were able to off load their excess gear and tools somewhere safe for the duration of the trip.
The weather was excellent on Friday so the evening session was superb fun, even if a little low on grip due to the race earlier that day.
The evening’s session saw the arrival of a few more of our European crew. Patrick Franken & Hannie from Holland with their wonderful 2.0 Giulia Ti that had been at our trackday at Castle Combe earlier this year, and Erwin Arentsen with his awesome 3.5 V6 75, having been unable to get his GT Junior ready in time. Back to the Pistenklause for dinner and a few beers before bed, as we had our date with professional photographer Jochen the following day so an early start was required by all.
Some of the Alfaholics group with their cars
Paul Grundy heads through the Mini Karussell
Ian Williams (top) and James Wheeler (bottom) through Eiskurve
Saturday started early with the rain lashing against the windows of the Tiergarten hotel. Jochen teamed up with us in the paddock and took notes on which cars were in the group. He chucked me a walkie-talkie long distance radio to coordinate laps and jumped in his 156 and headed off to the first photography point. With Jochen ready with his digital SLR, we organised our cars into a complete group and headed out for a sighter lap in the wet, to obtain some nice convoy shots. Boy was it slippery as Paul Grundy fishtailed wildly through the first complex hanging on bravely as his 175 section tyres struggled to handle his new 2.0 engine and over zealous right foot! It must have been exciting inside the car, as it looked pretty spectacular in the rear view mirror! 10/10 for hanging on to that one!
Parade lap photos through Wehrseifen
With the parade lap over there was a steady flow of 105s out on the track all day, building in frequency as the circuit dried out. By 2:30pm it was fully dry. This gave 5 hours of dry flat out track time, everyone’s confidence growing as they either learned or reacquainted themselves with the 73 corner monster that features an altitude variation of a massive 1000ft – the gradient is simply breathtaking!
Chris Clarke pushes on through Wehrseifen in the greasy morning conditions. Wehrseifen translates as ‘Defence valley’ as it originally marked the border between the towns of Adenau and Breidscheid
Max Banks (top) and Max Haycocks (bottom) through the Mini Karussell
Erwin Arentsen drove flat out all weekend, seen here coming through the spectating bowl of Brunnchen and exiting Eiskurve
My Toyos, freshly fitted on the first set of our production 15″ GTA rims just one day before departure were not as good as I had hoped they would be. The circuit felt really grippy and mid corner grip was excellent. It was just so squirmy changing direction, later explained by the obviously soft sidewalls. So its back to Bridgestones after the trip then!
Several Alfaholics’ customers from northern Europe arrived on Saturday to meet the group, see all the cars and naturally chat 105s, including Thomas Mohr from Germany with his Grigio Giulia Super, Martin Faas with his red 2000 GTV & Martin Schrankel with his 2.0 GTJ and many more. Throughout the day we had over 20 105s at the track, a superb sight for all and much interest and admiration from the many other Ringers with their more standard modern machinery. The ladies in the group thoroughly enjoyed the day, as well as the whole weekend, soaking up the sun in the afternoon and getting out on track as well, to see what all the fuss and excitement was about!
Jochen worked his way round his favourite photography points, including the Karussel, Brunnchen, Eiskurve and the mini-Karussel amongst others. By 7:30 when the circuit shut we had all done a large number of laps and had most certainly worked up a big appetite for more steak and beer!
Max Banks (top) & Arnoud Van Leeuwen (bottom) through Brunnchen
Ian Williams flying through Eiskurve, named this for its propensity to remain the last area on the circuit to dry out and first to ice up!
Breathtaking view on the way out of the famous (Caracciola)Karussell. It was Rudolf who was the first person to use the inside ditch, as it was then, to improve his corner speed!
Paul Grundy whizzes through Brunnchen
Arnoud pilots Hans Ten Hagen through the Mini Karussell
Max being chased hard through Schwalbenschwanz!
With the circuit not open until 11am on Sunday and with our needing to leave by 1pm, Saturday night was a bit of a closing party for the weekend and was set to be a lot of fun. Jochen came to see us in the restaurant with his laptop computer and worked his way round the group showing everyone his photos from the day. They looked superb and Jochen left to start editing his collection later that night. As the evening went on into the night, the banter really started to open up. It soon became apparent that Erwin was possibly one of the funniest men in the world. As the beer continued to flow, we all ended up rolling around in our chairs laughing hard. Poor Patrick laughed so hard he cried and couldn’t breathe! O.E.W! Eventually we managed to get to bed, and Sunday left just enough time to sort ourselves out before the impending journey home, away from Wonderland and back to reality!
So for those of you who could not make it this year, I hope this has whet your appetite! Keep an eye out on the website at the beginning of next year when we will release the dates of our next trip!
ALFAHOLICS 7TH SPRING TRACKDAY 2008
Alfaholics 7th annual track day for classic Alfa Romeos will once again be held at Castle Combe on Saturday 12th April 2008.
Owners of 105 series Alfas who would like the opportunity to drive their cars at speed in a non-competitive environment are very welcome.
Castle Combe, situated between J17 and J18 of the M4, is 1.85 miles long and combines chicanes and fast corners that make for extremely exciting and challenging driving. Once again, instructors will be on hand to offer advice and demonstrate cornering technique, while all corners will be ‘coned’ to show braking, turn-in and apex points. With only 12 cars on the circuit at any one time, there will be virtually unlimited track time. Additional drivers in any cars entered are welcome.
