Stanford Hall 2010
The first Bank Holiday in May means only one thing to VW enthusiasts of a classic persuasion; Stanford Hall. The long-running Leicestershire and Warwickshire VW Owners Club show has kicked off many enthusiasts’ seasons for the last 34 years and is usually blessed with good weather. This year wasn’t quite so good on that front (in fact, at times it was very cold), but that didn’t dampen the spirits of the owners who brought their classic Volkswagens to the grounds of Stanford Hall itself, just outside Lutterworth.
Traditionally a show with an air-cooled bias, the water-cooled fraternity have been embraced in recent years and 2009’s event saw something of a Polo coming, with the forming of a dedicated single-model concours class. It was the same again this year. The field may have been a little down on 2009 with only four cars vying for points, but 2010’s competition threw up a few surprises. One of which, was Nathan Popple’s 1986 Polo C hatchback, which has appeared on the scene after being liberated by a selling elderly owner. Not the first choice for a concours car you may think, but for a first time out, the low-mileage ‘breadvan’ picked up a respectable 108 points out of 150.
The rest of the field was made up with previously-seen cars, but that doesn’t take away from how good they are. Dan Higgins’ 1980 Polo GLS was as spectacular as last year, and with bits and bobs renewed for the 2010 assault, he made up some marks, polling a podium finish with 123 points. The 1981 Derby GLS of Rachel Ingliss was also in attendance last year, and took 2010’s runner-up trophy with 126 points. All of that meant that old stager Andrew Dytham took the cup with his immaculate 1989 Polo Coupé S. Scoring 132 points, there was not a speck of dirt to be seen on G390 JWE, with even the tyre treads free of the dreaded – and plentiful – sheep dung that litters Stanford’s outer reaches.
A good day for Andrew then, and a good day for us, too. The PoloDriver stand had a few visitors and was positioned in something of a Polo area, with the Mk 1 Polo forum line-up just across the track. Stanford Hall’s always one of the best (if not the best) shows of the season, and cold wind notwithstanding, 2010’s event was no exception. Staunchly favouring standard as opposed to modified cars (points are docked in the concours if there’s a whiff of modification), it always turns up a few surprises. Click on the gallery below to see some of our favourites from Sunday’s event.
Watch out for forthcoming features on Dan Higgins’ 1980 Polo GLS and Rachel Ingliss’ 1981 Derby GLS on PoloDriver and in Volkswagen Driver magazine respectively.
[…] over to PoloDriver.com to read a more car-minded review of the event, or click the small gallery below for a few snaps of the house and grounds. […]
[…] Driver features three pages on Rachel Inglis’s 1981 Derby GLS. We saw the car at the recent Stanford Hall event (coincidentally where the photos for the magazine feature were taken) and it really is a […]