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R.A.C Rally

Roger Albert Clark Rally – November 2025

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Battling snow, ice, fog and heavy rain over the gruelling 5 day event, Osian Pryce and Dale Furniss would put in a controlled drive aboard their Wales Motorsport Ford Escort MK2 to secure 2025 Roger Albert Clark Rally victory; Pryce finally claiming victory having come close on the two previous editions.

Osian Pryce / Dale Furniss – Pundershaw

The biennial marathon event, which visits Wales, England and Scotland had once again proved extremely popular and whilst no current WRC stars would be found at the Carmarthen start ramp in 2025 the entry list was still stacked with quality.   Indeed, the return of multiple Roger Albert Clark (RAC) rally winner Martin McCormack, this time aboard a gravel spec BMW M3, had created much interest and he would be joined by the likes of ex British Rally champions, Osian Pryce (Ford Escort MK2), Matt Edwards (Ford Escort MK2), Mark Higgins (TR7) and Jonny Milner (Peugeot 205) to add further spice.

The opening leg of the rally may well have been the shortest but it was far from a walk in the park after freezing temperatures left the crews facing some incredibly tricky stage mileage with grip levels changing by the corner.  Osian Pryce and Dale Furniss, aboard their Wales Motorsport Ford Escort MK2, made the best of the conditions however particularly excelling in the darkness of stages 5 and 6 to hold a respective 17 and 19 second lead over the similar machine of Matt Edwards and the BMW M3 of 2023 winner Martin McCormack. 

But if Thursday’s stages appeared tricky then Friday’s tests, particularly in Myherin and Sweetlamb/Hafren, were in another league entirely!  Myherin would in fact prove treacherous in places and would unfortunately catch out the usually infallible Lancia Stratos of Seb Perez, much to the absolute devastation of many a spectator!  Perez and co-driver Dale Bowen were not the only ones to suffer either as a massive off for Robert Gough and Jack Bowen caused lengthy delays which ultimately put pay to the second running of Dyfnant at the end of the day.

Pryce meanwhile, in territory not far from his own back yard, would again be the man to beat, skillfully navigating the snow and ice to hold a very healthy lead of over 1 minute over the similar machine of Paul Barrett and Gordon Noble heading into the day’s final test.  But, after a very strong day in Mid Wales it would be the latter Northern Irish duo who would head North to Carlisle with confidence in their stride after a stonking time in the second running of Sweet Lamb/Hafren which, coinciding with a spin for Pryce, would see them emerge as closest challengers, ending the day just 29 seconds in arrears.

Saturday would unfortunately turn out to be a bit of a disaster as half of the stage mileage would be lost as a result of traffic issues around the stages.  The four stages that did run however still provided plenty of drama.  Whilst the opening Tommy’s Fell stage was snow and ice free, Riccarton was most definitely not and Pryce’s decision to take a steady approach to the stage would see the Welshman lose the lead to the now flying Northern Irishman.  This did seem to be all the motivation Pryce and Furniss needed however as they were back in the lead after Hyndlee and courtesy of a fantastic stage time through the fog of Kershope would extend their lead to 58 seconds by the end of the day.

Day 4 would see the temperatures rise and rain set in as the crews travelled over the border into Scotland for stages in Ae, Twiglees, Castle O’er, Craik and Newcastleton where, despite a puncture, Pryce and Furniss would extend their lead to almost 2 minutes by the time they were back in Carlisle.  The day would however belong to Martin McCormack and Barney Mitchell who were obviously getting to grips with the E30 M3 as they reduced their deficit to the leaders by 40 seconds and would find themselves within sight of second heading into ‘Killer Kielder’ for the final day of the rally.

It was not to be for McCormack and Mitchell though as their efforts would tragically end in Pundershaw on the final morning, gearbox failure leaving them stranded mid-stage and their rally most definitely over.  This would however pave the way for Matt Edwards and co-driver Sion Williams, in their CarrPrep Ford Escort MK2, to make a late push for the podium. 

Despite having a day 2 to forget (losing over 6 minutes with a puncture and later knocking off the fuel pump feed) Edwards and Williams would be on top form for the remaining 3 days culminating in a final day to remember which saw them climb from 6th in the historic category to the final step of the historic podium; setting fastest time on the 37 mile “Bigger one” finale to end on a real high.  Sitting just 3 minutes and 57 seconds off the lead by the end of the event it was certainly a case of what might have been had lady luck been on their side.

There was understandably an element of pace management taking place ahead though as after the retirement of McCormack, both Pryce and Barrett could concentrate on getting their Ford’s home to the finish in one piece (Barrett having decided the lead gap was just too large to close down).  And both crews would do exactly that. 

But for a spin on day 2 Pryce had hardly put a foot wrong and had managed his pace accordingly throughout the very tricky conditions to add the coveted RAC Rally victory to his already impressive CV at the third time of asking.  Barrett and Noble meanwhile may not have featured in many onlooker’s top 3 predictions given the quality of the entry list and therefore 2nd overall from a start position of 7th is a mighty impressive result for the Omagh Motor Club duo.

Two further Ford Escort Rs1800 MK2’s would round out the top 5 historic crews with Dyfrig James and Emyr Jones succumbing to the final day charge of Edwards to drop out of the podium positions whilst conversely Dan Mennell and John H Roberts would climb two positions during the day to end the event in 5th.

Just one place further back, Mark Higgins and Carl Williamson would finish sixth after a fantastic drive in the awesome David Appleby Engineering TR7 V8; the pairing proving the potential of the British Leyland machine with some very impressive stage times throughout.  But for an off on the final day costing 4 minutes and a fan belt issue on day 1 the fan favourites may well have featured on the podium, however class H7 top spot represented a very welcome consolation prize.

Mark Higgins / Carl Williamson – Sweetlamb/Hafren

Talking of fan favourites, one of the star drives of the rally came from Swedish crew Arne Radstrom and Kent-Ola Bjorklund who wrestled their Volvo 262c through Wales, Scotland and Kielder to claim a quite brilliant 8th and second in class H7.  Affectionately referred to as the “Orange Brick” this drive will be remembered for a long time to come and may well encourage more of the Swedish Marque onto the stages.

Endaf Owens and Phil Pugh had lead category 2 aboard their Ford Escort MK1 for large parts of the event but couldn’t hold off a final day charge from Ben and Steven Smith in the Dansport prepared Porsche 911.  Usually found in a MK1 himself, Smith was visibly getting quicker and quicker in the 911 as the event progressed and put in a stunning charge on day 5 to climb 14 positions and end the event in 20th position overall (18th historic).  Meanwhile Andy Wolfe and James Crook would beat their seeding by a whopping 55 positions to round out the category 2 podium in their Ford Escort MK1.

Ben Smith / Steven Smith – The “Bigger one”

Enrico Brazzoli and Martina Musiari, in their Porsche 911 SCRS, could possibly claim the award for best engine note (What a sound!) to go with Category 4 top spot and 28th position overall in the historic event. Meanwhile class H9 winners Mark and Andrew Constantine, aboard their 1300cc Vauxhall Nova Sport, would round out a brilliant performance with 2nd in category and 36th historic car home whilst an equally impressive drive from Andy Madge and Matt Cooper would see them finish just one place further back to claim class H10 honours and 3rd in category 4.

Enrico Brazzoli / Martina Musiari – Pundershaw

In Category 1 it was looking like a Mini 1-2 was on the cards after day 4 but unfortunately the second Mini in the hands of Colin McDowell and Geraldine McBride would lose a significant amount of time on the final day.  This left the way clear for the Cortina’s of David Wood / Reece Brookes (Mk2) and Paul Mankin (MK1) and to complete the podium positions as Joe Whyte and Des Sherlock claimed a fantastic category victory in their Austin Mini Cooper S.

Joe Whyte / Des Sherlock – Sweetlamb/Hafren

The Open rally for none historic cars would run concurrently with the historic event and see Scottish pairing Greg McKnight and Harry Marchbank put together a stellar performance over the 5 days to end the rally in third position overall. The Ford Escort MK2 pairing’s dominance of the open rally class evident by their winning margin of almost 25 minutes! Robert Barrett and Simon Taylor would come home second in class (Ford Escort MK2) whilst the Vauxhall Astra GSI of Mark McCulloch and Michael Hendry would complete the open rally podium with 22nd overall.

