Oulton Park Gold Cup 29th - 31st August 2026
BRABHAM’S BIRTH AND CAN-AM’S CREATION COMMEMORATED AT OULTON’S GOLD CUP WEEKEND
After their successful 60th anniversary meeting at Castle Combe three weeks earlier, the HSCC-curated Oulton Park Gold Cup meeting was held over the Bank Holiday weekend from the 29th to the 31st of August. The meeting marked a return to its traditional date after a few years avoiding a clash with the Silverstone Festival. Many of the host club’s championships and series were in action, including the high-powered Derek Bell Trophy and Thundersports showcases. The CSCC Special Saloons and Modsports made another popular guest showing, having first joined the line up in 2022. The achingly pretty 1000cc Formula Three field would surely put on some fierce, high-revving competition. 1950s and 1960s Grand Prix machinery from the HGPCA would also stretch their legs on the parkland circuit as they fought for the coveted Gold Cup. Away from the racing, the 60th Anniversary of the ground-shaking Can-Am championship was commemorated with a paddock display and the venue would reverberate to the sound of the leviathans in a pair of special demonstrations on the opening day and the Bank Holiday Monday. The birth of three-time Formula One World Champion Sir Jack Brabham was also celebrated a century on, with his title-winning Cooper T53 and Brabham BT20 chassis on show. After months of no significant rainfall and boiling hot temperatures, the weather finally broke on the weekend of the festival and rain fell at some point during all three days. The opening day of testing and qualifying was particularly affected but the final afternoon saw the meeting finish in some welcome brighter weather.
After their successful 60th anniversary meeting at Castle Combe three weeks earlier, the HSCC-curated Oulton Park Gold Cup meeting was held over the Bank Holiday weekend from the 29th to the 31st of August. The meeting marked a return to its traditional date after a few years avoiding a clash with the Silverstone Festival. Many of the host club’s championships and series were in action, including the high-powered Derek Bell Trophy and Thundersports showcases. The CSCC Special Saloons and Modsports made another popular guest showing, having first joined the line up in 2022. The achingly pretty 1000cc Formula Three field would surely put on some fierce, high-revving competition. 1950s and 1960s Grand Prix machinery from the HGPCA would also stretch their legs on the parkland circuit as they fought for the coveted Gold Cup. Away from the racing, the 60th Anniversary of the ground-shaking Can-Am championship was commemorated with a paddock display and the venue would reverberate to the sound of the leviathans in a pair of special demonstrations on the opening day and the Bank Holiday Monday. The birth of three-time Formula One World Champion Sir Jack Brabham was also celebrated a century on, with his title-winning Cooper T53 and Brabham BT20 chassis on show. After months of no significant rainfall and boiling hot temperatures, the weather finally broke on the weekend of the festival and rain fell at some point during all three days. The opening day of testing and qualifying was particularly affected but the final afternoon saw the meeting finish in some welcome brighter weather.
Derek Bell Trophy
The parkland circuit echoed to the sound of the glorious 1970s single seaters, including a rumbling F5000 powerhouse, a classic DFV-engined Surtees TS16 F1 car that finished fourth in the 1974 Brazilian GP with Carlos Pace behind the wheel plus the shrill F2 and Atlantic four-cylinder cars. The entry included the Formula Atlantic Chevron B29 of David Bailey, who was at the wheel of the car driven by his late father 50 years ago and would also be presenting the ’Ken Bailey Trophy’ to the Historic FF1600 race winners. Qualifying: The Olympus Chevron B40 of Chris Porritt set the pace early on during a sodden Saturday afternoon until Mark Dwyer caused a red flag around halfway through when he spun his March at Hislops and couldn’t restart, the 742 was sat in third at the time. Marc Mercer’s Formula Atlantic March jumped Porritt’s Formula Two car for pole position by 0.908 seconds with his only flying lap after the restart before the session was red-flagged again when Graham Ridgway shunted his unusual Sabre-Buick on Lakeside, with qualifying being declared afterwards. Race One: The opening race never really happened after being red-flagged on lap two with Mark Dwyer in the lead. Graham Ridgway had endured a sizeable shunt at Lodge and the encounter wouldn’t be restarted with timetable pressure mounting. Race Two: The grid was formed in qualifying order so Chris Porritt’s Chevron was back on the front row after falling into the mid-pack during the truncated first contest. The race distance was extended to 25 minutes after Sunday’s non-event and the vast majority of the field started on wets but polesitter Marc Mercer had gambled on slicks for the drying surface. Mercer’s optimism looked to have gone unrewarded as the March dropped down the order but the polesitter had begun to regain ground as the circuit dried and the Formula Atlantic machine had recovered to sixth by the time a short Safety Car period arrived. Porritt led the early running from Mark Dwyer and James McGaughey, with the Formula Two cars pulling away from the more recent Formula Atlantic Swift. The short Safety Car interruption after halfway eradicated the over six-second advantage Porritt had built and Dwyer became the new race leader soon after the restart, with Mercer starting to look strong as he took the restart on the tail of the lead group. As Dwyer pulled away from Porritt in the lead, Mercer’s slick-shod March swept around the outside of the ex-Davina Galica Chevron at Cascades into second with three-and-a-half minutes to go and led before the lap was done as his bet paid out. The March 78B raced to the flag 8.937 seconds in the clear from the second-placed March 742 and Porritt’s Chevron B40 finished third. The F5000 Lola of Gary Lapidus passed Chris Perkins’ Formula One Surtees TS16 for fifth down the Avenue at the restart before the pair swapped back and the Surtees demoted McGaughey for fourth. Lapidus’ Lola T400 also passed McGaughey in the closing stages to finish fifth from the Scot’s Swift.
The parkland circuit echoed to the sound of the glorious 1970s single seaters, including a rumbling F5000 powerhouse, a classic DFV-engined Surtees TS16 F1 car that finished fourth in the 1974 Brazilian GP with Carlos Pace behind the wheel plus the shrill F2 and Atlantic four-cylinder cars. The entry included the Formula Atlantic Chevron B29 of David Bailey, who was at the wheel of the car driven by his late father 50 years ago and would also be presenting the ’Ken Bailey Trophy’ to the Historic FF1600 race winners. Qualifying: The Olympus Chevron B40 of Chris Porritt set the pace early on during a sodden Saturday afternoon until Mark Dwyer caused a red flag around halfway through when he spun his March at Hislops and couldn’t restart, the 742 was sat in third at the time. Marc Mercer’s Formula Atlantic March jumped Porritt’s Formula Two car for pole position by 0.908 seconds with his only flying lap after the restart before the session was red-flagged again when Graham Ridgway shunted his unusual Sabre-Buick on Lakeside, with qualifying being declared afterwards. Race One: The opening race never really happened after being red-flagged on lap two with Mark Dwyer in the lead. Graham Ridgway had endured a sizeable shunt at Lodge and the encounter wouldn’t be restarted with timetable pressure mounting. Race Two: The grid was formed in qualifying order so Chris Porritt’s Chevron was back on the front row after falling into the mid-pack during the truncated first contest. The race distance was extended to 25 minutes after Sunday’s non-event and the vast majority of the field started on wets but polesitter Marc Mercer had gambled on slicks for the drying surface. Mercer’s optimism looked to have gone unrewarded as the March dropped down the order but the polesitter had begun to regain ground as the circuit dried and the Formula Atlantic machine had recovered to sixth by the time a short Safety Car period arrived. Porritt led the early running from Mark Dwyer and James McGaughey, with the Formula Two cars pulling away from the more recent Formula Atlantic Swift. The short Safety Car interruption after halfway eradicated the over six-second advantage Porritt had built and Dwyer became the new race leader soon after the restart, with Mercer starting to look strong as he took the restart on the tail of the lead group. As Dwyer pulled away from Porritt in the lead, Mercer’s slick-shod March swept around the outside of the ex-Davina Galica Chevron at Cascades into second with three-and-a-half minutes to go and led before the lap was done as his bet paid out. The March 78B raced to the flag 8.937 seconds in the clear from the second-placed March 742 and Porritt’s Chevron B40 finished third. The F5000 Lola of Gary Lapidus passed Chris Perkins’ Formula One Surtees TS16 for fifth down the Avenue at the restart before the pair swapped back and the Surtees demoted McGaughey for fourth. Lapidus’ Lola T400 also passed McGaughey in the closing stages to finish fifth from the Scot’s Swift.
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Thundersports
Thundersports was the 1980s playground for powerful sports prototypes, with a smattering of the F5000-based Can-Am beasts among them and former Oulton Park owner John Foulston was one of the chief protagonists in a Lola T530-Chevrolet. With a ruleset based on mainly 1970s machinery, the slim but interesting field at Oulton Park included the massive 8800cc March 717 Group 7 monster, driven by Historic F1 champion Matthew Wrigley, ranged against the beautiful 2-litre Group 6 cars from Lola, Osella and Vogue plus the open-cockpit Harrier LR5 that raced in the Thundersports championship in period. Qualifying: The qualifying session was punctuated by heavy showers, with the quickest times coming at the start of the 30 minutes and the DFV-powered Lola T280 of Chris Porritt set the sole sub-two minute laptime for pole position. Anthony Hancock joined Porritt on the front row with the Lola T292/6 that contested the 1978 Le Mans 24 Hours. Matthew Wrigley had his first experience of the mighty March 717 and put the huge machine third but the wet weather meant he couldn’t gain much knowledge of its characteristics. Rapid German driver Silvio Kalb also had to learn the Cheshire circuit and he would start the Lola T298-BMW fourth. Adam Sykes put his 1980s Harrier LR5 fifth, having had a scramble to source spare parts after testing issues. Race: A single 30-minute encounter was held on the final day of the meeting and the circuit was thankfully dry for the start. Anthony Hancock took the early initiative as the top five ran away from the rest. Polesitter Chris Porritt soon retook the lead on lap two and Hancock quickly dropped to fourth behind Matthew Wrigley and Silvio Kalb. Wrigley was getting to grips with the March 717 sledgehammer swiftly on the dry track and bellowed into the lead on lap three, with Kalb’s Lola moving up to second at Porritt’s expense before ten minutes had passed. Hancock also moved ahead of the poleman for third in short order but the long-tailed Lola peeled into the pits two minutes later to remove debris from the intakes. Adam Sykes had been cast adrift slightly in fifth during the early minutes but the Blue Hawk-liveried Harrier was getting ever quicker and caught Porritt for fourth. However, the battle fizzled out when the 3-litre Lola pitted after 20 minutes emitting steam to promote the BDG-engined LR5 into third. The magnificent March of Wrigley thundered into a large lead that peaked at just under 19 seconds but as the race entered the last few minutes, the 8800cc Chevrolet V8 began to suffer with fuel pick-up issues and the chasing Group 6 car of Kalb had brought the deficit down to just 2.837 seconds heading onto the last lap. Wrigley still led Kalb down to Cascades but his giant machine was clearly struggling and the German’s Lola sailed past the coughing 717 along Lakeside to take the win. The March narrowly held onto second by 0.978 seconds from Sykes’ Harrier as the first three cars home were covered by 3.926 seconds.
Thundersports was the 1980s playground for powerful sports prototypes, with a smattering of the F5000-based Can-Am beasts among them and former Oulton Park owner John Foulston was one of the chief protagonists in a Lola T530-Chevrolet. With a ruleset based on mainly 1970s machinery, the slim but interesting field at Oulton Park included the massive 8800cc March 717 Group 7 monster, driven by Historic F1 champion Matthew Wrigley, ranged against the beautiful 2-litre Group 6 cars from Lola, Osella and Vogue plus the open-cockpit Harrier LR5 that raced in the Thundersports championship in period. Qualifying: The qualifying session was punctuated by heavy showers, with the quickest times coming at the start of the 30 minutes and the DFV-powered Lola T280 of Chris Porritt set the sole sub-two minute laptime for pole position. Anthony Hancock joined Porritt on the front row with the Lola T292/6 that contested the 1978 Le Mans 24 Hours. Matthew Wrigley had his first experience of the mighty March 717 and put the huge machine third but the wet weather meant he couldn’t gain much knowledge of its characteristics. Rapid German driver Silvio Kalb also had to learn the Cheshire circuit and he would start the Lola T298-BMW fourth. Adam Sykes put his 1980s Harrier LR5 fifth, having had a scramble to source spare parts after testing issues. Race: A single 30-minute encounter was held on the final day of the meeting and the circuit was thankfully dry for the start. Anthony Hancock took the early initiative as the top five ran away from the rest. Polesitter Chris Porritt soon retook the lead on lap two and Hancock quickly dropped to fourth behind Matthew Wrigley and Silvio Kalb. Wrigley was getting to grips with the March 717 sledgehammer swiftly on the dry track and bellowed into the lead on lap three, with Kalb’s Lola moving up to second at Porritt’s expense before ten minutes had passed. Hancock also moved ahead of the poleman for third in short order but the long-tailed Lola peeled into the pits two minutes later to remove debris from the intakes. Adam Sykes had been cast adrift slightly in fifth during the early minutes but the Blue Hawk-liveried Harrier was getting ever quicker and caught Porritt for fourth. However, the battle fizzled out when the 3-litre Lola pitted after 20 minutes emitting steam to promote the BDG-engined LR5 into third. The magnificent March of Wrigley thundered into a large lead that peaked at just under 19 seconds but as the race entered the last few minutes, the 8800cc Chevrolet V8 began to suffer with fuel pick-up issues and the chasing Group 6 car of Kalb had brought the deficit down to just 2.837 seconds heading onto the last lap. Wrigley still led Kalb down to Cascades but his giant machine was clearly struggling and the German’s Lola sailed past the coughing 717 along Lakeside to take the win. The March narrowly held onto second by 0.978 seconds from Sykes’ Harrier as the first three cars home were covered by 3.926 seconds.
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CSCC Special Saloons and Modsports
The Classic Sports Car Club’s revival series has always drawn a healthy entry to Cheshire since their addition to the Gold Cup bill in 2022 and this year was no different as they contested the series’ final races of the 2026 calendar. Qualifying: The 15-minute qualifying session rounded off the second day’s action in very wet and gloomy conditions. Six cars were entered in the ‘high-performance’ Class HC and three of the top four qualifiers came from the split, with Andy Southcott navigating the Lenham Midget-Millington onto pole position by a staggering 6.013 seconds from Matthew Howell’s spaceframed Mini that had recently been crowned the ‘Fastest Mini in the World’. Bernard Foley impressed with third aboard the Class A MGB GT V8, ahead of the wheelspinning Nissan Skyline GTR of Jim Janicki in fourth. The session was brought to an early end after the VW Golf of Daren Scholes ran straight on at the Shell Oils hairpin and became stuck in the gravel. The Volkswagen was one of a number of giant-killing performances in the sodden conditions, with Scholes setting the fifth fastest time from Tony Paxman’s Mk1 Escort in sixth and Lucas Dryden’s Fiesta XR2 in seventh. One of the pre-event favourites had a difficult session as the Peugeot 309 Thundersaloon of Danny Morris ended last of those who’d set a time in 24th, with a swathe of cars still on slick tyres after the heavy rain arrived with the field in the collecting area. Race One: As in qualifying, the track surface was very wet for the opener. Andy Southcott sailed into the distance in the soaking wet opening race and prevailed by 14.668 seconds. Making light of the sodden conditions, Bernard Foley ran in an early second place but Jim Janicki passed the 5-litre MG on lap five before a determined Tom Carey caught the Irishman on lap six but the pair both fell behind the MGB GT V8 again on countback, after a red flag with three minutes left was brought about by the stranded Paul Eaton Reliant Scimitar at Knickerbrook. Carey's mid-engined Honda had gained ten places in the opening two laps and was fifth by the end of lap three. Tony Paxman's Mk1 Escort was sat in a great fourth until the CRX silhouette came by on lap four to be classified fifth, with the gorgeous Group 5 Capri of Nigel Mustill next in sixth after qualifying ninth. The impressive Lucas Dryden's Zetec-engined Fiesta XR2 outperformed some much more powerful machinery for seventh. Completing the top ten was Ross Irvine, with the series sponsor having started 26th after being caught out by the red flag as he pitted to fit his wet tyres. Ric Wood went well from the back of the grid after missing qualifying to reach 14th overall in his Group 2 Cologne Capri with the fastest lap in his class. Front row qualifier Matthew Howell never featured after sticking with slicks on his Honda-engined Mini and was classified 20th, Danny Morris’ turbocharged Peugeot was a non-starter with no wet tyres available. Race Two: The ten-place success penalty for Andy Southcott pushed the Race One winner back to 11th, so Bernard Foley's MG started on pole from Jim Janicki's mighty Nissan. From the second row, Tom Carey led out of Old Hall after the Honda CRX tried to go between the front row pair approaching the first corner before flicking to the inside of Foley at the exit. Martin Reynolds made a good start too in his Mk2 Escort to run fourth, with an even faster-starting Southcott just behind along Lakeside. The top four ran together as Carey led Southcott and Janicki at the end of lap one before a flying Primett caught them too after starting tenth but Southcott’s Midget soon led. The lead was shortlived for the Lenham Midget after coasting to a halt at Hill Top on lap three when its Millington unit cut out. Carey then led again before Primett took over by the end of the lap, the Vauxhall-engined Midget having passed Janicki into Shell Oils before relieving Carey of the lead down the inside into Lodge. The CRX clone tried to retaliate immediately but the Midget held the Honda off at Old Hall before getting away. However, Primett spun to the inside of Lodge at the end of lap five to put Carey into the lead again until Dolan's Lotus Elan had a comprehensive engine failure up Clay Hill and caused a red flag with four minutes left whilst the resulting flames were extinguished. Primett took the win on the countback to the end of lap four but it was the Honda CRX driver who claimed the ’Tony Sugden Trophy’ for his performances across the two races. A charging Matthew Howell had flown up from gridding 19th and was inside the top ten after lap one alone. Another four cars fell victim to the spaceframed Mini on lap two as polesitter Foley went behind down the Avenue before Paul Dolan ceded seventh along Lakeside, Ross Irvine's turbocharged Volkswagen Golf was dispensed with at the exit of Shell Oils and Martin Reynolds gave up fifth climbing Clay Hill before Howell caught Janicki in third after Southcott's departure. However, the Nissan had too much grunt in a straightline for the nimble Mini to be close enough to use its cornering advantage so remained fourth. After missing Race One with no suitable tyres, Danny Morris' Peugeot 309 Thundersaloon got to seventh before the premature ending and was just behind Dolan’s Lotus when it expired so was classified sixth behind Irvine. Reynolds retired from the pack contesting the Class C lead on lap four with no brakes on his Mk2 Escort after battling with Irvine's Golf and Dolan's Elan, who'd climbed from 15th to join the battle after neither the Nigel Mustill or Ric Wood Capris started. The dry track saw the less extreme cars that had starred in the drenched opener fall back into the pack, with Foley's MGB GT V8 taking seventh, Tony Paxman's Mk1 Escort 13th, Lucas Dryden's Fiesta XR2 14th and Daren Scholes’ Mk2 Golf 19th.
The Classic Sports Car Club’s revival series has always drawn a healthy entry to Cheshire since their addition to the Gold Cup bill in 2022 and this year was no different as they contested the series’ final races of the 2026 calendar. Qualifying: The 15-minute qualifying session rounded off the second day’s action in very wet and gloomy conditions. Six cars were entered in the ‘high-performance’ Class HC and three of the top four qualifiers came from the split, with Andy Southcott navigating the Lenham Midget-Millington onto pole position by a staggering 6.013 seconds from Matthew Howell’s spaceframed Mini that had recently been crowned the ‘Fastest Mini in the World’. Bernard Foley impressed with third aboard the Class A MGB GT V8, ahead of the wheelspinning Nissan Skyline GTR of Jim Janicki in fourth. The session was brought to an early end after the VW Golf of Daren Scholes ran straight on at the Shell Oils hairpin and became stuck in the gravel. The Volkswagen was one of a number of giant-killing performances in the sodden conditions, with Scholes setting the fifth fastest time from Tony Paxman’s Mk1 Escort in sixth and Lucas Dryden’s Fiesta XR2 in seventh. One of the pre-event favourites had a difficult session as the Peugeot 309 Thundersaloon of Danny Morris ended last of those who’d set a time in 24th, with a swathe of cars still on slick tyres after the heavy rain arrived with the field in the collecting area. Race One: As in qualifying, the track surface was very wet for the opener. Andy Southcott sailed into the distance in the soaking wet opening race and prevailed by 14.668 seconds. Making light of the sodden conditions, Bernard Foley ran in an early second place but Jim Janicki passed the 5-litre MG on lap five before a determined Tom Carey caught the Irishman on lap six but the pair both fell behind the MGB GT V8 again on countback, after a red flag with three minutes left was brought about by the stranded Paul Eaton Reliant Scimitar at Knickerbrook. Carey's mid-engined Honda had gained ten places in the opening two laps and was fifth by the end of lap three. Tony Paxman's Mk1 Escort was sat in a great fourth until the CRX silhouette came by on lap four to be classified fifth, with the gorgeous Group 5 Capri of Nigel Mustill next in sixth after qualifying ninth. The impressive Lucas Dryden's Zetec-engined Fiesta XR2 outperformed some much more powerful machinery for seventh. Completing the top ten was Ross Irvine, with the series sponsor having started 26th after being caught out by the red flag as he pitted to fit his wet tyres. Ric Wood went well from the back of the grid after missing qualifying to reach 14th overall in his Group 2 Cologne Capri with the fastest lap in his class. Front row qualifier Matthew Howell never featured after sticking with slicks on his Honda-engined Mini and was classified 20th, Danny Morris’ turbocharged Peugeot was a non-starter with no wet tyres available. Race Two: The ten-place success penalty for Andy Southcott pushed the Race One winner back to 11th, so Bernard Foley's MG started on pole from Jim Janicki's mighty Nissan. From the second row, Tom Carey led out of Old Hall after the Honda CRX tried to go between the front row pair approaching the first corner before flicking to the inside of Foley at the exit. Martin Reynolds made a good start too in his Mk2 Escort to run fourth, with an even faster-starting Southcott just behind along Lakeside. The top four ran together as Carey led Southcott and Janicki at the end of lap one before a flying Primett caught them too after starting tenth but Southcott’s Midget soon led. The lead was shortlived for the Lenham Midget after coasting to a halt at Hill Top on lap three when its Millington unit cut out. Carey then led again before Primett took over by the end of the lap, the Vauxhall-engined Midget having passed Janicki into Shell Oils before relieving Carey of the lead down the inside into Lodge. The CRX clone tried to retaliate immediately but the Midget held the Honda off at Old Hall before getting away. However, Primett spun to the inside of Lodge at the end of lap five to put Carey into the lead again until Dolan's Lotus Elan had a comprehensive engine failure up Clay Hill and caused a red flag with four minutes left whilst the resulting flames were extinguished. Primett took the win on the countback to the end of lap four but it was the Honda CRX driver who claimed the ’Tony Sugden Trophy’ for his performances across the two races. A charging Matthew Howell had flown up from gridding 19th and was inside the top ten after lap one alone. Another four cars fell victim to the spaceframed Mini on lap two as polesitter Foley went behind down the Avenue before Paul Dolan ceded seventh along Lakeside, Ross Irvine's turbocharged Volkswagen Golf was dispensed with at the exit of Shell Oils and Martin Reynolds gave up fifth climbing Clay Hill before Howell caught Janicki in third after Southcott's departure. However, the Nissan had too much grunt in a straightline for the nimble Mini to be close enough to use its cornering advantage so remained fourth. After missing Race One with no suitable tyres, Danny Morris' Peugeot 309 Thundersaloon got to seventh before the premature ending and was just behind Dolan’s Lotus when it expired so was classified sixth behind Irvine. Reynolds retired from the pack contesting the Class C lead on lap four with no brakes on his Mk2 Escort after battling with Irvine's Golf and Dolan's Elan, who'd climbed from 15th to join the battle after neither the Nigel Mustill or Ric Wood Capris started. The dry track saw the less extreme cars that had starred in the drenched opener fall back into the pack, with Foley's MGB GT V8 taking seventh, Tony Paxman's Mk1 Escort 13th, Lucas Dryden's Fiesta XR2 14th and Daren Scholes’ Mk2 Golf 19th.
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1000cc Historic Formula Three
Qualifying: On a soggy opening day, Callum Grant put Jon Milicevic’s Brabham BT21B on pole position by 2.227 seconds from the Alexis Mk17 of Peter de la Roche. The rare 1969 De Sanctis of Charlie Martin would line up third. Race One: The opening 1000cc Formula Three race followed in a timeline of junior formulae on Sunday afternoon, with the motorcycle-engined 500cc Formula Three machines preceding the Historic Formula Junior set. The late 1960s ‘screamers’ came to the grid next to compete for the ’Sir Jackie Stewart Trophy’ in honour of the maiden champion of the 1000cc division in 1964. The Historic Formula Three machines found a window of dry weather for their encounter but the surface remained very slick. Fresh from winning the preceding Formula Junior bout, Callum Grant took the opening race by storm as the Brabham BT21B raced clear from lap one, with Ben Colburn moving up to second at the expense of a struggling Peter de la Roche and Ross Drybrough. The Drybrough Merlyn Mk14A closed in on Colburn’s older Mk10 model for second on lap four and made the place his own, crossing the line 17.839 seconds away from the rampant Grant Brabham. Colburn completed the podium, whilst Nick Fennell’s Tecno danced to fourth place after getting the better of Mark Carter’s Titan. The gripless Alexis of de la Roche slipped to fourth on lap two towards Carter and Fennell after opting for dry weather tyres, with the yellow machine losing out to that pair as well on lap three but stayed clear of a fierce scrap going on behind third qualifier Charlie Martin’s De Sanctis for seventh. The squabble also involved the Chevrons of Oliver Musgrave and Francois Derossi plus Jason Timms’ Brabham. Derossi got to the head of the bunch with five minutes to go to but fell behind Timms and Martin again on the final lap. Race Two: The 1000cc Formula Three cars were second on the Bank Holiday Monday bill and Callum Grant led from Ross Drybrough, with Peter de la Roche third after a great opening lap from the Alexis and the double Castle Combe winner moved up to second at Lodge when Drybrough skated wide. The field became spread out behind the leading Brabham and Alexis, with de la Roche closing on Grant but went off at Shell Oils on lap four just before getting into range. Unfortunately, the stranded Alexis was hit by another car and the resulting Safety Car closed the field back up. Grant moved clear once more after the restart until the Brabham pulled off with five minutes left due to a gearbox issue so Martin showed that his wet weather prowess from qualifying was no fluke as the De Sanctis took the win. after a tangle further down the order between the Mark Pangborn Brabham and Clive Buffey’s Chevron shortened the race by three minutes. Jason Timms finished just under three seconds seconds behind the victor with his Brabham as Mark Carter finished third aboard his Titan and Francois Derossi's Chevron took fourth, a second-and-a-quarter off a podium placing. Race One podium finisher Ben Colburn dropped out with a mechanical problem on lap one, the Merlyn pulling off at the exit of Druids.
Qualifying: On a soggy opening day, Callum Grant put Jon Milicevic’s Brabham BT21B on pole position by 2.227 seconds from the Alexis Mk17 of Peter de la Roche. The rare 1969 De Sanctis of Charlie Martin would line up third. Race One: The opening 1000cc Formula Three race followed in a timeline of junior formulae on Sunday afternoon, with the motorcycle-engined 500cc Formula Three machines preceding the Historic Formula Junior set. The late 1960s ‘screamers’ came to the grid next to compete for the ’Sir Jackie Stewart Trophy’ in honour of the maiden champion of the 1000cc division in 1964. The Historic Formula Three machines found a window of dry weather for their encounter but the surface remained very slick. Fresh from winning the preceding Formula Junior bout, Callum Grant took the opening race by storm as the Brabham BT21B raced clear from lap one, with Ben Colburn moving up to second at the expense of a struggling Peter de la Roche and Ross Drybrough. The Drybrough Merlyn Mk14A closed in on Colburn’s older Mk10 model for second on lap four and made the place his own, crossing the line 17.839 seconds away from the rampant Grant Brabham. Colburn completed the podium, whilst Nick Fennell’s Tecno danced to fourth place after getting the better of Mark Carter’s Titan. The gripless Alexis of de la Roche slipped to fourth on lap two towards Carter and Fennell after opting for dry weather tyres, with the yellow machine losing out to that pair as well on lap three but stayed clear of a fierce scrap going on behind third qualifier Charlie Martin’s De Sanctis for seventh. The squabble also involved the Chevrons of Oliver Musgrave and Francois Derossi plus Jason Timms’ Brabham. Derossi got to the head of the bunch with five minutes to go to but fell behind Timms and Martin again on the final lap. Race Two: The 1000cc Formula Three cars were second on the Bank Holiday Monday bill and Callum Grant led from Ross Drybrough, with Peter de la Roche third after a great opening lap from the Alexis and the double Castle Combe winner moved up to second at Lodge when Drybrough skated wide. The field became spread out behind the leading Brabham and Alexis, with de la Roche closing on Grant but went off at Shell Oils on lap four just before getting into range. Unfortunately, the stranded Alexis was hit by another car and the resulting Safety Car closed the field back up. Grant moved clear once more after the restart until the Brabham pulled off with five minutes left due to a gearbox issue so Martin showed that his wet weather prowess from qualifying was no fluke as the De Sanctis took the win. after a tangle further down the order between the Mark Pangborn Brabham and Clive Buffey’s Chevron shortened the race by three minutes. Jason Timms finished just under three seconds seconds behind the victor with his Brabham as Mark Carter finished third aboard his Titan and Francois Derossi's Chevron took fourth, a second-and-a-quarter off a podium placing. Race One podium finisher Ben Colburn dropped out with a mechanical problem on lap one, the Merlyn pulling off at the exit of Druids.
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Can-Am 60th Anniversary Celebration
The 60th anniversary of the birth of Can-Am competition was marked with a paddock display and on-track demonstrations of the powerful cars. The charismatic sports car championship began across Canada and the United States of America, hence the Can-Am moniker, in 1966 and the maiden title went to John Surtees in a Lola T70 Spyder. The free ruleset produced machines of unbridled power and speed along with many innovative solutions, some of which worked and some that definitely didn’t. Chaparral brought in moveable aerodynamic devices on the 2E and the 1970 2J ’sucker’ car used a fan for downforce eight years before the Brabham BT48 Formula One car. BRM, Ferrari, Lola and March all fielded factory cars but it would be the McLaren ’works’ team which dominated the championship. The team founded by Bruce McLaren claimed its first crown in 1967, with the New Zealander taking the honours. Further successes followed up to the end of 1971, with fellow Kiwi Denny Hulme sandwiching McLaren’s second title in 1969 before the founder’s untimely passing in a testing crash at Goodwood in 1970. American Peter Revson sealed the last title for the marque in 1971 with the wedge-shaped M8F. Porsche came in with the mighty turbocharged 917/10 for 1972 and George Follmer swept to the title before a Penske-led blitzkrieg in 1973 saw the incredible 1200bhp 917/30 swat away any opposition in the hands of Mark Donohue. The championship was fading in the light of the German make’s dominance and when Porsche departed, Briton Jackie Oliver triumphed in 1974 with the swooping Shadow DN4 and the series in its virtually unrestrained form ceased at the end of the year. A new set of regulations based around repurposed F5000 machinery ran for 11 seasons from 1977 but the magic of the old Can-Am wasn’t there despite a quality driver lineup. Series like the Atlantic Computers Historic GTs and the International Supersports Cup gave the cars a home in historic racing but nowadays the opportunities to see them compete are few, in Europe at least. The thunderous devices are awe-inspiring wherever they appear and present in Cheshire were examples of the BRM, Chaparral, Chinook, March and McLaren marques. Two track demonstrations were laid on, with one each on Saturday and Monday. The conditions were sodden for the Saturday roll out but were much dryer on Monday.
The 60th anniversary of the birth of Can-Am competition was marked with a paddock display and on-track demonstrations of the powerful cars. The charismatic sports car championship began across Canada and the United States of America, hence the Can-Am moniker, in 1966 and the maiden title went to John Surtees in a Lola T70 Spyder. The free ruleset produced machines of unbridled power and speed along with many innovative solutions, some of which worked and some that definitely didn’t. Chaparral brought in moveable aerodynamic devices on the 2E and the 1970 2J ’sucker’ car used a fan for downforce eight years before the Brabham BT48 Formula One car. BRM, Ferrari, Lola and March all fielded factory cars but it would be the McLaren ’works’ team which dominated the championship. The team founded by Bruce McLaren claimed its first crown in 1967, with the New Zealander taking the honours. Further successes followed up to the end of 1971, with fellow Kiwi Denny Hulme sandwiching McLaren’s second title in 1969 before the founder’s untimely passing in a testing crash at Goodwood in 1970. American Peter Revson sealed the last title for the marque in 1971 with the wedge-shaped M8F. Porsche came in with the mighty turbocharged 917/10 for 1972 and George Follmer swept to the title before a Penske-led blitzkrieg in 1973 saw the incredible 1200bhp 917/30 swat away any opposition in the hands of Mark Donohue. The championship was fading in the light of the German make’s dominance and when Porsche departed, Briton Jackie Oliver triumphed in 1974 with the swooping Shadow DN4 and the series in its virtually unrestrained form ceased at the end of the year. A new set of regulations based around repurposed F5000 machinery ran for 11 seasons from 1977 but the magic of the old Can-Am wasn’t there despite a quality driver lineup. Series like the Atlantic Computers Historic GTs and the International Supersports Cup gave the cars a home in historic racing but nowadays the opportunities to see them compete are few, in Europe at least. The thunderous devices are awe-inspiring wherever they appear and present in Cheshire were examples of the BRM, Chaparral, Chinook, March and McLaren marques. Two track demonstrations were laid on, with one each on Saturday and Monday. The conditions were sodden for the Saturday roll out but were much dryer on Monday.
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Brabham Celebration
The achievements of the triple Formula One World Champion and four-time Oulton Park Gold Cup winner Sir Jack Brabham were celebrated 100 years after his birth. A paddock display of his machinery was on show all weekend, including the BT20-Repco with which 60 years ago he became the first driver to win the Formula One World Championship in a car bearing his own name. There was also a demonstration on track of the Australian’s eponymous marque’s machinery on the Monday. The son of ‘Black Jack’, as he was known, David Brabham was also on hand during the weekend to appear at a public Q&A session.
The achievements of the triple Formula One World Champion and four-time Oulton Park Gold Cup winner Sir Jack Brabham were celebrated 100 years after his birth. A paddock display of his machinery was on show all weekend, including the BT20-Repco with which 60 years ago he became the first driver to win the Formula One World Championship in a car bearing his own name. There was also a demonstration on track of the Australian’s eponymous marque’s machinery on the Monday. The son of ‘Black Jack’, as he was known, David Brabham was also on hand during the weekend to appear at a public Q&A session.
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Other Highlights
HGPCA F1: The Pre ‘66 Formula One machines raced for the Gold Cup over two legs. The front row was an exclusively Cooper T53 affair after qualifying, with Tom Waterfield taking pole from Rudi Friedrichs. The first race was halted after a multi-car accident at Old Hall, with Nick Fennell's monocoque Lotus 25, the 1961 Monaco GP-winning Lotus 18 of Teifion Salisbury, Nick Topliss’ low-line Cooper and one of the two Maserati 250Fs in the field involved. The restarted race was held over 15 minutes and the clock started behind the Safety Car, with 12 minutes left when the field was released. Whilst Waterfield made his escape out front, second-placed Friedrichs had his hands full with the Tasman-spec Brabhams of Mark Shaw and Tim Child. The Cooper and Shaw Brabham touched at Lodge for the final time, with Friedrichs retaining second and Shaw recovered from a spin to take fourth behind Child. There would be no Waterfield in the second encounter after the opening race winner's Coventry-Climax engine cut out during the formation lap. Shaw’s Brabham BT4 led after lap one and eased away from Child but stopped at the Brittens chicane with seven minutes left after a rod went through the block. The 2.5-litre Brabham of Child was left in the clear to appropriately claim the Gold Cup with the centenary of Sir Jack Brabham’s birth being marked over the weekend. Charlie Martin started from the back of the field in the Cooper T53 raced by Rudi Friedrichs on Sunday and tore through the field to third before Shaw's exit, finishing 16.417 seconds behind Gold Cup winner Child for an impressive runners-up finish. Another Cooper T53 driven by Tony Lees took the flag in third.
Historic Formula Junior: The precursor to the multi-marque Formula Three category that existed up until 2019 had a pair of races on Sunday’s race card. Callum Grant doubled his pole positions for the weekend in the Formula Juniors and the Merlyn flew away from the field on the first lap of a very greasy opening encounter, helped by fellow front row starter Sam Wilson following Stuart Roach off at Cascades for the first time and dropping to the lower reaches of the top ten. However, the Lotus was on a charge and grabbed second from Rufus Flann on lap two by Hislops before reducing Grant’s more than 13-second advantage to just over half a second with a lap to go but the Merlyn just held on by 0.460 seconds. Roach overcame Flann late on for the final step on the podium. The second race took place later on Sunday and the front row were neck-and-neck at the rolling start but Grant kept the advantage from Wilson, with Roach in hot pursuit of them both. Grant was untouchable as he charged away to his second victory in the Merlyn and his third triumph of the day. Wilson’s Lotus finished second again but the Alexis of Roach closed right up in the closing stages and was just 0.852 seconds behind at the chequer.
500cc Formula Three: The half-litre Formula Three class spawned the career of the legendary Sir Stirling Moss. The invitational 1100cc Cooper of polesitter Finley Cameron led away from the rolling start but spun to a halt at Hislops and couldn’t restart his engine, whilst new leader Hamish Cameron-Eveleigh also slowed end of the opening lap. The double retirement left Alex Wilson out in front but Fergus Campbell splashed into the lead with four minutes remaining to take victory on the sodden Sunday afternoon. The second outing for the cars finished the race programme for day two as thunder rattled around the area. Finley Cameron had a chance to remedy his earlier slip from pole position but Hamish Cameron-Eveleigh drove around the outside of Old Hall into the lead, with the polesitter having to fight off Alex Wilson for second. Cameron moved away from Wilson and dragged up to the rear of Cameron-Eveleigh’s Cooper Mk8 before the pair engaged in battle but the extra power of Cameron’s 1100cc V-Twin motor told in the end.
Historic FF1600: Local ace Tom McArthur bagged pole position in worsening conditions by 0.311 seconds from Callum Grant, who was bidding for more success in his third different formula of the meeting. A pair of frantic FF1600 encounters began with the polesitter leading from Grant, with Benn Simms, Rob Wainwright and 2024 champion Spencer Shinner contesting third. McArthur and Grant were tied together throughout the opening half as the former Northern FF1600 champion defended his lead until the Titan spun into the gravel at Lodge with eight minutes to go, eventually bringing out the red flags to give Grant his fourth win of the meeting so far. Shinner’s Merlyn fell back to an eventual fifth and was replaced in what became the second place scrap by the Crossle of Gislain Genecand, who fought through the squabble into third and completed the podium behind Wainwright. Grant led all the way in the meeting closer but the story of the race was the drive from Tom McArthur. The Titan started from 24th but had already broken into the top ten after the opening lap, The rapid progress continued when McArthur took the reigning champion Sam Mitchell for seventh at Hislops before grabbing two spots in one move at Old Hall for fifth, with the Titan proceeding to reel in the Simms, Shinner and Wainwright group tussling over second. Wasting little time in scything through the battlers, McArthur took the runner-up position from Simms into Lodge and began a chase of the race leader four seconds up the road with a string of fastest laps. Grant pulled his finger out when the Titan started to grow in his mirrors and the Merlyn pilot chalked up his fifth triumph of the weekend, after car problems prevented any further success in the 1000cc F3s and Guards Trophy categories. McArthur couldn’t shake off Simms once he got to second and the Jomo drew alongside the Titan up Clay Hill for the final time, with Simms getting to Druids and the line first.
VSCC Vintage and Seaman Trophies: The Vintage Sports Car Club races featured a variety of voiturettes, which ranged in age up to 100 years old! Alex Read put his Bugatti T51 on pole position in some of Saturday’s worst weather from a pair of ERAs driven by Michael Gans and Mark Gillies, with Sue Darbyshire’s Morgan three-wheeler in an impressive fourth. The polesitting Bugatti was forced to start the opening race from the pits after cutting out in the assembly area and required a bump start. The ERA of Michael Gans led away as a result but had the similar car of Mark Gillies snapping at his heels, with the pair exchanging the lead at Old Hall for the second time. Gillies pulled away to win as David Morris in another ERA threatened Gans for second, getting ahead during lap four to secure the runner-up spot. The early leader held off another ERA with Bradley Baker in the saddle for third. The top five finishers all pedalled ERAs, with Charlie Martin’s Bugatti T37/35B breaking the stranglehold in sixth. After starting from the pitlane, Read’s Bugatti climbed back to seventh but he had a second chance for a top result from pole position on Monday. However, Michael Gans again led into Cascades as Sue Darbyshire’s Morgan slid into third before Sunday winner Mark Gillies snaffled the place by the end of the opening lap. The top three lapped line-astern until Gans suddenly appeared with a bigger lead on lap five and Gillies powered into second place past the pits just after halfway. Gans went on to win at a canter from Gillies, whilst Read’s Bugatti had started to slow before Ben Fidler’s ERA grabbed third and the Bugatti just pipped Darbyshire’s Morgan at the post for fourth.
Guards Trophy: The 50-minute pitstop race for GTs and 2-litre sports cars built before 1966 and 1969 respectively saw Ben Tusting’s Lenham set pole position for the longest race of the weekend by a healthy 1.864 seconds from the Samuel Harrison Lotus 23B. Callum Grant was out in yet another category and he qualified his Crossle 9S third. Tusting led away from Harrison and the quick-off-the-mark Lenham of Mark Dwyer/Matthew Wrigley. The top two soon pulled away from each other and the rest, with a long line led by Dwyer until the Neil Fowler/Ross Drybrough Chevron B8 went past on lap two, with the Mark Gillies/Benn Tilley Elva Mk8 and the Ginetta G16 of Castle Combe victor Eliot Paterson also passing Dwyer before the regulation pitstop. A lengthy Safety Car intervention began around halfway through, after the Chevron B8 of Joel Hopwood went off at Druids and more seriously the Gillies/Tilley Elva caught fire spectacularly at Brittens with the latter at the helm. The leader’s stop was perfectly timed with the pause in action but Harrison’s Lotus lurked next to the Lenham in the queue. Just six minutes remained when the field was released and any prospect of Harrison challenging Tusting was undone by Harry Rice’s Chevron unlapping itself at the restart. The Lotus got past again but briefly pitted at the start of final lap. The Fowler/Drybrough Chevron fell away after the resumption so Paterson’s Ginetta was second from the Dwyer/Wrigley Lenham. The coupe version of the Lenham P69 crewed by Jon Waggitt/Peter Needham had a last-lap spin at Hislops but still beat the Lotus 47 of James and Simon Hadfield to fourth place, with the delayed Harrison sixth.
Historic Roadsports and Historic Racing Saloons: Adam Morgan, fresh from a BTCC double race win at Donington Park one week before the Gold Cup, sailed to pole position by more than three seconds from the similar Lotus Cortina of Oliver Law. The latter got the drop at the start of the opening race but Morgan was sat right on his bootlid, with the Lotus sports cars of Mark Godfrey and Frazer Gibney in close proximity. Morgan got ahead of Law by Old Hall for the second time but Godfrey’s Lotus 7 quickly snatched the lead into Cascades, with Gibney’s Elan taking second over Hill Top. Gibney sliced into the lead at Old Hall starting lap three but pitted at the end of lap four to leave Godfrey well clear. Morgan threw his Cortina around to a lonely second place and was the leading Historic Racing Saloon, with Law just fending off Adam Cunnington’s slightly battered similar car for third overall. Godfrey drove away from the field on Monday, with Gibney’s Lotus Elan taking second place ahead of a big fight for third between the Lotus Cortinas of Law, Morgan and Cunnington. The BTCC star tried all he knew to get past the defensive Law and finally made a move stick into Hislops with four minutes left, with the Cortina squirming right on the limit under braking.
70s Roadsports and 105 Cup: The rain had returned in time for the second race on Sunday’s schedule but that didn’t faze poleman John Williams as the Porsche 911SC kept the Datsun 240Z of George Daws at bay to take the win. Race Two opened the roster on Bank Holiday Monday and Williams’ Porsche held off a last-lap challenge from Daws’ Datsun in a restarted race to triumph again. Alexander Childs’ GT Junior won the concurrent 105 Cup for classic Alfa Romeos on Sunday but couldn’t repeat the feat on Monday. A spin at Lodge allowed the wide-arched GTAm of Andy Hill to get away but Hill spun away the class lead, also at Lodge, to give the win to Jon Wagstaff.
Alfa Romeos and Italian Intermarque: The Italian exotica opened the weekend’s racing action at Sunday lunchtime. The patriotically-liveried 4C sports car of polesitter Toby Broom broke leaving the grid at the start of Race One, with the GTV of George Warren driving away up front initially before the 147 GTA of Graham Seager came back and stole the victory. Broom came through from a back-of-the-grid start to win the second encounter on-the-road but was penalised ten seconds for overtaking before the start/finish line at a Safety Car restart, giving the win to Barry McMahon’s Giulia.
HGPCA F1: The Pre ‘66 Formula One machines raced for the Gold Cup over two legs. The front row was an exclusively Cooper T53 affair after qualifying, with Tom Waterfield taking pole from Rudi Friedrichs. The first race was halted after a multi-car accident at Old Hall, with Nick Fennell's monocoque Lotus 25, the 1961 Monaco GP-winning Lotus 18 of Teifion Salisbury, Nick Topliss’ low-line Cooper and one of the two Maserati 250Fs in the field involved. The restarted race was held over 15 minutes and the clock started behind the Safety Car, with 12 minutes left when the field was released. Whilst Waterfield made his escape out front, second-placed Friedrichs had his hands full with the Tasman-spec Brabhams of Mark Shaw and Tim Child. The Cooper and Shaw Brabham touched at Lodge for the final time, with Friedrichs retaining second and Shaw recovered from a spin to take fourth behind Child. There would be no Waterfield in the second encounter after the opening race winner's Coventry-Climax engine cut out during the formation lap. Shaw’s Brabham BT4 led after lap one and eased away from Child but stopped at the Brittens chicane with seven minutes left after a rod went through the block. The 2.5-litre Brabham of Child was left in the clear to appropriately claim the Gold Cup with the centenary of Sir Jack Brabham’s birth being marked over the weekend. Charlie Martin started from the back of the field in the Cooper T53 raced by Rudi Friedrichs on Sunday and tore through the field to third before Shaw's exit, finishing 16.417 seconds behind Gold Cup winner Child for an impressive runners-up finish. Another Cooper T53 driven by Tony Lees took the flag in third.
Historic Formula Junior: The precursor to the multi-marque Formula Three category that existed up until 2019 had a pair of races on Sunday’s race card. Callum Grant doubled his pole positions for the weekend in the Formula Juniors and the Merlyn flew away from the field on the first lap of a very greasy opening encounter, helped by fellow front row starter Sam Wilson following Stuart Roach off at Cascades for the first time and dropping to the lower reaches of the top ten. However, the Lotus was on a charge and grabbed second from Rufus Flann on lap two by Hislops before reducing Grant’s more than 13-second advantage to just over half a second with a lap to go but the Merlyn just held on by 0.460 seconds. Roach overcame Flann late on for the final step on the podium. The second race took place later on Sunday and the front row were neck-and-neck at the rolling start but Grant kept the advantage from Wilson, with Roach in hot pursuit of them both. Grant was untouchable as he charged away to his second victory in the Merlyn and his third triumph of the day. Wilson’s Lotus finished second again but the Alexis of Roach closed right up in the closing stages and was just 0.852 seconds behind at the chequer.
500cc Formula Three: The half-litre Formula Three class spawned the career of the legendary Sir Stirling Moss. The invitational 1100cc Cooper of polesitter Finley Cameron led away from the rolling start but spun to a halt at Hislops and couldn’t restart his engine, whilst new leader Hamish Cameron-Eveleigh also slowed end of the opening lap. The double retirement left Alex Wilson out in front but Fergus Campbell splashed into the lead with four minutes remaining to take victory on the sodden Sunday afternoon. The second outing for the cars finished the race programme for day two as thunder rattled around the area. Finley Cameron had a chance to remedy his earlier slip from pole position but Hamish Cameron-Eveleigh drove around the outside of Old Hall into the lead, with the polesitter having to fight off Alex Wilson for second. Cameron moved away from Wilson and dragged up to the rear of Cameron-Eveleigh’s Cooper Mk8 before the pair engaged in battle but the extra power of Cameron’s 1100cc V-Twin motor told in the end.
Historic FF1600: Local ace Tom McArthur bagged pole position in worsening conditions by 0.311 seconds from Callum Grant, who was bidding for more success in his third different formula of the meeting. A pair of frantic FF1600 encounters began with the polesitter leading from Grant, with Benn Simms, Rob Wainwright and 2024 champion Spencer Shinner contesting third. McArthur and Grant were tied together throughout the opening half as the former Northern FF1600 champion defended his lead until the Titan spun into the gravel at Lodge with eight minutes to go, eventually bringing out the red flags to give Grant his fourth win of the meeting so far. Shinner’s Merlyn fell back to an eventual fifth and was replaced in what became the second place scrap by the Crossle of Gislain Genecand, who fought through the squabble into third and completed the podium behind Wainwright. Grant led all the way in the meeting closer but the story of the race was the drive from Tom McArthur. The Titan started from 24th but had already broken into the top ten after the opening lap, The rapid progress continued when McArthur took the reigning champion Sam Mitchell for seventh at Hislops before grabbing two spots in one move at Old Hall for fifth, with the Titan proceeding to reel in the Simms, Shinner and Wainwright group tussling over second. Wasting little time in scything through the battlers, McArthur took the runner-up position from Simms into Lodge and began a chase of the race leader four seconds up the road with a string of fastest laps. Grant pulled his finger out when the Titan started to grow in his mirrors and the Merlyn pilot chalked up his fifth triumph of the weekend, after car problems prevented any further success in the 1000cc F3s and Guards Trophy categories. McArthur couldn’t shake off Simms once he got to second and the Jomo drew alongside the Titan up Clay Hill for the final time, with Simms getting to Druids and the line first.
VSCC Vintage and Seaman Trophies: The Vintage Sports Car Club races featured a variety of voiturettes, which ranged in age up to 100 years old! Alex Read put his Bugatti T51 on pole position in some of Saturday’s worst weather from a pair of ERAs driven by Michael Gans and Mark Gillies, with Sue Darbyshire’s Morgan three-wheeler in an impressive fourth. The polesitting Bugatti was forced to start the opening race from the pits after cutting out in the assembly area and required a bump start. The ERA of Michael Gans led away as a result but had the similar car of Mark Gillies snapping at his heels, with the pair exchanging the lead at Old Hall for the second time. Gillies pulled away to win as David Morris in another ERA threatened Gans for second, getting ahead during lap four to secure the runner-up spot. The early leader held off another ERA with Bradley Baker in the saddle for third. The top five finishers all pedalled ERAs, with Charlie Martin’s Bugatti T37/35B breaking the stranglehold in sixth. After starting from the pitlane, Read’s Bugatti climbed back to seventh but he had a second chance for a top result from pole position on Monday. However, Michael Gans again led into Cascades as Sue Darbyshire’s Morgan slid into third before Sunday winner Mark Gillies snaffled the place by the end of the opening lap. The top three lapped line-astern until Gans suddenly appeared with a bigger lead on lap five and Gillies powered into second place past the pits just after halfway. Gans went on to win at a canter from Gillies, whilst Read’s Bugatti had started to slow before Ben Fidler’s ERA grabbed third and the Bugatti just pipped Darbyshire’s Morgan at the post for fourth.
Guards Trophy: The 50-minute pitstop race for GTs and 2-litre sports cars built before 1966 and 1969 respectively saw Ben Tusting’s Lenham set pole position for the longest race of the weekend by a healthy 1.864 seconds from the Samuel Harrison Lotus 23B. Callum Grant was out in yet another category and he qualified his Crossle 9S third. Tusting led away from Harrison and the quick-off-the-mark Lenham of Mark Dwyer/Matthew Wrigley. The top two soon pulled away from each other and the rest, with a long line led by Dwyer until the Neil Fowler/Ross Drybrough Chevron B8 went past on lap two, with the Mark Gillies/Benn Tilley Elva Mk8 and the Ginetta G16 of Castle Combe victor Eliot Paterson also passing Dwyer before the regulation pitstop. A lengthy Safety Car intervention began around halfway through, after the Chevron B8 of Joel Hopwood went off at Druids and more seriously the Gillies/Tilley Elva caught fire spectacularly at Brittens with the latter at the helm. The leader’s stop was perfectly timed with the pause in action but Harrison’s Lotus lurked next to the Lenham in the queue. Just six minutes remained when the field was released and any prospect of Harrison challenging Tusting was undone by Harry Rice’s Chevron unlapping itself at the restart. The Lotus got past again but briefly pitted at the start of final lap. The Fowler/Drybrough Chevron fell away after the resumption so Paterson’s Ginetta was second from the Dwyer/Wrigley Lenham. The coupe version of the Lenham P69 crewed by Jon Waggitt/Peter Needham had a last-lap spin at Hislops but still beat the Lotus 47 of James and Simon Hadfield to fourth place, with the delayed Harrison sixth.
Historic Roadsports and Historic Racing Saloons: Adam Morgan, fresh from a BTCC double race win at Donington Park one week before the Gold Cup, sailed to pole position by more than three seconds from the similar Lotus Cortina of Oliver Law. The latter got the drop at the start of the opening race but Morgan was sat right on his bootlid, with the Lotus sports cars of Mark Godfrey and Frazer Gibney in close proximity. Morgan got ahead of Law by Old Hall for the second time but Godfrey’s Lotus 7 quickly snatched the lead into Cascades, with Gibney’s Elan taking second over Hill Top. Gibney sliced into the lead at Old Hall starting lap three but pitted at the end of lap four to leave Godfrey well clear. Morgan threw his Cortina around to a lonely second place and was the leading Historic Racing Saloon, with Law just fending off Adam Cunnington’s slightly battered similar car for third overall. Godfrey drove away from the field on Monday, with Gibney’s Lotus Elan taking second place ahead of a big fight for third between the Lotus Cortinas of Law, Morgan and Cunnington. The BTCC star tried all he knew to get past the defensive Law and finally made a move stick into Hislops with four minutes left, with the Cortina squirming right on the limit under braking.
70s Roadsports and 105 Cup: The rain had returned in time for the second race on Sunday’s schedule but that didn’t faze poleman John Williams as the Porsche 911SC kept the Datsun 240Z of George Daws at bay to take the win. Race Two opened the roster on Bank Holiday Monday and Williams’ Porsche held off a last-lap challenge from Daws’ Datsun in a restarted race to triumph again. Alexander Childs’ GT Junior won the concurrent 105 Cup for classic Alfa Romeos on Sunday but couldn’t repeat the feat on Monday. A spin at Lodge allowed the wide-arched GTAm of Andy Hill to get away but Hill spun away the class lead, also at Lodge, to give the win to Jon Wagstaff.
Alfa Romeos and Italian Intermarque: The Italian exotica opened the weekend’s racing action at Sunday lunchtime. The patriotically-liveried 4C sports car of polesitter Toby Broom broke leaving the grid at the start of Race One, with the GTV of George Warren driving away up front initially before the 147 GTA of Graham Seager came back and stole the victory. Broom came through from a back-of-the-grid start to win the second encounter on-the-road but was penalised ten seconds for overtaking before the start/finish line at a Safety Car restart, giving the win to Barry McMahon’s Giulia.
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