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Historic Sports Car Club

HSCC Finals – Silverstone – October 2025

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Formula Ford racing stole the show at the recent HSCC Finals meeting as Callum Grant and Benn Simms shared Historic wins, Rick Morris claimed double Classic victory and Graham Fennymore and Michael Moyers would share the FF2000 spoils as the Silverstone National Circuit proved conducive to some very close racing.

The HSCC Championship Finals meeting on the Silverstone National Circuit would bring down the curtain on the 2025 Historic Sports Car Club season with a jam packed schedule filled to the brim with single seater action but complimented nicely by races for the Roadsports, Alfas and Guards Trophy.

Commencing day 2, Graham Fennymore celebrated his third championship crown in style by claiming victory in the second Formula Ford 2000 race of the weekend. Having lost out to Michael Moyers in race 1, Fennymore would initially snatch the lead of race 2 with an awesome move around the outside of the hairpin only for Moyers to sling-shot back into the lead on the Wellington Straight.

There was no coming back from Fennymore’s decisive overtake at Luffield one lap later however as the 2025 champion made light work of the traffic in the second part of the race to claim a 3.5 second victory. Meanwhile Adrian Reynard would end the day on the final step of the podium after catching and passing the Delta of Murray Shepherd in the closing stages.

The 2 Historic Formula Ford races proved highly entertaining as the Silverstone National Circuit aided some incredibly close racing. In race 1 Ben Simms (Jomo JMR 7), Callum Grant (Merlin Mk20A) and Gislain Genecand (Crossle 16F) put on one hell of a show as the three pilots broke away from the field and swapped positions at seemingly every opportunity. Simms would however put in some rapid lap times in the closing stages and lead heading into the final lap. Grant though was in prime position to take advantage of the very powerful tow and strategically opted to re-take the lead in the final sector meaning there was no way back for the Leicestershire man on this occasion.

Race 2 would see the same 3 protagonists break away again but with the lead pack soon reduced to two after Genecand was forced into retirement. Simms and Grant would again take it turns to lead but this time Simms appeared to have learned his lesson as, despite again leading entering the final lap, was able to keep Grant at bay! Grant would however land the Paul Simms Memorial Trophy thanks to his larger race 1 winning margin.

Starting from the back of the grid courtesy of failing to finish race 1, Sam Mitchell had it all to do in race 2 to claim the 2025 Historic Formula Ford title. The huge favourite heading into Silverstone proved his credentials however, flying through the field to join an almighty battle for 3rd by half distance. And whilst Oliver Chapman would claim the final step of the race 2 podium, the 14 points gained for fourth was enough to ensure Simms could not snatch the crown at the final opportunity.

Rick Morris rolled back the years in the two Classic Formula Ford races as the 78 year old followed up race 1 victory by standing on the top step again at the conclusion of the second encounter. Competing in a replica of the Royale RP29 used in period, Morris traded positions with 2025 champion Jordan Harrison on multiple occasions during race 2 but after a late safety car looked to be on the back foot. However as the track returned to green Morris managed to wrestle the lead back and hold on for the remaining 2 laps to round off an excellent weekend.

The Guards Trophy for largely pre 66 sports racing cars would close the meeting but much like Donington earlier in the year did not attract the greatest number of entries. Also like Donington however the racing more than made up for it as the Elliot Paterson piloted Ginetta G16 lead much of the early running with the Lotus 23B of Andrew Hibberd and Chevron B8’s of Neil Fowler and Dan Balfour battling it out for second.

Rob Tusting had been lying fifth before his customary early stop to allow the rapid Tusting jnr to get behind the wheel. And true to form Ben Tusting would bring the Lenham P69 Spider right back into contention with a series of stellar laps; so much so that Tusting the younger would find himself only a handful of seconds behind the leading trio of Paterson, Hibberd and Balfour as the pitstop window came to a close before managing to slide past all three within a handful of laps.

The race was far from over though as the 50 minute blast proved highly attritional. Indeed, the Daniel Pickett / Dan Eagling Chevron B16 had already returned to the pit garages before Balfour was forced into retirement and later race leader Tusting would also be sidelined.

This would leave the Lotus 23B of Andrew Hibberd in pole position to take victory having earlier made his way past Russell Paterson’s Ginetta. And, with Paterson not able to match the pace of son Elliot, Hibberd was able to cruise to a 38 second victory; in turn taking a rather unexpected, but well received, share of the overall championship title.

