Lurani Trophy Round 3;

Exciting racing, sunshine and seaside socials, what’s not to love about Zandvoort?!

It was the first time for FJ on the new banked circuit, and suffice to say the drivers relished the chance, and loved what they found.

The early Wednesday arrivals were soon followed by the overnighters from the Harwich-Hook ferry, and many were already set up ready for scrutineering by Thursday lunchtime.  This allowed for a leisurely afternoon before the track walk and Swedish midsummer FJ paddock party kindly hosted by newcomer Jan Christians and Lotta, Lars-Goran Sjoberg, and Hans and Merja Hillebrink.  Not too much schnapps though, as it was a 9am briefing on Friday morning, a chance to welcome our other newcomers Arnold Herreman (ex-Ashley-Brown Volpini), Tony Lees (ex-James Murray Lola Mk 5A), and Luca Hoefer (Lotus 22), having his first ever race!

So it was a fantastic sight of 30 FJ’s out onto track for qualifying at 10.20, and once they’d spent a few laps learning the lines, and establishing whether to go low or high into the corners, the order started to be set. It was Series leader Clive Richards (Lotus 22) who took pole, but less than a second covered 1st to 4th on the grid, made up behind him of Alex Ames (Brabham BT6), Manfredo Rossi and Lukas Halusa (both Lotus 22s).  Marty Bullock (Wren) was clear Class D leader, Clinton McCarthy (Lotus 18) was ahead in Class C, with Erik Justesen (U2 Mk2) a couple of seconds clear in Class B, while newcomer Arnold Herreman was clearly having no issues first time out in his Volpini, leading Class A. 
Most impressive however was Luca Hoefer, taking 15th on the grid, on his racing debut.  

We had the best of the Friday weather on track, as not long after our qualifying, rain came, and got progressively heavier.  It eased up just in time for our evening BBQ at Sablon, one of the beach pavilion restaurants, and a brilliant evening enjoyed by all, with the sky clearing completely just in time for us to enjoy the wonderful sunset. 

Saturday morning was an early race start, and very sadly for young Fabien Fabek, his Lotus 22 ceased on the start, thankfully everyone safely avoiding him, but when the tow truck pulled him off the grid through the pit wall gate, it broke his donut which in turn caused chassis damage so that was the end of his weekend.  In a very kind gesture, he then offered his wheels to Paul Booth if needed, after Paul had a puncture in the race.

So it was the safety car out, but only for one lap, and on the restart Ames was tucked right up behind Clive keeping him in check until he got past on lap 3.  Meanwhile Manfredo and Lukas, in almost matching white 22’s, were place swapping until lap 5 when Lukas started to pull away in pursuit of the leading pair.

Danny Baker was making cracking progress on his qualifying position and had worked himself up from 10th to 6th by lap 3, and was ready to pick up the battle with CTL teammate Lee Mowle for the rest of the race, taking the edge by a second at the flag.

Another great race unfolding was between Tony Lees and Luca Hoefer, in fact they were side by side on the last lap, and most definitely both grinning from ear to ear on arrival in parc ferme.

Back at the front though, Clive kept Alex in touch the whole way, but it was to be Ames who took a well-deserved victory, with Lukas 13 seconds adrift in third, and it was a jolly awards presentation on the main stage podium, following live music to warm up the crowd gathered.

Saturday evening was the usual fun parade into town, no FJ’s taking part this year, perhaps wisely, given the low nature of the cars on the public roads, however we were back in action on track at primetime on Sunday, just after midday. Non-starters from Saturday’s retirees were Nick Taylor (engine) and Fabian, but David Watkins had repaired the Elfin radiator, Booth his puncture, Sjoberg the Lola’s floor, Clinton’s 18 had undergone a gearbox change by the Setford boys, Sam Wilson had changed the leaking clutch cylinder on Lees’ Lola,  and Hall and Hall had changed just about everything electrical to rid Buhofer’s Lotus 27 of its gremlins, so it was 27 cars who lined up on the grid for race 2.

This time Clive held on to his advantage from the go, but not without serious chase from Lukas Halusa, who was past Manfredo across the line at the end of lap 1.  Alex sadly picked up a misfire a few laps in, so let Lukas through to give charge on the leader, the result being just 0.6 of a second at the flag separately the first two, and both thrilled at the fun of it.

This left Manfredo to race with Lee and Danny this time round, the CTL Lotus’ having the edge at the end, with Danny once again the victor of the two.  Behind them, Stuart Roach (Alexis Mk 4) was chasing down Buhofer’s 27 and making up the top 10 were Adrian Russell (22), finally putting the bad gearbox luck of Hockenheim and Pergusa behind him, and Rudi Friedrichs, having just got his car repaired in time to catch enough laps of qualifying on Friday morning.

