Rushton Hall Hotel & Spa, 06-07 August 2020

After a successful gathering at the venue in 2021, the Ferrari Owners’ Club returned to Rushton Hall Hotel & Spa, a 16th century Grade I listed country house, near Kettering in Northamptonshire, for their Summer Garden Party on Sunday 07 August, which was preceded by the Charles Stanley Concours on the Saturday.

A new feature of the concours this year was that all entrants had to complete a circa 15 mile drive-in on the Saturday morning, to prove that their cars were fully functional, road legal and being driven. This started at Sywell Aerodrome, where the club had held their National Ferrari Owners Day in early June, culminating on the concours field at Rushton Hall. Thus there was frantic action in removing any accumulated road grime prior to judging in the afternoon. Obviously the entrants wanted to present their respective steeds in the best possible light, but in the grand scheme of things it wasn’t necessary, as there are no deductions for light road dust showing usage.

The splitting of the concours judging out of the main garden party part of the event, although the concours cars remained on display through the Sunday, had both pros and cons. On the plus side, it meant that the judges had less people around the cars during the judging process, which can sometimes hinder access and discussion, but on the minus side, as the field was relatively small and the garden party element of the event was still being set-up, there was little for the entrants to see or do once their car had been judged. Also, without the main body of members’ cars to fill the display area, there was a lack of atmosphere. Come the Sunday morning with the arrival of the Garden Party guests and their cars there was a much livelier atmosphere, whilst all the trade stalls were also open.

The Best of Show Award went to the metallic blue 1961 250 GTE, chassis 2647GT, of Linton Connell, which also won the Members’ Cup, whilst the Ladies Cup went to the 1972 Dino 246 GT, chassis 04012, of Louis Storer.

Keith Bluemel
08/2020

Sunday also saw the arrival of some older examples of the marque, including a 275 GTB, 365 GT2+2 and a “Plexi” 365 GTB4. Bob Houghton Ltd brought along the oldest example on the day for their display, a 212 Export Touring Berlinetta, chassis 0088E, resplendent in a deep maroon livery.

The class awards were presented at the concours dinner held in the Orangery, where the presentations took place between a pair of V6 Ferrari models, a 246 GT and a 296 GTB. The Best of Show award was kept secret until its presentation on the Sunday afternoon, along with the Members’ Cup and Ladies Cup, the latter pair being by attendees votes cast during Sunday’s activities.