The 2024 FJHRA Auction will take place on Sunday 24th November, at Delta Hotels Warwick, UK, at approx. 2pm.

• If you are unable to be there in person, we invite you to email your bid to sarah(@)formulajunior.com
• We can also arrange telephone bidding on the day if required. Please email for details.

The proceeds will be divided between 2 charities;

Mugello; Lurani Trophy Round 4
6^th – 8^th October 2023

Scenic and sunny, Mugello delivered another special weekend for the Lurani Trophy travelling circus. 

Two dedicated FJ free practice sessions on Friday saw Horatio Fitz-Simon, just flown in from Laguna Seca, the only one to break 2m 10s, although for most of the second session the time screens were showing Lukas Buhofer as fastest, which was surprising as he had only just emerged from his temporary sick bed to reach the drivers briefing on time!! Not the weekend’s only drama with the timing electronics, but eventually corrected; and poor newcomer, Luciano Biamino, in Franco Fraquelli’s Elva 100 was immediately in engine trouble which was to for-shorten his weekend. For the rest, after a few laps of this fantastic circuit, all thoughts of the long journey south were gone, especially as this was followed by the Italian party organised by the Tonetti brothers, wives and friends.

Qualifying on Saturday morning saw Horatio (Lotus 22) set a 2:09; no surprises and all safe and sound, although Lukas Buhofer explored the gravel, and Christian Lange stopped his Envoy on his last lap, but fortunately his worries were assuaged on later closer inspection by Fred.

It was at least starting to cool as race 1 assembled late afternoon; Horatio made the best of the start and drew clear of Clive Richards 22, but behind was a battle royal, ending with Andrew Hibberd in the Monza wager 22, just keeping his nose ahead of Roberto Tonetti’s BT6. Class D, and with overall Champion also in play, saw another round of the yearlong Titanic battle between Pierre Guichard’s Australian Lynx and Stuart Roach’s Alexis Mk3, this time Stuart getting the edge by 0.3s. Last, literally, but not least, was a David and Goliath encounter between Bob Birrell’s Lotus 20 and Duncan Rabagliati’s earlier Alexis HF1; after several changes of position, it was Bob, with the superior Ford motor, who powered past on the final straight to win by a very short head.

Race two was in the heat of the sun on Sunday, but unfortunately, with a delayed start to the races earlier in the day, due to overnight mist, the cars were held rather long in the pre-grid: at least all got away from the start with Horatio heading the field, but approaching Palagio on lap 1, Stuart Roach was unsighted and too late to avoid a spinning BT6 blocking the track, so to end his Championship hopes. The safety car boards went up, followed not long after by a red flag, after Danny Baker, late to notice the SC boards, lost control on the start finish line. The race was restarted behind the safety car, but Duncan was also now missing as his brake fluid was so hot that the brakes had locked solid during the pit lane stop!! 

Once again there was no stopping Horatio, and with it, he took the 2023 Lurani Trophy, but this time it was a close race between Clive Richards and Andrew Hibberd for 2nd, with Hibberd just snatching the place on the line. Pierre Guichard thus comfortably won Class D, returnee Valerio Leone in his Elva 200-BMC inflicted an unusual defeat on Christian Lange’s Envoy for class C, and Nigel Lackford did Elva proud again in Class B; but for purists to see not only one but two original OSCA, was a real pleasure, Paduan, Emmanuele Benedini taking Class A.

Mugello circuit, with its adjacent historic town of Scarperia is difficult to surpass amongst the FJ battlegrounds, but two weeks ahead will see us at Jerez in Spain, another historic circuit for the final round.

Charles Pringle

 

Lurani Trophy Round 3 – 50^th Oldtimer GP ; Nurburgring; 11^th – 13^th August

A full grid was in the offing for the third round of the 2023 Lurani Trophy, but August is a busy continental holiday month, and several regulars preferred the Southern European sun to the storm ridden Northern Europe. Others had mechanical issues, Adrian Russell (gearbox), Clinton McCarthy, (GP Lotus 18 gearbox), and others more personal problems, but it was still a good 34 car grid that assembly in a comfortably large tent.

Formula Junior make a good presence, situated opposite Marcus Biehl’s German Open Series, which included Pietro Tenconi (Ralt F3, owner of the family OSCA and Stanguellini), Valerio Leone, occasional FJ participant in his Elva 200, and new owner Ingo Fabek, who has just purchased the ex-Andreas Defuhr Lotus 22-J-36, the original Costin car, later raced in US in FF guise. Ingo’s son Fabio was making his racing debut in a Lotus 61, also ex Defuhr, and performed most impressively: he plans to be out in the 22 next year.

In our own tent, Dr Peter Laier arrived with the ex-Chris Chilcott Brabham BT2, for its first outing in his ownership; Erik Justesen, with son Johan riding shogun, was back again in the Apache, while Richard Bishop-Miller, hours of labour behind him, and a very original chassis so ably restored by Robin Longdon’s fabrication works, was back on the grid with the Triumph engined Autosport.