Following the tremendous success of the past couple of years when many of our Dutch and Norwegian customers (and Richard Merrell!) made the lengthy journey, we would once again like to welcome all our international customers who would like to attend. For those who wish to stay over the weekend, we shall be organising accommodation nearby in Bristol. Please contact us for rates and availability.
Norwegian Carburetti trip to Exmoor 2006
Robert Petersson road tests for Auto, Motor & Sport Sweden 2007
Those wishing to attend as spectators will be warmly welcomed and can take part in a 3 lap circuit parade over the lunch hour.
The Tavern Restaurant in the paddock will be open all day serving food and drinks for the benefit of all.
Signing on will be held in the Howard Strawford Centre followed by a circuit briefing by the Clerk of the Course, Andrew Banks, before familiarisation laps with instructors at 9am when the circuit opens.
Castle Combe is particularly strict on noise emission, with an absolute limit of 99dB(A) at 4500rpm, measured on a static test of 0.5 metres from the end of the exhaust pipe at 45º. This means that cars should use a standard exhaust or a sensible sports system. The Alfaholics sports exhaust is fine. Add-on silencers are available from Merlin Motorsport in the Paddock on the day.
The cost for a car plus driver is £160 plus VAT with additional drivers at £65 plus VAT. One to one instruction is £20 plus VAT per 15 minute session. We highly recommend you pay the small charge for this, as the pleasure obtained from the day is greatly enhanced.
As usual, demand is sure to be considerable and numbers are strictly limited, so please use the advance registration form below to avoid disappointment! Please print and send to the address above or fax to +44 1398 351163.
Classic Cars Magazine article about Max’s GTA Replica
Max demonstates Alfaholics 2.0 Sprint GT racer to Bob Deeming from New Zealand
Classic Cars Magazine Article: December 2007
In the shops now, until the end of November. www.classiccarsmagazine.co.uk
Alfaholics Nurburgring Track Weekend 1-4 August 2008 Sign Up
After last year’s hugely successful customer trip to the Nurburgring, we have decided to organise another trip to the infamous old GP circuit for this summer! The feedback from last year’s “Ringers” has been tremendous and, unsurprisingly, we have been inundated with requests for more of the same in 2008.
As those who came last year will testify, lapping the Nordschleife is quite simply the ultimate driving experience. 13 miles and 73 bends add up to what is undoubtedly the most demanding circuit in the world. It’s hard to describe just how good it is until you’ve been there!
This time, we have managed to reserve exclusively a hotel near the circuit, which will be our base for the weekend. We shall be leaving the UK on Friday morning for a relaxed drive across in order to arrive at the hotel mid-afternoon. The circuit is open in the evening for those eager to get some early laps in. We shall then head to the famous Pistenklause restaurant to sample the German beer on offer and the superb steaks on a hot skillet. Those who came last year will remember them well!
The circuit will be open all day on Saturday and we have organised a top quality barbeque in the evening at the hotel, exclusively for Alfaholics guests.
The circuit is also open all day on Sunday which we will follow with a leisurely evening in preparation for the trip home on Monday. We shall aim to catch a late afternoon Eurotunnel train from Calais to Folkestone on Monday.
The Nordschleife is a truly incredible circuit, one that all trackday enthusiasts absolutely must visit. The atmosphere at the circuit is electric and will be enhanced by the sight of a flock of 105 series Alfas in the paddock together – what a sight that will be!
This trip is open to all our customers worldwide but accommodation at the hotel is limited, so please ensure you book with Alfaholics early to avoid missing out. The atmosphere and camaraderie last year was superb, so this year’s trip will once again undoubtedly prove to be great fun!
Contact either Andrew or Max at Alfaholics for more details, prices and to place your booking.
Rain forecast for the Alfaholics trackday? Had our lucky streak finally come to an end? Was it really going to be wet? The forecast must be wrong, surely it couldn’t be wet? Rumor was rife in the days leading up the 7th Spring Alfaholics Trackday @ Castle Combe. Dinner on the evening before the trackday was held at Marco’s Italian Restaurant in central Bristol. Dominic Gulotti, looked a little concerned sipping away at his pint, he had a good right to be; a trackday virgin, driven all the way from Switzerland in his newly acquired Giulia Super. “A Giulia Super?” I hear you say …a 3.0 V6 Giulia Super on semi slicks to be more precise, that could be exciting! The pre-trackday dinner had a great turn out, 7 cars in total made the trip from Holland, including Patrick Franken for the second year running. Having whetted his appetite last year in his road 2.0 Giulia Ti, he returned this year with his freshly prepared ex-Squadra Bianca Giulia Super race car. Richard Merrell also made it down from Inverness, Scotland, a longer trip than all bar the Swiss! Locals Ian Williams and Peter Lovegrove joined in, along with Arnoud van Leeuwen and Nick Lyon from London for the full ‘Trackday Weekend’ experience with added linguini and Parmesan!
