SPRING SPEEDSTERS RACE MEETING, MAY 4
CCRC NANKANG TYRES HOT HATCH CHAMPIONSHIP
WEBBER BAGS TWO MORE HYLAND GAMES GOLDS
Quickest out of the blocks in Easter Monday’s Hot Hatch championship openers, Corey Webber and his Hyland Motorsport Honda Civic EP3 now enjoy sole leadership following another brace of perfect scores at May 4’s Spring Speedsters event. As last month, though, Webber survived a late scare in the second race. Having limped home with clutch failure on Howard’s Day, Corey was 13 seconds clear of closest pursuer and old friend Mark Wyatt on the penultimate lap, when he skated off at Gooch’s [formerly Tower]. “I don’t know if something was down [at least one MINI had blown coolant out], but I hit the brakes at 117mph, and was instantly a passenger. We went over the infield then back across the track into the barrier.”
The Honda sideswiped the Recticel padding lining the guardrail, but remarkably bounced back out and with door dented and wing scuffed was able to finish without losing his lead! Wyatt, who switched his trusty Interceptor Racing Vauxhall Astra from Saloons into the Hot Hatch cauldron for greater competition, crossed the finish line just 1.169s later. “Having Mark out in Hot Hatch was fantastic. I couldn’t live with him when I started racing in Saloons with a Renault Clio in 2023,” said Webber. “Beating him was an itch I needed to scratch, but he pushed me hard and I dragged him to record his best times yet.
Twenty five competitors, including a larger Saloon contingent who migrated following the lead of seasoned pioneers at the season-opener, set out into qualifying on an almost dry track following early morning drizzle. Webber took just three laps to snare pole with a 1m14.486s (89.41mph) shot, a second outside April’s standard. Wyatt, in the yellow Astra his team built in 2003, was closest on 1:15.150.
Julian Fisher (Ford Fiesta ST150) set 1:15.570 for third, with welcome returnee Geoff Ryall – class D leader in his rapid Peugeot 106 GTi – and class C pacemaker James Blake (MG ZR) were 0.002s and 0.004s shy respectively. Tim Fooks-Bale (Renault Clio 172) was also in the 15s, a tad quicker than he lapped in last month’s races. Justin Holloway (Clio), class B leader Lee Waterman – second overall in Easter Monday’s rounds – in the Willand Service Centre Civic EP3, plus C rivals and seasonal debutants Wayne Rushworth (Pest24 MG ZR) and Nathan Nicholls (The Mini Shop/Helix MINI Cooper S R53) were packed into the 16s. The top 10 was blanketed by 1.968s.
Of five competitors in the 17s, Mark Ridout’s performance was the most eyecatching. Fresh from a Legends Cars outing on the TOCA/BTCC package at Donington last month, the Dorset man rented Hyland Motorsport’s newly-finished Honda Civic FN2, a model not seen in the championship since Clare Pensom ran her Cherry & White Plant Hire example in 2024. Cheered on by fiancee Sarah, Ridout’s promising 1:17.305 pipped Adam Wilks (Peugeot 106 GTi) by 0.004s, with former Saloon titlist James Keepin (MG ZR), current class C leader Josh Carter (MINI Cooper S R53) and reigning champion Sam Williams (Wiltshire College University Centre Civic EF) all within half a second in the 17s.
Jamie Fowler (Ford Fiesta ST150), George Kimber (Renault Clio 172) and Alex Wellings (MINI Cooper S R53) all circulated inside 1m20s. Out of place was Oliver Sprague (MG ZR), who managed only three laps before his throttle cable snapped, but outqualified Julian Ellison (Ford Fiesta), Adam Willsher (MG ZR) and the Peugeot 106s of Steve Andrews and Peter Wilks, split by sole class E entrant Devon Till in the 1400cc WCUC Civic EF.
Race debutant Ethan Burleigh had a whoopsie at Gooch’s in Driven Ohm Racing’s MINI Cooper, but light contact with the Recticels only knocked a wing mirror off. He would realise his ambition by lining up under starter’s orders in the afternoon. Graham Cox (Renault Clio) also joined in through circuit familiarity.
When the red lights went out, Webber screamed away, pursued by Wyatt, but Holloway, essaying to snatch third up the inside at Quarry, tagged Ryall’s rear quarter, triggering mayhem. As Ryall caught a tailslide, Holloway rebounded into Waterman, then spun backwards across the track, narrowly missing Blake and giving Ridout no option but to veer left onto the grass in avoidance. His Honda grazed the outside Recticels, but sustained minimal damage. Waterman, meanwhile, had slewed back into the inside grass where Nicholls had a tank-slapper in missing him. With Fooks-Bale late on the scene – spinning to a grinding halt on the track with gear selection issues – and Holloway only able to creep back onto the inside grass, adjacent to the apex, red flags flew for the recovery of the two immobile Renaults. Ridout and Waterman did not make the restart, nor, separately, did Cox or Ellison. “I missed a gear and hurt the engine,” said Julian, whose replacement is fortunately ready to be dropped in to the Watchfield Service Centre Fiesta.
