CTCRC 50th Anniversary Weekend Thruxton 21st & 22nd September 2024
The Classic Touring Car Racing Club celebrated its 50th Anniversary at Thruxton over the weekend of the 21st and 22nd of September. The club started life in 1974 as the Classic Saloon Car Club with the Pre '57 category, before adding the Pre '65 series soon after. The scenes below were captured by my father at Castle Combe in the summer of 1983.
The Pre '74 Post Historic championship soon joined the burgeoning club's roster and Graham Fermor is pictured at Mallory Park in May 1991 when he drove through the pack to take fifth overall at the Devil's Elbow for the last time after starting from the rear of the grid. Les Nash's 'Purple People Eater' Lotus Cortina was a fixture at the front of the Pre '65 field into the 1990s and is seen in the Castle Combe paddock on Easter Monday 1992 and Brian Stevens leads the Post Historic field up to Shaws Hairpin at Mallory Park for the first time in August 1998. A leap forward to 2018 when David Howard fended off a pack of cars that were falling over themselves trying to get past his Jaguar XJ12 to win a fantastic opening Pre '83 race on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit in October. Here's a link to the in-car video from Tom Burgess' Mk1 Fiesta that was in the thick of the battle - Click here. The Pre '66 field had an equally thrilling race at the same venue in April 2023 and can be relived here from the viewpoint of Michael Sheraton's spectacularly-driven Ford Anglia - Click here
Further championships were added for Pre 1993, 2003 and 2005 saloons, as well as the crowd-pleasing Classic Thunder machinery. The latest addition to their portfolio was the sophisticated Super Touring Cars in 2022 and led to the inauguration of 'Super Touring Power' in 2023. The Brands Hatch-based showpiece attracted Super Touring Cars from as far afield as New Zealand for its debut, along with period drivers including Alain Menu, Anthony Reid and Paul Radisich, and a huge crowd followed. The success led to a repeat of the extravaganza in 2024, featuring an incredible last lap of the second Indy circuit bout, and plans are afoot for 'Super Touring Power 3' in the summer of 2025. The 2024 season concluded at the mega-fast Thruxton circuit in Hampshire supporting the TCR UK championship, with a glittering reception held on Saturday night that was attended by previous officials and racers in addition to the present crop to celebrate the milestone anniversary.
Classic Thunder/BOSS
Qualifying: A lot of rain had fallen in the build up to the weekend and the first of the club's categories to qualify faced a very greasy track surface. Mike Manning set the early pace in his Texaco RS500, with the closely following David Blackie's BMW virtually matching the Sierra’s times until putting in a flyer which placed the Scotsman almost two seconds clear. As the chequered flag flew at the end of the fifteen minutes, the E92 M3 went faster again and Nick Vaughan vaulted up to second at his home track around half a second behind, the 2023 champion had driven the road-legal Audi to the circuit and planned to drive it home again too. David Jefferson was also in the mix at the top of the times with his E92 M3 and would share the second row with initial pacesetter Manning, who was quickest of the BOSS field. AJ Owen made it two Sierra Cosworths in the top five and Ian Craig’s E46 M3 would also start from the third row. Piers Grange headed row four with his BOSS Mk2 Escort from Ross Craig’s Honda Civic. Joey Binks’ gorgeous Duckhams RS500 went well to be ninth and the top ten was completed by Olly Allen’s quick Fiesta. Classic Thunder championship hopeful Josh Lawton only completed three laps in the supercharged Honda after driveshaft trouble and would start from eleventh for his maiden race at the venue. Martin Reynolds wound up twelfth with his BOSS Mk2 Escort, one place ahead of title race leader Ian Bower's E36 M3 that held a single-point buffer to Lawton. Melvyn Hooker was the quicker of the pair of Historic Thunder cars with the ex-Pearman brothers' Jaguar XJS in fifteenth overall from a cautious Colin Voyce.
Race One: A passing shower during the lunch break threw tyre choice into the air before further rain during the preceding TCR UK bout made grooved tyres the only option. The sun made an appearance during the fifteen minutes so the surface began to dry out fast. Third qualifier David Jefferson was a non-starter after water got into the ignition cut-off switch and rendered the M3's V8 engine silent as the field awaited the pair of formation laps. Nick Vaughan swept into the lead from the outside of the front row when the field was unleashed from poleman David Blackie and the Sierras of Mike Manning and AJ Owen. The pair of Cosworths were abreast at the Complex before Manning established himself in third as Piers Grange followed them with his Mk2 Escort, whilst Josh Lawton had made a flying start to reach the Complex in sixth ahead of Ian and Ross Craig. Enjoying the slippery conditions, former rallycrosser Manning powered up to second up Woodham Hill and Grange also got by Owen's Sierra at Chruch for fourth. Vaughan's lead hovered around one second in the early laps before the Audi stretched its advantage to 4.757 seconds on lap five when Blackie passed Manning out the back. A couple of laps later, leader Vaughan slowed dramatically up Woodham Hill with a little over three minutes remaining after the Audi's engine dropped a couple of cylinders. The Team Prawn Racing car pulled over just as Manning had got back onto the tail of Blackie's BMW and the Sierra dived ahead into the chicane. The M3 hung on alongside but the Sierra’s power took it into the lead by Allard. However, the charging Lawton was homing in on them after the Honda had got by Owen through Village on lap three and Grange at Church a lap later as his intermediate tyres came on song. The Civic caught the mauve BMW behind lapped traffic in the yellow flag zone for the stranded Vaughan Audi after Blackie held onto a huge slide through Village. The Honda dealt with Blackie into Allard starting the penultimate lap and then caught Manning at the final corner just as time ran out. The pair exited the chicane in a drag race to the line, which Manning's Sierra won by 0.219 seconds. Blackie scored a podium finish with third, with Grange taking the BOSS win in fourth despite being caught by Ian Craig and Olly Allen towards the end. Owen struggled as the race wore on with worn wet tyres and fishtailed the Sierra home in ninth overall behind Ross Craig's Honda and Martin Reynolds' Mk2 Escort. Colin Voyce finished top of the Historics as the turbocharged Mk1 Escort rounded out the overall top ten. Ian Bower matched Lawton's Class B result to take the Class C spoils with his BMW so went into Sunday's race still holding the championship lead by a solitary point. Tim Mizen took it steadily with his Fiesta in fifteenth overall to claim the BOSS Class D spoils and provisionally tie up the overall BOSS title.
