Midsummer Mania Raceday
31 August 2026
Castle Combe 100 Race cancelled after three-car pile-up
The Midsummer Mania Raceday held on Bank Holiday Monday, 31 August, had been due to showcase rounds nine and ten of the four Castle Combe Racing Club championships, alongside two rounds of the CALM All Porsche Trophy and BARC OT Coupe Cup. To wrap up proceedings, the much-anticipated Castle Combe 100 was also due to take place with 46 cars ready to take the grid for a 100km endurance race to see who would take home the Bernard Jackson Motorsport Trophy.
While the day had seen several fantastic races, a litany of red flags had put the day behind schedule. With race organisers keen to ensure there was time for Castle 100, an unfortunate crash at the beginning of the second Coupe Cup reportedly flattened 20 feet of barrier at Folly after three cars collided with each other. While it was thankfully quickly confirmed that all three drivers involved were ok, the clean-up required meant that the day would have to be disappointingly cut short, so both the second combined GT and Saloon championship race and Formula Ford championship race would not take place.
Although an anti-climatic end to the day, main sponsor of the Castle 100 and much-loved regular at Castle Combe, Bernard Jackson, was able to buoy spirits when speaking across the tannoy around the track. While his race wasn’t able to take place, he “wouldn’t think of a better place to be. Thank you to everyone that supports Castle Combe, who comes here every time there is a meeting. It’s really appreciated by everyone here.”
Castle Combe Formula Ford Championship
Cooper finally breaks all-time win record
Unknowingly only having one opportunity to finally beat Ed Moore’s all-time win record due to the last race’s eventual cancellation, Luke Cooper entered the meeting with a determination to become the new record holder after fuel pump issue painfully stole the chance for him to do so at the HSCC Summer Historic Festival in early August. Winning the first Formula Ford race at the Summer Historic event to equal Moore’s record, Cooper was forced to retire from the second race which gave long-time supporter of the championship Tom Hawkins his first win in nine years.
Cooper (Swift SC20) set the fastest two lap times in qualifying of 1:10.951 (93.86mph) and 1:11.033 (93.75mph) putting him on pole for both Formula Ford races of the day. Both Cooper and his nearest rival Sam Skellett (Swift SC20) came out of the gates with fast lap times with Cooper setting his fastest times within his first four laps. Skellett tried to match Cooper’s early pace but remained at least 0.6s off. Adam Higgins (Van Diemen JL15 1600) qualified third for race one, only two tenths off Skellett. Shaun Macklin (Swift SC92), who had taken a long sabbatical from the championship and last appeared on the grid in 2024, made a welcome return and had a steady start to his weekend, qualifying in seventh for both races. Putting in some early steady lap times, Macklin recorded both his fastest and second fastest lap times late on in the session, keeping consistently within the low 1:15s mark for most of the session.
Although Cooper would go on to win the race, both Skellett and Higgins were quick not to make it easy for the driver who had so far taken home five victories this season. Absorbing early pressure, Skellett made the better start off the line which Cooper was able to protect from to keep the lead. Putting Skellett out of position heading into Quarry, Higgins was then able to take advantage of the situation to move into second, pushing Skellett down the order and putting himself within touching distance of the race leader.
Although Higgins crossed the line on lap one only three tenths behind Cooper, Skellett fell two seconds behind the front two and saw his race begin to unravel when Nathan Ward (Swift SC92) was able to take third from him. Although managing to quickly recover the position, it became clear that Skellett was suffering from gear issues, which he later explained meant he had to match the revs to make sure the gears were in place. While the issue eventually resolved itself, Skellett’s lap time of 1:17.438 (86.00mph) on lap five dropped him out of contention before he finished fourth.
Meanwhile at the front, Higgins remained incredibly close to Cooper for the opening laps, but seemed unable to keep up with Cooper who became more comfortable as the race continued. With the gap over a second by lap four, Cooper’s consistent lap times in the 1:11s until the last two laps proved too tough for Higgins to meet who fell into 1:12s times by lap 4.
Macklin converted his good qualifying performance into an impressive return in the race, moving up to fifth on the first lap after overtaking Alicia Hamlen. Hamlen continued to make his life hard in the first half of the race, staying within three tenths of Macklin, but on lap six seemingly had an issue and dropped eight seconds behind after setting a 1:24.144s (79.15mph) compared to Macklin’s 1:16.357 (87.22mph) which secured Macklin’s position and a second in class finish behind Ward.
