Modified Ford Series Silverstone National 18th August 2024
FIELD FORAGES FIRST WIN OF THE DAY BEFORE COCKELL’S SILVERSTONE STUNNER
The Modified Ford Series paid its second visit to Silverstone this season on the 18th of August but this time the entry would be competing on the National iteration of the British Grand Prix venue. The long straights ought to favour the higher-powered weaponry at the front of the field but the big stops at Becketts and Brooklands should allow the smaller cars to reclaim the lost ground.
Snetterton pacesetter Tommy Field flew to a pair of victories and was keen to do the same at Silverstone with the BDT-powered Mk1 Escort RSR in one of the strongest Class SA entries to gather. Jack Gadd showed immense speed on his way to a pair of second places in Norfolk and the YB-engined RSR had to be considered one of the favourites for glory. Dave Cockell had no answer to the staggeringly fast turbocharged RSR pair at Snetterton but his Escort Cosworth’s prodigious straightline speed could give him the edge in Northamptonshire. Simon Light’s V8 Capri was forced to miss the Snetterton meeting following a near-150mph suspension failure approaching Hawthorn during the Super Touring Power 2 event a few weeks beforehand but made his return at Silverstone and the 5-litre beast was sure to feature towards the pointy end. Lloyd Jamieson’s Escort Maxi Cosworth has picked up some great results lately and the long straights of the National should play into the Scot’s hands. The Escort Cosworth of final class entrant Malcolm Wise should feature well on the open nature of the National circuit. Steve Scott-Dunwoodie’s Sierra RS500 won Class A in each outing at Snetterton in July and the car’s power could see it in the running for an overall podium finish. David Matthias would try to do something about that with his fleet Sapphire Cosworth and his sibling Scott was out in the rear-wheel-drive Escort Cosworth that last saw action in the series in 2022. The propshaft of Paul Restall’s Sapphire Cosworth made a bid for freedom through the transmission tunnel to cut short his meeting in Norfolk but he’d shown promising speed in the short amount of track time he had beforehand. Leroy Brown made an eye-opening racing debut at Castle Combe, where he took home a couple of class trophies aboard his turbocharged Mk6 Fiesta. Mick Head suffered with overheating at Snetterton but still claimed a class award with the Martini Escort Cosworth. Three Mk1 Escort RSRs made up the Class SB field and Tom Ovenden made his first appearance in the series since Knockhill, the rapid youngster quickly got over the disappointment of losing a certain first Mini JCW win to driveshaft failure with just three minutes remaining of the first race at Croft to get the job done in Race Two. Ben Purnell is getting quicker with his Millington-engined version and Tim Foxlow put in his first entry for a couple of years with his tidy Duratec-powered machine. Dan Minton showed a lot of speed during his first outing with the now Smith & Jones-powered Thundersaloon Mk2 Escort at Snetterton and if that pace carries over to Silverstone then the combination will take some stopping in Class B+. Malcolm Harding was the first in line to stop Minton with his similarly powered Zakspeed Mk2 Escort. Paul Nevill was pleased with his laptimes at Snetterton aboard his Mk2 RS2000 and he was probably the driver most likely to run the Escort pair closest. Wayne Crabtree’s Mk1 Escort has shown it has the speed in the past but the Gulf-liveried car has also been fragile at times. Todd Garner’s more-modified Mk7 Fiesta should have the legs on the other trio of Ecoboost Fiestas that completed the class lineup. Caitlin May qualified her ST240 Challenge car well inside the top ten for the opening race of 2023 on the Grand Prix circuit, while Aidan Morris and Dominic Ryan made their debuts. Four-time 2024 class winner Chris Baker should have the upper hand with his 280+ bhp Mk3 Escort in Class B on the high speed sections as he looked for more success in the class. Tyler England impressed at Snetterton to qualify in twelfth overall but the Fiesta might not have the grunt to topple Baker in Northamptonshire. Oliver Bullion’s Fiesta ST has taken the class win on four occasions in 2024 but may be found a little wanting in the power stakes to be right at the front of the class unless it rains. The Mk1 Escorts of Mike Thurley and Gary Johnson have also tasted victory in the class this year and were joined by the welcome return of Tony Paxman’s powder blue car after a long layoff, with Colin Claxton’s Zakspeed replica the fourth example in the class. Nigel Hutton made his return to the series in a Fiesta ST after previously fielding a Sapphire Cosworth, whilst Paul Solbe and debutant John Ward fielded Focus Mk1s. Dave Barrett, Gary Littlewood and Kevan Hadfield have each taken Class C victories during the 2024 season and the contests between the two Fiestas and the Puma could go any way. Marc Mitchell debuted in the series at Snetterton with a smart looking Fiesta and continued his learning at Silverstone.
