Driving Mr Petty

Brian Petty rallying

My Dad loved motor sports, both the sport and the magazine that shared its name – there would always be the latest issue lying around when I visited, with its distinctive green cover.

Sunday was Grand Prix day, and he and my brother would always watch. I wasn’t into it so much, but I seem to have absorbed a certain amount of knowledge. I used to instinctively recognize old cars on the street (“ooh, Bugatti”) but I have less chance since moving to the US.

Dad used to drive in rallies using the family car, as part of the Civil Service Motoring Association, now called ‘Boundless by CSMA‘. He was a member of that because of his long service with the Post Office, and then with British Telecom (43 years!). At the top is a photo of him barely keeping hold of the steering wheel of the Hillman Hunter while rallying in 1972.

Brother Simon recently found these old photos of Dad driving his(?) Ford Cortina GT Mk1 around Snetterton circuit in Norfolk. I don’t know when they were taken. Some other classics in there – a Sprite? MG roadsters?

Dad's Cortina GT Snetterton 2

Dad's Cortina GT Snetterton 1