With 17 minutes showing on the TSL timing gantry, Webber charged away anew, chased by Wyatt and Ryall. Blake and Nicholls headed the pack at the end of the opening lap, whereupon Nathan’s supercharged MINI rounded the yellow MG at Folly. Blake retaliated rapidly, and Adam Wilks shot his smartly liveried Pug past Nicholls to make it a three-way dispute over fourth. Undaunted by a grassy moment at Old Paddock, Blake recovered only to clonk the barrier at the Esses on lap 5. Wilkes and Nicholls continued their duel before Nathan broke free and grabbed third from Ryall on lap 10. Geoff was reprieved when with Till in the barrier reds flew again and the result was backdated a lap, but both won their respective classes.
Wilks bagged a strong sixth, clear of Rushworth who jostled his blue MG past Keepin’s red one for the class C runner-up spot and marque bragging rights. Sprague’s ZR progressed well to eighth, with Fowler’s Fiesta and Williams’ nippy Honda locked in combat. The had been scrapping with Josh Carter and George Kimber when Josh had a huge moment exiting Camp, lost control, slewed to the inside then executed an automotive “double axle,” traversing the track, but stopping short of the pit wall. Josh resumed, now behind Alex Wellings’ MINI, to finish sixth in class and 12th overall. With rivals Waterman and Ridout sidelined, Kimber – who gave winner Webber space during lappery – claimed his first class B gold in the smart grey Tollgate Car Van & Truck Hire Clio. Peter Wilks, Andrews, Willsher and rookie Burleigh completed the finishers.
A bit of wing bending and some tank tape in the paddock enabled all bar Fooks-Bale, Ellison and Cox to rejoin the fray for the second race. Again Webber was in imperious form out front, until his fright at Gooch’s, while Wyatt and Ryall engaged in an energetic squabble over second, resolved in that order. Fortunately, Geoff did not need to beat Mark to secure a class C double, for with only a four-speed gearbox – the five-speeder will be in next time – he was delighted with third and an improved fastest lap of 1:14.828 (89.00mph), a couple of tenths from Wyatt’s 1:14.560. Only Webber’s 1:13.588 (90.50mph) was better.
Blake was relieved of fourth by the resurgent Waterman who, putting the earlier disappointment behind him, duly scored his third B victory in four starts in the Willand Service Station Honda. Battling with Wilks, Blake went off into the barrier at Old Paddock on lap 11. Holloway and Nicholls duly usurped Wilks, Justin beating Adam to fifth after Nicholls went straight through the Esses and retired, his engine overheating. Wellings’ MINI was already out with suspected head gasket failure. Thus it may well have been an invisible trail of coolant from one of the supercharged R53s which put the sting in the tail of Webber’s race. Nonetheless, as the only competitor with a full cache of points and fastest lap bonuses to date, Corey goes into the Whitsun Warriors double-header on May 25 as sole championship leader.
Nicholls’ demise promoted seventh placed Rushworth to class C victory, with young Carter less than two seconds back in his mirrors and the soon to be married B runner-up Ridout’s late model Honda in his slipstream, a solid ninth. Ben Pemberton will take over the FN2 for the rest of the season incidentally. Nicholls claimed C’s bonus point with a day’s best of 1:15.314 (88.43mph). Williams, ‘Keepo,’ Fowler and Sprague all went the winner’s distance. Wilsheer, very slow away from the grid, Peter Wilks, Andrews, Till and Burleigh also reached the chequered flag.
CCRC AVON TUNING GT CHAMPIONSHIP/SOUTH CERNEY ENGINEERING SALOON CAR CHAMPIONSHIP
SCARAMANGA’S FERRARI DOES GT FANDANGO
Dave Scaramanga extended this season’s winning streak to four races as last year’s Avon Tuning GT Championship runner-up in the MTECH-prepared Ferrari 488 demonstrated his intent to go one better at the Spring Speedsters event. His competition came not from a Lamborghini this time – the Huracan of Keith Butcher and non-scoring invitee Sacha Kakad was absent – but from veteran Nigel Mustill’s awesome BMW M3 GT4 run by Julian Simpson-Smith’s Forest of Dean-based equipe, which also fettles Butcher’s raging bull.
