Tag Archives: Castle Combe Autumn Classic

Gt & Sports Car Cup

Castle Combe Autumn Classic – September 2025

Leave a comment

Kyle Tilley delivered a star performance at the 2025 Castle Combe Autumn Classic as the Era Motorsport front man snatched GT & Sports Car Cup glory with just 2 laps remaining aboard his recently acquired Lotus 15.

The mandated 2 pitstop, 1 hour 30 minute GT & Sports Car Cup would headline day 1 of the 2025 Castle Combe Autumn Classic and feature one of the finest pre-66 grids of the year so far.  Indeed some 42 cars would make the start of the race with a vast array of marques on display that included seemingly everything from Broadspeed Mini to Lister Knobbly!

Chris Chiles Junior had earlier taken pole position aboard the family Shelby Cobra with an incredible 1.16.086, a whopping 1.8 seconds quicker than anyone else!  And, after a steady start in damp conditions would hit the front on lap 2 after fellow front row starter Kyle Tilley (Lotus 15) had been quicker out of the blocks.  John Spiers (Lister Knobbly) and Christian Albrecht (Jaguar E-Type) also started the race well with the latter soon past Spiers and Tilley to lie second before a safety car after just fifteen minutes of running would cause several crews to head to pit road.

Both Spiers and Albrecht would in fact take the opportunity for a cheap pitstop with Nigel Greensall and Gary Pearson taking the respective hotseats.  Chiles Junior meanwhile would continue to lead the opening stint but he and Chris Chiles Senior would lose their chance of victory when Chiles Senior misinterpreted a warning flag for a pitstop infringement and pitted for a second time in as many laps.  This left Pearson in the lead of the race with Greensall second and Tilley rounding out the top 3 as the pitstops unwound.

Greensall has proven rapid in most things 4 wheeled and during a heavy shower, which blighted the middle part of the race, put his skills to the fore as the renowned driver coach quickly reeled in the E-type of Pearson to hit the front before the unofficial opening of the final pitstop window with 40 minutes remaining (Maximum driver time).

Spiers would emerge from the Lister Knobbly’s final stop in the lead but with Albrecht closing as the track began to dry.  As it turned out all was not well with the big Lister and Spiers’ attempts to claim a second victory in as many years would be brought to a halt after a spin with just over 25 minutes remaining; a battery issue leaving Spiers unable to restart the immaculately turned out machine.

This left Albrecht on course for what appeared a certain victory only for a misfire to slow the E-type dramatically over the final stages and allow Tilley, in a car only purchased during the week, to claim a quite remarkable victory; incidentally repeating the success of the very same car some eight years earlier when in the hands of Miles Griffiths and Philip Walker.

Albrecht and Pearson would however finish the event in 2nd whilst Chris Chiles Junior put in a storming final stint to climb back upto third in the Shely Cobra.  Meanwhile class wins would go the way of William Garrett & Tim Crighton with a brilliant 6th overall in their GT3 spec Jaguar E-Type, Mike Thorne and Sarah Bennett-Baggs with 15th (despite a 20 second penalty for a yellow flag infringement) in the GT2 class Austin Healey 100M, Doug Muirhead and Jeremy Welch with 17th in their Lotus 11 (SP1) and Alice Locke and Matt Green with 27th in the Broadspeed Mini (TC1).

Running just one week on from the Goodwood Revival you could be forgiven for expecting entrants hard to come by but in addition to the excellent turn out for the GT & Sports Car Cup some 27 cars would line up for the 30 minute FISCAR encounter whilst 38 would take the start of the combined CSCC Classic K, Jaguar and Ecurie Classic racing event.

Conditions were in danger of becoming relatively pleasant by the time the 50s Sports Cars (FISCAR) emerged and a great battle would ensue over the first part of the race between the front row starting duo of Jonathan Abercassis (Healey 100/4) and David Alexander (Lotus Elite). Scott Quattlebaum in his Leco Sports would soon join the lead battle and would run as high as second after a grassy moment on the approach to Tower for Abercassis.

Alexander had qualified on pole by a fair margin however and after the stops the 2024 victor was really able to stretch the nimble Elite’s legs as conditions continued to improve. So much so in fact that the Lotus pilot would go on to claim victory by a whopping 25 seconds! Behind, Glenn and Rory Tolley would cross the line second in their Healey 100M only to be relegated 5 positions to 7th after missing the pit window, thus promoting Abecassis and Quattlebaum to the remaining steps of the podium.

Fresh from success in the FISCAR encounter David Alexander would then round out a successful day with 3rd position, alongside Richard Fores, in the combined Classic K, Jaguar and Ecurie Classic Racing 40 minute race in what turned out to be the best conditions of the day.

But whilst Fores was able to keep pace with early leader Mike Thorne (Austin Healey 3000) over the opening stint there was no catching CSCC regular Paul Tooms in his Lotus Elan during the second half of the race. Indeed, once Tooms was in clear air after the stops the Elan pilot would set about building a healthy lead and go on to record a near 22 second victory in a red flag shortened encounter.

Mike Thorne would complement class victory in the GT & Sports Car Cup with second in what proved to be the final event of the day after a scary collision between the Mustang of Jerry Bailey and Gilbern GT of Mary Bell and David Smith. Bailey had been hunting down the final podium position in the closing stages before his charge was cut short. Thankfully both drivers were able to walk away from the scene but the subsequent barrier damage was enough to bring an early end to the day’s proceedings and push the planned Mini Miglia race back to the morning of day 2.

Earlier in the day Nic Carlton-Smith, aboard his Lotus 20 lead from start to finish in the Silverline Formula Junior race to claim a 5.7 second victory after pole sitter Paul Boulton retired early. The highlight of the race however was the incredible battle for front-engined glory between Stuart Roach and Adrian Russell.

Roach would hold the upper hand early on with Russell following closely behind. However the Alexis MK2 pilot would be hampered by traffic at Camp corner during the second half of the race and Russell would not miss his opportunity to pounce. Indeed the Condor Sii man slid into the class lead and despite pressure throughout the remaining laps would hold on to claim a well earned second overall with Roach ruing his luck and having to settle for third.

The Superperformance Ferrari Club Classic Series and Mini Se7en’s also featured on day 1 of the Castle Combe Autumn Classic and Tim Mogridge (F355 Challenge) and Ross Billison would claim the respective victories. Billison really having to work for his winner’s trophy as the predicted heavy showers made a first appearance of the day.

Now a true highlight of the historic racing calendar the Castle Combe Autumn Classic has become one of my favourite events of the year. It is obviously a hit with competitors too given the incredible entry levels achieved. The fact it is independently organised makes this event so unique and as grids are supplied by multiple clubs is probably the reason for the high numbers in the first place. A blue print for others to follow maybe? …

FULL RESULTS

GALLERY

Gt & Sports Car Cup

Castle Combe Autumn Classic – September 2024

Leave a comment

Having stumbled across the opening day entry list on the run up to the event it was an absolute no brainer to trade in a planned visit to Snetterton for the Autumn Classic at Castle Combe.  It appeared this event had developed nicely over the last 7 years since my last visit with an absolutely full to the brim schedule topped off by a 2 hour race for the brilliant GT & Sports Car Cup!

Encountering torrential rain on the approach to the Wiltshire circuit however it did cross my mind whether the correct decision had been made but thankfully only a handful of laps behind the safety car were required for the first qualifying session before normality returned.  Panic Over!!

The tricky early morning conditions had though produced a rather mixed up grid for the Ecurie Jaguar competitors taking part in the first race of the day. In a grid of cars where essentially anything Pre-66 Sports and GT is permitted it was no real surprise to find the ultra rapid Grant Williams make the most of the limited grip on offer and put his Jaguar MK2 on pole, but in stark contrast the Jaguar D-type of Christian Albrec and Gary Pearson would find themselves starting from a lowly 14th.

By the scheduled race time however the circuit had dried somewhat and this seemed to suit the Austin Healey of Oliver and Jack Chatham and the powerful 3 litre machine would leap into an early lead. Tom Barclay, starting the pole sitting Jag on the other hand, was not able to match the pace of Williams and dropped back leaving the Butterfield’s to lead the Jaguar charge in a MK2 of their own whilst the Jaguar D-Type in the hands of Christian Albrec had made great progress and would find himself second before the mid race pitstops.

The Healey would have always been up against it to keep Gary Pearson behind in the second half of the race but that would in the end prove immaterial. Indeed, a sensationally quick stop for the D-Type crew would see Pearson emerge with a comfortable lead which the long time Jaguar racer duly maintained until the finish.  The runners up spot was however just reward for Oliver and Jack Chatham after an excellent drive whilst Tom and Richard Butterfield rounded out the podium positions.

A 60th anniversary grid walk preceded an excellent Historic F3 race which was a nice touch by the organisers. Better still the race itself featured a fantastic duel at the head of the field between the Brabham BT18 of Andrew Hibberd and Alexis MK17 of Peter De La Roche.  Hibberd may well have expected a more straightforward victory having qualified one pole but came across a gutsy De La Roche who, try as he might, could not quite find a way to squeeze passed the chequered flag liveried machine, leaving the Cheshire based pilot having to settle for second by a mere 0.127 seconds!

The GT & Sports Car Cup for Pre-66 GT cars and Pre-61 Sports Prototypes is often the headline grabbing event and this occasion was no exception.  A 2 hour two pitstop race lay ahead of a fantastic 29 car grid which included everything from AC Cobra, E-type and Austin Healey to MG B and Broadspeed Mini; a mouth watering prospect if ever there was one especially as the early morning rain and heavy cloud had now been replaced by glorious late afternoon autumnal sunshine.

Chris Chiles Jnr had earlier qualified on pole aboard the family AC Cobra but whilst able to take an early lead was not able to pull away from a chasing trio of Jaguar E-types as the front row starting Lister-Jaguar of John Spiers dropped back.  But by half distance all 3 Jaguar E-types had succumbed to the pace (2 of them terminally) and the Chiles’ Cobra had been forced into an early stop which left the Lola MK1 of Nick Finburgh and Ollie Crosthwaite at the head of the field with the Lister-Jaguar in pursuit.  Could the little Lola claim an unlikely victory?

Had it not been for a safety car in the second half of the race they may well have had a chance, but a well timed stop by the Lister-Jaguar crew during the caution period saw the brute of a sports prototype emerge in the lead.  In fact it proved of little consequence in the end as, in a race of attrition, the Lola MK1 crew ran into trouble themselves leaving the Spiers / Ward piloted machine a relatively comfortable cruise to the flag.

Meanwhile, recovering from an extra stop, Chris Chiles Jnr was back in the car and setting the track alight with strong lap times to claim second for he and Chris Chiles Snr whilst Steve Jones and Ben Tinkler would round out the podium positions after a strong drive aboard their Lotus Elan 26R.

GT3 proved to be an Austin-Healey 3000 battle royale as the glorious machines filled positions 4 to 7, however it was Doug Muirhead and Jeremy Welch who would claim class top spot.  But perhaps the closest battle of all was for GT2 honours as Malcolm Paul and Rick Bourne, aboard their TVR Grantura, claimed class victory by just 1.721 seconds from the Lotus Elite of Marc Gordon, Guy Harman and Nick Finburgh.

Golden hour was at it’s peak as a mega grid of 31 Fifties Sports Cars took to the track for the final race of the day where David Alexander had qualified his nimble Lotus Elite at the head of the FISCAR field.  And whilst the Coventry Climax engined machine fell behind a fast starting Jaguar XK150 in the hands of Marc Gordon over the opening laps, Alexander soon reeled the ‘big cat’ back in and found himself back in front prior to the pitstops. 

Maintaining the lead as the stops unwound, Alexander then had a relatively steady run to the flag to claim a 12 second victory.  Gordon meanwhile would bring the Jaguar XK150 home second whilst another Elite in the hands of Brian Arculus would round out the podium positions in what turned out to be a slightly shortened race courtesy of David Reed’s Aston Martin DB2 ending the day in the Tower corner Recticel.

