Mahany is the man as VSCC thrills at Cadwell
CADWELL PARK VSCC JULY 22
Cadwell Park turned back the clock to relive the glory days of pre-war sports cars as the Vintage Sports Car Club produced some superb racing in front of a healthy crowd, basking in the sunshine.
The Standard & Modified Pre-war
Sports Car race stole the show as William Mahany snatched victory from Tom Waterfield on the final lap.
The duo fought constantly from the off, each seeking to find and exploit the weaknesses of the other’s machinery. Waterfield’s Frazer Nash Super Sports was stronger in the corners, while Mahany’s HRG Le Mans Model was faster along the start-finish straight. The duo switched places nearly every lap until they hit traffic towards the end of the 15-minute race.
Waterfield slowed coming up the Mountain on the final tour after he broke the second-gear chain on the previous lap. That allowed Mahany – who was slowing down himself to keep his car cool – to swoop past and take the victory by 1.5 seconds, claiming the Geoghegan Trophy.
“I thought the race was gone once we got into traffic,” explained Mahany, “but he had a problem, and I inherited the win.”
Waterfield added: “I heard a thud in the undertray, and I knew exactly what it was. I tried to manage it around the rest of the circuit, but on the final lap coming up the Mountain when you need second gear the most, there was nothing. It was still a good race though.”
The Vintage and Pre-1961 race also featured a frantic battle for the win, this time between Frederick Harper in his Kurtis Indy-roadster and Mark Gillies in ERA
R3A. Harper started the race from pole and pulled away from Gillies as they blasted away from the rest of the field. Gillies began to gain on Harper and made his move on the inside at Charlies after Harper went wide, leaving the door open. Gillies then pulled away by a couple of tenths each lap to the chequered flag, securing the win by 3.86s.
“I was following him and he [Harper] had monster speed on the straights,” explained Gillies. “I could see he wasn’t so quick going into Coppice and the next right-hander at Charlies. So I knew I had to make my move there. An aggressive driver would have chopped me when I made that move. Once I got past him, I was quicker in the twisty bits, and that gave me a gap.”
Behind the leading duo, Julian Wilton’s Cooper-bristol Mk2 T23 completed the podium. It had caught fire during the morning practice session and nearly brought Wilton’s season to an early (and costly) halt. The true spirit of the VSCC came into play when the car returned to the paddock and the club rallied around Wilton and Simon Frost, who helps run the car.
Soon Wilton had new fuel pipes, new HT leads and other pipes to help rebuild the car in time for the second race of the day.
“I didn’t think I would get out again this season,” explained Wilton. “We had a bonfire in practice under the bonnet. It was a remarkable effort by Simon and all the others involved to get us out in time for the race. To finish third is amazing after the day we went through.”
Edward Williams took victory in the Frazer Nash race, chased by Tom Waterfield’s similar Super Sports, which set the fastest lap. Dougal Cawley was third in his Gn/ford Piglet.