Dobbs offset racing MPH 1935

Produced in October 1934, this car was delivered new to Hector Dobbs at Hedge End Motor Registry in Hampshire, England, and as such, it is believed to be one of his race cars, carrying a significant period competition history. Dobbs was a Riley agent who had already raced a Brooklands Riley Nine that, in modified form, won the Ripley Mountain Handicap in the 1934 BARC Easter Meeting. The Federation Internationale de L’Automobile (FIA) form, included with the car, indicates that he also modified this car into an offset single-seater, which he campaigned with relative success in the 1930s, often at Brooklands. Arthur Dobson presumably purchased this car from Dobbs a few years later. Dobson was another Brooklands-based Riley racer who took the first four places in the 1936 Coupe de la Commission Sportive, which was run in conjunction with the French Grand Prix.
 
This Riley was restored to its original specification as a two-seat sports car, featuring a fitting livery of dark red with brown upholstery. Although fully restored to correct MPH specifications, this car retains a number of lightweight Dobbs racing parts, including Bowden cable operation brakes, alloy steering box and column, alloy rear-axle components, forged eye springs and a special pedal cluster. Since its restoration, it has continued to compete with great success. In the last 20 years, it has participated in the Mille Miglia Storica three times, the California Classic Rally, the Colorado Grand, the Coppa Dolomiti, the 1988–1994 Nürburgring Invitational Race, the 1992 Historic Festival at Silverstone and the 1989 Oldtimer Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, where it took 2nd in class. In the late 1990s, this car was given a thorough mechanical evaluation by well-known restorer Steve Babinsky.