RE: CASTLE COMBE AUTUMN CLASSIC
A Classic Tale of Two Halves
Awarded the prestigious Royal Automobile Club Historic Event of the Year accolade for 2023, expectations ran high for the 13th Castle Combe Autumn Classic on September 21-22. Unprecedented interest from series promoters presaged an extension to two days, welcoming a wider variety of largely well-supported quality grids, and attracted headline sponsorship from enthusiastic Bristol signage and glazing systems specialist Nova Aluminium.
Alas, despite an unseasonably warm lead up, the capricious British weather was not on our side and made the weekend a game of two halves. While Saturday’s schedule started soggy, glorious sunshine greeted Flavien and Vanessa Marcais’ ever popular GT & Sports Car Cup race in the afternoon. Expanded to two hours for its seventh visit to the event, the third of four fixtures in the invitation series’ 17th year – following Enna-Pergusa (Sicily) and Silverstone GP rounds, with Portimao (Portugal) to come – saw 29 of the 31 arrivals do battle.
Unusually, the Pre-1963 sports racers outran the most powerful Pre-’66 GT cars as they carved through constant traffic. Indeed there was almost a David versus Goliath upset when long-time leader Nick Finburgh and Ollie Crosthwaite’s diminutive 1216cc Lola-Climax Mk1 suffered a late transmission failure, advantaging the Lister-Jaguar Costin BHL135 – the last to leave the Cambridge factory in 1959 – of John Spiers/Chris Ward.
Chris Chiles and his father Chris Sr, victors for the past two years, led the chase in their faithful AC Cobra, their hat-trick aspirations hindered by a single safety car interlude, perfectly timed for the Lister’s second mandatory pitstop, for the retrieval of two cars stranded at Tower. Nevertheless, CRC Equipe Chiles claimed GT honours from the Lotus Elan 26R of Steve Jones and Classic FF1600 champion Ben Tinkler after the initially strong Jaguar E-type challenge withered, winning the Terry Sanger Trophy presented in memory of Castle Combe’s old friend.
Splendid class tussles characterised the spirit and camaraderie of the contest, which attracted 12 family teams and seven female racers. On Autumn Classic programme cover star and Bristolian legend John Chatham’s home ground, tail-happy GT3 Austin-Healey 3000s naturally put up tremendous fights, filling the next four places. Doug Muirhead and Jeremy Welch in the former’s TON 792 – period BMC chairman Sir George Harriman’s company car – beat Dutchman Christiaen van Lanschot and musical chairs champion Welch, in triple Le Mans veteran DD300, by a lap. Local stalwarts David Smithies/Chris Clarkson were a close sixth, ahead of Crispin Harris/James Wilmoth, delayed early on by having to secure their flapping hard top.
The scrap for GT2 gold was tighter still, Malcolm Paul/Rick Bourne (TVR Grantura) defeating the Lotus Elite of Marc Gordon/Guy Harman/Nick Finburgh by less than two seconds after 77 laps, four fewer than the overall podium placers. Another Bristol crew, husband-and-wife Mike Thorne and Sarah Bennett-Baggs, finished a fine third in class with their beautiful Healey 100M. The Broadspeed GTS [Mini coupe] of Alice Locke/Matt Green claimed Pre-’66 Touring Car honours over Ellie Birchenhough’s Dorset Racing Cooper S.
Back for a third successive year, the Superformance Ferrari Club Classic’s triple-header was torpedoed by the climate. The planets did not quite align for Wayne Marrs on Saturday, the 125th birthday of composer Gustav Holst, but the Fresh & Fruity F355 ran Garry Culver’s 328 GTS closest, chased by Colin Sowter’s fast-developing F355 Spyder, debuted at Oulton Park in July.
With a watersplash resembling a steeplechase obstacle on an athletics oval to catch runners off guard, Sunday morning’s Ron Fry Trophy race – celebrating the fabled Bath garage owner and Prancing Horseman, a 1960s’ crowd favourite in V12-engined 250 GT Berlinetta, GTO and LM models – saw Culver howl away from Sowter, who gyrated dramatically out of Camp but continued at unabated speed. Sowter’s closer presence kept Culver focused in the finale, in which Jim Cartwright (328 GTB) shot from 16th to fourth behind Marrs.
Beautiful cars spiced the Ecurie Classic Racing/Jaguar race in which Germany’s Christian Albrec relayed Gary Pearson to victory in his ex-works/Ecurie Ecosse D-type XKD504, Mike Hawthorn’s 1955 Le Mans T-car, and fifth in Goodwood’s 1958 Tourist Trophy race driven by American Masten Gregory and Scot Innes Ireland. On a drying track,
the Chatham brothers, Oliver and Jack, made the early running in their Austin-Healey 3000. The invitees finished second on the road, ahead of the rorty Jaguar Mk2 saloons of Mike Hawthorn Challengers Richard and Tom Butterfield, and Welsh maestro Grant Wiliams finishing Tom Barclay’s which he’d planted on pole. Undaunted by a huge spin at Old Paddock, David Allen (Triumph TR4) was first Ecurie finisher.
