Tag Archives: Historic Motorsport

Historic Sports Car Club

HSCC Finals – Silverstone – October 2025

Leave a comment

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

BHRC

Woodpecker Rally – August 2025

Leave a comment

Osian Pryce and Dale Furniss were in a league of their own on the recent Phil Price Memorial Woodpecker Rally as the Welsh pairing dominated proceedings to claim a 53 second National Rally victory aboard the Wales Motorsport Ford Escort MK2.

Traditionally based in Shropshire the Sixty & Worcestershire Motor Club organised Woodpecker Rally has re-located to Newtown in recent years and would be mostly confined to the Hafren Forest complex in 2025; most probably the result of extensive forestry damage caused by Storm Darragh at the back end of last year.

However, likely driven by the shortage of gravel rallying in Wales so far in 2025, we were blessed with an entry list that was top drawer in terms of both quantity and quality with none other than 2022 British Rally Champion, Osian Pryce, leading the 2 wheel drive seedings aboard a Wales Motorsport prepared Ford Escort MK2.

Using the event as a test for the upcoming biennial Roger Albert Clark Rally, Pryce and co-driver Dale Furniss were on the pace from the off, setting ridiculously quick times through the opening 2 tests to storm into an incredible 26 second lead after just 12 competitive miles. Another 2 fastest stage times would follow leaving the Welsh pairing sitting on a monumental 41 second National Rally lead at the mid event service!

More often seen behind the wheel of modern four wheel drive machinery, Pryce had already proven his raw talent and adaptability in 2025 having dominated the two wheel drive section of the Nicky Grist Stages. And, despite easing the pace a little over the afternoon loop, through what proved to be monsoon conditions, the local pilot would record a similar commanding result on the Woodpecker as he and Furniss went on to record a phenomenal 53 second victory after just 43 miles of driving!

Paul Barrett would make a rare appearance on the Woodpecker, and with Arthur Kierans alongside would be right in the mix for the podium positions aboard his Ford Escort MK2. In fact the Northern Irishman would prove to be the class of the British Historic Rally Championship contenders as, after being involved in an almighty scrap with the similar machine of Dan Mennell throughout the morning stages, he and Kierans were able to show an impressive turn of pace over the afternoon loop. Indeed Barrett would go on to set fastest historic time on SS7 before equaling that of Pryce on the final test to secure a strong second.

Dan Mennell and John H Roberts have become a force to be reckoned with in recent times and despite losing touch with Barrett over the afternoon loop would end the day a solid third in their Ford Escort MK2; the Anglo Welsh pairing completing the event with almost a minute in hand over another BD powered Ford Escort MK2 in the hands of Robert Gough and Jack Bowen who themselves would round out the BHRC podium.

Nick Elliot and Dave Price would make a first BHRC start of the season on the Woodpecker but were instantly on the back foot after a stage 1 puncture left the Fiat 131 crew way down in 23rd. A strong afternoon however would see the pairing climb to 7th by the end of the day and hold the unofficial honour of first none Ford home.

Irish duo, David Crossen and Ben Teggart meanwhile had a day to forget in Wales as a broken throttle cable in stage 1 ended their day prematurely. Such a shame after an excellent opening three rounds of the season saw them flying high in the championship. It’s not all lost though as Category 3 honours may well still be up for grabs on the season ending Trackrod.

Category 2 numbers have disappointingly reduced in recent times but it was great to see the Ford Escort MK1 of Tim Pearcey and Andy Boswell out in Wales and, after a day mixing it with the category 3 MK2’s, would be rewarded with category victory and 17th position overall. Further back, class H2 winners Drew Struthers and Iain Thorburn would claim the category 2 runner up spot with 26th aboard their Hillman Avenger.

With 19th overall Baz Jordan and Arwel Jenkins would claim category 4 honours and with it the British Historic Rally Championship title aboard their Mitsubishi Galant. Given the lack of category opposition I’m not entirely sure this is the outcome the championship organisers had in mind when opening it up to all categories; however, you have to be in it to win it and, having supported historic rallying for many a year, more deserving champions you will not find.

