My Euro Trip to see Kyle Gray win the BRISCA F1 World Final
(1st Oct 2026 BLOG)
I’ve just returned from another trip back to Europe to see my long time friend Lynn , who lives on the south coast of the England.
As normal with my trips ‘back home’ I try to cram in as much as I can.
I think it was ‘mission accomplished’ as you will see by my report.
As usual when covering longer trips, I’ll do it on a day to day basis.
THURSDAY 17th Sept.
At about 3-00pm my buddy Don Simpson arrived at my door , to taxi me to the Montreal Airport . My flight wasn’t until later that night , but I always try to be at an airport earlier than needed . A glass of wine in the Airport lounge is always good when on an overnighter
FRIDAY 18th Sept
I landed at London Gatwick around 10-00 am and was soon through formalities , and boarding a Southern Railways train to Havant.
On arrival I was met by Lynn and we were soon at her place .
It was nice to sit down with a cup of tea , relaxing and exchanging gifts .
She knows of my love of diecast cars and managed to locate one that I’d been after for a long time .
From the old TV puppet series THUNDERBIRDS, she’d got me Lady Penelope’s Rolls Royce , complete with Parker the Chauffeur.
My Friday arrival, coincided with the Birthday of Lynn’s dearest friend Des, who’d decided to have her party on Hayling Island Beach , complete with a Fish n Chip supper.
SATURDAY 19th Sept
We had nothing much planned so checked out a few charity shops in Chichester and Hayling Island for more diecasts. .
I discovered this gem at a good price .
A Corgi Toy from the James Bond collection, that featured a Toyota.
While on Hayling lsland , we returned to the waterfront and took a ride on the minature railway.
We bought return tickets , to and from the Beachlands Station which was at the end of the line.
Beside the railway there happened to be a classic car show taking place.
Well, that was it for my first full day.
SUNDAY 20th Sept .
This was a ‘lazy day’ so we didn’t stray too far. In the afternoon, we visited Lynn’s oldest son Glenn and his family , before going out for a roast dinner at the nearby Langbrook Inn Carvery . It’s my favorite eatery when I’m over there , You can’t beat it .
MONDAY 21st Sept
In the afternoon we left Lynns place to catch the Gatwick Airport train from Warblington . We were off to Venice, Italy
Our train was delayed due to a person being hit by a train further down the line.
Many trains were affected by this , but luckily we were able switch to another line, and get to the airport in time.
Our flight to the Marco Polo Airport in Venice , was also delayed so we needn’t of worried.
(I remember learning about Marco Polo when I was at school. He was a famous Venezian merchant, explorer and writer in the late 1200’s)
That meant we didn’t arrive at our Venzia Hotel until 11-00pm
After quickly checking in, and dumping our bags in the room we walked over the road to a bar that was open til midnight
TUESDAY 22nd Sept
After a lovely breakfast in our hotel , we grabbed a bus to the old part of the city , where we walked over a bridge, to the sector where no motor vehicles are allowed.
The streets are tiny so everyone has to walk or get transported by water.
Well, you can’t go to Venice without having a Gondola ride , so that was one of the first priorities .
The big tourist attractions are the Rialto Bridge, the Bridge of Sighs and Saint Marks Square.
During our visit we dined at two different restaurants (lunch and supper) , and Pizza was Lynns favorite.
I went for the Carbonara
While checking out one of the souvenir shops , I spotted a Fiat Toppolino diecast which I just had to buy.
Anyone who knows me well , will be aware how much I love these particular cars .
One of my stock cars had a Toppolino body , and back in the day , they were common body donors to many British stock cars .
FLASHBACK TO 1977 and my Toppolino bodied F2 stock car.
After a day of sight seeing , we returned to our hotel
WEDNESDAY 23rd Sept.
We were up bright and early , for the 20 minute taxi ride to the airport.
There were no delays checking in, and were there in good time to relax with a coffee, and spend my loose Euro’s before the flight back to Gatwick .
I spotted another diecast in the duty-free shop so a Volkswagen van was added to my holiday haul.
Our Easy Jet plane arrived in Gatwick around mid day and we were soon on the train back to Warblington , to take the short walk to Lynns place.
THURSDAY 24th Sept
Lynn had planned a short road trip for the day, so I could tick off another of my bucket list items.
After the morning rush hour , we drove to Weybridge in Surrey, to the site of the former Brooklands Racing Circuit, which now serves as a Museum .
The banked Brookland Circuit was the first purpose built racing circuit in the world and dates back to the early 1900’s .
Racing ceased there in 1939 with the start of World War Two when the site was transformed into a factory to make aircraft for the war effort .
Parts of the concrete banked track still remain today.
As well as the car Museum , there are lot of historic aircraft to be seen.
One of which is the famous Concorde, the first Super Sonic passenger jet , that once flew from Europe to the USA.
We booked the guided tour, and this was the first thing we did .
There’s also a London Bus Museum on the Brooklands site..
Lucky me , the bus museum had a small section devoted to selling diecasts .
I spotted a Fiat 500 Toppolini van at a good price so added another item to the returning home suitcase.
The next thing I wanted to see was the old race track and its surviving banking.
We chose a good day to be there , as they ‘d put a few of the old racers out on the track for a publicity shoot.
Next thing on our list was to , look around the car museum.
Amongst the cars and memorabilia , we were hoping to find a picture or a mention of the Kilham family.
Lynn’s good friend Des , who’s birthday on the beach we attended, has family connections with the Brooklands Circuit.
