Bell fails to ring on a double Pre-’66 Mini win
DONINGTON PARK BARC 29-30 MARCH
Saturday’s Pre-’66 Touring Car thrash was the highlight of a busy British Automobile Racing Club meeting at Donington Park. At least half a dozen cars could have won – and one actually did – before Peter
Smith was handed the laurels.
Joe Ferguson claimed an unusually dominant win in Friday’s opener in the self-prepared Mini he shares with Tom
Bell. But the change of driver meant Bell had to start race two from the rear of the 30-car grid. As Bell charged through, reaching eighth within a lap, Alan Greenhalgh powered his Ford Falcon ahead from pole position, harried by Barry Sime (Mini) and the interloping Lotus Cortinas of Ian Thompson and slow-starting
Smith in a little-versus-large contest.
As Greenhalgh faded, a safety car set up a two-lap dash and new leader Thompson was swamped. Sime led until Mcleans, where Bell hit the front and appeared to complete an unlikely double for the car.
But restart-infringement penalties for Bell and Cortina-mounted Garry Townsend, and Thompson’s censure for contact with Sime in the last-lap scramble, left Smith victorious from Bell, Sime and Thompson.
Last man standing Alex Morgan (BTC-T Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch) won the Super Tourers’ season-opener. Mechanical issues had already depleted the field, before Richard Wheeler’s Nissan Primera twitched through the damp Craner Curves and collected Paul Whight’s Honda Accord. First time out in Wheeler’s Honda Integra, Danny Harrison was in command before a couple of lock-ups presaged total brake failure at the Melbourne Hairpin and a heavy trip into the tyre barrier. Morgan’s driveshaft issue on Saturday meant Pre-’93 dominator Stuart Waite won overall in his BMW, while Stephen Primett (Ford Escort Mk1) withstood Jonathan Corker’s (Datsun) challenge for a Pre-’83 double.
Veteran racer Kevin Clarke (BMW M3 CSL) lost out to customer Bryan Bransom’s outside pass at the Old Hairpin just before a race-ending safety car was called in Friday’s wet Classic Thunder bout. As the V8 machinery struggled to transmit their power, James Card completed a
BMW 1-2-3 ahead of Josh Lawton’s raucous Honda Civic. A day later, both Bransom and Lawton suffered overheating after grassy excursions to avoid Andy Wilson’s spinning Holden Monaro. Clarke took a comfortable win from reigning champion Nick Vaughan (Audi A3) and Card. Twice fifth overall, Simon Light’s Ford Capri V8 scooped double Historic Thunder success.
Three-time champion Piers Grange swept to a Blue Oval Saloon Series double. Malcolm Harding’s similar Smith & Jonespowered Ford Escort Mk2 worked Grange hard in the opener but later succumbed to electrical gremlins. Gary Prebble
(Honda Civic EG) was untroubled in the concurrent Pre-’03 Touring Car clashes.
Late entry Endaf Owens topped a very entertaining first Mini Miglia race, holding on to edge Ben Colburn, Aaron Smith and Jeff Smith, whose challenge weakened in the closing stages. Fuel-pump failure restricted Owens to a few laps from a pitlane start in the sequel, while Aaron Smith was tipped across namesake Jeff’s bows exiting Mcleans. Benefiting from set-up tweaks, Jeff Smith sealed victory
from Colburn, who was then demoted to seventh for his role in a Melbourne Hairpin tangle that eliminated three cars. With his Miglia not ready, Andrew Jordan borrowed dad Mike’s Se7en and proceeded to crush the regulars with a pair of 16-second victories in contrasting conditions.
Peter Erceg’s 2023 dominance of the British Endurance Championship continued as his Audi R8 GT3 bested a field thinned by testing woes. Co-driven by Hugo Cook, substituting for British GT man Marcus Clutton despite receiving his own late entry for Oulton Park, the Audi won by more than a lap from John Seale/ Jamie Stanley (Lamborghini), whose fading chances were ended by a drive-through penalty for pitlane speeding. On their step up to a Porsche 718 Cayman, Bal Sidhu and Josh Steed completed the podium.
There were maiden Britcar Trophy victories for Seb Dubois (Ginetta G56) and Chris Bialan/simon Mason (Cupra). The Cupra bounced back from an all-tcr clash with Lewis Kent’s Hyundai Veloster early in the first race to beat the Ginettas of Axel van Nederveen – who’d been caught in the same incident – and Maurizio Sciglio later on.
Sidelined from the lead of the Superkarts opener – in which Tom Rushforth triumphed – by a broken chain, Liam Morley was unbeaten thereafter, while Lee Harpham took a hat-trick of second places.