Qualifying: It was a busy and tricky season for the 37 cars that turned out after Wayne Crabtree's Mk1 Escort stopped on the out lap when an oil pipe came adrift from the dry sump tank at Copse. The session was eventually stopped after eleven minutes after Jack Gadd became stranded in the Copse gravel trap having spun on the dropped oil whilst overtaking a slower car. All wasn’t bad for the RSR as Gadd claimed pole position by 0.310 seconds from the BDT-powered similar car of Tommy Field. Dave Cockell's Escort Cosworth was 0.328 seconds off Field in third and was surrounded by the SHP-built Mk1 Escorts as he headed Tom Ovenden’s Class SB example by 0.263 seconds on row two. The first qualifier outside of one second from pole position was Steve Scott-Dunwoodie’s Sierra RS500 in fifth that headed Class A, the top Class B+ Mk2 Escort of Malcolm Harding lined up next. Lloyd Jamieson’s Class SA Escort Maxi Cosworth 4x4 headed row four from Scott Matthias’ Class A Escort Cosworth. Matthias’ sibling David put his Sapphire Cosworth on the fifth row, 0.119 seconds down on his brother, and Dan Minton’s Mk2 Escort completed the top ten after setting the second-fastest Class B+ time. Simon Light’s Capri V8 just missed out on a top ten start in eleventh as he bedded in some new brake pads and was joined on the sixth row by Paul Restall’s Sapphire Cosworth. Mike Thurley’s Mk1 Escort was quickest of the Class B cars in thirteenth overall, split from second qualifier Tyler England by the second fastest Class SB RSR of Tim Foxlow. Series returnee Tony Paxman had a promising first session back on track to start from third in Class B, one spot behind England in sixteenth overall. Chris Baker had a delayed start to the session with the fire extinguisher system shorting and wound up fifth fastest in Class B and twentieth overall to join classmate Gary Johnson on the tenth row. The Class C top three squabble was covered by a little over a second and a half as Gary Littlewood headed Dave Barrett by 0.436 seconds, with Kevan Hadfield’s Puma 1.185 seconds away from the Fiestas in third. Series head Paul Nevill had a problem with the right-rear corner of the RS2000 as the 35-year-old rubber bushes were suspected to be perishing and he would start the opening bout from 33rd to match his race number.
Qualifying Results: Click here
The Modified Ford Series paid its second visit to Silverstone this season on the 18th of August but this time the entry would be competing on the National iteration of the British Grand Prix venue. The long straights ought to favour the higher-powered weaponry at the front of the field but the big stops at Becketts and Brooklands should allow the smaller cars to reclaim the lost ground.
