Wilson wins as 500cc F3 cars entertain at Lydden Hill

Among an eclectic mix of categories at Lydden Hill’s annual Historics on the Hill event, the oldest cars were arguably most spectacular as the 500 Owners Association served up two entertaining contests.

Showcasing post-war 500cc Formula 3, both races were won commandingly by double champion Alex Wilson’s Martin-Norton. Hamish Cameron-Eveleigh (Cooper-JAP Mk8) kept Wilson honest in the second stanza, having succumbed to a broken throttle cable on the first lap of a wet opener.

Wilson’s brace was almost outshone by stunning debuts from a pair of brothers steeped in category pedigree. Ollie and Harry Leston, grandsons of 1954 British F3 champion and two-time World Championship grand prix starter Les Leston, could each have finished on the podium but had to settle for top-six finishes.

Younger sibling Harry qualified David Baldock’s Cooper-JAP Mk4 fourth fastest and, revelling in the wet, jumped to second before a red flag. Having slipped to fourth, the Vintage Sports-Car Club regular then traded third with Richard Kelly’s Norton-engined Mk5 before both reeled in Ewan Cameron (JAP V-twin Mk6). While Kelly secured second, Leston’s exuberance could not overcome Cameron’s power advantage.

Big brother Ollie, sixth in the opener behind Chris Wilson’s ex-John Cooper Mk2, went better in the dry sequel. Running third behind Wilson and Cameron-Eveleigh before a pirouette exiting Paddock Bend, he’d recovered to fourth when the Norton’s carburettor cried enough.

Having turned 90 on Friday, local favourite Tony Skelton impressed as he finished fourth, behind Kelly but ahead of Leston Jr, in the same Martin-Norton he first raced nearly 70 years ago.

INSIGHT: The remarkable 90-year-old who’s still racing

Thin entries for the planned SHP Escort RSR races led to incorporation within the Mary Grinham Memorial for pre-1990 saloons. Tristan Ovenden’s RSR, usually piloted by son Tom, duly dominated.

Behind the rallycrosser, Bill Richards and Nigel Craig evoked memories of South East Motor Sports Enthusiasts Club contests as they duelled over the remaining podium slots. Richards, Grinham’s partner in her later years, piloted her spaceframe Maguire Mini with aplomb to chase down Craig’s Ford Escort Mk2. Wet conditions helped Richards negate his eight-port A-series engine’s power deficit to Craig’s Duratec motivation, rounding the Escort at the North Bend hairpin. Craig just held firm in the sequel.

Ryan Hadfield and Allen Cooper won Pickup Truck heats before Aaron Thompson’s starring drive earned victory in the final. Greasy conditions in Sunday morning’s second race suited polesitter Cooper, but Dale Gent hung on around the outside of Chesson’s Drift to lead into Devil’s Elbow. Cooper reclaimed the advantage through Pilgrims, while Hadfield held off David O’Regan’s charge for third.

The wetter final was red-flagged when Michael Smith crashed, by which time Thompson (10th and sixth in the heats) had slipped from eighth to ninth. But his Dave Longhurst-run machine thrived in the conditions thereafter, climbing through the field with lunges into Devil’s Elbow a particular favourite.

Having picked off early leader Mark Willis for second, Thompson reeled in Eric Boulton. The pair exchanged the lead five times in little more than a lap before the 2015 Fiesta Junior champion secured the place and a maiden on-the-road victory.

Kris Tovey won Saturday’s 2CV race before handing his car over on Sunday when perennial bridesmaid Nick Crispin dominated for his first win of 2025. Andrew Bull held off Sebastian Jones-White to complete a pair of second place finishes.

Tovey and Crispin shared 2CV spoils in Kent

Photo by: Andy Mason