Silverstone Classic 23rd-25th July 2010
Press Release
With over 700 historic race cars and 4,000 classic cars on display, the Silverstone Classic is set to be another great event. This year Maserati GB are Silverstone Classic‘s 2010 Celebration Marque and one of the title sponsors of whole event. Maserati will be supplying the course cars and there will be a track parade for cars from the club stand on Sunday!
Tickets:
The club has purchased a limited number of 3-day passes at a special discounted rate in order to secure a circuit centre stand and they are again ‘By One Get One Free’ tickets that include parking in the centre circuit (therefore two people and one car), although only if you have a Maserati (and preferably a Classic!). Please note that these are the only tickets we are offering this year. If you require tickets for individual days or are taking a car other than a Maserati then you will need to book your tickets direct with Silverstone on 0871 231 0849. Please email us below for the discount code in order to get the preferential club rate.
Edwin Faulkner will again be in charge of the Club stand and will co-ordinate the cars on display. As catering is not provided remember to pack those picnic baskets with delicious treats and chill the Prosecco! If you want to bring a particularly interesting Maserati please let Edwin know by email on ejf@manx.net . Edwin would also like help with setting up on Thursday 22nd July and throughout the whole weekend. Those who can spare time on the Thursday will get in free on that day.
Accommodation:
Once again The Bell Hotel in Winslow will be our base for the weekend. We have reserved a number of rooms on a preferential dinner, bed and breakfast rate. Dinner on the Friday is at the hotel at your own arrangement (drinks extra) and Saturday night’s feast is a group affair in the Conservatory at 8pm and includes a glass of wine or four and coffee.
You can download a booking form for the event here. Payment in full is required with a completed booking form and should be returned to the address below by 23rd June. Payment by cheque is accepted or you can email the address below for the club bank details if you wish to make a direct transfer.
DOWNLOAD YOUR BOOKING FORM HERE
Bookings for this event are being handled by Claire Prior at Bill McGrath Limited, claire@classicmaseratis.co.uk or 01438 832161. You should post completed forms with cheques made payable to THE MASERATI CLUB to Claire at:
Bill McGrath Limited
Unit 8, Claggy Road
Kimpton
Hertfordshire
SG4 8QB
Pirelli’s Cinturato Tyres
"Hi,
I have written some editorial about Pirelli’s Cinturato tyres that were original equipment on Maserati in the 50’s and 60’s."
Pirelli Cinturato
In the early Fifties the world of Sports cars was rocked by the introduction of the Pirelli Cinturato. The Cinturato moved boundaries forward as to what could be expected of a tyre as, until then the ‘Michelin X’ had been the only radial tyre. Michelin developed the ‘X’ to enhance tyre longevity using their new radial technology which considerably improved grip. Pirelli tailored this new technology to suit sports cars by developing the Cinturato which are more progressive.
It was because of this new progressive radial technology that many of the World’s best cars fitted Cinturato as original equipment; Lancia, MG, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Morgan, Maserati and Lamborghini to name but a few.
The Pirelli Cinturato brand is thriving today with a range of sizes in the CA67 tread-pattern (155HR15, 165HR400, 185VR15 and 185VR16).
The 185VR16 Cinturato CA67 tyre is of particular importance early Maserati fans as it was the factory fitment for cars such as the 3500GT and the early Sebring and Mistral cars. Although earlier A6GCS cars might not have left the factory on the Cinturato because they were too early they are the ideal tyres for road and rally use with these cars. The last batch of these tyres has just run out and they will be back in production in June this year.
Throughout the 60’s a lot of the world’s best cars (Ferrari 330, 500 Superfast, 365; ISO Rivolta and Grifo, Lamborghini 350 GT, 400 GT, Islero , Espada). Maserati also chose to use it for their range of cars. So in 1968 the Mistral changed to 15” wheels and the Sebring changed in 1969, both fitting the 205VR15 Cinturato fitting the same tyres as the 5000GT and Quattroporte. Through the end of the 60’s all the new cars like the Mexico and Ghibli all fitted the 205VR15 Cinturato. It wasn’t until the introduction of the Bora that Maserati started to use 70% profile tyres, because the simply weren’t around till the early 70’s.
