National reports: Silverstone; Donington Park; Snetterton; Oulton Park; Knockhill

Championships were concluded and new winners crowned at Silverstone in a fast-moving procession of clean, celebratory races at the Historic Sports

Car Club’s Finals meeting.

Luke Stevens secured an emotional victory in the Guards Trophy. George Douglas, owner of the winning Ginetta

G16, had allowed his younger – and faster – co-driver to run the whole race, and Stevens handed his trophy to an overcome Douglas at the end.

Stevens had capitalised on a first-lap spin by polesitter Robert Tusting’s

Lenham P69. Both Stevens and secondplaced Andy Newall (Chevron B6) timed their pitstops perfectly to stay ahead of the chasing pack. James Dodd, in another G16, was closing on Newall but did not have time to make a move, his father and co-driver Graeme admitting he had left Dodd Jr with “too much to do”.

Benn Tilley won the Classic Formula 3 title on his first attempt, finishing with a second and third place in his March 743. He didn’t need to push for wins, so took a safe and steady approach to secure the crown.

Conor Murphy won the first race in his March 803B, after initial leader Tony Hancock (Lola T670) dropped back and eventually retired with a flat battery. Tilley was promoted to second by the demise of Andy Smith’s March 783, while Steve Maxted was third in a Ralt RT3 after Matt

Wrigley’s Chevron B38 had a late spin.

Fortunes were reversed in the second race, with Smith triumphant and Murphy out after only three laps. Hancock also made it to the end this time, in second place. Tilley could not launch a late charge for second as the race was red-flagged after Paul Smith’s RT3 lost a wheel at Copse.

Smith made up for his initial F3 disappointment with a clean sweep of Formula 2 wins in his March 742. Wrigley (March 782) overhauled Matthew Watts’ Martini for second early on in the opener before Smith and Wrigley again led the second race home. Watts was passed in the opening stages by Rob Wheldon (March 762) and Mark Dwyer in a March 742, and Dwyer briefly bested Wheldon but could not make it stick.

Benn Simms (Reynard SF77) and Callum Grant (Delta T81) set up a close battle in Formula Ford 2000 qualifying as they were separated by a thousandth of a second. But the races themselves were not as closely run, with Simms winning comfortably both times and breaking lap records over the weekend.

The second race was disrupted by a red flag to retrieve a pair of crashed cars at Becketts. Simms won by over 10 seconds from Graham Fennymore’s Reynard SF81, as Grant – second in the opener – retired with a broken CV joint. Peter Drennan cruised to the championship win with a fifth and 11th place in his Reynard SF79.

There were no safe and steady performances for Cam Jackson in the rear-engined Formula Junior bout, Jackson winning his first FJ championship in a Brabham BT2 with two confident victories. Both races had an identical top three of Jackson, Andrew Hibberd (Lotus 22) and Peter de la Roche (Lola Mk3).

Jeremy Clark wrapped up another

70s Road Sports championship in his

Lotus Elan, despite only finishing fourth. Race winner Kevin Kivlochan, in his familiar Morgan +8, finished equal on wins but missed out on the extra points on offer for driving the car to the circuit. Kivlochan had capitalised on a clumsy start by Dave Karaskas and was never seriously challenged thereafter, even when he accidentally slowed down a lap too early at the end.

Kivlochan, in his AC Cobra this time, also won the Historic Road Sports race from Richard Plant’s Morgan. He had been challenged by the Morgan of Robin Pearce, and Pearce even led briefly, but he made a mistake trying to pass a backmarker and slipped to third.

The first Historic Touring Car outing had its share of tussles, with Dan Williamson’s Ford Falcon leaping into the lead from fifth on the opening lap. Richard Dutton kept Williamson honest in his Ford Lotus Cortina, but could not get within range. Mark Davenport (Ford Mustang) challenged early but had car trouble and slipped back.

Williamson had to sit out the second race with an overheated engine, and

Dutton took advantage to win, ahead of the sister Lotus Cortina of Neil Brown. Further back, class wins in both races were enough for Steve Platts to seal the crown in his Singer Chamois.

Simms (l) and Grant were separated by 0.001s in Historic FF2000 qualifying, but it was Simms who took a double victory

Stevens kept the Chevron B6 of Newall (l) at bay to win Guards Trophy contest

FLOWING AUSSIE This Bolwell Nagari is believed to be the only one in the UK. Like its owner Justin Murphy, it hails from Australia, where Bolwell created small sportscars in the early 1970s. Its engine and running gear comes from a Ford Falcon, its chassis is based on that of a Lotus Elan and its bodywork is original, making it an interesting Australian jigsaw. This model was exported to South Africa from Australia, before being bought for use in the Netherlands and finally coming to the UK. ‘Nagari’ is an Aboriginal word for ‘flowing’. But it failed to make it to the Historic Road Sports finish.

DIFFERENT STROKES Three cylinders, two strokes: the Mitter Formula Junior has an experimental DKW engine that either “runs, or smashes through the side of it”. Predictably, it rings and dings instead of growls and howls. It was built by Gerhard Mitter prior to his Formula 1 and sportscar career, one of six in all. Three of these cars are believed to survive in some form. Rudolf Ernst intended to drive the car himself but James Hadfield, who helps run it alongside his father Simon, was five seconds quicker during test laps and Ernst duly handed it over, but Hadfield retired from both races.

ROSS’S ALFA STARS AGAIN Antony Ross finished 15th in the Historic Road Sports race but won the class-based championship in this very attractive ice-blue Alfa Romeo 1750 Spider Veloce. The last time he won the championship was 27 years ago – driving the same car. He has owned it since the late 1980s, when he bought it to take on his honeymoon before converting it to circuit spec. This year’s short season tempted Ross back into the Alfa’s elegant confines and he prevailed over Roger Sparrow’s Porsche 911 to earn his win. The two were scrapping throughout.