Parked up with the other Chrome Cars was Marco Werner’s Lotus 22, first time out for 2 years, but not a happy weekend, hampered by a fuel cell problem. Teammate, Felix Haas, cheerful as always, promises a return in 2024 with the BT6, once the FIA Papers finally emerge from the DMSB. Not so good news, however, about Heiko Ostmann’s Foglietti, which once masqueraded in the Donington Collection, and raced, as a Stanguellini restoration, and may well be for sale: a really fascinating project with a stack of period photos to aid restoration.

Thursday testing saw several FJ’s out on track briefly! As a lack of marshals and red flags (due to non FJ cars in the mixed session), produced very little value for money. Amongst those on track were Rudi Friedrichs, having his first serious FJ outing, in the ex-Marc Buhofer Lola 5A, together with Philipp Buhofer and Richard Wilson (27’s), Richard commenting how he really enjoyed the FJ, reminded me what fun it is, Mark Shaw (briefly in the BT6, combining one session with both his Lotus 21 Climax and his Scarab!): Clive Richards (22) and the Hibberds, Andrew in the green 22, ex-Team Lotus Anderson/Arundell car, and Michael in the Class D, 20.

All cars were ready for qualifying, and recorded times. Casualties were Lars-Goran Sjoberg who was in after 4 laps with gearbox trouble, and Peter Laier on the same lap, after his engine hit trouble, and deposited some oil which caught out Philipp Buhofer’s 27 into the barriers, between an Autosport and Alexis sandwich, both the latter unscathed.

Up front, Horatio was still 8/10^th of a second ahead of Clive Richards, both in their ex-Tommy Reid Lotus 22’s, but a very on form Andrew Hibberd, was close enough behind to herald an exciting race ahead, with Mark Shaw, BT6 on the pace behind. In the hotly contested Class D, Stuart Roach’s Alexis Mk 3 was just 3/10’s ahead of Marty Bullock’s Wren, an orange and yellow contest in the offing, till Stuart came into the pits on the last lap, with only 3 wheels!!, a drive shaft having broken: a few hours later, the missing spare was located on the shelves at Ower, and a hugely generous gesture by Harry of Setfords friend saw the part on the road, on the ferry and by 3 am, in situ at Barweiler!!, fitted in an hour Saturday morning, and it was ready for Race 1.

Meanwhile Peter Laier and family, despite his troubles, hosted another excellent drinks party after qualifying, and it was so nice to see sleeping FJ owner/drivers Peter and Suzanne Knoefel (Emeryson), Gerald Ludwig (Brabham BT6), Claus and Heinke Myhr (ex-Kurt Ahrens Cooper T56), Tobias Aichelle (Melkus and Mitter), Dr Dietrich Merkel (ex-Lola and Britannia) Mark Rufer (Elva 100) and Stefan and Gabi Weinbach (Ex Elva 100) around the FJ paddock all weekend.

Horatio may have won but it was a truly exciting race 1, and all credit to Andrew, splitting the two red 22’s in a Red/Green 22 sandwich only 1.6s apart. Philipp Buhofer’s team led by Andy Willis at Hall and Hall, and his faithful H, had brought the 27 back to pristine condition, but just could not keep pace with the three leaders. Mark Shaw (BT6) and Lee Mowle (20/22) fought hard for the next places, Stuart Roach leading Class D comfortably, just behind. The unfortunate Marco Werner pitted in the green flag lap, having managed only one fast lap, and was forced to call it a day. Iain Rowley, driving Stephen Bulling’s ex USA Elva 300/005 suffered gearbox failure, but certainly attracted a lot of admirers in the tent: one can’t help thinking what Elva could have done with this car properly developed in 1961 and thereafter. Sadly, all the time and hard work by Richard Bishop-Miller and Karen to get the Autosport to the Ring came to nought, the clutch exploding, shattering the gearbox casing. Petter Huse suffered further wheel bearing problem and parked up together with the OSCA of Giampaolo Benedini which had a broken crank. Norwegian and Italian not being remotely compatible, it was sufficient to suggest to Giampaolo that it would be a good idea to turn off the ignition.

Whilst Saturday’s race was late, it was Sunday mid-day for Race 2, following the small, yet even more depleted Race 2 for the F2 cars. This time the front contest sadly evaporated, with Horatio well ahead, Andrew indulging in a spin at the chicane and Clive Richards water pipe coming adrift on lap 2, luckily without spraying him with boiling fluid. Marty spun away his Wren and Class D chances into the gravel on lap 3, and Lee Mowle missed out on a better finish with a pre-race pit stop to attend to a misfire, but thereafter ran fast and well up to 11^th place. Stuart Roach’s Alexis again comfortably headed Class D, but an early encounter for the nose with Lukas Buhofer’s BT6 did little to help the airflow. Amongst the front engined cars, Floris-Jan Hekker’s Rayberg ran clear, well ahead of Erik Justesen’s Apache, with Duncan nibbling at his tail in a three-way dice, with the Deep Sanderson DS 104 (ex-Duncan!) of Chris Wilks, with only 2^nd and 4^th gear.  Keith Pickering (Britannia) had an untroubled victory after a good race in Class C.

