CTCRC Donington Park GP 14th & 15th October 2023
The Classic Touring Car Racing Club arrived at Donington Park for its final meeting of 2023 over the weekend of the 14th and 15th of October with a number of championships still to be resolved, including the Classic Thunder, Pre '83, Pre '03 and Jaguar titles.
Classic Thunder
Title race leader Nick Vaughan hoped to seal his maiden Classic Thunder crown in the Team Prawn Racing Audi A3 Turbo and headed the table by twelve points. Having been forced to sit out Snetterton with major engine problems, the former championship table-topping Aston Martin V8 of Sam Wilson was also on the entry list to add some tension to the title race as Vaughan's nearest challenger. Neil Philpotts’ Starion Turbo and Andy Robinson’s Ford Falcon both returned after missing Snetterton. More Australian V8 muscle was represented by Andy Wilson’s mighty Holden Monaro and Abbie Eaton in the family Holden Commodore, which had sprouted some serious aero for this meeting. Kirk Armitage was a winner at the circuit in 2022 and returned after his damaging collision with the pit wall at Croft. After making a big impression with his newly-turbocharged Mk1 Escort at Snetterton, Colin Voyce ought to feature at the pointy end too. After impressive showings at Castle Combe and Snetterton, Gary Hufford was back for another go with his bright green E46 M3 and was joined by podium finisher last time out Chris McGinley’s M3 GTR. Two further rapid BMWs appeared late on the entry list for Sunday only after racing in a clashing Kumho BMW round at Oulton Park on Saturday, those of Jasver Sapra and 2023 race winner Bryan Bransom. Malcolm Harding was another to enter late with his Zakspeed Mk2 Escort and fellow BOSS regular Mike Manning would get some extra track time aboard his Eggenberger lookalike Sierra, another Sierra to appear was the Chevrolet V8-powered version of Martin Reynolds. The rotary Mazda RX8 of Clive Haynsford provided some colour to the entry whilst a number of other competitors took the opportunity to compete in some additional races. A dark horse could be Martyn Ellis, making a guest entry in his smart Talbot Lotus Sunbeam which has proven to be very rapid in CSCC races.
Qualifying: The battle for pole position was an all-Holden affair as Abbie Eaton headed the field at the halfway stage but she had been replaced by Andy Wilson’s monstrous Monaro with six minutes remaining. Eaton improved to retake the top spot by 0.864 seconds with a couple of minutes to go. Wilson also improved again in the later stages of the session but he was unable to topple the VH Commodore from pole position and was just 0.166 seconds shy. Championship leader Nick Vaughan climbed to third late in the fifteen minutes and shared the second row with his nearest title challenger Sam Wilson. Two BMW M3s formed the third row, with Kirk Armitage’s E36 heading Gary Hufford’s E46 example. A pair of turbocars made up the fourth row as Mike Manning’s Texaco Sierra bested Neil Philpotts’ Starion Turbo, with the top ten completed by Andy Robinson’s Ford Falcon AU and Malcolm Harding’s Mk2 Escort.
Race One: Race one got underway into the dwindling light of sunset, Andy Wilson powered into the lead by Redgate from polesitter Abbie Eaton and Nick Vaughan. Sam Wilson attempted to go round the outside of Vaughan and Eaton too for second but emerged with third after Eaton had a mid-corner twitch and Vaughan, on road tyres in the cool conditions, had to check up, which sent the Audi sideways towards the infield and lost a lot of ground as a consequence. Neil Philpotts and Kirk Armitage slotted into fourth and fifth behind the Aston Martin, before the BMW went inside the Starion at the Old Hairpin as the pair headed Gary Hufford's E46 M3 and Malcolm Harding's Mk2 Escort. The Pre '93-spec BMWs of Oliver Owen and Ian Bower were also making progress, Owen bravely going around the outside of Colin Voyce's Escort Mk1 Turbo down the Craner Curves and Bower following past at the Old Hairpin. Harding was the next to fall victim to Owen, the red E36 moving ahead at McLeans but the Escort had reclaimed the spot, and also passed Hufford's BMW, before they entered the GP loop for the first time. The front pair of Wilson and Eaton leapt away from the field during the opening tour and Eaton briefly took the lead under braking for Redgate starting lap two but Wilson powered back ahead through Hollywood. Sam Wilson was holding off a big group of cars in third heading on to the second tour, the pack included Armitage, Philpotts, Harding, Hufford, Voyce and Owen. Bower had been on the tail of the group too until a grassy moment at Goddards ending lap one. A typically determined Harding had taken both Armitage and Philpotts by Starkeys on lap two, whilst Voyce had also got in front of the Hufford and Owen BMWs. Chris McGinley's M3 GTR had latched onto the back of the group too and saw off Owen's less-developed M3 at Coppice, whilst Armitage took fourth back from Harding down the Exhibition Straight for the second time. After his excursion at Redgate on the opening lap, Vaughan sat in twelfth overall just behind Mike Manning's repaired RS500 as they ended lap two and was outside of the top three in his class. Armitage was keen on taking Sam Wilson's third place on the third lap and took a look at the Old Hairpin, as well as exiting Coppice, but the Aston couldn't be moved. Just behind, Voyce breezed past Harding down the Exhibition Straight to take fifth place. Voyce then took fourth from Armitage at Redgate as they started lap four, the BMW got alongside coming out of Coppice but the Escort's extra straightline speed kept the Castrol car ahead. Philpotts ended the fourth lap ahead of Armitage as the BMW was slow out of the Melbourne Hairpin, which allowed the Starion to blast past up to Goddards. The mighty Mitsubishi then got up to fourth a lap later but Sam Wilson still held firm in third. Meanwhile, further back in the group, Hufford crossed the line a mere 0.014 seconds ahead of Harding's Escort for seventh as the group started to splinter. Vaughan had reached the top ten overall at half-distance but was still outside of the big points in his class, that changed when he passed McGinley's BMW on the fifth tour. A few minutes later, Matthew Stenning's Honda blew in a big way approaching Goddards with three minutes remaining and a halt was called with the light fading rapidly. Andy Wilson's 7-litre Monaro thus took the win by 2.125 seconds after breaking clear of Eaton's early threat. Eaton won Class H1 in second and classmate Sam Wilson took third overall as he fended off Philpotts' Mitsubishi in fourth. Voyce came home in fifth, ahead of the Class B-topping BMWs of Armitage and Hufford. Harding was eighth in his Mk2 Escort and was being caught by Vaughan in ninth overall, but third in Class B, which meant the Audi led the championship by nine points from Sam Wilson going into Sunday's final race as neither took the bonus points for the fastest lap in class. Andy Robinson retired his 'green-eyed-monster' Ford Falcon after multiple grassy excursions at Goddards.
Race Two: Andy Wilson led from pole towards Redgate but Abbie Eaton swept around the outside to take an early lead, whilst Wilson held off Philpotts' Starion for second. The two Australian V8s became embroiled in a close game of chess for the opening few laps until Wilson got his nose in front on lap three along the Exhibition Straight but Eaton took the lead back under braking for the Fogarty Esses. Wilson got down the inside at the Melbourne Hairpin to hit the front again but Eaton dived back ahead into Redgate as they started lap four, keen not to let the Monaro stretch its legs out front. As in race one, Wilson cut back underneath at the exit and bellowed back into the lead through Hollywood, before immediately building a small gap down the Craner Curves. The Monaro pushed its lead out to 2.093 seconds after twelve minutes but was threatened with a track limit warning so eventually won by 1.210 seconds from Eaton in a valiant second. Philpotts' tenure of third place was short-lived with a retirement on lap two, placing Colin Voyce's Ecoboost-powered Mk1 Escort into the potential podium spot. Class B leader Kirk Armitage fell to the wayside out of fifth position on lap three, which boosted title race leader Nick Vaughan's ambitions with promotion to second in the class. Sam Wilson came through to take third overall from Voyce on the sixth tour and finished second in Class H1 as a result behind Eaton and now all eyes turned to Vaughan as he fell behind Bryan Bransom to third in Class B after his gear linkage broke with three laps to go. The road-legal Audi was stuck in third gear but retook second place in class on the last lap to seal the Classic Thunder title, "that threw everything at us, that was unbelievable. I was holding it on the rev limiter at 8500rpm hoping it wouldn't blow up!" said the mightily relieved Vaughan. The E46 M3 of Gary Hufford won Class B in fifth overall whilst the BMWs of Bransom and Sapra performed a photo finish just behind Vaughan, finishing 0.177 seconds apart in Sapra's favour for seventh and eighth overall. Andy Robinson's Falcon had been due to start from the twelfth row but pulled into the pits at the end of the formation lap.