It is difficult to work out who won what when it comes to the classes on this event as there seem to be a fair few anomalies! For instance last time I checked BD powered MK2’s don’t qualify for category 1 and I have no idea why some are in H6 while others H8! I can’t be the only one struggling with the new historic categorisations …

… But with some degree of certainty David Wood and Reece Brookes would claim category 1 victory after a strong drive to 28th overall aboard their Ford Cortina GT. Simon Goodwin, with multiple BRC Drivers champion Matt Edwards alongside, would claim class H7 in the awesome Triumph Tr7, whilst Kurt Hodgson / Sam Campbell (Peugeot 205) and Phil Hall / Nathalie Rutten (Skoda Favorit) would take the respective H10 and H14 (Cat 5) victories.

Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear dominated the interclub event in their Skoda Fabia R5 only to be awarded a 2 minute penalty for an early check in to SS6. Instead Elliot Payne and Patrick Walsh would go on to claim a 6 second rally victory aboard their Ford Fiesta Rally2, themselves just holding off a late charge from the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 of Tom Williams and Michael Gilbey. Such was Hirst’s pace however that despite the 2 minute penalty he and Dear would still end the day just 10 seconds from the podium positions and only 57 seconds from the lead!

Mad Mick Jones and Chris Evans (Ford Escort MK2) would be first Historic competitors home in the Interclub event with 23rd position overall after Sacha Kakad and James Aldridge (Ford Escort MK2) suffered a 1 minute time penalty for the same infringement as Hirst and Dear above. Gary Smith and Clive Jones meanwhile, in yet another Ford Escort MK2, would round out the podium positions just edging out the similar machines of Mike Simpson / Dale Gibbons and Hywel Davies / Sion Rowlands.

Following the cancellation of Rally North Wales and the Severn Valley it had been 6 long months since the opportunity to take in a gravel rally had presented itself and oh how I’d missed it. Despite the horrific afternoon downpour it was great to be back in the classic Rally GB territory of Hafren forest and catch up with many a likeminded individual. Osian Pryce in full flow was also a sight to behold and whets the appetite nicely for the Roger Albert Clark Rally in late November, where the Welshman must be one of the favourites for victory.

Full Results

Gallery

Historic Sports Car Club

HSCC – Donington Park – June 2025

Leave a comment

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

Masters Historic Racing

Masters Historic Festival – Brands Hatch – June 2025

Leave a comment

Yutaka Toriba and Warren Briggs share Masters Racing Legends spoils as Pre-85 Formula One cars take centre stage at the 2025 Brands Hatch Masters Historic Festival.

With no visit to Donington planned for the Masters Series in 2025 it seemed like a sensible decision to make a return to Brands Hatch for the first time in 9 years, especially as Sunday’s action would see 2 races for the Pre-85 F1 cars, a 40 minute race for the Sports Car Legends and a 1 hour blast for the Pre-66 Touring Cars to round out the day.  Not to mention twin races for both the excellent F2 and F3 Classic InterSeries machines.

Operating as a joint venture between the UK based Historic Sports Car Club and French based HVM Racing the F2 and F3 Classic InterSeries events have gone from strength to strength and the initial Brands Hatch entry lists looked a mouth watering prospect. 

Entries were a little lower on the day however as a pair of Italian drivers in the form of Davide Leone and Manfredo Rossi Di Montelera shared the front row of the F3 Classic grid for the first race of the day. Pole sitter Leone would prove to be the man to beat with Rossi Di Montelera forced to spend the majority of both races trying to find a way past the older March 783 of his compatriot with the latter ultimately coming up short in both events as Leone put in a great drive to secure double victory.

Behind, Chris Hodgen had initially crossed the line third in race 1 but was later hit with a 30 second penalty for overtaking under a safety car leaving Frederic Lajoux aboard his March 793 to claim the final step of the podium.  Race 2 meanwhile would see the excitement of Hodgen and Alex Ames (who finished race 1 in the Stirling’s gravel trap) come through the field with the grid based on race 1 finishing positions.  Both would make great progress with Hodgen just missing out on a race 2 podium as Eric Martin, aboard his Martini MK39, just had enough in hand.

In the Classic F2 races, 2024 Interseries Champion and poles sitter, Mark Charteris, would put in a controlled drive to claim race 1 victory. Martin Stretton and James Lay would keep the multiple Classic Clubmans Champion honest for the early part of the race with Stretton even claiming fastest lap before being forced into retirement. This instead would leave the March 762’s of James Lay and Manfredo Rossi Di Montelera to claim the respective final steps of the podium.

