Modified Ford Series Croft 12th & 13th July 2025

COCKELL GOES THROUGH THE GEARS BEFORE ROBINSON FIGHTS BACK
The Modified Ford Series returned to action on the 12th and 13th of July after its visit to the Republic of Ireland with a trip to another venue that hadn’t featured in previous seasons, the former airfield circuit at Croft in North Yorkshire. Nineteen competitors were scheduled to compete at the weekend but the Class A Focus of Mick Head withdrew with electrical problems and Mike Thurley from Class B was unwell.

Class SA pulled the highest number of entries with half a dozen and the rapid Escort Cosworth of Dave Cockell will take some stopping at the sharp end. Andy Robinson should fare better at his local venue after the big Falcon AU proved unsuited to the technical Mondello Park layout and the V8 Supercar’s 7-litre powerhouse ought to be a boon in the faster sections. Ex-Motorbike and Autograss racer Chris Harrison made his series debut with a 2.3-litre RSR Ecoboost Turbo. A pair of Scottish Escort Cosworths were present in the hands of SMRC Rising Star Scott Tollan and Ali McMillan, who raced with the series at Knockhill in 2024. Piers Warwick made his first start of 2025 with his refreshed Mk1 Escort Turbo and was one of many to experience the former airfield track for the first time, Warwick had struggled in the lead up to the meeting to make his newly upgraded digital dashboard work properly and required the fitting of an analogue temperature gauge to keep an eye on things. The pair of remaining Class A entries were both Focus mounted and James Allen should be the pacesetter with his highly-developed Mk2 RS, Allen has driven at Croft before but it was his first time at the circuit since 2017. Stefan Marsh has taken a couple of class wins this term and the Focus now features a rorty side-exit exhaust. Sole Class SB entry Ben Purnell was a dark horse for overall honours after strong showing at Oulton Park aboard his 2.8-litre RSR. Modified Ford Series head Paul Nevill had an adventurous time at Mondello Park but the Class B+ RS2000 can usually be found towards the front of the class. David Guthrie was voted driver of the day in Ireland and secured a top three class finish in the finale so should run Nevill close in the turbocharged Fiesta. Iain Blackley had another new circuit to find his way around with his turbocharged Puma. After no Class B entries made the trip across the Irish Sea, a field of three cars was present at Croft. One of many circuit virgins, Kevin Whyte should prove to be the quickest of the trio after qualifying second in class on his maiden outing in the series at Oulton Park with his Fiesta, A fellow debutant in Cheshire, Lucas Dryden was quietly impressive in his Zetec-motivated XR2 that day and the Cumbrian celebrated his birthday the day after meeting. Leslie Chapelhow made his racing debut after making the move from track days to circuit racing with a Fiesta ST. Stephen Primett gathered three more Class C victory trophies for his expanding collection at Mondello Park but was unopposed in Ireland after Dave Barrett went home before qualifying. Barrett’s Fiesta had failed scrutineering at the County Kildare circuit but would be back in action at Croft as the 2024 series winner tried to keep pace with the fleet Mk1 Escort BDA.

Qualifying: The Modified Ford Series hit the track on a very hot Saturday afternoon for their fifteen minutes to set the grid. Andy Robinson got to the head of the queue and the big Falcon from Class SA used the clear track effectively to set pole position by a healthy 2.866 seconds, despite the pain from a bad back limiting his running. James Allen’s Focus was going better than during morning practice, after a fuse blew and the battery went flat, to record the second fastest time and head Class A but the flywheel and starter motor needed changing post session. The star of qualifying was the Class B Fiesta of Kevin Whyte in third, after the Scot put the car in the top three early in the session and his time wouldn't be beaten for a place on the second row. Paul Nevill was fourth quickest to top Class B+ but he was forced to stop early after the trigger wheel came off the crank pulley and took out the associated sensor on his Duratec motor. Nevill’s classmate David Guthrie was just 0.148 seconds off the RS2000 in fifth with his Boamerang Racing Fiesta, which is now the only turbocharged Fiesta in the camp after the news broke over the weekend that Alex Boam had sold his example. Some extra track time on Friday worked well for Iain Blackley as he qualified the Puma Turbo sixth and lined up third of the Class B+ machinery. The Scot was a narrow 0.018 seconds ahead of Ben Purnell’s Class SB RSR in seventh after the SHP-built machine suffered a troubled free practice and qualifying, the Cornishman had made an unsuccessful trip to Darlington at lunchtime to source a replacement rose joint after breaking it during the morning running. After help from fellow RSR pilot Chris Harrison, Purnell was able to take part in the fifteen minutes of qualifying but alternator and gear linkage woes struck so the RSR was only able to complete enough laps to get on the grid. Scott Tollan‘s Escort Cosworth in eighth was the second fastest of the Class SA cars but had a wheel bearing problem mid-session and was just 0.042 seconds up on Stefan Marsh’s Class A Focus, who was ninth despite a spin. Potential pacesetter Dave Cockell lined up in an unexpected tenth after power steering trouble held the Escort Cosworth back and the four-wheel-drive powerhouse only completed enough laps to qualify. The Class SA RSR of Chris Harrison marked its maiden outing with eleventh and lined up one spot ahead of fellow Class SA man Ali McMillan’s Escort Cosworth. Lucas Dryden was second fastest in Class B and the 1800cc Fiesta XR2 was a tiny 0.002 seconds faster than Class C polesitter Stephen Primett’s Mk1 Escort in fourteenth. Dave Barrett qualified second in Class C in fifteenth but he was a hefty 5.763 seconds off Primett as the Fiesta pilot learned the layout. Leslie Chapelhow took part in his first qualifying session and set the sixteenth-best time for third in Class B, whilst Piers Warwick brought up the rear after the Nissan-powered Mk1 Escort driver took things steadily to acquaint himself with the layout and was about to start a push lap after cooling his temps when the chequered flag came out.

