The entry list of 23 cars was to be one our best grids for some years.  Benn Simms was back with a new set of tyres on his March 803 to challenge Graham Fennimore’s RT3 dominance so far.  Jamie Brashaw was running his Formula 2 car in the F2 race and so brought his F3 March out to play as well.  Simon Jackson had returned from 2 stunning victories in the French Formula 3 series at Le Mans the week before, so seemingly was on top form in his Chevron B43. 

David Shaw, Keith White and Richard Trott would all be out and Gregg Caton who proved fast at Silverstone in the March 803 was making another appearance.  The winner could come from any one of these.  Unfortunately, practise took its toll, David Shaw was unable to make the meeting, Keith White had a horrific accident at Hawthornes destroying his lovely Ralt RT1 and from which he was lucky to walk away with nothing more than some bruising.

Jamie Brashaw’s engine had developed an incurable oil leak and Gregg Caton also had engine woes with the 803.  We also lost Graham Kiddy  (Argo JM4) with a cracked brake calliper,  so 19 cars however took to the start.  Benn was able to pull away a few yards when Graham had a lurid slide at paddock on the first lap.  As they came past the flag on the first lap, it was Benn then Graham, Richard Trott, Simon Jackson and Hugh Price and this was to remain the order for the 12 laps of the race. Iain Rowley out for the first time since Monaco, having qualified 8th , unfortunately  out braked  himself at Paddock bend on first lap and ended in the gravel on exit where he remained, a great loss.  Neil Bowman ( Merlyn Mk21) retired on lap 4 with exhaustion  having just finished FF 2000 race right before our s leaving Tony Sinclair (BT41) to win class B again. Down the field  there was really only a few dices, notably Geoff Hoodless (March 813) and David Clark (Argo JM6) squabbling over 8th and 9th places and then on lap 10 Hoodless’ failed lunge on Paul Dibden’s RT1 at Druids resulted in a bent front wing! Heinrich Langfermann (RT3) was racing in the UK for the first time and passed Marcus Mussa early on, reunited with his old Modus, having lost power in his new March 763. Matt Sturmer’s RT3 went with Heino until we lost him on lap 10.  Overall a processional race that had, after qualifying battles, promised much but it was extremely hot and many complained of overheating running close behind other cars.

Richard and Colin were present and provided a fabulous BBQ between qualifying and the race (who wants to cook burgers and sausages in this heat?!)  Well done to both of you, Richard and Colin for providing us with such a fine feast.  We now have a bit of respite before the Oulton Park Gold Cup on bank holiday Monday, where due to lack of track time we have been combined with the Derek Bell race.  Nevertheless, we get one qualifying and two 20 minute races, which should keep everybody occupied for the day.  We know it’s not very satisfactory, especially after we had such good numbers at Brands, but Oulton is a great track and hopefully we can put on another good display. 

Our race sponsors so far have been able to provide the Barbie’s at Cadwell and Brands Hatch, but we are still looking for someone to step forward for the Oulton Park.  Please make contact with Richard or me if you think you can assist.

Our best wishes for a quick recovery go to Keith White. 

Also, have you all seen the Motor Sport article on Graham Fennymore’s ex Martin Brundle Ralt RT3 and also the Vintage Racecar one about Matthew Sturmer’s ex Tommy Byrne RT3 ? If not we will soon have pdf copies up on the website so look out for them there.

Regards