Another jolly prizegiving on the stage, with the Class Winners [Marty Bullock – D, Keith Pickering – C, Erik Justesen B, Arnold Herreman – A], getting the opportunity to be on the podium spraying champagne too, before goodbyes until Brno in mid-July.

by Sarah

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HSCC/FJHRA Silverline Historic Formula Junior Championship Round 4

Donington Park 08.06.24

Entry

The Silverline Historic Formula Junior Championship gathered at Donington Park for Round 4 of the UK Championship. A 36 car entry (minus James Owen, with broken ribs after a mountain bike accident) took part in the single qualifying for the event with the entry being divided into separate races for the Front and Rear engine classes.

It was a cold and gloomy morning with some heavy rain having passed through early before the event started. The promise of improving weather had to wait for the afternoon to appear. Three of the victorious Lotus 20s from Cadwell Park were featured but Andrew Hibberd had switched to his Lotus 22. The Metcalfe family were hoping for better luck for Nathan in the Lotus 20 and Tim Metcalfe in his Cooper T56. Gary Thomas was reunited with his Kieft after his two races in Mark Haynes’ Elva 200.

Charles Cook had his first FJ race in 10 years, replacing his previous rear engine Envoy, with his very recent acquisition, the Nike Mk1, in the front engine race. Later in the day Charles would be sharing with Andrew Hibberd in the Guards Trophy Race with Charles’ Merlyn Mk4 sports racing car, Andrew having shaken down the Nike previously owned by Simon Goodliff at Silverstone on the day before the Donington meeting.  Both cars Charles would be racing being very different from the mighty Attila Chevrolet with which Charles had competed previously.

Tony Lees was having his first run in the ex Winkleman Racing Lola Mk5a formerly owned by James Murray. Sam Wilson was entered in his Cooper T59 along with Nick Fennell in the Lotus 27 and Clive Richards in his Lotus 22. Whilst Mark Bates was running the Lynx Mk2 which J believed he had raced at Donington the previous year, and again at the Silverstone Finals.

Qualifying

As the cars left the assembly area, Andrew Turvey remained stranded, a broken gear linkage being the problem. He was pushed down into the pit lane where they managed to get the car into 4th gear and he was able to qualify his Lola Mk5a. It was not a good session for Lola Mk5a’s as Tony Lees encountered problems with his car when the rev counter stopped working.

5 cars were late starting, those being of Crispian Besley, Martin Aubert, Charles Cook, Charles Besley, and Justin Fleming. All presumably caught out by the club getting ahead of time.

The battle for pole was close with Nick Fennell being the first to top the timing sheets before Clive Richards moved ahead. Sam Wilson came to join the party being the first to go into the 1m 17sec bracket only for the time to be disallowed for exceeding track limits. He rebuilt his lap times before taking pole with a time in the 1m 16 sec bracket. Nick Fennell also got into the 1m 17 7/tenths to join Sam on the first row, and 6/tenths clear of Clive Richards in 3rd place on the timing sheets. Completing the second row would be Andrew Hibberd just 2/tenths behind Clive, with the three class D2 Lotus 20s occupying the next places on the grid, Nic Carlton-Smith being ahead of Nathan Metcalfe and Martin Aubert. Martin sharing row 4 with the first of the front engine runners Alex Morton in the Condor SII. Stuart Monument in his class C2 Lotus 18 was 9th and Robin Longdon this weekend’s stand in for Sarah & Duncan completed the top 10 in his Mk3, being the highest placed Lola. Crispian Besley in 11th would complete row 5 of the rear engine grid.

Charlie Besley in the family Elva 100 would share the front row of the front engine grid with the flying Alex Morton. Chris Astley in his Elva 100 would be on Row 2 with Nick Taylor in his Elva 100. Charles Cook breaking the Elva run with his Nike was joined by the Lola Mk2 of Justin Fleming. Graham Barron in Gemini Mk2 would be next from Mark Russell, having a storming debut for the John Arnold team, and Eduardo & Andrea Guarino all in Elva 100. Bernard Brock would be the final Elva runner whilst the two Stanguellini of Peter Fenichel and Peter Edbrooke completed the Front Engine grid.

Front Engine Race

Alex Morton led away from pole with the Condor taking flight into an ever extending lead he was not to lose. Bernard Brock’s race only lasted long enough for him to leave the grid and pull off onto the grass on the run down to Redgate. His core plug having failed.

Chris Astley came through in second place with Nick Taylor following in third. Charlie Besley was running in 4th with a noise coming from the car that was encouraging him to be cautious. Charles Cook in the Nike was 5th, Justin Fleming 6th Mark Russell, 7th Graham Barron 8th Eduardo Guarino 9th from Andrea in 10th.

On lap 4 Nick Taylor retired with gearbox problems. Charlie Besley having dropped back on lap 1 was now the second fastest car on the track, closing the gap to Chris Astley following the retirement of Nick Taylor.

Peter Edbrooke would be the next retirement with ignition problems on his newly restored Stanguellini.

Charlie Besley closed to within 1/tenth of a second of Chris Astley but was not quite able to make the pass. Charlie detected a noise in the car which was later diagnosed as a loose bearing. With a secure 3rd position Charlie gave up his chase of Chris Astley who closed a little on the dominant Condor of Alex Morton to finish just over 6 seconds behind the winner. Charlie Besley was 3rd, over 25 seconds back from his earlier rival. In the final lap Charlie lost several seconds to Charles Cook who finished 4th just 4 seconds down on the podium place ahead.