Qualifying results: Click here

Race One: With no engine noise allowed at Croft before midday on Sunday, the Modified Fords faced a long wait from qualifying the previous day to the start of Race One in the middle of the afternoon. James Allen’s team had completed the starter motor and flywheel change in around four hours on Saturday evening but an oversight by Allen meant that the brake line-lock was not released during the formation lap and ruined his brand new rear tyres, meaning that the Focus wouldn't be present on the front row. Paul Nevill had welded up the Duratec’s trigger wheel and pulley to allow the RS2000 to take up its place on the second row. Polesitter Andy Robinson tried to break the field in the early going before the repaired Dave Cockell Escort Cosworth got through the traffic. The Class SA car ended the opening lap in fifth, despite a coming together with Kevin Whyte’s Fiesta into the Complex. The four-wheel-drive machine was up to second by the end of lap two after powering past David Guthrie and Paul Nevill, whilst the RSR of Ben Purnell had shot up to fourth on lap one but retired second time around. The leading V8 Supercar was 6.326 seconds up the road by then but Cockell relentlessly reeled Robinson in to the tune of two seconds per lap and grabbed the lead down to Clervaux on lap six. The flying Cockell opened out a 6.848 second advantage in the remaining seven minutes to take a well-earned win. Robinson’s bad back didn’t hinder him too much as the Falcon AU took second both overall and in Class SA. Series head Paul Nevill came home in a lonely third for the Class B+ win, once he'd seen off the early threat from classmate David Guthrie. Kevin Whyte lost ground at the start after being forced to slow behind Ben Purnell at Clervaux but the Fiesta had repassed Iain Blackley’s turbocharged Puma at Sunny In before his contact with the charging Cockell meant that the Class B winner had to do it again as the Scot fought back through to fourth. David Guthrie had given chase to class winner Nevill early on before the Fiesta's engine temperatures went up and the Ecoboost Fiesta slipped behind Whyte’s normally aspirated version to fifth. Iain Blackley started well to run sixth but the Class B+ Puma eventually fell behind a great tussle between Scott Tollan and Stefan Marsh in the last five minutes. The scrap went all the way to the line before the Scot’s Escort Cosworth prevailed as Marsh secured Class A honours, with Blackley following them home for third in the Class B+ split in eighth. Lucas Dryden's Class B XR2 had an early battle with Chris Harrison's Class SA RSR, who was contesting his first race for fourteen years, before Ali McMillan's Escort Cosworth got involved. The RSR got ahead of Dryden on the second tour before grabbing ninth from the Scot on lap six and held the spot to the end, whilst Dryden passed McMillan on lap seven to complete the top ten. The Class SA Cosworth was also passed on the final lap by Class C winner Stephen Primett for eleventh. Class C runner up Dave Barrett, the returning Piers Warwick and race debutant Leslie Chapelhow completed the fifteen finishers. Purnell's second lap exit with more gear linkage woes meant that there would be no winner of Class SB.
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​Race One results: Click here