Adding to its 60th anniversary celebrations, One-Litre Formula 3 was a welcome event debutant. An infrequent visitor in its 1964-’70 pomp, the screamers could not run unsilenced as they have elsewhere, nonetheless their high-revving Ford MAE [modified Anglia engine] power units still delivered impressive performance.
Having pipped Peter de La Roche (ex-Ken Sedgley Alexis Mk17) by 0.127s in the dry on Saturday, Andrew Hibberd (ex-Chris Irwin Chequered Flag Brabham BT18) wrapped up the HSCC-badged championship with a dominant wet victory on Sunday. In stark contrast to today’s single-make racing landscape, Saturday’s top five drove chassis from different marques. Ross Drybrough (Merlyn Mk14), Mark Carter (Chevron B15) and Simon Armer (March 703) led the chase. It was super to see 1996 Castle Combe GT champion Keith Messer, now 81, charge his unique Vesey from the back of the grid to seventh, behind Swede Leif Bosson (ex-Sten Gunnarsson Brabham BT28).
Last year’s Formula Junior winner Carter and de la Roche, who skated off having floundered on old tyres, were classified second and third on Sunday after red flags flew with double champion Armer off at Tower. Welshman Tony Wallen’s Jim Russell Racing Drivers’ School Lotus 59 reminded those with long memories of Carlos Pace leading Combe’s last contemporary 1000cc F3 round in 1970. The Brazilian led from pole until slowed by electrical gremlins, leaving the future F1 star powerless to stop privateer David Cole winning in a similar car from karting standout Roger Keele (Palliser WDF3).
Established in 1966, the Mini Se7en Racing Club’s National Challenge series reprised its 2020 participation. Damien Harrington beat polesitter Joe Thompson by 0.300s in Saturday’s highly-tuned 1000cc [originally 848cc] Se7en opener. Points leader Ross Billison was third, ahead of Matt Ayres from the concurrent road spec 1275cc ‘S’ grid. Thompson – who erased Mike Jordan’s lap record – turned the tables on a damp Sunday, beating Harrington and Billison, while Ayres secured the S title.
Mighty jousts between 2013 BTCC champion Andrew Jordan and former team mate Jeff Smith made compelling viewing in the highly-modified 1275cc [originally 1000cc] Miglia races. A five-carriage lead train in the Saturday’s drying opener embroiled Aaron Smith, Kane Astin and Ben Colburn as lap times reduced to 1m16s. Sam Summerhayes and Jo Polley made eye catching progress from ninth and 18th to finish sixth and seventh respectively.
Sunday’s incredibly wet stanza did not appear to slow Jordan or points leader Jeff Smith, at least not until Smith thumped the soft barriers beneath the start gantry, stopping the race. Jordan thus completed his double, pursued by Rupert Deeth, Astin, Colburn and Aaron Smith, with Martin Wager – from 12th on the 27-strong grid – a meritorious sixth. Josh Evans and Richard Colburn, Ben’s dad and Westbourne Motorsport boss, beat Huw Turner to score 1380cc Mini Libre wins.
Saturday’s FiSCar pitstop finale saw David Alexander convert pole to victory, a first for a stunning fibreglass monocoque Lotus Elite since 2014, when mentor Richard Fores – father of sometime CCRC GT race winner Alex – triumphed sharing Robin Ellis’ car. Alexander built his advantage over 2023 winner Marc Gordon (Jaguar XK150S) and Elite veteran Brian Arculus. Clutch problems from the start thwarted P3 qualifier Angus Fender’s strident Triumph TR2 riff, the yellow machine a change of sightline from the Dodge Viper and Ligier JS2P he has piloted in the Combe GT championship. Adrian King guided his gorgeous AC Ace-Bristol to fourth, pursued by the MGAs of Mark Daniell and Nick Finburgh. The race was stopped three minutes short with David Reed’s Aston Martin DB2 ‘Maureen’ in the barrier at Tower.
The heavens opened overnight, contributing to the wettest UK September on record, and as stoic Historic Racing Drivers’ Club chief Julius Thurgood marshalled his competitors in three packed sets memories of 2020’s Autumn Classic – the only previous two-day event marking the circuit’s 70th anniversary – flooded back. On that occasion the monsoon won and in torrential rain Sunday’s element was cancelled. Fortuitously there were pockets of improvement after morning qualifying started behind a safety car and with officials juggling behind the scenes and brilliant marshalling on the front line, only one race fell.
