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Gt & Sports Car Cup

Castle Combe Autumn Classic – September 2025

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FULL RESULTS

GALLERY

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

Masters Historic Racing

Masters Historic Festival – Brands Hatch – June 2025

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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

Motor Racing Legends

Donington Historic Festival – Day 2 – May 2025

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In an exciting new dawn for Motor Racing Legends, Shaun & Max Lynn rounded off a brilliant Day 2 of the Donington Historic Festival by coming out on top of a fantastic Pre-66, David vs Goliath battle to take Royal Automobile Club Pall Mall Cup victory aboard their Lotus Elan.

Although Shaun Lynn’s Aythorpe Promotions business acquired Motor Racing Legends in Mid 2024 the 2025 Donington Historic Festival was the first event to really show the vision of the new owners.  On track, new rules ensuring car owners take up a greater share of the driving duties combined with significant time penalties for elite drivers has really levelled up the playing field whilst trackside the show seams to have been taken up a notch for the spectators. 

Indeed, accessibility was second to none and the individually allocated awnings for each competing car was a great touch, shades of Goodwood and some of the big European events. The demonstration runs for the Super Tourers and Williams FW22 in the very capable hands of James Davison were great additions too;  Watching the latter through the Craner Curves and Old Hairpin was simply breathtaking! That noise!

Grid sizes seemed to have improved also, especially regarding the pre-war machinery where a mammoth 36 cars lined up for the first race of the day.  Not bad for cars approaching 100 years old (ignoring the debate on continuation models)!  And the quality of racing proved equally impressive as, after a great battle with the Alvis Firefly Special of Rudi Friedrichs, Gareth Burnett eventually claimed victory aboard his Alta Sports. 

The first half of the race saw the duo swap positions on numerous occasions as Friedrichs was faster down the straights but the Alta of Burnett was stronger under braking.  2nd gear would however prove to be a problem for the Alvis in the second half of the race leaving Burnett to pull out a relatively healthy margin of 16 seconds at the flag.  Meanwhile Rob and Josh Beebee couldn’t quite keep in touch with the 2 leading machines as they rounded out the podium positions in their Frazer Nash TT Replica.

After a successful pilot event at Silverstone last year, the new for 2025 GT3 Legends series made a welcome debut at this years festival. Catering for GT3 machinery homologated between 2006 and 2012 a very healthy grid of 24 cars, across many a brand, had been assembled for the first of two races over the weekend.

But whilst GT3 is all about balance of performance, Aston Martin V12 Vantage pilot, Jonathan Mitchell, would prove to be in a league of his own. Up against the likes of former BTCC champ Andrew Jordan, Mitchell put in a stellar drive which not only saw the Aston man claim victory by more than 57 seconds but perhaps even more impressively set fastest lap of the race!

The battle for the remaining podium positions was far less clear cut however as Andrew Jordan fought back from his 30 second elite driver time penalty (after taking over the Matt Holme Corvette). Finding himself in fifth after the stops the long time touring car pilot was able to slip past the Nissan GTR of Max Lynn, BMW z4 of Andy Willis and McLaren of Christian Albrecht over the remainder of the 50 minute race to claim a fine 2nd. Albrecht meanwhile would complete the podium positions having gotten the better of Willis during the closing stages.

The Historic Motor Racing News Pre 63 GT race can always be relied upon to provide a stunning grid and this occasion was no exception as Dario Franchitti leapt into an early lead aboard Gregor Fisken’s Shelby Cobra 260. John Spiers and Matt Holme in similar machines would keep the multiple IndyCar champion honest but Franchitti had built a healthy lead by the time the car was handed over to Fisken. Healthy enough that even the traditional Nigel Greensall late charge (taking over from Spiers) would not be enough as American Muscle would lock out the podium positions.

The highlight of the festival for many in recent times however is the Saturday evening Royal Automobile Club Pall Mall Cup and a mouth watering grid of 24 Pre-66 largely GT machines would line up for the 2025 edition, a race where strategy is often just as important as outright pace.

