Monaco hosted the front engine Juniors for their Diamond Jubilee. With 48 entries, Pilotes from 10 countries, cars from 23 different constructors, it was always going to be exciting, and did the Juniors deliver! In 1959 the entry was dominated by Italian constructors, and it was heart-warming to see so many red cars entered. One last minute change, Murray Smith had to drop out under doctors’ orders, nothing too nasty, and his place in the Volpini was taken by none other than HRH Prince Joachim of Denmark, with a little help from fellow countryman Jac Nellemann.

Qualifying

Thankfully Auto Club de Monaco, split the Juniors into two groups, even and odd racing numbers. There were two practice sessions on Friday, the results counting towards grid position for the two qualifying races on Saturday, which in turn gave the starting places for the race on Sunday, for all 48 entries!
There was drama as early as lap 3 in the first qualifying, when odds on favourite Chris Drake, having already posted a time worthy of pole on lap 2, in the very nimble and powerful, downdraught engine Terrier, had an oil seal on the oil filter fail entering the old Station Hairpin. He lost control on his own oil, stalled, restarted and did a 180, only to realise that the oil light was on, so with quick thinking did another 180 through a gap in the barriers, and stopped the engine. The whole of the hairpin was covered in oil. And the next car to arrive, the Autosud of Paul Halford, went straight on and nudged the barrier, whilst a helpless Nick Grewal in the OSCA hit the back of the Autosud, and then pirouetted around its back wheel, and gave it a further kiss in the side! Thankfully both drivers were unharmed, and miraculously the OSCA suffered relatively minor body damage, while Keith Roach exercised his skills on the Autosud tail as only a true craftsman can. So the even number practice was red flagged and ended after 3 laps, with Drake fastest, then Christian Traber, Lola, Joe Colasacco, Stanguellini, third.
In the odd number session it was Jonathon Hughes in the Lola setting the pace, from Nick Taylor in the Elva, Ray Mallock in the U2, and Stuart Roach, in Tom de Gres’ Stanguellini, a couple of seconds adrift. Sadly we lost the Bandini of Tupper Robinson, with a dropped valve from his head, on a block kindly loaned by Nick Grewal.
After two further practice sessions the drivers and cars were rested overnight, for the qualifying races on Saturday.
At the start of the even numbers qualifying race, Drake jumped the start, and was penalised with a pit lane drive through, which, he took on the last lap, only losing two places. Colasacco was mighty in the Stanguellini, and took 1st place for his efforts, Christian Traber only 9 seconds behind.
In the odd numbers qualifying race, there was committed driving from Hughes, Taylor, Mallock, Roach, Anthony Olissoff in the Elfin, and John Chisholm in the Gemini, keeping in touch until a head gasket blew.

Sunday Race day, was sunny, in contrast to the two heavily overcast days of qualifying. 5 cars having dropped out with terminal mechanical issues, meant that 43 cars were lined up with the even numbers on one side of the right side of the track, and the odds on the left. This produced some interesting grid positions, as follows; Colasacco on pole, then Hughes, Traber, Mallock, Drake, Roach, Ralf Emmerling in the Gemini, Nick Taylor, Mike Walker in the FWD Bond, andOlissoff in the other FWD car in 10th. With such a large field, the race was a rolling start behind the safety car, which prevented possible carnage at Saint Devote! Colasacco powered in to the lead, and after half a lap, Drake coasted to a halt after the chicane, with a sheared outer UV driveshaft joint. On lap 3 Colasacco, succumbed to the brake problems, that had been plagueing him all weekend, and lost the back of the car, going in to Mirabeau, in a gentle spin. Hughes powered by into the lead. On the same lap Justin Fleming in the Lola and Tony Olissoff in the front wheel drive Elfin touched wheels coming up the hill from Saint Devote which caused the Lola to spin across the track twice, before crashing into the barrier backwards. Justin, was fine, unlike the car. Safety car on Lap 3!!
At the restart Colasacco, was in 8th place, and started a charge back through the field. Now this was fun to watch, as the leaders were having to race, as well as navigate the slower cars. To every drivers’ credit, despite the huge numbers of cars on track, there were no serious incidents. At times the entrance to the chicane was one big moving mass of FJs, 3 abreast! Taylors’s Elva was expiring fast, and sadly retired from the fray, having been in the top 10 all weekend.
Colasacco made it up to third and a potential podium very quickly, and the spectators were enjoying the action, but then his clutch started slipping, and he dropped back down the pack after a valiant drive. At the front, Hughes had been scything his way through the traffic extremely clinically to win, a slightly more cautious Traber, 10 seconds down, with a delighted Ray Mallock in 3rd. Roach finished a splendid sideways 4th, then Emmerling, Walker, Colasacco, Olissoff, Daniele Salodini in the Taraschi, and a solid drive, from Prince Joachim, who brought the Volpini home in very credible 10th.
The crowd was quite breathless after all of this action, and gave all the competitors a huge ovation on the slowing down lap.
It should be mentioned that although a major percentage of the drivers were having their first appearance at Monaco, the standard of driving, was indeed a credit to them.
After 10 exacting laps, and more action in one race, than a whole F1 season, there were quite a few dazed souls wandering around the paddock after the race, though happy in the knowledge that they have competed for 3 days, on the most hallowed piece of tarmac in motor racing history.