Charteris could not make it a double victory on the day however as the March 782 man dropped back early on in race 2 before retiring.  Stretton (March 742) meanwhile had made great progress from the back of the grid, climbing as high as 4th before unfortuately suffering a second retirement of the day.  This left James Lay to follow up his earlier second with a dominant race 2 victory whilst Rossi Di Montelera would claim his 4th podium of the day with second and Greg Caton would take an excellent third aboard his March 742.

Entries were unfortunately a little of the low side throughout with the Masters Sports Car Legends race seeing just 7 cars make the start and 5 take the flag; this in addition to only 8 cars lining up for the second Masters GT Trophy race that saw Craig Wilkins and Aaron Scott claim a dominant second victory of the weekend aboard their 2012 Lamborghini Gallardo GT3.

The Masters Sports Car Legends race did however feature a great opening stint battle between the McLaren M1B of John Spiers and Lola T70 MK2 Spyder of Andy Newall.  Spiers was just about able to keep Newall at bay but Greensall would soon disappear up the road once stepping into the hot seat of the Chevrolet powered brute.  Car owner Steve Seaman meanwhile was not able to match the speed of Newall and would soon drop back in the Lola T70, leaving Georg Kjallgren aboard the Daren MK2 to claim 2nd and Keith Ahlers and James Billy Bellinger to round out the podium in their glorious Cooper Monaco King Cobra.

By far the highlight of the day though were two fantastic races for the Pre-85 Formula One cars. 2024 Champion Matthew Wrigley had qualified his 1982 Tyrrell 011 on pole position and would have been hot favourite for race 1 victory had it not been for losing third gear.  Yutaka Toriba, in his Williams FW07C, would take full advantage of the Tyrrell’s ailment and find himself in the lead by the end of lap 1 with Mike Cantillon following suit after a mid-race safety car. 

The latter pass proving pivotal as, courtesy of a 5 second penalty (unsafe release from pit lane) for Toriba, it looked as though Cantillon (Williams FW08) would go on to take victory having remained a close second throughout the closing stages.  Indeed Cantillon was even handed the winners trophy before a stewards review revoked the Japanese drivers penalty leaving an amended podium of Toriba, Cantillon and the McLaren M29 of Warren Briggs.

Whilst race 1 was eventful enough, the partially reversed grid for race 2 upped the anti further still!  Courtesy of a 4th place finish in race 1 Steve Hartley lead the early stages from pole before a coming together at Graham Hill Bend saw Hartley and Wrigley drop back and Toriba given a 5 second penalty as a result.

This left fellow front row starter Warren Briggs in the lead from the Williams duo of Cantillon and Toriba.  Briggs however was nursing a braking issue but was doing a fine job of keeping the other leading crews at bay which in turn had allowed Wrigley to bring himself back into contention and was lying fourth before another coming together.

This time, in an attempt to get passed Briggs at Paddock Hill Bend, Cantillon would catch the rear end of the New Zealander’s machine, damaging his front wing.  Thankfully Briggs was unaffected but Cantillon would soon fall behind both Toriba and a recovering Wrigley before receiving a 5 second penalty himself for the collision. 

This would leave Wrigley as the main rival to Briggs’ victory ambitions given Toriba’s collision penalty but with time running out Toriba would bring about a slightly earlier end to proceedings as he found himself in the Clearways gravel; thus denying Wrigley a chance to end the day on the top step of the podium but allowing Briggs to claim a well deserved second victory of the season.    

Whilst the F1 cars may have provided the major highlight, the Pre-66 Touring Car race to round out the days proceedings was a close second.  It’s not too often these days that such a varied Pre-66 Touring Car grid is assembled but on this occasion we were treated to the almost perfect mix of Ford V8 powered muscle, 2litre Lotus Cortina and of course a fine sprinkling of the mighty Mini.  A number of recent Touring Cars stars were also set to appear in the second half of the race, including Matt Neal, Tom Ingram and Colin Turkington, to add extra spice to the 1 hour event.

