CTCRC Super Touring Power 3 Brands Hatch 28th & 29th June 2025
SENSATIONAL SALOONS SET SCORCHING SUPER TOURING POWER 3 ALIGHT
Fresh from a first visit to Pembrey in a decade that featured a trio of races for each category and double-point scores across the board, the Classic Touring Car Racing Club held its flagship Super Touring Power extravaganza at Brands Hatch over the weekend of the 28th and 29th of June. The third edition of the throwback event would once again see Saturday’s competitive action held on the world-renowned Grand Prix layout before shifting to the shorter Indy circuit for Sunday. The weekend’s activities are intended to be the last time the festival runs in its current format and featured guest appearances from two-time BTCC championship runner-up Anthony Reid as well as a scheduled appearance from former private Ford Mondeo racer and BBC commentator Charlie Cox, who infamously barrel rolled his Mondeo to destruction approaching the Club Chicane at Thruxton. Former works Mazda and Peugeot pilot Patrick Watts was also present, with his daughter Aimee taking the wheel of his original Group A MG Metro Turbo in Saturday's demonstration. Other machines to take to the fabled track included 2013 BTCC title holder Andrew Jordan aboard a Spa 24 Hour-winning BMW 320 Super Tourer, the 1997 ex-Alain Menu Renault Laguna BTCC championship winner, the NGTC Subaru Levorg of 97-time BTCC race winner Jason Plato, the Holden Racing Team-built Supercheap Commodore VZ V8 Supercar from Alex Sidwell's collection and the late Gerrit van Kouwen's Fina-liveried Ford Sierra RS500 Group A car. The race entries included a Volvo V70 that had travelled from Sweden to compete and was fitted with the front end from an 850 for the weekend to rekindle memories of the TWR estates from the 1994 BTCC.
Fresh from a first visit to Pembrey in a decade that featured a trio of races for each category and double-point scores across the board, the Classic Touring Car Racing Club held its flagship Super Touring Power extravaganza at Brands Hatch over the weekend of the 28th and 29th of June. The third edition of the throwback event would once again see Saturday’s competitive action held on the world-renowned Grand Prix layout before shifting to the shorter Indy circuit for Sunday. The weekend’s activities are intended to be the last time the festival runs in its current format and featured guest appearances from two-time BTCC championship runner-up Anthony Reid as well as a scheduled appearance from former private Ford Mondeo racer and BBC commentator Charlie Cox, who infamously barrel rolled his Mondeo to destruction approaching the Club Chicane at Thruxton. Former works Mazda and Peugeot pilot Patrick Watts was also present, with his daughter Aimee taking the wheel of his original Group A MG Metro Turbo in Saturday's demonstration. Other machines to take to the fabled track included 2013 BTCC title holder Andrew Jordan aboard a Spa 24 Hour-winning BMW 320 Super Tourer, the 1997 ex-Alain Menu Renault Laguna BTCC championship winner, the NGTC Subaru Levorg of 97-time BTCC race winner Jason Plato, the Holden Racing Team-built Supercheap Commodore VZ V8 Supercar from Alex Sidwell's collection and the late Gerrit van Kouwen's Fina-liveried Ford Sierra RS500 Group A car. The race entries included a Volvo V70 that had travelled from Sweden to compete and was fitted with the front end from an 850 for the weekend to rekindle memories of the TWR estates from the 1994 BTCC.
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Saturday 28th June (GP)
The opening day of racing saw the multitude of CTCRC championships taking to the sweeping Grand Prix layout for a pair of encounters with the exception of the Super Touring field, which had a single twenty-minute outing to try and ensure as many cars as possible were running on day two.
Super Touring
Qualifying: An evocative entry of 20 Super Touring and BTC-T machines was received for the blue-riband races of the festival. The headline category had an international flavour as an intrepid group of six New Zealanders made the long journey from the southern hemisphere to race. Sixteen competitors took part in the session due to mechanical difficulties and delays at the port, which prevented Scott O'Donnell's Ford Mondeo hatchback and Nigel Arkell's JTCC Honda Accord from joining in. The fifteen minutes was red-flagged as two-and-a-half minutes remained, with Alex Morgan’s stranded Astra Sporthatch the culprit. Multiple BTCC champion Colin Turkington showed his class to set the pole position time by a healthy 1.627 seconds, despite only setting foot inside Jason Hughes’ year 2000 Vauxhall Vectra for the first time at the start of the session. Historic hotshoe Michael Lyons joined Turkington on the front row aboard the dual-liveried Honda Accord and was some 2.244 seconds clear of five-time New Zealand TraNZam champion Kayne Scott’s Team Dynamics Nissan Primera, a car Lyons has driven in the past in the Southern Hemisphere. Colin Sowter’s beautiful Peugeot 406 completed the second row, just 0.045 seconds ahead of what was set be an exclusively BTC-T third row headed by Alex Morgan’s broken Vauxhall Astra that had bested Jason Hughes’ rough-running MG ZS. The MG was suffering from fuel issues later in the session, which caused it to pop and bang on the overrun and required the management system to be recycled in order to clear the problem. Only another 0.217 seconds back came New Zealander Conrad Timms’ Mondeo in seventh, the first of a pair of Kiwis on row four, that went around the Grand Prix circuit 0.812 seconds quicker than Paul McCarthy’s brightly-hued Mazda Xedos 6 from 1993 in eighth. Matty Evans’ Spa 24 Hour contending Cavalier and Roger Stanford’s Astra Sporthatch made up the top ten. Ian Carvell drove the wailing Mazda 323F that James Kellett starred with at the inaugural Super Touring Power in 2023 to eleventh and was joined on the sixth row by Jim Pocklington's development Vauxhall Cavalier. David Power's repaired Ford Mondeo hatch and Rick Kerry's pretty Peugeot 406 Coupe formed the seventh row, whilst Eliot Dunmore qualified fifteenth in a resurrected ex-Gavin Smith works Astra Sporthatch that had lain dormant for some nineteen years, the Vauxhall’s restoration had taken five years to complete after little more than the shell remained when the car was purchased. CTCRC chairman Stuart Caie brought up the rear with his Vauxhall Cavalier. AJ Owen’s Ford Mondeo, the winner of a stunning final race at the 2024 edition, was out before the weekend even began after clutch slave cylinder failure, with Irishman John Whelan's ex-Mike Briggs Opel Vectra also missing the session.
Race: The Super Touring field contested a single twenty-minute bout on the longer layout to hopefully lessen the number of dropouts for day two. Michael Lyons bravely drove around the outside of the polesitting Colin Turkington at Paddock Hill Bend to lead the opening lap but the four-time BTCC champion was back ahead when they returned into view from the wooded Grand Prix loop. There was frustration for third-fastest qualifier Kayne Scott as the Nissan pitted at the end of lap one after the Primera’s engine dropped into limp mode with fuel pressure maladies, the Team Dynamics machine burst back into life after a reset but had lost a lap when it rejoined. The Safety Car was called out on lap three after Rick Kerry’s 406 Coupe became beached at Clearways after its front-left tyre blew. Ten minutes remained when the field was released and Turkington sprinted into a big lead at the restart, with the lapped Nissan of Scott between the leading Vectra and Lyons. The Northern Irishman continued to pull away until a problem with the front-right corner sent the Vauxhall into retirement with four-and-a-half minutes left. Lyons now led from Colin Sowter’s green and gold Peugeot but the four-cylinder Mondeo of Conrad Timms was getting into a groove. Once the New Zealander had passed the ex-Patrick Watts Mazda Xedos 6 of compatriot Paul McCarthy ending the first lap after the restart, the Ford homed in on the ex-Paul Radisich 406 and took second place with five minutes left. Sowter claimed third from the rhubarb and custard Mazda of McArthy, with another Mazda in fifth driven by Ian Carvell. The great-sounding 323F took the place after batting past Jim Pocklington’s elderly Vauxhall Cavalier with a few minutes remaining. Roger Stanford had been battling with Kerry's Peugeot prior to its departure and the BTC-T Astra crossed the line in seventh, three-quarters of a second ahead of the chasing David Power Mondeo. The Ford had Jason Hughes in hot pursuit to the flag but the MG ZS forfeited two places for gaining an unfair advantage so was classified behind Elliot Dunmore and Stuart Caie. The delayed Nissan Primera of second-row starter Scott was the final finisher in twelfth. Matty Evans retired his Cavalier after earlier tussling with McCarthy and Timms when his engine blew, joining Turkington and Kerry among the DNFs.
The opening day of racing saw the multitude of CTCRC championships taking to the sweeping Grand Prix layout for a pair of encounters with the exception of the Super Touring field, which had a single twenty-minute outing to try and ensure as many cars as possible were running on day two.
Super Touring
Qualifying: An evocative entry of 20 Super Touring and BTC-T machines was received for the blue-riband races of the festival. The headline category had an international flavour as an intrepid group of six New Zealanders made the long journey from the southern hemisphere to race. Sixteen competitors took part in the session due to mechanical difficulties and delays at the port, which prevented Scott O'Donnell's Ford Mondeo hatchback and Nigel Arkell's JTCC Honda Accord from joining in. The fifteen minutes was red-flagged as two-and-a-half minutes remained, with Alex Morgan’s stranded Astra Sporthatch the culprit. Multiple BTCC champion Colin Turkington showed his class to set the pole position time by a healthy 1.627 seconds, despite only setting foot inside Jason Hughes’ year 2000 Vauxhall Vectra for the first time at the start of the session. Historic hotshoe Michael Lyons joined Turkington on the front row aboard the dual-liveried Honda Accord and was some 2.244 seconds clear of five-time New Zealand TraNZam champion Kayne Scott’s Team Dynamics Nissan Primera, a car Lyons has driven in the past in the Southern Hemisphere. Colin Sowter’s beautiful Peugeot 406 completed the second row, just 0.045 seconds ahead of what was set be an exclusively BTC-T third row headed by Alex Morgan’s broken Vauxhall Astra that had bested Jason Hughes’ rough-running MG ZS. The MG was suffering from fuel issues later in the session, which caused it to pop and bang on the overrun and required the management system to be recycled in order to clear the problem. Only another 0.217 seconds back came New Zealander Conrad Timms’ Mondeo in seventh, the first of a pair of Kiwis on row four, that went around the Grand Prix circuit 0.812 seconds quicker than Paul McCarthy’s brightly-hued Mazda Xedos 6 from 1993 in eighth. Matty Evans’ Spa 24 Hour contending Cavalier and Roger Stanford’s Astra Sporthatch made up the top ten. Ian Carvell drove the wailing Mazda 323F that James Kellett starred with at the inaugural Super Touring Power in 2023 to eleventh and was joined on the sixth row by Jim Pocklington's development Vauxhall Cavalier. David Power's repaired Ford Mondeo hatch and Rick Kerry's pretty Peugeot 406 Coupe formed the seventh row, whilst Eliot Dunmore qualified fifteenth in a resurrected ex-Gavin Smith works Astra Sporthatch that had lain dormant for some nineteen years, the Vauxhall’s restoration had taken five years to complete after little more than the shell remained when the car was purchased. CTCRC chairman Stuart Caie brought up the rear with his Vauxhall Cavalier. AJ Owen’s Ford Mondeo, the winner of a stunning final race at the 2024 edition, was out before the weekend even began after clutch slave cylinder failure, with Irishman John Whelan's ex-Mike Briggs Opel Vectra also missing the session.
Race: The Super Touring field contested a single twenty-minute bout on the longer layout to hopefully lessen the number of dropouts for day two. Michael Lyons bravely drove around the outside of the polesitting Colin Turkington at Paddock Hill Bend to lead the opening lap but the four-time BTCC champion was back ahead when they returned into view from the wooded Grand Prix loop. There was frustration for third-fastest qualifier Kayne Scott as the Nissan pitted at the end of lap one after the Primera’s engine dropped into limp mode with fuel pressure maladies, the Team Dynamics machine burst back into life after a reset but had lost a lap when it rejoined. The Safety Car was called out on lap three after Rick Kerry’s 406 Coupe became beached at Clearways after its front-left tyre blew. Ten minutes remained when the field was released and Turkington sprinted into a big lead at the restart, with the lapped Nissan of Scott between the leading Vectra and Lyons. The Northern Irishman continued to pull away until a problem with the front-right corner sent the Vauxhall into retirement with four-and-a-half minutes left. Lyons now led from Colin Sowter’s green and gold Peugeot but the four-cylinder Mondeo of Conrad Timms was getting into a groove. Once the New Zealander had passed the ex-Patrick Watts Mazda Xedos 6 of compatriot Paul McCarthy ending the first lap after the restart, the Ford homed in on the ex-Paul Radisich 406 and took second place with five minutes left. Sowter claimed third from the rhubarb and custard Mazda of McArthy, with another Mazda in fifth driven by Ian Carvell. The great-sounding 323F took the place after batting past Jim Pocklington’s elderly Vauxhall Cavalier with a few minutes remaining. Roger Stanford had been battling with Kerry's Peugeot prior to its departure and the BTC-T Astra crossed the line in seventh, three-quarters of a second ahead of the chasing David Power Mondeo. The Ford had Jason Hughes in hot pursuit to the flag but the MG ZS forfeited two places for gaining an unfair advantage so was classified behind Elliot Dunmore and Stuart Caie. The delayed Nissan Primera of second-row starter Scott was the final finisher in twelfth. Matty Evans retired his Cavalier after earlier tussling with McCarthy and Timms when his engine blew, joining Turkington and Kerry among the DNFs.