Graham Barron finished 7th to take class B1 honours whilst Peter Fenichel completed the top 10 in the Stanguellini to take class A honours.

Rear Engine Race

22 cars lined up for the Formula Junior Rear Engine race.  Conditions were still cloudy but the temperature had risen a little from the morning chill. Nick Fennell made a slow getaway from the front row with Sam Wilson leading the field into Redgate.

At the end of lap 1 it was Sam Wilson leading with Clive Richards in his wheel tracks. There was an almost 2 second gap back to Andrew Hibberd who had Nick Fennell glued to his gearbox. 5th would be Nic Carlton-Smith in the leading Lotus 20 with Nathan Metcalfe and Martin Aubert completing the top 7 places. Robin Longdon in the Lola would be next with Stuart Monument Lotus 18 leading his class in 9th place and completing the top 10 would be James Denty in the family Cooper T56. Paul Booth had an awful first lap dropping back to the very last place in his Lotus 20/22. Tony Lees had made a good FJ debut start from the back of the grid following his problems in qualifying to move up to 16th place.

On Lap 4 the Safety car neutralised the race, when Stuart Monument had the throttle stick open on his Lotus 18 taking him into the gravel trap at Coppice. The car was easily recovered with the race resuming for a lap. This gave Paul Booth an opportunity to pass Ralph Carter moving him to the penultimate position on the track. Unfortunately, at the restart Robin Longdon found his way into the gravel trap at Redgate and the Safety car had its second run of the race.

Once again, excellent work by the Marshals and the recovery team had the circuit ready for racing again two laps later with the race resuming on lap 9. Sam Wilson was never allowed to relax as Clive Richards chased him hard all the way to the flag. Clive did briefly snatch the lead out of the chicane on one lap but he was not able to hold onto it for when they crossed the timing line. Andrew Hibberd had an easier race holding a watching brief in third place with Nick Fennell not being able to close the gap.

John Hutchison Jnr would be the last of the retirements in the Envoy Mk1.

Tony Lees had moved up to 14th place just under a second behind the Lynx of Mark Bates. Andrew Turvey had a slow lap on the next circuit dropping him down the order after his recovery run from the morning problems, with Tony passing Mark Bates on the very last lap to take 12th overall from the back of the grid.

Nic Carlton-Smith finished 5th winning class D2 in his Lotus 20 being shadowed all the way to the flag by Nathan Metcalfe. Nathan having a much better race than dad Tim, who developed a misfire with overheating in his Cooper T56 forcing him to nurse the car in top gear to get to finish the race.

Martin Aubert in his Lotus 20 completed the all Lotus D2 podium. James Denty was 8th winner  of class C2 with Gary Thomas finishing 9th and second, whilst completing the top 10 and the C2 podium in his Cooper T56 was Crispian Besley.

Howden Ganley was on hand to assist Robin and Sue Longdon in the HSCC hub for the awards presentation. The UK championship now takes a short break before making the trip north to Oulton Park for the Gold Cup meeting, where the circuit will roll back the years when Formula Junior will be joined by their Grand Prix counterparts of Historic Grand Prix Cars Association for the next of five gatherings where the UK championship is on the same event programme this year.

By Alan Jones

 

HSCC/FJHRA Silverline Historic Formula Junior Championship Rounds 2 & 3

Entry & Qualifying

A super entry of 32 cars gathered in the Lincolnshire Wolds for a bright but cool May weekend. It was with some relief that the rains that had plagued much of the first quarter of the year were abating. But heavy rain on the Thursday of the event may have cast some scepticism of the forecast.  

With Sarah Mitrike hosting round 2 of the Lurani Trophy in Sicily at the Enna Pergusa circuit along with dad Duncan Rabagliati it was Robin and Sue Longdon who were handed the task of overseeing the Junior family at Cadwell Park. It was a hectic week for the Longdon’s as the container holding the cars returning from New Zealand had been delayed and it was a frantic chase to have them unloaded to reach the Lincolnshire Wolds in time.  

The Formula Junior entry was split between the Front and Rear engine cars, with 12 cars entered for the front engine grid and 20 cars for the rear engine. In the front engine entry John Sykes had entered the Merlyn Mk2.  As the commentator was keen to mention, this was actually the first car to race, the Mk1 never having surfaced. We also had the rare sight of there being three Italian cars at Cadwell Park. Peter Edbrooke bringing his Stanguellini to join Peter Fenichel and Tony Pearson with his Bandini, Tony tending to be the most popular man in the Paddock on the Friday night as he arranges the delivery of Fish and Chips for supper.

In the rear engine grid, we had four Lotus 20s, their presence being noticeable when it came to qualifying. Andrew Hibberd was in the driving seat of the family Lotus 20 whilst triple champion Nic Carlton-Smith was having his second run in his American raced car, the paint scheme on which certainly catches the eye. Nathan Metcalfe was also fielding a Lotus 20 along with Martin Aubert.

