CONTRASTING FORTUNES IN THE PAIR OF MINI MIGLIA THRILLERS
Two entertaining Mini Miglia contests brought contrasting fortunes for the lead protagonists as Endaf Owens and Jeff Smith prevailed on the Donington Park Grand Prix circuit.
Reigning champion Aaron Smith and namesake Jeff had brief spells in front before Owens took over at the head of an eight-car pack whittled down to four in the closing stages. As they squabbled on the penultimate lap, Owens got a slight break and held on to win from
Ben Colburn and Aaron Smith.
Colin Peacock’s fastest lap gave him pole position for the rematch but a failed crank sensor sidelined him from third on lap three of nine. Fuel-pump failure had already eliminated Owens, while contact pitched Aaron Smith into a lurid spin. Jeff Smith, Colburn and Rupert Deeth were left as the frontrunners, followed by Kane
Astin, whose inside challenge at the Melbourne Hairpin made Colburn jink slightly left toward Deeth. Deeth’s car was tipped into Astin’s, forcing both out. Smith, with overnight set-up tweaks helping his tyres last better, held off Colburn in the remaining onelap dash after the clear-up. But Colburn was slapped with a five-place penalty for his part in the collision, handing second to returning champion Ian Curley.
While at least seven drivers were genuine contenders in the 36-car Miglia field, the Se7ens were utterly dominated by one man. Andrew Jordan only entered the one-litre category as the Jordan Racing Team’s bulging work list prevented his Miglia being readied in time. He borrowed dad Mike’s Se7en and drove into the distance in Friday’s fading light before repeating the feat in much brighter conditions the next day. Ross Billison (twice), Joe Thompson and Spencer Wanstall split the other podium places.
In changeable conditions, including a shower in the final five minutes, Peter Erceg and Hugo Cook were largely unchallenged en route to a sixthconsecutive victory for Erceg’s GT3 Audi R8. A pitlane speeding penalty extinguished Jamie Stanley’s hopes of closing down Cook in the Lamborghini Huracan started by John Seale. That allowed Cook – substituting for Marcus Clutton – to ease off and bring the car home safely. A left-front wheel failure on their ageing Ferrari 458 Challenge car denied Bonamy Grimes/Johnny Mowlem third late on, allowing Bal Sidhu and Josh Steed to claim a podium – albeit six laps down – on their first outing in a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4.
Joe Ferguson’s Morris Mini Cooper S scored a dominant victory in the Pre-’66 Touring Cars opener. Alan Greenhalgh (Ford Falcon Sprint) powered through to second after qualifying a lowly 12th on a greasy track while Barry Sime’s Mini just held off Peter Smith’s Lotus Cortina for third.
Starting from the back in the car shared with Ferguson, Tom Bell edged a thrilling scrap in Saturday’s second race, only to be penalised for passing too early on a safety car restart. Garry Townsend’s Cortina suffered similarly, while Ian Thompson was denied by a penalty for contact with Sime in the closing stages. That handed victory to Smith from Bell and Sime’s battle-scarred car.
A moment at Coppice in greasy conditions for Jonathan Corker’s
Datsun 510 allowed Stephen Primett (Ford Escort Mk1) to snatch Pre-’83 Touring Car victory. The pair exchanged the lead again in race two before
Corker’s throttle pedal snapped. Stuart Waite (BMW M3 E36) and Gary Prebble (Honda Civic EG) were untroubled in the Pre-’93 and Pre-’03 divisions.
The E46-shape BMW M3s of Kevin Clarke, Bryan Bransom and James Card were set for an entertaining battle with Josh Lawton (Honda Civic) and YouTube star Jimmy Broadbent’s monstrous Mazda MX-5 in Friday’s wet Thunder race. But engine failure sidelined Broadbent and a safety car effectively ended the contest on lap four, just after Bransom had swept around Clarke for the lead. Holden Monaro-mounted Andy Wilson fancied his chances in the dry on Saturday but he spun into retirement at the Craner Curves, inadvertently causing Bransom’s and Lawton’s cars to overheat after grass-cutting in avoidance. Clarke won from Nick Vaughan (Audi A3) and Card, as Simon Light (Ford Capri V8) added a second Historic Thunder success.
Ford Escort Mk2 trio Piers Grange, Malcolm Harding and Martin Reynolds set the BOSS pace, Grange overhauling Harding to win the opener and then repeating his success a day later. Harding’s electrical gremlins opened the door for Olly Allen (Fiesta Mk6) to complete race two’s podium.
Liam Morley was a double victor in British Superkarts. He might have scored a hat-trick but for chain failure while leading the opener, which was won by Tom Rushforth.