Race Two: More overnight rain and an early start ahead of the church break on Sunday morning ensured a wet second encounter. There was a big disappointment pre-race as Saturday victor Mike Manning’s Sierra broke its gearbox whilst being warmed up in the paddock and disappointment for Joey Binks' Duckhams RS500 soon followed with a non-start after being pushed off the grid with a flat battery as the field set off on the formation lap. There would be no AJ Owen either after rooting his wets on Saturday and having no more to use, ensuring there would be no Sierra Cosworths taking part. Poleman Josh Lawton ran away from the field to the tune of 28.683 seconds by the end for a dominant win aboard the incredible Honda. David Blackie also took a lonely second, some 11.987 seconds ahead of the third-placed car. Third qualifier David Jefferson started from the back of the pack after missing the opening race with electrical woes but had sliced into the top five by the end of lap one. Piers Grange and Olly Allen settled into an early third and fourth position as they fought for the BOSS lead until Jefferson caught the pair on lap three, the BMW bravely went under the Fiesta into Church and the Mk2 Escort was dispensed with shortly after on lap five with a move deep on the brakes at the Complex to seal the E92 M3's place on the podium. With the BMW through, Allen turned his attention back to the chase of Grange for the BOSS category spoils and the Fiesta was with the Escort on the penultimate lap but Grange held on for the win. Ross Craig had a high speed trip down the grass at Church on the opening lap after his father Ian’s BMW slowed in front of him with electrical problems and the Honda speared off in avoidance. Craig then went on a charge back into the top seven by the completion of lap three and engaged in a battle with Martin Reynolds' Mk2 Escort and guest James Allen's Civic Type R. Reynolds and Craig had an entertaining duel as the Escort forced the Honda to take the long way round the circuit before the Civic went ahead with a bold move around the outside of Goodwood for the sixth time. Allen's Honda also got past the Escort at Goodwood a lap later but the third-placed BOSS car of Reynolds eventually moved back ahead by the end as Craig rounded out the top six. Ian Bower's class competition was reduced by two on Sunday so the BMW driver couldn't claim full championship points despite his second Class C victory of the weekend, provisionally handing the overall crown to Lawton after a stellar first season in the championship. The sole Historic Thunder contender to venture out in the tricky conditions departed the fray on the second lap when Colin Voyce's front-left tyre delaminated on the Mk1 Escort Turbo.
Classic Thunder/BOSS
Qualifying: A lot of rain had fallen in the build up to the weekend and the first of the club's categories to qualify faced a very greasy track surface. Mike Manning set the early pace in his Texaco RS500, with the closely following David Blackie's BMW virtually matching the Sierra’s times until putting in a flyer which placed the Scotsman almost two seconds clear. As the chequered flag flew at the end of the fifteen minutes, the E92 M3 went faster again and Nick Vaughan vaulted up to second at his home track around half a second behind, the 2023 champion had driven the road-legal Audi to the circuit and planned to drive it home again too. David Jefferson was also in the mix at the top of the times with his E92 M3 and would share the second row with initial pacesetter Manning, who was quickest of the BOSS field. AJ Owen made it two Sierra Cosworths in the top five and Ian Craig’s E46 M3 would also start from the third row. Piers Grange headed row four with his BOSS Mk2 Escort from Ross Craig’s Honda Civic. Joey Binks’ gorgeous Duckhams RS500 went well to be ninth and the top ten was completed by Olly Allen’s quick Fiesta. Classic Thunder championship hopeful Josh Lawton only completed three laps in the supercharged Honda after driveshaft trouble and would start from eleventh for his maiden race at the venue. Martin Reynolds wound up twelfth with his BOSS Mk2 Escort, one place ahead of title race leader Ian Bower's E36 M3 that held a single-point buffer to Lawton. Melvyn Hooker was the quicker of the pair of Historic Thunder cars with the ex-Pearman brothers' Jaguar XJS in fifteenth overall from a cautious Colin Voyce.
Race One: A passing shower during the lunch break threw tyre choice into the air before further rain during the preceding TCR UK bout made grooved tyres the only option. The sun made an appearance during the fifteen minutes so the surface began to dry out fast. Third qualifier David Jefferson was a non-starter after water got into the ignition cut-off switch and rendered the M3's V8 engine silent as the field awaited the pair of formation laps. Nick Vaughan swept into the lead from the outside of the front row when the field was unleashed from poleman David Blackie and the Sierras of Mike Manning and AJ Owen. The pair of Cosworths were abreast at the Complex before Manning established himself in third as Piers Grange followed them with his Mk2 Escort, whilst Josh Lawton had made a flying start to reach the Complex in sixth ahead of Ian and Ross Craig. Enjoying the slippery conditions, former rallycrosser Manning powered up to second up Woodham Hill and Grange also got by Owen's Sierra at Chruch for fourth. Vaughan's lead hovered around one second in the early laps before the Audi stretched its advantage to 4.757 seconds on lap five when Blackie passed Manning out the back. A couple of laps later, leader Vaughan slowed dramatically up Woodham Hill with a little over three minutes remaining after the Audi's engine dropped a couple of cylinders. The Team Prawn Racing car pulled over just as Manning had got back onto the tail of Blackie's BMW and the Sierra dived ahead into the chicane. The M3 hung on alongside but the Sierra’s power took it into the lead by Allard. However, the charging Lawton was homing in on them after the Honda had got by Owen through Village on lap three and Grange at Church a lap later as his intermediate tyres came on song. The Civic caught the mauve BMW behind lapped traffic in the yellow flag zone for the stranded Vaughan Audi after Blackie held onto a huge slide through Village. The Honda dealt with Blackie into Allard starting the penultimate lap and then caught Manning at the final corner just as time ran out. The pair exited the chicane in a drag race to the line, which Manning's Sierra won by 0.219 seconds. Blackie scored a podium finish with third, with Grange taking the BOSS win in fourth despite being caught by Ian Craig and Olly Allen towards the end. Owen struggled as the race wore on with worn wet tyres and fishtailed the Sierra home in ninth overall behind Ross Craig's Honda and Martin Reynolds' Mk2 Escort. Colin Voyce finished top of the Historics as the turbocharged Mk1 Escort rounded out the overall top ten. Ian Bower matched Lawton's Class B result to take the Class C spoils with his BMW so went into Sunday's race still holding the championship lead by a solitary point. Tim Mizen took it steadily with his Fiesta in fifteenth overall to claim the BOSS Class D spoils and provisionally tie up the overall BOSS title.
