Historic Modsports & Special Saloons Cadwell Park 15th June 2025
MORRISON’S MIDGET MAGIC ESCORTS IN A NEW ERA FOR HISTORIC MODSPORTS AND SPECIAL SALOONS
The CHASE Equipment Historic Modsports and Special Saloons were fortunate enough to be invited to compete at a one-day meeting organised by the Scottish Motor Racing Club at Cadwell Park on the 15th of June, as they moved on from their departure from the HSCC. The Historic Modsports and Special Saloons were to share the track with the hosting club's Scottish Classics Sports and Saloons as invitational entries.
Despite the late confirmation of the date, a decent entry of fourteen cars took the opportunity to join in with the Scottish competitors at the hilly Lincolnshire venue. 1989 British Hillclimb champion Ray Rowan brought out his Sunbeam Stiletto clone and the spaceframe machine will be towards the sharp end but Rowan was hamstrung by a misfire caused by a carburettor issue at Snetterton so was aiming for a cleaner day at Cadwell Park. Steve Barnard is one of the potential race winners with his low-slung Ford Escort Mk1 and he would be hoping for a successful day after his Snetterton weekend in April didn’t really get started with electrical woes and a fire, a new fuel regulator that came from America was fitted in the week prior to Cadwell. Myles Castaldini’s Ford-engined Davrian Mk8 will be one of the pacesetters among the group and was the aggregate ‘Bombhole Trophy’ winner at Snetterton in April. The tortuous nature of Cadwell Park should suit the MG Midget of David Morrison to a tee and he was a top-three contender at the category's previous meeting at the venue in 2024. Martin Reynolds took an overall podium finish at Snetterton with his FIA-specification Mk1 Escort RS2000 and the East Anglia resident had recently returned from contesting the Viborg Classic street races in Denmark. Tim Cairns always pedals along his Hexagon MG Midget well, having built the car up from an abandoned project to race for a few years with success during the 1980s before the car went into storage for some twenty years. The Midget has been a mainstay of the CSCC series since and it was Cairns’ maiden outing in the Historic Modsports and Special Saloons. A musclebound trio of V8-powered coupes graced the entry, with Robert Bremner's gruff TVR Tuscan, which was built as a racer in the USA, non-starting due to a lack of front brakes in testing on Saturday. Joining the black TVR on the entry, long-time racer William Underwood ran his bright red Triumph TR7 V8 for the first time with the Historic Modsports and Special Saloons and Steven Anderson brought along his self-built Chevrolet Corvette. At the smaller end of the scale, Paul Brooks wheeled out his recently acquired Maguire Stiletto and the former Castle Combe Special GT championship-winning chassis had its debut meeting in Brooks' hands cut short at Snetterton by a busted halfshaft but new parts have since been sourced. Also sporting Hillman Imp motivation were two more of the Davrian chassis in the field, one in the hands of ex-Wendy Wools championship Sunbeam Stiletto racer John Pugsley in a Mk6 and the other was a Mk7a belonging to David Brewis after purchasing the car from CTCRC Pre ‘66 Hillman Imp pilot Adrian Oliver. The final Imp-powered device would be Pete Richards’ Clan Crusader, which was racing for the first time this year after suffering a couple of unfortunate engine failures during 2024 so would be aiming to record a finish. Charles Colledge should find the twists and turns of Cadwell Park to his liking in his smart Mini Marcos as he completed the list of Historic Modsports and Special Saloons to accept their invitation.
The CHASE Equipment Historic Modsports and Special Saloons were fortunate enough to be invited to compete at a one-day meeting organised by the Scottish Motor Racing Club at Cadwell Park on the 15th of June, as they moved on from their departure from the HSCC. The Historic Modsports and Special Saloons were to share the track with the hosting club's Scottish Classics Sports and Saloons as invitational entries.