Classic Thunder
Title race leader Nick Vaughan hoped to seal his maiden Classic Thunder crown in the Team Prawn Racing Audi A3 Turbo and headed the table by twelve points. Having been forced to sit out Snetterton with major engine problems, the former championship table-topping Aston Martin V8 of Sam Wilson was also on the entry list to add some tension to the title race as Vaughan's nearest challenger. Neil Philpotts’ Starion Turbo and Andy Robinson’s Ford Falcon both returned after missing Snetterton. More Australian V8 muscle was represented by Andy Wilson’s mighty Holden Monaro and Abbie Eaton in the family Holden Commodore, which had sprouted some serious aero for this meeting. Kirk Armitage was a winner at the circuit in 2022 and returned after his damaging collision with the pit wall at Croft. After making a big impression with his newly-turbocharged Mk1 Escort at Snetterton, Colin Voyce ought to feature at the pointy end too. After impressive showings at Castle Combe and Snetterton, Gary Hufford was back for another go with his bright green E46 M3 and was joined by podium finisher last time out Chris McGinley’s M3 GTR. Two further rapid BMWs appeared late on the entry list for Sunday only after racing in a clashing Kumho BMW round at Oulton Park on Saturday, those of Jasver Sapra and 2023 race winner Bryan Bransom. Malcolm Harding was another to enter late with his Zakspeed Mk2 Escort and fellow BOSS regular Mike Manning would get some extra track time aboard his Eggenberger lookalike Sierra, another Sierra to appear was the Chevrolet V8-powered version of Martin Reynolds. The rotary Mazda RX8 of Clive Haynsford provided some colour to the entry whilst a number of other competitors took the opportunity to compete in some additional races. A dark horse could be Martyn Ellis, making a guest entry in his smart Talbot Lotus Sunbeam which has proven to be very rapid in CSCC races.
Qualifying: The battle for pole position was an all-Holden affair as Abbie Eaton headed the field at the halfway stage but she had been replaced by Andy Wilson’s monstrous Monaro with six minutes remaining. Eaton improved to retake the top spot by 0.864 seconds with a couple of minutes to go. Wilson also improved again in the later stages of the session but he was unable to topple the VH Commodore from pole position and was just 0.166 seconds shy. Championship leader Nick Vaughan climbed to third late in the fifteen minutes and shared the second row with his nearest title challenger Sam Wilson. Two BMW M3s formed the third row, with Kirk Armitage’s E36 heading Gary Hufford’s E46 example. A pair of turbocars made up the fourth row as Mike Manning’s Texaco Sierra bested Neil Philpotts’ Starion Turbo, with the top ten completed by Andy Robinson’s Ford Falcon AU and Malcolm Harding’s Mk2 Escort.
Race One: Race one got underway into the dwindling light of sunset, Andy Wilson powered into the lead by Redgate from polesitter Abbie Eaton and Nick Vaughan. Sam Wilson attempted to go round the outside of Vaughan and Eaton too for second but emerged with third after Eaton had a mid-corner twitch and Vaughan, on road tyres in the cool conditions, had to check up, which sent the Audi sideways towards the infield and lost a lot of ground as a consequence. Neil Philpotts and Kirk Armitage slotted into fourth and fifth behind the Aston Martin, before the BMW went inside the Starion at the Old Hairpin as the pair headed Gary Hufford's E46 M3 and Malcolm Harding's Mk2 Escort. The Pre '93-spec BMWs of Oliver Owen and Ian Bower were also making progress, Owen bravely going around the outside of Colin Voyce's Escort Mk1 Turbo down the Craner Curves and Bower following past at the Old Hairpin. Harding was the next to fall victim to Owen, the red E36 moving ahead at McLeans but the Escort had reclaimed the spot, and also passed Hufford's BMW, before they entered the GP loop for the first time. The front pair of Wilson and Eaton leapt away from the field during the opening tour and Eaton briefly took the lead under braking for Redgate starting lap two but Wilson powered back ahead through Hollywood. Sam Wilson was holding off a big group of cars in third heading on to the second tour, the pack included Armitage, Philpotts, Harding, Hufford, Voyce and Owen. Bower had been on the tail of the group too until a grassy moment at Goddards ending lap one. A typically determined Harding had taken both Armitage and Philpotts by Starkeys on lap two, whilst Voyce had also got in front of the Hufford and Owen BMWs. Chris McGinley's M3 GTR had latched onto the back of the group too and saw off Owen's less-developed M3 at Coppice, whilst Armitage took fourth back from Harding down the Exhibition Straight for the second time. After his excursion at Redgate on the opening lap, Vaughan sat in twelfth overall just behind Mike Manning's repaired RS500 as they ended lap two and was outside of the top three in his class. Armitage was keen on taking Sam Wilson's third place on the third lap and took a look at the Old Hairpin, as well as exiting Coppice, but the Aston couldn't be moved. Just behind, Voyce breezed past Harding down the Exhibition Straight to take fifth place. Voyce then took fourth from Armitage at Redgate as they started lap four, the BMW got alongside coming out of Coppice but the Escort's extra straightline speed kept the Castrol car ahead. Philpotts ended the fourth lap ahead of Armitage as the BMW was slow out of the Melbourne Hairpin, which allowed the Starion to blast past up to Goddards. The mighty Mitsubishi then got up to fourth a lap later but Sam Wilson still held firm in third. Meanwhile, further back in the group, Hufford crossed the line a mere 0.014 seconds ahead of Harding's Escort for seventh as the group started to splinter. Vaughan had reached the top ten overall at half-distance but was still outside of the big points in his class, that changed when he passed McGinley's BMW on the fifth tour. A few minutes later, Matthew Stenning's Honda blew in a big way approaching Goddards with three minutes remaining and a halt was called with the light fading rapidly. Andy Wilson's 7-litre Monaro thus took the win by 2.125 seconds after breaking clear of Eaton's early threat. Eaton won Class H1 in second and classmate Sam Wilson took third overall as he fended off Philpotts' Mitsubishi in fourth. Voyce came home in fifth, ahead of the Class B-topping BMWs of Armitage and Hufford. Harding was eighth in his Mk2 Escort and was being caught by Vaughan in ninth overall, but third in Class B, which meant the Audi led the championship by nine points from Sam Wilson going into Sunday's final race as neither took the bonus points for the fastest lap in class. Andy Robinson retired his 'green-eyed-monster' Ford Falcon after multiple grassy excursions at Goddards.
Race Two: Andy Wilson led from pole towards Redgate but Abbie Eaton swept around the outside to take an early lead, whilst Wilson held off Philpotts' Starion for second. The two Australian V8s became embroiled in a close game of chess for the opening few laps until Wilson got his nose in front on lap three along the Exhibition Straight but Eaton took the lead back under braking for the Fogarty Esses. Wilson got down the inside at the Melbourne Hairpin to hit the front again but Eaton dived back ahead into Redgate as they started lap four, keen not to let the Monaro stretch its legs out front. As in race one, Wilson cut back underneath at the exit and bellowed back into the lead through Hollywood, before immediately building a small gap down the Craner Curves. The Monaro pushed its lead out to 2.093 seconds after twelve minutes but was threatened with a track limit warning so eventually won by 1.210 seconds from Eaton in a valiant second. Philpotts' tenure of third place was short-lived with a retirement on lap two, placing Colin Voyce's Ecoboost-powered Mk1 Escort into the potential podium spot. Class B leader Kirk Armitage fell to the wayside out of fifth position on lap three, which boosted title race leader Nick Vaughan's ambitions with promotion to second in the class. Sam Wilson came through to take third overall from Voyce on the sixth tour and finished second in Class H1 as a result behind Eaton and now all eyes turned to Vaughan as he fell behind Bryan Bransom to third in Class B after his gear linkage broke with three laps to go. The road-legal Audi was stuck in third gear but retook second place in class on the last lap to seal the Classic Thunder title, "that threw everything at us, that was unbelievable. I was holding it on the rev limiter at 8500rpm hoping it wouldn't blow up!" said the mightily relieved Vaughan. The E46 M3 of Gary Hufford won Class B in fifth overall whilst the BMWs of Bransom and Sapra performed a photo finish just behind Vaughan, finishing 0.177 seconds apart in Sapra's favour for seventh and eighth overall. Andy Robinson's Falcon had been due to start from the twelfth row but pulled into the pits at the end of the formation lap.
