Modified Ford Series Silverstone International 12th October 2025
JAMIESON SO NEAR YET SO FAR AS COCKELL BRINGS DOWN THE CURTAIN ON 2025 WITH ANOTHER DOUBLE
The last meeting of the 2025 Modified Ford Series season took place on the International version of the giant Silverstone complex on Sunday the 12th of October, with an impressive entry of 36 drivers signalling their intent to compete.
Preview: Dave Cockell has done a lot of winning since rejoining the series at Mondello Park in June, including a double victory at the Ford Power Live event four weeks previously, but the Class SA Escort Cosworth pilot will need all of his 700-plus bhp to stave off some stiff competition at Silverstone. Lloyd Jamieson stated he was gunning for Cockell in Northamptonshire with his 800bhp Escort Maxi Cosworth, with fellow Scot Andrew Gallacher giving a glimpse of the car’s potential at Brands Hatch by qualifying on the front row and briefly pushing the dominant Cockell Escort Cosworth for the lead until a broken shock absorber forced it out. Chris Harrison suffered damage to his Ecoboost-powered RSR in a startline incident at Anglesey whilst competing in another championship recently but the machine is back in tip-top condition ready to do battle in Northamptonshire. Malcolm Wise took home a third place trophy in the division one month ago and Silverstone should be taylor-made for the Escort Cosworth. Piers Warwick co-sponsored the event with classmate Jamieson and the Mk1 Escort Turbo would be hoping to sneak a placing in the split behind the powerhouses likely to be leading the way. Novice Jim Newins was plagued by a misfire on his debut weekend at Brands Hatch and he hoped for a cleaner run with the Cosworth-powered semi-spaceframe Mk2 Escort after fitting a bigger battery ahead of the weekend. Class A featured some interesting entries that ranged from returning winners, stunning replicas to a keenly-anticipated debut. The fearsomely quick Jason Davies returned to competition after his engine bay fire at Mondello Park earlier in the year, the much-vaunted contests between the Sapphire and the Escort Cosworth of Dave Cockell in 2023 at the Northamptonshire circuit went the way of the Welshman but the Class SA car has won the most races this season. James Allen started 2024 with a bang at the venue by beating the formidable Cockell Escort Cosworth to pole position and the Focus RS driver had ambitions of a similar performance this time around. It will be interesting to see how the superb Mk2 Escort of Dan Minton goes on a layout that favours power more than handling but the ex-Thundersaloon flew into the top three from the back of the grid in just a few laps at Oulton Park before the gremlins intervened. David Matthias brought out his fabulous Trakstar 1990 BTCC-winning replica Sierra RS500 that he went so well with at the equivalent meeting two years ago. Trig Bishop made his long-awaited first start in a sensational V6-powered Mk1 Escort, which housed a 360bhp Geoff Richardson-tuned 3.0 Jaguar AJ30 motor that has its origins in the Mondeo ST220 power unit and should be pleasing to the ears as well as the eyes. Bishop was also involved with the fabrication of series regular Josh Payton’s Mk2 Cortina racer. Stefan Marsh struggled with his ABS at Brands Hatch but was still able to place well in the class and the Focus ST should be capable of a similar outcome in Northamptonshire. Leroy Brown has a knack for picking up trophies in the class whenever he appears but the Fiesta Turbo driver hasn’t faced the strength in depth that the Berkshire resident takes on this weekend. Mick Head got out in his Focus for the first time at Ford Power Live but ran into clutch problems, which didn’t help his adjustment from his rear-wheel-drive Escort Cosworth to the front-wheel-drive hatchback. Mike Watson’s whale-tail Sierra Cosworth last entered a couple of years ago but made its return to the series after racing in Europe with the Dutch YTCC series at Spa-Francorchamps recently. In what turned out to be the sole Class SB entry on the day, Tom Ovenden scored two valiant podium finishes last time out in Kent and was right with winner Dave Cockell into the closing stages of the second encounter. The Duratec-powered RSR may lack the straightline speed to be right at the front in Northamptonshire but it