On a day when Saloons were unusually thin on the ground – many having joined the frenetic Hot Hatch playground – the four class A turbocars plus Jack Boulton’s lightweight Honda CRX and a new to the series VW Golf GTi were dovetailed into the GT pack by mutual consent. The experiment looked apposite in slippery qualifying conditions in which previous saloon champions Harrison Chamberlain (Golf GTi turbo) and Adam Prebble (Vauxhall Astra turbo) qualified second – to Mustill’s mighty beemer – and sixth respectively, maxing front-wheel-drive in tricky conditions. Alas, Prebble’s gearbox failed and he played no further part, having been enthused by his car’s handling. “The best it’s ever gone in the damp, but I think fourth gear has stripped,” he rued. After a day of attrition, Boulton was delighted, if surprised, to be the double South Cerney Engineering Saloon winner.
Salisbury septuagenarian Mustill has tamed a host of hairy beasts at Combe over decades, but the latest addition to his CV, a state of the GT art twin-turbocharged BMW capable of developing 590bhp, is more subtle. Driving with his left wrist in a splint, having broken it in the paddock at Donington where he debuted the car in March, Nigel was amazed to find his 1m11.433s (93.23mph) good enough for pole, despite “suffering a lot of understeer. I couldn’t get the [front] tyres hot.” Regular co-driver Craig Dolby was entered for race 2, and fancied for sub-62 second record laps in the dry, but with an eye on the weather stayed home in the midlands. “He’ll be back another time, then we’ll see what the car can do,” said Mustill.
Chamberlain’s stout 1:13.076 (91.13mph) was a fine effort, albeit without brakes by the end of the session. ‘The pedal was rock hard, but there was no retardation,” said Harrison, wide-eyed. Having helped rival Prebble get out at Easter Adam returned the favour, offering some pads, but they were not the solution. He pitted after race 1’s green flag lap and put the originals back in, did a further exploratory lap and returned to the paddock, still mystified.
Scaramanga, Will Self – whose hairy supercharged 2.4 Honda Civic practiced with scrap front tyres, treads pulled from a skip for the driven wheels – and defending GT champion Dylan Popovic, his 7.0 Ginetta-Chevrolet G50 on road tyres, were in the 13s too. “Driving the Ferrari in the wet was a learning curve,” said Scaramanga. “Last time here I did a high four in qually.” Prebble, returnee Richard Guy in his left-hand-drive 7.0 Mosler-Chevrolet MT600, Todd Carter (VW Golf GTi turbo) and Golf convert Boulton were half a second apart in the 14s.
“The resurrected” Stephen Hall, putting memories of a massive roll which destroyed his Audi TT Silhouette at Old Paddock in 2017, was back in one of the rare Cheshire-built Chevron GT4 Evolutions, a modified GR8 powered by a 3.5 Nissan-derived V6 engine making 400bhp. “There are only four left,” said the Dorset man, first time out in a machine he’s owned for a few years. Understandably cautious, Steve set a 1:18.303 lap, four tenths quicker than Saloon class champion Bill Brockbank’s Badger5 SEAT Cupra Leon turbo, with Jordan Billinton’s MTECH-run Lamborghini for company. Shaun Deacon’s 3.5 Ginetta-Ford G50, Philip Young’s tubeframe 2.0 Vauxhall-engined Mitsubishi Colt ‘Cheesemobile’ and race debutant Daniel Burden’s 350bhp VW Golf GTi rounded out the field.
In overcast but dry conditions, the first race was barely underway when it was stopped, sadly with Hall’s Chevron off at the Esses with a front corner deranged after it hit the tyres. Chamberlain retired his Poplar Insulation Golf after a lap, still with big brake problems, which left a dozen combatants. Scaramanga’s Ferrari, always rampantly into its stride from rolling starts, howled through from row two to lead from Self, now with slicks on the front of his 400bhp Honda and the morning’s recycled fronts on the back. Behind the fast-starting Carter initially, Mustill charged up to Self, but it took him half the race to assert the orange BMW in second. By then Scaramanga was 20 seconds up the road, with a 1:06.445 (100.23mph) fastest lap on his slate.
With top three places settled, Popovic thundered past Carter on lap three but finished more than five seconds behind the impressive Self. Guy and Billinton howled past Carter before he retired and Brockbank soldiered on after his turbo boost wilted, leaving Boulton fifth overall and top of the Saloon tree. Having a whale of a time in the New Flame CRX, Jack worked down to an 1:11.703 (92.88mph) best, quicker than he ever went in his Golf turbocar. “It’s simple, no turbo, nothing to mess around with. I’m loving it,” he enthused. Boulton finished 37s ahead of the hobbled SEAT. Deacon, Young and Burden completed the finishers, Guy and Billinton – tyres shot – having pitted together after 15 laps.
With each driver’s second best Q times determining race two’s grid, Scaramanga was on P3 but – with Chamberlain missing – screamed between the orange BMW and row-mate Self’s red Honda, even faster away, at the start. Straight down into the mid sixes, and consistently so, Dave established a 5.6s lead over Mustill inside four laps, then was able to slacken off with the work done and the margin still growing. He eventually finished almost 14 seconds clear to extend his championship lead.
Popovic’s best lap, four tenths shy of Scaramanga’s 1:06.501 (100.14mph) best and a smidge swifter than Mustill’s 1:07.099, earned him a solid third, clear of Self. Will’s brilliant performance – which saw him named Driver of the Day – was not limited by bravado but compromised by tyres. “I need slicks all round,” he smiled, pointing at the scrap rubber transferred to the rear in the afternoon. His best lap of 1:08.850s was super impressive given this handicap. Somebody buy him a matching set! Billinton bagged fifth, the last unlapped runner having repassed Guy before he retired the Mosler.
Boulton was a splendid sixth, the lightweight Honda Civic’s passage through Camp on the limit of adhesion a joy to behold. Carter, “gearbox temperature was off the scale,” backed off accordingly, but nonetheless beat Brockbank to the Saloon class A win. Deacon and Young were the final finishers, Burden’s run having ended when he understeered wide exiting Camp on lap 14 and was unlucky to plane his Golf’s front bumper off on the kerbs.
CASTLE COMBE FORMULA FORD CHAMPIONSHIP
SWIFT COOPER’S TEN OUT OF TEN FOR EFFORT
Triple Castle Combe Formula Ford champion Luke Cooper chalked two more victories onto his slate at the Spring Speedsters race meeting on Bank Holiday Monday, May 4, extending his unbeaten run to 10 rounds. Not since May 26 last year has the factory Swift Cooper SC20 driver been headed past the chequered flag, but the more pressing statistic is that wins number 32 and 33 move Luke to within one of equalling 2004 and 2007 titlist Ed Moore’s 34. Cooper’s ultimate target for 2026 is matching Bob Higgins and Gavin Wills’ four crowns. Luke cut fastest lap in both races, the first’s 1:13.377 (93.30mph) marginally the quicker.
In any contest, competitors can only beat rivals who turn out, and it was Cooper’s young team mate Sam Skellett who provided Luke’s closest competition in both races. Following second and third place finishes on Howard’s [Race] Day, Skellett lapped within 0.685s of Cooper’s 1m16.729s (86.79mph) pole shot in a damp, grey qualifying session, and chased him home in both races. Indeed, Sam ran wheel-to-wheel alongside Luke through Folly at the start of the second counter, which focused omnipresent Class B champion Nathan Ward. The Coventry stalwart completed a Swift 1-2-3 each time in his Golden Bull Graphics SC92.
Having enjoyed his comeback race at Easter, Bob Higgins, 76, demonstrated remarkable consistency in his Van Diemen RF88, improving his personal best race laps in the car by small margins to 1:13.877. Clear of local racer Alicia Hamlen (Ray GR09) in the opener, Bob – celebrating 50 years of racing having started in 1976, as revealed to commentator Chris Dawes in an entertaining lunchtime grid interview – bagged fourth, but had more of a fight on his hands later. Hamlen hounded the Yorkshire-domiciled veteran down and managed to dive past into Quarry, but Higgins retaliated half a lap later at Gooch’s to regain P4. Monoposto convert Dane Catanzaro (RF89) and Pete Lavender in his pretty Historic Merlyn Mk11/17, both returnees making seasonal debuts, completed the finishers both times.
Two combatants whose luck deserted them were double champion Adam Higgins and Ben Barry, who arrived having accrued sufficient licence upgrade signatures to shed his novice cross. Alas electrical problems under load, which wholesale component changes failed to eradicate, precluded Higgins from starting the races in his Beastworx/Sonic Delivery Co Van Diemen JL15 after qualifying third.
As at Easter, Barry’s unique Lanan 1604 was afflicted by a front wheel bearing issue. Having raced in the intervening month, Ben and father Tony were mystified, but help was at hand. An unexpected phone call from Lanan designer Bill Bray in Greece – who had spotted zero laps on their tally having checked TSL’s online timing – pointed them to the solution in a jar of shims acquired with the car. Having raced the same machine at last October’s finals meeting, Barry was permitted to start race two from the back of the grid. Unfortunately a misfire forced retirement after five laps.
Despite endeavours to understand the reasons for the lack of entries, and dialogues behind the scenes to engage more competitors, the grid numbered nine. Weekend personnel logistics affected by F1’s break – in response to the ongoing Middle East crisis – should see Wayne Poole Racing’s cars back out at May 25’s Whitsun Warriors event, including that of Easter poleman and first race leader Alex Walker (Van Diemen RF01). More drivers, among them seasoned campaigner Shaun Macklin (Swift SC92) who sat out last season, have indicated their intention to join in then too.
ENDS/mawp