THE PICK OF THE CLASSIC SPORTS CAR CLUB ACTION FROM THRUXTON

“That was quite something,” reflected circuit neighbour Jamie Sturges, having won the New Millennium climax to the Classic Sports Car Club’s fourth Thruxton Thriller against the odds in his SEAT Leon TCR.

Unexpectedly victorious over zippy Caterhams in the earlier Open Series race, he relentlessly hounded down Peter Challis (Porsche 997 Cup) after the mandatory pitstops then “threw one down the inside” decisively into Campbell on the final lap.

“After the first race I was praying for rain, but it stayed dry,” said Sturges, whose 1m28.202s (96.16mph) charge on a drying track had earned pole by 2.154s from former single-seater racer Michael Vitulli (BMW E46 M3) with Challis third. “The rear-wheel-drive cars all mugged me at the start, as expected, and I found myself sixth after three laps.” By then Challis, Vitulli, Chris Griffin (Lotus V6 Cup R), Lucky Khera (E46 M3, from eighth) and Mark Smith (E36 M3) were ahead.

A collision with a Mazda RX-8 ended Khera’s bold race, but Russell Humphrey forged his E46 M3 past Sturges before a big spin at Segrave gifted the SEAT pilot fifth. An early stop shuffled Sturges back into the fray expediently and his chase resumed as others stuck to gameplans, Smith and Griffin taking successive turns ahead after stopping later than Challis.

Unbeknown to rivals, not that onlookers had a clue, Sturges was wrestling with a car problem. “Just before the pitstop the paddleshift came off the steering wheel,” he explained. “Luckily, I was able to hold and operate it with three fingers, but then dropped it. Having grabbed it again, I battled my way back [to Peter], overshooting corners as I tried to lap quicker.”

A series of fastest laps culminated with a remarkable 1m22.060s (103.35mph) two laps from home, with the Porsche in range and getting ever larger. “If you mirror watch you are going to get caught,” said Challis. “My crew was telling me [plus] nine, five, then four seconds, then the SEAT appeared! Fair play to Jamie, he drove very well and deserved to win.”

James Moulton-smith (in for dad Mark) overcame a 20-second previous winners’ penalty – served at the stop – to scoop third from Vitulli and Griffin, who had a late spin at the chicane. E46 M3 duellists Jasver Sapra and David Fielder arrived at Club abreast on the final lap, whereupon Fielder, hung out on the outside, spun on the grass.

Despite shredding another nose splitter when squeezed off piste during lappery at Noble, Thruxton devotee Ian Hall won both of Saturday’s attritious Special Saloon & Modsports bouts, the first his 200th race win. Only Paul Sibley (Lotus ELAN-BDG) kept Hall in sight. Marcus Bicknell (ASCAR Ford Fusion) and Danny Morris (Peugeot 309-Cosworth turbo) shared thirds.

Richard Merrell finally grasped his first Swinging Sixties gold after Charles Tippet (BMW 2002Ti) “overcooked it” at the chicane trying to round his Alfa on the last lap. After an early scrape with Malcolm Johnson’s Lotus Europa, Jamie Keevill dominated the Group 2 race as Peter Thompson’s TVR Griffith shed a wheel. Phil Otley drove his immaculate Reliant Scimitar GTE superbly into second.

Spark plug failure left Tim Davis at the back of the Open Series grid, but he fired his Caterham C400 through to second, behind Sturges’s SEAT and clear of polesitter Jonathan Pittard’s 295bhp supercharged CSR. On this imperious form, Davis was unmatchable in Magnificent Sevens, cutting a 1m21.048s (104.64mph) best lap in beating BOSS team-mate Colin Watson. John Cutmore screamed his revised Spire-suzuki RB-7 from 15th to third on his first visit since 2005.

Charles Hyde-andrews-bird’s Renault Megane just repelled Dan Ludlow/stuart Emmett, debuting their ex-synchro Honda Civic Type R, in Turbo Tin Tops. Stalwart marshal Jonathan Dee aced the ‘atmo’ version in his Honda Integra after favourite Martin Addison (Peugeot 106 GTI) inexplicably made his stop at the end of a three-lap caution.

There was no countering Mark Chilton’s Nissan Skyline in Future Classics, but Porsche 944 duo Antony Mcevoy and Ryan Mone scrapped for second. Thruxton-based engine tuner Ray West stormed Trevor Pickard’s BMW E36 M3 past Alan Thompson’s version for Modern Classics honours.

Jaguar poleman Tom Robinson recovered brilliantly from a lairy spin at Church on lap one of Saturday’s race to shadow winner Colin Philpott. Robinson and the impressive Michael Seabourne (XJ40) made it a saloon 1-2, with Philpott third, on Sunday.

SEAT driver added to Open Series win

A stunning ex-daytona Porsche 997 Grand-am turned heads on its CSCC debut. Factor y-built for IMSA racing in 2011, it was uprated from 3.8-litre GT3 Cup spec with RSR suspension, shell and body tweaks by 935 veteran Paul Miller’s team for the 2012 Daytona 24 Hours. Sponsored by Chopard watches, the strikingly-liveried #48 machine ran strongly with Miller’s son Bryce, works driver Sascha Maassen, rapid Briton Rob Bell and Canadian Mark Wilkins up, but was retired after Bell was hit.imported to the UK by specialist Mark Donaldson, it was acquired by John Cockerton who finished ninth in Sunday’s New Millennium set.

The most surprised winner of the CSCC weekend – if not the decade – was Jonathan Dee, who delighted the ‘orange army’by coolly guiding his Honda Integra home ahead of Stephen Reynolds/john Ridgeon (Renault Clio 182) in Saturday’s frenetictin Tops race.“i’ve been marshalling for 25 years, much of it at post 16 here, but always wanted to have a go [at racing].this is the first time I’ve finished inside the top 10, so to win is just amazing,” said the shell-shocked Dee.“it’s a fantastic team effort, which would have been impossible without Tom and Dan who prepare the car.”

Transplanting a larger-capacity Americanv8 engine into Austin-healey chassis effected quite a popular transformation for competition in the 1950s and ’60s. New Zealander Arthur Kennard’s period Kenwharton Trophy-winner (which made its UK debut at Goodwood last week) is delightfully stock-looking, future British hillclimb champion David Hepworth’s was less so. Much more radical is club racers John and James Plant’s tubular-chassised homage, which raced for the first time atthruxton.utilising parts from John’s mighty green ‘Allard’, it carries the 6.6-litre Chevrolet power unit well back in the frame and boasts more advantageous aerodynamics.the car took a best result of sixth in the second Special Saloons and Modsports race.