Jackson beaten in Titanic tussle with Mcarthur

It was business as usual for Cameron Jackson on Saturday, as he made it 12 wins from 12 Classic and Historic Formula Ford starts this term, even if the cracks in his defences exposed by teenager Sam Harrison at Cadwell Park deepened. But it was Tom Mcarthur who stole the show on Sunday.

Mcarthur, in James Hadfield’s Titan Mk4, came close to unseating Jackson on the opening day in the Historic contest but, when the Winkelmann driver popped out of gear exiting Mcleans, Mcarthur could not avoid a collision. He was launched – “I saw his roll hoop under my front wheel” – but landed with little damage, and finished fifth behind Jackson, Callum Grant, Horatio Fitz-simon and Matt Wrigley.

Jordan Harrison was the first to beat Jackson after his gear linkage broke in Sunday’s Classic thriller. Harrison and Henry Chart scrapped for victory after the Winkelmann’s retirement, and Harrison’s bold outside pass at Redgate helped cement a 0.154-second win.

The second Historic race was even more intense, with Mcarthur playing a starring role and early contact between Fitz-simon and Grant sending Grant spinning down the Craner Curves. Mcarthur was directly ahead of Jackson when he and Fitz-simon caught John Slack’s Lola approaching the Old Hairpin. “I tried to pass on one side and Cam the other, but when the driver saw Cam coming he braked hard and I had to go off in avoidance,” said Mcarthur, who shot over the inside gravel trap.

Charging back with the weekend’s best lap, Mcarthur ousted Fitz-simon on the penultimate tour, then passed Jackson. He defended stoutly as both jumped the final chicane kerbs, but triumphed by 0.260s, with Fitz-simon third, less than 1s behind.

Graham Fennymore (Reynard SF81) was at his brilliant best, upstaging Ian Pearson (Royale RP30) and quadruple champion Andy Park (SF81) in both Historic FF2000 stunners. As at Cadwell, Ben Glasswell and 1979 Euroseries champion Adrian Reynard won the qualifying heats.

Gearbox failure halted Guards Trophy polesitter Jackson’s Lenham P70, handing the advantage to Silverstone winner Andy Newall (Chevron B6). Only Mark Colman (B8) remained unlapped. John Spiers’s TVR Griffith was first GT, and Andrew Haddon nicked the 1600cc ‘Elan class’ from triple champion John Davison on the line.

Haddon/andy Wolfe won the GT & Sports Car Cup enduro, outrunning the AC Cobra of Chris Chiles Jr/simon Garrad. Patrick Blakeney-edwards, finishing

Fred Wakeman’s Lister Jaguar Le Mans coupe, overhauled Mike Wrigley’s Jaguar E-type – with smoking diff’ – for third.

The Thundersports showdown between Dean Forward and Calum Lockie fizzled out. Gearbox input shaft failure halted Lockie’s March 717 early on Saturday, as Forward survived a gravel-spraying scare at Coppice in his Mclaren M8F. Lockie reached second on Sunday, before retiring when the March’s nose disintegrated past the pits. John

Burton (Chevron B26) and Mark Richardson (Lola T290) netted a second apiece.

In Sunday’s concurrent Sports 2000 gripper, Trevor Welsh (Lola T492) took class honours again as Will Schryver

(Royale RP37) and Tim Jacobsen (Shrike

P16) were blanketed by 0.388s!

Andrew Hibberd (Brabham BT18) aced both Historic F3 bouts, recovering from a spin on Saturday to oust Jeremy Timms, his Chevron B15 “almost square” after its Cadwell bang. Benn Simms led both days in Jim Blockley’s B17, but retired in the opener.

Michael Lyons (Lola T400) blitzed the Aurora races, although Martin Stretton tried in his two-litre March 712 on Saturday. Stretton’s two-stop strategy gifted Paul Campfield (Chevron B24) second on Sunday.

Although Paul Tooms led briefly in Larry Kennedy’s Elan, John Davison won Sunday’s Historic Road Sports half-hour contest in his S1. Kevin Kivlochan (AC Cobra) led until an excursion at the Old Hairpin dropped him to third. He hunted Tooms down and won the drag race to the flag.

The ’70s counter was red-flagged when Greg Thornton’s Ferrari 308 boiled and laid coolant before Jim Dean (Lotus Europa) and John Williams (Porsche 911SC) skated into the Redgate gravel. The restart continued to be a Plant-based Morgan feast, Will finishing ahead of Richard.

Lockie showed pace in Thundersports, but retired from both races

Mcarthur got the better of Jackson in dramatic Historic FF1600 finale

Historic Formula 3-turned-f2 racer Julian Maynard turned heads when he debuted the 1972 Lola T290 raced by Bobby Rahal contemporarily. The future Indycar champion’s father, Michael, acquired HU34 in 1973. The Lola was sold when Rahal’s pro career took off, but he bought it back in 2001. In Red Roof Inns livery – reflecting Rahal’s racing partnership with hotel chain founder Jim Trueman – Maynard finished sixth and fifth in Thundersports.

Martyn Donn’s third place from the back of Sunday’s Aurora Trophy grid underlined the potential of the F2 Chevron B27 he co-owns with fellow Formula Vee stalwart Andy Storer. Austrian Dieter Quester’s 1974 mount, B27-74-9 is now powered with a Cosworth BDG engine rather than the original BMW M12. It debuted at Silverstone last month, following a multi-year restoration, but appeared with its Team Harper/memphis livery for the first time at Donington.

Benn Tilley accepted Simon Ayliff’s invitation to debut his Delta T80 in the Historic FF2000 double-header. Following a test on Thursday, Tilley finished fourth in Saturday’s points race before the combo improved to third on Sunday. Designed by ex-f1 Williams technical director Patrick Head as successor to the Starfire, the Deltas won a British championship in 1978 driven by the late South African Mike White.