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

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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)

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Donington Delivers one Helluva Historic Festival

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In what has become tradition, May Day bank holiday weekend saw the historic racing community welcomed by Donington Park for the 6th running of the utterly brilliant Donington Historic Festival; this year able to benefit from substantial investment which has brought the famous Leicestershire circuit back to it’s very best.

As is also tradition, the early May bank holiday weekend weather was, shall we say, mixed!  Whilst Saturday was blessed with a sunny start and end to the day, hail and rain showers were a feature of the early afternoon; conditions made more tricky by just how cold it was.  It is not normal to see one’s breath in late April, even in England!

The first race of the weekend, the opening round of the HSCC Historic F2 championship, slotted nicely between showers however.  Where, on a drying track, Andrew Smith in his Formula Atlantic specification March 79B was one of a minority to gamble on slicks; a decision which paid dividends as he recorded a dominant 53 second victory over series newcomer Dean Forward.

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And it was the Warwickshire man who was again first to the chequered flag in Sunday’s second encounter.  After quickly passing the fast starting Forward, Smith was able to build a winning margin of 35 seconds over the ‘3rd gear-less’ March 782, making it a weekend to remember for the Team Gunston March pilot.

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The Pre 91 Touring car field were not quite so lucky with the weather.  Whilst a dry start allowed the BMW of Mark Smith to take the lead from pole, rain began to fall during the mandatory pit stop window.  And it was during the driver changes that Chris Ward, taking over the Broadspeed Capri from BTCC hero Steve Soper, was able to get the jump on the Mark Smith/David Cuff E30.  And the heavier the rain fell the more comfortable the lead became; Ward putting in a sublime drive in testing conditions to claim the Tony Dron Trophy by over 1 minute.

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In fact Ward would carry his strong form into the 2.75 hour, somewhat disappointingly supported, ‘1000km’ Sportscar race.  Again paired with Paul Gibson, the 2015 winners faced a very different challenge if they were to repeat their success.  The cold and damp conditions would not favour their powerful Lola T70 where instead it was the nimble Chevron B8 of Martin O’Connell who was able to take an early lead.

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Ward, installed on lap 32, would find himself 3 laps down to the little 2 litre prototype but a succession of fastest lap times on an ever drying track brought the #9 Lola back into contention.  Meanwhile James Littlejohn had been in the sister Gibson car since lap 20 and on lap 77 it was he who finally hunted down and passed the O’Connell piloted B8.

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Oliver Bryant had looked best placed to tackle the rogue Chevron having kept his T70 in touching distance throughout the first half of the race.  A very slow pitstop on lap 60 however dropped the #14 machine 5 laps and it would be an uphill struggle from then on in.

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And so with the Chevron now struggling to keep pace in the early evening sunshine, the fight for top spot would turn out to be an all family affair with Paul Gibson emerging from the car’s final pit-stop just in front of son Daniel in the #10.  However it was Gibson Senior who managed to maintain the lead over the last 20 or so laps, claiming race victory for a second successive year.  But for a mis-read pit board Gibson Jnr may well have put up a stronger fight.

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Bryant meanwhile would fight back to claim a strong third position, ending the race just over 1 minute behind the winners; a story of what might have been given the #14 T70 spent 1.5 minutes longer in pit lane!  P3 honours and fourth overall was just reward for a great drive by Martin O’Connell and Andrew Kirkaldy in the Chevron B8.  Had the rain continued who knows what the outcome would have been!

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Sunday’s schedule would feature a further 7 races, in many respects headlined by the 90 minute GT & Sports Car Cup for Pre-66 GT and Pre-63 Sportscars.  Traditionally a battle between Cobra and E-Type it was the Oliver Bryant piloted Cobra who was able to take an early lead from the Julian Thomas and Gary Pearson Jags and the pole sitting similar machine of Leo Voyazides.

