Les Leston's Riley One-Point-Five, UXD 266, enjoyed a remarkable career. It won races in the British Saloon Car Championship, competed on the Monte Carlo Rally, served as a test bed for many of the products sold by Les Leston Products and, between events, took Les on everyday trips to the shops as his daily driver.
After retiring from single-seater racing to concentrate on building Les Leston Products Ltd, Les heard that Riley was preparing to launch the new One-Point-Five. He managed to acquire a pre-production car, which would go on to enjoy an impressive competition career while also serving as everyday transport.
Les' first outings in the Riley were not as straightforward as he had hoped. Having spent years racing lightweight sports cars and single-seaters, adapting to a saloon car took some getting used to.
At one meeting, another driver in an identical Riley comfortably passed him. Curious to know what he was doing differently, Les asked him afterwards. In a great example of the sportsmanship of the time, the other driver explained that the Riley was capable of much more than Les had realised. Armed with that advice, Les quickly found the car's potential and his results improved almost immediately.
The Riley debut victory
The Riley One-Point-Five made its British Saloon Car Championship debut at Brands Hatch in 1958, where Harold Grace finished second in class.
At the following round at Mallory Park, Les claimed his first class victory in the Riley. More class wins followed later that season, establishing both driver and car as serious contenders.
BSCC Champion
The following year proved even more successful. In 1959, Les won the Class B title with four class victories and a third-place finish.
He came close to winning the overall championship as well, but a retirement from the final race while running at the front ended those hopes.
Over the course of two seasons, Les also competed in two Monte Carlo Rallies in the same car, with a young Paddy Hopkirk co-driving on one occasion. Throughout all of this, UXD 266 remained his everyday car and was regularly used to test and develop products for the growing Les Leston business.
Riley One-Point-Five today
Looking back at photographs of UXD 266 in action, it's easy to appreciate how different saloon car racing was in the late 1950s. The car leans dramatically through corners on its narrow tyres, yet it proved to be remarkably capable, reliable and versatile.
Today, we're proud to continue its story by campaigning our own Riley One-Point-Five in HRDC events, helping to keep an important part of British motorsport history alive.
More on UXD 266 will follow in future posts.
Written by Ollie and Nick Leston. Thanks for reading.