Classic and Competition car July 2012

& c i s s Issue 22 July 2012 Cla Competition Car Blancpain Endurance Series BTCC Donington Park

Andrew Howard's Unlucky Aston Martin at Rockingham

CONTENTS

News Page 4

Mini Festival Brands Hatch Page 12

VSCC Mallory Park Photo Gallery Page 15

Blancpain Endurance series Silverstone Page 17

Classic & Vintage meeting Harewood Hill Climb Page 21

Coventry Car Day Page 25

British F3 Rockingham Page 29

British GT Rockingham Page 31

Manx Classic 2012 Page 34

Archive photo of the month Page 36

Tour Britannia Page 36

Shelsley Walsh Hill climb Page 39

BRM Celebration Shelsley Walsh Page 42

Cholmondeley Pageant of Power Page 45

GT Cup Brands Hatch Page 50

Classic and Competition Car July 2012

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

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Winning Porsche 997 of Westbrook and Ashburn at Oulton Park © Pete Austin

EDITORIAL

June has been very cold and wet compared to normal and has affected quite a few events during the month. The Cholmondeley Pageant of Power had moved forward Simon Wright a month from its usual July Editor date to try and get a dry weekend as every previous running has been wet. This year the Sunday was mainly dry and pleasant, but the Pete is the man for Historic racing, with Saturday suffered a lot of heavy rain. The an extensive archive of black and white Blancpain Endurance race at Silverstone and images covering the last few decades of the BRM celebration at Shelsley Walsh also motorsport in Britain. Also keen on BRM suffered heavy rain along with Tour Britannia.

MICK HERRING Yet through all this, the fans still attended and made the best of the poor weather. For their efforts, they saw some great driving, as a wet track certainly separates the men from the boys in motorsport. Even so, I’ve had enough rain now for this year. Lets hope July is sunny and dry as there are some great events to look forward to, including the Silverstone Classic and the European Le Mans series at Donington Park.

The Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3 of David and Godfrey Jones and Mikael Jordan had a spin out of Luffield during practice for the Blancpain race at Silverstone

© Simon Wright © Simon Wright Front Cover.

The BMW Z4 of Mike Hezemans and Bert Longin pass the BRDC Centre at Silverstone during the Blancpain Endurance series race © Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

Mick’s first love is GT racing, including Historic's, especially the Lola T70 JANET WRIGHT

All content is copyright classicandcompetitioncar.com unless otherwise stated. All photographs are copyright the original photographer and cannot be used for commercial purposes unless by prior approval of the original copyright holder.

We try to ensure accurate and truthful reporting but if you spot an error, please contact us and will we verify and correct accordingly.

We do not organise any events which are mentioned and we are not responsible if the event does not take place or is cancelled. Please contact the event organiser before making a long trip.

© Simon Wright Bentley Speed 8 at the Cholmondeley Pageant of Power

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Classic and Competition Car July 2012

PETE AUSTIN

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Janet has been taking photos for many years but her real speciality is video work.

News

Manx Motor Racing club have announced the dates for the Manx Classic next year. The event, which is a three day sprint and Hillclimb event held on closed roads on the isle of Man, will be held between Thursday 25th April 2013 to Saturday 27th April 2013

Stephen Barker Ford GT40

Š Paul Hardiman

Check out our new updated WEB site at www.classicandcompetitioncar.com regularly for additional photo galleries, wall papers and other additional content.

Classic and Competition Car July 2012

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Rockingham use new circuit layout.

© Simon Wright

Saturday June 9th saw the British F3 race to be the first major race to take place on Rockingham's International Super Sportscar Long Circuit.

The infield circuit extending closer to the southern bank of the tri-oval circuit to turn left at Kirby, before re-joining the now-longer Steel Straight resulting in a much faster approach to the challenging left hander at Gracelands.

Classic and Competition Car July 2012

Gulf McLarens make progress at Silverstone.

© Mick Herring

Despite a rain soaked circuit, both Gulf Racing Uk’s McLaren MP4-12C cars managed to finish the Blancpain Endurance race at Silverstone, setting some competitive lap times in the process. Pro driver Robert Bell qualified the No9 car in 4th position and after starting behind the safety car got up to 3rd place before handing over at around the one hour mark to team mate Mike Wainwright. The car finished ahead of its team mate in 35th overall.

The sister car No 69 driven by Roald Goethe and new team driver Jamie Campbell-Walter was down on power and a little slow down the straights but managed to achieve reasonable lap times on par with the leaders towards the end of the race with Campbell-Walter driving. It finished the race in 41st place overall. In contrast, the best placed McLaren at Silverstone finished in 13th place.

Group C to shine at Silverstone Classic.

There will be three Group C Martini Lancia LC2 cars at this years SIlverstone Classic over the weekend of 20th to the 22nd of July 2012. They head an impressive entry for the Group C race, which celebrates 30 years of Group C racing this year. It will be the first time since the 1983 Le mans 24 hours race that three of these iconic cars will line up on the same grid.

The car is powered by a twin turbo charged Ferrari V8 engine but was not economical enough at the time when fuel was limited in endurance racing and only scored 3 wins out of 51 starts, even though it was more powerful than its © Simon Wright Porsche rival.

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12th May 1922 to 3rd June 2012 Born in Dovercourt, Essex to parents of Italian descent, Roy was probably best known for winning the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1959 driving with Carroll Shelby for Aston Martin. He was a Grand Prix driver between 1952 and 1962. During that period, he competed in 50 World Championship Grand Prix events, scored two podium finishes and scored a total of 19 World Championship points (remember 9 points for a win and 1 point for 6th place during that period). His first Grand prix was the British, in 1952 at Silverstone, where he drove a Ferrari 500 entered by G. Capara. In 1953 he drove for Connaught in 5 Grand Prix, unfortunately retiring from all the races. Between 1954 and 1956 he drove a Maserati 250f for Gilby Engineering Ltd in a handful of races but again did not manage to finish. In 1957 he drove a works BRM at Monaco but failed to qualify, then he Aston Martin DBR1 switched to a Vanwall in France and retired from the race, but for the British Grand Prix he switched to a Cooper T43 and finished 5th. He stayed with Cooper through 1958 finishing 3rd in Britain and 2nd in Germany to finish 4th in the World Championship. In 1959 he did a few races in a privately entered Cooper, but also drove for Aston Martin. As well as winning the Le mans 24 Hours endurance race and a sports car race at Goodwood with Carroll Shelby Ex Roy Salvadori Jaguar Mk1 © Simon Wright driving an Aston martin DBR1, © Pete Austin he helped Aston Martin win their first and only World Sports car Championship. He also finished 6th in the British and Portugese Grand Prix driving for Aston martin. In 1960 he again mixed Cooper and Aston Martin cars during the season but only managed 8th in America at the wheel of the Cooper. In 1961 he drove for the Yoman Credit racing team in a Cooper Climax T53 but with no real sucess and in 1962 the team switched to a Lola Mk4 which retired from every race it competed in. After winning 98 races during his career he retired from driving to run his car dealership. However he was tempted back to racing to manage the Cooper racing team in 1966 and 1967. He also helped develop the Ford GT40 sports car He passed away just 23 days after team mate © Pete Austin carroll Shelby. To his family and friends we offer Ex Roy Salvadori Cooper Monaco our sincere condolences.