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Both E-types had soon fallen by the wayside however leaving an all Shelby battle up front; Hadfield, installed in the #75 Cobra during an oil enforced safety car period, now finding himself at the head of the field following a quicker turn around during the stops.  However, opting for a short Grahame Bryant stint proved to be key strategically as Bryant junior had almost 30 laps to hunt down the leader.

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And sure enough with Voyazides back in the driving seat on lap 45 the deficit was reduced to just 5 seconds with Bryant, clearly on a mission, able to haul his mis-firing Cobra into the lead with a little over 10 minutes remaining.  The retirement of Voyazides shortly after allowing for a comfortable drive to the flag with the now second and third placed Clark/Smith E-Type and Friedrichs/Mallock Aston Martin DP214 over 1 lap in arrears.

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New to the schedule for 2016, the pre-50 Grand Prix cars battling for the Nuvolari Trophy put on a great Display.  Sunday’s dry second race saw Callum Lockie in his Maserati 6CM able to get the better of race 1 winner, Michael Gans, after an almighty scrap between the two.  Gans, in ERA R1B, had fallen to third at the start but was able to take the lead on lap 11 before the vastly experienced Lockie made the decisive overtake just 1 lap later.

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The very sideways Pre-66 under 2 litre touring cars never fail to entertain with onlookers eagerly awaiting a good battle between the leading Ford, BMW and Alfa crews.  But whilst BMW were able to take the fight to the Lotus Cortinas in qualifying, all 3 leading 1800s were in trouble with electrical problems before the race had really begun.  This left the the Andrew/Max Banks Alfa to successfully chase down the Fords of Andy Wolfe and Dion Kremer and build a healthy lead over the opening stint of the race.

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Whilst Wolfe would soon retire, another MK1 Cortina in the hands of Neil Brown had starting making progress.  And once taking over the reigns, Fortec boss, Richard Dutton, carried on Brown’s hard work to close in on Max Banks during the second half of the race; a gutsy charge that left the Ford man just 10 seconds shy of the untouchable Giulia Sprint GTA at the flag.  Meanwhile David Tomlin made it two Fords on the podium, passing Kremer in the pit-stops and managing to hold off the Swiss pilot during the closing stages of the race.

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The RAC Woodcote Trophy for pre-56 Sportscars was yet another highlight of the weekend, proof if ever it were needed that historic racing is much more than just a demonstration.  Throughout the entire 1 hour duration of the race, Fred Wakeman and later Patrick Blakeney-Edwards tried all they could to get past the D-Type Jaguar of Gary Pearson.  The Cooper Jaguar Type 38 was more than a match for the D-Type but Pearson was immaculate through the traffic and, as Blakeney-Edwards put it, there is no getting past the Northamptonshire man when in that kind of form!

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Colin Turkington made a one off appearance in the HSCC Super Touring Car Trophy race, and the Northern Irishman showed his class by taking third place in the Mark Smith BMW E30.  The older BMW was no match for the Gordon Noble Jnr Vauxhall Vectra or the Stewart Whyte Honda Accord however; with the former able to get the better of regular front runner Whyte on this occasion.

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Following an article in Motor Sport magazine I was very much looking forward to the final event of the day, the Pre 80 endurance race for Sports racing GT and Touring Cars.  You just cannot beat the sound of a 3 litre DFV formula 1 engine and on this occasion we were blessed with not only the magazine featured Lola T282 of Leo Voyazides and Simon Hadfield but also the T292 of Michele Liguori.

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Hadfield had earlier put the Gitanes sponsored T282 on pole with a fantastic 1.05.872 but it was Liguori who beat Voyazides into Redgate, immediately gapping the Greek pilot and leaving him to fight with the Chevron B19 of Martin O’Connell.  Unfortunately, the expected DFV battle never materialised as a coming together between O’Connell and Voyazides at Goddards put the Chevron out of the race and left Voyazides with a broken wheel; the former calling it a racing incident whilst the latter was less diplomatic!