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Classic Thunder/Historic Thunder/BOSS
A combined grid saw the Pre ‘93/‘03/BOSS fields sharing the track with the Classic and Historic Thunder entries in Wales. Colin Voyce had to give best to the Pre ’93 BMWs of Ian Bower and William Davison in the overall results twice on Saturday before being promoted to first on Sunday to mark his first visit to the Welsh venue with a win, the Mk1 Escort completing a clean sweep of the Historic Thunder spoils. Bower’s E36 M3 was also registered for Classic Thunder points and topped qualifying overall before giving best to Davison in the opening pair of races but still claimed maximum points in Classic Thunder. However, a mix up at the rolling start of the third saw both BMWs cop ten-second penalties, which saw Kevin Willis’ similar car given the Classic Thunder win as Bower dropped behind Ross Craig and Shaun Morris. Bower arrived in Kent leading the Classic Thunder standings, with Rikki Cann topping the Historic split from Voyce. A misfire held back BOSS polesitter Piers Grange throughout the trio of races but the rapid Mk2 Escort was still the category victor in two of the three races, with the RWD Fiesta of Sam Daffin claiming the spoils second time out and he had led Grange up to the final lap of Race One. Three-time Class D winner Tim Mizen also stood on the category podium in each outing, with Grange’s Race Two retirement promoting the Fiesta to second as Robert Taylor’s Fiesta ST took third. Defending champion Mizen left Wales heading the championship charge again.
Qualifying: The Safety Car was called into action before many meaningful laptimes had been set at the halfway point, with Andy Robinson's monstrous Ford Falcon AU sat at the top of the tree at the time of the suspension. AJ Owen had taken over the faithful family Sierra RS Cosworth ‘Bluey’ after his Mondeo Super Tourer was ruled out of competition and headed the BOSS field from second overall, with the BMW of Mike Cutt forming the top three. The order would remain the same after time ran out for a restart, with the subsequent red flag leaving some fancied machines out of position on the starting grid. The next two BOSS contenders were fourth and fifth as Piers Grange bested Malcolm Harding, with just 0.284 seconds between the pair of Mk2 Escorts. Rikki Cann led the Historic Thunder set in sixth overall with the big Aston Martin V8 coupe and had qualified within a tenth of Harding. The Holden Racing UK Commodore VF of Alex Sidwell started eighth alongside seventh-placed Adrian Bradley’s BMW and they were another pair to be separated by less than one tenth of a second. Historic Thunder front-runner Colin Voyce put his turbocharged Mk1 Escort ninth from Classic Thunder championship leader Ian Bower’s Pre ‘93 BMW in tenth. Porsche Carrera Cup GB race winner Abbie Eaton guested in father Paul’s Historic Thunder VH Commodore and she went from eleventh, whilst the revised 5-litre V8 Capri of Simon Light lined up twelfth.
Race One: Polesitter Andy Robinson led throughout the early stages, with Piers Grange applying plenty of pressure in the twisty sections until the Mk2 Escort was caught by Adrian Bradley’s E46 M3. As Grange defended, Robinson gained a couple of seconds advantage before the Escort ran wide at Surtees to gift an easy pass for the BMW. Behind them, Alex Sidwell sped around the outside of Abbie Eaton for fourth place approaching Paddock Hill Bend with three minutes to go after it took a few laps for his tyres to come and the VF Commodore began to pick off those ahead of it, having slipped to twelfth on lap one. Both of the Australian machines soon caught the third-placed Mk2 Escort, with Sidwell powering past Grange at the exit of Surtees on lap eight and setting off after the squabbling lead pair. Bradley got alongside Robinson out of Surtees with a minute left and moved into the lead when the Falcon was baulked by a backmarker. The demoted V8 Supercar was subsequently reeled in by Sidwell and the Ford v Holden rivalry reared its head again as the Commodore tipped the Falcon into a spin at Surtees for the final time. The collision helped Bradley to a 5.622-second win from the Holdens of Sidwell in second and the leading Historic VH Commodore of Eaton in third. Grange survived a gravelly excursion to win the BOSS category in fourth overall, whilst Robinson eventually rejoined from his spin and crossed the line sixth overall behind Mike Cutt’s BMW. Simon Light rose from twelfth on the grid to take the Historic Thunder runner-up spot from Rikki Cann in seventh, with the Aston Martin barely fending off the class-winning fourth Historic car of Colin Voyce by a slim 0.129 seconds after the Mk1 Escort had started well but faded later. Malcolm Harding didn’t have the pace in the race of Grange but the Mk2 Escort was still the second BOSS competitor home in tenth overall. Front-row starter AJ Owen’s Sierra escaped from a trip across the Clark Curve gravel trap on the last lap to take third of the BOSS cars in fourteenth overall.
Race Two: The second contest late on Saturday afternoon had its distance cut to ten minutes after earlier delays mounted up. Poleman Adrian Bradley held onto the lead after Alex Sidwell drew alongside towards Paddock Hill Bend, before Abbie Eaton dropped the newer Holden Commodore to third at Druids. A fired-up Andy Robinson cut through to fourth at the start around the outside of Piers Grange and Mike Cutt up to the first corner, with the Falcon on the tail of Sidwell as the top four were together heading into the country. The top three continued to lap together during the opening minutes, with Robinson trying to hang on in fourth. After five minutes had passed, Eaton powered into the lead across the start/finish line but Bradley outbraked her into Paddock Hill Bend and the BMW covered the inside line up to Druids. Sidwell roared up to second later in the lap on the Grand Prix loop and the Holden grabbed the lead with two laps left. However, the move was not without incident as Bradley promptly retired with bodywork rubbing on a tyre after a touch from Sidwell at Clearways. The two Commodores ran line astern to the line, with Sidwell's VF winning overall by 1.240 seconds from Eaton's triumphant Historic VH as Robinson made it an all-Australian manufactured top three in the 7-litre Ford Falcon AU. Historic second-place man Simon Light took to the grass on the opening lap to a avoid a mid-pack collision at Graham Hill Bend and fell behind Ian Bower's BMW but the V8 Capri powered back ahead heading onto lap two. Light then ranged up to the BOSS lead squabble but the pair of Escorts were abreast when he reached them at Hawthorn, with the pair dispatched past the pits. However, the two Escorts went either side of the coupe at Druids and Malcolm Harding slipped through on the inside before Light grabbed the place for good exiting Surtees. Now clear of the BOSS category scrap, the V8 Capri had a straightforward run to fourth overall after Bradley's BMW had gone out. Harding and Piers Grange fought a close battle for BOSS honours, with the Castrol Mk2 Escort leading the silver car before Grange got ahead during lap five. However, Harding stayed with Grange until the Zakspeed replica retired on the final lap after the crank broke in its engine to allow the Escort a clear run to fifth overall. Grange had a hand in an opening lap tangle at Graham Hill Bend that also involved Mike Cutt and Colin Voyce when the Mk2 Escort went for a closing gap to the inside of Cutt, which spun the BMW. Voyce then collected the BMW before the Mk1 Escort was clipped by Cliff Pellin's Fiesta and bounced into Daniel Gandesha's BMW. Voyce was out on the spot but the BMW continued with heavy front-end damage, having slipped down to thirteenth. The BMW reached the top ten on lap five and was catching the Historic Aston Martin of Rikki Cann at a rate of knots but fell 0.802 seconds shy at the flag in seventh. Owen's Sierra RS Cosworth passed the pre-weekend Classic Thunder championship leader Ian Bower to secure eighth overall and second of the BOSS category cars as the E36 M3 led home the newer E46 example of David Avis at the foot of the top ten.
A combined grid saw the Pre ‘93/‘03/BOSS fields sharing the track with the Classic and Historic Thunder entries in Wales. Colin Voyce had to give best to the Pre ’93 BMWs of Ian Bower and William Davison in the overall results twice on Saturday before being promoted to first on Sunday to mark his first visit to the Welsh venue with a win, the Mk1 Escort completing a clean sweep of the Historic Thunder spoils. Bower’s E36 M3 was also registered for Classic Thunder points and topped qualifying overall before giving best to Davison in the opening pair of races but still claimed maximum points in Classic Thunder. However, a mix up at the rolling start of the third saw both BMWs cop ten-second penalties, which saw Kevin Willis’ similar car given the Classic Thunder win as Bower dropped behind Ross Craig and Shaun Morris. Bower arrived in Kent leading the Classic Thunder standings, with Rikki Cann topping the Historic split from Voyce. A misfire held back BOSS polesitter Piers Grange throughout the trio of races but the rapid Mk2 Escort was still the category victor in two of the three races, with the RWD Fiesta of Sam Daffin claiming the spoils second time out and he had led Grange up to the final lap of Race One. Three-time Class D winner Tim Mizen also stood on the category podium in each outing, with Grange’s Race Two retirement promoting the Fiesta to second as Robert Taylor’s Fiesta ST took third. Defending champion Mizen left Wales heading the championship charge again.
Qualifying: The Safety Car was called into action before many meaningful laptimes had been set at the halfway point, with Andy Robinson's monstrous Ford Falcon AU sat at the top of the tree at the time of the suspension. AJ Owen had taken over the faithful family Sierra RS Cosworth ‘Bluey’ after his Mondeo Super Tourer was ruled out of competition and headed the BOSS field from second overall, with the BMW of Mike Cutt forming the top three. The order would remain the same after time ran out for a restart, with the subsequent red flag leaving some fancied machines out of position on the starting grid. The next two BOSS contenders were fourth and fifth as Piers Grange bested Malcolm Harding, with just 0.284 seconds between the pair of Mk2 Escorts. Rikki Cann led the Historic Thunder set in sixth overall with the big Aston Martin V8 coupe and had qualified within a tenth of Harding. The Holden Racing UK Commodore VF of Alex Sidwell started eighth alongside seventh-placed Adrian Bradley’s BMW and they were another pair to be separated by less than one tenth of a second. Historic Thunder front-runner Colin Voyce put his turbocharged Mk1 Escort ninth from Classic Thunder championship leader Ian Bower’s Pre ‘93 BMW in tenth. Porsche Carrera Cup GB race winner Abbie Eaton guested in father Paul’s Historic Thunder VH Commodore and she went from eleventh, whilst the revised 5-litre V8 Capri of Simon Light lined up twelfth.
Race One: Polesitter Andy Robinson led throughout the early stages, with Piers Grange applying plenty of pressure in the twisty sections until the Mk2 Escort was caught by Adrian Bradley’s E46 M3. As Grange defended, Robinson gained a couple of seconds advantage before the Escort ran wide at Surtees to gift an easy pass for the BMW. Behind them, Alex Sidwell sped around the outside of Abbie Eaton for fourth place approaching Paddock Hill Bend with three minutes to go after it took a few laps for his tyres to come and the VF Commodore began to pick off those ahead of it, having slipped to twelfth on lap one. Both of the Australian machines soon caught the third-placed Mk2 Escort, with Sidwell powering past Grange at the exit of Surtees on lap eight and setting off after the squabbling lead pair. Bradley got alongside Robinson out of Surtees with a minute left and moved into the lead when the Falcon was baulked by a backmarker. The demoted V8 Supercar was subsequently reeled in by Sidwell and the Ford v Holden rivalry reared its head again as the Commodore tipped the Falcon into a spin at Surtees for the final time. The collision helped Bradley to a 5.622-second win from the Holdens of Sidwell in second and the leading Historic VH Commodore of Eaton in third. Grange survived a gravelly excursion to win the BOSS category in fourth overall, whilst Robinson eventually rejoined from his spin and crossed the line sixth overall behind Mike Cutt’s BMW. Simon Light rose from twelfth on the grid to take the Historic Thunder runner-up spot from Rikki Cann in seventh, with the Aston Martin barely fending off the class-winning fourth Historic car of Colin Voyce by a slim 0.129 seconds after the Mk1 Escort had started well but faded later. Malcolm Harding didn’t have the pace in the race of Grange but the Mk2 Escort was still the second BOSS competitor home in tenth overall. Front-row starter AJ Owen’s Sierra escaped from a trip across the Clark Curve gravel trap on the last lap to take third of the BOSS cars in fourteenth overall.
