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Equipe Classic Racing

Equipe 6 Hour – Donington Park – July 2025

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Rory Butcher, Ben Tinkler and Ben Barker claim inaugural Equipe 6 hour glory aboard their Lotus Elan 26R in what proved to be an excellent new addition to the British Historic Racing calendar.

Attracting a decent entry is always a worry when a new event is brought to the fore but thankfully the inaugural running of the Equipe 6 hours at Donington Park was very warmly received with a fantastic 32 glorious pre-66 machines lining up for the start of the race.

Mirroring the format of the very successful Spa 6 hours, but crucially not allowing the all conquering GT40, a plethora of Lotus Elans and MGB’s would make up the bulk of the entry but with a couple of Cobras and Healey’s, amongst others, thrown in for good measure. And with a great mix of drivers too (the Equipe regulars being joined by a fair few professionals) we were set for one hell of an afternoon’s racing.

And it would be one of the pro’s in the form of ex-BTCC race winner, Rory Butcher, aboard the front row starting #40 Elan 26R who would lead the early running as the pole sitting #600 similar machine of John Tordoff dropped back. Instead it would be the AC Cobra Daytona Coupe of Jeremy Cottingham and the Elan 26R Shapecraft of Michael O’Brien who would take the fight to the Scotsman in the early stages.

However, neither the Shapecraft or Cobra Daytona would make it to half distance which left the JCT backed pole sitting Elan the mostly likely challenger with a clearly fired up Andrew Jordan dragging them right back into contention; this after an early puncture enforced a second pitstop within the first quarter of the race.

Indeed the former British Touring Car Champion was able to lap much quicker than Tinkler (who had taken over from Butcher in the race leading Elan) during the second stint and had closed the gap significantly before both machines headed for their mandatory 5 minute fuel stop at around half distance.

Current Toyota BTCC driver James Dorlin would take over the reigns from Jordan whilst Ben Barker had found a gap in his World Endurance Championship exploits to fill the hot seat of the erstwhile leaders. And with drivers of this calibre at the head of the field it was no surprise to find them continue to pull away from the rest of the pack but with the gap remaining relatively constant between themselves.

A safety car with just over 1 hour and 25 minutes remaining would however give both crews the perfect opportunity to make their final stop. Butcher and Jordan would be re-installed in the respective #40 and #600 Elans for the final stint but as the track returned to green it became apparent that the long time leaders had gained almost a lap on the rivals as the safety car pitstops unwound.

Jordan was not about to give up on victory however but try as he might, with plenty of sideways moments along the way, it was all too much to ask as Butcher put in a sublime final stint to take victory by almost 1 minute. With confirmation, if ever it were needed, that it was the #40 Elan’s day when the car came to halt on the slowing down lap! Talk about timing! A thoroughly deserved victory however as I am not sure Butcher, Tinkler and Barker put a foot wrong throughout the entire 6 hours!

Such was the pace of the two leading crews that third place car of Connor Kay, Ben Caisley and Dominic Mooney would end the event some 10 laps in arrears in their similar Elan 26R! However third place overall would have seemed like a pipe dream after the trio were delayed early on after an issue with a brake overflow tank saw them receive the dreaded meatball flag!

Fourth home would be the leading AM crew in the form of Nick Sleep and Alex Montgomery after a brilliant drive aboard the fabulous “Hairy Canary”. In fact the AC Cobra crew were right in the mix for large parts of the race but with the necessity for a second 5 minute fuel stop and a few wayward moments would drop back. 4th overall representing one hell of an effort by the two driver crew however as they Man handled the American Brute through the event’s 6 hour duration.

A few wayward moments would be understatement of the year for the fifth place crew of Rob Cull, Gerry Buggy and Tom Smith. Cull had been running in the top 5 before an off at McLeans within the first hour brought out the safety car and dropped the #46 Elan to 25th. This was just the beginning however as the car would find itself in the same gravel trap on at least 3 more occasions before the day was out. All the more remarkable then that Cull, Buggy and Smith would claim the AM runner up spot. It must have been some drive between the offs and perhaps a case of what might have been!

