North West Indoor Classic Car Show 2012

THERE'S a great gathering of classics of all shapes and sizes taking place in Greater Manchester this weekend.

Event City, a stone's throw from the Trafford Centre, is hosting the North West Indoor Classic Car Show, which celebrates the best in motoring from right across the region and a little further afield.

I took a trip early this morning and once I'd peeled myself away from the car park - which was itself filled with everything from original Range Rovers to a slightly out-of-place Ferrari 575 - I was treated to a bonanza of car clubs, businesses, and classics from just about every marque imaginable. Despite it being one of the hottest days of the year so far and it being an indoor show, I didn't mind the lack of al-fresco attractions one bit.



If you haven't been and are thinking about going tomorrow (which I'd definitely recommend), among the attractions you can check out are:

• Snake Pit, a George Barris custom creation powered by no less than six Ford V8s

• The Mini Clubman "hearse" which won the overall prize for best entry at the Mini show in Bingley back in January

• The actual Morgan Threewheeler I drove last month - Southport dealer Lifes Motors has a stand at the show

• The Ford Escort RS1800 rally car famously campaigned by the late, great Roger Clark

If you can't make it, by all means check out these Life On Cars pictures taken at the event:

The north west's motorsport stars of the future

A LITTLE Lewis Hamilton from Westhead is proving so successful he's now taking part in a tougher series of races designed to help his talent go full-throttle.

Ben Deeming (pictured above, front left) might be just seven years old but he's already tipped to be a motorsport star of the future after grabbing the lap record in the Formula Bambino at the Daytona kart track in Manchester - and to keep up with him and his racing rivals the track's managers have revised the race series to ensure it keeps up to speed with their talent.

“The quality and continual improvement they have shown has surpassed any of our expectations. It is rare to see children this young posses such drive, ambition and dedication,” said Nick Hughes, general manager.

“They are qualities we want to continue to nurture, not put on hold, hence the changes to the Formula Bambino structure.”

Ben Deeming became one of the stars of the Formula Bambino series, which was instigated in 2009 and is aimed at youngsters aged between five and seven years old, after he took a lap record at the circuit and impressed much older and more experienced racers with his pace behind the wheel.

In a series of changes aimed at nurturing the youngsters' talent further still Daytona has introduced a brand new points-scoring championship with leaderboard and podium presentations included, with racing is conducted solely against each other’s lap times and any overtaking is controlled by track marshalls ensuring optimum safety for the Bambinos on the 450m adult track. Only Bambino drivers who have advanced through all the introductory levels are eligible to take part.

“Daytona has given kids like Ben the opportunity to take part in something that’s exciting and that allows healthy and safe competition at this age,” said Jeff Deeming, Ben's father.

“Ben has grown as an individual as he takes lessons learned on the track into his everyday life. It’s fantastic to see and something we will continue support him and Daytona.”

For more information on Daytona Manchester’s Bambino Karting visit www.daytona.co.uk/venues/manchester/juniors or call 0161 876 0876.