Jeremy Flann is a newcomer for the season in the ex-Ian Walker Racing Lotus 22 driven in period by Paul Hawkins. Jeremy is a competitor in VSCC with a Frazer Nash (how appropriate he joined the HSCC) and was looking for a car for his son to race. Jeremy’s son is a successful Kart racer and they were looking for a car class he could move into that would be competitive without being aggressive and would be fun to drive.

They had looked at a number of classes, many being written off because of the cost, non-ownership of the car and ease of preparation. The family are hands on mechanics being used to the pre-war cars so they wanted something they could work on themselves. They met with Duncan and Sarah at Goodwood, and once ensnared Jeremy bought the Lotus and was thoroughly enjoying the racing and the companionship that comes with the Championship.

 The 22 came with some history and Jeremy has been enjoying researching further himself, getting to talk to the car’s second owner, Peter Boshier-Jones who he found through a tennis web site, Peter being the UK over 85 Tennis Champion.

Our other newcomer first time out is Ralph Carter. He is driving a Lotus 22 from the Speedsport workshop. Still acclimatising, he was a little off the pace at Cadwell, a difficult circuit to learn, but he was very pleased with the welcome he received in the paddock.

Front Engine Qualifying.

Sadly the entry was to lose James Owen following Friday testing, James reporting suspected diff failure in his Gemini Mk II. He did stay on for the weekend to watch the racing also finding time for a 30km bike road on the backroads and bridleways. He reported ‘scenery stunning, hills very hilly.’

In qualifying on track there were distinct groups with Alex Morton and Mark Woodhouse coming through first then Graham Barron and John Sykes whilst father and son Guarino seemed to be shadowed by Peter Fenichel. Tony Pearson and Peter Edbrooke were both finding their Italian cars to be very temperamental. Tony stopped without completing a lap with a points problem and Peter retired to the pits after 3 laps with a broken propshaft coupling.

Following qualifying Peter made the decision to switch to his trusty Lotus 18 being given permission to stay with the Front Engine grid as sole Class C1 car and start from the back. Tony having resolved his problem was allowed to complete his 3 laps to qualify with the rear engine cars and then had a further run behind the safety car to be sure the car would be up to racing. Graham Barron having established 3^rd fastest time on lap 7 retired to the paddock. 

The final grid order being, Alex Morton from Mark Woodhouse, Graham Barron, John Sykes, Justin Fleming, Andrea Guarino, Peter Fenichel, Eduardo Guarino qualified 8^th but would not start in the first race as he had a broken rear upright that needed replacement, the preparer citing hooligan behaviour as a possible cause of the failure. The gentlemanly Bernard Brock would therefore be promoted to 8^th on the grid with Peter Edbrooke and Tony Pearson bringing up the rear.  

Rear Engine Qualifying

All 20 of the entries took part in the rear engine qualifying. Initially it was Andrew Hibberd who set the opening pace, the Class D2 drum brake class battle determining who would be on Pole position. The reply from Nic Carlton-Smith placed him at the head of the field for several laps before first Nathan Metcalfe then Andrew Hibberd finally took pole position. It looked like a close competition was in prospect between the Lotus 20s.  Martin Aubert ensured a Cheshunt lockout of the front two rows of the grid with his Lotus 20 albeit a few seconds back from the top trio.

The first of the non-Lotus cars and leader of the Class E1 group would be Alan Schmidt who had graduated up from the Speedsport Lotus 22 into the Brabham BT6 that has been hugely successful for the team. Alan himself was finding he was far more comfortable in the car being rewarded with 5^th overall. 6^th would be Adrian Holey who continues to understand better the Australian Rennmax. With plenty of advice and encouragement from Samuel Harrison, the prediction of a top 6 placing proved entirely accurate netting him second in class despite only completing two laps in qualifying when he pulled off. Jeremy Flann in the Lotus 22 was less than 4 tenths behind Adrian in qualifying, how it would be in the race we would have to wait and see.

Stuart Monument’s Lotus 18 headed John Hutchison Jnr in the Envoy, John being just 1 tenth behind the Lotus, so close racing was promised throughout the pack. Gary Thomas at last looked to have a reliable car in which to enjoy some racing, having his second run out in Mark Haynes’ Elva 200.

The qualifying came to a slightly early close when Nathan Metcalfe spun and stalled at Mansfield due to a seizure in the transmission and the safety car was quickly followed by the red flag  to conclude the session. Having qualified in second place Nathan’s weekend would sadly end there. The team thought they had a solution, but the diff had locked solid and nothing was going to free the back wheels to allow them to turn.

The ever resourceful Formula Junior paddock did find a solution when it came to loading the car back onto the trailer on Sunday night. Paul Booth donated some plastic buckets which were then cut into sections to go under the locked wheels. This enabled the reluctant Lotus to be pushed and dragged onto the trailer. Paul ‘Bucketman’ Booth has placed an order of ten buckets for the next event in the eventuality of other competitors finding themselves in difficulty at subsequent events!