Dutch group waiting for the ferry prior to the lively dinner at Marco’s in Bristol
In the Novotel car park at 7:30am it certainly didn’t look great for the day, heavy clouds and wet roads. With intermittent rain on arrival at the circuit, even I nearly conceded defeat this year! Ye of little faith, this is the Alfaholics trackday after all! With 3 greasy damp sessions and several pirouettes completed (Gold medal to Michael Cotton), the sun burst through and the track dried in no time at all, by the end of the day there was even evidence of some sun tans! Business as usual then!
Giulias plentiful this year! Dominic Gulotti looks a little nervous in the passenger seat of his 3.0 V6 Giulia in the wet!(Top) Patrick Franken deep in conversation with Ian Williams waiting for the track to dry!(bottom)
We had a fabulous mix of cars again this year, a sprinking of Spiders amongst a sea of burbling GTVs, GTA Replicas, GTAm Replicas and a healthy number of Giulias. Special treat this year was John Bennett’s beautiful, original Ti Super race car, with many admiring onlookers, it ticked the majority of boxes of ‘most wanted’ car present at the trackday! The recent energy and excitement in the market for our 4-door friend was clear to see, although I think the Dutch, always 4 door fans, thought we were all a little slow on the uptake!
It was great to see so many regulars returning for another enjoyable thrash round our one of our favourite circuits Castle Combe, as well as a pleasing number of fresh faces, many with newly built, Alfaholics equipped touring/trackday cars, Mark Haddon Jones and Peter Lovegrove to name but a few. Arnoud van Leeuwen, the English Dutchman, returned once again with his even more tweeked and sorted GT Junior Allergerita, this year sporting amongst other things our new 15″ Superleggera rims, front geometry package and Rally fuel tank conversion.
John Bennett’s lovely Ti Super race car
Arnoud van Leeuwen leads Kevin Stripp and the Alfaholics 2.0 Sprint GT Racer through Tower corner
Another group of cars head out on track for another session
Nick Lyon leads Richard Merrell, Christian Brewer, Peter Lovegrove & James Wheeler from Hammerdown to Tower corner
Paul Featherstone returned again with a fleet of cars including his newly Alfaholics Twin Spark’d Sprint GTV, here he enters Quarry ahead of his brother!
As usual, there was as much paddock banter and checking each others cars out as there was driving and before we knew it, it was lunchtime! The lunchtime parade allowed the large number of people who had come to spectate in Alfas of all ages to have a go round the track, whilst the trackdayers refueled their stomachs in the Tavern Restaurant, the catering as superb as ever.
Jim Gaisford snapped away behind his lens all day, providing excellent photos for people to take away capturing their moments on track, as well as many of the excellent photos you see here in this report. Special mention also to Robin Schmitz who didn’t miss the opportunity on his trip over from Holland to take some superb shots for his photography business and again sampled in this report.
Andrew Banks leads the parade laps in Richard’s 1600 GTA
It fits, just!
Max demonstrates his GTA Replica
A good mix of race, trackday and completely standard cars were on track, Adam Burstow shakes down his newly aquired FIA Sprint GT, leading David Upshall in his standard 2000 GTV
The afternoon session forged on with many passenger rides given in both ‘Works Cars’; the Alfaholics 2.0 Sprint GT Racer and Max’s GTA Replica. Sadly the afternoon disappeared just as quickly as the morning had and before we knew it, it was 5pm and the last track session got the chequered flag. With everyone packed up and having had a thoroughly enjoyable day, around 20 met up for dinner, as usual, at the excellent Salutation Inn near the circuit. Superb food to help digest the day’s activities, lubricated with local ales seemed like the perfect way to close a fabulous day. After dinner everyone went their separate ways, the hotel group returning to the Novotel for some ‘apres track’ in the bar until the early hours. The 3am closing of the hotel bar was not late enough for some, so a trip into central Bristol ensued to round the night/early morning off! The Dutch were all up early on Sunday to go home via Spring Alfaday, conveniently on the way home at Chatham Dockyard in Kent. Another superb Alfaholics trackday had come to a close for another year!
There was much talk all weekend about the Alfaholics trip to the Nurburgring this summer, this will be announced on the website in the coming weeks, but places will be limited so be sure to sign up early!
Andrew Banks turns into Tower in the Alfaholics Racer ahead of Max in his GTA Replica
“Are we supposed to be going this fast?” Arnoud takes his girlfriend out for her first track experience
Max tests Adam Burstow’s race car (top), Patrick Franken presses on through Tower (bottom)
Ian Williams leads Andrew Banks testing Terry Kenyon’s 70’s Road Sports 1600 GT Junior
Kevin Stripp (top), Max Haycocks leads Keith Waite and Mark Haddon-Jones out of Bobbies chicane (bottom)
Alfaholics moves to new premises near Bristol!
After 9 years operating from Devon, we have now moved to a modern 5,000 sq.ft warehouse on the outskirts of Bristol, in order to accommodate our rapidly expanding business. A bespoke state of the art racking system has been installed which currently provides in excess of 3,000 sq.ft of shelf space and has the ability to incorporate an integrated mezzanine level, thereby enabling us to carry even more stock lines with increased efficiency. You may already have noticed several new products appearing on our website recently – watch this space as we have many more Alfaholics productions in the pipeline!
Our despatch department, with purpose built packing tables and strapping equipment, will ensure all orders placed with Alfaholics will be despatched on the same day and therefore able to be delivered within 5 days anywhere in the world!
