Each week with every film we produce we’re going to aim to give you a bit of a gallery from behind the scenes. This week we take a ride in Martin Middleton’s Lancia Delta Integrale. Mr. Middleton is the founder and acting manager of Middleton Motor Services—an Ullenhall based full service garage established 30 years ago.
“Well, I’ll tell ya’ what. It’s 50 years on the 11th when I started my Austin apprenticeship and I was into motor racing straight away a couple years later.”
Middleton has shared quite the romantic racing history with some of the all-time great drivers and motorsport mechanics. In an emotional tone, Middleton reads off a personal letter from Fangio, thanking him for his help in the inaugural opening of the Fangio Museum.
With a seemingly endless archive of Haynes repair manuals within reach, a collection of still frame memories with the likes of Sterling Moss and Fangio, and a gentleman’s humble charm, it’s clear Middleton is far more than a fan of racing—its been his entire professional life. “It’s total passion,” Middleton describing his lifelong mechanical career, “It’s something that you feel for.”
Middleton’s understated white Delta doesn’t wear the commonly tacked on rear spoiler or Martini graphics. “The Lancia Integrale is a beautiful tool because it’s very unassuming. It hasn’t got a huge amount of horsepower, it’s got four-wheel-drive, which in these type of cars is very reassuring.”
Instead, it’s clean and orderly, maintained with the upmost precision. Maintained in the only mentality this veteran serviceman knows how to, “Everybody can make something look good, but it’s what’s underneath the paint that counts.”
Drive Tastefully®
