As if Friday and Saturday’s magnificent BRM Formula 1 75th anniversary demonstrations – topped by Rob Hall’s mesmeric helmet cam lap in a shrieking V16 Mk1 – was not enough, Andy Willis’ Historic Gold Cup victory in P48-7 was the icing on the cake, delighting American owner Charles McCabe on Sunday.
BRM never won Oulton Park’s non-championship F1 race, first run in 1954, but Graham Hill finished third in the 1960 Gold Cup on that very chassis’ race debut, behind Stirling Moss (Lotus 18) and world champion Jack Brabham (Cooper T53). Winner of 2022’s Historic Grand Prix Cars Association opener, Willis sealed aggregate victory this time around in the mirrors of 10th-placed McCabe’s V8 P57-3, fifth in the 1961 US GP with Hill up.
Tom Waterfield (Cooper T53) qualified quickest, with Sam Wilson (ex-Dave Charlton Lotus 20/22) and Willis within half a second. Rudi Friedrichs (ex-Brabham T53), Waterfield, Wilson and Willis disputed Saturday’s lead with Tom Dark (Cooper T51) in pursuit. Wilson wriggled ahead of Friedrichs and Willis advanced to third when Waterfield retired. Sideways over Deer Leap, Peter Horsman (ex-Tony Shelly Lotus 18/21) pipped James Denty (Lotus 21) for fourth.
Friedrichs’ hopes of repeating last year’s victory rose when Wilson’s engine expired smokily at Island two laps in on Sunday. But next time round the German pulled off at Cascades and watched Willis charge clear of Horsman and Dark. The race was flagged when Denty skittered into the gravel at Druids.
Saturday’s Sir Jackie Stewart Trophy 1000cc F3 race was the weekend’s best. For 11 breathless laps Enrico Spaggiari (ex-John Miles Team Lotus 41X) repelled everything Peter de la Roche (ex-Ken Sedgley Alexis Mk17) threw at him to win by 0.199s. “That was a proper race,” said de la Roche, who clinched the championship.
Spaggiari (r) had a thrilling battle with new Historic F3 champion de la Roche in the opener
Photo by: Mick Walker
De la Roche, Jason Timms (Brabham BT21) and initial leader Ross Drybrough (Merlyn Mk14A) filled Sunday’s podium. The race was red flagged when Tony Wallen (ex-Carlos Pace Lotus 59) spun and collected Martin Whitlock (BT21) at Knickerbrook.
Callum Grant (Merlyn Mk5/7) twice ran away from capacity Jim Clark Cup Formula Junior fields. Brabham BT6 duo Richard Wilson and Jon Milicevic were his closest pursuers when Saturday’s was stopped with Katsu Kubota (Lotus 20/22) and Tony Lees (Lola Mk5A) beached at Druids. Milicevic rounded Wilson at Knickerbrook on Sunday. Ray Mallock (U2) outran Condor pair Adrian Russell and Alex Morton for front-engined honours.
A brilliant start by Graham Ridgway (March 742) propelled him to a maiden Derek Bell Trophy win on Saturday, making him the third driver – after Richard Evans and Tom Smith – to notch Gold Cup wins in the ex-Gabriele Serblin car. Marc Mercer (ex-Bill Brack March 78B) and Ben Stiles (ex-Ted Wentz Lola T360) chased, clear of Paul Campfield’s F5000 Chevron B24. A misfire stopped Ridgway on Sunday, when Mercer denied Chevron duo Chris Porritt (ex-Divina Galica B40) and Neil Glover (ex-Bruce Allison F5000 B37) while Campfield found the Druids gravel.
Ten of Derek Bennett’s finest designs recalled a colourful phalanx of B6s and B8s filling Cascades in the late 1960s as the annual Guards Trophy round celebrated 60 years of Chevron at its spiritual home. Ironically, a Chevron did not win for the first time since 2012, when James Dodd triumphed in a Ginetta G16 powered by a similar two-litre BMW M10 engine to most of the Bolton wanderers.
A Chevron driver did not land pole position either, for Ben Tusting planted father Robert’s ultra-light 1600cc Lenham-Ford t/c P69 on pole, ousting Mancunian Steve Nuttall (B8). The period B8s of Westie and Sam Mitchell (ex-Nikolaus Killenberg) and Ted Pearson/Callum Grant (ex-David Purley) were next, ahead of Dan Pickett/Dan Eagling (B16-BMW), Dan Balfour (ex-Gary Dunkerley B8) and the Ginetta G16 of newcomers Elliot and Russell Paterson.
