Modified Ford Series Lydden Hill 28th August 2023
BIRLEY LORDS IT OVER LYDDEN
The Modified Ford Series ventured to Lydden Hill in the east Kent hills for the August Bank Holiday ‘Custom Cup’ meeting. The series took part in three races during the day on the short one-mile circuit, with the 21 participants split into groups A, B and C after qualifying and each group contested two races.
The fast-but-fragile Escort WRC of Rod Birley topped the Class SA entry list and faced the 'Taunus' Eurocar V8 of Luke Bennett, the V8-powered machine likely to prove a handful around the compact venue. Ralph Higson’s Mk1 Focus Turbo was expected to have the legs on Alan Breck’s photogenic Jäegermeister Capri V8 among the pair of Class A entries received. A two-way scrap was promised between the Mk2 Escorts of Paul Nevill and Neil Argrave’s Warrior-powered car for Class B+ honours and possibly overall glory. Another Mk2 Escort in the hands of Nigel Craig and Dan Cowan’s Ecoboost Fiesta completed the entry. The lightweight Mk2 Escort of expected Class B pacesetter Neil Jessop was a last-minute withdrawal so Mike Thurley’s Castrol Mk1 Escort and the Mk3 RS1600i of Chris Baker, who was fresh from scoring his maiden overall podium at Cadwell Park, were likely to be the the ones to beat. Oliver Bullion’s Fiesta ST couldn’t be ruled out either after securing the class pole at Oulton Park in July. Some variety was provided by Paul Solbe’s Mk1 Focus along with the Fiestas of Tim Mizen and Rob Taylor, whilst the gorgeous bronze Mk1 Escort of Gary Johnson, the Mk2 Escort of Brad Bosdet and the Smith family Mk1 Escort finished the lineup. A four-car Class C field made the journey to Lydden Hill. The closely-matched Mk1 and Mk4 Fiestas of Jimmy Neophytou and Dave Barrett were joined by the smart Retro Rallycross-spec Mk1 Escort of Dan Swayland and the trio would take aim at the most successful driver in the class during 2023, Alex Boam.
Qualifying: Rod Birley overcame a water leak on his Escort WRC to set the fastest time by 0.519 seconds from the ’Taunus’ V8 Eurocar of Luke Bennett. Behind them came an armada of Escorts, as Paul Nevill topped Class B+ by just 0.065 seconds from Neil Argrave. The Class B cars of Mike Thurley and Chris Baker came next, split by 0.578 seconds. The turbocharged Mk1 Focus of Ralph Higson headed Class A in seventh, class rival Alan Breck set a time just 0.259 seconds slower for eighth in the monstrous 6.8-litre Capri. Chris Smith's Mk1 Escort and Nigel Craig's newer Mk2 version completed the top ten. Alex Boam was narrowly the quickest of the Class C field from Dan Swayland's Mk1 Escort in eleventh and twelfth, the gap a slender 0.110 seconds. The entry was split into three groups after the session based on their qualifying positions, the fastest time went into Group A, second fastest into Group B and third into Group C before going back to A and repeating the process with each group racing twice. Each group contained the following drivers:
Group A: Rod Birley (SA), Neil Argrave (B+), Ralph Higson (A), Nigel Craig (B+), Oliver Bullion (B), Gary Johnson (B) and Paul Solbe (B).
Group B: Luke Bennett (SA), Mike Thurley (B), Alan Breck (A), Alex Boam (C), Tim Mizen (B), Jimmy Neophytou (C) and Rob Taylor (B).
Group C: Paul Nevill (B+), Chris Baker (B), Chris Smith (B), Dan Swayland (C), Dan Cowan (B+), Dave Barrett (C) and Brad Bosdet (B).
The Modified Ford Series ventured to Lydden Hill in the east Kent hills for the August Bank Holiday ‘Custom Cup’ meeting. The series took part in three races during the day on the short one-mile circuit, with the 21 participants split into groups A, B and C after qualifying and each group contested two races.
