CTCRC Super Touring Power 2 Brands Hatch 29th & 30th June 2024
CTCRC CONSOLIDATES TOURING CAR RACING CARNIVAL
The second running of the incredibly well-received Super Touring Power fiesta took place at Brands Hatch over the weekend of the 29th and 30th of June, featuring the full gamut of the Classic Touring Car Racing Club’s championships. As in 2023, Saturday’s races would be held on the majestic Grand Prix circuit and Sunday on the busy Indy layout. A trackside display was also collated to mark the 40th anniversary of the RML Group, the constructor of John Cleland’s 1995 Vauxhall Cavalier and Laurent Aiello’s 1999 Nissan Primera BTCC title winners and their respective pilots were also on hand to mingle with the fans. The Nissan would see action in the Super Touring races in the hands of current BTCC ace Jake Hill, whilst the Cavalier took part in the high-speed demonstrations. Another luminary from RML’s past in the form of 2012 World Touring Car Championship title winner Rob Huff demonstrated his victorious Chevrolet Cruze on Saturday. Other highlights in the high-speed demonstrations included the ICS Rover Vitesse and Kaliber Ford Sierra RS500 of four-time BTCC title holder Andy Rouse - who was present on Saturday, two Eggenberger RS500s, the painstakingly restored Group 2 Sunbeam Imp of three-time British Saloon Car champion Bill McGovern, Jason Plato’s NGTC Subaru Levorg, the fantastically loud Demon Tweeks BMW M3 E30 and the mighty Sprint Gas Holden Commodore VE from Alex Sidwell’s collection. In addition to Aiello, Cleland and Rouse, period works Mazda and Peugeot driver Patrick Watts plus BBC Grandstand presenter Steve Ryder were attracted to the event.
The second running of the incredibly well-received Super Touring Power fiesta took place at Brands Hatch over the weekend of the 29th and 30th of June, featuring the full gamut of the Classic Touring Car Racing Club’s championships. As in 2023, Saturday’s races would be held on the majestic Grand Prix circuit and Sunday on the busy Indy layout. A trackside display was also collated to mark the 40th anniversary of the RML Group, the constructor of John Cleland’s 1995 Vauxhall Cavalier and Laurent Aiello’s 1999 Nissan Primera BTCC title winners and their respective pilots were also on hand to mingle with the fans. The Nissan would see action in the Super Touring races in the hands of current BTCC ace Jake Hill, whilst the Cavalier took part in the high-speed demonstrations. Another luminary from RML’s past in the form of 2012 World Touring Car Championship title winner Rob Huff demonstrated his victorious Chevrolet Cruze on Saturday. Other highlights in the high-speed demonstrations included the ICS Rover Vitesse and Kaliber Ford Sierra RS500 of four-time BTCC title holder Andy Rouse - who was present on Saturday, two Eggenberger RS500s, the painstakingly restored Group 2 Sunbeam Imp of three-time British Saloon Car champion Bill McGovern, Jason Plato’s NGTC Subaru Levorg, the fantastically loud Demon Tweeks BMW M3 E30 and the mighty Sprint Gas Holden Commodore VE from Alex Sidwell’s collection. In addition to Aiello, Cleland and Rouse, period works Mazda and Peugeot driver Patrick Watts plus BBC Grandstand presenter Steve Ryder were attracted to the event.
Saturday 29th June - Grand Prix circuit
The swoops of the famous Grand Prix circuit would be at the core of the opening day’s action, with each category heading into the wooded section twice during the day.
Super Touring
Qualifying: 1999 BTCC champion Laurent Aiello was there to witness current BMW star Jake Hill place his former mount on pole position by an impressive 2.877 seconds from long-time works BMW driver Steve Soper in an E36 320i. A slender 0.172 seconds down on the 1995 JTCC champion was BTC-T Astra of Alex Morgan in third and the Vauxhall shared the second row with twice BTCC runner-up Anthony Reid’s Nissan Primera another 0.112 seconds back. The Scot had just 0.040 seconds in hand from Jason Hughes in fifth and Richard Wheeler, the owner of the three Nissans, completed the top six with their Vectra and Primera respectively and were split by 0.496 seconds. Danny Harrison was seventh fastest and was the last of a group within a second and a half of the front row in another Wheeler-owned car, Dan Eaves’ 2005 Team Dynamics Honda Integra. Kevin Clarke joined BTC-T car on the fourth row aboard Matty Evans’ Cavalier. Paul Radisich lined up in ninth and tenth as both Colin Sowter and AJ Owen were in cars bearing the New Zealander’s name, a Peugeot 406 and a Ford Mondeo respectively. James Kellett Mazda tried a couple of exploratory laps but diff problems beset the wailing hatchback and the orange machine would see no further action over the weekend, whilst Robert Salisbury’s Honda Accord was also forced to withdraw.
Race One: Fourteen cars came to the start after Colin Sowter and Steffan Irmler were forced to miss the opening race whilst qualifying issues were resolved. Polesitter Jake Hill held off the fast-starting Steve Soper into Paddock Hill Bend despite the BMW getting its nose ahead. Hill’s Nissan couldn’t shake off the BMW and Soper went high, wide and handsome into Paddock Hill Bend on lap four before cutting back inside up to Druids to gain the lead but Jake replayed the move to go back in front next time around. The duo continued to swap the lead between them and the squabbling pair were eventually caught by Richard Wheeler on the penultimate lap, with Soper forced to defend from the Nissan into Clearways and the pair then collided disastrously at the exit of Druids as Hill tried to make his escape. Wheeler’s Primera had run on the outside of the BMW through the hairpin and when Soper claimed the line leaving the bend, the 320i was turned across the Nissan’s bows and sent both into the barriers. The already badly damaged BMW bounced out of the tyre wall and inflicted heavy damage to the left side of the Nissan, the race was quickly halted with both cars left very second hand. Alex Morgan's BTC-T Astra had held an early third but fell behind the Super Touring cars of a charging Wheeler, stablemate Reid and Jason Hughes' Vauxhall Vectra. Reid's Nissan came back on a tow rope after engine difficulties on the same lap as stablemate Wheeler and Soper's conflagration so wouldn't be classified in the overall results, with Hughes taking second and Morgan’s Astra the final podium position. Danny Harrison’s Team Dynamics Integra led home AJ Owen’s Valvoline Mondeo and Tony Absolom’s Fujifilm Cavalier in fourth, fifth and sixth. Adam Woods, Jim Pocklington, racing returnee Roger Stanford and Stuart Caie rounded out the ten classified finishers.
Race Two: Without his BMW sparring partner in Race Two, Jake Hill had a play with Jason Hughes’ Vauxhall Vectra during the first half of the race before opening a lead to take his second victory of the day by 6.128 seconds. Danny Harrison’s Honda Integra was a lonely third behind Hughes, whilst Alex Morgan's Astra Sport Hatch faded again after the pair of BTC-T cars had run with the leading Super Tourers early on so an ecstatic AJ Owen took fourth with his Mondeo. The BTC-T Honda Civic of Adam Woods finished in a strong fifth and headed home Morgan’s troubled Vauxhall in sixth. Jim Pocklington’s 1990-vintage Vauxhall Cavalier narrowly pipped Steffan Irmler’s Opel Astra by 0.302 seconds in their seventh-place contest, with CTCRC chairman Stuart Caie completing the survivors with his Jeff Allam-liveried Cavalier.
The swoops of the famous Grand Prix circuit would be at the core of the opening day’s action, with each category heading into the wooded section twice during the day.
Super Touring
Qualifying: 1999 BTCC champion Laurent Aiello was there to witness current BMW star Jake Hill place his former mount on pole position by an impressive 2.877 seconds from long-time works BMW driver Steve Soper in an E36 320i. A slender 0.172 seconds down on the 1995 JTCC champion was BTC-T Astra of Alex Morgan in third and the Vauxhall shared the second row with twice BTCC runner-up Anthony Reid’s Nissan Primera another 0.112 seconds back. The Scot had just 0.040 seconds in hand from Jason Hughes in fifth and Richard Wheeler, the owner of the three Nissans, completed the top six with their Vectra and Primera respectively and were split by 0.496 seconds. Danny Harrison was seventh fastest and was the last of a group within a second and a half of the front row in another Wheeler-owned car, Dan Eaves’ 2005 Team Dynamics Honda Integra. Kevin Clarke joined BTC-T car on the fourth row aboard Matty Evans’ Cavalier. Paul Radisich lined up in ninth and tenth as both Colin Sowter and AJ Owen were in cars bearing the New Zealander’s name, a Peugeot 406 and a Ford Mondeo respectively. James Kellett Mazda tried a couple of exploratory laps but diff problems beset the wailing hatchback and the orange machine would see no further action over the weekend, whilst Robert Salisbury’s Honda Accord was also forced to withdraw.
Race One: Fourteen cars came to the start after Colin Sowter and Steffan Irmler were forced to miss the opening race whilst qualifying issues were resolved. Polesitter Jake Hill held off the fast-starting Steve Soper into Paddock Hill Bend despite the BMW getting its nose ahead. Hill’s Nissan couldn’t shake off the BMW and Soper went high, wide and handsome into Paddock Hill Bend on lap four before cutting back inside up to Druids to gain the lead but Jake replayed the move to go back in front next time around. The duo continued to swap the lead between them and the squabbling pair were eventually caught by Richard Wheeler on the penultimate lap, with Soper forced to defend from the Nissan into Clearways and the pair then collided disastrously at the exit of Druids as Hill tried to make his escape. Wheeler’s Primera had run on the outside of the BMW through the hairpin and when Soper claimed the line leaving the bend, the 320i was turned across the Nissan’s bows and sent both into the barriers. The already badly damaged BMW bounced out of the tyre wall and inflicted heavy damage to the left side of the Nissan, the race was quickly halted with both cars left very second hand. Alex Morgan's BTC-T Astra had held an early third but fell behind the Super Touring cars of a charging Wheeler, stablemate Reid and Jason Hughes' Vauxhall Vectra. Reid's Nissan came back on a tow rope after engine difficulties on the same lap as stablemate Wheeler and Soper's conflagration so wouldn't be classified in the overall results, with Hughes taking second and Morgan’s Astra the final podium position. Danny Harrison’s Team Dynamics Integra led home AJ Owen’s Valvoline Mondeo and Tony Absolom’s Fujifilm Cavalier in fourth, fifth and sixth. Adam Woods, Jim Pocklington, racing returnee Roger Stanford and Stuart Caie rounded out the ten classified finishers.
Race Two: Without his BMW sparring partner in Race Two, Jake Hill had a play with Jason Hughes’ Vauxhall Vectra during the first half of the race before opening a lead to take his second victory of the day by 6.128 seconds. Danny Harrison’s Honda Integra was a lonely third behind Hughes, whilst Alex Morgan's Astra Sport Hatch faded again after the pair of BTC-T cars had run with the leading Super Tourers early on so an ecstatic AJ Owen took fourth with his Mondeo. The BTC-T Honda Civic of Adam Woods finished in a strong fifth and headed home Morgan’s troubled Vauxhall in sixth. Jim Pocklington’s 1990-vintage Vauxhall Cavalier narrowly pipped Steffan Irmler’s Opel Astra by 0.302 seconds in their seventh-place contest, with CTCRC chairman Stuart Caie completing the survivors with his Jeff Allam-liveried Cavalier.
Group A/BOSS/Pre '93/03
Qualifying: New to the event was a separate category for Group A cars and seven stunning Ford Sierra RS500s were among the entries. The Sierra RS500 of David Tomlin headed the field after qualifying, with Dan Brown 0.802 seconds adrift with his Sierra for a place on the front row. Mike Manning’s Texaco car and Dave Bartrum’s Dick Johnson replica formed the second row, whilst 2023 event treble winner Paul Mensley had a subdued session to start from fifth in his Sierra after struggling to find a clear lap. Famous liveries filled the next three slots as the 1988 Bathurst-winning replica Sierra of Jeremy Sutton headed the Bastos BMW M3 E30 of Toby Partridge and Joey Binks’ superb Duckhams RS500. The BMW 635 CSi of Jody Halse and Rod Birley’s Group N E30 M3 completed the field. A BOSS Mk2 Escort pair made up the front row for the combined BOSS/Pre ’93/‘03 cars, which would get underway separately from the Group A cars starting at the front of the grid, with Malcolm Harding fastest overall and bested Piers Grange by 1.511 seconds for pole position but the silver Mk2 endured a damaging trip through the Paddock Hill Bend gravel trap and would take no further part in the day’s proceedings. Current TCR UK points leader Adam Shepherd put the cat among the pigeons with his Integra Type R to top the Pre ‘03 field in third and Stuart Waite was the quickest of the Pre ‘93s aboard his BMW M3 in fourth. Gary Prebble was next up with his Pre ‘03 Civic and Martin Reynolds’ Mk2 Escort was third of the BOSS competitors in sixth. Mallory Park race winner Olly Allen's BOSS Fiesta and William Davison’s Pre ‘93 BMW went from row four. Two further Pre '93 BMWs completed the top ten of the second wave in the hands of Ian Bower and Kevin Willis.
