Modified Ford Series Donington Park GP 23rd June 2024
COCKELL COMPLETES CLEAN SWEEP AT DONINGTON
The Modified Ford Series returned to action after its Scottish weekend away at Donington Park on the 23rd of June, using the full Grand Prix circuit. A capacity grid of 42 entries would attempt to tackle three races during the very warm day.
Dave Cockell blitzed his way to a pair of victories from pole at Knockhill last time out but the Class SA Escort Cosworth would have a tough nut to crack from Class A at Donington to taste the victory champagne. Lloyd Jamieson produced some good speed on home ground at Knockhill before more gremlins intervened. After binning his Nissan-engined Mk1 Escort on his daughter’s birthday weekend last time out, Piers Warwick aimed to stay out of the gravel at Donington and Malcolm Wise completed the quartet of entries with his Escort Cosworth. The hugely fast Class A Sapphire Cosworth of Jason Davies was set for a rematch with Cockell’s Escort Cosworth for overall victory after twice leading the field home at the 2023 season finale. Meeting sponsor James Allen returned after missing the Knockhill trip and sought to harry Davies and Cockell at the front with his Focus, having beaten Cockell to pole position at Silverstone in March. Steve Scott-Dunwoodie would also be on the pace aboard his flame-belching Sierra RS500. Both Matthias brothers were in attendance with their Sapphire Cosworths, David in his rapid white car and Scott in his sinister black version. Mike Head was a last-minute entry after fitting a new Elite sequential gearbox to his Martini-liveried Escort Cosworth. With Tom Ovenden missing the meeting on Mini JCW duty at Oulton Park, the Mk1 Escort RSRs were represented by the likely favourite for Class SB honours Lea Wood, having scored a couple of overall podiums at Castle Combe in May, and novice Ben Purnell’s Millington-engined example. Mat Brennan completed the class lineup with his Red Top-powered Mk2 Escort. Piers Grange didn’t make the journey to Scotland earlier in the month and aimed to return to the head of Class B+ at Donington with his very quick Mk2 Escort. Olly Allen showed tremendous speed to beat Grange’s Escort from the rear of the grid during the CTCRC meeting at Mallory Park in May and aimed to put the 2.5-litre Fiesta at the sharp end of the class at the Leicestershire circuit. Paul Nevill took home a trophy for second in class at Knockhill and the RS2000 would be challenging for more silverware. Steve Goldsmith’s impressively fast Anglia 105e Ecoboost had its first airing of 2024, running with the appropriate number 105 and now sports a new aero kit. Wayne Crabtree’s gorgeous Gulf-liveried Mk1 Escort and Martin Reynolds’ Millington-powered Zakspeed Mk2 Escort were dark horses for class awards. Late entry Sam Daffin contested his first Modified Ford races of 2024 aboard his rear-wheel-drive Mk5 Fiesta ‘SuperFestaMk2’. Todd Garner should be the fleetest of the front-wheel-drive contenders with his Mk7 Fiesta, whilst Scot Iain Blackley brought down his turbocharged Puma after making a promising series debut at Knockhill. Robert Lewis returned to the series after taking time out to make a permanent fix to the gearbox mount that sheared at Castle Combe, having made clever use of a towing eye to keep the Ecoboost Focus racing and he would be a busy man as he was also the pitlane reporter for the C1 Endurance race once his own competitive action had finished. Thirteen Class B drivers had put their names down for this outing and each of the four competitors that have tasted glory in the division during 2024 were present. Regular pacesetter Chris Baker took the clockwise spoils in Scotland, only his second class win of the year after the weather and unreliability scuppered his chances elsewhere. Oliver Bullion’s Fiesta ST has cleaned up four times when the weather has been difficult, whilst Mike Thurley’s Zakspeed Mk1 Escort and Gary Johnson’s beautiful bronze version have each taken a solo win apiece. Making his seasonal debut at Donington was the bewinged Mk2 Escort of Neil Jessop and the Mampe-liveried machine was certain to have a say in the results. Andy Pipe got a run in his smart Mk1 Escort after being sat on the reserve list in the lead up and was joined by Colin Claxton’s similar Castrol-liveried Mk1 Escort. Of the Fiesta runners, Tyler England has made a habit of taking top three class finishes after coming home third in each of his four races in 2024, whilst Mac McCarthy also scored a third in class during the greasy first race at Oulton Park. Mike MacKenzie and Adam Saint were at the wheel of the other Fiestas to enter. Jay Hinton’s Focus has shown promising speed before clutch woes started to frustrate the Croydon man and he hoped that the issues have finally been put to bed. Also in a Focus, Paul Solbe made his first appearance since suffering an engine blow up at the season opener. Dave Barrett took another Class C win with his Fiesta in the opening race at Knockhill but was defeated by Kevan Hadfield’s Puma on Sunday and the evenly matched pair would go back into battle at Donington. Darryl Taplin had fixed his Fiesta after tangling with a tyre stack at Castle Combe and would be one of the few to be happy for rain to fall. The rapid Puma of Justin Fuller made its first appearance since the Formula Ford Festival meeting in 2022 and was sure to give the Class C regulars something to think about. Two more Pumas filled out the entry and made it a quartet of the little coupes in the class, both of the cars running out of the Hadfield Motorsport awning and were handled by Shaun Hadfield and newcomer Matt Everatt.
Qualifying: A clear lap would be hard to come by with 42 cars circulating in the battle for the best starting spots. Jason Davies headed the times after the first flying laps before James Allen went to the top next time around. The Focus from Class A then improved on its next attempt but just ninety seconds later Davies put the Sapphire back in the number one spot on a 1:39.156 as the session reached two-thirds completion. Dave Cockell had been having a quiet session up to the last three minutes when the Escort Cosworth leapt to the summit by 0.422 seconds and the Class SA car ultimately sealed pole position by a healthy 0.944 seconds after finding another 0.701 seconds on its final lap to set a 1:38.033. Davies topped Class A and also broke into the '38s' to join Cockell on the front row with a 1:38.977. Allen’s earlier time was good enough to see the Focus start from third as the top three were covered by a competitive 1.432 seconds. The fleet Mk2 Escort of Piers Grange impressed with a second-row starting place as the silver machine headed Class B+. An all-Class A Sierra Cosworth pair formed the third row, with David Matthias’ Sapphire besting Steve Scott-Dunwoodie’s earlier RS500 for a place in the top five. Lea Wood was pipped by a last-gasp flyer from Scott-Dunwoodie to line up seventh as he topped Class SB and would have the second-in-class qualifying Fiesta of Olly Allen from Class B+ starting beside the RSR. The returning Steve Goldsmith’s ‘Angleboost’ lined up third of the Class B+ cars in ninth and Lloyd Jamieson's Escort Maxi Cosworth 4x4 from Class SA rounded out the top ten as the Scot bemoaned glazed-over brake pads. Neil Jessop and Chris Baker were closely matched as the former’s Mk2 Escort grabbed the Class B pole, with the pair split by just 0.246 seconds having qualified thirteenth and fourteenth. Cornishman Ben Purnell showed improved pace with his RSR to qualify second of the Class SB cars in eighteenth after a steady debut at Castle Combe. In the Class C contest, Dave Barrett’s Fiesta claimed the class pole by 0.902 seconds from the similar car of Darryl Taplin and Justin Fuller lined up third on his return to the series with his Puma. The unfortunate Jay Hinton’s woes continued after an oil leak on his Class B Focus forced him to withdraw.
Qualifying results: Click here
The Modified Ford Series returned to action after its Scottish weekend away at Donington Park on the 23rd of June, using the full Grand Prix circuit. A capacity grid of 42 entries would attempt to tackle three races during the very warm day.