Snetterton pacesetter Tommy Field flew to a pair of victories and was keen to do the same at Silverstone with the BDT-powered Mk1 Escort RSR in one of the strongest Class SA entries to gather. Jack Gadd showed immense speed on his way to a pair of second places in Norfolk and the YB-engined RSR had to be considered one of the favourites for glory. Dave Cockell had no answer to the staggeringly fast turbocharged RSR pair at Snetterton but his Escort Cosworth’s prodigious straightline speed could give him the edge in Northamptonshire. Simon Light’s V8 Capri was forced to miss the Snetterton meeting following a near-150mph suspension failure approaching Hawthorn during the Super Touring Power 2 event a few weeks beforehand but made his return at Silverstone and the 5-litre beast was sure to feature towards the pointy end. Lloyd Jamieson’s Escort Maxi Cosworth has picked up some great results lately and the long straights of the National should play into the Scot’s hands. The Escort Cosworth of final class entrant Malcolm Wise should feature well on the open nature of the National circuit. Steve Scott-Dunwoodie’s Sierra RS500 won Class A in each outing at Snetterton in July and the car’s power could see it in the running for an overall podium finish. David Matthias would try to do something about that with his fleet Sapphire Cosworth and his sibling Scott was out in the rear-wheel-drive Escort Cosworth that last saw action in the series in 2022. The propshaft of Paul Restall’s Sapphire Cosworth made a bid for freedom through the transmission tunnel to cut short his meeting in Norfolk but he’d shown promising speed in the short amount of track time he had beforehand. Leroy Brown made an eye-opening racing debut at Castle Combe, where he took home a couple of class trophies aboard his turbocharged Mk6 Fiesta. Mick Head suffered with overheating at Snetterton but still claimed a class award with the Martini Escort Cosworth. Three Mk1 Escort RSRs made up the Class SB field and Tom Ovenden made his first appearance in the series since Knockhill, the rapid youngster quickly got over the disappointment of losing a certain first Mini JCW win to driveshaft failure with just three minutes remaining of the first race at Croft to get the job done in Race Two. Ben Purnell is getting quicker with his Millington-engined version and Tim Foxlow put in his first entry for a couple of years with his tidy Duratec-powered machine. Dan Minton showed a lot of speed during his first outing with the now Smith & Jones-powered Thundersaloon Mk2 Escort at Snetterton and if that pace carries over to Silverstone then the combination will take some stopping in Class B+. Malcolm Harding was the first in line to stop Minton with his similarly powered Zakspeed Mk2 Escort. Paul Nevill was pleased with his laptimes at Snetterton aboard his Mk2 RS2000 and he was probably the driver most likely to run the Escort pair closest. Wayne Crabtree’s Mk1 Escort has shown it has the speed in the past but the Gulf-liveried car has also been fragile at times. Todd Garner’s more-modified Mk7 Fiesta should have the legs on the other trio of Ecoboost Fiestas that completed the class lineup. Caitlin May qualified her ST240 Challenge car well inside the top ten for the opening race of 2023 on the Grand Prix circuit, while Aidan Morris and Dominic Ryan made their debuts. Four-time 2024 class winner Chris Baker should have the upper hand with his 280+ bhp Mk3 Escort in Class B on the high speed sections as he looked for more success in the class. Tyler England impressed at Snetterton to qualify in twelfth overall but the Fiesta might not have the grunt to topple Baker in Northamptonshire. Oliver Bullion’s Fiesta ST has taken the class win on four occasions in 2024 but may be found a little wanting in the power stakes to be right at the front of the class unless it rains. The Mk1 Escorts of Mike Thurley and Gary Johnson have also tasted victory in the class this year and were joined by the welcome return of Tony Paxman’s powder blue car after a long layoff, with Colin Claxton’s Zakspeed replica the fourth example in the class. Nigel Hutton made his return to the series in a Fiesta ST after previously fielding a Sapphire Cosworth, whilst Paul Solbe and debutant John Ward fielded Focus Mk1s. Dave Barrett, Gary Littlewood and Kevan Hadfield have each taken Class C victories during the 2024 season and the contests between the two Fiestas and the Puma could go any way. Marc Mitchell debuted in the series at Snetterton with a smart looking Fiesta and continued his learning at Silverstone.
