OSBORNE RUBS SALT INTO RIVALS’ WOUNDS
Timely pitstops set up salt magnate Steve Osborne’s Swinging Sixties and Classic K double victory at a packed Classic Sports Car Club season-opener; his gold Jaguar E-type chased by the Lotus Elans of Ben Snee/ Nigel Greensall and Paul Tooms respectively.
The second Swinging
Sixties race was red-flagged within seconds when Claire Norman’s BMW 2002 was rudely barged into the Redgate gravel, ending on its side. Stephen Pickering’s Sunbeam Tiger got an unopposed win.
A scrap between Colin Philpott’s XJS,Andrew Harper’s supercharged S-type and Jack Robinson’s XK8 characterised Saturday’s Jaguar showcase. Robinson couldn’t oust Harper from first as Philpott retired. Harper then dominated
Sunday’s sequel.
Winged E46 M3s dominated the BMW championship’s
CSCC debut. Bryan Bransom and Niall Bradley, from 18th on the later grid, emerged winners over Jason West. John Cutmore’s supercharged Spire and Colin Watson’s BOSS Caterham won concurrent Open bouts.
Graham Ross shaded Sam Meagher in Saturday’s MG Trophy race as invitee Steve McDermid bested James Cole and Fergus Campbell in Class B, which lost champion Tylor Ballard late on. Meagher won on Sunday after Ross slid wide. Cole inherited Class B victory when Ballard got a track-limit penalty.
James Hughes lapped all-but Ian Burgin in Saturday’s Midget & Sprite contest after Pippa
Cow pitted. Hughes repeated victory on Sunday, lapping fifthplaced dad John on the line.
Andrew Christopher won a dramatic Slicks Series race with his Ferrari’s nose bloodied from first-lap contact with Kevin Clarke’s Lamborghini. Clarke pitted after one-third’s distance with a punctured left-rear tyre, then careered into Old Hairpin’s gravel on its cold replacement.
Tom Walpole in the Slicks Series race shot his Ariel Atom from 35th to second, then blitzed the safety-car interluded New Millennium race, in which Andrew Marson’s Abarth earned Turbo Tin Top spoils. Aston and Tony Blake’s TVR topped an entertaining Modern Classics miscellany.
Andrew Windmill aced the
Tin Tops finale in his Honda. Josh Files – relayed by Cameron Elder – and James Slater fought over second, resolved by a penalty for Slater.
Rich Webb’s screamer took the Magnificent Sevens chequered first, but a pit imposition dropped it behind Tim Davis.