With the morning’s preliminaries under way, it was good to look around the paddock and reintroduce CCRC chairman Ken Davies to the factory-development Gilbern-Chevrolet GT which he saw project commissioner Ken Wilson and Peter Cottrell race in South Wales from 1965. Owner Mike Lamplough, who also brought his BMC B-series engined Gilbern, was delighted to show us around the fruits of his rebuild, and later coaxed the V8-engined monster to a first finish following frustrating teething problems at Donington.
The Dunlop Allstars and Classic Alfa Challenge’s puddle-jumpers were out first, the Italian contingent to the fore. As a bizarre comedy of errors unfolded, resulting in the disqualification of first to the chequer Combe Hot Hatch Alfa 33 racer Lewis Harwood – whose rapid 1721cc 16-valve Alfasud wore a novice cross on its bootlid – circuit past master Chris Snowdon’s big-winged Napolina GTV was back ahead of Mike Thorne’s yellow Bigazzi Alfasud. Front row starters Tom Sims (Mini Cooper S) and Ben Colburn (Alfa GTAm) tripped up on reaching Quarry, but recovered to third and fifth, split by Pete Chambers’ Lotus Cortina.
In perfect Mini weather, Mark Burnett and Scott Kendall maxed front-wheel-drive in the Jack Sears Trophy Pre-’65 race, scrabbling their Cooper S clear of Ben Colburn’s and Andy Jordan (Austin ‘GT40’) after Peter Crewes shunted his Mini exiting Camp, triggering a safety car. Kendall walked on water thereafter, with Colburn second despite serving a drive-through penalty. Grant Williams’ storied Jaguar was a lapped third, ahead of Mike Jordan, relayed by his lad. The Sears V8 class, celebrating ‘Gentleman Jack’s second BSCC crown in 1963, driving John Willment’s seven-litre Ford Galaxie, was won by Jerry Bailey (4.7 Mustang) who stalked Beau Parry’s sister car early on.
Having leapt into the ex-Chris Inch 1275GT, a poignant tribute to the Plymouth Mini guru, Kendall looked on for another win in the Gerry Marshall Trophy Pre-’83 race until he skated off at Quarry chasing down Jack Moody in Riorden Welby’s Daily Express Rover SD1. After a lengthy caution into the pit window, John Spiers’ Lotus Cortina led before retiring smokily. The cocktail of its oil on water helped Ben Colburn (Ford Fiesta, his father’s first car at 17, presented in Torquay rock manufacturer David da Costa’s colours), usurp Moody. Richard Colburn was a proud third in his Datapost Fiesta, chased by Tom Grindall’s unfeasibly wieldy MG Maestro.
Founded in response to the success of the Griffiths Trophy race at Castle Combe in 1966, won by Neil Corner’s Jaguar D-type – the very car which won Saturday’s opening race – the Historic Sports Car Club was back at the circuit’s retrospective for a third year. Only the first Griffiths Haig race ran, Tom Waterfield mastering torrential rain to win on the debut of local enthusiast Tim Ross’s Cooper-Climax T39 ‘Bobtail.’
Untested since being recommissioned by Jack Williamson at Dorset Racing, it did not miss a beat as the combo left Malcolm Harrison’s ex-Noddy Coombs full-bodied Cooper-Bristol behind. Tony Bianchi (Allard-Cadillac Farrellac) was a distant third after an unlikely skirmish with Neil Horton’s very boldly driven Triumph-engined Peerless GT. The victory was young Waterfield’s fourth since 2020 at the Autumn Classic, following back-to-back Freddie Giles Memorial Trophy Frazer Nash successes and 2021’s 500cc F3 win in Ross’ Cooper-Norton Mk9.
HSCC members also subscribed to a Road Sports championship double-header, which provided a large and varied grid, harbouring Honda S800 debutant to hairy five-litre TVR V8 imported from Australia. Dorset’s Julian Barter was invincible in his Ford V6-powered TVR 3000M over the two races. The first was cautioned for the removal of Adam Bagnall’s Jaguar E-type which nose-dived into the padding at Camp, then stopped when John Williams’ Porsche 911SC did the same with less damaging consequences. Remarkably, Williams’s bandaged ‘Porker’ was back out later and powered through to second.
Frazer Gibney beat fellow Lotus Elan man Adrian Russell to both Historic RS wins, while 70s’ title tusslers Mark Leverett – the reigning champion – and Howard Payne (Europa) each beat the other. Pre-’66 Touring Car stars were Steve Platts’ giant-killing Singer Chamois and Neil Wood’s Ford Anglia 105E. They were classified fourth and seventh in the disjointed drizzly opener, separated by Peter Hore’s Porsche 924 and Will Morton’s Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV. Simon Baines and James Charalambides (924s) placed next in the most accessible 70s’ class. Hobbled by wrong tyre choice in the drying sequel, Hore salvaged third in a super-competitive division, behind Baines and Mark Oldfield, whose Lancia Beta’s windscreen wiper had failed in the morning.
ENDS: