Rory Butcher, Ben Tinkler and Ben Barker claim inaugural Equipe 6 hour glory aboard their Lotus Elan 26R in what proved to be an excellent new addition to the British Historic Racing calendar.
Attracting a decent entry is always a worry when a new event is brought to the fore but thankfully the inaugural running of the Equipe 6 hours at Donington Park was very warmly received with a fantastic 32 glorious pre-66 machines lining up for the start of the race.
Mirroring the format of the very successful Spa 6 hours, but crucially not allowing the all conquering GT40, a plethora of Lotus Elans and MGB’s would make up the bulk of the entry but with a couple of Cobras and Healey’s, amongst others, thrown in for good measure. And with a great mix of drivers too (the Equipe regulars being joined by a fair few professionals) we were set for one hell of an afternoon’s racing.
And it would be one of the pro’s in the form of ex-BTCC race winner, Rory Butcher, aboard the front row starting #40 Elan 26R who would lead the early running as the pole sitting #600 similar machine of John Tordoff dropped back. Instead it would be the AC Cobra Daytona Coupe of Jeremy Cottingham and the Elan 26R Shapecraft of Michael O’Brien who would take the fight to the Scotsman in the early stages.
However, neither the Shapecraft or Cobra Daytona would make it to half distance which left the JCT backed pole sitting Elan the mostly likely challenger with a clearly fired up Andrew Jordan dragging them right back into contention; this after an early puncture enforced a second pitstop within the first quarter of the race.
Indeed the former British Touring Car Champion was able to lap much quicker than Tinkler (who had taken over from Butcher in the race leading Elan) during the second stint and had closed the gap significantly before both machines headed for their mandatory 5 minute fuel stop at around half distance.
Current Toyota BTCC driver James Dorlin would take over the reigns from Jordan whilst Ben Barker had found a gap in his World Endurance Championship exploits to fill the hot seat of the erstwhile leaders. And with drivers of this calibre at the head of the field it was no surprise to find them continue to pull away from the rest of the pack but with the gap remaining relatively constant between themselves.
A safety car with just over 1 hour and 25 minutes remaining would however give both crews the perfect opportunity to make their final stop. Butcher and Jordan would be re-installed in the respective #40 and #600 Elans for the final stint but as the track returned to green it became apparent that the long time leaders had gained almost a lap on the rivals as the safety car pitstops unwound.
Jordan was not about to give up on victory however but try as he might, with plenty of sideways moments along the way, it was all too much to ask as Butcher put in a sublime final stint to take victory by almost 1 minute. With confirmation, if ever it were needed, that it was the #40 Elan’s day when the car came to halt on the slowing down lap! Talk about timing! A thoroughly deserved victory however as I am not sure Butcher, Tinkler and Barker put a foot wrong throughout the entire 6 hours!
Such was the pace of the two leading crews that third place car of Connor Kay, Ben Caisley and Dominic Mooney would end the event some 10 laps in arrears in their similar Elan 26R! However third place overall would have seemed like a pipe dream after the trio were delayed early on after an issue with a brake overflow tank saw them receive the dreaded meatball flag!
Fourth home would be the leading AM crew in the form of Nick Sleep and Alex Montgomery after a brilliant drive aboard the fabulous “Hairy Canary”. In fact the AC Cobra crew were right in the mix for large parts of the race but with the necessity for a second 5 minute fuel stop and a few wayward moments would drop back. 4th overall representing one hell of an effort by the two driver crew however as they Man handled the American Brute through the event’s 6 hour duration.
A few wayward moments would be understatement of the year for the fifth place crew of Rob Cull, Gerry Buggy and Tom Smith. Cull had been running in the top 5 before an off at McLeans within the first hour brought out the safety car and dropped the #46 Elan to 25th. This was just the beginning however as the car would find itself in the same gravel trap on at least 3 more occasions before the day was out. All the more remarkable then that Cull, Buggy and Smith would claim the AM runner up spot. It must have been some drive between the offs and perhaps a case of what might have been!
Elsewhere Simon, Dan and Andrew Smith would complete the AM podium in yet another Elan with 6th whilst Bruce Duckworth, Graham Hill and Jamie Mason would claim an excellent 7th aboard the leading MGB. Meanwhile Mike Thorne, Sarah Bennett-Baggs and John Todd would come home 8th in the leading Austin Healey whilst Tim Mogridge and Nicholas King would end the day in 11th in their Triumph TR4 despite a lengthy visit to the Old Hairpin gravel trap in the final quarter of the race.
What an event this had been! I absolutely love the fact that the general public were granted free access to the pre-event grid walk and that the category winning machines were wheeled into Garage 39 for the post event party! It would have been nice to see a few more marques represented (TVR Griffiths and Jag E-Type come to mind) but that’s just splitting hairs! A big thank you to Rob and John for brining this awesome event to the UK. If the competitors enjoyed it half as much as I did then we should see the event go from strength to strength in years to come.
GALLERY
Paul Commons Motorsport 