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CSCC

CSCC – Mallory Park – April 2026

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Branded as the Mallory Mix meeting, the Classic Sports Car Club’s (CSCC) early season visit to the Leicestershire circuit would, as the name suggests, feature a bit of everything; Turbo Tintops and their normally aspirated siblings providing more of a modern feel with grids for the Midget and Sprite Challenge, Special Saloons and Modsports as well as the very well represented Swinging 60’s catering nicely for the historic enthusiast.

With local noise restrictions limiting races to 30 minutes the CSCC had come up with the ingenious idea of 15 minute pitstops to ensure the longer format races would still feature 40 minutes of track time. This unfortunately would all go out the window after a nasty crash in Turbo Tintop qualifying however.

Indeed, following an accidental clash at the exit of Devil’s Elbow the Audi TT of Wayne Shorney and Ford Puma of Thomas Reid would end up heavily entangled in the pit entry tyre Wall. With so little time and space to decelerate the impact was enormous, entirely flattening the first row of catch fencing and rendering the pits completely inaccessible! Thankfully both drivers were able to walk away but there was real concern as to whether we would see any racing action with a strict 6pm curfew also in force.

Some 3 hours later however the tyre wall and catch fencing were back in place (arguably more substantially than before) after great work by a small maintenance team with very limited resources; and miraculously we were set for a full race schedule in the 3 hours that remained, albeit with slightly shorter events planned.

First up were the extravagant machines that formed the R-Werks Special Saloons & Modsports grid where Thomas Carey would dominate the 12 minute first encounter aboard his space-framed CRX. The Honda man was in a class of his own (literally) and it showed as he also claimed victory in race 2 despite starting towards the back of the grid. Behind, Darren Owen claimed double second place finishes aboard his immaculate 2.4 litre Ford Escort MK1 whilst Robert Frost rounded out the podium positions on both occasions aboard his Dax Tojiero (Cobra) after great battles with the Jaguar XJS of Melvin Hooker.

The Lackford Engineering Midget & Sprite Challenge events proved highly attritional with 4 cars, including both provisional front row starters, failing to make race 1 after qualifying. Furthermore just 7 of the remaining 13 machines would take the chequered flag. As it was Hugh Simpson would dominate both races aboard his MG Midget with leading Sprite challenger, Robin Lackford, second on both occasions. Behind, Ian Burgin (MG Midget MK3) would be penalised for false starts in both races but still claim the final step of the podium in race 1 after 3rd place finisher in race 2, Gordon Elwell (Frogeye Sprite) was also adjudged to have been too eager off the line!

The Adam’s and Page Swinging 60s competitors were a very welcome addition to the Mallory Park schedule, rounding out the day’s proceedings with the largest grid of the day (22). Not able to qualify following the earlier accident the grid was formed based on anticipated performance and Stephen Pickering, aboard his Sunbeam Tiger, took full advantage to claim a lights to flag victory with a winning margin of almost 1 lap. Claire Norman and Charles Tippet meanwhile would put in a solid performance to claim class SD victory with second aboard their BMW 2002 Ti, with class SA victor John Moon keeping them honest throughout to round out the podium positions aboard his Austin Healey Lenham GT.

The Fox Transport Turbo Tin tops would form the penultimate grid of the day where another nasty collision in the early stages between the Fiesta of Ian and Bradley Horton and Mini of Sean Wortley would cause the latter to roll and the red flag to be thrown. Thankfully again neither crew were seriously injured leaving Matthew Jackson (Ford Fiesta ST180) to claim victory after pole sitter and early leader Nigel Tongue (VW Scirocco) hit trouble. Sam Haywood (Renault Megane RS) and Clive Seagers / Andrew Grimm (Mini Cooper S R56) would complete the podium as Michael Wheeler would top the Puma Cup runners in fifth.

Earlier, the Co-ordsport Tin Tops produced possibly the best racing of the day as an enthralling battle between the Ford Fiesta of Adam Brown and Honda Civic of Alfie Jones ensued following the mandatory pitstops. Brown would however eventually manage to break free in traffic and go on to claim victory by just over 5 seconds. Jon and Tom Dee meanwhile would round out the podium positions aboard their Honda Integra.

FULL RESULTS

GALLERY

CSCC, Uncategorized

Classic Sports Car Club – Donington GP – August 2023

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BTCC front-runner Josh Cook played a starring role in the Classic Sports Car Club’s Donington Park GP meeting as he and Mike Gardiner claimed a dominant Mintex Classic K victory in very trying conditions. 

Having been in two minds whether to make the short trip to Donington, with torrential rain forecast for the majority of the day, it was refreshing to find that the weather had little impact on proceedings.  In fact just a couple of laps under safety car conditions at the start of each qualifying session was all that was required, a reminder of what is possible when driving to the conditions (something that elite level motorsport seems to have ruled out these days)!

