Modified Ford Series Silverstone International 16th & 17th March 2024
COCKELL'S COSWORTH CONQUERS SILVERSTONE SEASON STARTER
The opening meeting for the Modified Ford Series in 2024 took place on the International version of Silverstone over the weekend of the 16th and 17th of March, the same venue that concluded the 2023 season. A superb year looks to be in prospect for the series in 2024 and the entry for the opening races at Silverstone was full with 16 reserves by mid-November, indeed the first three rounds were full with reserves before the end of November! Natural wastage saw the number of entries whittled down to the grid maximum of 44 by the time of the meeting.
Tommy Field’s turbocharged Mk1 Escort RSR could give regular pacesetter Dave Cockell’s Escort Cosworth something to think about for Class SA and overall honours after reliability troubles kept the rapid BDT-powered device from taking a clean sweep at last year’s Ford Power Live event. Scotsman Lloyd Jamieson hoped his engine woes of 2023 were a thing of the past and the Escort Maxi Cosworth 4x4 ought to feature near the sharp end. Luke Bennett’s Jäegermeister-liveried Eurocar V8 could also threaten the top ten, whilst Piers Warwick’s Nissan turbo-powered Mk1 Escort and Malcolm Wise’s Escort Cosworth completed the class lineup. James Allen’s newly paddle shift-fitted Mk2 Focus RS topped the Class A entrants and would be gunning for at least a podium finish. Some iconic liveries could be found applied to several cars in the class, namely Alan Breck’s Jäegermeister Capri V8, Mick Head’s Martini Escort Cosworth RWD and the Repsol-esque Focus Mk1 Turbo of Ralph Higson, which should be Allen’s nearest challenger. Tom Abbott’s Sapphire Cosworth also mimics a famous colour scheme, that of the works Focus WRCs of the early ‘00s. The Sierra RS Cosworth of Sean Fairweather and Stefan Marsh’s Focus ST made up the field. In addition to Tommy Field’s Class SA car, two further SHP-built Mk1 Escort RSRs formed the Class SB entry and both were intended to make their series debuts. Former Junior Rallycross champion and 2023 Mini Challenge Trophy title holder Tom Ovenden should show real pace in the 2.5 Duratec-powered spaceframe racer. Another RSR scheduled to make its first appearance belonged to Cornishman Ben Purnell, the smart white and blue example featuring 2-litre Millington power but the car would be absent. The closely-matched Mk2 Escorts of Malcolm Harding and Piers Grange would be the ones to watch for Class B+ honours and could maybe sneak an overall podium. Looking to run them close would be the popular Josh Payton Mk2 Cortina, winter revisions saw the Millington-powered car now adorned with a flat floor underneath, an air dam up front and a roof spoiler on top. Laki Christoforou’s similarly motivated Mk2 Escort should also be a contender. Series promoter Paul Nevill brought out his immaculate RS2000 once more and would surely be there or thereabouts along with the smart Mk1 Escort of Wayne Crabtree which also featured on the entry list, the pair were almost inseparable as they crossed the line abreast at last year’s Ford Power Live. The last Escort entered in the class was the Mk2 of Nigel Craig. BRSCC Livestream pitlane reporter Robert Lewis moved into Class B+ with a 300 bhp Ecoboost unit now installed in his Mk1 Focus. Also newly featuring Ecoboost motivation is the Fiesta of prolific 2023 Class C winner and overall series champion Alex Boam. Boam’s stablemate Sam Shimwell also moved into Class B+ but with 2.3 Duratec power under the bonnet of his Fiesta, the trio of Boamerang Racing cars made up by 2023 podium finisher David Guthrie. Three more Ecoboost-powered cars rounded out the class runners - AJ Howe’s Mk1 Focus Estate, which scored a couple of top six overall finishes at Cadwell Park in 2023, and the Mk7 Fiestas of Cliff Pellin and Todd Garner. Two late entries bolstered the Class B+ field, Martin Reynolds’ Mk2 Escort, another one of his many projects which wasn’t to be confused with his X-Pack example, and another Ecoboost-powered Fiesta Mk7 in the hands of Matt Chambers. Chris Baker’s screaming Mk3 Escort would have Mike Thurley’s lovely Zakspeed Mk1 Escort to contend with for Class B glory. Another Zakspeed replica Mk1 Escort made its debut in the hands of Colin Claxton and the stunning Mk1 of Gary Johnson was also in attendance, the car’s pace having taken a step forward since moving to slick tyres late in 2023. If the weather turned unsettled, Oliver Bullion would be rubbing his hands with glee aboard his Fiesta after his win in the wet at Brands Hatch last September. Tyler England’s Fiesta also scored a top-seven finish during that damp encounter and was joined on the entry list by the Fiestas of Chris Burley and Mac McCarthy, along with Paul Solbe and first timer Jay Hinton’s Focus Mk1s. The familiar silver Fiesta of Dave Barrett was one of a trio of Class C entries, the little hatchback would also be fielded by Gary Littlewood, the double class winner on the Grand Prix circuit one year ago, and the formerly Puma-engined version of Darryl Taplin, who impressed on his debut at the Ford Power Live meeting last September and intends to be a series regular in 2024 with a new 1.6-litre motor installed.