Race Two: The second contest late on Saturday afternoon had its distance cut to ten minutes after earlier delays mounted up. Poleman Adrian Bradley held onto the lead after Alex Sidwell drew alongside towards Paddock Hill Bend, before Abbie Eaton dropped the newer Holden Commodore to third at Druids. A fired-up Andy Robinson cut through to fourth at the start around the outside of Piers Grange and Mike Cutt up to the first corner, with the Falcon on the tail of Sidwell as the top four were together heading into the country. The top three continued to lap together during the opening minutes, with Robinson trying to hang on in fourth. After five minutes had passed, Eaton powered into the lead across the start/finish line but Bradley outbraked her into Paddock Hill Bend and the BMW covered the inside line up to Druids. Sidwell roared up to second later in the lap on the Grand Prix loop and the Holden grabbed the lead with two laps left. However, the move was not without incident as Bradley promptly retired with bodywork rubbing on a tyre after a touch from Sidwell at Clearways. The two Commodores ran line astern to the line, with Sidwell's VF winning overall by 1.240 seconds from Eaton's triumphant Historic VH as Robinson made it an all-Australian manufactured top three in the 7-litre Ford Falcon AU. Historic second-place man Simon Light took to the grass on the opening lap to a avoid a mid-pack collision at Graham Hill Bend and fell behind Ian Bower's BMW but the V8 Capri powered back ahead heading onto lap two. Light then ranged up to the BOSS lead squabble but the pair of Escorts were abreast when he reached them at Hawthorn, with the pair dispatched past the pits. However, the two Escorts went either side of the coupe at Druids and Malcolm Harding slipped through on the inside before Light grabbed the place for good exiting Surtees. Now clear of the BOSS category scrap, the V8 Capri had a straightforward run to fourth overall after Bradley's BMW had gone out. Harding and Piers Grange fought a close battle for BOSS honours, with the Castrol Mk2 Escort leading the silver car before Grange got ahead during lap five. However, Harding stayed with Grange until the Zakspeed replica retired on the final lap after the crank broke in its engine to allow the Escort a clear run to fifth overall. Grange had a hand in an opening lap tangle at Graham Hill Bend that also involved Mike Cutt and Colin Voyce when the Mk2 Escort went for a closing gap to the inside of Cutt, which spun the BMW. Voyce then collected the BMW before the Mk1 Escort was clipped by Cliff Pellin's Fiesta and bounced into Daniel Gandesha's BMW. Voyce was out on the spot but the BMW continued with heavy front-end damage, having slipped down to thirteenth. The BMW reached the top ten on lap five and was catching the Historic Aston Martin of Rikki Cann at a rate of knots but fell 0.802 seconds shy at the flag in seventh. Owen's Sierra RS Cosworth passed the pre-weekend Classic Thunder championship leader Ian Bower to secure eighth overall and second of the BOSS category cars as the E36 M3 led home the newer E46 example of David Avis at the foot of the top ten.
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Pre '66
Local man Endaf Owens showed the championship regulars the way home at Pembrey, with the Mini preparation expert taking all three victories at a canter. Ian Thompson took second in the opener before a spin in Race Two knocked the Cortina back to seventh and the reigning champion scored a sixth-place finish in the finale. Barry Sime was the runner-up to Owens’ similar Cooper S in the second and third outings, with Class C rival Jake Swann managing a pair of third places before being pushed back to fourth by Grant Williams’ Jaguar last time out. One of the performances of the meeting came from Hillman Imp hotshoe James Ibbotson, after the Class E machine qualified inside the top five and took fourth overall in the first two encounters and he leads the championship standings too heading to Brands Hatch.
Qualifying: The popular category produced a superb 40-car entry for the showpiece weekend. Continuing the recent BTCC driver theme, 2016 championship runner-up Sam Tordoff went round 1.922 seconds quicker than anyone else to secure pole position with his purple Ford Mustang. Irish pair Victor Cullen and Paddy Shovlin were second and third fastest aboard their Lotus Cortinas, split by 0.418 seconds. Piers Grange’s Mustang lined up fourth, ahead of 2024 champion Ian Thompson in fifth. A competitive trio of Minis covered by three-quarters of a second was headed by Joe Ferguson from Aaron Smith and Jo Polley in sixth, seventh and eighth. Mark Watts' Mustang was only 0.085 seconds adrift of the latter in ninth as he made his CTCRC debut, with another Mini in the hands of former Miglia racer Daniel Wheeler completing the top ten.
Race One: The oldest cars in the CTCRC's portfolio raced first on Saturday amid climbing temperatures. Sam Tordoff was never headed as he set a searing pace with his recently-built Mustang to record a comfortable victory by 9.786 seconds in the meeting curtain raiser. Victor Cullen was equally safe in second, whilst Joe Ferguson had a great opening couple of corners with his little Cooper S to climb up to third after darting inside both Paddy Shovlin and Piers Grange at Paddock Hill Bend. The Mini held the place until the final lap when Ferguson was knocked off the podium by a recovering Shovlin Cortina. The apricot machine had slipped back to eighth during the opening skirmishes but fought back up to sixth by lap three. The JRT-prepared Lotus Cortina was fifth a lap later before stealing fourth from Grange on the seventh lap and reeled in the third-placed Mini over the final two laps. Grange narrowly held of Aaron Smith’s Mini for fifth place as the Mustang’s V8 power drew the American machine clear in a straightline. Current title holder Ian Thompson was involved in an early tussle with Jo Polley's Mini but tangled with Ed Carter’s Imp at Clearways when attempting to lap the rear-engined car and fell behind the purple Cooper S to eighth after escaping the gravel trap. Alan Greenhalgh’s Ford Falcon had the squabbling Minis of Michael Cullen and Barry Sime snapping at its heels en route to ninth before the Irish Mini went out and was replaced in the scrum by Daniel Wheeler’s similar car, with the former Peter Baldwin protege beating Scotsman Sime to the line. Jake Swann's Anglia just defeated the larger Grant Williams Jaguar Mk2 for eleventh after the pair had battled with the Tim Sims and Mike Davies Minis. James Ibbotson's Hillman Imp won Class E in nineteenth overall but only had 1.179 seconds in hand from Brendan Rooney’s purple example, whilst classmate Michael Loveland had a wild moment at Surtees and caught some air as he took to the gravel trap.
Race Two: The mercury was nudging into the thirties for Pre ‘66s second outing on Saturday afternoon and it would be a Sam Tordoff benefit again as the Mustang cantered to a 16.592-second victory. Paddy Shovlin and Victor Cullen were inseparable for second throughout in their colourful Cortinas and regularly switched positions but it was the latter that ultimately claimed the runner-up spot by just over half a second. Piers Grange gave chase to the battling Irishmen in fourth with his Mustang, finishing six seconds ahead of the leading Mini driven by four-time Miglia champion Aaron Smith. Ian Thompson's Lotus Cortina and Jo Polley's Mini were caught by Tom Bell's Cooper S in the closing stages, with Bell finishing just 0.526 seconds adrift of Polley despite starting from the nineteenth row! The preparation expert had taken over from Race One fourth-place finisher Joe Ferguson in the #34 Mini so had to start from the rear of the grid. Bell's progress in the opening stages on the high-speed layout was not quite as rapid as had been seen from the pair in the past but Bell had still overtaken more than half the field as he ended the opening lap in sixteenth, with the top ten reached on lap four. Alan Greenhalgh's Ford Falcon V8 was dispensed with for ninth on lap seven before Daniel Wheeler gave way on the penultimate tour and the flying Mini took a shade under two-and-a-half seconds out of Polley on the final lap but had to settle for eighth. Wheeler's Mini and Greenhalgh's American machine completed the top ten finishers. Jake Swann fended off a trio of Minis driven by Tim Sims, Barry Sime and Mike Davies in his Ford Anglia for eleventh place but the quartet were close to being netted by Mark Watts' Mustang that had started 35th after failing to finish Race One. Pat Kenneally’s engine somehow survived despite emitting a smokescreen for much of the race to finish sixteenth, just ahead of Ed Gibbs. James Ibbotson’s eyes were streaming in the Cortina’s wake as he again won Class E in eighteenth overall from Brendan Rooney, who finished a bit over ten seconds adrift. Adrian Oliver, Michael Loveland and Steve Platts ran in a line all race for third in the class before the last-named disappeared on the final lap.
Local man Endaf Owens showed the championship regulars the way home at Pembrey, with the Mini preparation expert taking all three victories at a canter. Ian Thompson took second in the opener before a spin in Race Two knocked the Cortina back to seventh and the reigning champion scored a sixth-place finish in the finale. Barry Sime was the runner-up to Owens’ similar Cooper S in the second and third outings, with Class C rival Jake Swann managing a pair of third places before being pushed back to fourth by Grant Williams’ Jaguar last time out. One of the performances of the meeting came from Hillman Imp hotshoe James Ibbotson, after the Class E machine qualified inside the top five and took fourth overall in the first two encounters and he leads the championship standings too heading to Brands Hatch.
Qualifying: The popular category produced a superb 40-car entry for the showpiece weekend. Continuing the recent BTCC driver theme, 2016 championship runner-up Sam Tordoff went round 1.922 seconds quicker than anyone else to secure pole position with his purple Ford Mustang. Irish pair Victor Cullen and Paddy Shovlin were second and third fastest aboard their Lotus Cortinas, split by 0.418 seconds. Piers Grange’s Mustang lined up fourth, ahead of 2024 champion Ian Thompson in fifth. A competitive trio of Minis covered by three-quarters of a second was headed by Joe Ferguson from Aaron Smith and Jo Polley in sixth, seventh and eighth. Mark Watts' Mustang was only 0.085 seconds adrift of the latter in ninth as he made his CTCRC debut, with another Mini in the hands of former Miglia racer Daniel Wheeler completing the top ten.
Race One: The oldest cars in the CTCRC's portfolio raced first on Saturday amid climbing temperatures. Sam Tordoff was never headed as he set a searing pace with his recently-built Mustang to record a comfortable victory by 9.786 seconds in the meeting curtain raiser. Victor Cullen was equally safe in second, whilst Joe Ferguson had a great opening couple of corners with his little Cooper S to climb up to third after darting inside both Paddy Shovlin and Piers Grange at Paddock Hill Bend. The Mini held the place until the final lap when Ferguson was knocked off the podium by a recovering Shovlin Cortina. The apricot machine had slipped back to eighth during the opening skirmishes but fought back up to sixth by lap three. The JRT-prepared Lotus Cortina was fifth a lap later before stealing fourth from Grange on the seventh lap and reeled in the third-placed Mini over the final two laps. Grange narrowly held of Aaron Smith’s Mini for fifth place as the Mustang’s V8 power drew the American machine clear in a straightline. Current title holder Ian Thompson was involved in an early tussle with Jo Polley's Mini but tangled with Ed Carter’s Imp at Clearways when attempting to lap the rear-engined car and fell behind the purple Cooper S to eighth after escaping the gravel trap. Alan Greenhalgh’s Ford Falcon had the squabbling Minis of Michael Cullen and Barry Sime snapping at its heels en route to ninth before the Irish Mini went out and was replaced in the scrum by Daniel Wheeler’s similar car, with the former Peter Baldwin protege beating Scotsman Sime to the line. Jake Swann's Anglia just defeated the larger Grant Williams Jaguar Mk2 for eleventh after the pair had battled with the Tim Sims and Mike Davies Minis. James Ibbotson's Hillman Imp won Class E in nineteenth overall but only had 1.179 seconds in hand from Brendan Rooney’s purple example, whilst classmate Michael Loveland had a wild moment at Surtees and caught some air as he took to the gravel trap.
Race Two: The mercury was nudging into the thirties for Pre ‘66s second outing on Saturday afternoon and it would be a Sam Tordoff benefit again as the Mustang cantered to a 16.592-second victory. Paddy Shovlin and Victor Cullen were inseparable for second throughout in their colourful Cortinas and regularly switched positions but it was the latter that ultimately claimed the runner-up spot by just over half a second. Piers Grange gave chase to the battling Irishmen in fourth with his Mustang, finishing six seconds ahead of the leading Mini driven by four-time Miglia champion Aaron Smith. Ian Thompson's Lotus Cortina and Jo Polley's Mini were caught by Tom Bell's Cooper S in the closing stages, with Bell finishing just 0.526 seconds adrift of Polley despite starting from the nineteenth row! The preparation expert had taken over from Race One fourth-place finisher Joe Ferguson in the #34 Mini so had to start from the rear of the grid. Bell's progress in the opening stages on the high-speed layout was not quite as rapid as had been seen from the pair in the past but Bell had still overtaken more than half the field as he ended the opening lap in sixteenth, with the top ten reached on lap four. Alan Greenhalgh's Ford Falcon V8 was dispensed with for ninth on lap seven before Daniel Wheeler gave way on the penultimate tour and the flying Mini took a shade under two-and-a-half seconds out of Polley on the final lap but had to settle for eighth. Wheeler's Mini and Greenhalgh's American machine completed the top ten finishers. Jake Swann fended off a trio of Minis driven by Tim Sims, Barry Sime and Mike Davies in his Ford Anglia for eleventh place but the quartet were close to being netted by Mark Watts' Mustang that had started 35th after failing to finish Race One. Pat Kenneally’s engine somehow survived despite emitting a smokescreen for much of the race to finish sixteenth, just ahead of Ed Gibbs. James Ibbotson’s eyes were streaming in the Cortina’s wake as he again won Class E in eighteenth overall from Brendan Rooney, who finished a bit over ten seconds adrift. Adrian Oliver, Michael Loveland and Steve Platts ran in a line all race for third in the class before the last-named disappeared on the final lap.