Race Two: More overnight rain and an early start ahead of the church break on Sunday morning ensured a wet second encounter. There was a big disappointment pre-race as Saturday victor Mike Manning’s Sierra broke its gearbox whilst being warmed up in the paddock and disappointment for Joey Binks' Duckhams RS500 soon followed with a non-start after being pushed off the grid with a flat battery as the field set off on the formation lap. There would be no AJ Owen either after rooting his wets on Saturday and having no more to use, ensuring there would be no Sierra Cosworths taking part. Poleman Josh Lawton ran away from the field to the tune of 28.683 seconds by the end for a dominant win aboard the incredible Honda. David Blackie also took a lonely second, some 11.987 seconds ahead of the third-placed car. Third qualifier David Jefferson started from the back of the pack after missing the opening race with electrical woes but had sliced into the top five by the end of lap one. Piers Grange and Olly Allen settled into an early third and fourth position as they fought for the BOSS lead until Jefferson caught the pair on lap three, the BMW bravely went under the Fiesta into Church and the Mk2 Escort was dispensed with shortly after on lap five with a move deep on the brakes at the Complex to seal the E92 M3's place on the podium. With the BMW through, Allen turned his attention back to the chase of Grange for the BOSS category spoils and the Fiesta was with the Escort on the penultimate lap but Grange held on for the win. Ross Craig had a high speed trip down the grass at Church on the opening lap after his father Ian’s BMW slowed in front of him with electrical problems and the Honda speared off in avoidance. Craig then went on a charge back into the top seven by the completion of lap three and engaged in a battle with Martin Reynolds' Mk2 Escort and guest James Allen's Civic Type R. Reynolds and Craig had an entertaining duel as the Escort forced the Honda to take the long way round the circuit before the Civic went ahead with a bold move around the outside of Goodwood for the sixth time. Allen's Honda also got past the Escort at Goodwood a lap later but the third-placed BOSS car of Reynolds eventually moved back ahead by the end as Craig rounded out the top six. Ian Bower's class competition was reduced by two on Sunday so the BMW driver couldn't claim full championship points despite his second Class C victory of the weekend, provisionally handing the overall crown to Lawton after a stellar first season in the championship. The sole Historic Thunder contender to venture out in the tricky conditions departed the fray on the second lap when Colin Voyce's front-left tyre delaminated on the Mk1 Escort Turbo.
Pre '66/'83
Qualifying: The track surface was starting to dry when the time came for the two eldest series on the club’s roster to qualify but was still slick off-line. Stephen Primett was fastest by an ominous 3.215 seconds from an impressive effort by Mark Fowler to put his similar Mk1 Escort on the front row of the Pre '83s. A quarter of a second down from Fowler was the Mk2 RS2000 of Mark Cholerton that qualified third and Nick Williamson’s Rover SD1 put in a better showing than of late to line up fourth. Carl Shreeve’s Triumph Dolomite and Graham Smith’s Mk1 Escort made up the third row. A smoky Jonathan Corker Datsun headed the fourth row as he struggled with oil weeping from the rocker cover and he had the Firenza of Mostyn Rutter starting beside him. Malcolm Jeffs was scheduled to line up ninth but the Wrigleys Golf succumbed to overheating so Philip Waller's Hillman Avenger started alone on the fifth row. The front row of the Pre ‘66 field was closely matched as circuit owner Alex Thistlethwaite took his Ford Mustang to the top of the category by just 0.192 seconds from the similar Alan Mann Racing-run car of Jack Ruddell. The third fastest Pre ‘66 car was the Mini of Barry Sime and the Cooper S revelled in the tricky conditions to lap just 0.325 seconds away from the table-topping muscle cars, with the similar car of Mike Davies also performing admirably for fourth. Pat Kenneally drove the first of the Lotus Cortinas on the timesheet and headed the third row from the Hillman Imp of 2021 champion James Ibbotson. The fourth row was made up by V8-powered Americana as Piers Grange's Mustang headed Alan Greenhalgh's Falcon. Jake Swann would take the start from ninth with his Ford Anglia and championship chaser Ian Thompson went from tenth of the Pre ‘66s as he sought to steal the crown away from the absent title race leader Luc Wilson. Adrian Oliver's weekend was over before it even started as his Hillman Imp blew its engine on the way to the assembly area for qualifying!
Race One: The Pre ‘83 and '66 fields gridded separately and Stephen Primett converted his Pre '83 pole position at the start, whilst Jonathan Corker made a superb getaway and was up to second by the Complex. Mark Fowler made a slow start from the outside of the front row and fell behind Nick Williamson's Rover and Corker's Datsun as they burst through at Allard before Carl Shreeve and Graham Smith also went ahead turning into Campbell. Shreeve's Triumph Dolomite dived inside Williamson for third but couldn't make the move stick after climbing the Campbell kerbing, whilst Fowler got back ahead of Smith through Cobb for the first time. Primett opened a small advantage out front from the five-car group contesting second place until the Safety Car was deployed on lap four after Shreeve's Dolomite clipped a tyre stack and crashed out with damaged steering at the Club Chicane exit after running at the head of the train, the blue Triumph having taken third from Williamson into the chicane for the first time and second from Corker up Woodham Hill a lap later. The red flag soon followed to effect barrier repairs and the restart would be contested over six minutes, with the six-car field forming up in race order. Primett led away from Corker, with Williamson and Fowler side-by-side through Allard in their wake before the Rover established itself in third by the Complex. Cholerton was slow leaving the line in his RS2000 and fell behind the two Pre '66-leading Mustangs but had repassed them both before the end of lap one. Williamson got ahead of Corker at the chicane at the end of lap one but the Datsun was back into second by Allard as the six cars still remained in close quarters. Cholerton slipped into fifth ahead of Graham Smith in the middle of the Complex for the second time and moved onto the tail of Fowler by Church, whilst Williamson charged past Corker approaching the Chicane to regain second at the end of lap two but the Datsun again nipped by on the inside of Allard. Cholerton squeezed through the narrowest of gaps up Woodham Hill for the third time to take fourth from Fowler and the chasing quartet were now starting to eat into leader Primett's narrow advantage as time remained for one more circulation. Corker was just a couple of Datsun 510 lengths behind Primett exiting Church but Williamson's SD1 breezed past the Japanese machine on the run up to the final chicane and the Mk1 Escort just held on to win from the Rover, Corker, Cholerton and Fowler, with Williamson doing well to finish in second despite a broken gear linkage. Graham Smith took sixth a short distance from the quintet. Mike Davies' Mini and Pat Kenneally's Cortina got great starts to launch into the Pre '66 lead positions by Allard and Kenneally hit the front through the Complex before poleman Alex Thistlethwaite's Mustang exerted its authority up Woodham Hill to reclaim the category lead at the end of lap one. Jack Ruddell's Mustang had also rumbled into second by Allard on lap two. Barry Sime lost places after getting boxed in through the early corners but picked up one spot when Piers Grange touched the grass exiting Seagrave for the first time and the Scot had picked his way through order to fourth at the time of the red flag. Former category leader Thistlethwaite was pushed off the grid before the restart but the V8 engine fired up in the pitlane and the Mustang joined the back of the field on the green flag lap. When the six-minute restart got underway, Jack Ruddell and Piers Grange headed the pack on the first lap in their Mustangs from the Minis of Barry Sime and Mike Davies, whilst Pat Kenneally had a wild spin out of fifth place under pressure from Jake Swann's Anglia on the opening lap at Church and fell to the back of the field. Alan Greenhalgh bellowed past the black Anglia up Woodham Hill to take away fifth place, with the white Anglia of Jake Swann's father Kevin and championship hopeful Ian Thompson's Cortina also in attendance. Youngster Ruddell stretched away from Grange in second to win by 6.692 seconds from the Cheshireman and had held onto the coat-tails of the Pre '83 cars. The second-placed Mustang had Barry Sime snapping at its heels for the duration but V8 grunt won out over the diminutive Mini's agility. From the pitlane, Thistlethwaite fought back up to fourth, just 2.570 seconds down on Sime, with a last-lap pass on the Falcon of Greenhalgh in fifth. Mike Davies wasn't far off the American machine in sixth and Ian Thompson boosted his title prospects with the Class F victory in seventh, whilst the Swann family battle of the Anglias went to the finish line as Dad just beat lad for eighth and ninth. Completing the top ten with his Hillman Imp, Brendan Rooney took his first Class E victory after battling past the similar cars of 2021 overall champion James Ibbotson exiting the Complex and a fast-starting Michael Loveland at Church for the first time.
Race Two: Nick Williamson had fixed a broken front subframe sustained during the Allcomers race overnight, whilst Jonathan Corker had concerns about possible bent steering from his Allard incident during the same race but both took their places on the Pre '83 starting grid. The earlier rain had eased enough for the surface to be greasy rather than fully wet when the grid formed up. Williamson launched into the lead from the outside of the front row when the lights went out and Corker followed the Rover past Stephen Primett through Allard but the polesitting Mk1 Escort would be second by the end of the lap after steaming past up Woodham Hill, with Mark Cholerton watching on. The RS2000 also went by the Datsun up Woodham Hill on lap three as Corker's pace began to wane while Williamson still led on his full-wet tyres but the less deeply-treaded dry tyre-shod Mk1 Escort of Primett edged closer with the fastest lap to that point, the multiple champion making his move up the inside into the chicane for the fourth time. Cholerton took more than two seconds out of the lead pair as they fought and was right with them as they went onto lap five. Primett was able to put a little daylight between himself and the other two once in the lead and would eventually take the flag 3.184 seconds up the road from the squabble for second. Cholerton was gaining on Williamson's Rover up Woodham Hill for the seventh time but the SD1 cut the chicane after sliding wide and extended the gap to the pursuing RS2000 to more than a second and a half. The Rover thus took second place from Cholerton's droop-snoot RS2000, which finished on Williamson's tail. Corker's Datsun crossed the line almost ten seconds adrift of the podium in fourth and was a similar distance ahead of Graham Smith's Mk1 Escort in fifth. Class D winner Philip Waller was the sixth and final Pre '83 finisher with his Hillman Avenger after Mostyn Rutter pitted his Vauxhall Firenza. Piers Grange led the Pre '66 category throughout and came home in sixth overall, 7.566 seconds ahead of Barry Sime's Mini. Overall title contender Ian Thompson closed on class leader Patrick Kenneally in the late stages and pulled off a committed pass into Allard starting the final lap to win Class F in eighth overall to provisionally seal the championship crown after a titanic wrestle for third place. Race One winner Jack Ruddell and Alan Greenhalgh arrived at the Complex abreast on lap one contesting third place before the impudent Hillman Imp Michael Loveland skated around the outside of the American machines to steal the place. Greenhalgh’s Falcon then spun to the back of the field at Cobb and Loveland was helpless to stop Jake Swann, Kenneally, Kevin Swann, Thompson and Ruddell all powering past on the run to the chicane, the Cortina of Kenneally had driven a superb opening lap to finish it in fourth from gridding in thirteenth. The five-car scrap over third raged for much of the duration and involved the two Cortinas, both Swanns plus Class E winner James Ibbotson, who reeled them in after pulling off a great move on Saturday victor Ruddell around the outside of Goodwood/Village to reach the group. Thompson fought past Jake Swann going onto penultimate lap but the Anglia bravely went back ahead on the inside of Church before the Cortina decisively took the place around the outside into the Club Chicane and launched his successful attack on Kenneally. Thompson also had a tail to tell from Saturday evening after classmate Keith Wright packed up to leave, having suffered clutch woes on his Lotus Cortina, but the title contender stopped him in his tracks to offer help in repairing the car so that Thompson could receive maximum class points from the race on Sunday if he won. Jake Swann repeated his Church move on Kenneally on the last lap but the Cortina had the legs up Woodham Hill to reclaim fourth. Ibbotson exited the final chicane amid armfuls of crowd-pleasing opposite lock as he chased Swann over the line in sixth of the Pre '66s. Jake's father Kevin Swann fell out of the tussle with a spin at the chicane just after halfway so Brendan Rooney backed up his maiden class victory with second place to Ibbotson and seventh of the Pre '66 cars. Opening race winner Ruddell faded to ninth behind the recovering Kevin Swann Anglia before hopping into his Honda Civic Cup car for the following race and the similar Mustang of Ant Astley completed the top ten, whilst Saturday polesitter Alex Thistlethwaite non-started his example. Michael Loveland fell away to fifteenth in the category after his early heroics but still took third in Class E once his classmate Ibbotson had rounded him up through the Noble/Goodwood sequence on lap two and Rooney went through on the inside of Allard starting lap three.
Qualifying: The track surface was starting to dry when the time came for the two eldest series on the club’s roster to qualify but was still slick off-line. Stephen Primett was fastest by an ominous 3.215 seconds from an impressive effort by Mark Fowler to put his similar Mk1 Escort on the front row of the Pre '83s. A quarter of a second down from Fowler was the Mk2 RS2000 of Mark Cholerton that qualified third and Nick Williamson’s Rover SD1 put in a better showing than of late to line up fourth. Carl Shreeve’s Triumph Dolomite and Graham Smith’s Mk1 Escort made up the third row. A smoky Jonathan Corker Datsun headed the fourth row as he struggled with oil weeping from the rocker cover and he had the Firenza of Mostyn Rutter starting beside him. Malcolm Jeffs was scheduled to line up ninth but the Wrigleys Golf succumbed to overheating so Philip Waller's Hillman Avenger started alone on the fifth row. The front row of the Pre ‘66 field was closely matched as circuit owner Alex Thistlethwaite took his Ford Mustang to the top of the category by just 0.192 seconds from the similar Alan Mann Racing-run car of Jack Ruddell. The third fastest Pre ‘66 car was the Mini of Barry Sime and the Cooper S revelled in the tricky conditions to lap just 0.325 seconds away from the table-topping muscle cars, with the similar car of Mike Davies also performing admirably for fourth. Pat Kenneally drove the first of the Lotus Cortinas on the timesheet and headed the third row from the Hillman Imp of 2021 champion James Ibbotson. The fourth row was made up by V8-powered Americana as Piers Grange's Mustang headed Alan Greenhalgh's Falcon. Jake Swann would take the start from ninth with his Ford Anglia and championship chaser Ian Thompson went from tenth of the Pre ‘66s as he sought to steal the crown away from the absent title race leader Luc Wilson. Adrian Oliver's weekend was over before it even started as his Hillman Imp blew its engine on the way to the assembly area for qualifying!
Race One: The Pre ‘83 and '66 fields gridded separately and Stephen Primett converted his Pre '83 pole position at the start, whilst Jonathan Corker made a superb getaway and was up to second by the Complex. Mark Fowler made a slow start from the outside of the front row and fell behind Nick Williamson's Rover and Corker's Datsun as they burst through at Allard before Carl Shreeve and Graham Smith also went ahead turning into Campbell. Shreeve's Triumph Dolomite dived inside Williamson for third but couldn't make the move stick after climbing the Campbell kerbing, whilst Fowler got back ahead of Smith through Cobb for the first time. Primett opened a small advantage out front from the five-car group contesting second place until the Safety Car was deployed on lap four after Shreeve's Dolomite clipped a tyre stack and crashed out with damaged steering at the Club Chicane exit after running at the head of the train, the blue Triumph having taken third from Williamson into the chicane for the first time and second from Corker up Woodham Hill a lap later. The red flag soon followed to effect barrier repairs and the restart would be contested over six minutes, with the six-car field forming up in race order. Primett led away from Corker, with Williamson and Fowler side-by-side through Allard in their wake before the Rover established itself in third by the Complex. Cholerton was slow leaving the line in his RS2000 and fell behind the two Pre '66-leading Mustangs but had repassed them both before the end of lap one. Williamson got ahead of Corker at the chicane at the end of lap one but the Datsun was back into second by Allard as the six cars still remained in close quarters. Cholerton slipped into fifth ahead of Graham Smith in the middle of the Complex for the second time and moved onto the tail of Fowler by Church, whilst Williamson charged past Corker approaching the Chicane to regain second at the end of lap two but the Datsun again nipped by on the inside of Allard. Cholerton squeezed through the narrowest of gaps up Woodham Hill for the third time to take fourth from Fowler and the chasing quartet were now starting to eat into leader Primett's narrow advantage as time remained for one more circulation. Corker was just a couple of Datsun 510 lengths behind Primett exiting Church but Williamson's SD1 breezed past the Japanese machine on the run up to the final chicane and the Mk1 Escort just held on to win from the Rover, Corker, Cholerton and Fowler, with Williamson doing well to finish in second despite a broken gear linkage. Graham Smith took sixth a short distance from the quintet. Mike Davies' Mini and Pat Kenneally's Cortina got great starts to launch into the Pre '66 lead positions by Allard and Kenneally hit the front through the Complex before poleman Alex Thistlethwaite's Mustang exerted its authority up Woodham Hill to reclaim the category lead at the end of lap one. Jack Ruddell's Mustang had also rumbled into second by Allard on lap two. Barry Sime lost places after getting boxed in through the early corners but picked up one spot when Piers Grange touched the grass exiting Seagrave for the first time and the Scot had picked his way through order to fourth at the time of the red flag. Former category leader Thistlethwaite was pushed off the grid before the restart but the V8 engine fired up in the pitlane and the Mustang joined the back of the field on the green flag lap. When the six-minute restart got underway, Jack Ruddell and Piers Grange headed the pack on the first lap in their Mustangs from the Minis of Barry Sime and Mike Davies, whilst Pat Kenneally had a wild spin out of fifth place under pressure from Jake Swann's Anglia on the opening lap at Church and fell to the back of the field. Alan Greenhalgh bellowed past the black Anglia up Woodham Hill to take away fifth place, with the white Anglia of Jake Swann's father Kevin and championship hopeful Ian Thompson's Cortina also in attendance. Youngster Ruddell stretched away from Grange in second to win by 6.692 seconds from the Cheshireman and had held onto the coat-tails of the Pre '83 cars. The second-placed Mustang had Barry Sime snapping at its heels for the duration but V8 grunt won out over the diminutive Mini's agility. From the pitlane, Thistlethwaite fought back up to fourth, just 2.570 seconds down on Sime, with a last-lap pass on the Falcon of Greenhalgh in fifth. Mike Davies wasn't far off the American machine in sixth and Ian Thompson boosted his title prospects with the Class F victory in seventh, whilst the Swann family battle of the Anglias went to the finish line as Dad just beat lad for eighth and ninth. Completing the top ten with his Hillman Imp, Brendan Rooney took his first Class E victory after battling past the similar cars of 2021 overall champion James Ibbotson exiting the Complex and a fast-starting Michael Loveland at Church for the first time.
Race Two: Nick Williamson had fixed a broken front subframe sustained during the Allcomers race overnight, whilst Jonathan Corker had concerns about possible bent steering from his Allard incident during the same race but both took their places on the Pre '83 starting grid. The earlier rain had eased enough for the surface to be greasy rather than fully wet when the grid formed up. Williamson launched into the lead from the outside of the front row when the lights went out and Corker followed the Rover past Stephen Primett through Allard but the polesitting Mk1 Escort would be second by the end of the lap after steaming past up Woodham Hill, with Mark Cholerton watching on. The RS2000 also went by the Datsun up Woodham Hill on lap three as Corker's pace began to wane while Williamson still led on his full-wet tyres but the less deeply-treaded dry tyre-shod Mk1 Escort of Primett edged closer with the fastest lap to that point, the multiple champion making his move up the inside into the chicane for the fourth time. Cholerton took more than two seconds out of the lead pair as they fought and was right with them as they went onto lap five. Primett was able to put a little daylight between himself and the other two once in the lead and would eventually take the flag 3.184 seconds up the road from the squabble for second. Cholerton was gaining on Williamson's Rover up Woodham Hill for the seventh time but the SD1 cut the chicane after sliding wide and extended the gap to the pursuing RS2000 to more than a second and a half. The Rover thus took second place from Cholerton's droop-snoot RS2000, which finished on Williamson's tail. Corker's Datsun crossed the line almost ten seconds adrift of the podium in fourth and was a similar distance ahead of Graham Smith's Mk1 Escort in fifth. Class D winner Philip Waller was the sixth and final Pre '83 finisher with his Hillman Avenger after Mostyn Rutter pitted his Vauxhall Firenza. Piers Grange led the Pre '66 category throughout and came home in sixth overall, 7.566 seconds ahead of Barry Sime's Mini. Overall title contender Ian Thompson closed on class leader Patrick Kenneally in the late stages and pulled off a committed pass into Allard starting the final lap to win Class F in eighth overall to provisionally seal the championship crown after a titanic wrestle for third place. Race One winner Jack Ruddell and Alan Greenhalgh arrived at the Complex abreast on lap one contesting third place before the impudent Hillman Imp Michael Loveland skated around the outside of the American machines to steal the place. Greenhalgh’s Falcon then spun to the back of the field at Cobb and Loveland was helpless to stop Jake Swann, Kenneally, Kevin Swann, Thompson and Ruddell all powering past on the run to the chicane, the Cortina of Kenneally had driven a superb opening lap to finish it in fourth from gridding in thirteenth. The five-car scrap over third raged for much of the duration and involved the two Cortinas, both Swanns plus Class E winner James Ibbotson, who reeled them in after pulling off a great move on Saturday victor Ruddell around the outside of Goodwood/Village to reach the group. Thompson fought past Jake Swann going onto penultimate lap but the Anglia bravely went back ahead on the inside of Church before the Cortina decisively took the place around the outside into the Club Chicane and launched his successful attack on Kenneally. Thompson also had a tail to tell from Saturday evening after classmate Keith Wright packed up to leave, having suffered clutch woes on his Lotus Cortina, but the title contender stopped him in his tracks to offer help in repairing the car so that Thompson could receive maximum class points from the race on Sunday if he won. Jake Swann repeated his Church move on Kenneally on the last lap but the Cortina had the legs up Woodham Hill to reclaim fourth. Ibbotson exited the final chicane amid armfuls of crowd-pleasing opposite lock as he chased Swann over the line in sixth of the Pre '66s. Jake's father Kevin Swann fell out of the tussle with a spin at the chicane just after halfway so Brendan Rooney backed up his maiden class victory with second place to Ibbotson and seventh of the Pre '66 cars. Opening race winner Ruddell faded to ninth behind the recovering Kevin Swann Anglia before hopping into his Honda Civic Cup car for the following race and the similar Mustang of Ant Astley completed the top ten, whilst Saturday polesitter Alex Thistlethwaite non-started his example. Michael Loveland fell away to fifteenth in the category after his early heroics but still took third in Class E once his classmate Ibbotson had rounded him up through the Noble/Goodwood sequence on lap two and Rooney went through on the inside of Allard starting lap three.
Super Touring/Pre '93/'03
Qualifying: Stewart Whyte continued to lap faster and faster throughout the fifteen minutes to garner pole position with his ex-Tom Kristensen Honda Accord by 2.316 seconds from the Vauxhall Vectra of Jason Hughes. Super Touring Power 2 race winner AJ Owen was third fastest with the Valvoline Mondeo and had the 1990-vintage Vauxhall Cavalier of Jim Pocklington alongside the four cylinder car on the second row. Roger Stanford put his BTC-T-spec Vauxhall Astra fifth from club chairman Stuart Caie's Vauxhall Cavalier that completed the six-car entry. The Pre ‘93s and Pre ‘03s would start separately from the Super Tourers, with Ian Bower’s Pre ‘93 BMW leading their group away. Gary Prebble took his customary Pre ‘03 pole position with his Honda Civic and would start alongside Bower. Defending and provisional double Pre ‘93 champion Stuart Waite was next up with Kevin Willis beside him in his similar BMW M3. Another pair of E36 M3s lined up next in the hands of Oliver Owen and Shaun Morris on the third row. William Davison was the fifth of the top six Pre'93 drivers to count Thruxton as their home circuit and he would have the second Pre '03 car of Cavan Grainger alongside on row four. The next Pre '03 car in the top ten belonged to Joe Dorrington and the Honda lined up ninth ahead of Mike Seabourne's Pre '93 Jaguar XJS at the foot of the top ten.
Race One: The opening Super Touring/Pre '93/'03 bout took place in some welcome mid-September sunshine. Stewart Whyte dominated to scorch to a 31.816-second winning margin in the Honda Accord, his cause was helped when a power steering pipe burst on the chasing Jason Hughes Vauxhall Vectra. The race was brought to an early conclusion when Simon Mann clouted the chicane tyre stack just after being lapped by Whyte, which saw the Safety Car emerge before the red flags were unfurled with the dislodged tyre bundle in the middle of the circuit. The hobbled Hughes Vectra was only 0.497 seconds ahead of the leading Pre '93 BMW of Stuart Waite at the flag, with William Davison and Ian Bower chasing the double champion home. There was a fierce scrap for Pre ‘93 honours between Waite and Bower initially before Davison replaced the Castrol M3 after suffering a throttle issue and they almost caught Hughes as he manhandled the Vectra round. Bower led away from the start but Waite soon sped past in the high-speed sweeps. However, the champion elect dropped a wheel on the grass exiting the Complex and Bower was back in the lead with Willis hounding Waite too. Bower and Waite got a break when the group encountered the Super Touring tail-enders on lap three as Prebble and Davison both demoted Willis, with Davison squeezing between Willis and Roger Stanford's Astra towards Church to gain the place. Davison then passed the Pre '03 leader up the chicane a lap later to move into fifth overall. Bower continued to hold sway before his problems struck and Waite took up the cudgels once more on lap five. Promoted to second, Davison got his head down with the fastest lap of the Pre '93s and was with Waite by the stoppage to help in his quest to wrest second in the championship from Bower. Gary Prebble led home the Pre '03 contingent again in sixth overall and Kevin Willis' Pre '93 BMW was close behind in seventh as a queue formed behind the second-placed Vauxhall. The similar E36 M3 of Oliver Owen was some 25.083 seconds behind Willis in eighth, ahead of the Super Touring category Vauxhalls of Jim Pocklington and Roger Stanford which virtually dead-heated for ninth and tenth. AJ Owen had run in a comfortable third overall early doors with his Mondeo Super Tourer before a fourth lap puncture put the Valvoline machine out at the Complex. Shaun Morris had been involved with the tussle at the head of the Pre '93s but a misfire put him out shortly before the truncation of the race.
Race Two: Rain began to fall quite significantly just before the start of the fifteen-minute encounter but that wouldn't faze Stewart Whyte as the Scot put in a dominant display to romp to victory by 21.863 seconds from Jason Hughes, who had mounted an impressive charge from the back of the Pre ‘93/‘03 field to second. Hughes had a power steering pipe made up locally after his failure in Race One and the part was fitted to the car by 22:00 on Saturday night. The Vectra was due to take up its front row starting position alongside Whyte’s Honda Accord but Hughes missed the lap to the grid changing to full wet tyres so started from the pitlane. The charging Vauxhall set the fastest lap en route to the podium and was inside the overall top ten by the end of lap two, Hughes passed the Pre '93 lead contest three laps later to grab his eventual second overall as more rain fell towards the finish. Early second-place runner AJ Owen suffered his second puncture of the weekend, this one causing a major fright when the deflation pitched him off the circuit at high speed through Church and removed the Ford Mondeo’s splitter. The Pre ‘93 battle came down to the last corner as Ian Bower slithered around the outside of early leader Stuart Waite under braking and boxed Waite in behind Jamie Sturges’ lapped Motul BMW but Waite came back at the exit after Bower got crossed up to win the drag race to the line by 0.628 seconds, a little contact between the pair saw Bower’s front bumper hanging off and Waite’s steering knocked askew but the result saw Bower secure second in the championship on paper. Bower had done well to recover from a high-speed rotation at Village after nine minutes to reel in the champion-elect, having fallen some twelve seconds behind as a result. Gary Prebble had a lonely race to Pre ‘03 honours in fifth overall and provisionally wrapped up the championship as chief challenger Anton Martin needed to win Class A with fastest lap and Prebble to not win his class to overhaul the half-points scoring Civic but the E46 BMW driver was beaten to the class win by Jon Hillyer's E36 BMW 3 Series Touring to ensure the Honda's crown. Jim Pocklington's third-placed Super Touring Cavalier and Kevin Willis' BMW were involved in an entertaining contest for sixth overall, which the immaculate Vauxhall won. Joe Dorrington took second in the Pre '03s in eighth overall ahead of William Davison's Pre '93 BMW that had run in third of the Pre '93's early on. Oliver Owen had been running ahead of Davison when he was a late race retirement in his Pre '93 BMW M3. Club chairman Stuart Caie completed the overall top ten with his Vauxhall Cavalier Super Touring car.