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Pre '93/'03/BOSS
Pre ‘93: A bevvy of BMWs headed the Pre ‘93 entry, with Ian Bower, Kevin Willis, Oliver Owen and Clint Le Chalmers' examples likely to prove the fleetest in the absence of champion Stuart Waite with engine trouble. In addition to the numerically dominant E36 M3s, Jamie Sturges brought out his big M535i and Howard Spooner debuted his Group A BMW 635 CSi. Variety was also given by David Clark's Renault 5 GT Turbo, Josh Bromley's Rover 220 Turbo 'Tomcat' and Jaguar engine tuner Tom Barclay in David Howard’s XJS. Pre ‘03: One point was all that separated title race leader Ross Craig from his pursuer Gary Prebble coming into the weekend, the chasing Honda is usually the fastest car in the category but hasn’t enjoyed 100% reliability this year. Chris Southcott could well be an interloper with his rapid Civic, whilst Cavan Grainger aimed to put his BMW somewhere near them too. Three further BMWs and four Hondas completed the entry, with the Civic of Andy Abrams being made available for sale after the meeting. BOSS: 2023 race winner Mike Manning entered his fire-breathing Texaco RS500 but would be doing well to keep up with Malcolm Harding and Piers Grange’s highly developed Mk2 Escorts. The Zakspeed Mk2 Escort of Martin Reynolds would be at the pointy end too. Chasing reliability would be Sam Daffin’s Fiesta Turbo, having been forced to perform numerous ‘at meeting’ engine changes, but once again he was denied by more engine trouble in testing. Joey Binks’ Duckhams Sierra RS500 would jog memories of the late 1980s BTCC, whilst AJ Owen brought out the Sierra Cosworth that served him well at Snetterton. 2023 champion James Dunkley had his Croft nemesis Will Hunt to battle with aboard their Class D Fiestas, with Hunt aiming to secure second in the championship.
Qualifying: Early morning showers had left a wet surface for the combined Pre ‘93/‘03/BOSS field as they set out to qualify. BOSS cars filled the top three spots, with an all-Sierra front row as AJ Owen bested Mike Manning by 1.010 seconds. Malcolm Harding’s Mk2 Escort set the third fastest time, 1.413 seconds down on Manning, and shared the second row with the quickest Pre ‘03 driver Gary Prebble. The third row was headed by Ian Bower’s BMW, the fastest of the Pre ‘93 competitors. Piers Grange headed the next group of BOSS competitors in sixth, seventh and eighth, with Joey Binks’ Sierra and 2023 champion James Dunkley’s Fiesta next up. Chris Southcott’s Pre ‘03 Honda and Martin Reynolds’ BOSS Mk2 Escort rounded out the top ten.
Race One: The start was delayed after front row starter Mike Manning’s Sierra burst its diff whilst spinning up the rears before the start and he pulled up against the pitwall. The race was rescheduled to begin after the lunch break, which was brought forward to clear up the Sierra’s spilt fluid. Another delay was to follow as the field formed up for the second time, an untimely downpour with a number of BOSS runners on slicks being the cause and the field was granted two formation laps. Malcolm Harding and Piers Grange both pulled into pits at the end of the first of the formation laps and then Joey Binks aquaplaned off in the deluge at Hollywood as conditions became impossible. A halt was called and the race was timetabled to run on Sunday morning. Cold but clear conditions greeted the competitors as they lined up for the third attempt at getting racing underway. Polesitter AJ Owen's Sierra Cosworth doesn’t take the start after his diff expired ending the formation lap but was able to vacate the circuit without causing delay. Away from the lights, Manning held the lead into Redgate but it looked like Ian Bower's Pre '93 BMW was away best and he briefly had his nose in second until the Mk2 Escorts of Harding and Grange rounded him up at the first corner. Grange, from the third row, was on a charging opening lap and he took second from Harding at the Old Hairpin before diving inside Manning at the Melbourne Hairpin to lead at the end of lap one. Manning’s Sierra and Harding’s Escort got involved in a great scrap for second as Manning’s power fought Harding’s handling. Harding tried to follow Grange through on the opening lap but was held to the outside of Goddards. The Escort passed the Sierra at Coppice on lap two before Manning fought back on the brakes into the Melbourne Hairpin. Harding pounced to go second into the Melbourne Hairpin at half-distance as Manning began to struggle with a suspected seized clutch slave cylinder. Once released, Harding went round 1.573 seconds quicker than leader Grange and he continued to close on the silver Escort in front until Harding was on Grange's bootlid going onto the last lap. Harding dived inside at Redgate but Grange hung on around the outside to keep the lead. Out of the Old Hairpin, Harding drew alongside again but Grange fended off his challenger once more up to McLeans. As they entered the GP loop for the final time, a grandstand finish was denied when Harding slowed dramatically with a misfire caused by a suspected iffy camshaft sensor, so Grange won from Manning and Martin Reynolds' Mk2 Escort. The Castrol Escort crept over the line in fourth and dominant Pre ‘93 winner Ian Bower took fifth, despite a five-second penalty for Harding. Chris Southcott defeated early leader Gary Prebble for Pre ‘03 honours, after getting waved ahead on lap three on the GP loop. Prebble’s title rival Ross Craig was third so the pair went into the final race split by two points. Clint Le Chalmers and Kevin Willis squabbled over second in the Pre ‘93s for much of the race, with BOSS contender Joey Binks’ Duckhams Sierra involved too, but Le Chalmers lost pace late on and had slipped to fourth, before a last corner spin for Willis allowed Shaun Morris' BMW through for second and Le Chalmers into third. There was another fraught battle just behind them, which contained James Dunkley and Will Hunt's BOSS Fiestas, Jonathan Olliff-Cooper's Pre '93 BMW plus David Hutchins and Cavan Grainger's Pre '03 cars. The scrap eventually went the way of Grainger's BMW, with the Dunkley and Hunt Class D Fiestas crossing the line side by side just behind as the Mk2 Fiesta got the verdict by just 0.069 seconds.
Race Two: Piers Grange and Mike Manning were due to be on the front row for Race Two but Manning was unable to sort the Sierra's clutch issues and didn't take his place on the grid. Martin Reynolds and Malcolm Harding formed an all-Escort Mk2 second row, Harding had his fingers crossed that his earlier misfire had been cured. Race One Pre '93 victor Ian Bower and Pre '03 counterpart Chris Southcott made up the third row, with Pre '03 title contestants Prebble and Craig together on row four - whoever finished in front of the other would take the crown. Grange held the lead away from the lights, whilst Harding leapt ahead of Reynolds into second by Redgate and soon began pressing the silver Escort for the race lead. Southcott's Honda was slow away and Prebble got boxed in behind the Race One victor so Craig took an early Pre '03 lead, with Southcott and Grainger in between the championship contending Hondas to hand the advantage to Craig. Prebble had dispensed with Grainger's BMW by the end of lap one before the three Civics compressed together on lap five, having passed the Pre '93 BMWs of Clint Le Chalmers and Kevin Willis. Prebble went from third to first inside one lap as he got ahead of Southcott at Goddards at the completion of the fifth lap before the title contenders swapped places, and paint, climbing up to McLeans for the sixth time to hand the championship advantage back to Prebble. Southcott also passed Craig exiting Coppice, after the early category leader braked desperately late in an attempt to get back on terms with Prebble, before taking the category lead into the Melbourne Hairpin but he didn’t stay ahead for long after running wide. Southcott’s Civic slowed in the later stages, which allowed Craig back through into second but wasn't enough to stop Prebble from becoming the Pre ‘03 champion. In the battle at the head of the field, Harding made his first move for the lead at Redgate for the third time and the Mk2 Escorts ran side by side down the Craner Curves, with Grange bravely holding on around the outside of the Old Hairpin to keep the lead. The Castrol Escort tried again on the fourth lap down the inside at the Melbourne Hairpin but a powerslide on the exit allowed Grange to retain the lead into Goddards. Harding eventually took the lead during the sixth lap when Grange got crossed up exiting Goddards but, frustratingly, the Race One misfire returned with a lap to go and he didn’t see the chequered flag, so Grange took the win from Reynolds' Mk2 Escort by 12.295 seconds. Ian Bower ran out a comfortable Pre '93 winner and took third overall in his BMW, the early second-placed runner was the guest entry of Shaun Morris but he spun out of the position at Coppice for the third time which handed the spot to Willis' similar car from Le Chalmers.
