Brands Britannia Report
- CSCC Staff
- Sep 17
- 23 min read
We have new videos and race reports, plus photographs and a recap of the results and live-stream, from two days of fabulous racing action.
Set the tea to stew and sit back for ten minutes, as we look back to the end of August.
We have to start with a pair of Marc Peters highlights videos, these never get old. Every time, Marc manages to find fresh, new ways to present his footage.
Day 1 featured a trio of races, whilst everyone else set their qualifying times:
Day 2 was full of races from start to finish, plus the Morgan Challenge anniversary grid walk.
Full results, including pit stop times (where relevant) are here: https://www.tsl-timing.com/event/253564
David Stallard captured everything, we mean every car in every session. David has put in the effort to divide his photos per category, saving you time to view and buy the photos you want to see.
This was our final live-streamed event this season, with every race captured and available to replay back.
With thanks to Autosport journalist, Mark Paulson, we have a full meeting report, over to you Mark.
The latest edition of Brands Britannia was another wonderful celebration of the British motor industry, both on and off track.
In addition to the phalanx of car club members gathered by hosts MotorSport Vision, festivities included bus rides around the celebrated 1.2-mile circuit set in a natural amphitheatre in the Kent countryside and the ever-popular public grid walk – this year for the Morgan Challenge, celebrating its 40th anniversary.
Tom Walkinshaw’s 1984 European Touring Car title-winning Jaguar XJS and an XJ220C fielded by the charismatic Scot’s TWR squad at Le Mans in 1993 added to the sights and sounds, with a stirring lunchtime demonstration.
And of course, the on-track action curated by the CSCC proved to be as entertaining and close-fought as ever – even if there were a couple of monstrous accidents, which thankfully proved much less serious than they might have been.
As is now customary at this event, Sunday’s programme of racing throughout the day meant that Saturday largely comprised qualifying sessions. Three races took place in the afternoon, beginning with a capacity field for the Advantage Motorsport Future Classics and SuperPro Modern Classics.
With an oversubscribed entry, the fastest car in qualifying was sadly unable to start the race. Locally based Matthew Evans was more than a second clear of the field in the terrific lightweight Talbot Sunbeam Lotus he shares with father Martyn but, as second reserves, the pair would have to wait for the following day’s Special Saloons and Modsports races.
So Roger Hamilton inherited pole position in his well-driven Ginetta G20, just 0.035s faster than Jordan Spencer’s MGB GT V8 – the fastest Future Classics Entrant. Another former regular in the defunct BCV8 championship, Russell McCarthy was next, ahead of Steve Griffiths’ Ginetta.
It was Hamilton who went on to take his second victory of the season in a race overshadowed by two large accidents. The first came just after half the scheduled 40-minute duration following an uncharacteristic error from Richard Chamberlain. With Dave Whelan nursing a foot injury, Porsche expert Chamberlain stepped in alongside Aidan Farrell to pilot the glorious 993-shape Porsche 911 RSR run by his CTR Developments organisation. Farrell ran well in the opening stint but, shortly after taking over Chamberlain overcorrected some understeer through Clark Curve and the RSR snapped right and thumped the pitwall. Richard quickly extracted himself but the car’s front end looked very sorry for itself and the resultant safety car was swiftly upgraded to a red flag to clear up fluids it had spilt.
Regulations state that a restart following a stoppage during the pit window is gridded according to the race order before the window opened. Thus, Tom Barley’s BMW 328i E36 sat on pole position for what was set to become a 10-minute sprint, despite having lost ground in the pits thanks to his Cadwell Park winner’s penalty. Hamilton was alongside, ahead of McCarthy and David Harrison in the Porsche 964 RS relayed by Nathan Luckey. Alongside Griffiths on row three, from the rear of the original grid after being late to assembly, was Jordan Spencer.
With drizzle in the air, Barley led the opening three tours until a rear suspension bolt sheered and left his suddenly very loose MJB Sports Cars-run BMW cruising to the pits. Hamilton inherited the lead while Harrison and Spencer battled for second, as McCarthy lost some ground with his flat-crank Rover V8 running on six cylinders.