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Group A/Pre '83/Pre '93/Pre '03
After being pipped by Ian Bower’s similar E36 M3 to pole position at Pembrey, William Davison passed the Castrol car during the opener for his maiden triumph in the category before following up with two more category wins after surviving a ten-second penalty in Race Three but his misdemeanour cost the championship leader a hat-trick of overall victories. Bower twice played second fiddle to Davison but his similar penalty in the third outing was more costly, dropping the Southampton man to fifth behind Kevin Willis, Shaun Morris and Oliver Owen. AJ Owen returned to Pre ‘03 action with his Honda Civic and promptly swept the board despite picking up some panel damage along the way. Don Hughes was twice runner up to the former champion, narrowly losing out by just 0.165 seconds in Race Two, before retiring from the third. Impressive newcomer David Cave was the third Pre ‘03 car home in both Saturday races before claiming second with Hughes’ exit on Sunday as the BMW took the Class A spoils on each occasion and now leads the overall points race. Nic Grindrod showed great pace at Pembrey to take pole position for the Pre '83s by over a second before twice leading the field home. Victory number two came with an increasingly quick Jonathan Corker stuck to the Mk1 Escort’s bootlid past the flag and the Datsun 510 driver reversed the positions in the last bout. Corker left Wales with a sixteen-point lead in the championship from Neil Philpotts' Colt Lancer Turbo. The Harvspeed Mk1 Escort of Tom Harvey stood on the third step of the rostrum in each of the first two races but Graham Smith scored his first podium with his similar car in the third. Nick Williamson’s Rover SD1 chased home the yellow Escort in the second and third races after beating it in the first, whilst Harvey slipped to sixth in the finale behind championship returnee Mark Osborne's Triumph Dolomite.
Qualifying: The combined Group A/Pre ‘83/Pre ‘93/Pre ‘03 qualifying was another session to be cut short with three minutes left, after Paul Mensley’s Group A Sierra got stuck in the Paddock Hill Bend gravel trap. Current BTCC ace and 2022 champion Tom Ingram shared the 1988 Bathurst 1000km-winning replica RS500 of Jeremy Sutton, the drive coming about through one of Ingram’s ExcelR8 BTCC team's mechanics who helps Sutton run the Sierra and Ingram narrowly secured pole position by a slender 0.364 seconds from the similar car of Mensley. An all-E30 M3 second row was headed by Paddy Shovlin’s Watson-liveried example that bested countryman Michael Cullen by over two seconds. Mike Manning suffered with a lack of brakes on his Sierra RS500 as he set the fifth-fastest time, just 0.082 seconds ahead of Daniel Brown's similar car. James Brodie's Sierra lined up on row four beside the debuting Alpine BMW M3 E30 of former Lotus Cortina racer Tim Abbott. Further Antipodean flavour was to have been provided by the Bastos TWR Rover Vitesse of Alan Dippie and the Peanut Slab RS500 of Scott O’Donnell but, as with the latter's Ford Mondeo and Nigel Arkell's Honda Accord Super Tourers, delays at customs precluded their participation in the session. Ian Bower was quickest of Pre ‘93 category qualifiers by 1.039 seconds from William Davison’s similar E36 M3, with Oliver Owen another 1.255 seconds back in third. Gary Prebble was the leading Pre ‘03 contender in seventh overall from Don Hughes' Peugeot but there would be three Pre ‘93 BMWs between the pair. John Hillyer was less than four tenths down on Hughes’ 306 XSi with his unusual BMW 328 Touring, one of a pair of estate cars racing on Saturday. Jonathan Corker topped the Pre '83 cars by 1.271 seconds in his rare Datsun 510 from Nic Grindrod’s Ford Escort Mk1. Tom Harvey’s ShellSport Mk1 Escort secured third spot on his local track by 0.334 seconds from the flat-sounding Capri of West Surrey Racing BMW pilot Charles Rainford, with the 2025 BTCC race-winner qualifying lower than expected after his V6 engine lapsed onto five cylinders. Nick Williamson and Graham Smith completed the top six Pre '83 qualifiers.
Race One: As polesitter Tom Ingram led the field into Paddock Hill Bend for the first time, the Sierras of Paul Mensley and James Brodie went off separately but both continued, with Mensley ending lap one in third overall after blasting ahead of the pair of Irish-driven E30 M3s along the Brabham Straight. The RS500 swiftly powered up to second at the expense of Mike Manning and began to inch towards the waning Ingram Sierra in the lead, who began lap two more than five seconds up the road. Mensley took the lead with seven minutes left and the struggling polesitter was out with four minutes remaining as a 'fuel pressure-related issue' took hold and the NetComm Sierra ran out the winner by 12469 seconds. Mike Manning held onto his early third place until brake problems intervened again and the Texaco RS500 peeled into the back of the pitlane on lap four, which left the pair of BMW E30 M3s at play for an ultimate second place finish until Paddy Shovlin sliced past Irish compatriot Michael Cullen up to Druids and moved clear. Ian Bower ran out a comfortable Pre ‘93 victor in fourth overall. Daniel Brown started strongly with his Sierra as he fought with the Irish M3’s but his speed appeared to fall away and he became embroiled in a fight with the leading Pre ‘03 Honda Civic of Gary Prebble, with the Japanese hatchback losing out by 0.682 seconds to the Group A car. Oliver Owen finished second of the Pre ‘93 cars in seventh place, heading home the Group A E30 M3 of former Pre ‘66 racer Tim Abbott. Don Hughes’ Pre ‘03 Peugeot got between the Shaun Morris and Kevin Willis Pre ‘93 scrap on the last lap as they crossed the line together in ninth, tenth and eleventh. Kam Tunio’s Honda Civic was the third Pre ‘03 contender home in twelfth. James Brodie's Sierra suffered an engine bay fire in the pitlane that ruled the Group A RS500 out for the rest of the weekend. In the Pre ‘83 category, BTCC race winner Charles Rainford got to the front amid the chaos at Paddock Hill Bend in his immaculate Capri but Jonathan Corker climbed from an early third in the category to briefly take the lead with five minutes left, despite a broken windscreen courtesy of Nic Grindrod’s rear window falling out! However, the Datsun skated off at Surtees and fell behind Rainford’s Capri and Grindrod’s Mk1 Escort again before repassing the ex-PickUp racer later on. Corker closed in on Rainford once more but the Brut 33 machine was victorious by 0.775 seconds from the Datsun as Grindrod finished not far adrift in third. Tom Harvey held off Graham Smith by just 0.325 seconds despite dwindling oil pressure but the Mk1 Escort soldiered on to the flag in fourth. Nick Williamson’s Rover was punted straight on at Surtees midway through but the big SD1 survived to take sixth in the category.
Race Two: The scheduled fifteen-minute race distance was virtually halved due to the rapidly closing-in curfew at the end of the first day of action. Paul Mensley led throughout from pole but couldn’t rest as the chasing Daniel Brown's similar Sierra was only a couple of car lengths behind all the way to the end, with the margin of victory standing at a slender 0.756 seconds. Paddy Shovlin had broken away from Michael Cullen’s similar E30 M3 before the latter was tapped into a spin by Ian Bower at Druids, after the E36 M3 came steaming up the inside. Gary Prebble got the better of the Bower’s first-on-the-road Pre ‘93 car with his Pre ‘03 Honda and the CibiEmme-like E36 M3 was almost caught by the recovering Cullen at the end but Bower was slapped with a five-second time penalty for the Druids collision. That meant that the tense scrap for second among the Pre ‘93s between Shaun Morris, Kevin Willis and Oliver Owen was actually for the win, with Morris getting the verdict by 0.390 seconds from Willis and Owen was just 0.219 seconds further back. The penalised Bower slotted in less than a second behind Owen in fourth. Don Hughes was the second Pre ‘03 competitor home in tenth overall and the Peugeot 306 had William Davison’s Pre ‘93 BMW between it and the third-placed Honda of Kam Tunio. Charles Rainford ran to the Pre ‘83 spoils after taking the category lead on lap one in the cement dust hanging over Pilgrim's Drop but the Datsun of Corker, running sans front or rear-facing glass, was only a couple of seconds adrift at the flag. With neither Nic Grindrod or Tom Harvey starting the race, Graham Smith was able to keep Nick Williamson's Rover at arm's length to take third place. Indeed, Williamson had his hands full with the Pre '93 cars of Daniel Gandesha and Byron Aldous but the smart VW Corrado wouldn't be classified as the Pre '83 car defeated the BMW by 0.653 seconds. New Zealander Alan Dippie was able to start the race from the back after the TWR Rover Vitesse Group A car was one of four machines that were late arriving at the circuit after their container was stuck in the docks. The New Zealander completed a couple of laps behind other fields’ warm-up laps to qualify and the V8 machine was classified 25th as Dippie learned the famous Grand Prix track.
After being pipped by Ian Bower’s similar E36 M3 to pole position at Pembrey, William Davison passed the Castrol car during the opener for his maiden triumph in the category before following up with two more category wins after surviving a ten-second penalty in Race Three but his misdemeanour cost the championship leader a hat-trick of overall victories. Bower twice played second fiddle to Davison but his similar penalty in the third outing was more costly, dropping the Southampton man to fifth behind Kevin Willis, Shaun Morris and Oliver Owen. AJ Owen returned to Pre ‘03 action with his Honda Civic and promptly swept the board despite picking up some panel damage along the way. Don Hughes was twice runner up to the former champion, narrowly losing out by just 0.165 seconds in Race Two, before retiring from the third. Impressive newcomer David Cave was the third Pre ‘03 car home in both Saturday races before claiming second with Hughes’ exit on Sunday as the BMW took the Class A spoils on each occasion and now leads the overall points race. Nic Grindrod showed great pace at Pembrey to take pole position for the Pre '83s by over a second before twice leading the field home. Victory number two came with an increasingly quick Jonathan Corker stuck to the Mk1 Escort’s bootlid past the flag and the Datsun 510 driver reversed the positions in the last bout. Corker left Wales with a sixteen-point lead in the championship from Neil Philpotts' Colt Lancer Turbo. The Harvspeed Mk1 Escort of Tom Harvey stood on the third step of the rostrum in each of the first two races but Graham Smith scored his first podium with his similar car in the third. Nick Williamson’s Rover SD1 chased home the yellow Escort in the second and third races after beating it in the first, whilst Harvey slipped to sixth in the finale behind championship returnee Mark Osborne's Triumph Dolomite.
Qualifying: The combined Group A/Pre ‘83/Pre ‘93/Pre ‘03 qualifying was another session to be cut short with three minutes left, after Paul Mensley’s Group A Sierra got stuck in the Paddock Hill Bend gravel trap. Current BTCC ace and 2022 champion Tom Ingram shared the 1988 Bathurst 1000km-winning replica RS500 of Jeremy Sutton, the drive coming about through one of Ingram’s ExcelR8 BTCC team's mechanics who helps Sutton run the Sierra and Ingram narrowly secured pole position by a slender 0.364 seconds from the similar car of Mensley. An all-E30 M3 second row was headed by Paddy Shovlin’s Watson-liveried example that bested countryman Michael Cullen by over two seconds. Mike Manning suffered with a lack of brakes on his Sierra RS500 as he set the fifth-fastest time, just 0.082 seconds ahead of Daniel Brown's similar car. James Brodie's Sierra lined up on row four beside the debuting Alpine BMW M3 E30 of former Lotus Cortina racer Tim Abbott. Further Antipodean flavour was to have been provided by the Bastos TWR Rover Vitesse of Alan Dippie and the Peanut Slab RS500 of Scott O’Donnell but, as with the latter's Ford Mondeo and Nigel Arkell's Honda Accord Super Tourers, delays at customs precluded their participation in the session. Ian Bower was quickest of Pre ‘93 category qualifiers by 1.039 seconds from William Davison’s similar E36 M3, with Oliver Owen another 1.255 seconds back in third. Gary Prebble was the leading Pre ‘03 contender in seventh overall from Don Hughes' Peugeot but there would be three Pre ‘93 BMWs between the pair. John Hillyer was less than four tenths down on Hughes’ 306 XSi with his unusual BMW 328 Touring, one of a pair of estate cars racing on Saturday. Jonathan Corker topped the Pre '83 cars by 1.271 seconds in his rare Datsun 510 from Nic Grindrod’s Ford Escort Mk1. Tom Harvey’s ShellSport Mk1 Escort secured third spot on his local track by 0.334 seconds from the flat-sounding Capri of West Surrey Racing BMW pilot Charles Rainford, with the 2025 BTCC race-winner qualifying lower than expected after his V6 engine lapsed onto five cylinders. Nick Williamson and Graham Smith completed the top six Pre '83 qualifiers.