A change of procedure this year saw the Class prizes on aggregate also presented on the main podium after the Race 2 winners, and awards in Class E down to 6^th Richard Smeeton (Wainer) and Lee Mowle, by then almost on the plane to America to deliver his son to university. All drivers past and present gathered on the podium to mark the 50^th Anniversary Oldtimer before farewells after a successful weekend.

by DCPR

FJHRA Silverline UK Championship Rounds 11 & 12

FJHRA Silverline Front Engined Championship Rounds 4 & 5

The FJHRA Silverline UK Formula Junior Championship concluded at Silverstone on the National circuit on October 14^th and 15^th. Approaching the final rounds four drivers were still in contention for the overall Championship:- Alex Morton, Michael Hibberd, Nic Carlton-Smith and Horatio Fitz-Simon. Horatio was hoping to add the UK Championship to the Lurani title that he had gained the weekend before at Mugello.

An entry of 39 cars split was across two grids, one for the Front-Engined cars, the other for the Rear-Engined cars, providing four Formula Junior races over the weekend to excite the audience.

In the Front-Engined races Chris Astley was making his second appearance of the year in his Elva 100, whilst Gary Thomas had a run out in the Nota of Mark Haynes whilst still sorting his Kieft for next season.

The Rear-engined grid had a very competitive entry. At the front, Michael O’Brien would be racing the Lotus 27 of Nick Fennell, Cam Jackson was guesting in the family De Tomaso, whilst Sam Wilson had finally got a working first gear in his gearbox in his Cooper T59 to be able to do the standing start. James Denty was giving his Cooper T56 a run, making it four Coopers Nic Carlton-Smith would have to fend off in his class. Mark Williams, after his problematic debut at Castle Combe, was back in the De Sanctis. In class E1, John Gemmill was a new name in the ex-Kim Shearn Lotus 20/22, and Perry Tubb had fired up Greg Thornton’s Lotus 20/22 for a run out.

Qualifying Rear-Engined

The Rear-Engined qualifying was a disjointed session punctuated by a red flag and yellow flags too.

The session had only just started when Syd Fraser’s Lotus 20/22 ground slowly to a halt up against the pit wall. With no safe way to clear the car the session was halted while Syd’s car was recovered, luckily fixed later and would take part in both the races over the weekend.

Once restarted, the contest for Pole Position was fierce. Initially it was Michael O’Brien who took pole, setting a time on lap 7 that just bettered Cam Jackson, both in the 1min 4 secs bracket whilst the others were still in the 1min 5 seconds. Horatio joined them on the next lap but it was lap 9 before Sam Wilson completed a quartet battling for the top slot. Andrew Hibberd and Adrian Russell both in Lotus 22’s remained in the 1min 5 secs bracket, but times for all six fluctuated as they caught traffic on the fast but relatively short ex-airfield circuit.

Perry Tubb was struggling with the Lotus 20/22. He found the gear selection to be awkward and he could not get the car to pick up. He did briefly pull off on the Wellington Straight but was able to restart, doing two laps without setting a time. After qualifying he diagnosed a blocked fuel filter as the problem.

Following his off in the Historic Formula 3 qualifying, Mark Carter seemed a little circumspect, qualifying in 9^th place behind Tim Child and Geoff Underwood. Michael Hibberd would complete the top 10, leading Class D2 in his Lotus 20, ahead of Nic Carlton-Smith, a fellow contender for the Championship title who was leading his Class C2.

A spin by John Gemmill on the last lap at the exit of Woodcote left him stranded in the middle of the track facing the traffic as it passed either side of him. The double yellow flags in that sector brought the session to a close.

At the end of qualifying, it was Cam Jackson who had set the fastest time from Horatio Fitz-Simon, Michael O’Brien and Sam Wilson. However, Jackson, Wilson and Carter, having all set their fastest laps of the session on the last double yellow flag lap, had all their times disqualified and were penalised to start at the back of the grid.

 

Qualifying Front-Engined

Being later in the morning the conditions were dry with a bright sunny sky when the entry of 13 cars for the Front grid came out for their session. From the onset there were two cars contesting for Pole Position; Andrew Hibberd in the family Lola Mk2 and Ray Mallock in his U2. The pair traded fastest lap with Ray taking pole by just over 100^th of a second from Andrew, who was complaining of a gearbox issue.

Alex Morton in the Condor qualified 3^rd overall from Chris Astley in the Elva 100, with Graham Barron in the 1000cc Gemini Mk2 finishing in 5^th. Graham stopped on circuit just before the end of qualifying, but as he had parked up just round the corner after the end of the pill wall when the car lost drive, the qualifying was able to run its short remaining distance without interruption.