Despite the late confirmation of the date, a decent entry of fourteen cars took the opportunity to join in with the Scottish competitors at the hilly Lincolnshire venue. 1989 British Hillclimb champion Ray Rowan brought out his Sunbeam Stiletto clone and the spaceframe machine will be towards the sharp end but Rowan was hamstrung by a misfire caused by a carburettor issue at Snetterton so was aiming for a cleaner day at Cadwell Park. Steve Barnard is one of the potential race winners with his low-slung Ford Escort Mk1 and he would be hoping for a successful day after his Snetterton weekend in April didn’t really get started with electrical woes and a fire, a new fuel regulator that came from America was fitted in the week prior to Cadwell. Myles Castaldini’s Ford-engined Davrian Mk8 will be one of the pacesetters among the group and was the aggregate ‘Bombhole Trophy’ winner at Snetterton in April. The tortuous nature of Cadwell Park should suit the MG Midget of David Morrison to a tee and he was a top-three contender at the category's previous meeting at the venue in 2024. Martin Reynolds took an overall podium finish at Snetterton with his FIA-specification Mk1 Escort RS2000 and the East Anglia resident had recently returned from contesting the Viborg Classic street races in Denmark. Tim Cairns always pedals along his Hexagon MG Midget well, having built the car up from an abandoned project to race for a few years with success during the 1980s before the car went into storage for some twenty years. The Midget has been a mainstay of the CSCC series since and it was Cairns’ maiden outing in the Historic Modsports and Special Saloons. A musclebound trio of V8-powered coupes graced the entry, with Robert Bremner's gruff TVR Tuscan, which was built as a racer in the USA, non-starting due to a lack of front brakes in testing on Saturday. Joining the black TVR on the entry, long-time racer William Underwood ran his bright red Triumph TR7 V8 for the first time with the Historic Modsports and Special Saloons and Steven Anderson brought along his self-built Chevrolet Corvette. At the smaller end of the scale, Paul Brooks wheeled out his recently acquired Maguire Stiletto and the former Castle Combe Special GT championship-winning chassis had its debut meeting in Brooks' hands cut short at Snetterton by a busted halfshaft but new parts have since been sourced. Also sporting Hillman Imp motivation were two more of the Davrian chassis in the field, one in the hands of ex-Wendy Wools championship Sunbeam Stiletto racer John Pugsley in a Mk6 and the other was a Mk7a belonging to David Brewis after purchasing the car from CTCRC Pre ‘66 Hillman Imp pilot Adrian Oliver. The final Imp-powered device would be Pete Richards’ Clan Crusader, which was racing for the first time this year after suffering a couple of unfortunate engine failures during 2024 so would be aiming to record a finish. Charles Colledge should find the twists and turns of Cadwell Park to his liking in his smart Mini Marcos as he completed the list of Historic Modsports and Special Saloons to accept their invitation.
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Qualifying: A busy field of 28 entrants contested qualifying as the Historic Modsport and Special Saloons shared the track with the SMRC Classics and Sports/Saloons. The occasional spot of rain lingered in the air as the field was due to take to the track but wouldn't amount to anything. Two of the invited Historic Modsport and Special Saloon entries monopolised the front row as the MG Midget of David Morrison headed Ray Rowan's mid-engined Sunbeam Stiletto. Rowan was the first to set a benchmark time early in the fifteen-minute session before Morrison went round 1.528 seconds quicker two laps later. That effort would stand as the pole position winner despite the Stiletto closing to within 0.210 seconds with its last attempt. Martin Reynolds, another of the invited Historic Modsport and Special Saloons participants, wound up 1.930 seconds from pole in third and bemoaned a common theme throughout the field of struggling to find a clear lap and he also had concerns with the Mk1 Escort's tyres going off after a few laps. Less than a second covered the rumbling MGB GTs of top SMRC competitors Alasdair Coates and Alastair Baptie, along with the Triumph TR8 of Andrew Graham in sixth as they filled the next three slots. The next invitee could be found in seventh, the Hexagon MG Midget of Tim Cairns. The session was stopped after ten minutes and Myles Castaldini failed to set a laptime after the restart as he wasn't convinced he could go much quicker in the traffic so the Davrian would start from eighth, 0.185 seconds off Cairns. The MGB GT V8 of Ewan Anderson and the 'Berg Cup' Mk1 Golf of Tim Moll completed the top ten qualifiers. The ground-hugging Mk1 Escort of Steve Barnard was sixth fastest of the guesting Historic Modsport and Special Saloon cars in eleventh overall. John Pugsley's lowline Davrian and Paul Brooks' Maguire Stiletto started close to each other in eighteenth and nineteenth overall. The V8 machines of Steven Anderson and William Underwood started alongside each other at the back of the grid, with Pete Richards and Charles Colledge just ahead of them.