Race One: As polesitter Tom Ingram led the field into Paddock Hill Bend for the first time, the Sierras of Paul Mensley and James Brodie went off separately but both continued, with Mensley ending lap one in third overall after blasting ahead of the pair of Irish-driven E30 M3s along the Brabham Straight. The RS500 swiftly powered up to second at the expense of Mike Manning and began to inch towards the waning Ingram Sierra in the lead, who began lap two more than five seconds up the road. Mensley took the lead with seven minutes left and the struggling polesitter was out with four minutes remaining as a 'fuel pressure-related issue' took hold and the NetComm Sierra ran out the winner by 12469 seconds. Mike Manning held onto his early third place until brake problems intervened again and the Texaco RS500 peeled into the back of the pitlane on lap four, which left the pair of BMW E30 M3s at play for an ultimate second place finish until Paddy Shovlin sliced past Irish compatriot Michael Cullen up to Druids and moved clear. Ian Bower ran out a comfortable Pre ‘93 victor in fourth overall. Daniel Brown started strongly with his Sierra as he fought with the Irish M3’s but his speed appeared to fall away and he became embroiled in a fight with the leading Pre ‘03 Honda Civic of Gary Prebble, with the Japanese hatchback losing out by 0.682 seconds to the Group A car. Oliver Owen finished second of the Pre ‘93 cars in seventh place, heading home the Group A E30 M3 of former Pre ‘66 racer Tim Abbott. Don Hughes’ Pre ‘03 Peugeot got between the Shaun Morris and Kevin Willis Pre ‘93 scrap on the last lap as they crossed the line together in ninth, tenth and eleventh. Kam Tunio’s Honda Civic was the third Pre ‘03 contender home in twelfth. James Brodie's Sierra suffered an engine bay fire in the pitlane that ruled the Group A RS500 out for the rest of the weekend. In the Pre ‘83 category, BTCC race winner Charles Rainford got to the front amid the chaos at Paddock Hill Bend in his immaculate Capri but Jonathan Corker climbed from an early third in the category to briefly take the lead with five minutes left, despite a broken windscreen courtesy of Nic Grindrod’s rear window falling out! However, the Datsun skated off at Surtees and fell behind Rainford’s Capri and Grindrod’s Mk1 Escort again before repassing the ex-PickUp racer later on. Corker closed in on Rainford once more but the Brut 33 machine was victorious by 0.775 seconds from the Datsun as Grindrod finished not far adrift in third. Tom Harvey held off Graham Smith by just 0.325 seconds despite dwindling oil pressure but the Mk1 Escort soldiered on to the flag in fourth. Nick Williamson’s Rover was punted straight on at Surtees midway through but the big SD1 survived to take sixth in the category.
Race Two: The scheduled fifteen-minute race distance was virtually halved due to the rapidly closing-in curfew at the end of the first day of action. Paul Mensley led throughout from pole but couldn’t rest as the chasing Daniel Brown's similar Sierra was only a couple of car lengths behind all the way to the end, with the margin of victory standing at a slender 0.756 seconds. Paddy Shovlin had broken away from Michael Cullen’s similar E30 M3 before the latter was tapped into a spin by Ian Bower at Druids, after the E36 M3 came steaming up the inside. Gary Prebble got the better of the Bower’s first-on-the-road Pre ‘93 car with his Pre ‘03 Honda and the CibiEmme-like E36 M3 was almost caught by the recovering Cullen at the end but Bower was slapped with a five-second time penalty for the Druids collision. That meant that the tense scrap for second among the Pre ‘93s between Shaun Morris, Kevin Willis and Oliver Owen was actually for the win, with Morris getting the verdict by 0.390 seconds from Willis and Owen was just 0.219 seconds further back. The penalised Bower slotted in less than a second behind Owen in fourth. Don Hughes was the second Pre ‘03 competitor home in tenth overall and the Peugeot 306 had William Davison’s Pre ‘93 BMW between it and the third-placed Honda of Kam Tunio. Charles Rainford ran to the Pre ‘83 spoils after taking the category lead on lap one in the cement dust hanging over Pilgrim's Drop but the Datsun of Corker, running sans front or rear-facing glass, was only a couple of seconds adrift at the flag. With neither Nic Grindrod or Tom Harvey starting the race, Graham Smith was able to keep Nick Williamson's Rover at arm's length to take third place. Indeed, Williamson had his hands full with the Pre '93 cars of Daniel Gandesha and Byron Aldous but the smart VW Corrado wouldn't be classified as the Pre '83 car defeated the BMW by 0.653 seconds. New Zealander Alan Dippie was able to start the race from the back after the TWR Rover Vitesse Group A car was one of four machines that were late arriving at the circuit after their container was stuck in the docks. The New Zealander completed a couple of laps behind other fields’ warm-up laps to qualify and the V8 machine was classified 25th as Dippie learned the famous Grand Prix track.
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Sunday 29th June (Indy)
Day two of the touring car celebration took place on the short, sharp Indy layout and everybody would get to qualify and contest two races. A popular public grid walk was held before the opening Super Touring race in the afternoon and period 'works' Vauxhall driver Chris Hodgetts took the wheel of Jim Pocklington's Vauxhall Cavalier during the high-speed demonstration at lunchtime, the twice BSCC/BTCC champion having been heavily involved with the development of the car.
Super Touring
Qualifying: Historic hotshoe Michael Lyons sped to pole position by 0.416 seconds with the 1996 Honda Accord, with Kiwi Kayne Scott lining up the fellow Peter Sturgeon-owned Team Dynamics Nissan Primera alongside its stablemate on the front row, The attractive Peugeot 406 of Colin Sowter went round in the third fastest time and he would share the second row with BTCC great Colin Turkington, with the four-time champion sat in Jason Hughes’ MG ZS on Sunday. New Zealander Conrad Timms headed the third row with his four-cylinder Mondeo, whilst Jason Hughes had swapped seats with Turkington for Sunday and qualified the repaired Vauxhall Vectra sixth but suffered with more suspension trouble along the way. The V6-powered Mazda Xedos 6 of Paul McCarthy was seventh quickest and shared the fourth row with Roger Stanford's decade newer Vauxhall Astra. Nigel Arkell’s Japanese-spec Honda Accord and Scott O’Donnell’s Ford Mondeo hatchback were able to take part on Sunday after the cars’ late arrival from the docks on Saturday, with Arkell and O'Donnell sandwiching the Jim Pocklington Vauxhall Cavalier in ninth and eleventh. John Whelan’s ex-Mike Briggs Opel Vectra not able to compete on Sunday despite completing some running on the first day.
Race One: Having got away well from the outside of the front row at the rolling start, Kayne Scott bashed mirrors with Michael Lyons as he drove the long way round the polesitter at Paddock Hill Bend and Druids to gain the lead into Graham Hill Bend. However, the Team Dynamics Nissan ran wide at Clearways and the Honda was swiftly back ahead. A fast-starting Jason Hughes moved up to challenge the New Zealander into Surtees second time around but the gap closed and the pair traded paint, with the positions staying as they were. The Safety Car was introduced on lap three after the BTC-T Astra of Roger Stanford stopped on the grass approaching Paddock Hill Bend. Half of the fifteen-minute race remained at the restart, with leader Lyons and Scott getting away from Hughes at the resumption but the former BTCC racer soon gained second place when Scott again ran wide at Clearways. The Vauxhall then set about reeling in the leading Honda and when Lyons ventured a little wide into Clearways, after they caught CTCRC chairman Stuart Caie’s Cavalier to lap it, the Vectra pounced to take the lead going onto lap thirteen. Lyons didn’t let losing the lead lie but Hughes held off the Accord to win by a slender 0.665 seconds. The Team Dynamics Primera of front-row starter Scott couldn't quite keep pace with the top two as he took third, some 4.406 seconds in arrears. Colin Sowter, Colin Turkington and New Zealand visitor Conrad Timms were involved in a good battle for fourth after the restart, with the latter pair both passing the Esso Ultron 406 and scrapped for fourth to the end. Turkington used his vast touring car experience and a bit of grass to get alongside out of Clearways late on but the Valvoline Mondeo had too much grunt in a straightline for the MG ZS so the Kiwi finished a slim 0.454 seconds ahead of the Northern Irishman in fourth. The well-travelled Mazda Xedos 6 of Paul McCarthy and the Japanese-spec Honda of Nigel Arkell also went into battle for seventh place behind Sowter's Peugeot, with the Accord winning the war as Jim Pocklington’s 1990-vintage Vauxhall Cavalier finished just behind them in ninth. The top ten finishers were completed by Rick Kerry's BTC-T Peugeot 406 Coupe.
Race Two: The Vauxhall Vectra of Jason Hughes gradually pulled away from Michael Lyons after converting his pole position at the rolling start, with Kayne Scott following closely too but the Nissan soon fell behind Conrad Timms after running wide at Clearways. Colin Turkington‘s MG also got past the Nissan and the three of them became as one. On the last lap, Turkington defended the inside of Graham Hill Bend and the Nissan slowed with an electrical fault just as Scott cut back to the inside accelerating onto the Cooper Straight. However, the Nissan staggered to the line in fifth to beat countryman Nigel Arkell into sixth with his Honda Accord. Paul McCarthy’s Mazda Xedos 6, which took a solitary pole position at Snetterton during the 1993 BTCC season and was back in the UK for the first time in thirty-odd years, had a lonely race to seventh in front of its former pilot Patrick Watts, whilst Jim Pocklington’s Vauxhall Cavalier from the genesis of the Super Touring ruleset fought closely with the decade-plus younger BTC-T cars of Rick Kerry and Roger Stanford for eighth place. The Cavalier led home the trio from the 406 Coupe and the Astra Sporthatch as they took the last three spots inside the top ten.
Day two of the touring car celebration took place on the short, sharp Indy layout and everybody would get to qualify and contest two races. A popular public grid walk was held before the opening Super Touring race in the afternoon and period 'works' Vauxhall driver Chris Hodgetts took the wheel of Jim Pocklington's Vauxhall Cavalier during the high-speed demonstration at lunchtime, the twice BSCC/BTCC champion having been heavily involved with the development of the car.
Super Touring
Qualifying: Historic hotshoe Michael Lyons sped to pole position by 0.416 seconds with the 1996 Honda Accord, with Kiwi Kayne Scott lining up the fellow Peter Sturgeon-owned Team Dynamics Nissan Primera alongside its stablemate on the front row, The attractive Peugeot 406 of Colin Sowter went round in the third fastest time and he would share the second row with BTCC great Colin Turkington, with the four-time champion sat in Jason Hughes’ MG ZS on Sunday. New Zealander Conrad Timms headed the third row with his four-cylinder Mondeo, whilst Jason Hughes had swapped seats with Turkington for Sunday and qualified the repaired Vauxhall Vectra sixth but suffered with more suspension trouble along the way. The V6-powered Mazda Xedos 6 of Paul McCarthy was seventh quickest and shared the fourth row with Roger Stanford's decade newer Vauxhall Astra. Nigel Arkell’s Japanese-spec Honda Accord and Scott O’Donnell’s Ford Mondeo hatchback were able to take part on Sunday after the cars’ late arrival from the docks on Saturday, with Arkell and O'Donnell sandwiching the Jim Pocklington Vauxhall Cavalier in ninth and eleventh. John Whelan’s ex-Mike Briggs Opel Vectra not able to compete on Sunday despite completing some running on the first day.