Dave Wall was a strong 6^th in his Gemini with Gary Thomas and Justin Fleming in 7^th and 8^th, being separated by just 0.02 seconds. John Arnold in his Elva was 9^th with Andrea Guarino qualifying 10^th. Andrea’s weekend unfortunately ended here due to a gearbox issue later further diagnosis of a broken diff, meaning his son Eduardo, also in an Elva 100, would maintain the family name inheriting the place from Andrea as he had qualified 11^th. Peter Fenichel (Stanguellini) and Peter Edbrooke (Lotus 18 – sole C1 runner) completed the grid.

Rear-Engined Formula Junior Race 1

With three very quick cars starting from the rear of the grid, this always promised to be an exciting race. Having qualified out of session following his problems, Syd Fraser lined up alongside Perry Tubb on Row 13 of the grid to complete a 26 car race. On Row 11 & 12 were the penalised cars, with Mark Carter sharing the penultimate row with Paul Clark who was having issues with his Lotus 20/22 and elected to start at the back.

The front the revised grid had Horatio Fitz-Simon on Pole with Michael O’Brien alongside, the next row was Andrew Hibberd, sharing with Adrian Russell. Behind them it was Geoff Underwood and Tim Child, Geoff’s Brabham being the only interloper in the otherwise Lotus dominated grid.

The additional worry for all was the darkening skies with showers popping up on the radar. Officially they were not due to appear until later in the day but there was a watchful eye upwards.

At the start it was Michael O’Brien who led from Horatio Fitz-Simon. Geoff Underwood had an off at Becketts, rejoining in 24^th place, just ahead of Mark Williams in the De Sanctis and Perry Tubb still not comfortable with the Lotus.

In 3^rd place on Lap 1 was Andrew Hibberd, from Adrian Russell, Tim Child and Alan Schmidt who had started 13^th on the grid. Cam Jackson was already close behind the group having made his way up to 7^th with Michael Hibberd 8^th, Sam Wilson 9^th and Crispian Besley 10^th, leading the Class C2 runners. Nic Carlton-Smith having had a poor first lap dropping back to 15^th and 3^rd in class.

On lap 2, Horatio had a moment at Luffield dropping him back to 6^th place when a local cloud burst caught out a few of the runners. The rain was focused purely around the Luffield/Woodcote area, and Tim Child was another to fall foul of the change of conditions which relegated him to 15^th place. Andrew Hibberd was now occupying the chase position as Michael O’Brien continued to pull away in the Nick Fennell Lotus 27. Adrian Russell remained in 3rd, whilst Sam Wilson had slipped past Cam Jackson into 4^th with Cam 5^th and Horatio shadowing them from 6^th place.

For the next three laps Adrian continued to come under pressure from the squabbling pair behind of Wilson and Jackson who continued to swap 4^th place between them, until on lap 5, Adrian succumbed to the attacks of the group behind him dropping all the way back to 6^th place as Jackson, Wilson and Fitz-Simon all swept past him. Michael Hibberd had lost 7^th place to the Rennmax of Adrian Holey and Nic Carlton-Smith had regained the lead of Class C2 with James Denty 2^nd and Crispian Besley 3^rd in the class behind Nic. The last of the penalised runners, Mark Carter, had made his way up to 10^th place.

With Michael O’Brien extending his advantage to over 7 seconds, barring problems, his second win of the weekend (having won the HF3 race earlier) was beginning to look assured. On lap 7 it was Sam Wilson who brought his Cooper through to second place from Andrew Hibberd, who had the De Tomaso of Cam Jackson on his gearbox. On the following lap Cam was through too and Andrew had his last battle of the race with Horatio, who too went past pursuing the train in 2^nd and 3^rd. It was a bad lap for Andrew as Adrian Russell also went by relegating him to 6^th place. Sam and Cam continued their race with strategic lappery coming into play as each one tried to place a slower car in the way to try to break free from the tow of the other.

At the line, Michael O’Brien took the flag with a 9 second advantage of the battling pair behind, Cam coming home second by 5/100ths of a second from Sam. Horatio, following his early spin, could not make up the deficit finishing just over 5 seconds down in 4^th place, a result that did no favours to his Championship hopes. Fifth was Adrian Russell and Andrew Hibberd 6^th. Tim Child recovered from his spin to finish 7^th whilst 8^th and 9^th were the Speedsport Brabhams, Mark Carter BT6 leading Geoff Underwood BT2. Both drivers having clawed their way through the field.

Completing the top 10 was C2 class winner Nic Carlton-Smith followed in 11^th place by D2 class winner Michael Hibberd. Michael having overtaken 12^th place man Adrian Holey on lap 12. Kim Shearn, back out in the Penny Ford, was 22^nd winning his class, and Mark Williams had his first finish in his De Sanctis, in 24^th to win his class too.

The only non-finisher was Perry Tubb who retired on Lap 10.