Race One: Joey Binks’ stunning Duckhams Sierra broke down during the formation lap and forced the field onto an extra formation lap. The Group A cars went off from the front of the grid and Dan Brown's Sierra quickly opened an early three-second lead but Paul Mensley's similar car had passed Mike Manning's Texaco example down the back straight on the opening lap before taking polesitter David Tomlin's version towards Dingle Dell a lap later to move into second. Mensley got his head down to catch Brown with three minutes to go and took the lead into Surtees but Trevor Kyffin beached his Alfa Romeo 75 at the same spot just after, which brought out a race-ending red flag. The early stoppage meant that Brown just got the verdict on countback by all of 0.054 seconds. A flying Malcolm Harding raced to third overall to win the BOSS category ahead of Tomlin's Group A Sierra in fourth despite it taking the Mk2 Escort a while to battle past the greater straightline speed of fifth-placed Manning’s Group A RS500, who fended off Pre ‘93 winner Stuart Waite. The E36 M3 of the defending Pre '93 champion was chased home by the BOSS runner-up Olly Allen and the leading Pre '03 Honda of Gary Prebble. Martin Reynolds claimed third in BOSS with his Mk2 Escort and finished within a second of Prebble in ninth overall. William Davison sealed second among the Pre '93s in tenth overall and had 4.148 seconds in hand from Kevin Willis in third, who finished with the fourth-placed BMW of Terry Davies only half a second behind. Joe Dorrington was the second of the Pre '03 runners home with his Civic and Dave Hutchins made it an all-Honda top three in third. In light of the earlier incident involving Steve Soper in the Super Tourers, Toby Partridge opted to withdraw his Group A E30 M3 that he was due to share with the former BMW works driver.
Race Two: Dan Brown led Race Two from pole position through the early stages but the Group A Sierra was caught and passed by Paul Mensley's NetComm car just before half-distance. Not giving up, Brown was back with the leader on the final lap but Mensley weathered the storm to triumph by 0.706 seconds. Malcolm Harding's Zakspeed Mk2 Escort was again the top BOSS contender in third overall. Also repeating their Race One results were David Tomlin in fourth and Mike Manning in fifth with their Group A RS500s, the Texaco car was at the head of a big contest that included Adam Shepherd coming from the back of the grid to steal away Pre '03 glory from Gary Prebble in sixth overall. The Integra had been forced to slow during the opening encounter after lapsing into limp mode with a faulty sensor and the TCR hotshoe had battled through from 37th on the grid. BOSS runner-up Olly Allen also fell victim to the charging DC5 Integra to split the two Pre '03 Hondas at the flag. Stuart Waite's BMW M3 just won Pre ‘93 element from William Davison’s similar car sat just behind him in the group at the foot of the top ten. Martin Reynolds chased home Kevin Willis to be third of the BOSS competitors to cross the line in twelfth, whilst Joe Dorrington backed up his earlier second-placed finish with third among the Pre '03s in his Civic.
Qualifying: New to the event was a separate category for Group A cars and seven stunning Ford Sierra RS500s were among the entries. The Sierra RS500 of David Tomlin headed the field after qualifying, with Dan Brown 0.802 seconds adrift with his Sierra for a place on the front row. Mike Manning’s Texaco car and Dave Bartrum’s Dick Johnson replica formed the second row, whilst 2023 event treble winner Paul Mensley had a subdued session to start from fifth in his Sierra after struggling to find a clear lap. Famous liveries filled the next three slots as the 1988 Bathurst-winning replica Sierra of Jeremy Sutton headed the Bastos BMW M3 E30 of Toby Partridge and Joey Binks’ superb Duckhams RS500. The BMW 635 CSi of Jody Halse and Rod Birley’s Group N E30 M3 completed the field. A BOSS Mk2 Escort pair made up the front row for the combined BOSS/Pre ’93/‘03 cars, which would get underway separately from the Group A cars starting at the front of the grid, with Malcolm Harding fastest overall and bested Piers Grange by 1.511 seconds for pole position but the silver Mk2 endured a damaging trip through the Paddock Hill Bend gravel trap and would take no further part in the day’s proceedings. Current TCR UK points leader Adam Shepherd put the cat among the pigeons with his Integra Type R to top the Pre ‘03 field in third and Stuart Waite was the quickest of the Pre ‘93s aboard his BMW M3 in fourth. Gary Prebble was next up with his Pre ‘03 Civic and Martin Reynolds’ Mk2 Escort was third of the BOSS competitors in sixth. Mallory Park race winner Olly Allen's BOSS Fiesta and William Davison’s Pre ‘93 BMW went from row four. Two further Pre '93 BMWs completed the top ten of the second wave in the hands of Ian Bower and Kevin Willis.
Race One: Joey Binks’ stunning Duckhams Sierra broke down during the formation lap and forced the field onto an extra formation lap. The Group A cars went off from the front of the grid and Dan Brown's Sierra quickly opened an early three-second lead but Paul Mensley's similar car had passed Mike Manning's Texaco example down the back straight on the opening lap before taking polesitter David Tomlin's version towards Dingle Dell a lap later to move into second. Mensley got his head down to catch Brown with three minutes to go and took the lead into Surtees but Trevor Kyffin beached his Alfa Romeo 75 at the same spot just after, which brought out a race-ending red flag. The early stoppage meant that Brown just got the verdict on countback by all of 0.054 seconds. A flying Malcolm Harding raced to third overall to win the BOSS category ahead of Tomlin's Group A Sierra in fourth despite it taking the Mk2 Escort a while to battle past the greater straightline speed of fifth-placed Manning’s Group A RS500, who fended off Pre ‘93 winner Stuart Waite. The E36 M3 of the defending Pre '93 champion was chased home by the BOSS runner-up Olly Allen and the leading Pre '03 Honda of Gary Prebble. Martin Reynolds claimed third in BOSS with his Mk2 Escort and finished within a second of Prebble in ninth overall. William Davison sealed second among the Pre '93s in tenth overall and had 4.148 seconds in hand from Kevin Willis in third, who finished with the fourth-placed BMW of Terry Davies only half a second behind. Joe Dorrington was the second of the Pre '03 runners home with his Civic and Dave Hutchins made it an all-Honda top three in third. In light of the earlier incident involving Steve Soper in the Super Tourers, Toby Partridge opted to withdraw his Group A E30 M3 that he was due to share with the former BMW works driver.
Race Two: Dan Brown led Race Two from pole position through the early stages but the Group A Sierra was caught and passed by Paul Mensley's NetComm car just before half-distance. Not giving up, Brown was back with the leader on the final lap but Mensley weathered the storm to triumph by 0.706 seconds. Malcolm Harding's Zakspeed Mk2 Escort was again the top BOSS contender in third overall. Also repeating their Race One results were David Tomlin in fourth and Mike Manning in fifth with their Group A RS500s, the Texaco car was at the head of a big contest that included Adam Shepherd coming from the back of the grid to steal away Pre '03 glory from Gary Prebble in sixth overall. The Integra had been forced to slow during the opening encounter after lapsing into limp mode with a faulty sensor and the TCR hotshoe had battled through from 37th on the grid. BOSS runner-up Olly Allen also fell victim to the charging DC5 Integra to split the two Pre '03 Hondas at the flag. Stuart Waite's BMW M3 just won Pre ‘93 element from William Davison’s similar car sat just behind him in the group at the foot of the top ten. Martin Reynolds chased home Kevin Willis to be third of the BOSS competitors to cross the line in twelfth, whilst Joe Dorrington backed up his earlier second-placed finish with third among the Pre '03s in his Civic.
Classic Thunder
Qualifying: Kevin Clarke’s BMW narrowly headed the Alex Sidwell Holden Commodore VF V8 Supercar to pole position by a slim 0.086 seconds after the fifteen minutes of qualifying, the M3 having set two laps good enough for top spot late in the session and was just 0.007 seconds up on Sidwell before a slight improvement on his final timed lap. Nick Vaughan overcame a last-minute panic to get his A3 Turbo’s gearbox rebuilt before the weekend and set the third fastest time as the top three were covered by a competitive 0.373 seconds. Andy Wilson’s musclebound Monaro filled row two, 1.628 seconds off the Audi, with Sam Wilson’s Aston Martin V8 and Bryan Bransom’s E46 M3 rounding out the top six on row three. Graham Crowhurst's arty M3 and the 5-litre Capri of Simon Light made up the fourth row, with Adrian Bradley's BMW and the Ford Falcon AU of Andy Robinson making up the top ten. Josh Lawton had set a lap time that was good enough for pole position but the time would be scrubbed for a track limits offence, that marker was the supercharged Honda’s only representative lap so the Civic was condemned to starting 32nd.
Race One: A red-flagged first attempt at getting the race underway was halted when Ronan Bradley put his BMW in the barriers heading down to Graham Hill Bend and the restart would be run over seven minutes. Kevin Clarke's polesitting BMW was swamped by Australian V8 power away from the rolling start until Alex Sidwell was forced wide by Andy Wilson onto the kerbing at the bottom of Paddock Hill Bend and slipped behind Clarke's M3, the Aston Martin of Sam Wilson, Simon Light's V8 Capri and reigning champion Nick Vaughan. The Intersport BMW exited Druids with the lead from the Wilsons' Holden and Aston Martin after taking the long way around the Valvoline Monaro. Both Vaughan's Audi and Sidwell's Holden had displaced Light from fourth by Surtees and the pair ran side-by-side towards Hawthorn but the Teutonic turbocar held off the musclebound Australian machine until a brave lunge into Stirlings put the Commodore into fourth. In front of them, Andy Wilson had thundered past Clarke to lead into Hawthorn but Clarke got back ahead again on the way out of Westfield and the Holden driver's namesake Sam was also through by Sheene Curve in the Aston Martin V8. Sidwell was next to challenge the Monaro and the VF Commodore swept ahead into Hawthorn for the second time as Wilson lost ground with failed power steering, also falling behind Vaughan before the lap was done. Sidwell closed on the Aston and was in a position to challenge at the end of lap three, charging up the outside of the pit straight and into second but the Holden got onto the grass at Surtees and almost collected the Aston Martin as it crossed the circuit before fishtailing the other way and stopping just short of the barrier. Wilson's Aston Martin bounced down the grass and fell behind Vaughan to third, whilst Sidwell eventually rejoined well down the order. Left in the clear by the incident, Clarke won by 4.434 seconds from Vaughan’s Audi and leading Historic runner Sam Wilson. Andy Wilson manhandled the stiff-steering Monaro to a creditable fourth but the Holden would see no further action during the weekend. Josh Lawton came through from starting the original attempt from the sixteenth row to go from thirteenth at the restart and the supercharged hatchback was quickly into the top ten by the end of lap one. Lawton moved up to seventh on lap two before rocketing past Light for sixth exiting Stirlings on lap three and diving inside Wilson's Monaro into fourth at Clearways a lap later but the Civic had started to suffer from high water temperature in the closing stages and was repassed by the Holden of Wilson, Light’s Historic Capri and Adrian Bradley’s M3 on the last lap to cross the line in seventh. Three BMW M3s completed the top ten in the hands of Bryan Bransom, Graham Crowhurst and Kirk Armitage, with third-placed Historic competitor Colin Voyce’s Mk1 Escort in eleventh. The heavily delayed Sidwell was ultimately classified 27th.
Race Two: Kevin Clarke led the early stages of Race Two with his BMW but Bryan Bransom was following closely with his similar E46 M3, which had charged around the outside of four cars by Druids on the opening lap before getting ahead of Nick Vaughan’s Audi into Graham Hill Bend to reach Clarke’s tall. The A3 Turbo of Vaughan and the pressing Josh Lawton Civic squabbled over third through the opening laps, with the Honda fortunate to still be in the bout after cannoning off the pitlane exit barrier at the start when trying to squeeze alongside the Sam Wilson Aston Martin. The supercharged Civic sailed past Vaughan at the exit of Stirlings on lap two and moved on to chase down the lead pair, with the trio together by the end of the third tour. Lawton swept into the lead on lap four towards Surtees and the Honda controlled the race to the end to win by 2.455 seconds, with one eye on his water temperature. Clarke’s BMW eventually opened a small margin from his shadow Bransom for second, with Vaughan’s Team Prawn Racing car a lonely fourth once the race-winning Civic got through. Andy Robinson’s 7-litre Ford Falcon came out on top of a tough duel for fifth place by just 0.234 seconds from Graham Crowhurst’s E46 M3 and Adrian Bradley’s similar mount, Kirk Armitsge’s non-finishing E36 M3 also played a major role in the battle too. Armitage headed the group initially and his defence of fifth had allowed Robinson to range up on the BMW trio. The Falcon weaved around Crowhurst and Bradley down Pilgrim’s Drop during lap six but couldn’t hold either BMW off at Hawthorn, the trick was repeated a lap later with the same outcome before Bradley pounced on Armitage into Westfield. Armitage was forced to defend from Crowhurst into Surtees for the eighth time to give Robinson’s V8 Supercar the chance to bellow past the pair of them for good, with Crowhurst also deposing the E36 M3 at Westfield. Robinson was now homing in on Bradley and the BMW was powerless to stop the Australian Ford from thundering into fifth well before Hawthorn on lap nine, Crowhurst followed the Falcon through too with a brave move up the inside of Sheene Curve. The following lap would be the final one and when Robinson was baulked by a lapped car through Sheene Curve, Crowhurst saw his chance to dive into fifth at Stirlings. The BMW stayed to the right as the Falcon powered alongside towards Clearways and came through Clark Curve still ahead but Robinson’s V8 grunt stole fifth by the finish line. Alex Sidwell had caught the group from near the back of the grid in the closing stages and was just a quarter of a second behind Bradley's BMW across the line in eighth. Simon Light’s V8 Capri got very sideways at the start so had lost out to Bransom and Lawton by Paddock Hil Bend. Worse was to follow for the 5-litre coupe when it was pitched off at high speed approaching Hawthorn after the nearside-front suspension collapsed during lap two, fortunately without hitting anything. Fellow Historic competitor Sam Wilson’s Aston Martin didn’t last long either with oil system woes so the turbocharged Mk1 Escort of Colin Voyce took the Historic Thunder spoils in ninth place, ahead of Gary Hufford’s E46 M3 in tenth overall.
