CTCRC & Mini 7 Racing Club Cadwell Park 27th & 28th April 2024
The second meeting of the Classic Touring Car Racing Club’s 2024 season took place in the rolling Lincolnshire Wolds at Cadwell Park over the weekend of the 27th and 28th of April. Double points scores were offered to encourage more entries to the event, to which the Classic Thunder and Pre ‘66 fields responded with grids well north of twenty competitors. The organisers faced some challenging weather conditions on Sunday, with heavy rain in the morning forcing a halt to be called and a new schedule to be produced.
Classic Thunder
Qualifying: After a cold night leading into Saturday morning, with even a touch of frost in the grass, the Classic and Historic Thunder competitors were the first to venture out on track. Having led the field onto the circuit and used local knowledge to his advantage, Josh Lawton’s extraordinary Civic was over two seconds clear of an impressive showing from the inexperienced David Blackie and Mike Cutt BMWs when the session was red-flagged after six minutes. Unfortunately, Jimmy Broadbent's staggering 700bhp 'Minty' Mazda MX5's throttle had stuck open and snapped its propshaft on impact with the armco to end the Japanese machine's weekend. Eight minutes remained when the session restarted and Lawton twice improved his time after the lull in proceedings to secure pole position by 1.372 seconds. Cutt’s BMW toppled the novice cross-wearing Blackie to join the Honda on the front row. The E92 M3 V8 of Blackie headed the second row ahead of current Classic Thunder champion Nick Vaughan, who had joined the aero arms race this weekend. Andy Wilson would go from the fifth spot on the grid with the burly Holden Monaro and would have Steve Collier’s turbocharged Vauxhall Tigra Silhouette beside him in an eye-catching sixth. Andy Robinson’s Shell-liveried Ford Falcon AU lined up in seventh alongside the Castrol-liveried Mk1 Escort of leading Historic Thunder contender Colin Voyce. The returning James Janicki’s RWD Nissan Skyline GTR R32 powerhouse and Pre ‘93 front runner Ian Bower completed the top ten, whilst Chris McGinley’s wide-arched M3 GTR and AJ Howe’s punchy Focus Estate made up row six. The top two in HT 3 were closely matched as Tony Davies’ Firenza pipped the Mk2 Escort of Martin Reynolds at the end of the session by just 0.021 seconds as they formed the seventh row. Joe Collier was able to take part in qualifying despite suffering a testing accident the day before and set the fifteenth fastest time in his BMW, thanks to a quick trip to Geoff Steel Racing for a new radiator.
Race One: Given the cold ambient conditions, the field was granted two green flag laps to build up their operating temperatures and the clock started when they began their second tour. Twelve minutes remained when the action started for real, with poleman Josh Lawton leading Mike Cutt and Nick Vaughan’s Audi into Coppice for the first time. Andy Wilson used his Holden’s grunt to demote David Blackie by Coppice for fourth. Lawton scorched into a 4.190-second lead during the opening tour, whilst Cutt moved into a clear second place. Vaughan and Wilson led the chase of the runaway leaders, whilst Blackie slipped back to seventh behind Andy Robinson's Falcon V8 Supercar and Colin Voyce's Historic Thunder-leading Mk1 Escort. After stalking the third-placed Audi through the early stages, Wilson challenged Vaughan at Mansfield for the second time but the 2023 champion held on before starting to eke open a gap. Robinson was still being pursued for fifth place by Historic leader Voyce, who had a lengthy train behind comprising James Janicki, Ian Bower, Blackie, Chris McGinley and HT 3 leader Martin Reynolds until the Safety Car came out ending lap three. Vic Hope's Honda had spun at Hall Bends on the opening lap and dragged out a section of tyre wall into the circuit. Whilst circulating in the queue, Reynolds' Mk2 Escort pulled off and there was no time to recover the stranded car before the fifteen minutes were up so the red flag ended proceedings. With their positions frozen by the interruption, the supercharged Civic of Lawton thus took its first victory in Classic Thunder from Cutt and Vaughan. The V8 machines of Wilson and Robinson completed the top five ahead of top Historic runner Voyce in sixth. Reynolds' stoppage handed the HT 3 class win to Davies’ Firenza in twelfth overall. After his promising qualifying, Simon Collier's Tigra shed a belt to end its run early and AJ Howe's five-door Focus drove into the paddock during the formation laps.