This 205VR15 Pirelli Cinturato has not been available for Some considerable time now. It was at the end of the 60’s that the development of the 70 profile tyre happened, but for some time now all these cars have been forced to fit more modern tyres, which although they handle well are smaller in diameter. Which is why often when you look at these cars from the side the wheel arches look a little empty. For instance if your car fits a 205/70VR15 tyre instead of the original 205VR15 tyre, you are going to find it 4cm (nearly 2 inches) smaller in diameter.
This 205VR15 tyre has just been remanufactured by Pirelli using Pirelli’s clever new up to date compounds to make sure we get excellent grip and all the tests have given excellent results.
Available from Longstone Tyres.
Tel: 00 44 1302 711123.
Web site: www.longstone.com.
Free shipping world wide.
Get well soon, Sir Stirling !!
Sir Stirling Moss is recovering in hospital after falling down a lift shaft at home and breaking both ankles. The Formula One racing legend, 80, fell three floors when his lift opened in error on Saturday, his website said. Paramedics were called to his home in Mayfair and he underwent surgery at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. He also broke four bones in a foot, chipped four vertebrae and suffered skin damage. His family said he was recovering well.
The website reported: "Sir Stirling remained conscious throughout. With the assistance of Professor Sid Watkins he was moved to a hospital closer to his home where he underwent surgery on both his ankles, which were plated and pinned. The door to the lift, that should have remained locked if the lift was not on the floor that it was called from, opened in error."
Sir Stirling's family have said that he is comfortable and they expect the recover/ to take up to six weeks.
We send our very best wishes to Sir Stirling from the Club for a speedy and full recovery.
Maserati at the Rotunda
I am delighted to advise that a fabulous Maserati 5000GT, styled by Allemano, is currently on display at the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall, London.
This is the very first Maserati of any description to be shown in the club and we could not have wished for a more regal example. This is chassis AM103.026 and has been very kindly lent with the permission of the owner, a member of the Maserati Club UK, and the assistance of Andy Heywood and his staff at Bill McGrath Limited.
For just a few more days our members, their guests and visitors to the Pall Mall headquarters will be greeted by the wonderful centrepiece that graces the Rotunda of the building, which next year celebrates a century since completion.
I've enclosed a few pictures which show the 5000GT presented in a totally unique setting - the historical home of British Motoring.
Best wishes and Regards,
John Godley
Motoring Secretary
The Royal Automobile Club
The Maserati 5000GT by Allemano
on display in the Rotunda
:
NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY PROJECT
Dear Members,
My name is James Burnell and am currently studying in my final year of Transportation Design at Northumbria University. I am about to undertake a new project focused on the marque Maserati as it is one I am particularly interested in, and hopefully after university the owner of one!
I am writing to you in the hope that the Maserati Club can help me in the initial stages of my project, to help me create an exciting and worthwhile piece of design work. My plan thus far is to research and to understand the marque and branding of Maserati both past and present so that I may generate ideas for a new car that extends and develops the brand. A particular interest to me would be to ultimately focus on the racing pedigree of the marque and possibly produce a piece of work relating more to the classic racing cars.
It would be of infinite importance to me if you could help me find out from yourself or other owners of Maserati, both classic and modern cars:
Why they bought one?
How it feels to own and drive?
What the marque means to them?
How they feel about the history of Maserati?
What they think about the modern brand?
What they would like to see in the near future from the brand.
I look forward to your reply and thank you for any help that can be provided.
James Burnell.
If you'd like to help James with his project, you can contact him at james.burnell@hotmail.co.uk
VERY IMPORTANT FOR DRIVERS!
Posted - 13 February 2009
Unwitting motorists face £1,000 fines as thousands of photo card driving licences expire.
Thousands of motorists are at risk of being fined up to £1,000 because they are unwittingly driving without a valid licence.
They risk prosecution after failing to spot the extremely small print on their photo card licence which says it automatically expires after 10 years and has to be renewed - even though drivers are licensed to drive until the age of 70.
The fiasco has come to light a decade after the first batch of photo licences was issued in July 1998, just as they start to expire.
Motoring organisations blamed the Government for the fiasco and said 'most' drivers believed their licences were for life.
A mock-up driving licence from 1998 when the photo cards were launched shows the imminent expiry date as item '4b'.
They said officials had failed to publicise sufficiently the fact that new-style licences - unlike the old paper ones - expire after a set period and have to be renewed.
To rub salt into wounds, drivers will have to a pay £17.50 to renew their card - a charge which critics have condemned as a 'stealth tax' and which will earn the Treasury an estimated £437 million over 25 years.