Qualifying: Kevin Clarke’s BMW narrowly headed the Alex Sidwell Holden Commodore VF V8 Supercar to pole position by a slim 0.086 seconds after the fifteen minutes of qualifying, the M3 having set two laps good enough for top spot late in the session and was just 0.007 seconds up on Sidwell before a slight improvement on his final timed lap. Nick Vaughan overcame a last-minute panic to get his A3 Turbo’s gearbox rebuilt before the weekend and set the third fastest time as the top three were covered by a competitive 0.373 seconds. Andy Wilson’s musclebound Monaro filled row two, 1.628 seconds off the Audi, with Sam Wilson’s Aston Martin V8 and Bryan Bransom’s E46 M3 rounding out the top six on row three. Graham Crowhurst's arty M3 and the 5-litre Capri of Simon Light made up the fourth row, with Adrian Bradley's BMW and the Ford Falcon AU of Andy Robinson making up the top ten. Josh Lawton had set a lap time that was good enough for pole position but the time would be scrubbed for a track limits offence, that marker was the supercharged Honda’s only representative lap so the Civic was condemned to starting 32nd.
Race One: A red-flagged first attempt at getting the race underway was halted when Ronan Bradley put his BMW in the barriers heading down to Graham Hill Bend and the restart would be run over seven minutes. Kevin Clarke's polesitting BMW was swamped by Australian V8 power away from the rolling start until Alex Sidwell was forced wide by Andy Wilson onto the kerbing at the bottom of Paddock Hill Bend and slipped behind Clarke's M3, the Aston Martin of Sam Wilson, Simon Light's V8 Capri and reigning champion Nick Vaughan. The Intersport BMW exited Druids with the lead from the Wilsons' Holden and Aston Martin after taking the long way around the Valvoline Monaro. Both Vaughan's Audi and Sidwell's Holden had displaced Light from fourth by Surtees and the pair ran side-by-side towards Hawthorn but the Teutonic turbocar held off the musclebound Australian machine until a brave lunge into Stirlings put the Commodore into fourth. In front of them, Andy Wilson had thundered past Clarke to lead into Hawthorn but Clarke got back ahead again on the way out of Westfield and the Holden driver's namesake Sam was also through by Sheene Curve in the Aston Martin V8. Sidwell was next to challenge the Monaro and the VF Commodore swept ahead into Hawthorn for the second time as Wilson lost ground with failed power steering, also falling behind Vaughan before the lap was done. Sidwell closed on the Aston and was in a position to challenge at the end of lap three, charging up the outside of the pit straight and into second but the Holden got onto the grass at Surtees and almost collected the Aston Martin as it crossed the circuit before fishtailing the other way and stopping just short of the barrier. Wilson's Aston Martin bounced down the grass and fell behind Vaughan to third, whilst Sidwell eventually rejoined well down the order. Left in the clear by the incident, Clarke won by 4.434 seconds from Vaughan’s Audi and leading Historic runner Sam Wilson. Andy Wilson manhandled the stiff-steering Monaro to a creditable fourth but the Holden would see no further action during the weekend. Josh Lawton came through from starting the original attempt from the sixteenth row to go from thirteenth at the restart and the supercharged hatchback was quickly into the top ten by the end of lap one. Lawton moved up to seventh on lap two before rocketing past Light for sixth exiting Stirlings on lap three and diving inside Wilson's Monaro into fourth at Clearways a lap later but the Civic had started to suffer from high water temperature in the closing stages and was repassed by the Holden of Wilson, Light’s Historic Capri and Adrian Bradley’s M3 on the last lap to cross the line in seventh. Three BMW M3s completed the top ten in the hands of Bryan Bransom, Graham Crowhurst and Kirk Armitage, with third-placed Historic competitor Colin Voyce’s Mk1 Escort in eleventh. The heavily delayed Sidwell was ultimately classified 27th.
Race Two: Kevin Clarke led the early stages of Race Two with his BMW but Bryan Bransom was following closely with his similar E46 M3, which had charged around the outside of four cars by Druids on the opening lap before getting ahead of Nick Vaughan’s Audi into Graham Hill Bend to reach Clarke’s tall. The A3 Turbo of Vaughan and the pressing Josh Lawton Civic squabbled over third through the opening laps, with the Honda fortunate to still be in the bout after cannoning off the pitlane exit barrier at the start when trying to squeeze alongside the Sam Wilson Aston Martin. The supercharged Civic sailed past Vaughan at the exit of Stirlings on lap two and moved on to chase down the lead pair, with the trio together by the end of the third tour. Lawton swept into the lead on lap four towards Surtees and the Honda controlled the race to the end to win by 2.455 seconds, with one eye on his water temperature. Clarke’s BMW eventually opened a small margin from his shadow Bransom for second, with Vaughan’s Team Prawn Racing car a lonely fourth once the race-winning Civic got through. Andy Robinson’s 7-litre Ford Falcon came out on top of a tough duel for fifth place by just 0.234 seconds from Graham Crowhurst’s E46 M3 and Adrian Bradley’s similar mount, Kirk Armitsge’s non-finishing E36 M3 also played a major role in the battle too. Armitage headed the group initially and his defence of fifth had allowed Robinson to range up on the BMW trio. The Falcon weaved around Crowhurst and Bradley down Pilgrim’s Drop during lap six but couldn’t hold either BMW off at Hawthorn, the trick was repeated a lap later with the same outcome before Bradley pounced on Armitage into Westfield. Armitage was forced to defend from Crowhurst into Surtees for the eighth time to give Robinson’s V8 Supercar the chance to bellow past the pair of them for good, with Crowhurst also deposing the E36 M3 at Westfield. Robinson was now homing in on Bradley and the BMW was powerless to stop the Australian Ford from thundering into fifth well before Hawthorn on lap nine, Crowhurst followed the Falcon through too with a brave move up the inside of Sheene Curve. The following lap would be the final one and when Robinson was baulked by a lapped car through Sheene Curve, Crowhurst saw his chance to dive into fifth at Stirlings. The BMW stayed to the right as the Falcon powered alongside towards Clearways and came through Clark Curve still ahead but Robinson’s V8 grunt stole fifth by the finish line. Alex Sidwell had caught the group from near the back of the grid in the closing stages and was just a quarter of a second behind Bradley's BMW across the line in eighth. Simon Light’s V8 Capri got very sideways at the start so had lost out to Bransom and Lawton by Paddock Hil Bend. Worse was to follow for the 5-litre coupe when it was pitched off at high speed approaching Hawthorn after the nearside-front suspension collapsed during lap two, fortunately without hitting anything. Fellow Historic competitor Sam Wilson’s Aston Martin didn’t last long either with oil system woes so the turbocharged Mk1 Escort of Colin Voyce took the Historic Thunder spoils in ninth place, ahead of Gary Hufford’s E46 M3 in tenth overall.
Pre '66/'83
Qualifying: Porsche Carrera Cup GB front-runner Charles Rainford set the pace in his Faberge Capri to snare pole position by 1.493 seconds from Jonathan Corker’s Datsun 510. Two Escort RS2000s lined up on row two as Mark Cholerton’s droop-snoot Mk2 bested multiple champion Stephen Primett’s earlier Mk1 example, the three championship regulars all setting times within two seconds of pole. Harry Hickton lined up in a strong fifth and the Opel Kadett was joined on the third row by Bob Bullen’s Mk1 Escort. Four-time Mini Miglia champion Aaron Smith headed the Pre ‘66s in an impressive seventh overall to lead a strong Mini contingent by just 0.120 seconds from Joe Ferguson’s similar car in eighth. Tom Harvey placed his tidy Pre ‘83 Shell Sport Mk1 Escort between the Minis and the Lotus Cortina of third Pre ‘66 contender Tim Abbott at the foot of the top ten.
Race One: Grid order was maintained to Druids for the first time as Charles Rainford led Jonathan Corker and Mark Cholerton but Joe Ferguson threw his Pre ‘66 Mini around the outside of Stephen Primett’s Mk1 Escort to briefly be fourth. Primett quickly sped back ahead of Ferguson towards Surtees and set about catching Cholerton’s RS2000 in third, making the pass at Druids on lap four before the race was cut short when Michael Loveland’s Imp came to rest on its side in the Clark Curve gravel on lap five to bring out the Safety Car, remarkably with little damage. However, the race was stopped with insufficient time to complete the recovery and a result was declared. Tom Harvey split the leading Pre ‘66s to take sixth in Pre ‘83s with his Mk1 Escort, whilst Nick Williamson, Chris Snowdon, Steve Walden and Harry Hickton finished in a clump at the foot of the Pre ‘83 top ten in eleventh to fourteenth overall. Joe Ferguson held Aaron Smith at arm’s length to win Pre ‘66 element in a superb sixth overall and the Cooper Ss were kept apart by Harvey’s Mk1 Escort, third in Pre ‘66 went to Bill Sollis 1.801 seconds adrift of Smith. The first non-Mini home was Tim Abbott in fourth with his Cortina, ahead of fellow Ford pilots Piers Grange in a Mustang and Ian Thompson aboard a Cortina. The top ten was completed by a squabble comprising Barry Sime and Tim Sims' Minis along with 2023 Indy circuit double winner Grant Williams' Mk1 Jaguar.
Race Two: Charles Rainford led Race Two all the way to seal his second victory with the Brut 33 Capri, whilst Jonathan Corker ran just ahead of Stephen Primett in second until Surtees for the final time when the Datsun’s engine went off song to record a frustrating non-finish. The wrong-footed Primett almost slid off in avoidance as Corker suddenly slowed in front of the Mk1 Escort but recovered to take maximum championship points. Mark Cholerton's RS2000 claimed third from youngster Harry Hickton's Opel Kadett in fourth, who had driven an impressive race after starting as the tenth Pre '83 car. Tom Harvey's Shell Sport Escort Mk1 fended off Chris Snowdon's Alfa Romeo by 0.374 seconds for fifth after falling victim to the Opel's charge. Steve Walden trailed the top three Pre '66 finishers with his E30 BMW ahead of Mark Fowler's Vince Woodman tribute Mk1 Escort, with Cadwell Park race-winner Nick Williamson's troubled Rover SD1 the final classified finisher of the nine Pre '83 cars home. Aaron Smith dominated the Pre ‘66 division with KAD’s Cooper S and took the flag in seventh overall, whilst fellow Mini Miglia champion Bill Sollis followed in second with his similar car some 2.686 seconds down. Tim Abbott's Lotus Cortina was a similar distance behind Sollis in third. Tom Bell took over Pre ‘66-winning Mini from Joe Ferguson and went from the back row but one to climb to a great fourth. Piers Grange survived a gravelly moment at Clearways on lap five to finish sixth behind Grant Williams' Jaguar with his Mustang. Cortina pair Ian Thompson and Garry Townsend headed an entertaining dice in the lower reaches of the top ten to lead home Barry Sime's Mini, Robyn Slater's Cortina and Tim Sims' Cooper S.
Qualifying: Porsche Carrera Cup GB front-runner Charles Rainford set the pace in his Faberge Capri to snare pole position by 1.493 seconds from Jonathan Corker’s Datsun 510. Two Escort RS2000s lined up on row two as Mark Cholerton’s droop-snoot Mk2 bested multiple champion Stephen Primett’s earlier Mk1 example, the three championship regulars all setting times within two seconds of pole. Harry Hickton lined up in a strong fifth and the Opel Kadett was joined on the third row by Bob Bullen’s Mk1 Escort. Four-time Mini Miglia champion Aaron Smith headed the Pre ‘66s in an impressive seventh overall to lead a strong Mini contingent by just 0.120 seconds from Joe Ferguson’s similar car in eighth. Tom Harvey placed his tidy Pre ‘83 Shell Sport Mk1 Escort between the Minis and the Lotus Cortina of third Pre ‘66 contender Tim Abbott at the foot of the top ten.