Front Engine Juniors Race 1

From Pole position Alex Morton made the perfect getaway, whilst alongside, Mark Woodhouse made a slow start dropping four places behind Graham Barron in second place, Justin Fleming in third who had recovered from his poor qualifying position and John Sykes in   fourth place.

Alex Morton was proving himself to be the class of the field with a 7 second gap at the end of lap one, which he continually extended to be 23 seconds ahead of his rivals at the chequered flag on lap 11.

Tony Pearson’s Italian affair did not last a lap with the Bandini pulling away sounding like it was a two stroke and when it expired halfway up the climb on the paddock entrance billowing smoke from the exhaust you would have thought he was planning on joining the Super Karts later in the day. The issue was traced to a head gasket and after being towed into the paddock Tony set about trying to coax the car into giving him a race on Sunday.  

On circuit there was definitely a race taking place. Justin Fleming having passed Graham Barron into second place headed the chase after the flying Condor. John Sykes was the third fastest man on track closing down Graham Barron but behind him Mark Woodhouse was a man on a mission lapping 4 seconds faster than the Merlyn, and he was trying to recoup some time on the disappearing Alex Morton. By lap 3 Mark had passed the line of cars in front of him to take second place, but alas, there was no catching the Condor. Andrea Guarino would be the second retirement of the day when his points failed on lap 2.

Whilst the order remained static the race between Justin Fleming, Graham Barron and the irrepressible John Sykes was great to watch as they trailed through the Esses launching over the Mountain trying to out manoeuvre each other into Hall Bends.

Mark Woodhouse, despite having broken clear to give himself a two second gap, found the battling trio behind were matching him on lap times as they pushed each other on. John Sykes looked like he would pass Graham Barron on Lap 8 but Graham fought back to retain fourth place. On lap 9 Justin Fleming put in a quick lap to gain on Mark Woodhouse extending his margin over the Barron/Sykes battle. On lap 10 John finally passed Graham at Coppice. The tale of this race would have one final cruel twist.

Entering into Barn on the last lap, Mark Woodhouse ran out of brakes and pulled off the circuit. After a brilliant drive he would receive no reward, with a non-finish. The final order was a dominant win for Alex Morton, with Justin Fleming second, John Sykes third and Graham Barron fourth, taking Class B1 honours. Fifth and second in Class B1 was Bernard Brock from Peter Fenichel in the sole surviving Stanguellini, also claiming class A honours with Peter Edbrooke being the last of the finishers, now in his Lotus 18.

Front Engine Juniors Race 2

For the second of the Front Engine races we were unfortunately without Mark Woodhouse, his brake issue unable to be resolved. However, we did have both Andrea and Edoardo Guarino in their Elva 100s competing again. Tony Pearson was also hoping the Bandini was now race ready and good for 20 minutes racing around Cadwell Park.

If Alex Morton’s first race had been considered dominant, the way in which he won the second race would have you believe the Condor had been re-engineered by Red Bull because the Condor looked like it had sprouted wings. At the end of the first lap his lead was over 14 seconds and by the end of the race his advantage back to Justin Fleming was 43 seconds.

However, it did look like we were going to be treated to another battle featuring Graham Barron and John Sykes. Unfortunately, in the excitement John had managed to hook second gear by mistake on lap 2 and “buzzed” the engine elevating Andrea Guarino into fourth place with Bernard Brock fifth. Peter Fenichel had Edoardo on his heels.

Tony Pearson did manage a lap again before the Bandini declared race over. The climb into the paddock once again required assistance from the waiting recovery crew. The following lap would see the retirement into the pits for Peter Fenichel’s Stanguellini and for this race there would be no more Italian participation.

The final place change came on lap 6 when Edoardo Guarino passed Bernard Brock for fifth place.  The final order was Alex Morton first, Justin Fleming second, Graham Barron third and Class B1 winner, fourth was Andrea Guarino who finished third in Class B2 with Edoardo finishing second in Class B1 with Bernard Brock sixth. Completing the finishers was Peter Edbrooke.

 

Rear Engine Juniors Race 1

It was 19 cars that left the assembly area with just 18 making it to the grid for the start of the first Formula Junior Rear engine race. It was not a weekend to be named Metcalfe. With Nathan’s Lotus 20 withdrawn, Tim Metcalfe got as far as the green flag lap before coming to a halt with no oil pressure.

It was a clean start for the three Lotus 20s with Andrew Hibberd leading Nic Carlton-Smith with Martin Aubert in third^. Fourth was Adrian Holey in the Rennmax who had got ahead of Alan Schmidt in the Brabham with Stuart Monument sixth in the Lotus 18 followed by Jeremy Flann. Robin Longdon made a slow start, recovering to only lose two places.

As much as Alex Morton’s two victories had been dominant, Andrew and Nic were very much in a class of their own. Andrew progressively extended his advantage over Nic to almost 16 seconds popping in the fastest lap on the last lap of the race. Nic for his part had an almost similar advantage back to the race for third place.

Adrian, in the early stages of the race having passed Martin Aubert, looked set for a possible podium finish behind the two Lotus 20s and also a class win for the Rennmax. His position being made more secure by a battle between Martin Aubert and Alan Schmidt.

