Swiftune in the mix

Bethersden-based Swiftune Racing scored two top-six finishes at the Goodwood circuit’s historic Members’ Meeting in West Sussex at the weekend. The team, run by father-andson duo Glyn and Nick Swift, specialise in classic Mini preparation and entered the Gerry Marshall Trophy for production saloon cars of the 1970s and early 80s. Nick, who has been racing since 1995, was joined by 2013 British Touring Car champion Andrew Jordan for a one-hour endurance race on Saturday. Despite receiving a 10-second penalty after jumping the start, the pair finished fifth overall in their Mini 1275 GT, just 0.5sec behind a Ford Escort RS2000 piloted by former Formula 1 driver Mark Blundell. On Sunday’s reverse-grid encounter, Nick charged through the field to finish sixth overall, beating a powerful Chevrolet Camaro by 0.077. “It was a good thrash – we got better results than we originally hoped,” Nick said. “The race on Sunday was just awesome, it was proper David and Goliath stuff and it was through sheer determination that I kept the Camaro behind me. “I thought I would struggle to get it in the top-10 in race two so we are all chuffed.” The team’s second Mini retired from race one before finishing 18th in race two.