tommallett

Just occasionally something comes up for sale that you would quite like to but know you shouldn’t buy…step up Donington’s famous Dunlop bridge.

It made an amusing story when the bridge was put up for sale last month and I think any petrol head worth their salt had images of it straddling the garden fence or providing an easy and direct link to the pub without having to cross that pesky arterial road.

But then reality took hold again and we all realised that the neighbours, maybe the wife and probably the local council would have a thing or two to say about a whacking great rubber effect bridge towering over the surrounding houses or countryside.

I didn’t know what to expect when it came to pricing, but I had images of someone getting carried away. Maybe £5,000 would have changed hands? Surely the person buying the bridge would have an estate big enough to house it too, so money should be no object. Maybe Lord March could make it an addition to his Hill Climb?

Imagine my dismay when I heard this morning that it had gone for a measly £300. OK, it’s not pocket change and when I turned up to take it home I might have struggled in the MX-5 or maybe even the cavernous MG Midget that I’m having MOT’d as I write, but still, they are the minor details surely?

However, despite the obvious, and numerous catches to the plan there is still a bit of me that would have like to own a bit of motorsport history.