Race One: Having got away well from the outside of the front row at the rolling start, Kayne Scott bashed mirrors with Michael Lyons as he drove the long way round the polesitter at Paddock Hill Bend and Druids to gain the lead into Graham Hill Bend. However, the Team Dynamics Nissan ran wide at Clearways and the Honda was swiftly back ahead. A fast-starting Jason Hughes moved up to challenge the New Zealander into Surtees second time around but the gap closed and the pair traded paint, with the positions staying as they were. The Safety Car was introduced on lap three after the BTC-T Astra of Roger Stanford stopped on the grass approaching Paddock Hill Bend. Half of the fifteen-minute race remained at the restart, with leader Lyons and Scott getting away from Hughes at the resumption but the former BTCC racer soon gained second place when Scott again ran wide at Clearways. The Vauxhall then set about reeling in the leading Honda and when Lyons ventured a little wide into Clearways, after they caught CTCRC chairman Stuart Caie’s Cavalier to lap it, the Vectra pounced to take the lead going onto lap thirteen. Lyons didn’t let losing the lead lie but Hughes held off the Accord to win by a slender 0.665 seconds. The Team Dynamics Primera of front-row starter Scott couldn't quite keep pace with the top two as he took third, some 4.406 seconds in arrears. Colin Sowter, Colin Turkington and New Zealand visitor Conrad Timms were involved in a good battle for fourth after the restart, with the latter pair both passing the Esso Ultron 406 and scrapped for fourth to the end. Turkington used his vast touring car experience and a bit of grass to get alongside out of Clearways late on but the Valvoline Mondeo had too much grunt in a straightline for the MG ZS so the Kiwi finished a slim 0.454 seconds ahead of the Northern Irishman in fourth. The well-travelled Mazda Xedos 6 of Paul McCarthy and the Japanese-spec Honda of Nigel Arkell also went into battle for seventh place behind Sowter's Peugeot, with the Accord winning the war as Jim Pocklington’s 1990-vintage Vauxhall Cavalier finished just behind them in ninth. The top ten finishers were completed by Rick Kerry's BTC-T Peugeot 406 Coupe.
Race Two: The Vauxhall Vectra of Jason Hughes gradually pulled away from Michael Lyons after converting his pole position at the rolling start, with Kayne Scott following closely too but the Nissan soon fell behind Conrad Timms after running wide at Clearways. Colin Turkington‘s MG also got past the Nissan and the three of them became as one. On the last lap, Turkington defended the inside of Graham Hill Bend and the Nissan slowed with an electrical fault just as Scott cut back to the inside accelerating onto the Cooper Straight. However, the Nissan staggered to the line in fifth to beat countryman Nigel Arkell into sixth with his Honda Accord. Paul McCarthy’s Mazda Xedos 6, which took a solitary pole position at Snetterton during the 1993 BTCC season and was back in the UK for the first time in thirty-odd years, had a lonely race to seventh in front of its former pilot Patrick Watts, whilst Jim Pocklington’s Vauxhall Cavalier from the genesis of the Super Touring ruleset fought closely with the decade-plus younger BTC-T cars of Rick Kerry and Roger Stanford for eighth place. The Cavalier led home the trio from the 406 Coupe and the Astra Sporthatch as they took the last three spots inside the top ten.
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Classic Thunder/Historic Thunder/BOSS
Qualifying: The amalgamated Classic Thunder, Historic Thunder and BOSS fields fought out a competitive session, with five different polesitter’s throughout the fifteen minutes but it was GP circuit Race One winner Adrian Bradley who secured the top spot in the dying moments by the tiny margin of just 0.007 seconds. The fight for pole position during the second half of qualifying was contested by Alex Sidwell and the BMW, with Sidwell's Holden going to the top of the times at the halfway mark but Bradley took his turn at the summit two minutes later before improving on the following lap. The Holden Racing UK Commodore was following in Bradley's wheeltracks and the BMW's improvement lasted just half a second before Sidwell snatched top spot. However, Bradley made one last attempt and narrowly wrested pole position from the VF Commodore's grasp right at the death. Grand Prix circuit polesitter Andy Robinson played the traffic well to secure third in the DJR tribute Ford Falcon, whilst Abbie Eaton again took charge of her father’s Holden Commodore and was again the leading Historic machine in fourth. Eaton was the initial pacesetter and she continued to rewrite the headline time until the midway point, when Bradley and Sidwell came on strong. The E46 M3 of David Avis lined up fifth, ahead of the BOSS-topping Mk2 Escort of Piers Grange. Mike Cutt was briefly fastest of all aboard his patched-up BMW before winding up seventh, with James Janicki's two-wheel-drive R32 Skyline GTR going better on Sunday to be eighth. Historic Thunder sponsor Rikki Cann got his Aston Martin into the top ten in ninth, whilst a good showing from Kevin Denwood saw him qualify the 3 Series Compact just behind.
Race One: From the outside of the front row, Alex Sidwell blasted into the lead from the rolling start and Abbie Eaton also used the wide line to demote polesitter Adrian Bradley to third. A fast-starting David Avis E46 M3 leapt up to fourth but was soon passed by Mike Cutt’s older E36 BMW. BOSS leader Piers Grange sat in an early sixth but caught Avis’ BMW for fifth place shortly after half-distance. The top three were joined together virtually all race until Bradley fell off the back of the two Holdens with sideways moments at Clearways and Paddock Hill Bend as Sidwell started to stretch the group. The leading VF Commodore put a lapped car between it and Eaton’s older VH model into Surtees for the final time and the second-placed car had to pass the Fiesta around the outside of Clearways to seal the win for the Holden Racing UK machine by 1.867 seconds. Bradley’s BMW was a shade under two seconds down on Eaton’s Historic Thunder Holden, with Cutt’s more senior M3 in a solitary fourth. Having passed Avis, the BOSS-winning Mk2 Escort of Grange crossed the line in fifth from the BMW. James Janicki was seventh in the bristling Nissan Skyline, ahead of Historic Thunder runner-up Rikki Cann’s much modified Aston Martin. Third qualifier Andy Robinson was late to the assembly area and was forced to start from the pitlane, The Falcon started off steadily but once the Shell-liveried giant had cleared Alan Breck’s Jaegermeister Capri V8 on lap three, Robinson began picking off the midfield and was up to fifteenth of the thirty starters after five laps. The 7-litre Falcon fought through into the top-ten after passing the Martin Reynolds, Ian Bower and Kevin Denwood trio during lap ten but an eight-second gap stood between the V8 Supercar and Cann's Aston Martin in eighth. Robinson halved the gap in the time remaining but had to be satisfied with ninth, whilst Denwood finished where he qualified in tenth. There was no Simon Light V8 Capri in the race after suspension issues early in qualifying.
Race Two: The earlier top three of Alex Sidwell, Abbie Eaton and Adrian Bradley ran away together initially in the early stages of Race Two, before the two Australian brutes began to steadily drop the third-placed BMW. Having remained in touch throughout, Eaton closed right up on Sidwell’s VF Commodore into the final five minutes. When Sidwell ran a little wide through Surtees just after lapping Rod Birley’s Focus with four minutes remaining, the bewinged VH Holden was tempted to go for the inside at Clearways and contact was made. Sidwell spun backwards into the gravel trap, whilst Eaton ran straight on but was stranded on the edge of the circuit with a smashed wheel so the red flags flew. The BMWs of Bradley and David Avis were promoted to first and second on countback as a result, with the Team Legacy M3 gaining its second victory of the weekend. James Janicki was elevated to third but the committed Ian Bower had been all over the powerful Nissan in the corners. However, the rear-wheel-drive Skyline GTR simply left the BMW behind down the straights and the leading Historic contender in the final results, Rikki Cann, closed in too, with the V8 machine powering past Bower on the run to the line. BOSS victor AJ Owen wasn’t far adrift of the scuffle either in sixth, with runner-up Martin Reynolds’ Mk2 Escort just over three seconds adrift of the triumphant Sierra RS Cosworth in seventh overall. Kevin Denwood was eighth in the 3 Series Compact, whilst Ross Craig pushed on as hard as ever in his Honda Civic Type R and was rewarded with ninth. Jonathan Gill grabbed his first overall top ten finish in the Thunders as the immaculate 205 spaceframe came home tenth. Andy Robinson had already gone home before the final outing and regular BOSS pacesetter Piers Grange also non-started.
Qualifying: The amalgamated Classic Thunder, Historic Thunder and BOSS fields fought out a competitive session, with five different polesitter’s throughout the fifteen minutes but it was GP circuit Race One winner Adrian Bradley who secured the top spot in the dying moments by the tiny margin of just 0.007 seconds. The fight for pole position during the second half of qualifying was contested by Alex Sidwell and the BMW, with Sidwell's Holden going to the top of the times at the halfway mark but Bradley took his turn at the summit two minutes later before improving on the following lap. The Holden Racing UK Commodore was following in Bradley's wheeltracks and the BMW's improvement lasted just half a second before Sidwell snatched top spot. However, Bradley made one last attempt and narrowly wrested pole position from the VF Commodore's grasp right at the death. Grand Prix circuit polesitter Andy Robinson played the traffic well to secure third in the DJR tribute Ford Falcon, whilst Abbie Eaton again took charge of her father’s Holden Commodore and was again the leading Historic machine in fourth. Eaton was the initial pacesetter and she continued to rewrite the headline time until the midway point, when Bradley and Sidwell came on strong. The E46 M3 of David Avis lined up fifth, ahead of the BOSS-topping Mk2 Escort of Piers Grange. Mike Cutt was briefly fastest of all aboard his patched-up BMW before winding up seventh, with James Janicki's two-wheel-drive R32 Skyline GTR going better on Sunday to be eighth. Historic Thunder sponsor Rikki Cann got his Aston Martin into the top ten in ninth, whilst a good showing from Kevin Denwood saw him qualify the 3 Series Compact just behind.
Race One: From the outside of the front row, Alex Sidwell blasted into the lead from the rolling start and Abbie Eaton also used the wide line to demote polesitter Adrian Bradley to third. A fast-starting David Avis E46 M3 leapt up to fourth but was soon passed by Mike Cutt’s older E36 BMW. BOSS leader Piers Grange sat in an early sixth but caught Avis’ BMW for fifth place shortly after half-distance. The top three were joined together virtually all race until Bradley fell off the back of the two Holdens with sideways moments at Clearways and Paddock Hill Bend as Sidwell started to stretch the group. The leading VF Commodore put a lapped car between it and Eaton’s older VH model into Surtees for the final time and the second-placed car had to pass the Fiesta around the outside of Clearways to seal the win for the Holden Racing UK machine by 1.867 seconds. Bradley’s BMW was a shade under two seconds down on Eaton’s Historic Thunder Holden, with Cutt’s more senior M3 in a solitary fourth. Having passed Avis, the BOSS-winning Mk2 Escort of Grange crossed the line in fifth from the BMW. James Janicki was seventh in the bristling Nissan Skyline, ahead of Historic Thunder runner-up Rikki Cann’s much modified Aston Martin. Third qualifier Andy Robinson was late to the assembly area and was forced to start from the pitlane, The Falcon started off steadily but once the Shell-liveried giant had cleared Alan Breck’s Jaegermeister Capri V8 on lap three, Robinson began picking off the midfield and was up to fifteenth of the thirty starters after five laps. The 7-litre Falcon fought through into the top-ten after passing the Martin Reynolds, Ian Bower and Kevin Denwood trio during lap ten but an eight-second gap stood between the V8 Supercar and Cann's Aston Martin in eighth. Robinson halved the gap in the time remaining but had to be satisfied with ninth, whilst Denwood finished where he qualified in tenth. There was no Simon Light V8 Capri in the race after suspension issues early in qualifying.
Race Two: The earlier top three of Alex Sidwell, Abbie Eaton and Adrian Bradley ran away together initially in the early stages of Race Two, before the two Australian brutes began to steadily drop the third-placed BMW. Having remained in touch throughout, Eaton closed right up on Sidwell’s VF Commodore into the final five minutes. When Sidwell ran a little wide through Surtees just after lapping Rod Birley’s Focus with four minutes remaining, the bewinged VH Holden was tempted to go for the inside at Clearways and contact was made. Sidwell spun backwards into the gravel trap, whilst Eaton ran straight on but was stranded on the edge of the circuit with a smashed wheel so the red flags flew. The BMWs of Bradley and David Avis were promoted to first and second on countback as a result, with the Team Legacy M3 gaining its second victory of the weekend. James Janicki was elevated to third but the committed Ian Bower had been all over the powerful Nissan in the corners. However, the rear-wheel-drive Skyline GTR simply left the BMW behind down the straights and the leading Historic contender in the final results, Rikki Cann, closed in too, with the V8 machine powering past Bower on the run to the line. BOSS victor AJ Owen wasn’t far adrift of the scuffle either in sixth, with runner-up Martin Reynolds’ Mk2 Escort just over three seconds adrift of the triumphant Sierra RS Cosworth in seventh overall. Kevin Denwood was eighth in the 3 Series Compact, whilst Ross Craig pushed on as hard as ever in his Honda Civic Type R and was rewarded with ninth. Jonathan Gill grabbed his first overall top ten finish in the Thunders as the immaculate 205 spaceframe came home tenth. Andy Robinson had already gone home before the final outing and regular BOSS pacesetter Piers Grange also non-started.
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Pre '66
Qualifying: Without the flowing sections of the Grand Prix loop that allowed the Mustang to really stretch its legs, Sam Tordoff’s advantage was reduced a little but the Yorkshireman still clinched pole position by 0.474 seconds from the Lotus Cortina twins Paddy Shovlin and Victor Cullen. The two Irishmen were separated by just 0.108 seconds, whilst the shared Tom Bell/Joe Ferguson Mini was an impressive fourth fastest. Defending champion Ian Thompson headed row three from Piers Grange’s Ford Mustang, with a clutch of Minis coming next as Daniel Wheeler, Michael Cullen and Jo Polley’s examples all put one over on the Ford Falcon V8 brute of Alan Greenhalgh that shored up the top ten.