Race One: Grid order was maintained to Druids for the first time as Charles Rainford led Jonathan Corker and Mark Cholerton but Joe Ferguson threw his Pre ‘66 Mini around the outside of Stephen Primett’s Mk1 Escort to briefly be fourth. Primett quickly sped back ahead of Ferguson towards Surtees and set about catching Cholerton’s RS2000 in third, making the pass at Druids on lap four before the race was cut short when Michael Loveland’s Imp came to rest on its side in the Clark Curve gravel on lap five to bring out the Safety Car, remarkably with little damage. However, the race was stopped with insufficient time to complete the recovery and a result was declared. Tom Harvey split the leading Pre ‘66s to take sixth in Pre ‘83s with his Mk1 Escort, whilst Nick Williamson, Chris Snowdon, Steve Walden and Harry Hickton finished in a clump at the foot of the Pre ‘83 top ten in eleventh to fourteenth overall. Joe Ferguson held Aaron Smith at arm’s length to win Pre ‘66 element in a superb sixth overall and the Cooper Ss were kept apart by Harvey’s Mk1 Escort, third in Pre ‘66 went to Bill Sollis 1.801 seconds adrift of Smith. The first non-Mini home was Tim Abbott in fourth with his Cortina, ahead of fellow Ford pilots Piers Grange in a Mustang and Ian Thompson aboard a Cortina. The top ten was completed by a squabble comprising Barry Sime and Tim Sims' Minis along with 2023 Indy circuit double winner Grant Williams' Mk1 Jaguar.
Race Two: Charles Rainford led Race Two all the way to seal his second victory with the Brut 33 Capri, whilst Jonathan Corker ran just ahead of Stephen Primett in second until Surtees for the final time when the Datsun’s engine went off song to record a frustrating non-finish. The wrong-footed Primett almost slid off in avoidance as Corker suddenly slowed in front of the Mk1 Escort but recovered to take maximum championship points. Mark Cholerton's RS2000 claimed third from youngster Harry Hickton's Opel Kadett in fourth, who had driven an impressive race after starting as the tenth Pre '83 car. Tom Harvey's Shell Sport Escort Mk1 fended off Chris Snowdon's Alfa Romeo by 0.374 seconds for fifth after falling victim to the Opel's charge. Steve Walden trailed the top three Pre '66 finishers with his E30 BMW ahead of Mark Fowler's Vince Woodman tribute Mk1 Escort, with Cadwell Park race-winner Nick Williamson's troubled Rover SD1 the final classified finisher of the nine Pre '83 cars home. Aaron Smith dominated the Pre ‘66 division with KAD’s Cooper S and took the flag in seventh overall, whilst fellow Mini Miglia champion Bill Sollis followed in second with his similar car some 2.686 seconds down. Tim Abbott's Lotus Cortina was a similar distance behind Sollis in third. Tom Bell took over Pre ‘66-winning Mini from Joe Ferguson and went from the back row but one to climb to a great fourth. Piers Grange survived a gravelly moment at Clearways on lap five to finish sixth behind Grant Williams' Jaguar with his Mustang. Cortina pair Ian Thompson and Garry Townsend headed an entertaining dice in the lower reaches of the top ten to lead home Barry Sime's Mini, Robyn Slater's Cortina and Tim Sims' Cooper S.
Sunday 30th June - Indy circuit
The second day of competition took place on the compact Indy layout and the CTCRC’s catalogue of championships exclusively formed the racing schedule of day two.
Super Touring
Qualifying: Unfortunately, there would be no Nissan Primera Super Touring cars in action on Sunday, including that of Saturday double-winner Jake Hill, or Danny Harrison's BTC-T Honda Integra after the cars’ owner Richard Wheeler decided to withdraw his charges after the damaging Saturday. The 2000-spec Vauxhall Vectra Super Tourer of Jason Hughes narrowly claimed pole position by just 0.078 seconds from the newer BTC-T Astra of early-session pacesetter Alex Morgan, the Hughes Vectra initially went fastest with a time just 0.004 seconds faster before finding another 0.074 seconds on his next lap. The beautiful Esso Ultron Peugeot 406 of Colin Sowter headed the second row by 0.787 seconds from Roger Stanford in his Astra Sport Hatch. Tony Absolom set the fifth fastest time but the Vauxhall Cavalier comprehensively blew its engine during the fifteen minutes to rule the Fujifilm car out of the pair of races later and pipped AJ Owen's Ford Mondeo by 0.102 seconds in sixth, the Valvoline car had also run into difficulties mid-session with a puncture. Another 0.535 seconds back sat Steffan Irmler's Opel Astra saloon and Jim Pocklington's wingless Vauxhall Cavalier on the fourth row. Adam Woods' ex-Tom Chilton Honda Civic and Stuart Caie's Vauxhall Cavalier completed the ten-car field to qualify. Absolom's subsequent withdrawal moved everyone from AJ Owen backwards up a spot, with Irmler and Woods each moving up a row.
Race One: Nine cars would take the start after Tony Absolom's engine issue in qualifying and Jason Hughes led the field away from pole position from Alex Morgan's Astra Sport Hatch, who thought about sneaking up the inside at Clearways for the first time, to set the order through the opening stages. AJ Owen got a flyer at the start from gridding fifth to hassle Colin Sowter's Peugeot for third into Paddock Hill Bend but the green and gold 406 kept the Mondeo at bay up to Druids, before edging clear over the following laps. Owen later pulled off with a broken rose joint with five and a half minutes remaining and long-time leader Jason Hughes dramatically went out with a front-right suspension issues a lap later. The Vectra's exit left Morgan clear to win despite a loss of power steering part way through from Sowter's gorgeous Peugeot by 7.160 seconds. Jim Pocklington initially headed a fierce four-car scrap for fifth place with his Cavalier, after going under both Roger Stanford and Stefan Irmler's Astras into Paddock Hill Bend on lap one. Stanford and Irmer spent the majority of the opening lap abreast before Stanford's Vauxhall settled into sixth but the German's Opel pounced at Paddock Hill Bend on lap three to take away the place. The silver Astra then moved past Pocklington at Surtees for the eighth time but the Cavalier squeezed back ahead at Paddock Hill Bend as the car's lack of aero additions made it slippery in a straight line. The early Cavalier headed for the pitlane on the same lap as Hughes' retirement to make Irmler and Stanford's skirmish a fight for the podium. Stanford eventually nicked third from Irmler's South African championship Opel Astra at Surtees for the last time to mark his return to racing after a large Pre '66 crash at Oulton Park in 2022 with a podium finish. Adam Woods’ BTC-T Honda Civic finished a little behind the tussling General Motors machines in fifth after a grassy moment at Graham Hill Bend.
Race Two: Seven survivors started the fourth and final race of the weekend. AJ Owen’s team worked overtime to get Mondeo back out but there would be no Jason Hughes or Stuart Caie Vauxhalls taking the start. Alex Morgan raced into a comfortable lead until a suspension failure pitched the Triple Eight Astra off descending Paddock Hill Bend just after half distance. In the aftermath, AJ Owen's Mondeo sneaked past Jim Pocklington into third place at Druids just before the Safety Car emerged. The clear-up operation only left enough time for a one-lap dash to the flag and Owen immediately passed Roger Stanford’s Astra into second at the restart. The fired-up Owen then sent the Mondeo up the inside of leader Colin Sowter into Clearways but ran wide and allowed the Peugeot 406 to come back on the inside. However, the Valvoline Mondeo prevailed by a nose after they raced neck-and-neck to the line in a grandstand finish and the emotionally-charged Owen took the win by just 0.126 seconds. The oldest car in the field took third in the hands of Pocklington after the Cavalier deposed Stanford at Druids during the sprint to the flag. Adam Woods' Honda went out on the last lap with clutch failure to leave just a quartet of finishers. Stefan Irmler had headed a line of cars with his Astra after taking third from Stanford as they went onto lap two but pulled off at Surtees halfway through.
The second day of competition took place on the compact Indy layout and the CTCRC’s catalogue of championships exclusively formed the racing schedule of day two.
Super Touring
Qualifying: Unfortunately, there would be no Nissan Primera Super Touring cars in action on Sunday, including that of Saturday double-winner Jake Hill, or Danny Harrison's BTC-T Honda Integra after the cars’ owner Richard Wheeler decided to withdraw his charges after the damaging Saturday. The 2000-spec Vauxhall Vectra Super Tourer of Jason Hughes narrowly claimed pole position by just 0.078 seconds from the newer BTC-T Astra of early-session pacesetter Alex Morgan, the Hughes Vectra initially went fastest with a time just 0.004 seconds faster before finding another 0.074 seconds on his next lap. The beautiful Esso Ultron Peugeot 406 of Colin Sowter headed the second row by 0.787 seconds from Roger Stanford in his Astra Sport Hatch. Tony Absolom set the fifth fastest time but the Vauxhall Cavalier comprehensively blew its engine during the fifteen minutes to rule the Fujifilm car out of the pair of races later and pipped AJ Owen's Ford Mondeo by 0.102 seconds in sixth, the Valvoline car had also run into difficulties mid-session with a puncture. Another 0.535 seconds back sat Steffan Irmler's Opel Astra saloon and Jim Pocklington's wingless Vauxhall Cavalier on the fourth row. Adam Woods' ex-Tom Chilton Honda Civic and Stuart Caie's Vauxhall Cavalier completed the ten-car field to qualify. Absolom's subsequent withdrawal moved everyone from AJ Owen backwards up a spot, with Irmler and Woods each moving up a row.
Race One: Nine cars would take the start after Tony Absolom's engine issue in qualifying and Jason Hughes led the field away from pole position from Alex Morgan's Astra Sport Hatch, who thought about sneaking up the inside at Clearways for the first time, to set the order through the opening stages. AJ Owen got a flyer at the start from gridding fifth to hassle Colin Sowter's Peugeot for third into Paddock Hill Bend but the green and gold 406 kept the Mondeo at bay up to Druids, before edging clear over the following laps. Owen later pulled off with a broken rose joint with five and a half minutes remaining and long-time leader Jason Hughes dramatically went out with a front-right suspension issues a lap later. The Vectra's exit left Morgan clear to win despite a loss of power steering part way through from Sowter's gorgeous Peugeot by 7.160 seconds. Jim Pocklington initially headed a fierce four-car scrap for fifth place with his Cavalier, after going under both Roger Stanford and Stefan Irmler's Astras into Paddock Hill Bend on lap one. Stanford and Irmer spent the majority of the opening lap abreast before Stanford's Vauxhall settled into sixth but the German's Opel pounced at Paddock Hill Bend on lap three to take away the place. The silver Astra then moved past Pocklington at Surtees for the eighth time but the Cavalier squeezed back ahead at Paddock Hill Bend as the car's lack of aero additions made it slippery in a straight line. The early Cavalier headed for the pitlane on the same lap as Hughes' retirement to make Irmler and Stanford's skirmish a fight for the podium. Stanford eventually nicked third from Irmler's South African championship Opel Astra at Surtees for the last time to mark his return to racing after a large Pre '66 crash at Oulton Park in 2022 with a podium finish. Adam Woods’ BTC-T Honda Civic finished a little behind the tussling General Motors machines in fifth after a grassy moment at Graham Hill Bend.
Race Two: Seven survivors started the fourth and final race of the weekend. AJ Owen’s team worked overtime to get Mondeo back out but there would be no Jason Hughes or Stuart Caie Vauxhalls taking the start. Alex Morgan raced into a comfortable lead until a suspension failure pitched the Triple Eight Astra off descending Paddock Hill Bend just after half distance. In the aftermath, AJ Owen's Mondeo sneaked past Jim Pocklington into third place at Druids just before the Safety Car emerged. The clear-up operation only left enough time for a one-lap dash to the flag and Owen immediately passed Roger Stanford’s Astra into second at the restart. The fired-up Owen then sent the Mondeo up the inside of leader Colin Sowter into Clearways but ran wide and allowed the Peugeot 406 to come back on the inside. However, the Valvoline Mondeo prevailed by a nose after they raced neck-and-neck to the line in a grandstand finish and the emotionally-charged Owen took the win by just 0.126 seconds. The oldest car in the field took third in the hands of Pocklington after the Cavalier deposed Stanford at Druids during the sprint to the flag. Adam Woods' Honda went out on the last lap with clutch failure to leave just a quartet of finishers. Stefan Irmler had headed a line of cars with his Astra after taking third from Stanford as they went onto lap two but pulled off at Surtees halfway through.
Group A/Pre '93
Qualifying: Dan Brown pipped Paul Mensley's similar car to pole position for the headline Group A cars by a slim 0.026 seconds in their Sierras. Dave Bartrum came back to line up a promising third after contending with split turbo pipe and temperature sensor trouble on day one and had just 0.146 seconds in hand from David Tomlin's ex-Thierry Tassin RS500 in fourth. Mike Manning's Texaco Sierra was fifth of the five RS500s and outqualified Simon Glenn's 635 CSi by 0.918 seconds on the third row but the BMW would opt to start behind the Pre '93 cars at the back of the grid. David Clark was out in Tony Hart's very smart Renault 5 GT Turbo and qualified last of the cars in the category. The grid-sharing Pre '93s saw Oliver Owen put one over on reigning champion Stuart Waite by 0.199 seconds for pole position. Terry Davies headed the second row by just 0.080 seconds from Kevin Willis, who held a slim 0.138-second advantage over William Davison and another 0.238 seconds to Shaun Morris on the third row. Former champion Ian Bower set the seventh fastest time and Jasver Sapra trailed the BMW Italy replica by a slender 0.152 seconds in eighth, with 1.486 covering top eight cars on a competitive grid. The evenly-matched Graham Myers and Jonathan Cooper were just 0.061 seconds apart as they rounded out an all-E36 M3 top ten.