Elsewhere Simon, Dan and Andrew Smith would complete the AM podium in yet another Elan with 6th whilst Bruce Duckworth, Graham Hill and Jamie Mason would claim an excellent 7th aboard the leading MGB. Meanwhile Mike Thorne, Sarah Bennett-Baggs and John Todd would come home 8th in the leading Austin Healey whilst Tim Mogridge and Nicholas King would end the day in 11th in their Triumph TR4 despite a lengthy visit to the Old Hairpin gravel trap in the final quarter of the race.

What an event this had been! I absolutely love the fact that the general public were granted free access to the pre-event grid walk and that the category winning machines were wheeled into Garage 39 for the post event party! It would have been nice to see a few more marques represented (TVR Griffiths and Jag E-Type come to mind) but that’s just splitting hairs! A big thank you to Rob and John for brining this awesome event to the UK. If the competitors enjoyed it half as much as I did then we should see the event go from strength to strength in years to come.

FULL RESULTS

GALLERY

Equipe Classic Racing

Equipe Classic Racing – Cadwell Park – September 2023

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After what can only be described as shocking weather this summer, I was delighted to find wall to wall sunshine forecast for my annual trip to the Lincolnshire Wolds and, better still, very decent entry lists for the Equipe Classic Racing meeting (including grids from the MG Car Club), something that is not always the case for the very niche Cadwell Park circuit.

Dubbed in some circles as the “Mini Nurburgring” you can see why some choose to avoid but from a spectator’s point of view I love the completely different nature of the track; where else in the UK can you find sections such as Hall Bends, The Mountain and Goose neck? Completely bonkers, just like the much larger German circuit it is sometimes compared to!

Following on from an excellent first glimpse of the Equipe Classic Racing brigade at Donington one month earlier it came as no surprise that the racing was again top notch with the GTS race for smaller engine pre-66 machinery perhaps the pick of the day.  Starting on pole the MG B of Lewis Saunders would eventually regain the lead courtesy of a mistake entering Park Straight by early leader Rob Cull.  Cull in his immaculate TVR Grantura however would emerge back in the lead after the mandatory pitstop and whilst Saunders closed in the final stages it would be Cull who landed a hard-fought win.  Meanwhile David Gardner put in a stellar drive in his class 1 Turner MK2 to claim an excellent third.

In fact it turned out to be an excellent day for Rob Cull, who despite having to withdraw his Capri from the 70s encounter, also ended the day with a quite brilliant podium in the Equipe Libre event aboard the very same 1840cc Grantura he claimed victory with earlier.  Despite possibly better equipped for the twisty bits of the Lincolnshire Circuit the Grantura had no right to be battling with the more powerful Healeys but the TVR man was able to sneak passed both Alex Hewitson and Bill Rawles as the race progressed and round out the podium positions.  Up front however Graham Moss put in a controlled drive aboard his glorious Daytona Cobra to take victory whilst Brian Caudwell kept the 4.7 litre machine honest with a well earned second aboard his Austin Healey 3000.

As expected it was machines from the 70s category which headed the combined Equipe 70s, Pre 63 and 50s event with the Morgan Plus 8 of David and Andrew Wenmam excelling on the undulating circuit to pass the pole sitting Fiesta of Tom Burgess at the start and never really look back as they claimed a near 19 second victory.  Meanwhile Nic Strong completed the podium positions in his Marcos 3000GT whilst respective Pre 63 and 50s victories went the way of Jack Rawles (Austin Healey 3000) and John Pearson (MG A).

Speaking of MGs, the day’s schedule was completed by 2 races each for the MG Car Club organised Cockshoot Cup and BCV8 series’. The BCV8 series provided very close racing throughout with Neil Fowler getting the better of a 4 way Class D battle to take race 1 victory whilst James Wheeler put in the fastest lap of the day to claim race 2 victory with a very rapid 1m40.39! Meanwhile David Morrison (MG Midget) and Mark Wright (MG F) would take a win apiece in the Cockshoot Cup with Morrison’s victory in race 1 a quite remarkable feat in his 1380cc machine when up against much more recent machinery!