John Tweedale

By the time the Formula Junior cars arrived at East London, most of us had already been in South Africa for over two weeks, some longer. We had enjoyed superb weather, breath taking scenery and, most importantly, wonderful friendship and hospitality. Like so many before us, we were simply in awe of the place.

It seemed hard to believe that we were about to embark upon our final race meeting after the two previous great weekends at Zwartkops and Killarney. Both of those had their own special character and history but the anticipation of the old Grand Prix circuit at East London was, especially for those visiting for the first time, quite mouth watering. Many of us will remember or will have read about those halcyon days of the early 1960’s when the likes of Jim Clark, Jack Brabham and Stirling Moss raced there. Nothing however prepares ‘first timers’ for just how spectacular the circuit is with its mix of both tight and incredibly quick sweeping corners with its views over the Indian Ocean. Many of those who know the circuit well acknowledge that it really shouldn’t work. It has seven right hand corners of varying degrees but only one long left hander but despite this oddity it is a fantastic circuit and provides a real challenge both in terms of high speed and handling. The added bonus is that, apart from some track width alterations, the circuit is exactly as it was in period.

The containers were there by the time we all arrived on the Thursday however the means to unload the upper deck cars provided a challenge. One of those cars was the Stanguellini of Richard Pugh which sadly stayed in position as he and Liz had decided to pull out of the meeting. The car had suffered a head gasket problem at Killarney but worse was the fact that they had both gone down with a bug and were feeling under the weather so understandably decided to sit it out.

With much appreciated help from Mike Gregory, a flat bed lorry was sourced locally and by late afternoon the cars were in the pit garages, some requiring urgent attention following a number of mishaps at Killarney.

The Autosport Mk2 of Richard Bishop-Miller had suffered a clutch failure towards the end of the last race at Killarney but, thanks to the help of local car racer and car preparation expert, Dave Alexander, he had sourced a new clutch and it was ready to fit. It was all hands on deck and, with some clever improvisation, the car would be ready for practice on the Friday. The Lotus 22 of Greg Thornton and the Lola Mk3 of Hans Jorgen Krag had both suffered gearbox damage and required work but the greatest challenge sat with the Elva 300 of Chris Drake who had collided quite heavily with the back of the Thornton Lotus after it suddenly and unexpectedly came to a halt on the Killarney start line giving Chris Drake nowhere to go.

The damage to the Elva was confined to the front end and required a great deal of work between meetings. Radiator and suspension aside, the greatest challenge came from reinstating the nose section of the car. The solution was to be a much photographed ‘Miss Molly’ washing basket. When I asked Chris why he had chosen a wash basket the answer was clear. “I have plans to clean up!” With the car back together, the troubles were not over as there were brake issues which, at one point took him onto the infield Karting track! Never a dull moment for the Elva!

It goes without saying that each and everyone had routine work to do, but, as a Formula Junior team, everyone helped out. Iain Rowley constantly seemed to be working on all six of “his” cars at once while our other resident experts, Tom and Bob, were never far away from the action – a fantastic effort.

By Friday morning the public road which forms much of the circuit had been closed and, as the sun came up on this largely unaltered circuit, it was rather like transporting yourself back in time.

A major highlight was the presence of the magnificent Lotus 21 Grand Prix car of Alex Morton. This car not only raced at East London in 1962 but the period driver, Neville Lederle, was due to be present on race day and so, to keep it together was crucial as this was inevitably going to be a major highlight of the weekend.

Friday practice clearly showed the out and out pace of the Lotus 22 of Greg Thornton with his extensive knowledge of the track paying dividends. Despite fuel evaporation issues (or did he just forget to put some in?) David Innes was showing good pace in his iconic Lotus 27 as was Andrew Beaumont in the Lotus 22 and Alex Morton in the Lotus however, despite the challenges, the drum brake Elva was always going to be the one to watch. The front engine cars were in for a good battle with the U2 Mk2 of Erik Justesen setting the pace with Jac Nellemann in the Volpini, Duncan Rabagliati in Alexis HF1 and Richard Bishop-Miller in the Autosport chasing hard.

Saturday race day arrived, it was a hot and sunny morning although the forecast suggested the possibility of an afternoon thunder storm. The Juniors had an early wake up call and were first out for a warm up session. No time to lose, immediately after the warm up we were in for a driver briefing and then straight into qualifying.

True to form, the rear engine Lotus of Greg Thornton was on pole with Chris Drake, Andrew Beaumont, Alex Morton and David Innes chasing but it was clear that there would be battles all the way down the order with Hans Jurgen Krag in an impressive 6th position. Pierre Plannthia in Justesen’s Lotus 22 and Chris Merrick in the Cooper T59 were destined to enjoy the series long battle as the cars were lapping within a few tenths of one another. The Lotus 18 of Colin Nursey and the Deep Sanderson of Chris Wilks were split by only one second with Mike Gregory in the beautifully turned out De Tomaso and Jac Nellemann in his Volpini within the same second. Roger Woodbridge in the Ausper T4 had been picking up speed as the series progressed and then his secret was spotted. He was wearing ‘Speedos’ under his overalls after suffering some water pipe burns at Killarney and this is what he attributed it to! The front engine cars continued to be led by Erik Justesen in the U2 with Duncan and Richard battling behind.

Race one was not far away but not before the Alex Morton Lotus 21 had been reunited with Neville Lederle and family. It was a wonderful moment and it was difficult for emotions not to run high. There were a number of older spectators who had witnessed the Grand Prix of the early 1960’s and to listen to their versions of events and how it was then was quite a privilege.

Unfortunately, the first of the Formula Junior races was to be marred by another gearbox failure on the Thornton Lotus, spinning it around and bringing it to a sudden halt on the line. Fortunately no one collected it this time but it did bring out a red flag to allow the car to be removed. The restart saw Chris Drake take the lead followed by Alex Morton, a flying Dave Innes, Andrew Beaumont and the Merrick Cooper. Those positions were maintained with Erik Justesen taking 6th overall and first of the front engine cars. Colin Nursey came next followed by Mike Gregory, Jac Nellemann,, Duncan Rabagliati and finally the spectacular and sideways Autosport of Richard Bishop-Miller who was having a great time.

Unfortunately, Roger Woodbridge and Hans Jurgen Krag were sidelined with clutch issues and Pierre Plannthia with a broken gearbox. Chris Wilks, who had made a tremendous start, had a problem with an upright and sadly had to retire the Deep Sanderson.

Due to some very impressive work in the Thornton camp, Greg was able to start race two, albeit from the back of the grid as he was lacking an effective first gear. His performance was outstanding and he came through the field to take the win in race two followed by the hard charging Elva of Chris Drake. Alex Morton and David Innes continued their series long close battle with the Grand Prix car just having the edge. Andrew Beaumont was next followed at a distance by Chris Merrick. Erik Justesen was again the first of the front engine cars followed by Colin Nursey, Jac Nellemann, Mike Gregory, Duncan Rabagliati with the still wounded Deep Sanderson of Chris Wilks following on. The Autosport of Richard Bishop-Miller suffered a differential failure early in the race which caused a drive shaft to break and the suspension to collapse. After a heart stopping moment he was out of the car and safely watching from behind the Armco.

