Stunning racing at the Autumn Classic

Sensational racing for cars of the 1920s to the 1970s characterised the Nova Aluminium Castle Combe Autumn Classic, the 15th in an annual series inaugurated in October 2012, which delighted competitors, marshals and spectators on September 12-13. Motor Racing Legends’ innovative Generations Trophy – the most exciting and, importantly, accessible Historic sportscar racing promotion in living memory – brought FIA Appendix K-spec MGBs to the circuit in its first full season. The Ian Cox Memorial Trophy race, meanwhile, marked the renaissance of big Healey racing at its spiritual home, pointing the way towards more marque action in 2027 and the 90 minute GT & Sports Car Cup thriller was decided by quartet of a second.

The Rawles Classic Cars Healey race, remembering the driving force behind Piper Cams, set the weekend’s tone for close contests and attracted a 26-strong field, including DD300, the three-time Le Mans 24 hours starter in the hands of co-owner Karsten le Blanc. Classic motorcycle ace Michael Russell qualified his 3000 on pole, but Marc Campfield set the early pace in flamboyant oversteering style. A moment during lappery saw Russell take to the grass at Old Paddock, but Campfield was being reeled in when he missed a gear, damaging his engine and forcing retirement on lap 13. Russell, who had cut a magnificent 1m19.900 (83.35mph) fastest lap chasing Campfield, duly landed his first outright win on four wheels.

Race sponsor Bill Rawles was in hot pursuit, with Alex Hewitson and young Oliver Marçais close behind. Behind the rorty straight-six engined 3000s, Dominic Mooney (Ashley GT) won a race long dogfight with |Richard Woolmer (Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite) for fifth overall and small capacity honours. Giles Billingsley narrowly avoided being lapped by Russell, but won the A-H 100 class after a tight tussle with Michael Berry.

Lotus Elites dominated the 30-minute FISCAR bout. Former Historic F2 competitor Brian Arculus followed his normal strategy of making his mandatory pit stop early and went on to win his 200th race in his familar silver blue coupe. Arculus overtook the similar car of P1 starter Andrew Mitchell and Mark Morgan into Quarry. Mark Hoble (Morgan Plus 4) was swamped by the pack at the start, but clawed back past Tania Pilkington’s Maserati 300S and regular nemesis Jonny Shears’ flat rad Morgan to land third, with Neil Burnside’s MGA Twin-Cam and Nigel Winchester’s Lotus 7 finished by Jamie Mason directly behind at the chequer. Interesting cars in the diverse field included Christopher Mann’s delicious Alfa Romeo PR3000 ‘Disco Volante,’ Justin Beckett’s Jaguar C-type and the rare Triumphs of Jeremy Woods (Italia) and Andrew Cox, disguised in a Falcon shell.

Automobiles’ Historiques’ GTSCC series, in its 20th season, graced the Autumn Classic for the ninth time with a stunning 39-car entry showcasing 12 manufacturers across Pre-1966 Gran Turismo, Pre-1963 Sports Racing and Pre’66 Touring Car categories. With each team obliged to make two stops, no driver to remain in the cockpit for more than 40 minutes and the owner to drive a minimum of 50 per cent of the duration, tactics underscored speed and consistency on a busy 1.85-mile track.

A stellar mid-stint by pole time setter Ben Tinkler saw Lotus Elan 26R owner Steve Jones relayed back into the car he’d started, but Alex Hewitson – inspired by Jack Rawles’ mid-race charge in his Healey – negated a 20 second deficit to start the last lap nose to tail. Somehow Jones held on for his maiden victory, but Hewitson/Rawles claimed GT3 class gold from Oliver Marçais/Jeremy Welch (Healey), who finished third overall. Kyle Tilley, last year’s winner in a two-litre Lotus 15 sports racer, saddled a little Elite in the GT2 category and finished a brilliant fourth with fellow Historic F1 racer Christian Albrecht. Two of the largest cars in the pack, Stuart Morley/Richard Hudson’s Lister-Chevrolet Knobbly and the Ford Mustang of Andrew Haddon/Max Lynn were fourth and fifth, ahead of David Alexander/Richard Fores’ Elite, also classified on the lead lap.

The premise of MRL’s MGB contest, to form teams of family members from different generations, with different minimum pitstop times to balance experience over three categories, has caught the imagination of novice and seasoned racers alike. Fathers and daughters, dads and lads and three grandparents with granddaughters/sons populated a 25-car field at Combe – the third of four races this season – and the fledgling series is spreading like wildfire! Porsche Cayman racer Aimée Watts and father Patrick – one make champion and BTCC star of yore – emerged victorious as Saturday’s sunshine gave way to a rainy Sunday to further test the many novice drivers.