Our move to Bristol has coincided with Jim Spackman joining Alfaholics. Jim is a well know Alfista in the UK and will be responsible for managing our busy despatch department. He has written a short article below on his appetite for all things Alfa Romeo and his introduction to Alfaholics.
Our new warehouse also gives us the capacity of storing up to 10 cars and, with a 2 post service lift arriving shortly, we are able to increase the race car preparation & setup side of our operation. This includes shell preparation, suspension setup & corner weighting.
We have also retained our warehouse in Devon in order to accommodate our vast range of second hand parts in addition to the increasing number of Alfaholics project cars for road & race!
Jim Spackman joins Alfaholics
“It was at the Alfaholics track day at Castle Combe this year, that Richard Banks first approached me with a view to assisting him, Max and Andrew in the business. Arrangements were already underway for the big move to Bristol and Richard said they were going to need at least another pair of hands to help fulfil all their plans for the future. So, after a quick (OK, very quick) spin around the track with Andrew in the Alfaholics race car my mind was pretty much made up. I mean really, how could I not want to work for a bunch of guys who’d built a car that goes like that?!
First job was to help Andrew fit out the empty premises ready to move the business in, while Richard and Max continued operations from Devon. My initial impression was the sheer size of the warehouse – this is going to swallow up a lot of parts! Then, the following weekend, the four of us spent many happy hours running up and down the M5 amid the tourists transporting all the stock.
So now we’re in and operating like a well-oiled machine. Even the commute from Cardiff isn’t too taxing, 45 miles each way at 42 mpg in my Alfa 75 Twin Spark, easily achieved by cruising along at a steady 60 mph. It takes my wife Liz 45 minutes to drive across Cardiff to work some days! This 75 is the latest of around fifteen Alfas of different varieties and colours that I’ve owned in the last twenty-odd years. Favourites? My last 75, (the infamous red “Jak”), a white 1300 GT Junior fitted with a 1750 engine which used to embarrass so many “faster” cars at trackdays in the 1990s and of course, the Alfasud 1300 Ti which first infected me with the Alfa virus way back in 1985!
So when your parts arrive, beautifully wrapped, that’s down to me. And if you open the box and have a “Did I really order one of those?” moment, that’ll probably be my fault too.” Jim Spackman
Alfaholics Nurburgring Trip 1-4th August 2008
Following the popularity of our first Nurburgring customer event in 2007, there was tremendous demand for us to organise another trip this year. This time, we booked a superb hotel set in beautiful surroundings near Nurburg where we could reserve all 15 rooms for a long weekend. This would provide a fantastic base for our 2008 trip.
With English, Swiss, French and Dutch customers filling the 15 official places for the trip and several German, Belgian and Italian customers arriving during the weekend to join in, the Alfaholics 2008 Nurburgring trip had a superb international flavour. It was nice to see that the majority of owners signed up with their wives & girlfriends, which provided a great balance to the social aspect of the trip(!). The English contingent met up at the Eurotunnel terminal bright and early on Friday morning. Regulars Arnoud Van Leeuwen, Max Haycocks, James Wheeler & Peter Mullineux were joined by keen Nurburgring virgins Nick Lyon and our own Jim Spackman. Fortunately this year we avoided interest from customs and so everyone made it aboard with time to spare! The long line of snorting Alfas driving onto the train served as a great reminder of the sense of adventure… 35 minutes later and we were in France and, after a pitstop for fuel, we headed for the Ring. The Brussels ring road was timed to perfection to avoid rush hour and 290 miles later we pulled up outside our hotel, deep in the Eifel mountains!
The British group head through Europe en-route to the Ring
The Nordschleife was scheduled to be open on Friday evening and then all day on Saturday and Sunday – plenty of track time for us all to enjoy. Midweek forecasts had predicted a mixed outlook but, as it turned out, the weather gods looked favourably on us and it was bright and sunny for 3 days!
We arrived early enough for a few of us to put in some laps on Friday evening while others, including the WAGs, relaxed at the hotel with a G&T or three! We then headed out for dinner at the famous Pistenklause restaurant (owned by Sabine Schmitz’s family) – the most popular restaurant in the area, with posters, memorabilia and parts of race cars consumed by the Ring covering every inch of the walls and ceiling. As ever, the atmosphere was fantastic and the speciality Argentinean fillet steak on a hot stone is mouth-wateringly good, no matter how many times you have had it. With Warsteiner on tap all evening, we couldn’t have asked for more!
The knowledge that our superb Nurburgring photographer, Jochen (www.frozenspeed.com), was booked exclusively for Saturday had everyone up early in the morning and off to the circuit! With Jochen, also an Alfista, introduced to everyone, he went off into the forest on his motorbike to get to the best locations around the 13 mile, 73 corner circuit, starting with the infamous Karussell. Over the day he snapped away, taking 380 photos of our group at 9 locations around the circuit to give us the fabulous photos you see in this report. By the time the track shut at 7pm, we had all done plenty of laps and retired back to the hotel, where the hotel staff were setting up a fabulous barbeque for our group. With venison, lamb, beef steak, gourmet sausages and king prawns, this was no ordinary barbeque and our 40 guests were treated to a real feast! The sheer size of our group not only gave the chefs a busy evening, but also showed the popularity of our annual Nurburgring event!