won’t stop the newly-crowned BTCC-supporting Mini JCW Challenge champion from trying though! A new to the series non-RSR spaceframed Mk1 Escort was due to make its debut in the hands of Ashley Davies but the car succumbed to a fuel pressure issue with its normally-aspirated YB engine during testing on the Friday before the meeting so was forced to withdraw. Josh Payton recovered from a trip into the gravel in the opener at Brands Hatch to take second in Class B+ before wrapping up the win second time out and the fleet Mk2 Cortina should be at the pointy end of the division at Silverstone. Paul Nevill took the class spoils in the opening race at the Ford Power Live meeting and the RS2000 should be a thorn in the side of Payton here. Martin Reynolds brought out the Holbay-engined X-Pack Mk2 Escort from his large collection of the marque and should be on the pace too. Kester Cook returned after two years away performing an extensive rebuild of his Fiesta Ecoboost and if any rust is shaken off quickly then the hatchback is a likely contender for class glory. Iain Blackley has covered a lot of ground this season venturing to many circuits new to the Puma Turbo pilot and this meeting would be no different but the Scot has been quick to get the hang of the new challenges. Dan Cowan was scheduled to take over the Ecoboost Fiesta used more recently by son Alfie but he had to pull out due to an emergency away from the circuit. Class B served up some great action at Ford Power Live, where Tyler England’s Fiesta revelled in the damp conditions to prevail in the second encounter and the Norfolk youngster was likely to be the one to beat again. Mike Thurley was frustrated to lose a likely win in the opener at Brands Hatch after the Mk1 Escort slid off on oil when five seconds up the road, expect the former National Hot Rod racer to be pushing for the top spot this time. Chris Baker was slightly behind the eight ball in Kent but expect the Mk3 Escort pilot to come out swinging at Silverstone as the 300bhp RS1600i can really stretch its legs on the International layout. Lewis Davies impressed mightily on his maiden appearance aboard a fresh Mk2 Escort at Brands Hatch, having qualified and finishing Race One inside the top six before a driveshaft problem forced a non-start later on. Gary West-Johnson blotted his copybook with an off at Druids four weeks ago but the pretty Mk1 Escort will be back chasing the top placings in Northamptonshire. Jason Stone enjoyed his first outing with slicks fitted to his Mk2 Escort at Brands Hatch but not so much when the weather turned so the former rallycrosser was hoping that Silverstone in October wouldn’t be too autumnal. Tom Harvey performed well at his local venue last month on his maiden adventure in the series but the smart ShellSport Mk1 Escort may be left a little breathless against some of the more powerful competition in the split. Fellow Pre ‘83 contender Bob Bullen also entered, with his Mk1 Escort looking much straighter than when it left Brands Hatch after spinning on oil and crashing into Justin Fuller’s stationary Puma. Brook Rouse impressively finished inside the top ten in the dry opening race in Kent as the Fiesta driver comes to the end of his first season of racing. Mike MacKenzie is getting faster with each outing with his Fiesta ST and was another to be building up his circuit knowledge after moving over from Autograss racing. The sweet-sounding BDA Mk1 Escort of Stephen Primett continues leave the Class C competition in its wake and the Bedfordshire man sped to another pair of wins at Ford Power Live, expect more of the same this time but there were a pair of Fiestas that have both tasted victory before which would try to beat the rapid Escort. Outgoing series top man Dave Barrett has kept Primett in sight on occasion this year and the wide expanses of Silverstone may bring them closer together. Gary Littlewood made his second entry of the season and the bright yellow Fiesta is a match for Barrett at least so some entertaining battles among the smallest capacity split could be in the offing.
The last meeting of the 2025 Modified Ford Series season took place on the International version of the giant Silverstone complex on Sunday the 12th of October, with an impressive entry of 36 drivers signalling their intent to compete.