Qualifying: After the quarter of an hour of qualifying, the Focus RS of James Allen set the pole position time of 1:09.496 to top the session by 0.379 seconds from Dave Cockell’s now dry-sumped Escort Cosworth. Just 0.077 seconds further back came Tommy Field’s turbocharged Mk1 Escort RSR as less than half a second covered the top three, Field’s newly rerouted exhaust had melted much of adjoining wiring inside the Stuart Day-owned car as the session progressed. The pace was high among the top three, with Allen’s pole time being just 0.042 seconds slower than Jason Davies’ lap record from last October. Fourth was the top Class B+ competitor Malcolm Harding and the Mk2 Escort impressively qualified within a second and a half of the pole position time. In fifth was the fastest Class SB car and series debutant Tom Ovenden with his RSR Duratec, whilst completing the top six was Harding’s regular foe Piers Grange. Josh Payton’s slippery Cortina lined up seventh, Ralph Higson a great eighth in his Focus Turbo, Laki Christoforou’s Millington Mk2 Escort set the ninth-best time and Paul Nevill’s RS2000 completed the top ten. Chris Baker topped the Class B runners just outside the top ten in eleventh with his Mk3 Escort and had originally headed the class by 0.313 seconds from Mike Thurley’s Escort but the Mk1 lost its best lap for track limits so the pair now had six cars sat between them. Dave Barrett had over a second in hand from Gary Littlewood for the Class C pole and three grid slots split the two Fiestas. The session didn’t get off to a good start for Sean Fairweather’s Sierra RS Cosworth as he spun off into the Club gravel on his out lap and later spun again at the same corner. A wire worked loose on Lloyd Jamieson‘s 4x4 Escort Maxi Cosworth, stranding the car mid-session and condemning the Scot to an out-of-position start of 24th. Colin Claxton and Paul Solbe both had disappointingly short weekends, Claxton’s Mk1 Escort blew its head gasket and Solbe’s Focus punched a hole in the engine during the fifteen minutes.
Qualifying results: Click here
The opening meeting for the Modified Ford Series in 2024 took place on the International version of Silverstone over the weekend of the 16th and 17th of March, the same venue that concluded the 2023 season. A superb year looks to be in prospect for the series in 2024 and the entry for the opening races at Silverstone was full with 16 reserves by mid-November, indeed the first three rounds were full with reserves before the end of November! Natural wastage saw the number of entries whittled down to the grid maximum of 44 by the time of the meeting.