Unsurprisingly, Sunday proved to be a slightly slower start for many but by 11 am (and with a few much needed aspirins) we were heading to the circuit for another day of track action. With everyone having put in plenty more laps, the action on track finally drew to a close and we headed back to the hotel for another excellent evening’s entertainment! On Monday we packed up and all headed our separate ways across Europe back home. The journey back gave me time to reflect on our trip; 4 days, 1000 road miles, 260 track miles (20 laps), hotel fully booked with 30 guests and up to 50 with other European customers dropping in over the weekend; what an adventure and what a success! So that’s it for the Nordschleife in 2008; we have a long winter to dream about returning in 2009. If this has whetted your appetite to join in next year, make sure you book up early when we launch it, as places will be limited and it will book up quickly!
ALFAHOLICS 8TH SPRING TRACK DAY
Alfaholics 8th annual track day for classic Alfa Romeos will once again be held at Castle Combe on Saturday 4th April 2009.
Owners of 105 series Alfas who would like the opportunity to drive their cars at speed in a non-competitive environment are very welcome.
Castle Combe, conveniently situated between J17 and J18 of the M4, is 1.85 miles long and combines chicanes and fast corners that make for extremely exciting and challenging driving. Autosport magazine has hailed Castle Combe as “The best club racing circuit in Britain”. Once again, instructors will be on hand to offer advice and demonstrate cornering technique, while all corners will be ‘coned’ to show braking, turn-in and apex points.
With no fixed session times and 12 cars on the circuit at once, there will be virtually unlimited track time all day! This makes for a relaxed and sociable atmosphere which is always a great feature of our Castle Combe day. Additional drivers in any cars entered are welcome.
Cars being released on track
Over the last few years, we have enjoyed a fantastic international flavour to our track day with customers making the journey from as far away as Norway and Switzerland. We would once again like to welcome all our international customers who would like to attend. For those who wish to stay over the weekend, we shall be organising accommodation nearby in Bristol. Please contact us for rates and availability. We will once again be organising a dinner at an Italian restaurant nearby for those people staying on Friday night.
Those who would like to attend the day as spectators will be warmly welcomed and those driving Italian cars can take part in a 3 lap circuit parade over the lunch hour.
The Tavern Restaurant in the paddock will be open all day serving food and drinks for the benefit of all.
Signing on will be held in the Media Centre followed by a circuit briefing by the Clerk of the Course, Andrew Banks, before familiarisation laps with instructors at 9am when the circuit opens.
Castle Combe is particularly strict on noise emission, with an absolute limit of 99dB(A) at 4500rpm, measured on a static test of 0.5 metres from the end of the exhaust pipe at 45º. This means that cars should use a standard exhaust or a sensible sports system. The Alfaholics sports exhaust is fine. Add-on silencers are available from Merlin Motorsport in the Paddock on the day.
To round off a perfect day, everyone is welcome to join us afterwards for an early evening dinner and drinks at an excellent country pub just a mile from the circuit. This has become a popular tradition over the past few years so please let us know in advance if you would like to attend.
The cost for a car plus driver is £160 plus VAT with additional drivers at £60 plus VAT. One to one instruction is £20 plus VAT per 15 minute session. We highly recommend you pay the small charge for this, as the pleasure obtained from the day is greatly enhanced.
As usual, demand is sure to be considerable and numbers are strictly limited, so please use the advance registration form below to avoid disappointment! Please print and send to the address above or fax to +44 1275 349455.
Dutch group travelling across for 2008 Trackday & Friday night dinner photos
Huge lunchtime parade lineup demonstrates the popularity of the Alfaholics trackday for all!
Alfaholics Nurburgring Track Weekend 20-24 August 2009!
Following the tremendous success of our two previous weekends, we are now organising a 3rd Alfaholics trip to the infamous Nurburgring this summer!
As those who have joined us in the past will testify, lapping the Nordschleife is quite simply the ultimate driving experience. 13 miles and 73 bends add up to what is undoubtedly the most demanding circuit in the world. It’s hard to describe just how good it is until you’ve been there!
We have once again exclusively reserved a hotel near the circuit, which will be our base for the weekend. We shall be leaving the UK on Thursday morning for a relaxed drive across in order to arrive at the hotel late-afternoon. There will be a dinner organised at the hotel in the evening.
We will head to the circuit at lunchtime on Friday for the afternoon session on track and then make our way to the famous Pistenklause restaurant in the evening to sample the German beers on offer and the superb steaks on a hot skillet.
The circuit will be open all day on Saturday and once again we have organised a top quality barbeque in the evening at the hotel, exclusively for Alfaholics guests. This was a tremendous success last year and satisfied even the greatest of appetites (for food and beer)!
The circuit is also open all day on Sunday which we will follow with a leisurely evening in preparation for the trip home on Monday. We shall aim to catch a late afternoon Eurotunnel train from Calais to Folkestone on Monday.
This trip is open to all our customers worldwide but accommodation at the hotel is limited, so please ensure you book with Alfaholics early to avoid missing out. The atmosphere and camaraderie last year was superb, so this year’s trip will once again undoubtedly prove to be great fun!
Contact Andrew at Alfaholics for more details and to place your booking.