Pre ‘93: A bevvy of BMWs headed the Pre ‘93 entry, with Ian Bower, Kevin Willis, Oliver Owen and Clint Le Chalmers' examples likely to prove the fleetest in the absence of champion Stuart Waite with engine trouble. In addition to the numerically dominant E36 M3s, Jamie Sturges brought out his big M535i and Howard Spooner debuted his Group A BMW 635 CSi. Variety was also given by David Clark's Renault 5 GT Turbo, Josh Bromley's Rover 220 Turbo 'Tomcat' and Jaguar engine tuner Tom Barclay in David Howard’s XJS. Pre ‘03: One point was all that separated title race leader Ross Craig from his pursuer Gary Prebble coming into the weekend, the chasing Honda is usually the fastest car in the category but hasn’t enjoyed 100% reliability this year. Chris Southcott could well be an interloper with his rapid Civic, whilst Cavan Grainger aimed to put his BMW somewhere near them too. Three further BMWs and four Hondas completed the entry, with the Civic of Andy Abrams being made available for sale after the meeting. BOSS: 2023 race winner Mike Manning entered his fire-breathing Texaco RS500 but would be doing well to keep up with Malcolm Harding and Piers Grange’s highly developed Mk2 Escorts. The Zakspeed Mk2 Escort of Martin Reynolds would be at the pointy end too. Chasing reliability would be Sam Daffin’s Fiesta Turbo, having been forced to perform numerous ‘at meeting’ engine changes, but once again he was denied by more engine trouble in testing. Joey Binks’ Duckhams Sierra RS500 would jog memories of the late 1980s BTCC, whilst AJ Owen brought out the Sierra Cosworth that served him well at Snetterton. 2023 champion James Dunkley had his Croft nemesis Will Hunt to battle with aboard their Class D Fiestas, with Hunt aiming to secure second in the championship.
Qualifying: Early morning showers had left a wet surface for the combined Pre ‘93/‘03/BOSS field as they set out to qualify. BOSS cars filled the top three spots, with an all-Sierra front row as AJ Owen bested Mike Manning by 1.010 seconds. Malcolm Harding’s Mk2 Escort set the third fastest time, 1.413 seconds down on Manning, and shared the second row with the quickest Pre ‘03 driver Gary Prebble. The third row was headed by Ian Bower’s BMW, the fastest of the Pre ‘93 competitors. Piers Grange headed the next group of BOSS competitors in sixth, seventh and eighth, with Joey Binks’ Sierra and 2023 champion James Dunkley’s Fiesta next up. Chris Southcott’s Pre ‘03 Honda and Martin Reynolds’ BOSS Mk2 Escort rounded out the top ten.
Race One: The start was delayed after front row starter Mike Manning’s Sierra burst its diff whilst spinning up the rears before the start and he pulled up against the pitwall. The race was rescheduled to begin after the lunch break, which was brought forward to clear up the Sierra’s spilt fluid. Another delay was to follow as the field formed up for the second time, an untimely downpour with a number of BOSS runners on slicks being the cause and the field was granted two formation laps. Malcolm Harding and Piers Grange both pulled into pits at the end of the first of the formation laps and then Joey Binks aquaplaned off in the deluge at Hollywood as conditions became impossible. A halt was called and the race was timetabled to run on Sunday morning. Cold but clear conditions greeted the competitors as they lined up for the third attempt at getting racing underway. Polesitter AJ Owen's Sierra Cosworth doesn’t take the start after his diff expired ending the formation lap but was able to vacate the circuit without causing delay. Away from the lights, Manning held the lead into Redgate but it looked like Ian Bower's Pre '93 BMW was away best and he briefly had his nose in second until the Mk2 Escorts of Harding and Grange rounded him up at the first corner. Grange, from the third row, was on a charging opening lap and he took second from Harding at the Old Hairpin before diving inside Manning at the Melbourne Hairpin to lead at the end of lap one. Manning’s Sierra and Harding’s Escort got involved in a great scrap for second as Manning’s power fought Harding’s handling. Harding tried to follow Grange through on the opening lap but was held to the outside of Goddards. The Escort passed the Sierra at Coppice on lap two before Manning fought back on the brakes into the Melbourne Hairpin. Harding pounced to go second into the Melbourne Hairpin at half-distance as Manning began to struggle with a suspected seized clutch slave cylinder. Once released, Harding went round 1.573 seconds quicker than leader Grange and he continued to close on the silver Escort in front until Harding was on Grange's bootlid going onto the last lap. Harding dived inside at Redgate but Grange hung on around the outside to keep the lead. Out of the Old Hairpin, Harding drew alongside again but Grange fended off his challenger once more up to McLeans. As they entered the GP loop for the final time, a grandstand finish was denied when Harding slowed dramatically with a misfire caused by a suspected iffy camshaft sensor, so Grange won from Manning and Martin Reynolds' Mk2 Escort. The Castrol Escort crept over the line in fourth and dominant Pre ‘93 winner Ian Bower took fifth, despite a five-second penalty for Harding. Chris Southcott defeated early leader Gary Prebble for Pre ‘03 honours, after getting waved ahead on lap three on the GP loop. Prebble’s title rival Ross Craig was third so the pair went into the final race split by two points. Clint Le Chalmers and Kevin Willis squabbled over second in the Pre ‘93s for much of the race, with BOSS contender Joey Binks’ Duckhams Sierra involved too, but Le Chalmers lost pace late on and had slipped to fourth, before a last corner spin for Willis allowed Shaun Morris' BMW through for second and Le Chalmers into third. There was another fraught battle just behind them, which contained James Dunkley and Will Hunt's BOSS Fiestas, Jonathan Olliff-Cooper's Pre '93 BMW plus David Hutchins and Cavan Grainger's Pre '03 cars. The scrap eventually went the way of Grainger's BMW, with the Dunkley and Hunt Class D Fiestas crossing the line side by side just behind as the Mk2 Fiesta got the verdict by just 0.069 seconds.
Race Two: Piers Grange and Mike Manning were due to be on the front row for Race Two but Manning was unable to sort the Sierra's clutch issues and didn't take his place on the grid. Martin Reynolds and Malcolm Harding formed an all-Escort Mk2 second row, Harding had his fingers crossed that his earlier misfire had been cured. Race One Pre '93 victor Ian Bower and Pre '03 counterpart Chris Southcott made up the third row, with Pre '03 title contestants Prebble and Craig together on row four - whoever finished in front of the other would take the crown. Grange held the lead away from the lights, whilst Harding leapt ahead of Reynolds into second by Redgate and soon began pressing the silver Escort for the race lead. Southcott's Honda was slow away and Prebble got boxed in behind the Race One victor so Craig took an early Pre '03 lead, with Southcott and Grainger in between the championship contending Hondas to hand the advantage to Craig. Prebble had dispensed with Grainger's BMW by the end of lap one before the three Civics compressed together on lap five, having passed the Pre '93 BMWs of Clint Le Chalmers and Kevin Willis. Prebble went from third to first inside one lap as he got ahead of Southcott at Goddards at the completion of the fifth lap before the title contenders swapped places, and paint, climbing up to McLeans for the sixth time to hand the championship advantage back to Prebble. Southcott also passed Craig exiting Coppice, after the early category leader braked desperately late in an attempt to get back on terms with Prebble, before taking the category lead into the Melbourne Hairpin but he didn’t stay ahead for long after running wide. Southcott’s Civic slowed in the later stages, which allowed Craig back through into second but wasn't enough to stop Prebble from becoming the Pre ‘03 champion. In the battle at the head of the field, Harding made his first move for the lead at Redgate for the third time and the Mk2 Escorts ran side by side down the Craner Curves, with Grange bravely holding on around the outside of the Old Hairpin to keep the lead. The Castrol Escort tried again on the fourth lap down the inside at the Melbourne Hairpin but a powerslide on the exit allowed Grange to retain the lead into Goddards. Harding eventually took the lead during the sixth lap when Grange got crossed up exiting Goddards but, frustratingly, the Race One misfire returned with a lap to go and he didn’t see the chequered flag, so Grange took the win from Reynolds' Mk2 Escort by 12.295 seconds. Ian Bower ran out a comfortable Pre '93 winner and took third overall in his BMW, the early second-placed runner was the guest entry of Shaun Morris but he spun out of the position at Coppice for the third time which handed the spot to Willis' similar car from Le Chalmers.