Further down the field there was a good scrap for eighth place featuring Jeremy Flann in the Lotus 22, Gary Thomas in the Haynes Elva 200, Robin Longdon and completing the chain Crispian Besley. After 6 laps Robin Longdon had cleared the train of cars and was in pursuit of John Hutchison Jnr in the Envoy lying second in class C2 to the Lotus 18 of Stuart Monument.

The following lap Robin had passed John and was now closing on Stuart, whilst Gary Thomas had worked his way up to 9^th place after Jeremy Flann dropped two places with Crispian Besley following in the Elva’s wheel tracks to take tenth^h place.

There were dices everywhere with Paul Booth in his Lotus 20/22 coming under the close attention of Jeremy Bouckley in the Cooper Mk2 who had Andrew Gemmill’s similar Lotus following him.

On lap 8 into Hall bends Alan Schmidt pulled off a brave overtake to pass Adrian Holey for third place and the lead of Class E1. It was on this lap that John Hutchison Jnr had a big spin at Barn completing a 360 degree turn, dropping him 3 places to 11^th behind Jeremy Flann.

With Alan Schmidt looking to be clear in third place Adrian Holey was now coming under pressure from Martin Aubert.

On the last lap at the foot of the Mountain the race came unstuck for two drivers. Alan Schmidt being the first, dropping two places whilst John Hutchison Jnr found some fluid relegating him to 14^th place. In all the excitement Martin Aubert managed to slip through to claim the last place on the podium to make it a Lotus 20 one, two, three.

At the prizegiving post event, Andrew Hibberd noted this could be a historic podium believing it is probably the first time since the early sixties that there has been an all Lotus 20 podium. I am sure our historians will comeback with names and location for the last time this happened.

For the writer, in his memory, it is certainly the first time in a long while since there has not been a Class E1 car in a podium place. So probably this is one for the history books.

Adrian Holey brought the Rennmax home fourth claiming class E1 victory from the unfortunate Alan Schmidt in the Brabham BT6. Sixth and winning class C2 was Stuart Monument in the Lotus 18 whilst following was Gary Thomas in the Elva 200 with Crispian Besley in the Cooper T56 ninth rounding out the C2 podium. Paul Clark tenth in the Lotus 20/22 completed the E1 rostrum.

It was a good race and a great performance from all concerned. 18 cars started the race and 18 cars finished.

 

Rear Engine Race 2 Barry Westmoreland Trophy Race

The 18 cars that had formed up for Race 1 assembled in their qualifying order for the start of Race 2. For many this second race was that little bit special as many will have memories of Barry who sadly passed away at the wheel whilst racing his Lotus 22 at Cadwell Park.

The start of Race 2 looked very much like a repeat of Race 1. Again, Andrew Hibberd led away from Nic Carlton-Smith and Martin Aubert for a repeat of the previous days’ podium. Alan Schmidt came through in fourth place in the Brabham, with Jeremy Flann fifth from Stuart Monument and Gary Thomas. Adrian Holey had made a dreadful start being swamped off the line and was lying in 11^th place at the end of lap 1.

Adrian was quick to remedy his tardy start moving up into sixth place by lap 3. Andrew Hibberd built up an early lead over Nic Carlton-Smith, the gap ebbing and flowing as they moved through the traffic but Andrew always seemed to be able to find that quick lap soon after to maintain a healthy lead.

Alan Schmidt however had his eye on a podium place this time with the Brabham displacing Martin Aubert for third place on lap 3. The pair remainedclose, matching each other’s lap times for the following laps as they too moved through the traffic.

In the Mountain grandstand there was a lot of excitement as Gary Thomas was again putting up a stirring performance in Mark Haynes’ Elva. Mark was almost sympathising with his wife when he confessed to finding it more stressful watching his car than racing it.

For Adrian Holey in the Rennmax, once he had passed the Lotus 18 of Stuart Monument, he could not match the pace of Alan Schmidt in front and looked set for a fifth place finish in the race. Robin Longdon after his slow start in Race 1 was having a much better time in Race 2, which is when the Mountain stand came alive as he and Gary Thomas had a great dice for the closing laps of the race.

Jeremy Flann after his flying start did settle back into tenth^h place ahead of the class C2 dice between Crispian Besley’s Cooper and Trevor Griffiths’ Emeryson. For a while Richard Ferris with the Donford was embroiled in the fight before slipping behind in the closing laps.

On lap 11 Martin Aubert made his move to retake third place from Alan Schmidt, coming into the Mountain on the following lap Martin suddenly swung into the paddock entrance allowing Alan Schmidt to pass by. Martin was stranded with a “box of neutrals” in the Lotus 20 and his fine race was run.

As in race 1, the Mountain was also to catch John Hutchison Jnr, who after a strong pursuit of Gary Thomas entered the Mountain to find he had lost 2^nd gear pitching him into a spin in the Envoy. Luckily avoiding the barriers and any following cars John was able to pick his way off the grass to finish.

The result was a second win for Andrew Hibberd in the Lotus 20 from Nic Carlton-Smith in his Lotus 20 with Alan Schmidt in third place with the Brabham BT6, and winning class E1 from Adrian Holey 4^th in the Rennmax. Stuart Monument very nearly threw away fifth place and the class C2 win with a spin in Hall Bends on the final lap.  That allowed Robin and Gary to catch right up with Gary having to take to the grass as Stuart rejoined and held them off by less than a second at the flag.  So, Robin Longdon in his Lola Mk 3 took the final podium place in class D2 behind the two Lotus 20s. Hard on his tail was Gary Thomas who had thoroughly enjoyed his race to second in Class C2. Gary plans to have the Kieft race ready for Donington. Crispian Besley in the Cooper completed the Class C2 podium after his race long dice with Trevor Griffiths.

Receiving the Barry Westmoreland Trophy at the prize giving afterwards Andrew Hibberd paid tribute to Barry who, he reminded us, was celebrating his 50^th year of racing when he passed away.  Stuart Monument was awarded FJ Driver of the Day.

The prize giving ending on an emotional moment when Jeremy Bouckley announced he had taken part in his last race. He recalled it was in 1963 when he came to Cadwell Park for the Formula Junior Race, sharing the track with the infamous Roy James, get-away driver in the 1960s Great Train Robbery. So, he felt it was fitting to hang up his helmet in the same location. He paid tribute to his partner Corinne and Peter Denty whose Cooper he had raced for the past 20 years. Although he did suggest there may still be a return. He intimated he was not retiring just having his last race. We will wait to see.

By Alan Jones

Lurani Trophy Round 2 – Pergusa-Enna

17^th – 19^th May 2024

We arrived at Autodromo Pergusa to the warmest of welcomes from Mario Srgo and all the circuit organisation team, with a full sit down Welcome Dinner on Thursday night, bright sunny weather (except for a Mediterranean  storm at the start of our second race). A seven car Western Australian/Dutch/Danish/ British camper corale in the main paddock, supplementing those in garages transported south by truck, brought Formula Junior back to Pergusa-Enna for the first time since the Period races, the first having been won in 1959 by Raffaele Cammarota, in a Stanguellini, and in subsequent years by Jo Siffert, “Geki” and Jo Schlesser.

Clive Richards’ red Lotus 22 was soon once again on the pace, but Manfredo Rossi di Montelera was back with his white, Sam Kendle run, 22, and ex Touring car racer, Lee Mowle is ever improving in his CTL run Lotus 20/22, so all three provided plenty of entertainment and action.

The first half of race one was a slow affair behind the safety car, as, later HGPCA winner, Rudi Friedrichs in the ex-Marc Buhofer Lola 5A dislodged a drum at the penultimate chicane, and stopped trackside with a broken wishbone.  Once let loose, Clive pulled a slight lead, but, behind, for Rossi, Mowle, and Danny Baker in his CTL run 27, it was only four tenths of a second that separated the trio at the flag, with Kubota-san (20/22) trailing them ahead of Dave Watkins’ Elfin, and Ray Mallock, U2 Mk 2, the first of the front engine cars.

Race two was on Sunday, greeted by such unseasonal weather that the folk dancers who were due to entertain us on the grid, had to take refuge. Clive again showed his current mastery, leading Manfredo and Lee, but behind these two was a great scrap, Kubota-san having been left behind on the grid, eventually catching 4th place man, Danny Baker, and holding on to the flag. Rudi was welded up, but in the end, decided not to start again on this fast track without facilities to set the car back up, while both Australians ran home smiling, David Watkins collecting a special award for the furthest travelled competitor, a few miles further south than Marty Bullock’s yellow Wren. Both U2s, Erik Justesen being in the original Arthur Mallock car, finished well as did Floris Hecker in the faithful Rayberg, but Duncan burst an oil pipe in the Alexis, and pulled off without causing any track incident.

A full Podium prizegiving followed with beautiful handmade terracotta pots as awards, and the weekend was rounded off with a special tea party, cake and candles to celebrate Bob Birrell’s 100th different circuit, accumulated across five continents in his competition career  from 4th place in the Johore Grand Prix in a Hawke DL2, to racing the Shannon Super Vee around German airfields, to a long career, not yet finished, in Historic Formula Junior.

DCPR                    

 

 

 

2024 Lurani Trophy Round 1

3^rd – 5^th May

Formula Junior Lurani were back at Hockenheim for the season start; Clive Richards (22) set a blistering pace, leaving all in his wake and ultimately smashing Horatio Fitz-Simons fastest lap from last year : Race one, after a restart, saw ex-touring car ace Lee Mowle (20/22) leading the chase from Philipp Buhofer (Lola 5A), but he was pushed all the way by Le Mans winner, Marco Werner (22), despite gearbox problems, with Philipp just holding on to the flag.

Race two saw an epic battle behind Richards, between the two CTL run Lotuss of Lee Mowle and west-coast ace, Danny Baker (27), who had a race long dice, with Danny taking the honours, though Lee got his revenge with the champagne on the podium!!