With the rain continuing to teem down at the Leicestershire circuit the Mintex Classic K field of more than 30 cars miraculously navigated the infamous Craner Curves with little incident and somewhat surprisingly it was an E-type in the hands of Steven Osborne that lead the early stages, proof if ever it were needed that the recent re-surfacing has far improved the grip levels.  That was until an off at Coppice saw the Jaguar man beached in the gravel, losing a couple of laps whilst recovered and any chance of victory in the process.

Following the closing of the pit window, which coincided with a Safety car for Martin Richardson’s marooned MG B at Schwantz, Mark Russell (E-Type Jaguar) found himself with a slender lead over the now Josh Cook piloted Ford Lotus Cortina as the track returned to green.  Cook however was in a class of his own in the tricky conditions, soon passing Russell and going on to claim a commanding near 30 second victory for he and Mike Gardiner; with Cook’s fastest lap more than 2 seconds quicker than anyone else!  Meanwhile Peter Smith and Mike Simpson would round out the podium positions with an excellent third in their Lotus Cortina.

The Swinging 60s races usually provide high levels of entertainment and the Donington GP meeting would not disappoint either.  In the Group 2 race for larger engined machines, Jon Wolfe put in what appeared to be a relatively controlled drive to victory aboard his TVR Tuscan however the post race interview revealed an altercation with the Mcleans tyre wall, thus making the 12 second win all the more remarkable!  Meanwhile Stephen Pickering (Sunbeam Tiger) set the fastest lap of the race (almost 2 seconds quicker than anyone else) on his way to 3rd despite a 20 second success penalty but was not quite able to catch Dean Halsey’s Datsun 240z who found himself on the second step of the podium.

Some 41 cars lined up for the Swinging 60s Group 1 race in what had become almost dry conditions for the final scheduled event of the day. And perhaps the best was saved until last as a fantastic battle took place for the entire 40 minute duration of the race between the Chris Watkinson piloted Austin Mini and Mini Marcos of Sam Polley.  The bright orange Mini of Watkinson lead the early stages from pole but Polley seemed to have the better overall pace and was able to snatch the lead before the mid race pitstops.  The Marcos bodied machine however emerged from the pits with a sizeable gap to make up and despite catching over the closing laps Polley was not able to get past, with Watkinson’s rapid pitstop ultimately landing him the victory!

Elsewhere Tony and Aston Blake claimed a double victory in their TVR Tuscan Challenge car, just getting the better of close rival Alex Taylor on both occasions.  Both in Tuscan’s for the Modern Classics race, there was little to choose between the machines over the opening stint, however Taylor was slowed and ultimately forced into retirement following a collision with a back-marker at Coppice.  This left Tom Barley (BMW 328i E36) to claim second, despite a 30 second penalty for missing the pit window, and Aidan Farrell / David Whelan to take third aboard their Porsche 911.

In the Future Classics event, Alex Taylor, this time aboard the familiar Mazda RX-7, put in a stellar drive to make up a huge chunk of his success related pitstop penalty during the second half of the race to take second, just ten seconds in arrears of the Blake’s Tuscan at the flag.  Meanwhile Matthew and Martyn Ellis claimed third aboard their Talbot Sunbeam Lotus.

And finally, on this occasion the Co-ordSport Tin Tops were interlopers on the historic/classic side of the CSCC schedule and Danny Cassar remarkably (somewhat aided by a safety car and a clutch issue for Adam Brown) made up the entire of his 90 second success penalty to claim victory aboard the Honda Integra Type R!

Thankfully I didn’t let the weather put me off as a great days racing was witnessed and, fortunately, being once gifted the Canon ERC-E5 raincover (despite being mega expensive is far superior to the cheaper alternatives) was able to shoot throughout the monsoon conditions and gain some different photos from the less often used Grand Prix loop!

FULL RESULTS

GALLERY

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Best of 2021 – Words and Pics From the Spectator Banks

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After the lows of 2020, 2021 promised a return to some sort of normality in the world of Motorsport, however the elongated 3rd (I think) lockdown postponed any form of none signed-on attendance until late May!

Desperate to return to the circuits after 7 months of crowd-less sport viewing on the box an enormous entry list for the Classic Sports Car Club’s May bank holiday meeting at Donington was just the tonic I had been looking for. The 39 car Classic K race was a personal highlight which saw experienced historic racer Jamie Boot expertly guide his TVR Griffith to victory, however the moderate crowd were also treated to a trio of highly entertaining combined sprints for the Racing Special Saloons / Modsports and Bernie’s Sports Racing / V8 machines which contained everything from the whacky to the sublime!

