Nick Mason takes Brian Johnson for a ride in his 250 GTO

On the 3527 subject I well remember going to a Lancia track day at Aintree in my Fulvia, perhaps in 93 or 94. Steve Pilkington was there in his 250 GTO.

He pounded around all day, a fantastic sight and sound, giving lots of passenger rides. At one point he overtook my Fulvia 1.3 (quelle surprise!) just before a left hand bend. We were warned about that bend specifically in the briefing, it being particularly hazardous because cars would spear off into the wall on the inside of the bend. The rear tyre went just over the edge of the track onto the grass as the car came to the exit, a quick flick sideways, caught immediately. Off he went, with my respect and a mental round of applause.

Much to my regret I didn't ask for a ride. What an opportunity missed!

 

I recall Nick being interviewed on the closed circuit radio at Goodwood about racing his GTO:

“Aren’t you afraid of crashing your £12,000,000 [this was about 10 years ago] car?”

“Well, it doesn’t cost £12MM to repair.....”

 

Precisely. A friend with a sister car a very few chassis numbers away said the exact same thing to me one time.

 

I thought the same when I saw this at Goodwood:

 

Ouch. If they’d left the gravel trap instead of paving the area in front of the Shell building he probably wouldn’t have contacted the retaining wall.

 

I believe this is a tool-room copy of 4399 GT rather than the real thing. @miurasv will know.

 

Correct. Discussed in thread here.

 

The bumps on Lavant straight are tricky

 

The May, 2021, issue of Octane will have an article about Mason’s Le Mans racing history.

 

Why race if you’re afraid you might crash?

(getting philosofical: why live, if you’re afraid to die?)

Ok, back to normal.