Preview: Dave Cockell has done a lot of winning since rejoining the series at Mondello Park in June, including a double victory at the Ford Power Live event four weeks previously, but the Class SA Escort Cosworth pilot will need all of his 700-plus bhp to stave off some stiff competition at Silverstone. Lloyd Jamieson stated he was gunning for Cockell in Northamptonshire with his 800bhp Escort Maxi Cosworth, with fellow Scot Andrew Gallacher giving a glimpse of the car’s potential at Brands Hatch by qualifying on the front row and briefly pushing the dominant Cockell Escort Cosworth for the lead until a broken shock absorber forced it out. Chris Harrison suffered damage to his Ecoboost-powered RSR in a startline incident at Anglesey whilst competing in another championship recently but the machine is back in tip-top condition ready to do battle in Northamptonshire. Malcolm Wise took home a third place trophy in the division one month ago and Silverstone should be taylor-made for the Escort Cosworth. Piers Warwick co-sponsored the event with classmate Jamieson and the Mk1 Escort Turbo would be hoping to sneak a placing in the split behind the powerhouses likely to be leading the way. Novice Jim Newins was plagued by a misfire on his debut weekend at Brands Hatch and he hoped for a cleaner run with the Cosworth-powered semi-spaceframe Mk2 Escort after fitting a bigger battery ahead of the weekend. Class A featured some interesting entries that ranged from returning winners, stunning replicas to a keenly-anticipated debut. The fearsomely quick Jason Davies returned to competition after his engine bay fire at Mondello Park earlier in the year, the much-vaunted contests between the Sapphire and the Escort Cosworth of Dave Cockell in 2023 at the Northamptonshire circuit went the way of the Welshman but the Class SA car has won the most races this season. James Allen started 2024 with a bang at the venue by beating the formidable Cockell Escort Cosworth to pole position and the Focus RS driver had ambitions of a similar performance this time around. It will be interesting to see how the superb Mk2 Escort of Dan Minton goes on a layout that favours power more than handling but the ex-Thundersaloon flew into the top three from the back of the grid in just a few laps at Oulton Park before the gremlins intervened. David Matthias brought out his fabulous Trakstar 1990 BTCC-winning replica Sierra RS500 that he went so well with at the equivalent meeting two years ago. Trig Bishop made his long-awaited first start in a sensational V6-powered Mk1 Escort, which housed a 360bhp Geoff Richardson-tuned 3.0 Jaguar AJ30 motor that has its origins in the Mondeo ST220 power unit and should be pleasing to the ears as well as the eyes. Bishop was also involved with the fabrication of series regular Josh Payton’s Mk2 Cortina racer. Stefan Marsh struggled with his ABS at Brands Hatch but was still able to place well in the class and the Focus ST should be capable of a similar outcome in Northamptonshire. Leroy Brown has a knack for picking up trophies in the class whenever he appears but the Fiesta Turbo driver hasn’t faced the strength in depth that the Berkshire resident takes on this weekend. Mick Head got out in his Focus for the first time at Ford Power Live but ran into clutch problems, which didn’t help his adjustment from his rear-wheel-drive Escort Cosworth to the front-wheel-drive hatchback. Mike Watson’s whale-tail Sierra Cosworth last entered a couple of years ago but made its return to the series after racing in Europe with the Dutch YTCC series at Spa-Francorchamps recently. In what turned out to be the sole Class SB entry on the day, Tom Ovenden scored two valiant podium finishes last time out in Kent and was right with winner Dave Cockell into the closing stages of the second encounter. The Duratec-powered RSR may lack the straightline speed to be right at the front in Northamptonshire but it won’t stop the newly-crowned BTCC-supporting Mini JCW Challenge champion from trying though! A new to the series non-RSR spaceframed Mk1 Escort was due to make its debut in the hands of Ashley Davies but the car succumbed to a fuel pressure issue with its normally-aspirated YB engine during testing on the Friday before the meeting so was forced to withdraw. Josh Payton recovered from a trip into the gravel in the opener at Brands Hatch to take second in Class B+ before wrapping up the win second time out and the fleet Mk2 Cortina should be at the pointy end of the division at Silverstone. Paul Nevill took the class spoils in the opening race at the Ford Power Live meeting and the RS2000 should be a thorn in the side of Payton here. Martin Reynolds brought out the Holbay-engined X-Pack Mk2 Escort from his large collection of the marque and should be on the pace too. Kester Cook returned after two years away performing an extensive rebuild of his Fiesta Ecoboost and if any rust is shaken off quickly then the hatchback is a likely contender for class glory. Iain Blackley has covered a lot of ground this season venturing to many circuits new to the Puma Turbo pilot and this meeting would be no different but the Scot has been quick to get the hang of the new challenges. Dan Cowan was scheduled to take over the Ecoboost Fiesta used more recently by son Alfie but he had to pull out due to an emergency away from the circuit. Class B served up some great action at Ford Power Live, where Tyler England’s Fiesta revelled in the damp conditions to prevail in the second encounter and the Norfolk youngster was likely to be the one to beat again. Mike Thurley was frustrated to lose a likely win in the opener at Brands Hatch after the Mk1 Escort slid off on oil when five seconds up the road, expect