It was John Spiers who would start the event from pole in his Mustang however courtesy of a stunning lap from Nigel Greensall at the start of the day.  Tom Sharp, aboard his Ford Falcon, would soon find himself in the lead though with another Mustang in the hands of Alex Taylor soon upto second before Spiers’ event was ruined courtesy of a nudge from behind which would see the pole sitter lose a significant amount of time in the Paddock Hill Bend gravel.   

Robert Ross and Jimmy Broadbent also made great progress through the opening stint with the latter up to third in his Mustang prior to the stops and Ross getting past Sharp to take the lead of the race on lap 8 in his similar machine.

As the pitstops unwound however Sharp would find himself back in the lead with Matthew Johnson (taking over from Robert Ross) and Alex Taylor completing the top three before a safety car closed up the entire field; thus appearing the give the current and ex BTCC stars a shot at the podium as their elite drive pitstop penalties were wiped out.

It was not to be however as another safety car period shortly after, this time for Colin Turkington himself who was beached in the Westfield gravel, put pay to any comeback. This left Sharp, Johnson and Taylor to fight it out for glory, with Sharp looking odds on for victory before a mistake at Druids on the final lap allowed Johnson to sneak through. But whilst Johnson was first to take the flag, the Mustang man was carrying a 5 second penalty for track limits which dropped he and Ross to third, leaving a relieved Sharp standing on the top step of the podium and Taylor to claim an excellent second.

Whilst numbers may have been a little on the low side throughout the racing was top drawer. I had genuinely forgotten what a great track Brands Hatch is, especially when the weather is playing ball. The long lasting memory however will be the sound of the 3 litre DFV engines bouncing off the Grand Prix Loop trees. WHAT A NOISE! And well worth the near 6 hour round trip.

FULL RESULTS

GALLERY

BHRC

Rally Anglo Caledonian – November 2024

Leave a comment

Seb Perez celebrated his British Historic Rally Championship crown in style; braving storm Bert, with Dale Bowen alongside on this occasion, to claim historic category victory on the new for 2024 Rally Anglo Caledonian.

The brain child of Colin Heppenstall, Rally Anglo Caledonian was a new event for 2024, effectively replacing the Carlisle Stages with a 140 mile 2 day blast through the English / Scottish border forests.  A mouth watering prospect and what better way to round out the British Historic Rally Championship season!  However things started to unravel on the run up to the event as first the rally was robbed of an epic title showdown following the forced withdrawal of title hopeful Mark Higgins (injured) and then the onset of Storm Bert!

Heavy Snow, rain and high winds were forecast putting the rally in doubt but somehow, through quick thinking and a flexible approach the team behind the award winning Roger Albert Clark Rally managed to pull off a minor miracle in what were, at times, horrific conditions.  The fact that only 2 stages and part of Buck Fell were lost is quite frankly an incredible achievement!

Day 1 saw the worst of the conditions as Kielder was hit with a couple of hours of heavy snow before rain set in.  And despite the organisers decision to delay the event by a few hours and re-work the running order the stages were still treacherous by the time the historic crews came through the first loop of stages in the Kershope forest complex.

The result was a completely mixed up leaderboard with cars separated by minutes rather than the usual seconds with Matthew Stroud leading the historic runners from David Henderson, Paul Thompson and Matthew Robinson.  Meanwhile Perez and Bowen had opted for a steady start, lying 11th of the historic runners and sitting over a minute behind after stage 2.

The newly crowned BHRC champ would soon reap the rewards of a cautious start however as top 3 stage times in Ash Park 2 and Kershope 2 saw the Porsche 911 pilot climb to second in the historic category before really showing his class by setting a pair of phenomenal stage times in what turned out to be the final stages of the day.  Indeed his time of 17.48 through Gowanburn, a whole 1 minute and 31 seconds quicker than overall event winners Alan Carmichael and Jane Nicol in the Hyundai i20N may well go down in folklore!

Paul Thompson meanwhile had required a hire car for this event following accident damage incurred on the Malton Forest rally and would have been over the moon to sit 2nd in the historic category overnight following a measured drive through the snow, ice, fog and darkness of Killer Kielder; so impressive in-fact that he and Josh Davison had a margin of almost 5 minutes over 3rd placed fellow Yorkshireman David Henderson! But given the conditions just making it to the end of day 1 was a feat in itself as expected front runners Nick Elliott, Ben Friend and Stefaan Stouf found out whilst Adrian Hetherington would also hit trouble but return on Sunday under Super Rally rules.