There are few better places than Cadwell to take in a days racing when both the weather and entry levels are good, and this event definitely ticked both of those boxes. Aided by the lower early autumn sun it also made for some of my favourite photos of the year so far which is looking like my penultimate circuit event of 2023!

Next up is the Woodpecker Stages Rally and a first visit for me to the little used Ceri Forest!

GALLERY

Equipe Classic Racing

Equipe Classic Racing – Donington Park – July 2023

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Early July saw a return to Donington Park for the GT & Sports Car Cup, which is always worth the trip alone, but on this occasion as a guest race on the Equipe Classic Racing Series bill.

Much like the entire summer so far, mixed was the best way of describing the weather where a very pleasant morning was followed by a torrential downpour, with the heavens opening just as the racing began.  Not that it ruined the spectacle as the additional challenge in many ways added an extra dimension to the days proceedings.

The Equipe Libre race was perhaps worst impacted, however Brian Cauldwell (pictured) on his first time out in the AC Cobra put in a stellar performance to claim top spot in very trying conditions.  Jamie Boot (TVR Griffith) had earlier taken pole position and despite emerging in the lead after a well-timed pitstop could not keep the chasing Cobras behind as Cauldwell, Rick Willmott and Matthew Moore / Mark Daniell ensured AC muscle would lock out the podium positions.

Conditions were much more pleasant as the smaller engined pre-66 machines hit the track for the GTS encounter however where Martin and Oliver Pratt in their Morgan Plus 4TR took the battle to a whole host of MGBs in the early stages.  It was not to be however as Sam Kirkpatrick (MGB) put in a sublime performance to take a commanding victory over the similar machines of Jonathan Hughes and Ali Topley as the Morgan crew fought back to a well earned fourth after an off road excursion or two!

The GT & Sports Car Cup for genuine Pre 66 Grand Touring and Pre 63 Sports racers (by invitation only) is what had initially drawn me to Donington Park on the day and having had my appetite whetted by the earlier qualifying session it was with great anticipation that the 1 hour and 15 minute race began, thankfully in almost dry conditions. 

But whilst Chris Chiles Jnr (AC Cobra) had slipped past the Jonathan Mitchell E-Type after an early safety car, a much lengthier delay was required following a nasty off for the stunning David Smithies / Chris Clarkson Daytona Cobra Coupe in the middle of the craner curves. With most cars pitting under the lengthy safety car period for the necessary barrier repair, Chris Chiles Jnr emerged behind the Gary Pearson E-type (having made the snap decision not to swap over to Chiles Snr and take the additional time penalty). It turned out to be a demon strategic move as the Cobra man was able to quickly real in Pearson and take an excellent 3 second victory. Early leader Mitchell meanwhile would round out the podium positions making it a Jaguar two-three.

Closing out the day in style was the combined Equipe Pre 63 and Equipe 50s race which saw Nigel Winchester aboard his Shelby 260 attempt to hold off an army of Austin Healey 3000s in pursuit of victory.  However the pace of the Shelby 260 seemed to fall away as the race progressed leaving Jeremy Welch to chase down the similar Healey of Mark Holme in the second half of the race.  But whilst the pursuit was a sight to behold, Welch didn’t quite have enough legs to get past the long time leader which ultimately proved irrelevant as he and co-driver Brian Cauldwell were given a 3 lap penalty for a pitstop infringement. Instead, Joe Wilmott (Austin Healey) and Bill Rawles (Austin Healey) ensured a single marque would fill the podium positions for the third time in a day!

Elsewhere Robin Ellis claimed Equipe 70s victory aboard the Porsche RSR 2.8, whilst Neil Fowler and James Wheeler took a BCV8 victory apiece in what turned out to be one of the best days historic racing of the year so far. The GT & Sports Car Cup may well have been the main attraction for me personally but having had a taste of what the Equipe Classic Racing series is all about I was left eager for more. As it says on the tin, the series is run by drivers for drivers and this suits me down to a tee as ultimately this means less fluff and more on track action.

GALLERY