GRAND FINALS

CCRC GRAND FINALS EVENT, OCTOBER 5

By MAWP

GULF RACE FUELS FORMULA FORD CHAMPIONSHIP

SIX-UP SMITH, FISHER’S HAT-TRICK

Felix Fisher’s aspirations to land three successive Castle Combe Formula Ford Championships were fulfilled when the Gulf Race Fuels-supported contest concluded at the CCRC’s Grand Finals meeting on October 5. Two fourth places – the first behind non-scoring invitee Tom Nippers – sealed the accolade for the TM Racing Ray GR05 driver, as victories for Rory Smith (B+M Medina Sport JL18) denied Alex Walker the possibility of outpointing Fisher. Indeed, with six wins from the 10 rounds he contested, Smith matched Walker’s final score but pipped him to the runner-up spot by virtue of Alex’s three.

“Dad [Brian] won Castle Combe GT titles, and me and [brother] Josh now have three each. That’s not bad,” said Felix after thanking Tom Margetson and Ringo Hine for their unstinting support since 2022. Only four-time champion Bob Higgins (driving 1960s privateer F1 mechanic David Martin’s Goodwood-built Martlet chassis and a Royale RP29, 1981-1983) and Kevin Mills (Swift SC92, 1995-1997) have previously scored treble tops in what was formerly the BRSCC South West FF1600 championship which dates back to 1969 when Bryan Sharp (Merlyn Mk11A) set the history book rolling.

Sixteen competitors arrived for the last of seven double-headers, the top six of whom lapped in the 1m10s bracket underlining the frontrunners’ competitiveness on an unseasonably sunny autumn morning. Smith set the pace on 1:10.046 (95.08mph) – a sparkling season’s best, yet still shy of Michael Moyers’ Spectrum championship race record set in October 2016. Walker (RH-E/Wayne Poole Racing Van Diemen RF01), double champions Luke Cooper (Swift Cooper SC20) and Fisher were within half a second of Rory, with August’s United FF1600 race winner Nippers and 2011 champ Robert Hall on their heels. Penalised for a flag infringement at the previous event, however, Fisher incurred a five place grid drop for race 1, thus would start ninth.

Nathan Ward (Swift SC92), already confirmed as class B [1990-1995] champion again, Tom Hawkins (Ray GR11), repeat class C [1985-1989] shoe-in David Cobbold (Souley Motorsport Van Diemen RF89) posted times in the ‘11s,’ followed by Tom’s dad Bob – his Ray GR10 looking factory fresh again after its unfortunate August Bank Holiday Monday exit – in the ‘12s.’ Richard Earl (Van Diemen RF88), Shaun Macklin (Swift SC92), and Nigel Dolan (Van Diemen JL12K) qualified next, clear of Alicia Hamlen (Ray GR09), Stephen Billett – destined to non-start his Spectrum 011B – and Peter Lavender in his Merlyn Mk11/17, the only Historic runner.

Smith made a superb start and, despite Walker’s best efforts – he needed to win both rounds with fastest lap bonus points to have any chance of beating Fisher – kept him behind from start to finish. Nippers was initially third, but was passed by Cooper and the charging Fisher on lap 2. Tom slipstreamed back past them, but while Felix and Luke essayed to usurp him on Avon Rise a jinking brush between them shot Cooper’s Swift into the grassy infield and out of contention.

Nippers kept third from Fisher, who had Hall 1.310s behind at the chequered flag. Ward and Tom Hawkins finished together in sixth and seventh, pursued by C champion Cobbold and Hawkins Sr. Macklin fended off Dolan for 10th, with Earl – the benefits of whose best qualifying shot were undone by his worst start – and Hamlen even closer in the chase. Lapped on the penultimate circuit, Lavender also completed the race, enjoying his elderly steed.

The seasonal finale followed the pattern of its predecessor out front, with Walker unable to either unseat Smith from the lead or snare a vital fastest lap point to make him runner-up. Fisher led Cooper initially before ceding third to his great rival of recent years on lap 4. Thus the Future Inns Swift driver earned the last podium place while the Somerset Electrical Ray man celebrated his third straight crown.

Nippers and Hall ran fifth and sixth throughout, while Ward lost no time in regaining ground after a first lap spin, recovering to a class-winning seventh by lap 8 of the 10 in the Golden Bull Swift. Cobbold and Bob Hawkins – whose lad and Billett retired two laps apart – finished next, ahead of Dolan in 10th. Macklin and Earl, half a second apart, Hamlen and Lavender completed the finishers.

The season-closer marked the end of an era for racer Brian Soule, whose Souley Motorsport team has been part of the Castle Combe FF family for decades, running as many as half a dozen drivers after Brian stopped contesting the championship. “Souley,” who announced his intention to retire earlier in the year, not only guided long-time customer David Cobbold to another class C crown, but has also supported welcome Australian visitor Will Liston during the summer. We wish Brian well and hope he will continue to visit his spiritual home.

GULF RACE FUELS GT CHAMPIONSHIP

DOUG DENIES DEEP DIGGER DYLAN

The fight between Doug Watson and Dylan Popovic for the CCRC’s Gulf Race Fuels GT Championship was among the greatest in Castle Combe’s illustrious history, going down to the wire in round 12, the final arbiter on October 5. Like two prize wrestlers, the seasoned campaigners grappled for supremacy in diverse yet closely-matched cars, until a dramatic clash at Tower three laps saw Dylan spin and cemented Doug’s advantage. Only a point separated the duo in the final reckoning, his gallant runner-up going home with a coveted 100mph lap record at the end of a gloriously warm and sunny day.

Entering the sixth double-header of the year, that tantalising point was key to the crown’s destiny. In the yellow corner, Doug Watson brought a new sleeker and sharper Ferrari to the fray for 2024. A turbocharged 3.9-litre V8-engined 488 Challenge armed the Somerset man with 100bhp more than his previous 458 Challenge – with a naturally-aspirated V8 of greater capacity in its stern – but demanded a lot more focus. Former BMW racer Doug rose to the challenge superbly.

In the purple corner, meanwhile, Bosnian-born Londoner Dylan Popovic was again saddling his Ginetta G50, its comparatively puny Ford V6 engine long replaced by a hulking 7-litre Chevrolet V8 set well back in its prow, endowing it with balance to match its grunt. A long-time Combe devotee, and series supporter, IT guru Dylan’s GT days date back more than a decade to the little Audi-engined Marlin 5EXis which he evolved into potent contenders and moved rapidly towards the grid’s sharp end.

That only 13 competitors arrived for the last double-header of the year was counterbalanced by the intensity of the title struggle and quality of machinery in the field. Westfield stalwart Alan Hamilton was out for the first time in the turbocharged 2.3-litre Ford [Mustang] Ecoboost-engined Fleurtations Vauxhall Tigra Silhouette, the Ludlow tubeframe chassised car formerly raced by Ollie Bull for Jeremy Irwin and repatriated from the north of England. Angus Fender was back in the Fender-Broad Ligier-Ford JS2P he debuted in August and Richard Guy brought his 7-litre Mosler-Chevolet MT600 which looked sensational.

Popovic nabbed pole with a 1m:07.015 (99.38mph), shading Watson by 0.069s to set the scene. Hamilton gave the Class A boys a fright with with a fine 1:07.616 in the orange and white Tigra. Young Fender’s made his intentions clear when he lapped in the eights – 1:08.994 close to his Combe Countdown target – but driveshaft failure on the loaded left corner exiting spun him into the barrier under the ‘ice cream cone’ start/finish tower, stopping the session prematurely. While extensive, damage was limited to the sacrificial front subframe, but the stout French mobile was hors de combat for the day.

Reuben Taylor’s pretty grey Ginetta-Vauxhall G40 silhouette and defending champion Jamie Sturges’ Ramair Cupra Competiticion TCR cut 1:10.246 and 1:10.704 respectively to be next up. Sturges’ class rival Dan Brown’s rorty 2-litre Hot Hatch Honda Civic, sporting extra aero appendages, and Tim Bishop’s 2.3-litre Caterham 7 were barely a tenth apart in the 11s, chased by Haydn King’s brightly-hued SEAT Leon and James Allen’s rear bumperless Civic EP3 in the 12s. Keith Johnson’s Zambesi Racing 3.5 Ginetta-Ford G50 and welcome newcomer Louis Ruff’s 2.0 Morgan Plus 4 completed the qualifiers. Guy’s Mosler only completed a lap before electrical problems stopped it, but a young Red Bull F1 undergraduate techie working with the Fender team immediately volunteered assistance.