Yards from the site of Chamberlain’s demise, Harrison’s Porsche would suffer an eerily similar – albeit more frightening – fate. Contact with Spencer’s MGB as they exited Clark Curve pitched the Porsche to the inside. It climbed the pitwall and rolled along its edge before crashing back onto the track and sliding towards the start marshal’s gantry on its roof, shedding debris as it went.
Red flags flew within seconds and, in an exemplary response, marshals and emergency responders were on the scene moments later. Thankfully, Harrison quickly escaped the wreckage, none the worse for wear. With plenty of clear-up required, the race was declared after six completed laps, with Hamilton the victor.
“I had a very good qualifying session – I was very happy with that,” he said. “I couldn’t quite get the same pace in the race; fair play to the other guys that were going quickly. Enjoyable racing though.”
Spencer was classified second, and thus winner of the Future Classics section, ahead of McCarthy, Griffiths and Chris Boon’s supercharged Jaguar XK8. With the two big 911-based Porsches eliminated, Darren Claydon’s was the Stuttgart marque’s best representative in sixth overall. His front-engined 944 edged Castle Combe Modern Classics winner Luca Masarati, this time sharing the family Boxster S with uncle Miles rather than father Piers.
An eclectic field of Liqui Moly Slicks runners were dominated by Richard Wheeler’s Lamborghini Huracan GT3. The Essex-based racer set a blistering 91.63mph pace around his home circuit in qualifying and would go to win the race by more than a lap.
Andrew Christopher’s Ferrari 488 Challenge was second fastest, nearly 2s back, and another seven tenths clear of one of three teen sensations in the field. Karting graduate Archie Buttle impressed with his Ginetta G56 GTA’s 87mph to edge the older – albeit Chevrolet V8-powered – G50 of Dylan Popovic.
Two 16-year-old former Fiesta Junior racers made encouraging starts to their senior careers aboard much more powerful machinery. Michael Wheeler, son of Richard, could hardly have found a car more different from a Mk6 Fiesta but, despite just two days of testing, was disappointed to qualify his McLaren 570S GT4 only ninth – a slow puncture was later found to be the cause of his reduced pace from mid-session. Just days after his 16th birthday, tin top star of the future Jenson O’Neill-Going qualified his Mini JCW 11th overall.
The pair were separated by another welcome addition to the grid, Jonathan Gill’s spaceframed pocket rocket SHP Peugeot 205 which the Isle of Wight man was set to share with one-time Jaguar champion Mike Seabourne.
Wheeler Sr made full use of the GT3 machinery at his disposal to take a commanding victory, but with a wide variation in car performance and the tight 1.2-mile circuit to deal with, his task was far from easy.
“Let’s just say, I understand why British GT and everyone don’t run these on the Indy Circuit!” puffed the Brisky Racing owner/driver after repeating his Silverstone success. “You get like three seconds on the straight to go ‘phew’ and then you just start doing lots of steering input again – it’s quite full on.
“I do understand we have a bit of an advantage [performance-wise], obviously. But it’s a good environment, nice, safe, friendly club to bring cars out and have good fun with them, without being under loads and loads of pressure.”
Wheeler’s margin of victory was undoubtedly extended by the demise of his closest challenger. Christopher’s Ferrari tangled with Martyn Scott’s Volkswagen Golf GTI on the approach to Druids while attempting to put a lap on the BMR/Team Gama entry. The Ferrari toured in with broken rear suspension while the Golf suffered front-end damage from being fired into the inside barriers.
Buttle was pleasantly surprised to finish second after limited running in Friday testing. Six seconds further back, Wheeler Jr belied his lack of experience to bring the GT4 McLaren home a “totally brilliant” third on debut, joining his father among the trophies.
The teenager edged Popovic to win Class SA1 by 1.7s. Warren Tattersall (Cupra TCR) was best of the tin-top machinery in fifth overall, ahead of Joe Jackson (spaceframe Vauxhall Tigra) and Kenny Coleman (BMW M3 E92).
Seabourne flew in the 205 in the early stages, running fifth overall before Tattersall got the rubber on his bigger wheels up to temperature. A slower pitstop dropped the Vauxhall-powered Pug further down the order but, once in the seat, Gill enjoyed a thrilling scrap with O’Neill-Going and Colin Tester (Porsche Cayman 987) in the closing stages, his beaming face speaking volumes afterwards.