With the slower drivers to start, Rod Adlington led Aimée Watts [0.1s down on dad in a formidable combo] to the pitstops after lifelong racer Nick Whale, who had split them, put experienced son Harry in to bat as the window opened, but the Silverstone winners’ car wilted. Watts Senior jumped Toby Adlington – outstanding in his third race, and first in the wet – in the pit phase, but after a tremendous opening stint by Emily Welch, dad Jeremy chased Patrick to the chequer. The Adlingtons completed the podium. With the Watts and Welch clans heading the Dynasty and Challenger classes, Jess and Dominic Mooney completed a clean sweep for father-daughter combos by winning the Spirit section.

With the Frazer Nash Car Club’s chain-gangers heading for the Spa Six Hours event in Belgium, Vintage Sports-Car Club racers returned to the Classic this year. Nasher virtuoso Patrick Blakeney-Edwards skittered to another Combe win, beating Oliver Llewellyn – whose Bentley Special, extensively modified by his grandfather many moons ago celebrated its 100th birthday the previous week – and the intrepid Fin Cameron, charging in his family’s low-line Morgan three-wheeler.

For the second successive year the trio of Superformance Ferrari Club Classic races featured different winners. Notable among them was John Danby’s Saturday first win in the V12 456GT from Colin Sowter’s Superformance stable. Having built an apparently decisive advantage, a flurry of power steering fluid during cornering slowed the big Berlinetta, leaving John to stave off the F355 Challenges of Tim Mogridge and Wayne Marrs in the closing stages. With Danby out on Sunday, Gary Culver (328 GTS) notched his sixth Autumn Classic win in three years, and Marrs beat him in the finale with Driver of the Event Chris Compton-Goddard (F355 Challenge) third.

The Scottish Classic Sports & Saloon Championship/Historic Modsports and Special Saloons series grid was the event’s smallest but provided the closest finish. Fifty years and a day after Gerry Marshall won the Tricentrol Super Saloon race at the inaugural Castle Combe Circuits Ltd meeting – on his only appearance in the DTV Vauxhall Firenza ‘Baby Bertha,’ the programme cover star shone again with Joe Ward, its proud owner for 40 years, up. Now with a 5.7-litre Chevrolet V8 in place of its original Holden Repco F5000 unit, the icon led the second race but Steve Barnard’s ultra-low spaceframe Ford Escort-BDG again pipped it to the line, this time by 0.088s. Ward’s 1m13.295s (90.86mph) fastest lap was the weekend’s best. Two other Marshall cars were in the field, incidentally, the ex-Richard Petty IROC Chevrolet Camaro tamed by Andrew Haddon for owner Julian Bronson and Peter Baker’s Marsh Plant Aston Martin DB4 Superleggera.

The Historic Racing Drivers’ Club’s triumvirate of grids raced on Sunday. Rain was more than a leveller, bringing the top front-wheel-drive runners into contention across the sets. Reigning Mini Miglia champion Rupert Deeth took over the wheel of Ryck Turner Cooper S and outran Jack Ruddell’s well driven Ford Mustang in the Top Hat Pre-1966 saloon set. James Colburn kept Mike Thorne’s feisty yellow Alfasud Ti behind to win the Allstars/Classic Alfa Challenge in a Giulia Sprint GT, as dad Richard Colburn kept former national Mini Se7en champion Tina Cooper in the Cooper S class. Westbourne Motorsport’s joy was completed in the Gerry Marshall Trophy curtain closer by Ben Colburn, James’ brother, bustled Phil Bullen-Brown’s Datapost Ford Fiesta past John Spiers’ Capri 3.0S for victory.

The penultimate Goodyear National Mini Challenge double-headers were stunners which left all to play for in October’s deciders at Silverstone. Se7en points leader Daniel Munro won both races for the 1000cc cars, from Damien Harrington and Darren Thomas respectively. Saturday’s was curtailed when Bertie Woollard’s S-class car rolled at Gooch’s. Unbelievably, he won the class in Sunday’s wet race after a huge repair effort. The Miglia lead battles were closer still, Aaron Smith pipping namesake Jeff by 0.484s on Saturday, with cumulative slipstream increasing the 130bhp 1275cc cars’ top speeds from 119mph to 126mph on Avon Rise. After Aaron survived a lairy spin out of Camp on Sunday, Jeff towed Matt Ayres, Kane Astin and veteran Martin Wager over the line in winning the Rick Cutting Memorial Trophy, a period Castle Combe cup won by ‘Riccardo’ at the circuit he regarded as his favourite back in 1980 and presented by friends and fellow racers Geoff Robson and Patsy Ingold [Cobham].

 

MARCUS PYE