Race Two: The rain-ravaged schedule on Sunday saw the Classic Thunder field out first after the weather-enforced halt was called. Fourth-row starter James Janicki, opening HT 3 victor Tony Davies, Clive Haynsford's triple-rotor Mazda RX8 and Davies' class rival Martin Reynolds all withdrew owing to the poor conditions that morning. With Saturday's finishing order dictating the grid positions for Race Two, winner Josh Lawton, Mike Cutt, Nick Vaughan, Andy Wilson, Andy Robinson, Colin Voyce, the non-starting Janicki, David Blackie, Ian Bower and Chris McGinley formed the top ten on the grid. The race would be run over the full fifteen-minute duration but with a single file start on the wet surface, which would prove costly to one of the top two starters. Mike Cutt steamed up the outside of Josh Lawton's Honda to lead into Coppice when the pack was released from Nick Vaughan and Andy Robinson, after Andy Wilson's Monaro went missing during the formation laps with engine trouble, whilst leading Historic contender Colin Voyce was slow away in his Escort Mk1. As Cutt's BMW made its escape out front, Vaughan took second from Lawton into the bottom of the Mountain section and finished lap one 3.971 seconds down on the flying M3. David Blackie belied his lack of experience with a great opening lap to be sat in fourth, having started from seventh, ahead of Robinson and Joe Collier. During the course of the second lap, a ten-second false start penalty for Cutt was dished out after his eagerness at the single file start. The penalty initially dropped the BMW behind the developing tussle for third between Lawton, Blackie and Robinson, who ended the second lap together. Their squabbling saw Collier's E46 M3 also home in to make it a group of four. Finishing lap six, Lawton's Civic had a twitch at Barn which gave the Blackie M3 a run on the Honda but lapped traffic scuppered the chance. Robinson tried to capitalise at Coppice and tried to hang on all the way around outside of Charlie’s but eventually had to slot in behind the black M3. At the head of the field, on-the-road leader Cutt got his lead out to 5.366 seconds during the first half of the race before the A3 Turbo of Vaughan began pegging back the E36 M3's advantage. Setting the fastest lap on the seventh tour saw Vaughan less than four seconds down on the BMW going onto the penultimate lap and the top two were together heading onto the last lap, as the reigning champion sought to see the chequered flag first. Cutt held on to take the flag first by 0.577 seconds but Vaughan took the win on corrected time, the many hours put into crafting the A3's new flat floor and diffuser proving worthwhile. Such was the speed at which the first two were going, Cutt was still classified second and had 17.350 seconds in hand from the third-place tussle. Lawton claimed the third podium spot ahead of Blackie, Robinson and Collard as they finished as one. Chris McGinley fell off at Mansfield for the final time to lose seventh overall after fending off Ian Bower for much of the distance, the Pre '93 front runner having fallen behind McGinley's M3 GTR with a trip across the grass at Park Corner. AJ Howe put in a notable drive with his much-modified Focus Estate to reach eighth overall by the finish from the back of the grid and headed David Hutchins' Honda Civic Type R in ninth. The Escort Mk1 of Colin Voyce wasn't far ahead of Melvyn Hooker's supercharged Jaguar V8 at the line for top Historic honours in tenth and eleventh overall, the XJS having run down the grass at Barn on one occasion.
Classic Thunder
Qualifying: After a cold night leading into Saturday morning, with even a touch of frost in the grass, the Classic and Historic Thunder competitors were the first to venture out on track. Having led the field onto the circuit and used local knowledge to his advantage, Josh Lawton’s extraordinary Civic was over two seconds clear of an impressive showing from the inexperienced David Blackie and Mike Cutt BMWs when the session was red-flagged after six minutes. Unfortunately, Jimmy Broadbent's staggering 700bhp 'Minty' Mazda MX5's throttle had stuck open and snapped its propshaft on impact with the armco to end the Japanese machine's weekend. Eight minutes remained when the session restarted and Lawton twice improved his time after the lull in proceedings to secure pole position by 1.372 seconds. Cutt’s BMW toppled the novice cross-wearing Blackie to join the Honda on the front row. The E92 M3 V8 of Blackie headed the second row ahead of current Classic Thunder champion Nick Vaughan, who had joined the aero arms race this weekend. Andy Wilson would go from the fifth spot on the grid with the burly Holden Monaro and would have Steve Collier’s turbocharged Vauxhall Tigra Silhouette beside him in an eye-catching sixth. Andy Robinson’s Shell-liveried Ford Falcon AU lined up in seventh alongside the Castrol-liveried Mk1 Escort of leading Historic Thunder contender Colin Voyce. The returning James Janicki’s RWD Nissan Skyline GTR R32 powerhouse and Pre ‘93 front runner Ian Bower completed the top ten, whilst Chris McGinley’s wide-arched M3 GTR and AJ Howe’s punchy Focus Estate made up row six. The top two in HT 3 were closely matched as Tony Davies’ Firenza pipped the Mk2 Escort of Martin Reynolds at the end of the session by just 0.021 seconds as they formed the seventh row. Joe Collier was able to take part in qualifying despite suffering a testing accident the day before and set the fifteenth fastest time in his BMW, thanks to a quick trip to Geoff Steel Racing for a new radiator.
Race One: Given the cold ambient conditions, the field was granted two green flag laps to build up their operating temperatures and the clock started when they began their second tour. Twelve minutes remained when the action started for real, with poleman Josh Lawton leading Mike Cutt and Nick Vaughan’s Audi into Coppice for the first time. Andy Wilson used his Holden’s grunt to demote David Blackie by Coppice for fourth. Lawton scorched into a 4.190-second lead during the opening tour, whilst Cutt moved into a clear second place. Vaughan and Wilson led the chase of the runaway leaders, whilst Blackie slipped back to seventh behind Andy Robinson's Falcon V8 Supercar and Colin Voyce's Historic Thunder-leading Mk1 Escort. After stalking the third-placed Audi through the early stages, Wilson challenged Vaughan at Mansfield for the second time but the 2023 champion held on before starting to eke open a gap. Robinson was still being pursued for fifth place by Historic leader Voyce, who had a lengthy train behind comprising James Janicki, Ian Bower, Blackie, Chris McGinley and HT 3 leader Martin Reynolds until the Safety Car came out ending lap three. Vic Hope's Honda had spun at Hall Bends on the opening lap and dragged out a section of tyre wall into the circuit. Whilst circulating in the queue, Reynolds' Mk2 Escort pulled off and there was no time to recover the stranded car before the fifteen minutes were up so the red flag ended proceedings. With their positions frozen by the interruption, the supercharged Civic of Lawton thus took its first victory in Classic Thunder from Cutt and Vaughan. The V8 machines of Wilson and Robinson completed the top five ahead of top Historic runner Voyce in sixth. Reynolds' stoppage handed the HT 3 class win to Davies’ Firenza in twelfth overall. After his promising qualifying, Simon Collier's Tigra shed a belt to end its run early and AJ Howe's five-door Focus drove into the paddock during the formation laps.
