ITALIAN CLASSIC AS LEONE TRIUMPHS

Monaco-domiciled Italian Valerio Leone’s Classic Formula 3 double in a sensational field, including period returnees Ian Flux and Richard Trott, topped the rebranded Legends of Brands Hatch Superprix. The event perfectly showcased the HSCC’S racing spirit, originated in 1966.

Leone shot his ex-teo Fabi March 783 from fifth to second in two laps on Saturday, then hounded David Shaw’s Ralt RT1 until its battery wilted. As Gaius Ghinn (Ralt-vw RT3), Flux (783) and the Chevrons of Max Bartell (B34) and Fred Lajoux (B43) ganged up behind, Leone bagged a resounding win over Ghinn and Fluxie.

Leone led throughout on Sunday, but CF3 rookie Cameron Jackson (ex-oscar Larrauri March-alfa Romeo 813) was homing in with Ghinn, Bartell and Flux when he stopped in Dingle Dell. Bartell, driving beautifully, usurped Ghinn three laps from home and clung on to a British class-winning second as they carved through lapped traffic.

A shower before Saturday’s FIA F2 counter brought a tyre quandary and poleman Richard Evans (in Hugh Price’s Ici/derek Daly tribute Chevron-hart B42) knew immediately that his slicks call was optimistic. After a safety car erased wet-shod Mark Dwyer’s 17-second lead, dries came into their own, but Dwyer (March-bdg 742) thwarted Evans’ attacks steadfastly under enormous pressure. They finished nose-to-tail.

Evans streaked away from Dean Forward (782) and Dwyer in Sunday’s sunshine as Alsacian triple champion Robert Simac (March 712) suppressed Australian Marty Bullock (Chevron B17C) and Paul Bason (ex-james Hunt 712) for a 1600cc double.

The Formula Junior Diamond Jubilee World Tour trifecta featured 99 starters. Stuart Roach (Alexis Mk2) stole front-engined gold, pipping Ray Mallock (U2) after fuel surge hobbled runaway leader Chris Drake’s downdraught carburetted Terrier. Drake won the rear-engined drum-braked split however, his Elva 300 clear of James Hicks (Caravelle) and German Ivo Goeckman’s Jolus. Roach (Condor SIII) was fourth as different chassis marques filled the top eight places.

The 1962-3 disc-braked race was the most open. Andrew Hibberd (Lotus 22) and Cameron Jackson (Brabham BT2) had displaced James Murray (Lola MK5A) before Roach’s Alexis Mk4 lost a rear wheel at Surtees – following a tap – triggering a caution. Murray redoubled his efforts at the green, demoting Jackson, but Hibberd just prevailed.

Michael Lyons’ versatility now extends to tin tops for having won both Super Touring races in New Zealander Lindsay O’donnell’s Volvo V40, he leapt into the ex-john Love F1 Surtees TS9 for a Derek Bell Trophy double in F5000-rich Historic Race of Champions contests. Patrick Watts (Peugeot) and Stewart Whyte (Honda) kept him focused in the former. F2 winner Mark Dwyer led the DBT chases, mighty Mallock handler Mark Charteris and Lotus Cup ace Adrian Hall – excelling in the ex-keith Holland Trojan T101 – joining the podium parties.

Charles Barter was again unflappable in ’70s Road Sports, the Lotus Europas of son Julian and Jim Dean scrapping in his Datsun 240Z’s mirrors having passed Peter Shaw’s TVR as it shed a front wheel. Dean bagged second when Barter Jr missed gears. HRS polesitter John Davison (Elan S3) outran Shaw’s front brakeless S1 in Sunday’s Historic stanza. Second qualifier Ian Burford (Ginetta G4) recovered from an abysmal start to land his first podium.

Andrew Hibberd took a 1000cc F3 double in his Brabham BT18. Poleman James Denty (ex-mo Nunn Lotus 41) slipped to third behind Simon Armer (March 703) on Saturday, but retired from race two on three cylinders. When Armer slowed, Peter Thompson and class debutant Mark Pangborn (Brabhams) pounced.

With Charlie Allison and James Schryver’s Chevron B8s beached at Paddock on lap one, Ben Mitchell controlled the Guards Trophy race in Michael Schryver’s B6. When Michael took over Richard Piper (Brahma) reeled him in, but a clash at Stirlings put Piper out, gifting victory to Max Bartell/callum Grant (ex-keith St John Radio London ELVA-BMW MK7S).