Fresh from a strong performance in the Pre-63 GT race it was pole-sitter John Spiers who would lead the early stages of the 2 hour race aboard his Jaguar E-Type Lightweight with another E-Type in the hands of Mark Donnor soon upto second and the Rudi Friedrichs Cobra 3rd. But with the requirement for 2 pitstops, (of both 1 and 5 minutes in length) it was all to play for.

Indeed, after choosing to make their short stop first, it would be Max Lynn (taking over from father Shaun) who would emerge in the lead aboard the nimble Lotus Elan at the half way point with the Gary Pearson Cobra (having taken over from Friedrichs) close behind. Surely just a temporary stint in the lead given the horsepower deficit?

Not so, in fact Max Lynn was driving he and Shaun right into contention with consistently fast lap times, so much so that by the time Shaun Lynn emerged from his longer stop with just under 15 minutes remaining they were still in the lead. And with the demise of both the Mark Donnor / Alex Brundle and John Spiers / Nigel Greensall E-Types it was a comfortable one at that as the father and son pairing would go on to take a memorable 23 second victory.

Marcus Oeynhausen, aboard his Jaguar E-Type, had put in a strong drive over the first half of the race which left Andy Newall in a strong second of those who had elected to take their long stop first. But whilst they gained a position through the demise of the Donnor / Brundle machine, their combined pace was no match for Max Lynn leaving them having to settle for second as the pitstops unwound.

Gary Pearson meanwhile carried on the great early work of Rudi Friedrichs to claim the final step of the podium in the AC Cobra; thankful i’m sure that the race distance had been shortened by an hour for 2025 with the Lotus Elan of Miles Griffiths closing at a fair rate of knots over the final stages.

Earlier in the day former Le Mans 24 hour winner Guy Smith claimed a second U2TC win of the weekend aboard his Ford Lotus Cortina as Harri Reynolds (son of Welsh rally legend Julian) and man of the weekend, Jonathan Mitchell rounded out the podium positions in similar machinery. Disappointingly only 13 cars made the start of Saturday’s race despite returning to standalone grids for 2025. Let’s hope numbers improve as the season progresses.

Sunday’s racing meanwhile would see Jonathan Bailey and Andy Middlehurst claim Historic Touring Car Challenge victory aboard their Nissan Skyline, Kyle Tilley and Olly Bryant (Lotus 15) first home in the combined Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy / Stirling Moss Trophy race and Jonathan Mitchell take a second dominant GT3 Legends victory of the weekend. Elsewhere victories in the HRDC Gerry Marshall Trophy, Jack Sears Trophy and Dunlop Allstars would go the way of Simon Lewis / Alex Brundle (Jaguar XJS), Peter Smith / Harri Reynolds (Lotus Cortina) and Mike Whittaker Snr (TVR Griffith) respectively.

Overall day 2 of the Donington Historic Festival had been one hell of a spectacle and possibly the best yet. I had my doubts about switching to the GP circuit and reducing the length of the Pall Mall Cup race but in the end both proved to be a success. Although I do yearn for a return of the 60’s and 70’s Sports Prototypes, it’s clear Motor Racing Legends is now in very good hands, and long may it continue.

FULL RESULTS

GALLERY

Motor Racing Legends

MRL Silverstone GP Meeting – October 2024

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Harry Barton and Oliver Reuben retained their Silverstone GP Royal Automobile Club Pall Mall Cup crown with a convincing win aboard the Nigel Reuben Racing prepared TVR Griffith.

Now the traditional curtain closer for the Motor Racing Legends Series, the Silverstone GP meet had attracted a healthy entry with over 30 cars lining up for the Pre-66 3 hour ‘into the evening’ enduro and possibly more impressively an almost similar number of entrants for the brand new GT3 Legends pilot event for 2006 to 2012 GT3 spec cars. Quite some achievement!

The opening day’s track activity would centre around the Pall Mall Cup however with a 50 minute qualifying session preceding a late afternoon start for the 3 hour main event. And it was a pair of Jaguar E-Types that made the most of the damp morning track conditions to form the front row of the grid, headed by the Marcus Oeynhausen-Sierstorpff / Andy Newall machine.

The pole-sitting Jaguar would however drop back early on and be forced into an early stop with Oeynhausen-Sierstorpff suffering from cramp. Conversely the TVR of Harry Barton had made great progress from it’s relatively lowly 6th position on the grid, with the young historic racer quickly hitting the front and building a comfortable lead over the other front row starting E-type of Richard Kent and Lotus Elan of Simon Evans.

Pall Mall Cup rules dictate a two stop race, one of 60 seconds and the other 5 minutes in duration (for re-fueling) and it is this niche set of rules that brings in-race strategy to the fore. As it was both the Griffiths of Barton and Elan of Evans opted to take their longer stop first, the former having no option courtesy of a faulty transponder, which left another Elan in the hands of Max Lynn in the lead of the race with the similar machine of Miles Griffiths in hot pursuit for much of the middle stint.

The Nigel Reuben Racing prepared TVR of Harry Barton and Oliver Reuben was however in a league of it’s own on the day and as the final pit stops unwound would find themselves with a healthy advantage entering the final third of the race. The class 4 competition may have been a little light on this occasion, with the stablemate TVR not able to enter following damage at Spa and the Alex Brundle E-type a non starter courtesy of timing chain issues, but the pairing hardly put a foot wrong; Barton (back in the car for the final stint) eventually crossing the line with a commanding winning margin of 1 minute and 42 seconds.

Simon Evans and James Littlejohn have formed a formidable partnership in recent years and put in possibly the performance of the day to claim second aboard their Lotus Elan. Whilst not able to compete with the 5 litre Ford powered TVR, Evans and Littlejohn were able to keep the eventual winners honest and it was quite some achievement to end the event on the same lap! Littlejohn was particularly rapid on the day and managed to set a lotus Elan lap record with a 2.23.944 on well used tyres!

In fact Lotus Elan’s would make up 1 third of the field with the nimble 1600cc machines featuring heavily in the battle for the remaining podium position. Miles Griffiths had starred throughout the race and seemed to be heading for that final step of the podium following a race long battle with Shaun and Max Lynn but tragically suffered a front end issue with only minutes remaining. This left Shaun Lynn (the man now in charge of Motor Racing Legends activities) and son Max to claim third with Andy Wolfe and Ben Tinkler fourth. Wolfe and Tinkler’s result, in yet another Elan, all the more remarkable having started from the pit lane!

A healthy contingent of Porsche 911s, usually found in their own stand alone Peter Auto races, had entered this years event and it was the David Danglard and Phil Quaife machine that proved the class of the field as they claimed class 3c honours with an excellent 11th. And talking of excellent performances Can Bitirim and Dave Gardener defeated many a more powerful machine to bring their MGB home in 13th to to register class 3b top spot. Meanwhile Pre-63 GT honours would go the way of Grant Williams and Ciprian Nistorica aboard their E-type with 17th overall.

Earlier in the day the GT3 Legends series made a successful track debut and it was British GT stalwart Jon Minshaw who found himself in an early lead before a collision with the similar BMW Z4 of Rob Hall put them both out of contention. Instead it was the Lamborghini Gallardo of Jack Tetley who lead for much of the opening stint but Nick Maton, having taken over for the second half of the race, could not keep Andrew Jordan at bay. The former BTCC champion, aboard the Chevrolet Corvette, appeared in top form however, producing sub 1m 58 second lap times on his way to record a 17 second victory for he and Matt Holme.

In fact it proved a good day for Jordan as Andy Middlehurst and Jonathan Bailey had earlier claimed Historic Touring Car Challenge victory aboard their JRT prepared Nissan Skyline. On a drying track Middlehurst swapped positions on more than one occasion with the similar machine of Ric Wood but had made the conscious effort to look after the tyres of his wet shod machine. This proved pivotal as Wood was forced into retirement having ‘destroyed’ his whilst Bailey (replacing Middlehurst for the second half of the race) just had enough rubber left to reel in Darren fielding (BMW M3) over the closing stages to claim victory.

Having driven through what can only be described as monsoon conditions on the way to the circuit we were treated to a fabulous golden hour to round out the day. And just like the weather the Motor Racing Legends season had also ended on a high with the GT3 Legends series a clear hit. Hopefully, under the guidance of Shaun Lynn, the series can go from strength to strength as it would be great to see grids such as the Historic Touring Car Challenge attract the numbers we were used to in seasons past.

RESULTS

GALLERY

Gt & Sports Car Cup

Castle Combe Autumn Classic – September 2024

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FULL RESULTS

GALLERY

Masters Historic Racing

Masters Race Weekend – Donington Park – August 2024

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Having swapped Donington dates with the Classic Sports Car Club, Masters Historic Racing would find themselves with a mid summer date for 2024, and with Historic Formula One cars on the schedule it proved an attractive event for the paying public.

Having struggled for numbers at Donington in recent years 2024 represented an improvement but there were still only 11 cars apiece for the Historic F1 and Endurance Legend events with Masters customers possibly favouring the Silverstone Festival at the end of the month. However what was lacking in quantity was most definitely made up for in quality with some iconic DFV powered F1 machinery on display as well as the ex Nigel Mansell piloted Ginetta-Zytek 09s and the absolute beaut that is the Lola B08/80 of Mike Newton in the endurance field. Hang on, I saw the latter two in period, jeez I must be getting old!!

Headlining the opening day of the event meanwhile were the Pre-66 Touring Cars where ex-BTCC racer Sam Tordoff lead the field from pole in his JRT prepared Ford Falcon. Having stormed to victory in 2023, the Yorkshireman would again prove unbeatable in 2024 with the 8 time BTCC race victor making up his elite driver 30 second pit stop penalty within the first stint of the race!

But whilst victory was a foregone conclusion the battle for the remaining steps of the podium was anything but, with the Mustang of John Davison and Cortina of Mike Simpson the leading contenders throughout the first stint. Nigel Greensall however would have a weekend to remember and having taken over the John Spiers Mustang during the mandatory pitstops found himself reeling in the aforementioned duo over the closing stages.

And with only handful of laps remaining, Greensall, a stalwart of historic racing, had managed to slip past both and claim an excellent runners up spot. Meanwhile a self confessed rather robust move at McLeans on the last lap would also see Simpson finally get the better of Davison to make it three very different Fords on the podium.

Greensall had earlier starred in the hour long Sports Car Legends race where again paired with Spiers drove the wheels off the awesome Can-Am McLaren M1B; seemingly sideways from exit of Redgate to the top of the Craner curves for the whole of the second stint to record a first podium of the weekend. Ahead meanwhile Gary Pearson, aboard his Lola T70 MK3B, had managed to keep the Lola T292 of Diogo Ferrao behind for the first stint but post pit stops, with the ultra rapid Martin Stretton installed, it was a different kettle of fish and Stretton would soon find himself in the lead of the race.

And whilst Pearson was able to keep Stretton honest for a while, the thirsty Lola would ultimately end the day in fourth as despite being filled to the brim would run out of fuel with just a couple of laps remaining. This left the similar machine of Jason Wright to claim the runners up spot and Spiers and Greensall to round out the podium positions.

Not content with saturday’s podium finishes, Greensall would round out the weekend in style as he and John Spiers claimed victory in the Gentleman Drivers race aboard their TVR Griffith. The highlight of the weekend for many (me included), the 90 minute race for Pre-66 world endurance machinery saw a high quality entry take the start for the final race of the weekend.

Cobras in their many forms had previously dominated pre-66 GT events but in recent times the TVR Griffith seems to be the car of choice and having started from pole it was the Nigel Reuben Racing prepared machine of John Davison who lead the early running from the similar machines of Mike Whitaker and Harry Barton.

Indeed all looked to be going well for Davison until the TVR pilot lost the use of second gear after the scheduled stops. This appeared to be all the incentive Greensall needed as the professional driver coach charged through the pack in the second half of the race and would pass the ailing Davison machine at the Roberts chicane with just a few laps remaining. Davison would however have enough in hand to claim second whilst Mike Whitaker would complete a TVR lock out of the podium positions. Meanwhile John Tordoff and Andrew Jordan would claim the under 2 litre class victory with an excellent 6th aboard the JRT prepared Lotus Elan 26R.

11 immaculately turned out F1 cars featured in the 2 Racing Legends events and the pre-85 machines were a joy to watch on the relatively recently resurfaced East Midlands circuit. I challenge anyone to tell me there is a better sound than a 3 Litre DFV engine powering out of the Old Hairpin (even if capped at 10k rpm)!

On the day pole sitter Matthey Wrigley in his 1982 Tyrell 011 was the man to beat and looked odds on for victory in race 1 before being forced into retirement with mechanical woes. This left the very well driven 1979 Williams FW06 of David Shaw to claim victory after the McLaren of Steve Hartley suffered a similar fate; a brilliant drive considering the Williams man was up against more recent ground effect machinery.

Wrigley however made up for his earlier retirement in style during race 2. Starting from the back of the grid, the Tyrrell man quickly weaved his way through the field and into the lead by half distance to claim a well deserved victory. David Shaw again excelled to claim second whilst Simon Fish (Arrows A4) followed up his earlier 2nd place finish by rounding out the podium positions in race 2.

Despite Wrigley setting a time of 1.00.841, quicker than anything else I had seen at Donington in many a year, this was not even fastest time of the weekend. That honour instead went to the Ginetta-Zytek of Freddie Tomlinson who set a ridiculous lap time of 58.880 in the second Endurance Legends race of the weekend. Whilst not overly fussed about the LMP3 machinery in the Endurance Legends races the P1 and P2 machinery at the front of the field invoked great memories of my trips to Le Mans and when the cars at the front are lapping in less than a minute it didn’t really matter that only 11 cars turned up!

Not surprsingly with the pace of the younger Tomlinson, Freddie and Lawrence recorded double victory in their Ginetta-Zytek 09s, with Alfie Briggs in the HPD ARX-04 claiming a pair of seconds whilst the Lola’s of Mike Newton and Alan Purbrick/David Brise took a 3rd place apiece. Incidentally (according to wikipedia) Tomlinson’s fastest lap is a new lap record for LMP machinery at Donington and not a million miles away from the outright track record!

I remember being rather disappointed by the GT Trophy races in 2023, largely due to the lack of entries, but 2024 proved a different story altogether as a wide ranging grid of 24 cars took the start for race 1! Whilst in my head I still struggle see the largely GT3 / Cup class cars as historic it proved an excellent addition to the weekend and I must admit I had forgotten how good the previous generation of GT cars sounded before large turbos became the norm!

On the day the ultra rapid Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo was the car to beat and Craig Wilkins claimed double victory in his 2017 machine. The 2009 Mosler MT900 was my personal favourite however and was pleased to see the 7 litre brute of Adam Sharpe and George Haynes record top three finishes in both events.

Guesting on the schedule were the HRDC Dunlop Allstars and a mammoth 37 cars would form the grid for a 30 minute blast around the Donington National circuit. As it was several of the Gentleman Drivers racers took the opportunity for a second event of the day and it would be John Davison’s TVR Griffith who would edge out Mike Whittaker to take the victory, with no Greensall or Simpson to spoil the party on this occasion!

Aided by great weather, the 2024 Masters Race Weekend proved to be a fabulous weekend of motorsport with a standard of racing to match as just 2 safety car periods were required all weekend. Grids were a little on the light side in places however and I do miss the large entries we used to see for the pre-76 sports car events. Peter Auto seems to be the authority for this era of machinery though which brings us back to the age old debate of whether there are just too many historic racing events on the calendar?

Next up for me is the Vintage Sports Car Club meet at Mallory at the end of August and then back to rallying with the Woodpecker in early September.

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

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

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