The fast-but-fragile Escort WRC of Rod Birley topped the Class SA entry list and faced the 'Taunus' Eurocar V8 of Luke Bennett, the V8-powered machine likely to prove a handful around the compact venue. Ralph Higson’s Mk1 Focus Turbo was expected to have the legs on Alan Breck’s photogenic Jäegermeister Capri V8 among the pair of Class A entries received. A two-way scrap was promised between the Mk2 Escorts of Paul Nevill and Neil Argrave’s Warrior-powered car for Class B+ honours and possibly overall glory. Another Mk2 Escort in the hands of Nigel Craig and Dan Cowan’s Ecoboost Fiesta completed the entry. The lightweight Mk2 Escort of expected Class B pacesetter Neil Jessop was a last-minute withdrawal so Mike Thurley’s Castrol Mk1 Escort and the Mk3 RS1600i of Chris Baker, who was fresh from scoring his maiden overall podium at Cadwell Park, were likely to be the the ones to beat. Oliver Bullion’s Fiesta ST couldn’t be ruled out either after securing the class pole at Oulton Park in July. Some variety was provided by Paul Solbe’s Mk1 Focus along with the Fiestas of Tim Mizen and Rob Taylor, whilst the gorgeous bronze Mk1 Escort of Gary Johnson, the Mk2 Escort of Brad Bosdet and the Smith family Mk1 Escort finished the lineup. A four-car Class C field made the journey to Lydden Hill. The closely-matched Mk1 and Mk4 Fiestas of Jimmy Neophytou and Dave Barrett were joined by the smart Retro Rallycross-spec Mk1 Escort of Dan Swayland and the trio would take aim at the most successful driver in the class during 2023, Alex Boam.
Qualifying: Rod Birley overcame a water leak on his Escort WRC to set the fastest time by 0.519 seconds from the ’Taunus’ V8 Eurocar of Luke Bennett. Behind them came an armada of Escorts, as Paul Nevill topped Class B+ by just 0.065 seconds from Neil Argrave. The Class B cars of Mike Thurley and Chris Baker came next, split by 0.578 seconds. The turbocharged Mk1 Focus of Ralph Higson headed Class A in seventh, class rival Alan Breck set a time just 0.259 seconds slower for eighth in the monstrous 6.8-litre Capri. Chris Smith's Mk1 Escort and Nigel Craig's newer Mk2 version completed the top ten. Alex Boam was narrowly the quickest of the Class C field from Dan Swayland's Mk1 Escort in eleventh and twelfth, the gap a slender 0.110 seconds. The entry was split into three groups after the session based on their qualifying positions, the fastest time went into Group A, second fastest into Group B and third into Group C before going back to A and repeating the process with each group racing twice. Each group contained the following drivers:
Group A: Rod Birley (SA), Neil Argrave (B+), Ralph Higson (A), Nigel Craig (B+), Oliver Bullion (B), Gary Johnson (B) and Paul Solbe (B).
Group B: Luke Bennett (SA), Mike Thurley (B), Alan Breck (A), Alex Boam (C), Tim Mizen (B), Jimmy Neophytou (C) and Rob Taylor (B).
Group C: Paul Nevill (B+), Chris Baker (B), Chris Smith (B), Dan Swayland (C), Dan Cowan (B+), Dave Barrett (C) and Brad Bosdet (B).