Grant had Leo Voyazides’ Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe bellowing in his wake, finisher Simon Hadfield having shaken off Philip Nelson’s B8. John Davison extended his points lead with another classy win in his ‘Gold Bug’ Elan, while Andrew Hibberd mirrored his result in the Lotus 23B started by father Michael.

Grant and Bartell saddled their Historic FF1600 Merlyns for Sunday’s finale. They enjoyed a humdinger of a fight out front while table topper Rob Wainwright – who put his Elden on pole but was banished to the back for a carb gasket irregularity– scythed to fifth, ahead of former F1 racer Tiff Needell. Bartell almost deposed Grant, who held on for win five, thus leads the championship to Croft. Circuit debutant Benn Tilley set another superb fastest lap wresting third from Mark Shaw.

URS standout Ian Pearson slid off at Sheene Curve, ceding the FF2000 advantage to Historic points leader Andy Park, who just bested Classic winner Marc Mercer.

The race was made by the CRC set who started 10 seconds behind the Pintos. Andy Jarvis (Palliser twincam) made the initial running, but Singapore commuter Daniel Pyett screamed his pristine Bda-powered Tecno ahead as the closely-matched duo battled to fifth and sixth overall.

With Craig Davies’ Chevrolet Corvette out early, Voyazides/ Hadfield overcame a gearbox issue en route to GT & Sports Car Cup victory in Leo’s AC Cobra. GT3 division winners Jeremy Welch/ Martyn Corfield (Austin-healey 3000) were overjoyed with second.

Voyazides/hadfield’s Lola T282 resonated through the trees en route to a straightforward 80s Endurance win. On the smoky demise of Manfredo Rossi’s Osella Abarth PA1, the G-CAT run MarchBDG 75Ss of Richard Piper/greg Caton and Doug Hart finished second and third, 1.3 seconds apart.

Leo and Simon split for a Touring one-two in the Greek’s Falcon and Lotus Cortina, ahead of Rob Fenn (Mustang) and Bob Bullen’s Anglia as Simon Benoy (Hillman Imp) stretched his Bybox championsip lead.

Jon Fairley staved off Peter Horsman in both HGPCA races, maximising his Brabham’s 2.7-litre Climax’s edge over the 2.5 Lotus.

1 Valerio Leone (March 783); 2 Gaius Ghinn (Ralt RT3) +1.985s; 3 Ian Flux (March 783); 4 Maxim Bartell (Chevron B34); 5 Fred Lajoux (Chevron B43); 6 Richard Trott (Chevron B43). Class winners Ghinn; Adrian Langridge (Dastle Mk10); Ian Pearson (Van Diemen RF83/82). Fastest lap Leone 1m32.078s (95.12mph). Pole Ghinn. Starters 38.

1 Leone; 2 Bartell +2.401s; 3 Ghinn; 4 Lajoux; 5 Flux; 6 Trott. CW Bartell; Langridge. FL Cameron Jackson (March 813) 1m31.242s (95.99mph). P Leone. S 32.

1 Mark Dwyer (March-bdg 742); 2 Richard Evans (Chevron-hart B42) +0.119s; 3 Frazer Gibney (March-bmw 782); 4 Jeremy Wheatley (Surtees-bdg TS15); 5 Dean Forward (March-bmw 782); 6 Robert Simac (March-bda 712). CW Simac; Max Blees (Brabham-fvc BT30). FL Dwyer 1m37.965s (89.42mph). P Evans. S 17.

1 Evans; 2 Forward +13.648s; 3 Dwyer; 4 Richard Meins (March-bmw 772); 5 Gibney; 6 Wheatley. CW Simac; Blees. FL Evans 1m26.011s (101.83mph). P Dwyer. S 17.

1 Stuart Roach (Alexis Mk2); 2 Ray Mallock (U2 Mk2) +0.900s; 3 Mark Woodhouse (Elva 100); 4 Andrew Tart (Bond FJ); 5 Robin Longdon (Lola Mk2); 6 Michael Hibberd (Lola Mk2). CW Tony Olissoff (Elfin Mk1); Tom De Gres (Stanguellini FJ). FL Roach 1m46.347s (82.36mph). P Mallock. S 35.