Race One: Paddy Shovlin stayed alongside polesitter Sam Tordoff up to Paddock Hill Bend but the Mustang staved off the Cortina and proceeded to pull away until a Safety Car appearance just after the halfway mark. Ed Carter’s lapped Hillman Imp was sat between Tordoff and Shovlin in the queue when the Safety Car came in with just enough time for a one-lap sprint to the flag. Tordoff unsurprisingly went as early as he could and sped away to record his third win of the weekend by 4.560 seconds, with the chasing pack unable to pass the Class E car until after the start/finish line. The two Cortinas of Shovlin and Cullen were almost caught on the line by Grange’s marauding Mustang but Shovlin was penalised five seconds for track limit liberties so was shuffled back to ninth with his punishment. Michael Cullen headed a huge train of cars home in fourth from Daniel Wheeler and Ian Thompson, whilst Tom Bell lost ground to cross the line in seventh after scrapping with the similar Mini of Cullen beforehand. Barry Sime was classified eighth, ahead of Shovlin’s penalised Cortina and Jake Swann’s Ford Anglia that rounded out the top ten. The tenth-placed Swann won a close battle with Bob Bullen’s similar car for the position and the pair ran abreast to the line, where Swann got the verdict by just 0.032 seconds. James Ibbotson made it a hat-trick of Class E triumphs in thirteenth overall, prevailing by 4.321 seconds from the similar car of Brendan Rooney once more. Alan Greenhalgh crossed the line in eighth place but the Falcon was classified fourteenth after being penalised twice, at a cost of six positions.
Race Two: Piers Grange’s Mustang briefly powered up to second behind Sam Tordoff’s polesitting example at the rolling start but Victor Cullen slithered around the outside of Paddock Hill Bend to reclaim the place. However, a fast-starting Paddy Shovlin had shot up the outside into fourth but was tapped into a spin mid-pack by Michael Cullen’s Mini and ten-plus cars became involved in the ensuing mess of the chain reaction incident. Bob Bullen was the first to clip Shovlin, with the Anglia then clobbered by Pat Kenneally’s Cortina as he crossed the circuit. Jo Polley then followed in Brian Bedford’s A40 into the side of Shovlin as many of the large field were unsighted, whilst Joe Ferguson narrowly missed the back of Polley but poleaxed the back of the A40. Shovlin’s Cortina rode up onto two wheels with the multiple impacts and Ed Carter’s Imp also collected Bedford. Meanwhile, a large number of cars were diving left but found their path blocked by Kenneally’s Cortina that had cannoned off Bullen’s Anglia. The Imps of James Ibbotson and Steve Platts, plus the Mini of Piers Thynne, all clattered into each other as a result. The race was immediately stopped and, fortunately, nobody was harmed in the pile up but there was a lot of bent metal to clear away. The race would be restarted over twelve minutes, with a much-reduced field of eighteen cars taking the start. Tordoff was triumphant once more to complete his perfect weekend by 8.186 seconds from Victor Cullen, with the Cortina a similar distance ahead Grange in third. Michael Cullen’s Mini initially led a mighty scrap for fourth, with Daniel Wheeler’s similar car looking threatening until he pitted. Reigning champion Ian Thompson was the next to have a go and it took until until three minutes remained for the Lotus Cortina to get ahead through Clark Curve. Jake Swann pressed the Irishman to the flag but couldn’t complete a move after getting ahead of Barry Sime’s Cooper S. Adrian Oliver took the win in Class E and eleventh overall, with Mark Uka’s Mini sat between the Imp and a closing Brendan Rooney. Keith Wright’s Cortina and the remaining Class D Austin A40 of former champion Luc Wilson had a good tussle for the final spot in the classification and the former Morris Minor pedaller Wright won the day.
Qualifying: Without the flowing sections of the Grand Prix loop that allowed the Mustang to really stretch its legs, Sam Tordoff’s advantage was reduced a little but the Yorkshireman still clinched pole position by 0.474 seconds from the Lotus Cortina twins Paddy Shovlin and Victor Cullen. The two Irishmen were separated by just 0.108 seconds, whilst the shared Tom Bell/Joe Ferguson Mini was an impressive fourth fastest. Defending champion Ian Thompson headed row three from Piers Grange’s Ford Mustang, with a clutch of Minis coming next as Daniel Wheeler, Michael Cullen and Jo Polley’s examples all put one over on the Ford Falcon V8 brute of Alan Greenhalgh that shored up the top ten.
Race One: Paddy Shovlin stayed alongside polesitter Sam Tordoff up to Paddock Hill Bend but the Mustang staved off the Cortina and proceeded to pull away until a Safety Car appearance just after the halfway mark. Ed Carter’s lapped Hillman Imp was sat between Tordoff and Shovlin in the queue when the Safety Car came in with just enough time for a one-lap sprint to the flag. Tordoff unsurprisingly went as early as he could and sped away to record his third win of the weekend by 4.560 seconds, with the chasing pack unable to pass the Class E car until after the start/finish line. The two Cortinas of Shovlin and Cullen were almost caught on the line by Grange’s marauding Mustang but Shovlin was penalised five seconds for track limit liberties so was shuffled back to ninth with his punishment. Michael Cullen headed a huge train of cars home in fourth from Daniel Wheeler and Ian Thompson, whilst Tom Bell lost ground to cross the line in seventh after scrapping with the similar Mini of Cullen beforehand. Barry Sime was classified eighth, ahead of Shovlin’s penalised Cortina and Jake Swann’s Ford Anglia that rounded out the top ten. The tenth-placed Swann won a close battle with Bob Bullen’s similar car for the position and the pair ran abreast to the line, where Swann got the verdict by just 0.032 seconds. James Ibbotson made it a hat-trick of Class E triumphs in thirteenth overall, prevailing by 4.321 seconds from the similar car of Brendan Rooney once more. Alan Greenhalgh crossed the line in eighth place but the Falcon was classified fourteenth after being penalised twice, at a cost of six positions.
Race Two: Piers Grange’s Mustang briefly powered up to second behind Sam Tordoff’s polesitting example at the rolling start but Victor Cullen slithered around the outside of Paddock Hill Bend to reclaim the place. However, a fast-starting Paddy Shovlin had shot up the outside into fourth but was tapped into a spin mid-pack by Michael Cullen’s Mini and ten-plus cars became involved in the ensuing mess of the chain reaction incident. Bob Bullen was the first to clip Shovlin, with the Anglia then clobbered by Pat Kenneally’s Cortina as he crossed the circuit. Jo Polley then followed in Brian Bedford’s A40 into the side of Shovlin as many of the large field were unsighted, whilst Joe Ferguson narrowly missed the back of Polley but poleaxed the back of the A40. Shovlin’s Cortina rode up onto two wheels with the multiple impacts and Ed Carter’s Imp also collected Bedford. Meanwhile, a large number of cars were diving left but found their path blocked by Kenneally’s Cortina that had cannoned off Bullen’s Anglia. The Imps of James Ibbotson and Steve Platts, plus the Mini of Piers Thynne, all clattered into each other as a result. The race was immediately stopped and, fortunately, nobody was harmed in the pile up but there was a lot of bent metal to clear away. The race would be restarted over twelve minutes, with a much-reduced field of eighteen cars taking the start. Tordoff was triumphant once more to complete his perfect weekend by 8.186 seconds from Victor Cullen, with the Cortina a similar distance ahead Grange in third. Michael Cullen’s Mini initially led a mighty scrap for fourth, with Daniel Wheeler’s similar car looking threatening until he pitted. Reigning champion Ian Thompson was the next to have a go and it took until until three minutes remained for the Lotus Cortina to get ahead through Clark Curve. Jake Swann pressed the Irishman to the flag but couldn’t complete a move after getting ahead of Barry Sime’s Cooper S. Adrian Oliver took the win in Class E and eleventh overall, with Mark Uka’s Mini sat between the Imp and a closing Brendan Rooney. Keith Wright’s Cortina and the remaining Class D Austin A40 of former champion Luc Wilson had a good tussle for the final spot in the classification and the former Morris Minor pedaller Wright won the day.
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Pre '83
Qualifying: The Pre '83s had the grid to themselves on day two, having been combined with the Group A, Pre 93 and Pre '03 machinery on the opening day. Charles Rainford returned to the layout on which he scored his maiden BTCC victory back in May and the Capri driver celebrated by securing pole position by 0.483 seconds from Jonathan Corker. The tenacious Datsun held a little over half-a-second’s advantage from Nick Williamson, with the V8 Rover 0.664 seconds up from a great effort by Jared Knight’s Mk2 Escort to line up on the second row. At the wheel of Chris Snowdon’s Alfa Romeo for day two, George Osbourne was just 0.023 seconds away from the fourth-fastest Ford and the pretty Alfetta headed the Mk1 Escort of Graham Smith on the third row. On a track suited to the nimble Mk1 Fiesta XR2, James Dunkley topped Class D in seventh and was joined on the fourth row by the long-serving Firenza droop-snoot of Mostyn Rutter. Neil Philpotts qualified his rare Colt Lancer Turbo inside the top ten in ninth and the first five rows were completed by ex-Pre ‘66 Anglia and Cortina racer Robyn Slater, now ensconced in a 1600cc Mk1 Escort from Class D. A pair of Triumph Dolomites in the hands of Carl Shreeve and Colin Claxton were next up, with the Class D Hillman Avenger of Philip Waller the last of the thirteen qualifiers.
Race One: The Faberge Capri of polesitter Charles Rainford made the early running but Jonathan Corker scrabbled into the lead around the outside at Druids with five minutes left. Former leader Rainford eased his pace in the dying minutes after the Capri had got hot and the West Surrey Racing BTCC driver noticed a noise coming from the rear end to leave Corker to stroke the Datsun 510 home by almost twelve seconds. Race winner Corker thanked Rainford post-race for racing cleanly and not running Datsun out wide onto the grass as he made his pass. Nick Williamson, Graham Smith and George Osborne had been contesting third place for much of the race and started to reel In the Capri as it slowed but the Faberge Ford wasn’t truly threatened as it sealed second place by 3.101 seconds from the Rover of Williamson. Just over half-a-second behind the SD1, Smith fended off the Chris Snowdon-owned Alfa Romeo GTV of George Osbourne by 0.622 seconds in fourth. Jared Knight slipped back a little after the Mk2 Escort’s notable performance in qualifying and came home in a respectable sixth. Neil Philpotts was only 0.585 seconds away from Knight in seventh, after gaining two places from his qualifying position. Carl Shreeve’s Triumph and the Class D-winning Robyn Slater rounded out the top ten finishers, with the Mk1 Escort profiting from the sole retirement from the race befalling class rival James Dunkley’s Fiesta.
Race Two: Charles Rainford would miss the final encounter after a rear wheel bearing problem was discovered on the Brut 33 Capri, leaving polesitter Jonathan Corker to lead the ten-car field away but the Rover SD1 of Nick Williamson sped alongside past the pits at the end of the opening lap. However, the Datsun reclaimed the lead at Paddock Hill Bend and the V8 Vitesse followed at a respectable distance for the remainder of the fifteen minutes, The Rover’s position appeared to have been made safe when the fight for third intensified but Williamson was struck with a ten-second penalty for a false start. However, George Osbourne’s Alfa Romeo had attempted to take third from Graham Smith’s Mk1 Escort and made contact in the process, for which the GTV was penalised five places and Smith’s Mk1 Escort crept home in sixth with the right-rear quarter stoved in as a result. The collision and penalty meant that Neil Philpotts was promoted to third place and Williamson’s time advantage from his classmate was sufficient to hold on to the runner up position. Jared Knight’s 566 Mk2 Escort conked out on the last lap so Mostyn Rutter’s venerable Vauxhall Firenza was fourth but the failed Ford was still classified fifth. Behind the struggling Smith slotted the punished Osbourne, who would have been second without his censure. Robyn Slater was victorious in Class D for the second time on the day from the Avenger of Philip Waller that completed the nine finishers, with Carl Shreeve’s Dolomite the only car not classified in the results.