No sooner had the Formula Junior race finished than the promised thunder storm came. Heavy rain was to have a serious impact on the last of the races but we were lucky to be back in the dry to prepare the cars for the long journey home.

Great hospitality was provided at the prize giving and Duncan handed out trophies and class awards to the FJ competitors.

The good guy cup for the South African sector, could only go to one person, Chris Drake. His speed and commitment in the drum brake Elva has to be seen to be believed.
With the Overall South African sector Trophy, the Howard Robinson Trophy, going to Jac Nellemann.

The South African sector was only run with 3 Classes, Front, Drum and Rear, but with a generous supply of trophies, the following awards were presented for the aggregate positions over the two races according to the European FJ Class system;

Class A
1st Jac Nellemann

Class B2
1st Erik Justesen
2nd Duncan Rabagliati

Class C2
1st Colin Nursey
2nd Mike Gregory

Class D2
1st Chris Drake

Class E1
1st David Innes
2nd Andrew Beaumont
3rd Chris Merrick

This saw the end of a fantastic FJ tour in South Africa. Thanks must go to all those who made it possible and to those who went the extra mile to ensure the cars were safely back in the containers – you know who you are!

Report by Chris Merrick

From Wednesday 3rd February, drivers started to arrive at Killarney race circuit to find some of the containers were missing. News was sought and came back that at 8am that morning the containers were still up country on the Zwartkops circuit which was slightly worrying as it was some 900 miles away!
Following a mechanical at Zwartkops Jac Nellemann had arranged to have his spare engine shipped from Denmark down to Cape Town and now needed to clear customs, so Jac, Erling Lindener, Richard and Karen Bishop-Miller went in search of both the shipping agent and lunch – duty was sorted on the engine and a promise extracted that both the engine and the containers would be at Killarney for Thursday morning – all was good.
An opportunity was taken to walk the track in the warm sunshine, which was a sort of J shape with two long straights that looked like they would be quick and even a banked hairpin.

Thursday morning and the first of the missing containers started to arrive. David Innes acquired first an engine hoist and then a dodgy pick up (that leaked fuel everywhere) to move it in. The Alfa Dana had been unloaded so team Formula Junior got stuck in to help remove the sick engine and found the Alfa Dana might be over engineered as it seemed to be held together with many many small bolts, whilst fitting in prepping their own cars ready for the off.

Greg Thornton took on the role of head master and marshalled both paperwork and drivers which may have appeared at times to be like herding cats!

The free practise sessions were fun with many of the drivers feeling their way around the circuit to find the limits and in some cases beyond them. Richard (BM) fell off twice in two corners so wisely came in to find a rear wheel, upright and spring loose due to a suspension issue. Andrea Guarino was having an annoying miss fire getting very little track time, generating Iain Rowley more work. For most of the rest it looked to be down to adjusting tyre pressures, maybe gear ratios where they could be changed, or just playing in the sun.

All of the international drivers had been invited that evening to a gathering in Cape Town’s Crossley and Webb classic car show rooms with the chance to drool over classic Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Morgans, Jaguars or Dorris the dodgy Dodge from the 1920’s, or even the very good BBQ and a glass of red.
Boxy, Nina Taivassalo and Colin Nursey’s pup was a hit and the centre of much attention but may well have been that Boxy was far more interested on what was going on around the BBQ and the vague possibility of a tasty snack.