CCRC GT Championship
Butcher denies Scaramanga perfect championship finish
Dave Scaramanga entered the Midsummer Mania race day on top form and with almost certainty to win the GT championship, with four victories in the first six rounds making him a formidable opponent in the latter half of the season. Taking another victory in race one at the Summer Historic, Butcher had initially had the better start before Scaramanga quickly snatched the lead again before Quarry and went on to win by 34 seconds. Stepping in for Butcher in race two, Castle Combe lap record holder, Sacha Kakad, reminded Scaramanga of his competition after hounding him for five laps before squeezing through and finishing 30 seconds in front.
Scaramanga (Ferrari 488 Turbo) set the early pace and secured both pole positions for the GT championship races with an overall fastest lap of 1:06.039s (100.84mph). Scaramanga took his time to slowly warm up his Ferrari 488, setting his fastest time on his sixth lap in the session. While Dylan Popovic (Ginetta G50) tried to respond within minutes of Scaramanga’s time, he could only bring his Ginetta to complete a 1:06.805s(99.69mph). Meanwhile, Keith Butcher (Lamborghini Huracan Evo GT3) in his black and purple Lamborghini also tried to respond but remained a full second and half off setting a 1:07.638s (98.46mph), giving much hope to the champion-elect. BTCC aficionados, Lea and Greg Wood could also be found competing in the GT Championship in separate Ginetta G55s. Qualifying 14th and 18th in race one and 14th and 17th for race two, both had plenty of ground to make up.
Scaramanga led off the line in the Ferrari but wasn’t allowed to settle with Popovic keeping within touching distance across the opening exchanges. Unsure if Scaramanga was managing pace or facing an issue, it became clear that he wasn’t on usual form which allowed for Butcher to also close in after a slow first lap, which saw him having to avoid being overtaken by Will Di Claudio (Peugeot 106) who had jumped from seventh to fourth in his Peugeot. Although Scaramanga led by eight tenths by the end of lap one, Popovic quickly responded by putting in a 1:07.236 (99.05mph) on lap two, four tenths faster than the race leader, putting him just over three-tenths off the lead.
Butcher, who had been two seconds off the front two by the end of lap two, put in a scorcher of a lap time of 1:06.726s (99.81mph) to take a near full-second out of the leaders and entered the fight for the lead the next lap.
Butcher then picked off Popovic on lap 6 before filling the Ferrari’s mirrors. Traffic eventually came into play due to the race combined with the Saloon Championship which gave Scaramanga a new challenge to think about. Butcher was able to use the slower cars to his advantage and pounced on lap 11 and took the lead. Scaramanga, quick to try and take back the lead, set the fastest lap of the race of 1:06.443 (100.23mph) on lap 12, piling the pressure on Butcher, now in front.
Although Popovic slowly faded away, not helped by a costly lap 13 which dropped him four seconds from the lead, Butcher absorbed the pressure despite the prancing horse behind ready at any opportunity. The lead two crossed the line separated by 0.251s and while Butcher proved that it was not only his teammate that could stop Scaramanga, the second place finish was enough for the championship to be handed to the Ferrari driver.
While both Woods qualified, only Lea would eventually take part. Starting 13th, he was already in 9th by the end of lap one and climbed to seventh by lap four. Finishing fifth and first in class alongside setting a best lap time of 1:09.360s (96.02 mph), he came incredibly close to a fourth-place finish after cutting the gap to Craig Sampson (Westfield Sei-W-SBD) from six seconds on lap 15 to 0.161s at the chequered flag three laps later.
CCRC Saloon Championship
Di Claudio shines as Prebble has big qualifying crash
Will Di Claudio (Peugeot 106) proved fastest in qualifying among the Saloon Car Championship, qualifying marginally ahead of his nearest competitor, Todd Carter (Volkswagen Golf GTI), with a best lap time of 1:12.116 (92.35mph), putting him seventh overall in race one. Bill Brockbank (Seat Leon Cupra) qualified ninth with a lap time of 1:12.485 (91.88mph), milliseconds off Carter’s time.