A dozen cars came under starter’s orders for the opening race of the day, in which remarkably few place changes occurred. Fortunately, a splendid dust-up between Watson – quicker into his stride at the rolling start – and Popovic for the lead kept spectators entertained. Despite Dylan’s best efforts to breach Watson’s defences the Ferrari remained in front by 0.446s at the chequered flag. Popovic was delighted with his 1m04.462s (100.20mph) lap record, the bonus point for which equalled his rival’s score for winning. Honours were still even then going into the decider.

Popovic was not the only driver to rewrite the statutes, for third-placed Hamilton erased Nigel Mustill’s [Solution F Volvo-Chevrolet] class F mark by almost half a second, leaving it at 1:08.554s (97.15mph). Sturges and Bishop remained on the lead lap in fourth and fifth. Taylor recovered from an enormous spin out of Camp on the opening lap – which dropped him to 10th – to regain sixth, ahead of Sturges’ classmates King and Allen. Ruff finished too, but Guy’s black Mosler slunk back to the paddock after seven laps and Johnston pulled-up.

The decider had Watson on pole and again the Prancing Horse out-galloped Popovic’s thunderous Ginetta to Quarry. All looked lost for Dylan when he spun on the exit of the right-hander, although he did not throw in the towel. Doug, believing the pressure was off, went into “cruise mode,” but received a sharp alarm bell on lap three when the Ginetta appeared in his mirrors. Fifth at the end of lap 1, Popovic had blitzed past Taylor, accelerated past Sturges through Folly on lap 3 and relinquished Hamilton of second to reappear on the Ferrari’s tail.

From then on the leaders were inseparable, even snaking through Tower after oil went down. The battle was resolved there when Popovic dived into a door left semi-open by Watson on lap 15. There was a minor collision on the slippery surface, but both continued, the Ferrari taking the chequered flag 2.996s before the Ginetta in cyclops form with a headlight gone. Great sportsmen, they accepted a racing incident verdict. Doug’s points for winning, and Dylan’s with another fastest lap bonus were again equal, thus Watson’s title was confirmed by the slimmest of margins. Given that the front of Popovic’s steed was wiped out following impact with Tom Walpole’s stuttering KTM Evo GT4+ four months earlier even second looked beyond reach that day.

Outgoing champion Jamie Sturges (Cupra TCR) retained the class E title with a solid run to third after Hamilton, with whom he had been trading the place, suffered engine failure on lap 4. A sheet of flame from behind the dashboard was Alan’s only warning, but the former Formula Fordster calmly parked the Tigra at Bobbies, where marshals dealt with the situation efficiently. The combo’s potential looks promising going forward.

Class F champion Taylor, King, consistent class B titlist Johnston and Ruff completed the finishers, following Bishop’s retirement a lap from the finish which prevented him from passing occasional rival Josh Smith’s points score to wrest the class D title. Brown and Guy did not reappear for the finale.

SOUTH CERNEY ENGINEERING SALOON CAR CHAMPIONSHIP

GOLFER CHAMBERLAIN HOLES OUT

Paulton’s Harrison Chamberlain was virtually assured of the CCRC’s South Cerney Engineering Saloon Car Championship given reliability over October 5’s double-header decider. The VW Golfer, who overcame gearbox issues mid-campaign and only failed to finish one of the 12 rounds, duly holed out with a win and a second in his potent H-Sport Performance turbocar. Class winners Darren Griffiths (2,0 Renault Clio), outgoing champion Mike Good (1.4 Vauxhall Corsa) and Jez Williams (Peugeot 106) ran Chamberlain closest, finishing second, third and fourth overall respectively.

Chamberlain qualified on pole with a 1m11.137s (93.62mph) morning shot, with Dave Spiller almost 0.6s shy on what was likely to be his last day with the Grant Motor Sport Audi TT turbo. Alas mechanical failure prevented the May Bank Holiday race winner from starting, which promoted Jack Boulton (VW Golf GTi turbo) and Bill Brockbank (back in his naturally-aspirated Seat Leon Cupra) who posted ‘12s.’

The tussle for class C pole embroiled MG ZR trio Lee Waterman (Willand Service Centre), Wayne Rushworth (Pest24.co.uk Wayne Poole Racing) and Nathan Sutton, Waterman’s 1:16.149 a solid 1.462s up on his rivals. Welsh teenager Jez Williams, in the running for overall championship honours until August when his Rhino Goo Peugeot’s head gasket blew, was in the wars again, managing only one lap before a fuel line came adrift. “I smelled petrol and parked it safely,” he said.

Good (Interceptor Racing Corsa) and Griffiths (Flooring Matters SW Ltd Clio) led their classes as usual, with 1:18.350 and 1:19.748 shots which headed off championship sponsor Jonathan Wills’ venerable MG Maestro turbo and James Blake’s i-tech racing/M4 Tyres/Dark Hound Autocare MG in the ‘20s.’ Daniel Roe (Ford Fiesta), returnee Peter Elliston (VW Golf GTi turbo), Liam Hopkins (BMW 318i), debutant Dan Blake (Renault Clio 197) and Roger Good (Fiesta) rounded out the official qualifiers.

But for a lap when Brockbank forged past, nobody could live with Chamberlain in the opening race, punctuated by a four lap full-course caution after Blake spun off on his own oil at the Esses leaving a treacherous trail of lubricant on track. Elliston fell off on this, and as a wheelchair user competing on hand controls required even more cautious extrication from his car.

Brockbank’s SEAT was seen to be struggling behind the pace car and fell back during the pace car interlude. Previously in trouble was Williams, flying from the back after an early pitstop. Alas, in a bizarre anomaly, his point for class fastest lap was expunged as he had not covered sufficient distance to be classified as a finisher.

When the track went green, Chamberlain charged on to victory, leaving an early 1:10.885 (93.95mph) fastest lap on his slate. Fifteen seconds behind, a Boulton made it a Golf one-two, clear of an elated Rushworth who shook his fists will glee as he finished third, scoring a deserved maiden class C win by 0.249s over Waterman, with Sutton completing an MG rout in his lemon and lime flavoured ZR.

Wills finished a fighting sixth in the Maestro, staving off Mike Good’s terrier-like Corsa. Good and fellow class winner Griffiths also completed the full 15-lap distance. Roe, Brockbank (at much reduced pace), Dan Blake and Roger Good rounded out the finishers. Hopkins was disqualified post-race for ignoring black flags.

The sequel proved an interesting race in which the resurgent Brockbank, Chamberlain and Boulton circulated as one out front, even during lappery, in a closely-matched contest. Boulton cut fastest lap at 1:12.243 (92.18mph) early in the chase, but neither he nor Chamberlain was able to unseat Brockbank as 0.613s blanketed them at the chequered flag. “I’m very happy. I had a rear gunner keeping it nice and tight, but was running out of brakes towards the end,” said Bill.

With his Peugeot restored to full health, Williams screamed through to a class-winning fourth overall, with Waterman and Sutton equi-distant in his wake. Despite nobody to push him in class D, father Roger finishing two laps down, Mike Good reduced his own lap record to 1:16.875 986.83mph) en route to seventh place, ahead of Rushworth who moved up to fourth behind Williams, Waterman and James Blake in the fnal class C rankings. Griffiths, Wills, Dan Blake, Hopkins and Good Senior completed a 100 per cent finishing rate.

SAMCO SPORT HOT HATCH CHAMPIONSHIP

ALDEN LANDS TITLE IN SPEEDY SAXO

Yate, Bristol’s Jake Alden was crowned inaugural CCRC Samco Sport Hot Hatch champion – the competition was previously a series of races – at Castle Combe’s Grand Finals day on October 5. Two more class victories took the W-A-S Racing Citroen Saxo driver’s tally to an impressive 11 wins from 12, only Adam Wilks (Peugeot 106 GTi) having denied him a clean sweep back in May, when Scott Hughes netted the only ‘missing’ fastest lap point from Alden’s grasp! On the current class F’s swansong, Craig Fleming (CH Contracting Honda Civic EG) and Shaun Goverd (W-A-S Racing Citroen AX) bagged the race wins, Fleming leaving a stunning 1m10.997s (93.80mph) lap record as a souvenir.

Fleming topped the qualifying times on 1:11.341, 0.707s quicker than previous race winners Dan Brown (Bali) and Ross Parker (EF), split by invitation class G’s James Allen (EP3) as Civics of varying vintage ruled the roost. Goverd was on Parker’s heels in just five laps, chased by class B leader Geoff Ryall (Peugeot 106 GTi) in the ‘13s.’

The next eight drivers in the fiercely competitive pack were embroiled in the ‘14s,’ Tony Cooper (Coopers Cars SW Civic EG), Shaun Deacon (W-A-S 106 GTi), class A leader Corey Webber (Civic), W-A-S boss Will di Claudio (Renault Clio), Tom Harris (Civic EP3), Joe Hathaway and Jason Stack (Clios) and Matt Johnston (Peugeot 205 GTi) separated by 0.762s! Alden’s closest challenger in the championship table on arrival, Stack found himself only fifth in the A set, with work to do.

Kai Barker (Ford Fiesta ST150), supercharged BMW Mini class topper Crofton Woodhatch – fourth in the title race, two points behind Deacon – and the Fiestas of Julian Fisher and John McMillan were next up, pursued by Tim Fooks-Bale (Clio 172) and championship pacesetter Alden, comfortably quickest of the C quartet on 1:17.568 (85.86mph). Justin Holloway (Clio), Dean Clayton’s classic VW Golf GTi Mk2 and Wilks were the last combatants to circulate inside 80 seconds.

Todd Carter’s class G Mini headed the rest of the 30-strong field, with the supercharged Cooper Ss of Toby Willcox, Max Gray, Stephen Bracegirdle and Ben Pemberton in the company of Julian Ellison’s Fiesta S1600 and the atmospheric Mini Cooper of Daniel Sadadjian.

As the red lights went out to start the first race, Brown got the jump on poleman Fleming, who was on his tail at the end of the opening lap. Goverd, Ryall and Allen were together in the chase, with a small cushion over class A leader Webber, Deacon and Stack, up five places to eighth overall and second in his division to Webber. Johnston’s vivid green Pug and di Claudio completed the top 10, ahead of Hathaway and McMillan, up six from his grid position to 12th.

Fleming probed to pass Brown on lap 2, a great exit from the Esses and rapid traverse of Old Paddock enabling him to get alongside the clover-hued car on Hammerdown. Craig made the move stick into Tower then, having finally nailed the long-elusive sub-71 second race lap, concentrated on speed and an error-free drive to claim victory over Brown by 0.717s.

Any challenge Stack might have posed to points leader Alden was torpedoed on lap 2 when a bump from di Claudio sent the red JS Engineering Clio into the recticel barriers at Tower. While Jake got going again, albeit in 27th place, Will’s race was over within a lap when he pulled off at Folly. Parker had already fallen to a broken gear linkage, but Brown lent hm a spare cable to get the Wiltshire College Honda back out for race two.

Behind the leading duo, Cooper had just regained third from Allen when the latter’s Honda blew, forcing a red flag. Class winner Ryall, who lapped within a whisker of pursuer Deacon’s B record, and Johnston – a fine run from 18th – thus filled the minor placings, with Cooper zooming up to Johnston’s bumper having displaced first time class A victor Hathaway on the final circuit. Hathaway set the best lap in his division, his 1:15.597 within striking distance of Stack’s 1:14.929 record set on Easter Monday. Class rivals Harris, McMillan, Barker, Fisher and the lapped Fooks-Bale chased Joe home, with Stack on TF-B’s tail over the line and Holoway shrinking in his mirrors.

Woodhatch and Alden, class winners both and Jake now uncatchable for overall championship honours, were 17th and 18th overall, followed by Clayton, Wilks and Gray. Willcox, Bracegirdle, Ellison, Pemberton and Sadadjian were also classified as finishers. Webber, seventh on the road, was excluded for failing to heed the black flag.

With Fleming strugging from the start – Craig retired after five laps when a low oil pressure sensor spiked, turning his shrill K20 engine off – and Brown not coming out to play, the sequel was all about Goverd and Parker’s scrap for supremacy. After numerous exchanges, Citroen AX wielder Shaun added another hard-earned win to his tally, with Ross barely half a second behind, rewarding his college students’ hard work on the Honda between races. Still feeling the after effects of long covid, Cooper was delighted with third, with the class B Pugs of Deacon and Ryall in tow.

Stack, back on form, took A honours in sixth having chased down di Claudio and swept past three laps from the finish. Hathaway went with Stack initially, but was repassed by di Claudio on the final lap. Four seconds blanketed the class standouts. McMillan and Johnston finished ninth and 10th, ahead of championship runner-up Woodhatch whose ninth Mini division win effectively outpointed Stack’s eighth. Crofton also shaved three-tenths from his own E lap record, leaving 1:16.272 (87.31mph) as the new target..

