What People Are Saying - Then and Now

This section includes comments to Peter and short articles by various people about Peter.

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The following is excerpted from an article by Bill Pollack:

The San Felipe GP
by Bill Pollack

The race was from Ensenada, Mexico to San Felipe, a distance of about a hundred miles. The highway twisted through four or five small mountain ranges with flat straights in between. The race was promoted by Art Evans' Vintage Racing club and ran several times. My friend, Cy Yeder, and I were named course marshals and it was our job to provide the broom to sweep up anyone who had fallen by the wayside. Cy and I decided to drive his Ferrari coupe on this particular event.

The officials started the motorcycles first and then the cars at one-minute intervals. After the last car had left, we climbed into the Ferrari and started east. ...

... (after stopping to asisst at a crash) Once again we were up to speed when a Type 37 Bugatti appeared by the side of the road. Suspecting that the Bug didn't belong to a local farmer, we were slowing when the driver waved us on. Probably was a good thing, as we were fresh out of Bugatti parts. ...

... Cy's response was drowned out by the scream of square cut gears, blowers and cam chains as the Bugatti came howling by, doing at least three digits on the clock. I dropped down a gear and decided to chase this crazy fool. We soon caught up with the Bug and noticed that the driver was hunched over behind the small windscreen. After a mile or so, the driver lurched up in a spasm and almost lost control of his car. This wild activity occurred again several more times and we decided to drop back in case the Bug became airborne.

We pulled into the pits and there was the Bugatti with the driver sprawled in the cockpit. Our curiosity was too much and we walked over to ask him what in the world was going on with his driving and lurching. Displaying a blistered hand, he explained that the magneto, which protrudes through the firewall, had come loose. As long as he held it in place, the engine would run. Unfortunately, if he relaxed even a bit, the mag would send a mighty combination of volts and amps up his arm and down through his body with nothing to stop it but letting go. The driver reminded me of a character (the pilot, naturally) from the film, "Mad Max."

(The above mentioned Bugatti driver was, of course, Peter Giddings. Just another of Peter's many adventures in driving historic racing cars.)

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(An email received from Louis Timolat in September 2009)

Hi Peter,
In my youth, most of my racing was done on short-track and mile track speedways. So, it has been a pleasant surprise to find such a convivial cohort as one finds in vintage road racing. Also, a pleasant surprise is the realization that if one tweaks the torsion bars a bit on the old Indy cars, they are quite happy turning right.

Anyway, it was good to see you back at Lime Rock. It is quite an attraction to have you there as so many people very much enjoy your wonderful cars and your mastery of them.
Regards,
Louis Timolat

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(Excerpted from the program for the Portland Historic Races - 1993)

When Peter Giddings guns his 1934 Maserati 8CM off the start line, the most-raced Grand Prix car ever will add yet another chapter to its illustrious history. Known variously as the ex-Whitney Straight Special / B. Bira car, the car has been raced (mostly successfully) in 15 countries in its 59 years.

Englishman Peter Giddings bought the car in 1988 and immediately drove it in the Bangkok Grand Prix, placing 5th. He has raced it frequently since then, winning at Laguna Seca and campaigning vigorously in Australia and New Zealand (as well as the United States).

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(excerpt from Victory Lane, 1995, article by Brooks Townes)

No Pussyfooting This Classic

Peter Giddings was running at speed around Thunderhill in some mighty fast company. He was holding his own, though his Maserati was more than 20 years senior to the next-oldest in the field.

Sure, guys like John Mozart with his Chevy-Lister and Bill Janowski's Monsterati Special pulled away from Giddings, but not so quickly as you might expect.

"Look at the thing go," said a spectator, "and look how he's driving it -- he's not pussyfooting!"

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(an email from Mark Soltow of Seattle - July 2009)

Greetings-- I attended my first vintage racing event last weekend at Pacific Raceway in Seattle. What a thrill to see cars I used to read about, on the course and up close in the pits. My son and I spent a good 20 minutes marveling at the construction details and workmanship on #64 (Peter's Talbot Lago). We didn't find your spot in the paddock until well after most people had gone. A lot of the cars were tarped or packed up, so thanks for leaving #64 out and open. Likewise for the chance to see it in action and skillfully driven. The bends toward the end of the back stretch were a great vantage point to watch the suspension working and the amount of steering correction needed. Not to mention getting a good earful of straight 6!

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(excerpts from a letter from Si Robin to Victory Lane magazine - 2010)

... I started racing when the vintage cars were new cars. At the time, they were reasonably priced, compared to today's prices. I will turn 82 years of age on the 30th of this month - and I have passed my medical exams, so I can continue racing my sports cars and flying my airplanes... I think I'm one of the oldest active vintage drivers out there.
Upon looking through my old copies of Victory Lane, I noted that in the April 1992 issue, on page 43 there is a special report on a photograph of Mark Dymond with Peter Giddings driving the Talbot Lago and me driving his (Peter's) Alfa Monza. That was back in the day when I was 63 years of age. Peter Giddings and I are still good friends... (and still racing!)

Si Robin, Sensor Systems, Inc.

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