Race Two: The rain-ravaged schedule on Sunday saw the Classic Thunder field out first after the weather-enforced halt was called. Fourth-row starter James Janicki, opening HT 3 victor Tony Davies, Clive Haynsford's triple-rotor Mazda RX8 and Davies' class rival Martin Reynolds all withdrew owing to the poor conditions that morning. With Saturday's finishing order dictating the grid positions for Race Two, winner Josh Lawton, Mike Cutt, Nick Vaughan, Andy Wilson, Andy Robinson, Colin Voyce, the non-starting Janicki, David Blackie, Ian Bower and Chris McGinley formed the top ten on the grid. The race would be run over the full fifteen-minute duration but with a single file start on the wet surface, which would prove costly to one of the top two starters. Mike Cutt steamed up the outside of Josh Lawton's Honda to lead into Coppice when the pack was released from Nick Vaughan and Andy Robinson, after Andy Wilson's Monaro went missing during the formation laps with engine trouble, whilst leading Historic contender Colin Voyce was slow away in his Escort Mk1. As Cutt's BMW made its escape out front, Vaughan took second from Lawton into the bottom of the Mountain section and finished lap one 3.971 seconds down on the flying M3. David Blackie belied his lack of experience with a great opening lap to be sat in fourth, having started from seventh, ahead of Robinson and Joe Collier. During the course of the second lap, a ten-second false start penalty for Cutt was dished out after his eagerness at the single file start. The penalty initially dropped the BMW behind the developing tussle for third between Lawton, Blackie and Robinson, who ended the second lap together. Their squabbling saw Collier's E46 M3 also home in to make it a group of four. Finishing lap six, Lawton's Civic had a twitch at Barn which gave the Blackie M3 a run on the Honda but lapped traffic scuppered the chance. Robinson tried to capitalise at Coppice and tried to hang on all the way around outside of Charlie’s but eventually had to slot in behind the black M3. At the head of the field, on-the-road leader Cutt got his lead out to 5.366 seconds during the first half of the race before the A3 Turbo of Vaughan began pegging back the E36 M3's advantage. Setting the fastest lap on the seventh tour saw Vaughan less than four seconds down on the BMW going onto the penultimate lap and the top two were together heading onto the last lap, as the reigning champion sought to see the chequered flag first. Cutt held on to take the flag first by 0.577 seconds but Vaughan took the win on corrected time, the many hours put into crafting the A3's new flat floor and diffuser proving worthwhile. Such was the speed at which the first two were going, Cutt was still classified second and had 17.350 seconds in hand from the third-place tussle. Lawton claimed the third podium spot ahead of Blackie, Robinson and Collard as they finished as one. Chris McGinley fell off at Mansfield for the final time to lose seventh overall after fending off Ian Bower for much of the distance, the Pre '93 front runner having fallen behind McGinley's M3 GTR with a trip across the grass at Park Corner. AJ Howe put in a notable drive with his much-modified Focus Estate to reach eighth overall by the finish from the back of the grid and headed David Hutchins' Honda Civic Type R in ninth. The Escort Mk1 of Colin Voyce wasn't far ahead of Melvyn Hooker's supercharged Jaguar V8 at the line for top Historic honours in tenth and eleventh overall, the XJS having run down the grass at Barn on one occasion.
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Pre '66
Qualifying: Ford’s Cortina and Anglia models contested the Pre ‘66 qualifying top spot, with Ian Thompson’s Lotus Cortina taking pole position from Billy Kenneally’s ‘Anglebox’ and the pair were split by 0.740 seconds. Peter Smith and returnee Robyn Slater were closely matched on row two and weren’t far from Kenneally’s time, with the reigning champion and the two following Cortinas covered by just 0.110 seconds. 2021 champion James Ibbotson placed his Hillman Imp high up on the timesheet in fifth place and qualified ahead of the Minis of Barry Sime, Mike Davies and Dan Lewis, with the trio setting times within a second of each other after running in formation for much of the session. A triumvirate of Ford Anglias was to be found at the foot of the top ten, with Kevin Swann heading Ed Gibbs in ninth and tenth. Jake Swann’s example missed out on a top-ten start in eleventh and was joined on the sixth row by the second Hillman Imp of Michael Loveland in twelfth.
Race One: The CTCRC’s championship for the eldest cars in its portfolio was only scheduled to race on Sunday and the morning had dawned miserably, driving rain and a stiff breeze made for a sodden opening outing. Michael Sheraton, winner of the epic opening race at Brands Hatch last April in his Ford Anglia, started at the back after missing Saturday’s qualifying session. After two formation laps, the first attempt at getting underway was delayed with James Ibbotson pushed off the grid after losing his clutch. The 2021 champion's Imp was able to take the start from the pits after bumping its engine into life with the starter motor. The clock started when their latest green flag lap began and Billy Kenneally reacted best when the lights went out to start the race proper but poleman Ian Thompson still held the lead into Coppice. Dan Lewis starred through the opening corners up to climb to third by Hall Bends for the first time from his seventh-placed start. Kenneally's Anglia kept up the pressure on leader Thompson throughout the duration and the Cortina was rarely more than a second ahead. A late-race fastest lap allowed the reigning champion to close in further but the Anglia would cruelly grind to a halt on Park Straight for the final time to hand Thompson a 23.068-second winning margin from Lewis' Mini. Having worked through from an early eighth place, Adrian Oliver took third off Peter Smith into Mansfield on the last lap to take a fine podium finish. Robyn Slater further demoted a sideways Smith exiting Mansfield and held his fellow Cortina pilot off into Hall Bends for fourth place. Oliver, Slater and Smith were part of a long train contesting the final podium spot and the three were followed home by Kevin Swann. James Ibbotson recovered from his pitlane start to take the flag in seventh, whilst Jake Swann finished with a flat left-rear tyre on his Anglia and pulled over straight after crossing the line in eighth. Ed Gibbs had a last-lap spin at Chris Curve but still took ninth place and Barry Sime completed the top ten with his Mini Cooper S, with Michael Sheraton's road-legal Anglia on the back of the group in eleventh.
Race Two: The Pre '66 championship's second encounter was cancelled due to the condensed timetable allowing only one race per championship but anyone who wished to could join the back of the Pre '83 field as guest entries.