Tommy Field’s turbocharged Mk1 Escort RSR could give regular pacesetter Dave Cockell’s Escort Cosworth something to think about for Class SA and overall honours after reliability troubles kept the rapid BDT-powered device from taking a clean sweep at last year’s Ford Power Live event. Scotsman Lloyd Jamieson hoped his engine woes of 2023 were a thing of the past and the Escort Maxi Cosworth 4x4 ought to feature near the sharp end. Luke Bennett’s Jäegermeister-liveried Eurocar V8 could also threaten the top ten, whilst Piers Warwick’s Nissan turbo-powered Mk1 Escort and Malcolm Wise’s Escort Cosworth completed the class lineup. James Allen’s newly paddle shift-fitted Mk2 Focus RS topped the Class A entrants and would be gunning for at least a podium finish. Some iconic liveries could be found applied to several cars in the class, namely Alan Breck’s Jäegermeister Capri V8, Mick Head’s Martini Escort Cosworth RWD and the Repsol-esque Focus Mk1 Turbo of Ralph Higson, which should be Allen’s nearest challenger. Tom Abbott’s Sapphire Cosworth also mimics a famous colour scheme, that of the works Focus WRCs of the early ‘00s. The Sierra RS Cosworth of Sean Fairweather and Stefan Marsh’s Focus ST made up the field. In addition to Tommy Field’s Class SA car, two further SHP-built Mk1 Escort RSRs formed the Class SB entry and both were intended to make their series debuts. Former Junior Rallycross champion and 2023 Mini Challenge Trophy title holder Tom Ovenden should show real pace in the 2.5 Duratec-powered spaceframe racer. Another RSR scheduled to make its first appearance belonged to Cornishman Ben Purnell, the smart white and blue example featuring 2-litre Millington power but the car would be absent. The closely-matched Mk2 Escorts of Malcolm Harding and Piers Grange would be the ones to watch for Class B+ honours and could maybe sneak an overall podium. Looking to run them close would be the popular Josh Payton Mk2 Cortina, winter revisions saw the Millington-powered car now adorned with a flat floor underneath, an air dam up front and a roof spoiler on top. Laki Christoforou’s similarly motivated Mk2 Escort should also be a contender. Series promoter Paul Nevill brought out his immaculate RS2000 once more and would surely be there or thereabouts along with the smart Mk1 Escort of Wayne Crabtree which also featured on the entry list, the pair were almost inseparable as they crossed the line abreast at last year’s Ford Power Live. The last Escort entered in the class was the Mk2 of Nigel Craig. BRSCC Livestream pitlane reporter Robert Lewis moved into Class B+ with a 300 bhp Ecoboost unit now installed in his Mk1 Focus. Also newly featuring Ecoboost motivation is the Fiesta of prolific 2023 Class C winner and overall series champion Alex Boam. Boam’s stablemate Sam Shimwell also moved into Class B+ but with 2.3 Duratec power under the bonnet of his Fiesta, the trio of Boamerang Racing cars made up by 2023 podium finisher David Guthrie. Three more Ecoboost-powered cars rounded out the class runners - AJ Howe’s Mk1 Focus Estate, which scored a couple of top six overall finishes at Cadwell Park in 2023, and the Mk7 Fiestas of Cliff Pellin and Todd Garner. Two late entries bolstered the Class B+ field, Martin Reynolds’ Mk2 Escort, another one of his many projects which wasn’t to be confused with his X-Pack example, and another Ecoboost-powered Fiesta Mk7 in the hands of Matt Chambers. Chris Baker’s screaming Mk3 Escort would have Mike Thurley’s lovely Zakspeed Mk1 Escort to contend with for Class B glory. Another Zakspeed replica Mk1 Escort made its debut in the hands of Colin Claxton and the stunning Mk1 of Gary Johnson was also in attendance, the car’s pace having taken a step forward since moving to slick tyres late in 2023. If the weather turned unsettled, Oliver Bullion would be rubbing his hands with glee aboard his Fiesta after his win in the wet at Brands Hatch last September. Tyler England’s Fiesta also scored a top-seven finish during that damp encounter and was joined on the entry list by the Fiestas of Chris Burley and Mac McCarthy, along with Paul Solbe and first timer Jay Hinton’s Focus Mk1s. The familiar silver Fiesta of Dave Barrett was one of a trio of Class C entries, the little hatchback would also be fielded by Gary Littlewood, the double class winner on the Grand Prix circuit one year ago, and the formerly Puma-engined version of Darryl Taplin, who impressed on his debut at the Ford Power Live meeting last September and intends to be a series regular in 2024 with a new 1.6-litre motor installed.