Race One: Dan Brown led initially until Paul Mensley passed the Brown and Geeson car into Druids on lap three. Brown got the lead back in traffic into Paddock Hill Bend on lap eleven before Mensley restored order into Druids on the following lap to take the victory by an eventual 1.418 seconds. David Tomlin held third until a puncture forced the Sierra to pull off with a minute to go on the Cooper Straight, which made the Mike Manning and Dave Bartrum scrap a fight for the podium. The Texaco Sierra had driven around the outside of the Shell car at Druids for the first time to hold fourth until Tomlin's demise. Bartrum had fought back from slipping behind the Owen and Waite Pre '93 BMWs to harass Manning and the pair were side by side out of Clearways heading onto the final lap, where Manning powered ahead up to Paddock Hill Bend but the local man prevailed with a last-lap pass at Druids. However, the Shell Sierra had incurred a five-second penalty for transgressing track limits to hand third place to Manning. The Renault 5 GT Turbo of David Clark was rather outgunned by the Cosworth and BMW M Power-tuned machines surrounding it and the French hatchback wouldn't make the finish after pulling off in a cloud of steam. In the Pre '93s, Stuart Waite took the lead on the opening lap before Oliver Owen slid by on the outside into Paddock Hill Bend on lap two. Leader Owen retired to the pits on lap five so Waite topped the Pre '93s from William Davison as the top five in the category stayed close, with Kevin Willis taking third ahead of Shaun Morris and Terry Davies. Seventh qualifier Ian Bower was also involved with the group but a fifth-lap spin at Druids dropped the Castrol M3 down the order, whilst Willis had an eighth-lap rotation at Paddock Hill Bend to slip from harrying Davison into the middle of the Morris/Davies tussle.
Race Two: Four tyre-frying Sierra RS500s headed the grid in the absence of David Tomlin and Dan Brown passed polesitter Paul Mensley on the climb to Druids to claim the lead on lap one. An eager Dave Bartrum also slid up the inside of Mensley into the hairpin and made contact with the leading Sierra but Brown held his place at the front. Mensley quickly repassed Bartrum into Surtees and chased down Brown, taking the lead on the fourth lap. Mensley's NetComm RS500 gradually opened an advantage until the Sierra slipped up at Clearways with less than four minutes remaining, which saw Brown go on to take the flag by 2.018 seconds as Mensley ran out of time to close the initial 6.712-second gap between the pair. Bartrum ran on his own in third to the end, whilst Manning was anything but alone in fourth as the first five Pre ‘93 BMWs were falling over themselves trying to get past but the Texaco Cosworth’s straightline speed kept the German machines at bay. Heading the queue was reigning Pre ‘93 champion Stuart Waite and he headed William Davison home by less than a car length, the former Pre '83 racer briefly took the category lead after the 2023 title holder lost momentum out of Clearways attacking Manning only for Waite to snatch the place back at Druids on the following lap. Terry Davies, Shaun Morris and Kevin Willis were right with them as the quintet crossed the line covered by 1.514 seconds after a fraught race. Willis had nosed into second ending lap five but had fallen to the back of the group a lap later with a slide at Clearways, whilst Davies passed Morris for third on the inside of Paddock Hill Bend on lap eleven before Morris had a bout of oversteer at Druids trying to hang on around the outside. Former champion Ian Bower was in the group initially but a second-lap spin at Graham Hill Bend pushed the M3 down the order before climbing back to an eventual sixth in the Pre '93 classification.
Qualifying: Dan Brown pipped Paul Mensley's similar car to pole position for the headline Group A cars by a slim 0.026 seconds in their Sierras. Dave Bartrum came back to line up a promising third after contending with split turbo pipe and temperature sensor trouble on day one and had just 0.146 seconds in hand from David Tomlin's ex-Thierry Tassin RS500 in fourth. Mike Manning's Texaco Sierra was fifth of the five RS500s and outqualified Simon Glenn's 635 CSi by 0.918 seconds on the third row but the BMW would opt to start behind the Pre '93 cars at the back of the grid. David Clark was out in Tony Hart's very smart Renault 5 GT Turbo and qualified last of the cars in the category. The grid-sharing Pre '93s saw Oliver Owen put one over on reigning champion Stuart Waite by 0.199 seconds for pole position. Terry Davies headed the second row by just 0.080 seconds from Kevin Willis, who held a slim 0.138-second advantage over William Davison and another 0.238 seconds to Shaun Morris on the third row. Former champion Ian Bower set the seventh fastest time and Jasver Sapra trailed the BMW Italy replica by a slender 0.152 seconds in eighth, with 1.486 covering top eight cars on a competitive grid. The evenly-matched Graham Myers and Jonathan Cooper were just 0.061 seconds apart as they rounded out an all-E36 M3 top ten.
Race One: Dan Brown led initially until Paul Mensley passed the Brown and Geeson car into Druids on lap three. Brown got the lead back in traffic into Paddock Hill Bend on lap eleven before Mensley restored order into Druids on the following lap to take the victory by an eventual 1.418 seconds. David Tomlin held third until a puncture forced the Sierra to pull off with a minute to go on the Cooper Straight, which made the Mike Manning and Dave Bartrum scrap a fight for the podium. The Texaco Sierra had driven around the outside of the Shell car at Druids for the first time to hold fourth until Tomlin's demise. Bartrum had fought back from slipping behind the Owen and Waite Pre '93 BMWs to harass Manning and the pair were side by side out of Clearways heading onto the final lap, where Manning powered ahead up to Paddock Hill Bend but the local man prevailed with a last-lap pass at Druids. However, the Shell Sierra had incurred a five-second penalty for transgressing track limits to hand third place to Manning. The Renault 5 GT Turbo of David Clark was rather outgunned by the Cosworth and BMW M Power-tuned machines surrounding it and the French hatchback wouldn't make the finish after pulling off in a cloud of steam. In the Pre '93s, Stuart Waite took the lead on the opening lap before Oliver Owen slid by on the outside into Paddock Hill Bend on lap two. Leader Owen retired to the pits on lap five so Waite topped the Pre '93s from William Davison as the top five in the category stayed close, with Kevin Willis taking third ahead of Shaun Morris and Terry Davies. Seventh qualifier Ian Bower was also involved with the group but a fifth-lap spin at Druids dropped the Castrol M3 down the order, whilst Willis had an eighth-lap rotation at Paddock Hill Bend to slip from harrying Davison into the middle of the Morris/Davies tussle.
Race Two: Four tyre-frying Sierra RS500s headed the grid in the absence of David Tomlin and Dan Brown passed polesitter Paul Mensley on the climb to Druids to claim the lead on lap one. An eager Dave Bartrum also slid up the inside of Mensley into the hairpin and made contact with the leading Sierra but Brown held his place at the front. Mensley quickly repassed Bartrum into Surtees and chased down Brown, taking the lead on the fourth lap. Mensley's NetComm RS500 gradually opened an advantage until the Sierra slipped up at Clearways with less than four minutes remaining, which saw Brown go on to take the flag by 2.018 seconds as Mensley ran out of time to close the initial 6.712-second gap between the pair. Bartrum ran on his own in third to the end, whilst Manning was anything but alone in fourth as the first five Pre ‘93 BMWs were falling over themselves trying to get past but the Texaco Cosworth’s straightline speed kept the German machines at bay. Heading the queue was reigning Pre ‘93 champion Stuart Waite and he headed William Davison home by less than a car length, the former Pre '83 racer briefly took the category lead after the 2023 title holder lost momentum out of Clearways attacking Manning only for Waite to snatch the place back at Druids on the following lap. Terry Davies, Shaun Morris and Kevin Willis were right with them as the quintet crossed the line covered by 1.514 seconds after a fraught race. Willis had nosed into second ending lap five but had fallen to the back of the group a lap later with a slide at Clearways, whilst Davies passed Morris for third on the inside of Paddock Hill Bend on lap eleven before Morris had a bout of oversteer at Druids trying to hang on around the outside. Former champion Ian Bower was in the group initially but a second-lap spin at Graham Hill Bend pushed the M3 down the order before climbing back to an eventual sixth in the Pre '93 classification.
Classic Thunder
Qualifying: Josh Lawton improved on his own benchmark with one last flyer after a mid-session Safety Car for Oliver Owen’s beached BMW at Paddock Hill Bend to storm onto pole position in the supercharged Civic by almost a second from Nick Vaughan's A3 Turbo, who was happier with the feel of his Audi despite the 0.987-second deficit. Jasver Sapra headed the BMW hordes in third, a quarter of a second from the front row, and was a miniscule 0.007 seconds ahead of Alex Sidwell's Holden Commodore in fourth. Opening race winner on Saturday Kevin Clarke was a tiny 0.053 seconds further back with his M3 CSL and headed Graham Crowhurst's striped M3 on the third row, with the following two cars within a tenth of the multi-coloured BMW. The first Historic car of Malcolm Harding was seventh fastest and the Castrol Mk2 Escort trailed Crowhurst by just 0.032 seconds, with Adrian Bradley's BMW a slim 0.026 seconds further back in eighth. The reliveried Mk1 Escort Turbo of Colin Voyce qualified second of the Historic Thunders in ninth and Mike Cutt's E36 M3 completed the top ten.
Race One: The hot hatches of Josh Lawton and Nick Vaughan scorched clear of the pack at the rolling start as the Honda headed the Audi into Paddock Hill Bend, with Kevin Clarke's BMW driving around Jasver Sapra's similar car to move into third. Malcolm Harding had also got away smartly to dive ahead of Alex Sidwell's Holden for fifth into the first corner and the Mk2 Escort would be up to fourth by the end of lap one after outdragging Sapra through Clark Curve. Sidwell was forced wide at Druids and lost further ground to the BMWs of Adrian Bradley, Mike Cutt and Graham Crowhurst, as well as the turbocharged Mk1 Escort of Colin Voyce, so ended the opening lap down in tenth. Lawton’s supercharged Civic stretched away out front from Vaughan and Clarke through the early portion of the race, whilst the delayed Sidwell began to charge up the order. The fightback started as he boomed past Voyce at the start of the third lap, then had taken both Cutt and Crowhurst by Druids one tour later and when Sapra and Bradley tripped over each other exiting Clearways, the Holden Racing UK machine blasted past the pair going onto lap five. Two laps later, the Mk2 Escort of Harding was powerless to stop the Australian machine from arrowing ahead into Surtees as half-distance passed and the Vaughan and Clarke pair lay just two and a half seconds up the road. Sidwell was gifted third when Clarke's near-side door came open and the Midlander slowed to close it. The Commodore then arrived onto the tail of Vaughan as both closed in on leading the Honda, which was suffering from a recurrence of high water temperature, but clashed at Druids with three minutes to go when Vaughan took to the grass climbing Hailwood's Rise whilst lapping Tony Davies' Firenza and charged the Druids tyrewall, with Sidwell jumping into the gravel as the Audi crossed the circuit. The incident ultimately meant that the race finished with a red flag and the stunning Civic of Lawton took his second victory of the weekend. The demise of the Team Prawn Racing Audi and Sidwell's Holden gave Clarke the runner-up spot, whilst Bradley had just risen to third on-the-road at the time of the incident. Harding's giant-killing Mk2 Escort was the leading Historic Thunder contender in fourth, ahead of a clutch of BMWs as Sapra took fifth from Cutt, Crowhurst and the eighth row-starting Bryan Bransom. Andy Robinson's Ford Falcon AU and the Mk1 Escort of Voyce completed the top ten.