Dave Cockell blitzed his way to a pair of victories from pole at Knockhill last time out but the Class SA Escort Cosworth would have a tough nut to crack from Class A at Donington to taste the victory champagne. Lloyd Jamieson produced some good speed on home ground at Knockhill before more gremlins intervened. After binning his Nissan-engined Mk1 Escort on his daughter’s birthday weekend last time out, Piers Warwick aimed to stay out of the gravel at Donington and Malcolm Wise completed the quartet of entries with his Escort Cosworth. The hugely fast Class A Sapphire Cosworth of Jason Davies was set for a rematch with Cockell’s Escort Cosworth for overall victory after twice leading the field home at the 2023 season finale. Meeting sponsor James Allen returned after missing the Knockhill trip and sought to harry Davies and Cockell at the front with his Focus, having beaten Cockell to pole position at Silverstone in March. Steve Scott-Dunwoodie would also be on the pace aboard his flame-belching Sierra RS500. Both Matthias brothers were in attendance with their Sapphire Cosworths, David in his rapid white car and Scott in his sinister black version. Mike Head was a last-minute entry after fitting a new Elite sequential gearbox to his Martini-liveried Escort Cosworth. With Tom Ovenden missing the meeting on Mini JCW duty at Oulton Park, the Mk1 Escort RSRs were represented by the likely favourite for Class SB honours Lea Wood, having scored a couple of overall podiums at Castle Combe in May, and novice Ben Purnell’s Millington-engined example. Mat Brennan completed the class lineup with his Red Top-powered Mk2 Escort. Piers Grange didn’t make the journey to Scotland earlier in the month and aimed to return to the head of Class B+ at Donington with his very quick Mk2 Escort. Olly Allen showed tremendous speed to beat Grange’s Escort from the rear of the grid during the CTCRC meeting at Mallory Park in May and aimed to put the 2.5-litre Fiesta at the sharp end of the class at the Leicestershire circuit. Paul Nevill took home a trophy for second in class at Knockhill and the RS2000 would be challenging for more silverware. Steve Goldsmith’s impressively fast Anglia 105e Ecoboost had its first airing of 2024, running with the appropriate number 105 and now sports a new aero kit. Wayne Crabtree’s gorgeous Gulf-liveried Mk1 Escort and Martin Reynolds’ Millington-powered Zakspeed Mk2 Escort were dark horses for class awards. Late entry Sam Daffin contested his first Modified Ford races of 2024 aboard his rear-wheel-drive Mk5 Fiesta ‘SuperFestaMk2’. Todd Garner should be the fleetest of the front-wheel-drive contenders with his Mk7 Fiesta, whilst Scot Iain Blackley brought down his turbocharged Puma after making a promising series debut at Knockhill. Robert Lewis returned to the series after taking time out to make a permanent fix to the gearbox mount that sheared at Castle Combe, having made clever use of a towing eye to keep the Ecoboost Focus racing and he would be a busy man as he was also the pitlane reporter for the C1 Endurance race once his own competitive action had finished. Thirteen Class B drivers had put their names down for this outing and each of the four competitors that have tasted glory in the division during 2024 were present. Regular pacesetter Chris Baker took the clockwise spoils in Scotland, only his second class win of the year after the weather and unreliability scuppered his chances elsewhere. Oliver Bullion’s Fiesta ST has cleaned up four times when the weather has been difficult, whilst Mike Thurley’s Zakspeed Mk1 Escort and Gary Johnson’s beautiful bronze version have each taken a solo win apiece. Making his seasonal debut at Donington was the bewinged Mk2 Escort of Neil Jessop and the Mampe-liveried machine was certain to have a say in the results. Andy Pipe got a run in his smart Mk1 Escort after being sat on the reserve list in the lead up and was joined by Colin Claxton’s similar Castrol-liveried Mk1 Escort. Of the Fiesta runners, Tyler England has made a habit of taking top three class finishes after coming home third in each of his four races in 2024, whilst Mac McCarthy also scored a third in class during the greasy first race at Oulton Park. Mike MacKenzie and Adam Saint were at the wheel of the other Fiestas to enter. Jay Hinton’s Focus has shown promising speed before clutch woes started to frustrate the Croydon man and he hoped that the issues have finally been put to bed. Also in a Focus, Paul Solbe made his first appearance since suffering an engine blow up at the season opener. Dave Barrett took another Class C win with his Fiesta in the opening race at Knockhill but was defeated by Kevan Hadfield’s Puma on Sunday and the evenly matched pair would go back into battle at Donington. Darryl Taplin had fixed his Fiesta after tangling with a tyre stack at Castle Combe and would be one of the few to be happy for rain to fall. The rapid Puma of Justin Fuller made its first appearance since the Formula Ford Festival meeting in 2022 and was sure to give the Class C regulars something to think about. Two more Pumas filled out the entry and made it a quartet of the little coupes in the class, both of the cars running out of the Hadfield Motorsport awning and were handled by Shaun Hadfield and newcomer Matt Everatt.