Race Two: After the chilled out start to the weekend, only a little more than one hour's spanner time sat between the first and second encounters. The opening race victor Dave Cockell decided to sit out the second outing, with the Escort Cosworth driver not willing to risk his gearbox after finding the unit had lost a tooth from fourth gear. Cockell's withdrawal left the mighty Ford Falcon AU of Andy Robinson alone on the front row. Paul Nevill and Kevin Whyte formed up on the second row, with David Guthrie and Scott Tollan making up row three. Tollan's foe from Race One, Stefan Marsh, and Scot Iain Blackley lined up on the fourth row, with Chris Harrison and Lucas Dryden completing the top ten starters. A fired-up James Allen went from the back of the grid and the progress of the Focus would be one to watch. The polesitting Robinson led all the way and was already 2.789 seconds clear by the end of lap one, with the Australian machine extending its margin out front to 18.250 seconds by the end of the fifteen minutes for a dominant win. Paul Nevill sat in an early second but was caught by an onward marching Allen by the end of lap four. The turbocharged Focus had already broken into the top six by the end of the opening lap before passing both David Guthrie and Kevin Whyte during lap three. However, the Focus slowed at the Complex with a gear selection issue having just grabbed second position from the RS2000 at Sunny In. After peeling into the pitlane, the Focus rejoined stuck in fourth gear and got involved in a bruising battle with Scott Tollan and Stefan Marsh. The latter pair had already been in contact during the opening corners after Marsh’s Focus slewed sideways and the Scot went through before Marsh dived back ahead at Sunny In on lap two. The duo swapped places again into Clervaux for the third time but the Focus was back ahead by the end of the lap, only temporarily as the Escort Cosworth powered back in front down the start/finish straight going onto the fourth tour. Allen was able to quickly get past the squabbling pair but his high gear left him vulnerable out of the hairpin and both Tollan and Marsh sped back through. Allen capitalised when Marsh took Tollan with a peach of a cutback at Sunny Out on lap six to pass both but when they reached the Complex, the Scot's Escort Cosworth knocked Marsh's Focus into a spin at the tight right-hander. Both continued and Tollan even repassed Allen down the pit straight after the Focus staggered out of the hairpin once more. However, Allen retook fifth with a brave move at Barcroft that saw Tollan's Escort Cosworth take to the grass as he made room. The scrap came to a head on the last lap as Allen was once again slow out of the hairpin to trail Tollan and Marsh. The Escort Cosworth had a deflating nearside-rear tyre by now and the Allen Focus had regained the lost time to drive around the outside of Tollan into the first left of the Complex but contact was made, with both rotating and Marsh went through to claim fifth. Tollan rejoined to cross the line sixth but Allen was left stranded. Ahead of the kerfuffle, Nevill sailed serenely on to second place and completed a Class B+ double despite a bit of rallycrossing at the last corner. Ben Purnell wasn’t far away from Allen’s Focus as they cut through the field and the RSR ultimately took third, with Purnell reaching the top six on lap two. The Cornishman passed David Guthrie for fifth during lap four, which became fourth when Allen pitted and Kevin Whyte's Fiesta was the last to fall victim just after half-distance. The Class SB winner thanked runner-up Nevill after the race for his assistance in curing the RSR's ill gearbox. Whyte sped to fourth overall for the second time as he claimed the Class B spoils again. After dropping a couple of spots in the charge to Clervaux, the Scot nipped inside Marsh when the Focus had its lap one moment at Hawthorn to claim his place inside the top four. Marsh emerged from the chaotic scrap with Tollan and Allen in fifth place and bagged a second Class A victory, with Tollan following the Focus home for second in Class SA and sixth overall. Chris Harrison won his tussle with Iain Blackley's Puma for seventh overall, which also included a bit of traded paint that the Scotsman apologised for. The pair took home a class award each, Harrison for third in Class SA and Blackley was the runner-up in Class B+. Stephen Primett flung his Mk1 Escort around with verve as he claimed another Class C win in ninth, whilst classmate Dave Barrett went out when a fuel pump switch broke after hanging on to the Class C leader in the early stages. The Escort Cosworth of Ali McMillan completed the top ten finishers, whilst Piers Warwick's Nissan-engined Mk1 Escort was eleventh. Lucas Dryden lost pace mid-race when both of the Zetec-powered XR2’s rear wheel bearings collapsed but the Cumbrian was still able to finish second in Class B from novice Leslie Chapelhow, who was the final classified finisher in thirteenth. David Guthrie went out with engine issues after running inside the top three for the first couple of laps but it wasn't all bad news as it was announced his partner was expecting twins at the post-race prize giving. Congratulations!

​Race Two results: Click here

The four co-sponsors of the weekend (Club Racing UK, DC Services Ltd, IB Automotive Services and MTS Motorsport) elected Kevin Whyte to win the Scalextric 'Driver of the Day' award for his impressive results with the Class B Fiesta.

The Modified Ford Series competitors are out next at the UK’s very own mini-Nurburgring, racing over the weekend of the 9th and 10th of August at Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire.