BAKER BATTLES BACK TO CIVIC PODIUMS
Mastering changeable conditions proved to be the key to success at the latest Castle Combe meeting as the British summer promptly ended in Wiltshire with the arrival of wet weather.
Despite a soggy qualifying session, it was in the dry that both Civic Cup races were held as Rob Baker consolidated his lead at the top of the standings with two second places.
Jason Ballantyne surged through from fourth on the grid when the lights went out and led on the opening tour, while Baker dropped to sixth from third.
As Ballantyne acted as a cork in the bottle, Baker began to make progress and worked his way up to second with three laps remaining but Ballantyne held on to take his second win of the year.
“When you get off the line and all your championship challengers get in front of you it’s slightly disheartening,” stated Baker after the race.
Baker’s performance in the second race was even more impressive, though, as with the top-10 reversed it meant he started ninth.
Paul Taylor led from pole initially before Mark Grice, who’d started fifth and suffered brake problems in the first race, overtook him on lap five.
Two laps later Baker had moved into second and for the remaining five laps tried to hound Grice into a mistake, but again had to settle for runner-up spot behind his nearest championship challenger.
The first of the Fiesta Championship races was held on a sodden track as reigning Class C champion David Nye put in a masterful display to win by more than eight seconds ahead of championship leader Harry Gooding. Jamie Going, Gooding’s nearest challenger in the battle for the title, struggled to sixth.
A decision to change his front wet tyres to slicks moments before the start of race two could have proved inspired by Nye, but instead it turned into a curse as he collided with the barrier at Quarry on the opening lap.
Gooding led 12 of the 15 laps but had to give way as his wet tyres overheated on a damp but drying track as Danny Harrison, who like Nye had fitted slicks, took the lead.
But he was denied a well-earned win when he picked up a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits which dropped him to fourth after the flag.
Gooding was promoted to the top step of the podium ahead of Going, while Nye recovered from his first-lap excursion to finish fifth.
In race three, Gooding won comfortably from Going – who claimed second despite a five second penalty for exceeding track limits – as Nye finished third.
Jamie Falvey’s championship lead took a hit in the Caterham 270R series as he could only manage a best result of fifth from the pair of races.
The former Marine Commando came into the meeting as the only driver to have been on the podium at every previous race and it seemed as though that would continue as he secured pole position in the dry. But as the track became treacherously slippery before the first race Falvey came to grief at Quarry on the opening lap, bringing out the red flags.
This presented a great opportunity for title rival Jay Mccormack to capitalise, which he did with a comfortable win in the opener ahead of James Wingfield and Chris Bates after taking the lead on lap three.
But any chance to establish a lead at the top of the standings in the second race ended in the barriers after a last-lap, last-corner crash at Camp when a lunge up the inside of leader Wingfield led to contact.
Bates, who had led early on until a safety car period eroded his lead, inherited his first ever win after being “in the right place to capitalise”.
A nasty accident between Matt Sheppard and poleman Daniel Halstead halted the first Caterham Roadsport race after just three laps. Both aquaplaned off the track at Camp from second and third respectively, with Sheppard’s car bouncing back off the barrier before being hit broadside by Halstead moments later. Both emerged unhurt. Daniel French took the win in the restart before winning a much drier affair on Sunday.
The Caterham Academy Green group produced perhaps the best racing action from all of the Caterham series on show, as German Larrs Hoffmann beat Greg Smith after they traded places several times in the closing laps, and headed a train of three other cars.
The Herbert Austin Handicap race at the Vintage Sports-car Club’s Mallory Park meeting was unusual as it was an all-austin 7 affair for the first time in years.
It was the result of two clubs joining forces for the day – 750 Motor Club pairing with the VSCC.
“The idea of an Austin 7-only race was mooted last year and has now come to fruition,” said 750MC’S Charlie Plain-jones. “It’s the first time in many, many years that this has been attempted.”
The cooperation reflects shared love for the Austin 7 among those who have raced them, as well as the clubs’ long heritage in historic racing.
The car’s heritage also is hard to equal. Lotus, Mclaren, Cooper and Brabham can all be traced back to racing Austin 7s while Tony Southgate and Mike Costin cut their teeth with the cars too.
Furthermore, the push to organise this race reflects Austin 7 racing as an ideal starting point: low budget, not technically complicated and easy to source spares for. Plenty of cars exist. With all this the clubs identified the opportunity to attract newcomers.
“[We’re looking forward to] introducing a lot of people to the delights of Austin 7s as a basis for entry level motorsport,” Plain-jones added.
It required considerable effort for both clubs too. “You can see the fruits of everybody really coming together,” added VSCC’S Nick Hayward-cook.
And it worked as an entry of 24 with one reserve were attracted.
“The fact that we have a capacity grid speaks for itself that this has been enthusiastically received,” PlainJones continued.
The drivers’ ages ranged from William Kirk is his 20s through to Tim Myall who was 80 this year.
“It’s lovely, they should do more stuff like this,” said Kirk. “The more people the merrier, and if everybody likes these 7s and several clubs are racing Austin 7s why not join them?”
“It’s really interesting,” added fellow driver Francesca Wilton. “In the VSCC everybody knows each other so we’d be able to see a bit of competition and meet new people, people who’ve got a similar interest.
“They’re [the Austin 7] a really good starter car, they’re really forgiving, there’s a huge variety of them,” Wilton added.
Race entrants were split by ‘class’ based on which club they were from, though the rivalry remained friendly – those from either ‘side’ willing to help each other with spares and the like. Yet there was only one trophy to compete for and all were keen to uphold their club’s honour.
The race was a 10-lap handicap, and while there was a touch of finger-in-air about the handicapping given the paucity of previous Austin 7 races it worked as long-time leader James Miles – on pace the tailender – was pipped on the final lap by victor Max Fraser ensuring honours for VSCC, followed by 750MC’S Mike Harvey.
Fraser was racing the car for the first time in 15 years and had to drive around a “significant problem” which led to him considering not starting.
“I’m totally shocked to be honest! I didn’t expect to win all,” he said, “that’s handicap races for you.”
And did he see it as a win for his club? “Yes, definitely!”
All were optimistic this would be no one-off either. “[This will] build what we hope to be a lasting formula,” Hayward-cook concluded.