Holloway, Fooks-Bale, Fisher, Barker and champion Alden completed the unlapped runners. Wilks, Willcox, Gray, Bracegirdle, Ellison, Sadadjian and Harris were also classified. Clayton’s Golf was the first faller after two laps, joined on the sidelines by Fleming’s Honda. Webber was again excluded and had his Motorsport UK licence endorsed with four points for causing a collision.

MIGHTY MINIS CHAMPIONSHIP

SLATER SNARES MIGHTY MINI CROWN

The Super Mighty Mini Championship had withered to four regular competitors by mid-season, as the Mighties thrived, but the competition between the omnipresent Kirkpatrick brothers, Greg Jenkins and Steve Rideout in the modified 105bhp class remained tough. David Kirkpatrick had the title in his pocket prior to Castle Combe’s deciding double-header, but the 80bhp Mighty division remained open, with Bristol’s Sam Slater and Norfolk’s Olly Samways disputing top honours. Slater prevailed in a gripping finale, finishing third on Samways’ rear bumper, with winner Ben Butler a similar distance ahead!

Hereford-based Jenkins qualified his purple car on pole with a 1m23.910s (79.37mph) shot, pursued by Bristolian Ian Slark, back in the fray having missed the past three events. He and David Kirkpatrick were 0.042s apart in the ‘24s,’ with Radstock’s Rideout and Neven Kirkpatrick in the mid-’25s.’ Top of the Mighty tree was Samways on 1:29.681 (74.28mph), who had Slater, Graham Sheppard, Butler, Will Tyrrell, Ahmed Shahrabani and Stuart Coombs within the same 1.537s timeframe as the Supers. Nineteen competitors comprised the entry level class, including Portuguese racer Ruben Veludo.

Shaken back to sixth on the opening lap – when fast-starting Shahrabani came round fourth! – Slark picked off Rideout and the Kirkpatricks to lead by lap six. While Ian raced clear, unusually, outgoing champion Neven K jostled back from fourth and with Rideout usurped David K with 10 laps down. They continued to “scrap it out” for second, well clear of David and Jenkins, who recovered from a spin to regain fifth. Slark set best lap at 1:24.954s (78.39mph).

Always the Mighty pacesetters, Slater and initial leader Butler started the final lap nose-to-tail, pursued by Samways whose tremendous recovery from 28th, following a first lap shemozzle – which triggered a brief caution period – brought him back to eighth overall and third in the division. Sheppard and Tyrrell completed the top five at the chequer, a distance ahead of Shahrabani and James Jenkins, the last runner on the Supers’ lap. Samways, in a hurry, bagged the fastest lap points with 1:29.710 (74.23mph).

The championship finale – and Castle Combe’s last race of 2024 – was red-flagged within seconds after James Bryan and Morgan Harris were eliminated on the exit of Quarry. From the restart, Greg Jenkins and Slark disputed the lead before Slark’s engine went flat on the penultimate lap. Champion David Kirkpatrick had fallen on the previous circuit, thus Jenkins and Rideout in the Octane Racing car, with Neven K in his mirrors, were the only class finishers. Jenkins’ 1:23.854 (79.52mph) lap was the day’s quickest. Greg split the Kirkpatricks in the final points table, with Rideout a close-up fourth.

The Mighty division’s curtain-closer was as its name suggested. From a writhing pack, Butler, Samways, initial leader Sheppard, Slater, Coombs and Tyrrell formed a train whose order changed constantly. Butler led over the TSL timing line for two-thirds of the 15 laps, but had to work hard to usurp Slater and Samways – who each enjoyed one ahead – on the penultimate circuit and repassed Olly round the outside as they traversed Camp for the final time to snatch victory.

“That was the most emotional race of my life. My mum passed away two weeks ago, so I’m glad I finished first. This one is for her,” said Ben, whose son Tao improved from 13th [eighth Mighty] in the first race to ninth overall [sixth], behind champion Slater’s Octane Racing car, Coombs and Sheppard. Tyrrell fell in the closing stages. Slater netted fastest lap, his 1:29.423 (74.47mph) again the day’s best, to complete his team celebrations.

After three seasons under the CCRC flag, the club now bids farewell to the Mighty Minis. It moves to the 750MC for 2025, with a rationalised single class championship set to bring even more dramatic racing.

END