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

 

 

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