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Race One (Groups A&B): The front row comprised the fastest two drivers in qualifying, Rod Birley and Luke Bennett. An all-Escort row two was headed by Neil Argrave's Class B+ Mk2, ahead of Mike Thurley's Zakspeed Mk1 from Class B. The Class A battle made up the third row as Ralph Higson sat alongside Alan Breck. Nigel Craig's Mk2 Escort, Alex Boam's Class C-leading Fiesta, Oliver Bullion and Tim Mizen rounded out the top ten on the grid. The promised tussle for the Class A victory wouldn't reach the startline, unfortunately, as Ralph Higson pulled off on the formation lap with fuel pump woes on his Focus and Tim Mizen was another to not take the start in his Fiesta. Birley led Bennett into Pilgims for the first time but the Escort of Argrave was crawling all over Bennett's Eurocar and the Mk2 dived inside Bennett at the North Bend hairpin for second as lap one came to a close. The top four stayed in close formation in the opening stages and began pulling away from the rest of the field, with Thurley's Mk1 Escort in fourth. However, on the fourth lap Oliver Bullion's Fiesta locked up into Devils Elbow and hit the tyres. The red flag flew to clear the beached Fiesta. The restarted race would be run over twelve minutes with the field formed in the order they in which they ran prior to the stoppage. Birley again started from pole but now had Argrave's Escort beside him. Bennett and Thurley formed the second row, whilst Alex Boam had made hay in the opening portion to head Breck's Capri on the third row. When the race got underway, a determined Argrave tried to drive around the outside of Birley through Pilgrims but the move was unsuccessful. The Breck Capri and Nigel Craig's Mk2 Escort both passed Boam during the first lap but the Fiesta still headed Class C from Jimmy Neophytou, who wasn't far behind. Birley's Escort WRC was quicker into its stride than during the aborted first attempt and soon began to pull away from second to fourth, who still remained close, with an oversteery Argrave withstanding pressure from Bennett's Eurocar V8 and Thurley's Mk1 Escort. A short distance back from them, Breck had his hands full with Craig's Escort for fifth and the Capri eventually spun at Paddock Bend with three minutes left. Craig did well to avoid the spinning coupe but was forced to take a trip across the gravel. An untroubled Birley took a dominant win by 5.642 seconds after completing sixteen laps, whilst Argrave took the Class B+ victory in second and just kept Bennett at bay despite a huge moment approaching Devil’s Elbow for the final time. A clutchless Thurley came home in fourth to win Class B, ahead of the dusty Craig Escort. Boam took Class C in sixth from Neophytou, who had Gary Johnson's Mk1 Escort closing in quickly towards the end. Johnson had been part of an entertaining three-way scrap early on with Paul Solbe and Rob Taylor, the Fiesta had held off the Escort and Focus early on before both eventually found their way past.
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Race Two (Groups B&C): Luke Bennett's V8 Eurocar headed the grid, with Paul Nevill making his first start of the day from alongside in his 2.3 RS2000. There were a couple of intriguing class battles to keep an eye on in this encounter but sadly the Mike Thurley vs Chris Baker scrap for Class B didn’t come to pass with the Mk1 Escort non-starting, a legacy of its Race One clutch woes, so Baker started alone on row two. Alan Breck and Chris Smith went from the third row, ahead of the potential fight for the Class C trophy between Alex Boam and Dan Swayland which formed the fourth row - the pair having qualified a little over a tenth of a second apart. The Fiestas of Tim Mizen and Dan Cowan completed the top ten starters, in front of the Class C Fiestas of Jimmy Neophytou and Dave Barrett. After using his V8 grunt to lead the field out of Pilgrims for the first time, Luke Bennett was soon under threat from fellow front-row starter Paul Nevill. The RS2000 pounced to take the lead down the hill into Paddock Bend as the first lap came to a close, Nevill was able to consistently go around a second per lap faster than the Jäegermeister Eurocar to establish a big lead as the race wore on. The Mk3 Escort of Class B leader Chris Baker sat in an early third, ahead of the fast-starting Alex Boam Fiesta from Class C. Alan Breck lay in fifth ending the opening tour but had Dan Cowan, Tim Mizen and Chris Smith in tow, indeed the Ecoboost Fiesta soon passed the V8 Capri at the North Bend hairpin on lap two before Mizen also went past Breck a couple of laps later. Mizen's green Fiesta set about catching Cowan's newer Mk6 Fiesta but slid off at Devils Elbow for the tenth time when he was almost there and fell behind the Jimmy Neophytou and Dan Swayland Class C squabble, Swayland's Escort having slid down the order through the opening moments. The lead order was looking settled with time running down as Nevill headed Bennett and Baker but with four minutes left, the Class B leader started to struggle with rooted tyres. On lap fourteen, Class C leader Boam moved up to third and Cowan was also homing in on the Mk3 Escort, before passing a lap later. With two minutes left, Breck further demoted Baker before Chris Smith's Mk1 Escort overtook the Mk3 for the Class B lead on the penultimate lap climbing up to the North Bend hairpin. Almost immediately, Baker stopped with a broken driveshaft. Ahead of Baker's travails, Nevill won by 7.719 seconds after nineteen laps despite suffering dramas of his own with a broken gear lever. Bennett took the Class SA win in second, ahead of Class C victor Boam in a fine third place. The Cowan Fiesta came home in fourth, heading the sole Class A runner Breck. The recovering Mizen had been closing in quickly on the Smith Escort leading Class B in sixth but slowed with Nevill taking the flag just behind him, so the blue Mk1 took the Class B victory. A snapped cambelt saw Rallycrosser Swayland retire from his duel with Neophytou's Fiesta, who finished eighth from the final classified finisher Dave Barrett.