Official DVLA figures reveal that while 16,136 expired this summer, so far only 11,566 drivers have renewed, leaving 4,570 outstanding.
With another 300,000 photo card licences due to expire over the coming year, experts fear the number of invalid licences will soar, putting thousands more drivers in breach of the law and at risk of a fine.
At the heart of the confusion is the small print on the tiny credit-card-size photo licence, which is used in conjunction with the paper version.
Just below the driver name on the front of the photo card licence is a series of dates and details - each one numbered.
Number 4b features a date in tiny writing, but no explicit explanation as to what it means.
The date's significance is only explained if the driver turns over the card and reads the key on the back, which states that ‘4b’ means 'licence valid to'.
Even more confusingly, an adjacent table on the rear of the card sets out how long the driver is registered to hold a licence - that is until his or her 70th birthday.
A total of 25 million new-style licences have been issued but - motoring experts say - drivers were never sufficiently warned they would expire after 10 years.
Motorists who fail to renew their licences in time are allowed to continue driving but the DVLA says they could be charged with 'failing to surrender their licence', an offence carrying a £1,000 fine.
AA president, Edmund King said: 'It is not generally known that photo card licences expire: there appears to be a lack of information that people will have to renew these licences.
'People think they have already paid them for once over and that is it.
'It will come as a surprise to motorists and a shock that they have to pay an extra £17.50.'
The AA called on the Government to use the annual £450 million from traffic enforcement fines to offset the renewal charge.
RAC Membership
The Maserati Club is teamed with RAC rescue and we are able to get membership for 25% discount.
Ring 0800 581077 quoting DT1000 and your Club membership number for further details.
Exciting news for all club members
The central Maserati Club in Modena have announced a special promotion aimed at
existing paid-up members of the following Maserati Clubs:
Club Maserati Australia
Maserati Club Austria
Maserati Classico Belgio
Maserati Club France
Deutscher Maserati Club
Maserati Club Japan
Maserati Club Holland
Norsk Maserati Klubb
The Maserati Club (SA)
Maserati Club of Sweden
Maserati-Club Schweiz (CH)
Maserati Club UK
The Maserati Club USA
Members of the Maserati Clubs listed above will now qualify for membership to the Official Maserati Club at a specially discounted one-time enrolment fee of EURO 200. This special offer represents a saving of approximately 33% off the normal joining-up fee of EURO 300.
This enrolment fee entitles each applicant to one year's membership (the membership year runs from 1st January to 31st December), plus a "Welcome Kit" comprising of:
a personalised solid silver membership card
a dark blue Maserati Club polo shirt ( available in S, M, L, XL or XXL )
a Maserati Club baseball cap
a pair of Maserati blue/beige bi-chrome nappa leather driving gloves (available in S, M, L or XL )
a set of four Maserati Club car stickers
Members are also entitled:
1. to take part in the following events scheduled for 2008.
Date TBA - General Assembly
29th-30th March 2008 - Meeting at Cervia military airport
19th-20th April 2008 - 3rd Maserati Club Trophy
10th-11th May 2008 - Weekend in Tuscany
30th May- 1st June 2008 - Meeting at Balocco circuit
22nd June 2008 - Master Racing Maserati Club
September 2008 - Weekend in Montecarlo
7th-9th November 2008 - Truffles and Wine
14th December 2008 - Christmas Lunch
On each occasion, a welcome kit containing a special gift from the official Maserati Store will be given to participating members.
Meetings in collaboration with other clubs are under discussion.
2. to retrieve information from the Maserati historic archive and download User’s and Maintenance Manuals
for all Maserati cars which are no longer in production, registering with the site for Maserati clients:
www.owners.maserati.com
3. to a 10% discount on:
- Maserati and Maserati Club merchandising on sale at Maserati in Modena
and
at Maserati Club events in Italy
- wheel rims for classic cars from "Borrani". Members should contact Mr Politi
"Ruote Milano”:
tel: +39 02 8240151; fax; +39 02 8259320.
Members may also benefit from a number of special offers (to be announced) and take part in events organised by supporting clubs.
Eleonora Tassinari
Segreteria Maserati Club
Viale Ciro Menotti, 322
I-41100 Modena (MO)
Tel: +39 059.590 786
Fax: +39 059.866 3823
E-mail: etassinari@maserati.it
Web site: www.maseraticlub.com
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