 

Front-Engined Junior Race 1

With Andrea Guarino and Dave Wall (diff) non starters following qualifying it was 11 cars that took to the start, and as the saying goes, it only takes two cars to make a race. In the case of the Front-Engined Juniors those two were Andrew Hibberd and Ray Mallock.

At the start it was Andrew Hibberd in the Lola that pulled away from the U2 of Ray Mallock. Alex Morton was 3^rd and Chris Astley 4^th, with Chris’s energetic arms and elbows driving style entertaining the crowd watching from the BRDC stand. The drifting through Luffield always created an air of anticipation with each appearance. Luffield was not such a great joy for Graham Barron though as he spun there on the 1^st lap relegating him to last place giving him a chase to get back up the field.

At the front Andrew continued to head the U2 of Ray, but with the U2 like a terrier snapping at his wheels, it was proving difficult to break away. By lap 7 Andrew had his biggest margin of just over a second on Ray but the U2 came back again. It was on Lap 12 that Ray finally found the opening to take the lead.

Keeping the lead would be more difficult with Andrew close to his wheel tracks. On the final lap Ray came through well clear when Andrew pulled the Lola into the pits, but still taking second place, from Alex Morton and Chris Astley.

Initially John Arnold had held 5^th place behind Chris Astley, but he was passed first by Justin Fleming on lap 3 then Gary Thomas on lap 4. As the field gradually separated the interest in the lower order would be the progress of Graham Barron on his recovery drive. By lap 9 he was back up to 7^th, his target being Justin Fleming in the blue Lola. A very determined drive from Graham had him rise from being almost 8 seconds down on lap 9, to 6/100ths of a second ahead of Justin at the finish on Lap 18.

Peter Fenichel Stanguellini and Peter Edbrooke Lotus 18 were the other class winners.

Rear-Engined Formula Junior Race 2

Looking at the result for Race 2 after the event it would appear as though it was another straightforward win for Michael O’Brien, but at the beginning it did not look like it was going to go his way.

As in the first race, we had three penalised drivers starting from the back and again Michael would line up alongside Horatio. This time it was Horatio who got the better start to lead Michael. Andrew Hibberd was 3^rd, Adrian Russell 4^th, Tim Child 5^th, Michael Hibberd 6^th, Geoff Underwood 7^th, Cam Jackson 8^th, Sam Wilson 9^th and Nic Carlton-Smith having no problems this time 10^th.

Tim Metcalfe didn’t get off the line having broken a drive shaft in his Cooper T56, and Perry retired the Lotus 20/22 not long after, for some work over the winter.

Horatio held onto the lead for 3 laps before Michael O’Brien slipped past bringing with him Andrew Hibberd who maintained the pressure for a further two laps before Horatio regained 2^nd place. On lap 4 Sam Wilson was already up into 4^th place displacing Adrian Russell, with a 4 second deficit to make up before catching 3^rd place. Cam Jackson was also in pursuit from 6^th place.

Mark Carter who had come through the pack so well in Race 1 was really struggling in the second race, gaining places to only slip back again on the next lap. With just two Laps remaining, we got an idea of the issue when he entered Luffield, the car not wanting to turn and locked up in a straight line. Turning the car around Mark pulled off the circuit to retreat back to the paddock. A disappointing end for him in what had been a good season.

Back to the race, and it had settled into a steady order with Michael was leading Horatio, Andrew in third, and Sam closing the gap. On lap 9 Sam moved into 3^rd place with Horatio only just over a second ahead of him.

By lap 10 the interval second to third was measured in mere tenths of a second. Sam was in second on lap 13, with Horatio close on his heels and Cam up to 4^th, with Andrew once again slipping back to 5^th. Adrian Russell was 6^th, Tim Child 7^th and Geoff Underwood 8^th. Michael Hibberd was 9^th embroiled in a three-car battle, trying him best to influence the result of the Class C2 contest behind him involving Nic Carlton-Smith and James Denty.

The lappery was now intense as the pace of the battle for 2nd brought them higher up the placings, meaning by lap 17 Michael O’Brien had been able to extend his lead from almost 9 seconds, to just over 12.

Mark Williams unfortunately couldn’t make it two finishes this weekend in the lovely De Sanctis, pulling off at the Complex on lap 13 which brought out the yellow flags whilst he was pushed to safety. Tim Child also retired on Lap 15, when the coolant hose came loose. I felt a very hot shoulder, saw smoke in the mirror (steam) and got out of the car quickly!

In a dramatic final lap the last twist in the tale was revealed when behind Michael as winner just under 14 seconds clear of his rivals, Sam Wilson came in 2^nd, with Cam Jackson 3^rd ahead of Horatio by just 1/10^th of a second. 

A brilliant finale to a particularly good season of close racing at the front.