Friday started early with more free practice, Iain had stripped Andrea’s Lotus 22 changing the head gasket but this proved to be of no avail and it was thought that either the crank or cam had broken. Which ever it was, it proved terminal and a disappointed Andrea was left sat on a rear wheel. Richard Smeeton in the Wainer set the pace in ahead of Greg Thornton, Lotus 22 and Chris Drake in the drum braked Elva 300, whilst the two Richards (Pugh and BM) propped up the field some 20 seconds behind.
Wishful thinking had suggested perhaps the late afternoon qualifying potentially had hinted at cooler conditions. In reality it was still very toasty when the whole field of all 19 Junior drivers headed out on to the track to qualify. Andrea was in the unfamiliar surroundings of Jac’s Volpini and showed an improvement on every lap as he made friends with the car. Duncan achieved an impressive 5 second improvement over practice due in his words to ‘putting more effort into cornering and less braking” and was only just pipped by the Autosport with Richard a tenth of a second ahead. Richard Pugh found 3 seconds admitting that he should have done his homework – e.g. where does the track go! Greg had fitted new tyres to the Lotus and now set a blistering pace with three laps in the 1:23’s eight tenths ahead of Richard Smeeton and two seconds from Chris Drake. Roger Woodbridge having not run the Ausper for some considerable time had made a marked improvement on Zwartkops having got his mo-jo back and was definitely getting more comfortable in the car at this point. Hans-Jorgen Krag was not happy with brakes or the oil slick that appeared under the car, but at least this turned out to be just a sump gasket. Eric Justesen was reporting an untraceable misfire with his U2 Mk2 though it did not appear to slow him down much and he ended in front of a number of the rear engine cars. The two Lotusis (Loti?) of Alex Morton and Doctor David Innes were locked in a battle of the clocks being separated by only six, one thousandths of a second when the flag fell to close the session.

Heading home from the circuit the opportunity to watch the world kite surfing championships at Bloubergstrand over a fish and chip supper was taken, hundreds of brightly coloured kites with the pilots doing acrobatics off the huge braking surf was a sight to behold; the fish n chips weren’t bad either! (Iain the Delta suggested he might fancy a go?).
Race day. The Formula Junior garage received a visit from some important guests of the circuit – children from a local primary school in a deprived area that had been set up about fifteen years ago in a forty foot metal shipping container – a fact that highlighted some of the extremes in the amazing country.
However kids being kids all they really wanted to do was sit in a racing car which was something that we were only too happy to accommodate.
Back to the racing – Chris Wilks in the wonderful Deep Sanderson had been worried with oil pressure issues and had replaced the filter and oil which looked to resolve this. So nineteen cars headed out to the grid mid-morning for race one. The results suggest that this was not a great race and very similar to our modern F1 with everyone finishing in their starting positions – bar the two cars that failed to make it to the flag and Duncan, those 500+ races in the Alexis giving him the edge to get ahead of Richard BM and climb one place to finish fourteenth. However the results do not always give the full story and there were on going battles throughout the whole field. Richard BM had an atrocious start and was last into the first corner and had to work his way back on to the tail of the orange Alexis. Alex Morton and David Innes continued where they had left off in qualification and at the end the gap had increased to a whole five one hundredths of a second. Chris Merrick and Peter Plathinn continued the period dice of Cooper T59 versus Lotus 22 and crossed the line for a photo finish with Chris getting the nod. Richard Smeeton got himself down into the 1:23’s keeping Greg honest. All in all, a great race.
The U2 Mk2 had lost drive and so Eric pulled off the circuit. Richard Pugh felt the Stanguellini lose power and start to tighten up so wisely returned to the pits to find no water left in the cooling system. Jac had made it to the flag as first of the front engine cars but was not happy with the Alfa Dana which had lost power and was suffering with a worrying miss fire. Unfortunately on investigation the Alfa Dana’s second BMC engine had suffered terminal damage – valves and pistons had decided to occupy the same space at the same time leaving the push rods looking like spaghetti and that was that. It was decided to take the head off the Stanguellini as it was suspected correctly that the gasket had failed.  Sadly the replacement head gasket did not resolve the water loss problems so Richard scratched. At least the U2 was repairable, the diff and drive shaft had broken up and whilst removal proved to be a challenge the car would run again in South Africa but it was not to be at Killarney.
If race one could have looked to be processional and un-exciting from the outside, race two proved to be action packed from the first set of lights. Roger Woodhouse unfortunately had suffered in race one being burnt on the… well being burnt and was unable to take the start (though we are pleased to report that after medical treatment a week of recovery and the fitment of a different seat Roger returned to the fray at East London). With Jac having lost the Alpha Dana, Andrea gave up his temporary custodianship of the Volpini so we were down to fifteen.
As the lights went out Han-Jorgen found the Lola Mk3’s gears were all jammed up, leaving those behind to take some interesting evasive lines. On the run down to the first corner Greg chewed up a gear in the Lotus 22 and practically stopped dead which left Chris Drake who had had a cracking start nowhere to go, sadly resulting in quite a lot of damage to the Elva. The red flag was deployed and the remaining cars sauntered back to their respective grid slots to wait the recovery of the stricken Lola and the clean-up of the track. The Lola proved stubborn to remove and after failing to be towed away was eventually man handled to the pits on a trolley jack.
So for race two start two we were now down to just twelve cars for the shortened seven lap outing. As the lights went out there were no major dramas, even Richard in the Autosport got away cleanly for the first time in South Africa. Andrew Beaumont had the best seat at the circuit to watch the close race between David and Alex that continued where it had left off in race one, but was unable to join it. Mike Gregory in the gorgeous De Tomaso ISIS had had a bit of lonely time at first running just ahead of Richard in the Autosport and then just ahead of Jac in the Volpini after the Autosport’s clutch broke up jamming the car in 4th gear for the final 5 laps. Duncan coasted to a halt with points failure with a couple of laps to go but conveniently for recovery purposes just at the end of the pit lane. The incredibly tight Cooper/Lotus dice of race one continued, however this time around Peter in the Lotus took the nod less than four tenths ahead of Chis in the Finnish liveried Cooper this time – Fantastic!
The Formula Junior paddock split up to head off for more racing at the East London Grand prix circuit the following weekend. A number opted to drive the 650 miles of the Garden Route along the south coast over to East London. Mike and Jan Gregory’s home in Knysna became a stopping off point on route. After a coffee in the cafe below their home at the bottom of the cliff, Mike took the chaps on a tour of the local restoration garages including the wonderfully named Bodge Engineering (Jaguar E type race prep workshop). A look around a private car museum followed with the owner taking time out to be our tour guide and insisting Iain R trying out an Austin special for size – a very interesting collection.