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Whilst Liguori was now able to cruise to victory, Voyazides with broken wheel replaced, and later Simon Hadfield were able to drag themselves back up through the field to a phenomenal second place; missing out on victory by just 26 seconds after at one stage being 2 laps down!  The sight and sound of Hadfield taking on the Craner Curves in this glorious machine is one of those memories that will stick around for years to come!  Ever wondered what is missing from modern day racing?  This car sums it up completely!

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My time at the festival may have been over but the racing continued throughout Monday, where …

David Tomlin piloted his Lotus Cortina to victory in the HRDC ‘Coys Trophy’ whilst Stewart Whyte charged to glory in the second Super Touring Car race.  Callum Lockie, sharing an E-Type with Julian Thomas, continued his excellent weekend by taking the Jaguar Classic Challenge honours.  Chris Ward made it a hat-trick of weekend race victories by taking the Stirling Moss Trophy for Pre-61 Sport Cars.  Fred Wakeman and Patrick Blakeney-Edwards claimed the Mad Jack for Pre-War Sports Cars victory and last but not least, Andrew and Mike Jordan raced their Austin A40 to top spot in the HRDC Pre-60 Touring Car race.

FULL RESULTS

GALLERY

This had been another fabulous Donington Historic Festival.  The festival and circuit organising team just seem to get it, be it the friendly and welcoming circuit staff, the excellent commentary team, the ability to get touch close to millions of pounds worth of famous racing cars, a fantastic selection of races across the weekend and now the freedom to roam over the entire infield.  And having fond memories of the venue as a child in the late eighties and early nineties it is great to see the circuit in such good shape!  If only the Dunlop Bridge and Spitfire were to make a return …

All images © Paul Commons (Paul Commons Motorsport Photography)

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Demon Defensive Drive lands Davies Cadwell Double

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For some time I had been keen to witness a race meeting at Cadwell Park and with the HSCC Wolds Trophy slotting nicely into my diary on the final weekend of June we found ourselves making the pleasant Sunday morning trip along the A46; A full schedule of races awaiting us headlined by a double header for the Pre 66 touring cars.

In my opinion the current iteration of the BTCC lacks two things, true variation and a proper multi class structure.  Conversely, catering for several different classes, the two historic touring car races at Cadwell Park boasted, amongst other marques, Imps, Minis and Mustangs all looking to take the fight to the all conquering Lotus Cortina.

After witnessing Tim Davies’ total domination at Thruxton it was with some surprise that the man from Lampeter was beaten to pole position by the similar machine of name sake Mark.  And so it was #48 Cortina of Mark Davies who lead the drivers away for the already shortened first race of the day; a red flag inducing multi-car Formula Ford accident shaving 5 minutes from the scheduled 20.

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However it wasn’t long before the double Thruxton winner was back in front following the early retirement of the pole sitting car courtesy of a broken half shaft.  Meanwhile further back, Fortec Motorsport boss, Richard Dutton, was indulging in an almighty battle with not 1 but 3 very quick Mustangs.  The American machines having the power on the straights but lacking the agility of the smaller Ford in the twisty sections.

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No-one was quite sure who would get the better of the immense battle for what turned out to be second before the race was prematurely ended on lap 5.  Dutton the cause of the red flag having touched the grass on the exit of the Gooseneck and not quite managing to regain control before being unavoidably helped into the Mansfield barriers.  Thus leaving the Mustang’s of Warren Briggs and Neil Brown to claim the remaining podium positions behind the run-away Lotus Cortina of Tim Davies.  Race 1 may have been only 7 minutes long, but it was great fun while it lasted.

Glorious sunshine greeted the start of Race 2 which was missing several of the casualties from earlier in the day.  And from the off it was clear that onlookers would be treated to another good old David versus Goliath battle, with the powerful Mustang’s of Peter Hallford and Warren Briggs gradually reeling in the fast staring Cortina of race 1 winner Tim Davies.