Day 2 of the meeting would turn out to be a good one for Hibberd who earlier had taken runner up spot in the combined Formula Junior race aboard his Lotus 22. Sam Wilson proved the class of the field though as the Cooper T59 man wrapped up a second Formula Junior victory of the weekend whilst Jon Milicevic claimed a second podium of the weekend with 3rd.

By far the quickest, and most aurally pleasing cars on display were the largely Formula 5000, Formula 2 and Formula Atlantic machines found in the Derek Bell Trophy where Peter Williams claimed race 2 victory aboard his invitation class LEC CRP1 after just managing to hold off a late charge from the F2 Lola T460 of Mark Williams. Dan Eagling had lead the early running and looked to be on course for a second Derek Bell Trophy victory of the weekend only for his March 742 to suffer a timing belt failure. Mark Mercer meanwhile would claim the final step of the race 2 podium having snook past the Chevron B40 of Chris Porritt in the closing stages.

In the Roadsport categories, Mark Godfrey claimed day 2 Historic victory aboard his Lotus 7. In what proved an entertaining encounter where Paul Tooms and Frazer Gibney also lead, Godfrey found his rhythm in the second half of the race and having eased the lead back away from Tooms would go on to claim a 4 second victory.

TVRs would meanwhile dominate the 70s race with Anthony Ross taking an early lead and never looking back in his 3000M. Julian Barter in a similar machine would cross the line some 7 seconds in arrears whilst Russell Paterson would follow up son Elliot’s combined race 1 victory with 3rd on day 2 aboard the family Morgan Plus 8.

Elsewhere Jack Berry (Alfa Romeo 4c) and Jamie Thwaites (Alfa Romeo Giuilietta) would share Alfa Romeo and Italian Intermarque championship victories. Thwaites had looked set for double victory but for a mistake at Becketts which would cause the pole man to drop out of contention.

This had been a thoroughly enjoyable first experience of the Silverstone National Circuit, which although proved more difficult than normal for the non-signed on photographer, did produce some fantastic racing. Not a bad way to bring to a close my 2025 circuit racing season! Now to start drafting plans for 2026 …

FULL RESULTS

GALLERY

Historic Sports Car Club

HSCC – Mallory Park – September 2025

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Ben Glasswell and Graham Fennymore share Formula Ford 2000 spoils whilst Jordan Harrison and Ben Simms claim respective double Classic and Historic Formula Ford victories as the Historic Sports Car Club made a welcome return to Mallory Park.

Mallory is not always a hit with competitors as entry lists sometimes reflect. Not that this is a problem given the track is at least half the length of most other UK circuits but on this occasion the Historic Sports Car Club’s largely Formula Ford focused one day event seemed to strike a chord with potential entrants.

Indeed, celebrating 75 years of Formula Ford 2000, a whopping 23 machines would appear on the final entry list with 21 of the delightful slicks and wings variant of the Formula Ford dynasty making the the start of race 1 headed up by Ben Glasswell in his Reynard SF77.

Despite suffering a broken exhaust in qualifying, Graham Fennymore would still register a time good enough for the front row and the double champ would apply pressure to the polesitter throughout the first part of race 1. Glasswell would make lighter work of the traffic though and go on to record a relatively comfortable 6.7 second victory over his championship rival. Meanwhile Andrew Storer would round out the podium positions with Adrian Reynard just missing out.

After a relatively sedate opening race the second encounter would prove a different kettle of fish entirely as Fennymore and Glasswell swapped positions on more than one occasion before a lap 6 collision forced the pole sitting Suffolk driver into early retirement. Conversely, in what was deemed a racing incident, Fennymore would Nurse his damaged machine home to victory and put himself in a strong position to reclaim the title he last held in 2023. Behind, Andrew Storer would register a second podium of the day and Adrian Reynard would complete the top three.

The Classic Formula Ford entry was not too shabby either as 19 Pre-82 machines would line up for race 1 where Jordan Harrison proved to be the class of the field. However, whilst the Lola T540E pilot would dominate the first encounter (despite a late safety car) he wouldn’t have it all his own way in race 2 as fellow front row starter Rick Morris briefly led after an excellent move around the outside of the Lake Esses.

