HIRD IN A FIELD ALLOWS SIMPSON TO WIN
Late drama dictated the outcome of a breathtaking Tin Tops encounter on Sunday when a tangle between the Honda Integra Type-r of Russell Hird and the Proton Persona GTI of Richard Jason Field helped the father-and-son duo of Colin and Steven Simpson snatch victory within yards of the finish.
After a lengthy safety car period had disrupted the early stages of the race, Hird assumed the lead post pitstops after challenges from the Renault Clio of early pacesetter Ryan Colvey and the Honda Civic Type-r of Andrew Windmill faded. Conversely, Field closed rapidly on Hird and looked poised to make his move as the pair started the penultimate lap.
At Church, Field dived inside to grab the advantage but Hird fought back as the pair approached the Club Chicane. Contact was made and Hird’s Integra spun and slammed into tyre wall, but Field was able to continue despite sustaining damage.
Field attempted to nurse his wounded car to victory, but Simpson Jr was in no mood to settle for second and powered ahead to win the drag to the line by a mere 0.059 seconds. The Civic Type-r of David and Tom Hutchins was classified third after Tom Mensley’s Renault Clio was disqualified for a safety car infringement.
Colin Philpott put an end to James Ramm’s unbeaten run in the opening Jaguar Saloon and GT Championship encounter in his XJS on Saturday, securing a lightsto-flag win before Ramm bounced back to claim the spoils in a reversedgrid race two.
Philpott led away from pole in race one and was never headed thereafter, while Ramm found himself unable to dislodge the XJR of the impressive Tom Robinson from second, despite applying race-long pressure.
Eager to rediscover his winning form in the second race, Ramm quickly powered to the front, passing reigning champion Rodney Frost climbing Woodham Hill on the opening lap. Patrick Doyle followed through at Club seconds later and hounded Ramm until a clash at the Complex forced a disgruntled Doyle out of contention. Philpott climbed to second thereafter but a combination of fading tyres and gear selection problems caused him to spend the remainder of the race resisting challenges from Frost.
There was also a tense battle for the runner-up spot in the Classic K encounter. Positions were swapped frequently in the closing laps as the Marcos 1800 GT of Allen Tice and Chris Conoley, the similar car of Peter Thompson and David Garrett’s Lotus Elan indulged in a three-way tussle for the place. Garrett came out on top on the run to the flag, but a post- race time penalty for pitlane speeding dropped him to fourth and handed the position to Tice and Conoley. None of the chasing pack could get near winner Paul Tooms in his Lotus Elan though.
A brilliant start and a clever piece of pit strategy helped Matty Evans (BMW M3 E46) claim victory in the New Millennium contest, erasing memories of fuel leak dramas that ruined his hopes at the previous round. Peter Challis survived an offtrack moment to claim second in his Porsche 997, with Alistair Scott narrowly defeating the father-andson pairing of Mark Smith and James Moulton-smith to seal third.
Another BMW driver to taste victory was David Marcussen in the Modern Classics race, steering his M3 Evo E36 to success in his first race in the car since last October. A broken oil line in qualifying forced Alan Thompson to start from the back of the grid in his 328i, but a storming drive was rewarded with a second place finish. Stuart Daburn salvaged third in his TVR Tuscan despite an excursion on the final lap.
Daburn made no such error in the Future Classics encounter as he scored his second successive Thruxton win in the category. Aston Blake had led early on but the need for he and father Tony to serve a 30s success penalty in their Porsche 911 allowed Daburn to pull clear and leave Blake Sr to battle the similar car of Tim Bates. The tussle provided a great spectacle for the crowd in the closing stages as Blake prevailed.
In the Open Series race, Tim Davis looked all set to carry on his recent good form until spinning out of the lead at Club attempting to lap Anthony Barnes. Peter Ratcliff picked up the pieces to take the win after “a moment at Church” harmed Jonathan Mitchell’s chance to challenge Ratcliff on the last lap.
Ratcliff’s hopes of replicating the result in the Magnificent Sevens event vanished within seconds of the start when his car ground to a halt. Other potential winners Davis and Christian Pittard also struck problems at half-distance, handing Mitchell a lonely run to victory.