Alfaholics 8th Spring Track day at Castle Combe 4th April 2009
Our annual track day at Castle Combe was another huge success this year with our regulars back again, joined by a number of new faces, many of whom were trying their hand at a track day for the very first time under the expert guidance of our instructor. Others came from far and wide to join in what has become a global 105 festivity – special mention goes to Daron & Cyndi Walker of Vintage Customs, Seattle, Tom Lacosta from New York, Jim Fuller from Antigua, Hans Ten Hagen, Freek Veldhuizen and Dennis Rietveld from Holland and John Bennett from Scotland, all of whom flew in specially to attend our track day!
Friday was a very busy day at the Alfaholics warehouse – Daron & Cyndi Walker arrived to see our stores having just flown in from America, Jim Fuller arrived from Antigua to collect his freshly upgraded 2.0 Sprint GT HRSR race car, Arnoud van Leeuwen collected his Twin Spark GTA Replica with its new Watts link conversion fitted and Hans and his friends arrived from Holland to collect parts and drop off donor Twin Spark engines! After many hours of chatting all things Alfa Romeo, we headed into Bristol to check into the hotel before making our way to the obligatory Italian restaurant for dinner!
Daron & Cyndi Walker from Vintage Customs in Seattle came over especially for our trackday! Seen here with Andrew & Sara in the top photo and fascinating Dutch enthusiasts Hans ten Hagen and Arnoud van Leeuwen at the pre-trackday dinner in the bottom photo!
Just as last year, the weather forecast had everyone convinced we would be trying out a wet and slippery Castle Combe for the first time at our track day. However, come Saturday morning the rain had already passed through and the clouds cleared to leave sunny blue skies for the rest of the day, resulting in many pink faces!
The day was a complete sell-out once again, with a superb mix of cars ranging from standard road cars to full blown racers. Most were 105 coupes including two race-prepared 1600 GTAs and a handful of Giulia saloons and Spiders and a Giulietta SZ. The paddock was filled with spectators, many of whom were enthusiasts who had arrived in smart modern Alfas in order to enjoy the sunshine and soak up the atmosphere.
Max Haycocks leads the train (top), James Wiseman in his Giulietta SZ (bottom)
Tom Lacosta flew in from New York to shake down his recently aquired FIA GTA race car (top), Jim Fuller flew in from Antigua to test his Alfaholics prepared HRSR Sprint GT Racer prior to another season’s racing (bottom)
Our instructor Erling Jensen enjoyed his time in the passenger seat (top), the Featherstones returned again with a fleet of their 105s! (bottom)
With 12 cars allowed on the circuit at once, everyone was guaranteed plenty of track time and it was clear from the first morning session that everybody was determined to make the most of it! The lunchtime break allowed drivers to have a well-earned rest and a bite to eat in the Tavern Restaurant. It has become a tradition to run a lunchtime parade in order to provide an opportunity for those driving both classic and modern Alfas to experience the circuit. This year was our most popular yet with over 60 cars taking part, showing the tremendous support and enthusiasm among those not directly taking part in the track day!
As usual the afternoon sessions flew by and, before we knew it, the chequered flag was waved on the last session and the action was over for another year, but not before an excellent dinner at the local Salutation Inn to relate the day’s activities. A huge thank you from all the Alfaholics team to everyone who took part and helped to make the day such a great success – we look forward to seeing you all again next year!
John Bennett flew down from Scotland to test his freshly Alfaholics prepared FIA AppK 1600 GTA race car, seen here enjoying the car and achieving great pace remarkably quickly! (top), Peter Lovegrove leads Steve Crabtree and Karl Friedrich over Avon Rise (bottom)
The lunchtime parade was a huge success with over 60 Alfas of all ages taking part in the session!
Paul Featherstone in his Alfaholics Twin Spark’d Sprint GTV leads Nick Lyon (top), Mike Jordan being instructed by Erling on his first ever trackday leads John Symes and Max Haycocks through Quarry corner (bottom)
John Dobson in his HSCC 2000 GTV racer leads into Camp corner (top) whilst Ian Pickering in his standard Giulia Super leads a Twin Spark Kammtail and a Duetto through Tower (bottom)
Max takes Daron Walker out for some demo laps in his GTA Replica (top), Nick Lyon leads Paul Featherstone (middle), Gino Berni enjoys his GTAm Replica (bottom)
Arnoud van Leeuwen was out in virtually every session enjoying his new Watts Linkage upgrade, seen here with Daron Walker (top), Andrew Atherton in his Twin Spark’d GTV leads Arnoud through Camp (middle) Ian Williams’s Sprint GTV poses with the Alfaholics Giulia GTC (bottom)
Alfaholics customer Ulrich Lanius competes on the 2008 Carrera Panamerica
Alfaholics GTA-R Production Launch!
We are proud to announce that we can now offer the ultimate fast road & trackday 105 series, the Alfaholics GTA-R, built to order. Using either the original Giugiaro ‘stepnose’ design or the post 1967 GTV/GT Junior as a basis, these cars represent the ultimate modern take on the all-time classic 105 Series coupe.
The Alfaholics GTA-R represents a completely re-engineered and updated105 Series Alfa suitable for modern performance driving. Weighing a mere 875kg and equipped with our 198bhp Twin Spark engine (215bhp optional) along with 6-pot vented brakes, aluminium adjustable dampers, lightweight suspension components and 15” GTA wheels, these cars possess stunning modern world performance, whilst retaining the unique character and class of a 105 coupe.