Race Two: Contact at the rolling start saw a quick-away Gary Hufford try to squeeze between Ross Craig's Honda and Kevin Denwood's BMW, which damaged the right-rear suspension of the 3 Series Compact. James Janicki and Martin Reynolds got dragged into the aftermath, with the Nissan Skyline rear-ending the Escort after the Mk2 checked up and both ended up against the barrier protecting the pit lane exit to necessitate a red flag. The rerun would be of ten minutes duration and the clock started when they set off on the formation lap. Poleman Josh Lawton led the field into Paddock Hill Bend but Kevin Clarke's BMW ran around the outside of the Honda at Druids to move into a lead he wouldn't lose, the BMW triumphant for the second time over the weekend by 7.342 seconds. Lawton got crossed up at Graham Hill Bend for the first time and slipped to seventh behind Adrian Bradley, Malcolm Harding, Jasver Sapra, Mike Cutt and Graham Crowhurst. Just a few corners later, Bradley's BMW ran through the gravel exiting Clearways whilst under pressure from Harding, which moved the impudent Mk2 Escort into second as the E46 M3 fell all the way back to seventeenth. A big squabble developed behind Sapra as he fought off allcomers for third place, initially involving Crowhurst, Cutt, Bryan Bransom and Lawton - who had lost out to Bransom's orange M3 on lap two. Colin Voyce, David Blackie and Gary Hufford drew up to the group too as Sapra’s defence slowed the pack down. The recovering Bradley and Alex Sidwell's Holden V8 Supercar also joined in during the later stages as the battle carried on down into the teens, the VF Commodore having driven a cautious opening lap from starting 25th and was caught behind a defensive Rikki Cann Aston Martin V8 for several laps. Cutt got ahead of Crowhurst through Clark Curve ending lap three after the multi-coloured M3 lost momentum attempting to take third from Sapra, the E36 M3 then quickly passed the white E46 M3 for third place on lap four with a great move around the outside of Paddock Hill Bend that took until Druids to complete. Cutt's BMW went on to chase down and sweep past Harding for second place with a couple of minutes to go, as a lengthening brake pedal slowed the Historic Mk2 Escort. The Escort eventually fell off the podium as Lawton and Sapra went ahead on the final lap, with Bradley's rampant BMW falling just 0.024 seconds short of claiming fifth place on the line. Lawton's supercharged Civic had powered past Bransom through Clark Curve completing lap four, then displaced Crowhurst on lap five into Clearways before finally seeing off Sapra when they caught Harding on the penultimate tour with a move that took two corners to finalise and Harding's hobbled Escort was the last to fall victim approaching Surtees to secure the Honda's podium placing. Crowhurst and Bransom spent much of the sixth lap side-by-side before the orange M3 eventually got ahead on lap eight to get into the top six but the flying Bradley caught the pair on the last lap to grab sixth on the run to the line and the five cars from fourth to eighth were covered by just 0.524 seconds in a blanket finish. Historic Thunder runner-up Voyce was only another half-second back in ninth, with Blackie's M3 V8 completing the top ten. Abbie Eaton had a miserable weekend aboard the family VH Holden Commodore that started with a loose bonnet catch on Saturday and the car refused to run cleanly thereafter so she wouldn't complete a single racing lap, whilst Nick Vaughan wouldn't take the final start after his incident on Sunday morning.
Qualifying: Josh Lawton improved on his own benchmark with one last flyer after a mid-session Safety Car for Oliver Owen’s beached BMW at Paddock Hill Bend to storm onto pole position in the supercharged Civic by almost a second from Nick Vaughan's A3 Turbo, who was happier with the feel of his Audi despite the 0.987-second deficit. Jasver Sapra headed the BMW hordes in third, a quarter of a second from the front row, and was a miniscule 0.007 seconds ahead of Alex Sidwell's Holden Commodore in fourth. Opening race winner on Saturday Kevin Clarke was a tiny 0.053 seconds further back with his M3 CSL and headed Graham Crowhurst's striped M3 on the third row, with the following two cars within a tenth of the multi-coloured BMW. The first Historic car of Malcolm Harding was seventh fastest and the Castrol Mk2 Escort trailed Crowhurst by just 0.032 seconds, with Adrian Bradley's BMW a slim 0.026 seconds further back in eighth. The reliveried Mk1 Escort Turbo of Colin Voyce qualified second of the Historic Thunders in ninth and Mike Cutt's E36 M3 completed the top ten.
Race One: The hot hatches of Josh Lawton and Nick Vaughan scorched clear of the pack at the rolling start as the Honda headed the Audi into Paddock Hill Bend, with Kevin Clarke's BMW driving around Jasver Sapra's similar car to move into third. Malcolm Harding had also got away smartly to dive ahead of Alex Sidwell's Holden for fifth into the first corner and the Mk2 Escort would be up to fourth by the end of lap one after outdragging Sapra through Clark Curve. Sidwell was forced wide at Druids and lost further ground to the BMWs of Adrian Bradley, Mike Cutt and Graham Crowhurst, as well as the turbocharged Mk1 Escort of Colin Voyce, so ended the opening lap down in tenth. Lawton’s supercharged Civic stretched away out front from Vaughan and Clarke through the early portion of the race, whilst the delayed Sidwell began to charge up the order. The fightback started as he boomed past Voyce at the start of the third lap, then had taken both Cutt and Crowhurst by Druids one tour later and when Sapra and Bradley tripped over each other exiting Clearways, the Holden Racing UK machine blasted past the pair going onto lap five. Two laps later, the Mk2 Escort of Harding was powerless to stop the Australian machine from arrowing ahead into Surtees as half-distance passed and the Vaughan and Clarke pair lay just two and a half seconds up the road. Sidwell was gifted third when Clarke's near-side door came open and the Midlander slowed to close it. The Commodore then arrived onto the tail of Vaughan as both closed in on leading the Honda, which was suffering from a recurrence of high water temperature, but clashed at Druids with three minutes to go when Vaughan took to the grass climbing Hailwood's Rise whilst lapping Tony Davies' Firenza and charged the Druids tyrewall, with Sidwell jumping into the gravel as the Audi crossed the circuit. The incident ultimately meant that the race finished with a red flag and the stunning Civic of Lawton took his second victory of the weekend. The demise of the Team Prawn Racing Audi and Sidwell's Holden gave Clarke the runner-up spot, whilst Bradley had just risen to third on-the-road at the time of the incident. Harding's giant-killing Mk2 Escort was the leading Historic Thunder contender in fourth, ahead of a clutch of BMWs as Sapra took fifth from Cutt, Crowhurst and the eighth row-starting Bryan Bransom. Andy Robinson's Ford Falcon AU and the Mk1 Escort of Voyce completed the top ten.
Race Two: Contact at the rolling start saw a quick-away Gary Hufford try to squeeze between Ross Craig's Honda and Kevin Denwood's BMW, which damaged the right-rear suspension of the 3 Series Compact. James Janicki and Martin Reynolds got dragged into the aftermath, with the Nissan Skyline rear-ending the Escort after the Mk2 checked up and both ended up against the barrier protecting the pit lane exit to necessitate a red flag. The rerun would be of ten minutes duration and the clock started when they set off on the formation lap. Poleman Josh Lawton led the field into Paddock Hill Bend but Kevin Clarke's BMW ran around the outside of the Honda at Druids to move into a lead he wouldn't lose, the BMW triumphant for the second time over the weekend by 7.342 seconds. Lawton got crossed up at Graham Hill Bend for the first time and slipped to seventh behind Adrian Bradley, Malcolm Harding, Jasver Sapra, Mike Cutt and Graham Crowhurst. Just a few corners later, Bradley's BMW ran through the gravel exiting Clearways whilst under pressure from Harding, which moved the impudent Mk2 Escort into second as the E46 M3 fell all the way back to seventeenth. A big squabble developed behind Sapra as he fought off allcomers for third place, initially involving Crowhurst, Cutt, Bryan Bransom and Lawton - who had lost out to Bransom's orange M3 on lap two. Colin Voyce, David Blackie and Gary Hufford drew up to the group too as Sapra’s defence slowed the pack down. The recovering Bradley and Alex Sidwell's Holden V8 Supercar also joined in during the later stages as the battle carried on down into the teens, the VF Commodore having driven a cautious opening lap from starting 25th and was caught behind a defensive Rikki Cann Aston Martin V8 for several laps. Cutt got ahead of Crowhurst through Clark Curve ending lap three after the multi-coloured M3 lost momentum attempting to take third from Sapra, the E36 M3 then quickly passed the white E46 M3 for third place on lap four with a great move around the outside of Paddock Hill Bend that took until Druids to complete. Cutt's BMW went on to chase down and sweep past Harding for second place with a couple of minutes to go, as a lengthening brake pedal slowed the Historic Mk2 Escort. The Escort eventually fell off the podium as Lawton and Sapra went ahead on the final lap, with Bradley's rampant BMW falling just 0.024 seconds short of claiming fifth place on the line. Lawton's supercharged Civic had powered past Bransom through Clark Curve completing lap four, then displaced Crowhurst on lap five into Clearways before finally seeing off Sapra when they caught Harding on the penultimate tour with a move that took two corners to finalise and Harding's hobbled Escort was the last to fall victim approaching Surtees to secure the Honda's podium placing. Crowhurst and Bransom spent much of the sixth lap side-by-side before the orange M3 eventually got ahead on lap eight to get into the top six but the flying Bradley caught the pair on the last lap to grab sixth on the run to the line and the five cars from fourth to eighth were covered by just 0.524 seconds in a blanket finish. Historic Thunder runner-up Voyce was only another half-second back in ninth, with Blackie's M3 V8 completing the top ten. Abbie Eaton had a miserable weekend aboard the family VH Holden Commodore that started with a loose bonnet catch on Saturday and the car refused to run cleanly thereafter so she wouldn't complete a single racing lap, whilst Nick Vaughan wouldn't take the final start after his incident on Sunday morning.
Pre '66
Qualifying: The older cars had their own races on Sunday and two Lotus Cortinas formed the front row as Tim Abbott bettered Ian Thompson by 0.151 seconds for pole position. Bill Sollis was the fastest of the Mini Cooper Ss in third and was 0.185 seconds away from the front row, Tom Bell's similar car completed row two just over two tenths adrift of Sollis. Garry Townsend's Lotus Cortina narrowly led the third row by 0.137 seconds from reigning champion Billy Kenneally's Ford Anglia. Piers Grange's Mustang was pipped for a place on row three by just 0.026 seconds in the first of the V8s and would dwarf Barry Sime's Mini starting alongside in eighth. Three-time Mini Se7en champion Tims Sims' Cooper S and James Ibbotson's Class E Hillman Imp were the last to earn a starting place in the top ten.
Race One: Drizzle was in the area when the grid formed and had started to make the track surface greasy as the field took the rolling start. Bill Sollis made a good start from row two to threaten Ian Thompson for second into Paddock Hill Bend behind poleman Tim Abbott but the red and gold Cortina toughed it out on the outside before the Mini arrowed between the two Fords at Druids and hit the front dropping down to Graham Hill Bend. Tom Bell contested the first race on Sunday in the Cooper S he shares with Joe Ferguson and he followed in Sollis’ wheeltracks to move into second, whilst Barry Sime dived inside Abbott into Clearways to briefly make a Mini 1-2-3 towards the end of lap one. The scrapping Abbott and Piers Grange had overpowered the Cooper S before the timing line but the Scot outbraked the pair into Paddock Hill Bend to reclaim third. Front-row starter Thompson had a great run up the hill and rounded up both Grange and Abbott around the outside of Druids to move into fourth. Grant Williams’ Jaguar also got between the two Fords at Graham Hill Bend to take sixth, having climbed up from starting fourteenth. The Welshman then took Grange's fifth place early on lap three as the top ten remained together. The polesitting Cortina then took fifth from Grange into Surtees but the Mustang retook the spot passing the pits as they began lap four. Abbott fought back once more up to Druids and the Pony car ended the lap coming under fire from Kevin Swann and current champion Billy Kenneally's Anglias, which were being tailed by Tim Sims' Mini. Sime had kept pace with the leading Mini pair when grip was hard to come by early on but began to fall back as the track dried, with Thompson, Williams, Abbott and Grange all despatching the Mini before lap seven. The Scot eventually tripped over a lapped Morris Minor at Clearways on lap eight to force the Cooper S out, having damaged the left-front corner. In the lead duel, Sollis and Bell swapped places at Clearways in traffic for the seventh time before the Kent fireman took the lead back at Paddock Hill Bend on lap nine to take the win by just 0.505 seconds from Thompson in the end, who jumped past Bell into second starting the final lap after chasing the diminutive Cooper Ss for much of the distance. The drier conditions had suited the American muscle car of Grange and the Mustang had fleetingly powered up to second before a trip through the Paddock Hill Bend gravel trap on lap twelve dropped the red machine back to his finishing position of fourth. Kenneally's Anglia took a great fifth a short distance ahead of Williams' Jaguar in sixth, who had lost battle partner Abbott when the Cortina spun into the barrier on the Cooper Straight during the tenth tour and the Anglia dived ahead at Druids on the next lap. Tim Sims' Cooper S and Garry Townsend finished in the Jaguar's slipstream for seventh and eighth place, whilst Jake Swann's battered Anglia placed in ninth one second up the road from Alan Greenhalgh's Ford Falcon. The American machine was another second ahead of Jake Swann's assailant Robyn Slater - who had lost a headlight from his Cortina in their coming together at Paddock Hill Bend, the tussling Anglias of Ed Gibbs and Kevin Swann along with the Mini of Mike Davies, the last-named three crossing the line as one.