Qualifying: Ford’s Cortina and Anglia models contested the Pre ‘66 qualifying top spot, with Ian Thompson’s Lotus Cortina taking pole position from Billy Kenneally’s ‘Anglebox’ and the pair were split by 0.740 seconds. Peter Smith and returnee Robyn Slater were closely matched on row two and weren’t far from Kenneally’s time, with the reigning champion and the two following Cortinas covered by just 0.110 seconds. 2021 champion James Ibbotson placed his Hillman Imp high up on the timesheet in fifth place and qualified ahead of the Minis of Barry Sime, Mike Davies and Dan Lewis, with the trio setting times within a second of each other after running in formation for much of the session. A triumvirate of Ford Anglias was to be found at the foot of the top ten, with Kevin Swann heading Ed Gibbs in ninth and tenth. Jake Swann’s example missed out on a top-ten start in eleventh and was joined on the sixth row by the second Hillman Imp of Michael Loveland in twelfth.
Race One: The CTCRC’s championship for the eldest cars in its portfolio was only scheduled to race on Sunday and the morning had dawned miserably, driving rain and a stiff breeze made for a sodden opening outing. Michael Sheraton, winner of the epic opening race at Brands Hatch last April in his Ford Anglia, started at the back after missing Saturday’s qualifying session. After two formation laps, the first attempt at getting underway was delayed with James Ibbotson pushed off the grid after losing his clutch. The 2021 champion's Imp was able to take the start from the pits after bumping its engine into life with the starter motor. The clock started when their latest green flag lap began and Billy Kenneally reacted best when the lights went out to start the race proper but poleman Ian Thompson still held the lead into Coppice. Dan Lewis starred through the opening corners up to climb to third by Hall Bends for the first time from his seventh-placed start. Kenneally's Anglia kept up the pressure on leader Thompson throughout the duration and the Cortina was rarely more than a second ahead. A late-race fastest lap allowed the reigning champion to close in further but the Anglia would cruelly grind to a halt on Park Straight for the final time to hand Thompson a 23.068-second winning margin from Lewis' Mini. Having worked through from an early eighth place, Adrian Oliver took third off Peter Smith into Mansfield on the last lap to take a fine podium finish. Robyn Slater further demoted a sideways Smith exiting Mansfield and held his fellow Cortina pilot off into Hall Bends for fourth place. Oliver, Slater and Smith were part of a long train contesting the final podium spot and the three were followed home by Kevin Swann. James Ibbotson recovered from his pitlane start to take the flag in seventh, whilst Jake Swann finished with a flat left-rear tyre on his Anglia and pulled over straight after crossing the line in eighth. Ed Gibbs had a last-lap spin at Chris Curve but still took ninth place and Barry Sime completed the top ten with his Mini Cooper S, with Michael Sheraton's road-legal Anglia on the back of the group in eleventh.
Race Two: The Pre '66 championship's second encounter was cancelled due to the condensed timetable allowing only one race per championship but anyone who wished to could join the back of the Pre '83 field as guest entries.
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Pre '83
Qualifying: The Pre '83 field was back on a stand-alone grid for this weekend and Stephen Primett’s Mk1 Escort headed the rapid Datsun 510 of Jonathan Corker for pole position by 1.081 seconds after a red flag shortened the session with three minutes to go, David Claxton’s Triumph Dolomite having shed its propshaft in Hall Bends. A great effort from Nick Williamson saw him place the recently completed Rover SD1 on the second row and he would be joined by perennial contender Mark Cholerton’s droop-snoot Escort RS2000. Mark Osborne in the first of the Triumph Dolomites and Mini Challenge Trophy front runner Harry Hickton, in his father’s Opel Kadett, set the fifth and sixth fastest times. The second Triumph Dolomite to qualify inside the top ten belonged to Carl Shreeve and he was set to have Simon Jeffs’ Mk1 Golf GTi starting beside the blue car on row four but the VW ended its session trailing smoke. Bob Bullen’s Mk1 Escort and the early Capri of Nic Strong in tenth formed the fifth row.
Race One: Nick Williamson's Rover SD1 got away well from the second row but couldn’t stop Stephen Primett from taking the lead into Coppice ahead of Jonathan Corker as the V8 machine ran out of room. Primett's Mk1 Escort immediately began moving away from Corker and Williamson on the opening lap to sit 1.483 seconds clear as Mark Osborne's Triumph pressed Cholerton's RS2000 for fourth place. After choosing to start from the back, Harry Hickton climbed up the order well on lap one to be sat just behind Bob Bullen and Carl Shreeve in eighth. Corker's Datsun posted a faster lap than the leading Escort the second time around to bring the gap down to Primett a little and drop the SD1 of Williamson but Primett responded next time past the stripe to move his lead to over two seconds. The multiple champion disappeared further up the road with each subsequent lap to cross the line for a resounding win by 7.449 seconds from Corker's Datsun. Williamson's Rover began to be caught by Cholerton, who brought the gap down from 1.558 seconds after lap two to just 0.227 ending the fourth tour and the RS2000 duly moved into third on the fifth lap. A wayward exit from Barn for the Escort brought the pair back together again but the big Rover locked up in the top section and split the pair up again. Cholerton's RS2000 then went on a late charge to bring the gap down to Corker but couldn’t quite bridge the gap and crossed the line 2.183 seconds down. Osborne's Dolomite, an increasingly smoky Bullen Escort, Shreeve's second Triumph and Hickton's Opel lapped as a quartet through the early laps before splitting towards the finish. The smoke trail behind Bullen's Mk1 Escort drew the attention of the stewards and he was soon shown the mechanical warning flag but didn’t react to the instruction to pit so was black-flagged. The sixth-placed car still didn’t stop and took the chequered flag but escaped disqualification with a slapped wrist. Behind Hickton, Nic Strong's Mk1 Capri came home in ninth, Steve Walden's orange BMW E30 in tenth and Peter Bulbick's Mk3 Capri completed the finishers.
