Delayed SMRC season gets under way
The Scottish Motor Racing Club finally kicked off its 2020 season at Knockhill last weekend, with eight races taking place as part of the new half-day format.
Just three meetings will be held this season following the outbreak of COVID-19, but the racing on track easily made up for the lack of action over the past five months.
An impressive grid of 21 cars turned out for the Classic Sports and Saloons races, with victories being shared by Andrew Smith (Morgan +8) and John Kinmond’s Rover 3500. Smith and Kinmond went toe-to-toe in the opener as the two Class E competitors proved far and above the quickest around the Fife circuit. Smith beat Kinmond to the line by nearly two seconds, while the latter cruised to race-two spoils by 17 seconds from Adam Bernard’s Porsche 911.
Dave Colville was unbeatable in Ford Fiestas, securing pole and both wins. Colville headed Steven Gray in each encounter, with last season’s ST Challenge champion Lorn Murray and Fiesta ST newcomer Andrew Elliott grabbing the final spot on the podium in races one and two respectively.
The Scottish C1 Cup enjoyed its largest ever grid with a total of 23 cars turning out. The wins were heartily disputed between Colin Main and Ross Dunn, with the former just edging the race-two victory by a mere three tenths of a second.
Inaugural champion Finlay Brunton got his title defence off to a modest start, with seventh in the first race followed by fourth in a rain-hit second contest, which also featured a spectacular barrel roll for Thomas Comber at Mcintyre’s.
Such has been the impact of COVID-19 that just 13 cars lined up for the combined Scottish Mini Cooper and Cooper S races. But that didn’t mean the action was any less frenetic, as defending champion Robbie Dalgleish came out on top by little over a tenth in the first race. Dalgleish doubled up in race two as Jamie Blake took a pair of overall wins in his R53.