Qualifying: After the quarter of an hour of qualifying, the Focus RS of James Allen set the pole position time of 1:09.496 to top the session by 0.379 seconds from Dave Cockell’s now dry-sumped Escort Cosworth. Just 0.077 seconds further back came Tommy Field’s turbocharged Mk1 Escort RSR as less than half a second covered the top three, Field’s newly rerouted exhaust had melted much of adjoining wiring inside the Stuart Day-owned car as the session progressed. The pace was high among the top three, with Allen’s pole time being just 0.042 seconds slower than Jason Davies’ lap record from last October. Fourth was the top Class B+ competitor Malcolm Harding and the Mk2 Escort impressively qualified within a second and a half of the pole position time. In fifth was the fastest Class SB car and series debutant Tom Ovenden with his RSR Duratec, whilst completing the top six was Harding’s regular foe Piers Grange. Josh Payton’s slippery Cortina lined up seventh, Ralph Higson a great eighth in his Focus Turbo, Laki Christoforou’s Millington Mk2 Escort set the ninth-best time and Paul Nevill’s RS2000 completed the top ten. Chris Baker topped the Class B runners just outside the top ten in eleventh with his Mk3 Escort and had originally headed the class by 0.313 seconds from Mike Thurley’s Escort but the Mk1 lost its best lap for track limits so the pair now had six cars sat between them. Dave Barrett had over a second in hand from Gary Littlewood for the Class C pole and three grid slots split the two Fiestas. The session didn’t get off to a good start for Sean Fairweather’s Sierra RS Cosworth as he spun off into the Club gravel on his out lap and later spun again at the same corner. A wire worked loose on Lloyd Jamieson‘s 4x4 Escort Maxi Cosworth, stranding the car mid-session and condemning the Scot to an out-of-position start of 24th. Colin Claxton and Paul Solbe both had disappointingly short weekends, Claxton’s Mk1 Escort blew its head gasket and Solbe’s Focus punched a hole in the engine during the fifteen minutes.
Qualifying results: Click here
Race One: The bright conditions of qualifying had dulled and a biting breeze made it feel much colder by the time the field formed up for the opening race on Saturday afternoon. There was drama on the formation lap as polestarter James Allen didn’t get away from the grid after his new paddle shift wouldn’t select a gear. After performing a system reset, the Focus got rolling before the rear of the field had passed so Allen was able to come through to his original spot at the head of the pack. As the field rolled around Club in readiness for the race start, the V8 Capri of Alan Breck and Oliver Bullion’s Fiesta came together which forced the appearance of the Safety Car as the field completed its inaugural tour, the two vehicles stranded on the edge of the track. Dave Cockell had made the best getaway and toughed it out around the outside of Allen at Abbey to establish himself in the lead. Tommy Field followed in the Escort Cosworth’s wheeltracks to take second through Farm. Malcolm Harding’s Mk2 Escort also zapped past the Focus approaching Village, whilst Cockell fended off Field’s sniff at the inside line just ahead. The Safety Car light boards illuminated around the circuit for the incident at Club as the pack raced along The Link and the unsighted Field and Harding leapt past Cockell going onto the Hangar Straight but the status quo was quickly returned, Piers Grange had also done likewise to Allen in fourth before realising his error, the Escort having outdragged Tom Ovenden’s RSR at the rolling start. The field trailed the Safety Car for three laps before the race resumed with six minutes remaining, Cockell maintained his place at the head of the queue from Field and the promoted Allen. Promoted because Harding had pitted from third behind the Safety Car with the return of the