Race Two: Poleman Bill Sollis started alone with Ian Thompson's Cortina missing from the front row and held off Billy Kenneally's Anglia and the Mustang of Piers Grange from the second row into Paddock Hill Bend for the first time before scampering off up the road to victory by a comfortable 8.344 seconds. Joe Ferguson had replaced Tom Bell in the Race One second-placed Mini and would take the start from the fifteenth row. The Cooper S drove a storming opening lap from 29th to cross the timing line in a remarkable sixth, after taking a whole host of places on the outside of the first corner, and was in second place at the start of lap four thanks to a spectacular move on Kenneally into Paddock Hill Bend but Sollis was in the distance by then. The Anglia of Kenneally took a lonely third after being unable to keep up with the flying Minis ahead and had pulled away from the battling pack behind, making up for a frustrating day on the Grand Prix circuit with differential and distributor issues. Grant Williams flew up to an early third until Ferguson charged past the Jaguar Mk1 and the Welshman had to get his elbows out to hold off Garry Townsend, Tim Sims and the recovering Grange, who had taken a trip across the Clearways gravel at the end of the opening lap as Sims' Mini dived alongside. Jake Swann's bruised Anglia and Barry Sime's repaired Mini were classified in sixth and seventh, the Mini having made its own fightback from the fourteenth row after being found at fault for the Race One collision. Grange's Mustang was pinged with a five-second track limits penalty to drop the American machine a spot to eighth but the Ford still won Class A by less than half a second from Alan Greenhalgh in ninth, who was delayed by a wild opening lap spin. Ed Gibbs’ Anglia narrowly completed the top ten from the similar car of Kevin Swann after the pair approached the finish line abreast but were pipped at the post by Greenhalgh's Ford Falcon juggernaut. Garry Townsend lost his on-the-road sixth-place finish with a ten-second penalty for repeated track limits offences and was classified thirteenth. James Ibbotson broke clear of an epic five-car Hillman Imp fight for second in Class E to chase down the initial class leader Adrian Oliver and took up the running on the sixth lap but the 2021 champion faded in the later stages after his engine cut out at Clearways, coming home fourth in class behind victor Oliver, Michael Loveland and Brendan Rooney.
Qualifying: The older cars had their own races on Sunday and two Lotus Cortinas formed the front row as Tim Abbott bettered Ian Thompson by 0.151 seconds for pole position. Bill Sollis was the fastest of the Mini Cooper Ss in third and was 0.185 seconds away from the front row, Tom Bell's similar car completed row two just over two tenths adrift of Sollis. Garry Townsend's Lotus Cortina narrowly led the third row by 0.137 seconds from reigning champion Billy Kenneally's Ford Anglia. Piers Grange's Mustang was pipped for a place on row three by just 0.026 seconds in the first of the V8s and would dwarf Barry Sime's Mini starting alongside in eighth. Three-time Mini Se7en champion Tims Sims' Cooper S and James Ibbotson's Class E Hillman Imp were the last to earn a starting place in the top ten.
Race One: Drizzle was in the area when the grid formed and had started to make the track surface greasy as the field took the rolling start. Bill Sollis made a good start from row two to threaten Ian Thompson for second into Paddock Hill Bend behind poleman Tim Abbott but the red and gold Cortina toughed it out on the outside before the Mini arrowed between the two Fords at Druids and hit the front dropping down to Graham Hill Bend. Tom Bell contested the first race on Sunday in the Cooper S he shares with Joe Ferguson and he followed in Sollis’ wheeltracks to move into second, whilst Barry Sime dived inside Abbott into Clearways to briefly make a Mini 1-2-3 towards the end of lap one. The scrapping Abbott and Piers Grange had overpowered the Cooper S before the timing line but the Scot outbraked the pair into Paddock Hill Bend to reclaim third. Front-row starter Thompson had a great run up the hill and rounded up both Grange and Abbott around the outside of Druids to move into fourth. Grant Williams’ Jaguar also got between the two Fords at Graham Hill Bend to take sixth, having climbed up from starting fourteenth. The Welshman then took Grange's fifth place early on lap three as the top ten remained together. The polesitting Cortina then took fifth from Grange into Surtees but the Mustang retook the spot passing the pits as they began lap four. Abbott fought back once more up to Druids and the Pony car ended the lap coming under fire from Kevin Swann and current champion Billy Kenneally's Anglias, which were being tailed by Tim Sims' Mini. Sime had kept pace with the leading Mini pair when grip was hard to come by early on but began to fall back as the track dried, with Thompson, Williams, Abbott and Grange all despatching the Mini before lap seven. The Scot eventually tripped over a lapped Morris Minor at Clearways on lap eight to force the Cooper S out, having damaged the left-front corner. In the lead duel, Sollis and Bell swapped places at Clearways in traffic for the seventh time before the Kent fireman took the lead back at Paddock Hill Bend on lap nine to take the win by just 0.505 seconds from Thompson in the end, who jumped past Bell into second starting the final lap after chasing the diminutive Cooper Ss for much of the distance. The drier conditions had suited the American muscle car of Grange and the Mustang had fleetingly powered up to second before a trip through the Paddock Hill Bend gravel trap on lap twelve dropped the red machine back to his finishing position of fourth. Kenneally's Anglia took a great fifth a short distance ahead of Williams' Jaguar in sixth, who had lost battle partner Abbott when the Cortina spun into the barrier on the Cooper Straight during the tenth tour and the Anglia dived ahead at Druids on the next lap. Tim Sims' Cooper S and Garry Townsend finished in the Jaguar's slipstream for seventh and eighth place, whilst Jake Swann's battered Anglia placed in ninth one second up the road from Alan Greenhalgh's Ford Falcon. The American machine was another second ahead of Jake Swann's assailant Robyn Slater - who had lost a headlight from his Cortina in their coming together at Paddock Hill Bend, the tussling Anglias of Ed Gibbs and Kevin Swann along with the Mini of Mike Davies, the last-named three crossing the line as one.
Race Two: Poleman Bill Sollis started alone with Ian Thompson's Cortina missing from the front row and held off Billy Kenneally's Anglia and the Mustang of Piers Grange from the second row into Paddock Hill Bend for the first time before scampering off up the road to victory by a comfortable 8.344 seconds. Joe Ferguson had replaced Tom Bell in the Race One second-placed Mini and would take the start from the fifteenth row. The Cooper S drove a storming opening lap from 29th to cross the timing line in a remarkable sixth, after taking a whole host of places on the outside of the first corner, and was in second place at the start of lap four thanks to a spectacular move on Kenneally into Paddock Hill Bend but Sollis was in the distance by then. The Anglia of Kenneally took a lonely third after being unable to keep up with the flying Minis ahead and had pulled away from the battling pack behind, making up for a frustrating day on the Grand Prix circuit with differential and distributor issues. Grant Williams flew up to an early third until Ferguson charged past the Jaguar Mk1 and the Welshman had to get his elbows out to hold off Garry Townsend, Tim Sims and the recovering Grange, who had taken a trip across the Clearways gravel at the end of the opening lap as Sims' Mini dived alongside. Jake Swann's bruised Anglia and Barry Sime's repaired Mini were classified in sixth and seventh, the Mini having made its own fightback from the fourteenth row after being found at fault for the Race One collision. Grange's Mustang was pinged with a five-second track limits penalty to drop the American machine a spot to eighth but the Ford still won Class A by less than half a second from Alan Greenhalgh in ninth, who was delayed by a wild opening lap spin. Ed Gibbs’ Anglia narrowly completed the top ten from the similar car of Kevin Swann after the pair approached the finish line abreast but were pipped at the post by Greenhalgh's Ford Falcon juggernaut. Garry Townsend lost his on-the-road sixth-place finish with a ten-second penalty for repeated track limits offences and was classified thirteenth. James Ibbotson broke clear of an epic five-car Hillman Imp fight for second in Class E to chase down the initial class leader Adrian Oliver and took up the running on the sixth lap but the 2021 champion faded in the later stages after his engine cut out at Clearways, coming home fourth in class behind victor Oliver, Michael Loveland and Brendan Rooney.
Pre '83
Qualifying: The switch to the Indy circuit proved to be no obstacle for Charles Rainford's Capri as it sped to pole position by 0.809 seconds from eleven-time champion Stephen Primett's Mk1 Escort. Jonathan Corker's Datsun headed row two by 0.191 seconds from an impressive Harry Hickton's Opel Kadett. The compact Indy layout often produces small time differences with 0.171 seconds separating Chris Snowdon's Napolina Alfetta from the second row and Mark Cholerton was another 0.149 seconds down on the Alfa Romeo but the RS2000 withdrew from races after qualifying sixth. Just 0.035 seconds slower than the newer Mk2 Escort came the Shell Sport Mk1 of Tom Harvey in seventh and he headed a pair of Capris on the grid. Dave Thomas' Mk1 just headed Stuart Caie's Triplex Mk3 by a slim 0.090 seconds for a fourth row spot and Mark Fowler's Mk1 Escort rounded out the top ten starters. Seventh qualifier Harvey's father Age was also competing on Sunday and he would start the 1600cc Mk1 Escort from thirteenth behind Bob Bullen and Nick Williamson.
Race One: Charles Rainford made no mistake from pole position to head the field away from the start, whilst Harry Hickton made a great getaway to vault from fourth to second on the outside of Paddock Hill Bend. Jonathan Corker also threatened Stephen Primett for third too but then had to fend off the Mk1 Escort of Tom Harvey's attempt on the outside of Druids. Initial sixth-placed runner Chris Snowndon retired his Alfetta at Clearways with a broken gearstick for the first time so promoted Bob Bullen's rear window-free Mk1 Escort into the top six. Primett and Corker both sped past Hickton's Opel starting lap three, whilst Harvey also got ahead of the Kadett at Druids for the fifth time before retiring with a fuel system issue with five minutes remaining after Hickton had retaken fourth just prior. The impeccable Rainford comfortably won by 4.345 seconds to take his third victory out of three for the weekend and Primett held off the closely following Corker throughout to take maximum Pre '83 points in second overall. Hickton took a lonely fourth, ten seconds adrift of the top three. Nick Williamson had progressed through a four-way scrap involving Mark Fowler, Dave Thomas and Mostyn Rutter but tangled with club chairman Stuart Caie's Capri at Clearways when challenging for fifth place with less than two minutes to go and fell behind Fowler's VMW Motors Mk1 Escort again, minus the Rover's front bumper. Caie's Capri pitted soon after and wasn't classified., whilst Thomas' Mk1 Capri headed home Rutter's Firenza for seventh and eighth. A rough-sounding Bullen Mk1 Escort also slowed and faded back from his earlier sixth place to ninth by the finish.
Race Two: The polesitting Charles Rainford Faberge Capri headed the field away once more at the rolling start, whilst Harry Hickton's Kadett got away well again to threaten Stephen Primett's second place on the outside of Paddock Hill Bend and Druids before slotting into third by Graham Hill Bend. Jonathan Corker passed Hickton for third on lap two at Druids before retirement for the Opel followed on lap four and the Datsun headed off in pursuit of the Mk1 Escort ahead. Primett had held onto the tail of Rainford through the opening stages and once the Capri went straight on at Clearways to lose the chance of a clean sweep of victories after six and a half minutes with no steering, the nose-to-tail Primett and Corker were now fighting over the race win. After sitting in Primett's wheeltracks for much of the distance, Corker had a spectacular bid for victory thwarted at Druids on the penultimate lap, when he arrived locked up, sideways and with a wheel on the grass, before the Datsun then ran wide at Paddock Hill Bend for the last time to confirm Primett’s triumph by 1.946 seconds. Tom Harvey drove a blinder to secure third overall from eleventh on the grid but the Escort Mk1 was closed on towards finish by fellow Race One retiree Chris Snowdon’s pretty Alfetta, which crossed the line just 0.699 seconds in arrears. Nick Williamson's Rover ran in an early fifth ahead of Mark Fowler's Mk1 Escort but lost power later on and was the last classified finisher in eighth behind Bob Bullen, Fowler and Dave Thomas' Mk1 Capri.
Qualifying: The switch to the Indy circuit proved to be no obstacle for Charles Rainford's Capri as it sped to pole position by 0.809 seconds from eleven-time champion Stephen Primett's Mk1 Escort. Jonathan Corker's Datsun headed row two by 0.191 seconds from an impressive Harry Hickton's Opel Kadett. The compact Indy layout often produces small time differences with 0.171 seconds separating Chris Snowdon's Napolina Alfetta from the second row and Mark Cholerton was another 0.149 seconds down on the Alfa Romeo but the RS2000 withdrew from races after qualifying sixth. Just 0.035 seconds slower than the newer Mk2 Escort came the Shell Sport Mk1 of Tom Harvey in seventh and he headed a pair of Capris on the grid. Dave Thomas' Mk1 just headed Stuart Caie's Triplex Mk3 by a slim 0.090 seconds for a fourth row spot and Mark Fowler's Mk1 Escort rounded out the top ten starters. Seventh qualifier Harvey's father Age was also competing on Sunday and he would start the 1600cc Mk1 Escort from thirteenth behind Bob Bullen and Nick Williamson.