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In fact it was the Mustangs which appeared more suited to the afternoon sunshine as Hallford was able to set the fastest lap of the race whilst in hot pursuit of the #1 machine; a lap time which was nearly 8 tenths quicker than anything Davies could muster.  However, having caught the rapid Welshman, such is the nature of Cadwell, that passing is a significantly more difficult task, especially at the wheel of the huge 60’s muscle car.

While Coppice seemed the most likely option to get by neither Briggs or Hallford could get the power down quick enough exiting Barn corner.  And so while Tim Davies put in a great defensive display to wrap up his second victory of the day, focus turned to the battle for second.  Where in the end Hallford’s persistence paid off as he managed to slide past Brigg’s red machine on lap 8 of another genuinely entertaining 20 minutes of racing.

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In a packed schedule of events, Benn Simms rounded off a great weekends work by taking victory in the second Classic Racing Car fixture after getting the better of Ian Jones’ more powerful Lotus 59.  This, after two great drives to wrap up both FF2000 victories in his Reynard SF77!

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The Historic and 70’s Roadsport events contained healthy entries across several classes, where Sunday’s event for the elder machines saw Roger Waite in his Lotus Elan re-engage battle with the more powerful Morgan Plus 8 of Kevin Kivlochan.  Kivlochan possessed more than enough grunt on the straights but was no match for Waite on the twisty bits, resulting in the Lotus man claiming his second victory of the weekend.

Meanwhile both 70’s roadsport race victories were taken by Peter Shaw at the wheel of his TVR Tuscan.  Having lost out to the Lotus Europa of James Dean earlier in the season at Thruxton, Shaw proved to be the class of the field at Cadwell Park.

Formula Junior featured heavily on the Wolds Trophy schedule with 2 races for the front engined machines and a further two for the later rear engined models.  While Stuart Roach was yet another driver to take both victories in the front engined events, he could not match the pace of Stuart Wilson in the rear engined fixtures; Wilson claiming double victory at the wheel of his Lotus 20/22.

The Classic Clubman machines were the quickest cars on display during the weekend with dominant winner in both races, Mark Charteris, getting close to his own lap record in race 1.  John Harrison was running a close second in the first race however before retiring 4 laps from the end.

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The Hadfield family had double reason to celebrate at Cadwell.  Not only did Simon claim double Classic F3 victory in his March 743, but son James claimed second place in the opening Formula Ford 1600 race.

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It may even have turned into a brace of runner up positions but for a late retirement in race 2 of the meeting.  Hadfield the younger didn’t quite have an answer to the pace of Richard Mitchell though; the Exeter youngster going on to claim both victories in his Merlyn MK20.

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Meanwhile, Amercian James King won the second Historic F3 race of the weekend, 38 years after claiming British F3 victory at the same venue.  James Denty and Dean Forward had been locked in a great battle for the lead only for a collision between the two at Park corner on lap 5, causing both of their retirements and allowing King to claim a memorable victory in his Chevron B17.

FULL RESULTS
GALLERY

 

 

Whilst rallying at Cadwell is impressive, the speed some of these priceless historic racers were being driven around the famous Lincolnshire circuit was something to behold!  There just aren’t too many circuits like Cadwell, the very technical nature of the track making fast lap times and winning races an art form, while the ability to make a genuine pass in equal machinery borderline heroic.  Race winners at Cadwell most certainly earn their trophy!

 

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Historic Racing Round-up – Spring 2015

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Historic F1 ace, Michael Lyons, thrills fans at Thruxton while Paul Gibson and Chris Ward fend off late Voyazides challenge to claim coveted Donington Historic Festival ‘1000km’ glory.

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With today’s technology so impressive that many lines of motorsport have to be ‘pegged back’ I find myself drawn more and more to the historic side of our sport; I would love to have been around to see the thoroughbred racing cars of the 60’s and 70’s in period.  And so with there being no calendar clash between the opening rounds of the WEC and British GT in 2015 I found myself free to make a first visit to Thruxton on Easter Sunday for the HSCC revival meeting.