Saturday’s race action was completed by Co-ordSport Tin Tops and Puma Cup where Steve Simpson’s Peugeot 206 RC took its first win of the year while other regular frontrunners hit various dramas.
Simpson, driving solo, topped the qualifying times by just 0.023s from Adam Brown (Ford Fiesta ST150) but the 34-car entry was already falling in number. Among those to suffer were both Dirty Half Dozen Honda Integras. The Hillwood Autos entry of Nigel Ainge/Danny Cassar succumbed to gearbox failure while Garry Barlow’s R&J Motors-backed DC5 suffered internal damage after a loose rocker bent a valve.
Alfie Jones upheld honour for Essex’s former short oval racers by planting his Honda Civic Type R third on the grid ahead of Cadwell Park double winner Shaun Ely (Peugeot 205 GTi). But Jones’s challenge also hit the buffers when the lights went out for the race start. The Castle Combe-winning Civic EP3 blew out a spark plug and Jones edged onto the grass at pit exit.
A safety car was called to recover Jones’s stricken car with Brown leading the way from Simpson, Ely and Steve Papworth (Honda Civic Type R FN2). Once green flag running resumed, Brown set about building a gap to negate his 30s winner’s penalty earned at the season-opener. Simpson’s Shilton Garage Peugeot was one of the first to pit, leaving Brown well clear of his pursuers, but the latter’s cause was hampered by clutch failure before its pit visit.
A push-start from the Fives Garage/ABRacing crew got Brown back on his way and he rejoined in third, some 25s down on the leader, with Kev Smith’s Honda Civic separating the pair after short-stopping.
A safety car for Gareth Lehane’s gravel-stricken Fiesta paused the chase but effectively halved the margin before the race was halted altogether with around five minutes left on the clock – although Simpson’s pace looked set to deliver victory regardless.
Brown was classified 12s back in a class-winning second, followed by Papworth, David Bellamy (Peugeot 106 GTi) and Matt Churton (Renault Clio 182), all class winners alike. Michael Wheeler made light of the challenge posed by switching from rear-wheel-drive supercar to front-wheel-drive supermini by bringing home the Fiesta started by Danny Harrison in sixth overall.
Blair Roebuck’s EK-shape Honda Civic completed the class winners in seventh, with Kev Smith demoted to eighth for his short-stop penalty.
What should have been a brilliant battle for Puma Cup honours between Gareth Cotgrove and Luke Johnson descended into scenes more suited to a school playground. The pair continued an off-track spat in their cars and were later excluded from the meeting by the clerk of the course. That promoted Nick Fulljames and Neil Jackson to victory despite a penalty for causing Lehane’s demise which left the pair just 0.087s clear of Marcus Williams. Ian Howard lost out after depositing his Team Guroba car in the gravel, which caused the red flag.
Sunday began with the first of two races for the Morgan Challenge. In the championship’s 40th anniversary season, series stalwart and two-time champion Keith Ahlers scored personal win numbers 110 and 111. But his rumbling V8 was kept on its toes by the more modern machinery of title contender Louis Ruff.
It was Ruff who set the qualifying pace in his BMW turbo-powered Plus Four, half a second clear of the previous-generation +8 with its 4.6-litre Rover V8 motivation. Reigning champion Andrew Thompson’s 4-litre +8 was next ahead of John Emberson’s +4 Babydoll with its high-revving 2-litre Duratec. Completing a varied top five was Gail Hill’s Ford Cyclone-powered AVR6.
Ruff’s Class 2 (up to 310bhp/tonne) car set the early race pace too but Ahlers was soon able to make the extra grunt of his big V8 count, setting a series of fastest laps before powering past on the Cooper Straight on lap six of an eventual 23. Ahlers cleared off to a 15s victory, while Ruff was more than 21s up the road from Thompson. Emberson, Martin Pratt (+8) and Hill completed a well spread top six ahead of Brett Syndercombe. Brands Hatch Morgan’s returning one-time champion was making his first appearance of the season in his Zetec-powered 4/4, officially in Class 0 as it doesn’t have an up-to-date power-to-weight ratio logged – otherwise he would likely have taken Class 3 honours.
Tom Richards topped a brilliantly close five-car battle for the minor places in the top 10 in his Plus 4 Clubsport ahead of Howard Clark (Roadster Lightweight), both class winners.
Ruff was again more quickly up to speed in the second race, roaring around the outside to lead until the fourth lap, when Ahlers powered past approaching Surtees. This time Ruff kept in touch and, after a mid-race safety car, kept up the pressure until the flag.
Ahlers was delighted to have secured his first wins since turning 70 earlier in the month, but had high praise for the efforts the Williams Automobiles driver in second. “Louis is a great engineer – he’s built his car extremely well,” he said. “He’s a very good driver. It’s interesting – mine is the traditional Morgan chassis, Louis is racing the new aluminium chassis and you can see he’s got the car of the future.”
Thompson again completed the podium, while Hill’s relaxed style took her to within 0.7s of Emberson in fourth. Syndercombe improved to sixth, while Richards and Clark again won their classes.
It’s all to play for as the championship heads to the Thruxton finale later this month, with Ruff and Richards tied at the top of the standings, both unbeaten in class.
The Alpha Lexis Law Firm Jaguar Championship and MG Trophy also had two 20-minute sprint races on Sunday. Swallows Racing young gun Jack Robinson continued to set the pace in his XK8 and looks to have all-but sealed the title with a weekend to spare after another successful showing. But the Somerset racer didn’t have things entirely his own way; last year’s champ Colin Philpott showed he remains a force by finally securing a first win with the #1 on his XJS.
Robinson set the pace in qualifying, his 80.37mph lap 0.15s faster than Philpott. The V12-powered XJSs of James Ramm and Simon Lewis were next, although Lewis’s 5.3-litre machine would go no further. He was shown the black-and-orange flag but puzzled by the cause, with temperatures appearing normal. Sadly a blown hose probably left no water to have its temperature measured and the engine had overheated, blowing a head gasket.
Lewis’s withdrawal promoted Philpott’s Powerbell team-mate Rodney Frost to row two of the grid. From there, the South African muscled past Ramm to run third behind Robinson and Philpott. A brief Code 60 period for John Watts’s spin at Druids shook up the order as Ramm caught both Powerbell drivers napping when the green flags were shown. The Essex racer jumped into second but could only keep the pair behind for a few laps as the weight of his six-litre engine took its toll on the car’s front tyres.
Robinson took his XK8 to an eighth victory of the season by 5s from Philpott, Frost and Ramm’s trio of XJSs. Fifth, and second to Ramm in Class A, was Chris Boon in his supercharged XK8, repaired after its Castle Combe run-in. Boon had enjoyed a terrific tussle with Mark Bennett’s unique X-Type estate before the Auto Reserve car hit clutch and gear-selection issues.
Sixth overall was the reward for a stirring drive from the back of the grid by late entrant Tom Barclay in Kevin Doyle’s V12-powered XJ Coupe. It might have been more but Barclay had to back off with temperatures rising in the closing stages.
The remaining Auto Reserve cars of James Wall (S-Type R) and Class C winner Charles Jackson (X350 TD) sandwiched Michael Atkinson (ex-Derek Pearce XK8) in eighth, ahead of David Ringham (XJS). Jackson had been battling with Rick Walker’s supercharged XJR6 but a clash at Graham Hill Bend in the closing stages put Walker out and left Jackson with a grid penalty for race two.
The top five were reversed on the grid for race two, leaving Boon on pole position which the Cov Cats man converted into the race lead. Robinson tried to dart between the second-row cars of Frost and Philpott but was squeezed out before the latter snatched second from Ramm.
Boon’s lead didn’t last the first lap as Philpott dived inside at McLaren and Ramm powered past as they exited Clark Curve. Robinson and Frost further demoted Boon before a Code 60 hiatus to retrieve Tim Morrant’s Series 1 Daimler Sovereign.
Eager not to let Philpott escape, Robinson had a huge moment at Graham Hill Bend as the green flags flew, and it took the Somerset man until lap six of the 21 to relieve Ramm of second at Druids. By that time, Philpott had built a 3.5s lead. The young gun chipped away at the Berkshire veteran but waved yellow flags for Sam Chiene’s beached XJS didn’t help his cause as they encountered traffic, and Philpott held on to win by half a second.
“He’s been a hard lad to beat, Jack,” admitted the winner, who was an apprentice when the XJS was released in 1975. “He’s been really on form this year. Fair play to Swallows, they’ve really got that car going well.”
Eighteen seconds adrift, Frost was third on the road but disqualified for passing under yellow flags, which promoted Class A trio Ramm, Boon and Wall into third, fourth and fifth.
Matt Thomas was the sole MG Trophy entrant, and duly took the honours in race one before sitting out the sequel.
A superb entry of nearly 30 JMC Racing Special Saloons & Modsports gathered for two races marking the 50th birthday of Baby Bertha, Dealer Team Vauxhall’s Super Saloon synonymous with the late, great Gerry Marshall. Baby Bertha’s first appearance this year was entrusted to Chris Conoley while long-time custodian Joe Ward still nursed a shoulder injury, and Marshall’s son Gregor was present for the occasion.
Among the entry were returns for two cars with new drivers. Karl Muncila was in the TR7 V8 formerly campaigned by the late Graham Woskett but suffered reliability gremlins. Paul Brooks drove the ex-Robert Knox/Paul Knapton Maguire Stiletto and managed a very creditable second in Class E in the second race.
The three HC-class cars of Danny Morris (Peugeot 309 Cosworth Thundersaloon), Thomas Carey (BDG-powered Honda CRX silhouette) and Samuel Wilson (Aston Martin V8 Vantage) proved to be correctly categorised as top dogs all weekend and were remarkably evenly matched over a lap considering their vast differences in power, weight and construction. The wins in two cracking races were split between Kentish men Carey and Morris.
It was Morris’s Spirit of RPM car, carrying the memory of his brother Ricky Parker-Morris, that set the qualifying pace, a little over half a second clear of Carey’s CRX. From the other side of the Thames estuary, Wilson was the interloper in an otherwise all-Kent top four as he was just 0.15s further back in Rikki Cann’s faithful ‘Second Hand Rose’. Matthew Ellis and father Martyn were fourth aboard their Talbot Sunbeam Lotus.
Midget & Sprite Challenge pacesetter Paul Sibley joined the field in his ex-Chris Montague MG Midget and was fifth fastest ahead of Ross Irvine’s turbocharged Mk1 Golf GTi and the busy Jonathan Gill in his Peugeot 205.
The top three broke clear in Sunday morning’s race. Carey hounded Morris throughout, with Wilson keeping a watching brief. Dealing with traffic around the busy circuit was key, and when Morris found himself slightly baulked Carey pounced to snatch the lead on half-distance.
Sadly the race lasted little longer as Robert Frost committed a touch too far is his mighty 8-litre Dax Tojiero replica Cobra and ploughed through the gravel into the barriers at Paddock Hill Bend, rolling on impact. Frost himself was fine but the Tojiero suffered front-end damage and the race was called prematurely.
The leaders had gone just far enough for Gravesend man Carey to keep his second win of the season, a repeat of last year’s Brands success. He modestly described the decisive moment as “a stroke of luck on my behalf”.
Morris was classified just 0.2s down, with Wilson only another 0.8s further back. Fourth, from eighth on the grid, was Conoley after an impressive drive. He’d executed nice passes of Steve Wells’s MGB GT V8 (at Surtees) as well as hometown hero Rod Birley, in a West Suffolk Racing BMW, and Martyn Ellis (both Druids) before outdragging Gill’s 205.
Sibley, Martin Reynolds (Ford Escort Mk2), Gill and Birley completed the class winners.
Carey’s success pushed him down to 11th on the grid for the afternoon’s rematch. Whether he’d have been able to challenge Morris and Wilson from there we’ll never know: having reached fifth within a lap, the CRX’s throttle began to stick and Carey pulled off to retire.
Also on the casualty list was period great David ‘Doc’ Enderby and his Sports 2000-based VW Kharman Ghia. Rear brake failure sent his car off at Druids, inflicting heavy front-end damage, although London-based Doc was fine.
The race was stopped and restarted over six minutes’ duration, with Morris able to hold off Wilson’s challenge to the chequered flag waved by his young niece Bailey-D.
Apologising for winning at Brands Britannia in a car from a French marque – albeit with a British engine! – Morris said: “Thanks to everyone who’s come to support us this weekend, particularly Holmes Racing, our sponsor. We always race in memory of my brother – Spirit of RPM on the front of the car – and we dedicate every win we have to him.”
Wilson added: “That thing is rapid and really well driven as well. It’s a while since I’ve been driven away from in a straight line!”
Despite running treaded rubber, Matthew Ellis brought the Sunbeam home in third ahead of Conoley. Gill, fifth, was delighted to have given Baby Bertha a run for her money on a weekend where he was racing in memory of his brother Rich, sadly lost last year. It was particularly poignant therefore that he should be sharing a garage with the Spirit of RPM Peugeot 309, even more so as the Morris brothers had made their names in a Dimma 205 some 35 years ago.
Wells led home the closely bunched remainder of the top 10, ahead of Sibley, Hugh Pelling (MG B V8), Paul Dolan (Lotus Elan) and Donald Dewar, who’d repaired a driveshaft overnight (thank you to BOSS Racing) to get his Mk1 Golf back on track.
As usual, the Adams & Page Swinging Sixties field was split into two, with nearly a quarter of the entries opting to compete in both races. Group 1 was for Classes D, E, F and L and brought a win for Steve Hodges in his Lotus 7 S2. Group 2’s race comprised Classes A, B, C and V and was won by Ray Barrow’s Chevrolet Camaro.
Silverstone International winner Connor Kay (TVR Tuscan) was the first set’s pacesetter but faced a 20s delay at his mandatory pitstop for his previous success. After the stops, which most drivers served under a safety car for William Tebbit’s spun MGB, Kay had dropped to sixth but might still have challenged had his car not ground to a halt on the Cooper Straight. Fuel-pump failure was the cause and, after engaging the secondary pump, the youngster rejoined from the pits – three laps down.
Geoff Taylor (TVR Griffith), doubling up from the second group, took over the lead from Shaun Haddrell (Turner Mk1) and Hodges. But the ‘Impudent 7’ of Hodges picked off the two in front to move ahead before finding Kay looming in his mirrors in the closing stages. Unaware that the TVR was out of contention, Hodges withstood the pressure to take his first win since the same event a year earlier. It’s not surprising he labels Brands his favourite circuit.
Taylor and Haddrell were both passed by Ben Snee’s rapid Lotus Elan 26R GTS but Snee was penalised for overtaking backmarkers before the start/finish line at a restart. That dropped him to seventh, and a similar fate befell fourth-on-the-road Dean Halsey (Datsun 240Z) who slipped outside the top 10. So Taylor was classified second, despite a number of hairy moments on his worn tyres, and Haddell third.
Fourth overall, and Class F honours went to the Mark Campbell/Ben Ferguson TR5, ahead of Stuart Dickinson’s Class A-winning MGA and Marc Kniese (Mini). Pete Chambers (Lotus Cortina) won Class E.
MG ace Russell McCarthy was a welcome addition to the field. The family MGA, in characteristic primrose hue, was having its first outing in many years. It qualified 13th on the 33-car grid, despite half-shaft failure, and broke into the top 10 in the race before slipping back and retiring in the closing stages.
Both Snee and Campbell/Ferguson also contested the second race but the Triumph got little further than half-distance before its head gasket failed.
Snee’s Elan fared better, passing polesitter Chris Watkinson (Mini) for the lead in the first half of the race. But he pair both lost ground by pitting before a caution to retrieve Lewis Salmon’s gravel-trapped Mini. That left Barrow’s big V8 in front, chased by Geoff Taylor.
As Barrow stretched the Chevy’s legs, Kent driver Watkinson passed Ian Staines (MG Midget) for third and closed up to Taylor. The two engaged in a thrilling duel over the closing stages, passing each other several times a lap according to the varying strengths of each car, but it was Taylor who clinched second, some 4s down on Barrow at the chequered flag.
“What a fantastic race between three or four very different cars,” enthused the winner. “Fortunately for me, they were having their own dice and, once I got past, I was able to play to the strengths of my car.”
Watkinson and Staines were both class winners, and Snee was best of the Group 1 ‘guests’ in fifth overall.
The race for Midland Restorations Classic K and Hawthorn Jaguar Challenge offered yet another opportunity for some of the Swinging Sixties runners. Snee was one such, but it was fellow Elan man Will Linley who took his second victory of the season.
Linley was a full second clear of Snee in qualifying as Lotus twin cams filled the top five places on the grid. Pete Chambers and Adam Cunnington’s Cortinas broke the Elan dominance in third and fifth, sandwiching Malcolm Johnson’s Elan GTS.
Best of the Classic Jaguars competing in the Hawthorn Challenge was the Nigel Webb/John Young Mk2 but it only lasted until the third lap of the race. Its left-rear wheel detached itself as Webb negotiated Paddock Hill Bend but he managed to bring the car to a halt on Hailwood Hill.
The resulting safety car period ended just as the pit window opened, with second-placed Snee – in his third 40-minute race of the day – first of the frontrunners to make his stop. Once the stagger unwound, Snee found himself leading Linley and Johnson. But his pitstop had been too short, even discounting the extra 20s he was due to serve by dint of his season-opening victory.
Snee’s resulting penalty would have handed Linley victory regardless, but the latter needed no such assistance. He passed the sky blue Elan to secure victory on the road as well as the timesheets.
Snee’s pace was such that even with over 50s added to his race time he dropped only to fourth, behind Johnson, who was only 5s back, and the Class F-winning Cortina of Chambers.
Allan Ross-Jones was last of those on the lead lap in his Triumph TR4, ahead of the second Cortina of Cunnington. Other class wins went to Steve Spink (MGB), Tina Cooper (Mini), Pete Shepherd (Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite) and Oliver Partridge (MGA).
Tony Smith (Mk1) took Hawthorn Challenge honours, 13s clear of Grahame Pettitt (Mk1), with Guy Connew (Mk2) third and Patrick Doyle (Mk1) fourth.
Two races for the indecently fast Gold Arts Magnificent Sevens unfolded in uncannily similar conditions. On a weekend where drizzle was often in the air, the Caterham dominated field twice came to the grid after much heavier showers. It made for a fascinating dynamic between the slick-shod cars and those on treaded rubber, with Colin Watson twice victorious.
The lone non-Caterham on the grid was in the hands of Abi Whitt, more commonly seen in Swinging Sixties (where the MG Midget she shared with father Ian suffered half-shaft failure before Ian stepped aboard). Great British Sports Cars entrusted Abi with its latest GBS Zero in which she showed a strong turn of pace but was plagued by electrical gremlins. Qualifying eighth and finishing race one in the same position was still an encouraging start on which to build.
Watson and fellow Caterham C400 driver Tim Davis were split by Richard Carter’s treaded R300 in qualifying, all three cars from the BOSS stable. Starting fourth for the first race was Stewart Donovan in the CSR he shares with Robert Jones.
Donovan, however, was first to be caught out by the treacherous conditions for those on slick rubber. As soon as he put the power down as the lights went out, his car slewed into the barriers in front of his watching guests in hospitality. Luckily for others, the resulting safety car laps gave the track a chance to start drying.
Carter had shot into the lead at the start and continued to hold sway until nearly half-distance when Watson took over. The lead trio continued to circulate together and it took Davis until lap 15 of 20 to pass Carter for second, assisted by traffic. Smarting from losing out, Carter then made a mistake at Graham Hill Bend and lost further ground but remained a safe third.
Charlie Redman was fourth in the 2 Forty One Caterham 420R, with fifth-placed Leo Bell second of those on treaded tyres with his Openda 310R.
Watson’s win placed him 11th on the grid for the sequel, so it was Davis and Carter who contested the early lead. Carter again made use of his treaded rubber on the wet track to make the running as Watson reached third within a lap.
The slick-shod duo ambushed Carter on the fifth lap of 23, Watson immediately surging past Davis for the lead as they began the next tour. Running a lower-power spare engine, Davis had no answer for his team-mate’s pace over the remaining laps as Watson took an 8s victory.
Davis and Carter again filled out the top three, and Martin Leadbeater made it a top-four lockout for BOSS. Nathan Bell was best of the rest in fifth, and Jones came through from the back of the field to take sixth.
Last on track was a 30-car entry for the Lackford Engineering Midget & Sprite Challenge, contesting its final meeting of the season. With 10 wins from 10 races to date, multiple champion Paul Sibley was gunning for an unprecedented clean sweep. Regardless, he looked unlikely to secure the overall championship due to a lack of Class A entries limiting his scoring.
Sibley was untouchable all weekend as he made it a round dozen, while 2023 champion Hugh Simpson duly wrapped up his second title.
Sibley was the only driver to record an 80mph lap in qualifying, his 54.220s almost two thirds of a second quicker than Class E top dog James Hughes’s Austin-Healey Sprite in a session that was effectively cut short by heavy rain. Pippa Cow, still in her significantly less modified spare car – down 15bhp, with simpler rear suspension, MG four-speed ’box and a higher rideheight – managed third overall, ahead of the Swinging Sixties-spec cars of Connor Kay and Richard Perry. Simpson was best of the Class D cars in sixth overall, two tenths clear of regular rival Dean Stanton.
Half-shaft failure left Hughes an early retirement in Sunday’s first race which turned into one to forget for the family: his father John tipped his Ashley Midget onto its roof when it dug into the Paddock Hill gravel in the closing stages. That brought about a slightly premature finish to the race, but with his closest challenger sidelined, Sibley was long gone. The Bedfordshire racer was completely untroubled en route to a 9.5s win, despite a mid-race safety car. The victory earned him the stunning Steve Everett Memorial trophy for the umpteenth time in a glittering career.
Behind Sibley, Cow and Kay produced one of the battles of the weekend. Each pushed their car to the limit, Kay’s straight-line advantage combining with Cow’s slightly better grip to provide racing of the highest order that left both beaming from ear to ear. “We were just loving life, weren’t we? It was just fantastic,” was Pippa’s succinct summary.
Fourth at the time of the red flag was Mike Chalk in the second Class A car. Having missed qualifying – unaware the timetable was ahead of schedule – the championship veteran started from the back of the grid and carved his way forward, but dropped behind Richard Perry’s Class C Sprite on countback.
With race two’s grid decided on second-fastest times, Hughes Jr was not further penalised for his earlier retirement. He still could not provide a genuine challenge to Sibley but just about kept him in sight en route to a comfortable second overall, topping the Class E points for the season.
Kay and Cow reprised their earlier battle until seemingly innocuous contact with a backmarker in traffic broke a bonnet pin on Cow’s car and ended her challenge. Thus Kay was a clear third overall, sealing the Class C crown.
Chalk again climbed through the field to fourth on the road but was penalised for being too eager at a safety car restart and dropped to seventh. That promoted the Class C cars of Perry and Barney Collinson, who sandwiched Class D dominator Hugh Simpson.
In front of them all was Paul Sibley, whose imperious Midget had commanded both races – as well as taking two class wins in JMC Special Saloons and Modsports, all on the same day. His record-breaking unbeaten season earned a 10th Class A title but it still wasn’t enough for a fourth overall championship crown. That was Simpson’s, the Welshman taking the title with an 11th class win from 12 races.
“To be fair, he deserves it because he’s a cracking driver,” was Sibley’s gracious verdict.
Perry’s Class C Sprite on countback.
With race two’s grid decided on second-fastest times, Hughes Jr was not further penalised for his earlier retirement. He still could not provide a genuine challenge to Sibley but just about kept him in sight en route to a comfortable second overall, topping the Class E points for the season.
Kay and Cow reprised their earlier battle until seemingly innocuous contact with a backmarker in traffic broke a bonnet pin on Cow’s car and ended her challenge. Thus Kay was a clear third overall, sealing the Class C crown.
Chalk again climbed through the field to fourth on the road but was penalised for being too eager at a safety car restart and dropped to seventh. That promoted the Class C cars of Perry and Barney Collinson, who sandwiched Class D dominator Hugh Simpson.
In front of them all was Paul Sibley, whose imperious Midget had commanded both races – as well as taking two class wins in JMC Special Saloons and Modsports, all on the same day. His record-breaking unbeaten season earned a 10th Class A title but it still wasn’t enough for a fourth overall championship crown. That was Simpson’s, the Welshman taking the title with an 11th class win from 12 races.
“To be fair, he deserves it because he’s a cracking driver,” was Sibley’s gracious verdict.