Her grandmother, once raced there in her husbands Mercedes back in 1914.
Des still has some of the family photos , a club badge, a race program and her grandmothers actual racing cap (they didn’t have crash helmets in those days).
It was then time to make our way back to Havant .
That night we were invited over to Des and Pete’s for supper , so we had plenty to talk about.
FRIDAY 25th Sept.
Once again, we were on the road by mid morning , this time heading to my sister Anne’s place at Milton Under Wychwood in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds.
After visiting with them for a couple of hours , we set off again to visit a recent addition to the tourist attractions in the area, that’s located just ten minutes away from Anne’s .
The former TV presenter of the Top Gear TV program (a car orientated TV show in the UK ) , Jeremy Clarkson , now has a series currently running about his Diddly Squat farm .
A lot of people rave about it, but the episode I once watched didn’t appeal to me. I guess Clarkson’s humor differs from mine.
Anyway , with his ‘Diddly Squat’ farm so close and on the way to our next destination , we thought we’d take a look.
There were a lot of other people doing likewise , so we stood in line for nearly 30 minutes to check out the farm shop.
From Diddly Squat we pressed on through Chipping Norton towards Milton Keynes where we were booked into the Premier Inn.
It was conveniently located on Avebury Blvd , next to an eatery.
SATURDAY 26th Sept
On this day , the BriSCA F1 Stock Car World Final was taking place at my old stomping grounds of the Brafield Stadium, (now called the Northampton Shaleway) .
Brafield has always been a big part of my life since my first visit there in 1965.
Even now after living in Canada for over 30 years , I still like going back, and I’ve made several return visits.
When I was planning this European trip , the World Final was an important part of my agenda.
I have to be thankful to my good friend Robert Sellar for acquiring our tickets.
We left the Premier Inn at around 8-00 am and after a nice breakfast in Newport Pagnel, we were taking the familiar road through Stoke Goldington to the track.
I must have taken that road hundreds of times over the years.
Although racing wasn’t due to start until 3-30pm , I wanted to be there early , because I knew the place would be packed , and we’d need to set down our lawn chairs, to reserve our spot
We were there before 10-00 am and already the place was starting to fill up .
Saturday’s big race was part of a three day show, and the camping field was full of R/V’s , many of them from the Netherlands.
As we entered the track , the first friends we met were Paul and Joan Jenkins at the VSCA table .
Then we found a spot for our chairs before it got too busy
With plenty of time to kill, I then did a pit wander to take some pics and say hello to a few people.
My first port of call was the #141 Richard Falkena car from the Netherlands . My long time friend Elsje Jaspers Boschma , told me her son Ynze would be there helping with the Falkena Team
I then looked out for Mick Harris , who’s son Tom was the defending Champion , and his daughter Cathrine was also in the big race .
These days I often see Mick and the team in February, when they are racing their USAC Sprint Car in Florida
I then bumped into John Lund.
Veteran John, is about my age and is still racing.
He was one of the reserves for the big race but in the past years , he’s had a number of World Championship wins to his credit
FLASHBACK to Johns win in 1991
It was then time to take some action pics and I met up with my old friend Colin Casserley
Photographers were not allowed on the middle for the racing this year so pics had to be taken from the outside.
I took a few pics of the time trials for the overseas drivers, standing on my tip toes
Colin had brought a ladder
However, before the racing began , all the World Finalists were out on the track and fans were allowed access for a meet and greet.
I then went out there and took a few shots.
Here are the two lady drivers in the event ,
Brooke Kitson.
Catherine Harris
Prior to the present day F1’s taking to the track , the classic F1’s from the past were in action. ( I have to say, I preferred them)
By the time the World Final got under way , the stadium was bursting at the seems with people, and I’d say the biggest crowd I’d seen in my 60 years of attending
The World Final had a huge wreck on the first lap, causing a 15 minute stoppage while repairs were allowed.
The wreck ended the chances of defending champion Tom Harris , while his front row partner, Kyle Gray survived and went on to take the checkers.
So the 2026 F1 Stock Car World Championship went to Gray, a local Northamptonshire lad.
He is the grandson of John Gray , who was # 625 in the F2 Juniors back in the mid sixties when I first started going to Brafield
I didn’t know much about Kyle Gray until my friend , Michelle Kiff told me he was her son Rocco’s favorite driver and he’d had a special hair cut prior to the World Final day .
Once the checkered flag had fallen , we were heading for the exit .
Although there were a couple more races , following the World Final presentations , Lynn and I wanted to beat the congestion at the end , so made our exit .
We got lucky , there were no hold ups on the M25 and were back in Havant in a couple of hours.
SUNDAY 27th Sept
This was my final day before heading back to Canada early the next day.
So in the morning we had a short ride out in the nearby country side , to Rowlands Castle and the Idsworth Valley
Then it was back to Lynns in the afternoon to pack my bags .
We ended the day with another the roast supper at the Langbrook Inn
MONDAY 28th Sept
Lynn drove me to Warblington Station where I caught the 5-50 am train to Gatwick Airport. Then by 3-30 pm Eastern Time , I was back in Montreal and being picked up by Don.
TUESDAY 29th Sept
I was straight back in action on Tuesday night at the Cornwall Motor Speedway . They were having a practice night in preparation for their up coming weekend specials
Wednesday 30th Sept ,
Even though I was still bit jet lagged , I took my Thunderbird out for the final Cruise Night of the Cornwall Olde Car Club.
I didn’t stay long , just long enough to show my face and say hello.
Time for a few days break as my next feast of racing quickly approaches .