the former National Hot Rod racer to be pushing for the top spot this time. Chris Baker was slightly behind the eight ball in Kent but expect the Mk3 Escort pilot to come out swinging at Silverstone as the 300bhp RS1600i can really stretch its legs on the International layout. Lewis Davies impressed mightily on his maiden appearance aboard a fresh Mk2 Escort at Brands Hatch, having qualified and finishing Race One inside the top six before a driveshaft problem forced a non-start later on. Gary West-Johnson blotted his copybook with an off at Druids four weeks ago but the pretty Mk1 Escort will be back chasing the top placings in Northamptonshire. Jason Stone enjoyed his first outing with slicks fitted to his Mk2 Escort at Brands Hatch but not so much when the weather turned so the former rallycrosser was hoping that Silverstone in October wouldn’t be too autumnal. Tom Harvey performed well at his local venue last month on his maiden adventure in the series but the smart ShellSport Mk1 Escort may be left a little breathless against some of the more powerful competition in the split. Fellow Pre ‘83 contender Bob Bullen also entered, with his Mk1 Escort looking much straighter than when it left Brands Hatch after spinning on oil and crashing into Justin Fuller’s stationary Puma. Brook Rouse impressively finished inside the top ten in the dry opening race in Kent as the Fiesta driver comes to the end of his first season of racing. Mike MacKenzie is getting faster with each outing with his Fiesta ST and was another to be building up his circuit knowledge after moving over from Autograss racing. The sweet-sounding BDA Mk1 Escort of Stephen Primett continues leave the Class C competition in its wake and the Bedfordshire man sped to another pair of wins at Ford Power Live, expect more of the same this time but there were a pair of Fiestas that have both tasted victory before which would try to beat the rapid Escort. Outgoing series top man Dave Barrett has kept Primett in sight on occasion this year and the wide expanses of Silverstone may bring them closer together. Gary Littlewood made his second entry of the season and the bright yellow Fiesta is a match for Barrett at least so some entertaining battles among the smallest capacity split could be in the offing.
Qualifying: 34 Modified Fords took to the track in cool and misty conditions for their quarter of an hour of qualifying but the tarmac remained dry, if a little low on grip. Dave Cockell stole pole position right at the death from Tom Ovenden’s RSR by 0.869 seconds despite a mysterious vibration afflicting his four-wheel-drive machine, the spaceframed Mk1 Escort had held top spot for much of the session before the Escort Cosworth's late flyer. Dan Minton put the family Mk2 Escort in a great third overall from the fabulous Robb Gravett-reprising Sierra RS500 of David Matthias, as Class A machinery filled the second row. Lloyd Jamieson had some time to find if he wanted to fulfil his ambition of challenging Cockell for the overall wins as the Scot lined up fifth fastest with a best lap 3.160 seconds away from the polesitter, not aided by a flapping splitter. The repaired RSR Turbo of Chris Harrison completed the top six with a great performance from the ex-motorcycle racer. A competitive race for Class B+ honours looked in prospect with four of the next five cars coming from the division. Martin Reynolds’ Holbay-engined Mk2 Escort secured the Class B+ pole by a slim 0.433 seconds from series head Paul Nevill, despite the RS2000 suffering a broken steering rack bracket. The rebuilt Ecoboost Fiesta of Kester Cook qualified just 0.125 seconds behind the pair of Escorts in ninth. James Allen ended the session stranded in the Vale gravel trap after spinning on oil to end up tenth and was third quickest of the Class A runners. Josh Payton had fitted treaded rubber to the Mk2 Cortina on this occasion and qualified fourth of the Class B+ machines in eleventh but was only 0.654 seconds from the class-topping Reynolds in seventh. The leading Class B Fiesta of Tyler England lined up twelfth and held a 0.657-second advantage from classmate Chris Baker’s Mk3 Escort RS1600i in thirteenth. Iain Blackley’s Class B+ Puma sat between the Mk1 Escort of third Class B qualifier Mike Thurley and the class pacesetters. In seventeenth spot could be found the fastest Class C car, the 1600cc Fiesta of Gary Littlewood. The regular top man in the split during 2025 had a troubled session after third gear went missing in action on Stephen Primett’s Mk1 Escort and forced a gearbox change before the opening race. However, the BDA-powered car still went second quickest in the class and would start directly behind Littlewood from nineteenth. The third Class C qualifier Dave Barrett put his Fiesta 25th on the grid. What of expected frontrunner Jason Davies you may ask? The potential pole and race-winning Sapphire’s day was over after completing just three laps when the Cosworth engine expired in a big way. Also from Class A, Leroy Brown’s Fiesta Turbo overheated after some ducting came loose and wore through the auxiliary belt on the pulley, with all the water spilling out afterwards. Meeting co-sponsor Piers Warwick only completed enough laps to qualify after finding his Nissan-engined Mk1 Escort pulling sharply to the left under braking, with Class B runner Gary West-Johnson complaining of the same issue on his Escort Mk1. Another Mk1 Escort in strife was the debuting 3-litre car of Trig Bishop, which refused to fire on all six until new injectors and plugs were fitted in the time before Race One. Jim Newins was also frustrated to find that the misfire from its Ford Power Live debut was still troubling the turbocharged Mk2 Escort.
