LOW TO HIGH FOR MITCHELL
Historic Formula Ford points leader Ben Mitchell emerged from a torrid weekend at Oulton Park with flying colours, and his sixth win of the season.
Having bent a rear corner of his Merlyn Mk20 in wet testing on Saturday, Mitchell returned to the Cotswolds to rob father Westie’s car of spares. They rebuilt it again following stub axle failure in Monday’s qualifying, as Mitchell survived everything Callum Grant and Ben Tusting (Mk20as) threw at him.
The only single-race round of the season halved 2018’s 42-car entry, with Mitchell’s title rival Cameron Jackson – tending to his newborn son – the most notable absentee.
Grant led initially, but once Mitchell deposed the double champion, Boltonian Grant could not breach his defences.
“That was tough. I was quicker through Cascades, Island and Lodge, but lost out to Callum at Druids,” said Mitchell, who held on by 0.064s as the trio fanned out to take the chequer. Tusting, who crossed the line 0.117s after Grant, set fastest lap.
Lashing rain and poor visibility did not faze lifeboatman Andy Park. With erstwhile table-topper Nelson Rowe absent and Davy Walton retiring, Park put his Historic FF2000 triple crown aspirations back on track with a last-ditch Sunday win, then extended it with a second victory in the dry on Monday.
Ian Pearson (Royale RP30) boldly ambushed Park and had just passed leader Benn Simms (Reynard) when he arrived backwards at Hislops on day one. Park timed his attack perfectly though, robbing Simms, with misted visor, on the last lap. Croft winner Callum Grant found his Delta “aquaplaning everywhere”, but nabbed second, despite opining that the race should not have been run.
On URS cut slicks, Drew Cameron (in Tom Smith’s Royale RP27) won the section, but lost a front wheel at Knickerbrook on Monday, promoting Chris Lord
(Van Diemen RF82). Park shrugged off Simms and Grant to extend a useful points advantage. Paul Allen grabbed fourth after a duel with Jason Redding – from the back in a similar Reynard – Walton and Pearson. Devonian Lord took URS honours.
The Woodhouse family mastered Sunday’s treacherous conditions in a resounding Formula Junior double for the Catshill Garage equipe. Driving his faithful ELVA-BMC 100, father Mark overcame Alex Morton’s Condor-ford S2 on the final lap of the front-engined split, pursued by Adam Sykes, who landed his first podium place in dad John’s Merlyn Mk2. Having run-in a fresh engine, son Jack Woodhouse dug deep to beat Andrew Hibberd in the rear-engined field. Adrian Russell hounded down Katsu Kubota for third in a Lotus clean-sweep.
After another stirring Brabham duel,
Jon Milicevic (BT21B) earned the 1000cc Historic F3 victory over Andrew Hibberd (ex-chris Irwin BT18) on Sunday.
Italian Enrico Spaggiari was third in the Gold Leaf Team Lotus 41X in which John Miles placed second to Tim Schenken’s Chevron B9 here in ’68.
Monday’s stanza was red-flagged after Gregan Thruston (BT21B) and Peter Hamilton (Tecno) went off at Deer Leap. At the restart Cascades spinner Hibberd bounded back to second, ahead of Mike Scott (ex-erkki Salminen BT28), but Milicevic’s 11th win from 12 starts put the crown beyond his rivals’ reach.