Equipped as standard with bespoke 3-D fully mapped electronic ignition, aluminium water and oil radiators, thermostatically controlled electric fan, immobiliser and xenon headlights, these cars offer superb practicality & reliability.
Safety is naturally of paramount importance and we therefore fit each car with a rollcage, 3″ four-point harnesses, leather trimmed Recaro race seats, fire extinguisher, foam-filled aluminium fuel tank and dual circuit brakes.
The interior is finished to the highest standard with a leather and alcantara trimmed dashboard and tailored carpets. Each car features a removable steering wheel (the ultimate theft deterrent!) and is supplied with both a wooden rim Nardi for road use and a suede race Momo wheel for track days.
The car shown in the photographs is our first finished car, using a standard 2000 GTV as the donor. Part of the build process was to convert the car to 1750GTV look internally and externally, with a GTA style mesh. Attention to detail is stunning, we even made a bespoke wiring loom, hidden from view under the bonnet in order to give the ultimate clean under bonnet aesthetics.
If however you want to go racing, Alfaholics can build you a race car to the very highest technical specification for either FIA-based or modified racing. Calling on our considerable experience of building and racing these cars, we are able to provide race winning car set up using our in-house flat floor and corner weighting facilities.
Contact Max, Andrew or Richard for further details.
Alfaholics Nurburgring Trip 20th-24th August 2009
Wow, what an event and undoubtedly our best yet! After the tremendous success of last year’s trip, we decided to add an extra day this time, making it a full 5 days away so everyone could have a chance to relax as well.
Ten cars gathered at the Eurotunnel terminal bright and early on Thursday morning for our crossing to France. We were blessed with beautiful weather for our journey, to be honest a little too good for those of us in non air-conditioned cars! We arrived at our hotel late afternoon and were met by our wonderful hostess, Britta, with some much-needed ice cold beers! As the evening went on, we were met by other members of our group, some of whom had travelled staggering distances to join us; Antonio Restanti had driven up from Rome in his Spider and Tom LaCosta had flown in from New York with his son for the event to drive his recently acquired Ti Super! Ring regulars Patrick Franken and Erwin Arentsen joined us as usual – this year Erwin brought his Alfaholics-specced pino verde 2.0 step-nose GT Junior, rather than his usual 3.5 V6 Alfa 75.
On Friday we woke up to grey clouds and distant thunder – a sharp contrast to the blazing sunshine the day before. Within minutes the storm had descended on the Ring but thankfully it passed quickly so the circuit was almost dry by the time it opened at lunchtime. As we embarked on our sighting laps, the sunshine took over and we enjoyed a fantastic afternoon on track – everyone eager to get a few laps in. That evening, we headed to the famous Pistenklause restaurant to enjoy the “steak on a hot stone” and plenty of rounds of Bitburger!
The circuit was also open all day Saturday and Sunday. With so much track time on offer we could afford some leisurely starts in the morning and time to recover from the night before! We were even lucky with the weather – despite such a changeable climate high in the Eifel mountains, it was blue skies for the rest of the weekend.
As ever, the hospitality at the hotel was superb – many thanks to Britta and her team for looking after us so well and keeping up with our demands for cold beers!
Saturday was the allotted day with our professional photographer, Jochen, who captured our on-track efforts from various locations around the circuit. As ever, his shots are stunning. Before we knew it the day had disappeared, and it was time to head back to the hotel for the much-anticipated barbeque. Just as last year, Britta and her team put on a superb spread of smoked meats, game, fish, salads etc…..more of a banquet than a barbeque!
After a slightly slow start on Sunday morning, another action packed day at the Ring ensued with plenty of lapping and stories of on-track conquests. As ever, the Alfas drew admiring glances from fellow Ringers and their performance on track commanded considerable respect from more than a few M3 and 911 drivers! On Sunday evening we had a relaxing dinner at the hotel, allowing us to reflect on a thoroughly enjoyable and successful event before heading home on Monday morning.
Another stunning trip and many thanks to all of those who came along and made it so much fun!
Swedish Customer Robert Petersson’s GTAm Race Car
Over the last few years Robert, with the help of Bo Johansson, has been buiding a 100% accurate replica of the infamous GTAm to campaign in Europe in FIA App K Period G races.
The car is now finally finished and looks stunning, the car has been built with many Alfaholics race components including our race suspension kit with FIA 2 1/4″ upgrade, aluminium adjustable dampers, race adjustable rear anti-roll bar, GTAm sliding window kits, race paddle clutch kit, GTA door button & hoop handle set, 50A race alternator, R-J trackrod kit and our race propshaft conversion.
Best of luck racing Robert!
Alfaholics Workshops
Workshop Services At the start of this year, we opened a new 5,000 sq. ft. fully equipped workshop in order to build and maintain road, race and trackday cars. Facilities include 2 post service lifts as well as flat floor, corner weight and bumpsteer equipment to ensure that once built, your car’s setup is fully optimised.
Whether you are looking to have a car built from scratch to meet your requirements, or want to buy Alfaholics performance upgrades for your car and have them professionally fitted, we now have the in house solution!
We have considerable experience in global shipping of cars and have all the necessary contacts to arrange secure transportation from anywhere in the world. Cars coming in from outside Europe are brought in under customs bond and as a result, no duty/tax is payable on entry to the UK.