Race Two: The Pre '83 field had a fully dry circuit by the time their second race came around but the sky overhead was very gloomy. The scheduled sixth, eighth and ninth-place starters Bob Bullen, Harry Hickton and Nic Strong each chose to miss the second bout, whilst James Ibbotson’s Hillman Imp and Michael Sheraton’s Ford Anglia from the Pre ‘66s took the opportunity for a second race as guest entries at the back of the grid but the Anglia would pit before the start with a problem felt at the right rear. Nick Williamson's Rover again made a good start to launch into third but couldn't split the evenly starting front-row pair as Stephen Primett and Jonathan Corker went side-by-side through Coppice before the Mk1 Escort established itself in front at Charlie's. Williamson's greater straightline speed saw the V8 Rover threaten Corker for second place into Park Corner for the first time as Primett started to check out and on the following lap, the Rover powered inside the Datsun towards Park Corner to take up second place. Primett had built a margin of over four seconds during the initial minutes but the Escort went audibly off song on lap four. Williamson's Rover began taking chunks of time from the down-on-power Ford and was just 1.251 seconds down ending the fifth lap and the inevitable happened when Williamson swept into the lead along the Park Straight for the sixth time. The self-built SD1 then pulled away to a 4.740-second victory for the delighted driver. Primett was able to maintain second to the end with Corker's Datsun unable to make inroads with a lack of grip. Mark Cholerton took a solid fourth with his RS2000 and was chased home by Mark Osborne's Triumph Dolomite. The second Dolomite of Carl Shreeve held off Steve Walden's advances in his BMW to take sixth. The guest entry Pre ‘66 Imp of Ibbotson was caught by the rejoining Sheraton's similarly aged Anglia and the pair had fun together in an entertaining cameo towards the finish, after the Imp driver was persuaded to take part in an online chat whilst well on his way home! The pair were actually split on the results sheet by the only other remaining finisher, Peter Bulbick.
Qualifying: The Pre '83 field was back on a stand-alone grid for this weekend and Stephen Primett’s Mk1 Escort headed the rapid Datsun 510 of Jonathan Corker for pole position by 1.081 seconds after a red flag shortened the session with three minutes to go, David Claxton’s Triumph Dolomite having shed its propshaft in Hall Bends. A great effort from Nick Williamson saw him place the recently completed Rover SD1 on the second row and he would be joined by perennial contender Mark Cholerton’s droop-snoot Escort RS2000. Mark Osborne in the first of the Triumph Dolomites and Mini Challenge Trophy front runner Harry Hickton, in his father’s Opel Kadett, set the fifth and sixth fastest times. The second Triumph Dolomite to qualify inside the top ten belonged to Carl Shreeve and he was set to have Simon Jeffs’ Mk1 Golf GTi starting beside the blue car on row four but the VW ended its session trailing smoke. Bob Bullen’s Mk1 Escort and the early Capri of Nic Strong in tenth formed the fifth row.
Race One: Nick Williamson's Rover SD1 got away well from the second row but couldn’t stop Stephen Primett from taking the lead into Coppice ahead of Jonathan Corker as the V8 machine ran out of room. Primett's Mk1 Escort immediately began moving away from Corker and Williamson on the opening lap to sit 1.483 seconds clear as Mark Osborne's Triumph pressed Cholerton's RS2000 for fourth place. After choosing to start from the back, Harry Hickton climbed up the order well on lap one to be sat just behind Bob Bullen and Carl Shreeve in eighth. Corker's Datsun posted a faster lap than the leading Escort the second time around to bring the gap down to Primett a little and drop the SD1 of Williamson but Primett responded next time past the stripe to move his lead to over two seconds. The multiple champion disappeared further up the road with each subsequent lap to cross the line for a resounding win by 7.449 seconds from Corker's Datsun. Williamson's Rover began to be caught by Cholerton, who brought the gap down from 1.558 seconds after lap two to just 0.227 ending the fourth tour and the RS2000 duly moved into third on the fifth lap. A wayward exit from Barn for the Escort brought the pair back together again but the big Rover locked up in the top section and split the pair up again. Cholerton's RS2000 then went on a late charge to bring the gap down to Corker but couldn’t quite bridge the gap and crossed the line 2.183 seconds down. Osborne's Dolomite, an increasingly smoky Bullen Escort, Shreeve's second Triumph and Hickton's Opel lapped as a quartet through the early laps before splitting towards the finish. The smoke trail behind Bullen's Mk1 Escort drew the attention of the stewards and he was soon shown the mechanical warning flag but didn’t react to the instruction to pit so was black-flagged. The sixth-placed car still didn’t stop and took the chequered flag but escaped disqualification with a slapped wrist. Behind Hickton, Nic Strong's Mk1 Capri came home in ninth, Steve Walden's orange BMW E30 in tenth and Peter Bulbick's Mk3 Capri completed the finishers.
Race Two: The Pre '83 field had a fully dry circuit by the time their second race came around but the sky overhead was very gloomy. The scheduled sixth, eighth and ninth-place starters Bob Bullen, Harry Hickton and Nic Strong each chose to miss the second bout, whilst James Ibbotson’s Hillman Imp and Michael Sheraton’s Ford Anglia from the Pre ‘66s took the opportunity for a second race as guest entries at the back of the grid but the Anglia would pit before the start with a problem felt at the right rear. Nick Williamson's Rover again made a good start to launch into third but couldn't split the evenly starting front-row pair as Stephen Primett and Jonathan Corker went side-by-side through Coppice before the Mk1 Escort established itself in front at Charlie's. Williamson's greater straightline speed saw the V8 Rover threaten Corker for second place into Park Corner for the first time as Primett started to check out and on the following lap, the Rover powered inside the Datsun towards Park Corner to take up second place. Primett had built a margin of over four seconds during the initial minutes but the Escort went audibly off song on lap four. Williamson's Rover began taking chunks of time from the down-on-power Ford and was just 1.251 seconds down ending the fifth lap and the inevitable happened when Williamson swept into the lead along the Park Straight for the sixth time. The self-built SD1 then pulled away to a 4.740-second victory for the delighted driver. Primett was able to maintain second to the end with Corker's Datsun unable to make inroads with a lack of grip. Mark Cholerton took a solid fourth with his RS2000 and was chased home by Mark Osborne's Triumph Dolomite. The second Dolomite of Carl Shreeve held off Steve Walden's advances in his BMW to take sixth. The guest entry Pre ‘66 Imp of Ibbotson was caught by the rejoining Sheraton's similarly aged Anglia and the pair had fun together in an entertaining cameo towards the finish, after the Imp driver was persuaded to take part in an online chat whilst well on his way home! The pair were actually split on the results sheet by the only other remaining finisher, Peter Bulbick.