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Pre ‘66
Two Mustangs in the hands of Piers Grange and Ant Astley featured in Class A. Barry Sime took a win at the circuit in 2022 with his Mini Cooper S and was keen to match that result, whilst guest entry Phillip House hoped that his similar car’s gearbox lasted longer than at Croft in August. The Mike and John Davies duo would again split the driving of their Mini on Saturday and Sunday. James Everard has shown front-running speed in his recent outings and was back with the family Alfa Romeo Sprint GT. Videos of James Ibbotson’s exuberance aboard his Hillman Imp at the circuit in 2022 went viral as he slithered to the wet race two victory and the 2021 champion was back for more, joined by Michael Loveland’s similar car. The Kenneallys were also out in force, champion-elect Billy in his Anglia and Pat in his Lotus Cortina. Another father-and-son pairing entered in the form of Kevin and Jake Swann with their Anglias, the pair proving to be very evenly matched.
Qualifying: A dry line was appearing when the Pre ‘66s took to the track for their fifteen minutes of qualifying. Barry Sime left it until his last lap of the session to displace James Everard’s vocal side-piped Alfa Romeo from pole position by 0.794 seconds. Piers Grange coped admirably in the tricky conditions to place his Mustang in third spot and he shared the second row with the Mini Cooper S of Phillip House. The diminutive Hillman Imp of 2021 champion James Ibbotson lined up in fifth, ahead of a clutch of Ford Anglias in sixth to ninth places - 2023 champion-elect Billy Kenneally, Kevin Swann, Ed Gibbs and Jake Swann the drivers. The top ten was completed by Mike Davies’ Mini Cooper S.
Race One: The Imp of Michael Loveland was left stranded on the grid as the field went off on their formation lap and Piers Grange pitted his Mustang as the grid lined up to leave a hole on the second row. Front row starter James Everard was never headed after getting a peach of a start and sped away to victory by 9.531 seconds in his Alfa Romeo, Billy Kenneally also got away well to be second into Redgate. The Anglia wasn't second for long as Sime came back through at Hollywood for the first time, the Mini of Phillip House along with the Anglias of Ed Gibbs and Kevin Swann also moved up to threaten the 2023 champion. House outbraked Kenneally into the Fogarty Esses for the first time, whilst the two Anglias behind also swapped places. Billy Kenneally's father Pat dispensed with James Ibbotson's Hillman Imp too and quickly took seventh off Gibbs after the Anglia skated wide at the Melbourne Hairpin. Sime came under pressure from the similar car of House as the race wore on but held on to second, the pair side by side into the Fogarty Esses on one occasion. The Anglias of Billy Kenneally and Kevin Swann took the flag in fourth and fifth. Ibbotson took sixth and the Class E win, having overcome the Lotus Cortina of Pat Kenneally, which sealed the Class F spoils, late in the day. Jake Swann's immaculate Anglia got a top ten finish in eighth, whilst Ant Astley's mint Mustang took the Class A victory in ninth as Gibbs' Anglia slipped back to tenth. A magnificent Morris Minor scrap for Class D glory went to Jim Henshaw, after the Austin A40 of guest entry Paul Clayton got between Henshaw and Patrick Harris' similar car on the last lap.
Race Two: The repaired Mustang of Piers Grange was able to start from near the back of the Race Two grid on the tenth row alongside Michael Loveland's Imp, however the other Mustang of Ant Astley pulled off before the start and Anthony Warnes' A40 pulled up by the pitwall as the race got underway. Billy Kenneally made a great start from the outside of the second row to take the lead into Redgate, father Pat made a similar getaway to slot into third behind James Everard and headed the Barry Sime and Phillip House Minis. Everard sped by the Anglia before the Fogarty Esses to end the opening lap at the head of the field, whilst Sime also got ahead of House going onto the GP loop. The Scotsman then went down the inside of Kenneally senior at the same time as the Cortina was doing the same to Kenneally junior's Anglia, it was still three wide exiting the hairpin too as Pat Kenneally skated wide and allowed son Billy back inside with House trying to bag the pair of them. House succeeded in passing the Cortina but the Anglia was back in front at Goddards. Grange had a good first lap to complete it inside the top ten, the Mustang then quickly moved past James Ibbotson for eighth towards Redgate early on lap two. The House Mini was also on the move the second time around and relieved Billy Kenneally of third at Redgate before passing Sime into second on the GP loop. The rise of Grange continued on lap three as he swept past the Swann family Ford Anglias into sixth. Up ahead, Sime took back second from House at Redgate beginning lap four and set off in pursuit of Everard's Alfa Romeo around a second ahead, whilst Grange passed Pat Kenneally further into the lap for fifth place. The red Mustang then took fourth from Billy Kenneally's Anglia on lap six and set his sights on reeling in House's Mini for third. At the head of the field, Sime had whittled down the gap to Everard heading onto the eighth and last lap. The Mini lunged inside the Alfa Romeo into the Melbourne Hairpin to hit the front for the first time but Everard retaliated into Goddards. However, the fully committed Everard locked up and sailed wide at the hairpin, leaving Sime to simply drive around the inside to take a crowd-pleasing win. House took third in his Mini from Grange's Mustang, who had brought his deficit from House down from four seconds to just over one inside two laps, and the Kenneallys headed by boy Billy from parent Pat in fifth and sixth. Jake won the internecine Swann scrap of the Anglias just ahead of dad Kevin in seventh and eighth. The Morris Minors of Jim Henshaw and Patrick Harris tussled mercilessly for runner-up in Class D as Brian Bedford took victory, Henshaw's black car besting Harris' maroon example.
Two Mustangs in the hands of Piers Grange and Ant Astley featured in Class A. Barry Sime took a win at the circuit in 2022 with his Mini Cooper S and was keen to match that result, whilst guest entry Phillip House hoped that his similar car’s gearbox lasted longer than at Croft in August. The Mike and John Davies duo would again split the driving of their Mini on Saturday and Sunday. James Everard has shown front-running speed in his recent outings and was back with the family Alfa Romeo Sprint GT. Videos of James Ibbotson’s exuberance aboard his Hillman Imp at the circuit in 2022 went viral as he slithered to the wet race two victory and the 2021 champion was back for more, joined by Michael Loveland’s similar car. The Kenneallys were also out in force, champion-elect Billy in his Anglia and Pat in his Lotus Cortina. Another father-and-son pairing entered in the form of Kevin and Jake Swann with their Anglias, the pair proving to be very evenly matched.
Qualifying: A dry line was appearing when the Pre ‘66s took to the track for their fifteen minutes of qualifying. Barry Sime left it until his last lap of the session to displace James Everard’s vocal side-piped Alfa Romeo from pole position by 0.794 seconds. Piers Grange coped admirably in the tricky conditions to place his Mustang in third spot and he shared the second row with the Mini Cooper S of Phillip House. The diminutive Hillman Imp of 2021 champion James Ibbotson lined up in fifth, ahead of a clutch of Ford Anglias in sixth to ninth places - 2023 champion-elect Billy Kenneally, Kevin Swann, Ed Gibbs and Jake Swann the drivers. The top ten was completed by Mike Davies’ Mini Cooper S.