Qualifying results: Click here
Qualifying results: Click here
Race One: Pole position man Dave Cockell had changed his tyres ahead of the start in the hope of solving the elusive vibration he felt in qualifying and the total traction Escort led through the first corner before fellow front row man Tom Ovenden dived ahead at Village. Cosworth turbo power quickly told down the Hangar Straight as Cockell blasted back into the lead and headed the field at the end of lap one from Ovenden, Dan Minton and David Matthias. The top four were still in close proximity and Ovenden's RSR had a sniff of the polesitter again at Village on lap two but then the Class SB contender had to turn his attention to fending off Minton, who forced the RSR to cover the inside line on a few occasions as the well-sorted Mk2 Escort from Class A sought to grab second place. The Sierra of Matthias settled into fourth but lost touch a little with the top three over the following few laps and drifted towards fifth-placed Lloyd Jamieson and a fast-starting James Allen, who had passed the Class B+ frontrunners before Abbey. Chris Harrison got ahead of Jamieson at the start and Allen also slipped ahead of the Escort Maxi Cosworth into Village for the first time before the latter pair both got ahead of the Class SA RSR on the Hangar Straight. The Scot immediately shot up the inside of Allen at Stowe but ran slightly wide after a twitch and the Focus dived back ahead under braking into Vale before Jamieson reclaimed the spot past the pits going on to lap two. The lightweight bonnet on Jamieson's Escort Maxi Cosworth had been bending upwards from the early stages before flying off completely down the Hangar Straight at the cost of the Escort’s widescreen on lap five as he caught Matthias. Undeterred, the Scot stormed past the RS500 next time around along the Hangar Straight but the Class C leader Stephen Primett had ground to a halt on the edge of the circuit exiting Club ending lap four, after the offside-front hub sheared and jettisoned the wheel. The Safety Car came out on lap seven but didn't pick up leader Cockell and time ran out before a restart could be achieved. The Escort Cosworth thus claimed its sixth overall victory of 2025 from Class SB winner Ovenden in second and Minton triumphed in Class A as he completed the podium finishers. Jamieson was runner-up in Class SA with fourth, whilst Matthias finished likewise in Class A with fifth and sixth-placed Allen was the third Class A car home. There was a big scrap among the Class B+ contingent for seventh overall. Paul Nevill jumped top qualifier Martin Reynolds at the start and Kester Cook followed the RS2000 through at Abbey, with Josh Payton demoting the class polesitter to fourth at Village. Cook was quickly onto the tail of Nevill and hit the front down to Stowe on lap two, leaving the Payton Cortina to get into an intense duel with the series coordinator after the class-leading Fiesta put Chris Harrison's RSR between it and the squabble behind into Stowe for the third time. The Cortina went down the inside of the RS2000 into Vale on lap three as they caught Harrison but the West Countryman couldn’t shake off Nevill until he dived ahead of Harrison at Vale next time around while fending off the droop-snoot Escort. Reynolds was in touch with the trio as well and briefly got third in Class B+ out of Nevill’s hands before the series head slipped back through on the inside of Club. Payton got away from Nevill whilst the RS2000 dealt with Harrison and the Cortina was over a second clear before a moment's hesitation through Abbey during some lappery brought Nevill back to its bootlid just ahead of the Safety Car being called, which confirmed Payton as the runner up in Class B+ behind the returning Cook. Nevill was third and Reynolds also passed the turbocharged RSR of Harrison on his way to fourth. Iain Blackley recovered from a wild moment at Stowe on lap one, when the back came round on the Scot, to bring the Puma Turbo home fifth in class and 20th overall. Tyler England and Mike Thurley battled mightily for Class B glory, the Mk1 Escort got ahead through Abbey on lap two before the Fiesta retook the lead later in the lap and held on for the class win in twelfth overall. Second fastest Class B qualifier Chris Baker spun at Abbey on lap one with cold rear tyres before making his way back up to fourth in the split behind third-placed Gary West-Johnson's Mk1 Escort. Also having a