Qualifying: A clear lap would be hard to come by with 42 cars circulating in the battle for the best starting spots. Jason Davies headed the times after the first flying laps before James Allen went to the top next time around. The Focus from Class A then improved on its next attempt but just ninety seconds later Davies put the Sapphire back in the number one spot on a 1:39.156 as the session reached two-thirds completion. Dave Cockell had been having a quiet session up to the last three minutes when the Escort Cosworth leapt to the summit by 0.422 seconds and the Class SA car ultimately sealed pole position by a healthy 0.944 seconds after finding another 0.701 seconds on its final lap to set a 1:38.033. Davies topped Class A and also broke into the '38s' to join Cockell on the front row with a 1:38.977. Allen’s earlier time was good enough to see the Focus start from third as the top three were covered by a competitive 1.432 seconds. The fleet Mk2 Escort of Piers Grange impressed with a second-row starting place as the silver machine headed Class B+. An all-Class A Sierra Cosworth pair formed the third row, with David Matthias’ Sapphire besting Steve Scott-Dunwoodie’s earlier RS500 for a place in the top five. Lea Wood was pipped by a last-gasp flyer from Scott-Dunwoodie to line up seventh as he topped Class SB and would have the second-in-class qualifying Fiesta of Olly Allen from Class B+ starting beside the RSR. The returning Steve Goldsmith’s ‘Angleboost’ lined up third of the Class B+ cars in ninth and Lloyd Jamieson's Escort Maxi Cosworth 4x4 from Class SA rounded out the top ten as the Scot bemoaned glazed-over brake pads. Neil Jessop and Chris Baker were closely matched as the former’s Mk2 Escort grabbed the Class B pole, with the pair split by just 0.246 seconds having qualified thirteenth and fourteenth. Cornishman Ben Purnell showed improved pace with his RSR to qualify second of the Class SB cars in eighteenth after a steady debut at Castle Combe. In the Class C contest, Dave Barrett’s Fiesta claimed the class pole by 0.902 seconds from the similar car of Darryl Taplin and Justin Fuller lined up third on his return to the series with his Puma. The unfortunate Jay Hinton’s woes continued after an oil leak on his Class B Focus forced him to withdraw.
Qualifying results: Click here
Race One: 39 cars lined up for Race One, the grid also missing Wayne Crabtree and Gary Johnson’s Mk1 Escorts in addition to Hinton’s Focus with a broken gearbox bearing and having a fatigue crack welded up respectively. Additionally, Colin Claxton's Mk1 Escort was pushed off the grid but was allowed to join the back of the field on the formation lap, with Mac McCarthy joining him to leave an empty fifteenth row. Scott Matthias also went missing on the formation lap after the Sapphire's boost pipe came adrift. Poleman Dave Cockell converted pole position to lead into Redgate from a pressing Jason Davies, whilst Steve Scott-Dunwoodie rocketed up to third ahead of James Allen. Piers Grange slotted into fifth from David Matthias and Olly Smith's Fiesta. Steve Goldsmith and Lloyd Jamieson went side-by-side through Hollywood contesting eighth place just ahead of Lea Wood's RSR, whilst Paul Nevill and Neil Jessop Escorts were abreast too. The Anglia drifted slightly wide in the left part of the Craner Curves and Wood followed Jamieson past into ninth, whilst Nevill and Jessop remained alongside each other into the Old Hairpin before the Class B-leading Mk2 Escort established itself ahead. Back at the front, Allen’s Focus got around the fast-starting Sierra RS500 up to Goddards to end lap one in third as Cockell and the lights-ablaze Davies started to get away but the race was soon neutralised with Matt Everatt's Puma stuck in the McLeans gravel bed. Frustration soon followed for Allen as he stopped on the circuit behind the Safety Car after the input shaft broke on the Focus's gearbox and Robert Lewis also pitted with turbo problems aboard his Focus. The Safety Car peeled in with four minutes left and Cockell maintained his lead at the restart but the second-placed Sapphire was hot on his heels and Davies dived into the lead at Redgate starting the last lap. However, joy turned to despair for the Welshman as the highly-developed Sapphire lost drive exiting the Old Hairpin and allowed Cockell to power through to victory. Class A victor Scott-Dunwoodie took second just ahead of Class B+ winner Piers Grange and the closely following Class B+ runner-up Olly Allen. Jamieson was happy with fifth as he took second in Class SA after David Matthias pulled out of the place on the penultimate lap with a misfire. The Class SB-winning Mk1 Escort RSR of Wood took the flag in sixth from the third-placed Class B+ car of Goldsmith and classmate Nevill followed him home in eighth. Neil Jessop finished a few seconds up the road