Qualifying: Stewart Whyte continued to lap faster and faster throughout the fifteen minutes to garner pole position with his ex-Tom Kristensen Honda Accord by 2.316 seconds from the Vauxhall Vectra of Jason Hughes. Super Touring Power 2 race winner AJ Owen was third fastest with the Valvoline Mondeo and had the 1990-vintage Vauxhall Cavalier of Jim Pocklington alongside the four cylinder car on the second row. Roger Stanford put his BTC-T-spec Vauxhall Astra fifth from club chairman Stuart Caie's Vauxhall Cavalier that completed the six-car entry. The Pre ‘93s and Pre ‘03s would start separately from the Super Tourers, with Ian Bower’s Pre ‘93 BMW leading their group away. Gary Prebble took his customary Pre ‘03 pole position with his Honda Civic and would start alongside Bower. Defending and provisional double Pre ‘93 champion Stuart Waite was next up with Kevin Willis beside him in his similar BMW M3. Another pair of E36 M3s lined up next in the hands of Oliver Owen and Shaun Morris on the third row. William Davison was the fifth of the top six Pre'93 drivers to count Thruxton as their home circuit and he would have the second Pre '03 car of Cavan Grainger alongside on row four. The next Pre '03 car in the top ten belonged to Joe Dorrington and the Honda lined up ninth ahead of Mike Seabourne's Pre '93 Jaguar XJS at the foot of the top ten.
Race One: The opening Super Touring/Pre '93/'03 bout took place in some welcome mid-September sunshine. Stewart Whyte dominated to scorch to a 31.816-second winning margin in the Honda Accord, his cause was helped when a power steering pipe burst on the chasing Jason Hughes Vauxhall Vectra. The race was brought to an early conclusion when Simon Mann clouted the chicane tyre stack just after being lapped by Whyte, which saw the Safety Car emerge before the red flags were unfurled with the dislodged tyre bundle in the middle of the circuit. The hobbled Hughes Vectra was only 0.497 seconds ahead of the leading Pre '93 BMW of Stuart Waite at the flag, with William Davison and Ian Bower chasing the double champion home. There was a fierce scrap for Pre ‘93 honours between Waite and Bower initially before Davison replaced the Castrol M3 after suffering a throttle issue and they almost caught Hughes as he manhandled the Vectra round. Bower led away from the start but Waite soon sped past in the high-speed sweeps. However, the champion elect dropped a wheel on the grass exiting the Complex and Bower was back in the lead with Willis hounding Waite too. Bower and Waite got a break when the group encountered the Super Touring tail-enders on lap three as Prebble and Davison both demoted Willis, with Davison squeezing between Willis and Roger Stanford's Astra towards Church to gain the place. Davison then passed the Pre '03 leader up the chicane a lap later to move into fifth overall. Bower continued to hold sway before his problems struck and Waite took up the cudgels once more on lap five. Promoted to second, Davison got his head down with the fastest lap of the Pre '93s and was with Waite by the stoppage to help in his quest to wrest second in the championship from Bower. Gary Prebble led home the Pre '03 contingent again in sixth overall and Kevin Willis' Pre '93 BMW was close behind in seventh as a queue formed behind the second-placed Vauxhall. The similar E36 M3 of Oliver Owen was some 25.083 seconds behind Willis in eighth, ahead of the Super Touring category Vauxhalls of Jim Pocklington and Roger Stanford which virtually dead-heated for ninth and tenth. AJ Owen had run in a comfortable third overall early doors with his Mondeo Super Tourer before a fourth lap puncture put the Valvoline machine out at the Complex. Shaun Morris had been involved with the tussle at the head of the Pre '93s but a misfire put him out shortly before the truncation of the race.
Race Two: Rain began to fall quite significantly just before the start of the fifteen-minute encounter but that wouldn't faze Stewart Whyte as the Scot put in a dominant display to romp to victory by 21.863 seconds from Jason Hughes, who had mounted an impressive charge from the back of the Pre ‘93/‘03 field to second. Hughes had a power steering pipe made up locally after his failure in Race One and the part was fitted to the car by 22:00 on Saturday night. The Vectra was due to take up its front row starting position alongside Whyte’s Honda Accord but Hughes missed the lap to the grid changing to full wet tyres so started from the pitlane. The charging Vauxhall set the fastest lap en route to the podium and was inside the overall top ten by the end of lap two, Hughes passed the Pre '93 lead contest three laps later to grab his eventual second overall as more rain fell towards the finish. Early second-place runner AJ Owen suffered his second puncture of the weekend, this one causing a major fright when the deflation pitched him off the circuit at high speed through Church and removed the Ford Mondeo’s splitter. The Pre ‘93 battle came down to the last corner as Ian Bower slithered around the outside of early leader Stuart Waite under braking and boxed Waite in behind Jamie Sturges’ lapped Motul BMW but Waite came back at the exit after Bower got crossed up to win the drag race to the line by 0.628 seconds, a little contact between the pair saw Bower’s front bumper hanging off and Waite’s steering knocked askew but the result saw Bower secure second in the championship on paper. Bower had done well to recover from a high-speed rotation at Village after nine minutes to reel in the champion-elect, having fallen some twelve seconds behind as a result. Gary Prebble had a lonely race to Pre ‘03 honours in fifth overall and provisionally wrapped up the championship as chief challenger Anton Martin needed to win Class A with fastest lap and Prebble to not win his class to overhaul the half-points scoring Civic but the E46 BMW driver was beaten to the class win by Jon Hillyer's E36 BMW 3 Series Touring to ensure the Honda's crown. Jim Pocklington's third-placed Super Touring Cavalier and Kevin Willis' BMW were involved in an entertaining contest for sixth overall, which the immaculate Vauxhall won. Joe Dorrington took second in the Pre '03s in eighth overall ahead of William Davison's Pre '93 BMW that had run in third of the Pre '93's early on. Oliver Owen had been running ahead of Davison when he was a late race retirement in his Pre '93 BMW M3. Club chairman Stuart Caie completed the overall top ten with his Vauxhall Cavalier Super Touring car.