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Pre '93/'03/BOSS
Qualifying: With the adrenaline still pumping from the Classic Thunder session, Ian Bower impressed to take the overall pole position for the combined Pre ‘93/‘03/BOSS divisions aboard his Pre ‘93 E36 M3 and headed Piers Grange’s well-sorted BOSS Mk2 Escort by 0.118 seconds. A slim 0.045 seconds was all that separated Pre ‘93 champion Stuart Waite from a place on the front row but he would have to be content with third and was joined by the second BOSS qualifier Olly Allen with his 2.5-litre Fiesta. Terry Davies’ Pre ‘93 E36 M3 and top Pre ‘03 runner Gary Prebble's Honda formed the third row. Martin Reynolds’ Mk2 Escort was third of the BOSS contenders and started alongside Kevin Willis’ Pre ‘93 BMW M3. The fifth row was made up by second Pre ‘03 qualifier Adam Read in his BMW 3 Series Compact and Don Hughes, who has returned to the Pre ‘03s for this season aboard his brightly-hued Peugeot 306 after spending 2023 contesting the Pre ‘83 championship with his Mk1 Golf.
Race One: The top three made even getaways as the fifteen minutes began and Piers Grange led Ian Bower and Stuart Waite's BMWs. Grange's Escort had opened a decent margin around the opening tour as Bower had his hands full fending off Waite's similar M3. The reigning Pre '93 champion got by early on lap two at Charlie's moments before the Safety Car was deployed to remove Sam Daffin's 'SuperFestaMk2', which had come to a stop on Park Straight with clutch issues on lap one. Five minutes remained when the pack was unleashed and Grange bolted into a 2.084-second lead before Waite responded with a fastest lap over one second quicker than the pole position time and went onto the last lap within a second of the leading Escort. Waite attempted a move for the lead down the inside at Mansfield but Grange wasn't willing to give in and contact was made at the apex. Both continued unabated and Grange's Escort took the overall and BOSS win by 0.734 seconds from the Pre '93 victor Waite. Bower lost touch with the first two after a big slide exiting Charlie’s Out but still stood on the last step of the podium and was second of the Pre '93 cars home. The second BOSS competitor Olly Allen held fourth overall throughout and he was chased home by the third BOSS finisher Martin Reynolds. The Mk2 Escort passed Gary Prebble on the last lap after the Pre '03 leader had a similar moment to Bower at Charlie's Out but the Honda Civic still triumphed in the division and placed sixth overall. A clutch of BMWs completed the top ten, with Terry Davies, Kevin Willis and Pre '83 refugee William Davison's Pre '93 M3s leading home Pre '03 runner-up Adam Read's 3 Series Compact in tenth. Donington Park Pre '93 podium finisher Shaun Morris started from the back in 31st and had made up ten places to be 21st behind the Safety Car but the Bastos-liveried car's progress stagnated a little after the resumption and the BMW finished 17th.
Race Two: A number of the top ten finishers from the opening race elected to miss the rescheduled second encounter, with leading BOSS runners Piers Grange and Martin Reynolds both going home along with Kevin Willis and William Davison's Pre '93 BMWs. A dry line was appearing by the time the race got underway and an even start was made by the all-BMW front row but poleman Waite had got to the front by Coppice, ahead of Ian Bower, BOSS leader Olly Allen and Terry Davies had got away well to be fourth. In fifth, Gary Prebble was under pressure for the Pre '03 lead from local man Adam Read. Waite had his lead out to 1.437 seconds after lap two, with Bower being pressed by Allen's 2.5-litre Fiesta before the CieBiemme M3 started pegging gap the as the two BMWs traded fastest laps. However, a fifth-lap mistake from Bower resulted in a wild spin at Chris Curve and dropped the BMW to fourth. Waite dominated thereafter and took the flag 12.300 seconds to the good. BOSS victor Allen fought a race-long duel with Davies' second-in-Pre '93 BMW for second overall and the pair were split by 0.440 seconds over the line. Bower's BMW took third among the Pre '93s in a lonely fourth. A gripless Prebble held off his shadow Read's 3 Series Compact all race to take the Pre '03 series win by a slim 0.504 seconds. Andrew Neal's Peugeot 106 sealed third in Pre '03 in seventh overall and had gone well over the two races after starting the first from the back. Will Hunt's Fiesta scored second place in the BOSS split and eighth overall, with Tim Mizen third behind Joe Dorrington's Pre '03 Civic in tenth overall. Sam Daffin started at the back and the RWD Fiesta Turbo made it home one in piece behind Mizen and placed fourth in BOSS.
Qualifying: With the adrenaline still pumping from the Classic Thunder session, Ian Bower impressed to take the overall pole position for the combined Pre ‘93/‘03/BOSS divisions aboard his Pre ‘93 E36 M3 and headed Piers Grange’s well-sorted BOSS Mk2 Escort by 0.118 seconds. A slim 0.045 seconds was all that separated Pre ‘93 champion Stuart Waite from a place on the front row but he would have to be content with third and was joined by the second BOSS qualifier Olly Allen with his 2.5-litre Fiesta. Terry Davies’ Pre ‘93 E36 M3 and top Pre ‘03 runner Gary Prebble's Honda formed the third row. Martin Reynolds’ Mk2 Escort was third of the BOSS contenders and started alongside Kevin Willis’ Pre ‘93 BMW M3. The fifth row was made up by second Pre ‘03 qualifier Adam Read in his BMW 3 Series Compact and Don Hughes, who has returned to the Pre ‘03s for this season aboard his brightly-hued Peugeot 306 after spending 2023 contesting the Pre ‘83 championship with his Mk1 Golf.
Race One: The top three made even getaways as the fifteen minutes began and Piers Grange led Ian Bower and Stuart Waite's BMWs. Grange's Escort had opened a decent margin around the opening tour as Bower had his hands full fending off Waite's similar M3. The reigning Pre '93 champion got by early on lap two at Charlie's moments before the Safety Car was deployed to remove Sam Daffin's 'SuperFestaMk2', which had come to a stop on Park Straight with clutch issues on lap one. Five minutes remained when the pack was unleashed and Grange bolted into a 2.084-second lead before Waite responded with a fastest lap over one second quicker than the pole position time and went onto the last lap within a second of the leading Escort. Waite attempted a move for the lead down the inside at Mansfield but Grange wasn't willing to give in and contact was made at the apex. Both continued unabated and Grange's Escort took the overall and BOSS win by 0.734 seconds from the Pre '93 victor Waite. Bower lost touch with the first two after a big slide exiting Charlie’s Out but still stood on the last step of the podium and was second of the Pre '93 cars home. The second BOSS competitor Olly Allen held fourth overall throughout and he was chased home by the third BOSS finisher Martin Reynolds. The Mk2 Escort passed Gary Prebble on the last lap after the Pre '03 leader had a similar moment to Bower at Charlie's Out but the Honda Civic still triumphed in the division and placed sixth overall. A clutch of BMWs completed the top ten, with Terry Davies, Kevin Willis and Pre '83 refugee William Davison's Pre '93 M3s leading home Pre '03 runner-up Adam Read's 3 Series Compact in tenth. Donington Park Pre '93 podium finisher Shaun Morris started from the back in 31st and had made up ten places to be 21st behind the Safety Car but the Bastos-liveried car's progress stagnated a little after the resumption and the BMW finished 17th.
Race Two: A number of the top ten finishers from the opening race elected to miss the rescheduled second encounter, with leading BOSS runners Piers Grange and Martin Reynolds both going home along with Kevin Willis and William Davison's Pre '93 BMWs. A dry line was appearing by the time the race got underway and an even start was made by the all-BMW front row but poleman Waite had got to the front by Coppice, ahead of Ian Bower, BOSS leader Olly Allen and Terry Davies had got away well to be fourth. In fifth, Gary Prebble was under pressure for the Pre '03 lead from local man Adam Read. Waite had his lead out to 1.437 seconds after lap two, with Bower being pressed by Allen's 2.5-litre Fiesta before the CieBiemme M3 started pegging gap the as the two BMWs traded fastest laps. However, a fifth-lap mistake from Bower resulted in a wild spin at Chris Curve and dropped the BMW to fourth. Waite dominated thereafter and took the flag 12.300 seconds to the good. BOSS victor Allen fought a race-long duel with Davies' second-in-Pre '93 BMW for second overall and the pair were split by 0.440 seconds over the line. Bower's BMW took third among the Pre '93s in a lonely fourth. A gripless Prebble held off his shadow Read's 3 Series Compact all race to take the Pre '03 series win by a slim 0.504 seconds. Andrew Neal's Peugeot 106 sealed third in Pre '03 in seventh overall and had gone well over the two races after starting the first from the back. Will Hunt's Fiesta scored second place in the BOSS split and eighth overall, with Tim Mizen third behind Joe Dorrington's Pre '03 Civic in tenth overall. Sam Daffin started at the back and the RWD Fiesta Turbo made it home one in piece behind Mizen and placed fourth in BOSS.
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The next rounds of Classic Touring Car Racing Club action take place at the compact Mallory Park circuit in Leicestershire on the 18th and 19th of May.
Mini Miglias
The Mini 7 Racing Club followed the CTCRC to Lincolnshire, having shared the bill at Donington Park for their season openers at Easter. The flagship Miglia category qualified first and Jeff Smith sat atop the times by 1.144 seconds at the time of the first stoppage for Phil Bullen-Brown's car in the tyres at Charlie's Out. The session would be red-flagged again with three and a half minutes remaining after Shaun King binned his car at Barn and wouldn't be restarted. Jeff Smith went faster again during the intervening minutes to secure pole position from Ben Colburn, whilst Ian Curley displaced reigning champion Aaron Smith to form the top four. The first two rows made even getaways, with polesitter Smith and Colburn going side-by-side through Coppice and Charlie's In before the second-placed starter took the lead onto Park Straight. Colburn had opened a small gap of 0.723 seconds from Jeff Smith, who also had half a second in hand from Ian Curley, Aaron Smith, Kane Astin and Rupert Deeth who were running as one. As is often the case in Mini racing, the leader's advantage didn't last long as Jeff Smith caught back up with Colburn during the course of lap two and Aaron Smith took third from Curley. Colburn tried to defend his lead from Smith into Park Corner for the third time but the lead changed hands anyway, whilst Curley dropped behind Martin Wager to seventh after a grassy excursion at Charlie’s In. Jeff Smith had pulled out a narrow gap once ahead as namesake Aaron Smith reeled in Colburn with the fastest lap but the top four were nearly together as Astin joined the pack on lap four. Colburn draughted back into the lead racing up to Park Corner for the fifth time and the group now encompassed the top five but Rupert Deeth had disappeared by the end of the lap. Jeff Smith attacked Colburn for the lead towards Park Corner for the seventh time but there was no change in the order until Smith went ahead in the same place on the next lap. Colburn was able to wrest the lead back again and led onto the last lap before Jeff Smith made the decisive pass at Park Corner to take the win by 0.596 seconds from Colburn. A grassy moment exiting Barn cost Astin a second to Aaron Smith in third but the 2015 champion worked hard over the last two laps and finished right on the 2023 champion's bootlid in fourth as 1.217 seconds covered the quartet. In the battle for fifth place, Curley caught Wager when the Kenwood car ran wide onto the Park Straight for the seventh time and as their tussle intensified, Colin Peacock and Alex Osborne were able to close in. Wager had fallen to the tail of the group behind Curley, Peacock and Osborne to eighth by the time they started the final lap and Osborne usurped Peacock last time around for sixth place. Josh Evans nicked the Libre class win on-the-road on the last lap after contact with race-long leader Richard Colburn at the bottom of the Mountain in both the left and right-handers, Colburn crawled past the flag but got the victory after a six-second penalty was handed to Evans for the robust overtake. The second bout on Sunday was cancelled after the Mini drivers voted not to race on Sunday due to the poor weather overnight that savaged the schedule.