There was no Chevron anniversary Guards Trophy victory as the Tustings’ Lenham triumphed instead
Photo by: Mick Walker
Nuttall swooped round Tusting Sr at Old Hall at the start and pulled clear of Sam Mitchell, with the Lenham in touch. When Nuttall slowed suddenly on lap eight, Mitchell seized the initiative, but Tusting dived into the pits for his lad to take over as the window opened, promoting Balfour, Elliot Paterson and Pearson to second, third and fourth.
Ben Tusting’s task was simplified when – with Nick Thompson’s B6 buried in the Druids kitty litter – a safety car was summoned and everybody else made their stops. Tusting, Balfour and Grant displaced Westie Mitchell when the track went green. Grant then dived past Balfour at Old Hall on the last lap and Mitchell lost out to Eagling and Brands winner Andrew Hibberd (Lotus 23B) before the chequer. Octogenarian Andrew Wareing anchored his Nickey Chevrolet McLaren M1A splendidly, relaying Adam Sykes to 10th.
Historic Sports Car Club Road Sports harboured excitement galore. Elliot Paterson (Historic Morgan +8) won Saturday’s race from Jonathan Rose (Lotus Elan) and Mark Godfrey (Lotus 7). The Lotus pair disputed Sunday’s overall honours, Rose winning in stark contrast to last year’s Historic Formula Ford 2000 race out of which he rolled at Knickerbrook! Further back, 70s’ championship favourite John Williams (Porsche 911SC) secured a class double, while David Tomkinson wrung an extraordinary lap time from his 1600cc TVR Vixen.
Dubliner Michael Cullen aced the Historic Racing Drivers Club Jack Sears Trophy race in his JRT Lotus Cortina, shading dad and lad Justin and Oliver Law’s Cortina by 2.7s as team-mate Roy Alderslade lost drive and retired. The Minis of early leader Ben Colburn and Adam Morgan led the pursuit.
Hotshoe Victor Cullen narrowly repelled Alderslade in HRDC Allstars, but a jump-start penalty cost a family double. John Tordoff (Lotus Elan) and Alex Hewitson (Austin-Healey 3000) chased hard, with Ben Brain’s 1750 GTV the top Classic Alfa.
Cullen resisted Alderslade’s attacks in HRDC Allstars, only to be handed a jump-start penalty
Photo by: Mick Walker
Simon Allaway won both Classic Sports Car Club Tony Sugden Trophy Special Saloon & Modsports races in his thunderous Lotus Esprit-Chevrolet. Tom Carey (Honda CRX-BDG) kept him honest, diving back past audaciously into Old Hall in race two. Tim Bates (Porsche 911 RS) and Rod Birley (Honda Prelude-Cosworth turbo) led the chases. Star of the show was Lucas Dryden who slayed giants for two seventh places in his humble Ford Fiesta XR2!
The Gerry Marshall Trophy race, started by son Gregor, featured the top three pairs’ order change at the pitstops. Adam Brindle (Rover SD1) cleared Alex Taylor’s Mazda RX-7 before its rotary engine overheated. Peter Fisk (Chevrolet Camaro) pipped Paul Martin (Ford Capri) for what became second, while Neil Merry regained fourth from Reece Cannell in their protracted Capri tussle.
Gary Culver (328 GTB) extended his Ferrari Club Classic winning streak to five races, over F355 Challengers Tristan Simpson and Wayne Marrs respectively. Saturday’s bout was red flagged when Philip Connell spun into the barrier entering Lakeside. Sunday’s lost fast starter Colin Sowter’s F355 Spyder at Island on lap one. Flamethrower Marrs set the weekend’s best lap hounding Culver down.
Father and son Robert and Josh Beebee bagged a Vintage Sports-Car Club Egerton Cup brace in their chain gang Frazer Nash. Beebee Jr enjoyed a lurid scrap with Archie Waterfield before his rival’s Nash’s clutch broke. The finale ended early when James Painter – battling with two Morgan ‘Aeronauts’ – spun the MG Kayne Special exiting Shell Oils. Finley Hope-Cameron swerved his trike into the Recticel barrier in avoidance, but Sue Darbyshire smote the stricken car.
The Beebees bagged a win apiece in their Frazer Nash
Photo by: Mick Walker
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