SNETTERTON’S HISTORY COMES BACK TO LIFE
Despite BRDC British F3’s rebrand into the GB3 Championship, the ‘Formula 3’ name was still on the timetable last weekend at Snetterton to help celebrate the venue’s 70th anniversary.
The 500cc F3 category was one of the key attractions at the Norfolk circuit when it first opened its doors in 1951, and an eclectic mix of cars were in action last weekend at a venue with which leading light Jim Russell – who claimed F3 titles in 1955-57 – became synonymous as founder of the world’s first racing drivers’ school in 1956.
Nearly seven decades later, things came full circle when the Cooper Mk10 in which Russell took the crown in 1956 and 1957 claimed another victory in the opening race on Sunday in the hands of Simon Dedman. Not only that, but it was the fireman’s first-ever car racing win. He only started competing in 2018 at the wheel of a Waye, before rebuilding Russell’s Cooper last year during the COVID-19 lockdown.
“It’s been in a few collections and there was a lot of work to do to get it back on the race circuit,” said Dedman, whose win was popular with the 500 Owners Association paddock. “I couldn’t bring myself to alter the chassis [and add a rollbar].
“I like rebuilding cars. The Waye came up for sale, and I rebuilt it and thought let’s give it a go [in 2018] and I found this club, which I’d never heard of before. These are fabulous little cars.”
In atrocious conditions, Dedman could only qualify eighth, but soon charged through in the opening 15-minute race, held in the dry, and was second by the end of the first tour. After chasing poleman George Shackleton’s Cooper Mk11, Dedman made his move down the inside into Agostini on lap two. “I just outbraked him but then I was going as fast as I could,” he said.
The gap never stretched to more than a few lengths, but victory was assured when first a safety car was called and then a red flag shown after Chas Reynolds’s Kieft CK53 ended up off the track at Agostini. Shackleton held onto second, while Chris Wilson took third. He had finished fourth on the road, but was promoted after Darrell Woods – who had recovered from an opening lap off at Wilson – was penalised for overtaking Wilson under the safety car.
Dedman couldn’t quite replicate his success in the second contest, despite starting from pole, in a race held on a greasy track after heavy periods of rain. Wilson was the man to beat. He moved into second behind Shackleton at the end of the opening tour, before making his move for the lead a lap later.
As Shackleton dropped back and eventually into retirement, Woods’s Staride Mk3 moved into second ahead of a recovering Dedman, but neither could do anything about Wilson on a weekend when a bit of Snetterton’s history came back to life.