The Mini 7 Racing Club brought plenty of entertainment to the Autumn Classic and the Miglia race in particular turned out to be an absolute classic as ex Touring Car racers Andrew Jordan and Jeff Smith locked horns.  Changing positions on multiple occasions it looked as if Smith might steel the win with a late lunge at Quarry on the final lap.  However Jordan was able to produce a better exit and go on to claim victory by just 0.311 seconds!  Meanwhile earlier in the day Damien Harrington had claimed Mini Se7en victory by a similar margin from Joe Thompson whilst Matthew Ayres took class 7S honours with an excellent 4th.

The prancing horse was also well represented at the festival with 3 races over the weekend for the Superperformance Ferrari Club Classic.  Battling a mid afternoon downpour Gary Culver would run out the winner of Saturday’s race in this 328 GTB whilst Wayne Marrs (F355 Challenge) and Colin Sowter (355 Spyder) would complete the podium positions.

In short I have nothing but praise for this event, absolutely packed to the rafters with entries from multiple clubs and unbelievably good value at £20 for the day which included a Historic F3 grid walk.  It reminded me of how good the Donington Historic Festival used to be when a greater selection of clubs supplied the grids and also how improved the Oulton Park Gold Cup has become when following the same philosophy. 

Discovering a route to the circuit through the Cotswolds instead of the dreaded M42 / M5 even made the long journey more bearable.  What a great day’s racing and a fantastic effort by the organisers to ensure the event ran to time in, at times, trying conditions.  If the entries are this good again in 2025 I’ll find it hard to stay away.

FULL RESULTS

GALLERY

Uncategorized

Boultbee-Brooks Bags Victory Double at Castle Combe Classic

Leave a comment

Thankfully, the Castle Combe Autumn Classic did not clash with the Trackrod Rally in 2017 and this was all the incentive I needed to make a first visit to the relatively little used Wiltshire Circuit.  Now in it’s sixth year the 2017 running of the Autumn Classic included 7 excellent races, headlined in many respects by the wonderfully diverse field of machinery taking part in the 1 hour long GT & Sports Car cup; 39 cars doing battle across many different classes around the 1.85 mile circuit a mouth watering prospect if ever there was one!

After a soaking wet morning, the clouds began to lift as midday approached; the damp track proving quite a challenge for the Formula Vintage Pre War Sports Car runners in the first race of the day.  Indeed, the safety car was required as early as lap 2 after Trevor Swete just failed in his attempts to keep his Invicta out of the Camp Corner tyre barrier.

Once the track returned to green however, there was really only going to be one winner; Patrick Blakeney-Edwards putting on a fantastic sideways display as he headed home a Frazer Nash Super Sports 1-2.  Mark Gillies in his Aston Martin had managed to jump both Blakeney-Edwards and the second Frazer Nash of Edward Williams at the re-start (illegally as it turned out) but was back in third by the end of the lap, such was the pace of the eventual front two.  Tim Kneller would in the end round out the podium positions in his Riley TT Sprite following a 30 second penalty for Gillies’ re-start infringement.

After a lengthy break for tyre wall repairs at Camp corner, the second race of the day for the 500cc F3 cars would commence in fully dry conditions.  And whilst Sir John Chisholm had been mighty in the wet to claim pole position he quickly fell behind the leading machines at the race start.  In fact it would be the 2 Starides of Xavier Kingsland and Darrell Woods who would break away from the field; Woods eventually passing Kingsland at Tower on lap 3 before going on to record a comfortable 10 second victory.  Stuart Wright in his Cooper MK11 would round out the podium positions.

Qualifying in very wet conditions had produced a topsy turvy Pre-66 Jaguar grid with Kevin Zwolinski in his XK140 finding himself sharing the front row of the grid with the Jaguar MK2 of Peter Dorlin.  It wasn’t long before the E-types rose to the fore during the race however as Grant Williams lead from Harry Wyndham by the end of lap 2.

In fact Wyndham, after starting on the fifth row of the grid, would find himself in the lead of the race by the end of lap 5 and whilst not able to break away from his local rival, a great performance from Wyndham saw him maintain the lead right up until a red-flag brought the event to a slightly premature end on lap 18.  Chris Milner in another E-type rounded out the podium positions whilst Richard Butterfield claimed the Saloon class win, in his Jaguar MK2, with fifth position overall.

In the John Gross Memorial Race for Aston Martins, Steve Boultbee-Brooks and Martyn Corfield would quickly break away from the rest of the field, with Boultbee-Brooks in his glorious DB3s just having the edge over Corfield’s Frazer Nash as he went on to record a relatively comfortable 5 second victory.  The front two really were in a class of their own however with Chris Woodgate in his DB MK3 almost a lap in arrears as he rounded out the podium positions.

The Formula Junior machines were in their element around the fast Wiltshire circuit and, having won for the first time at Oulton, Benn Tilley would again find himself standing on the top step of the podium.  Following an early safety car, Westie Mitchell in his De Tomaso, had looked a strong candidate for victory as he quickly passed Peter De La Roche and was on the tail on the leader.  A spin at the far end of the circuit put pay to Mitchell’s challenge however leaving Tilley to wrap up another victory in his Lotus 22; 3 seconds to the good of pole sitter Peter De La Roche in the BMC MK2 with Richard Smeeton in his Wainer 63 completing the podium.

Making it’s debut at the Autumn Classic, the 1 hour long, GT & Sports Car Cup centrepiece would be the penultimate race on a busy schedule and again the morning rain produced a somewhat unconventional grid.  Indeed earlier in the day Nigel Greensall had produced a stunning lap to place the GT3 spec E-type shared with Chris Milner on pole position but as anticipated Milner could not keep the higher specification cars behind on a dry track.  Instead it was Philip Walker in his Lotus 15 who lead the early running from 4th row starters Mark Williams in a Cobra and Ben Adams in his Lola MK1.

But after initially breaking away, Walker soon had the chasing two on his tail and sure enough on lap 7 both Williams and Adams had snook by.  Williams’ lead was short lived however as a mix up with a back marker would drop the Cobra pilot back to fourth; thus leaving Ben Adams to develop a reasonable lead before his pitstop.

Tackling the event on his own, Adams would find himself disadvantaged in pitlane (having to endure a 1 minute minimum stop) and this allowed Miles Griffiths, taking over the Lotus 15, to emerge in the lead as the race entered the second half.  In fact, the Chris Wilson/Nigel Williams Cobra had also managed to jump Adams in the stops but Adams’ superior pace soon saw him back in second.  There was absolutely nothing the Lola pilot could do about Griffiths though; the Lotus 15 man now setting the track alight as he and Walker went on to record a very comfortable 53 second victory.  Even without the pitstop disparity, Adams would have struggled to match the pace of Griffiths; second place and top spot in SP1 therefore a great result for the little Lola.

Elsewhere, Mark Williams was able to reel in the ailing Wilson/Williams Cobra to claim GT4 honours with third position overall whilst pole sitter Greensall just managed to hold off a late challenge from Patrick Blakeney-Edwards to claim an excellent fourth and top spot in GT3 for he and Milner.  Malcolm Paul and Rick Bourne meanwhile came out on top of the TVR Grantura battle to claim GT2 top spot with 16th position overall.

In the final event of the day, Steve Boultbee-Brooks would again take his Aston Martin DB3s to victory in the FISCAR Historic Intermarque race.  The win was a little less clear cut on this occasion however as the Aston Pilot was required to fend off not 1 but two very rapid Lotus Elite’s in order to claim top spot.

Indeed the Barry Dye / Richard Fores driven Lotus even had a spell at the front before slowing in the second half of the race.  And despite Boultbee-Brooks emerging from his stop with a healthy lead, he would find the margin evaporate over the remaining laps as Robin Ellis, in the second Elite, closed the gap to just over 3 seconds by the time the chequered flag was waved.  There was no stopping Boultbee-Brooks on the day though; 2 pole positions, 2 fastest laps and 2 victories from the 2 events entered represented a great day in the office!

There were many things to enjoy about my first visit to Castle Combe but what stood out the most was the sheer simplicity of the venue; the uncomplicated nature of the track (essentially just three corners with very limited run-off) creating some of the best racing witnessed all year, viewed from the excellent circuit wide spectator bankings.  It felt like a throw back to my childhood, even more so when the winners were taken on a lap of honour by the open top bus; something which I do not remember seeing in a long time!   I have a feeling this will not have been my final visit to the Wiltshire Circuit.

FULL RESULTS

All images © Paul Commons (Paul Commons Motorsport Photography)