SUPPORT RACES
It wasn’t only the Walter Hayes Trophy Grand Final settled after a penalty – the Janet Cesar Memorial Trophy, for pre-1999 cars, was too.
Cameron Jackson held a comfortable lead in his Van Diemen RF90 throughout a race that was started behind the safety car after heavy rain. Tom Bradshaw (RF91) and James Clarke (RF90) did battle behind him, with Clarke unable to find his way through in a car that was having its first race event in more than three decades. But both Jackson and Bradshaw were handed penalties for gaining an advantage by running off track – 10 seconds and 5s respectively – dropping out of the podium positions. Clarke was classified first, while Doug Crosbie (RF89) fended off Sam Street’s Swift SC92 for what became second.
The Carl Hamer Trophy for pre-1982 machinery was more straightforward, with Neil Fowler – 21 years after claiming the inaugural WHT – taking a measured win at the wheel of a March 709. It might have been a different story had it not been for light contact with fellow front row starter Richard Tarling’s Royale RP26 at the pre-final’s first corner. Tarling was eliminated with broken steering, then rose from the back in Sunday’s final and was a second faster than anyone else as he charged to fourth, with only
Fowler, Matt Wrigley’s Merlyn Mk11A and Ben Tinkler’s Van Diemen RF80 ahead of him.
The weekend’s only championship action came in the Monoposto Tiedeman Trophy, where Phil Davis added the title to his main-season Mono 1800 class championship. There was some tremendous racing at the front, however, among the trio of Invitation-class Dallara F308s. Robbie Watts emerged on the final lap of the opener to take the 69th victory of his career, overcoming George Line who was struggling badly on the brakes.
In the later Monoposto contest – run in wetter conditions – Watts and Line were battling for honours on the road (although Line had an outof-position start penalty) when the back of the former’s car stepped out at Luffield, with Line’s doing the same in reaction. Belgian teenager Gilles Cloet pounced to take a mature victory at only his second car event.
HSCC Allcomers victories went the way of Tony Absolom’s Super Touring Vauxhall Cavalier and Chris Fox’s ex-Lombard and Voyazides Cosworth DFV-engined Lola
T282. Alastair Smart’s Radical PR6 scooped Pumpkin Smash honours when Graham Charman’s Juno ran out of juice on the last lap.