1 Chris Drake (Elva 300); 2 James Hicks (Caravelle Mk3) +17.227s; 3 Ivo Goeckman (Jolus FJ); 4 Stuart Roach (Condor SIII); 5 John Chisholm (Gemini MK3A); 6 Laine Martin (Lotus 20). CW Nick Finburgh (Envoy Mk1); Simon Durling (Lotus 18); Gregan Thruston (Lotus 20). FL Drake 1m43.838s (84.35mph). P Drake. S 32.

1 Andrew Hibberd (Lotus 22); 2 James Murray (Lola MK5A) +2.028s; 3 Cameron Jackson (Brabham BT2); 4 Sam Wilson (Lotus 20/22); 5 Manfredo Rossi di Montelera (Lotus 22); 6 Callum Grant (Merlyn Mk5/7). CW Malcolm Wishart (Cooper T65). FL Murray 1m40.010s (87.58mph). P Hibberd. S32.

1 Michael Lyons (Volvo V40); 2 Patrick Watts (Peugeot 406) +1.611s; 3 Stewart Whyte (Honda Accord); 4 Neil Smith (Alfa Romeo 156); 5 Simon Garrad (Opel Vectra); 6 Mark Smith (BMW E30 M3). CW M Smith; Keith Butcher (Audi A4); Scott O’donnell (Ford Mondeo). FL Whyte 1m34.969s (92.23mph). P Lyons. S 19.

1 Lyons; 2 Whyte +4.534s; 3 N Smith; 4 Watts; 5 Mark Lemmer (Honda Accord); 6 M Smith. CW M Smith; Mark Wright (Ford Escort RS1800); Butcher. FL Lyons 1m35.508s (91.71mph). P Lyons. S 18.

1 Michael Lyons (Surtees-dfv TS9); 2 Mark Dwyer (March-bdg 742) +13.695s; 3 Mark Charteris (Mallock-ford Mk20/21); 4 Adrian Hall (Trojan-chevrolet T101); 5 Paul Campfield (Chevron-chevrolet B28); 6 Simon Taylor (Chevron-chevrolet B28). CW Dwyer; Charteris; Hall; Martyn Donn (LolaBDA T760); Chris Atkinson (SurteesChevrolet TS8); Marc Mercer (Van DiemenFord RF82); Daniel Pyett (Tecno F2). FL Lyons 1m25.737s (102.16mph). P Lyons. S 24. 1 Lyons; 2 Dwyer +18.739s; 3 Hall; 4 Neil Glover (LolaChevrolet T330/332); 5 Daryl Taylor (Chevron-chevrolet B28); 6 Atkinson. CW Dwyer; Hall; Atkinson; Donn; Wainwright; John Harrison (Mallock Mk21). Inv Robert Cracknell (Reynard SF84). FL Lyons 1m26.374s (101.41mph). P Lyons. S 21.

1 Charles Barter (Datsun 240Z); 2 James Dean (Lotus Europa) +3.463s; 3 Julian Barter (Lotus Europa); 4 Mark Leverett (Lotus Elan); 5 John Williams (Porsche 911SC); 6 Steve Skipworth (Lotus Europa). CW Dean; Chris Fisher (MG Arkley); Neil Brown (Lotus Eclat). Inv Jim Baynam (MGB). FL J Barter 1m46.606s (82.16mph). P C Barter. S 20.

1 Hibberd; 2 Thompson +29.876s; 3 Pangborn; 4 Armer; 5 Christoph Widmer (Brabham BT18A); 6 Leif Bosson (Brabham BT28). FL Hibberd 1m38.365s (89.04mph). P Hibberd. S 21.

1 Maxim Bartell/ Callum Grant (ELVA-BMW MK7S); 2 Leo Voyazides/ Simon Hadfield (Shelby Daytona Coupe) +0.388s; 3 Philip Nelson (Chevron-bmw B8); 4 Nick Thompson/ Sean Mcclurg (Chevron-bmw B6); 5 Mike Gardiner/ Dan Cox (TVR Griffith); 6 Michael Schryver/ Ben Mitchell (Chevron-bmw B6). CW Voyazides/ Hadfield; Nelson; Andrew Hibberd/ Michael Hibberd (Lotus-t/c 23B); Brian Casey (Lenham P69); John Davison (Lotus Elan); Andrew Hill/ Harry Wyndham (Austin-healey 3000). Inv Richard Piper (Fitzgerald B2 Brahma). FL Mitchell 1m39.004s (88.47mph). P Mitchell. S 29.