Classic and Competition Car July 2012

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© Simon Wright

Roy Francesco Salvadori

Ecurie Ecosse show speed.

On home territory for the Silverstone round of the Blancpain series, the Barwell Motorsport BMW Z4 GT3 showed its pace during the very wet race. Joe Twyman started the race and in the heavy rain and with all the spray, Joe just made sure he kept the car on track and when he came in to hand over, he was in 42nd place overall. During the middle stint of the race, with Ollie Millroy driving, the car was top of the official timing screens for several laps, matching the pace of the overall race leaders as he moved through the field to 18th overall and 10th in class.

Unfortunately due to problems encountered by third driver Marco Attard, including an off track excursion and a stop and go penalty for speeding in the pit lane, the car only managed to finish 34th overall and 25th in class.

© Simon Wright

Classic and Competition Car Facebook Group We now have a Facebook Group Classic and Competition Car - where you can join and keep up to date with additional Photographs, postings, and extra event photo galleries. We also plan to add video clips where possible. Please feel free to add postings and photos and we look forward to hearing from you.

We have also updated our web site and are adding extra photo galleries, so please pop by and have a look on a regular basis to see what’s new www.classicandcompetitioncar.com Classic and Competition Car July 2012

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Shelsley Walsh Classic Nostalgia 28th & 29th July 2012 The Midland Automobile Club (MAC) are holding a nostalgia weekend on the 28th and 29th July at their Shelsley Walsh hill climb venue. They want spectators and competitors to come dressed in period costume and get into period to enjoy the glory days of motorsport. As usual, the public will be able to wander around the paddock to see the cars close up and chat with the drivers, then watch them compete on the oldest racing track in the World. For further information see their web site at www.shelsley-walsh.co.uk © Simon Wright

Cooking up a Mini Adventure By Mick Herring Self confessed Petrol Head and Celebrity Chef, James Martin, rushed from his Saturday Kitchen television show recording to join in the fun of the Mini Festival.

With a large collection of cars, including two original John Cooper exworks rally cars from the sixties and a couple of F1 cars he was looking forward to competing in a couple races in the number 72 Mini, shared with owner Andy Harrison.

He would be instantly recognisable even underneath his helmet, a near replica matt black homage to a British hero, James Hunt.

Classic and Competition Car July 2012

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

Adrian now tames Raging Bull Red Bull Grand Prix technical expert Adrian Newey enjoyed himself at Silverstone recently during the Blancpain Endurance meeting.

Driving a Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 in the support race, the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo, with Italian Alberto Sabbatini, editor in Chief of the Italian magazine Autosprint. After practice was held on a dry track, race day was wet but the pair managed to finish 9th © Simon Wright

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© Janet Wright

Audi Hybrid wins the Le mans 24 Hours race.

Audi were delighted with their 11th victory in the Le Mans 24 hour race in 2012 when Andre Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler brought home their Audi R18 e-tron quattro ahead of their sister car. This was the first victory for a car with hybrid technology and 4 wheel drive. Audi were also the first manufacturer to win the race with a diesel engine in 2006.

Audi use the diesel engine as the main power source for the car but braking energy is stored in a flywheel, then it is converted to electricity which powers an additional motor which gives the car additional boost, requiring fewer pitstops. The winning car covered a total of 3,201.18 miles in the 24 hour period. The race was not without drama for the winning crew when Fassler hit the barriers at roughly ¾ distance which allowed the No2 Audi Hybrid of Alan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Dindo Capello into a narrow lead. The two hybrid cars battled for victory with no team orders, until McNish had an accident while lapping traffic, handing victory to the number 2 car.

Audi completed a clean sweep with third place taken by a diesel Audi driven by Oliver Jarvis, Marco Bonanomi and Mike Rockenfeller.

Classic and Competition Car July 2012

© Mick Herring

© Pete Austin

Le Mans winning Audi R18 e-tron quattro

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© Pete Austin

© Pete Austin

Mini Adventure - New Mini saves on tyre wear by only using 2 wheels By Mick Herring.

Renowned stunt driver, Russ Swift, not to be outshone by the spectacular flying demonstration above or the flying on four, Mini racing, wheels (usually slightly less around the Druids Hairpin), would show everyone the way round a whole lap of Brands Hatch but this time on only two wheels.

Charging up a single ramp on the start-finish straight would pitch his BMW Mini up to an angle of 45 degrees and he would complete the whole lap staring down at the tarmac just a few inches away from his right shoulder.

Just imagine what a mind-confusing view he must have had as he negotiated the daunting Paddock Hill Bend and ran down that virtual cliff-

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

Classic and Competition Car July 2012

face to the bottom.

As a warm up to this feat Russ gave his trademark demonstration of car control and precision parallel parking between two cars, in a gap that was barely longer than the length of his own car.

No harm or suffering was caused to any paintwork throughout the making of this demonstration, pity you couldn't say the same about the tyres on Russ' cars though.

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

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(c)Mick Herring

Nissan Juke-R Safety Car

by Mick Herring It is good to see mainstream car manufacturers still have the good humour to build extreme cars for sale and competition orientated use.

With a small number of firm orders on the table, from Dubai, following its use as safety car during the Dubai 24hr race, the powerful Nissan Juke-R will be put into limited production.

Utilizing the power-train and underpinnings of the racewinning Nissan GT-R, the (c)Mick Herring

Juke-R has already seen action in England during the British GT/Formula 3 meeting at Rockingham.

The 180 mph Juke shown here is fitted with 3.8 litre Twin Turbo V6 of the GT-R and produces 480 bhp and, as if that were not enough, the production versions will boast(boost) 520 bhp.

As the RJN GT-R GT3 was leading the British GT race at the time the safety car was deployed at Rockingham, there was a 5 lap Nissan 1-2-3 with the JMH example immediately behind.

It would, perhaps, have been a nice coup to have captured all three cars, in their entirety but you can't have everything.

Classic and Competition Car July

Mini Festival Brands Hatch 16-17th June By Mick Herring The first Mini Festival at Brands Hatch drew large crowds of Mini devotees from all over the country and abroad.

Encompassing the Mini in all its forms, shapes and sizes, with numerous side-shows and attractions there was sure to be something for everyone.

Add in an aerobatic stunt flying display and things were not just confined to the ground.

