AINGE AND JORDAN SCORE
SILVERSTONE NATIONAL: CSCC APRIL 30/ MAY 1
“We don’t have tactics, we just drive as fast as we can,” said Mike Jordan after steering Nigel Ainge’s Honda Integra Type R to a comfortable Tin Tops victory.
Ainge had started from pole but lost out to Russell Hird’s Integra and Carl Chambers’ Peugeot 306 on the first lap, as they were joined by Tom Mensley’s Renault Clio in an early break.
But Ainge soon reclaimed second, as Chambers lost out to Mensley a lap later. But with all three of his rivals making early stops when the pitstop window opened, Ainge had the lead prior to handing the car to Jordan.
When the stops had been completed, Mensley was in front but had Chambers closing in again, while in third Jordan had the legs on them both. Jordan’s first move came at Becketts when he scythed ahead of Chambers on the 25th lap.
Their exchange had allowed brief respite for Mensley, but three laps later they were nose-to-tail through Woodcote before Jordan led into Copse. As the lead grew, Chambers closed again to challenge for second. “We had backmarkers into Luffield, so I went straight through the middle and was second into Luffield,” he said. Mensley was left to take third from Hird, who had made up for his success loaded stop.
Barry O’neill managed to build a sizeable lead in the Modern Classics, but lost most of it when he spun his BMW M3 Evo at Luffield, just before handing to Andrew Szymanski. Edward Leigh’s similar car had been down in sixth until the stops, but led the second half for a dominant win.
Nicolas Olson’s Lotus Esprit was an early frontrunner and came back to pick off Szymanski and Paul Black/ Clive Bailye’s Mazda MX-5 Turbo to secure second from lap 25 (of 36), with Szymanski following through two laps later, dropping Black to fourth.
The early laps of the Magnificent Sevens were a close-run thing between the Caterham C400 of Peter Ratcliff and the R300 of Lewis and Gary Tootell. But Ratcliff then lapped the whole field, with the Tootells holding onto second from Julian and Christian Pittard.
The New Millennium race featured a great three-car tussle, with Clive Bailye’s BMW M3 heading the similar car of Thomas Houlbrook and Peter Challis’ Porsche 997. But Challis lost ground and Houlbrook hit the front, as Owen Fitzgerald’s M3 closed in too.
The fight ahead allowed Drew Wylie to join in too and, by lap eight, he was ahead of a four-car train, with Houlbrook losing out to Fitzgerald, Challis and Bailye.
Wylie’s M3 lost out briefly during the pitstops but was soon into a decisive lead, “I didn’t have fifth gear at the start, but then it cleared,” he explained.
Challis fought back to go clear in second, with Piers Reid’s M3 finishing strongly in third, as Rick Kerry claimed fourth in the final laps from Bailye/ Black after his co-driver Lee Spencer had two early spins in their BMW. James Clare led the concurrent Puma Cup from lights to flag.
No one got near Gary Bate’s Caterham CSR in the Open series, while Charles/ David Holroyd’s similar car was an equally lonely second, a lap clear of Joe Jackson’s Vauxhall Tigra.
There was a double win for Steven Moss’s Ford Anglia in the Special Saloons and Modsports. He started the first race in the wrong gear and dropped to fourth behind Ricky Parker-morris’ Peugeot 309, Wayne Crabtree’s Ford Escort and Chris Southcott’s MG Midget.
The lead changed a number of times early on before Crabtree started to take charge. But as Morris challenged again on the Wellington Straight, he lost a wheel and, as Crabtree slowed to avoid any contact, Moss closed into to challenge. He had the lead into Luffield a couple of laps later.
Crabtree held onto second but Southcott pitted with a misfire, leaving Paul Sibley’s Lotus Elan to complete the podium, after taking Tony Ellis’ Mazda RX-7 as they negotiated backmarkers.
With Crabtree spinning exiting Becketts on the opening lap of race two, Sibley and Ellis led the way, before Moss surged past them both on lap five to secure his second win. Southcott had second into Luffield a lap later but still had Sibley on his tail as they took the flag, while Crabtree recovered to collect a late fourth, after Ellis pulled off.
Julian Belcher/david Carvell’s Ford Cortina Twin Cam secured a last-lap victory over Richard Merrell’s Alfa Romeo Giulia in the Swinging Sixties Group 1 race, after Carvell had built a huge lead in the first half.
No one got near Mark Halstead/stuart Mcpherson’s Ginetta G4 in the Swinging Sixties Group 2s, winning by well over 30 seconds from Jon Wolfe/ David Thompson’s TVR Tuscan, with Raymond Barrow’s Chevrolet Camaro the only other unlapped runner.
Richard and William Plant’s Morgan Plus 8 led the majority of the Future Classics. Mark Chilton started to close at the end, but his Porsche 928 picked up a puncture. He still limped home in second, a lap up on Alec Livesley’s Jensen-healey.
Halstead and Mcpherson took their second dominant win in the Classic K. Their Elan was never headed as David Garrett’s Elan took a distant second.