Sunday would be a different kettle of fish entirely however as rising temperatures and torrential rain had almost cleared the snow entirely from the Southern Scottish stages and the predicted high winds were not quite as bad as expected leaving the event to run like clockwork.

After setting the timing sheets alight on Saturday evening Perez and Bowen picked up where they left off on Sunday morning, reeling off 4 top 5 stage times in a row through the classic stages of Castle O’er, Twiglees, Windyhill and Ae to sit just 18 seconds behind the overall event leaders!  Could the 911 crew really take the battle to the modern 4WD Hyundai over the remaining 4 stages?

Unfortunately a gear stick issue in Twiglees 2 would put pay to any overall victory challenge but once resolved the 2024 BHRC champ would still go on to record a dominant historic rally victory with a winning margin of over 7 minutes!  Some drive and we can only hope the mighty Porsche makes a return in 2025!

Paul Thompson and Josh Davison meanwhile followed up an excellent day 1 with another solid performance on day 2, consistently setting top 15 stage times in their borrowed Ford Escort MK2 to round out their season in style with the runners up spot on possibly the toughest UK gravel event of the year.

Recent rear wheel drive convert David Henderson, with Will Atkins alongside, was setting a strong pace throughout Sunday and may well have challenged Thompson for second had it not been for losing the clutch in Castle O’er 1 and suffering punctures in both Windyhill 1 and Castle O’er 2.  Despite this Henderson still managed to close on Thompson throughout the day and round out the podium positions just over 1 minute in arrears.

Elsewhere in the historic category classes Bryan Jardine and Declan Campbell claimed Safari spec victory in their MK1 Escort with a brilliant 8th overall and 7th in the historics whilst Andy Madge and Matt Cooper claimed an excellent Pre-85 class victory with 18th overall aboard their Toyota Corolla; this after putting in one of the starring performances of Saturday morning to sit well inside the top 10!

Other historic class victories would go the way of Douglas and Graeme Menzies in their Ford Escort MK2 (D3) with 15th overall, Alex Waterman and Chris Davies (C2) aboard their Datsun 1600 SSS with 20th overall, James and Jack Brady (F2) with 24th overall in their Porsche 911, Drexel Gillespie and Gill Cotton (C3) with 26th in their Ford Escort MK1, Ed Abbott and Tom Bishop (D4) in the crowd pleasing Jaguar X-JS V12 with 35th and William Paterson and Tom Hynd (D2) with 40th overall in their Talbot Sunbeam.

In a different approach to the Roger Albert Clark Rally, the organisers allowed 4WD machinery for Rally Anglo Caledonian and despite having the best machinery for the job Alan Carmichael and Jane Nicol put in an excellent drive aboard their Hyundai i20N to claim victory,  it can’t be easy having the likes of Seb Perez hunting you down especially as the Derbyshire man could probably drive 911’s in his sleep!

The Sunday stages also formed the final round of the Scottish Rally Championship where the pace at the front was frenetic!  4wd crews featured heavily at the top of the time sheets but it was Mark McCulloch and Michael Hendry who would run out victors in their Proton Satria Evo after a well controlled drive. 

Top seeds Josh Wink and Jack Bowen (Hyundai i20 R5) appeared to struggle through the morning stages but were ultra rapid over the final 3 and were an incredible 11 seconds quicker than anyone else in Twiglees 2 to leap from fourth to second on the final stage of the event!  Meanwhile Greg McKnight and Harry Marchbank would head the 2 wheel drive crews, coming home an excellent 5th in their Ford Escort MK2 whilst Donald Peacock and Mairi Riddick would be first historic crew home in 13th.

Everyone must have a story to tell regarding the rally and ours was no different having only managed 1 stage on Saturday following a drive to Kielder that took 5 hours longer than usual!  The main story of the weekend though has to be how the organisers managed to keep the event running.  A quite unbelievable achievement in the circumstances.  Let’s hope they are rewarded with a much larger entry in two years time.