The Royale RP29 pilot would lose out at Shaws one lap later though and whilst Harrison would go on to wrap up a second victory of the day Morris would endure a rather untidy second half of the race which would see the race 1 runner up take the flag in 9th. Double class B winner for Pre-74 machinery, Oliver Chapman, meanwhile would follow up an earlier 3rd with an excellent second in race 2 aboard his Lola T200 whilst Tom Gadd (Van Diemen RF81) would claim the final step of the race 2 podium.

Elsewhere, Ben Simms would claim a commanding pair of Historic Formula Ford victories in what unusually proved to be relatively processional affairs. Behind, Oliver Chapman would made it a hat-trick of second places after putting his Lola T200 through it’s paces in both the Historic and Classic Formula Ford events whilst James Hadfield would complete the podium on both occasions. In claiming double victory Simms had taken full advantage of Sam Mitchell’s none appearance to keep his slim championship hopes alive.

It wasn’t just single seaters on display as two races for the combined Pre-66 Historic saloons and Roadsports would complete the day’s billing and it would be George Daws, aboard his 70s Roadsport class Datsun 240z, who would top the time sheets in qualifying, just edging out the very rapid Ford Anglia of Neil Wood.

Wood would be the man to beat when the action turned competitive however, taking advantage of Daws failing to make the grid for race 1 to record a mammoth 35 second victory, and following this up with a mere 20 second victory in race 2! Daws meanwhile would make up for his race 1 none start by claiming second (and top Roadsports competitor) in race 2 despite starting from the back row of the grid whilst Mark Watts (Ford Mustang) followed up an earlier second place with the final step of the race 2 podium.

I almost opted out of my annual trip to the Leicestershire circuit in preference for a first visit to Loton Park but the final entry list suggested this event was too good to miss, and boy was I right! There may not have been a great deal of overtaking but witnessing that level of competition around the quite unique 1.35 miles of Mallory Park was a sight to behold, especially as, in a world where catch fences become bigger and bigger and spectator access becomes less and less, you can still get so close to the action.

FULL RESULTS

GALLERY

Historic Sports Car Club

HSCC – Donington Park – June 2025

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Dan Pickett and Dan Eagling land thrilling Guards Trophy victory in their Chevron B16 whilst Sam Mitchell and Jordan Harrison claim respective double Historic and Classic Formula Ford victories and Graham Fennymore and Ben Glasswell share Formula Ford 2000 spoils at the HSCC Summer 2025 Donington Park meeting.

Headlining day 2 of the meeting were the Pre 72 GT and Pre 70 Sports Prototypes of the Guards Trophy which although a little light on numbers (Possibly impacted by running on the same weekend as the Thruxton Retro) saw an eclectic starting grid that was full to the brim with quality.

Indeed just 14 cars would head into Redgate on lap 1 of the scheduled 50 minute pitstop race headed by Murray Shepherd after a storming start from 6th on the grid in his GT40! A trip through the Old Hairpin gravel trap for the Ford man would however leave Andrew Hibberd to lead the early running in his Lotus 23B with the Lenham P69 Spider of Rob Tusting and Chevron B16 of Dan Pickett in hot pursuit.

The race action would really heat up on the opening of the pit window 15 minutes in however as Pickett and Tusting headed to pitlane at the first opportunity to allow their quicker co-pilots the largest possible amount of seat time. And having entered the pits nose to tail the two machines would exit almost alongside with Ben Tusting just keeping the Lenham in front of the now Dan Eagling driven Chevron.  

Meanwhile Murray Shepherd was clearly getting to grips with the Stephenson family Ford GT40 and was making his way back towards the front.  In fact Shepherd was past Hibberd and back in the lead of the race as the pit window drew to a close. But, having been lapping much quicker through the middle part of the race, it would be Tusting and Eagling that would hold a large lead as the pitstops unwound, with absolutely nothing to separate the very rapid duo.  

Following an excellent first half of the race, Rob and Ben Tusting’s race would soon start to fall apart though as Eagling eventually found a way past Ben Tusting’s defences on lap 26 just as the Lenham P69 was also hit with a time penalty for track limits. And things would get worse still as, possibly unaware of his time penalty and with just a couple of laps remaining, Tusting junior would mis-judge his braking at the Roberts chicane and collide with the back of Eagling’s Chevron, forcing the P69 Spider into instant retirement.

Thankfully Eagling escaped relatively unscathed and was able to bring the stunning Chevron B16 home to claim a hard fought and well deserved victory.  Hibberd meanwhile would cross the line second in his Lotus 23B after a consistent drive whilst Chris and Freddie Lillingston-Price would top the Chevron B6/8 runners to round out the podium positions in their B8 as the Ford GT40 of Henry Stephenson dropped back after the stops.