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Race Three (Groups A&C): Top qualifier Rod Birley was back in action for the third race and was joined on the front row by Race Two winner Paul Nevill. A depleted field of nine cars made the grid after the attrition of the opening two races took its toll, with row two missing altogether after Neil Argrave suffered a suspected failed head gasket during Race One and Chris Baker's driveshaft couldn't be replaced in the short turnaround after Race Two. Joining those two on the list of non-starters would be Ralph Higson, Dan Swayland and Brad Bosdet's Mk2 Escort. The Escorts of Chris Smith and Nigel Craig formed the third row, ahead of Oliver Bullion starting alone on the fourth row in the absence of Swayland. Dan Cowan's Fiesta and Gary Johnson's Mk1 Escort made up the fifth row. Poleman Birley powered into the lead towards Pilgrims away from the rolling start, fellow front-row starter Nevill slotted into second from Smith's Mk1 Escort in third. Cowan, Craig and Bullion completed the top six early on before Craig's Escort stole away fourth from Cowan into Pilgrims for the third time. The race at the front was a quiet affair thereafter as the field spread out, so veteran Birley added another win to his bulging collection in his 50th year of competition after completing nineteen laps. A slightly smoky Nevill came home in second to top Class B+, 13.126 seconds down on the dominant Birley, whilst in a fine third was double Class B victor Smith. Further down the order, a great tussle between Dave Barrett and Paul Solbe provided entertainment later on. Barrett's Fiesta had passed the Focus at mid-distance but a missed gear by the Fiesta let Solbe through towards Devils Elbow for the penultimate time. The Focus immediately ran wide and Barrett went back through climbing up Hairy Hill. The pair are caught by the second-placed car of Nevill going into Pilgrims for the last time and Solbe pounced to get back in front, keeping eighth place to the finish line. Barrett did have the consolation of winning Class C though.
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The Modified Ford Series takes centre stage at its next meeting, the Ford Power Live event at Brands Hatch on Sunday the 17th of September.
Pickup Truck Racing Championship
Pickup Truck Racing Championship
2022 champion Reece Jones arrived at Lydden Hill leading the championship by 122 points from Dale Gent, who had headed the standings before two DNFs during the last round at Donington Park. However, it was category veteran who Mark Willis went fastest in both parts of qualifying but, as per the championship rules, would line up sixth for the two heats as the top six is reversed. After battling his way into the lead at Devils Elbow on lap one, Reece Jones survived a late-race charge from Mark Willis to secure the first heat victory. Dale Gent came home third, whilst Dean Tompkins held off a five-car pack headed by Matt Simpson in fourth. In a restarted second heat, Simpson took all of the second lap to take the lead from early leader Gent. Simpson was able pull away initially but Gent came back at the leader at half-distance before Simpson edged away again later on to win by 1.372 seconds, despite a white/black flag track limits warning. Allen Cooper took third from a closing Willis in fourth. Paul Tompkins, Allan Cooper, Reece Jones, Matt Simpson and Mark Willis formed the first five starters on the grid for the 25-lap final, whilst top points scorer Dale Gent would have the privilege of lining up sixth. Cooper got his nose ahead of Paul Tompkins into Pilgrims and at Devils Elbow for the first time but the poleman was able to hold on in front. Simpson dived up the inside of Cooper into the North Bend hairpin to end the opening lap in second. Championship leader Jones quickly moved up to third and then tried for second at the hairpin but Simpson held him off on the outside, after running side-by-side down the hill into Paddock Bend. The top three briefly broke away after Gent repassed Willis for fourth, who had gone inside the #83 at Devils Elbow on lap two and Dean Tompkins also demoted Willis, not for long as Willis retook the place next time around at Devils Elbow. The top five started to compress once more