Race One: The Imp of Michael Loveland was left stranded on the grid as the field went off on their formation lap and Piers Grange pitted his Mustang as the grid lined up to leave a hole on the second row. Front row starter James Everard was never headed after getting a peach of a start and sped away to victory by 9.531 seconds in his Alfa Romeo, Billy Kenneally also got away well to be second into Redgate. The Anglia wasn't second for long as Sime came back through at Hollywood for the first time, the Mini of Phillip House along with the Anglias of Ed Gibbs and Kevin Swann also moved up to threaten the 2023 champion. House outbraked Kenneally into the Fogarty Esses for the first time, whilst the two Anglias behind also swapped places. Billy Kenneally's father Pat dispensed with James Ibbotson's Hillman Imp too and quickly took seventh off Gibbs after the Anglia skated wide at the Melbourne Hairpin. Sime came under pressure from the similar car of House as the race wore on but held on to second, the pair side by side into the Fogarty Esses on one occasion. The Anglias of Billy Kenneally and Kevin Swann took the flag in fourth and fifth. Ibbotson took sixth and the Class E win, having overcome the Lotus Cortina of Pat Kenneally, which sealed the Class F spoils, late in the day. Jake Swann's immaculate Anglia got a top ten finish in eighth, whilst Ant Astley's mint Mustang took the Class A victory in ninth as Gibbs' Anglia slipped back to tenth. A magnificent Morris Minor scrap for Class D glory went to Jim Henshaw, after the Austin A40 of guest entry Paul Clayton got between Henshaw and Patrick Harris' similar car on the last lap.
Race Two: The repaired Mustang of Piers Grange was able to start from near the back of the Race Two grid on the tenth row alongside Michael Loveland's Imp, however the other Mustang of Ant Astley pulled off before the start and Anthony Warnes' A40 pulled up by the pitwall as the race got underway. Billy Kenneally made a great start from the outside of the second row to take the lead into Redgate, father Pat made a similar getaway to slot into third behind James Everard and headed the Barry Sime and Phillip House Minis. Everard sped by the Anglia before the Fogarty Esses to end the opening lap at the head of the field, whilst Sime also got ahead of House going onto the GP loop. The Scotsman then went down the inside of Kenneally senior at the same time as the Cortina was doing the same to Kenneally junior's Anglia, it was still three wide exiting the hairpin too as Pat Kenneally skated wide and allowed son Billy back inside with House trying to bag the pair of them. House succeeded in passing the Cortina but the Anglia was back in front at Goddards. Grange had a good first lap to complete it inside the top ten, the Mustang then quickly moved past James Ibbotson for eighth towards Redgate early on lap two. The House Mini was also on the move the second time around and relieved Billy Kenneally of third at Redgate before passing Sime into second on the GP loop. The rise of Grange continued on lap three as he swept past the Swann family Ford Anglias into sixth. Up ahead, Sime took back second from House at Redgate beginning lap four and set off in pursuit of Everard's Alfa Romeo around a second ahead, whilst Grange passed Pat Kenneally further into the lap for fifth place. The red Mustang then took fourth from Billy Kenneally's Anglia on lap six and set his sights on reeling in House's Mini for third. At the head of the field, Sime had whittled down the gap to Everard heading onto the eighth and last lap. The Mini lunged inside the Alfa Romeo into the Melbourne Hairpin to hit the front for the first time but Everard retaliated into Goddards. However, the fully committed Everard locked up and sailed wide at the hairpin, leaving Sime to simply drive around the inside to take a crowd-pleasing win. House took third in his Mini from Grange's Mustang, who had brought his deficit from House down from four seconds to just over one inside two laps, and the Kenneallys headed by boy Billy from parent Pat in fifth and sixth. Jake won the internecine Swann scrap of the Anglias just ahead of dad Kevin in seventh and eighth. The Morris Minors of Jim Henshaw and Patrick Harris tussled mercilessly for runner-up in Class D as Brian Bedford took victory, Henshaw's black car besting Harris' maroon example.
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Pre ‘83
The Pre ‘83s had the grid to themselves this weekend. Stephen Primett came into the weekend looking to take his eleventh Pre ‘83 title and topped the standing by six points. After missing the Snetterton meeting with work commitments, the Mk1 Escort driver's nearest challenger William Davison was a late entry. Jonathan Corker aimed to repeat his Snetterton victories to help his championship cause and could do with a non-finish for Primett's Escort, whilst Mark Cholerton’s Mk2 Escort was also on the pace in Norfolk. Simon Jeffs’ Akai Golf is a front runner on its day and Don Hughes' 1600cc version can always be found snapping at the heel of the 2-litre cars. Mark Osborne, Carl Shreeve and the Claxtons brought out their Triumph Dolomites and Mostyn Rutter put in his third appearance of the season with the droop-snoot Firenza. The raucous rotary Mazda RX7 of Mark Spence could well be a thorn in the side of the championship regulars and Howard Spooner was out in the glorious 635 CSi for a second outing.
Qualifying: The fifteen-minute session was stopped part way through for Mark Thomas’ stranded Mk1 Escort at McLeans, at which point Howard Spooner's BMW headed the times by a huge 5.639 seconds from Simon Jeffs’ Golf GTi but not everyone had been able to put a time on the board. Once the session resumed over ten minutes, Spooner increased his advantage to 6.497 seconds from title chaser Stephen Primett’s Mk1 Escort - whose car needed a gearbox change before their race in the afternoon. Don Hughes’ 1600cc Golf headed the second row from one of the stars of the session, David Hickton’s Opel Kadett GT/E. After running in an early second, Simon Jeffs slipped back to fifth by the end and shared the third row with Steve Yates’ Escort RS1600i. The Mk2 Escort of Mark Cholerton was next up in seventh, ahead of the next two championship challengers Jonathan Corker and William Davison. Mark Spence completed the top ten with his Mazda RX7.
Race One: A sodden surface greeted the Pre ‘83 field and a Safety Car start, after two laps following the MSV BMW, looked like a sensible decision. Don Hughes looked inside Stephen Primett at Redgate for second place when the field was released, whilst Spooner's BMW held the lead. Primett's nearest two title rivals were quickly locked in combat as they sought to climb the order, William Davison passed Jonathan Corker at the Old Hairpin for the first time but the Datsun fought back on the exit. The BMW was back ahead by McLeans though and had claimed Mark Cholerton's Mk2 Escort too. Just ahead of them, Simon Jeffs went through ahead of Hickton's Kadett at Coppice for fourth and Steve Yates' Mk3 Escort followed the Golf through. Davison's charge also continued as he dispensed with the Opel onto the Exhibition Straight, with Corker doing likewise. The Mk3 Escort slid wide at the Melbourne Hairpin and allowed both the BMW and Datsun through, with Corker ending the opening racing lap in front after pouncing at Goddards to sit in fifth. Spooner splashed to a dominant win by 10.673 seconds. Hughes' Golf dived past Primett for second overall up the inside into Redgate with a little under four minutes to go but the Mk1 Escort retained its class lead. Corker and Davison continued to tussle as they climbed the order but Davison's BMW cried enough after getting back in front of the Datsun with three minutes left to confirm Primett as champion as he brought the Escort home in a safe third and top of Class C. Jeffs' Akai Golf finished within a second of Primett in fourth and Corker slithered to fifth. Yates' Mk3 Escort claimed a lonely sixth ahead of Cholerton, the Mk2 Escort had at one point headed a four-car train including Hickton's Kadett, Mark Spence's Mazda RX7 and Mark Osborne's Dolomite Sprint. The Japanese coupe and the Dolomite both finished within touching distance of the Escort, whilst David Thomas's Mk1 Capri V6 rose through the order well and finished tenth from starting sixteenth. Hickton's Opel slipped backwards through the field on unsuitable tyres, the father of former JSCC racer and Mini Challenge Trophy front-runner Harry ultimately wasn't classified as he saved the car.