Qualifying: It was a busy and tricky season for the 37 cars that turned out after Wayne Crabtree's Mk1 Escort stopped on the out lap when an oil pipe came adrift from the dry sump tank at Copse. The session was eventually stopped after eleven minutes after Jack Gadd became stranded in the Copse gravel trap having spun on the dropped oil whilst overtaking a slower car. All wasn’t bad for the RSR as Gadd claimed pole position by 0.310 seconds from the BDT-powered similar car of Tommy Field. Dave Cockell's Escort Cosworth was 0.328 seconds off Field in third and was surrounded by the SHP-built Mk1 Escorts as he headed Tom Ovenden’s Class SB example by 0.263 seconds on row two. The first qualifier outside of one second from pole position was Steve Scott-Dunwoodie’s Sierra RS500 in fifth that headed Class A, the top Class B+ Mk2 Escort of Malcolm Harding lined up next. Lloyd Jamieson’s Class SA Escort Maxi Cosworth 4x4 headed row four from Scott Matthias’ Class A Escort Cosworth. Matthias’ sibling David put his Sapphire Cosworth on the fifth row, 0.119 seconds down on his brother, and Dan Minton’s Mk2 Escort completed the top ten after setting the second-fastest Class B+ time. Simon Light’s Capri V8 just missed out on a top ten start in eleventh as he bedded in some new brake pads and was joined on the sixth row by Paul Restall’s Sapphire Cosworth. Mike Thurley’s Mk1 Escort was quickest of the Class B cars in thirteenth overall, split from second qualifier Tyler England by the second fastest Class SB RSR of Tim Foxlow. Series returnee Tony Paxman had a promising first session back on track to start from third in Class B, one spot behind England in sixteenth overall. Chris Baker had a delayed start to the session with the fire extinguisher system shorting and wound up fifth fastest in Class B and twentieth overall to join classmate Gary Johnson on the tenth row. The Class C top three squabble was covered by a little over a second and a half as Gary Littlewood headed Dave Barrett by 0.436 seconds, with Kevan Hadfield’s Puma 1.185 seconds away from the Fiestas in third. Series head Paul Nevill had a problem with the right-rear corner of the RS2000 as the 35-year-old rubber bushes were suspected to be perishing and he would start the opening bout from 33rd to match his race number.
Qualifying Results: Click here
Race One: Opening race front-row starter Tommy Field fought his way to the front into Becketts for the first time from Jack Gadd's similar car that started from pole position. Dave Cockell was sniffing around the pair of RSRs out of Copse but he skated wide in a portent of what was about to happen at Brooklands, where the Escort Cosworth speared off at a rate of knots after its brakes locked up heavily and stalled the engine. Frustratingly, the car wouldn’t refire to spell the end of his race. Field opened a small margin out front but Gadd came back at the leader after posting a time 1.329 seconds faster than the leading RSR on lap three before Field moved away to the tune of 2.035 seconds at the chequered flag as he took his third consecutive victory in the series. Simon Light immediately set about his fight up the order from starting eleventh on lap one and passed both of the Matthias brothers in one go into Copse but sailed wide onto the run-off to slip behind them again. The V8 Capri regrouped and took Scott Matthias towards Copse for the second time before gaining seventh from David Matthias into Becketts on lap three. Light then took sixth from Class B+ leader Malcolm Harding out of Copse on lap six before the Capri powered past Tom Ovenden's Class SB RSR on lap seven and almost immediately gained another spot when Steve Scott-Dunwoodie's Class A Sierra ran wide at Brooklands and fell behind Ovenden too. The RSR cheekily fought back ahead of Light at Luffield but the rumbling coupe soon bellowed inside Ovenden towards Copse as they started the following lap and drove by Lloyd Jamieson exiting Becketts into third place with seven minutes remaining to seal his place on the podium. The contest between Scott-Dunwoodie, Jamieson, Harding and Ovenden raged for much of the