spin at the first corner was the Class C polesitter Gary Littlewood, after the field checked up for Baker’s rotation, which freed Stephen Primett to run away at the head of the class until the Mk1 Escort’s retirement just before half-distance brought out the Safety Car. Littlewood got back ahead of Barrett on the second lap to claim the class win, with Littlewood reducing the weight of his Fiesta pre-race by removing the number plates and a selection of stickers! Tom Harvey’s race ended behind the Safety Car after the cam guides snapped in two places, which then took out the camshaft on the Pinto engine of his Mk1 Escort. However, the Kent man was still pleased with a new personal best lap time for the International circuit and to be running ahead of former Pre ‘83 playmate Primett as he chased after third-in-class West-Johnson. Brooke Rouse went out when a gearbox bolt snapped on his Fiesta, whilst the Class A example of Leroy Brown missed the race whilst they went in search of a new belt.
Race One results: Click here
Race One results: Click here
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Race Two: The season closing Race Two starting grid was dictated by the result of the opening encounter, which placed Dave Cockell on pole position with Tom Ovenden alongside. Dan Minton had given up his seat in the Mk2 Escort for his father Steve to race so Lloyd Jamieson moved up to third on the grid and David Matthias was promoted to the second row with his glorious Sierra RS500. James Allen headed the top Class B+ machine of Kester Cook on row three, with the Fiesta's classmates Josh Payton, Paul Nevill and Martin Reynolds filling the next three slots. Chris Harrison's Ecoboost-powered RSR completed the first five rows. As the fifteen minutes got started, polesitter Dave Cockell inadvertently changed from third to second gear as the field accelerated away and then couldn’t find a gear to get going again, which pushed the Escort Cosworth briefly down to fifth. In the congestion surrounding the steady away Class SA car, there was side-to-side contact between James Allen and Kester Cook as the Focus went round Cockell and the Class B+ Fiesta went out with a suspected damaged shock absorber and buckled offside wheels. After borrowing a bonnet from a rallycross Escort Cosworth shell in the paddock to get the Escort Maxi Cosworth on the grid, Lloyd Jamieson burst through from the second row to threaten Tom Ovenden for the lead at Abbey but the RSR held on around the outside and the Scot skated wide at Village to slip to fourth behind David Matthias’ RS500 and the recovering Cockell. The polesitting Escort Cosworth was back up to second by the end of the opening lap, despite running a little wide at Stowe after being forced to go the long way round Matthias as the Sierra defended the inside. It didn't take long for the Race One victor to latch onto Ovenden and the Escort Cosworth got its nose in front of the RSR on the outside into Stowe for the second time but drifted wide to allow Ovenden to regain the lead though Vale and Club. Cockell was gifted first place shortly after on lap three when the leading RSR ran off at the Farm sweeper. So often this year, that would’ve been the end of the contest but Jamieson had other ideas. Having benefitted from some coaching courtesy of Olly Allen post-qualifying, Jamieson was on a march after completing lap one in fourth behind the Matthias Sierra. The immaculate Group A car was dealt with starting lap two past the pits and Ovenden’s RSR soon followed when the newly-crowned Mini JCW champion had his off track adventure and the pair of all-wheel-drive Escorts went through into first and second. The lead battle had brought Jamieson within a second of Cockell's rear bumper but lapped traffic split the pair and gap was over 1.3 seconds at half-distance before the Scot ate into Cockell's advantage once more after breaking into the ‘1:09s’ for the second time in the race. After starting to wrestle with understeer, Cockell ran wide at Village and Chapel on lap ten to bring Jamieson onto his tail. The Race One winner understeered off the ideal racing line again at Stowe and the chasing Scot pounced to plunge down the inside at Vale and take over the race lead. The former leader’s Escort Cosworth was struggling with a worn left-front tyre, which allowed Jamieson's Escort Maxi to open a small gap but some traffic was looming on the horizon with the clock ticking down. After