As always there was single seater action aplenty and the second Historic Formula Ford race of the weekend would prove to be a cracker as Sam Mitchell aboard his Merlyn MK20 claimed a second victory in as many days. 

It was far from plain sailing for the Merlyn man however as fellow front row starter Ben Simms made a great start and held a relatively comfortable lead at one point before his Jomo JMR 7 developed a misfire in the closing stages.  This allowed Mitchell, who had dropped back to third early on, to close in on the erstwhile leader and snatch victory on the penultimate lap.  Frenchman Gislain Genecand meanwhile was well in the lead battle throughout and came home a very close third, in turn taking top spot in the over 50s class in his Crossle 16F.

Sunday’s Classic Formula Ford encounter (for Pre 82 machinery) would prove a little more straightforward as Jordan Harrison dominated proceedings aboard his Lola T540E to claim his second victory of the weekend.  The battle for the remaining podium positions was less clear cut however as Tom Gadd, Rick Morris and Roy Alderslade fought it out with Gadd, aboard his Van Diemen RF81, eventually claiming second and Roy Alderslade (Merlyn MK20) completing the podium as Morris dropped back before being forced into retirement.    

Rainfall and delays would push the Formula Ford 2000 race back to after lunch where on a drying track Graham Fennymore looked to be heading for a second victory of the weekend before being the cause of a red flag as a result of his Reynard SF81 expiring on the exit of Redgate.  This resulted in a re-grid for a final 5 minute blast that saw Ben Glasswell (Reynard SF77) claim a fine victory having originally lined up 9th!  Behind, Adrian Reynard (the man responsible for designing ¾ of the grid) would claim an excellent second after a delightful last lap pass at Redgate whilst Paul Allen aboard his Delta T78 would have to make do with third.

The combined 70s and Historic Roadsport races produced the largest grids of the weekend and it would be John Williams aboard his Porsche 911 SC who would top a fine field of 30 plus 60s and 70s machinery during Sunday morning qualifying. The pole sitter largely had things his own way in race 1 too as Williams went on to claim a relatively comfortable victory.

Race 2 would be a different story altogether though as Mark Godfrey, aboard his Lotus 7, seemed to find pace as the day progressed and, along with Race 1 winner Williams, put on a great show in race 2. Indeed the duo would swap positions on multiple occasions before the Lotus 7 man went on to claim a 2.6 second victory to go with his earlier podium. Meanwhile George Daws (Datsun 240z) looked to be heading for a double podium after claiming the race 1 runner up spot only to be denied by a late charge from Anthony Ross aboard his TVR 3000M.

Earlier in the day Jack Berry claimed a second Alfa Romeo and Italian Intermarque victory of the weekend after an action packed, red flag shortened, race 2. Starting third Jamie Thwaites claimed victory on the road in his Alfa Romeo Giuilietta after passing the MiTo 404 of Berry mid way through the event; but, after being hit with 15 seconds of time penalties for multiple track limit violations would find himself back behind the race 1 winner on the final time sheets. Barry McMahon meanwhile would claim an excellent third in his Alfa Romeo Giulia after starting from the back row of the grid.

Elsewhere, Jas Sapra and Paul Cook would share BMW Car Club Racing Championship victories whilst disappointingly the Griffiths Haig Trophy races turned into more of a demonstration as just 4 cars made the start of both races! A real shame as the 4 cars that did enter were of the highest quality and included Graham Moss’ original Lister Jaguar Knobbly. But with FISCAR included on the Thruxton Retro schedule numbers were always going to be a problem.

Numbers hopefully won’t be a problem for the inaugural running of the Equipe 6 hours at the Leicestershire circuit in just under 1 weeks time. What a prospect, would wall to wall sunshine be too much to ask? I CAN-NOT WAIT!

FULL RESULTS

GALLERY

Historic Sports Car Club

HSCC – Donington Park – June 2021

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Steve Soper in a E36 BMW, a full Thundersports grid containing both March and McLaren Can-Am machinery, Michael Lyons piloting a Lola T400 and the excellent GT and Sports Car Cup; all good reasons to make the short trip to Donington Park for the end of June Historic Sports Car Club meet.

Sunday was the day of choice and, having made the enormous walk to the pit straight (here’s hoping paddocks will be open by the end of July), was treated to an excellent Classic Formula Ford race to kick off proceedings. With most fully expecting another Cam Jackson victory, we were instead treated to an excellent tussle between the aforementioned Jackson, Henry Chart and Jordan Harrison.

Having just managed to maintain the lead in the early stages Jackson would unfortunately be forced into retirement with gear linkage issues though, thus leaving the way clear for either Harrison or Chart to end Jackson’s early season domination. Chart, in his Van Diemen, looked to just have enough to keep Harrison at bay, however the Lola T540E pilot managed to edge into the lead at the Craner Curves with 3 laps remaining and subsequently take the flag with a mere 0.154 seconds in hand. Formula Ford racing at it’s very best.

It didn’t turn out to be a great day for Jackson who later saw his 100% Historic Formula Ford record fall too following a phenomenal drive by Tom McArthur aboard his Titan MK4. McArthur looked to have lost any chance of victory after losing time in traffic but, after setting fastest lap after fastest lap, managed to toe up to the back of Jackson’s Winkelmann and Horatio Fitz-Simon’s Classic team Merlin and slip past both on the final lap (Fitz-Simon at Redgate and Jackson through Schwantz Curve). A Titan-ic drive from McArthur.

The GT and Sports Car Cup is a personal favourite of mine.  The variety of 60’s sports cars achieved through being an invitation only event just cannot be beaten; wonderfully evidenced by Andrew Haddon leading the opening stages of the race in his Lotus Elan with the Cobra 289 of Chris Giles Jnr, Matthew Wrigley piloted E-Type and Fred Wakeman’s Lister Jaguar Coupe just behind. 

Whilst the Cobra managed to re-take the lead of the race before the pitstops, it was the Elan, now with Andy Wolfe behind the wheel, which emerged in the lead once the pit window had closed; a lead which the Cobra, now in the hands of Simon Garrad, could do little about, leaving Wolfe to claim victory by a whopping 38 seconds!  A now smoking E-type in the hands of Mike Wrigley tried his best to hold onto the final podium step but could not keep historic ace Patrick Blakeney Edwards (Lister Jaguar) at bay as the hour drew to a close. 

Further back GT3 class honours went the way of Jeremy Welch and Doug Muirhead with 12th place overall; a great achievement considering they had to swap cars overnight resulting in a back row starting position!  With 16th position overall Richard Cook and Richard Tuthill claimed GT2 top spot in their Porsche 911 despite a 5 second penalty for exceeding track limits.

The Dunlop Saloon Car Cup and Historic Touring Car grids were combined for their two races on the day which culminated in a mammoth 36 car grid for race 1. Unsurprisingly both races were affected by Safety Car periods however little could get in the way of Simon Garrad’s Skyline who on best lap times was over 2.5 seconds quicker than second placed Sean Brown’s stunningly turned out RS500.

Fortunately for the rest of the field, Garrad failed to make the grid for race 2 which allowed Soper to make amends for his race 1 trip to the Roberts chicane gravel trap and claim race 2 victory from the back of the DSCC grid!

Mustangs, Minis and Cortinas a plenty graced the Historic Touring Car element of the grid but there was no stopping Dan Williamson (Ford Falcon) who claimed a pair of victories with an incredible 7th and 4th place respective overall finishes. The Cortina’s of Marcus Jewell and Mark Martin would round out the podium positions in both races, each claiming an Appendix K 2 litre class victory a piece.

Is there a better sight than a McLaren M8F powering around Donington Park? Possibly a Michael Lyons piloted F5000 car … A debate for the pub maybe! Dean Forward’s M8F looks particularly stunning in JCB colours and it goes as well as it looks, with Forward claiming a second win of the weekend following Callum Lockie’s enforced retirement; the front bodywork of the March 717 removing itself on the Wheatcroft Straight part way through the race. Behind, Mark Richardson claimed 2 litre honours in his immaculately turned out Lola T290.

Later on the relatively small crowd were treated to a Michael Lyons Masterclass in the 2nd Aurora Trophy race of the weekend. The ridiculously quick Lyons, aboard his Lola T400, managing to lap the entire field in just 20 minutes of racing; a field which included the Chevron’s of Paul Campfield, Martyn Donn and Michael Bletsoe-Brown and March 742 of Mark Dwyer, all far from slow pilots of single seater machinery. A 1.04.63 lap around the Donington Park National Circuit is quicker than anything I have seen for quite some time! A strong argument from the single seater side of the aforementioned pub debate!

Continuing the earlier theme of competitive wingless single seater action, Andrew Hibberd, Jeremy Timms and Benn Simms formed a 3 way battle for victory in the Historic Formula 3 race.  A red flag would ultimately shorten a great battle which saw pole sitter Andrew Hibberd just about stave off pressure from Simms and Timms to claim his second victory of the weekend aboard the Brabham BT18.

Such is the current health of the Historic Formula Ford 2000 championship that a qualifying race is required to reduce the entries down to a maximum 32 starters for the championship race! And the championship race turned into yet another closely fought affair, with Graham Fennymore (Reynard SF81) putting in a stellar defensive drive to take a second race win of the weekend from the Royale of Ian Pearson and Delta of Ben Tilley. Pearson and 2020 champion, Andrew Park, both tried their very best to snatch victory but just could not find a way through, with Park’s final attempt causing him to drop out of the podium positions.

Behind, 70 year old Adrian Reynard himself (the man responsible for half the cars on the grid!) put in a great drive to claim 6th overall in the Championship race following victory in the earlier qualifying event.

30 minute races for both the Historic and 70’s Road Sports had attracted healthy entries. The Elan of John Davison and AC Cobra of Kevin Kivlochan were expected to lock horns in the Historic Road Sports race and the pair got a little too close for comfort at the old hairpin in the early stages which left both cars behind another Elan in the hands of Paul Tooms. Davison was the quickest man in qualifying and this form ultimately carried over to the race as whilst both Davison and Kivlochan were able to re-pass Tooms, the Cobra pilot could do nothing about the pole sitter.

The 70’s Road Sports race turned into a race of 2 halves (Literally) as oil dropped by Greg Thornton’s Ferrari 308 caused a red flag with 10 minutes still left on the clock.  Morgans were the car to have on the day though as not even the red flag could get in the way of a Plant one two (William leading home Richard) in their Plus 8’s.  Despite ending up in the gravel before the red flag, Jim Dean, in his Lotus Europa, was able to take up third on the restart grid courtesy of count back regulations and ultimately prevented a Morgan lock out of the podium positions by pipping Kevin Kivlochan’s hard top model to 3rd.

It is great to live just 15 minutes from my favourite circuit and with such a full day’s activities it is a good job too as I still found myself out of the house for almost 11 hours! And whilst the weather proved to be dull throughout the racing was far from it. I am not sure I can remember a better day’s racing; not a single race felt like a filler event with close battles throughout. It had been a while since I last witnessed a HSCC meeting but I will certainly attempt to get to a second before the year is out. Mid September at Mallory Park has been firmly pencilled into the diary!

GALLERY

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Cracking Racing at Croft Nostalgia

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Although racing is Croft’s primary motorsport discipline,  I had previously only managed to witness Rallying and Rally-Cross at the North Yorkshire venue.  Racing at Croft had long been on my agenda though and the opening day of the Croft Nostalgia Festival would fit nicely into my 2017 plans.  Now in it’s 8th year this event definitely has more of a festival feel than other fixtures on the HSCC calendar, with many a military, aerospace and general motoring related display on offer to compliment the usual array of car clubs.  Not to mention the large groups of people attending in period dress.

It is the on track action that essentially drew me in however and in particular the 60’s Sports Prototypes and GT machinery taking part in the 40 minute Guards Trophy race.  Qualifying had seen 2 Chevron B8s in the hands of Phillip Nelson and Charles Allison top the time sheets and the race for outright victory would soon develop into a great battle between the front row starters.

Running second in the early stages, Allison is already a double Guards Trophy winner in 2017 and by lap 4 he was again at the head of the field.  Any thoughts he had of disappearing into the distance were soon dispelled however as the Chichester man could not break away.  Nelson was well on the pace at Croft and the pole sitter remarkably re-took the lead with an excellent move down the inside at Clervoux on lap 8.  But much like Allison earlier, Nelson was unable to shake off his rival; Allison remaining in his wheel tracks before making his mandatory pitstop on lap 14.

And it would be this early pitstop that proved decisive as Nelson emerged from pit lane 2 laps later in second position.  A slow lap 21 was then the final blow for the chasing Chevron pilot, thus gifting Allison the cushion he required to, in the end, take a comfortable third victory of the season.

The GT battle also proved highly competitive, however, no one could quite match the pace of Mike Gardiner and Dan Cox in the TVR Griffith.  Indeed, had it not been for Ben Mitchell’s excellent recovery drive in the Elva MK7S, an overall podium may well have been on the cards.