So the big adventure gets under away! With 20 Formula Junior racing cars safely arriving at Zwartkops International Raceway to take part in the 15th Passion for Speed + the first round of The Diamond Jubilee World Tour. Amongst the group were 4 cars from Denmark, the sole representative from Italy being Andrea Guarino in the Lotus 22.

Upon arrival all cars and equipment had been unloaded + neatly laid out in our dedicated pit area at this small and compact race circuit in Pretoria and just 40 minutes from the center of Johannesburg.

Scrutineering was errrr!!! different! All cars passing without any difficulty. Our MSA friends back home would have a fit.

Free practice did not take long to throw up a few dramas, as well as a tropical rain storm. Poor Andrew Beaumont in the LDS Alfa (who was actually racing in pre 74 single seaters class) had a big end fail which was the end of any further activity for the weekend. Chris Merrick in the Cooper T59 had a starter motor fail, the Lotus 27 of Dave Innes demolished a drive shaft which in turn damaged the rear bulkhead of the Lotus. Thanks to some fantastic local help, the lotus was up and running the following morning. The Volpini of Jac Nellemann lost its brake fluid. Per Piannthin in Erik Justesen’s Lotus 22 was black flagged for dropping oil, which he wasn’t! Red faces in marshals office.

And we hadn’t even started yet!

So after a nerve racking free practice in the rain with more cars going off than going around, 16 cars made it to the grid for qualifying. At 6000ft above sea level Zwartkops gave some issues with mixtures and carburation; there was much popping + spluttering from the pit garage!!! and that was only the cars.

Fastest qualifying on the 2.4 km circuit was 01.11.324 set by Richard Smeeton in the beautiful Wainer 63 with Greg Thornton (Lotus 22) and Chris Drake (Elva 300) a second behind. The fastest front engine car was Jac Nellemann from Denmark in his rare Alfa Dana at 01.18.73. “The nice people at the back” were round in the 1.28. / 1.31 region. So considerable variation of pace across the grid.

Race 1.

Line honours went to Greg Thornton in the Lotus 22 who had trailed Richard Smeeton for most of the race. The latter deciding to have a little spin just two laps from the end and having to settle for third spot. Second was Chris Drake just 1/100th second behind. At the back of the field there was a good race with Duncan, Richard Bishop Miller and Richard Pugh in the Stanguellini. The Stanguellini taking class A. The first four cars were separated by just .18 of a second. Good stuff! Your scribe was talking to the local supporters who seemed very genuine in saying it was the best racing they had ever seen.

Race 2.

The grid order was qualifying order. Richard Smeeton took a bad start and dropped to 5th, giving the lead to Chris Drake who in turn was hard pressed by Greg Thornton. It took five laps for Richard to get back to second leaving a battle to the finish with Greg.

Three cars abreast as the leaders overtook a back marker had the gallery on their feet. Pressing hard Chris Drake chose to swap ends and lose his a podium place.

The last lap was close. Greg taking Richard on the outside of the last corner and the top spot.

Further back Roger Woodridge back in the belts after some years was getting in the grove. Mike Gregory had a lonely race in the beautiful De Tomaso. Too slow for the front, too fast for the back.

Erik Justesen in the in the U2 Mk 2 chased Chris Merrick and Hans Jorgen Krag went well to finish 7th. Alex Morton in the Lotus F1 had a private dual with “Dr Dave” Innes in the Lotus 27. Honours going to Alex by just one second.

So the first week end of the Diamond Jubilee was over. All agreed a smashing circuit, enthusiastic crowds and great hospitality.

Killarney next stop!!!!

Report by Richard Pugh

The 1.8 mile Wiltshire circuit of Castle Combe, was not only the venue for the start of the FJ Silverline championships but the beginning of the 50th anniversary celebration year for the HSCC. It was 50 years ago at this very circuit that the Griffiths Formula race took place and saw the birth of the HSCC.

With snow on the nearby Cotswold Hills, temperatures just above freezing 17 front engine cars and 22 rear engine cars made it for a very wet practice. A good turn out for the start of the season. Elva driver David Bishop having to miss the weekend after falling off a ladder! (He is fine!).

Front engine.

Qualifying very wet track greeted the cautious drivers with a spin or two helping keep the adrenalin level up. Mark Woodhouse in the Elva 100 had to pull out after four laps with a broken diff, as did Ian Philips in the BMC Mk1 with a damaged rad after a lost wheel resulted in a little excursion.

Stuart Roach in the Stanguellini of Tom De Gres put up the best time of 1.39.89. A very impressive performance considering it was the first time Stuart had raced the car and in the wet. Depressing for those of us going to Monaco.

Andrew Tart in the Bond taking up the other front row spot on 1.41.15. The first ten cars being separated by 18 seconds.

The track had dried out for the race with some spring sunshine thrown in.

The start gave Graham Barron in his Gemini his five seconds of fame (or was it four) as from the third row he took the lead off the start. He must have been watching the start marshal’s finger.

A fight for the lead was quickly set up with Roach / Mallock / Tart. Andrew Tart setting the fastest lap of 1.20.45. At the finish the order had changed to Mallock / Tart / Roach. The Stanguellini suffering from a mild miss fire. Mike Walker in the second Bond crossing the line in fourth, just 1/100th second behind third place.

Further back there was some close racing with Ian Phillips, Graham Barron and John Arnold. All finishing on the same second. The only retirement being Ralf Emmerling in the Gemini with a bent valve. A good season opener with no less than nine separate marques being represented.

Rear engine.

Like for the front engines, practice was in wet and cold conditions but again very close at the front.  Cameron Jackson took pole with a 1.24.15 with Stuart Roach (this time in his regular Alexis Mk4) on a 1.24.22. So close!

Second row was Greg Thornton and Steve Jones.

Interesting to note that the fastest rear engine car was some 15 seconds quicker than the front engine.  The time keepers were pretty strict disallowing times for four cars with incorrect numbers and transponder issues –  take note!

Alex Morton in his Lightning Envoyette, more usually driven by son, Pete, sharing third row with Andrew Wilkinson in the Lynx T3.

The race was drama from start to finish. Pole man Cameron Jackson failed to make the grid due to clutch problems and started from the pit lane. Greg Thornton picked up the baton to chase the Alexis, but on lap three Steve Jones in his Cooper T67 visited the Armco bringing out the red flag for a restart.  This reducing the contest to a 12min race. Steve caused some damage to the Cooper but he was absolutely fine. Robin Longdon pushed off the reformed grid with a broken driveshaft bringing the re-start number to 18 cars.

After the restart Cameron went on a mission and was soon up to fifth. Two laps from the end the Lotus of Greg Thornton was leading with his mirrors full of the Brabham. Stuart Roach then stopped out on track with a flat battery leaving Jackson / Thornton to fight to the end. So Cameron came from last to finish first 1 second ahead of the Lotus. Amazing. The final podium place going to Nick Fennell in the Lotus 27 just half a second in front of fourth place man Andrew Wilkinson in the Lynx.

The leading C2 car was Crispian Besley finishing in 7th spot in the Cooper ahead of Peter Mullen in the Kieft. Good to see two of six Kieft cars out – nearly 50% of the total production. C1 honours went to Simon Durling in the Lotus 18.

A good day had by all at a great venue. All very efficiently run. 37 FJ s out for the season opener.

Richard Pugh
17th April 2016.

Duncan headed up to Silverstone last Friday for the traditional HGPCA testday with support from VSCC members, with their event the following day, and FJHRA.

First stop was the HSCC offices to take photos of some pages from their 1990s FIA Year books for the forthcoming Black Book; Historic Formula Junior and F3/1000 1975-99, due outcast The Brands Hatch Diamond Jubilee celebration in July.
Then it was on to meet Mike O’Brien of Speedsport and see the Caravelle Mk II, still for sale and now very realistically priced for such a class winning car. We also had a look at the MRP archives that he recently bought at auction, emanating from the late David Baker, including some very useful 1965 F2 results, and interesting original starting money receipts signed by Richie Ginther and Mike Spence.

Afterwards it was down to the old pits to look out the FJ contingent. Nick Finburgh had the Envoy Mk1, first outing since its rebuild following Chris Scholey’s accident here last year and a UK season planned.

Team Hibberd are now in charge of Nick Grewal’s OSCA and Andrew spent the morning setting it up for Nick who was delayed collecting Annaline on a late flight into Heathrow but managed the first afternoon session in the dry before the heavens opened. Impressive to watch two OSCAs circulating together as Crispian Besley was out in the Sid Hoole run Peter Mullen car ahead of Monaco.

Gordon Wright was down all the way from Perthshire having his first run out in the ex-Andrew Taylor Britannia. While Peter Fenichel, buyer of Gordon’s blue Stanguellini was there, but saving the car itself for Monaco.

Andrew Hibberd also had his Ford Anglia and took the opportunity to do passenger sessions, separately, for Nick Grewal, Annaline, and Dave, a new possible recruit to FJ from USA.

Hall and Hall have a full FJ contingent under their wing with John Delane (Lotus 18) and Sharon Adelman (Brabham BT6) in Lurani but in addition Tony Best (20/22) and Chris Milner in the ex Adam Sykes Lotus 20 for UK races and will also be running Tommy Rollinger’s Stanguellini at Monaco. Chris Milner’s Lotus had run its engine in its first test, but Tony Best was present with his 20/22 and his 21 and Alex Morton also had his 21 for a Pre Monaco shake down, and Eddy Perk had the Heron but his FJ 18 is progressing towards completion.

Simon Diffey was out testing his gold Lotus 20, though still looking to upgrade to a 22: next in the seat was Charlie Martin, the Chateau Impney Organiser, finding it somewhat different from his usual RIP vintage special. Charlie would be a good recruit to FJ and is currently looking to invite some more rear engined Class E FJs to join last year’s winner, Jack Woodhouse on this year’s entry list. Anyone interested for this splendid weekend please contact Sarah ASAP.

The day ended with the HGPCA AGM, now back under the Chairmanship of Barry Cannell, former 500 OA Chairman Andrew Garner having passed back the baton after 15 months, with extended business commitments. With new sponsorship and sound finances all seemed in good heart and they will be with us at Nurburgring and some other Lurani races this season.

DCPR