Mini Miglias
The Mini 7 Racing Club followed the CTCRC to Lincolnshire, having shared the bill at Donington Park for their season openers at Easter. The flagship Miglia category qualified first and Jeff Smith sat atop the times by 1.144 seconds at the time of the first stoppage for Phil Bullen-Brown's car in the tyres at Charlie's Out. The session would be red-flagged again with three and a half minutes remaining after Shaun King binned his car at Barn and wouldn't be restarted. Jeff Smith went faster again during the intervening minutes to secure pole position from Ben Colburn, whilst Ian Curley displaced reigning champion Aaron Smith to form the top four. The first two rows made even getaways, with polesitter Smith and Colburn going side-by-side through Coppice and Charlie's In before the second-placed starter took the lead onto Park Straight. Colburn had opened a small gap of 0.723 seconds from Jeff Smith, who also had half a second in hand from Ian Curley, Aaron Smith, Kane Astin and Rupert Deeth who were running as one. As is often the case in Mini racing, the leader's advantage didn't last long as Jeff Smith caught back up with Colburn during the course of lap two and Aaron Smith took third from Curley. Colburn tried to defend his lead from Smith into Park Corner for the third time but the lead changed hands anyway, whilst Curley dropped behind Martin Wager to seventh after a grassy excursion at Charlie’s In. Jeff Smith had pulled out a narrow gap once ahead as namesake Aaron Smith reeled in Colburn with the fastest lap but the top four were nearly together as Astin joined the pack on lap four. Colburn draughted back into the lead racing up to Park Corner for the fifth time and the group now encompassed the top five but Rupert Deeth had disappeared by the end of the lap. Jeff Smith attacked Colburn for the lead towards Park Corner for the seventh time but there was no change in the order until Smith went ahead in the same place on the next lap. Colburn was able to wrest the lead back again and led onto the last lap before Jeff Smith made the decisive pass at Park Corner to take the win by 0.596 seconds from Colburn. A grassy moment exiting Barn cost Astin a second to Aaron Smith in third but the 2015 champion worked hard over the last two laps and finished right on the 2023 champion's bootlid in fourth as 1.217 seconds covered the quartet. In the battle for fifth place, Curley caught Wager when the Kenwood car ran wide onto the Park Straight for the seventh time and as their tussle intensified, Colin Peacock and Alex Osborne were able to close in. Wager had fallen to the tail of the group behind Curley, Peacock and Osborne to eighth by the time they started the final lap and Osborne usurped Peacock last time around for sixth place. Josh Evans nicked the Libre class win on-the-road on the last lap after contact with race-long leader Richard Colburn at the bottom of the Mountain in both the left and right-handers, Colburn crawled past the flag but got the victory after a six-second penalty was handed to Evans for the robust overtake. The second bout on Sunday was cancelled after the Mini drivers voted not to race on Sunday due to the poor weather overnight that savaged the schedule.
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Mini Se7ens
The Se7ens' qualifying session was red-flagged after seven minutes with Joe Thompson heading Spencer Wanstall by less than 1/10th at the top of the times from former S-Class title holder Damien Harrington in third. Michael Winkworth was just ahead of Matthew Ayres to be the top S-Class runner at the time. Thompson reinforced his pole position time after the break, whilst Ross Billison jumped ahead of Wanstall and Harrington during the twelve minutes that remained to join the 2023 championship runner-up on the front row. Winkworth claimed the top S-Class grid spot from the returning Frazer Hack with a benchmark good enough for fourth overall. The field came out for the start of their opening race in the worst of the conditions on Sunday morning. The race distance was to be reduced to 15 minutes and would start from behind the Safety Car after two green flag laps. However, the race was red-flagged before it started and the cars were sent back to the paddock with the circuit too wet for racing. An early lunch break was called for in the hope of improved conditions later in the day but the pair of races would eventually be cancelled after the Mini 7 Racing Club drivers elected to go home.
The Se7ens' qualifying session was red-flagged after seven minutes with Joe Thompson heading Spencer Wanstall by less than 1/10th at the top of the times from former S-Class title holder Damien Harrington in third. Michael Winkworth was just ahead of Matthew Ayres to be the top S-Class runner at the time. Thompson reinforced his pole position time after the break, whilst Ross Billison jumped ahead of Wanstall and Harrington during the twelve minutes that remained to join the 2023 championship runner-up on the front row. Winkworth claimed the top S-Class grid spot from the returning Frazer Hack with a benchmark good enough for fourth overall. The field came out for the start of their opening race in the worst of the conditions on Sunday morning. The race distance was to be reduced to 15 minutes and would start from behind the Safety Car after two green flag laps. However, the race was red-flagged before it started and the cars were sent back to the paddock with the circuit too wet for racing. An early lunch break was called for in the hope of improved conditions later in the day but the pair of races would eventually be cancelled after the Mini 7 Racing Club drivers elected to go home.
The Dunlop Mini Se7en and Miglia championships supported by Mini Spares travel along the A11 to Snetterton in Norfolk for their next competitive weekend on the 18th and 19th of May.