Such was the success of the Mini Festival it is scheduled to become an annual event at the picturesque, natural amphitheatre that is Brands Hatch.

With only a short stretch of water between us, the left-hand drive brigade were also well represented, Minis from France, Belgium and Holland abounded.

During the lunchtime break from racing, twenty three Mini clubs from as close as Kent and as far away as Ireland and all points in between put on a Mini Parade.

So 248 cars took to the track behind a BMW Mini safety car and three quarters filled it for a single lap.

Additional photo gallery on the web site.

Classic and Competition Car July 2012

(c)Mick Herring

(c)Mick Herring

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(c)Mick Herring

(c)Mick Herring

(c)Mick Herring

Classic and Competition Car July 2012

(c)Mick Herring

(c)Mick Herring

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European Le Mans Series arrives at Donington.

The top teams from the European Le Mans Series will be in Britain from the 13th to the 15th of July for the 6 Hours of Donington. They return to the track after a break of 6 years, but many of the seasoned drivers have fond memories of Donington from 2006. This is the second race in the four race series, following the opening round at Paul Ricard in the South of France. The race is split between Prototypes LMP2 and GT Endurance cars, with local British Team Greaves Motorsport top of the entry list with their Zytek Z11SN being driven by Alex Brundle, Lucas Ordonez andTom Kimber-Smith.

Pikes Peak Hill Climb postponed because of Colorado wildfires The 90th annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb schedules for the 8th July has been postponed due to wildfires which are threatening the Colorado Springs area. It is hoped that the event may be staged later in the summer.

© Simon Wright

Classic and Competition Car July 2012

Tushek Supercars The new Tushek Renovatio T500 supercar was used during the Le Mans 24 Hour weekend in the “Grande Parade des Pilotes”. It was used as part of a convoy taking the drivers taking part in this years race on a tour round the main streets of Le Mans to meet the fans.

The car had already been on display at Monaco where it was launched earlier this year. Tushek is based in Ljubjana in Slovenia.

The Renovatio T500 was developed in-house using a sub frame derived from the K1 Attack. Power is provided from the 4.2 litre Audi V8 engine from the RS4 while the suspension is a front pushrod/ rear double wishbone layout inspired from race car designs. The car is relatively light at 1090 Kg which gives it a top speed of 193 mph and a 0-62mph time of just 3.7 seconds. The company plan to build a limited production run of just thirty cars over a three year period, and prices will start at €300,000. The first two cars have already been sold. For further information see their web site at www.tushek.com or contact Angie Voluti at angie@angievoluti.com

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VSCC Bob Gerard Memorial Trophy Meeting Mallory Park Sunday 24th June 2012

By Pete Austin

Photo Gallery of the winners at the meeting. © Pete Austin

© Pete Austin

John Taylor Memorial Trophy - Jon Milicevic Cooper T59 leads SamWilson Cooper T59 © Pete Austin

Bob Gerard memorial & Robert Ashley Trophies winner mark Gillies ERA R3A © Pete Austin

F3 500 winner Gordon Russell Mackson 500 F3

Classic and Competition Car July 2012

Mallory Mug winner Neil Twyman Alfa Romeo 8C

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© Pete Austin

Dick Baddiley & Edwardian Racing Trophies winner Mark Walker Darracq 200HP © Pete Austin

© Pete Austin © Pete Austin

Mallory Park Trophy winner Guy Plante Alvis Speed 25

Pre-War Short Scratch Set 5 winner Terry Crabb ERA R12C

Classic and Competition Car July 2012

Vintage Racing Cars winner Tony Lees AC/GN Cognac leads Robert Carr AC/GN

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Blancpain Endurance Series Silverstone

By Simon Wright & Janet Wright.

© Janet Wright

Bret Curtis , Steve Jans and Mike Parisy Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3 finished 7th in the PAM

The Blancpain Endurance series arrived at Silverstone for the second round after the season opener at another classic circuit, Monza. The entry list was like a dream for the GT enthusiast with the might of Germany - Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Porsche taking on McLaren, Jaguar,Ferrari, Lamborghini, Nissan and Dodge. There was a fifty car entry, including 9 McLaren’s and thirty three British drivers on the entry list. The opening round in Italy was won by the BMW Z4 of Markus Palttala/Bas Leinders/Maxime Martin who qualified 2nd at Silverstone behind another BMW Z4 of Gregory Franchi/Adam Carroll/Frank Kechele. Two of the new McLaren MP4-12C cars filled the second row, both in the Pro Am class. Duncan Tappy/Gregoire Demoustier were third on the grid and first in the Pro Am class in the McLaren MP4-12C with one of the iconic gulf blue and orange cars in 4th place driven by Michael Wainwright and Robert Bell. Fastest of the GTR class was the sole Dodge Viper of Luc Paillard/Gilles Vannelet/Gael Lesoudier.

Classic and Competition Car July 2012

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© Simon Wright

Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 of Chris Ward/Jann Mardenborough/Alex Buncombe who fihed 30th

Robert Hissom and Pierre Hirschi Audi R8 LMS finished 2nd in the Gentleman Trophy Class, being chased by a Ferrari 458 Italia of Amos/Bonacini/Petrobelli

© Janet Wright

The pro Am class was won by Peter Kox and Marc Hayek in the BlancpainReiter Lamborghini LP600 who finished 4th overall. The class was dominated by Italian cars with the Ferrari 458 italia of Eugenio Amos, Alessandro Bonacini and Giacomo Petrobelli finishing 2nd in class while local drivers Michael Lyons and Josh Wakefield, along with Italian Andrea Ceccato took third in class in another Ferrari.

The three hour race started on a wet track behind the Safety car for three laps and provided another victory for the VDS Racing BMW Z4 of Markus Palyyala from Finland and the Belgium pairing of Bas Leinders and Maxime Martin, now two wins from two races. For the first few laps the car was suffering oversteer but it soon settled in and finished over one minute ahead at the flag on the rain soaked circuit. The Belgium Audi Club Team R8 of Andrea Piccini, Laurens Vanthoor and Edward Sandstrom finished in 2nd place and their sister car finished 3rd driven by Christopher Haase, Christopher Miles and Stephane Ortelli. © Janet Wright

© Simon Wright

The sole Dodge Viper of Luc Paillard/Gilles Vannelet/Gael Lesoudier finished 4th in the Gentleman Trophy Class

Audi took the first two places in the Gentleman Trophy class with the Swedish crew of Mikael Bender, Jan Brunstedt and Jocke Mangs taking the class from local driver Robert Hissom and his co driver Pierre Hirschi. Third in class was the ferrari 430 Scuderia of Paolo Andreasi, Pablo Paladino and Beniamino Caccia.

Additional photo gallery on the web site.

