THE BATTLE OF THE FF1600 FISHER BROTHERS

Close racing and Castle Combe’s Formula Ford championship have been synonymous since 1969. CCRC’s Easter Monday’s Howard’s Day season-openers were so tightly contested that brothers Felix – yet to win the title – and Josh Fisher touched in both, drawing gasps from the large audience. They won one apiece, with canny Luke Cooper second and third.

Cannoned through the Esses by Felix while leading race one, Josh then spun exiting Tower. Kieran Attwood claimed his first podium with James Hadfield and Josh filling his mirrors. Class standouts Nathan Ward, David Cobbold and Ben Mitchell battled for fifth later, Mitchell’s 1m11.888s lap in Richard Hudson-Evans’ Merlyn Mk20 2.3 seconds inside circuit legend Bob Higgins’ old Historic record.

GB3 racer Alex Fores demonstrated his talent and Steve Lansley’s Caterham CSR by dominating the GT races, reducing the class record to 1m06.863s, almost 100mph.

Nigel Mustill’s ‘new’VolvoChevrolet S60, on-form Keith Butcher’s Audi R8 and Jamie Sturges’ superb VW Golf

TCR squabbled behind

Fores initially.

Having shed a wheel in qualifying, Ferrari 458 driver Doug Watson progressed superbly to second in the finale.

Adam Prebble whopped a depleted Saloon field first time out, but alternator failure trailered his Vauxhall Astra turbo. Previous pursuers Tony Hutchings and debutant Dave Spiller duly engaged in a sizzling Audi TT race two lead duel.

The turbo cars lapped as one and Spiller edged alongside at Old Paddock, but veteran Hutchings left no passing place.

Time waits for no man as

Andy Hiley’s self-built

Chronos proved in 750MC Sport Specials. The defending triple champion carved two seconds from the lap record – now 1m09.963s – in outrunning Martin Gambling, Paul Boyd and designer Clive Hudson’s radar-cheating Eclipses.

Stuart Thompson (MK

Indy RR) and Warren Vessey (Fisher Fury) got a Class B win apiece after two furious scraps.

James Wheeler aced both MG BCV8 races, the second after a mighty dust-up through traffic with Neil Fowler and Simon Cripps. Wrestling with an obstinate gearbox, Wheeler sliced 0.76s from Fowler’s 2019 record. In the chase, fast starter Jim Bryan’s sharp-looking BGT V8 was twice hounded down and pipped to class C by

Andrew Young’s rare CGT.

Despite pranging his Vauxhall Nova on his third flying qualifying lap, Craig Tomkinson annexed pole - by 2.1s – and P4 for the Stock Hatch races and landed a double victory. Class winner Nick Gwinnett (Renault Clio) and Will Self (Peugeot 205) shared the other podium places.