Race One: Conditions were bright and breezy for the opening race of the afternoon. There were 26 cars on the grid after David Brewis withdrew, as he was unhappy with the front-end handling of his Davrian, and Jimmy Crow's Scimitar also missed the encounter. The MG Midget of David Morrison appeared to make a decent start from pole but fellow front-row man Ray Rowan swept past to lead into Coppice and the poleman fell back to third behind Alasdair Coates’ MGB GT V8 up the hill. Alastair Baptie then thundered past Morrison into third on Park Straight and removed Coates from second by the end of the opening lap at the foot of the Mountain. Morrison also demoted Coates on lap two and dived past Baptie's muscular MGB GT into second overall at Mansfield on lap three before setting off after leader Rowan, who was more than six seconds up the road. The polesitting MG Midget began to take chunks from the former British Hillclimb champion Rowan and grabbed the lead as they encountered traffic at the Gooseneck for the seventh time. Once in the lead, Morrison wasn't able to fully escape and Rowan looked left and right towards Coppice on consecutive laps but the little MG kept the Sunbeam Stiletto at bay to win by a slim 0.488 seconds. Martin Reynolds dropped behind the thudding MGB GT V8s of SMRC Classic Sports and Saloons frontrunners Coates and Baptie off the line but claimed Coates on lap two to sit in fourth. The Mk1 Escort drew up to Baptie's MG for third place in company with Andrew Graham's Triumph TR8 and Myles Castaldini's Crossflow-engined Davrian, with the East Anglian making his move onto the overall podium on lap six. Castaldini got off to a steady start with his Davrian to be sat behind Steve Barnard's quick-off-the-mark spaceframe Escort and the MGB GT V8 of Ewan Anderson in ninth at the end of lap one but soon became part of the group ganging up on Baptie, despite the Davrian getting warm in the TR8’s wake. Castaldini felt the Welsh machine was quicker in the corners but didn't have enough puff in a straight line to pass the Rover V8-powered TR that prevailed in the SMRC Classic Sports and Saloons in fourth overall. Baptie faded from his early second place to cross the line in sixth overall and was runner-up to Graham in his division. Barnard crossed the line in seventh overall and fifth of the Historic Modsport and Special Saloons after also passing the fast-starting Coates, who finished eighth. The Mk1 Escort driver had to weld up its suspension after qualifying when the offside-front ball joint came apart. Ken Lark's gorgeous-sounding VW Corrado was first of the SMRC Scottish Classics in ninth, whilst the Historic Modsport and Special Saloon MG Midget of Tim Cairns lost six places on lap one but was able to climb back inside the top ten before losing tenth spot to Scottish Classics runner-up Adam Kinmond's bellowing Rover Vitesse on lap eight, shortly after the pair had usurped Anderson's MGB GT V8. Paul Bowers, who raced his Fiat with the Historic Modsports and Special Saloons at Snetterton in April, had an entertaining dice with Iain Mitchell’s Vauxhall Nova for Scottish Classic Sports and Saloons Class A honours, with the mint green hatchback defeating the Fiat 128SP Coupe by just 0.689 seconds. The Nova made a break in the first half of the race before the Italian machine reeled it back in but Bowers had a big moment at the bottom of the Mountain that cost him significant time. However, he caught Mitchell again on the final lap as the Reynolds, Graham and Castaldini group came through but the Dundee resident couldn't unseat the Vauxhall. Charles Colledge was the seventh of the Historic Modsport and Special Saloon runners to take the flag in eighteenth overall with his Gulf-liveried Mini Marcos. Paul Brooks had found some debris stuck in one of his Maguire Stiletto's rear tyres after qualifying, pulling the offending item out appeared to seal the leak but another problem manifested itself during the race as the right-rear driveshaft pulled out to cause a horrendous vibration. Brooks made it to the end after enjoying a battle with Pete Richards' Clan Crusader and closed in on Colledge's Mini Marcos to finish just 0.245 seconds in arrears for nineteenth overall. 77-year-old Richards had issues with the sole coming off of his left boot as he recorded his first race finish for two years in twentieth. Steven Anderson's Chevrolet Corvette was the last of the Historic Modsport and Special Saloons to finish after John Pugsley went out at the start having lost drive. William Underwood's TR7 V8 pulled off at Charlie’s on lap two after more trouble from the dual electrical switch controlling the water pump and fan, which fried again like in qualifying, and Underwood switched the car off to save cooking the Rover V8 engine. Underwood reported that it was a straightforward fix but was one for the workshop so the red machine was put away for the day.