Marc A Hayek and Peter Kox won the Pro Am class in their Lamborghini Gallardo LP600+

Classic and Competition Car July 2012

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Š Simon Wright

Young Michael Lyons joined Josh Wakefield and Andrea Ceccato in a Ferrari 458 Italia and finished 3rd in the Pro Am Class and 7th overall

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© Janet Wright

© Simon Wright

Ferrari 458 Italia battle

Overall winners Markus Palttala, Bas Leinders and Maxime Martin BMW Z4 © Janet Wright

© Simon Wright

Gregoiire Demoustier and Duncan Tappy McLaren MP4-12C

Miroslav Konopka, Steffano Crotti and Zde Mikul asko Porsche 997 GT3

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Classic and Vintage Meeting Harewood 2nd June By Mick Herring

Š Mick Herring

Chris Williams Tyre Smoking Napier Bentley Š Mick Herring

Dave Morley Riley 9 Special tops the steep climb

With the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Celebrations in full swing, the sense of occasion a bit lower down the country was not lost on the cars and drivers competing in the BARC North Yorkshire Classic and Vintage meeting at the Harewood Speed Hillclimb course.

Union Jack flags adorned several cars and, in many cases, gave good indication of vintage aerodynamics, or lack of.

Kites and other birds of prey, as ever, flying high above witnessed another great day of hillclimbing.

Harewood, set in a natural valley, within a working farm, this piece of beautiful Yorkshire countryside would echo to the sound of, predominantly VSCC machines but with a few classics for welcome company.

The 1448 metre course starts in the lower third of the valley and drops away steeply, to the first test of vintage brakes, a 90 degree right hander followed by a series of bends before beginning the climb up the valley, passing through the farmyard on the way to the long steep climb to Quarry.

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© Mick Herring

The sting in the tail though comes after Quarry in the form of an even steeper blind, uphill right hander, a virtual hairpin before the finish line.

Spectators and waiting drivers are able to view almost the entire course from their top bank/lower paddock viewpoint.

Unsurprisingly, the overall fastest time of the day went to the 1972 F3 Ensign LNF3 of Fyrth Cross in 62.53 seconds.

A very fast time, with two other modern(ish) single seater racing cars in 2nd and 3rd.

However, less than 5 seconds adrift, 4th overall and fastest Pre 1941 Racing car over 3000cc would go to, current class record holder, James Baxter 3571cc Frazer Nash Alvis in a time of 67.05 seconds.

This class also contained Chris Williams' spectacularly tyre smoking 24 litre Napier Bentley who finished 4th in class.

Repeating his Curborough class win in the Pre 1941 Racing Cars 1101 - 1500cc was Terry Crabb with his ERA C-type R12C in 71.87 seconds.

The largest class, for Special Sports and Saloon Cars 1101 - 1500cc and up to 1100

Classic Saloons Winner Geoff Mackrill Triumph Vitesse

© Mick Herring

supercharged went to the Morgan 4/4 of David Pryke in 75.58 seconds.

This class contained the David Morley's Riley 9 Special, this year shared with Andrew Oliver, who took 9 seconds off his times between first and third run, in only his second event.

Charles Gillett took 0.37 sec off his own class record from last year in the Standard and Modified Sports and Saloon Cars 1101 - 1500cc and up to 1100cc supercharged in his Frazer Nash with a time of 72.41 seconds. © Mick Herring

Flag Flying Nicholas Topliss GN G Nome

Classic and Competition Car July 2012

Edwardian Winner Tony Stephens Vauxhall A-D

The larger equivalent class went to Mark Brett's 4100cc Ballamy Ford V8 with a new class record of 74.83, 0.8 faster than the existing record of John Guyatt who finished 2nd in class.

With a ready supply of tyres at his disposal Dougal Cawley's 3300cc GN Frazer

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© Mick Herring

Fastest Time of the Day Fyrth Crosse Ensign LNF3

Nash provided plenty of sideways action on his way to a 74.02 seconds class win and retain the class record for Special Sports and Saloon Cars over 3000cc and over 2250 supercharged.

Additional photo gallery on the web site.

Classic and Competition Car July 2012

Class Winner Bryan White Frazer Nash TT Replica Sideways Across The Finish

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

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Winston Teague GN Wasp 3 Wheeling

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

Maurice Gleeson Riley Falcon

Clive Press Peugeot 148 GP Non-Automobile Engine Class Win © Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

Classic and Competition Car July 2012

Jeff Edwards 3571 Alvis Sports Special Flattens Final Corner Markers

Beautiful Brabham BT30 Not On Form Today

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© Simon Wright

Coventry Car Day Saturday 9th June 2012 By Simon and Janet Wright © Simon Wright

Standard pick up and Peugeot Sports car

Classic Competition Car July 2012 © Janet and Wright

Organised by Coventry university to celebrate the great cars of the past and present, particularly cars with a link to Coventry. The city has a proud heritage with the motor industry with around 70 manufacturers having links to manufacturing in Coventry. The most famous are probably Jaguar and Triumph but also include Alvis, Swift, Humber and Hillman of the major manufacturers.

A motor show was organised for University Square, opposite the steps to Coventry Cathedral with the cars on displayed all around the university building. Jaguar and Triumph had significant displays of various models along with a good selection of Alvis cars parked right outside the Cathedral. There was also a selection of Italian supercars on show including several exotic supercars from Ferrari, Lamborghini and Mercedes. The Mercedes had a particular significance as the Mercedes Benz SLS AMG lead designer Mark Fetherston was a graduate of Coventry University.

The show also displayed the Ford Evos concept which demonstrates the company’s futuristic design styles which will influence future models. As a contrast there was also an original Ford Model T which a century ago started the © Janet Wright

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Triumph Spitfire and Triumph TR5

mass production market for motor vehicles. The displays were a nice mix of modern and classic cars, with the Ford Model T flanked by a pair of old Swift cars displayed outside the Hillman and Humber lecture theaters.

© Simon Wright

A matching pair of bronze and black Honda cars made a nice display. The Honda NSX in the foreground and a Honda CR-Z Hybrid behind.

The Micro:Cab H2EV (below) made in Coventry by Microcab Industries Ltd, working with the support and partnership of Coventry University, is possibly the future of city driving. Using a Hydrogen fuel cell to provide electrical power to a lithium battery pack which operates two DC motors driving the front wheels through a belt driven transmission system. The vehicle can go up to 120 miles on a full tank of hydrogen and can achieve a maximum speed of 55 mph. The car is 3.5 metres in length and 1.6 metres wide and the Lotus bonded aluminium chassis gives in a total weight of 770 kg. The horizon proton-Exchange Membrane fuel cell provides 3KW continuous power to the lithium battery pack which has a 4.3 KWH capacity.

Classic and Competition Car July 2012

© Simon Wright

Above: An impressive line up of Alvis cars out side Coventry Cathedral Additional photo gallery on the web site.

© Janet Wright © Simon Wright

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The Ford EVOS concept car was on display outside the university building.

© Janet Wright

Classic and Competition Car July 2012

© Janet Wright

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© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright © Simon Wright

© Janet Wright

Classic and Competition Car July 2012

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© Mick Herring

British Formula 3 Rockingham Saturday 9th June

By Mick Herring

All top-class runners utilise the Dallara F312 chassis, their 2 litre engines supplied by Volkswagen or Mercedes with a lone Nissan powered car.

However, before the race 1 start, three drivers would move to the back of the grid, including series leader Carlos Sainz Jr, for exceeding track limits during qualifying. Malaysian, Jazeman Jaafar made a lightning start from third on the grid to eclipse pole-man Jack Harvey and take a lead that he would hold to the flag.

Alex Lynn dropped from second to fifth at the start but regained second in a melee at the first hairpin, another to benefit was Felix Serralles who claimed third. They would hold these positions to the flag, with Hannes Van Asseldonk in 4th and Jack Harvey 5th. Sainz Jr would climb back to 9th, sustaining slight damage to his nosecone in the process and lose him championship lead to Jaafar. Richard "Spike" Goddard won the National class.

Race 1 The Only View Anyone Saw Winner Jaafar

In the second race of the Cooper Tyres British Formula 3 International Series on Sunday morning, Harry Tincknell made no mistakes despite constant pressure from second placed driver, Pietro Fantin to take his first F3 win of the season, in the reversed grid race. Starting in second place on the grid, he would cross the line 0.6 seconds ahead of Fantin at the flag. Jack Harvey also overcame pole-man Nick McBride to secure third place, making it a Carlin team 1-2-3. Fortec drivers occupied the next two places with Felix Serralles and Hannes Van Asseldonk in 4th and 5th respectively. Carlos Sainz Jr saw the championship lead that he came to Rockingham with slip further away with a 12th place.

Duvashen Padayachee took victory in the National class.

© Mick Herring

Winner Jack Harvey © Mick Herring

Race 1 Carlos Sainz Jr Recovered to 9th damaged nosecone

© Mick Herring

After burning his clutch at the start of Saturday's race, Jack Harvey gave a faultless performance to take victory in the 40 minute afternoon F3 race at Rockingham. He also timed his restart to perfection after a brief safety car period on lap one and proceeded to lengthen his lead from 2nd place Alex Lynn to 22 seconds at the end, establishing a new lap record along the way. A 3rd place in the final race went some way towards salvaging Carlos Sainz Jr's weekend, much to his father's relief.

Jazeman Jaafar, Hannes Van Asseldonk and Felix Serralles took the next three places, having run in that order throughout the race. The National class was won again by Duvashen Padayachee after his only opposition, "Spike" Goddard, collided with Harry Tincknell, prompting the one lap safety car period and both of their retirements.

Race 1 National Class Winner Spike Goddard Dallara F311

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© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

Classic and Competition Car July 2012

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

Top to bottom, Left to right.

Race 3 National Class Winner Duvashen Padayachee Race 1 Fahmi Ilyas into retirement after losing front wing Race2 Felix Serralles 4th Race 2 Pietro Fantin 2nd

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British GT Rockingham 2hr Sunday June 10th By Mick Herring The 3rd round of the British GT Championship would be uncharted territory competitors so far this year.

Not only would it be the season's first two hour enduro but it would also mark the first time that the big GT cars have ever raced on this configuration of track on Rockingham's 2.05ml / 3.302km International Super Sportscar Long Circuit.

The result was a popular, well deserved win for experienced historic racer, Steve Tandy and former European GT 4 champion Joe Osborne, in one of the three Trackspeed Porsche 911 GT3Rs. Helped by a 5 lap safety car, at 28 laps, just before the pit window opened, following Andrew Howard's 007 Aston Martin making heavy contact with the wall at Turn 1, a result of a slowly deflating rear tyre, Tandy would pit in 12th with Osborne exiting the pit in 3rd place amid a flurry of stops.

The Jones' twins mighty Mercedes AMG SLS GT3 would sit out most of the race on the infield when radiator damage, sustained after picking up Aston Martin debris, prompted it's demise.

The race was led initially from pole position by Steve Parish until he was overtaken by the sister Motorbase Porsche of Daniele Perfetti.

Winning Porsche 911 GT3R of Steve Tandy and Joe Osbourbe. Here is Osborne at Tarzan Hairpin

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Š Mick Herring

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Š Mick Herring

Alex Buncombe's new Nissan GT-R GT3 soon overcame both Porsches and pulled out a substantial lead, only to see it negated by the safety car period.

Another highlight of the early race was the pace of the equally new Chevron GT3, Anthony Reid charging from 13th on the grid to 6th in the first ten laps and led the race at one point.

Jann Mardenborough, having taken over the lead Nissan from Buncombe, had a 16 lap tussle with Osborne, until worn tyres with minimal grip would see him relinquish his lead to the Porsche and eventually finish 5th.

This would be no certain victory though as the sister Trackspeed Porsche of Phil Keen (taking over from team boss David Ashburn), would begin to loom large in his mirrors until his tyres went away too.

Phil Keen would finish 3rd after a late overtake by Allan Simonsen's Rosso Verde Ferrari 458, shared with Hector Lester.

Hector would be awarded Mobil Service Centre Master of the Weekend trophy for his efforts in regaining his early lost ground before handing over to Allan. Duncan Cameron/Matt Griffin M-Tech Ferrari 458 were 4th with just 4.5 seconds separating the top 4 after 2 hours and 79 laps of thrilling top class GT racing.

GT4 was an all-Ginetta G50 podium with Jody Fannin/Warren Hughes on top. Additional photo gallery on the web site.

Johnson's Corvette

Perfetti Porsche Passes Team Mate For Lead

Š Mick Herring

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© Mick Herring

Camero-Griffin Ferrari 458 4th

Ginetta G50 GT4 1st and 2nd © Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

Charles Bateman- Matt Bell Audi 9th

Buncombe- Mardenborough Nissan 5th

© Mick Herring Anthony Reid Chevron GT3 Romps Through The Field Early On

© Mick Herring

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Manx Motor Racing Club -- Manx Classic 2012 Event Review from Shely Bryan

A record twenty-two new class records and a number of tightly-fought battles marked this year’s Manx Classic three-day sprint and hillclimb event, held on closed public roads on the Isle of Man from 26th to 28th April.

Eighty competitors took to part in a great selection of vintage, classic and modern sports cars ranging from 1921 to 2012, including nine in the Pre 1941 classes. Steve King won the Overall Classic Award and Andy Hardy the Overall Post 1981 Award.

