Over Labor Day Weekend, we attended the 47th annual All British Field Meet. Held at Portland International Raceway, it bills itself as the longest-running and biggest three-day all-British car event in the country. It averages nearly 700 cars a year.
Now that Bradley is driving, this has become a family affair. Schön and I brought the Jaguar E-type S3 V12 2+2 and Bradley was in the Lotus Elise. We didn’t pay too much attention to the wags who offered to direct us to the “Toyota parking area.”
The featured speaker was Rauno Aaltonen. Known as “The Flying Finn,” he was among the first group of drivers ever inducted into the Rallying Hall of Fame. Spry and energetic even at 86, he regaled us with his tales of hydroplane racing starting when he was 12 years old (four years under the legal age limit) and how his experience racing on gravel roads ended up getting him a place on the Mercedes factory rally team. His presentation was sponsored by Mini of Portland.
He mentioned that he was fastest on gravel and his teammate on pavement, so, during a rally, without slowing down, they would swap positions in the front seat when the road surface changed.
An added enhancement to the weekend are the vintage races presented by the Society of Vintage Racing Enthusiasts (SOVREN). Walking through the race pits was another trip through memory lane. I worked as a mechanic on Hilary Luginbuhl’s F-production “Rubber Chicken Racing” Alfa Romeo in those pits when we raced in Portland during the late 1960s, towing up from San Francisco for the Rose Cup Races.
I’ve been attending the ABFM for decades. I’ve watched TR7s go from being new cars to 50-year-old collectibles.
Each marque I walked by, from Minis (Bradley came home from the hospital in one) to the Loti (I’ve owned an M100, Europa S2, Elan S2, and now the Elise) to the Bug Eyes (my first car the day I turned 16), brought back near archaeological memories of my life with cars. I was reminded of the scene from Jurassic Park, when the visiting scientists see their first brontosauruses. I was surrounded by living, breathing motorcars that had been driven to the event, and would be driven home. It was a journey through time, and I reflected on how lucky all of us are to have seen MG TCs evolve into MGAs then MGBs, Triumph TR2s to TR6s.
A regular feature here is the Jungle Ride, where Doug Shipman of Ship’s Mechanicals takes Rovers full of people around the motocross track, with plenty of hair-raising moments. This is how I got first interested in off-roading with Land Rovers.
The local British car clubs take turn running the event and do a fine job. This year the Jaguar Owners Club of Oregon hosted. Sadly, even though we had the only V12 E-type, and there were three prizes awarded in the class, somehow, we came in fourth. We should probably consider waxing the car next year.
I especially appreciated that children 18 and under were free with an adult admission, encouraging families to attend.
Thank you to the Jaguar Club, and we look forward to seeing you next year. And maybe 2025 will be our year to come home with a trophy!
Is there an All-British Field Meet in your area? What did you drive the last time you went?
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