While seven cars set qualifying times in the morning session, only four would compete in the race with Adam Prebble, Bill Brockbank, and Hadyn King all not to start. While it is unclear why King and Good were not to be seen in the race, Brockbank reportedly had a turbo issue and it should come as no surprise for Adam Prebble who found himself in the barrier at Quarry after he reported that he lost the rear out of Avon Rise and hit the barrier at speeds he reported to be over 140mph. Reported to have been ok following the incident, this would have come as a disappointment for the former champion who had returned to the championship for the event in his Astra. Setting only one qualifying lap before the incident of 1:18.358s (84.99mph), Prebble qualified 19th for race one and failed to put a lap time in to qualify for race two.
Di Claudio remained the stand-out driver of the championship, jumping from seventh to fourth on the first lap to find himself behind Scaramanga, Popovic and Butcher. Although close behind Butcher on lap one, the faster GT machinery ahead quickly escaped him and the cars he overtook on his superb start of Sampson and Jordan Billinton (Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo Evo) eventually came back through despite Di Claudio’s best efforts to match pace in the first few laps of the race. He underlined his pace when he set a 1m11.700s (92.88mph) lap time on lap four, bettering his best qualifying time. Passed by Sampson on lap three and Billinton on lap five, Di Claudio returned to seventh on lap 6 after BTCC driver Lea Wood came through on his strong drive to finish fifth. Di Claudio however managed to stay in front of Reuben Taylor who had been one of the drivers he had overtaken off the line, who stayed roughly 3.5 seconds behind thanks to Di Claudio’s consistent lap times.
In the rest of the championship, Carter held eighth off the line and while Jack Boulton (Honda CRX), who started 11th on the amended grid, dropped a position behind Wood, he quickly returned to his starting position on lap two after overtaking Shaun Deacon (Ginetta G50). Carter was also caught by Wood on his charge to the front and dropped to ninth subsequently before seemingly making an error on lap 12 in which he lost 10 seconds and dropped behind Boulton, demoting him to third and 13th overall where he would finish. Boulton came home in 11th while Iain Dowler (Audi TT) finished fourth in the classified saloon runners and 15th overall with a best lap time of 1:16.820s (86.69mph).
CCRC Hot Hatch Championship:
Wyatt runs out of luck after strong race one recovery
Mark Wyatt (Vauxhall Astra) put his Astra on pole for both Hot Hatch races after he recorded the top two best lap times in qualifying of 1:16.448 (87.11mph) and 1:16.491 (87.06mph). Todd Carter (Honda Civic EP3) was the next fastest on track, setting a 1:17.537s (85.89mph) to start second in race one but lacked the pace consistency of Wyatt, with his second best lap 1.7s slower, putting him in fifth for race two.
Corey Webber (Honda Civic EP3), who has proven to be the man to beat in this year’s championship, qualified sixth for race one and 10th for race two, with a best lap time of 1:18.673 (84.65mph), proving to be over two seconds off the pace. Clearly facing an issue, Webber withdrew from the event moments before race one after being thought to have suffered an engine issue. Until his last race out in the HSCC 60th Summer Historic Weekend, Webber had taken every single win in the 2026 championship. A coil pack failure in the second and final Hot Hatch race of the weekend stopped Webber from being able to take clean sheet in his so far nearly invincible performance to become champion.
Lined up to take the first red lights of the day, race one’s front starters of Wyatt, Carter and Julian Fisher (Ford Fiesta ST150) found themselves completely caught unaware by the lights, allowing those behind to take much advantage and run off ahead. Justin Holloway (Renault Clio) weaved his way into the lead from eighth while his rivals avoided colliding into the back of the cars yet to move, followed by Sam Williams (Honda Civic EF) who had started seventh. Scrambling to scrap something together after their poor start, Wyatt managed to only drop to sixth while Carter dropped to eighth and Fisher ninth.
Despite holding the initial lead, Holloway shared following the race that his alternator caught fire and “filled the cab full of smoke”. This allowed Williams to take the lead across the start/finish line as the cars headed onto lap two. Both Wyatt and Fisher began to quickly overtake their nearest competitors to return to the front of the pack, however, Carter struggled to move forward and eventually retired moments after a red flag was brought out. With some large raindrops falling onto the track, Thomas Reid in a Ford Fiesta had found himself in the barrier at Gooch’s.