Front-Engined Junior Race 2

The dice between Ray Mallock and Andrew Hibberd had been close in Race 1 but Race 2 was even more engrossing, with Ray and Andrew swapping the lead at regular intervals, but neither gaining advantage to break away. On lap 1 it was again Andrew Hibberd that led Ray, but the lead would switch to Ray on lap 3. On lap 6 Andrew reclaimed the lead holding it up until Lap 13, when Ray took the lead for the final 3 laps to the flag.

Alex Morton held a secure 3^rd place throughout giving him sufficient points to finish 2^nd in the overall Championship and winner of the Front-Engined Championship. Graham Barron initially held 4^th place from Justin Fleming who was enjoying a dice with Chris Astley, then on lap 3 Chris came through in 5^th place with Justin having been shuffled back behind Gary Thomas in Mark Haynes Nota, to be 7^th.

Edoardo Guarino had a spin at Becketts on lap 1 losing him a lot of time to rejoin in last place, but gradually he closed the gap to the cars in front.

On lap 6 Chris Astley slipped past Graham Barron who would retire from 5^th place on lap 11 handing the place to Gary Thomas. The race finished with Ray Mallock as the winner making it two in a row for the local man, with Andrew Hibberd just 0.432 seconds behind. Alex Morton 3^rd, Chris Astley 4^th, Gary Thomas 5^th, Justin Fleming 6^th, John Arnold 7^th with Edoardo Guarino 8^th. Peter Fenichel and Peter Edbrooke completing the order both winning their classes.

Prizegiving was a jolly end to a social weekend, with not just the drivers who were entered present, but many visiting too, all making the most of the tea turn and garage shelter, as Nic was confirmed as 2023 Champion, his third in a row.

by Alan Jones

FJHRA/HSCC “Silverline” Championship Round

It was a glorious September morning that greeted the Historic Formula Junior runners in a single race event that combined both the front and rear-engined classes. In amongst the 27-car entry were a few new faces, including Mark Williams who was having his first run out in the 1960 De Sanctis he had bought from Martin Sheppard, a car that had been previously owned by Pat Barford.

Mark who normally races Renault Clios bought the car several years ago without an engine as a piece of art. He had fallen in love with the lines of the little Italian car with no plans to race it. Fast forward a few years and Martin Sheppard was on the telephone again. He had found an original Fiat engine that Mark must buy. Engine installed, the next thing to do was to take the car racing. Castle Combe became the destination and, after a day of testing getting used to a historic car and open wheels, Mark was ready to go.

Martin had brought along his De Tomaso and the red cars looked resplendent in the assembly area side by side as they lined up to qualify. The other newcomer was Paul Booth in the newly purchased ex-Andrew Garside Lotus 20/22. He had tested it at the Silverstone Festival, and this was to be his first race. Ian Robinson was another face who had not raced in Junior for some years, out in the Lola Mk2. Also returning after a break, albeit a shorter one, was Chris Drake who had been living the Rock Star life for the past 6 months and was ready to get back behind the wheel of his Elva 300. Anna Wilson swapped 4-legged horsepower for 4 wheels in the family Brabham BT6, following her success in a National 3-day horse Trial where she finished 2nd the previous weekend, while husband Richard elected to enjoy himself racing the Maserati 250S in the HSCC Griffiths Haig Trophy Race that would qualify immediately after her.

Qualifying

Horatio Fitz-Simon in his Lotus 22 established an early pace setting the fastest lap on lap 6 of the qualifying, being the only driver to go under 1min 15secs. Stuart Roach in the Alexis Mk4 and Mark Carter in the Brabham BT6 appeared to have a contest brewing for second place, until Stuart produced a lap to confirm second on the grid just under 4 tenths slower than Horatio.

Mark Carter was placed third on the grid heading a Speedsport trio of Geoff Underwood (Brabham BT2) in 4^th with Alan Schmidt in the Lotus 22 in 5^th. Andrew Hibberd led the Front-engined runners with 6^th quickest time in the Lola M2 giving the Hibberd team first in front and rear-engined runners.

In 7^th heading his class C was a very happy Nic Carlton-Smith back in his Kieft, engine now running well. Eighth was Robin Longdon in the Lola Mk3 with Chris Drake in the Elva just behind him in 9^th place, only 2 tenths separating them in their class D battle.

Completing the top 10 was Alex Morton in the Condor SII, Graham Barron was 15^th heading class B1. Graham had a few problems to resolve following qualifying which included a flat battery and a misbehaving clutch. It did not stop him setting a time very close to Anna Wilson one place further up the grid.

Unfortunately however, qualifying would see the withdrawal of both Mark Williams with clutch problems and Edoardo Guarino in the Elva 100, with a broken rear trailing arm.

Race

As befits Historic Formula Junior, the cars and drivers were awarded star status lining up for the start of their race early so that the spectators could come down and enjoy a lunch time grid walk. Lending an extra Razzamatazz were the troop of 4 dancers in costume to pose for a group shot at the front of the grid. The presentation did add a little extra pressure on Andrew and Michael Hibberd who were trying to resolve a problem on the Lola, work being conducted amongst the crowd on the grid.

In the assembly area prior to going to the grid Robert Goodwin had been remembering earlier times in the 1990s at Castle Combe when he had raced and beaten Paul Sleeman in a Formula Ford race, Paul having been one of the men to beat at the time. Robert did not think he could replicate that form today particularly with Nic Carlton-Smith ahead of him in his class.

 With the fun over, the cars were led around behind the safety car before forming up for a standing start. From the lights Horatio led away from Stuart Roach, the pair quickly getting away from the pursuing pack. Robin Longdon’s race ended at Quarry on the first lap. Going in a little too quickly on the outside, Robin got onto the grass before coming to a halt against the tyre wall.

Geoff Underwood had made a good start, taking him into 3^rd place ahead of his teammate Mark Carter, whilst Nic Carlton Smith and Andrew Hibberd had slipped past Alan Schmidt. Chris Drake, in the absence of Robin Longdon, had moved into the lead of Class D2, in 8^th place following Alan Schmidt. Crispian Besley in the Cooper was 9^th with Alex Morton rounding out the top 10.

Graham Barron with his car now repaired had leaped up to 12^th place with Paul Booth and Dave Wall coming through having a great scrap for 19^th place. The end of lap 3 and there were some dices brewing. At the front, Stuart Roach had stayed in the wheel tracks of Horatio, Mark Carter was homing in on Geoff Underwood and Andrew Hibberd had slipped back into 8^th place behind Alan Schmidt and Chris Drake.

On lap 4 a number of those watching the timing screens could not believe their eyes. Mark Carter was leading from Geoff Underwood. Where were the front two? As the leaders had come up to pass Peter Edbrooke then Ian Robinson, Ian had spotted the blue flags and attempted to make space, but unfortunately he had misjudged Horatio’s position. Horatio took to the grass in avoidance, but the bumpiness of the terrain caused him to spin back onto the track, and in the ensuing melee all three cars were out. Horatio tried at first to continue, but with coolant coming into the cockpit and a front brake caliper that became detached he decided to park up in a safe place.

By lap 6, Mark had extended his lead to over 4 seconds and it looked like the contest for first was run. In third, Nic Carlton-Smith had a comfortable one second gap back to Alan Schmidt in 4^th who was being caught by Chris Drake. Crispian Besley was being caught by Alex Morton as the second place front-engined runner, and Anna Wilson had found her own sparring partner in Robert Goodwin.

With lappery now coming into play Mark Carter adopted a more circumspect approach to passing slower cars and his advantage back to Geoff Underwood dramatically reduced, coming down to under 4 tenths on lap 10. On the Speedsport pit wall palms were getting a little slippery as the pair looked to be headed for a close finish.

Nic Carlton-Smith in 3^rd place had Chris Drake following but managed to maintain a gap of around one second, Alan Schmidt was in 5^th place with Andrew Hibberd pressing on a lonely 6^th. Alex Morton had however managed to pass Crispian Besley to take 7^th place.

On the penultimate lap it looked like Geoff Underwood could make a challenge for the lead. In the end he finished just 4 tenths back from his teammate Mark Carter, with Nic Carlton-Smith taking 3^rd place, and the three of them enjoying a lap of honour, heads poking out of the sunroof of the circuit’s Honda. Andrew Hibberd and Alex Morton finished 1^st and 2^nd in the front-engined classes with Graham Barron finishing 3^rd, in 9^th overall and winning class B1. In class C2, behind Nic Carlton-Smith, Crispian Besley brought the Cooper T56 home 2^nd with John Hutchison Jnr in the Envoy Mk1 completing the top 10 and taking 3^rd in the class. Robert Goodwin was 11^th and 4^th in the class having lost his sparring partner when Anna made a little mistake which had her brushing the tyre wall without damage to finish 14^th. Martin Sheppard was 15^th in the De Tomaso won class C3 and Peter Fenichel in the Stanguellini was the winner of Class A, after a race long battle to catch Duncan’s Class B2 Alexis, tantalisingly, just ahead. Horatio Fitz-Simons fastest lap of 114.863 shaved 0.031 from Sam Wilson’s (unofficial) lap record, Barron and Carlton-Smith also setting new records in their classes.

It had been a race with an unpredicted result, but amongst the competitors afterwards it was an event that was very much enjoyed, and were pleased to be back at again on rotation, on a circuit that has changed little in front of a very enthusiastic and knowledgeable audience.

by Alan Jones

 

 

 

Chichester Cup; 8th – 10th September 2023

It was the turn of the disc-braked cars at this year’s Goodwood Revival. The event was celebrating the Lotus marque and, perhaps for this reason, the entry was heavily slanted towards Chapman’s products – 19 Lotus, 5 Brabhams, 2 Lola, and one each of Alexis, Focus, Cooper and de Tomaso making up the grid. The drivers were an international bunch with the USA represented by Danny Baker and Chris Locke (Lotus 27s), from the Continent came Philipp Buhofer (27), Roberto a

nd Pierre Tonetti (BT6 & de Tomaso), Marco Werner and Serge Kriknoff (22s), Peter Laier (BT2), Stephan Rey (Lola 5A) and Peter Huse (Focus IV). Australian Peter Strauss (BT6) continued his European summer tour at Goodwood. The home side featured all the usual front runners but with added interest in the presence of the very versatile and quick Alex Brundle in Peter Burton’s ex Tony Thompson, Allen Lloyd, Lotus 27.