The Historic Formula Ford action has been brilliant in it’s 50th anniversary year and that trend most definitely followed suit at Croft.  In the earlier qualifying race, Max Bartell had taken victory from Sam Mitchell, rewarding them with a respective 7th and 8th on the championship race grid.  However, neither were a match for Callum Grant, Michael O’Brien and Richard Tarling as the trio headed by pole sitter and 2016 champion Grant edged away from the field.  Grant would in fact maintain top spot for much of the early running before O’Brien eventually managed to sneak passed at Tower on lap 5.  But, as is the nature of Formula Ford racing, O’Brien would not maintain the lead for long; with he and Grant appearing to take it in turns to top the time sheets over the coming laps.

Meanwhile, Tarling appeared happy to sit in third.  Up until lap 9 that is when he stole 2nd from O’Brien; a move which put the Henley on Thames driver in pole position for victory when Grant was forced off track at Sunny-in following an altercation with a back marker.  And having survived the chaos, Richard Tarling now found himself in the lead of the race with just over 1 lap to run; the Janum T2 pilot defending well to record a quite brilliant second victory of the season from the chasing Merlyn of Michael O’Brien.

A wide variety of machinery had turned out for the Historic Touring Car race where the Ford Cortina proved to be the car to beat.  Surprisingly however it was the Class B, out of period, 2 litre machine of Richard Belcher who took pole position from the more conventional class C Lotus Cortina of James Clarke.  And once Clarke was forced into retirement on lap 3, there was only ever going to be one winner as neither the Mustang of Peter Halford or the Falcon of Jack Drury had the pace to challenge.  And so whilst Belcher went on to record the most unlikely of victories, the championship battle roared on behind.  It would however be Halford who grabbed the all important maximum class K1 points with Drury struggling with setup at the North Yorkshire venue.

Towcester man Jon Milicevic is usually the man to beat in Historic F3 and whilst he would eventually take the category top spot with 4th overall the final result masks the story of the race.  In fact Milicevic, in his Brabham BT21B, was involved in an almighty battle with the Merlyn MK14A of Jonathon Hughes in the early stages; the pair swapping positions on more than one occasion before Hughes disappointingly fell out of contention with a spin at the chicane on lap 8.  Upfront meanwhile, Julian Stokes, in his Techno F2 machine, claimed overall victory in the combined Classic Racing Car/Historic F3 race.  But having built a large lead at the start was almost caught by a fast charging Nick Pancisi in his March 712 Atlantic.

The Formula Junior entry may not have boasted the same level of entry as the Historic Formula Ford event, however, it did feature a, Formula Ford like mid-race duel.  Following a short safety car intervention, pole sitter and early leader Benn Tilley came under attack from Jonathon Hughes.  Where, fresh from a starring performance in the Historic F3 event, the local man managed to squeeze his Brabham BT6 into the lead at Tower on lap 7.  But whilst Hughes would fall back behind Tilley before the lap was out, he would be back in front before the end of the next,  with Tilley this time not able to respond;  Hughes instead managing to maintain the lead over the remaining laps and record victory by just over half a second.

A longer safety car period in the combined Historic/70s Road Sports race would unfortunately ruin the race as a spectacle.  It was however relatively surprising to see the Historic machines hold an advantage over their younger counterparts, with John Davison leading home a Lotus Elan 1-2.  Meanwhile Charles Barter just about claimed the 70s Road Sport victory with third overall; The Datsun 240z pilot out-dragging the Lotus Europa of Will Leverett having initially looked to have lost the position at the final hairpin.

Sunday’s highlights included a first championship victory of the season for Michael O’Brien in Historic Formula Ford and a return to form of Jack Drury in the second Historic Touring Car race.  Meanwhile Andrew Park and Mark Charteris claimed double wins in the respective Historic Formula Ford 2000 and Classic Clubmans events, whilst Jonathon Hughes, Jon Milicevic, Julian Stokes, John Davison and Charles Barter also claimed a second victory of the weekend.

FULL RESULTS

This had been another thoroughly enjoyable day out following the HSCC brigade and for an admission price of just £14 it represented great value for money.  With this in mind I am already looking forward to my next slice of HSCC action; the Oulton Park Gold Cup at the end of August.

All images © Paul Commons (Paul Commons Motorsport Photography)