Cholmondeley pageant of power 2011 report

Billed as the Goodwood of the north, or, with pie and chips as Clarkson would put it. It’s a great show in the grounds of Cholmondeley castle and gardens which includes a lake for powerboats as well as a good little track and plenty of space.

I went to Goodwood last year which was a great event – very busy, great sunshine, great attractions, all together a really great experience. This year at CPOP as it’s known for short, the weather was not as promising as Goodwood with showers and only spotty sunshine. Despite this though, there was good attendance and the car clubs were out in force.

We sailed in about 11am and left about 5pm. I don’t think you would need much more time than that to get around and see all the static displays, spend some time in the paddock and watch the track for a while. It also gave us enough time to see some of the military display, aerobatics and have a passenger drive (more on that later).

Overall, it was a good event and well worth a visit. Take a look at the photos – there was plenty of good metal there like a 47 litre car, a 458, LFA, Veyron, MP4-12C and so on. Much to look at and listen to. I don’t think tht I’d be there for more than one day though.

The highlight for me though was a passenger ride in a GT40. There was an organisation called Sporting Bears there. They have a lot of owners and their cars there from an XJ220 to a GT40 to GTRs, TVRs and old Ferraris. A real great mix. I opted for the GT40 (as £100 was a bit much for the XJ220). Most of the money taken goes to charity as well which is fantastic plus owners get to drive their cars with people who appreciate them. I was driven for 20 minutes by Alan whose replica GT40 was a real treat with 450bhp to the 335 rear wheels from a 5.7 litre engine. It sounded absolutely immense with the crossed exhaust pipes as well. Well worth the money and a great little thing they are running there.

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