Big grids, spectacular cars and fantastic racing across the Historic Sports Car Club’s portfolio of categories proved that delivering members and guest grids value for money is the recipe for ongoing success in its 60th anniversary year.
Using both of Donington Park’s flowing circuits seamlessly across an ambitious 22-race programme was innovative – and a relentless challenge to which marshals rose magnificently – but the sun shone on most of a Spring Trophy event that will long be remembered for the largest entry in years. Even the RAF Red Arrows aerobatics team joined the celebrations!
Thundersports’ return, while riddled with attrition, provided the sight of the weekend. Intrepid 80-year-old Frank Bradley wowed onlookers by topping 151mph on the Exhibition Straight in blasting Dodkins Motorsport’s 8.8-litre March-Chevrolet 717 – rooted in Helmut Kelleners’ 1970 Croft Interserie winner – past eventual victor Mark Richardson’s stunning ex-Jo Bonnier Lola T290. Bradley stayed there for a few laps until exhaustion spelled retirement.
Three of Lester Ray’s creations graced the grid. Loaned the ex-Richard Jenvey Vogue SP2, Julian Stokes qualified it on pole, but front suspension failure on lap one caused a fright at the Grand Prix loop’s hairpin. Third-fastest qualifier Adam Sykes started the Harrier LR4 from the pits with clutch issues and lapped within three tenths of Bradley’s best before it broke, leaving Dave Karaskas to soldier the closed Harrier LR5 to third behind Richardson, who was being reeled in by Gary Furst’s Lola Team Gunston T212.
The combative Derek Bell Trophy races lost front-row starter Graham Ridgway (March 742) to food poisoning, but rewarded Mark Dwyer in his similar car. After the track was anointed by drizzle on Sunday morning, Dwyer ran fourth initially, then shot past Chris Porritt (ex-Divina Galica Chevron B40) and Mark Harrison (ex-Ricardo Zunino March 772) at the hairpin and Goddard on the penultimate lap for a narrow win, shadowed by Porritt.
Dwyer doubled up later as fluctuating fuel pressure forced duellist Porritt to park at Hollywood. Marc Mercer excelled in the ex-Bill Brack Atlantic March 78B, while Paul Campfield pulled 140mph behind nimbler opposition in his thuggish ex-Phillip ‘Skeeter’ McKitterick F5000 Chevron B24.
Dwyer was the driver to beat in his March in Derek Bell Trophy
Photo by: Mick Walker
A month after Snetterton’s season-opener, bells chimed for Benn Simms and Ben Glasswell who stretched their unbeaten runs to four races apiece when Historic Formula Ford and FF2000 took centre stage. And Ben Tusting returned to the top of the Guards Trophy tree, soloing in father Robert’s Ford twin-cam engined Lenham P69 Spyder to outrun first round victor Elliot Paterson’s Ginetta-BMW G16.
Fast start experts, Simms and Glasswell left rivals floundering in Saturday’s heat, although the latter thought his maximum was gone when he uncharacteristically rotated his Reynard at Redgate. Andy Storer took the chequer in his Pukka Pies Reynard, only for a red flag to reprieve Glasswell when the result was declared on countback. Fourth on day one, Adrian Reynard ran Glasswell closest on Sunday, but a five-second track-limits penalty dropped him behind Storer.
Neil Bowman’s rare Van Diemen RF78 shaded Neil Jenkins (ex-Nick Foy Reynard SF76) for Class B gold, Jenkins having been stuck behind Tim Grigsby’s wide Lola T580 on Saturday.
Sometime Donington safety car driver Simms scarpered in his Keith Pickering-originated, Birmingham-built Jomo on Saturday, finishing 15s clear of promising youngster Jacques Jensen (Merlyn Mk20). Returning Swiss Ghislain Genecand (Crossle 16F), Christian Goller (Lola T202) and Jensen all topped Sunday’s squabble for second, crossing the stripe in that order.
Van Diemen-mounted Tom Gadd (Numanair tribute RF81) and Jordan Harrison (Jesus Saves RF79) continued their Classic FF1600 scraps where they left off in Norfolk, setting exceptional times. Double winner Gadd’s 1m15.571s (94.27mph), which Harrison was within 0.122s of, is the new standard.
Timms just repelled de la Roche to take an Historic F3 double
Photo by: Mick Walker
The One-Litre F3 screamers of 1964-70 were fast and furious up front. The Timms cousins, Jeremy and Jason, starred but Jason’s Brabham BT21 scored a double, denying champion Peter de la Roche by 0.013s on the line on Sunday after leader Jeremy’s ex-Reine Wisell Chevron B15 went off song. A welcome newcomer was RAF fighter pilot Paul Durban in his ex-Mo ‘Ensign’ Nunn Lotus 41. Roger Swift of Astrali Accessories, Nunn’s 1968 sponsor, was reunited with the car on Saturday.
Jamie Thwaites aced the Alfa Romeo races in his brawny ex-Romeo Ferraris team Giulietta TCR. Erstwhile points leader Jack Berry’s 4C limped home fourth on Saturday with turbo boosting issues, but bounced back to second on Sunday. Mark Skegg’s flame-belching GTV beat Stacey Dennis (Giulietta) to Power Trophy honours on Saturday. George Warren (GTV) won Turismo and Paul Plant (156) Twin Spark, underscoring a class treble for cars prepared by Plant’s Bianco team.
Hotshot John Davison’s precision took his black Lotus Elan clear of Mark Godfrey’s 7, Frazer Gibney’s Elan and John Williams’ Porsche 911 in the Road Sports bouts. A splendid skirmish in the finale embroiled the Morgan +8s of Richard Plant, Martin Pratt and Sam Garland, who emerged ahead in fourth.
Britons Graham Moss (Shelby Cobra) and Marcos legend Dave Methley won the Dutch Super Sixties races. Methley bounded past Jan van der Kooi’s Lotus Elan either side of Sunday’s pitstops. Roelant de Waard (Shelby GT350) repelled Mazda’s 1991 Le Mans winner Volker Weidler, who broke free from three other Ford Falcon Sprints.
Donington-based 750 Motor Club subscribed to CALM All Porsche Trophy and BMW Car Club Racing slots. Warren Allen’s mellifluous Cayman S was untouchable on Saturday in the former. Having chased invitee Jas Sapra’s twin-turbocharged F80 M3 to bag winning points on Sunday, Paul Cook’s vividly-hued E46 M3 took the second BMW chequer. Sapra started from the pitlane for fun, and rose to fifth.
In addition to the historic grids, there was also a huge field of 750MC BMWs
Photo by: Mick Walker
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– The Autosport.com Team
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