The Australians were back, with Marty Bullock (Wren) taking the glory in Class D after a superb first race battle, from Dave Watkins (Elfin), while a late front engined winner was Past Lurani Champion Erik Justesen (ex-Arthur Mallock U2), after a troubled journey and late arrival necessitating a back of the grid slot.

Gilbert lenoir (Elva200) and Petter Huse (Focus IV) won the remaining Classes C and E2 respectively.

Post-race prize giving was special, as we were joined by multi race winner in both period 500cc F3 and Formula Junior, participant in his Brabham F2 in Jim Clarks fatal last race in 1968, and later Porsche 917 legend, Kurt Ahrens Jnr, who kindly presented the Trophies with much enthusiasm, watched on by Duncan, and Marco Werner, with drivers, teams and supporters.

Next stop, Enna in Sicily in two weeks time.

DCPR

 

Back To The Grid

2024 Silverline Championship Round 1

The Entry

Had the long cold and windy winter taken the edge from our enthusiasm? Not a chance!

There were 23 entries of which 2 didn’t arrive Chris Goodwin and Eddie O’Kane that disappointed me I drove this ex-Andrew Robertson Crossle as a 1500cc Formula Ford at Mondello in 1969 another story for another day. A late entry was Nick Fennell with his well-known Ex Ford France Lotus 27.

It was particularly pleasing to see the wide number of different classes represented, with half the grid being rear engine drum braked, including Pierre Guichard in his Lynx, over from Denmark gone are the days of wall to wall E1 Class cars. Looked like everyone had a chance of close dicing within their class exactly what was intended with Historic Juniors.

It was also especially encouraging to have 3 Father/Son combinations running: Michael and Andrew Hibberd, Andrea and Eduardo Guarino, and Tim and Nathan Metcalfe, Nathan having his race debut!

I can’t ever recall such a very welcome statistic perhaps someone will put me right? Meanwhile, for sure our beloved sport remains in good hands.

Readers will be astonished to learn that for the first time in decades, our Chairman Duncan was not present- for the very good reason of visiting grandchildren in New York a most laudable reason the best. I might add that at my very first FJ race was at Snetterton in 1999,e was fast aasleep in the back of his Vauxhall Cavalier having driven it and trailer solo from Paul Ricard where he had raced the previous afternoon wow!

QUALIFYING

We were well reminded of the origins of Snetterton an ex bomber airfield without trees to provide shelter from a bitterly cold North East wind – the sun may have shone, but no amount of layers seemed enough!

The grid resulted in few surprises, at least at the front end, with Fennel well clear of Hibberd Minor in the family class D2 Lotus 20, followed dutifully by Dad in the Lotus 27 class E1. Nic Carlton-Smith was 4^th with his new mount an ex USA Lotus 20 which with its livery looked like it had come straight from Qualifying for the 1963 Indy 500. Nic drove it as one might expect of a multiple FJ Champion, despite the engine being not quite au point.

Other notable performance were by Tim Metcalfe, Stuart Monument, Chris Astley. I’d better stop there so many drove really well.

Andrew Hibberd was through the field best D2 runner, Stuart Monument (Lotus 18) just shaded (by 0.098) Keith Pickering (Britannia), for class C2, and Chris Astley (Elva 100) was streaks above the rest in Class B2, with Peter Fenichel (Stanguellini) the sole runner in Class A.

THE RACE

It was no surprise to see Nick Fennels sublime Lotus make a great start and thereafter it pulled steadily away being smoothly and perfectly driven. Andrew Hibberd gave chase while fending off Nic Carlton-Smith’s Indianapolis refugee. Andrew ran wide on lap 3 allowing Carlton-Smith to get by only for a couple of laps though, until his imperfect engine allowed Andrew to reclaim 2^nd overall.

Sadly for Nathan Metcalfe, his first outing ended on lap 2 when the gear linkage failed. Nathan, by no means discouraged, is looking forward to the next race in Bravo!

Adrian Holey made a leisurely start but thereafter having placed 22^nd after lap 1, fought his way to 10^th by the finish.

Dice of the race featured Chris Astley, Andrew Turvey and John Hutchison Minor –  they passed and repassed throughout the race until Astley’s Elva shed a wheel when a rear upright failed.

Others not making the finish line were Justin Fleming’s delectable Lola Mk 2 which unfortunately lost drive on lap 4 and newcomer Garry Thomas Elva 200 expired on the first lap.

Everyone drove well no bodily contact and as far as I’m aware not even a spin well done all the drivers, the prefect season start.

EPILOGUE

Despite the constant risk of hypothermia, all the teams, families and drivers thoroughly enjoyed the meeting, with Sarah ahead of the game from the start in Friday everything ran to plan. There was also the added bonus of the new HSCC Hub providing welcome shelter and hot drinks for our prizegiving to take place in. A delighted George Pickering collected the Commentators FJ driver of the day Silverline prize for Dad Keith, who thanked Nic for having moved up a class! Tools a plenty were given to all Class Winners, and with new friends made, it was farewell until Cadwell.

By Bob Birrell