50th Anniversary Allcomers Races
Qualifying: In recognition of the club’s 50 years of competition, an extra pair of races was laid for the competitors. A mixed entry from each of the categories was received and Josh Lawton had fixed the supercharged Honda after his drivetrain trouble during the earlier Classic Thunder session to storm to pole position by 4.044 seconds from the car he shares his awning with, David Blackie’s E92 BMW M3. Mike Manning qualified his Texaco Sierra third and Oliver Owen's Pre '93 BMW M3 joined the BOSS car in fourth. The similar M3 of Kevin Willis and the two-wheeling Honda Civic of guest entry James Allen formed the third row. Alex Thistlethwaite, the recent purchaser of Thruxton, set the seventh best time in his Ovaltine-liveried Chevrolet Camaro and bested the Mk2 Escort of Martin Reynolds on the fourth row. Jim Pocklington's Vauxhall Cavalier Super Tourer and Ian Knight's Civic Type R completed the top ten.
Race One: Josh Lawton’s sensational Civic disappeared up the road to win handsomely by more than a minute, using slick tyres for the first time at the meeting to produce a storming fastest lap quicker than the pole position marker set by Tom Ingram during the BTCC’s visit in June to boot. David Blackie took a lonely second in his BMW from earlier conqueror Mike Manning's Sierra RS500, the Group A car was being caught by James Allen's Honda but he too was caught and passed by Ian Bower up from the back of the grid and Oliver Owen finished just behind the Warminster man. However, the Castrol BMW wasn’t classified as a finisher so the kerb-hopping Honda was classified fourth and a disaster for Bower was narrowly averted on lap one when he was forced onto the grass approaching the Complex and skated into the pack. Kevin Willis had been involved in an early tussle for fifth place with Owen before the M3 went out just before half-distance. David Jefferson's BMW M3 V8 came up from the back of the grid to sixth after missing the earlier Classic Thunder race, reaching the top ten on lap one. Martin Reynolds overcame Alex Thistlethwaite’s gruff Camaro for seventh, getting ahead into Allard on lap four. The frantic Ian Knight, Jonathan Corker and Jon Hillyer squabble for ninth ended in tears with the Pre ‘83 Datsun in the barriers at Allard after a nudge from behind and Knight’s Pre '03 Honda was the only one left standing at the flag. Another slugfest behind featured two XJSs, Nick Williamson’s Rover and Jamie Sturges’ BMW M535i, which went to Melvin Hooker’s Historic Thunder Jaguar in tenth from Sturges, Mike Seabourne and Williamson, who had broken the front subframe of the Pre '83 SD1.
Race Two: The rain that started during the prior Pre'93/'03/Super Touring race had reached biblical proportions before the start of Race Two for the Allcomers. An incident in the preceding race had damaged the Armco approaching the chicane and, combined with the awful conditions, brought forward the lunch break. The deluge eased during the enforced lunchtime pause but had left behind some areas of standing water at Allard, Noble and Church, which took some time to clear. Just three cars decided to brave the conditions in the hands of James Allen, Jamie Sturges and Mike Seabourne. The hardy few set off from a Safety Car start and Allen's Honda Civic cleared off from Seabourne in an early second but the XJS driver’s enthusiasm got the better of him and he spun exiting the chicane at the end of lap two and the Jaguar refused to burst back into life, clutch problems had forced him to start the car in gear and he lost close to a whole lap firing the car up again. Allen lapped the other two on his way to a dominant victory in the Civic Type R but the race for second went to the Club Chicane for the last time as Seabourne drove around outside of Sturges' BMW to a rapturous reception from the crowd and grabbed second place right at the death.
Qualifying: In recognition of the club’s 50 years of competition, an extra pair of races was laid for the competitors. A mixed entry from each of the categories was received and Josh Lawton had fixed the supercharged Honda after his drivetrain trouble during the earlier Classic Thunder session to storm to pole position by 4.044 seconds from the car he shares his awning with, David Blackie’s E92 BMW M3. Mike Manning qualified his Texaco Sierra third and Oliver Owen's Pre '93 BMW M3 joined the BOSS car in fourth. The similar M3 of Kevin Willis and the two-wheeling Honda Civic of guest entry James Allen formed the third row. Alex Thistlethwaite, the recent purchaser of Thruxton, set the seventh best time in his Ovaltine-liveried Chevrolet Camaro and bested the Mk2 Escort of Martin Reynolds on the fourth row. Jim Pocklington's Vauxhall Cavalier Super Tourer and Ian Knight's Civic Type R completed the top ten.
Race One: Josh Lawton’s sensational Civic disappeared up the road to win handsomely by more than a minute, using slick tyres for the first time at the meeting to produce a storming fastest lap quicker than the pole position marker set by Tom Ingram during the BTCC’s visit in June to boot. David Blackie took a lonely second in his BMW from earlier conqueror Mike Manning's Sierra RS500, the Group A car was being caught by James Allen's Honda but he too was caught and passed by Ian Bower up from the back of the grid and Oliver Owen finished just behind the Warminster man. However, the Castrol BMW wasn’t classified as a finisher so the kerb-hopping Honda was classified fourth and a disaster for Bower was narrowly averted on lap one when he was forced onto the grass approaching the Complex and skated into the pack. Kevin Willis had been involved in an early tussle for fifth place with Owen before the M3 went out just before half-distance. David Jefferson's BMW M3 V8 came up from the back of the grid to sixth after missing the earlier Classic Thunder race, reaching the top ten on lap one. Martin Reynolds overcame Alex Thistlethwaite’s gruff Camaro for seventh, getting ahead into Allard on lap four. The frantic Ian Knight, Jonathan Corker and Jon Hillyer squabble for ninth ended in tears with the Pre ‘83 Datsun in the barriers at Allard after a nudge from behind and Knight’s Pre '03 Honda was the only one left standing at the flag. Another slugfest behind featured two XJSs, Nick Williamson’s Rover and Jamie Sturges’ BMW M535i, which went to Melvin Hooker’s Historic Thunder Jaguar in tenth from Sturges, Mike Seabourne and Williamson, who had broken the front subframe of the Pre '83 SD1.
Race Two: The rain that started during the prior Pre'93/'03/Super Touring race had reached biblical proportions before the start of Race Two for the Allcomers. An incident in the preceding race had damaged the Armco approaching the chicane and, combined with the awful conditions, brought forward the lunch break. The deluge eased during the enforced lunchtime pause but had left behind some areas of standing water at Allard, Noble and Church, which took some time to clear. Just three cars decided to brave the conditions in the hands of James Allen, Jamie Sturges and Mike Seabourne. The hardy few set off from a Safety Car start and Allen's Honda Civic cleared off from Seabourne in an early second but the XJS driver’s enthusiasm got the better of him and he spun exiting the chicane at the end of lap two and the Jaguar refused to burst back into life, clutch problems had forced him to start the car in gear and he lost close to a whole lap firing the car up again. Allen lapped the other two on his way to a dominant victory in the Civic Type R but the race for second went to the Club Chicane for the last time as Seabourne drove around outside of Sturges' BMW to a rapturous reception from the crowd and grabbed second place right at the death.
So ended the CTCRC's golden anniversary season, with next year's campaign scheduled to kick off on the National circuit at Donington Park over the weekend of the 22nd and 23rd of March.