It's always good when motorsport and a good cause combine. It's even better when it's the revival of this - the 'Stars and Stripes' Opel Manta Thundersaloon from the late 1980s and early 1990s.
For those who don't remember Thundersaloons, the series was conceived as an outlet for the spiritual successors to the Super Saloons (such as the famous Gerry Marshall 'Baby Bertha' Vauxhall Firenza) of the 1970s.
The mostly V8 spectacle lasted from 1985 until the early 1990s, often on the cusp of becoming a 'big-time' series, before the burgeoning and manufacturer-backed BTCC killed the more clubby Thundersaloons dead.
But now 'Stars and Stripes', a distinctively liveried Opel Manta 400 has returned, courtesy of new owner David Tetley and Team Willpower motorsport. David, himself an erstwhile Thundersaloon competitor, will perform demonstration laps in 'Stars and Stripes' at this weekend's BRSCC event at Brands Hatch.
David's son William suffered brain injury in a cycling accident David and Will's brother Jack have harnessed motor sport as a therapy and focus for Will. The latest project is the purchase and restoration of 'Stars and Stripes'; David and Jack have set up www.teamwillpower.co.uk as a charity for Will and for the Acquired Brain Injury Unit at Queen Alexandra Hospital Home, where Will is a patient.
'Stars and Stripes' originally ran a 620bhp 6.7-litre aluminium Pontiac engine in a Gerry Johnson-built Opel Manta 400 shell, although it now sports a Chevrolet V8. The tyres were F1 Avon Tyres, and the car used a Walkinshaw Jaguar Differential and an Xtrac Gearbox.
Hugh Marshall, who raced 'Stars and Stripes' with Nick Oatway in 1990, will also be racing - he's celebrating his 100th start in a TVR Tuscan.
To whet your appetite, have a look at the video below, shot at Oulton Park in 1989. We particularly like the Manta's last two runs around Lodge corner...