Qualifying: The Pre '83s had the grid to themselves on day two, having been combined with the Group A, Pre 93 and Pre '03 machinery on the opening day. Charles Rainford returned to the layout on which he scored his maiden BTCC victory back in May and the Capri driver celebrated by securing pole position by 0.483 seconds from Jonathan Corker. The tenacious Datsun held a little over half-a-second’s advantage from Nick Williamson, with the V8 Rover 0.664 seconds up from a great effort by Jared Knight’s Mk2 Escort to line up on the second row. At the wheel of Chris Snowdon’s Alfa Romeo for day two, George Osbourne was just 0.023 seconds away from the fourth-fastest Ford and the pretty Alfetta headed the Mk1 Escort of Graham Smith on the third row. On a track suited to the nimble Mk1 Fiesta XR2, James Dunkley topped Class D in seventh and was joined on the fourth row by the long-serving Firenza droop-snoot of Mostyn Rutter. Neil Philpotts qualified his rare Colt Lancer Turbo inside the top ten in ninth and the first five rows were completed by ex-Pre ‘66 Anglia and Cortina racer Robyn Slater, now ensconced in a 1600cc Mk1 Escort from Class D. A pair of Triumph Dolomites in the hands of Carl Shreeve and Colin Claxton were next up, with the Class D Hillman Avenger of Philip Waller the last of the thirteen qualifiers.
Race One: The Faberge Capri of polesitter Charles Rainford made the early running but Jonathan Corker scrabbled into the lead around the outside at Druids with five minutes left. Former leader Rainford eased his pace in the dying minutes after the Capri had got hot and the West Surrey Racing BTCC driver noticed a noise coming from the rear end to leave Corker to stroke the Datsun 510 home by almost twelve seconds. Race winner Corker thanked Rainford post-race for racing cleanly and not running Datsun out wide onto the grass as he made his pass. Nick Williamson, Graham Smith and George Osborne had been contesting third place for much of the race and started to reel In the Capri as it slowed but the Faberge Ford wasn’t truly threatened as it sealed second place by 3.101 seconds from the Rover of Williamson. Just over half-a-second behind the SD1, Smith fended off the Chris Snowdon-owned Alfa Romeo GTV of George Osbourne by 0.622 seconds in fourth. Jared Knight slipped back a little after the Mk2 Escort’s notable performance in qualifying and came home in a respectable sixth. Neil Philpotts was only 0.585 seconds away from Knight in seventh, after gaining two places from his qualifying position. Carl Shreeve’s Triumph and the Class D-winning Robyn Slater rounded out the top ten finishers, with the Mk1 Escort profiting from the sole retirement from the race befalling class rival James Dunkley’s Fiesta.
Race Two: Charles Rainford would miss the final encounter after a rear wheel bearing problem was discovered on the Brut 33 Capri, leaving polesitter Jonathan Corker to lead the ten-car field away but the Rover SD1 of Nick Williamson sped alongside past the pits at the end of the opening lap. However, the Datsun reclaimed the lead at Paddock Hill Bend and the V8 Vitesse followed at a respectable distance for the remainder of the fifteen minutes, The Rover’s position appeared to have been made safe when the fight for third intensified but Williamson was struck with a ten-second penalty for a false start. However, George Osbourne’s Alfa Romeo had attempted to take third from Graham Smith’s Mk1 Escort and made contact in the process, for which the GTV was penalised five places and Smith’s Mk1 Escort crept home in sixth with the right-rear quarter stoved in as a result. The collision and penalty meant that Neil Philpotts was promoted to third place and Williamson’s time advantage from his classmate was sufficient to hold on to the runner up position. Jared Knight’s 566 Mk2 Escort conked out on the last lap so Mostyn Rutter’s venerable Vauxhall Firenza was fourth but the failed Ford was still classified fifth. Behind the struggling Smith slotted the punished Osbourne, who would have been second without his censure. Robyn Slater was victorious in Class D for the second time on the day from the Avenger of Philip Waller that completed the nine finishers, with Carl Shreeve’s Dolomite the only car not classified in the results.
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Group A/Pre '93/Pre '03
Qualifying: The Safety Car interrupted the qualifying session after five minutes when BTCC star Tom Ingram’s Sierra stopped at the top of Paddock Hill Bend with propshaft trouble but the 2022 champion still claimed pole position from Dan Brown’s similar RS500, which was also struck down during the session with suspension problems. Paul Mensley steered the third of a trio of Ford Sierras in the top three, whilst Paddy Shovlin was a mere 0.002 seconds from Mensley’s turbocar and headed the pair of E30 M3s in fourth and fifth from Michael Cullen. New Zealander Scott O’Donnell’s Peanut Slab Sierra RS500 finally took to the track during the fifteen minutes after the car was held up in customs and the Ford wound up sixth fastest, with fellow latecomer Alan Dippie’s TWR Rover able to make Saturday evening’s finale but the Vitesse was the slowest of the Group A contenders on Sunday morning. William Davison spilt the two Irish-entered E30 M3s on the timesheet but the Pre ‘93 pacesetter would lead the second wave of cars away, whilst the similar E36 M3 of Ian Bower was only 0.079 seconds away as he formed up beside the yellow BMW. Gary Prebble’s Honda was the quickest of the Pre ‘03 set, some 0.328 seconds off Bower but there were three Pre ‘93 BMWs between the current champion and the second-fastest Don Hughes. Those three BMWs splitting the Civic and Peugeot were handled by Shaun Morris, Oliver Owen and Kevin Willis. The top ten starters of the second group were all from the Pre ‘03s as Kam Tunio’s Honda Civic Type R headed the BMWs of John Hillyer and David Cave. A trio of estates were out on Sunday among the Pre ‘03s, with Mark Bennett’s Jaguar X-Type shooting brake and the shared Jimmy Pettersson/Susanne Karlsson Volvo V70, that had come across from Sweden to race at the weekend, additional to Hillyer’s E36 328 Touring.
Race One: Two warm-up laps were required for the slick-tyred Group A machines and the clock started on the second formation lap. Neither of the front row Sierras were able to make the start so Paul Mensley initially sailed off into the distance with his NetComm RS500 until the Safety Car came out lap three after Shaun Morris’ Pre ‘93 E36 M3 dug into the Paddock Hill Bend gravel trap but the Marshals quickly freed the BMW and the field didn’t even catch the officials' vehicle before it was let loose once more. The Paddy Shovlin and Michael Cullen M3’s started to catch the leading Sierra in the closing minutes but Mensley pulled his finger out again to win by 3.022 seconds. The race winner had a late fright when he was forced onto the grass coming up to the line as a lapped car pulled out to pass another as the Sierra bore down on them. Shovlin had a slide at Paddock Hill Bend for the last time to bring playmate Cullen onto his tail but Shovlin fended him off. Scott O’Donnell was fourth in his Sierra's first race of the weekend, just ahead of the Pre ‘93 battle between William Davison and Ian Bower. Bower tried going around the outside of Paddock Hill Bend at the start but Davison retained the lead. The pair remained close until Bower had a big slide at Clearways later on. Alan Dippie’s V8 Rover kept Kevin Willis and Oliver Owen’s Pre ‘93 BMWs at bay until the closing stages so the Group A Vitesse came home ninth. Both Pre ‘03 poleman Gary Prebble and second qualifier Don Hughes were non-starters so tenth-placed David Cave’s BMW was victorious, despite being caught by classmate John Hillyer’s E36 Touring near the end and the pair were split by 0.724 seconds over the line. Adam Read made it an-all Class A podium with his 3 Series Compact, finishing a little under six seconds from the lead pair.
Race Two: Opening race victor Paul Mensley fell to the back of the Group A pack on lap one as Scott O’Donnell’s similar RS500 burst through from the second row into the lead. The New Zealander’s lead would last but a lap as Michael Cullen’s E30 M3 hit the front on lap two under braking into Paddock Hill Bend. However, Mensley had started to get going and powered to the front ending lap four. Pre ‘93 leader Ian Bower sent his BMW up the inside of Alan Dippie’s Rover at Druids on lap seven to take fourth place, with title rival William Davison following Bower through as the big SD1 got crossed up exiting the hairpin. Bower also passed the Peanut Slab Sierra for third overall at Druids as Davison followed O'Donnell home in fifth overall and second Pre '93. Meanwhile, the Bastos Rover of Dippie fended off the Pre '93 E36 M3s of Kevin Willis and Oliver Owen to the end in sixth, seventh and eighth. The BMWs of John Hillyer and David Cave were close throughout in ninth and tenth as they vied for Pre ‘03 glory before the 328 Touring opened up a small margin in the closing stages to win by 5.128 seconds. Kam Tunio’s Honda was the third Pre ‘03 car home in eleventh overall as he won Class C.
Qualifying: The Safety Car interrupted the qualifying session after five minutes when BTCC star Tom Ingram’s Sierra stopped at the top of Paddock Hill Bend with propshaft trouble but the 2022 champion still claimed pole position from Dan Brown’s similar RS500, which was also struck down during the session with suspension problems. Paul Mensley steered the third of a trio of Ford Sierras in the top three, whilst Paddy Shovlin was a mere 0.002 seconds from Mensley’s turbocar and headed the pair of E30 M3s in fourth and fifth from Michael Cullen. New Zealander Scott O’Donnell’s Peanut Slab Sierra RS500 finally took to the track during the fifteen minutes after the car was held up in customs and the Ford wound up sixth fastest, with fellow latecomer Alan Dippie’s TWR Rover able to make Saturday evening’s finale but the Vitesse was the slowest of the Group A contenders on Sunday morning. William Davison spilt the two Irish-entered E30 M3s on the timesheet but the Pre ‘93 pacesetter would lead the second wave of cars away, whilst the similar E36 M3 of Ian Bower was only 0.079 seconds away as he formed up beside the yellow BMW. Gary Prebble’s Honda was the quickest of the Pre ‘03 set, some 0.328 seconds off Bower but there were three Pre ‘93 BMWs between the current champion and the second-fastest Don Hughes. Those three BMWs splitting the Civic and Peugeot were handled by Shaun Morris, Oliver Owen and Kevin Willis. The top ten starters of the second group were all from the Pre ‘03s as Kam Tunio’s Honda Civic Type R headed the BMWs of John Hillyer and David Cave. A trio of estates were out on Sunday among the Pre ‘03s, with Mark Bennett’s Jaguar X-Type shooting brake and the shared Jimmy Pettersson/Susanne Karlsson Volvo V70, that had come across from Sweden to race at the weekend, additional to Hillyer’s E36 328 Touring.
Race One: Two warm-up laps were required for the slick-tyred Group A machines and the clock started on the second formation lap. Neither of the front row Sierras were able to make the start so Paul Mensley initially sailed off into the distance with his NetComm RS500 until the Safety Car came out lap three after Shaun Morris’ Pre ‘93 E36 M3 dug into the Paddock Hill Bend gravel trap but the Marshals quickly freed the BMW and the field didn’t even catch the officials' vehicle before it was let loose once more. The Paddy Shovlin and Michael Cullen M3’s started to catch the leading Sierra in the closing minutes but Mensley pulled his finger out again to win by 3.022 seconds. The race winner had a late fright when he was forced onto the grass coming up to the line as a lapped car pulled out to pass another as the Sierra bore down on them. Shovlin had a slide at Paddock Hill Bend for the last time to bring playmate Cullen onto his tail but Shovlin fended him off. Scott O’Donnell was fourth in his Sierra's first race of the weekend, just ahead of the Pre ‘93 battle between William Davison and Ian Bower. Bower tried going around the outside of Paddock Hill Bend at the start but Davison retained the lead. The pair remained close until Bower had a big slide at Clearways later on. Alan Dippie’s V8 Rover kept Kevin Willis and Oliver Owen’s Pre ‘93 BMWs at bay until the closing stages so the Group A Vitesse came home ninth. Both Pre ‘03 poleman Gary Prebble and second qualifier Don Hughes were non-starters so tenth-placed David Cave’s BMW was victorious, despite being caught by classmate John Hillyer’s E36 Touring near the end and the pair were split by 0.724 seconds over the line. Adam Read made it an-all Class A podium with his 3 Series Compact, finishing a little under six seconds from the lead pair.
Race Two: Opening race victor Paul Mensley fell to the back of the Group A pack on lap one as Scott O’Donnell’s similar RS500 burst through from the second row into the lead. The New Zealander’s lead would last but a lap as Michael Cullen’s E30 M3 hit the front on lap two under braking into Paddock Hill Bend. However, Mensley had started to get going and powered to the front ending lap four. Pre ‘93 leader Ian Bower sent his BMW up the inside of Alan Dippie’s Rover at Druids on lap seven to take fourth place, with title rival William Davison following Bower through as the big SD1 got crossed up exiting the hairpin. Bower also passed the Peanut Slab Sierra for third overall at Druids as Davison followed O'Donnell home in fifth overall and second Pre '93. Meanwhile, the Bastos Rover of Dippie fended off the Pre '93 E36 M3s of Kevin Willis and Oliver Owen to the end in sixth, seventh and eighth. The BMWs of John Hillyer and David Cave were close throughout in ninth and tenth as they vied for Pre ‘03 glory before the 328 Touring opened up a small margin in the closing stages to win by 5.128 seconds. Kam Tunio’s Honda was the third Pre ‘03 car home in eleventh overall as he won Class C.
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With the biggest event of the year now passed, the Classic Touring Car Racing Club returns to the championship grind at Snetterton over the weekend of the 9th and 10th of August.