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Race Two: The sky was overcast with a keen breeze as the field joined the racetrack for the second bout late in the afternoon. Martin Reynolds' Mk1 Escort had suffered an electrical meltdown in parc ferme after the opening race that ruled him out of race two. There would be no Steven Anderson Chevrolet Corvette either, the pain from a shoulder injury proving too much. From the outside of the front row, Ray Rowan checked out at the start and held a lead of more than four seconds after one lap alone. The V8 powerhouses of Alastair Baptie and Andrew Graham blasted by the poleman David Morrison along Park Straight for the first time but the opening race-winning MG Midget simply drove around the outside of Graham's TR8 at Park Corner and the Davrian of Myles Castaldini had also slipped ahead of the Triumph by Chris Curve. Castaldini took third from Morrison at Coppice starting lap two and the Davrian was up to second soon after at Chris Curve when he went under Baptie's MGB GT V8. Now in the clear, Castaldini set a mighty fastest lap of 1:37.841 as he pursued the race leader before Rowan disappeared on lap five, the leading Stiletto had a big spin at Coppice after fluid got onto its rear tyres and ended its race. The Safety Car came out on lap six and only came in with enough time for just a single-lap dash to the flag. Graham's TR8 and Morrison had both passed Baptie to be second and third in the queue, whilst Steve Barnard had caught Alasdair Coates' MGB GT V8 in fifth and sixth. Graham pounced at the restart to take the lead from Castaldini but all was not well with the Davrian and the Ford-powered device disappeared into the scenery at Charlie's after its left-rear wheel spokes sheared in the centre. Fortunately, the Davrian didn't hit anything solid and Castaldini hopped out unscathed, having felt a vibration behind the Safety Car and he was classified as the last finisher in the results. Graham's TR8 made a good fist of the final lap and triumphed over Baptie's MGB GT V8 by 1.431 seconds, with the top two both coming from the SMRC Scottish Classic Sports & Saloons set. Barnard's ground-hugging Mk1 Escort topped the Historic Modsport and Special Saloon invitees in third overall after speeding past Morrison’s MG Midget along Park Straight and the Midlander also bagged Coates’ flat-plane crank V8 MG on the final lap to clinch a spot on the podium. Morrison beat Coates to the line in fourth overall as the MGB GT V8 secured third of the SMRC Scottish Classic Sports & Saloons. Adam Kinmond topped the SMRC Scottish Classics in an impressive sixth overall with the big Rover Vitesse, with SMRC Scottish Classic Sports and Saloon competitors Keiron Baillie and Charles Cope in seventh and eighth with their Lotus Seven and VW Golf Mk1 respectively. Only three more of the guest Historic Modsport and Special Saloon cars reached the flag under their own steam after Barnard, with the lovely Hexagon MG Midget of Tim Cairns heading them home in ninth overall. John Pugsley had started 21st and made up ten places to finish on the fringe of the top ten in eleventh, whilst Charles Colledge made it home in fifteenth with his Mini Marcos. Paul Brooks' Maguire Stiletto popped a driveshaft again leaving the startline so was a first-lap retirement. Pete Richards’ Clan Crusader registered a worrying 150-degree water temperature on lap one and his engine wouldn’t fire again after he pitted. Tony Absolom took over the wailing VW Corrado of Ken Lark and raced to tenth overall and second of the SMRC Scottish Classics from towards the back of the grid.
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The overall race winners David Morrison (Race One, left) and Andrew Graham (Race Two, right) with the spoils of victory, including a bottle each of Black Shuck Distillery Gin.
The CHASE Equipment Historic Modsports and Special Saloons have been invited to join forces with the SMRC for a second time at Croft on the 23rd and 24th of August, the scene of a super weekend for the category in 2024.