from Chris Baker's Mk3 Escort at the foot of the top ten as he took the Class B spoils with his Zakspeed Mk2 Escort. Mike Thurley finished third in Class B and his Escort Mk1 sported a considerable war wound on the near-side quarter after an opening corner altercation with Ben Purnell’s RSR. In Class C, Justin Fuller took the lead from early pacemaker Dave Barrett at the restart but went out on the same lap having lost the pulley off the crank to hand another class win to the MTS Motorsport Fiesta from Darryl Taplin's example. Kevan Hadfield’s red Puma finished its 50th straight race with no mechanical retirements and claimed third in class to boot. Behind podium claimant Scott-Dunwoodie in Class A came Mick Head's two-wheel-drive Escort Cosworth as he became more used to the car's sequential gearbox and attrition during the encounter meant there would be no third-place finisher. Purnell's RSR survived its first-corner brush with Thurley's Class B car to take second in Class SB from Mat Brennan's Mk2 Escort.
Race One results: Click here
Race One results: Click here
Race Two: 36 cars took the start of Race Two, with both Matthias brothers starting along with Johnson’s repaired Mk1 Escort. Colin Claxton's Castrol Escort Mk1 joined Race One retirees James Allen, Jason Davies and Justin Fuller on the sidelines for the rest of the day. Steve Scott-Dunwoodie grabbed the lead from the outside of the front row at the start and held onto the top spot for almost two complete laps until Dave Cockell got ahead on the Melbourne loop and the Escort Cosworth soon began to clear off up the road to take the flag by 11.876 seconds. However, all was not well with the Sierra as Scott-Dunwoodie started to lose boost pressure and fell back into an almighty scrap between Class B+ leader Piers Grange, classmate Olly Allen, Lloyd Jamieson's Class SA Escort Maxi, which had taken to the grass at the rolling start, and Lea Wood's Class SB-heading RSR. The struggling Sierra lost out to the Class B+ Mk2 Escort and Fiesta on the GP loop during lap four and fell victim to Wood and Jamieson on the fifth tour as the Scotsman started to make strides towards the head of the group. As the fight intensified, Allen, Wood and Jamieson went three-abreast down the pit straight starting lap six and the Class SA Escort moved into third place at Redgate. Grange and Jamieson came into Redgate side-by-side one lap later, where the Mk2 Escort was slow out of the corner after covering off the apex and the delighted Scot's Maxi Cosworth burst through on the inside into second overall. Allen's Fiesta fell back from the group as the race wore on with fading brakes, leaving Class B+ victor Grange to fend off Wood's Class SB-topping RSR for third place and Scott-Dunwoodie's hobbled RS500 wheezed home in fifth but still sealed the Class A win. David Matthias came through well to finish sixth from a seventeenth-row start and took the Class A runner-up position. Steve Goldsmith's turbocharged Anglia claimed third in Class B+ with eighth overall after making a lightning start to threaten Grange’s Escort towards Redgate before falling behind Wood and Jamieson exiting the corner, he was chased to the flag by Martin Reynolds’ Millington-powered Mk2 Escort in ninth. Class B victor Chris Baker came home in tenth overall and had headed the class into Regate on lap one but Neil Jessop took over the reins through Hollywood as the MTS Motorsport car eased up for Paul Nevill’s grasstracking RS2000. Baker regained the class lead into the Melbourne Hairpin for the second time but Jessop wouldn’t let the Mk3 go and almost reclaimed the lead of the class up to Goddards when the charging David Matthias got through the pair on lap four. However, later in the race low voltage and oil pressure dramas forced the Zakspeed Mk2 Escort to slow but Jessop still took second in class ahead of Tyler England's Fiesta in another third. Dave Barrett had a clean run for Class C glory with his Fiesta and Darryl Taplin came back from a wild lap two off at the Old Hairpin to take second from Kevan Hadfield’s Puma. Scott Matthias didn't quite reach the heights of his brother during his rise up the order but still drove well to take third in Class A and twelfth overall. Ben Purnell departed the fray after the crank sensor issue that he had battled with at Castle Combe returned to give second in Class SB to Mat Brennan. Paul Nevill's opening lap excursion was caused by a sheared bolt in a rear suspension link and the series head pitted ending the opening lap, whilst Todd Garner lost second gear during Race One and the vibrations were getting worse during the race so he parked the Mk7 Fiesta after finishing eleventh to avoid destroying the gearbox, Piers Warwick was another to suffer gearbox issues with his Mk1 Escort Turbo but soldiered on to take fourth in Class SA behind Malcolm Wise.