Elsewhere notable historic class wins would go the way of Adam Milner and Roy Jarvis (H6) aboard the recently built Opel Kadett GTE with 19th, Mark Tugwell and Phillip Sandham (H2) in their Ford Escort MK1 Twin Cam with 35th position and Bradley and Simon Howlett in their Talbot Avenger (H5) with 49th. Theo Ruijgh and Thies Stegeman meanwhile would be first home in class H11 (Volvo 244) whilst Ondrej Coufal and Marek Simik would come out on top of the Datsun 240Z battle in class H17.

The 2025 RAC rally had been one hell of an adventure for me personally, so god only knows what it must feel like to make it to end in one piece as a competitor! Spending 5 solid days following the rally was a brilliant experience that way exceeded my expectations; day 2 spent in a snow covered Sweet Lamb and a long walk into deepest darkest Pundershaw on the final day being particular highlights.

The rally was far from perfect however as, possibly a result of it’s own success, lost 6 stages, 4 of which were entirely traffic related; not completely surprising given the number of competitive vehicles along with their associated management crews traversing the sometimes very narrow forest perimeter roads.

But by far the biggest issue was the lack of a reliable online results service throughout the event meaning no-one was entirely sure of class positions at any point. The latter is hopefully something that is relatively easy to fix for 2027 and maybe a restriction on entries, (historic category cars only?) would reduce the congestion experienced. Anyway I am confident the legendary small team of volunteers behind the rally will come up with the solution. Long live the RAC!

My RAC 25 in numbers
Miles Driven – 1065
Kilometres walked – 55
Stages viewed – 10
Cameras used – 2
Lenses used – 3
Countries visited – 3
Hotels frequented – 3

GALLERY

Circuit Rally Championship

Neil Howard Stages – Oulton Park – November 2025

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Joe Cunningham and Josh Beer were in top form at the 2025 Salford Van Hire Neil Howard Stages as the North Yorkshire based duo fought back from a nightmare stage 3 to claim victory at Oulton Park; round 1 of the 2025/26 Protyre Circuit Rally Championship.

Making great use of the Oulton Park perimeter roads, Bolton Le Moors Car Club had organised 8 challenging stages for the opening round of the 2025/26 Protyre Circuit Rally Championship with the formidable pairing of 2024/25 Champions, Michael Igoe and Will Atkins, heading the entry list aboard their Citroen C3 Rally2. 2nd seeds John Griffiths and Emma Morrison would again look to take the fight to the Citroen duo in their Skoda Fabia R5 whilst 3rd on the road Steve Simpson and Chris Williams were also expected to mix it with the Circuit Rally regulars in their Ford Fiesta Rally2.

However it would be Joe Cunningham and co-driver Josh Beer, a late entry in Kevin Proctor’s Fiesta WRC, who would excel in what proved particularly tricky early conditions following a torrential downpour; the pairing producing a stunning stage 1 time to leap into an 11 second lead, before extending this to 16 seconds by the end of stage 2.

In stark contract, stage 3 would prove a different kettle of fish entirely for the Fiesta WRC duo as a puncture and drive shaft issue, combined with a couple of spins and a 10 second time penalty for hitting a barrel would see them plummet to fourth, unravelling much of their stellar early work.

Fortunately all car issues were seemingly resolved for stage 4 and the early leaders were immediately back on form, reeling off 3 consecutive fastest stage times to hold an 8 second lead with just 2 stages remaining.  And, despite Igoe and Atkins finding their rhythm over the afternoon and setting fastest times on both the final 2 stages, Cunningham and Beer would have enough in hand to claim a fantastic 5 second victory.  

Despite not able to match the pace of Cunningham for much of the day Igoe and Atkins will have been pleased with the runner up spot after lying 4th at the halfway point following a difficult morning.  Second overall therefore an excellent result in the circumstances and the haul of points that came along with it setting them up nicely for yet another Protyre Circuit Rally Championship title bid.

North West based Steve Simpson would be joined by co-driver Chris Williams for the Neil Howard Stages and the Ford Fiesta Rally2 duo would inherit the lead after Cunningham’s disastrous stage 3 courtesy of setting a consistent pace throughout the morning.  There would be no stopping Cunningham’s charge back through the field however with the Tudor Glass backed machine also falling behind Igoe at the final hurdle as the Citroen C3 pilot proved the man to beat in the Cheshire darkness.

Ryan Burns and Shaun Hughes were another crew who made the best of the tricky early conditions and had been running as high as third in their Ford Fiesta before head gasket failure brought a premature end to their day.  This left the way clear for John Griffiths and Emma Morrison to salvage 4th in their Skoda Fabia R5 after a difficult day whilst Jack Darbyshire and Ben Butterworth (Ford Fiesta) would round out the top 5 after overhauling the VW Polo R5 of John and Alex Stone on the final test.

In the classes, Alfie Threlfall and Patrick Cross put in a sublime performance to beat their seeding by 20 positions to claim class 2 top spot with 8th position overall in their Mitsubishi Evo X whilst Philip House and Nick Beaumont delivered an equally dominant performance to take class 5 honours with 11th overall in their Ford Escort MK2.  Louis Baines and Kris Coombes in their Peugeot 106 would just edge out the more favoured Maxi kit car version of Ben & Andrew Wilkinson to claim a fantastic class 8 victory with 15th overall whilst top spot in class 9 would go the way of Matthew Faulkner and Liam Howard with 38th in their Suzuki Swift.

Wil Owen and Chloe Louise Thomas (Ford Escort MK2) would lead for much of the day in the hotly contested class 3 only to lose a significant amount time on stage 6.  This would leave the similar machines of Bradley Carroll and Dave Willett to fight it out for victory with Willett, co-driven by John Davies, looking like he had pulled off the come back to end all come backs by taking the class lead on stage 7 having lost the better part of 1 minute on stage 1.  It wasn’t to be however as Carroll and co-driver Gareth Short registered an exceptionally quick time on stage 8 to snatch class victory by a mere second!

Next up for the Proytyre Circuit Rally Championship registered crews is the NHMC Cadwell Stages Rally in just under 2 weeks time where Cunnigham and Beer will be hoping to compete with the established front runners once again, should an entry materialise that is.  One thing that is for certain however, judging by the level of entries for the first couple of events, is that the Circuit Rally Championship has never been more popular.

FULL RESULTS

GALLERY

Historic Sports Car Club

HSCC Finals – Silverstone – October 2025

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FULL RESULTS

GALLERY

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 – Mallory Park – September 2025

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FULL RESULTS

GALLERY

BHRC

Woodpecker Rally – August 2025

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Full Results

Gallery

Equipe Classic Racing

Equipe 6 Hour – Donington Park – July 2025

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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.

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

Uncategorized

Prescott Historique – May 2025

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Always open to ticking another motorsport venue off the list the opportunity came up to make a maiden visit to Prescott Hill Climb in Gloucestershire for day 1 of the Prescott Historique meeting.

Thick grey clouds and occasional drizzle made photography challenging but there were some beautifully turned out cars on display from, amongst others, the Paul Matty Lotus Championship, the Healeysport Speed Championship, TR and Clubmans (60th anniversary) registers and the 500 Owners Association.

Slippery conditions following heavy overnight rain made the morning practice runs tricky but some pretty impressive times were achieved as the action turned competitive. Indeed fastest time on the day belonged to David Hampton aboard his Lotus 69 with a 44.55 closely followed by George Brown’s Mallock MK17, registering a 44.90.

Other notable times came from the Lotus Elan S3 of Iain Stallard (47.30), Mark Linforth’s Ford Escort Mk1 (49.71) and the Austin Mini of Matt Clarke (50.67); the latter incredible to watch as the extremely well driven machine appeared to be either sideways or on three wheels for most of the run!

Demo runs from a Pontiac NASCAR and McLaren M10B formula 5000 machine (I’m not sure my ears have fully recovered from the burnouts yet) in addition to competitive runs from Derek Drinkwater’s Cadillac ‘Le Monstre’ recreation and Mark Davies’ Chaparral 1 made for an enjoyable day but perhaps the major highlight was the appearance of the Lancaster Bomber, the crowd reaction to the three incredibly low passes of Prescott Hill Climb said it all!

FULL RESULTS

GALLERY