Race Two: With his championship hopes at an end with a sick engine on Saturday, the BMW of William Davison unsurprisingly non-started. David Hickton's Kadett did take the start from near the back on the eighth row. When the lights went out, Simon Jeffs burst through from the second row to lead the field into Redgate for the first time from Jonathan Corker, Stephen Primett and Mark Osborne's fast-starting Triumph. The front row pair of Howard Spooner and Don Hughes had got off the line quite cleanly but both were swamped by the pack towards Redgate, with Hughes slotting into fifth and Spooner falling briefly back to eleventh. After running down the Craner Curves abreast on the opening lap, Corker took second from Primett at McLeans before the Mk1 Escort dived back ahead of the Datsun into the Fogarty Esses. Osborne quickly took third off Corker too down at the Melbourne Hairpin. After his hesitant start, Spooner's BMW soon sparked back into life to finish lap one in seventh behind Mark Cholerton's Escort Mk2 and Hughes' Golf - which he picked off early in lap two. Primett took the lead at the exit of the Old Hairpin for the second time when Jeffs ran a little wide. Osborne, Corker, Cholerton and Spooner are all together just behind them too and the Mk2 Escort grabbed fourth from the Datsun at the Fogarty Esses before threatening Osborne's third place on the outside of the Old Hairpin next time around, the Dolomite keeping the position. Poleman Spooner was in the midst of an arm wrestle with Hughes' VW for sixth when a ten-second false start penalty was announced, retaking the spot through Hollywood for the third time after losing out at the Melbourne Hairpin on lap two. The top two were settling into a rhythm whilst the group behind could do anything but as Osborne continued to hold off Cholerton, who got alongside at the Melbourne and Goddards hairpins. Spooner also had a go at Corker's fifth place but ended up falling back behind Hughes' terrier-like Golf as they began lap four. After Osborne held off Cholerton again at the Old Hairpin, Mark Spence's RX7 spun heading up through Starkeys and into the side of Mostyn Rutter's passing Firenza. The Vauxhall was left stranded in middle the of the circuit, whilst David Margalies' Alfa Romeo GTV6 also took to the grass in avoidance. The Safety Car was deployed as a result and time ran out before racing could resume for the second time on the day, so Primett polished his championship victory with a win. Jeffs was chuffed to take second from a hot Osborne Dolomite in a hard-won third. Corker's Datsun took fourth ahead of Hughes and Cholerton, who had slipped back when he ran wide at the Fogarty Esses just prior to the Safety Car's appearance. The Carl Shreeve Dolomite had done well to climb up from the eighth row to be classified seventh, David Hickton's Opel Kadett also came through smartly for eighth from seventeenth. Spooner's BMW had crossed the line fifth on-the-road but his penalty dropped the 635 CSi all the way back to twelfth.
The Pre ‘83s had the grid to themselves this weekend. Stephen Primett came into the weekend looking to take his eleventh Pre ‘83 title and topped the standing by six points. After missing the Snetterton meeting with work commitments, the Mk1 Escort driver's nearest challenger William Davison was a late entry. Jonathan Corker aimed to repeat his Snetterton victories to help his championship cause and could do with a non-finish for Primett's Escort, whilst Mark Cholerton’s Mk2 Escort was also on the pace in Norfolk. Simon Jeffs’ Akai Golf is a front runner on its day and Don Hughes' 1600cc version can always be found snapping at the heel of the 2-litre cars. Mark Osborne, Carl Shreeve and the Claxtons brought out their Triumph Dolomites and Mostyn Rutter put in his third appearance of the season with the droop-snoot Firenza. The raucous rotary Mazda RX7 of Mark Spence could well be a thorn in the side of the championship regulars and Howard Spooner was out in the glorious 635 CSi for a second outing.
Qualifying: The fifteen-minute session was stopped part way through for Mark Thomas’ stranded Mk1 Escort at McLeans, at which point Howard Spooner's BMW headed the times by a huge 5.639 seconds from Simon Jeffs’ Golf GTi but not everyone had been able to put a time on the board. Once the session resumed over ten minutes, Spooner increased his advantage to 6.497 seconds from title chaser Stephen Primett’s Mk1 Escort - whose car needed a gearbox change before their race in the afternoon. Don Hughes’ 1600cc Golf headed the second row from one of the stars of the session, David Hickton’s Opel Kadett GT/E. After running in an early second, Simon Jeffs slipped back to fifth by the end and shared the third row with Steve Yates’ Escort RS1600i. The Mk2 Escort of Mark Cholerton was next up in seventh, ahead of the next two championship challengers Jonathan Corker and William Davison. Mark Spence completed the top ten with his Mazda RX7.
Race One: A sodden surface greeted the Pre ‘83 field and a Safety Car start, after two laps following the MSV BMW, looked like a sensible decision. Don Hughes looked inside Stephen Primett at Redgate for second place when the field was released, whilst Spooner's BMW held the lead. Primett's nearest two title rivals were quickly locked in combat as they sought to climb the order, William Davison passed Jonathan Corker at the Old Hairpin for the first time but the Datsun fought back on the exit. The BMW was back ahead by McLeans though and had claimed Mark Cholerton's Mk2 Escort too. Just ahead of them, Simon Jeffs went through ahead of Hickton's Kadett at Coppice for fourth and Steve Yates' Mk3 Escort followed the Golf through. Davison's charge also continued as he dispensed with the Opel onto the Exhibition Straight, with Corker doing likewise. The Mk3 Escort slid wide at the Melbourne Hairpin and allowed both the BMW and Datsun through, with Corker ending the opening racing lap in front after pouncing at Goddards to sit in fifth. Spooner splashed to a dominant win by 10.673 seconds. Hughes' Golf dived past Primett for second overall up the inside into Redgate with a little under four minutes to go but the Mk1 Escort retained its class lead. Corker and Davison continued to tussle as they climbed the order but Davison's BMW cried enough after getting back in front of the Datsun with three minutes left to confirm Primett as champion as he brought the Escort home in a safe third and top of Class C. Jeffs' Akai Golf finished within a second of Primett in fourth and Corker slithered to fifth. Yates' Mk3 Escort claimed a lonely sixth ahead of Cholerton, the Mk2 Escort had at one point headed a four-car train including Hickton's Kadett, Mark Spence's Mazda RX7 and Mark Osborne's Dolomite Sprint. The Japanese coupe and the Dolomite both finished within touching distance of the Escort, whilst David Thomas's Mk1 Capri V6 rose through the order well and finished tenth from starting sixteenth. Hickton's Opel slipped backwards through the field on unsuitable tyres, the father of former JSCC racer and Mini Challenge Trophy front-runner Harry ultimately wasn't classified as he saved the car.
Race Two: With his championship hopes at an end with a sick engine on Saturday, the BMW of William Davison unsurprisingly non-started. David Hickton's Kadett did take the start from near the back on the eighth row. When the lights went out, Simon Jeffs burst through from the second row to lead the field into Redgate for the first time from Jonathan Corker, Stephen Primett and Mark Osborne's fast-starting Triumph. The front row pair of Howard Spooner and Don Hughes had got off the line quite cleanly but both were swamped by the pack towards Redgate, with Hughes slotting into fifth and Spooner falling briefly back to eleventh. After running down the Craner Curves abreast on the opening lap, Corker took second from Primett at McLeans before the Mk1 Escort dived back ahead of the Datsun into the Fogarty Esses. Osborne quickly took third off Corker too down at the Melbourne Hairpin. After his hesitant start, Spooner's BMW soon sparked back into life to finish lap one in seventh behind Mark Cholerton's Escort Mk2 and Hughes' Golf - which he picked off early in lap two. Primett took the lead at the exit of the Old Hairpin for the second time when Jeffs ran a little wide. Osborne, Corker, Cholerton and Spooner are all together just behind them too and the Mk2 Escort grabbed fourth from the Datsun at the Fogarty Esses before threatening Osborne's third place on the outside of the Old Hairpin next time around, the Dolomite keeping the position. Poleman Spooner was in the midst of an arm wrestle with Hughes' VW for sixth when a ten-second false start penalty was announced, retaking the spot through Hollywood for the third time after losing out at the Melbourne Hairpin on lap two. The top two were settling into a rhythm whilst the group behind could do anything but as Osborne continued to hold off Cholerton, who got alongside at the Melbourne and Goddards hairpins. Spooner also had a go at Corker's fifth place but ended up falling back behind Hughes' terrier-like Golf as they began lap four. After Osborne held off Cholerton again at the Old Hairpin, Mark Spence's RX7 spun heading up through Starkeys and into the side of Mostyn Rutter's passing Firenza. The Vauxhall was left stranded in middle the of the circuit, whilst David Margalies' Alfa Romeo GTV6 also took to the grass in avoidance. The Safety Car was deployed as a result and time ran out before racing could resume for the second time on the day, so Primett polished his championship victory with a win. Jeffs was chuffed to take second from a hot Osborne Dolomite in a hard-won third. Corker's Datsun took fourth ahead of Hughes and Cholerton, who had slipped back when he ran wide at the Fogarty Esses just prior to the Safety Car's appearance. The Carl Shreeve Dolomite had done well to climb up from the eighth row to be classified seventh, David Hickton's Opel Kadett also came through smartly for eighth from seventeenth. Spooner's BMW had crossed the line fifth on-the-road but his penalty dropped the 635 CSi all the way back to twelfth.