Race Two results: Click here
Race Two results: Click here
Race Three: The heat of the day had taken its toll as 29 cars came to the grid for the third and final race of the day. There would be no Olly Allen, Steve Goldsmith, Neil Jessop or Scott Matthias among others but all three Race Two DNFs were able to restart, with Andy Pipe, Paul Nevill and Ben Purnell going off the back of the grid. After an earlier stoppage in another category, the race distance would be shortened to ten minutes. Dave Cockell's Class SA Escort Cosworth powerhouse made no mistake to lead throughout but the pack behind closed in during the final lap as the treble winner sought to preserve his machinery. An overjoyed Lloyd Jamieson took a second runner-up spot overall, as well as in Class SA, but had to hold off Steve Scott-Dunwoodie's Class A-heading Sierra into the Melbourne Hairpin for the last time to do so. Scott-Dunwoodie had fought past Lea Wood's Class SB-winning RSR second time around and Piers Grange on the Melbourne loop for the penultimate time during the encounter to get to Jamieson. The Mk2 Escort in fourth also completed a clean sweep of victories in Class B+ and the Sapphire Cosworth of David Matthias ran with the group too in sixth. Martin Reynolds had a lonely run to seventh once Chris Baker retired and was almost caught by a charging Nevill, who had started 29th. The RS2000 had passed fourteen cars on the opening lap as he made short work of the lower order and was through the leading Class B cars on lap three. Once initial leader Chris Baker went out on lap three with a broken driveshaft, Tyler England was left alone to win Class B in his Fiesta from Oliver Bullion’s newer example, which was hotly pursued by Gary Johnson’s Mk1 Escort to the flag. The Class B+ Focus Turbo of Robert Lewis had a great dice with them both before he eventually battled past. Long-time second-place holder Mike Thurley's Mk1 Escort had the oil pump belt come off the Duratec engine and the Zakspeed replica pulled off with low oil pressure on the penultimate lap. Darryl Taplin won Class C by more than eight seconds from Kevan Hadfield and son Shaun's Pumas, twice-winner on the day Dave Barrett failed to do the treble when he went out with an oil leak during the second lap. The Escort Cosworth of Malcolm Wise took a second third in Class SA finish and Mat Brennan claimed another Class SB award with third after the recovering Ben Purnell went past to grab second in the class during the opening tour. Mick Head went out late in the race to lose out on the third in Class A trophy with a loss of gears and the car filled with smoke but the Escort Cosworth was able to be driven back to the paddock afterwards. Andy Pipe’s exhaust came apart on his Class B Escort Mk1 and he was forced out when the fumes threatened to overcome him.
Race Three results: Click here
Race Three results: Click here
Chosen by event sponsor and fellow racer James Allen, Escort Maxi Cosworth 4x4 pilot Lloyd Jamieson received the ’Driver of the Day’ award after a fantastic run of results over the day for the popular Scot.
The Modified Ford Series goes east for its next action, a two-day weekend at Snetterton in Norfolk on the 20th and 21st of July.
The Modified Ford Series goes east for its next action, a two-day weekend at Snetterton in Norfolk on the 20th and 21st of July.