A packed schedule of races with a more than respectable start time lay in store for day 2 of the revival meeting with the Pre 66 touring car, Derek Bell Trophy and Guards Trophy events particular highlights.  The relaxed start to proceedings providing ample time to wander around the paddock for a closer look at some of the racing stars of yesteryear.

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The Derek Bell Trophy, aimed at the F2 and F5000 cars of the 70’s saw the Lyons family responsible for 3 of the brutish open wheel delights.  Unfortunately Michael’s Gurney Eagle was not fit to take part in the event, however the HSCC were as brilliantly accomodating as ever and allowed him a run the family owned 1977 Hesketh 308e F1 car instead; oh what a shame (Said no one!)

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It was an absolute pleasure to witness Lyons thrash the 3 litre V8 Cosworth powered machine around the Hampshire track; the huge rear wheels from the period providing massive amounts of grip, which combined with the raw grunt of the Cosworth engine allowed some of the fastest laps in years to be recorded.  As a comparison Lyons managed a 1:07.648 in Saturday’s race whereas the pole lap for the 2015 BTCC meeting was a 1:16.785!

Much debate surrounds the current F1 engines with many wanting a return to V8 power.  Whilst it would be nice to increase the decibel level the scream of the ‘glued to the track’ 2013 V8 formula 1 cars is dull in comparison to this late 70’s Cosworth.

On the day no other car was a match for the Penthouse liveried machine leaving Lyons, the master of historic F1 racing, to take a commanding 49 second victory over the Historic Formula 2 machine of Richard Evans and the Classic Clubmans specification Mallock of Mark Charteris.

The Historic Touring Cars always provide high quality entertainment; the traditional pose of a Lotus Cortina, Austin Mini or BMW 1800Ti being backed into a corner, almost Moto GP like, is something that is rarely seen in modern aero driven racing.  As it was Tim Davies, in his Lotus Cortina, was the class of the field; the Welshman managing to eek out an early lead before going on to take victory by a margin of 8.5 seconds at the chequered flag.  This may not have been the largest field of Touring Cars but the fast flowing nature of the circuit allowed them to be seen at their sideways best.

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The Guards Trophy runners were split between the GT and Prototypes for the Thruxton meeting.  With the GT cars taking to the track the day before, Easter Sunday visitors were treated to a diverse grid of cars including the fabulous McLaren M1B and several Chevron B8’s.  On the day the nimble 2 litre Chevrons were no match for the Mighty M1B nor the Lenham Spider of Stuart and George Tizzard and while the Tizzards headed for the second step of the podium it was the Bill Coombs / Chris Drake driven McLaren which went on to claim a commanding 28 second victory.

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Elsewhere,  Callum Grant made a late charge to claim Historic FF2000 victory, while Ben Mitchell was able to break away from the field to register a relatively comfortable Historic Formula Ford win. Ian Pearson stood on the top step of the Classic F3 podium while the busy Mark Charteris pedalled his Mallock to victory in the Classic Clubmans race after earlier registering third position in the Derek Bell Trophy.  Meanwhile the 70’s Roadsports race had it all with eventual winner James Dean, in his Lotus Europa, passing the majority of the field to claim victory after an early spin at the Club Chicane; an effort which was warmly appreciated by the knowledgable crowd.

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In just over 2 hours, with the glorious sound of the Hesketh F1 car still rattling around in my head, I was back home and contemplating my next slice of the historic racing action.  The Zandvoort Historic Grand Prix is now a firm entry in my diary and calendar clash permitting I hope to be back at Thruxton in 2016!

THRUXTON GALLERY

 

 

Fast forward 1 month and it was the 2.5 hour ‘1000km’ race for the 1964-71 World Sportscar Championship machines at the Donington Historic Festival which caught my eye; the jewel in the crown of my third visit to the 3 day bank holiday weekend event.