Race Car Preparation & Maintenance We offer customers the option to have their race car stored throughout the year in our new specialist high security workshops, where they are fully prepared and maintained thoughout the race season. Our onsite parts warehouse guarantees the best stock availability for your car at all times!
Race Car Builds Alfaholics is able to build your race car to the very highest standard for either FIA-based or specific modified racing, such as HSCC. Calling on our considerable experience of building and racing these cars, we are able to provide a race winning set-up using our in-house flat floor & corner weighting facilities.
Alfaholics owns the only set of factory Celette jig brackets in the UK. All race cars are mounted on this jig to ensure correct chassis geometry prior to the commencement of each and every build.
Alfaholics Castle Combe Track Weekend April 2010
This year we added an extra dimension to our trackday weekend with an official open day on the Friday in order to allow people to see our cars, workshops and of course our mail order warehouse! We were blessed with beautiful cloud free weather all weekend (again!) which added to the delight of the open day when we had more than 20 visitors arrive from both near and far. Once again we had another great Dutch contingent trek over the channel for the weekend, including yearly regulars Patrick & Hannie Franken who brought their wonderful Grigio Indaco 1300 GT Junior, Walter van Vollenhoven with his lovely silver step-nose 2.0 racer and last but not least Erwin Arentsen who, although a die hard Nurburgring regular in our group, had never come to Castle Combe before, brought his Pino Verde 2.0 Step nose. Jose de Costa flew in from Portugal for the event and enjoyed many fast passenger rides all weekend! Ice cold beer and a fine spread of food complemented the feast of 105 series metal on display at Alfaholics!
Open day at Alfaholics on Friday!
On Friday evening we had our usual pre-trackday dinner, this time at an excellent new Italian restaurant just a stone’s throw away from the hotel where many people stayed, cue red wine & spaghetti, the natural choices for Alfa Romeo petrolheads!
Dinner on Friday night in Bristol
The trackday on Saturday ran as smoothly as ever, with a healthy mix of regulars and fresh faces; some new to our trackday, some new to 105 series and some completely new to trackdays altogether! As usual there was more than enough track time for everyone, with some drivers going out in every session and hardly out of their cars, whilst others spent more time talking in the paddock and soaking up the atmosphere rather than driving!
As usual we headed to the superb Salutation Inn after the trackday to digest the weekend’s events over dinner, before a fast night drive on some wonderful English B roads back to Bristol to prop up the hotel bar!
Dep-O: Alfaholics Production GTA Replica Article
Simon and Gerard originally came to do an article on us for Retro Cars magazine when we were still based in Devon and I had just completed the build of my GTA Replica. Now they have set up a superb on-line magazine called Dep-O and came to revisit Alfaholics to see what we have been up to in the last 5 years! Below is Simon’s additional text from the July editorial of their magazine.
“COMING AWAY from our Alfaholics visit, we stopped at a nearby pub – one which fortunately stocked proper glider and not the bottled variety coiffed by cider Philestines.
Thirst quenched, the philosophy started. “You know, £65,000 is an awful lot of money,” said Gez, before a pause and an exchange of glances that said, in pure unspoken bloke: ‘Yeah, but if you could, you bloody well would’.
There has been a quiet revolution happening in the classic world for some time now. We suppose you could call it the retroficaton of classics, whereby classic owners want to modify their cars to make them better whilst retaining their fun, immediacy and involvement.
Eagle E-types have been playing around with Jaguars for years, and I can’t shut up about my track-time at the wheel of a superb RS Williams road-going lightweight 4.7-litre Aston Martin DB4 – a car which was too much for a ‘chooned’ Cayman S. To make the most of a performance orientated classic, you really have to go modified – whether it be something small like upgrading to an alternator, fitting electronic ignition and radial tyres or undertaking fundamental modifications to its suspension and engine internals.
Alfaholics understands this and this is why they’ve created their GTA Replica. A car which packs a truly droolsome specification and which we can’t wait to have a go in. A standard Giulia Sprint GT is a cracking car, so what better way to celebrate Alfa’s 100th?
Even if you don’t get all starry-eyed at the allure of Alfa Romeos, the appeal of an as-new classic which can lap the Nordschleife in sub 9 minutes must strike home at some level. If you have a pulse. However, to fully-blown Alfisti such as us, these Alfaholics GTAs, promise so much more because, they make everything else old and new just look a touch Tommy Try-Hard.
OK, you might find a nice-ish but standard Dino 246GT, but someone will have probably stuck Ferrari badges on it. How about a mint Big Healey? You’ll need another barrowful of notes just to make it go and handle better so that it won’t be humiliated by a midly tuned Spridget. Or you could buy a new-ish Porsche and look like every other city boy who fancies himself in a first gear sprint up the Kings Road. An Alfa Romeo GTA though, is, to us, one of the coolest most beautiful cars that money can buy regardless of age.
So combine that with what promises to be some real kick-arse performance cultivated via superbly engineered parts ‘made in Britain’ and just where is the down side?
Hell, if you even compare it to the price of a fully-fettled performance classic – like, say, the aforementioned Eagle E-type – it even looks damn good value too.
And no, that’s not the cider talking.” Simon Charlesworth
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