Qualifying on Friday afternoon was hot and sunny.  When the cars came out Andrew Hibberd, Horatio Fitz-Simon and Clive Richards (all Lotus 22s) circulated together, their times being within decimals of one-another but it was Sam Wilson (Lotus 20/22) that set the quickest second lap (the first flying lap of course) with 1’26.511”. On the third lap Andrew beat this but Sam was faster still with 1’26.395” then, on the fourth tour, Horatio popped to the top of the timing with 1’25.134” only for Sam to reduce it to 1’25.090”, bettering his time on the next lap to 1’24.976”. Horatio was determined though and after 1’24.474” on lap 7 he nailed pole with 1’23.616” on the ninth lap. So the front row would be Fitz-Simon, Wilson and Chris Goodwin (another 22) and row 2 was made up of Richards and Hibberd, a mere 1.1” covering these five. Alex Brundle was a very creditable sixth with his unfamiliar car, joined by Nick Fennell (27) and Mark Woodhouse (22) on the third rank of the 3 x 2 grid. Highest of the non-Lotus’ was Stuart Roach in the Alexis Mk 4 in 9th. A very appetising prospect for Sunday’s race!

The race kicked off Sunday’s programme at 9.30, when, the temperature on what was an unseasonably hot weekend, had yet to rise to an uncomfortable level. Horatio Fitz-Simon made the best start to lead into Madgwick followed by Sam Wilson and Chris Goodwin but by the end of the lap Clive Richards had slipped by Chris in to third. However, the safety car came out then after Laier’s Brabham had a spin in St Mary’s and into the bank with a broken nose, and awaited a rather slow recovery. The good news was that the BARC had allowed for such eventualities (HSCC please note) and were able to add three minutes to the race time to partially compensate. One unique occurrence, in the writer

’s experience, was that the safety car broke-down, leaving Fitz-Simon to act as paceman!

The race went green at the end of lap 5 with the order Fitz-Simon – Wilson – Richards – Brundle – Goodwin – Hibberd. Goodwin seemed to have a problem and Andrew passed and then Chris pulled into the pits with eight laps in the book after his throttle cable snapped. Andrew was flying and caught Brundle and nabbed fourth on lap 11 only to have a quick spin at Lavant four laps later. Horatio’s tail slides through Woodcote were a joy to watch but he could not shake Sam off. Sam had a moment at Lavant with two laps to go when he got a rear wheel on the grass and lost momentum and this gave Fitz-Simon the small gap he needed to stymy any last lap “do or die” by Sam.

So the final order was Fitz-Simon by 0.178” from Wilson with Richards 12.9” in arrears, trailed by Brundle, Hibberd, and Fennell, all rather spaced-out. Mark Woodhouse just held on to seventh from Buhofer and Tim Child after a good scrap. Roberto Tonetti (BT6) was tenth so Lotus took nine of the top ten positions. Roberto and Marco Werner enjoyed a race-long tussle, swapping places several times with Roberto taking the flag first by 0.288”. This was just one of many battles down the field. Brabham driver Mark Shaw’s race was spoilt by a spin that dropped him to almost last, recovering to 17th and Lee Mowle rotated at Woodcote without losing a position.  In the course of his chase, Sam Wilson set a new (unofficial) lap record of 1’23.279”, some 0.5” better than his own 2018 record.

There were only five non-finishers. In addition to Goodwin and Laier these were Stuart Roach (Alexis), Anthony Binnington (Cooper T67) and Pierre Tonetti (de Tomaso), both the latter with engine trouble.

After the race Fitz-Simon said “around here the tow is massive especially on the back straight and I knew that as long as I had track position I could hold Sam off.”. Sam graciously said “I was giving everything to stay with him and he did a great job.”

In the sixties FJ was the stepping stone to Formula 1 so it was an “authentic” touch that about a third of the field in the Glover Trophy for 1961-65 F1 cars had Formula Junior connections. The highest placed was Samuel Harrison in third in a F2 Brabham BT10, who though regularly winning in 1000cc F3, had featured strongly at the Silverstone Festival in Adrian Holey’s Rennmax. But the best position by a FJ regular was Richard Wilson (1962 Cooper T60 Climax V8) who started at the back of the grid, not having taken part in qualifying and climbed all the way up to fifth. This on top of winning the Freddie March Trophy for early ‘50s sports cars co-driving with sometime FJ driver and “modern” pro-driver Richard Bradley.

by Richard Page

 

Photos by Eric Sawyer: