The ASP has been part of our family story for a long time — long before my brothers or I came along.

 

My dad bought the car as a kit directly from ASP in the early 1970s, when Ray Lewis and Rory Thompson were still producing them. He built it up himself from the bare chassis, suspension and other parts, fabricating and fitting everything in the shed at home. It was a proper home-built sports racer — light, simple, and made to be used.

 

He raced it for around ten years in local events. By the time we were old enough to remember anything, it had already done its best work on track. I don’t remember seeing it race, though I have a faint memory of being at a hillclimb when I was very young — the sound, the smell, and the crowd… climbing the hill at Collingrove.

 

What I do remember clearly is the car sitting in the shed. We used to climb in and play in it when Dad wasn’t looking, imagining ourselves as racing drivers. To us, it was just part of the scenery — something that had always been there.

 

Eventually, Dad sold it, and the car went on its own quiet journey through a few different owners. It was never raced again, just moved around and occasionally tinkered with.

 

Years later, a friend mentioned that we should try to find it. It seemed unlikely, but within hours I coincidentally got a call from someone who knew the then-owner to ask about the specification the car raced in. A few years after that, the same friend told me I should see if it was for sale, and again the timing was perfect — the owner had just decided to sell.

 

I bought it and brought it home. Since then, I’ve been working through it carefully, getting it ready to run again. It’s taken time, but that feels right — this isn’t just a restoration project. It’s a continuation of something that started in our family fifty years ago and somehow found its way back.