Jamieson hesitated during some lappery through Village and The Link for the final time, Cockell went to the inside of the lapped Malcolm Wise at Chapel as Jamieson drove around the outside and the Escort Cosworth emerged onto the Hangar Straight back in the lead. Jamieson got a run on Cockell through Stowe and drove up the outside into the Vale left hander but Cockell held off the Scot's sideways Maxi Cosworth through Club to steal the win at the last gap by just 0.382 seconds. Ovenden held station in third after his excursion, a few seconds back from the lead pair, to score his second podium finish of the day along with another Class SB win. Matthias’ clutch started to slip when the Sierra was a little over a second behind the RSR and fell back towards James Allen after an oil leak manifested itself, with the Class A lead changing hands on the brakes for Vale on lap eleven but Allen’s Focus wouldn’t reach the finish after shedding its auxiliary belt to hand the class win back to Matthias in fourth overall. As well as the overall contest, the Class B+ tussle went to the last corner too. Josh Payton held sway initially before Paul Nevill took over on lap eight at Village. The pair couldn’t be separated for the remainder of the race and when Nevill ran wide close to home at Stowe, Payton drove around the outside of Vale to give the Cortina the inside for Club but the RS2000 got to the line first with better traction by a scant 0.043 seconds in fifth overall. With regular Class C dominator Stephen Primett non-starting, the class victory was enough for the series founder to steal the overall crown for the season. In Class B, there was more close action as Mike Thurley led early on before Tyler England got inside the Escort Mk1 at Village on lap three to take the class win in seventh overall. Stefan Marsh was the second Class A car home in eighth, whilst Chris Harrison claimed third in Class SA with ninth but felt his gearing was too short after the RSR kept topping out halfway down the Hangar Straight. After losing the Class B lead to England's Fiesta, Thurley then fell into the clutches of the upwardly mobile classmate Chris Baker before his retirement soon after passing the Mk1 Escort, having felt a vibration on his front-wheel-drive Escort after hitting a kerb when in battle with the Harrison RSR Turbo. Gary West-Johnson then ranged up to the Castrol Escort and tracked Thurley’s similar car for a few tours before the bronze Mk1 took second in Class B down the Hangar Straight for the final time, with the pair taking the flag separated by a slender 0.283 seconds as they finished tenth and eleventh overall. Gary Littlewood scampered to the Class C win for the second time on the day in fourteenth, helped by Dave Barrett having an early spin into the gravel at Club but the Fiesta got going again to finish second in the absence of Primett. Mick Head took third in Class A and seventeenth overall after coming out on top of a great dice with Mike MacKenzie's Class B Fiesta and Piers Warwick's Class SA Mk1 Escort Turbo. After his son Dan had taken third place in the opener, the reins of the Class A Mk2 Escort were handed to Steve Minton for Race Two and the mint machine caught Warwick on the last lap as Minton came home twentieth from the back of the grid. Having started his day on a high with the Class B+ pole, Martin Reynolds retired to the pits with his Mk2 Escort and the similar car of Lewis Davies from Class B also failed to reach the chequered flag after its diff broke. Leroy Brown completed an exploratory lap out of the assembly area but the Fiesta Turbo pitted again before the race started.
Race Two results: Click here
The final Scalextric 'Driver of the Day' award went to Mick Head after he took his highest recorded race finish in Race Two aboard his Hoonigan-styled Focus ST turbocar.
Race Two results: Click here
The final Scalextric 'Driver of the Day' award went to Mick Head after he took his highest recorded race finish in Race Two aboard his Hoonigan-styled Focus ST turbocar.
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When the chequered flag fell on Race Two, it also fell on the 2025 season for the Modified Ford Series after another successful year. The awards ceremony for this year's trophy winners takes place on the 31st of January 2026 at the Staverton Park Hotel and Golf Club in Northamptonshire, with Oulton Park hosting the opening round of the 2026 season on the 11th of April.