as a defensive Paul Tompkins continued to hold the pack at bay, until Simpson made his move for the lead at Paddock Bend for the seventh time. Simpson quickly started to gap the pack behind, helped in no small part by Tompkins, Willis and Gent running three-wide down the hill one lap later. Gent took third off Jones on lap ten and ran then side-by-side with Cooper up to the North Bend, where they both skated wide. Jones and Willis took advantage to pass the pair of them and moved into second and third. After the retirement of Willis from third on lap fifteen, Jones' second place then came under pressure from Gent. The Dale Earnhardt-inspired PickUp had a look at the North Bend hairpin on lap sixteen, before launching another attack into Paddock Bend a lap later and ultimately making the move stick at Pilgrims. Gent couldn’t escape Jones to the finish but held onto second behind the serene Simpson, the BTCC race winner sealing victory by 4.224 seconds. Dean Tompkins took fourth from his father Paul, whilst Michael Smith completed the top six.
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500cc F3
Sights and sounds from the 1950s were provided by the 500 Owners Association, with a nine-car field of the dinky 500cc F3 single-seaters in which the late, great Sir Stirling Moss began his driving career. Lesser known marques such as Mackson, Trenberth and Staride featured on the entry list but it was one of the other rare chassis that headed the field in qualifying, the Martin of Alex Wilson. Wilson took a dominant win in their opening race, the Erskine Staride of Simon Dedman and the Mackson of Chris Wilson fought out a tooth-and-nail scrap for second in which Dedman prevailed. On the opening lap of Race Two, Dedman passed Alex Wilson for the lead towards Devils Elbow but as Wilson tried fighting back round the outside, there was a clash of wheels which sent the Race One victor spinning into the gravel and forcing a halt. The re-run was scheduled to last twelve minutes and Dedman and Chris Wilson duked it out once more, as in Race One, but the stranded Cooper of Simon Hewes on the exit of Devils Elbow brought out the Safety Car. Dedman raced clear at the restart with four minutes remaining to win by more than half a minute. Behind, James Wilson overtook dad Chris for second before the start/finish line when the field was released. The Cooper Mk10 held second on-the-road until the finish but was hit with a ten-second penalty for the overtake, so ended up third behind father Chris. However, Wilson still had enough time in hand to finish ahead of Stuart Wright in fourth. After being extricated from the gravel, Alex Wilson tried to take the restart to no avail.
Sights and sounds from the 1950s were provided by the 500 Owners Association, with a nine-car field of the dinky 500cc F3 single-seaters in which the late, great Sir Stirling Moss began his driving career. Lesser known marques such as Mackson, Trenberth and Staride featured on the entry list but it was one of the other rare chassis that headed the field in qualifying, the Martin of Alex Wilson. Wilson took a dominant win in their opening race, the Erskine Staride of Simon Dedman and the Mackson of Chris Wilson fought out a tooth-and-nail scrap for second in which Dedman prevailed. On the opening lap of Race Two, Dedman passed Alex Wilson for the lead towards Devils Elbow but as Wilson tried fighting back round the outside, there was a clash of wheels which sent the Race One victor spinning into the gravel and forcing a halt. The re-run was scheduled to last twelve minutes and Dedman and Chris Wilson duked it out once more, as in Race One, but the stranded Cooper of Simon Hewes on the exit of Devils Elbow brought out the Safety Car. Dedman raced clear at the restart with four minutes remaining to win by more than half a minute. Behind, James Wilson overtook dad Chris for second before the start/finish line when the field was released. The Cooper Mk10 held second on-the-road until the finish but was hit with a ten-second penalty for the overtake, so ended up third behind father Chris. However, Wilson still had enough time in hand to finish ahead of Stuart Wright in fourth. After being extricated from the gravel, Alex Wilson tried to take the restart to no avail.