The event opened with the Governor’s Sprint from the famous TT Grandstand in Douglas, the Island’s capital, with Michael New taking Fastest Time of Day (FTD) in the Pre 1941 classes in his 1935 12/4 Riley.

The Pre 1941 cars were joined for the two hillclimbs by David Leigh’s famous GN Spider, which took Pre 1941 FTDs at both events and broke the Class Record for Pre 1941 cars at both The Sloc and Lhergy Frissell.

Pre 1960 cars line up in the pit lane, TT Grandstand

© Shely Bryan

A great battle took place for the Fastest Time in the Pre 1968 classes at all three venues, with Dave Musgrove in a Morris Mini pipping Alistair Simpson in the Sunbeam Tiger by tiny margins: by six tenths of a second (0.6 seconds) at the Governor’s Sprint, nine hundredths of a second (0.09 seconds) at The Sloc and 1.31 seconds at Lhergy Frissell.

Jonathan Gough on Lhergy frissell hillclimb - Ford GT40 class winner

Alistair won his class (Pre 1968 over 3000cc) at all three venues and broke his own class record, set last year, at The Sloc. Dave won his class at all three venues and broke his own class record, also set last year, at the Governor’s Sprint.

The Pre 1981 FTD was won each day by Steve King in his Ford Escort.

In the classes, Malcolm Cole in a Lancia Stratos and Alan Bankhurst in a TVR Vixen tied for Pre 1981 (1500cc – 2000cc) honours with an identical time of 64.98 at the Sloc, Alan took class honours at both Governor’s Sprint and Lhergy Frissell.

In the class for Pre 1981 cars upto 1500cc, Tony Mitchell took all three class honours, breaking the class records at each venue too; John Gadbury won all three class honours for over 3000cc.

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© Paul Hardiman

David Leigh GN Spider on Sloc Hillclimb, took Fastest time of day in the pre 1941 class on both events

In the Post 1981 classes groups of Caterhams, GT40s, Mitsubishis and Subarus all battled hard for class and FTD honours. © Paul Hardiman Newcomer Stephen Moore, in a Mitsubushi Evo 6, took FTD at the Governor’s Sprint, closely pipping Steven Peel and setting the class record.

Andy Hardy took the FTD at The Sloc and Steve O’Donohue at Lhergy Frissell.

There was a fourway battle in the GT40 class, and Jonathan Gough took class honours on all Keith Edwards Audi Quattro S1 on Lhergy Hillclimb three days. The group also brought their own award to the Island for Fastest Time at Lhergy Frissell, this too was won by Jonathan.

The Northesk Award for Best Team Effort was awarded to “Team Manx Motorsport”, comprised of Sam © Paul Hardiman Beevers, Steve Thompson and Steven Peel. Best Lady Driver, awarded for lowest aggregate time over all three events, went to Tara Ramsey.

© Shely Bryan

The Club’s nil desperandum award was presented jointly to Peter Garforth and Allan McDonald who battled stoically against the elements and ferries to reach the Island in order to compete.

The dates for 2013 are: Thursday 25 April, Friday 26 April and Saturday 27 April.

Images and film of the 2012 event can be found at: www.manxmotorracing.com & full results at: http://www.manxmotorracing.com/results.htm

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Guy Northam Bentley 4.5 litre Governor’s Sprint

Archive Picture By Pete Austin ...and now for something completely different. This is Graham Hill inspecting the rear end of his Datsun Bluebird during the Avon Tour of Britain in 1973. This event was in a similar format to the current Tour Britannia being a mix of road sections and circuit races. However the event catered for then current touring cars and even attracted Grand Prix drivers. In addition to Graham Hill (who finished 17th with co-driver David Benson) James Hunt and Howden Ganley also took part. Hunt (with his co-driver Rebert Fearnall) won the event in a Chevrolet Camaro. Can you imagine Jenson or Lewis doing this sort of thing these days?

Tour Britannia 6th - 8th June 2012 By Mick Herring.

The eighth running of the Tour Britannia saw the event move its base northward this year to be based at the luxury Rudding Park Hotel near Harrogate, North Yorkshire.

The environs of such a place must have been a hardship for all competitors to endure (I wish), with it's oak paneled library welcoming competitors and media alike.

With such luxury and stunning views over the rolling golf course outside it would have been easy to have lost sight of the serious, competitive business of the Tour Britannia that would unfold over that evening and the following two days. Š Mick Herring

Š Pete Austin

Overall winner Paul Hindley and Andy Bull Porsche 911SC

In a departure from previous years, a half mile, twice-run, evening prestage in the hotel grounds and car park would would determine the running order for the following morning, which would be a mixture of stages at a showground, stately homes, airfield circuits and Croft motor racing circuit before having to return to Rudding Park.

The second full day would see the entrants tackle an early morning hillclimb at the nearby Harewood Speed Hillclimb course before travelling to Cadwell Park race circuit in Lincolnshire before a lunchtime service halt at the Newark Air Museum, prior to a twice-run stage on the tarmac of Newark Showground.

From there to the test and trackday facility at Blyton Park Driving Centre before a final stage at Harewood and back to Rudding Park to reflect or rejoice.

The entry list is split into three categories, the Regularity and Competition sections for pre 1981 cars and the Targa category for more modern and GT cars. Š Mick Herring The crews and the cars in each section are equally diverse.

Ferrari 250 GT Lusso outside Rudding park Hotel The Targa section would even see a winning works entry from Radical Sportscars with their SR3SL, piloted by journalists Richard Meaden and Jethro Bovingdon.

The Porsche 911 would seem to be the preferred potential winner now and the sphere of UK GT and Historic racing would see entries from Philip Walker, partnering 2011 winner, John Clark, multi TVR winner and Lamborghini GT preparer, Phil Hindley, Britcar racer Sarah Bennett-Baggs and former F1 driver Ian Ashley (sharing with Mike Smith) all 911 mounted.

The 911 contingent sparred with such other diverse cars as Shelby Mustangs and Cobra, Ferrari 275 GTB and Dino 308 GT4, Ford Escort, Lotus Cortina, Aston Martin DB4, Austin Healey 3000, MGB V8 and Mini Cooper S in the Š Mick Herring Competition Class.

Amongst the stalwarts of the Tour Britannia was the iconic Chevrolet Camaro of Stuart Scott and Steve Wood which has competed in all eight Tours.

The car was raced in period by the late Richard LLoyd, each entry dedicated to his memory, and despite alternator problems, would finish in third position.

At the end of the tour Britannia, Phil Hindley and Andy Bull would emerge victorious, Roger Kilty and Lynette Banks (Escort RS 1600) 2nd (winners of the Index of Performance), the Scott/Wood Camaro 3rd, ahead of Philip Walker/John Clark in 4th, a delaying trip into a ditch on Friday morning halted their pursuit of 3rd place from the ailing Camaro.

