30th Jul 1966; A Day that will live in memory, especially if you are English. Actually I'm a Kiwi but I was in the UK on that day and it has more memories than a mere sporting event.

Starting from the beginning; in 1966 I was part owner of a Fireball Dinghy and the Fireball Class World Championships were due to take place off the south coast of England in August. I was determined to represent New Zealand and 'borrowed' a Christchurch helmsman, Brian Trelevan, who was touring Europe sailing his Finn Dinghy.

A few weeks before the Championships I discovered that our boat did not measure according to the class rules. Luckily a guy named Roger Fauchon, who later moved to New Zealand, was able to fix it. While we were waiting for the resin to cure we watched the World Cup Final which is of course why some people still remember that date. I have other reasons.

The resin still wasn't cured so, for something to do, I was introduced to Roger's neighbour Bill Mason, the same Bill Mason who had put together all those marvellous Shell history of motor racing films. Sitting outside the front door was a 1930 something Aston Martin belonging to his son, Nick. Who? No not The Who; actually the Nick Mason who would later be the drummer for Pink Floyd and an avid car collector.

This Birkin Blower Bentley, chassis HB3402, was photographed by the editor at the Vintage Sports Car Club's race meeting at Thuxton, Hampshire in September 1969. "Rusty" Russ-Turner drove the car. He later had a coronary attack while driving it, finishing in a very gentle Denny Hulme-like accident as he died.

Bill then opened the garage doors and there was a 1929 or 1930 (wish I could remember which) Blower Bentley, British Racing Green and enormous. 'Would I like a ride?' There was only one possible answer to that question.

The monster was pushed out of the garage and started. I climbed on and sat on the passenger seat. I mean ON. The seat was about 4 or 5 inches thick and was on the floor. I don't think that it was fixed to the floor, it was just there. My legs were straight out in front of me and the side door came up to somewhere about hip level. Way off in the middle distance was a very small aero screen. I wondered what I'd let myself in for.

Once the engine was warmed up and the throttle used in anger the noise was something else. The exhaust roar mixed with the scream of the supercharger made me wish that I'd at least got some cotton wool in my pocket.

Bill drove her out onto the road, luckily a dead end road with almost zero traffic. We bowled along this road until we arrived at the main road from Chichester to Itchenor and turned right towards Itchenor. He then wound her up. Somewhere in the far distance were a couple of giant wheels which seemed to have minds of their own. Their movements both up and down and from side to side seemed to have very little effect on either smoothing out the bumps or our general direction of travel. How fast we went I've no idea. It felt fantastic, apart that is from the fact that the seat was wandering about and there was nothing to hold on to. No hat, no goggles so with hair blowing every which way and tears streaming back from my eyes, it was hard to concentrate on what was happening and where we were. I knew the road tolerably well but, given that we owned a Hillman Imp at the time, not at that speed or with any of those sensations.

Suddenly we were back at the house and it was all over with me desperately trying to remember all that happened and all the feelings.

Ettore Bugatti may have described Mr Bentley's creations as the world's fastest lorries but after that ride I had even greater respect for the likes of Tim Birkin and Wolf Barnato for having wrestled those monsters around Le Mans.

Referring to Bill's films, if you've ever seen the sequences taken at Le Mans in the late '20s of the Bentleys coming on to the Mulsanne Straight at Tertre Rouge, an unsealed road of course, and blasting off into the distance with the back end snaking from side to side, then those drivers were not only heroes, but bloody strong heroes at that.