Race One: Charles Rainford made no mistake from pole position to head the field away from the start, whilst Harry Hickton made a great getaway to vault from fourth to second on the outside of Paddock Hill Bend. Jonathan Corker also threatened Stephen Primett for third too but then had to fend off the Mk1 Escort of Tom Harvey's attempt on the outside of Druids. Initial sixth-placed runner Chris Snowndon retired his Alfetta at Clearways with a broken gearstick for the first time so promoted Bob Bullen's rear window-free Mk1 Escort into the top six. Primett and Corker both sped past Hickton's Opel starting lap three, whilst Harvey also got ahead of the Kadett at Druids for the fifth time before retiring with a fuel system issue with five minutes remaining after Hickton had retaken fourth just prior. The impeccable Rainford comfortably won by 4.345 seconds to take his third victory out of three for the weekend and Primett held off the closely following Corker throughout to take maximum Pre '83 points in second overall. Hickton took a lonely fourth, ten seconds adrift of the top three. Nick Williamson had progressed through a four-way scrap involving Mark Fowler, Dave Thomas and Mostyn Rutter but tangled with club chairman Stuart Caie's Capri at Clearways when challenging for fifth place with less than two minutes to go and fell behind Fowler's VMW Motors Mk1 Escort again, minus the Rover's front bumper. Caie's Capri pitted soon after and wasn't classified., whilst Thomas' Mk1 Capri headed home Rutter's Firenza for seventh and eighth. A rough-sounding Bullen Mk1 Escort also slowed and faded back from his earlier sixth place to ninth by the finish.
Race Two: The polesitting Charles Rainford Faberge Capri headed the field away once more at the rolling start, whilst Harry Hickton's Kadett got away well again to threaten Stephen Primett's second place on the outside of Paddock Hill Bend and Druids before slotting into third by Graham Hill Bend. Jonathan Corker passed Hickton for third on lap two at Druids before retirement for the Opel followed on lap four and the Datsun headed off in pursuit of the Mk1 Escort ahead. Primett had held onto the tail of Rainford through the opening stages and once the Capri went straight on at Clearways to lose the chance of a clean sweep of victories after six and a half minutes with no steering, the nose-to-tail Primett and Corker were now fighting over the race win. After sitting in Primett's wheeltracks for much of the distance, Corker had a spectacular bid for victory thwarted at Druids on the penultimate lap, when he arrived locked up, sideways and with a wheel on the grass, before the Datsun then ran wide at Paddock Hill Bend for the last time to confirm Primett’s triumph by 1.946 seconds. Tom Harvey drove a blinder to secure third overall from eleventh on the grid but the Escort Mk1 was closed on towards finish by fellow Race One retiree Chris Snowdon’s pretty Alfetta, which crossed the line just 0.699 seconds in arrears. Nick Williamson's Rover ran in an early fifth ahead of Mark Fowler's Mk1 Escort but lost power later on and was the last classified finisher in eighth behind Bob Bullen, Fowler and Dave Thomas' Mk1 Capri.
Pre '03/BOSS
Qualifying: The BOSS cars of Malcolm Harding and Olly Allen formed the front row, with the Mk2 Escort lapping 0,679 seconds quicker than the Fiesta for pole position. Gary Prebble went to the top of Pre ‘03 times in his Honda Civic after finding half a second just before rain arrived to the head the category on the second row by 0.154 seconds from Adam Shepherd's Honda Integra, who had lost two lap times for track limit greediness. Prebble’s Honda had been emblazoned with some new stickers at Brands Hatch after Malcolm Harding was in conversation with the Civic driver on the phone as Prebble and his partner were getting ready for a Taylor Swift concert and Gary’s better half shouted out ‘I can’t find my invisible knickers!’, much to Harding’s amusement, and the Civic received the quote in sticker form during the weekend. Prebble was caught totally off guard and has vowed to keep them on the car! The patched up Mk2 Escort of Piers Grange would line up fifth from Martin Reynolds' sister BOSS Escort and an all- Pre '03 fourth row was led by Joe Dorrington's Honda, which narrowly outqualified Adam Read's BMW by 0.062 seconds. Less than a tenth down on the BMW came Tim Mizen's BOSS Fiesta and Craig Owen's Sierra Cosworth from the BOSS field made up the top ten.
Race One: Malcolm Harding led the field away from the rolling start, whist fellow front-row man Olly Allen fell into the clutches of the leading Pre '03 cars. Gary Prebble got inside the Fiesta for second at Paddock Hill Bend and Adam Shepherd also got alongside on the descent to Graham Hill Bend, with the Integra on the outside, but at the exit there was contact as the TCR UK title race leader turned across the nose of the Fiesta and smote the armco at a nasty angle. The shaken Shepherd was soon out of the car and the race was swiftly red flagged. The restart would be for the full fifteen minutes and Harding led all the way but the Mk2 Escort was kept on its toes by Allen, once the the Fiesta had dealt with the early second-place runner Prebble on lap four. After Harding lost time lapping Adam Read's BMW at Graham Hill Bend for the last time, the Mk2 Escort and Fiesta were nose to tail into Clearways but Harding held on to win by 0.473 seconds. The quick-off-the-mark Joe Dorrington Honda passed both the repaired Mk2 Escort of Piers Grange and Martin Reynolds' similar car in one go at Druids on lap one to grab an early fourth, whilst Read's Pre '03 BMW Compact also got ahead of the Mk2 Escort pair by Graham Hill Bend. Tim Mizen harried the Norfolk man too through Surtees for the first time before falling into line. Grange was soon back past Read on lap two, with Reynolds following suit at Druids, and Dorrington was the next to fall victim to the duo early on the third lap. However, Grange was slow out of Graham Hill Bend and slipped behind Dorrington again plus Reynolds too. The silver Escort then came back to life and the two Escorts threatened to go either side of Dorrington towards Paddock Hill Bend for the fourth time, with Grange getting back ahead of Reynolds. Grange breezed past Dorrington's Honda on the Brabham Straight ending lap four and got away from Reynolds' similar car. after the white and yellow Mk2 also passed Dorrington on lap five. to chase after the top Pre ‘03 Honda in third. Grange's car seemingly became stuck in gear with a couple of minutes remaining, having closed to within a second of Prebble, and Reynolds chased down Grange to take fourth place on the penultimate lap and finished just 0.464 seconds clear. Dorrington claimed the Pre '03 runner-up spot in sixth overall, ahead of the third-placed 3 Series Compact of Read in seventh. The rest of the top ten cars home all came from the BOSS category, with Sam Daffin's RWD Fiesta leading Mizen's Mk3 Fiesta and Craig Owen's Sierra over the line.
Race Two: Once he'd fended off Olly Allen's Fiesta at the rolling start, Malcolm Harding ran away to win a red flag-shortened second race by 3.328 seconds with his Zakspeed Mk2 Escort and brought the curtain down on a fabulous weekend. Allen had to fight off a fast-starting Gary Prebble's leading Pre '03 Honda again before stretching away to the tune of 8.397 seconds as his slick tyres came on song. Prebble held the Pre '03 top spot throughout and took third overall with his sticker-bombed Honda, 7.903 seconds clear of Martin Reynolds' Mk2 Escort in fourth. Fifth, sixth and seventh went to Pre '03 competitors as Joe Dorrington headed home Dave Hutchins' newer Civic by a little under two seconds and Adam Read's BMW Compact followed the pair home. Hutchins had progressed well during the encounter after starting eleventh to usurp the BMW with four and a half of the scheduled fifteen minutes to go. Tim Mizen took the BOSS Class D win in eighth but was chased home by William Hunt's Mk6 Fiesta and the green Mk3 Fiesta had to fight back past the newer car after falling behind at half-distance. Neil Ashcroft's Pre '03 Honda Civic Type R rounded out the top ten finishers. Anton Martin and John Hillyer were nigh-on inseparable during the pair of races as Martin's E46 BMW just fended off Hillyer's E36 Touring by less than half a second on each occasion to take the Pre '03 Class A spoils. The red flag came out with a little under twelve minutes completed after Sam Daffin's rear-wheel-drive 'SuperFestaMk2' ground to a halt on the edge of the circuit at Druids just after climbing into fifth overall and the race wouldn't be restarted.
Qualifying: The BOSS cars of Malcolm Harding and Olly Allen formed the front row, with the Mk2 Escort lapping 0,679 seconds quicker than the Fiesta for pole position. Gary Prebble went to the top of Pre ‘03 times in his Honda Civic after finding half a second just before rain arrived to the head the category on the second row by 0.154 seconds from Adam Shepherd's Honda Integra, who had lost two lap times for track limit greediness. Prebble’s Honda had been emblazoned with some new stickers at Brands Hatch after Malcolm Harding was in conversation with the Civic driver on the phone as Prebble and his partner were getting ready for a Taylor Swift concert and Gary’s better half shouted out ‘I can’t find my invisible knickers!’, much to Harding’s amusement, and the Civic received the quote in sticker form during the weekend. Prebble was caught totally off guard and has vowed to keep them on the car! The patched up Mk2 Escort of Piers Grange would line up fifth from Martin Reynolds' sister BOSS Escort and an all- Pre '03 fourth row was led by Joe Dorrington's Honda, which narrowly outqualified Adam Read's BMW by 0.062 seconds. Less than a tenth down on the BMW came Tim Mizen's BOSS Fiesta and Craig Owen's Sierra Cosworth from the BOSS field made up the top ten.
Race One: Malcolm Harding led the field away from the rolling start, whist fellow front-row man Olly Allen fell into the clutches of the leading Pre '03 cars. Gary Prebble got inside the Fiesta for second at Paddock Hill Bend and Adam Shepherd also got alongside on the descent to Graham Hill Bend, with the Integra on the outside, but at the exit there was contact as the TCR UK title race leader turned across the nose of the Fiesta and smote the armco at a nasty angle. The shaken Shepherd was soon out of the car and the race was swiftly red flagged. The restart would be for the full fifteen minutes and Harding led all the way but the Mk2 Escort was kept on its toes by Allen, once the the Fiesta had dealt with the early second-place runner Prebble on lap four. After Harding lost time lapping Adam Read's BMW at Graham Hill Bend for the last time, the Mk2 Escort and Fiesta were nose to tail into Clearways but Harding held on to win by 0.473 seconds. The quick-off-the-mark Joe Dorrington Honda passed both the repaired Mk2 Escort of Piers Grange and Martin Reynolds' similar car in one go at Druids on lap one to grab an early fourth, whilst Read's Pre '03 BMW Compact also got ahead of the Mk2 Escort pair by Graham Hill Bend. Tim Mizen harried the Norfolk man too through Surtees for the first time before falling into line. Grange was soon back past Read on lap two, with Reynolds following suit at Druids, and Dorrington was the next to fall victim to the duo early on the third lap. However, Grange was slow out of Graham Hill Bend and slipped behind Dorrington again plus Reynolds too. The silver Escort then came back to life and the two Escorts threatened to go either side of Dorrington towards Paddock Hill Bend for the fourth time, with Grange getting back ahead of Reynolds. Grange breezed past Dorrington's Honda on the Brabham Straight ending lap four and got away from Reynolds' similar car. after the white and yellow Mk2 also passed Dorrington on lap five. to chase after the top Pre ‘03 Honda in third. Grange's car seemingly became stuck in gear with a couple of minutes remaining, having closed to within a second of Prebble, and Reynolds chased down Grange to take fourth place on the penultimate lap and finished just 0.464 seconds clear. Dorrington claimed the Pre '03 runner-up spot in sixth overall, ahead of the third-placed 3 Series Compact of Read in seventh. The rest of the top ten cars home all came from the BOSS category, with Sam Daffin's RWD Fiesta leading Mizen's Mk3 Fiesta and Craig Owen's Sierra over the line.
Race Two: Once he'd fended off Olly Allen's Fiesta at the rolling start, Malcolm Harding ran away to win a red flag-shortened second race by 3.328 seconds with his Zakspeed Mk2 Escort and brought the curtain down on a fabulous weekend. Allen had to fight off a fast-starting Gary Prebble's leading Pre '03 Honda again before stretching away to the tune of 8.397 seconds as his slick tyres came on song. Prebble held the Pre '03 top spot throughout and took third overall with his sticker-bombed Honda, 7.903 seconds clear of Martin Reynolds' Mk2 Escort in fourth. Fifth, sixth and seventh went to Pre '03 competitors as Joe Dorrington headed home Dave Hutchins' newer Civic by a little under two seconds and Adam Read's BMW Compact followed the pair home. Hutchins had progressed well during the encounter after starting eleventh to usurp the BMW with four and a half of the scheduled fifteen minutes to go. Tim Mizen took the BOSS Class D win in eighth but was chased home by William Hunt's Mk6 Fiesta and the green Mk3 Fiesta had to fight back past the newer car after falling behind at half-distance. Neil Ashcroft's Pre '03 Honda Civic Type R rounded out the top ten finishers. Anton Martin and John Hillyer were nigh-on inseparable during the pair of races as Martin's E46 BMW just fended off Hillyer's E36 Touring by less than half a second on each occasion to take the Pre '03 Class A spoils. The red flag came out with a little under twelve minutes completed after Sam Daffin's rear-wheel-drive 'SuperFestaMk2' ground to a halt on the edge of the circuit at Druids just after climbing into fifth overall and the race wouldn't be restarted.
The club’s Pre ‘66 competitors now head to a very special weekend at Croft in support of the BTCC, with a full grid and three non-championship races planned across the weekend of the 27th and 28th of July. The field rejoins the club’s roster at Snetterton for the next points-paying races over the weekend of the 17th and 18th of August.