FULL RESULTS

GALLERY 

Uncategorized

Plenty of ‘Hors’power at Oulton’s Gold Cup

Leave a comment

After years of attempting to shoe horn the Oulton Park Gold Cup into my schedule, the 2016 rendition would be my first visit to the Cheshire circuit’s finest historic event.  And what a day and year to pick; glorious August Bank Holiday Monday sunshine the perfect conditions to take in 13 (yes thirteen) largely HSCC organised races.  And as a paying spectator on this occasion, £24 represented great value for money with a vast array of car and period military displays nicely complimenting the jam packed circuit schedule.

Whilst the F2 and F5000 cars in the Derek Bell trophy as well as a fine mix of 20th century touring cars were the big draws for me personally, the Gold Cup itself would be awarded to the aggregate winner of two 20 minute races for the HGPCA Pre-66 Grand Prix cars.  And after strong drive in race 1, Peter Horsmann in his Lotus 18/21, carried a 13 second lead into leg 2 of the event which would take place on Monday lunchtime.

GoldCup_OPGC16

Any thought of another Horsmann whitewash in race 2 however was quickly dismissed when Rod Jolley in his Cooper T45 made the better start and leapt into an early lead.   And whilst few anticipated the class 7b machine keeping the more advanced Lotus behind for long, Jolley put up a great fight; twice holding top spot before Horsmann made the decisive move on lap 6 to take his Lotus 18/21 to victory by a mere 1.1 seconds and claim the infamous Golden trophy.  Sensational racing!

GoldCupPresentation_OPGC16

WinningCar_OPGC16

As always the Historic Formula Fords provided great entertainment in their 2 twenty minute races.  After an opening lap collision in race 1 brought out the red flag it would be Sam Mitchell who claimed victory in the shortened race.  Lying third entering lap 7, the Cheltenham man was in the right place at the right time to take advantage of a final lap incident between race leading duo Benn Simms and Callum Grant.

The day would vastly improve for Simms however.  After claiming second in the Rear Engined Formula Junior event, the Jomo JMR 7 pilot would go one better in the second Historic Formula Ford race.  Lying at the back of a lead group of six in the early stages, the Leicestershire man would take an excellent victory; capitalising on the mechanical woes of others whilst throwing in some fantastic overtaking manoeuvres.

Simms_OPGC16

The Historic Touring Cars never fail to catch my eye and whilst Warren Briggs in his Ford Mustang was able to take a couple of dominant victories the battle behind was far less clear cut.  16 year old James Clarke was in many ways the star of the day; consistently the quickest Lotus Cortina pilot, the youngster went on to claim a well deserved second overall in race 2.  It is a rarity for such a young driver to feature in this series; 3rd placed John Avill best summing it up by claiming all his grandchildren were older than the man standing on the second step of the podium!

Briggs_OPGC16

The largely 1990’s built machines in the Super Touring Car challenge were in fact the only field of cars that I was fortunate enough to witness racing in period; the very technologically advanced machines bringing back great childhood memories from the spectator bankings of both Donington and Silverstone.

After recording an impressive 7 second race 1 victory, Stewart Whyte was again in a class of his own in Monday’s second race of the weekend.  Not even John Cleland, again re-united with in the Vectra he once professionally campaigned, could stay on terms with his fellow Scotsman; the Honda Accord pilot going on to record another dominant victory.

STC_OPGC16

In fact double wins were the theme of the weekend as Andrew Park claimed two impressive Formula Ford 2000 victories whilst Mark Dwyer, in his F2 March 742 twice got the better of the F5000 runners in the Derek Bell Trophy.  Meanwhile Andrew Hibberd and Mark Woodhouse would claim double glory in the respective Formula Junior front engined and rear engined events.

Further 20 minute races for the Classic Racing Cars and Classic Clubman machines would round off the days entertainment where John Murphy proved just too strong for Julian Stokes and Mark Charteris was yet again the pick of the Classic Clubman runners; the reigning champion building a winning margin of over 38 seconds by the the time the chequered flag was waved!

In all there was little not to like about our relatively short Bank Holiday Monday trip across the A50.  The Cheshire circuit has long been a personal favourite and seeing some of the best machinery of yesteryear grace the undulating asphalt was a sight to behold.  Viewing is second to none at Oulton, partly as a result of being able to get close to the action without having ones view obstructed by thick catch fencing.  I will make every effort to return in 2017.

FULL RESULTS

All images © Paul Commons (Paul Commons Motorsport Photography)