misfire that plagued his meeting at the Donington Park CTCRC season finale in October 2023. The Mk2 Escort managed to stay on the lead lap as it rejoined but fell to the back of the queue along with Mike Thurley’s Escort Mk1, whose engine had switched off during the formation lap. The race restarted with six minutes left and as Cockell and Field bolted, Allen ran wide at Abbey and Grange took full advantage to dive underneath the Focus into Village for third. The Escort ran wide, however, which allowed Allen back alongside through The Link but Grange carried more speed around the outside to claim the spot entering the Hangar Straight. Power told down to Stowe as Allen flashed past Grange to reclaim third. The terrier-like Escort wasn’t done yet and when the Focus arrived at the Vale left-hander a little hot, so Grange was able to pinch back third on the outside of Club Corner. Grange would only hold on to the place as far as Stowe next time around when Allen decisively sliced inside the Escort. Despite getting away from Field a little at the restart, Cockell couldn’t relax with the ex-Wayne Crabtree RSR never much more than a second behind and with less than a minute to go, Field drew up on the outside of Cockell into Village to give the RSR Turbo the inside for The Link but Cockell stuck to his guns on the outside. The pair were still side-by-side heading onto the Hangar Straight, where the Escort Cosworth used its prodigious power to retain the lead. The pair crossed the line to start the final lap with six seconds left on the clock and Cockell held off Field to take the win by 0.636 seconds after traffic kept the gap between the pair of Class SA cars elastic, Cockell’s fastest lap was only 0.046 seconds away from his nemesis Jason Davies’ lap record set at the 2023 season-closing meeting but his 1:09.500 did reset his own Class SA benchmark. Poleman Allen took third and topped Class A despite further difficulties with his paddle shift. Grange won B+ in fourth and lowered the class lap record in the process, just a quarter of a second in front of Class SB victor Tom Ovenden’s normally aspirated Mk1 Escort RSR. Josh Payton’s Cortina completed the top six and took second in Class B+ after getting ahead of Laki Christoforou’s Mk2 Escort at Village on the restart lap, Christoforou fell away from Payton as the race wore on but still got the third in Class B+ trophy in seventh overall. Further cars from Class B+ made up the rest of the top ten in the hands of Paul Nevill, Martin Reynolds and Wayne Crabtree. Lloyd Jamieson made solid progress from his 24th starting position to take eleventh overall and be the third Class SA car past the flag, having pipped Malcolm Wise through the Vale/Club sequence for the last time. Chris Baker’s Mk3 Escort prevailed in Class B in the midst of a huge tussle involving up to nine cars to come home in sixteenth. Gary Johnson took second place in Class B, nine seconds down on Baker in 21st overall, with Tyler England in third after enjoying a race-long duel with debutant Jay Hinton. The delayed Mike Thurley made up some ground to finish fifth in the class and 25th overall, one spot behind Hinton‘s Focus. Gary Littlewood held on to the Class C win by less than a second from top qualifier Dave Barrett after getting ahead soon after the restart, Darryl Taplin finished a little off the other two in third and bemoaned a lack of straightline speed. After his misfire-induced pit stop earlier, Malcolm Harding eventually fought his way up to nineteenth. The Boamerang Racing trio suffered a trying day, twelfth qualifier Alex Boam was forced out after qualifying with oil finding its way into one of the bores of his new Ecoboost motor, the similar car of David Guthrie pitted on the last lap with overheating and Sam Shimwell’s Duratec-engined Fiesta broke a driveshaft but still took the flag in eighteenth.
Race One results: Click here
Race One results: Click here
Race Two: The second race of the weekend was held on Sunday morning. The persistent early rain had eased when the Modified Fords took to the circuit but the surface was still very damp, which could mix up the results after Saturday’s dry encounter. The second bout would begin with two formation laps due to the sodden track conditions and the timer began counting down when the field started their second green flag lap. A little over twelve minutes remained when the pack came under starter’s orders and Tommy Field reacted faster when the lights went out at the rolling start but Dave Cockell was still first into Abbey and immediately began building a lead, with Field dropping into second. James Allen fell behind Piers Grange, a fast-starting Josh Payton and Tom Ovenden as the field accelerated away but was able to drive around the outside of the youngster’s RSR through the first corner. Payton was in a determined mood and got alongside Grange’s Mk2 Escort turning onto the Hangar Straight but the silver car’s greater straightline speed kept the Cortina behind. Allen slipped up the inside of Payton into Stowe and was also quickly past Grange, going the long way round under braking into Vale. Making use of his four-wheel-drive traction, Cockell led by an impressive 3.363 seconds at the end of the opening tour from a fogging up Field and Allen. Grange and Payton completed the top five the first time around, whilst Lloyd Jamieson had a good first lap to cross the line right behind Ovenden in seventh after starting eleventh. Malcolm Harding and Robert Lewis were also on the move in eighth and ninth respectively. The opening lap didn’t go so well for Martin Reynolds, who dropped out with a misfire aboard his Class B+ Mk2 Escort and joined non-starting classmates Laki Christoforou and Paul Nevill on the sidelines. Ovenden had started to slip down the order on the second lap ‘under green’ and had been passed by both Jamieson and Harding by Village. Robert Lewis, Todd Garner and Malcolm Wise were next in line to affect a pass, with the former pair slipping inside the RSR at Stowe. Now clear of the Class B+ leaders, Allen headed off in pursuit of Field and the Focus was threatening the turbocharged RSR’s second place at the end of lap three. Starting the fourth tour, Allen showed his nose at Abbey before sneaking up the inside into Village to snare second place. Behind them in the battle for Class B+ honours, Grange was being shadowed by Payton until the Cortina looped into a spin into the left-handed Vale corner. Fortunately, the Escort saw the out-of-control Cortina coming and took to the gravel in avoidance, rejoining still leading the class. Meanwhile, Payton had slipped behind Jamieson and the flying Harding as they headed off into lap four. The group compressed together over the following few laps until, on lap nine, Grange tried threading the eye of the needle between Jamieson, who'd got ahead a lap previously, and lapped traffic into Vale, making contact with Mike Head’s Martini Escort Cosworth in the process, allowing the opportunistic Harding to pounce and nick the Class B+ lead through Club. Ahead of everyone, Cockell took the flag by a commanding 7.989 seconds to seal his second victory of the weekend. Allen took second along with the Class A win and led home the visually-impaired Field by 4.002 seconds, the RSR’s windscreen having steamed up. The Escort Maxi Cosworth 4x4 of Jamieson held off Harding’s Escort Mk2, which secured the Class B+ spoils, for fourth after determined drives from the pair of them. Grange and Payton came home in sixth and seventh overall to complete the Class B+ podium. Two Fiestas also from Class B+ stood out in eighth and ninth places after climbing from the lower teens at the start, the Mk7 ST of Todd Garner and the 2.3-litre Mk6 of Sam Shimwell. The Escort Cosworth of Malcolm Wise rounded out the top ten. BRSCC pit lane reporter Robert Lewis had starred in the early stages to run in as high as eighth place before the Ecoboost Focus slipped back to an eventual twelfth-position finish behind David Guthrie, who had started 36th! Ralph Higson took his second runner-up spot of the weekend in Class A, whilst Stefan Marsh also matched his Saturday result with third after an entertaining drive looking out of the side windows for much of the time! Mike Thurley won Class B in fourteenth from Chris Baker after a hard-charging effort and the Escorts swapped places through The Link on lap three, Tyler England bagged his second third-place finish for the weekend in his Fiesta. Gary Littlewood was the clear winner as he doubled up in Class C, Darryl Taplin’s comparative lack of power was offset by the wet weather to catch and pass Dave Barrett’s similar car for second, who lost ground with a big slide through Abbey late in the race. Tom Ovenden's RSR failed to finish so there would be no victor in Class SB.
Race Two results: Click here
Race Two results: Click here
Tyler England took home the first of the specially commissioned ’Scalextric’ Driver of the Day awards for the Fiesta pilot’s pair of third in Class B finishes over the weekend.
The next round of races for the Modified Ford Series takes place in the parkland setting of Oulton Park on Saturday the 13th of April.
The next round of races for the Modified Ford Series takes place in the parkland setting of Oulton Park on Saturday the 13th of April.