Keep a look out for dogs and pedestrians,’ isn’t a warning you hear in many drivers’ briefings, but no one was quite sure what to expect as they took to the track for the first time in the inaugural Bahamas Speed Week Revival on the island of Nassau at the beginning of December in a five day event which sought to revive the spirit of the end of season racing festival which ended abruptly in 1966.

From the outset the island showed its commitment to and interest in the occasion with Governor General of the Bahamas Sir Arthur Foulkes sitting beside Sir Stirling Moss and his wife Suzie at the opening ceremony. Facing them were the long noses of the assembled Fifties racers; Maserarti 450S, Ferrari Testarossa, several Lotuses and a pair of OSCAs, one being Sterling’s own  1955 FS 372. After a fairly restrained Le Mans ‘dash’ to the cars, Minister of Tourism Vincent Vanderpool Wallace rode with Sterling in a ceremonial lap of what would be the following Saturday’s Sprint course.

The first two days did much to set the mood of the event; an evening reception at Government House followed next day by an island drive, the so-called 007 Tour, which flashed past the jewellers and watch shops of Bay Steet with its lights-and-sirens escort like the proverbial hot knife, its police outriders the equal of their Mille Miglia counterparts.

The dash was making its way to the rarefied air of Lyford Cay and a Concours D’Elegance in front of (not on) the lawn of the classical-colonial golf course; the seat of Nassau’s old money. Rekindling the old Hollywood-Speed Week connections, the archetypal Bond himself, actor Sean Connery strolled down to take a look at the cars from his house nearby.

It was a good time to see the cars basking in the sunshine and pick out some veterans from the original races in a line-up that included 16 entries that had made their way down from the UK. Amongst these, Richard Lake’s AC Ace Bristol had been here in 58, while, from the ‘States, Rob Walton’s Maserati 450S had come over in ’57 (coming third in the Governor’s Trophy) and a 1959 Bocar, here in ’60 as the spare car on the Scarab team.

Obviously this was to be as much about good living as it was about great cars or racing. As organiser Jimmie Lowe explained; ‘ back in the Fifties and Sixties, the social scene and parties were pretty important to the make-up of the event.’ It was a sentiment echoed ex-racing driver Anatoly Arutunoff; ‘It was a non-championship event – people came here for fun. There was a party every night – at the hotels – drinks and hor d’oeuvres.’ Back in sdf’63 and ’64, Arutunoff was driving a Lancia Flaminia or Apia Zagato. For the Revival, he was back in another Zagato; a one-off Bristol 407 coupe. There were some other fine tourers too including the red Mercedes-Benz 300SL roadster of Peter Vlasov, and his wife Pippa’s understated and immaculate Ferrari 275GTS which took the antique racing trophy presented to the winner of the concours.

The cars were’s to stay so pristine for too long though. After being on display the following evening in a reception in Bay Street, they were ready for the first of the competitive events; Saturday’s hill climb. By now, the group had been joined by several local entries including a 1960 Chevrolet Corvette, a 1275cc-engined frog-eyed Sprite owned by a US diplomat and a tricked-out Austin Healey 3000 complete with Dennis Welch handling kit and fast road cam. Hills aren’t easy to come by on the island but the ascent to Fort Charlotte fit the bill well enough. Starting near the colourful wooden Fish Fry restaurants of Arawak Ca, the entrants attackied the gradient with far more vigour than anyone had ever bothered to do to the fort. The action was won by the most modern of the entries a Ford GT, owned by City worker Phil Brety, with David Cottingham (of DK Engineering fame) coming in as the most nimble of the classics in his blue Jaguar E-type.

By now, some of the drivers were raising an eyebrow at the organization; who should be driving where and when, but the flaws were perhaps as much the product of the disparity in crews’ aspirations and intentions. ‘We aimed to run it like the Goodwood hillclimb,’ said one of the organisers, ‘but they all wanted to do it in a more relaxed way, and we found that allowing that made things run more smoothly.’ (And vigilant marshalling and policing certainly kept out the aforementioned dogs and stray pedestrians). It must have been something to do with that old Speed Week state of mind settling in – as Sterling Moss later commented; ‘It used to piss me off rather – a lot of the Americans came down here to party, whereas I came here to race.’ But this time round, he admitted the odd bash might not be a bad thing – lucky since there was a gala ball on the Saturday night.

Sunday brought the final event; the sprint race, and the emergence of a car that had remained in the compound so far; Ean Pugh’s 1959 Lotus 15 Climax emerged into the bright Bahamas sunshine. ‘It won in the Governor’s Trophy,’ explained Formula One racing car collector Pugh, ‘so I thought it would be good to bring it back.’

Cars came out in groups or singly, aiming to beat the clock rather than each other or in some cases just to enjoy blasting past white sands and a turquoise-blue sea before rounding the hairpin within sight of the cruise ships in the harbour. The sight of Peter Vlasov gunning a bright orange Fiat 500 ‘Jolly’ through the chicanes in place of his engine-blown 300SL added a slightly surreal holiday touch to the day. This time, the moderns weren’t going to have it their own way, and a determined Stephen Bond won the sprint for the Old Guard in his Lister Bristol. ‘It was such an eclectic mix of cars,’ he smiled; ‘and everyone was so enthusiastic.’

Some found the racing not full-on enough for their taste or the organisation perhaps lacking pace, but all found a warm cordiality. AC driver Richard Lake summed it up nicely; ‘If you come down here with a growly motorsport attitude, you’ll be disappointed. The racing’s a bit iffy, but the hospitality and camaraderie is brilliant. It all balances out.