Thanks for your comments! I've never made it to Croft yet - but it's on my to-do list!

Yes, it was a shame, but I don't think there was much hope of catching Pete Baldwin that day! The smoke was unexpected - but the Panhard Rod mounting point in the chassis had cracked and was allowing the axle to move laterally so the tyres started to rub the inner arches!

@@Firenzaman Thanks for the reply. As it turned out, that was the least of your worries/repairs after the prang. Did you need a new shell after that or was it relatively easy to fix front end damage? It looked like suspension damage too, but wasn't that easy to tell from the video.

@Gary L I was lucky - only minor bodywork damage. The problem was that the BBC had privately hired the circuit for the following day (Monday) and had arranged for all the race competitors to return to the circuit the following afternoon to help complete the filming of the fictitious "finale" to fit the script / storyline. Very fortunately one of the owners of my local Vauxhall dealership (Frosts of Shoreham) was at this event as one of my guests, and when he heard of the Beeb's predicament he mobilised his body shop staff, and they worked on the car in their Shoreham workshop overnight (yes, Sunday night!!) and we returned to the circuit by midday Monday, all looking pristine and ready to follow the filming schedule.

@@Firenzaman That's incredible and what a fantastic recovery, thanks to Frosts! I bet you couldn't believe your luck. both bad and then good that day. I never did see the tv show, though I was heavily into the Firenza back then - I still watch some of the DTV videos with Gerry Marshall as they give me a great nostalgia hit, especially the backing music which I associate purely with the cars now. On a side note, do you remember Graham Sprowel, the parts guy of the DSG?

@@Firenzaman Always incredible how hard an Englishman will work when they are interested