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Jaguar Challenge
The large entry received for the club’s various series meant an extra grid was secured for the Jaguars to run alone. A solitary point was all that split Guy Connew from Jack Robinson as they fought for the title from classes A and C. Multiple race winner Colin Philpott’s championship challenge had been hamstrung by low numbers in Class B but the XJS driver aimed to finish his season on a high with a couple more race wins. Andrew Harper's supercharged S-Type has got quicker throughout the season and could dent Connew's title chase in Class A, whilst Mike Seabourne's XJS was likely to be Robinson's biggest roadblock to Class C victory.
Qualifying: The Big Cats ran in a combined session with the Classic Thunder entry, leading to a very busy circuit. Title rivals Jack Robinson and Guy Connew navigated their way through to the front row and were split by 0.423 seconds in the XK's favour. Colin Philpott set the third-best time, just 0.196 adrift of Connew, and shared the second row with Chris Boon. Andrew Harper's S-Type and Mike Seabourne's XJS formed row three ahead of Rick Walker and Stephen Dowell on row four. Legends racer Andrew Rogerson, in Michael Holt's X300 saloon, and James Ramm's XJS completed the top ten.
Race One: The first attempt at starting the race was red-flagged when James Ramm stalled his XJS and Andrew Maynard hit the brakes to avoid running into the back of him but Damian Gray's Jaguar F1-liveried XJ ploughed hard into the back of Maynard, who was then pushed forward into Ramm. In an unrelated incident, the XJS of Castle Combe race winner Tom Lenthall also didn’t move at the start and amazingly was the only car left stranded. The restart was to be held over ten minutes from the original grid order. Jack Robinson leapt into the lead off the line initially but Guy Connew had taken the top spot by Redgate. Andrew Harper's S-Type followed the XJS V12 past through Hollywood. Colin Philpott tried to do likewise but sailed off down the Craner Curves and pulled the front bumper from his XJS in the gravel, ending his race. Contact at Goddards whilst squabbling over fifth at the end of the opening lap between Mike Seabourne's XJS and Andrew Rogerson broke the X300's steering, which came to rest on the grass at the exit of the corner. That, combined with Philpott's damaged XJS, brought out the Safety Car and unfortunately left no time for any more racing. Connew was credited with the win from Harper and Robinson in third. Championship-wise there was no difference in the standings, with Connew and Robinson both class winners to leave the title race finely poised with just the afternoon encounter to go.
Race Two: Each of the cars involved in the Race One startline incident made it out for their second encounter. The running repairs included Damian Gray's front end being pulled straight with a Range Rover! The clock started at the commencement of the formation lap due to the rapidly fading light from the setting sun and their race time was further eaten into when Stephen Dowell's XKR 'Senderella' was pulled from the grid with a dragging exhaust. Ten and a half minutes remained when the field set off into the gloom and Connew held off the attention of Harper's S-Type into Redgate to take the lead. The Group 44 tribute XJS couldn't relax all race with the Silk Cut-alike liveried S-type running with Connew for the duration, the whining saloon set the fastest lap for Class A and would have created a serious complication for Connew's title bid had Harper got ahead. However, the V12 XJS took the win by half a second to wrap up the championship despite Jack Robinson taking the fastest lap point as well as the Class C win to tie their scores, Connew took the crown on his greater number of class wins. Chris Boon passed the flag in third, with Robinson tailing the similar XK home in fourth as he just missed out on emulating his brother Tom's title victory in 2022. The meeting proved to be the Jags’ swansong with the CTCRC when it was announced that they would be returning next season to the club with which they ran prior to 2021.
The large entry received for the club’s various series meant an extra grid was secured for the Jaguars to run alone. A solitary point was all that split Guy Connew from Jack Robinson as they fought for the title from classes A and C. Multiple race winner Colin Philpott’s championship challenge had been hamstrung by low numbers in Class B but the XJS driver aimed to finish his season on a high with a couple more race wins. Andrew Harper's supercharged S-Type has got quicker throughout the season and could dent Connew's title chase in Class A, whilst Mike Seabourne's XJS was likely to be Robinson's biggest roadblock to Class C victory.
Qualifying: The Big Cats ran in a combined session with the Classic Thunder entry, leading to a very busy circuit. Title rivals Jack Robinson and Guy Connew navigated their way through to the front row and were split by 0.423 seconds in the XK's favour. Colin Philpott set the third-best time, just 0.196 adrift of Connew, and shared the second row with Chris Boon. Andrew Harper's S-Type and Mike Seabourne's XJS formed row three ahead of Rick Walker and Stephen Dowell on row four. Legends racer Andrew Rogerson, in Michael Holt's X300 saloon, and James Ramm's XJS completed the top ten.
Race One: The first attempt at starting the race was red-flagged when James Ramm stalled his XJS and Andrew Maynard hit the brakes to avoid running into the back of him but Damian Gray's Jaguar F1-liveried XJ ploughed hard into the back of Maynard, who was then pushed forward into Ramm. In an unrelated incident, the XJS of Castle Combe race winner Tom Lenthall also didn’t move at the start and amazingly was the only car left stranded. The restart was to be held over ten minutes from the original grid order. Jack Robinson leapt into the lead off the line initially but Guy Connew had taken the top spot by Redgate. Andrew Harper's S-Type followed the XJS V12 past through Hollywood. Colin Philpott tried to do likewise but sailed off down the Craner Curves and pulled the front bumper from his XJS in the gravel, ending his race. Contact at Goddards whilst squabbling over fifth at the end of the opening lap between Mike Seabourne's XJS and Andrew Rogerson broke the X300's steering, which came to rest on the grass at the exit of the corner. That, combined with Philpott's damaged XJS, brought out the Safety Car and unfortunately left no time for any more racing. Connew was credited with the win from Harper and Robinson in third. Championship-wise there was no difference in the standings, with Connew and Robinson both class winners to leave the title race finely poised with just the afternoon encounter to go.
Race Two: Each of the cars involved in the Race One startline incident made it out for their second encounter. The running repairs included Damian Gray's front end being pulled straight with a Range Rover! The clock started at the commencement of the formation lap due to the rapidly fading light from the setting sun and their race time was further eaten into when Stephen Dowell's XKR 'Senderella' was pulled from the grid with a dragging exhaust. Ten and a half minutes remained when the field set off into the gloom and Connew held off the attention of Harper's S-Type into Redgate to take the lead. The Group 44 tribute XJS couldn't relax all race with the Silk Cut-alike liveried S-type running with Connew for the duration, the whining saloon set the fastest lap for Class A and would have created a serious complication for Connew's title bid had Harper got ahead. However, the V12 XJS took the win by half a second to wrap up the championship despite Jack Robinson taking the fastest lap point as well as the Class C win to tie their scores, Connew took the crown on his greater number of class wins. Chris Boon passed the flag in third, with Robinson tailing the similar XK home in fourth as he just missed out on emulating his brother Tom's title victory in 2022. The meeting proved to be the Jags’ swansong with the CTCRC when it was announced that they would be returning next season to the club with which they ran prior to 2021.
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So concluded the Classic Touring Car Racing Club’s season for 2023, with all races won and champions crowned. The calendar for 2024 was recently unveiled, with the rollercoaster starting again at Donington Park on Good Friday as the club celebrates its 50th anniversary year.
2024 Dates:
*29th/30th March - Donington Park (GP)
27th/28th April - Cadwell Park (Double points event)
18th/19th May - Mallory Park
*28th/29th June - Brands Hatch (Sat: GP/Sun: Indy) (Super Touring Power 2)
27th/28th July - Croft (Pre '66 non-championship races only, supporting the BTCC)
17th/18th August - Snetterton (300)
*21st/22nd September - Thruxton (50th anniversary and TCR UK meeting)
* = Super Touring Car rounds
2024 Dates:
*29th/30th March - Donington Park (GP)
27th/28th April - Cadwell Park (Double points event)
18th/19th May - Mallory Park
*28th/29th June - Brands Hatch (Sat: GP/Sun: Indy) (Super Touring Power 2)
27th/28th July - Croft (Pre '66 non-championship races only, supporting the BTCC)
17th/18th August - Snetterton (300)
*21st/22nd September - Thruxton (50th anniversary and TCR UK meeting)
* = Super Touring Car rounds