Thruxton Retro presents Classic K
- CSCC Staff
- Jul 15
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 16
Midland Classic Restorations Classic K headed to Thruxton a few weeks ago to be a part of the new 'Thruxton Retro' extravaganza.
Full Results can be viewed on TSL here TSL Timing
26 cars took to the track for qualifying, with a varied grid from Mustangs, to light and nimble Elans and Mini's, with everything in between. It was anyone's guess who would take pole position around the fastest circuit in the UK.
Qualifying
CSCC President, Mike Jordan, along with son, 2013 BTCC Champion, Andrew, were the early pacesetters in their little yellow Mini Cooper S (77), closely followed by Will Linley in his Lotus Elan 26R (18).
Once the cars had settled in, it was the power of the V8's that took over at the top, the TVR Griffith (651), driven by Peter Thompson/Jon Payne going quickest, and Thruxton circuit owner Alex Thistlethwayte's Mustang (165) grabbing second.
The early lead in the Hawthorn Jaguar contest went the way of Grant Williams in his Jaguar Mk1 (12). Second and third was close between the fellow Mk1's of Toby Smith (101) and Glenn Pearson/Tom Butterfield (303).
At the halfway point, Thompson/Payne were still holding onto the top spot and would stay there until the flag to claim pole position. Linley's Elan was back up into 2nd just 0.067 seconds adrift. Nathan Dod in his TVR Griffith (167), having not driven his car for over a year, had pushed Thistlethwayte into 4th and the Jordan's down to 5th.
A little further down, the MGB (130) driven by Dominic Mooney/Connor Kay went up the order to claim 9th overall and 1st in Class, closely followed by the Austin Healey 3000 (246) of father/son pairing Bill and Jack Rawles. Nigel Webb/John Young, sharing the drive in a Jaguar Mk1(102) went well, just 0.014 seconds behind Brian Lambert in his Ginetta G4 (32) in 15th.
It was close between the trio of Richard Bateman's Elan (501), CSCC newcomers Aalbert and Pim Remijn's MG A (631) and the MGB (153) of Steve Spink, who were split by less than 100th of a second.
Welcome also to Christopher Clarkson who was out in his Ford Falcon Sprint for the first time with the CSCC.
Pearson/Butterfield were now fastest of the Hawthorn Jaguar runners with G.Williams in 2nd.
Unfortunately, the session was red flagged with 9 minutes to go when the Lotus Elan (147) of Andrew Tate left the circuit at Village. Andrew is thankfully ok but sadly would take no further part in the day, his car having sustained too much damage. The exact cause is a mystery, with the circuit cameras too far away to see what happened. The session was re-started with 6 minutes on the clock. Some drivers chose not to go back out and of those that did, only three, (all Hawthorn Jaguars), managed to record their fastest lap, ending with Smith managing to pip G.Williams for 2nd. Pearson/Butterfield keeping hold of Hawthorn pole.
Race
23 drivers lined up for the race, although Brian Lambert in his Ginetta G4 (32) opted to start from the pit lane having taken part in the preceding race and was a bit rushed for time!
The TVR Griffith's starting 1st and 3rd, had swapped places during the 1st lap, with Dod crossing the start line first and polesitter Thomson/Payne dropping down to third. Linley's Elan sandwiched between them holding second.
There was a great exchange going on between the Mustang (46) of Jerry Bailey and the Jordan's Mini. They traded places several times with the little Mini being able to out-brake the heavier Mustang, only for the Mustang to use all of it's V8 power out the back of the circuit.
Pearson/Butterfield initially led the Hawthorn Jaguar race, however, G.Williams managed to get by early on to take the lead.
Meanwhile, further down the order, Neil Merry, Sunbeam Tiger (96), moved up well from 17th on the grid to 10th and was sitting behind the Jag Mk1 of G. Williams and the MGB Roadster (130) of Kay/Mooney. Kay was all over the back of G. Williams and managed to make a move stick after 5 laps. Lambert in his Ginetta G4 was making good progress through the pack, having started from the pit lane. This was to be short-lived after he sadly retired on lap 6. Joining him was the Mk1 Jaguar of Webb/Young who retired into the pits after 7 laps with gearbox failure.
There wasn't much between the top four, and whilst Linley was busy closing the gap to the leader, Thompson/Payne were closing the gap to Linley and managed to move past into 2nd. A brace of TVR's now at the front, Dod was coming under increasing pressure from the polesitter.
The battle between Jordan and Bailey continued. Jordan was able to slide the Mini around Campbell, and with a bit of oversteer, brilliantly controlled by Mike, he overtook the Mustang. Oh wait...once again, the Mustang gobbled him up as they headed out of the corner. Jordan later said that whilst he was enjoying himself, the battle was costing the team time, so pitted earlier than planned, on lap 8 to hand over to Andrew. Their pit crew swiftly changed the front left tyre whilst they swapped drivers over, clearly proof that the little car was being driven hard.
As the leaders scrambled through the back markers, the TVR's were side-by-side as they headed into the Chicane. Thompson/Payne, in the mood to let Dod have a sniff at the lead, switched places for 3 laps, until Dod eventually deciding to make his mandatory pit stop and peeling into the pits, handed the lead back to Thompson/Payne. Linley, still close behind, and the leading TVR pitted together on the next lap, coming out just 0.175 seconds apart, this time Linley ahead.
The Mustangs of Thistlethwayte and Bailey also pitted together, with the former, later receiving a 35 second penalty for a short pit stop. Are you allowed to penalise the circuit owner!?
The Rawles' Austin Healey (246) had a great start and was having a brilliant contest with Kay/Mooney's MG B lap after lap. They must have been pushing hard as they opted to change the left rear tyre during their pit stop. Bill Rawles commented after handing over to son Jack 'I had a great 1st stint. I had a massive shunt here 15 years ago and this is the first time back.' The Rawles' family Austin Healey 3000 would sadly later retire with a broken half shaft.
As the pit stops ironed themselves out, the Elan of Linley was just ahead of the Thompson/Payne TVR, with the gap slowing closing, until Linley sadly retired to the pits after 19 laps. Dod, now in 2nd place, had dropped back a long way, despite being on the pace early on, giving Thompson/Payne a clear lead going into the final laps of the race.
The tussle between the Hawthorn Jaguars continued with G.Williams leaning the Jag through the chicane, leading the Pearson/Butterfield car, the latter later retiring on lap 21.
There was some excellent racing and superb battles going on up and down the field. Thompson/Payne took the chequered flag with a clear 30 second lead over Dod. Thistlethwayte, although managing to cling onto 3rd on the road, by less than half a second, was actually classified 4th after his pit stop penalty was applied, handing 3rd to the Jordan's.
Steve Spink in his MGB managed to come home 8th after starting down in 20th and Richard Bateman bought his Elan home to round out the top 10.
The Hawthorn Jaguar honours were awarded to Nick and Alistair Dyson in their Jaguar Mk2. G.Williams won on the road but as he was running in the invitation class he was unfortunately not rewarded for his efforts.
Our next Midland Classic Restorations Classic K round is at Castle Combe, on 3rd August. This could be useful practice for those looking to take part in the CSCC race at the Castle Combe Autumn Classic later in the year. The Mike Hawthorn Jaguar Challenge returns at Brands Britannia, on 30th/31st August, together with Classic K.