Weatherwise, a bitterly cold wind and low temperatures more akin to March than May was not kind to the opening day spectators.  However the variety of machinery both on display and taking on the fast undulating Donington Park National Circuit was more than enough to keep the moderate crowd entertained.

Unfortunately what had been light rain fall prior to the race start intensified as the cars readied themselves for the green flag; leaving the two Lola T70’s of Chris Ward (#9) and Leo Voyazides (#1), who had qualified on the front row of the grid, facing the daunting task of manhandling their huge Chevy engined prototypes around the damp opening lap.

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And after successfully keeping them on the track, it was Chris Ward who managed to build a steady lead over the similar car of Voyazides, with Andrew Kirkaldy third, making a nuisance of himself in the #4 Chevron B8; the smaller engined car being much quicker through the corners but losing out on the long straights.

Further back Anthony Reid and Olly Bryant in their respective McLaren M1C and Lola T70 were making headway after conservative starts; both starting from the back of the grid having not appeared in the earlier qualifying session.  Bryant however was soon on terms with Kirkaldy and Voyazides, passing both at Hollywood before running into car problems coming out of the Old Hairpin; A sticky throttle not what you need in these conditions!  A safety car was required to remove the stricken Lola T70 from the outside of the Schwantz Curve which somewhat nullified the lead built by Ward.

Both leading Lola’s took advantage of the safety car however and made their first of 2 required pitstops; Simon Hadfield taking charge of the #1 Lola and Ward staying aboard the #9.  And so there was little between the cars as the track returned to green with Hadfield fancying his chances of taking the lead.  A spin exiting the Old Hairpin 2 laps later somewhat hampered his progress though leaving the white Lola some 30 seconds adrift.

Nevertheless Hadfield was soon into a rhythm and whilst finding it difficult to eat into Chris Ward’s lead initially, he had managed to cut the gap to 15 seconds by the time the leader made his second pit stop on lap 58.  In fact Hadfield was now flying on the drying track, so much so that Paul Gibson, now in the #9 Lola, dropped two laps back, albeit with the #1 T70 owing a final stop.

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Indeed Hadfield made his final stop on lap 79, with Leo Voyazides climbing back behind the wheel, but such had been Hadfield’s pace in comparison to Gibson that the #1 T70 emerged from pit lane with an almost 1 lap lead over the similar pole sitting car.  But the tables were to turn again with Gibson now having the edge in pace over Leo Voyazides; quickly turning a 1 minute 19 second deficit on lap 80 into a 30 second gap by lap 95 and a less than 3 second margin as they entered lap 102.  And amazingly it was Gibson who was in the lead of the race by the end of the lap.

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However Gibson was not able to break the tow and with just a few laps remaining the Greek driver was back on terms and making a move down the outside of the Craner Curves; a move which unfortunately would not pay off, sending the glorious T70 heading for a rather large off and allowing Gibson and Ward to claim the ‘1000km’ race victory.  A somewhat disappointing way to end proceedings but if you ever thought historic racing was merely a demonstration then think again!  Watching these incredible machines power sliding around McLeans in the drying conditions was further proof if needed!

DONINGTON GALLERY

 

 

Yes the weather may have been poor but the event still delivered; the group B rally car and F1 demonstration runs adding further value to the many millions of pounds worth of automotive machinery on display.  I will definitely be back at the Leicestershire track for the Masters Meeting in early July on the fantastic Grand Prix circuit.

Before then though it is the back to the British Historic Rally Championship at the end of May with the Severn Valley Stages followed by the Legends support race at Le Mans in June and the Wolds Trophy HSCC meeting at the awesome Cadwell Park.  Stay tuned for coverage ….

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For JPEGS or any other enquiries please get in touch via paul.commons@yahoo.co.uk

All images © Paul Commons (Paul Commons Motorsport Photography)