The incident halted both the race and Wyatt’s charge to the front, who found himself in fourth before the race was stopped. A moderately long red flag period, there initially seemed to be confusion around the order of the race start with Wyatt a bit too keen to put his car back on pole before he was rolled back into his position held before the race was stopped.
Lee Waterman (Honda Civic EP3) started on pole for the second standing start after he had found his way into the lead alongside Williams who started second. Wyatt needed no second invitation to move into first weaving between the frontrunners of Waterman, Williams and Holloway to take the lead. Not taking any chances, Wyatt pushed to build a large lead and eventually finished 16 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor and second place finisher, Fisher, who had a strong race following the restart. Holloway took third, managing his earlier alternator issue through running the car on its battery, and fortunate to gain Waterman’s misfortune who seemed to have a final lap issue which he nursed back to fifth.
Despite being able to turn events around in race one, Wyatt found his luck had run out in the second race of the day after another bad start which proved terminal. Wyatt pulled off track into the infield to retire after he suffered an almost immediate issue. Giving second-place starter Fisher a good chance to take the lead on the first lap, Holloway had another cracking start and denied Fisher the opportunity by moving up from eighth into the lead. Wyatt wasn’t the only car to stop in the first few corners with Steve Andrews (Peugeot 106) ending up against the barriers the wrong way round. While it is not clear if this was due to a collision, it inevitably brought out an early safety car.
Deemed safe to return to racing with the two idle cars left in their positions, the race quickly began again with Holloway immediately under pressure from Fisher and Carter. Fisher, careful not to make a silly move and lose a position, was given breathing room when Carter’s Honda Civic seemed to face a race-ending issue, slowing down while he was in third position before he pulled off into the infield of Esses and winding its way into the pits. Fisher eventually overtook Holloway, but the Gulf-liveried Clio was able to stay with the white Fiesta. Despite his best efforts, Holloway finished second but only 0.4s off the lead, while Josh Carter (Mini Cooper S R53) finished third.
Castle Combe 100
Popovic’s qualifying performance gives glimmer of what could have been
Although the inaugural Castle Combe 100 didn’t get the debut it deserved with the Bernard Jackson Motorsport Trophy race cancelled after the previously mentioned Coupe Cup incident, qualifying had offered a glimpse of what excitement lay in store.
44 competitors took part in the 20 minute morning session in bright but damp conditions in which the first benchmark time was quickly set by Julian Daniel (Volkswagen Golf) with a 1:24.921 (78.42mph). This was quickly wiped away by William Curtler (Porsche Boxster S) before Jason Pelosi went a second faster than Curtler with a 1:18.140s (85.23mph).
Dropping by seconds as the top class of cars began to set times, including the likes of Tim Davies (Caterham CSR), who set a 1:12.345s (92.05mph), Dylan Popovic’s (Ginetta G50) third flying lap time of 1:10.973s (93.83mph) became the first to stick. He later returned to cement his position by setting a quicker provisional pole time of 1:09.518s (95.80 mph) followed by an even faster time of 1:08.310s (97.49mph) on his eighth and final run. Although several tried a late challenge to this time, only the shared Kester Cook (Ford Fiesta) and Craig Sampson (Westfield Sei-W-SBD) entry could get close with a best time of 1:08.765s (96.85mph). Jordan Billinton (Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo Evo) came in third with a 1:10.532s (94.42mph).
Christian Walker (Porsche Cayman S) headed the class two field with a 1:14.546s (89.34mph), 0.2s ahead of Daniel’s while the class three contest was settled late in the session with Pelosi holding the early advantage with a 1:16.631 (86.91mph) before Matthew Scott (Caterham Roadsport) edged ahead on 1:16.581s (86.96mph) lap time on his 10th lap. Believing he had done enough, Steve Lloyd’s (Porsche 968 CS) last lap attempt of 1:16.005s (87.62mph) stole the class pole away from Scott. Stuart Emmett (MG ZR170) topped class four ahead of Stephen Bracegirdle (Mini Cooper S).
Hamish Bailey
Photo Credits: Abraham Fernandez, FLPhoto, Cal Tristan, RKG Photography & Tim Crisp