distance. Scott-Dunwoodie's Sierra had used its power to get ahead of Ovenden and Harding before Becketts on lap one to grab an early fourth place, which soon became third place with Cockell's demise at Brooklands. Jamieson also breezed by the normally-aspirated Escorts down the Wellington Straight to end the opening lap in fourth and Ovenden also lost out to the Class B+ leader Harding after the pair spent much of lap one side-by-side but the RSR repassed the Mk2 Escort down the inside at Brooklands for the fourth time, Jamieson drove around the outside of Scott-Dunwoodie into Brooklands for the fifth time but the Escort Maxi got boxed in behind a lapped Fiesta exiting Luffield on lap six. Scott-Dunwoodie and Ovenden pounced to demote the Scot two places as the trio briefly ran three-wide towards Woodcote, Ovenden soon fell back behind Jamieson at Becketts on the next lap before Light boomed past the RSR and almost had the pair of them down to Brooklands but the nimbler RSR battled back ahead of the Capri at Luffield. Jamieson’s struggles with his gearing at Luffield saw Ovenden exit the corner alongside him before the Scot powered away and Light went back by Ovenden into Copse for fourth place, the Capri went up to third shortly after as it drove by Jamieson onto the Wellington Straight. Ovenden also got by Jamieson at the Brooklands/Luffield combination but only briefly as the Escort Maxi whistled past towards Woodcote and the Scot went on to take a fantastic fourth place. However, post-race Jamieson found out that the centre propshaft bearing had collapsed to throw his Race Two participation into doubt. Ovenden was eventually passed by Class A winner Scott-Dunwoodie too with two and a half minutes left towards Copse but the RSR still triumphed in Class SB in sixth overall. Harding took the Class B+ glory in seventh overall but all wasn't well with the Zakspeed Escort after the oil pressure light came on. David Matthias came home second in Class A and eighth overall despite the Sapphire Cosworth having run straight on Becketts on lap four just after Light had gone through and came under pressure from his brother Scott, whose birthday celebrations didn't end well with retirement due to a cracked engine block on his Escort Cosworth. Paul Restall chased the similar Matthias Sapphire home in ninth overall for third in Class A and the Malcolm Wise Class SA Escort Cosworth completed the top ten. Dan Minton clawed his way back to second in Class B+ despite starting from the pitlane on lap two! The Thundersaloon Escort had suffered a qualifying misfire and the ECT Plug was removed in an attempt to cure it but the engine ran worse afterwards so Minton's father scurried back to the paddock to fetch and refit the part as the race began, the Mk2 Escort lapped with the fierce fourth-place scrap when it joined the action and Minton passed Paul Nevill on the last time around to nick second in class and eleventh overall. Nevill had made his own charge through the field after starting from 33rd despite a noisy exhaust, the RS2000 had climbed up to seventeenth before the end of lap one and reached twelfth overall on lap three after getting through the Class B battle. Initial Class B leader Mike Thurley went out at the end of the opening lap when the Mk1 Escort’s throttle cable snapped. Tyler England led the class after Thurley’s departure until Copse on lap three when Chris Baker's Mk3 Escort steamed by to take the class victory. Gary Johnson just fended off Oliver Bullion by 0.100 seconds to take third in the class after both got ahead of Tony Paxman, who finished just half a second behind the pair. Tim Foxlow finished between the top two Class B cars in fourteenth overall to be runner-up in Class SB with his RSR and the third entry of Ben Purnell wouldn't reach the finish after the RSR's Millington engine expired. Gary Littlewood's Mk6 Fiesta led Class C early on but was passed by Dave Barrett's older model with just over five minutes left for the win exiting Copse, Kevan Hadfield took third with his Puma, ahead of Marc Mitchell's Fiesta that refused to rev much higher than 5000rpm.