So good in fact was my first taste of Classic Sports Car club action that a couple of weeks later I would find myself Cadwell bound for a second dose.  Unfortunately the grids were not quite so packed but this was more than made up for by perfect early Summer weather.  This time it was the Group 1 Swinging Sixties machines that stole the show with Ian Staines, aboard his MG Midget, managing to get the better of pole sitting Turner MK1 pilot Tim Cairns to claim an excellent victory at the undulating Lincolnshire track.

Late June saw a return to Donington for an excellent line up of Historic Sports Car Club grids with the added bonus of a 1 hour race for the GT & Sports Car Cup!  Despite a dull day weatherwise the on track action was as good as it gets with Michael Lyons lighting up the time sheets in the Aurora Trophy races aboard his F5000 Lola T400, Dean Forward delighting onlookers aboard his enormous Can-AM McLaren M8F to take a double Thundersports victory and Andrew’s Haddon & Wolfe claiming an excellent GT & Sports Cars Car Cup victory in their Lotus Elan.

After an excellent championship in 2020, a third trip to Donington, this time on the Grand Prix circuit, was lined up in July for the 2 hour British GT race. The series as a spectacle suffered in 2021 however with the removal of GT3 Silver Silver combinations which, combined with somewhat questionable driving standards and poor quality support races, lead to this being the only Modern event attended during the year!

Refreshingly it was back to old stuff in August with the Classic Sports Car Club’s Snetterton Sizzler meeting and the HSCC’s Oulton Park Gold Cup.  The Gold Cup meeting was back to it’s very best with Historic F2 machinery making a welcome return (something good to come out of the pandemic!) and it was Matthew Watts aboard his March 782 who claimed the prestigious trophy following an attritional second encounter of the weekend!  We were also treated to a pair of Historic Touring Car / Dunlop Saloon Car Cup races which are always worth a watch around the fabulous Cheshire circuit, and best of all the paddocks were finally open to the general public!!

Two trips to Mallory filled the first half of autumn’s action where a torrential morning downpour threatened to de-rail the Historic Sports Car Club meet.  Glorious afternoon sunshine and excellent efficiency ensured this only lead to delays and not cancellations however with Ben Simm’s charge through the field (only to be denied victory by Murray Shepherd’s excellent defensive display) in the Formula Ford 2000 race being the pick of the action. 

The excellent Classic Touring Car Racing Club would visit the same Leicestershire circuit in Mid October featuring a mouth-watering collection of machinery that included everything from the iconic 60’s Mini to the monster Aussie V8 Ford Falcon. Nothing quite beats a good old David vs Goliath pre-66 touring car race however and the two races on the day provided everything you come to expect from this era of racing; Alan Greenhalgh taking victory in the second race aboard his Ford Falcon after losing out to the much smaller engined Anglia of Robyn Slater (in part due to an off) in a damp race 1, brilliant racing!

Although far from a fan of Silverstone (not the circuit, more the unfriendly Security and archaic ticketing system) I could not fail to be drawn to the new standalone Motor Racing Legends meeting at the end of October. The 1 hour Historic Touring Car Challenge brought back many a childhood memory as Paul Mensley (RS500) managed to fend off not 1 but 3 temperamental Skylines to take victory whilst the excellent 43 car, 3 hour Pall Mall cup race met all expectations as the fabulous James Cottingham / Max Girardo piloted Lister Jaguar Costin managed to hold off a plethora of Shelby Cobra’s to take an unlikely victory. Maybe the unwelcoming nature of the circuit is a thing of the past as this had been a highlight of the season, partially aided by full access to the ‘Wing’ with less than a couple of hundred people in attendance!

And finally, after a pandemic induced year and 9 month period away from rallying, I eventually managed to see a live stage or 2 on the end of season Roger Albert Clark Rally. In an event unfortunately impacted by the devastating storm Arwen (Scotland’s stages completely cancelled), Ryan Champion and Craig Thorley remarkably managed to break the Blue Oval strangle hold on the event by claiming victory in their immaculate Porsche 911. Whilst disappointing not to be able to make the bi-annual trip into the Southern Scotland forests it was great to see action on the stages again.

All in it was year to remember and we can only hope that 2022 brings with it more freedom, definitely more rallying and a return to somewhere near the motorsport life we were all accustom to pre March 2020!

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CSCC – Cadwell Park – June 2021

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Thruxton or Cadwell, Cadwell or Thruxton was the debate; an argument which Cadwell ultimately won due to MSV’s far superior ticketing system, a shorter commute and opportunity to see the highly entertaining Classic Sports Car Club crowd at one of the UK’s finest circuits.

With immediate family dropped off en route, and fortunately arriving at the scene of a lorry’s argument with an A46 roundabout before the queues developed, I was pleasantly surprised to park up at Charlies with still 15 minutes remaining of the day’s first qualifying session. Better still the early June heat-wave appeared to be continuing and I, on being instantly reminded of the exceptional spectator viewing on offer, had a feeling we were in for a good day.

Whilst some of the grids fell far short of the numbers witnessed at Donington some 2 weeks earlier the racing did not suffer. In fact some of the closest racing of the day took place in the 6 car Special Saloons and Modsports race where a slow starting Ian Everett (in Tim Cairn’s Midget) eventually found a way passed Neil Duke’s Anglia and the 2.6 litre MK2 Escort of Martin Reynolds to take the race 1 victory. Despite a close encounter with Duke at the Mountain section in the early stages, the MG Hexagon pilot was able to stretch his lead to over 3 seconds by the time the chequered flag was waved following a remarkable pass for the lead around the outside at Mansfield!

Two races for the AR Motorsport Morgan Challenge were a welcome addition to the timetable and whilst both races saw runaway victors; Oliver Pratt claiming a 47 second race 1 victory and Roger Whiteside finishing 17 seconds ahead of his nearest rival in race 2, the battles behind were far less clear cut. Class 4 was the highlight with Steve Lockett (5th overall in both races) eventually claiming a double class victory with Simon Sherry and Tom Richards finishing a close second in each of the respective races.

Morgan Challenge race 1 victor Pratt was also due to start the Future Classics race from pole. However a fluid leak after the formation lap lead to the 4.6 litre Morgan being wheeled away from the grid. This ultimately left the way clear for an intriguing battle for victory between Sam Smith’s MX-5 and Martyn & Matthew Ellis’ Sunbeam Lotus. Whilst Martyn Ellis lead the early stages, a 30 second pitstop penalty for winning the previous round entered ensured Matthew Ellis would return to the track behind the pink MX-5 of Smith. Fastest lap after fastest lap ensued and remarkably the Sunbeam pilot appeared to have snatched victory in the closing stages, only to be landed with a 30 second post race penalty for a 0.9 second too short pit stop!

The Swinging Sixties Group 1 race (for smaller engine capacity cars) was perhaps the highlight of the day where Ian Staines worked his way to the front of the impressive 27 car field by the end of lap 1. And despite never relinquishing the top position, the MG Midget pilot was under pressure throughout the opening half of the race with Chris Watkinson’s Austin Mini and Tim Cairn’s pole sitting Turner in hot pursuit. The Mini challenge would sadly fade with troubles at the pitstop leaving Cairn’s to provide the main opposition. But whilst the Turner pilot seemed to be right up there on ultimate pace, the Midget seemed more at ease in the traffic, leaving Staines to claim a well deserved 9 second victory.

The more powerful Swinging Sixties machines would form the Group 2 grid, and having cemented pole by over 1 second, Jamie Keevil in his Lotus Elan would take an early lead. Any thoughts of a stroll to victory however were quickly dispelled as the Lotus 7 of John and Tom Muirhead was able to keep the Elan in sight. But despite setting fastest lap of the race, the Lotus 7 duo were not able to mount a serious challenge for victory and ultimately ended the event 9 seconds in arrears. Following the pitstops, Jonathan Crayston and David McDonald would find themselves locked in a battle for the final podium position and it would be the TR6 of McDonald that would come out on top following a late overtake, thus ending a Lotus class lockout of the podium positions.

And last but least (not in race order), disappointingly just 9 cars took the start of the Mintex Classic K race which even around the relatively short Cadwell park left plenty of quiet gaps. That aside the racing remained enjoyable with little to choose between the top 3 runners, Jon Wolfe’s Elan, the David Beresford / David Morrison MG B and the TR4 of Neil Howe. Pole sitter Wolfe just had the edge throughout though with his Elan taking the flag 6 seconds clear of Morrison’s MG. The battle of the race was for 4th spot however, where for lap after lap Nick Jesty, in his 1293 Mini, tried his absolute best to find a way passed Steve Chapman’s TR4. After the pitstops it looked like the Austin pilot had finally cracked it only for the more powerful Triumph to find a way back through. Fabulous racing.

And in what seemed like the blink of an eye, the final Morgan had re-entered the paddock and the day was sadly over, 9 hours at the circuit gone in an instant! Whilst it would have been nice to see slightly fuller grids you couldn’t grumble with the quality of entry, which combined with the fabulous weather, the picturesque undulating nature of the circuit and the event running like clockwork (not a single safety car period) pleased the inner photographer (and Motorsport fan) in me! I won’t leave it as long to visit Cadwell again and next time hopefully the great unwashed will be allowed to traipse around the Paddock.

Gallery

 paul.commons@yahoo.co.uk for enquiries.