1 Callum Grant (Merlyn MK20A); 2 Maxim Bartell (Merlyn MK20A) +0.339s; 3 Benn Tilley (Merlyn Mk20); 4 Mark Shaw (Merlyn Mk20); 5 Rob Wainwright (Elden Mk8); 6 Tiff Needell (Lotus 69). FL Tilley 1m39.153s (88.34mph). P Grant. S 32.

1 Andrew Park (Reynard SF81); 2 Marc Mercer (Van Diemen RF82) +0.885s; 3 Ian Pearson (Van Diemen RF83/82); 4 Nelson Rowe (Reynard SF79); 5 Daniel Pyett (Tecno F2); 6 Andy Jarvis (Palliser WBD2). CW Mercer; Jarvis; Tom White (Osella FAF); John Stapleton (Tui BH2); Peter Finnigan (Merlyn MK20A/11A). FL Pearson 1m33.159s (94.02mph). P Pearson. S 27.

1 Leo Voyazides/ Simon Hadfield (AC Cobra); 2 Jeremy Welch/ Martyn Corfield (AustinHealey 3000) +2m02.286s; 3 Read Gomm (Jaguar E-type low-drag coupe); 4 David Smithies/ Chris Clarkson (Austin-healey 3000); 5 Nils-fredrik Nyblaeus/jeremy Welch (Austin-healey 3000); 6 Mike Bell/ Simon Orebi Gann (Morgan +4 SLR). CW Welch/ Corfield; Wil Arif/ Malcolm Paul (TVR Grantura Mk3); Nick Taylor/ Richard Tyzack (Kellison J2R); Guy Peeters (Lotus 11). FL Hadfield 1m44.328s (83.93mph). P Hadfield. S 25.

1 Leo Voyazides/ Simon Hadfield (LOLA-DFV T282); 2 Greg Richard Piper/ Greg Caton (March-bdg 75S) +1.937s; 3 Doug Hart (March-bdg 75S); 4 Maxim Bartell/ Mike Catlow (Chevron-fvc B19); 5 James Schryver/andrew Schryver (ChevronBDG B26). 6 Guy Peeters (Chevron-fvc B23). CW Piper/ Caton; Catlow/ Bartell; Peter Hallford (Chevrolet Corvette); Neal Stevenson (Tiga SC81); Georg Nolte (Ford GT40). Inv Vicky & Bob Brooks (LOLA-BDG T212). FL Hadfield 1m28.020s (99.51mph). P Hadfield. S 21.

1 Leo Voyazides (Ford Falcon); 2 Simon Hadfield (Ford Lotus Cortina) +17.098s; 3 Rob Fenn (Ford Mustang); 4 Bob Bullen (Ford Anglia); 5 John Spiers (Ford Lotus Cortina); 6 John Davison (Ford Lotus Cortina). CW Hadfield; Bullen; Simon Benoy (Hillman Imp); Nick Paddy (Morris Cooper S); David Lloyd (Ford Mustang). Inv Fenn. FL Voyazides 1m48.178s (80.97mph). P Voyazides. S 22.

1 Jon Fairley (Brabham BT11); 2 Peter Horsman (Lotus 18/21) +1.126s; 3 Rod Jolley (Cooper T45/51); 4 Miles Griffiths (Lotus-brm 24); 5 Eddy Perk (Heron-alfa Romeo); 6 Alan Baillie (Cooper T71/73). CW Jolley; Griffiths; Perk; Malcolm Cook (Cooper T43); Scotty Taylor (Cooper T45). Inv David Wenman (Cooper-bristol Mk1). FL Fairley 1m39.594s (87.94mph). P Griffiths. S 20.

1 Fairley; 2 Horsman +1.739s; 3 Jolley; 4 Rudiger Friedrichs (Cooper T53); 5 Rainer Ott (Cooper T53); 6 Baillie. CW Jolley; Baillie; Cook; Charles Mccabe (BRM P57); Taylor. Inv Wenman. FL Horsman 1m39.218s (88.28mph). P Fairley. S 17.