Ryan continues his winning run as Equipe season begins

Having ended 2024 on a high, Chris Ryan carried over his winning form into the new year at Brands Hatch last weekend as the Equipe Classic Racing season got under way.

Ryan was never headed in the opening Equipe GTS encounter on Saturday as he scored a commanding victory at the wheel of his TVR Grantura Mk3 having started from pole. Tom Smith, who had been part of a superb six-way battle for second in the early stages of the race, took the runner-up spot in his trusty MGB Roadster.

Third place was claimed by Simon Cripps in his similar car after he had fended off the challenge of the Morgan +4 of the father-and-son pairing of David and Andrew Wenman following the mandatory pitstop phase. Samuel Ashby brought his Austin Speedwell Sprite home fifth having recovered from a lurid slide at Graham Hill Bend.

There was a dramatic start to race two on Sunday when George Grant, who had initially qualified second on the grid in his MGB Roadster alongside Ryan, spun at Graham Hill Bend and was collected, prompting a race stoppage. Despite suffering damage to the passenger side of his car, Grant was able to take his place back on the front row for the restart, but he fell back to sixth on the first lap, as Ryan led Ashby and Cripps.

The trio ran in close formation before the stops without changing position as Ryan conserved his tyres, but the leader soon pulled clear before going on to record his fifth straight Equipe GTS success. Ashby remained second ahead of Cripps, while Jon Hughes took fourth in his MGB Roadster ahead of Grant.

A blistering start from the inside of row two, followed by a dominant performance, ensured Rob Spencer emerged victorious in the opening Equipe 70s race in his MGB GT V8, the first to run since BCV8 was included as a class within the 70s series. Spencer’s son Jordan withstood the challenge of Russell McCarthy to claim second despite incurring the wrath of the officials for not responding to a black and orange flag for trailing oil smoke (caused by a dipstick problem) in the closing laps. First non-MG to cross the line was Martin Reynolds, who steered his Ford Escort Group Holbay home to fifth overall ahead of the spectacular BMW CSL ‘Batmobile’ of Simon Watts.

Spencer Jr made a better launch from the outside of the front row to take an initial lead at the start of race two, but Spencer Sr regained the advantage at Surtees on the second tour before pulling clear to seal a double triumph. Spencer Jr held on to second, while Peter Samuels (MGB GT) fended off McCarthy and Reynolds to clinch third.

After dramas in practice forced him to withdraw from last year’s races, historic racing stalwart Martin Stretton made amends by taking a lights-to-flag success in the opening Formula Libre (formerly F2 Atlantic) contest in his March 742, but he was never given a moment’s peace by Henry Chart at the wheel of his Modus Formula Atlantic. Throughout the 24-lap race, ex-F3 Cup racer Chart defied the power disadvantage he had in comparison to the Formula 2 car ahead to hound Stretton and only an excursion into the Clark Curve gravel on the penultimate lap prevented Chart from mounting a potential last-gasp challenge.

The pair resumed their battle again in the second race on Sunday until an ignition lead problem forced Stretton onto the sidelines, allowing Chart to run out an untroubled victor. Second was inherited by David Sheppard in his Chevron B25, while Richard Mitchell took the final podium spot in his Ensign LNF3 after he had usurped Graham Ridgway’s Reynard SF78 on the run down towards Graham Hill Bend on the fifth tour.

No fewer than 27 pre-WWII cars, comprising an array of MG and Austin Seven machines, lined up for the opening Triple M race, providing a glorious sight for spectators. Race victory was claimed by Christian Pedersen in his 750cc, supercharged Austin Seven (1936) ahead of Simon Gallon’s Austin 7 and Richard Carter’s Single Seat example. Pedersen was declared the winner of a shortened race two ahead of Carter following a nasty incident at McLaren involving Gallon, who suffered a broken leg and ribs in the crash.

Driving his MG ZR 190 for the first time, Rhys Higginbotham took the spoils in the first MG Cup race, despite tangling with early race leader Dan Ludlow’s similar car at Clearways on lap seven of 21. Ludlow bounced back from the incident to claim second ahead of James Blake in another ZR 190. Blake was victorious in race two after Higginbotham retired and Ludlow spun out of his lead at Surtees. Ludlow recovered to second after passing Peter Bramble’s MGB.

A caution period disrupted Saturday’s Equipe Libre race, but it did not stop youngster Connor Kay marking his first competitive drive in a Lotus Elan 26R in perfect style as he recorded a dominant win. David Methley looked all set to claim second in his Marcos 1800 GT having got ahead of the Elan of Equipe partner Rob Cull on lap 31 of 36, but dropping a wheel onto the grass on the outside of Graham Hill Bend moments later reversed the positions. Kay defeated Cull by over a half a minute in Sunday’s second race to complete his memorable weekend, while Nick Powell (Elan) denied David Keers-Trafford a podium finish in his new Marcos 1800 GT by just 0.318 seconds after a thrilling late chase.

Mike Jenvey was a convincing winner of the first Equipe Sports Prototype race in his self-engineered Jenvey-Gunn TS6. Former F3 Cup racer Shane Kelly brought his Revolution 500 EVO, a car prepared by University of Wolverhampton students, home second ahead of Nigel Redwood’s similar machine. Concerns over a misfire forced Jenvey to start from the pitlane in race two but, within eight laps, he had moved back to the front after scything his way through the field. Redwood took second while Craig McMahon sealed third in his Radical SR3 having come out on top in a race-long tussle with Ian Charles (Radical PR6).

Jenvey was top gun among Equipe Sports Prototype field

Photo by: Gary Hawkins