Special Saloons and Modsports put on Silverstone show

Special Saloons and Modsports fans watching from trackside or on live streaming were entertained by Saturday’s Classic Sports Car Club Silverstone National circuit staples, although the winners’ self-built cars met but briefly on track. Danny Morris in the turbocharged two-litre Ford Cosworth YB-powered Spirit of RPM Peugeot 309 and Simon Allaway’s muscular 5.5-litre Chevrolet V8 motivated Lotus Esprit clone split the honours.

Allaway, whose 57.898-second (102.00mph) qualifying lap shaded Andy Southcott (Lenham Midget) by over 1.8s, with Morris 0.049s shy, was unable to take up pole for race one when his engine refused to fire in the paddock. Southcott was already en route home, his Vauxhall engine having lost its oil when the crankshaft seal let go.

Morris duly zoomed clear of Ian Stapleton’s supercharged Alfa Romeo Alfetta, out for the first time since 2023. Both managing water temperature issues, they were pursued by Ross Irvine’s wide-bodied VW Golf GTI turbo. Martin Reynolds (Ford Escort-Millington) and Richard Billingham in his latest spaceframe Mini, with 2.0 Vauxhall VXR turbo power, were fourth and fifth. Simon Watts (ex-David Sutherland Datsun 240Z) seized sixth and Modsports honours from Hugh Pelling (MGB V8) on the final lap.

The winner’s 10-place grid drop put Morris on row six second time out, six places ahead of Allaway whose faulty ignition relay was replaced with one from a scrapyard. They soon reached the front and, after Allaway blasted past, the Pug’s gearbox failed. Stapleton, Irvine and Reynolds again led the chase, but Pelling repassed Watts on a frenetic last lap to land Modsports gold by 0.753s.

Despite winners’ penalties from previous races which obliged them to remain stationary for 20 seconds longer at the stops, Swinging Sixties Group 1 men Jon Wolfe (TVR Tuscan) and Stephen Pickering (Sunbeam Tiger) emerged on top. Behind the five-litre Ford-engined monsters, Simon James (4.7 Tiger) spun at Becketts on lap 1, splitting the field.

Dave Bye and Ben Walker hustled their Jaguar XJ6 to third, chased by Dean Halsey (Datsun 240Z). Best of the tiddlers was Ian Staines (MG Midget) in fifth, but class rival Shaun Haddrell (Turner-Climax) enjoyed a superb duel with Richard Perry (Austin-Healey Sprite).

Without an imposition in Group 2, Pickering was uncatchable. Jon Crayston (Lotus Elan S4) pipped Halsey to second, with Chris Watkinson (1.4 Mini) an inspired fourth on the lead lap. Tom Pead (BMW 1602) was fifth after sparring partner Claire Norman (starting father Charles Tippet’s 2002) spun out of Brooklands avoiding Jack Smith’s gyrating MGA in their midst.

Dylan Popovic (Ginetta-Chevrolet G50) outgrunted Graham Crowhurst and Adrian Bradley’s BMW M3 E46s in the Open Series bout. Young kart graduate Archie Buttle (Ginetta-Ford G55 GTA) was a strong fourth, while Louis Ruff (Morgan +4 turbo) repelled back row starter Ronan Bradley (E46 M3) for fifth.

Future Classics and Modern Classics victors Stuart Daburn (TVR Tuscan Challenge) and Aussie Dave Griffin (BMW M3 E36 Evo) finished one-two in the amalgamated race. When his Nissan Skyline GTR R32 lost its four-wheel-drive and ABS, Mark Chilton slipped to third, but a yellow flag penalty bumped him to fifth behind Simon Frowen’s well-driven Ginetta G20 and Richard Hayes’ Toyota Celica GT-4 turbocar.

Rain and ever-changing conditions tested the Jaguar racers in Saturday’s finale. Jack Robinson’s unbeaten streak came to an end when his XKR’s engine overheated. Emotions ran high after the perennially unlucky James Ramm drove his six-litre XJS brilliantly to victory over Ieuan Spooner (XJS) and James Wall (supercharged S Type R), both first-time podium visitors.

Simon Lewis outran Rodney Fost to rare Jaguar championship win on Sunday

Photo by: Mick Walker

Sunday’s leg again had cars everywhere at Becketts, leaving surprised leader Simon Lewis (XJS) to scoot free. Diff problems stopped birthday boy Ramm while Robinson survived a lairy spin out of Maggotts. When Spooner expired in a cloud of steam on the apex of Woodcote the safety car put in a rare appearance. Lewis cleverly maxed V12 power to outrun South African Rodney Frost (XJS) and Robinson in the dash to the chequer.

The Ramair BMW M3s were spectacular as ever on Sunday, but Nathan Wells proved unbeatable in his fabulous E46 GTR. Having toiled with Michael Eustace until 4am to change his gearbox, Niall Bradley was challenging on the penultimate lap when his left rear wheel worked loose, forcing retirement. He stormed from 16th to second in the later stanza.

Second and third overall, Jason West won two epic Class A scraps with James Card. Crowhurst’s unbeaten B run continued. Charles Heatley twice beat success ballasted Charlie Newton-Darby among the supercharged Mini R53s.

Richard Wheeler won the Slicks Series encounter second time out in his Brisky Racing Lamborghini Huracan. Dylan Popovic was on the howling V10 bull’s tail when a gentle tap on his left rear wheel from Dominic Spicer’s Aston Martin Vantage GT4 during lappery at Becketts snapped the Ginetta-Chev’s ‘unbreakable’ driveshaft. Brake bias issues spun Wells’s BMW, but he finished a lapped second, a circuit ahead of Buttle’s Ginetta.

Richard Wheeler’s Lamborghini (24) and Dylan Popovic’s Chevrolet-powered Ginetta (9) won Slicks and Open contests

Photo by: Mick Walker

Andrew Windmill screamed his highly-developed Honda Civic EP3 clear of the Tin Tops massive as hard-charging Danny Cassar fell 12.073s short of negating his half-minute Donington winner’s penalty in starter Nigel Ainge’s Honda Integra. Alfie Jones was a fine third in his stunningly painted clockwork orange Civic, ahead of March’s Silverstone victor Adam Brown’s Ford Fiesta ST150, the other combo stationary for 30 seconds longer.

Caterhams lacked numbers but the ‘Magnificent Eights’ race action compensated. Steve Nuttall twice lapped the field with metronomic pace in his 2.3-litre Ford Duratec-powered car, but veterans the Lanyon brothers starred, both falling to last when their shared car cut out intermittently. Mark recovered to third, on Martin Leadbeater’s tail, but Simon went one better. He led into Copse, where last starter Nuttall rounded everybody, then sprinted back to second after the glitch recurred.

The New Millennium finale rewarded team graft. Luke Yeomans qualified his BMW M3 E36 with a sequential gearbox, but when it played up Woodrow Motorsport changed it for a conventional one in an hour! Yeomans won a tremendous joust with Jas Sapra’s turbocharged F80, which lost propulsion on the last lap, promoting octogenarian Ainge and Cassar to second in Hillwood Motors’ hot 2.4-litre Honda Integra and Tom and Nick Cresswell’s VW Golf turbo to third.

Nigel Tongue converted father-in-law John Hammersley’s start in their VW Scirocco R to Turbo Tin Tops victory over the Abarths of the Marson cousins, Richard, Andrew and David.

Griffin (l) won in Modern Classics while Chilton (r) hit trouble in Future Classics

Photo by: Mick Walker