Mike Thorne/Johnny Todd's Shelby Mustang GT350 was the first pre-65 car home.

The Regularity category was another Porsche 911 victory for Melissa Raven/Jeremy Haycock, followed by Steve and Tony Graham's pretty Lancia Fulvia 1300 ahead of McLaren F1 Design and Development Director, Neil Oatley and former event director, Fred Gallagher's Volvo P544.

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Fred Gallagher and Neil Oatley Volvo P544 in action at Rudding Park

© Mick Herring

Scott-Wood Camaro Rudding Park

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

Radical SR3SL of Richard Meaden and Jethro Bovingdon at Blyton

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Portugese Ferrari 275 GTB Newark Showground

Sarah Bennett-Baggs (Britcar driver) at Blyton airfield track with former rally driver Terry Wilson

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© Simon Wright

A very wet Shelsley Walsh greeted the competitors to the British Hill Climb Championship on Sunday 3rd June 2012. The wet conditions did not deter the drivers from still giving their all in the cold conditions.

The two Top Twelve Run-offs, Rounds 9 and 10 of the championship, showed that one man had mastered the awful conditions with Trevor Willis winning both run-offs in his OMS Powertec V8 single seater racing car. His fastest time on the first run-off was 28.04 seconds and he managed to improve on this for the next round run off with a time of 27.89 seconds. Scott Moran managed 2nd on the first run-off and 3rd in the second run-off loosing out to his father Roger in the second run-off, who finished 2nd, but it was enough for Scott to maintain his lead in the championship.

Graham Wynn in the Force LM001 was fastest in the Sports Libre cars up to 2000cc class with a time of 31.27 seconds, while Leslie Mutch was fastest of the production style cars in a Dax Rush IRS to win the Modified Specialist Production Cars Class with a time of 32.98 seconds.

Ferrari owners braved the awful conditions to contest their Pirelli Ferrari Hill Climb Championship in a fabulous range of ferrari models.

Fastest was Richard Prior in his Ferrari 355 GTB with a time of 38.75 seconds ahead of Andrew Holman in another ferrari F355.

Celebrating 50 years of Graham Hill winning the World championship for the first time for BRM, there was a special static display of several BRM cars plus the treat of one of the BRM’s being driven up the hill on Saturday before it got too wet. See separate report from Pete Austin on page 42 for the BRM celebrations.

Additional photo gallery on the web site.

Shelsley Walsh Hill climb

By Simon and Janet Wright and Pete Austin.

Rain Master Trevor Willis OMS 25 winner of both rounds of the British Hillclimb championship © Simon Wright

Ferrari Class winner Richard Prior Ferrari 355 GTB

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Peter Speakman Fisher Spyder Special

©©Janet SimonWright Wright

Alistair Crawford Gould GR55

© Pete Austin

Mike Wood Iota CPB

© Simon Wright © Pete Austin

Graham Wynn Force LM001

© Simon Wright

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George Tatham McLaren M12C

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© Pete Austin

Ewan Cameron Farley JAP

Martin Walford in the unusual Farley Mk 2

© Janet Wright

Shirley Tewson Pilbeam MP40

Briony Serrell Lotus 51A

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© Pete Austin

© Simon Wright

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© Mick Herring

50th Anniversary of BRM World Championship celebrated at Shelsley Walsh By Pete Austin It is 50 years since Graham Hill won the Formula One World Championship for BRM and this achievement was celebrated at the Shelsley Walsh hillclimb meeting on June 2nd and 3rd.

This venues’ connection with the marque goes back even further as one of BRM’s founders, Raymond Mays, regularly competed here in the 1920s and 1930s and was a holder of the hill record on many occasions.

Some significant BRM Grand Prix cars were on display including the P25 in which Jo Bonnier gave them their first World Championship race victory at the Dutch Grand Prix in 1959. This car was fresh from a second place at the recent Grand Prix De Monaco Historique in the hands of its owner Gary Pearson.

Mike Luck BRM P261

© Pete Austin

Bruce Spollon had brought along his ex Bonnier and Hill P48 (one of two P48’s on display) which, appropriately for this venue, was also driven in period by racer and hill climb champion Tony Marsh.

BRM P57

© Pete Austin

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BRM P48

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© Pete Austin

Another hill climb car on display was the Roy Lane Techcraft BRM which now resides in the Coventry Transport Museum.

The distinctive P57 with ‘stackpipe‘ exhausts from 1962 had also been brought Leyland Royal Tiger BRM Transporter along in the iconic BRM transporter by preparation experts Hall and Hall.

Delighting the crowds with a couple © Pete Austin of runs up the hill on Saturday was the ex Jackie Stewart P261 driven by Mike Luck of Classic World © Pete Austin Racing who look after the car for BRM P25 current owners Richard Attwood and Mike Ostroumoff.

On the Sunday many of the original BRM personnel had been gathered together

Techcraft BRM

BRM P48

© Janet Wright

including David Owen OBE (son of former team owner Sir Alfred Owen), Tim Parnell (son of Reg Parnell and a former team manager) and Tony Southgate (designer of the P153 and P160 ).

Despite the unseasonal weather some of the original mechanics had also made the long journey from Bourne in Lincolnshire where BRM were based to take part in the celebration.

© Simon Wright

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© Pete Austin

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Mr & Mrs David Owen and former mechanics

Š Pete Austin

Tony Southgate, Tim Parnell, Mr & Mrs David Owen and former mechanics with the P25

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© Simon Wright

Cholmondeley Pageant of Power 9th-10th June 2012

By Simon & Janet Wright.

Moved forward by a month to try and avoid the wet weather that has plagued this event since it started, the 5th Pageant of Power still fell foul of the typical British Summer weather. Weeks of rainfall had made the venue fairly soft underfoot, and then more rain fell on Saturday as showers. However, the Sunday was blessed with much better weather and it was quite warm and sunny in the afternoon.

The Pageant is unique in Britain as it covers action on land, water and in the air. The main event is the track action for cars and motorbikes. The 1.2 mile course is fairly challenging with a narrow bailey bridge just after the start, and tight twisting section through the woods and a hump back bridge just before the finish line. The water events are held on the mere just beside the start straight. This year there was racing for Thundercats and Hovercraft as well as some spectacular displays by jetski’s.

There was also a fantastic display by the World famous Red Arrows on Sunday morning, and again later on Sunday © Janet Wright

Ed McDonough W196 Streamliner Recreation 001

Fastest Time for the cars went to Scott Mansell in the Caterham Superlight SP/300 R

afternoon. Other events in the air included the Breitling wing walkers, the Trig aerobatic team and the Abarth display team. Classic car clubs had a large display area to show their vehicles, but unfortunately there were a few problems in this area due to the wet conditions, which did mean that some of the cars were not able to be displayed. To round off the action, there was a vintage motorcycle scramble course which saw bike and sidecar combo races taking place over both days.