Race One Results: Click here
Race One Results: Click here
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Race Two: The front row men Tommy Field and Jack Gadd fought hard for the race lead on the opening lap of Race Two, with the pair arriving at Becketts abreast before Gadd hit the front down the inside into Brooklands but the YB-engined RSR almost got away from Gadd exiting Luffield and a grateful Field sped back through into the lead. Behind them, a stunning drive from Dave Cockell was getting underway from starting dead last in 29th and the Escort Cosworth had blasted through to eleventh overall by the end of lap one. Eleventh became ninth on lap two as Cockell dispensed with Wayne Crabtree and Paul Restall retired his Sapphire with a misfire, he then made up four places on the third tour when he passed David Matthias heading into Copse and a touring Lloyd Jamieson on the way out, he then claimed Dan Minton's Mk2 Escort at Becketts before firing past Tom Ovenden's RSR exiting Woodcote. Steve Scott-Dunwoodie's Sierra was the flying Escort Cosworth's next victim as it lunged decisively down the inside at Brooklands on the fourth tour and Cockell would set the race's fastest lap of 58.927 seconds on the same circulation as his impressive charge continued. Simon Light's Capri was removed from third before half distance on lap five before starting the chase of the leading turbocharged RSRs, with the second-placed Gadd 6.285 seconds up the road. Cockell brought the gap down over the following five laps before squeezing inside Gadd into Becketts for second place with five and a half minutes remaining and set off in pursuit of leader Field. The RSR's lead margin of 1.531 seconds was slashed to just 0.272 seconds on the next lap as the RSR struggled with blistered tyres before the gap ebbed and flowed in traffic as time started to run out. Cockell had dropped to over a second behind Field negotiating the traffic but he soon regained the lost ground in clearer air and took his first look down the inside into Brooklands for the penultimate time and the pair went onto the final lap with just 0.394 seconds between them. A moment’s hesitation for Field behind Marc Mitchell’s Fiesta and a lairy exit from Becketts gave Cockell a great run at the RSR but the leader held on into Brooklands. Undeterred, the Escort Cosworth got inside of Field blasting through Woodcote after a better exit from Luffield and pipped the RSR at the line by a slender 0.213 seconds to take a popular victory in some style. Field drifted through Woodcote as he tried to hold on with his rooted rubber but would have to be content with second, the similar car of Gadd took third after easing his pace with raised water temperature which put the RSR into limp mode. Light's Capri came home in fourth to complete a successful meeting on the car's return to action, the V8-powered machine was also running larger rubber after replacing the previous BTCC-spec Dunlops with wider GT3 Pirellis. Scott-Dunwoodie claimed his second Class A triumph of the day in fifth overall, less than a second ahead of Class SB victor Tom Ovenden's RSR in sixth. David Matthias finished on his own as he brought home the Sapphire Cosworth in seventh overall and second in Class A. Dan Minton topped Class B+ in eighth despite having to pump the brakes of the Mk2 Escort, the brake pedal eventually went to the floor and sent him straight on Becketts, just missing Scott-Dunwoodie's Sierra, which convinced Minton to ease his pace to bring the car home in one piece. Malcolm Wise was a creditable ninth with his Class SA Escort Cosworth and just held off Paul Nevill by a mere 0.057 seconds as the RS2000 took the final top ten spot and second in Class B+. Chris Baker's Mk3 Escort finished top of the Class B tree in eleventh overall from Tyler England's Fiesta, which wasn't far behind in fourteenth overall after battling with Tim Foxlow's Class SB runner-up RSR and the third Class B+ car home of Wayne Crabtree. Mike Thurley came through from his lowly grid position on the row ahead of race-winner Cockell for third in Class B ahead of the closely-tied Tony Paxman and Oliver Bullion, whilst the sideways Gary Johnson slid the Mk1 Escort to sixth. Finishing next in the classification was Leroy Brown as he guided his Mk6 Fiesta Turbo to third in Class A. Dave Barrett headed Gary Littlewood throughout for Class C glory, with Kevan Hadfield's Puma third once more from Marc Mitchell. Lloyd Jamieson sourced a spare propshaft from Malcolm Wise to get the Escort Maxi Cosworth on the grid and the part was replaced with the grateful assistance from Marc Mitchell and Paul Solbe's crews but their hard work would be for nothing as the car was an early retirement with a vibration at the rear of the car after running in the top six. Malcolm Harding understandably missed the second race, unwilling to risk his engine after the unexplained oil pressure light illumination. Also missing the race were Scott Matthias, Ben Purnell, Paul Solbe and Colin Claxton after their cars were trailered with engine problems, whilst Dominic Ryan's Mk7 Ecoboost Fiesta wouldn't start after a broken header tank was found and Todd Garner's similar car also missed out. Another to not take the start was Nigel Hutton's Mk6 Fiesta.
Race Two Results: Click here
Race Two Results: Click here
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The Scalextric 'Driver of the day' deservedly went to Dave Cockell after his staggering drive in Race Two.
The next action for the Modified Ford Series comes at the Ford Power Live bonanza at Brands Hatch on the 14th and 15th of September.
The next action for the Modified Ford Series comes at the Ford Power Live bonanza at Brands Hatch on the 14th and 15th of September.