Boughton House, 28th June 2009
As I set off from a sunny central London early on the 28th June to
the Ferrari Owners’ Club 2009 annual concours at Boughton
House, near Kettering in Northamptonshire, it seemed as though
it was going to a good weather day to hold the annual meet. A
little way up the M11 I realised that I could have been a little
premature with my thoughts, as thick mist covered the motorway
like a London fog in the 50’s. However, by about 11 O’clock the
mist had burned away, and brilliant rays of sunshine started to
seep through the light clouds, lighting up the red sea of Ferraris
and the impressive16th century mansion, which they surrounded.
The club has visited Boughton House more than once prior to this
year’s event, and with good reason, as it is nicknamed “The
English Versailles”, whose magnificent architecture forms a
spectacular backdrop to the proceedings. It is the home of the
Duke of Buccleuch, and has been in his family’s stewardship for
almost 500 years. Maybe the scale of the house can be summed
up by the following facts, it has seven courtyards, twelve
entrances, 52 Chimneys, 365 windows, and there are 1.25 acres
of roof tiles! The house is open for general visitors, 7 days a week
between August 1st - September 1st from 2.00pm to 5.00pm with
last entry at 4.00pm. Further details can be found at
www.boughtonhouse.org.uk
However, enough of promotion of the venue, we were there to see
Ferraris! Despite the previously mentioned misty start to the day
in some parts of the country, there was a very good turnout, with
around 350 Ferraris being counted in attendance during the day.
With celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 250 GT SWB
model, plus the 25th anniversary of the GTO (288), (has it really
been around for that long!), there were some fine examples of
both models on display, seven of the former and nine of the latter,
including radio presenter Chris Evans’ recently repainted white
examples in both groups. Racing Ferraris were represented by a
290 MM, chassis # 0626, which finished 4th in the 1956 Mille
Miglia driven by Juan Manuel Fangio, the ex-Ecurie
Francorschamps 250 LM, chassis # 6303, which finished 2nd at
Le Mans in 1965 and Nigel & Shirley Chiltern-Hunt’s 512 BB/LM,
# 26685, in its always attractive “Birds & Clouds” livery from Le
Mans 1979. The earliest car in attendance was the 166 MM/53
Vignale Spider, chassis # 0308 M, of Bernard Worth which he
has owned for 49 years, and which always arrives at events under
its own steam! The Best of Show award went to David Moore’s
beautifully restored yellow 275 GTB/4, chassis # 10253, despite
attracting the attention of the midges, which seem to love
anything yellow, including my shirt! As he did last year, club
member Peter Teichman arrived just after the final presentation in
his WWII Spitfire, to treat everybody to a spectacular aerobatic
display as a finale.
David O’Neill
07/2009
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