The entry for Cholmondeley is always great with a vast selection of vehicles covering a century of motoring and motorsport. Usually the cars have the upper hand round the circuit, but this year the Supermoto class bikes proved to be the fastest way to complete the course. Even more impressive they were fastest in the wet conditions on Saturday as well.

One of the popular classes that always does well is the modern supercar class. The event has been won outright in the past by cars from this class and the outright course record was set by Nikki Faulkner in 2010 driving a Lamborghini Superleggera LP570-4 with a time of 62.68 seconds. This year that record was smashed by Scott Mansell driving a Caterham Superlight SP/300 R track car who set a new record of 61.89 seconds to win this years event. As this was not a road legal car, the Supercar class was actually won by the local BAC Mono driven by Duncan Tappy with a time of 63.06 seconds.

However, the modern supercars are overshadowed by the mighty Pre-War

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© Simon Wright

Justin Law Jaguar XJ220

cars such as Brutus or the 42 litre Packard Bentley. When these cars are fired up, everyone stops to look.

They shake the ground and rattle windows. To see them being driven at speed round the course is a sight to behold. The tyres are so narrow compared to modern cars and the brakes are almost “throw the anchor out and hope it catches something to help us stop”, yet the drivers still drive as quickly as they can. Chris Williams in his 24 litre 1929 Napier Bentley must use a set of tyres at each meeting as

© Janet Wright

Andrew Morris F1 Lotus Lamborghini T102 © Janet Wright

© Simon Wright

Geoff Lewis/Ian Cargill 1956 Norton Dominator 99

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© Janet Wright

© Simon Wright

Duncan Tappy BAC Mono

Rick Hall BRM P153

the smoke pours from them every © Simon Wright time he puts the power down.

Every category of circuit racing seemed to be represented, with a modern 1978 Williams FW06 Grand Prix car, the 2003 Bentley Speed 8 Le Mans winning sports car, and a replica of the Mercedes Streamliner from before the war competing against Mini Coopers and Ford Escort rally cars. There was also a special static display of James Bond cars from the movies.

Additional photo gallery on the web site.

© Janet Wright

Arnold Mings 1910 Edison Puton Mono Cycle

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Duncan Round 42 litre Packhard Bentley

© Simon Wright

Bond in Motion display

Richard Wareing Williams FW06 F1 © Janet Wright Red Arrows opened the show on Sunday with a flyby © Janet Wright

Military rides and displays © Simon Wright

50 years of the Cobra. Bill Bridges 1963 AC Shelby Cobra 289

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Manfred Fink Brutus BMW Aero 46.5 litre

© Janet Wright

© Simon Wright

Hovercraft racing on the Mere

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

Mark Luney Toyota Supra ‘Drifter’ Thundercat Racing

© Simon Wright

© Simon Wright

© Janet Wright

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© Simon Wright

Ford Transit Supersport Van Justin Law © Janet Wright

© Janet Wright

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© Mick Herring

GT Cup Brands Hatch 16-17th June 2012

By Mick Herring

The third round of the GT Cup saw the Brands hatch Indy Circuit play host to three 25 minute sprint races spread across the weekend.

The fact that it was a clean sweep for the works Chevron GT3 of Jordan Witt belies the close racing that ran through those three races, battling against the pressure of Derek Johnston's Ferrari 458.

In Race 1 it was entertaining to watch the two in such close company for much of the race until the heavyweight Ferrari, basically a Ferrari Challenge car complete with air conditioning, had had best out of it's tyres and fell away to finish 8 seconds adrift after the 25 minute race.

The nose to tail, three car battle behind comprised of Peter Smallwood's Porsche 997 GT3, the borrowed BMW E46 M3 of Dan Stringfellow (his own having disposed of two engines during the days leading up to Brands) and the Chevron GR8 of David Witt.

Dave Shelton and Chris Bentley in Mosler and Porsche 996 respectively were having their own battles behind.

Sadly Stringfellow's borrowed BMW also succumbed to engine failure, probably bringing a budget-busting end to his season, Jordan Witt Chevron GT3 and Derek Johnston Ferrari 458 At Druids that Saturday morning.

Kevin Riley's Mosler didn't join the race until half distance, after electrical and fuel injection maladies which prevented it from taking the start, had been sorted.

However, a throttle that stuck partly open saw him spin off after 7 laps. © Mick Herring

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Saturday afternoon would give an opportunity to do it all over again and the same pair would fight it out at the front again, a little closer this time as Jordan Witt's Chevron was carrying more ballast than had been added to Derek Johnston's Ferrari 458, they would finish 6.2 seconds apart.

After a race spent looking for a way past Chris Bentley's Porsche at just about every corner, David Witt, Jordan's father, performed a text book overtaking move into Paddock Hill Bend on lap 26.

He should have pulled away from Bentley but, anxious to know where the Porsche was he looked in his mirror and slid onto the kerbs, spinning into the gravel trap to end his race.

In a very self-effacing way David admitted he should have got on with it and not worried where

Dan Stringfellow BMW M3

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© Mick Herring

the Porsche now was.

Happy with his race up to that point, the two drivers shook hands and thanked each other for a good piece of sport.

Meanwhile the Chevron crew cleared large quantities of gravel from the car with equal grace in preparation for the Sunday race.

The start of the Sunday race had a determined Derek Johnston take the lead from the start, with a see-sawing gap that would eventually close up completely and allow the Chevron through at McLaren corner.

Sadly David Witt's race ended after 5 laps when his engine let go, ironically, at Paddock Hill.

A legacy from the previous afternoon.

This left Chris Bentley to race with Peter Rowbottom until he could pass the Ferrari 430 Spyder and open a considerable gap.

Ahead of them Kevin Riley took 3rd place, as he had in race 2, a lap ahead of Dave Shelton's colourful Mosler, heading home Peter Smallwood's Porsche 997 GT3 by 0.9 seconds after a long battle.

Worrying smoke signals from Riley's red Mosler were diagnosed as unseated valve-stem oil seals, after the engine had stalled and briefly run itself backwards.

Derek Johnston came away from Brands Hatch with the firm resolve to

Sliding Peter Smallwood Porsche 997 GT3

lose weight, not from himself as he is light anyway, but from the big black © Mick Herring (and green) Ferrari.

A very skillful driver who has raced at Daytona, Johnston had to use all of his skill to combat the constantly changing habits of his car, from understeer to oversteer and back again.

© Mick Herring

Late Entry Kevin Riley Derek Johnston Ferrari 458

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© Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

Chris Bentley Porsche 996

Colourful Kockney Dave Shelton Mosler © Mick Herring

© Mick Herring

Peter Rowbottom Ferrari 430 Spyder

David Witt Chevron GR8 slids in to the gravel at Paddock Hill bend

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